From the MV Caribou

Smooth cruise.  No white caps in all the 100 miles.  Of course, we couldn't see but a few yards on either side of the ship.  Fog.  That explains why the boat came in late and left later.  Had heard about the foggy side of Newfoundland just didn't realize it stretched all the way across Cabot Strait.

 

They took good care of passengers, with musical entertainment in the bar, a place to buy ice cream and coffee and cookies, a cafeteria with full meals, a gift shop, dorms with a pillow and blanket and bunk beds, a nursery, a movie theater, and free wifi. 

 

Our only concern was early on (before the fog) when the captain told us that there was a whale off our "starboard side".  Seems he wondered why the ship started listing opposite the side of the whale sighting.  He came back on the loudspeaker and said he meant the "port side".  Should we put our faith in a captain that doesn't know the difference?  He maybe says: pointy end, left and right.  All not nautical terms.

Would you ride in a ship with no bow?

Arrived in North Sydney a day before our scheduled departure to Newfoundland. We wanted to scope out where the ferry loaded, pick up provisions, and fill with water.

Found it interesting to see the bow of this ferry lifted up to load on vehicles. These ships are "ice class". Hmmm? I'm going to assume that they aren't going to do a "Titanic" when or if we see an iceberg!

See ya in Newfoundland!

Cape Breton Highlands - just as beautiful

By taking the tow car this year, we are able to make some side trips or make trips on lesser roads more comfortable. We took on the Cabot Trail drive through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

This picture reminds us of the Oregon coast.

Just as beautiful as we remembered.

.

We reversed the trip from last time and took on a few "lesser" roads including one to Meat Cove, named, they say, for the meat casks that landed on the beach from a shipwreck.

And a couple of firsts: We saw some moose! and picked up our first hitchhiker (ever!).

Dean saw the first momma moose and baby as they skittered off the road. Our next sighting was much more up close and personal. This momma had a baby hidden not too far away. Got great pictures of her but all we got of the baby was ears.

Our hitchhiker was Larry from Montreal. This slight fellow in his 60's (he asked me not to mention that!) with his 50lb backpack has been exploring Labrador and Newfoundland all summer and had just arrived in Nova Scotia slowly making his way back home. He asked us if he could ride with us up into the Highlands and it turned out great for us all as we had planned complete the tour in one day and he was a great story teller and gave us lots of Newfoundland/Labrador lore and places to visit.

We were thrilled to still find Joe's Scarecrows a going concern. Cute as we remembered.

Ditches and Debris

We spent some time today following the path of the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway.  It was 90% complete but never finished.  The government cut off funds in 1891 when it wasn't done on time (what a unique concept!). 

 

It was such a great idea too:  Lift ships from the Bay of Fundy onto a marine railway and roll them over a double set of tracks 17 miles (28 km) and then drop them back into the water in Northcumberland Strait.  This would save hundreds of sea miles around Nova Scotia for ships needing to go down the Saint Lawrence to Quebec or Ontario. The concept was first proposed in1875, and actual work began in 1888.   It was estimated to cost one-fourth that of a canal.

 

We hiked a restored section of the right-of-way back from the Northcumberland terminal.  Virtually nothing was left of the terminal except a few foundation blocks out in the water.  The trail along the right-of-way petered out in a quarter of a mile, and a century of trees and vegetation made it impossible to even make out the route farther on.   

 

Had the project been finished, it might have changed the way world ship transit was accomplished.  The French had just abandoned their efforts to build the Panama Canal, and a rail crossing of that isthmus was being promoted.  If Chignecto had been finished and proved successful, the Panama rail proposal would have been given much more credence.

 

Whilst we sashayed down our rather lumpy route today, we noticed large piles of beds, chairs lumber, windows, refrigerators, stoves, etc, etc.  Large, meaning three or four feet high and eight to ten feet across.  Literally hundreds of them.  We surmised that it was some sort of community beautification effort to get junk out of people's yards.  But after 20 miles of this stuff, we estimated that there were fifty or sixty dump trucks worth of debris to pick up.  How did they propose to pick it up?   By hand?  A front end loader?  We wondered if the govermental entity who set up the program had any idea they would end up with such a "windfall". 

