This morning we said long goodbyes (with tears) to these wonderful family members.  It’s so hard to leave here…

This is how our drive started out….(at 1300 hr)

The weather improved as we traveled west, and we enjoyed seeing little towns and lovely landscapes.  We have noticed that on this leg, there is a marked lack of waysides or rest areas.  Which prompted our lessons today….

 

We were looking for an area large enough that we could pull off the road, give Piper a little walk, and use our “facilities”.  Bill found a great little spot and starting to pull off.  Access required a 180-degree turn, and he started into the turn.  We promptly learned about our turning radius with the RV attached, and some of Newton’s laws.  We immediately simultaneously noticed improved ventilation in the cab of the truck and the fact that Piper could levitate from the back seat into my lap at a high rate of speed.  Yep, the turn was too tight, and the trailer and truck cab came into contact and didn’t play well together.  Fortunately, we were in a great area to clean up the glass and do a quick tape job over the opening.  The spot we pulled over at was in front of a campground – and we tried to get an open spot there.  Due to the rather unusual policies of the place, and despite a number of open spots – they could only put us in a tenting area.  A quick call to Royal Oaks RV Park in Bemidji, MN revealed open spots and welcoming hosts.  We set up camp and went into town to find a car wash with vacuum cleaning ability.  We were able to remove most of the loose glass from inside the cab and from the bed.  Tomorrow we will check out the possibilities for getting the rear window replaced.  Finishing before sunset, we noticed a very inviting walking path in town.  Opting to get our steps and miles in in a new town, we set off to explore.

 

Our discoveries:  Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox; Shaynowishkung – Chief Bemidji, Humpty Dumpty, a family of ducks, and the head waters of the Mississippi River and Lake Bemidji.  This is a lovely town, very friendly to walkers, runners, bicyclists, kids, us old farts…just a plain nice place to explore.

 

 

In order to get our steps and miles, we ended up in front of the Dairy Queen – our turn-around point.   We celebrated our lessons, inflight renovations and modifications, and discoveries about town!

Miles traveled today – 139, total miles 755.