A Funny (NOT) Thing Happened on the Way to Montana

Perhaps "funny" isn't the right word, but I will get to that in a minute.

Polter Farm

After several months in Michigan including precious time with family and friends, we left Saline as scheduled on September 2nd and headed north after parking the RV at friends Susan & Gale's farm for a couple of nights (thank you!).

Parked at Milt & Linda's - Kalkaska MI

Milt & Linda - Kalkaska MI

First stop in northern Michigan was a visit with my brother and sister-in-law Milt & Linda.  The visit (& food) was so good including vegetables from the garden, and we left with home grown Michigan tomatoes for the road!  Also enjoyed meeting and visiting with their friends Gerry & Connie (fellow RVers).

Second stop was near Millersburg MI to visit more family, Ken & Violet and Bernard & Linda.  Again, what a nice visit.  Good food and lots of laughs around the BIG campfire (does anyone have more wood?).  Nice to see Joe & Paula there too. 

Bridge over Ocqueoc River, MI

An interesting little bridge had to be crossed to get to their cabins on the Ocqueoc River.  We were told: "don't mind the 3-ton limit sign"; we had no problem crossing the bridge (it's a long story)!

Parked at Bernard & Linda's cabin

Lake Superior, Porcupine Mts.

Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mts

Leaving northern Michigan on Wednesday, Sept 5th, we headed across the Mackinaw Bridge and then west.  On a tip from Ken & Violet, we drove to Porcupine Mountain State Park, spent the night and took in a few sights.

This is a beautiful park in the western UP on Lake Superior, with a nice campground with electric hookup.  An early morning visit the next day to the "Lake of the Clouds" was well worth the time and short walk from the parking lot.  We hiked a couple of miles of the Lake Superior Trail before getting back on the road heading west.

Duluth, MN

We followed Highway 2 across Wisconsin and through Duluth.  Never been through Duluth before; it was interesting seeing where all the freighters are loaded for trips through the great lakes.

After an overnight stop in Bemidji MN, we continued west across North Dakota.  We were glad to see Highway 2 is a 4-lane divided highway all the way across ND.  With much less traffic than I-94, we were happy with our decision to take the northern route through Grand Forks, Minot and on to Williston on the west side of ND.

Lewis & Clark State Park, Williston, ND

Campsite - Lewis & Clark S.P.

This is where things got a little interesting.  We stopped for the night at Lewis & Clark State Park about 20 miles east of Williston.  A picturesque setting along the Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea.  The next morning we got the bikes out to check out some of this large park before leaving later in the morning.  We rode over by the lake and wanted to walk down to the beach.

Broken Leg, but at least we have satellite

As Jim walked down a grassy embankment, he slipped on the wet grass and went down awkwardly resulting in a broken leg/ankle.  A little bit of a struggle to get him back to the RV and into the car for the trip to the hospital in nearby Williston, but we managed.  The ER confirmed the break and we were told to pay a visit to the Orthopedic doctor on Monday which resulted in surgery on Wednesday (9/12).  He's looking at several months to recover.




Fall travel plans are on hold for now as Jim does his initial recovery in Williston.  After his recheck on 9/21, we are hoping to head south as it will start getting quite cool here soon.  Even through we are disappointed that we had to change our Fall plans including  some of the western National Parks, we realize this is part of life (and RV life) and you have to roll with the punches.  We will make it to Glacier National Park one of these years (hopefully when there are no wildfires!).

New RV workspace

In the mean time, I am working on some on-line courses for CPE needed to keep my Enrolled Agent status current with the IRS.  Also testing remote connection and getting familiar with my work computer in preparation for remote tax work I will be starting in January.  My new workspace in the RV is working out nicely.

One more note on Jim's injury.  We are obviously testing out the new Liberty Health Share arrangement we have (in place of traditional health insurance).  I am encouraged and believe it is going to work out well.  Very helpful customer service and easy pre-authorization. No problem getting needed care in Williston, and follow up care can be done at different locations.  The care Jim received here has been great, the rangers at Lewis & Clark SP very helpful and kind, but we are ready to hit the road again soon.