Our Great 2010 RV Escape

Big Trip: Statistics and Lessons Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:24:00 +0000

Now that we've been back for a while and I've had time to get my thoughts together, I thought it would be interesting and/or useful for future reference to do a run-down on some trip data and lessons learned.

If you would like to take a look, click here.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggy-Jig

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 02:22:00 +0000

I can't believe we're home! We arrived at the house around 4 PM today and spent less than an hour with Mary, the house sitter, for the hand-off. Then Mary finished loading up her car and off she went.

The cats are hiding because the dogs are running around. We've caught a couple glimpses of Rosco but Celia is tucked away somewhere - no doubt planning her grand entrance. It may take a little while but I'm sure everyone will get used to each other and things will settle down.

And so we'll spend the new few days transitioning back into the house. The Trek is parked out front (our neighbors must love that) so we can begin unloading tomorrow... it will take several hours to brings clothes, books, tools and other equipment back into the house and then put everything away.

I wonder how long it will be before I get restless and want to get back on the road? We hope to go to Florida in January, but that is months away... can I last that long? We'll get the Trek all cleaned up over the next week or so and have the oil changed so she's ready to go again when we are.

I miss her already.

Ohio - Dayton: Visit with Dede

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:17:00 +0000

We left the Streetsboro KOA yesterday morning and made the 200-mile drive to the Dayton area without any trouble.

We were settled into the Bass Lake campground at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) by around 3 PM and took the dogs for a walk. This campground is not fancy, but its clean and functional and a good place to stay if you need to be in the Dayton area.

Our friend Dede came over around 5 PM and it was so nice to see her - its been about 18 years! I first met her in 1986 when we were stationed at Travis AFB in California, and then we were stationed together again in Germany at Lindsey Air Station from 1990 to 1992. This is also where I first met Lynda, and so the three of us have known each other for 20 years or more. Dede is now retired from the Air Force.

Dede was very pleased to meet Sydney and Barley. A big-time dog-lover, she is very involved in the local dog obedience club and frequently runs her dog, Sadie, in CPE trials, etc. Dede loaded us and the dogs up in her SUV and took us out to a dog park where Sydney and Barley ran around off-leash and got some real exercise. They really had fun! Then we dropped them off back at the campground and Dede took us over to the Gem City Dog Obedience Club land facility, which is very impressive. She told us a good deal about how this 43-year old club is run and it sounds excellent. The GCDOC would be a great club to model after! We spent some time at the outdoor area, watching dogs undergo various training and meeting some of Dede's friends.

Dede came over again this morning, and the three of us went over to the National Museum of the Air Force, which is on Wright-Patterson AFB. Enthusiasts come from all the world to visit this museum and you could easily spend several days looking at the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of exhibits. We were there for about two hours and barely scratched the surface, but at least we saw a little bit!

After the museum, we had lunch at Olive Garden and then went over to Dede's house to visit Sadie. Not surprisingly, this little dog is very cute and we could easily understand why Dede is so fond of her!

Dede had a commitment to teach a dog obedience class this evening and so she dropped us back at the campground around 5:30 PM. It's been a nice visit and it was great to have this time to catch up - hopefully, we won't let so much time go by before we see each other again!

As hard as this is to believe, we head home tomorrow! I'm a little sad that Our Great RV Escape is winding down, although it will be nice to see family and friends after being gone for over 5 months.

Ohio - Streetsboro: Visit with 'Rain and Mare

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:02:00 +0000

We left the Riverside Park Motel and Campground around 10 AM, in plenty of time to make the 220-mile drive to Streetsboro, Ohio where we would spend the night and have dinner with some old friends.

We made the border crossing at Buffalo, NY and got through without any issues. This was our 10th and final border crossing for Our Great RV Escape. Although other people have reported unpleasant experiences going back and forth between Canada and the US in their RVs, we've had no trouble at all. Perhaps we're just lucky.

The plan was that my friends would pick us up at the Streetsboro KOA at 6:30 PM, and I wanted to arrive at least a couple hours early so we had plenty of time to set up, walk the dogs, and freshen up. In fact, we even had time to take Sydney and Barley to the little KOA dog park and let them run around off -leash, which they really like.

I met 'Rain and Mare, who are cousins, in 1976 when I was a sixteen year-old exchange student with the American Field Service (AFS). Although I was an American citizen, AFS selected me to represent Barbados and I spent a year attending 12th grade at Euclid High School in Euclid, Ohio. I had already graduated from high school in Barbados but attending 12th grade was part of the deal. Anyway, I made some great friends during that year in Ohio, with 'Rain and 'Mare being a big part of the core group I hung out with. I have not seen these "girls" since we were 18 or 19, when they came to visit me in Barbados during the summer of 1978. I was really looking forward to catching up!

Just as planned, 'Rain and Mare picked us up from the KOA at 6:30 PM and we went to a nearby Applebee's for dinner. It was so great to see them! We exchanged news about children, husbands (a mixed bag), parents, and other friends. Although 32 years have gone by, we slipped right back into our friendship... isn't that amazing and wonderful? And Lynda was such a good sport - she sat quietly and just absorbed as much as she could.

Well after a couple hours, we had to end our little reunion and the girls brought us back to the KOA. We promised not to let another 32 years go by before we see each other again!

We leave tomorrow for Dayton, Ohio to visit Dede who we both knew in the Air Force. We reconnected via Facebook last year and it will be really good to see her. Stay tuned!

Canada - Niagara Falls: Butterfly Conservancy, Botanical Gardens, Legends of the Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 02:41:00 +0000

Our little group got going around 9 AM this morning and we stopped at the Boathouse restaurant for a good breakfast in preparation for another day of sightseeing.

This time we parked at the Butterfly Conservancy and Botanical Gardens and then spent the next couple hours enjoying the butterflies and the gardens. I must say the Butterfly Conservancy in Niagara Falls is the very best facility of its kind that I've ever visited, and I've been to several. The variety and numbers of butterflies is amazing - there are over 2000 butterflies floating freely among the lush, exotic blossoms and greenery in the conservancy.

After enjoying the Butterfly Conservancy, we spent quite a while walking around the Botanical Gardens, which are free for the public to enjoy. The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens were originally established in 1936 as the Training School for Apprentice Gardeners and in 1959 were renamed the NPC School of Horticulture. With an increase in garden development and quality of the plant collections, the school campus was officially declared a botanical garden in 1990. The gardens are beautiful and definitely worth a visit - pictures speak louder than words!

While walking around the gardens, we happened upon an aviary housing ducks and other domesticated fowl. In this aviary was a most amazing bright-red streak of bird which a park worker told me is a Golden Pheasant, also known as a Chinese Pheasant and as a Red Golden Pheasant. It was very difficult to get a good photo of this bird because he kept dashing around, pecking at the ground and generally staying very busy.

After strolling around the gardens, we got something to eat at the Butterfly Cafe and then hopped back in the cars to make our way toward town. We did make one stop along the way, however, at a large souvenir shop where Lynda and I bought some shirts to commemorate our visit. Then we went on to the IMAX theatre, where there was plenty of parking, to watch the Legends & Daredevils movie. I give this movie a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 - I was glad to see it, but the movie was not the amazing experience it was advertised to be and really did not add that much to our knowledge of Niagara Falls.

Back at the RV park, Lynda did some laundry while I began to pack up the Trek. Later on, we gathered over at the Fleeman's coach to have some of Judi's homemade chili for dinner.

The Fleemans and Chip and Carolyn are staying for another day or so, but we are leaving in the morning to visit long-time friends in Ohio. We've had a fun time here at Niagara Falls but I'm ready to get on the road again for a couple more adventures before we finally head home.

It's hard to believe that our Great RV Escape is winding down and we'll be home in less than a week!

Canada - Niagara Falls: Behind the Falls, Niagara's Fury, Whirlpool Aero Car

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 02:22:00 +0000

Our little group got going around 9:30 AM this morning and, once again, we parked at the Floral Clock and took the Peoplemover bus toward town.

On the way, we decided to stop and visit the Cham Shan Buddhist Temple. Cham Shan means "Ten Thousand Buddas," probably in reference to the precious collections of Buddhist arts and artifacts housed in the large Chinese style building on the 3-acre compound. A giant bronze Buddha statue and a statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara are on the property so devotees can make offerings and pay homage to the Buddha. It was interesting and peaceful to walk around the grounds.

After our temple visit, we rode another bus into town and got off at the Table Rock Welcome Centre to go on the Journey Behind the Falls - the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, to be specific.

We were each issued a yellow rain poncho and then took an elevator 150 feet down to tunnels that lead to the Cataract Portal and the Great Falls Portal. Walking through the tunnels themselves was not that impressive but when we stood out on the observation deck, it was amazing to watch one-fifth of the world’s fresh water crashing down to the basin below. The noise and the wind and the water were overwhelming!