 

We were given a local paper at a Welcome Center, and found that our supposition was correct.  Today was the first day for collection, sponsored by Cumberland County, and all the stuff we saw in the piles (except an auto tire and rim) was on their "acceptable" list.  Would love to see the size of their pile when the county gets it all collected.

 

Oops!  One full U-turn today, though Laurie thinks that if the little car doesn't have to get unhooked it shouldn't count. 

 

 

Reversing Falls - Saint John, NB

Woke up to dense fog on the Bay of Fundy which stayed with us until we traveled away from the coast. Left the RV at a Visitor Center and headed into Saint John in CuRVy to do some sightseeing.

We lucked out on the timing, and got to see the Reversing Falls on an incoming tide, and after a couple hour stop at the New Brunswick Museum, again on an outgoing tide. Didn't look too appetizing, from a boater's standpoint. There is a 20 minute calm at each change of tide that allow boats to travel through the channel. Never found a statistic on the current running through there but with the rocks in the channel it has more whirlpools and breakers and looks nastier than Deception Pass at home. This area is where the waters of the Saint John River and the Bay of Fundy meet.

We had an "improvisation" on returning to the RV and launched ourselves on a 16-mile boondoggle of offramps that sent us out onto wilderness highways but never let us turn back. Dean was wishing he had done a U-turn at one of those "No U-Turn" graveled paths between the opposing lanes but we decided we hadn't been there before, we had plenty of fuel and the sun was shining so there was really no problem. Of course, we finally did make it back to the RV or we wouldn't be writing this.

The rest of the way to Moncton was pretty easy. Our Streets and Trips program has a bit of a problem with placing things where they really are up here in Canada. We decided that the Maritime Provinces are not a priority area for accuracy.

Nice park tonight with wi-fi and a laundry. And water and power! How sweet it is!

Customs troubles (again)

A lumpy, bumpy ride along US Hiway 1 in Maine, to the customs crossing between Calias, ME and St. Stephen, New Brunswick.  And a bumpy ride through Canadian Customs, when the nice girl in the booth said we could not bring a shotgun into the country unless it was hunting season, which it is not.  Dean got referred "inside", where another young man said the same.  Dean pointed out that we had checked the Customs website three days ago, and that site contained the exact wording (rules) that we had from our previous permit request, and downloadable permit request had the exact format as the one we already had.

 

Dean pointed out that there were no words in the instructions that stated rifles or shotguns could not be brought in; indeed, it described acceptable weapons and prohibited weapons.  The supervisor (who had been summoned by then) said he didn't know anything about web sites, but that rifles/shotguns could not be brought in --- period. Wasn't interested in the copy we had of our previous permit.  Wasn't interested in getting the $50 fee the instructions said it cost to get the permit.

 

Choices:  Leave the gun with them and get it on our way out of Canada, or go back to the USA.  Dean was all for option 2, but Laurie said we could change our itinerary, and come back this way.  So, the young man came out to the RV to pick up the gun (we could not take it to them), and then invited us out of our own RV while he "took a few minutes to check a few things." 

 

Forty-five minutes later, Laurie was able to return, after watching him (from outside) go through every compartment in the RV, shine a flashlight into the overhead air ducts, look under the floor mat under the drivers seat, as he checked those "few things".  Dean then had to open all the outside compartments and the CR-V. 

 

Ah, well --- he wasn't wearing a big .45 gun, and he didn't take all our meat, as "Bubba" did a couple of years ago, so Dean is more-or-less willing to treat it as an "adventure" and will not be in a funk about it for too long.  He has this "thing" about government agencies changing rules without telling anybody about it; and just tossing off the fact that their published information is wrong.

 

So we continue eastward, into the Atlantic time zone (four hours ahead of Seattle).  In Newfoundland/Labrador, we will be in the Newfoundland time zone, four and a half hours ahead of Seattle.

About to leave the USA

Here we sit in Maine, about to cross into Canada tomorrow. So far, we've traveled 3770 miles across 14 states, and used 372 gallons of diesel. Reducing the 372 by 14 gallons that the generator burned (28 hours at 1/2 gal. per hour), we've averaged 10.5 miles per gallon. That's pretty consistant with what we've done in the past few years.

