Go west, old woman!!!

I've been on the road for a week now. I've been doing a lot of driving, and think I'm more than halfway to where I meet my caravan to travel to Alaska. I'm going by or near a number of places I visited, worked in, and/or lived in - Cleveland where I had 2 cars stolen, Chicago where I had a concussion and amnesia, South Dakota where we'd serve a cowboy's horse before we'd serve him. In South Dakota I went on my first and only cattle drive. I am now in Jamestown, North Dakota, home of the biggest buffalo in the world.

I spent an extra day in Westfield, NY on Lake Erie. I visited Erie, Lake Chataqua, a museum, art gallery and winery. I took the cat Skittles for a walk, pull, tug, carry, run, and then put up my feet and enjoyed the wine I bought. I also spent an extra day in the parking lot of a Peterbilt truck service area. I wish I had taken a picture of my RV in the middle of all those BIG RIGS. Peterbilt was the 10th place I called to get an oil change for my RV. They said they'd fit me in when they could. They worked 3 shifts. They charged me an arm and an ankle, and happened to put a hole in my fuse line too. I realized that when I started smelling diesel a day and a half later. I got that taken care of today by a really nice Dodge dealership in Fargo. So, I think I'm ready to cross the border.

I have been driving through very pretty country, through Wisconsin, Minnesota (pronounced with a Swedish accent) and North Dakota. They have had quite a bit of flooding. I've seen barriers built up on the sides of the road to keep the water off it, telephone poles and many trees in the water, and 1 farm sitting in the water - the house, the barn and the road into the property. Mother Nature can really be a bitch.