Back up top, we decided to check out Niagara's Fury, which is an intense presentation about the creation of Niagara Falls. It began with an 8-minute animation that explained how the Ice Age shaped Niagara Falls. After that, we were herded into an enclosed room with a 360 degree screen. We got a pretty good hint of what was to come when we were each given a rain poncho on our way into this second area.

And that's when the "Fury" part kicked in: there was thunder, and lightening, and earthquakes, and water roared down the precipice, and the platform we stood on tilted and shimmered while water jets above and on the sides sprayed us unmercifully. I laughed and laughed at Judi and Carolyn - the looks going across their faces were priceless! The whole experience was great fun, even if we were fairly drenched when it was over.

After Niagara's Fury, we got some ice cream and collected ourselves. Judi, Gary, Lynda and I decided we would walk to the big shopping area by Ruby Tuesday's to do some souvenir hunting. Chip and Carolyn opted out and so we arranged to meet them later at the bus stop area behind the Table Rock Welcome Centre. And so off we went. Well, after hoofing it for a few minutes we realized it would take up too much of our sightseeing time to walk that far, shop, and then walk back. So we aborted those plans and went back to find Chip and Carolyn. Of course, they weren't expecting us back so soon so it took a little time to find them but it all worked out and our group was re-united.

So, once again, we boarded a Peoplemover bus and headed in the direction of the Floral Clock but got off at the Whirlpool Aero Car. Except for Chip who does not care for such things, we all wanted to ride on this famous cable car. The Aero cable car was designed by Leonardo Torres Quevedo, a Spanish engineer, and has been in operation since 1916. It is suspended from six cables and offers a wonderful view of the Niagara Whirlpool. The Niagara Whirlpool is formed at the end of the rapids where the gorge turns abruptly counterclockwise and the river escapes through the narrowest channel in the gorge. As it turned out, the cable car experience was very tranquil and felt totally safe. In fact, it was the smoothest cable car ride I've ever been on - Senor Quevedo knew what he was doing!

And so it has been an eventful day... we returned to the RV park, took the dogs on another long walk, and served up left-over spaghetti for dinner. And now we're tootling off to bed - tomorrow is another day!

Click here to see photos of today's adventures.

Canada - Niagara Falls: Maid of the Mist and Oh Canada, Eh!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 03:14:00 +0000

By the time Friday morning rolled around, we were all ready to get going and do something fun in Niagara Falls. I spoke with the ladies in the campground office and they explained we should buy the Niagara Falls attractions package. As it turns out, these packages are a good deal because they include discount passes to all the major attractions and also all-day bus passes for two days.

We also learned that parking around Niagara Falls is expensive. So we decided to park for free at the Floral Clock and ride the Niagara Parks Peoplemover bus back to the center of Niagara Falls. By that time we were all a little hungry and so we had an early lunch at Ruby Tuesday's before going on the Maid of the Mist.

And so it was with full bellies that we boarded the Maid of the Mist for that classic Niagara Falls experience. It was a lot of fun, and we definitely got an up-close sense of the power of the Falls standing on the deck of that boat!

The noise was tremendous - you couldn't shout about the roar - and there was no way to stay dry, even wearing those **pretty** blue raincoats.

We were able to get quite a few photos - click here to take a look.

I must say that the city of Niagara Falls is very pretty... the area is full of beautiful gardens, mature trees, generous sidewalks, clean bus stops, and attractive buildings. Of course the Falls themselves are the primary focal point, but the city of Niagara Falls has many other attractions and things to do and see.

After our Maid of the Mist experience, we caught a bus back to the Floral Clock parking lot. This Floral Clock is quite an interesting thing, and very pretty. According to the Niagara Parks web site, The planted face is maintained by Niagara Parks horticulture staff, while the mechanism is kept in working order by Ontario Hydro, the organization that originally built the clock. The intricate designs on the face of the timepiece are created with up to 16,000 carpet bedding plants. The floral design is changed twice each year - it features viola in the Spring and four cultivars of Alternanthera along with green and grey forms of Santolina Sage during the Summer and Fall. Aside from the Floral Clock (as if that is not enough) visitors can also walk around and enjoy the pretty gardens that are landscaped around the grounds.

We headed back to the RV park to clean up and then go out again to the Oh Canada, Eh dinner show, which is now in its 17th season. This hugely popular show usually sells out and so we had purchased our tickets a few weeks ago.

Oh Canada, Eh is high-energy, tongue-in-cheek entertainment and it was a whole lot of fun! The wait-staff are also the performers and so between taking care of customers' dining needs and jumping on stage to sing and dance, they definitely earn their keep. The woman who was our waitress turned out to be the lead female performer and she was great! Here she is, giving Gary some "special" attention. Click here to see some more photos.

And now we're going to get a good night's sleep, because we'll be heading back out in the morning to enjoy another day at Niagara Falls. We've planned a full day of sight-seeing, including going on the Journey Behind the Falls, Niagara's Fury, and the Whirlpool Aero Car. Stay tuned!

Canada - Settling in at Niagara Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 23:09:00 +0000

We left the Milton Heights Campground around mid-morning on Tuesday and made the short 65-mile drive to the Canadian town of Niagara Falls, where we met up with Lynda's parents, Chip and Carolyn, and our friends Judi and Gary Fleeman.

We got settled in at the Riverside Park Motel and Campground without any trouble, and could tell right away that it would be a very pleasant place to say. This is a smallish campground set in a peaceful, rural-like area along the Niagara River.

Chip and Carolyn arrived an hour or so after we got to the campground, and the four of us had a late lunch/early dinner at Bettie's Restaurant. Afterward, we drove a little further into town and bought a few toiletries at a local IDA pharmacy.

Lynda and I thought it would be nice to make up a pot of spaghetti for everyone to enjoy when the Fleemans arrived on Thursday. So Lynda went with her parents on Wednesday to pick up the groceries while I stayed back to enjoy a little quiet time. As it turned out, they were actually gone quite a long time - they apparently ended up driving around the town of Niagara Falls to check things out and get their bearings. No one 'fessed up but I think they actually got lost... but it all worked out and they found their way back.

Lynda and I made the spaghetti sauce this morning and it was ready in plenty of time to serve a late lunch when Judi and Gary arrived. Later in the day, we went with the Fleemans to take our collection of dogs (their two and our two) for a long walk. After hanging out and catching up into the evening, the six of us will regroup tomorrow morning and start our sightseeing.

It seems I have been elected as activities director, and so I'm planning what we'll do over the next few days. There is a much to enjoy here in Niagara Falls and I think we're going to be busy - stay tuned!

Canada - Visiting Cousins in Ontario

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:15:00 +0000

We spent Saturday afternoon and evening with my Robinson cousins and it was great to see them! Cousin Debbie, her husband Reg, and their daughter Brynn picked us up at the RV park and took us to Sandra and Eddie's house in Mississauga.

Ed Jr. and his wife Audrey and their two children Holden and Lilly were there, and Adam also stopped by; although he was only able to steal an hour or so from work, it was great to see him! In fact, although I had fairly recently seen the others, I had not seen Adam or "little" Eddie in at least 25 years, which is way too long! The only Robinson cousin that was missing from our gathering was Dan, who unfortunately had another commitment. Sandra served a tasty chicken cacciatore, followed up by a very decadent Tiramisu cake - yummy! Good friends, good food, good drinks = good times!

Back Row: Lynda, Debbie, Sandra, Eddie Front Row: Consuelo, Brynn

Debbie and Reg also invited us over for dinner on Sunday. Sandra and Eddie took us over to the Ross' where we had Debbie's delicious made-from-scratch chicken curry.

After dinner, Debbie took us back to the RV park and we said goodbye. I hope its not too long before we see them again!

Today we've just been doing some chores (laundry) and catching up on email, etc. We will leave here tomorrow and make our way to the Canadian town of Niagara Falls, where we'll meet up with Lynda's parents and our friends Judi and Gary.

Stay tuned!

Michigan to Milton, Ontario Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:13:00 +0000

We left Lakeport State Park this morning, stopping to stock up at groceries and adult beverages before entering Canada at the Port Huron/Sarnia border crossing.

This is the biggest border crossing facility we have experienced so far, with the most modest facility being the one at the Top of the World Highway, between Chicken Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon Territory. In any event, we got through without any trouble although we were not greeted very warmly by the Canadian customs officer... apparently they are not nearly as interested in seeing new faces in Sarnia as they are at the Top of the World Highway.

Anyhoo...

