Lady Luck Drive

Another first for parking the Airstream overnight. Tonight we are at the Grand Casino Hinckley, owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. We have heard that RV parks at Casinos are a good deal and we are certainly pleased with where we are tonight.

This morning we left the Parkland Village Campground in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. The campground is still open because, as the campground operator told us, the hunters are still needing spaces. At the entrance to the campground were these more-than-life-sized statues of a deer and an orange moose. The building behind the moose was called the Orange Moose Bar and Grille.

We had over 100 miles to travel in Wisconsin today and passed many lovely farms through rolling countryside. This may be the first turquoise barn I have ever seen.

Another lovely farm. The fall colors are definitely past peak. Now there are mostly oak trees that are brown and russet.

Something about oversized replicas intrigues us.

Wisconsin farm.

This truck was hauling containers filled with ducks.

We stopped at the first Rest Stop/Visitor Center after entering Minnesota. In the parking lot was this load of pontoon boats. Maybe they are on their way to Kentucky.

This is Imogene. She provided us with a stack of information about the Great River Road - maps, attractions along the way, and various routes and itineraries. Maybe it would be easier if there was just one; now we have decisions to make.

The Minnesota Visitor Center.

We had originally planned on staying in a campground on the outskirts of Minneapolis, the southwest side. We got into Minnesota about 12:30 pm, and after looking at a map and considering that we are going to the Duluth area for a geo-site, we decided to postpone the Minneapolis stay and head north along the eastern border of Minnesota. That is when we found the Grand Casino RV Resort in Hinckley, Minnesota, only about 60 miles from where we are going tomorrow, the Jay Cooke State Park.

Here's the Grand Casino and part of the huge RV park that covers maybe twenty acres.

There are only a handful of RVs here this evening - mid-week. We were told a lot more come on the week-ends.

After we got set up there was a very brief rain shower. Right after we noticed this rainbow right over the Casino.  I think it will be a lucky night!

At the end of our campsite there is a pole with a red flag similar to a flag on a mailbox. A shuttle bus cruises the campground and will stop to pick up anyone who puts up their flag. The shuttle then travels on Lady Luck Drive to the Casino.

Just like Las Vegas!

We went to the Casino to try our luck at the restaurants. We chose the Grand Grill Americana where both of us had prime rib. This is Amanda, our server, who would say, "Oh kay", in good Minnesota style.

We had an interesting experience. During dinner the power went off momentarily and, for those of you who have seen "Oceans Eleven", it was just like in the movies. Very shortly there was an announcement that a power surge had caused the outage. Sure.

The grand Casino at night.

This couple was on our shuttle bus back to the campground only they got off at the Hotel. I didn't get their names, but this woman was celebrating her 70th birthday today. Notice her corsage. Happy Birthday!