We probably won't be able to get e-mails as frequently in Canada, as Newfoundland/Labrador is pretty remote country, with few wi-fi opportunities for us, and not even cell phone coverage in much of it. Better in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and

Prince Edward Island (PEI). But we'll try to keep the blog up to date as we get the opportunity.

Where are the mooses? --- Meese? --- Mice?

Across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine we went today. Many roadside signs warning us to watch for moose. Did we see many? Any? NONE! Towns called Moose Valley. Restaurants called Moose Mountain Molly's. But WHERE WERE THE MOOSES? Elsewhere apparently. Ah, well --- I suppose the anticipation will make it more memorable when we finally find one. And we will see one --- or several. We checked out the Newfoundland tourists guide today, and found a whole section on being careful while driving, because of the many moose wandering across the roads. Last year they had 700 moose/car collisions.

Since we got to New York, and for the last week, we've noticed that 20% of the houses badly need new paint jobs. Faded, worn completely off, pock-marked with blisters -- things look kinda gamey. A paint salesman could make a killing here. (On second thought, he might starve; nobody uses paint.)

On the same note, we have come to admire the ingenuity used in remodeling a small cabin built in the 1700's. Adding on to it in the 1830's, the 1870's, maybe the 1910's, '30's, 50's and somewhere along the line adding running water and electricity becoming a long, tall, and wide house with different siding to show off each addition.

Contrary to our normal travel mode, we made a reservation today for the ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, as several sources said a reservation was required. We'll make the crossing on Aug. 31.

V E R M O N T

Vermont's total population is barely more than that of the city of Seattle.  And like some places on the west coast, this also seems to be a land of "fruits and nuts".

 

From observation, we can identify a true Vermonter by one or all of these:

Subaru, roof rack, kayak, bike, Birkenstocks, and the men with: beards, ponytails, earrings.  I think if we were here in a different season, we'd see ski racks, too.

 

Mail call today.  Hooray.

Maine tomorrow.  Canada the next day.   At last.  Hooray.

Everybody needs a claim to fame

Landed today in Whitehall, NY. This is a beautiful town on the Champlain Canal which ties the Hudson River to Lake Champlain and from there to Canada.

Whitehall's claim to fame is that the first US navy battle took place here (and therefore, Whitehall should be named the official birthplace of the US Navy). Unfortunately, the US Government hasn't officially bestowed this honor on the city. Whitehall does have a good case.

The Americans were led by Colonel Benedict Arnold (he was on our side then). He built himself a navy by constructing man-o-wars and converting merchant ships in the waterway just behind where our RV sits now. With his armada of 15 ships he was able to hinder the British on their way to Saratoga. Whitehall describes Colonel Arnold as a hero and a great tactician and his actions did help the cause of the Revolution.
Today started out like yesterday except no rain. Nice roads, beautiful countryside, falling down barns and silos, and zillions of things for sale along the road (quilts, corn, cars, tractors, produce, corn, crafts, lawnmowers, corn, and regular garage sales stuff).

No official U-Turns today. That jog in Albany was just a 270 degree'er. It's sooo exciting to wander through towns trying to find the next "correct" turn after the first one didn't work.

Who's on First

As we trundled along the back roads today, we seemed to see an inordinate number of collapsed barns, and wondered if last winter's storms and heavy snowfall caused it. At least one local said no, folks just didn't maintain them properly.

Our "goal" for the day, was to end up near Cooperstown, so we could see the Baseball Hall of Fame tomorrow. As it turned out, we got here early enough to go to Cooperstown this afternoon/evening. Its quite a set-up, with a newly remodeled building containing many galleries dedicated to different aspects of baseball. It took us three hours, and we were moving along at a pretty brisk pace. A true baseball aficionado probably could not get through in a single day. (Pay attention, Richard!)

