In Michigan

Alpena, MI - 69º at 9:06 pm EDT

This photo is for our granddaughter Ashley.  She loves ducks.  Don't recall where I too the photo, but think it was near Kenora, Ontario.

We stopped in Kenora and had a brief visit with Ellen Belbas, who spends her winters in Kenwood RV Park.

 She showed us her house, a huge house for one person, right on a lake in the Lake Of The Woods area.  Her daughter lives next door. 

She has quite a drop from her house down to the water and has to maintain it.

We went to a fine Italian Restaurant downtown for lunch and then she showed us how to get to

the Discovery Center where we spent some time looking at things in the area of the Lake Of The Woods.







Driving south, with the intention of staying on the US side, we used up a lot of gas, thinking could stretch to the US side where was a little cheaper.  Stopped at a station just outside of Fort Francis on the Canadian side and put in 20 litres of gas.  My computer showed I had burned 25.5 gallon from the last fill--and the tank holds 26 gallon.
Stayed overnight in International Falls and filled the next morning.

 These are pictures Phyllis took of YoYo small quilts at the Campground in Ishpeming, MI.

We were able to take the trikes out of the pickup and ride a little over 4 miles that night, the 3rd of July.  Next morning we took trailer and went into Ishpeming and watched part of their 4th of July Parade.

We left about 11:30 am and headed east.

Stopped for a bit right on Lake Superior for a bite to eat and discovered a site of a former steel furnace.

Got to the Canadian Border about 4 pm, July 4th, and no line at all.  Answered 3 questions after showing Passports and went right through. 

 Spent Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday morning with Richard & Shirley Pozzenbon, who winter at Kenwood RV Park in Texas.

Had a delightful time with them.  They are wonderful cooks and we enjoyed several Italian meals.

    We parked on their driveway in front of their motor-home,  Went to church with them Sunday morning and to lunch at local Casino and then they showed us much of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

 We spent some time at the Canadian Lock between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

The Canadian lock is used just for pleasure craft, relieving that traffic from the really large ships using the large lock on the US side.

As we were getting ready to leave Richard & Shirley's place this morning.

We had quite a line crossing back into USA and probably spent 15 or 20 minutes waiting.

We followed Richard and Shirley and parked our rig and then rode with them as they showed us around Sault Ste Marie, Michigan.  We didn't stop at the really large locks on that side as Phyllis and I had spent several hours there 2 years ago when we were in the area.

 We did drive by as one 1,000 foot (at least) ship was  coming through the lock.

After crossing the Mackinaw Bridge we followed Lake Huron south  and got to County Fairground Campground in Alpena, MI around 4pm.  Phyllis called Karen Hamann and she rode her bike part way from her place and we rode our recumbent trikes to meet her, then rode to her house and finally rode all around the lake area, about 6 miles. 

She rode on home then and came back with her car and we went out to eat and she showed us much of the town including a lot of bike trails.  Rain is predicted during the night, but we will ride tomorrow if possible and also go through the Maritime Museum and maybe go on the Glass Bottom Boat that goes over many ship wrecks in the area.  Will stay here until Wednesday morning and then drive the short distance to   Bill and Darlene Winslow near West Branch, MI where we will stay a few days.

More later, Lynn

Back in US for 2 days

Ishpeming, MI 62º bright sunshine -  Bit cool this morning. 

On July 1st (Canada Day - their July 4th) most stores were closed and government offices closed, but the guided tours started then in the Legislative Building in Winnipeg.  We drove the 45 km or so and took the tour at 12 noon.

"Golden Boy" is atop their building.

Manitoba has buffaloes on  on everything -- including these two 5-ton, each, buffaloes in the entrance to their Legislative Building.

Our guide, Elizabeth, showing the bison with green background added to the British Flag.

My July - 2015 photos are all at Click Here They aren't all edited, but you can see if you want.

Their legislature is a uni-cameral and they ended their session on June 30th, the day before we were there.

Since it was Canada Day, there were 2 cannon set up in front of the building that fired several vollies at 12 Noon.  Glad they were aimed away from the building we were in.

After our tour we walked a few blocks to one of the many festivals that were going on in the city for Canada Day.

Lots of jewelry, crafts, food offerings.  We mostly "people watched".

