The end of August, we found ourselves departing the Tri State Antique Engine and Tractor Show in Portland, Indiana, and we were heading out on roads that were unfamiliar to us. Field after field of corn and soybeans with a sprinkling of wind mills had become our new norm even though we hadn’t gotten accustomed to the endless crops just yet and we were unsure of the view of the new landscapes to come. Since the five of us had over 900 miles to travel in a Bus together (since we were towing Blondie) we had plenty of time to look out the windows over the next 5 days.
We were heading to a friends house in Illinois to hang out with them for a little while and show them the bus. Our girls had a blast with their kids, they had a lot of fun hanging out and having sleep-overs. The morning after we arrived, a new calf was spotted on the farm. Lydia was excited about checking to see if it was a boy or girl. Lilah and Laini were happy playing in one of the mud puddles that were left over from the previous nights rain.
After leaving Illinois, we headed north to Wisconsin. We took a break in a nice rest area before stopping for our first campfire in a while. The next morning we headed out with St Paul, Minnesota as a destination. Before we left Wisconsin, I had to find a cheese shop to see what they had to offer. This goal caused a smile to sneak across my face as I recalled a familiar Monty Python skit from days gone by.
Cady Cheese Factory turned out to be the perfect stop. The girls had fun tasting the nice variety of cheeses they had to offer. Seasoned cheese curds were a great traveling snack for our crew as we continued west in addition to the largest gummy snake ever found.
A stop in St Paul at an old college pal’s house was a nice break from the driving. He and his wife (along with his visiting parents) were intrigued by the bus and our tales of the conversion process. We had an awesome dinner with them, and they loaded us with fresh maters (I realize we are a long way from the south at this point, but they will always be maters to us) which Chas turned into some good salsa later on down the road.
We left St Paul and drove as far as we could, a Walmart parking lot in St Cloud turned into a campground for one night. We woke up ready to go, and headed to Buffalo River State Park where we camped during the WMSTR show.
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