Mea culpa

I am sooooo far behind on this blog. We've taken lots of pictures and a few notes along the way, but the truth be told...we've traveled so much this summer it's hard to remember what we did and when we did it. If I sat down each night an wrote I would probably have a pretty good representation of what we've done and seen But we have been having so much fun, and the people we've met have been so interesting...well, we've spent most evening either socializing with new friends or going to sleep pretty early as we were just plain worn out!
Another big obstacle has been lack of good wifi. We bought a hot spot and we have data on most of our devices, but it seems we use all that stuff up long before we should and we are left with very poor service. Every campground we've been in advertises "free wifi." Sadly, the service has been poor in most every state with the exception of South Dakota. Supposedly we would get the resort's wifi in our RV, but most places we had to go to the main lodge and even then it was slow, sometimes taking ten or fifteen minutes to download one picture.
Theoretically, one of the reasons we made this trip was to "unplug," not be so tied down to our devices. Unfortunately we found that it's not that easy. There was always some bit of business coming up and we found ourselves frustrated with the lack of Internet availability.
In the meantime, we are now back in North Carolina for a couple of weeks,and  I'm trying to spend some time each day "catching up" with the blog. We're still having a good time and we'll be continuing our adventures, one way or another.

Sturgis

Aug. 29

Sturgis was next on our list of must sees. We rode motorcycles a number of years ago and loved riding with friends in Florida as well as in the gently rolling countryside of mid-Tennessee. And of course, living in Florida, we enjoyed several trips to Daytona for Bike Week. But unlike some of our  hardier biking friends we never really considered making the trek to the legendary Sturgis, which in my mind is somehow the Mecca of motorcyclists. Now in South Dakota we had to visit, if nothing else to buy a T-Shirt and have a beer. As it turned out we had missed the big Sturgis event, a 75th anniversary celebration, by a couple of weeks, but signs of the recent event were evident and there was still a festive atmosphere.

We took our time on the beautiful drive to Sturgis, and as we had skipped breakfast we stopped at a restaurant on the outskirts of the city that had outdoor seating. Buddi was with us and she always enjoys sharing our meals. As we enjoyed our breakfast we wondered aloud just what people did for a living right in Sturgis...when hordes of motorcyclists were not around. Our waiter, a young man who was planning international travel following this summer job, told us nearly all of the local help was seasonal.

We drove around town, purchased fuel below the $2.00 mark! then parked and wandered the streets before settling in one of the big biker bars for the obligatory beer and T-shirt. There were still a few motorcyclists cruising the main street and it was a pleasant afternoon.

A side note: our Sun Conure, who is almost certainly the most spoiled bird/pet in the nation, has two things which either terrify her or make her angry: with a bird it's often difficult to tell which. She screeches loudly and usually runs down to one lap or the other whenever she sees one of those orange and white striped barrels or cones used during roadway repair or highway construction. We are baffled as to why she hates the things. The don't move or flap wings, yet she regards them as she might a giant eagle...while we sympathize with her phobia it can extremely annoying when the construction...and the barrels...go on for miles.

The second thing she finds odious is motorcycles. One would think the noise is what bothers her, yet she takes offense at bicycles as well, apparently lumping all two wheeled vehicles into the category of "thing that aggravate the bird." We really should have thought about that before we took her on the trip to Sturgis!!

(And in case anyone wonders why Larry is often seen in pictures wearing the same yellow shirt...

we have four of these oversized T's we wear while traveling to, um, protect us from Buddi.)

Between Sturgis and Rapid City we found a national cemetery and stopped for a quiet walk through. It is sobering to see the long rows of grave stones for our military, going back through past wars, knowing that as the U.S. continues to fight new battles these cemeteries will to grow ever larger with the soldiers of current strife.

Badlands and Wall

Aug. 27

We had driven on I 90 across the entire state of South Dakota before arriving in Rapid City. Along most of that route we saw signs much like South of the Border signs in North and South Carolina: every few miles there loomed a gigantic billboard advertising the wonders to be found at that el cheapo, glitzy tourist attraction sitting on the N Carolina/S Carolina border. And yes, I've stopped there. In South Dakota the signs that went on mile after mile advertised "Wall" and "Wall Drug" with tantalizing pictures of ice cream,"homemade pies" and all kinds of souvenirs; the biggest lure of all... "As seen on the Today Show!" According to our reckoning, we could drive east on I90 to Wall, then back through the Badlands and, if we had any daylight left, east again to visit an intriguing 1880's town.

