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Ten Degrees and Getting Colder

  Cold Sunrise   That's just the name of the song written by Gordon Lightfoot.  It was actually -13 F when I got up this morning (wind chill -24).  Tucson may have pulled back into the lead!  There's a lot of weighing pros and cons of Colorado vs Arizona by the wood stove.  Not much else to report. I did enjoy a few games of pool and a beer with my brother this week.  We don't get together very often, so it's good to try to keep the lines of communication open, especially with my mother celebrating her 86th birthday next month.  He lives in Milwaukee and just started semi-retirement.  Our opposing politics and lifestyles keep things very casual and surface-level.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.   It's important to find common ground.  He and his wife have started going to concerts and recently saw the Steve Miller Band.  Music is one of our common interests.      

Magnolia, Minnesota


I’m not going to lie.  Last night was rough.  I picked up Allie at O’Hare in Chicago at about 11p.m., dropped her off in Milwaukee, and arrived home at about 2 a.m. She was sick and understandably upset about saying goodbye to her boyfriend for who knows how long after having the time of her life in the Greek Isles. Once home, I slept for maybe four hours, off and on.

Then, with the help of a full French press pot of fresh-roasted Brazilian coffee, I began making my way west.  I was originally going to stay off of the interstate, taking Hwy 60 and then Hwy 18 across northern Iowa.  However, there was extensive flooding along that route, so I opted for Interstate 90, boring but not flooded.  By afternoon, I was making frequent bathroom stops to balance out all of the coffee consumed and was singing loudly to myself with the windows open to stay awake.

We arrived at the Magnolia City Campground at about 4 p.m. It’s a typical Midwestern small town with no services except for this nice campground less than a mile from the interstate with full hookups for $10/night. A café offers breakfast but closes at 2 p.m.  There’s a campground sign that says no discounts are offered  because the rates are already so cheap. I can’t disagree: electricity, water, showers, dump station, good Internet coverage from T-mobile, and a bunch of free digital tv stations.

Unfortunately, there’s no grocery store or even a convenience store.  I haven’t really stocked my fridge, so it’s a cold beer and scrambled eggs and cheese for dinner.  The good news is that I’m ahead of schedule and hopeful that I’ll be in the Badlands tomorrow night.

Elvis is very excited about this trip. Or maybe he’s just ready for supper.


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