Our drive was uneventful and we enjoyed the attractive Ontario countryside as we made our way towards the Mississauga-Toronto area, where my cousins live. We are actually staying at the Milton Heights Campground, which is about 25 miles from Mississauga, because there are very few RV parks close to Mississauga. This is a very large RV park with a variety of sites that all seem to be at least good if not excellent. We have a very friendly next door neighbor, who is pulling a T@B camper similar to the one shown here, and also hauling a motorcycle in his truck bed. Anyway, we've been chatting with him about our Alaska trip, he's been there also, and just relaxing.

Tomorrow, my cousins will pick us up and off we'll go over to their house to catch up and spend some time together. Unfortunately, it's not looking like we'll be able to get together with the Mosbaughs... we haven't been able to get our schedules aligned. It's too bad, but sometimes things just don't work out as we would like.

Wisconsin to Michigan - False Starts and Lake Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:42:00 +0000

Well, when we got ready to leave the RV park in Lake Delton on Sunday we discovered the chassis battery was dead. The only thing we could think of that might have pulled it down is that the clock display had been on for a couple days. Surely that doesn't pull much juice? Anyway, we had trouble with this once before, when we were on Vancouver Island, and so now we were really skittish as to whether we could rely on the battery.

One of our fellow campers tried to give us a jump-start but it was no-go so I called Triple A and they put me in touch with a roadside service company. I spoke to their dispatcher and explained to her that the battery might be kaput and they should just go ahead and bring a replacement with them. And so we now have a new chassis battery in the Trek.

By the time we got the battery replaced, it was well after check-out time and we decided to just stay one more night. Schedule-wise, it was really not a big deal because we were at a "meandering" stage of our trip... essentially just hanging out until our next major stop in Ontario, Canada.

And so it was Monday before we left the Country Roads RV Park in Lake Delton and began to make our way to Michigan.

We drove right through downtown Chicago, which actually wasn't too bad - it was Labor Day weekend and so even though it was Monday, the traffic in the city was light. However, the traffic in the suburbs going into and then out of Chicago was very heavy, and so it took us quite some time to get through the greater Chicago area.

We stopped for the night around 7 PM at a Wal-Mart in La Porte, Indiana. This is a very attractive area - it seemed quiet and quaint, despite being so close to the craziness of Chicago, which is the third largest city in the USA.

After our overnight stop in La Porte, we resumed our journey eastward and rolled into Lakeport State Park Campground Tuesday afternoon. Check-in was a breeze, and the young man working the registration desk dropped the $6 daily use fee when we told him we did not plan on leaving the campground during our stay.

This is a nice campground with large sites and oak trees everywhere for shade The only hook-up is power, and so we've been using the campground showers and we'll use the dump station on our way out when we leave tomorrow.

The only criticism I have of this place is that there are no garbage cans in the campground, just trashcans in the bathrooms. The host told us this is because people were stealing the garbage cans. Hey, how about a 500-lb dumpster? ... it would be tough to steal that! So campers either hoard their garbage and trash, which is not good, put it in the bathroom (not good either), or drive/walk about a mile to the dumpsters at the entrance. We only made that walk once, but we don't produce much waste anyway. We'll drop off some more trash tomorrow, as we leave the campground.

Lakeport State Campground in situated on Lake Huron and so we decided to learn more about this Great Lake. Here are some interesting factoids: Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes, with a surface area of 23,010 square mile which makes it the third largest fresh water lake in the world. The lake holds 850 cubic miles of water and has 3,827 miles of shoreline. Lake Huron's average depth is 195 feet, with a maximum depth of 750 feet. At it's extremities, Lake Huron is 206 mi long and 183 mile wide

Lynda and I walked on the beach along Lake Huron, which is very long and quite wide and a great place to hang out. I really enjoyed looking at the lake rocks washed up on the beach... they are all different colors and very polished by the water and sand.

Lynda was the first to notice that the squirrels running around the campground are black, unlike the Eastern Gray squirrels we're used to seeing. The dogs also found these little guys pretty interesting.

After a relaxing little sojourn here at Lakeport, we'll be leaving tomorrow for Ontario, Canada where we're getting together with cousins from my Mother's side of the family. I'm also trying to coordinate a visit with some old family friends (the Mosbaughs) I haven't seen in 30+ years... hopefully it will all work out.

Click here for some photos of Lakeport State Park campground. And stay tuned for more adventures!

Wisconsin - Visiting Family and Making New Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:49:00 +0000

Today was so much fun! Cousin Bill and his wife Ruth picked us up from the RV park and off we went to (cousin) Pete and Debbie's house, where the family was gathering. I met Bill many years ago in Florida, at a memorial service for our great Aunt and Uncle, but I had not yet met his wife or any of his siblings. I have no idea why this is... I guess we're all so busy living our lives and time just passes by.

When we arrived at (cousin) Pete and Debbie's house, Aunt Thurston was already there along with (cousin) Mark and his wife Barb - they had driven down from the La Crescent area. The group was rounded out with Debbie's mother and brother, and Barb's son Morgan and a friend of his.

We had such a great time, getting to know each other a bit and enjoying some good food. We talked about shared family and compared notes on what we know about our relatives - it was interesting and fun. It was also very nice to see Aunt Thurston again; she is a very accomplished and interesting person and I enjoy her company a great deal. We do a pretty good job staying in touch but had not actually seen each other in about 17 years, since my sister's wedding.


Back Row L-R: Barb, Debbie, Mark, Morgan Front Row L-R Bill, Ruth, Consuelo, Aunt Thurston, Pete

After the gathering wound down, Bill and Ruth dropped us back at the RV park and now we're just catching up on email and a few chores.

Click here for some more photos from our afternoon.

We will leave here tomorrow to make our way to Lakeport State Park in Michigan, which is just north of Port Huron. Stay tuned!

South Dakota to Lake Delton, Wisconsin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:56:00 +0000

After a fun-filled week in the Rapid City area, we dropped-off the rental car at the airport and began our 330-mile drive along Interstate 90 to Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, which is just a few miles west of Sioux Falls. We spent four nights there before continuing on toward Wisconsin.

Although it had been windy almost the entire time we were in the Rapid City area, it never occurred to us that driving across the South Dakota prairie would be so harrowing!! That wind made our previous experiences in New Mexico and Nevada seem tame. I slowed down to around 45 MPH but it was still really bad. In fact, suction from the wind was tugging on the awning, despite it being properly stowed and "locked" in place. I happened to glance at the side mirror and saw the awning pulling away from the Trek. Not good. I pulled over onto the shoulder of the Interstate and double-checked the awning. It seemed to be fine and so off we went once more. And again, I could see the awning in the side mirror, pulling away from the Trek. And so I got off at the next exit and followed signs to a local motel, intending to use the parking lot to regroup.

When I found the little motel, it was obviously no longer in business although it seemed like someone was living there. Next door was an abandoned gas station and convenience store, with a single vehicle wash bay in which a shady-looking cowboy was spraying his pickup truck. There was nothing or anyone else around. Great. So I asked Lynda to stay in the Trek with the door locked, and to keep and eye on the truck guy. I got out and emptied one of the basement compartments so I could get the ladder out. Then I armed myself with a roll of duct tape and a handful of plastic electrical tie-wraps. By the time I was done, that awning wasn't going anywhere!

And so we continued on to Lake Vermilion without any further drama, although I still had to go slowly so the psychotic wind did not blow us off the road.

We stopped at a Wal-Mart and stocked up on groceries and adult beverages, and then went on to Lake Vermilion. The young lady who registered us was extremely nice and helpful and we were soon settled into our campsite, a stone's throw from the lake. This is a lovely well-maintained campground with spacious graveled sites and Blue spruce trees all around. There are only power hook-ups at this campground but it did not matter because we had plenty of fresh water on board and we used the campground's showers. And so we settled in, content that we would be spending several days doing a whole lot of nothing. Oh, and we decided to leave the awning in it's trussed-up state until we got out of the prairies and into Wisconsin.

The day after our arrival, I happened to check the weather while I was online only to discover that our area was under a severe thunderstorm warning with high winds, 1 1/2" hail, and a tornado watch. They were predicting the storm to peak at around 1 AM. Yikes... if that size hail hit us, no telling what damage it would do! Well, we decided to sleep in our clothes with shoes nearby and run like hell to the Restroom/Shower building if things got really bad. Long story short, we got through the night unscathed. Although there was lots of thunder and lightening, and it rained several inches, and the wind blew like a gale (which made the Trek bounce and creak), the hail never happened and neither did the tornado - thank god! It was pretty creepy laying in that big metal box while it stormed so hard outside; I cannot say I liked it very much.

The next day, Lynda got into a conversation with a woman camping a few spots from us. She said storms like that blow in all the time in the summer months. She laughed about our experience with the awning on the Interstate, and told Lynda that folks from South Dakota know to lash down their awnings with extra tape. She also said that a few RVs are blown off the road every summer - its like a rite of passage. Good gravy, those South Dakotans are a tough bunch!