On arriving in Wall we found that the town and gigantic "drug store" were pretty much what we had expected. The streets were packed with camera toting tourists (oops, that included us, I guess!), souvenir and gift shops, Black Hills gold jewelry stores and restaurants and bars as well as one enormous, very out of place dinosaur. We wandered in and out of shops, purchased an excellent guide to the Black Hills area and finally settled on a bar for a late breakfast or early lunch. Apparently  a stop at Wall Drug 

is mandatory when visiting the area, so now we could check it off our list.
 We returned to I90 and set out for the Badlands Loop which was part of a national park and would, according to our new guide, afford us the best views of the Badlands. We were looking forward to this drive as we had briefly glimpsed the Badlands on the way to Rapid City. We wondered at the time why this area was so named. Having watched too many westerns growing up, I felt sure it was called  "The Badlands" because the bad guys...train and bank robbers and such...hid out there from the sheriff after committing their dastardly deeds. Not exactly. According to my sources the Lakota Indians were the first to call it their version of bad land because of the lack of water and vegetation and the harsh

Big, bad Buddi in the Badlands

conditions they found there. Later on French fur trappers agreed with the name and the "Badlands" name stuck. Whatever you call it a drive through the Badlands might be compared to driving on the moon; there is an ethereal feel to the panorama, and while desolate and harsh it is also extraordinarily beautiful, the shadows on the rock faces shifting as you round each corner. Ordinarily we chatter a lot when driving...but I noticed we were exceptionally quiet, lost this otherworldly landscape.

As we left the Badlands Loop we decided there was indeed time to visit the 1880's Town. It actually turned out to be further away then we thought and was closing as we arrived. Meanwhile, on the way back to our campground we saw signs for an early west museum that included an outdoor exhibit with a sod house and artifacts from that period. It was about to close as well, but we got information from the ranger on duty and got to see some fat, sassy cute-as-could-be prairie dogs.

The Lakota people were the first to call this place “mako sica” or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. French-Canadian fur trappers also called it “les mauvais terres pour traverse,” or “bad lands to travel through.” - See more at: http://blackhillstravelblog.com/how-did-the-badlands-get-their-name/#sthash.hM6PtBO3.dpuf

The Lakota people were the first to call this place “mako sica” or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. French-Canadian fur trappers also called it “les mauvais terres pour traverse,” or “bad lands to travel through.” - See more at: http://blackhillstravelblog.com/how-did-the-badlands-get-their-name/#sthash.hM6PtBO3.dpuf

The Lakota people were the first to call this place “mako sica” or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. French-Canadian fur trappers also called it “les mauvais terres pour traverse,” or “bad lands to travel through.” - See more at: http://blackhillstravelblog.com/how-did-the-badlands-get-their-name/#sthash.hM6PtBO3.dpuf

The Lakota people were the first to call this place “mako sica” or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. French-Canadian fur trappers also called it “les mauvais terres pour traverse,” or “bad lands to travel through.” - See more at: http://blackhillstravelblog.com/how-did-the-badlands-get-their-name/#sthash.hM6PtBO3.dpu

The Lakota people were the first to call this place “mako sica” or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. French-Canadian fur trappers also called it “les mauvais terres pour traverse,” or “bad lands to travel through.” - See more at: http://blackhillstravelblogsthash.8uhEJnyd.dpuf

The Lakota people were the first to call this place “mako sica” or “land bad.” Extreme temperatures, lack of water, and the exposed rugged terrain led to this name. French-Canadian fur trappers also called it “les mauvais terres pour traverse,” or “bad lands to travel through.” - See more at: http://blackhillstravelblog.com/how-did-the-badlands-get-their-name/#sthash.8uhEJnyd.dpuf

