Grand Rapids, Minnesota (GA597)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.
Sadly Mary is struggling with health issues. To see the latest about her situation, click here

To view past blogs, scroll to the bottom of this page and use the menu.

I’m currently in my 24th year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV resort in Palm Desert, California. I’m scheduled to depart here March 19th.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted September 1, 2013…

 

 

 

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 85 miles from Superior, Wisconsin to Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

 

 

We continued traveling along U.S.Highway 2 West.

 

 

The day started with a beautiful sunrise at Superior, Wisconsin as seen from my dinette seat in the motorhome…

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a Labor Day Weekend Saturday, the traffic along Route 2 was heavier than usual…

 

 

 

 

 

We wanted to park in the center of Grand Rapids, but they do not allow overnight parking on any city streets. So, being a Wells Fargo customer, I asked the manager if we could park in his lot as he was closing at noon and he said okay…

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…not much to look at…but it’s free!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Looking towards the rear of the motorhome a flag is located over the rear entrance to the American Legion…

 

 

 

 

 

Looking forward the building on the left of the alley is the backside of the VFW…

 

 

While Mary wandered through some of the local shops, I spent the afternoon reading.

 

 

 

 

 

To leave, I have to maneuver the motorhome through this alley. If I coat the sides of the motorhome with Vaseline, I might just make it…

 

 

Too hot again yesterday with temperatures in the mid 80’s and 72% humidity.

 

 

A late afternoon thunderstorm lowered the temperature somewhat. At 5:30 AM this morning it was 64 degrees with 76% humidity. I received a comment that one person is getting tired of my use of the word YUK to describe my feelings about the weather. How about YUKITTY?  🙂

 

 

As a side note…Grand Rapids is the birthplace of Judy Garland. If you have forgotten who she was…here’s a Wikipedia link to refresh your memory… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_garland

 

 

We’ll continue our westward travel later this morning.

 

 

Enjoying friendly VFW Posts is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Minnesota. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/grand-rapids-mn/

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is sunny and 80 degrees.

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

 

 

“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” —Mark Twain

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2019

Bemidji, Minnesota

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 75 miles from Grand Rapids to Bemidji, Minnesota.

We continued traveling along U.S.Highway 2 West.

The day started with a misting rain…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Labor Day Weekend Sunday Morning traffic was light…

Arriving at Bemidji, we stopped at Paul Bunyan Park along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Since we are tourists, we just had to take photos with Paul and Babe…

Just before arriving in Bemidji, we crossed a small creek with a sign that indicated it was the Mississippi River. Then I remembered it starts up here in Northern Minnesota. Here is the Mississippi River as it flows in to Lake Bemidji, about 50 miles south of its origination point…

You can read about lake Bemidji and the Mississippi River by clicking this Wikipedia link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Bemidji

The Mississippi River flows into Lake Bemidji beneath this bridge…

A 180 degree panoramic photo of Lake Bemidji…

Nearby there’s a tourist information center with reclaimed marshlands…

We walked around downtown Bemidji scouting both the Elks and American Legion…neither of which had a parking lot and were closed. The museum was also closed. We doubled-back about three miles and parked at a very Friendly Eagles Airee #351 where they provided both an electrical hookup and a free Wi-Fi signal…

Here’s the usual dinette photo…

At the Eagles we participated in a spaghetti dinner benefit for a young man with heavy-duty medical problems. Thank you Eagles Airee for allowing us a very pleasant visit!

First it’s too hot and then it’s too cold. Yesterday morning was in the low 50’s. Cold enough that with a brisk wind, I had to wear my sweats and down vest while walking around Bemidji! Today is forecast to be 72 degrees. At 5:30 AM this morning it was 55 degrees with 71% humidity. I’ll be so glad to leave the high humidity behind me!

As a side note…Bemidji is the birthplace of Jane Russell. If you have forgotten who she was…here’s a Wikipedia link to refresh your memory… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Russell

We’ll continue our westward travel later this morning.

Enjoying friendly Eagles Airees is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Minnesota. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 85 miles from Superior, Wisconsin to Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

We continued traveling along U.S.Highway 2 West.

The day started with a beautiful sunrise at Superior, Wisconsin as seen from my dinette seat in the motorhiome…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Being a Labor Day Weekend Saturday, the traffic along Route 2 was heavier than usual…

We wanted to park in the center of Grand Rapids, but they do not allow overnight parking on any city streets. So, being a Wells Fargo customer, I asked the manager if we could park in his lot as he was closing at noon and he said okay…

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…not much to look at…but it’s free!!!

Looking towards the rear of the motorhome a flag is located over the rear entrance to the American Legion…

Looking forward the building on the left of the alley is the backside of the VFW…

While Mary wandered through some of the local shops, I spent the afternoon reading.

To leave, I have to maneuver the motorhome through this alley. If I coat the sides of the motorhome with Vaseline, I might just make it…

Too hot again yesterday with temperatures in the mid 80’s and 72% humidity.

A late afternoon thunderstorm lowered the temperature somewhat. At 5:30 AM this morning it was 64 degrees with 76% humidity. I received a comment that one person is getting tired of my use of the word YUK to describe my feelings about the weather. How about YUKITTY?  🙂

As a side note…Grand Rapids is the birthplace of Judy Garland. If you have forgotten who she was…here’s a Wikipedia link to refresh your memory… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_garland

We’ll continue our westward travel later this morning.

Enjoying friendly VFW Posts is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Minnesota. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust