Good morning from Minot, North Dakota.  Yes, we did make it.  Our trip to Minot was very relaxing and educational.  The driving of about 1100 miles from Eva, TN, was easier than I expected.  Except for the traffic driving through Duluth, Minnesota, there seemed to be very little traffic at all.  I would go for miles without seeing other vehicles.  We learned a lot about the states we drove through.  Wisconsin, as all know, is famous for it's dairy industry.  We saw dairy farms every where we went.  I believe that I saw a billboard that said that 90% of the farms in Wisconsin are family owned.  Did get some good cheese at a creamery where they make their own cheese.  Very good.  Minnesota is all water.  You did not drive many miles, without seeing water.  Land of 10,000 lakes sounds crazy, but I think they under estimated the number.  Now in North Dakota.  I will tell you more about North Dakota as we learn and see more here.

We crossed over the bridge over the Red River of the North into North Dakota about 1400 hours on Thursday afternoon.

We decided that we would try to stay at the FamCamp on the base at Grand Forks Air Force Base.  We had called ahead to see if there were any sites available and were assured that there were plenty of sites.  You cannot make reservations at most military camping facilities, so we just took the chance that a site would be available when we got there.  There were plenty available, as we were told.  The FamCamp has bout 20 sites with full hook-ups.  There were only three other RVs there when we arrived, only three there when we left.  The facilities were very nice.  The bath house even had a laundry room.  We were able to do our laundry without going into town to find a laundry mat.

Grand Forks AFB has changed it's mission over the last several years.  The following are pictures are of two of the reasons we won the cold war.  The mighty B-52 bomber, and the Minute Man missile. 

We did do some sightseeing in Grand Forks, what little there was to see.  We drove around the city just enjoying the different types of architecture that is the norm to this part of the country.  I noticed that most of the homes have very steep roofs.  Guess that is to allow the snow to run off easier.

We did visit a Japanese Garden in town.  The garden was donated to Grand Forks from their sister city Awano Town in Japan.  Here are a few pictures of the garden.

Sharon is standing next to one of the traditional Japanese stone lanterns.  There is another one standing on an island in the middle of a small pond.  Couldn't get a good picture of it.

You can't see it too well in the following picture, but the field is full of prairie dogs.  The small brown spots are prairie dog hills.  We enjoyed watching the dogs play as they chased each other around the field.  I think people thought we were crazy for standing a watching them. 

We left Grand Forks AFB Saturday morning headed for Minot.  It is a good thing that North Dakota puts a curve in their highways, one about every five miles it seems, so you have something to look for while driving.  I really think that I could have set the cruise control and go for miles before I had to move the steering wheel.  There are no Tennessee highway engineers in North Dakota. 

We did make a stop in Rugby, ND, to visit the Pioneer Museum and Village.  Rugby is also the geographical center of North America.  We have been to the center of the Heart of Dixie, and the center of the United States, now the center of North America.

We were pleasantly surprised at the museum.  It was much larger than we expected, and had some of the best displays of historical items I have ever seen.  The village is made up of 30 different buildings that were moved there from different parts of the state.  All of them have been restored to an original like condition.  I took over 90 pictures of the village and displays, but I won't bore you with all of them.  Here are a few.

Sharon is standing inside the railway station.  The station contains the waiting room, dispatchers office, freight office, and loading area.

This old caboose is parked just outside the entrance to the station.

Sharon can always find a place to take a nap.  This spot is inside the caboose.

There are two homes and the village church in this picture.  The house on the left probably belonged to farmer or small business man.  The house in the middle is much bigger.  It belonged to the first owner of an automobile dealership in Rugby.  The owner became very prominent in the area.

The church is very beautiful.  The congregation was Lutheran, and made up primarily of immigrants from the Scandinavian area of Europe.

Inside of the church.  The curator of the museum told us that the church has not been used for several years.  Sharon thought that it would make a beautiful place for a wedding.

This is inside the blacksmith shop.  Hey Mel, what do you think of this storage wall for tools.  They are all different types of wrenches.

Sharon couldn't help herself.  Yes it is a real old fashion out house.  Looks pretty good compared to ones that I remember.

As all small villages, this one contained the local establishment for those that could not maintain themselves with in the law.

The sheriff thought that I looked like someone on one of his wanted posters.  Sharon thought that I should stay, glad she changed her mind and the sheriff realized that the wanted poster was over 100 years old.

An early TV.  The screen is only about 10 inches and no remote control.  Remember when you had to get off of the couch and walk across the room to change channels and adjust the volume.  Most of the time you also had to adjust the antenna as you changed stations.

Sharon was trying to call John Boy.  Okay, so you don't remember John Boy from the Waltons.  At least you didn't have to worry about, "can you hear me now".  You either had phone lines to where you wanted to call, or not.

Early MP3 players.

I liked the painless dentist sign, until

I saw the inside of the dentist office.  I can actually remember going to the dentist when this was a modern office.

This is the bath house inside the local barbershop.  Two type of tubs are shown, and and old in door commode.

Liked this sign on the wall prior to entering the bath house in the barber shop.

We finally got to Minot about 1600 hours on Saturday afternoon.  We got the RV set up for the long stay and met the rest of the team.  We are parked in the parking lot of one of the local Lutheran churches.  Hook ups for RVs were installed just for relief workers.  The NOMADS were the first to start organizing to do work here in Minot, so got the first choice of places to stay.  Good choice. 

We arrived in time to also attend a cook out and praise service at the Faith United Methodist Church that is the host for the NOMADS.  Had some good cheddar brats and hamburgers.  After dinner we participated in a praise singing service.  After a scripture reading by the pastor on Pentecost, which is today, a praise band led us in songs.  It was very uplifting and fun.  The church does this every third Saturday night of the month.

Now it is about time to go to Sunday morning services.  We are going back to Faith UMC this morning. 

I'll be back later to let you know about what we will be doing here.  I do know we will be working in people's homes.

Remember, above all things,

God Loves You.

Gary