The Lakota

Rapid City, SD

Aug. 26

On arrival yesterday we had gathered all brochures and magazine available in the lodge at Rushmore Shadows; after getting set up we spent time pouring over each and every glossy page. There was so much to do and see in this area we were going to need to make decisions on how to spend our allotted two weeks. Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Sturgis, Deadwood and Lead were some of the obvious choices. But there were also lesser known sights: caverns, Native American sites, dinosaur bones, wild animal park and... oh joy, Reptile World  (which hold some sort of Guinness record) not the mention Wall (home of the famous Wall Drug) and right next to our campground, Old MacDonald's farm, a petting zoo on steroids. We had a lot to think about.
But first things first. We've found that it's a good idea to do a shopping trip early on in our stay, first to stock up and second to get the lay of the land. We were settled in the Black Hills and had beautiful sights all around. As we drove towards our destinations of Camping World (trailer parts needed), Bed Bath and Beyond (replacement of defunct coffee maker) and Walmart Supercenter (for needed food items) we saw that Rapid City, population about 67,000, was spread put over a huge area. Every rise and corner gave us a surprisingly lovely view... even from the gas station! We were looking forward to every minute here.

On the road

 The Missouri River

On August 24th we departed Iowa with the intention of doing an "overnight" on the road; this was a first for us in the motor home. We knew we could not make the distance from our Iowa campground to our reserved campsite in South Dakota in one day...not and arrive before dark. We had decided to drive half the way and find some place to spend the night....Walmart parking lot, a rest area or a truck stop. The plan was to complete the two day trip on the following day, thus arriving at our latest campground on the 26th, the day of our reservation. Anyone see a problem here? More on that in a bit.
The day was just beautiful. The sun was shining. the sky was blue and all systems were "go." I speak for myself when I say that my knowledge of geography of states north and west is embarrassingly deficient, so I was surprised to see how quickly the landscape changed as we traveled the few miles from Sioux City, Iowa into South Dakota.The difference between the landscape on one side of the Missouri and the other was astounding.
I loved seeing the unending fields of corn and beans in Iowa, but  the now gently rolling landscape of the cattle farms with mile after mile of recently shorn fields and row upon row of big round hay bales and fields of sunflowers were equally striking. When riding along in our "big rig" we don't make quick stops to snap photos, waiting until we get to a destination to hop in the car or golf cart to get a closer look and photos of the countryside. That means that while we thoroughly enjoy the sights

Endless fields of sunflowers

along the way we usually don't get pictures unless I am able to snap a quick shot out the window.

Sunset due to fires in Northwest :(

Everything went well and we stopped a couple of times, once for fuel and once to give the driver lunch and a much needed break.
 As evening approached we began looking for a place to stop...to no avail. We were quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The few rest stops we had seen did not allow overnight parking, there were no Walmarts around and while fuel was available we hadn't seen a truck stop for miles. On we drove and finally came to the very small town of Prosho, SD, population 514. Finally, utilizing the GPS, we saw that there was a Cenex station some distaance ahead which might be a truck stop.The Cenex was not exactly a truck stop, although there were several big rigs parked out back. This station had diesel (check), a place to park (check), a combination convenience store, a restaurant, clean restrooms, a bar and gaming room (check). What more could you ask for?

We fueled up then parked. We walked through the convenience store towards swinging doors straight out of a western movie and sat down in the bar. There were a few people at a table but no one behind the bar. We waited about ten minutes, looking around, wondering if the place was closing, when a fellow at the next table said, "Oh, she's out in the kitchen fixing our food; she'll be back in a minute." Then he came over and we had a great conversation until the barmaid came back. Seems he did some sort of farm work and told us come January it was too darn cold and he and his wife took off for Florida for golf and some sun.
We ordered beer and sandwiches and enjoyed watching a bunch of locals drift in. This was the Cheers of Prosho; except for us, everybody knew everybody else's name.
We probably would have slept well that night but for the truck next to us; engine on, engine off, engine on, engine off.....
The next day we got up, got ready and left for the second portion of this leg. Again, beautiful countryside and a good trip until...I pulled out information regarding our reservation at Rushmore

Our first glimpse of the Badlands

Shadows. Oops, we were about to arrive a day before our reservation, at one of the most popular campgrounds, the week before Labor Day. Now, we had found it necessary to adjust our schedule to get these specific dates at this specific campground and we'd been told they were "full." Really big oops.
Ah, but luck was with us and on calling Rushmore and explaining the situation we were pleased to learn they would allow us in on the 25th. Tonight we would sleep comfortably, full hookups in a beautiful campground.

Here we are in Iowa

As we were very close to the eastern Iowa border we were soon rolling through that absolutely gorgeous state. We skirted Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls, traffic was minimal and it was peaceful ride. I don't know how to describe the countryside, to paint a picture for you of the beauty of the very gently rolling fields of corn and soybeans punctuated by neat, crisp looking farms with white houses and red barns and towering silos. And photos simply do not do the scenery justice.