 We drove around most of Winnipeg, just looking, and then returned to our trailer and barbequed chicken breasts for supper.

Oh, yeah, Phyllis did some laundry, too.

Have to mention, to Bill Oberholzer, that I did actually find the Mounty you reported me to, but he just saluted and wished me well!

On Thursday we drove Kenora, Ontario and visited Ellen Belbas at her house and had lunch with her.  She spends winters in her Mobile Home on the south side in Kenwood RV.

We spent the night at International Falls, MN after crossing back into the US.  No more (for the time being) interpreting distances from kilometers to miles, or temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit.  We drove along Lake Superior most of yesterday and spent last night at Ishpeming, MI.  They are having parades and celebrations down town this morning.  We will gather up the hose and electric wire, pull up the leveling supports, dump our tanks and drive downtown a bit to see what we can see then head for Sault St. Marie, ON to visit a few days with Richard and Shirley Posseboom 

More later, Lynn

Winnipeg, Manatoba, CA

West Winnipeg 24.4C - 75.92F degrees  Bright sunshine.

Guess I am getting a little ahead of myself here.  We spent this last Monday with Gail & Loris Barsanti at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Click Here) in Winnipeg, Manatoba, Canada; and, I started out with some swimming polar bear pictures.

There was one area that had a Plexiglass tunnel through the swimming hole for the bears and was something to watch them swim around us.

Will back up a little and say that we left Princeton, MN where we had visited with Diane & Dick Messer for several days.  On Friday morning we drove to north of Browerville, MN to the farmstead of Doris & Lyle Winter and set up at their back door.  They had been on a few day camping trip with friends and had just been home long enough to pick some strawberries from their garden.

 

We had supper with them Friday evening and then  their friends Gary & Gretta came over and we played Pegs & Jokers.

 Doris and Lyle In front of their house.
We went to Clarissa, MN with Winters and met several of their friends for breakfast in a small local restaurant, drove around some of their area and had lunch with them. 

 Went to a quilt show there in Clarissa -- Phyllis wanted pattern and colors from this bow-tie quilt.

 There was a classic car show going on at the time and we spent some time there; Lyle & Doris visited with many friends.

We took off with our rig then and drove to Thief River Falls, MN Saturday.  Was in some rain; in fact, set up the trailer (without unhooking) in the rain.  It quit promptly when we had the electricity and water hooked up and leveling jacks down!  The people at the RV Park registration desk said we were at the north edge of a Tornado Watch area and showed us where to come into the big building if sirens sounded.  They didn't and the storm went south and east of us.

 Got to Rosser, Manitoba about 12:30 on Sunday.  Parked the rig, without unhooking, in front of Loris's second garage door.

 They live in a very small village west of Winnipeg.

Some very nice roses and tomatoes still in the "water walls" to keep them from the cold weather at nights.

 Went to the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg and spent quite a bit of time watching the polar bears.

We spent time in a great butterfly house.  They had many just "hatching" and we got to take them from the chrysalis stage to the next room and watch them open their wings for the first time and finally fly off or latch on to a flower.

Chrysalis

Chrysalis

Monday evening we went to an Italian Restaurant - Paradise near downtown Winnipeg. 

Barsanti's left with their motorhome to go to a lake to the west with several other friends in their camping club for the Canada Day today and fireworks at this place that they have gone to for the last 6 hears with the same group.  We drove some 45 kilometers to a KOA, unhooked and drove downtown to tour the Legislative Building.  Found that they start their guided tours today,

 so we looked around the the "Fork" area--where the Assinaboine River and the Red River come together and there are a lot of shops, bicycle trails and quite a walking bridge. Lots of bikes and walkers.

This morning we took guided tour through the Provincial Legislative Building and then walked quite a distance through a festival on the streets near there.  This is Canada Day and a holiday for many.  Some cafe's open, but most stores closed.  Street and highway crews working, but no government workers, though the building was open with guides.  Drove through the last quarter of Winnipeg we hadn't looked at on the way home.  Stopped at a Subway and had a new sub - real Lobster.  Got the grill out this evening and grilled chicken breasts for supper.  Will hook up in the morning and head for Kenora, Ontario to visit Ellen Belbas for lunch before heading south to International Falls, MN


Later, Lynn