Probably 20% of the people there were in some sort of baseball dress. (Imitation) player's shirts with team logo and player numbers on them, caps, full suits, regular sweatshirts with team names on them, etc., etc. Many of them could quote statistics about their favorite team or player. One gallery showed videos of "blooper" plays, e.g., handing the ball to a fan after catching it, forgetting there were only two outs. It also had a film clip of the famous Abbot and Costello routine about "Who's on first?" This version went through the whole team's nicknames, and took nearly ten minutes. Hilarious.

We were impressed that the statistics (Current home run leader, RBI hitter, earned-run pitcher, etc.) were up to date to the previous day! All in all, an impressive place.

Enroute today, we passed what was perhaps the world's largest lawnmower wrecking yard. Looked just like an automobile wrecking yard, except that the "vehicles" scattered in front of the building, and parked in rows behind a (short) view-blocking fence, were lawnmowers. (We could see over the fence from our elevated seats in the RV.) Kind of a niche business.

We passed up the opportunity to visit the Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum, which "displays over 350 styles of drain tile dating from 100BC to the present". And yes, there was an admission charge.

Letchworth State Park, NY

15 miles long, 2 miles wide. 14,000+ acres. 3 major waterfalls. 600' deep canyon. 82 cabins, 270 campsites. 50 miles of trails. 2 swimming pools. 2 restaurants, 3 fast food grills. Lots and lots of mowed grass (and kudzu taking over). And only 35 miles from Rochester. We thought that it was interesting that the cabins must be rented for a minimum of 7 days. Surely makes this a destination park.

Many of the buildings and much of the rock retaining walls, bridge supports, and culverts in this park were built by the CCC which had 4 camps in here during the Depression. They are still beautiful and intact after 75+ years.

This area is called the Grand Canyon of the East (or New York or maybe Wyoming county?) The canyon that has been dug by the flow of the Genesee River is pretty impressive. At the north end of the park is a flood control dam to protect the city of Rochester. At the south end is a 600' tall, rickety, rusty iron railroad trestle. It is still used, but the train travels very slowly over it. Dean figures that the engineer holds his breath hoping to get the whole train across (or at least the engine).

At dusk, we watched two hot air balloons lift off among the trees attempting to float up the chasm to the upper waterfall. They were dragging their baskets through the foliage and probably making their passengers a bit nervous. The chasm is narrow and deep at this point and, yes, a balloon could make it if the conditions were right, but not tonight.

Surprise! When we got here we saw a "Campground Full" sign. We haven't seen a full campground anywhere on this trip. They may have claimed "full" but they found a spot for us. Lots more to explore. Think we'll stay another day.

Firelands!

This is a(nother) piece of history that we never picked up.

Along our northern Ohio route we traveled through an area called the Firelands which was part of the "Western Reserve" claimed in Connecticut's original 1662 charter. In 1792 this area was deeded over to Connecticut families burned out (hence "firelands") during the Revolutionary War raids by the British.

Planes, Trains, and Autos

Well, Two out of three ain't bad.

Goshen, where we spent the last three nights,has three train lines coming through it at different angles. Lots of trains. At certain times of the day (and night), trains will come through on one line or another at five minute intervals. Because of the many streets crossed, the engineers are forced to give the standard two long - one short - one long whistle signal many times as they pass through. A cacophony of sound -- you gotta like trains to live here. Laurie was fascinated/concerned that at one of the crossings near the radiator shop, both of the signal arms across the street didn't come down, even though it was flashing. We wondered if there are many car/train accidents here, or whether all the dumb drivers have already been killed, and only the smart ones are left.

Today we visited the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in (appropriately) Auburn, Indiana. The museum is located in the former Auburn Car Company headquarters, a wonderfully restored 1930's art-deco office building with a huge built-in showroom, and many of the engineering, acccounting, sales, and research areas intact. The company was an outgrowth of the Eckhart Carriage Company, but didn't achieve its peak successes until E.L. Cord joined it in 1924. He bought the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, and introduced the Cord line.

Over 100 cars are displayed, including some not in the A-C-D "stable", but shown because they were representative of the 150 auto manufacturers (10 in Auburn, alone) who built cars in the state from 1901 to the 1950's. Many of the early cars from A-C-D were sold as a chassis, and sent to custom body builders to complete the car.

