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View of the day-Look who we found on our journey today...ProHarvest!
We had another day of driving, but we did make a couple of stops along the way. As usual we got rolling at the crack of noon...we are on vacation, after all...and there's no sense in driving in the morning when it's cool. There are hotter days to come.
We called ahead to see if our Timken area farmers were going to be around for a visit. They were. We decided to go to the bin site and leave the camper there, rather than haul it down the gravel road to the farm. We had a great visit with the Wiltse family, got to see the kids...and have they grown! It's been a few years since we have seen them...other than on FaceBook, and we know kids grow, but they are all so tall. Must be that Kansas air.
We went into Great Bend and had "lupper"...what we call it when it's to late for lunch, but early for supper. Can't pass up the Great Wall China Buffet when we are in town. After that, we started back south again.
We finally got into the area where we were starting to see the odd combine doing a test, although with the high heat of the day, we figured we would see a lot more before we hit Cherokee, OK. And we did, along with several crews heading north to their next jobs.
Even though we looked with longing at the combines in the fields making dust, the grain carts and trucks getting dumped, the reality that you just can't have the enjoyable part of the job without all the crap that goes along with it. Cleaning and loading in the heat, the drive along the narrow roads to the next stop, only to unload and start all over again. We miss the people and the combining, but not all the rest of it.
We got to Pratt, KS and were pleasantly surprised that they had finally paved over their rough cobblestone main street...well, most of it at least.
While we were there, we found the ProHarvest truck parked at the CaseIH dealership. We had to stop in to pickup the latest version of the ProHarvest hat and commemorative belt buckle. It was great to see Ray and Robert again...we usually make a point of seeing them in North Dakota at the end of their run to pick up our goods. After getting a few questions answered about our "new to us" combine operation, we took off for the last stop on our journey...Cherokee, OK.
We saw a lot more combines in the field which turned into a lot of fields already combined...but surprisingly, a lot dotting the landscape that were not combined. We had to make a detour near Burlington, which took us over to Alva, OK before we could double back to Cherokee. We know a lot of the back roads to get out to the farm, but even the best of them would have required us to get across the bridge that wasn't there anymore, so...shut up and drive.
We got out to the farm at Cherokee and John was waiting there to help us get parked. Once the camper was flanged in, we all went out to the SmokShak for a late supper and to get caught up. John's wife, Peggy, had passed away at the end of April this year and because we couldn't make the funeral, this trip had been planned to come and spend some time with him.
Tomorrow we see what has changed in the area...
View of the day-Settled in for the night in Phillipsburg, KS.
It's time for our road trip! We started out with the camper, heading west to Moose Jaw for a visit and to attend the Meatloaf concert, which had been sold out, but we had managed to get tickets for. The morning we left, we were fighting a strong SW wind, which made the going pretty slow...just the start to the jinxy day.
We made it to Moose Jaw, went to the campground that we had booked a spot in, only to find out there was no sewer hookup for our spot and the campground was full. No problem, they told us, they have a dump spot that we can use. We decided to dump all the tanks before we got parked and after looping around a couple of times to get the camper facing the right direction through the narrow aisles...the dump station was locked and there was a sign stating we needed to get a key from the office. We would do without dumping.
We get to the camp site, get backed in to the spot and start hooking up the water. The valve must have frozen during the winter because the water was spraying from several locations which cut the main pressure down quite a bit. No problem, we just snagged water from the neighbors.
Saturday we got a bit of visiting in with Marilyn's mom and dad, Anne and John...they even made it out to the camper and up the steps, which was no easy task for John, who will be celebrating his 90th birthday in August and has a bad knee.
We took a tour out to the Sukanen Pioneer Museum, south of Moose Jaw, to check the lay of the land for the upcoming Pioneer Days and Red Power Roundup in July. We will be setting up some tables of toys, along with Roger and Linda Miller, July 16 & 17. They have primitive camping and we thought we would see if it would work to just stay out there during the show, but opted to stay in town.
The museum looks like it will be quite interesting to nose around in while we are there and we were surprised to see the field across from it in heads already!
We were all ready to see Meatloaf. Al had secured parking that was not too far from the stadium, so we proceeded to walk over. Marilyn got a text from her friend who was already there which said "the show is cancelled, Meatloaf is sick". We didn't believe her until we started walking a bit further and the foot traffic coming back from the stadium was heavier that those head to it.
We asked a few people and it had been confirmed. We sat on the parkbench on the corner of Main St., watching everyone go by for a while, then went back to the camper. It had not been a good day.
Sunday, we packed up the camper, got the key and cleaned the tanks before heading south. We could have taken a shorter route, but opted to add about 15 miles to the jaunt so we could cross the USA border at our old familiar spot. We kind of know what to expect there.
