Here's a nice sunset shot of us parked at the Aggieland RV Park. The temperature here has been in the 80-90 range for highs and around 65 and humid for the low ... A/C running full blast. Tomorrow it is supposed to drop about 15 degrees for the average so we will see.



I don't think we have talked about it recently, but thanks to Karen Hammond here's a little capsule of where we are in the RV life. We got the Flying Scotsman I in April of 07 and put about 23000 miles on it before trading it in April of 2010 to the current FS II on which we have put about 13000 miles; for a total of 36000 miles. Since April of 07 it has been about 55 months and during that time we have lived in the RV for about 37 complete months, give or take. So our average mileage comes close to about 1000 miles a month no matter what we are doing. In addition we have inhabited over 140 RV parks that have run the gamut of bad to wow.

Also keep in mind that we have worn out two cars during the same period. This last summer was a good example of car use but not RV use; when we departed Canada we still had fuel left in the RV from when when entered 5 months before, but we drove the crap out of the car. An interesting aspect of the car is that while it rides behind the RV no miles are added kind of distorting the real miles on its drive train ... all according to Chevy ... but still different.

Right now planning the next Grand Adventure for 2012 .... much more to follow!

Last Friday we had a really unexpected treat. While surfing for possible Thanksgiving dinner venues we happened across a local Bryan restaurant that was offering an Oktoberfest dinner ... well ... hard to resist.

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera and forgot about the cell phone one so here is the generic shot from their website. They are called Christopher's World Grille and we have been many times before but not for a specific themed event like this.



Again here is their promo shot of a typical dinner setting and we have enjoyed it on other occasions. This evening was similar but with a German theme complete with huge German flag on the wall and beer glasses instead of the wimpy wine ones ... Probst!!

There were five courses and each was paired with a German beer. While we like wine with dinner the beer pairing was clever and each was an excellent experiment. There was one seating at 6:30 for cocktails and the five courses took until about 9:30 to consume, especially with Christopher himself describing each course.

1^st Course

Green Pea and Bavarian Smoked Sausage Soup

Beer: Bitburger Pilsner

2^nd Course

Bratwurst and Sauerkraut with Beer Mustard

Beer: Hacker-Pschorr Dunkle Weisse

3^rd Course

Beer Braised Cabbage Roll with Bell Pepper Sauce, White Potatoes and Parsley

Beer: Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen

4^th Course

Bauernschnitzel topped with Fried Egg, Spaetzle, and Braised Red Cabbage

Beer: Ayinger Brau Weisse

5^th Course

Rum Baked Apple Dumpling with Caramel Sauce

Beer: Kostritzer Schwarzbier

Another excellent evening enjoying the best of German food, beer, culture, and music; we really do miss the place and have many fond memories. We'll be back soon ... Ja, Ja!! Now excuse me while I air out the RV.

On the 9th we landed in Dallas to be near Leigh, Brooks, and Ev for a couple of days. Actually we stayed in Carrollton about 20 minutes from the kids' place in Richardson, both suburbs and part of urban Dallas. No pictures of the Carrollton RV park were taken as it is pretty crappy and we have stayed there before only for the close proximity to Richardson.

Lil Ev is on the prowl and lovin' it!



Leigh explaining how to open the laptop ... hey, never too young.

And Brooks in matching Polos demonstrating the Dr Spock approach to imitation behavior. Absolutely cool kid in the restaurant and a hit with the wait staff.

And to get the attention of the staff concerning the empty chip tray ... or something oriental, eh ... ahhh fathers and sons. Beware of these two!

And now we have come to rest for a month in Bryan, Texas. We like the Aggiland park for the concrete slab parking and the close proximity to Bruce's parents at the St Jo Manor just down the road. Great place to rearrange the junk in the lower bins of the RV and sort out the last six months of stuff before moving on.

Right now we plan to move back to the Dallas area on the 10th of November for the winter time to be near the g'kid and do some RV repair. Not too much repair actually needed but a few parts have fallen off and need to be put back.

As we left Duluth on the 4th of October we saw this guy in a small park in the town of Cloquet. This is a wood statue dedicated to the French trappers who populated this area about 300 years ago and made the waters and forests internationally accessible. The tree colors were still wonderful and this is really the last of the spectacular displays as we we began to head more south.



The next three days were about 380 miles each ... kinda poor planning on our part as we should have done much shorter runs to enjoy the trip more. On the 4th we came to rest in Des Moins at a really poor park. We had done our research but sometimes it fails. This was a former KOA and a former Good Sam place, but had just been recently delisted from them. Really crappy.

Another 380 miles got us into the Joplin area and the Big Red Barn facility in Carthage which was superior. A great place with super management and wide, clean, level, sites.

Another 380 miles on the 6th of October and we finally rolled into Dallas and back to the familiarity of TEXAS, eh!

The next night we stopped at Duluth to see the waterfront area which has been extensively renovated over the years. Dad actually worked with planners here in the 1950's with the vision to restore the old harbor area. Well, today it is first class. Our first stop was the aquarium.

This guy greets you as you come into the place and just behind the huge catfish creature is a waterfall wall that is pretty spectacular. This is a million gallon aquarium devoted entirely to fresh water fish; apparently the largest of its kind in the world.