When we lived in La Paz I recall walking on the Malecon on the bay of La Paz and seeing layers of color... pale blue to deep turquoise, to the deeper blue water near the magote and marveling at the multiple layers of blues. The greens of the passing landscape were layered in such a way: light green of the grassy yards, the golden topped green of the unending fields of corn and deep, deep green of the bean fields, all framed by the blues, yellows and purples of wild flowers lining the road sides.

We arrived at our latest destination, Spirit Lake, Iowa around 5:30.
This is the part of RVing I don't really like, and the part Larry

Cutty's Okoboji Resort lodge

doesn't seem to mind at all. At this particular campground we were not allowed, once again, to use our golf cart (a disappointment for certain that later became rectified).  That means we had to remove both the golf cart and the car from the trailer, then hook the trailer to the golf cart. While Larry drove to a storage area to deposit the cart and trailer I scouted the assigned spot to ascertain if it suited our purpose and size. I was amazed that in this large campground I didn't see one other RV; almost all of the other residents had fifth wheel campers or tow alongs. I picked up Larry and took him to the site which I thought might be a bit tight but he deemed just fine. And it was, which is why he is the captain and I am the navigator.  We got set up, not without difficulty as the holding tank and sewer line gave some trouble. No need to go in to detail...

Larry relaxes........

We've found fellow campers to be a friendly group in general and the residents of Cutty's Okoboji Campground were no exception. I think it may be the close proximity of neighbors in campgrounds that lends itself to making immediate contacts and friendships. Our next door neighbors came back from an outing our second day there, and stopped by to introduce themselves. I admired the gorgeous big red tomatoes the woman was holding and she immediately offered to share, saying friends kept foisting tomatoes on them. I was a little embarrassed to be "begging" but she reassured me and I accepted. They brought us more the next day and we enjoyed those tomatoes in salads, sandwiches and fresh and cooked pasta sauces...delicious!

Sometimes when one meets people there is an immediate bond; I think the Italians call it simpatico. Whatever it is, Larry and I felt that with this native Iowa couple and I believe the feeling was mutual. We chatted with them several times over the next couple of days and they offered to take us on a tour of the surrounding communities and to Wisconsin (a short drive) for the best steak around. We met on a damp afternoon and piled into their van next day for a delightful tour.

In the fishery

We began to see the scope of the Iowa great lakes. Although the day was blustery and white caps topped the waves, we enjoyed these beautiful deep blue lakes, so clean and seemingly untouched,
despite serious development. We even stopped at a fishery and learned how the fish are "milked" in the spring and the fish eggs are raised to the point of fingerlings before being released, thus assuring good fishing year round. Our host told us about his hobby, ice fishing. Warm weather devotees that we are, Larry and I shivered just thinking about being out on the lake in sub freezing temperatures...for any reason.

Our tour included a tasting at a local winery, set in a beautifully remodeled barn with two lovely rooms for overnight stays...and buffalo in the back yard! The wine was delicious, a gift shop abounded in "winey" items and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the owner's daughter who teased Larry and told him she might have to banish him when he admitted to liking white zinfandel...from a box.

We drove on to Bergen, Wisconsin, perhaps the smallest town I have ever been in; if I remember correctly, the population is 20. There is a meat processing venture and a steak house. Our hosts brought wine and we stood outside on a patio awaiting seating in this busy restaurant; rain made it too wet to sit down. We sipped on our wine and our host pulled out a piece of paper and read a poem which he said had just come to him in the middle of the night.  Larry and I were touched by the beautiful words: a  fine toast, indeed.

                   "To new friends, God has

                   seen our paths be crossed.

                   Though faces again may never be seen   

                   Your memory will never be lost."

We enjoyed a delicious dinner and wonderful company that evening and the next as well, and I truly hope our paths cross again.

We were becoming quite familiar with the area and could find our way around without the GPS...most of the time! We saw a classic car show (we were not allowed to get too close to the cars; the owners are afraid of the drool factor!) and stopped by the Polaris factory to check out a Slingshot and Victory motorcycles which are made there. We also spent one day at Arnold's Park, wandering around to all of the shops and booths, and had a blast watching the little ones ride a not so gentle kiddie roller coaster. What fun,

seeing children as young as two lining up, by themselves, hopping aboard and then screaming, arms raised as they went around the bumpy course, only the cry out, "Again!" These Iowa kids are made of the right stuff!

