It's Official!! I'm A South Dakotan!!!

Sioux Falls, SD.

69 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Highs around 83. East winds 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.


It's official!!! I'm finally licensed in South Dakota and have an official address!!! ; )

I was getting worried because on the 17th, my temporary license ran out and I've been sitting here in the CG with absolutely no official home!!  If  for some reason Jim and Linda wouldn't have been able to get me registered in SD, I wouldn't have been able to go out on the road and I'd have had to just sit here in this park forever!! : (

After Jim and Linda picked up my registration at Alternative Resources, they stopped at a store called, World Market. CLT said that they had all kinds of stuff in the store and lot of it was on sale. Anyway, Jim and Linda went in and when they came out, they had a chair to use at my new desk, (they had been using one of my folding kitchen chairs), a hamper to put in the bathroom to put dirty clothes in, along with a very nice looking 2 1/2 quart plastic pitcher to replace the glass one that had gotten broken the other day when it fell out of my cabinet when we went around a corner and hit a bump at the same time. : (

This morning Jim and Linda will be taking me over to the Cummins / Onan repair place to get the diesel fuel leak on my generator repaired. I've found out that he also wants them to check out my alternator because he doesn't think its charging the chassis batteries properly.

I'm hoping that all of this doesn't take too long because they don't have anywhere to plug me into electric at the shop. My main concern is the food in my refrigerator. The fridge will run off of the batteries / inverter for quite awhile but it would be better if I was plugged in or my generator was usable.

Did you know that Sioux Falls was the boyhood home of Minnesota-born actor Richard Widmark?

Alternative Resources, Drivers License and Dinner With Judy

Sioux Falls, SD.

78 deg partly cloudy, S. wind @ 3 mph.

forecast = Sunny in the morning...then becoming partly cloudy. Highs around 94. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph becoming west in the afternoon.


Jim and Linda got their mail from Alternative Resources on Monday, found out what papers they needed to get their drivers licenses, drove up to the Cummins / Onan place and made an appointment for me on Thursday, found a Hy Vee grocery store, and then came back here and stayed inside where it was cool.

Oh, and they did get my registration, but it was messed up with some wrong numbers on it, so had to be taken back to Karen at Alternative Resources yesterday. That was OK though because the drivers license place in right next door and it didn't cause a big problem.

Getting their license at the DMV went quite smooth and in about an hour they were out of there and headed over to see their insurance agent, Gina Shaver, at Epic Insurance.  Gina has been their agent since they moved here to SD back in 2001 and the few times that they've had a claim, she has been right there to help. She also represents multiple insurance companies and always checks with all of them to see where they can get the best deal.

The visit this time was to go over their policies and do a little upgrading on a few items. CLT said that they were inside the office for almost an hour talking and going over their policies.

By about noon, they were back here enjoying my air conditioning.

About 3:00 or so, Judy called. She's a fellow Full-timer and blogger who has a bog called Travels with Emma and is here in Sioux Falls to get her drivers license renewed also. But, if you go to her blog you'll see that she had some problems and will have to come back at a later date.  : (

Anyway, She had read my blog and realized that she would be here the same time a we were, so she contacted Jim and Linda and made plans to go out to dinner when she got here. So. . . . when she called, plans were made to go to a Cracker Barrel which is just about a mile from here, and also about a mile from where she is staying.

When Jim and Linda came back here after the meal they were still talking about what a nice time they had visiting with her. She had stopped by the CG in Rantoul, IL last year while passing through the area, so this is the second time they've met. Once again, it seemed like they had seen each other just a few days ago, and the conversation flowed freely.

It's like that with Full Timers, you know. ; )

After they came back here, Jim and Linda watched TV and played around with the computers until bedtime.

Today, they'll go back over to Alternative Resources to pick up my registration and then go to their bank to take care of some business. Then tomorrow, they'll take me up to the repair place to see if they can get the fuel leak on my generator repaired.

Did you know that in 1865, the U.S. military established Fort Dakota in present-day downtown Sioux Falls, attracting waves of settlers? Railroads ignited the Dakota Boom of the 1880s, causing the city's population to swell to nearly 11,000.

Tower CG Photos, A Very Warm Day and Plans For Today

Sioux Falls, SD.

79 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs around 96. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Heat index readings 110 to 115 in the afternoon.


It has been really warm here in Sioux Falls. Yesterday the thermometer that Jim has on my North side was showing 93 degrees for a while in the afternoon and today the forecasters are saying that it's going to be even warmer. : (

Jim went out early yesterday morning and hooked me up to the water and sewer, (it was just too hot to do when we got here Saturday afternoon), and took some pictures of the campground and my site.

This first one is of the sign that you see out by the road.

This is the view that you have when you pull into the park

A little farther down that same road is my site. As you can see, I've got a nice shady corner site. (great with this hot weather),

This is a view of my site form across the street. As you can see, there's a nice cement patio with a picnic table and plenty of room to park CLT in front of me.

In this view, you are looking from in front of me back towards the entrance of the park.

The park seems very well maintained and I have yet to see a junky looking RV, park model, or mobile home. 

Oh, and just as a side note, the 50 Amp electric seems to be very good here in this section of the park. Everyone, and I mean everyone was running their air conditioners yesterday and I never had low voltage.

Today, Jim and Linda need to go Alternative Resources to pick up their mail. My registration for South Dakota should be there too. I've been running on a temporary permit from Illinois up to now, but it expired yesterday. Then, either today or tomorrow, he and Linda will need to find a grocery store to pick up a few items, like bread and milk.

