Potato harvest progress

It's been a long time sitting here, waiting for the rain to quit. We got to the farm September 8th, with plans for potato harvest to start on the 10th, weather permitting. Well, weather didn't permit. The guys didn't start until the 16th, a week later, because of lots of rain. So, for the 23 days we've been here,  I think they've worked about seven days only, due to rain and mud.

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Hopefully October will be better, as sugar beet harvest is suppose to start October 1st.

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09/08/19 - Thompson North Dakota for potato and sugar beet harvest

From Icelandic State Park to Grand Forks is about 88 miles. We stopped at Walmart in Grand Forks to stock up on some food. Then we headed out to the farm that we're going to be staying at for the next 1-1/2 months or so for potato and sugar beet harvest. 

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09/07/19 - Icelandic State Park, North Dakota

Icelandic State Park is in northwestern North Dakota. It's 912 acres include the Pioneer Heritage Center and the Gunlogson Homestead and Nature Preserve.

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There were 134 modern campsites with electric and water nearby. There is a dump station. There are also 10 primitive sites and 7 group sites. The modern sites are $25, primitive $17 and group sites $24/unit. We were in site 102 with 30 amp electric. We had 3 bar Verizon LTE.  It was a pull through site, but kind of small for us to turn.

It has a visitor center,  amphitheater, boat ramp, swim beach, picnic shelters, playground, dog park, shower house, historical buildings, and trails.

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09/04/19 - Lake Metigoshe State Park, North Dakota

Lake Metigoshe State Park is in northern North Dakota, not far from the US/Canadian border. There were quite a few Canadian license plates there during our stay. 

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They have 84 modern and 39 primitive camp sites. The modern sites have electricity and water. There is a dump station. Modern sites are $25, primitive $17. There are also 3 group sites.

I didn't see a visitor center, but there is an office which we didn't go to. We didn't have reservations, but when we got there a ranger stopped while we were at the dump station and helped us.
Check in is at 4:00 PM and check out is 3:00 PM.

They have a boat ramp, fishing docks, swim beach, dog park, playgrounds, picnic shelters, shower house and trails.

For more pictures, please click here. (75 in to total)

09/02/19 - To Manitoba and into the USA

There are a lot of large farms, and a lot of water along the road.  Also a couple of miles of wind generators and oil wells.

We crossed in to Manitoba and stayed at the visitor center overnight.  They were closed by the time we got there, but there were a lot of semis in the back parking lot overnight.

World's largest freestanding banana in Melita, Manitoba, Canada.

Crossing back in to North Dakota, United States. The border guard asked about weapons, cannabis, where we were last night, how long we've been out of the US, how long our motorhome was and said he was coming inside. He came in and looked around for about 1 minute, talking about the motorhome and our traveling and then left. It was quick. He didn't ask about fruits, vegetables, plants or any other foods. Actually, none of the border crossings we've gone through did. 

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08/31/19 - Through Saskatoon, to Lanigan, Saskatchewan rest area

Flat land and farming. We ended up going through the town of Saskatoon, thanks GPS.

Being Labor Day weekend, we stopped at the Lanigan rest area. There was a camper behind some trees when we got there and the two days we were there, there were campers/cars/vans coming and going.  It's a popular rest area and overnight spot. There's a dump station, but no water. There's also pit toilets and garbage cans.

There is a potash mine near the rest area;  it was started in 1963.

For a few more pictures, please click here.

08-29-19 - Going around Edmonton, Elk Island NP to Battleford, Saskatchewan

There are a lot more farms and cattle and crop land. We've also noticed oil wells and oil companies.  We went around the top of Edmonton and then stopped at Elk Island National Park. From there were went on to Vegreville Walmart for the night.

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Elk Island National Park plays an important part in the conservation of the American bison. The Canadian government purchased one of the last herds of bison and between 1907 and 1912 and shipped 400 wild bison by train to Elk Island National Park.  They also have elk, moose and deer. Elk Island National Park is the only national park that maintains herds of both subspecies of North American Bison; Wood Bison on the south side of the highway and Plains Bison on the north side.

From there, on to Battleford, Saskatchewan.

We stopped at North Battleford Walmart in Saskatchewan for the evening. We were going to stay at Finlayson Island, a gravel parking lot that we found on iOverlander. As we got to the bridge to cross to the island, we saw a sign that says "Bridge Restriction 8 tonne";  so we went to Walmart.

I saw this at Elk Island and thought it was cute.

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08/27/19 - Through Dawson Creek, BC, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

Dawson Creek is "mile 0" of the Alaska Highway.  It provides a gateway to the Alaska highway, which connects Northern British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska to southern Canada and the lower 48 states of the United States. We happened to take this way home, instead of on our way there.

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We stopped at Grande Prairie Walmart for the evening, along with many other RVs. This was the first Walmart we've seen that charges to use their carts, and then the coin back when you're done and connect it to the other carts.















 To see more pictures, please click here.