The Bill and Kit Go Fetch It Trip (Maine to Minnesota and Back)-Chapter Two

Monday, September 29, 2008:

Took the Arctic Fox back to the dealer for some minor warranty work and to readjust the hitch for safe towing which is a BIG deal to me. Ended up spending 3 hours there as the mechanic realized that our truck was capable of towing 10,500 pounds and the hitch system he normally installs for this model trailer is a 6000 pound version. After checking the weight bias and learning “we” will be bringing some very “necessary” equipment on our travels he upgraded us to the 12,000 pound model. No extra charge…..very nice and competent sales and service staff. Following a final stop at Culvers Restaurant (our third this week) we were off to cousin Billy’s. If you are ever in this area of the country you must stop at Culvers. The best burgers I’ve tasted…..even beats out “In and Out Burger” out west!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008:

Kit’s turn…Spent a couple of days with my cousin Billy and his wife Char. They were kind enough to allow us to park the camper alongside their garage on a concrete pad and provide us with electricity and water. Works great!

Billy and his wife Char's Residence

Billy took us down to Pepin, Wisconsin to see my mom’s cousin Wilma who is 87 and still going strong. She has lived in the same house she was born in so had many stories and antics to share with us. We were very happy to see one another and she wanted us to stay longer. Billy and Char check on her periodically and take care of things for her when needed.

Afterwards, Billy took us on a tour of Hudson where he and my mom grew up. We got to see his childhood home as well as my mom’s childhood home. I had lived there for a few months when I was 10 years old so it was nice to see my Grandma’s house again. We also went to the cemetery to visit our family gravesites.

Hudson is the home of the world famous “Crutch Fence”:

Hudson - Home of the world famous Crutch Fence

There sure are a lot of folks in Hudson, Wisconsin hobbling about!?

We all went to Applebee’s for dinner afterwards, then spent a couple of hours going through family pictures. We brought some home to scan and put on a CD to share with family. Overall had a nice 9 days in the Twin Cities.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008:

On the road south, it’s getting cold in Minnesota! We were on our way to Davenport, Iowa but we would have arrived late and didn’t want to sleep on a couch…..sorry. Much to our chagrin, we missed seeing the “Worlds Largest Frying Pan” in LaPorte, IA. Oh well, one has to leave something for the next time through.

The roads are good, the traffic light and the weather was clear and getting warmer. Gas is still relatively cheap with 10% to 20% of corn based bio-fuel in the mix. The truck seems to tolerate the stuff just fine but the MPG appears to be suffering. However that could be due to its tugging our 22 foot home along. Filled up today at $3.28/Gal. We stayed at a nice new campground in Urbana, Iowa where Kit found the perfect road to set up for the night.

Campground in Urbana, Iowa

The RV Park was carved out of a corn field so “since they built it….we came”….sorry.

Field of Dreams?

Only made 220 miles due to a late start out of Blaine, MN. For some reason we are not in a big hurry then we travel anymore. Um……lets see…..we have no particular place to be and no particular time to be there. Gotta love the retired life.

Thursday, October 2, 2008:

Headed East through Illinois and thought about stopping at Normal, IL but they wouldn’t let us in the town for some reason…..sorry. So we pushed on into Crawfordsville, Indiana staying in another KOA. Once again mentioning Don’s name gave NO DISCOUNT! A nice heavily wooded campground with very nice facilities however.

I should mention that the trailer is a dream to tow. I hardly notice it is there. I guess the decision to haul a small trailer with a big truck is bearing fruit. Haven’t formally checked the fuel economy yet but it appears to be in the 12 MPG range. The proportional brake controller brings the rig to a smooth and confident stop. And the sway control, a BIG deal to me, is working perfectly. Many large trucks zoomed past us and nary was a bobble felt. Now if I can keep the shiny side up everything will be bliss in Trailer Towing Ville.

Stay tuned for tales of further adventures,

Bill/Dad/Poppy and Kit/Mom/Guma