Location, Dorchester, WI
Only routine things for the last few days.
I finally had the propane tank filled. I had to go by the bulk propane store twice before I found someone there to help me. Small town businesses operate on their own schedule.
I also picked up the oil I need to get the oil changed in the truck tomorrow.
This morning I met and old high school buddy for breakfast. We both drove to Withee, WI, a half way point, and met at a local restaurant. An hour’s conversation caught us up on family, aches and pains, grandchildren, etc. During the conversation we realized that only 6 males remain from our high school graduating class. We have lost a lot of old school chums in the last few years. Only one female has died since we graduated.
At some time during each day we stop in Colby to see my mother. She enjoys an hour or so of conversation. They do keep them busy at assisted living but conversation is rather limited.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Edgar steam and tractor show.
Location, Dorchester, WI
Today was the final day of the Edgar Steam and Tractor Show on a farm near Edgar, WI and what a show it was. Four years ago we attended this show and it has grown tremendously since then.
My brother Ray and I talked to the secretary for the organization which sponsors this great 3 day show. She said attendance has been running at 10,000 people a day with the show getting bigger each year. There were 800 tractors and 350 venders set up for the show as well as food venders, small hit and miss engine section, hundreds of people camping, and demonstrations of work done by small and large engines.
Clyda and I arrived about 10 AM and watched a very large steam engine run an old fashioned saw mill. It drew quit a crowd. We watched a shingle mill cutting shingles, a crew sorting and banding the shingles, and a man branding shingles with the 2011 logo for the show.
There was silo filling, threshing using large steam engines and old stationary threshing machines. There was plowing with a large steam engine pulling an eight gang plow. It took 4 men on the plow to set the depth, three on the engine to run it, 300 plus gallons of water to provide steam, and lots of coal to keep the boiler fired up. One round of the field required another load of water before the next furrow could be turned.
There was a tractor parade which lasted about an hour and a half for all to pass by. Each tractor was announced and the drivers name given. Some were fully restored pristine tractors while others were working tractors. It was a great show!
Today was the final day of the Edgar Steam and Tractor Show on a farm near Edgar, WI and what a show it was. Four years ago we attended this show and it has grown tremendously since then.
My brother Ray and I talked to the secretary for the organization which sponsors this great 3 day show. She said attendance has been running at 10,000 people a day with the show getting bigger each year. There were 800 tractors and 350 venders set up for the show as well as food venders, small hit and miss engine section, hundreds of people camping, and demonstrations of work done by small and large engines.
Clyda and I arrived about 10 AM and watched a very large steam engine run an old fashioned saw mill. It drew quit a crowd. We watched a shingle mill cutting shingles, a crew sorting and banding the shingles, and a man branding shingles with the 2011 logo for the show.
There was silo filling, threshing using large steam engines and old stationary threshing machines. There was plowing with a large steam engine pulling an eight gang plow. It took 4 men on the plow to set the depth, three on the engine to run it, 300 plus gallons of water to provide steam, and lots of coal to keep the boiler fired up. One round of the field required another load of water before the next furrow could be turned.
There was a tractor parade which lasted about an hour and a half for all to pass by. Each tractor was announced and the drivers name given. Some were fully restored pristine tractors while others were working tractors. It was a great show!
That's one big tractor.
Look at the line up of steam engines!
Treshing, the old fasioned way.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Update.
Location, Dorchester, WI
The last four days have gone by rather quickly.
On Wednesday we had a Care Conference for my father with the staff of the nursing home where he is. We got a report from each person who interfaces with Pa. Very professional.
His weight is up some but not terribly. They would like to keep his weight down as it is easier for 2 people to handle him. He is comfortable and well taken care of. The hardest part is his speech which is more of a mumble now. It is related to his dementia. He recognizes no on.
Ma on the other hand is doing as well as can be expected. She was in the hospital recently because she couldn’t get any air even with the oxygen she is on. That took a lot out of her. Just getting up to go to the bathroom tires her out. Between her lungs and her heart problems, one or the other will just give out one day.
We try to visit her each day although tomorrow we are going to the Steam and tractor Show at Edgar which is west of Wausau. We have been there before. Still fun to see all the old steam operated equipment and the refurbished tractors.
We have also connected with old school friends who live here. Went out to dinner last night with them and then played cards and games until 11:30 PM.
I need to get a bottle of propane filled but so far haven’t found anyplace to do that. Also, need to get the oil changed in the truck. Still looking for the kind of oil I use. Everything was closed this afternoon. Not used to that in California.
