We started early today because we had a long drive and we were going to lose an hour in time zone Day Light Savings Time. The morning was low 60’s and mostly sunny. As we drove East we could see clouds ahead and by the time we were just short of Winnipeg we had some sprinkles. We turned South from Hwy 1 and eventually ended up on Hwy 59, then Hwy 52 and finally 12. . The further South we got, the clouds started to thin and by the time we crossed the US Border into Minnesota, we had sun, and it stayed with us the rest of the way.
The scenery thru Saskatchewan and Manitoba were pretty much like yesterday. The land was flat farmland and there were the occasional rolling hills. The traffic was light until the Winnipeg area, and that is understandable, it is a large city with a lot of people. The truck traffic was also very heavy.
We turned South and the traffic stayed with us and then we made a couple more turns and finally on HWY 12 the traffic thinned disappeared essentially.
We did stop a couple of times, once for gas and the other was to get Kelso watered. We were on Hwy 12 and I wanted a decent grass area if I could find one. Most of the Hwy had a house or 2 every mile that was set was back and about all you could see was the drive. I saw a small sign that said picnic area and showed a table. It turned out to be on the left side so I did a U turn and went back. It was probably an acre or more of land with a large circular drive that went around the perimeter and there was mowed grass, overflowing dumpster and a table. I let Kelso out, off leash because we were away from the road, and there was nobody there. He had a great time and walked around for about 15 to 20 minutes and then we got back in the car.
We crossed the U S Border, the Canadian Hwy went right by the Canadian Customs Bldg and about a mile later the U S Customs appeared. There was one lane open and as I approached the only car there, at the booth, was leaving so I drove right up. Everything went well and after several minutes we were on our way. We followed Hwy 11 as it curved along the Canadian- US Border all the way to the City of International Falls.
When we crossed the Border we lost an hour even though Manitoba and Minnesota are both in the Central Time Zone. Manitoba is on Standard Time and Minnesota is on Daylight Savings Time. Tomorrow we visit with Curt & Ozzie in Bemidji Minnesota. They also have a winter home in Burnt Store Marina and it will be good to see them.
The 1st three pictures below are in Manitoba, the 4th one is in Minnesota. They are Hwy 59, Hwy 52, Hwy 12 and Hwy 11. Not a lot of difference except the sky. Notice the traffic!
