A Storm and a Farm

At 4:30 this morning a huge thunderstorm came through. It was the worst storm I've been through so far. I think if winds were blowing any harder the rig would have blown over. I could actually feel it rising into the air. It never really got airborne, but was straining at the limits of the suspension. The storm was traveling at 65 mph. That's the speed of the storm. The winds gusted to higher speeds.

It was a scary experience and the worst of the storm took about an hour to pass through. Then the trailing edge came through and the winds briefly took up again. Emily was terrified and was all over the trailer. It was a scary experience. This day was to be move day, but with the storm delay, it was clear we would not be traveling today.

Yesterday was a hot one. But there was a breeze and the humidity was down, so it didn't feel as bad as it was supposed to. I got the itch to do something so I took a trip to an old farming homestead. The last of the settlers' family died a few years ago and donated the estate to the county. The place is slowly becoming a museum.

The 22 room house was completed in 1902.

I made it out to the farm in the early afternoon. It was farther in the boondocks than I estimated and I made a wrong turn on a gravel county road that sent me eventually in the wrong direction. There are signs to direct you, but they are not on all the intersections. They are kind of spottily situated here and there.

The farm was owned by Olof Swennsen and he built all the buildings himself, with the help of his wife. He immigrated from Norway in the 1840's and was quite a guy. With a name like Olof Swennsen, what would his nickname be, Oly or Sven? There was a hand written sign at the locked gate when I got there that read; "Open Sundays 1 to 4".

This is supposed to be the second largest barn restoration in the country.

I parked at the gate and walked the dirt road to the farm. The barn is supposed to have some sort of unique architecture in the way it was built to withstand the prairie winds. After this morning's experience I couldn't doubt it. The barn was open but it was so dark in there that I opted not to go in.


After a brief tour I headed back to the car. I noticed the family cemetery not far from where I parked. According to the headstone dates, most of the Swennsen children did not make it beyond 12 years old. Only two out of eight made it to a ripe old age. The headstones were made by Olof. I read that the molds used to cast them are still stored in the basement of the house.

On my way back, I took a different route and drove through the small town of Montevideo. In the center of town the old railroad buildings were being restored and the were some interesting things to see. For a little railroad trivia, do you know what the "sand house" was used for?

The only remaining Sand House in the States.

The sand house contained processed sand that was loaded onto the trains. When more traction was needed, sand would be distributed on the rails immediately in front of the drive wheels to keep them from slipping.

That's it for today. Tomorrow I'll be moving into North Dakota.

Granite Falls

I got the itch to go out and explore this small, little town. At 3,000 people it is actually a nice size for a farming community. The skies are clear today. Yesterday there was a threat of rain, but it never happened. That disappointed the people I talked to because it has been dry here lately. They need the rain.

This old bank building interested me. It looks as good as the day it was built - 1912.

The Minnesota River parallels Main Street and is only a couple of hundred feet away.

It also has been hot. It was 84 degrees by noon yesterday. They have a thing here called the "heat index". It is a calculation taking into consideration the humidity, temps and wind. The heat index yesterday was 103! I didn't get out of the truck, when I visited downtown Granite Falls, very often, obviously. The air conditioning inside was a life saver.

How do you say 3,800,000,000?

I waited for this train to pass. It was almost a mile long of all ethanol containers.

The 'falls' of Granite Falls had been dammed in the 1800's. There really are no natural falls here anymore. The Minnesota River is now used to generate electricity for the area. The town's buildings are relatively modern. Most were erected after 1920. I suspect there may have been fires prior to that. The history of the town on the internet is very sketchy and the local museum is open on Sundays only.


When I checked out the 99 cent hamburgers, I found out the have them only on Tuesdays. That's today. I made an effort to head to the Casino for my burger. It isn't a cheap little burger. It is a true 1/2 pounder, with fries and a salad. Unbelievable. I watched a couple of innings of baseball and walked back to the rig.

This is Anthony Volsteads house. He was the congressman that drafted the legeslation for Prohibition, The Volstead Act.

Does Paul Richter have any relatives in the area?

It was cooling of quickly and the breeze was up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Tomorrow, it is supposed to get to almost 90 degrees. Wow, I wonder what the heat index will be. It might be a day to stay inside and cool.

I'm Back on the Road

I wanted to get an early start this morning. But, it didn't happen. I moped around a bit. I played on the computer a bit. I did the dishes in slow-mo. I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to the area I grew up in. Sometimes it is good to feel comfortable in a spot. I have another year to go before I reassess what my future will be and where. That's the adventure part.

I finally made it on the road by just before noon. I have researched the direction toward North Dakota for RV parks. There just isn't much in that direction. I did stumble on a new Casino the Sioux built with a nearby RV park 3 miles South of Granite Falls, Minnesota. It is almost exactly a 200 mile trip, which is the right distance for traveling in a single day.

Prairie's Edge Casino

I called them yesterday and checked on their availability. They have room and wanted me to make a reservation. I have learned that may not be the best thing to do. As long as a park has availability early in the week. They will have room when you arrive. A tip for those that want to do this: avoid reserving a site, if at all possible. If you find a different park you like better, the park you made reservations with may charge you for the stay anyway.


Emily was great. No meows, no fits, she has really settled into traveling very well. I arrived at 4:30 this afternoon and set up without a problem. This is a modern park and all the facilities can't be more than a couple of years old. The pads are large and are concrete. Every site has a fire ring and a picnic table. There is a game room and laundry. The only thing to complain about is the landscaping has about 15 years to go before the trees will provide shade, and the view is of about 30 acres of soy beans! I'll spend three days exploring the area.

The view from my trailer.

I am going to check out the 99 cent hamburgers in the Casino right now. I'll get back to you later!

I've Been on Vacation from Vacation

It has been a while since my last post. I took the opportunity to take a mini vacation from the usual RV traveling adventure. I've spent the last month in the Winona/Rochester area. I have been 'laid back' and have enjoyed my time between visiting friends and family.

Last weekend I attended my nephew Adam's wedding in St. Paul. It was a beautiful wedding, well organized and tons of people attending. I tried to remember the last wedding I was at. I think the last one was my own wedding 19 years ago. Has it been so long?

Adam and Marissa

Sugar Loaf. Winona's signature bluff.

My routine, if you can call it a routine, has been to camp at Prairie Island for a week in Winona, then head to Chester Woods Park, east of Rochester, there I would spend Monday through Friday, then move to Oronoco to Tilly's RV Park for the weekend. That has been my routine for just about the whole of July.

These guys had to show off their bass they caught on Chester Lake

I took a bunch of pics of the wild flowers growing on the prairie at Chester Woods. This is my favorite park in the area. It is unique, in that it is part of a restoration project the County is doing. They are bringing the prairie here back to its original condition, before settlers turned it into farmland. It is very interesting.

Lake Chester

The Corps of Engineers has dammed Beaver Creek to control flooding. The lake formed by this is the backdrop for the park.

The setting in these parks has been very relaxing. It's the river in Winona, then a lake and the prairie at Chester Woods. Then off to Oronoco to a more suburban setting with laundry facilities and a restaurant. This is all quickly coming to an end. This Monday I will be back on the road.

My aim is to head west. I want to see Glacier National Park before the glacier melts. I also want to take my time and go through North Dakota. Everybody seems to think there is nothing to see or do in North Dakota. That's why I want to take my time. There is probably a lot of history related to those little towns. My brother in law says that there is a town every hundred miles because of the railroad. That is about when the old steam engines needed to take on more water.

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there glad to see I will be doing regular posts again!