Once we were through the gates and waved on, we made Minot our first stop. Pizza Ranch and supplies at Walmart. We left there at 7pm and started driving, thinking we would at least get into South Dakota and stay at the campground in Herried. Nope. It was full, so we kept driving til midnight when we pulled into the town park at Gettysburg.
Today we were hoping to make it to Lacrosse, KS and even though we started out a lot earlier, it seemed Nebraska would never end. It was hot, but at least the traffic was light and we made good time. The sun was just starting to hit the horizon when we made it to Phillipsburg where we decided to pull the pin for the night. At least here we have enough juice to use both airconditioners, water pressure to paste you to the shower wall and an unlocked dump.
And we finally got our Sonic milkshake...
View of the day-Getting ready to get the seed saver mounted on to the new pickup head. Almost like the old days...
We had a busy spring, toy shows galore, which spilled into a short holiday in the sunny south.
The Yorkton Toy Show was a busy weekend for us, starting with the setup for the auction on Friday. One year, everything will go smoothly, but for now we have more to add to the "things to change for next year" list. All in all it turned out very well and we were able to raise ? from the Charity Tractor which went to two year old Lincoln Lipinski.
The rest of the weekend was filled with the toy show, which is always a lot of fun, since we don't have the long drive home like we do at the other shows. Prime example, Lloydminster, 750 mile round trip.
Al had decided we wouldn't be going to Lloydminster, since the Morden, Manitoba toy show always falls on the following weekend. Plans changed when we realized the Phoenix trip we had planned was right after the Morden show, so Lloydminster was the March show for us.
We had an exciting 10 days lined up for our trip to Phoenix, Arizona at the end of March. Al's brother, Jeff and his wife Michele have a house in Maricopa that they graciously let us use for our time down there. Jeff also knows "a guy" that was able to get us tickets to four Arizona Coyotes games during the week we were there...pretty much the only way Marilyn was able to get Al to go on the trip.
We drove down to Minot to fly Allegiant, and the flight down was uneventful...except for the hour delay before we left. We got there in good time and were greeted at the airport by Roger and Linda Miller, Al's toy show buddy and his wife. They winter in Arizona and would be our tour guides for part of the visit, they also had tickets with us for the hockey games. It was a busy week and we almost had time to see all the things we wanted to, except to take in a Cactus League spring training baseball game.
Jeff had a vehicle for us to drive, which was a big help, until they came down at the end of the week for the easter break, so we rented a vehicle for the last couple of days. Our driving/navigation skills were put to the test, but by the time we left, we were starting to feel somewhat at ease getting where we needed to be.
Our hockey games fell every other night, so we tried to jam in as much sightseeing as we could. We made it to the Grand Canyon, although it was just at sunset, which was beautiful and a lot less crowded, but it didn't leave much time to look around.
We took a drive a couple of days later to see the meteor crater and to stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona. Both of those items were on Al's "todo" list. We couldn't have asked for better weather and the break from all the hectic days at work, the toy show, the theatre group...and the cold and snow, made this trip one to remember. Al is even trying to figure out when we can bring our camper down to spend a couple of months next winter. Marilyn is not arguing with that...not one bit.
The hockey games were great, too. Being able to come out of the games in shirt sleeves and actually get out of the parking lot in less time than it takes to get out of a local junior hockey game was a pleasant surprise. The tickets prices for the great seats we were in got Al thinking about maybe getting season tickets. Marilyn thought that might be a bit much.
Another "must see" for us was to watch the field at the NFL stadium get rolled out for watering. What a spectacle! The whole field rolls out to get sun and watered, since it is in a domes stadium. We actually got to take a tour of the stadium a couple of days later and plans are in the works to get down there for a Seahawks game in October...providing harvest is done by then.
We ended our trip with the last item on Al's list...a picture beside a real cactus. We had passes so many of them on our various jaunts, but there never seemed to be any place to pull off to get close to them for a decent shot. Jeff took us for a tour on our last day and found a beauty for Al to sidle up to.
We got back to Minot in one piece and headed for the frozen north, getting there just in time to see the switch taking place. Young's Equipment out of Regina was delivering our "new to us" combine and picking up our 7088 that we had traded in.
While Marilyn had the combine cleaned up from the fall, the 2012 model 8230 that was getting dropped off was not in the same state. Even though it had been shedded, it had seen a lot of mud and had been put away too late in the season to wash. This combine was a trade in from Al's toy buddy Roger, so we knew what shape it was in and how it had been looked after. Marilyn finally has her auto-steer, but had to sacrifice the lateral tilt on the feeder house...perhaps it won't matter as much since terraces are no where to be found in this area.
We made it through the big tax rush in April at H&R Block...taxes do make the public a bit crazy and it didn't let up much after the deadline. As with the harvesting world, we just shut up and drive, to get it done.