Trivia for the day: The area in north Indiana and south Michigan is referred to as "Michiana" in many of the printed and radio/TV advertisements.

RV Junk...ah, I mean Good Stuff

Low clouds, fog, and drizzle did not keep us from our appointed rounds. We had a yummy breakfast buffet at a German restaurant this morning before checking out the RV surplus stores in Michigan and at Elkhart. Boy, if we were into converting a bus to an RV this would be the place to start looking. Cabinets, windows, wheels, furniture, appliances, and lots of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, and screws. We only needed a hinge and a gas support. Found both of those.

Oh, my Gosh(en)

Up to Goshen, IN, to do some exploring.

 

This area has many RV manufacturing plants and a large Amish community.  We needed the dash air in the RV repaired, and the manufacturer of that system is here, too.  So that was our first stop.  They directed us to a radiator & A/C repair shop with some capable technicians.  Viola (well, not quite that quick)!  And all is repaired....of course, the temps have come down a lot from the high 90's we've been living with for the past two weeks.

 

Today we traveled the back roads in the Amish area.  We started recognizing their homes by the combination of :  clotheslines, no porch lights, and horses.  Of course, their buggies, no powerlines to their homes, and miniature horses were additional clues.  The back roads are paved and have narrow marks from the narrow buggy wheels and are grooved by the numerous horse hooves.  The buggies have license plates, turn signals and flashing 4-way lights at night.

 

We saw Amish kids jumping on trampolines at their homes and riding along the roads in miniature sulkies pulled by the mini-horses.  When we went to the flea market at Shipshewana there were lots of bargain hunters including Amish ladies and children.  We got a kick seeing them shop for sunglasses and Croc sandals while in their Amish garb.    We admire their adherence to their religious values.

 

Oh yeah, since there are RV manufacturers here, there must be surplus shops.  That's where we'll be exploring tomorrow.

Hot days and good roads

Wowee! Mom Nature saved up a hot one for us today. Temp got to 99 degrees, and humidity in the 80's. With the cab air conditioning not working, it was a sweaty day.

But we got to see several quaint towns along the route, scattered between more corn and soybean fields. Each town has a big corn or seed storage tank. Not sure which crop goes in them.

A quite unclear direction sign resulted in our first U-turn of the trip. (We usually plan on one per day.)

We stayed the evening in France County park, over 200 acres with campsites, picnic areas, natural pools in some old quarry pits, and trails everywhere. (Their guide map for the trails was far from accurate or complete, however. We were not lost; we were just unsure of where the hell we were!) Once again, we saw many older trailers parked for the season in the park, with folks just coming out for the weekends in their "cabin".

This last picture is presented without comment. Some readers may think its an idea whose time has come --- others (including our boating friends) may think its another wacky waste of our tax dollars trying to enforce an idea which requires education; not unenforceable enforcement.

More corn - more soybeans

Ok, ok, already!   We've left Iowa to more of the same in Illinois.  Lots of corn and soybeans.  But everything is green and, as long as we stay in the air-conditioned RV, comfortable.  Everyday for a week has been in the 90's.  Less humid today and very welcome. 

 

Goodbyes to the Sabula "F" dock river rats and we were ready to go.  Oops, the entry step sounded like it was eating it's gears.  Dean got to spend a couple hours under the RV playing with the greasy pieces of the articulated step.  All put back together and working well.  My hero!

 

Being passed by motorcycles again.  These riders are all wearing Sturgis shirts and are trucking back home after the rally at Sturgis.   

 

Easy sunny drive to East Peoria.  We are camped along the Illinois River (called Lake Peoria here). 

Mississippi River Rats

Great day visiting with the folks at "F" dock. Boaters here on the Mississippi travel quite a ways from their homes to get to their boat moorages and once there it is a home away from home - their summer cabin. A great sense of community is apparent along the docks. Few of the boats are brands that we see in the NW and there are many houseboats.

Our hosts for the day, Rick & Cath, transported us up and down the river by car and boat. They introduced us to their great friends on "F" dock. And listened to a lot of B.S. (boating stories). At the town of Bellevue, we watched the operation of one of the river locks. This lock is about the size of the Seattle big lock: 600' long by 100' wide.