The last four days have gone by rather quickly.
On Wednesday we had a Care Conference for my father with the staff of the nursing home where he is. We got a report from each person who interfaces with Pa. Very professional.
His weight is up some but not terribly. They would like to keep his weight down as it is easier for 2 people to handle him. He is comfortable and well taken care of. The hardest part is his speech which is more of a mumble now. It is related to his dementia. He recognizes no on.
Ma on the other hand is doing as well as can be expected. She was in the hospital recently because she couldn’t get any air even with the oxygen she is on. That took a lot out of her. Just getting up to go to the bathroom tires her out. Between her lungs and her heart problems, one or the other will just give out one day.
We try to visit her each day although tomorrow we are going to the Steam and tractor Show at Edgar which is west of Wausau. We have been there before. Still fun to see all the old steam operated equipment and the refurbished tractors.
We have also connected with old school friends who live here. Went out to dinner last night with them and then played cards and games until 11:30 PM.
I need to get a bottle of propane filled but so far haven’t found anyplace to do that. Also, need to get the oil changed in the truck. Still looking for the kind of oil I use. Everything was closed this afternoon. Not used to that in California.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Arrived in Wisconsin.
Location, Dorchester, WI
We had a fairly severe storm at 4:30 this morning which included lightning, wind, lots of rain, and hail. By the time we got out of bed, there was little evidence of the storm.
We drove back roads today so we didn’t need to fight the traffic in and around Minneapolis. Our drive took us east on MN 95 to St Croix where we crossed the St Croix River to Wisconsin. The highway number changed to 8 but continued east. We intercepted Hwy 53 which runs south from Duluth to Eau Claire, and drove it to Eau Claire where we switched to Hwy 29 which goes east to Green Bay. We got off 29 in Abbotsford which is “Wisconsin’s first city” according to the sign as you enter town.
I was concerned that the City RV Park in Dorchester would be full with the coming Labor Day weekend as there are only a few sites with full hook ups. Not to worry, as only 3 of the spaces were occupied.
We had been watching a slow moving storm north of us as we traveled and were glad to get to the park before it rained. Within 3 hours after we arrived we had 3 shorts storms, the last one very intensive. The TV said the last storm spawned a small tornado south of here.
We had a fairly severe storm at 4:30 this morning which included lightning, wind, lots of rain, and hail. By the time we got out of bed, there was little evidence of the storm.
We drove back roads today so we didn’t need to fight the traffic in and around Minneapolis. Our drive took us east on MN 95 to St Croix where we crossed the St Croix River to Wisconsin. The highway number changed to 8 but continued east. We intercepted Hwy 53 which runs south from Duluth to Eau Claire, and drove it to Eau Claire where we switched to Hwy 29 which goes east to Green Bay. We got off 29 in Abbotsford which is “Wisconsin’s first city” according to the sign as you enter town.
I was concerned that the City RV Park in Dorchester would be full with the coming Labor Day weekend as there are only a few sites with full hook ups. Not to worry, as only 3 of the spaces were occupied.
We had been watching a slow moving storm north of us as we traveled and were glad to get to the park before it rained. Within 3 hours after we arrived we had 3 shorts storms, the last one very intensive. The TV said the last storm spawned a small tornado south of here.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Traveling through Minnesota.
Location, St Cloud, MN
We are in St Cloud, Minnesota at the St Cloud RV Park which is east of town. It is a really nice RV Park in a park like setting. Wish we were going to be here more than one night.
Most of the RV Parks we have stayed at since we headed east have lots of workers living in them. Further west there were combine crews harvesting wheat, in North Dakota there were oil field workers and highway crews working on the interstate. Here, there is a painting crew whose expertise is spray painting. What they paint is anybody’s guess.
Corn field, our view out the window for most of the day.
So far the weather has been great with temps in the 80’s and no rain. That may be about to change overnight as the sky to the west was dark late this afternoon.
We are going to take secondary roads from St Cloud to Wisconsin tomorrow as I don’t want to travel through Minneapolis. We will travel on some interstate highways after we get to Wisconsin.
We are in St Cloud, Minnesota at the St Cloud RV Park which is east of town. It is a really nice RV Park in a park like setting. Wish we were going to be here more than one night.
Most of the RV Parks we have stayed at since we headed east have lots of workers living in them. Further west there were combine crews harvesting wheat, in North Dakota there were oil field workers and highway crews working on the interstate. Here, there is a painting crew whose expertise is spray painting. What they paint is anybody’s guess.
