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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Time in North Dakota

After Glacier NP, we drove east and are in Grand Forks, ND.  It took us a few days to get here.  After leaving Coram, MT (near Glacier NP), we drove on Highway 2 east for an overnight stay in Glasgow, MT  at the Cottonwood Inn and Suites/RV Park.
It was a pretty interesting idea and we wonder why more motels don't have an RV park out back.  It was off the busy highway in a quiet place and had full hookups plus use of the pool and facilities.


From Glasgow, we continued east to Minot AFB FamCamp in Minot, ND.  The campground was full but it had decent overflow camping near by.  We parked out of the way and on pavement in a level area.
The base has a policy of a no cost boon-docking area, plus they will come around to your trailer/RV and pump it out and/or give you water if you need it.  All free.  Zippo.  It was a pretty good deal and we were 100 yards from the BX and commissary.  For a three day stay it was perfect.

We heard about Minot and all the flooding in June.  It was raining when we drove through town on the way to the base.  We had to be re-routed from a bridge that was flooding.
A couple of days later, we visited the areas in town that were flooded out and underwater.
It was heart breaking and sobering.  The hard work of rebuilding has begun but the smell was strong and no one was back in these homes yet.

Another day we drove north across the Canada border into Saskatchewan
and over to Manitoba before we crossed the border again and returned to Minot.

From Minot we drove east to Grand Forks, ND and are staying at the Air Force Base FamCamp.
It is in an old mobile home park area of the base with lots of grass and open area.  The optimum area for the warm, 85 degree weather is under the trees.  After being in this spot three days,
we were able to move to this location.  A little shade and fire ring were nice.  Probably the best thing about the sites here are the price:  $6 for full hook ups if you are a senior and $12 for the rest of us.  Hard to beat.

While at the previous spot, I spent three days washing and waxing the Roadrunner.
It was a big job, but we were happy with the results.

A highlight while here was a visit from NOMADS friends Don and Lillian.
We met in Galveston two years ago on a NOMADS project and then met up again in Mississippi in January.

After a lot of miles the last few weeks, it was good to stay in one place for a while.  This past week I have been able to put in some hours doing my online work which comes up at the end of every month.  We have also done a lot of reading and some walking the last few days.  I had a good run one day and took out my bike for a trip around the base.  But we are looking forward to traveling south tomorrow and arriving at Brookings, SD for a Habitat Build.

So that is what we have been up to the last week or so.  Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  And thanks for your comments.  We look forward to them.

4 comments:

  1. Haven't touched base with you guys lately...sorry! It looks like you all had a nice trip through ND! Those Fam Camps sure make things nice!! Great stops!!
    You all take care!

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  2. How sad to see what remains of the flood waters....I cannot imagine how they must feel.
    Looks like you two have had some nice camping sites..Enjoy your next Habitat rebuild!!

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  3. Thanks for the info on the FamCamps in North Dakota. I grew up there and so we're anxious for a chance to head there with the RV!

    Have you made it to the International Peace Gardens?

    My parent's farm where I grew up is just about 20 miles east of Minot along the river. We've never had water in the house until this year. 6-9 feet in the outbuildings and 2 feet in the house. An awful mess to deal with cleaning up. Mom put flood insurance on the outbuildings but not the house...

    There will probably still be more to clean up when we get up there next summer.

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  4. It is nice to catch up with you, Randy. We didn't know about the FamCamp when we were in Minot last fall. I love North Dakota, and your post reminded me of our trip.

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