More Minnesota Observations

   Did I say humidity?  Boy, I know why I decided not to come back here after I left the Marines.  I hate the sticky body feeling.  I showered this morning and could do it again and it's still morning.  I can't imagine what it would be like being in the South.  Maybe to lessen the effect, the weather people do not tell you what the humidity is.  We talk about dew point.  I have gotten from watching the weather on the news, the higher the dew point, the higher the humidity.  Why don't they just say "the humidity is...."?   Also they combine the dew point and temperature and get something called the "heat index".  Evidently it is the summer equivalent of the winter wind chill.  It doesn't help.

   Corn    Drive around the country and you see corn.  Corn everywhere.  Because of the corn and ecology, ethanol plants have been built in the area.  There are two plants near Fairmont, one for corn and one for soy beans.  Most gas stations have an ethanol pump.  The price of ethanol is about $.50 a gallon less than unleaded.  The trade-off is that ethanol does not burn as hot so fuel mileage is less.   I'm not sure which is a better deal.

   Neatness.  Driving around Mankato and Fairmont and driving around the country, you do not see junk.  You do not see yards filled with trash or abandoned vehicles.  It is a good thing.

   Rust.   If you drive a vehicle in winter around here, you will get rust.  They put salt products on the roads to help the ice melt.  In our country sand or pumice is spread.  Of course Oregon does not have the weather that Minnesota has.  Cold.  Snow.   The result is that cars rust.  Around the wheel wells, Pick-up tailgates.  I would not buy a used car from here.   Collector cars are put away for the winter.

   Central Day Time   Two hours different from the West Coast.  Also, the network programs are broadcast an hour earlier.  Not a bad thing if you go to bed early,  At home and in the trailer I dont care because I have a satellite, so I record the programs I like and watch them when I choose.

Soy Beans.  The trees in the distance are farm sites.