Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Appleton, MN - Beet Harvest - Week 1

 We head to Appleton, we were going to spend the night in Fergus Falls, but the electric boxes were poorly positioned and the water was orange so we decided to just head straight to Appleton.  Traffic was light but we did have to move over the side of the road when this went by.

We arrive in Appleton

 

We are a week early and are the first ones here so we claim the tree

The view of the fairground buildings across from us
 
We are concerned about the prison directly behind us.  But we find out later that it is empty.
Tucson likes his new yard
He stopss and has lunch with the only fairground cow left this time of year.
We find a resident frog by our water hookup
and slowly but surely, others arrive but keep socially distant
We take a drive one day out to the Beet Piling Station where Gary is going to go to drop his truckloads of beets.  He will be driving up that ramp.
The beets will come out this end and pile up

We take a ride to Big Stone Nature Preserve
You can see how it got its name
The Yellow Bank and Minnesota Rivers run through it.
We come across a herd of goats with this dog watching over them
Looks like they are a hungry bunch
and thirsty too
The watch dog is wary of Tucson and has been keeping an eye on him.  He chased our truck quite a ways when we left.

There are places to pull over and look for migrating birds.
Not much now other than seagulls, cormorants and canadian geese.
This guy managed to catch lunch



We stop and take a short hike


On our way out we spot this Heron in the river.

A nice little get a way.  We enjoy the Fall Foliage on our way home


Gary and another guy go to pick up two more trucks in St. Cloud with the owner.

They are new trucks on lease

They still have that new truck smell

Gary however, does not get one - he gets this

It does not have the new truck smell - more like dead beets and dirt.

 He will make the best of it - it's only 2 weeks!  Harvest is scheduled to start Thursday, October 1st with the evening shift of 3pm to 3am.  Gary starts Friday on the morning shift 3am to 3pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Gull Lake and Pillager - again

 When we were here last, I checked online for a reservation for this week.  There were only 3 sites left.  2 that were too small for us and this- the only pull through in the Park.


 Tucson again enjoys his walks around the park

The master griller grills some pork chops


 And I of course paint rocks


This time we take advantage of the bike trail


We have a campfire one afternoon as the nights are too chilly

That is bringing out the Fall Foliage



The weekend is upon us again so it is back to Pillager and then on to          Appleton for the Beet Harvest.

Back at our Boondockers Welcome spot in Pillager.  3rd time here.  Did not get any pictures but Mike had the equipment and was nice enough to weigh the trailer for us.  Just a little bit over on weight on one side and the tongue but we are full of canned goods and supplies for our stay at the Beet Harvest so it should go down after that.


Tucson got a quick dip in the Lake this time.


It's time to head down to Appleton for the Beet Harvest
Had to wait for a couple of windmill arms to go by.



























 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, September 14, 2020

Brainerd and Gull Lake

Still killing time until the Beet Harvest.  Our plans to visit a friend in Grand Marais fell through, so back to Gull Lake Recreation Area Monday-Thurs.  
The weekends are all booked up.  The sites are large and private.

The Hosts at our last Boondockers Welcome spot recommended Ernies for Dinner.
We tried to go Monday figuring people would be gone after the Holiday Weekend, but it was a zoo - apparently there was a Trump Boat Rally.  We came back on Tuesday and it was quiet.

 

Gary had the Peppercorn Steak and I had the Almond Encrusted Walleye.                Both were delicious!

 

Tucson and I walked daily around the campground.

The Beach is empty as it is a bit cooler this week

We find the nature trail and hike that




We take a drive up to Nisswa which we are told is a nice little touristy town.


 
Tucson even got to meet Paul and Blue

It's the weekend again so we head back to our Boondockers Welcome Hosts in Pillager.  Last time we were there, the husband Mike, a retired auto mechanic offered to help Gary grease the bearings and check the brakes on the 5th Wheel if we came back.

This time we parked up next to the house

 

Which gave us a nice view of the Lake.


 and put us closer to the garage for the work

 

 While Gary worked on the trailer we walked to Pillager Dam down the road.


A very nice stay.  Back to Gull Lake for our Mon-Thurs. stay!