We learned a lot about boating on the river. 9' controlling depth in the channel. No charted depths outside the channel so be careful. Many, many green islands and some sandy beaches. Many more green and red buoys marking the channel. No numbers on the buoys. Navigation is done by reading the milepost on a billboard on shore. Railroad bridges swing open to let a boat through after a phone call (and cookies for Christmas). Every boat gets hauled out and put on the hard for the winter from about mid-October to mid-March. The river freezes over and therefore the commercial barge traffic comes to a halt.

The "F" troop told us that it usually isn't as humid as we've had it this past week. (90 degrees and 80% humidity is tough for even them.) This compatible bunch enjoys yakking, traveling, and dining out together. (Didn't hear much about cooking - but that's all right with me!)

Great day!

Parked on the mighty Mississipi

Our planned route to Newfoundland/Labrador took us across the Mississippi River near where one of our e-mail pals keep their Cruise-A-Home in Sabula, Iowa, so we naturally had to jog a bit more to get to see it and meet them in person. Their boat is three serial numbers earlier than ours. Small world! Should be fun to meet them and share boating lies.

Our campground is on the edge of the muddy Miss., and we've been watching the tug/barge combinations work their way upstream. Kind of boggles the mind figuring how they can turn the barge string when the tug is several hundred feet behind the "bow" (the lead barge). Since boats steer from the rear, the tug has to move the stern (the tug itself) quite wide to move the entire string right or left.

Hopped across the river into Illinois to check out our second-choice park if this one had been full. 241 sites in half a dozen loops. Big sites with acres of mowed lawn between them. And six (6) campers in the whole place! Guess there would have been room for us there. This continues the trend we've seen the whole trip. The campgrounds are considerably less utilized this year than any we can remember. We suppose $3 fuel has something to do with that.



On our way here we stopped in Dyersville, Iowa. Friends had told us that the Farm Toy Museum was a must see. Wow! We never knew so many "toy" tractors, combines, balers, seeders, loaders etc., etc. had ever been made. Thirty thousand models on display. Virtually every model of every U.S. manufacturer for every year! And in exacting detail. Turns out these "toys" are now made for collectors, and it's a big business. (Yes, they still make kid-type models and ride-in pedal versions too, but they are very much in the minority.)



Also in Dyersville, is the baseball field from the Field of Dreams movie. We had to go and take the obligatory photos. Surprise, surprise! The field was built on two parcels (the other parcel is called Left and Center) and these neighbors are not friends. They have competing gift shops and signs saying don't shop with the other guy. Funny!

Back roads and Hobos

More back road driving today. To us, time passes more pleasantly with more things to see up close and at a slower pace. A stop in Emmetsburg revealed that it was NOT named for Laurie's uncle. Maybe if we had stopped at Cylinder, we would have found how that town got its name.

A stop in Britt gave us a whole new understanding about hobos. Would you believe a national convention --- and a hobo museum? Both in Britt. (The 107th convention is underway this week.) We learned that "hobo" was a derivation of "hoe boys", a name given to men, often confederate soldiers without homes to go back to, who wandered the country getting field jobs.

We learned that

a hobo is a person who travels to work;

a tramp is a person who travels but won't work;

and a bum is a person who neither travels nor works. ... guess that makes us tramps.

Besides the people we've all seen hanging out of boxcars, the museum listed some well-known people who have spent some time as hobos: Eric Sevareid, HL Hunt, Melvin Belli, Red Skelton, Merle Haggard, Jack London, James Michener, Louis L'Amour, Roger Miller, Clark Gable.

Laurie thinks that her dad would have enjoyed the hobo life. That's his picture above.

I O W A

What a great drive today. State and US roads but no freeway. Lots of pretty farms and corn as high as an elephant's eye (or the top of a passenger car) but not higher than the seats in the RV. Lots of another crop we think might be soybeans.

Iowa gas stations have premium fuel at a lesser price than regular. Why might that be? Still asking. Don't have the answer yet.

Learning to identify the "music" of the cicadas. Always thought they may be related to a cricket but not so. Guess they are a harmless but noisy (truly noisy) bug.

