Mostly Traveling

We traveled most of the day Saturday and arrived in Denver,CO early afternoon. Melodie and I had arranged to meet Mel Markey ( winters with us at Toby's) for supper. Had a nice time "catching up" and hope to see her when we get back to FL. Sunday Vince and I did some Geocaching and then we had a nice lunch at an "authentic" Mexican restaurant . Went back to the campground and climbed the "mountain " behind the campground. It only took us about 15 minutes to go up and down (I think the sign may have had something to do with our rapid descent).

I got to look for rattlesnakes, but then they dropped me off at the groomer's and I'm liking my bowtie much better than the usual kerchief!

Monday morning we left Denver and said good-bye to Vince ( we will catch up with him again in Albuquerque) and headed towards Grand Junction,CO.  I was a little apprehensive about the drive because we had to go over the Loveland Pass (over 11,000ft). This was my first experience at driving the RV so high and my only concern was that we would run into bad weather and construction and guess what??? WE DID!

We continued on today to Moab, UT.  This is where our Winnebago Caravan begins on Sept. 2nd.  We aren't the only ones who thought to get here a couple days early to relax, buy supplies and get ready for the next leg of our journey.  Many of our caravan people are here already and we met them at a happy hour today. 

Sundance WY, Devil's Tower & Little Big Horn

Wednesday we traveled from Keystone,SD to Sundance WY.  It was a short trip so we had time to play tourist. We went to Devil's Tower National Monument (basically a VERY large stone in the middle of nowhere), but always breathtaking. We were humming the tune from "Close Encounters " for the next hour. .

Then we  drove the loop until we came to the Vore Buffalo Jump which is a sink hole where the Indians trapped the buffalo. They are still excavating the site but there were six layers of discarded bones , very impressive

Later that evening Vince, Melodie and I did some "geocaching" in the city of Sundance. We found one real easy but I think Vince was having some trouble convincing the " Sundance Kid" to give up his treasure.

The next day Vince and I went to Little Big Horn.  We both wanted to hear the full story of the battle and view the battlefield, but the 8 hour round-trip drive has done me in on long car trips!  Archeologists have recently been able to recreate the battle with evidence of shell casings and types of bullets.  One of the most interesting facts is that the total battle lasted only an hour and a half - with the final "stand" over in about 30 minutes.  

Here are 2 pictures to give you a taste of some of the road hazards we have encountered...

Is that house taking up BOTH lanes!?!?!?

OK, so the RV isn't supposed to be an off-road vehicle...

Taking my Dad home

My Dad was born and raised in Ryder, ND.  He died this May and said that he would like to be buried in his family plot if/when I could do that.  It seems serendipitious that I was making this trip out West just months after he passed.  So even though his home town was at least 430 miles away, Carole & I started out for the 2 day, round trip marathon while Vince watched Latte.  Its so great to have good friends to help through difficult times. 

It is a small town in the middle of nowhere, but because of that they all know each other and take care of their own.  My father's name and that of his family, pictures and memorabilia are posted several places around town and in their museum.  They gave us a reception, took us around and made me feel that I had truly brought him Home.

We spent most of the day Friday in Rapid City,SD shopping and eating.  We had lunch at the Firehouse Brewing Company. It was recommended by Rachel Ray and indeed the food was very good.  Can't say the same for the recommended beer (UGH!). Went to a great Native American store called Prairie Edge where they had wonderful displays of Indian arts and artifacts and a million types of beads.  We did not buy anything there so we felt obligated to go to another bead store called Moon Shadow which was very unique and we did buy several things.

     On Saturday we traveled to Hot Springs, SD to see the Mammoth Site.  It is the largest "in situ" mammoth dig site contained in a building.  The site is the final resting place for large Columbian and Woolly mammoths (59 of them!) that became trapped after sliding into a spring-fed sinkhole about 26,000 years ago.

        
We spent the rest of the day at Crazy Horse Memorial. I had been there two times before and each time I can see a change but overall the progress is very slow. It is most impressive at sundown with the sun shining on the memorial, it is a very spiritual experience, We stayed for the laser show after dark which is something you have to see once in your lifetime. Late night for everybody , so we will rest in the campground tomorrow.