We are now looking forward to getting away for a week or so in June. Marilyn was able to get tickets to see Meatloaf in Moose Jaw, so we will take the camper there for a couple of days...see the show and get a good visit in with a lot of Marilyn's family living there. A few weeks earlier, Marilyn and her family had attended the funeral of her uncle Tony in Wadena.
Just as they were leaving for home, her aunt Mary gave them an old picture that she had found. On the spur of the moment and with everyone in a rush to get home, the group decided to re-enact the picture...and how fortunate, big brother, Tim had a guitar with him.
After our concert, we will be taking a road trip south to visit with our harvest families all the way down to Oklahoma. On the way back we will, of course, hit the summer toy show in Lamoure, ND, to pick up treasures ordered throughout the winter. Some of which we will need to fill the tables at the summer toy shows we will be setting up at...Killarney, Manitoba, Moose Jaw, Yorkton...and we might even get started harvesting...
View of the day-The front yard shop is looking rather festive.
Kind of fell down on the job, but it has been so hectic over the past two months that the harvest would seem like a holiday right about now.
Since the last post, there have been toy shows, drama festivals, more toy shows, dinner theatres, harvesters convention...and work.
Al and Roger did the toy show in Regina, then headed down to Dyersville for the big show down there. They got back from Dyersville just in time to make it to Marilyn's performance at the drama festival hosted by the theatre group that she is involved with. Or, as Al refers to it when they need to borrow a trailer or something..."That effin, theatre group". He has been officially elected the president of that Paper Bag Players auxilary group.
Marilyn was acting in a short play about two women in an elevator, with another long time Paper Bag Player member, Teresa...her husband Allan is the vice-president of the effin theatre group. We did manage to win runner up to best play, or as Marilyn refers to it "first last place", we also got honorable mention for both actresses and our director got a nod as well.
With that out of the way, we had to scramble to get ready for the big toy show at AgriTrade in Red Deer, Alberta. A long drive, but at least the show is four days long, so it didn't seem like we were running in to ourselves on the road home. The weather was absolutely gorgeous this year, which made loading and unloading somewhat less painful, not to mention the great roads on the way home...no snow.
The toy show was in a different building this year...a nice change from having to take turns hauling stuff up the two person elevator that we had to use in the past, and the change of venue didn't hurt sales, which was a bonus.
We nicely got home after the toy show and it was time for Marilyn to get ready for the dinner theatre, the last two weekends in November...followed by the annual convention for the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters...this year in Lethbridge, Alberta.
We got to Lethbridge...again with fabulous weather and that was a great change from the last convention there two years ago, when a terrific blizzard hit the area. The weather brought a good turnout, so we got lots of visiting in with everyone.
This wasn't a "big machinery" year, so we didn't have a lot of tires to kick, but we still managed to get a pile of information from all the vendors that attended. Marilyn was finally able to hand over the secretary-treasurer duties to Jenny Bashutski, one of the younger members who are still involved in the USA harvest run...one less iron in the fire for Marilyn.
Once again, there were a lot of cool items up for grabs at the auction...CaseIH came up with another original offering...a smoker make out of a muffler from a combine. Al was really wanting to get the neon MacDon light, but it went a little to high for his wallet.
We did, however, come home with a CaseIH flag, a jacket and toque(stocking cap for you southerners) and a 1/64 New Holland 9090 combine...special, because it is a rare, blue colored, chase unit.
We got home on Friday, then Marilyn had to take the toy trailer, which was loaded with set pieces, to Preeceville...about 60 miles northwest...for the final performance of the Christmas play. This was for Preecvilles town party, so it was a great crowd and once the booze starts flowing, everything gets funnier. That's booze for the audience, of course...not the actors.
Finally a break in the mayhem...for a week, at least. Marilyn and her theatre peeps treated themselves to a drama weekend in Saskatoon, where they got a backstage tour of Persephone Theatre, before watching a performance of a play they had done for Christmas a few years back.
We had Al's family Christmas on December 23 in Grayson at his brother, Ed and Sandy's place. Then did Marilyn's side, going to her sister, Marg and Kim's at Carlyle for Christmas day dinner. Marilyn had to work Christmas Eve day and Boxing Day, so we didn't go far.
For Christmas this year, we decided to get each other one big gift, so we are now the proud owners of a Phantom 3 Professional 4K drone...wait until you see the video and pictures this thing will take. We haven't done any flying with it yet...we want to make sure to do a lot of simulated flying with it before we actually send it up. Plus, we live four miles from the Yorkton airport, so we will have to get a bit farther out.
Marilyn did decide to test out the first part of the video she watched by putting it in beginner mode and starting the propellers. Everything worked just as instructed. She used the controls to lift it off the counter and hover about two feet...still worked perfect. Then, without touching any of the controls, it started to drift ever so slightly towards the patio doors. Rather than panic and hit the wrong levers to send it, God knows where, she decided to use the "return to home" button on the controller, which she assumed would set it back down where it had taken off from. Doesn't work that way.
