October 10, 2009 – Runnin’ from the snow … in a cramped camper van.

If you’ve never driven for four days across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska in an effort to outrun a horrendous winter storm – in early fall – then you’ve missed out on plenty buster! You’ve missed endless, Saskatchewan-like landscapes, dead antelope in the ditch by the bucket-full and the opportunity to enjoy a unique FM radio experience. The first seven stations on your radio dial – count ’em – are all Christian-based. Not to say there’s no diversity in this programming – there’s plenty. You’ve got your hard rock “I love Jesus” format, soft ballads for the Lord programming, a Catholic channel (God forbid) and talk radio informing the sinner on how to repent. But there are other stations to listen to as well… provided you like Clint Black or Tammy Wynette.

Things started out favourably when we left Red Deer on October 2. Writing on Stone Provincial Park down by Milk River, AB. is a real treat. Hoo-doos and petroglyphs galore – and plenty of your tax dollars spent on the new visitor centre.Our plan to visit Yellowstone was nixed when the forecast called for highs of 20 and lows of 8. I’m talking American numbers here. A daytime high well below freezing together with a projected four feet of snow just didn’t appeal to our van’s water system.

We diverted to southeast Montana, the Little Bighorn, to see where Custer made his big boo-boo. Then on to “somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota” where we were able to enjoy Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park before getting dumped on by mother nature. Despite a concerted effort we did not spot Rocky Racoon.

We’ve now managed to high-tail it as far as Sioux City, Iowa where the snow and cold are closing in on us as I write, but if we don’t park and sit for a change – water system be damned – we’ll be in Bermuda by Tuesday.

I’m happy to report that in the week or so we’ve been travelling and residing in cramped quarters, Florence has been critically wrong on only three or four occasions*.

Gerry & Florence

*gotta go now because it’s starting to snow and I haven’t yet set up the tent/dog house which serves as my sleeping quarters.