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.

The best store, ever!

 An aside... Menards

From Ohio on we have seen lots of TV commercials for a store called Menards. Larry joked: "The only store I know where someone can find both two-by-fours and hemorrhoid cream!"

Not a joke at all... We finally went to a Menards in Spencer, IL, and it had the above two items and much, much more. I like to think that Home Depot married Publix and they gave birth to Walgreens and Target and Rooms to Go. Go ahead, name an item; you'll find it at Menards.  As one of the clerks told us, "If we don't have it, you don't need it!' This is the only store I know of where a married couple can shop happily in the same space for hours. And I say that as a wife who has trailed around after her husband for hours as he tried to find just the right drill, board, screw, adhesive blah, blah, blah. We did indeed spend a couple of hours there and left satisfied shoppers.