Minnesota

We left Pipestone on Thursday morning under cloudy skies.  It had rained all night but stopped about the time we got up.  The first 60 miles were in dense fog and temps in the 40's.  Later it cleared up and we made it to the Fargo/Moorehead area.  We had actually found a campground in Barnesville, MN.  It was a city park  operated by the Lions Club, and, as you can see, very crowded.

The reason we stopped in this area is because we wanted to have coffee with some friends that we had met at our church back in Plano.  They (Roger and Joan Stenerson) live up here but come down to TX in the winter to visit her daughters and family.  Anyway, when we told them we were headed up this way into Canada, they wanted us to stop.  Which we did - had a nice time at their house and got better acquainted.

This is a picture of their house.  The building to the left is actually an indoor pool and he gets the water from a creek out back.  Takes about 4 days for the water to clear.

Thursday night it rained again all night, but by morning had quit again.  We left there around 9 AM and then drove north thru Detroit Lakes - beautiful scenery and "Resorts" signs at every intersection because, of course, this is the land of 10,000 lakes!!!

We found a Walmart to do some last minute shopping before we get into Canada.  

We purposely came this way rather than take the freeway because they said that, at the border, it may be busy with all the traffic/trucks/etc.  So, when we got to the border, no one was ahead of us.  Good.  

However, when the border patrol guy came out, he asked us all the usual questions - where are we from, where are we going, any liquor on board, any pesticides, bear spray, etc. But then we were asked several times if we had firearms on board (which we don't).  Unfortunately, I guess he didn't believe us (Texas plates) because he had us pull over!!  First he wanted the rv opened and slides out.  Then he wanted to know if we had a safe, which we do.  He wanted that opened and he looked thru the papers in it.  Judy has a small jewelry box in which she keeps a small lock of her hair from when she was about 6.  (I know, weird!!). He had to look at that.  Then he wanted to know if we had cash on board and how much.  I had to show him that.  Then we were told to stand out in front of the truck while he searched the rv.  Next he came up front and searched the truck.  

After about 30 minutes, he finished and said we could go on our way. Interestingly enough, he did not search any of the storage areas.  Go figure!

We have made it to Winnipeg - actually about 10 miles west in a KOA CG for the weekend. 

 We will be leaving here on Monday.