Austin, Manitoba.

We never got to take that walk our last day in Brandon, sort of just crashed out doing nothing but we enjoyed it non the less.
Yesterday we left the camping around 10am and drove a couple of km. to a truck wash to give the beast and our little home a bit of a wash. A waste of time and money, the road to the camping we are parked at the moment "Shady Oaks" is down a gravel road, we now have fine film of dust over every thing.
Austin is only 70km. from Brandon so we were all set up here by lunchtime, quick butty and coffee and of to visit the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, what a place hundreds of old tractors, threshing machines, steam engines. I was in my element poor Ruth put on a good face but I think she enjoyed the homesteaders village. We have visited quite a few of these villages on our
trip, this one is by far the best.
It was very hot yesterday and after a couple of hours we gave up went into Austin village to buy a few groceries and back to the camping.

 At the truck wash, cost a dollar a minute

 Some of the old Tractors

 Steam engine

 Log cabin of an early settler

 This house built towards the end of the 19th. century when the people had more money, it evan has central heating with a furnace in the basement and grills in the floor for the hot air to rise up through the house.

 Looking down the village street.

 The grain tower in Austin, still in use

 Downtown Austin, we are parked 3rd. on left

 This was the temperature when we got back to the camping 4:20 pm, 32 inside  37.5 out it acutely went up to 38.9 by 5 à clock; the inside temp went down to 27 with help of the ac.                                                                          

Today Thursday, writing this, the temp. went up to 39.8 outside and people think Canada is a frozen wasteland!

 final pic. last nights bbq.                     

Tomorrow we head north to Riding Mountain National Park.

Brandon Manitoba

We are parked up at The Meadowlark Campground in Brandon, we arrived Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of the day refilling the pantry and fridge.  Sunday was a day for exploring Brandon and yesterday we went to the Riverside Park for the Canada Day celebrations. Today we are going to buy a new TV. the one we have is ok but does not have HDMI, and we need that to link up the ipad so we can watch BBC iplayer. Watching tv on this side of the Atlantic is actually watching adverts with a bit of programming in between, every time you get to a good bit in a movie they switch on the adds, drives you nuts.
After our shopping trip this morning we are hoping to go on a nature trail hike so hopefully will have some photos of Brandon and area.

Mille Lacs Minnesota to Brandon Manitoba

No wifi at the last 3 campgrounds so sorry no blogs. We left mille Lacs and travelled to the Detroit Lakes area distance around 190km. We stayed at a simple camping with great people and a 'pub':  a huge industrial building all done up inside with a bar in the middle, a stage in one corner and room to dance all round. We had a great happy hour and more, good conversation and cold beer.   Marvin & Sally are the hosts here, what a great job they are doing.                                        

  A couple or 3 of pics I managed to take after leaving the pub.

We left the next morning to drive to Jamestown, North Dakota, a distance of 225km.The scenery in this part of Minnesota, was beautiful, the road seemed to go through the middle of the lakes!

The camping in Jamestown was tatty and tired, and you could reach out the window and shake hands with  the camper next door, still it was within walking distance to  "Frontier Village"; and shops, lakes, and two rivers only a short drive away.

 Bet this mode of transport was not very comfortable.

 Great old log cabin

 this old f

ella looks over the village

 Ruth checking to see if there are any Robinsons on this board (as it used to be one of the family sidelines a couple or 3 hundred years ago.Last look down the street.

Jamestown is built on an old Sioux Indian meeting place of two rivers. The Indians were moved on in 1863!

 The James River on the left and The Pipestem on the right, just look at that sky! This original summer meeting place of The Sioux, is now a park, with a board telling the sad tale of a lost nation.                                                 

We had two nights here, really enjoyed this smart little town, spending some time bird watching at the various wetlands.  

`We then moved on to a camping just north of the village of Harvey called the Haven -  - small, just 8 places in contrast to Jamestown (they would get maybe 50 campers on this hill) It was  a little paradise. We were amazed by the vast skies in this prairie landscape.

 Entrance to The Haven. Here we are at the top of the hill trying to make our minds up where to park, we had a choice of 7 places.  What about that sky? 

This is Gus the Gopher their pet "greeter"

 

 An American Goldfinch

Birds every where.

 Gus again, he is the star at The Haven. Thank you Barb. & Larry for a wonderful stay,  one night was far too short.

The distance Jamestown to The Haven 182km.