By the time we left Lake Vermilion on Thursday, we were well-rested and ready to hit the road again. We swung by the dump station (a finer aspect of RVing) and then off we went again, heading east on Interstate 90 to Albert Lea. Now the only reason to go Albert Lea was that it's on the way to Lake Delton, Wisconsin which was our next "real" destination. I'm pleased to say the drive was uneventful. We actually got to Albert Lea earlier than planned and so we ate a late lunch/early dinner at the Wok 'n Roll buffet and then spent a quiet night at the nearby Wal-Mart.

We departed Albert Lea this morning and enjoyed an uneventful drive to Lake Delton, Wisconcin. The countryside we drove through was pretty, particularly the area around La Crosse and La Crescent. And now we are all settled in at the Country Roads RV Park here in Lake Delton, close to the popular Wisconsin Dells area. This campground is large but seems well tended and very pleasant.

We will be getting together tomorrow with my Aunt Thurston and three of her sons and their spouses. Who knows why, but I've only ever met one of my cousins on this side of the family and so I'm really looking forward to this gathering!

Stay tuned!

South Dakota - The Mammoth Site

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 02:11:00 +0000

After a wonderful visit to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, we drove into Hot Springs and had lunch at a restaurant called Woolly's Mammoth Family Fun. Lynda had a bison-burger that she said was very good and much better than one she tried in Canada. If the name of this restaurant seems odd, consider that Hot Springs is home to the Mammoth Site and there are many businesses in town that capitalize on this attraction.

The Mammoth Site is the world's largest Columbian mammoth exhibit, and a world-renown research center for Pleistocene studies - visiting scientists have come from Mexico, Italy, Netherlands, Great Britain, Russia, and Germany.

In 1974, the area now known as the Mammoth Site was a soon-to-be housing development. During the early stages of preparing the land for construction, several artifacts were exposed. Fortunately for the world, the developer, Phil Anderson, stopped operations so the items could be examined. The artifacts turned out to be mammoth teeth, and then additional investigation led to the discovery of a complete skull and tusk. Donations, some made by local citizens, along with work performed by amateur and professional excavators, led to the site's status as a museum, and it was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980.

Escavation and research has determined that a sinkhole formed 26,000 years ago which was then filled by a warm artesian spring. Numerous animals, including Columbia and Woolly mammoths, were attracted into the sinkhole by the warm water and pond vegetation, and then could not get out because of the steep sides and loose shale. Over the next 400-700 years, the sinkhole slowly filled with layers of dead animals, and drying silt and sediments; the mud which had aided in trapping the animals entombed and preserved their remains.

Eventually the sinkhole became completely filled. And then over thousands of years the hardened mud inside the sinkhole remained stable while the surrounding dirt and shale eroded, exposing the sinkhole as a hill. And it was upon this hill that excavation for a housing development was taking place in 1974.

The Mammoth Site is now fully enclosed in a climate controlled building, and the museum and dig site attracts visitors year round. The bones are displayed "in-situ" (as they were discovered) in the now dry pond sediments. So far, 55 mammoths have been identified, along with the remains of a giant short-faced bear, camel, llama, prairie dog, wolf, fish, and numerous invertebrates. Fossils of several varieties of plant life have also been found.

We both enjoyed the Mammoth Site, although I found the young (9-11th grade) guides to be somewhat monotoned in their presentation. Nonetheless, it is definitely an interesting place to visit and you could spend several hours there, depending on your level of interest in such things. We managed to get some pretty good photos...

And so we left Hot Springs and returned "home" to the TeePee Campground & RV Park. After being in Rapid City for a week, we're getting ready to leave tomorrow to continue our travels eastward. Lynda took care of some laundry while I cleaned the car to get rid of Badlands dust, lots of dog hair, and yucky nose smears on the windows! We put 900 miles on that rental car this week - it served us well.

Stay tuned!

South Dakota - Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Our original plan was to turn in the rental car yesterday and then drive the Trek to the Wild Horse Sanctuary and stay on one of their RV pads for a couple nights. Anyway, we had to ditch this because of the delay in getting the Trek repaired. So we extended the car rental and paid for a couple additional nights at TeePee Campground & RV Park. If nothing else, we've learned to be flexible!

We left the dogs in the Trek this morning and made our way to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, which is about a 70-mile drive south of Rapid City.

The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is actually part of the Institute of Range and American Mustang (IRAM), a non-profit corporation founded by Dayton Hyde in 1988. IRAM owns and manages 11,000 acres of private land dedicated to range preservation and a balanced ecosystem.

The specific purpose of the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is to provide life and freedom to unadoptable and unwanted wild horses, and to contribute herd management research for the well-being of wild horses everywhere. The sanctuary is home to more than 600 wild Mustangs, and also a mixed herd of wild American Spanish and Sulphur Mustangs. Here's a brief lesson about wild horses in America:

Mustangs are American wild horses that are indirect descendants of Spanish horses brought to Central and North America in the 1700s. Apaches captured highly bred and well-trained Spanish horses from Mexican villages and breeding farms, and traded them northward with other tribes. Some of these Spanish horses then became lost or escaped, and many survived to roam freely across the open plains. In those early days, a feral Spanish-blooded horse was called a mesteño, meaning "stray" or "wild," and this became the root of the word Mustang.

As colonization of the Americas expanded, the English, French and Dutch also imported horses such as Morgans, Percherons, Belgians, and Clydesdales. Like the Spanish horses, some of these horses also escaped or became lost, and then they bred with the wild herds of Spanish horses. By the 1800's, the Mustang had evolved into a different animal than a pure Spanish wild horse, except for one important characteristic: hardiness. Other attributes of Mustangs are high endurance, extremely strong herding instinct, very hard hoofs, and superior agility. Herds have adapted to the conditions of their locations and so Mustangs that live in cold climates are shaggy and small, and desert Mustangs can survive on remarkably small amounts of food and water.

Over time, these wild horses multiplied until thousands, perhaps millions, roamed the American plains. The US Calvary captured Mustangs from these herds and put them into service, and so did ranchers and farmers. But the wild herds were competing with settlers for land and grass and, by the mid 1800s, Mustangs were being shot on sight and rounded up by the thousands to be slaughtered for food and other products. In 1971, Congress passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act which made the controlling and harvesting of Mustangs illegal. But then the Mustang population grew so quickly that control and management of the herds became a major concern. In response to this, the Bureau of Land Management began an adoption program that continues today. However, not all Mustangs are good candidates for adoption and this is where the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary comes into the picture.

We arrived in plenty of time to explore the little gift shop and read a copy of the latest newsletter that was laying around. A family of four arrived and then our guide pulled up in a van to take the six of us on what turned out to be a very interesting tour of the sanctuary. As he drove us around, our guide told us the history of the American Mustang and how carefully the sanctuary is run in order to have the least impact on the natural state of the horses. For example, they don't have round-ups and they let nature take its course rather than treating sick horses. In times of drought, however, they do put containers out with water so the horses can drink. We were very fortunate to see a lot of horses, although we drove around for a while before we found the herd. We made several stops and were able to get out of the van for a closer look and photo-taking.

Shortly before returning to the visitor center, our guide took us to see the mixed herd of Spanish and Sulphur Mustangs, which occupies a bounded area separated from the regular Mustangs.

American Spanish and Sulphur Mustangs are direct descendants of wild Spanish horses and have little, if any, DNA from other horse breeds. They are highly intelligent with an innate sense of self-preservation and legendary endurance. The American Spanish Mustang comes in a full range of solid colors including black, bay, brown, chestnut, sorrel, grullo, zebra and red dun, buckskin, palomino, and cremello. Sulphur Mustangs are usually line-backed duns and grullos, but can have the color variations found in Spanish Mustang.

In addition to seeing the horses, we also visited a petroglyph site, saw the Crazy Horse movie set (from a distance), learned more about Native American history, and saw the Sundance ceremony site that the Lakota use every summer. Our 2-hour tour actually lasted almost 3 hours, and we really appreciated the extra time and effort our guide put in to make the experience so enjoyable. By the time we left, we certainly knew a lot more about American wild horses than when we arrived! Click here for photos...

In today's fast-paced, money-focused way of life, I find it comforting to know there are people such as Dayton Hyde who put nature and conservation ahead of personal gain, and help keep our world in balance.

We left the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary and drove to Hot Springs for some lunch and to visit the Mammoth Site. But that's another story... stay tuned!

