Day 43 Chicago

Well apparently wind farms are not just a Washington State thing. In Minnesota they don’t appear on a desert landscape like a scene from another planet. In Minnesota they appear in endless corn fields much like they do in southwestern Ontario except here they go on forever – the windmills and the corn fields! I’m still a little puzzled as to why Saskatchewan had (for me at any rate) the reputation for being incredibly flat prairie. We have been traveling for some days now and with the exception of our dip down into the Black Hills, it’s all been open expanses of fields that go on forever. We have been traveling for two hours now and if it weren’t for the fog I’m sure I could see the campground!

Welcome to Minnesota!

Windmills is unending corn fields.

We’ve crossed the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. I was so surprised especially at the Mississippi. Shame on me, I had no idea it came this far north.

The Mississippi!

Unfortunately, here is the picture of the state line sign for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin .... really it is! Thanks a lot David!

I was driving at this point and as everyone knows, David is the better photographer. Apparently not in moving vehicles though! I don’t know what his problem is. I managed some pretty awesome shots that way! He is actually now trying to figure out exactly how I do that!!

Wisconsin officially won the prize for the worst roads we’ve travelled. They built these things on old railway ties I’m sure. If I left my heart in San Francisco, I left my fillings and loose change in Wisconsin. And it’s not just a part of the road – it’s the whole state! The best part though was when we passed highway marker Mile 152 and saw the sign that warned of rough road ahead! We hadn’t been able to talk for ages because the roads are so bad your voice shakes and quivers as you speak, and now they warn of rough roads! Now if the severe flooding reached this region and the roads have been damaged as a result (not sure this is the case, doesn’t look like it, I’m just trying to be fair here) then I’m sorry, feed of crow #2 here I come. But even if that’s the case, somebody grab a reflective vest and get to work – this is crazy!

Travelled through some pretty wicked storms again today. Can’t really blame Wisconsin for that but although we didn’t officially camp here we can claim to have slept here in two naps in a rest area because it just wasn’t safe to drive!

Even bad storms have their upside!

Not hard to tell when we entered back into the land of the Great Lakes. The primarily coniferous forests that have been our landscape for weeks now are making way for the deciduous trees that surround the Lakes. The scenery is looking so very familiar even though we are still a few days drive from home.

The campground is lovely again (last night was a place to sleep beside the highway) and folks here have been very helpful is getting us set for a day in the city tomorrow. They have provided transit schedules so we don’t have to drive, maps that are marked with orientation points and tips on how to get the most out of our day in Chicago. Stay tuned.

Welcome to Illinois - OK so maybe not every truck shot I take is great!

But the GPS proves we crossed the state line!