Post #8

 Friday September 19, 2015

We left Kingsland Bay State Park for our way back to Illinois.  Driving along I90 we followed the Mohawk River and the fog from the river was very thick in some places. We didn't get any pics of the fog we were driving through.

By noon we were in Buffalo, NY.   So, we had to stop at the famous Anchor Bar (Original Buffalo Wings) for lunch.   We ate there on our way to Vermont and had to stop again because the wings are that good and the atmosphere in the building is fun.

After lunch we started driving again and got as far as Cleveland.  On the way we had the most beautiful views of the Green Mountains in a distance and also had the best views of the trees turning in to their magnificent colors.

                                                          

On the west side of Cleveland we stopped to get fuel and then went to a winery.  It was a fun place with lots of people and a band playing.  Of course we left the place with a few bottles of wine.  From there we drove about another hour and stayed at a Turnpike Wayside Rest.  It was really nice.  We had electrical hook-up and there was a building with restaurants and a small grocery store.  We didn't do much that night after driving 8 1/2 hours.  

Saturday we drove all the way to Illinois to our favorite campground in Elgin.  Again,  we were tired after driving 8 hours.  We were crazy to drive that many hours.  Monday we took care of some banking, bought groceries, updated our records at CVS, and of course stopped at Menards.   

Tuesday we started our drive to Minnesota.  Layne will be driving truck for the Sugar Beet Harvest for a farmer in Raymond, MN.  We have full hook-ups on his farm next to his shed.  We have committed to stay through the end of October to support both the sugar beet and corn harvest.

Who knew Minnesota was a leading sugar beet producer?  The 3rd largest sugar beet plant in the world is in Renville, Minnesota and if you buy American Crystal Sugar, you are buying sugar produced in MN and ND.  For the next few weeks, Layne will be driving a semi and hauling beets 14 hours a day, 6 days per week - mostly at night from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m.  The beet harvest is intense and controlled by the weather.  Generally, beets are best harvested and stored at the relay yard when temperatures are below 70 degrees which is why night harvest is important.  Beets began to consume their own sugar and to soften (liquify) within a few days of harvest.  The relay yard is where area farms drop there beets by semi load before the beets are reloaded and trucked to the processing plant.  Layne is working for a multi-generation family farm where 3 generations are working over 6000 acres (a bit over 9 square miles) of farm land.  

Before the beets are extracted from the ground, the tops are cut off by a shredder.  This is what the beets look like before the shredder chops off the tops.

Sugar beets are white or beige in color and not typically used raw like radishes or cooked like red beets.  They are considerably larger than either of the aforementioned beets.

 

Before harvesting, the tops of the beets must be moved by a shredder.  In the foreground, you can see the beets sticking out of the ground waiting for the lifter to lift them from the ground, remove most of the dirt and to put them in a hopper before transferring them to either a field cart or semi driving along the side of the lifter.

Here, beets are being transferred from a field cart, which can hold over 80,000 pounds of beets, to a semi trailer which will haul them several miles to the the transfer yard. 

Once at the transfer yard, the trucks drive up onto a ramp to be dumped.  

This is the view from the driver's safety deck where drivers wait for their truck to be dumped.

So this is our life for the next month.  Later 

Post #7

Sunday, September 14, 2025.  Today was a beautiful sunny day.  We did a little cleaning, made chili for the potluck at 5:00 and watched the Vikings play one of their worst games!  Below is a pic of the view from our RV.  It's so beautiful and peaceful.

 

Monday we started week two of our Y2V experience (A Year to Volunteer is the name of the group we are working with). Gosh, did we work. I sanded drywall all morning. Enough that my arms were ready to fall off! In the afternoon I helped scrap paint off from a 24-paned glass cupboard door. Layne had the job of hanging new doors and adding the finishing trim. We are tired.

The rest of the week we painted, caulked, sanded more drywall, installed additional doors and new flooring.  

Thankfully, it was not all work.  Tuesday night we all gathered for a pizza dinner and Thursday the Park Staff had a catered lunch for us.  

On Friday, when the project was finished, it turned out to be one of  the best experiences and we were lucky to have the greatest group of people to work with.

Below are pictures of the group: 

Here are some of the 1700's & 1800's buildings at the park:

       

Our primary task was to renovate the first floor of a mid 1800's farmhouse into two separate apartments to be rented to park staff.  The following are pictures of the rooms before we started (or early in our deconstruction) and the results of our work.  While it is not yet move-in ready, The Park staff will finish the project this winter for rental next spring for some of the summer staff.  You can find the more details/stats regarding our work HERE.

One of the Kitchens:

 

      

One of the Bedrooms:

 

One of the Livingrooms:

   

     

  

 

     

A few miscellaneous pic of us at work:

   

 

Finally, a short video of the project wrap!

Now that the project is over, we said our good bye's and hope we'll meet again.  Friday, September 19th we left to drive to our next project. Stay tuned....later.

Post #6

Sunday, September 7th we arrived at the Kingsland Bay State Park near Ferrisburgh, VT for our two weeks of volunteer work.  At 5 p.m. all 19 of us gathered to meet each other and to find out what work is hoped to be accomplished in the next two weeks.  This is a beautiful State Park on Lake Champlain with historical buildings going back to the late 1700's.  

On Monday at 9 a.m. we started renovating the 1st floor of a late 1800s farm house into two apartments. We removed walls, appliances and cabinets in the existing kitchen, bathroom and closets to create the space.  There was lots of dust and noise from hammers, saws and various tools.  Everyone was exhausted that night but excited about the progress we had made.

The rest of the week we continued to rehab the old farmhouse by building new walls, rewiring electrical circuits, adding drywall, rebuilding stairs, and replacing doors.  Much of the work included patching holes, sanding, and scraping paint from very old windows.  Some workers broke off and worked on building foot bridges and landscaping around the park.  We are truly blessed to be working with an experienced and friendly group of volunteers who have welcomed us with open arms.  EVERYONE works very hard and offers support and guidance when needed.  Bedtime comes as a well-earned reward after sharing stories around the evening campfire (BTW, a big shoutout to the Kingsland Bay Park staff for all the firewood).

 

It's Saturday, Sept. 13.  Today we went sight seeing.  We drove to the top of Mt. Philo and had an awesome view of the valley and Lake Champlain.  

Then we drove to Burlington, had lunch, bought groceries and finally washed the car.  Tonight we are resting.  Later  

Post #5

 Tuesday, September 2nd

On the road again!  Drove as far as Norwalk, Ohio and stayed at a Harvest Hosts on their land for the night.  Hey, it was free!

As we are driving, the trees are starting to do their miracle of changing colors.  Drove through a town that just finished their weekend festival.  Can't imagine what to do with a weekend of marshmallows!

 

We also drove through Cleveland, Ohio and drove by Progressive Field.

Today Thursday we drove to Buffalo, New York and had lunch at the Original Buffalo Wild Wings! The best wings we've ever had!

 

Our plan today was to tour Niagara Falls, but the day was cold with rain.  We drove to our campsite to rest and get ready for the next days of travel.  Each night we stayed at a Harvest Host. Each place was clean and had beautiful landscapes.

Today Sunday, September 7th and we are headed to Ferrisburgh, Vermont to get ready for our two weeks of volunteer work at Kingsland Bay State Park. Be sure to see our next post to tell you about our volunteer time.  Later