A gentle rain is falling on our camper roof as I write.  We are in Minnesota, two miles  south of Fargo, north Dakota.  Looking back on all that we have delt with in one short week,  I am truly amazed at the distance we have traveled.  And we were smart to go without a third person.  Aside fron the little problems the devil has thrown at us, we are having a truly wonderful time.
   Today, for the first time, I felt as if we were  REALLY gone.  The scenery up til now has been kinda humdrum.  But today, we traveled all the way across Minessota and up.  And I gotta tell you, the vistas are breathtaking.  We drove past miles and miles of fields of corn and wheat,  and  huge farms, with cattle and horses.   Tall silos, big red barnes.  Just like on calendars.  But what really got me was the clouds.  Every shape, color, formation, height.  You could see storms WAY off in the distance as the passed over the prairie land.  And it struck me...that's what this is.  The heartland.  Vast open spaces, going off in all directions for miles, capped with these indescribable clouds.  And these are the folks who spend their lives growing what you and I take for granted at Martin's.  I personally come away from this day with a greater appreciation of this land and its recources.
  Speaking of food, we are eating better, and have both lost weight without even trying.  We FEEL better already.  My allergies have dissapeared, and both of us have lost the puffiness that went with the  constant humidity and heat.  We have been stopping each day for lunch at local places, and have met salt of the earth people.  We take the cats into lunch with us in their carriers,  and it always starts a conversation with somebody.  We have already noticed a different attitude up here, friendly and warm.  With the exception of the Chicago area, and the Union KOA campground.   DON'T stay there.  Genuinely  cold,  indifferent people.  I will never go near there again. 
   So..tomorrow we bid farewell to the Lower 48 for good.  It will be a bittersweet moment, I am sure.  But our new home in Seward is calling even louder now, and all the folks there who are friends we have not met yet.  A shout out to Lisa--I am looking forward to those hugs!