Travels to Pensacola FL

As we head south we always wonder how the border crossing will go. Well this time we got a pleasant gal at the window but we did have to go inside for paperwork, and here too we have a friendly border guard that served us. She does the fingerprinting and eye shots twice and within an hour we are good to go. Surprisingly no checking our RV by the agricultural inspector.

You need to use common sense when following your GPS directions, especially when in unknown territory.

This was our first encounter with South Dakota Parks unique and efficient registration system. A direct phone line to their call center eliminates staff at their park entrance in off season.

After the first day of driving we stayed at Watertown SD, where we landed up staying two nights because the wind had picked up overnight and was very gusty. The weather people were recommending that drivers of high profile vehicles stay off the roads.
We prefer to make our travel days about four to six hours without any rush to get to our destination. Instead of interstates we enjoy four lane highways that normally take us through small cities and towns. By comparisons from one community to another you soon realize the pride and care of people in these places. Some with well maintained homes and yards and thriving businesses, while others are run down with many closed old buildings.

After three years of use and much frustration with our Verizon Mobile Hotspot, we now purchased a Straight Talk Hotspot which also uses the Verizon network. With the use of a campgrounds internet connection we were able to register our new unit on our own while in the past we needed to spend 1 to 2 hour sessions on the phone with the Verizon helpline. Although our new unit is not very fast it does help us to stay connected with our world back home.

We had made arrangements to see friends in Henderson NE and S. Hutchinson, so we called them to tell them we would be a day later. Thanks Abe & Alice for the nice visit and the delicious apples.

Next we stopped to see Phil & Estella in S. Hutchinson, KS. They moved their trailer to a country property along the Arkansas River and use it as their cottage. We enjoyed catching up with them and seeing them again.

Harvest season for soybeans was well underway in North and South Dakota while in many places the corn is still waiting. It was interesting to see the crops change as we travelled. In Nebraska we saw many fields of soybeans, corn and sorghum still in the fields. Then in SW Arkansas and Louisiana we saw lots of cotton fields being harvested.

We saw groupings of these flowers in numerous yards in southern Arkansas and Mississippi. Can anyone help us identify these naturalized blooms?

A misty mornings start to our last day of travel.