South Dakota - Locks, Memorials, Presidents, and a Fixed AutoPark Brake!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:07:00 +0000

Well, it's been quite a day and it all started when I woke up and went to take the dogs out... and the door would not open. That's right, the deadbolt was stuck in the locked position! I fiddled around with it for several minutes while the dogs jumped up and down, barking incessantly to go out. What a nice and peaceful start to a new day!

I ended up going out the window above the couch. It was little embarrassing but we couldn't just sit inside and wait for a miracle. I was finally able to open the door from the outside using the key. I took the deadbolt apart but couldn't find anything obviously wrong, except the damn thing kept sticking. We needed to get the Trek back over to the Chevrolet Truck Service Center by 10:30 AM and the clock was ticking on getting this lock issue fixed. So I drove over to a nearby Ace Hardware store and bought a new deadbolt. I had to modify it a bit so it would fit but we got the Trek dropped off in time.

Then the four of us, dogs included, headed south to visit Mount Rushmore. We were both somewhat indifferent about visiting this Memorial; I'm not sure why but it did not inspire much excitement in either of us. Anyway, we agreed it would be foolish to be so close and yet not visit Mount Rushmore and so off we went. We knew we would not be able to walk around with the dogs, but had to take them anyway because the Trek was in the shop. And so we decided to do what we had done the day before at the Crazy Horse Memorial: take turns staying with Sydney and Barley in the parking lot while the other person visited the Memorial. This worked out well and we each spent about 45 minutes at the Memorial which, in the case of Mount Rushmore, was a fairly decent amount of time.

What is interesting is that by the time each of us visited the Memorial, we both decided that Mount Rushmore is interesting and was well worth the visit! Click here to see some photos...

It was still pretty early when we left Mount Rushmore. I called the Chevy place and the service manager told me they had installed the part and the AutoPark brake was working, but they were having trouble with the brake light on the dashboard - it was staying on. I told him this had not been an issue before I took the Trek in to them and he agreed they needed to fix it.

So we had some time to kill before the Trek would be ready. We drove back into Rapid City, bought some Mexican fast food, and went to a nearby park to eat and then walk the dogs. I called the Chevy place again and they still had not fixed the dashboard light issue; the service manager sounded frustrated (welcome to my world, I thought). By now it was 3 PM and I was starting to worry they would run out of time.

Anyway, we decided to go to the historic downtown area of Rapid City and take a closer look at the City of Presidents, which is a series of life-size bronze statues of past presidents placed at city street intersections. These statues are really well done, and we had fun walking along the downtown streets; the dogs seemed to enjoy it also. Click here to see some photos.

We managed to look at about half the statues when the Chevy Truck service manager called to say they had fixed the problem! Yay!

So we went to pick up the Trek and, after talking with the service manager, I realized they had fixed the dashboard light problem by replacing a switch for which I had a brand-new spare on board. They were charging me $75 for the same switch I had purchased for $34. After some discussion, the Parts Dept manager agreed to take my brand new switch to restock his parts bin and drop the part charge off the bill.

So after 2 1/2 months and over 9,000 miles, the AutoPark brake is finally fixed! Sad to say, the brake problem that started back in early June at Yosemite National Park cost me $2,030 and four visits to various shops to get completely fixed. Well, that's just the way things go sometimes and there's no point dwelling on it. I'm just darn happy the ordeal is finally over!

More adventure to follow - stay tuned!

South Dakota - Crazy Horse Memorial and Unending AutoPark Brake Issue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:16:00 +0000

Well today has been a mixed bag: we went to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is good, but the Trek is still not fixed, which is bad. Let me explain...

We got up early this morning and got ready for the day - we unhooked the Trek, battened down the hatches, and went by the dump station to empty the tanks. Then I drove the Trek to the Chevrolet Truck Service Center in Rapid City with Lynda following in the rental car. I spoke with the service manager, who was concerned that the part they ordered was (a) the right part, and (b) the only part they would need to fix the issue. I told him that the service manager in Grand Rapids had assured me this is exactly what needed to be done and so we should be fine.

Then off we went, including the dogs, in the rental car to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. I had done some research online that indicated the Crazy Horse Memorial was pet-friendly. Unfortunately, it wasn't as pet friendly as I had thought or hoped and it was too hot to leave the dogs in the car. Nor could we take them inside the Welcome Center or the Museum. So Lynda and I took turns staying with Sydney and Barley under a shade tree in the parking lot while the other person went inside for about 45 minutes. It was the best we could do under the circumstances, but I wish we could have toured the place together and taken a great deal more time to look at the exhibits.

Despite those obstacles, I loved being there! The Crazy Horse Memorial is an absolute must see, and the Indian Museum is probably the best of its kind in the US, perhaps even North America.

The Memorial itself is amazing, even in its unfinished state. And the sculptor behind the Memorial was a remarkable person.

When Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear officially started Crazy Horse Memorial in 1948 they had hardly anything in the way of money or even projected funding. Since then, for the past 60 years, Ziolkowski and others banded together and would not give up - they simply made it happen. In a lot of ways, I think the Crazy Horse Memorial has allowed people to be at their best, which is certainly a welcomed contrast to darker days of mistreatment and duplicity.

Although he passed away in 1982, Ziolkowski's family continues to play a major role in the sculpting and oversight of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The Memorial is a private, non-profit undertaking financed by admission fees and contributions, and does not accept any government funding. Based on what I've read, it seems that because of excellent management and the generous contributions of thousands of donars at all levels, the Memorial is in pretty good fiscal shape, although this is apparently never taken for granted and fund-raising is ongoing.

While we were still visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial, I got a phone call from the Chevrolet Truck service manager. Although the part I had them install was needed to repair the Trek, a second part was also needed and it would have to be ordered. The only way to get it in time to finish the work the next day, Friday, was to have it shipped over night. I have to say I was pretty aggravated... not at the hapless guy on the phone but at the sorry SOB in Grand Rapids who gave me incomplete information.

So what choice did I have? I asked the service manager to go ahead and have the part expedited, and to ask his mechanic put the Trek back together because we had to come get it for the evening.

And so we drove back into Rapid City, picked up the Trek, and returned to the campground. We are relaxing tonight and tomorrow, once again, we'll pack up the Trek and take it to the service center. I just hope that the part comes in as ordered and they get the job finished!

We'll see.

South Dakota - Presidents, Slides, Mysteries, and Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:28:00 +0000

Today was another great day - there is so much to do and see around Rapid City and we really packed in a lot of activities today. I know I already said this, but I am so glad we ended up staying at the TeePee Campground & RV Park instead of Ellsworth Air Force Base; we are much closer here to most things than we would have been at Ellsworth!

We started today by driving a few miles south to the town of Keystone where we visited the Presidential Wax Museum. It was time well spent, although some of the figures are better done than others. This museum is more than just a collection of costumed wax figures on display. Figures are carefully arranged into scenes depicting important events and you can listen to on-demand narrations about the events and/or the people. The overall experience was interesting and educational. Click here to see some photos.

After visiting the Presidential Wax Museum, we decided to go across the street and take ride on the Alpine slide. Lynda and I have both been on mountain slides before, although its been a several years. Actually, the last time Lynda rode one of these, she was showing off and ended up shooting out of the track and breaking a couple ribs! Today, she promised, would be different.

And so we bought a couple tickets and went on up. I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely this place is landscaped with pretty little gardens and colorful flowers. There is also a good view from the top of Mount Rushmore, and so we got our first look at this iconic memorial from the alpine slide. Who says silly pastimes can't lead to education and enlightenment?

Anyway, after relaxing a bit at the top we went ahead and rode the slide on down. I love these things! In fact, I enjoy just about any roller-coaster, adrenaline-type ride there is! I actually got down to the bottom far enough ahead of Lynda to move my sled out of the way and get the camera out. Here comes Lynda!

After riding the Alpine slide, we headed back toward Rapid City but stopped at the Cosmos Mystery Area. We decided to check this place out because a young lady that worked in a gas station in Buffalo, Wyoming told Lynda this is a MUST SEE place.

The Cosmos Mystery Area is a place that claims to defy the law of gravity. It is a strange place where one can actually feel forces pressing against them. How is this possible? What is the cause? Well, the Cosmos Mystery Area is situated over a a magnetic hill where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope.

Whatever the explanation, let me tell you we had some real fun at Cosmos! We were part of a group of around 15 people led by a young man who took us through a series of demonstrations designed to boggle the mind and show the awesome power of the Cosmos "force". From people changing heights on level platforms to water flowing uphill, to sitting on a wall... it was all very entertaining!

By the time we left the Cosmos Mystery Area, we were ready for lunch and so we drove past the campground and went to Ruby Tuesday's to feast at the salad bar. And then we headed back to the Trek to spend some time with Sydney and Barley.