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The facility is right on the waterfront and behind Jo-Anne is the draw bridge that has been functional since early last century.

Another closeup of the bridge as a boat moves out of the harbor. Just to the left of the bridge is the place we had lunch. All of this is in old warehouses and storage areas, some dating from the 1870's or so and now all filled with shops, restaurants, and tourist stuff ... really well done.

Inside Grandma's for lunch. It was Oktoberfest so I had a German beer and Jo had and excellent red wine. She had a shaved beef sandwich and I had thier special trout dinner, both of which were excellent! Great service, ambiance, and perfect food ... can't ask for more ... time for nap.

While touring Duluth we stayed at the Cloquet KOA which was about 20 miles southwest of the city. While it was a very nice park the only trouble was the train which ran regularly and you could see the tracks from just behind where I was taking this picture.

Upon departure from Duluth we filled up the 100 gallon tank. This works out to about $3.89 a gallon which actually was a relief after Canada and closer to $5 a gallon.

On Saturday the 1st we motored the 30 km from our KOA in Thunder Bay northwest of the town to our friends Mike and Mary Ellen. We had met them in the campground in Meaford where they had been seasonal residents like us for the past several years. One of the reasons for our route was to get over to Thunder Bay and see them and their property as Mike had been begged to come back here to work at the old job he thought he had retired from. Her mom is still in Meaford at the nursing home there.

First of all it is quite remote. While Thunder Bay is one of the northernmost cities in North America, leaving there and going another 30 km into the forest is remote indeed.

Here they are in front of some of the thousands of birch trees that populate their 36 acres. The timing again was perfect as the woods here are a brilliant yellow. We walked down some established trails through the property in the late afternoon and it was gorgeous. The temp was about 65 degrees with a slight breeze.

Mary Ellen hand made a wonderful pizza to our specifications and with the camaraderie was a great evening. After dinner we chatted a bit and here is Mike with their African Gray parrot named Chicken. Neat bird and very friendly with Mike but apparently that's it and we didn't get too chummy with her.

And Mary Ellen tending to the goldfish. As winter approaches they take the fish out of the pond and put them into a tank in the house for the duration. Being this remote it apparently gets quite snowy and pretty cold for several months ... already feel the chill in the air as Fall is here. Also on their property are moose, wolves, bear, and most other northern woodland critters that we can only see on TV .... cool.

And the last shot here is of the dog, Blue, who waits patiently for Chicken to toss her scraps when the bird is done eating enough herself (pizza of course).

All in all a great evening with some good friends who just happen to live at the top of the world.

Snow!!

I know the Texans will be jealous but here is some of the white stuff swirling about the RV. We left Wawa in a 37 degree misty rain and it steadily got worse. At one point the flakes were pretty large and reduced visibility a bit.

By the time we got to White River, where we stayed in 2004, the day had just turned cold and wet. We got a Whistle Dog at the local A&W and this picture of Winnie the Pooh ... still about 37 degrees, misting, and a 20 mph wind from the north.

Finally the norther broke and the day turned partly cloudy and crisp with views like this for the next 150 miles. Spectacular!

The picture below was shot on 30 Sep 2011. What is unique is that while Jo-Anne shoots some random pictures, we didn't notice this one till we looked at it later. This picture is shot at the same exact place on Hwy 17 outside of Thunder Bay that she shot a similar one for the blog on 31 Aug 2007, during our first trip across Canada, and is an exact copy except for the clouds .... wow.

More typical bluff scenery along Highway 17 between Wawa and Thunder Bay.

And on Friday the 30th we came to rest in Thunder Bay at the KOA we had stayed at four years before. Friday night was right at freezing and the furnace was kept busy!

While in Wawa we hit the town, first for breakfast, then for the significant features of this village of 3,000. Keep in mind that the road was completed here in September of 1960. Until then the residents had to fly or boat to this isolated place on the north shore of Lake Superior.

The word wawa means goose in the local Objibway dialect and hence the town's name.



  

Above is the first concrete goose  that graced the entrance to the town and below is the now rusting steel replacement located at the visitor's center. Loose goose Bruce is leaning into the wind to lend some help to the wayward bird I guess.

While the day was overcast it was about 60 degrees and quite pleasant. Below is the Magpie High Falls just to the south of the town. Apparently, as this is a spillway from a hydro dam, this thing can go from this lesser flow to a raging torrent quite rapidly and we were constantly warned about it.

Another falls called Silver Falls is further to the south of town and this is a view through a single lane bridge which was the access. We went down a dirt road for about 4 miles to get to the bridge and this view.

That evening the temperature plummeted and the rain started and continued for about eight hours. We awoke to 34 degrees and rain on the morning of the 29th. Here is Bruce in his new rain outfit and after looking at the picture he sort of looks like the Grim Reaper! The thing in his hand is a crank for the awning over the exit door, but serves a secondary purpose of pulling out the rubber gasket that keeps the pounding rain from  getting into the slides and soaking the floor.

And it was a cold, steady, rain that came down steady for several hours at a rate of at least an inch an hour. Fun in the mud and cold.