From Wisconsin to Minnesota

We left Grant River Recreation Area this morning and journeyed to the Minneapolis area where we've stopped for the night at a Sam's Club.

It was a wee bit chilly this morning at the campground (and inside the bus).

We took mainly US 61 from Wisconsin north and west to La Crosse and to I-90. Wow - that road was REALLY rough. Many things shook loose as we were driving (nothing major, just various things on the floor when we stopped that had previously been on a table or chair).

We stopped at Costco in Rochester, MN, to activate a membership that we had gotten through Groupon this past week. We also got a rotisserie chicken and made lunch/supper in their parking lot.

Then we headed up US 52 toward St Paul. This road was not as rough, but had a number of construction areas where it narrowed to one lane.

I always wonder about the etiquette of merging when a road narrows to one lane... some people say that you should stay in your lane and do a "zipper merge" at the end, making full use of both lanes for as long as possible. Others merge as soon as they see that there is going to be a lane closed and don't like the people who stay in the other lane... I have tended to be a "merge as soon as I know I have to" type of person, but, in this case, I didn't know that the road was narrowing to one lane for a long time.

When I finally got to the sign that let me know that the right lane was closed ahead, it had an interesting additional sign...

That's pretty clear, "Take Turns at Merge" - so do a zipper merge.

Interestingly, almost everyone else had lined up in the left lane, there were very few vehicles in front of me in the right lane. I didn't go all the way up to the end, but just kinda kept pace with the vehicles that I was beside at the time I realized I needed to merge, and one kind soul allowed me over. With Miss Doozie's size, I can push my way in, but was glad I didn't have to.

So, we've settled in at the Sam's Club - I was checking diesel prices and Sam's had a good price and it looked like we could get in and out. So, I called the club and asked if we could park the motorhome overnight, and they said yes. There is a Walmart next door, but my AllStays app says that it does not allow overnight parking, and when I tried to call, I didn't get anyone to answer with customer service. The parking lot at the Walmart has an odd entrance/exit that would have been challenging in Miss Doozie, so we're happily here at Sam's.

Tomorrow the plan is to head north toward Itasca State Park, with another overnight at a Walmart in that area tomorrow night before checking in to the park's campground on Sunday.