The four of us went to the Chicago Botanical Gardens for a short walk among the roses. (Turns out it was a good thing we did it Friday. The rains moved in and made us reluctant to go anywhere on Saturday as there were pretty heavy T-storms all around.)
Terry, Cindy and John pose in front of one of the many beautiful rosescurrently blooming at the Chicago Botanical Garden.
Rosa 'Jaccinqo' Candelabra (TM) Grandiflora RoseRoses were the big draw at the Gardens but there were other flowers that hadn't yet faded into summer obscurity.
Irises near the waterfall gardens.We only got to see a small portion of the grounds on Friday and our plans to see more on Saturday were more or less ppd by rain. But what we did see we liked. It's easy to see why John makes regular trips to the Gardens. There's a lot to see and it changes frequently as they are swift to remove the old flowers/plants and put in new ones as the season progresses.
Bronze at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.******
After our all too brief walk, we went back to John and Cindy's home to pick up Jackie and head out to dinner...at Morton's Steakhouse. Way too good. Way too filling. And way too expensive. I'm thankful that 1) there are none near us in PA and 2) John picked up the tab, refusing my offer to help.
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Saturday we ran into T-storms as we returned to John and Cindy's home and they, along with a forecast that said more were on the way, curtailed our activities for the day. Instead of returning to the Gardens or even taking the longer drive into the city to go to the Shedd Museum, we opted to just sit and visit for a couple of hours during which we mostly gossiped about the kids--who weren't there to defend themselves. Then we went out to a late lunch at a nearby barbecue place that had some great ribs. (This time, John did let me pick up the tab.)
As John, Cindy and Jackie were to be heading up to the shores of Lake Superior on Sunday morning and we were to be heading out as well, we opted to call it an early afternoon and return to our respective homes/trailers.
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Sunday morning Terry and I quickly packed up and got on the road heading first north and then west from Volo, IL (on Route 12) and into Wisconsin where we picked up I-94 north and then west. We were just zooming along making great time all the way past the Dells, around Madison, and through the rest of Wisconsin. What road construction there was, wasn't happening on Sunday. There was still a considerable amount of traffic on the road but it was all moving at--or slightly above--the speed limit.
We cruised along just going with the flow all the way into Minnesota and then past St. Paul (taking I-694 along the northern edge of the Twin Cities). Terry then called ahead to "reserve" a camp site in St. Cloud-Clearwater. "We'll be there in about 45 minutes," she says over the phone. That's when I see the Cabela's sign.
Just outside St. Paul there's a Cabela's. Time to rest anyway. Terry decides she needs a lighter rain jacket. We decide to get another Thermocell mosquito repellent--we left two of them sitting back in the spare bedroom in the Aerie. (We also got some Bens wipes and spray, 100% DEET--just in case it's too windy for the Thermocell to work.) They also had a nice looking little spinning outfit on sale--and Terry pointed it out to me. I'm slow some times but I ain't no fool! So it was a 45 minute delay that was well worth the time. Besides (almost) all of it was covered by the Cabela's points I had accumulated. I think the total was just a tad over $30 out of my pocket. (Well, actually, on the Cabela's card where it can earn double points.)
We covered 420 miles today in just over 8 hours from the time we left the campground in Volo to the time we pulled in here at Clearwater, MN.
Oh, and when we told the gal at the desk at the camp ground why we were a little later than Terry had said, she just shook her head and grinned.
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Tomorrow is to be an even longer driving day as we continue to the west and then to the northwest, passing through Fargo, ND to Minot, ND on our way toward the Canadian border. Some 475 miles in all. But, we were able to leave the trailer hitched to the truck, we have no need to make a stop at the dump station (did that chore this morning back in Volo), and we have all our Cabela's shopping behind us--unless Fargo has one there. We have discovered we need one electrical plug/adapter so we'll be able to handle all possible combinations at the campgrounds: an adapter that will take a 3-prong wire to 30-amp outlet. I've got the opposite: 30-amp wire to a 3-prong grounded outlet, but not the one we rang into tonight. So we will be looking for a Camping World--just like the one that was next to the Cabela's this afternoon. That stop won't take long, however. So we should make it to Minot by 5 PM, local (Central).
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