Chillin' in Minnesota....

A few days ago, we left Iowa and traveled to Minnesota. There are so many wind turbine farms here too! You can see them all along the highway, interspersed in farmland.

Reminders as we were leaving the campground in Iowa

driving in Minnesota

so many wind farms

 Not only were we chillin' out, but we were CHILLY in Minnesota! High temps were in the high 40's. Wasn't too bad when the sun was out, but wow...with the light rain and wind, we were glad we brought some warm winter clothes with us. Plus, its always nice to be traveling with a knitter, right Tom! Hahah. We manage to stay warm and cozy!!

Minnesota!

Our campground ,Flying Goose, in Fairmont, MN,was fairly large, and we spent hours each day just walking around and taking it all in. Very relaxing. Being that the campground is situated right on this large beautiful lake, I think it is used by locals as a summer retreat. There were a lot of rigs, mostly fifth wheels, that looked permanent, with wooden decks and birdfeeders. . . right on the lake. Many folks just came in the evening and on the weekend. Then, of course, there were the travelers, like us, just passing through after a few days.

Entrance to camp

Hence, the namesake

Baltimore Oriole 

seasonals on the right, us on the left!

sunset view on this frosty evening

Nice and warm-reading my book

The campsites surround a beautiful lake, and several ponds, which attract some wildlife. We had fun just watching one of the ponds. It was surrounded by tall grass, and who knew what all was in there! We watched as something slithered across the water and thought it was a water snake. Tom was able to capture it on film. Turns out, we think it was a mink. Definitely a mammal. Minks are fairly common in Minnesota wetlands-ponds, rivers, etc. It could also have been a beaver or a muskrat, but since minks are found all over Minnesota, we are going with that.

Viewing the pond at dusk

that stream near the grass is the mink

Red winged blackbird

The biggest thrill for us were the white pelicans! Who knew?!? I'm so silly, I thought there were 7 white swans in the lake! And I didn't have my camera with me the first time we were driving out of the campground and past the lake when we spotted them! Turns out, they were there at least every morning, and sometimes later in the day as well. I went a little crazy with the picture taking! To learn more about white pelicans, click here . The lump on the horn means they are in breeding condition, and both male and female will have these lumps. White pelicans don't dive for fish, like the brown pelicans. They float in groups to "fish", and then just duck their beak under to grab a fish and water, lean there head back and gulp. Fascinating to watch them! They are heading to Canada soon. (I think they came from Pelican Island in Florida).

White Pelicans...some flying, some swimming

White pelicans-"fishing"

so cool

very graceful

the sun was out for a minute

more

flapping...ready to fly away?

Gulp....that was tasty

looking for more fish

still hungry?

When we were good and cold, we headed back to the camper to do some more organizing. At the rally in Tennessee, we learned quite a few tips from fulltimers, and some of the little ways to organize things in your camper so you don't go crazy. During the "open rig" tours, where very gracious fellow campers offered to "show" their rigs to the rest of us, I found some tips that could be helpful for us. Thank you Linda and Nancy....I loved your ideas. Makes life much simpler and less cluttered!

all the campers we saw had this look! haha

glad I had my warm stuff!

really nice lake-more rain moving in

the grounds were very well kept

home improvements-velcro-ed pics to the wall

still need to get museum gel for these guys

hooks for our coats

Jewelry box....as per Linda! Thank you!

Mission Control...as per Nancy! Thank you!

One morning, we visited Blue Earth, the town next to us in Fairmont, MN. I learned of the Green Giant in Roadside America, so we just had to stop for a quick pic. Yes, I know, its really cheesy. Ugh!! Bear with me :)

more windfarms in Minnesota

a little traffic

okay...cheesy, I know!

Also on the agenda was the Steinberg Nature Park in Blue Earth, with native prairie plants (which were burned down to the ground to encourage regrowth), river, woodlands...perfect birding habitat. We spent a couple of hours there walking around before heading back to our campground. 

Nice nature park

burned prairie field

so many birds in the burnt prairie

hello

woodlands and river

more

trail 

'shrooms on tree

woodpeckers had a field day here

so peaceful-really

controlled burn of prairie in the park

more

Back at the campground, we spent more hours biking, and just walking around and exploring.....and watching those white pelicans!

Finally, steak for dinner! Tom is thrilled!

clear and COLD 

walking around the lake

 our campsite is across the lake-over there

one last pic of a breeding white pelican

 This morning we headed off for South Dakota. Still so many farms! We are staying in a quiet campground for a night, which is situated in the middle of cornfields. Just came back from a long walk down a long country road....fields everywhere. Can't wait to see the sky tonight. Hope I can stay up that long....hahaha. There is nothing around here, so the skies should be good and dark and the stars awesome!

South Dakota -  welcome sign

more farms-lots of cows too

driving along! He's really good!!

Sculpture park (we drove by on 90)

more

more farms

more

here we are

walked a long way down this country road this evening

relaxing at the campsite

snoozin' in the sun...warming up!

warbler? in the tree over my head

That's all for now. Time to head out soon to stargaze. Aren't we just wild and crazy?!?!