Corn field, our view out the window for most of the day.
We are going to take secondary roads from St Cloud to Wisconsin tomorrow as I don’t want to travel through Minneapolis. We will travel on some interstate highways after we get to Wisconsin.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Moving east.
Location, Jamestown, ND
Note: I have added a few photos to the August 18th entry.
A somewhat shorter drive today of 290 miles from Glendive, MT to Jamestown, ND.
We are camped at Frontier RV Park which is next to Frontier Village, a pseudo old western town with a statue of a buffalo claimed to be the biggest in the world. There are also wild buffalos nearby including an albino female.
The only point of interest is a cabin claimed to be the “writing cabin” of Louis L’Amour who is a native of Jamestown.
We also saw a statue of the world’s biggest Holstein cow.
Once we left Montana there weren’t as many hills on the highway so I could use the cruise control more. This helps my sciatic nerve in my right hip from flaring up. Of course we crossed into Central Daylight Time so we lost an hour. It just means I can go to bed an hour earlier.
Clyda tried to get a photo of all the hay bales in the fields along the highway. This is the best she could do.
My GPS quit after we arrived here. I turned it off when we arrived and attempted to turn it on later when we drove into town but it is dead. I sent Magellan an email asking for help. We’ll see what happens. Heavens, I may need to refer to paper maps for the rest of the trip!
Note: I have added a few photos to the August 18th entry.
A somewhat shorter drive today of 290 miles from Glendive, MT to Jamestown, ND.
We are camped at Frontier RV Park which is next to Frontier Village, a pseudo old western town with a statue of a buffalo claimed to be the biggest in the world. There are also wild buffalos nearby including an albino female.
The only point of interest is a cabin claimed to be the “writing cabin” of Louis L’Amour who is a native of Jamestown.
We also saw a statue of the world’s biggest Holstein cow.
Once we left Montana there weren’t as many hills on the highway so I could use the cruise control more. This helps my sciatic nerve in my right hip from flaring up. Of course we crossed into Central Daylight Time so we lost an hour. It just means I can go to bed an hour earlier.
Clyda tried to get a photo of all the hay bales in the fields along the highway. This is the best she could do.
My GPS quit after we arrived here. I turned it off when we arrived and attempted to turn it on later when we drove into town but it is dead. I sent Magellan an email asking for help. We’ll see what happens. Heavens, I may need to refer to paper maps for the rest of the trip!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Driving across Montana
Location, Glendive, MT
Yesterday’s drive was from Great Falls to Bozeman, MT.
I had planned to camp on the east side of town but the campground was full so we had to go to the KOA west of town. Of course, it cost a fortune, but in retrospect, it saved us a good 20 mile trip to see our friends who live within 5 minutes of the KOA.
We talked for several hours on the patio then went out for dinner at a very good Italian restaurant. After dinner we got the tour of Bozeman which is a very nice town. There has been a lot of building since we were there several years ago.
Our plans have changed. We now are driving east on I-94 headed for Wisconsin. My mother is not doing well so we decided we need to interrupt our trip and go to Wisconsin.
We are stopped for the night in Glendive, MT which is near the North Dakota border. Today was a long day of driving, all of it along the Yellowstone River which grows in size as smaller rivers join it.
We are through the mountains and in the high plains now. There is lots of wheat which is being harvested now as well as occasional fields of corn.
It will take us 3 more days of driving but not at today’s pace to get there.
Yesterday’s drive was from Great Falls to Bozeman, MT.
I had planned to camp on the east side of town but the campground was full so we had to go to the KOA west of town. Of course, it cost a fortune, but in retrospect, it saved us a good 20 mile trip to see our friends who live within 5 minutes of the KOA.
We talked for several hours on the patio then went out for dinner at a very good Italian restaurant. After dinner we got the tour of Bozeman which is a very nice town. There has been a lot of building since we were there several years ago.
Our plans have changed. We now are driving east on I-94 headed for Wisconsin. My mother is not doing well so we decided we need to interrupt our trip and go to Wisconsin.
We are stopped for the night in Glendive, MT which is near the North Dakota border. Today was a long day of driving, all of it along the Yellowstone River which grows in size as smaller rivers join it.
We are through the mountains and in the high plains now. There is lots of wheat which is being harvested now as well as occasional fields of corn.
It will take us 3 more days of driving but not at today’s pace to get there.
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