  Taking a bit of a "busman's holiday," we were particularly pleased to enjoy an afternoon cruise on Queen II, a replica of a steamboat that plied the lake back in the 1800's. Unfortunately we were not 

able to hear all of the historical narrative due to windy conditions and thendisappointed once again to find we returned to the park too late to get into the maritime museum which had closed for the day. All and all though, a terrific day! 

Fall comes early in this area and while we were finding the days very pleasant the night temperatures were dropping to the mid-forties. Brrrrrr. It was time to move on, although I would be surprised to find any warmer in Rapid City, SD, our next destination.

Part of Cutt's Okoboji

Who??

Buddi enjoys the great outdoors

I know nothing!!

Really, really big prop

Adult fun

On to Indiana

Mysterious...

One of my favorite parts of this trip so far are the road trips between our destinations. I admit there is always a bit of anxiety as we leave one site and pull out on to the highway heading for parts unknown. But my fearless captain handles all difficulties with aplomb - as I should have expected - and I am becoming a more relaxed passenger. I so enjoy just watching the countryside pass by. We have made a number of cross country trips in the southern portion of the U.S., but this is new territory for us and so far we have seen it at its green, sunny best.

On August 8th we traveled from our Ohio campsite to  Howe, Indiana where we found a very different campground and had a very different experience. Up until now our member campgrounds have be spacious with many amenities. We came to a tiny town with no traffic lights and quickly passed through and out of it. We found ourselves  on a narrow country road, straight as an arrow between tall fields of corn. We dutifully follow GPS instruction which lead us to a gravel road. As we entered the park we saw a wooden sign in front of what might be the world's smallest library. The sign stated:" Enter and choose a site on your left. Someone will come around to check you in."  
There were two possible sites, one on a small hill and one that was flat but had a car parked in front of it. Sitting to the right of this site was a truly crabby old man who told me he was saving that spot as his spot was wet from recent rains and he just might want to move over. I wasn't quite sure of protocol. Is this like it was in elementary school when a third grader saves a seat in the lunchroom and won't let the new kid sit there? While Larry and I debated the issue the, ahem, gentleman, stomped over and moved his car. I wasn't eager to move in next to Mr. Crabby Pants, but it was our only choice and turned out just fine.

A few minutes later a white haired lady sped up in her golf cart and announced that #1, she was in charge of the check in process and  #2, we would not be allowed to drive our gas powered golf cart due to emissions. She was sorry but that was the rule and by the way, she announced, I'm 84!. After the episode with Mr C Pants,we decided to be very sweet to her and she must have decided we were o.k. as the next day she hunted us down to bequeath one of her crocheted dish scrubbers...which by the way worked so well we bought some more!

At home in Indiana

This campground had only 30 sites, all lined up in a row, but a large contingency of seasonal visitors in another area. They obviously spent the entire summer on site as they had teeny little golf cart garages and flourishing flower and vegetable gardens.While not as outgoing as some of our other temporary neighbors, we did meet some really nice people. Larry spent much of an evening chatting with a biker/camper and had a long, spirited conversation with him. I dispensed beer and nuts and went back in the RV to avoid mosquitoes which were biting me and ignoring the men.

Local mode of travel

Once again we enjoyed driving around the countryside, sharing the roads with horses and buggies, and spent one day in Shipshewana where we had an opportunity to view mile after mile of pristine Mennonite
farms and shop their huge market (cash only, no debit or credit cards.) On way back we saw a sign for a leather shop. Larry had been complaining for sometime about his wallet which always seemed to get stuck in his pocket, so we swung around and headed up a long gravel drive. Sure enough, set amongst the farm outbuildings was a small shop with an "Open" sign on the door. We walked in, Buddi on Larry's shoulder, and were immediately surrounded by the scent of leather and a small but beautiful array of products, all handmade by this young Mennonite farmer...in his spare time. Larry chose an elephant skin wallet (surprising as there were no elephants within view) perfect for his needs. The farmer was fascinated with Buddi and called his wife to bring in his three young daughters who were shy, but obviously in awe of our little bird. We chatted awhile then headed out, turning to see the little girls smiling and waving from the door 

Cutie pies...

as we drove off.