OK, bad wi-fi be hanged, I am going to try to write a post. We are camped in Butterfield/St. James, MN. We arrived yesterday after a beautiful if a bit rainy drive from Webster, WI. But I am getting ahead of myself.
I reported that we had arrived in Webster after a beautiful if a bit rainy drive from Michigan. The park we camped in outside Webster was, um, interesting. The owner, who is a bit of an entrepreneur, greeted us, beer in hand. Al, it seems, purchased this rundown park and has great plans to fix it up. So far, it appears he hasn’t done much. He is apparently too busy with his frozen pizza business. The park is pretty, but it was raining when we arrived, and there was mud everywhere. A few truckloads of gravel would do wonders. The plumbing engineer apparently has not heard of gravity, or thinks that fluids flow uphill, judging by the fact that the sewer drains were all 18-24" above the ground. Now, Al can't do much about this problem, but we were also besieged by ticks, or I should say Lulu was. We removed four of them from her neck at various times.
It was Memorial Day weekend, so the park was nearly full. Most of the guests, I think, were friends and relatives of Al, and they were definitely in party mode. There was a young couple parked next to us in a brand new trailer. It was their first time ever RVing, so we became their resource for how-to information. They were very sweet and friendly and had two adorable daughters, Lily and Emmaline, 3 1/2 and 1 year old, respectively. I think they felt a little out of their league with the loud party going on in the lower level. We made a point of chatting with them and playing with their girls.
We didn’t spend a lot of time in the park, because our friends Ben and Shirley saw to it that we didn’t have time to sit down! We called on them Saturday afternoon at their amazing log home on the Yellow River. They had prepared a delicious dinner of grilled halibut, broccoli, rice and a wonderful salad. We had a tour of their home and then talked late into the evening.
Ben and Shirley were members of our home Bible study group when we all lived in Clackamas, OR. It was good to see them and renew our friendship after nearly a year since we had seen one another.
Sunday began with worship service at First Baptist Church, where Ben sings in the worship team. The pastor gave a great sermon about the need for unity in the church, which seems to be a national theme, judging by the churches we have had the privilege to visit on this trip. After church we went out to lunch at Adventures, an adventure themed restaurant in Siren, WI, about seven miles from Webster.
After lunch, Ben and Shirley visited our campsite, so we could show off our trailer. They were duly impressed. We served them coffee and chatted some more and took some photos.
Everywhere we went, Ben and Shirley were greeted by people they knew. Many of them, it turns out, were relatives. By the time the weekend was over, we felt as if we have family in Webster. This day ended with a barbecue of bratwurst and hamburgers and fresh veggies on the deck overlooking the river and s’mores over an open fire by the river.
Ben stalking the wiley marshmallow sticks!
Girlfriends and a geezer.
Monday, Memorial Day, we attended a very moving ceremony at the Webster cemetery, commemorating those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy. When they closed the ceremony by playing Taps, I was not alone in having tears streaming down my cheeks.
After the ceremony, we had coffee at a local shop. While we were there, Ben’s sister, Julie, and her husband, Chuck, came in and joined us. They are delightful folks, and they invited us to use their condo in Branson, if we make a trip there again.
We went back to the trailer to change and then went back to Ben and Shirley’s home. Jill and Shirley spent a lot of time chatting by the edge of the river, while Ben showed me his massive collection of every imaginable tool, including 30 chain saws.
I used Ben and Shirley's wi-fi to research places to go next. Webster was the last of our only two true destinations on the trip. Suddenly, I realized I didn’t know where we were going the next day. I ultimately chose Butterfield/St. James for our next destination, because this area is a handy distance on our way toward Billings, MT. When we reach Billings, Jill will fly to the bay area to attend her niece, Tess’s, graduation party. I will remain with the trailer and the dogs.
So, here we are. We made two trips to St. James today. The first was a much needed grocery shopping trip. We first walked the downtown area of this town of 4,600 people. It is charming. We were pleased to see very few empty store fronts.
Beautiful downtown St. James, MN
The second trip was occasioned by the fact that we have been inundated by carpenter ants, since we arrived at Sands Country Cove. The park is lovely and there is a nice lake adjacent, but we have had ants; Pogo got a tick, and I found one crawling on me. That was the proverbial straw, since we have already had to remove four ticks from Lulu’s neck. Hence, we went to Ace hardware, where we got some Ortho Home Defense to help control the ants and some Frontline Plus to help control the ticks on the dogs. I refused to take that treatment!
So, tomorrow, we will head for Sioux Falls, SD. Stay tuned.
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