I have to say these two dogs have been great! We've been leaving them loose in the Trek for longer and longer periods of time and they have behaved perfectly! In fact, we're now up to 8 hours or so with no chewed-up cushions (or anything else), no messes, nothing bad or unpleasant. When we leave them alone like that, we turn on the radio or TV on so they have some "company" and it certainly seems to work. Sydney and Barley have proven to be excellent travel companions!

After spending an hour or so with the dogs and taking them for a nice long walk around the campground, Lynda and I headed back out to visit Bear Country USA, which is just a mile or two from the campground. I had read reviews on this place and they were all glowing but I still harbored the thought that is was essentially an overblown petting zoo. I was so wrong!

First of all, the collection of animals is very impressive. We saw grizzly and black bears, arctic wolves (they look like Barley), badgers, beavers, bighorn sheep, lynx, coyote, bobcat, mule deer, mountain goats, elk, porcupines, raccoons, red fox, reindeer, river otters, skunks, timber wolves, and even a white bison! Some of these animals live in generous enclosures along a 3-mile driving route (you must keep your windows rolled up), and others live in large enclosures along pedestrian walk-ways, like you would find in a zoo.

Secondly, the place itself was impressive. It is spotlessly clean, very well maintained, and beautifully landscaped. The animal enclosures are well built and each is generously sized according to what type animal it is housing. The animals all looked very healthy.

I highly recommend a visit to Bear Country USA if you have the chance. Children are sure to love it and so will the grown ups! Click here to look at our photos.

And so we've enjoyed another fun day in South Dakota. We will be taking the Trek in to be worked on tomorrow and then we'll load the dogs up in the rental car and take them with us to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. Stay tuned!

South Dakota - Commodes and Horses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:55:00 +0000

When we got back from the Badlands National Park yesterday evening, we discovered the commode was broken. It was late and we were tired and so we decided to deal with it in the morning... this morning.

What a fabulous way to start the day!!!

I read the commode user guide (yes, there is such a thing) and, after doing a little online research, I figured out that we needed a certain repair kit to replace cables and some other parts. I also discovered there is an RV parts supply place just a couple miles south of the campground. So I called them to see if they had the repair kit in stock and they did - we were in luck! Well, that is if you consider it a lucky thing to have to pull a commode apart. I won't go into detail here, but it was most unpleasant. Ugh. Anyway, I had the commode fixed and re-installed by 11 AM. Not bad, eh? And, after a very hot shower with lots of soap, I was refreshed and ready to go horseback riding.

We had 2 PM reservations with Paradise Valley Trail Rides in Nemo, South Dakota and so we left the campground around 1 PM to have plenty of time to get there. Uh, sure... unless your GPS is trying to navigate you over streams and up undeveloped mountain sides! Well after a while, it was evident that we were not heading the right way. So I called the stables and a very patient man gave me proper directions. Once we got going on the correct roads, it was a beautiful drive through the Black Hills National Forest - and we were only about 15 minutes late. They did not seem to mind.

Lynda and I were interested to learn that a good many of the horses in the Paradise Valley stables are mustangs that were saddle-broken by prisoners. These horses are branded with numbers that, if you know how to interpret them, will tell you where and when the mustang was captured and what prison system gentled him. The horse that I rode was named Felon and we thought that was very appropriate, considering his origins.

Anyway, our wrangler took us on a one-hour ride through the Black Hills over some of the same territory traveled by Custer and his troops. He was knowledgeable about the area and shared his personal opinion as to how poorly Native Americans had been treated - he definitely has a great deal of sympathy for the Native Americans, and so do we.

Although we usually enjoy longer rides, we had signed up for just one hour and it was a good thing! I've been having trouble with sciatica for a some time now and, although it has never bothered me before when I've been riding, it sure did today. Who knows, perhaps the girth of the horse or the shape of the saddle set it off. Not wanting to cut the ride short or cast a shadow on our little adventure, I didn't say anything but I was very glad to get back to the stables!

And so here we are hanging out in the Trek, watching movies and eating popcorn. Lynda has done some laundry, we've had some good food for dinner, and the commode works. I just don't know what else a person could want!

Tomorrow, we're going to visit the National Presidential Wax Museum, perhaps take a run down the Alpine Slide in Keystone, check out the Cosmos Mystery Area, and visit Bear Country USA. It's going to be a busy day - stay tuned!

South Dakota - Badlands and Wall Drugs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Well, we've already had an eventful time since arriving in the Rapid City area! Today we drove out to the Badlands National Park, which is a 180-mile round trip, and then visited the famous Wall Drugs on the way back.

The Badlands was very impressive and we are glad to have made the trip! Some factoids: this park encompasses nearly 243,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. Badlands National Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old, and fossils have been found here that prove ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed the area.

Badlands National Park also provides refuge to a variety of wildlife, including bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, and prairie dogs.

We drove around the park (see yellow highlighted route on the map), stopping the car occasionally to walk around and take photos. Along with amazing rock formations, we saw bison, pronghorn, and a coyote.

Later in the day, we joined a ranger-led discussion about some of the fossils found in the park and that was quite interesting also.

I think my most favorite area was the Yellow Mounds - take a look at the photos and you'll see why! We decided to leave the park by the east entrance, intending to visit the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Anyway, we ended up not even stopping as the sign indicated we had missed the last tour of the day. C'est la vie!

On our way from Rapid City to the Badlands, we had passed lots of signs for Wall Drugs, which Lynda remembered from the hilarious book Queen of the Road. According to various web sites, Wall Drug was a tiny store opened by Ted and Dorothy Hustead in 1931. They were struggling to stay in business when Dorothy came up with the idea that Ted should put up a sign on the highway advertising free ice water at Wall Drug. At the time, every drug store gave away free ice water and so this idea seemed a little silly. But, so the story goes, Ted put up the sign anyway and by the time he got back, thirsty tourists were lining up for their free ice water. When Ted realized that signs could draw customers, he put up painted wood signs proclaimed "Wall I'll Be Drugged" and "Wall Drug Or Bust" in every state of the union. In fact, at their peak in the 1960s, Wall Drug had over 3,000 highway signs scattered around the nation. Ted and Dorothy's son, Bill, took over the business in the 1970s and it has grown exponentially since then.

And so, after leaving the Badlands, we decided to stop at Wall Drugs on our way back to Rapid City. To be honest, neither Lynda or I cared for it one bit. Wall Drugs is now a 200% commercialized enterprise that encompasses an entire town block and sells everything from t-shirts, to coffee mugs, to key chains, to photo-ops with a giant jackalope - they have perfected numerous ways to part a tourist from his money. Oh well, some folks love this kind of kitsch and so each to their own! We had an early dinner at a local restaurant and then headed back to to Rapid City.

We made it back to TeePee Campground and all was well. It had really been a good day but it was getting late and we were tired, and so neither of us was particularly happy when Lynda discovered the commode is not working properly - the trap is not opening to let the contents go into the holding tank. Our plan is to deal with this in the morning... its too late to tackle this now and we can use the campground restroom until we get the commode fixed. The only real concern is that we have horseback riding reservations tomorrow afternoon and so I'll be getting up early to get this commode problem sorted out in the morning. Grrrreat!

Stay tuned!

Rapid City, South Dakota - Settling In

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:11:00 +0000

Our drive from Devil's Tower to the Rapid City area was only around 120 miles. We left the Belle Fourche Campground yesterday morning, August 21st and arrived at Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) in the early afternoon, after stopping at the Airport to pick up a rental car.

We planned to stay at the Ellsworth RV park and do our sightseeing from there - we would be in this area for about a week, seeing as much as possible and getting the Autopark brake fixed. In fact, while we were at Yellowstone I had set up an appointment with the Rapid City Chevrolet Truck Service Center to work on the issue. I gave them the part number the place in Grand Rapids told me was needed and they had it on order. The plan was to take the Trek in on Thursday and they would do the work.

Because the RV park at Ellsworth AFB does not accept reservations, we just went over there in the hope they would have a vacancy. Well, this did not turn out as planned but, as with many other events in life, things worked out for the best anyway.

When we arrived at Ellsworth, a very uptight camp host launched into a 10-minute briefing that hammered the Base Commander's stance on safety and security. The briefing was very detailed and entirely verbal, and the host reacted belligerently when I suggested that written information would be helpful to refer to later. I was very surprised by his reaction... that guy needs to relax or he might blow a gasket! Anyway, we agreed to use the Overflow area that night on the chance a site would open up the next day. Ironically, and in contrast to the briefing’s focus on security and safety, the Overflow area is in a very unsafe environment - it backs up to an open field with very tall dry grass, which is just a fire waiting to happen in that hot, prairie-wind environment. It was like being parked on the edge of Hades... in a motor home with a 60-gallon fuel tank. Between the wind and the heat, it really was awful. We were both quite relieved when the camp host called the next morning to say that a regular site would not become available for us that day. When he asked if we would stay another night in Overflow, on the chance something would open up the following day, I was happy to tell him we would find a campground somewhere else.

