Fall Colors in door County

I finally was able to get a good enough WIFI signal to download pictures to the blog. We left Door County as the color was just past peak. It was beautiful but cold. We left on Monday the 19th -- almost the last to leave the park. The owners gave us a nice send off. We headed to Illinois and didn't stop until we got down to I-80. That was too long of a drive for one day. We only like to drive 3 or 4 hours a day and up to 250 miles in one day.

Sometimes there isn't a decent campground so we have to drive farther than we would like. We need to find campgrounds that have 70 foot pull through sites so we don't have to unhook the boat or back up. Come October in Wisconsin the campgrounds are closing down so we had to get to Illinois to find one.

We also have to stick to the interstates or major state highways because we are so long we need truck stops for fuel and rest stops. It seems like everytime you count on a rest area being open along the freeway -- its closed. We made it through Illinois in 2 and half days avoiding the route that takes you through St. Louis. We went through a corner of Missouri and then down in to Arkansas. We stayed at Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, AR for a week. It is right across the river from Memphis -- 10 minutes to Beale street. I will try to download a few pictures of that adventure in the next blog.

Pumpkin Patch Weekend

We had our busiest weekend since the 4th of July here at the campground. Pumpkin Patch weekend is a big deal here and the town of Egg Harbor has a big pumpkin festival. At the campground we had hay rides, a bonfire, trick or treating and a pumpkin carving contest. I was one of the judges of the carvings and Jim was a conductor on the hay ride.

It was so cold during all the festivities we had to wear our parkas and long underwear. Luckily we had kept some warm gear just in case we got caught somewhere cold. It is snowing now and starting to stick OMG!! we are leaving here either the 18th or 19th. We will be heading south via Illinois and checking out Memphis and from there were not sure but our ultimate destination is southwest Texas.

Jim was threatening to leave before our contract was up so a few coworkers put a chain around a tree and then around the hitch of our rig to keep us from leaving.

Remembering Mom

Jim's mother, Ernestine, passed away last week. We made it back to Minnesota in time to say goodbye. She was cremated and there was a gathering at the Wyoming Community center in her honor. She was able to die in her home which was her final wish and she was well cared for and in no pain when she left us. Her leukemia was no longer treatable and an infection set in that her body couldn't fight.

We can't say enough for the wonderful home care she had for the last two years. The company that provided the help is called A Time For Help. We felt comfortable traveling knowing that her helpers were there with her. Many of the helpers became good friends of Ernies. They provided some of the memories of Ernie at her gathering. It was really wonderful.

A rock garden is being created in her honor on her friend Craig's property. He owns Greenworld Greenhouse in North Branch. She had so many rocks that he could build another Mount Rushmore if he had the energy. We are very grateful that she had so many wonderful friends along with family that loved her.

We are sorry we didn't get to visit everyone while we were in Minnesota. We had to rush back to the campground to finish out our contract and get ready to head south. I'm sure we will swing through Minnesota in the future.