Crossing the Border Oct. 22nd

CROSSING THE BORDER

The day came when we were scheduled to cross the border – October 22nd. We said our sad goodbyes to Warrior Jake and his wife Rita.

The border crossing was excellent. No delays and no problems.

The truck runs just great on the highway. I am very impressed with the running lights at night. It lights up like a Christmas tree!

It seems to be election season in the U.S. as well as in Manitoba. There are election signs EVERYWHERE.

Driving through “corn country”, the combines were out in full force, well into the evening.

As we drove south, we found a fantastic Classic Country radio station. We were disappointed to be losing the station as we drove on. However, on pressing the “seek” button on the radio, there was another station with the same music, and another. All through North and South Dakota and Nebraska, we enjoyed our favorite country classics and never heard the same song twice all day.

It was interesting to see Buchanan a short distance from Melville, as in Saskatchewan. In South Dakota, we noted that Minnehaha is a hop, skip and jump away from Humboldt. That’s one we don’t have…

We stayed our first night in a motel where we had stayed two years ago when the starter went on our old truck. There were just as many pheasant hunters in the motel, but we didn’t witness any problems with all the hunters and dogs this time.

One strange sight I noticed as we drove was a farm with a large body of water in the yard. There were several cows hanging around the edge of the water - nothing strange about that, but one cow was right in the middle of the water, up to its belly. I don’t know if it was stuck, or what…

John noted that Poverty Valley, South Dakota appeared to be ineptly named, with many huge mansions on the hillside.

The weather has been great for traveling. It was 74 to 78 degrees.

When we saw “Yesterday’s Café” coming up on a sign coming into Yankton, N.D., we knew that was where we would be eating our lunch. The 50’s décor was very impressive, the staff was superb and the food was excellent. John usually gives waitresses a hard time, and our feisty little waitress, Becky, was ready for him, returning as good as he gave. She got an extra tip out of that…

What a refreshing sight we encountered driving into Yankton. There were hundreds of high school kids running, in gym clothes, everywhere we looked, in the park alongside the highway. There was obviously some kind of a meet happening where all of the schools had come together, but no one we asked seemed to know exactly what it was. It was an excellent indication American high school students are getting good phys ed training.

Another interesting sight was a pumpkin orchard. Hundreds of pumpkins were laying in the field and you could go and pay for a pumpkin and pick your own.

Love this country – almost every home alongside the road has a verandah, with pillars, and at least one rocking chair, with someone usually sitting in it.

Saturday night brought us to Hesston, Kansas, the birthplace of Mennonite Disaster Service. Last year we stopped in at Hesston briefly. This year we decided to stay over and attend the Hesston College Mennonite Church. The congregation was extremely friendly and we were even invited to a home for lunch afterwards.

With the publicity about the bed bug infestations these days, we have checked out our motel rooms before paying for them. So far they have been clean and bug-less. Apparently bed bugs have even been found in motels in Brandon…

As we are gadding about heading for Jasper, Texas, our daughter is welcoming a new feline into our home. She found one she wanted at the SPCA and the only way we have met him is in e-mailed pictures. It appears Minx is settling in nicely. He’s a mature long haired tabby with a little stubby tail. Sounds like our dog Abby and the new cat have made a good start, and we look forward to having a cat again when we get home for December. My motto has always been: A house without a cat is not a home.