As it turned out, we found a wonderful little place called TeePee Campground & RV Park which is on the south side of Rapid City. It is at least 4 degrees cooler than at Ellsworth and the staff are very helpful. True, we only have power and water hookups but this is not a big deal because the shower facility is close by and it's very clean and functional. So, for only $2 more a day than Ellsworth, we will spend a week at a friendly campground in a better location. And so things did work out for the best!

Once we got settled at the campground earlier today, Lynda and I drove into Rapid City to visit the Journey Museum. This museum is set up as a journey through the history of the Black Hills, starting with the Native American creation stories, moving into the 2.5 billion years of history in the rock record with the geology exhibit, paleontology, archaeology, Native American inhabitants, and finishing up with the pioneers that traveled west. It really is an awesome place! We could have easily spent a couple more hours there but we ran out of time. Nonetheless, I'm glad we visited the Journey Museum and I highly recommend this place if you visit the Rapid City area!

On our way back to the campground, we stopped off and had dinner at La Costa restaurant - we love Mexican food and it had been a long time since we've had any - it was delicious!

So we now have the rest of our week planned out, and we are going to be busy! Here's some of the things we expect to do over the next several days: visit the Badlands National Park, go horseback riding, visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, see Mount Rushmore, get the Trek's Autopark brake fixed, visit the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, and see the Mammoth Site.

As you can see, we have a busy week ahead of us -stay tuned!

Devil's Tower National Monument

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:21:00 +0000

Here are some "Did you know" factoids about this amazing place:

Devils Tower was designated as the nation’s first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The tower is an remarkable geological formation that rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River Valley and is about 1000 feet in diameter at the bottom. The top of Devils Tower is about the size of a football field and is slightly dome shaped and rocky, with native grasses, cacti, and sagebrush. The Tower is comprised of columns of phonolite porphyry, a type of rock that is similar in composition to granite but lacks quartz. You could compare the structure of the tower to a bunch of pencils held together by gravity. This formation was once hidden below the earth’s surface, but erosion stripped away the softer rock layers to reveal the Tower.

Native American tribes tell of various legends as to the origin, meaning and purpose of the Tower. One legend has it that a giant bear clawed the grooves into the mountainside while chasing several young Indian maidens. Known by several northern plains tribes as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site of worship for many Native Americans, who leave offerings with the trees surrounding the tower.

Devils Tower was featured in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and is a very popular among rock climbers.

Sad to say, Lynda and I essentially had only one afternoon to explore Devil's Tower. We could not drive the Trek up to the Visitor's Center because the parking lot cannot accommodate vehicles that large. And so we decided to take one of the hiking trails from the campground up to the Visitor's Center. Our goal was to get there no later than 4 PM because the center closes at 4:30 PM and we wanted to have time to look at the exhibits. Anyway, we set off and then made a stop at the Circle of Sacred Smoke sculpture. This sculpture represents the first puff of smoke from a newly lit pipe and is designed to help raise visitor awareness of the importance of the tower to over twenty affiliated tribes. It actually was very peaceful and pleasant to sit by the sculpture and admire the Tower.

But then, once we left the sculpture, we managed to forget to take the trail and went the long way by road! Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous and neither of us can explain why we had such a brain cramp... perhaps we inhaled that puff of smoke? Anyway, we practically had to run to get there before the Visitors' Center closed. In spite of ourselves, we made it in time and were able to look around.

We then rested a while before beginning our hike on the Tower Trail, which goes around the base of the Tower. Because this trail is less than 1.5 miles long and there was plenty of daylight left, we knew we could take our time and enjoy the walk. And we certainly did! The Tower looks different from every side, and it was so interesting to see the varied and numerous offerings in the trees. Lynda and I agreed that it is perfectly clear why Native Americans hold this place sacred... it is indeed an awesome and inspiring sight!

After we made our way completely around the Tower, we decided to take the Red Beds trail back to the campground. This is the trail we should have taken from the campground, instead of the road. Anyway, this Red Beds trail was wonderful! The going was easy, you just had to watch your footing, and we saw lots of wildlife. At one point we were walking along, just chatting about who-knows-what when all of a sudden I realized we were no more than 10 feet away from two fawns. Well, we caught them by surprise also because they gave us the craziest, wild-eyed look and then spun around and shot away! We were so excited about our own "Close Encounter" at Devils' Tower!

Well we kept going and came upon more fawns. In fact, we ran into several sets of half-grown deer and, what was very interesting to me, they seemed to be in sets of two: male and female. They were skittish but did not run away - they would just maintain a comfortable distance and so I was able to get some pretty good photos.

We turned off the Red Beds trail to take the South Side trail which runs alongside "Prairie Dog Town" and goes to the campground. So, of course, we had to stop and look at the prairie dogs which are very well fed (despite the signs asking people not to feed them) and quite bold, if not exactly tame. I don't know what it is about rodents in the wild, but they sure are cute!

We got back to the campground a little before 8 PM. Sydney and Barely were happy to see us, as always. They had done so well being left loose in the Trek for 5 hours during our unplanned hike around Jenny Lake a couple days before, that we decided not to crate them. And they did not let us down!

Click here for photos of our visit to Devils Tower.

We're heading to Rapid City, South Dakota tomorrow. We'll stay in that area for about a week to do some sightseeing and (finally) get the Autopark brake fixed. Stay tuned!

Grand Teton National Park to Devils Tower National Monument

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:05:00 +0000

We left Grand Teton National Park on Thursday, August 19th and began to make our way to Devil's Tower National Monument. We decided to make this a leisurely trip and take two days, stopping in Buffalo, Wyoming for the night and then rolling into the Devil's Tower area early the following afternoon.

So we left Grand Teton and, once again, drove through Yellowstone which by now is an old friend. Except this time we turned right at Fishing Bridge and kept on going until we exited the park at the East gate. Highway 16 proved to be quite steep, which worried me a little because the Autopark (emergency) brake on the Trek is still not working. Anyway, I was extra careful and downshifted to 2nd, and even 1st at one point, and we made it to the flat lands east of Yellowstone safe and sound.

That the drive to Buffalo was interesting, to say the least! It started out fairly innocuously, with us leaving Yellowstone and winding our way through Cody, Wyoming and onward. In fact, we stopped in Cody to pick up some supplies from Wal-Mart. The scenery along the way was stellar (be sure to look at the photos), but the really interesting part came when we decided to take the US Route 14 Scenic Byway to traverse the Bighorn Mountains.

There was no sign, nothing, to warn that this route is a narrow windy road with a steep grade for 20 miles or more. I am just thankful that the Trek is only 28 feet long or we could have found ourselves in a real pickle! As we drove up and up and up, we wound around craggy limestone outcroppings and went past colorful stacks of granite and sandstone that, according to signs, is filled with fossil shells. All of this was very interesting and really quite beautiful but we couldn't stop to take a closer look. In fact, I was pretty sure that if I even slowed down too much we would never get going again. Even though the engine temperature gauge on the dashboard showed the Trek was running only a little above 50% temp, I knew that if I stopped, that radiator would bubble like a Yellowstone geyser! And so we just kept on going and that intrepid Trek huffed and puffed until she hauled us up to the highest point: Granite Pass at 9003 feet.

When we popped out at the top, we found ourselves on what seemed to be a mountain plateau with cattle ranches and beautiful meadows. It was a little surreal! As we drove along the level road, the Trek quickly cooled down but I was anxious we would have to go down a long, steep roadway and might have braking problems. Well, as it turned out, there was no need to be concerned - compared with our ascent, going down down the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains was a piece of cake!

We arrived safely in Buffalo and found the Twin Creeks RV Park with no trouble. By 7 PM, we were settled in for the night and laughing about our journey up and over the Bighorn Mountains. You know, it wasn't funny at the time but these adventures have a way of being pretty entertaining... after the fact.

After a good night's sleep, we set off early this morning for Devil's Tower and arrived at the Belle Fourche Campground around 1:30 PM. We got settled in and walked the dogs around. This is a wonderful campground that lays in the shadow of Devil's Tower. The sites are very large and there are cottonwood trees everywhere. There aren't any hookups, but we're prepared for that with plenty of fresh water and empty holding tanks. The camp hosts are very nice and told us we can run the generator as needed, except during quiet hours.

Unfortunately, our visit to Devil's Tower will be very short - we have to leave tomorrow for Rapid City, South Dakota. And so we're off now to go hiking around the Tower. Stay tuned!

Grand Teton National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:31:00 +0000

After leaving Yellowstone National Park yesterday, we returned to the town of West Yellowstone to drop off the rental car and then back-tracked through Yellowstone to head south to Grand Teton.