Black Hills

So much beauty its hard to describe it all.  Mount Rushmore was impressive - even more so from far away, because I got to see the magnitude of it.

And then there were the bridges,

Rocks,

Buffalo,

Tunnels,

And a crazy person going through the smallest tunnel in a class C motorhome!

And while they were running around, I was doing my favorite thing and slept and slept!

The Wall and the Amazing Badlands

Left Mitchell and headed straight (really, the road is absolutely straight) West.  Stopped in Wall,SD for two nights. Saw WALL Drug ( la de, la de, la la).  Late evening,  we took Latte and went to Prairie Dog city in the Badlands. He saw not only Prairie Dogs but Buffalo and Antelope

He was very excited to see all of them and it was all we could do to keep him in the car.

(I'm not scared of anything from inside the car, but what is "the plague"??).













The next day, the adults toured the Badlands (our photos just don't do justice to the magnificant landscape) (it was breathtaking, wild & windy!) !! 

Vince and I found a geocache (again)!  We continued to the Southernmost part of the Badlands that is run by the Lakota Indians. Very isolated, but pretty ... very far away (the one day we didn't travel in the RV, we put 150 miles on the car!). From there we went to lunch at the. Lakota Prairie Ranch Restaurant (we were starving by then) and had a cheeseburger, Indian style. We the went to the Oglala Lakota College and saw a presentation on Wounded Knee. Very moving to hear their side of the event. 

Mitchell, SD

Drove through Minnesota today and still had enough time to visit Mitchell, SD.  It is mainly known for the Worlds only Corn Palace.  You have to see it to believe it!!  Here's a taste ...

Is it just a little Corny for you!?!?!?  The outside panels and others on the inside are made with corn and corn products.  Another attraction in Mitchell is the Prehistoric Indian Village Museum.  It is an Archaeological site and tells of American Indians who lived in daub houses, in villages, growing corn and vegetables around 1000 AD.   

Hmm ... CarMel Lattes are following us! 

Clear Lake & Mason City IA

We have been chilling out for a few days in this area. Went geocaching yesterday and saw the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly et al did their last performance . This morning Vince and I visited Fort Custer (as you can see it was a maze) ,it took us two hours to complete.

Later all of us went to Mason City to have lunch and visit a "Prairie House" designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Day 3

We are in Moscow ... Iowa, that is - cornfields, clear air, dust.  We have traveled almost 1,000 miles and are once again in a repair facility.  This was a planned maintenance stop for the RV's levelers.  Vince met us here and will travel with us until Denver.  We went Geo caching and ended in a cemetery.  Check out the wildflowers, but do not disturb them.... 

Day #1

     We were up and on the road by 8:30am just as it started to rain.  This did not deter us one bit, but one hour later on the PA Turnpike the windshield wiper on the driver's side collapsed (as in wiper ED). Not being able to fix it ourselves I called road service (Coach Net).  Two hours later, Coach Net was not able to help us so we went on to the next rest area where a very helpful, young trucker found and solved our problem. Rest of day was good and we arrived safely at Buckeye Lake, Ohio. Very tired and ready for bed early.  2 days - 2 repairs, tomorrow must be better.  I'm having such a good time, I got to sit along the road and bark at cows for 2 hours!

And so it Begins .....

They say, "A Journey begins with a single St-- ... stop at an RV repair shop" -- at least that's how most RV journeys begin!  We are no different, and had to get the auxiliary brake system replaced prior to our scheduled start date of tomorrow!  So, here we sit creating our blog.  We named our trip "Car" (for Carole), "Mel" (for Melodie) & "Latte" (well, you know - the dog)!  (Also, we like caramel lattes, among other things.)  Anyway, we both want to tell our stories, so if you see blue printing you will know it is Carole talking, red for Melodie, and highlighted yellow, will be Latte giving you his thoughts.  We're looking forward to the fun -- stay in touch ...