We finally saw two pheasants before leaving South Dakota. It's their state bird and I think we read that there are 20 million in the state. Oh yeah, one more thing before we left the state: the capital of South Dakota: Pierre is pronounced Pier. Go figure.

Stopped for the night along the Little Sioux River in the city campground at Spencer. Very green with a nice bike path running along the (high water mark) of the river.

UPDATE REGARDING GAS PRICING. According to friends, "Super" fuel in Iowa, home of corn growers, is that "super" fuel with ethanol. Others, outside of corn growers, think that the ethanol fuel isn't as great because of lower energy and poorer gas mileage.

South Dakota snakes and corn

While eating breakfast this morning, we noticed some excited kids in our campsite. Look what they found! Think this is the biggest snake we've ever seen. It is a bull snake and is harmless to us but not rodents, rabbits and birds.

Spent the day still trekking east on I-90. Think this was the last day for the interstate for a while. Should be in Iowa tomorrow. Hope to find some fresh corn in Iowa straight from the farmer.

Tonight we are in the town of Mitchell, SD which is known for their Corn Palace which they have decorated for over 100 years with murals on the inside and outside of the building. These murals are made of corn cobs and grasses.

The theme of the murals for the last two years has been a "Salute to Rodeo". Normally, the murals are replaced each year but in the case of a drought (like last year) the cobs are too brittle to use and the murals aren't replaced. They have 12 different colors of corn to add definition.

Fascinating craft.

Where the h--- is Wall Drug?

Why, it's in Wall, S.D., of course. Our advertures for the day included a hike through that rather famous institution, and a tour of the Badlands National Park.

Wall Drug is a one-block square hodge-podge of small shops --- souvenirs, clothing, souvenirs, footwear, souvenirs, food courts, souvenirs, oddities, and of course, drugs. Western Washington readers may liken it to the old "Yardbirds" stores in Chehalis and Olympia. Perhaps for this week only, there were several stores selling Harley and/or Sturgis items. Wall has 850 residents, and Laurie read something that says all the employable ones are employed at Wall Drug.

Wall Drug made its mark in history by offering a free glass of ice water to passing motorists, way back in the ' 30's. It brought in customers, and the offer still stands. We got ours.
The Badlands were pretty in a dull grey and yellow fashion. (Gone is the lush green we have seen over the last several days.) We thought it compared (not necessarily favorably) to places we've seen in Nevada and Utah. We found a few animals to make it interesting: One horse, one cow, one buffalo, a couple dozen small deer, and two or three "towns" of prarie dogs. The latter were waving at us as we passed. (I told you they did that! They actually do --- it's an "all clear" signal when danger has passed.)

And yet more cycles. Our freeway segment was eastbound east of Sturgis, and were facing oncoming vehicles headed west. Easily 80% of the vehicles (Laurie says 95%) coming toward us were either motorcycles, trucks carrying motorcycles, or trucks or motorhomes pulling motorcycles on trailers (either covered or uncovered). Amazing!

Lotsa Rock

Today we drove two scenic routes through the Black Hills. Pretty exciting getting through the 7 tiny tunnels - smallest is 9' wide and 12' high. Hold your breath!

Many more bikers on the road today. Yesterday there were bikers in groups of 4 to 8. Today many groups with over 20 motorcycles.

Before arriving at Mt Rushmore we drove through 5 or 6 state and federal campsites. We would have thought that with the 500,000 estimated bikers arriving here that there would be no vacancy, but only one campground was full. The federal campgrounds are being run by a private corporation now and seem to have doubled the nightly rates making the rates almost equivalent to private parks with utilities. As a consequence, the federal campgrounds were 90% empty.

Us and 2 billion bikers (that may be an exaggeration!) toured the grounds of Mt Rushmore.

Things we learned:

> These sculptures were done to bring tourists to South Dakota.

> Jefferson's head was first started to the left of Washington's but there wasn't enough good granite to finish it, so it was destroyed.

> 70' of rock was removed to find good granite for Roosevelt's head. That is why it is so far behind the others. Luckily, the good granite was found as there is only 25' more rock behind Roosevelt's head.