Other than that, I doubt if they'll be doing much. Just too hot!

Oh, Jim also needs to call the Cummins / Onan shop here in Sioux Falls to try to get and appointment for me to go in to find out why my generator is leaking diesel fuel.  The leak was found when I was at the Truck repair place in Illinois that fixed my starter problem. The mechanic there tightened some fittings that he thought were leaking, but it must be something else.

Did you know that the word Sioux is Ojibwe for "little snake" or "enemy?"


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Lake Delton, WI to Rochester, MN

Rochester, MN.

70 deg. partly cloudy, SE wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast = scattered showers and thunderstorms in the morning...then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Cloudy in the morning...then becoming partly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent. Highest heat index readings 95 to 100 in the afternoon.


As soon as they got up yesterday morning, Jim and Linda started getting me ready to travel. By 9:30, I was ready and they could just sit and relax for a while. Then, about 9:45  Jeanette called and told Linda that they had just arrived at Howie's Restaurant and were expecting the rest of the family shortly, so Jim and Linda hopped into CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over there.

As usual, the breakfast was good and the company was great. ; ) After everyone was done eating, it was time to say good-bye with h and h, (hugs and handshakes), and for everyone to be on their way. It was about 11:15 by the time Jim and Linda came back to the CG, and by 11:35 CLT was hooked to the back of me and we were pulling out of my site.

From what I can determine, everyone had a great time at the reunion and plans are already being made to get together again next summer. In fact, Glenn and Jeanette have already looked into a place to have the reunion. (They aren't going back to the Lodge because it's too hard to get rooms and the price is getting too high.)

After leaving the Country Roads RV Park, we got back on I-90 / 94 and followed it North up to Toma, WI, where we turned West on I-90 and followed it into Minnesota and here to the Autumn Woods RV Park here in Rochester. 

Just before we entered Minnesota, it started to rain and we had heavy rain off and on all the way to Rochester. At times the rain was so heavy that I had to slow way down in order to see where I was going. In fact here in Rochester they received about 2.75 inches of rain yesterday, setting a new one day record for the date.

It was right at 2:30 when we pulled up in front of the office so it took us about 2 hours and 55 minutes to travel the 157 miles over here.

The Autumn Woods RV Park seems to be a very nice park. Jim said that the lady in the office was super friendly and the sites are fairly level with trees and bushes between them. The pull-thru that I'm in is plenty long for me and CLT and there was no need to un-hook CLT to get into the site. The sites are fairly narrow however but it's really not a problem with the vegetation between them. Some of the trees do need to be trimmed back a little though. Jim and Linda didn't put out my living room slide because it would have been into the small tree on my left side. There was no problem running out my bedroom slide though.

We'd stay here again if traveling though this area.

Today the plan is to go on to Sioux Falls. I have reservations at the Tower CG and will be staying there for about a week.

Oh, in regards to a comment I received yesterday concerning staying at a CG to get a drivers license in South Dakota.  Yes, you do have to stay at a CG or Motel / Hotel for one night to get a receipt with your names on it. Both names have to be on it and they have to be exactly like they are on your license. I don't quite know what the reasoning is behind this but the Tower CG is well aware of the requirements and was careful to put down both Jim and Linda's names when he called for the reservation.

That's one reason Jim chose the Tower CG because he knew, (through their mail forwarding service, Alternative Resources) that they were aware of this requirement. The CG is also located near to where Jim and Linda need to go to take care of some business in Sioux Falls while we're there.

Did you know that Rochester is home of the world famous Mayo Clinic? The clinic is a major teaching and working facility. It is known world wide for its doctor's expertise and the newest methods of treatments.

Mail, A Little Glitch, A Great Banker, and Day 1

Lake Delton, WI.

65 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Increasing clouds. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.


About 10:30 yesterday morning, Jim and Linda took off in CLT and headed to the Post Office to pick up their mail. They also needed a large money order or cashier's check to pay for my taxes, title transfer and registration in South Dakota, but couldn't get one because of the large amount and the fact that there was not a bank in this area that they had an account at.

To try to simplify this, I'll just say that when they called their bank back in Sioux Falls, Veronica, the lady that they always do their banking with, said that she would take care of it from there and personally deliver the check to Karen at Alternative Resources (Jim and Linda's mail forwarding service), who is helping Jim and Linda with the whole tax and registration process. She said it was only a few blocks away from her office so she'd drop it off on her way to lunch.

Now, I have to ask you, when was the last time your banker personally delivered a check for you? Is this lady great or what??? You won't get that kind of service from a big bank.

After getting all of that taken care of, Jim and Linda headed over to Market Square Cheese and bought, (what else?) some cheese and sausage to take to the reunion for snacks and sandwiches. Oh, and they both got an ice cream cone because the ice cream they sell there is some of the best around. ; )

They didn't go over to the lodge where the reunion was until about 3:30 or so because the rest of the family couldn't check in until then. When they got there, there were 5 members of the family already there and by about 7:00 there were 7 more. Today 6 more should arrive and tomorrow at least 3 more.

Some of them will be there until next Friday but some will have leave early to go to jobs or whatever.

Jim and Linda came back out here to the RV Park about 9:30, watched a little TV and then went to bed soon after the 10 O'clock news. Sometime this morning they'll head back over to the lodge and spend the day visiting and catching up. 

Did you know that on July 9, 1877, the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club began its first lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon, then an outer-suburb of London? Twenty-one amateurs showed up to compete in the Gentlemen's Singles tournament, the only event at the first Wimbledon. The winner was to take home a 25-guinea trophy.