After a very pretty drive through Yellowstone and the northern part of Grand Teton National Park, we arrived at the Colter Bay Campground around 2 PM. Compared to the crowded, unpleasant conditions at Fishing Bridge RV Park, Colter Bay was a slice of heaven! This campground has spacious sites with a picnic table, a fire ring, and lots of trees. Although there are no hookups, we don't mind because we have plenty of fresh water, empty holding tanks, and a generator for electricity.

When we arrived yesterday afternoon, we decided just to relax for the rest of the day, rather than try to get in any sightseeing. After a busy time at Yellowstone, we really liked the idea of kicking back, cooking dinner, and watching a movie. Imagine our surprise when Sydney alerted us to some visitors: a Mule deer mother and two fawns! This little family came within just a few yards of the Trek and, although they were cautious, the deer did not scatter when I slowly stepped outside to get some photos. What a nice introduction to Grand Teton National Park!

Because we only had one full day at Grand Teton, we decided to drive the Trek to Jenny Lake today and go on a short guided hike out to Inspiration Point. The dogs would stay in the motor home for the 2-3 hours we would be gone and then we would take them for a nice long walk before returning to the campground.

So we set off bright and early this morning for the drive to the Jenny Lake Visitors Center. Along with some other Park visitors, we met up with the ranger around 8:20 AM and he told us we would take a boat ride across Jenny Lake and be dropped off on the other side to begin the 1.5-mile hike up to Inspiration Point. Before getting the ticket for the boat ride, he explained, we needed to decide whether we would return to the Visitor's Center via the boat or hike from Inspiration Point, around the lake, and back to the Visitor's Center. The ranger said the return hike would be about 3 miles long, if that is what we chose to do. Lynda and I agreed we could use some extra exercise and so we just bought a one-way ticket for the boat ride. The ranger also warned us that bears are sighted quite frequently around the lake and so we needed to take common-sense precautions and stay alert.

By 8:45 AM, our little group was crossing Jenny Lake in the boat. It was a beautiful day, the scenery was gorgeous, and the lake was like a mirror. It was also a little chilly but we had our jackets, along with a couple boxes of frozen apple juice in case we got thirsty later on.

The first mile of the hike was very easy, including a stop at Hidden Falls. The ranger stopped frequently to point out plants and flowers and tell us about area wildlife, such as picas (AKA pikas) that live in the rocks and boulders of the area. The last 1/2 mile up to Inspiration Point was pretty steep but everyone in the group was fine with the ascent, except for the youngest children who got to ride on their parents' backs.

At 7200 feet, the view from Inspiration Point was lovely, and we took a 10 minute break to take photos and rest a bit. At this point, the ranger gathered up all those that would return via the boat and reminded the rest of us to watch out for bears. By now, Lynda and I had decided we would go on to the entrance of Cascade Canyon; the ranger said the flowers there were gorgeous and well worth the half-mile walk. And so off we went.

Well, after walking along for about 30 minutes and covering at least 3/4 of a mile, we decided the ranger was somehow mistaken. We saw no fields of flowers or any discernible entrance or transition to Cascade Canyon. So we turned around and headed back to Inspiration Point and then, from there, found the trail that would take us around Jenny Lake and back to the Visitor's Center. To make a long story fairly short, we walked and walked and walked, and then walked some more! We actually did not mind this unplanned excursion, except we were worried about the dogs being left for so long in the Trek. And we were very glad to have that apple juice.

The situation got more interesting when we started running into different people coming from the other direction who told us a bear was on on the trail. Lovely. So, as we went along, I loudly sang silly, nonsensical things like, "Here Bear, Scare Bear, There Bear" - all in an effort not to surprise Yogi or any other bears. I'm glad to say we got around the entire lake without seeing one bear, and that was fine by me! We finally got back to the Visitor's Center around 1 PM and those dogs were very glad to see us. We had been so worried about them but Sydney and Barley were just fine, other than being lonely!

We looked at a trail map afterward and calculated that we hiked at least 7 miles. Well, this unplanned excursion was actually kind of fun, and we'll probably laugh about it for a long time!

The four of us left the Jenny Lake Visitor's Center and went back to Colter Campground to relax for the rest of the day. I have to admit Lynda and I are worn out by all the unplanned exercise!

Click here to see our photos of Grand Teton.

Tomorrow we're heading to Buffalo, Wyoming which will be just a one-night stop on our way to visit the Devil's Tower National Monument.

Yellowstone National Park - Amazing!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:43:00 +0000

In case you don't know, Yellowstone was established by an act of Congress in 1872 and so became the first national park in the United States. It is named for the gold-hued cliffs lining the river canyon, known by the Minnetaree Indians as mi tsi a-da-zi (Yellow Rock River). We packed in a lot of sightseeing in the past two days and now we're both completely taken with this wonderful place - there is so much more to see and do at Yellowstone than I ever imagined!

First of all, the geology is almost indescribable. While Old Faithful is certainly nothing to sneeze at, that geyser is just one of many geological points of interest in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone boasts the largest concentration of geothermal features in the world, including geysers, hot springs, mud pools and fumaroles. The park is located on top of one of the largest active volcanoes on earth, a super volcano that most recently erupted about 640,000 years ago and left a caldera 28 miles wide and 53 miles long, and a vast subterranean magma chamber that heats Yellowstone Valley to this day.

We drove around Lake Yellowstone several times, took a guided tour of Old Faithful and surrounding geysers and springs, went to Artists Point, walked around the Travertine Terraces near Mammoth Hot Springs, and toured the Norris Geyser Basin with a ranger. We also took a guided hike around Storm Point and enjoyed learning more about the fauna and flora of Yellowstone. It was all amazing!

As if these geological wonders aren't enough, Yellowstone National Park is also one of the most successful wildlife sanctuaries in the world. Although we (thankfully) did not see any Grizzly or Black bears, they are known to be within the park. And Yellowstone is also home to several varieties of ungulates, including bighorn sheep, and over 2000 bison.

As we drove around the park, we saw elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelopes and a lot of bison. Those bison are very impressive and quite intimidating - the bulls probably weigh more than the little rental car we were driving! I have to admit that I felt nervous whenever we encountered these big woolly beasts, which was every time we drove through Hayden Valley. We were there during rutting season, and the bison would roll out onto the road, grunting and lumbering along at whatever pace they chose. Bulls would charge out to chase each other, and half-grown calves were getting caught up in the brawls and bawling for their mothers. More than once, a bull became interested in our little car, stopping just inches away to glare at us... perhaps considering an attack or, even worse, an amorous advance. What amazing chaos it was!

We also went on a guided tour of historic Fort Yellowstone at the north end of the park, near Mammoth Hot Spring. We learned that for the first decade after Yellowstone National Park was established, poachers, souvenir hunters, developers, and other speculators inflicted considerable harm to the park's formations and wildlife. After Congress refused to set aside funding to protect the park, Yellowstone National Park administration asked the US Army for help. And so began a 32-year period during which the US Army protected and essentially ran Yellowstone National Park.

The soldiers who first arrived in 1886 lived in tents and temporary frame buildings through five harsh cold winters. When the Army realized there was no end in sight for their protection of Yellowstone, they convinced Congress to appropriate $50,000 to construct a permanent post. By end of the Army's tenure in 1918, Fort Yellowstone consisted of Officers' Quarters, Bachelor Officers' quarters, the Headquarters building, the Chapel, quarters for Non-Commissioned Officers, a two-troop barracks building that could house 200 men, a guard house, and stables for horses. These buildings are now preserved and continue to serve the Park's staff and visitors.

Another landmark at Yellowstone National Park that we visited is the Old Faithful Inn. If I return to Yellowstone without my motor home, this is where I want to stay! The Inn stands near to Old Faithful, and is a national historic landmark. It is one of the few remaining log hotels in the United States with a rustic log and wood-frame structure and a wood shingle exterior. The Inn is of gigantic proportions: nearly 700 feet in length and seven stories high. The original part, known as the "Old House" was completed in 1904 and includes an amazing lobby that features a 65-foot ceiling, a massive rhyolite fireplace, and railings made of contorted lodgepole pine. The East and West Wings were added in the teens and the twenties and blend in beautifully with the original building. Not surprisingly, the Old Faithful Inn is the most requested lodging facility in the park!

And so ends our visit to Yellowstone National Park - click here to see some photos of our visit. Although we managed to see a great deal in the past two days, there's plenty more to do and so I hope to come back to Yellowstone to enjoy more of this fabulous park.

We will return the rental car tomorrow morning and then drive back through Yellowstone to visit the Grand Teton National Park, which is south of Yellowstone. Stay tuned!