> 90% of the sculpting was done with dynamite.

> It took 14 years (6 1/2 years actual working time) to get the sculptures done.

> There is a tomb behind Lincoln's head that contains copies of the USA's important documents.

Rain came down hard just about the time we left there but back at our camp the sun was shining.

We found the animals!

Custer, SD

Laurie has been lamenting that we have not seen many animals on the trip so far. (300 miles a day on the freeway is not conducive to seeing many, perhaps?) Today we got to go on a very pleasant back road, and found turkeys, pronghorn deer, "regular" deer as well as many herds of cows and horses. This is ranch country. The weather gods have been kind it seems as it is green everywhere. Wyoming looking lush. Didn't know those two words could be in the same sentence.

Slipping into a park just outside Custer, we had programmed enough time to take a 40-mile loop to Custer State Park in the CR-V -- ("Curvy" to long-time blog readers.) There we found herds of buffalo, more pronghorn deer, several "towns" of prairie dogs, and hogs by the gross. Not your everyday bristle-haired hogs; not your squealing, grunting, smelly hogs; but Harley hogs!!!

It's the 87th annual hogfest at Sturgis, SD. Sturgis is fifty miles away, but Custer is full of hundreds of Harleys. They have designated four rows for motorcycle parking along three blocks of the main street, and most of them are filled. We wonder what Sturgis looks like???

So our trip around the scenic wildlife loop in Custer St.Pk. was shared by several Harleyfolk. They are somewhat noisy, but none were speeding, tailgating, or being rude in any way. (Dean was disappointed that he didn't find a single see-through blouse on any of the motorcycle mamas on the whole loop. Lots of tattoos, though.)

A big thunderstorm hit about 10 minutes after we got back to the RV, but we were snug and dry inside. Tomorrow: Mount Rushmore.

No drought here

Tonight we are in Gillette Wyoming.  Traveled through miles of beautifully green hills and many hay crops being baled.  Everything looks lush.  I'm sure that the last time we traveled through here, the grasses were yellowed and dry. 

 

First thing we noticed when we got into Wyoming was the red asphalt on the interstate.  We had many miles of single lane around construction and repaving.  Dean did a nice job of "kissing" a couple barrel cones without causing damage to the RV.  Yeah, Dean.

 

The medication fiasco continues.  Yes, we should have filled them before we left.  And no, no Costco has yet had all that we need.  At the Missoula Costco, they called ahead to Billings so we could pick them up there.  But, only two of three meds was in Billings.  They'd have to order overnight.  When we checked back this morning, they had not ordered enough.  That wouldn't work so off we went without the third med.  So here in Gillette we checked at WalMart and no, they don't have that medication either but they would overnight it and it would be here by 9:30 tomorrow.  What's the chances we'll have this handled by tomorrow? 

 

Fueled up here with the best price we've seen for diesel ($2.86).  Maybe because we see that they are pumping it out of the ground around here?  Nah, probably not.

Less smoke; more deer

The early driving on the Pintler Senic Highway was delightful, highlighted by an awesome waterfall on the Flint river. We stopped for breakfast at Stack State Park, site of the huge (66 foot diameter) stack that used to vent gasses from the Anaconda copper smelter. The stack is all that is left of the complex, and the Anaconda cityfolk have made a very nice park viewing the stack and giving some of its history, and that of the company and people who worked there.

A stiff wind blew the smoke away, but probably wrecked our mileage, blowing on our nose for a couple of hours; then blew on our side the rest of the day, making our lane-tracking less than perfect. This part of the state is agricultural, sprinkled with cattle grazing, hay fields about to be cut, cut and drying, or cut, dried and baled. Pretty patterns in the fields.

We stopped for lunch at Prairie Dog State Park, but the dogs, after scurrying across the road in front of us and beside us when we drove in, mostly stayed in their tunnels until we drove out, when they again came up --- to wave goodby to us???

Our campsite in Billings is the same place we stayed in 2001, with grandson Jeff II with us. The fields on both sides of the park seem to beckon deer, as we saw 11 or 13 tonight, depending on whose count you believe. Makes you feel calm and relaxed just watching them be calm and relaxed.