The drone was close enough that she could have just grabbed one of the legs and just shut it down by hand, but that hadn't been covered in the video, so no way she was doing that. Al, meanwhile, was sitting at the table watching this unfold, ready to duck at any moment, should it aim for him. This whole episode took no more than 45 seconds, but at the time it seemed like a lot longer. Anyway, when Marilyn hit the return to home, she had not gotten to the part of the video, which states that when the button is pressed the drone rises to 98 feet to clear obstacles before heading home! So now it is heading for the patio doors and once it contacts the draw string for the verticle blinds, down it goes, then it lays there with lights flashing, buzzing like a mad wasp that had only been caught with half a swatter swipe.
Nothing was broken...the cable wound around the props helped to set it down somewhat gently. Unfortunately, the camera wasn't rolling. Several lessons learned.
January is here and we are back at the driving thing again. We had the toy show in Saskatoon the weekend of the 16, then we got home Sunday night and left for Brandon, Manitoba to set up the ACCHI booth at AgDays.
We set up Monday and looked after the booth Tuesday until 3:30, got spelled off by some Manitoba harvesters so we could get back to Yorkton for the Terrier hockey game.
Now we are getting into crunch time for the Yorkton Farm Toy auction, February 12, that Al is organizing. The toy show follows that on the 13th and 14th. For the past 8 years we have done up 35 "show tractors", this year was the 450 Versatile with Grouser blade. We create stickers for the tractors and boxes...here is the fleet.
Oh...and Marilyn finally got her auto-steer! We had to get a different combine to do it, since Al wasn't going to add an aftermarket system to the 7088. We bought a used CaseIH 8230 loaded with everything but field tracker. This machine was one of Al's toy buddy, Roger's, combines. They were upgrading, so the timing was perfect for us. It is the same year as our 7088 but it has less hours.
AND IT HAS AUTO-STEER...
View of the day-Technically, yesterday. Before and after. We officially called it "done" and washed the combine.
Al spent a few days driving around the area, checking to see if there was any work to be found. On the one hand, it seemed we should be doing something with the fabulous harvest weather, that just refuses to leave...and we're not complaining at all! On the other hand, it would take some doing to get back into the "zone" and we aren't feeling it anymore for this year.
We started washing the combine and watched across the road as the baler man finally got going again and just a mile south of that, there was canola being combined. We had nicely gotten everything hooked up to start washing, when the rain came and put the kibosh on that. Marilyn wanted to run the brush over the combine quickly so the rain would end up doing all the work of rinsing it off, but it started to pour, so we had to quit. As did the baler man and the combines. The sun came out about an hour later and we got the job done.
The last couple of weeks have been spent getting everything ready for storage. With the camper winterized and parked along side the General in the "shop", half the fleet is where it belongs. Al took the straight header down to its winter lodging...Kim's shed at Carlyle, so that is out of the elements for the winter.
The combine isn't so lucky, although it does get nestled between the house and the pines...after serving as a tree trimming platform.
And speaking of trees...it would appear there is a good crop growing in the eaves of the house.
While Marilyn is back at work and getting ready for a couple of theatre events, Al is getting in the zone for a toy show in Regina at the end of October, followed by a road trip with Roger and another friend, to Dyersville, Iowa for the National Farm Toy Show. Marilyn misses out again.
She does get to go to the Regina Show...
View of the day-Cleaning time and for a change, it is Al doing the cleaning instead of Marilyn.
We get home and the wheels fall off the blog, couldn't seem to find time to get yesterday's in until today.
Today was pretty much spent emptying the camper and cleaning the combine. It got blown off and greased up, but it hasn't had a wash yet.
Just in case we find more work...
View of the day-Al driving the combine on the trailer for the trip home.
We had an early morning lined up as we got into Yorkton to fuel up and meet with the trucker that was going to haul the combine home. After exchanging information, we hit the road.
We hadn't gotten far from town when we ran into some rain...and then through some really heavy rain that gave the wipers a workout. The oddest thing was that there was lightning...in October...something you don't often see in these parts. However, by the time we got to Kipling, dust was flying on the gravel roads.
We got to the farm, got the truck lined up and got the combine loaded and chained down. All we had to do was drive the combine on...the trucker did the rest while we watched. Al is really liking this part of the harvest. Once we had the sign up on the pilot vehicle, we were on our way. Marilyn in the pilot vehicle, the combine load, followed by Al in the General.
We made it to Yorkton...the rain had all but stopped, then got the combine unloaded and went for lunch before taking the combine back to the farm. Marilyn had play rehearsal, so Al caught a ride back into town to bring the General home.
And it's almost done for the season...almost...
