Day 20 to 31 - May 30 to June 9

This post will cover our stay with our kids and grandkids in Algonquin, Il. Kelsey will graduate from high school on June 7th and shortly thereafter Jerad will return to Bradley University (with the bar in tow I am sure). In the mean time we will be working on some grandpa dos and some grandma dos as well as some grandpa cook and some grandma cook requests. Yesterday afternoon we had very high winds here and I heard a noticeable crack. This morning we awoke to the sound of chainsaws and they were removing a huge oak that broke and fell on the golf course across the street. We think of our many friends who are at Relay For Life this weekend and hope that they have a successful weekend.

Day 19 - May 29

What can I say about twelve hours of driving...ugghhh! But we got here and our grandson was there standing in the driveway, ready, willing and able to unload his early birthday gift. For those of you that don't know, he had requested a little construction project for his 21st birthday. Following on last year's trip to help build out his frat room, he wanted a bar for his new and larger fraternity room. So grandpa (and grandma too) obliged and built a portable (semi) bar complete with fraternity and college logos. And along the "Road 2 Morroco" we found a few trinkets for the bar...a bottle of Moose Drool beer and a matching pilsner glass (from Yellowstone) and a set of hedgehog bar towels from Gills Rock, WI (Jerad has always loved hedgehogs). The drive through Chicago during the later part of rush hour was not my cup of tea. A few toll booths later we finally got there.

Grandpa and Jerad on left and Jerad and Blake (his frat buddy and room mate) on right.

Day 18 - May 28

Today was Mackinac Island day. We got the dogs situated and headed for the ferry for what we thought was the 11:00 AM ferry only to find out that when we passed into Michigan we changed to Eastern Time zone (0ne hour of our day down without even knowing it). We took the hike up to the Grand Hotel. I had been to the Hotel at least ten times before and I must admit that I preferred the opulent Victorian decor of my previous trips to the somewhat garish more contemporary decor of today. For you movie buffs you will appreciate that my previous trips have been courtesy of one of my favorite movies "Somewhere In Time". If you are not familiar with it you can think of it as a sort of twist on "The Lake House" but with Christopher Reeve and the lovely Jane Seymour rather than Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Interestingly Christopher Plummer played somewhat of a heavy in both movies. Enough about movies but I recommend both of them if you like time morphing love stories.

When we got to the Grand Hotel (Margaret this picture is for you) they charge $15 just to enter but it was credited against our $45 per person fee for the buffet lunch in the Grand Dining Room. Again it was far more elegant in its Victorian attire, alas that was then and this is now. $45 was pretty hefty even for me but I guess in terms of buffet line it worked out to less than a dollar a foot. 36 feet of salads and appetizers, 24 feet of entree and 12 feet of dessert. Donna and I both agreed, however, at that price we would have liked to have been served.

We took our horse drawn taxi and horse drawn tour rides. According to the brochure one of the best things that the founding fathers did was ban motorized vehicles which kept the island free of the traffic noise and exhaust fumes. I personally don't find horse exhaust fumes any more pleasant. According to our tour guide there are more than 500 horses on the island during the peak of the season...imagine that on an island where the town takes up only a minute portion of it 2 by 3 mile surface. Now add a couple of thousand bicycles manned by tourist and think of the chaos. I guess that I should decline one of our commenters offer to write for travel magazines.

We bought our obligatory pound and a half of Mackinac Fudge and were getting appropriately sick on the return boat ride. By 5:00 we were ready to head back to the boat.

As usual the girls were happy to see us and to have the opportunity to play ball and run free. Tonight's buffet line will be made up of Mac & Cheese with tuna and a bottle of 2 Buck Chuck on a wooden bench overlooking the lake and Mackinac Island.

PS: The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world "over fresh water" and it is quite pretty at sunset.

Day 17 - May 27

Continuing with our theme or non-freeway travel, we cruised yet another two lane road bordering Lake Michigan with a brief tour of some of the more "scenic" parts of Green Bay, WI as we took a trucker route through the city. Much of todays drive was between thick forest with no view to anything so a lot of it all looked the same...green. It is still hard to imagine lakes so large that they fall off of the horizon with no other land in sight. With another long list of small towns we saw mainly more modest homes along the shores of the lake compared to Door County. We arrived at our destination of Mackinac City and are camped in a campground on the shore of Lake Heron with an amazing 400 sites. This evening was play catch up on this blog and do some of my consulting work. Tomorrow will be a trip to Mackinac Island.

Day 16 - May 26

Today was a car tour day. We made a 208 mile loop of the pennisula which contains Door County, WI. We were in lots of small towns which looked surprisingly well established and successful for just a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand inhabitants. As we passed through "historic" Algoma, the townspeople were starting to line up along the downtown sidewalks for the "big" Memorial Day Parade. We stopped at the Door County Bakery & Deli for lunch: 1 sandwich, 1 cup of soup, 2 tiny pastries and 2 sodas - $28. It was good but they are a little too proud of their produts.

We stopped at the Door County Maritime Museum and saw an exhibit on the great storm of 1913 that claimed so many ships on Lake Michigan. Lots of beautiful homes along the shore but they must be retired or summer home for "big city folk" as they seem too expensive for small towns with no industry and so relatively remote.

This is definitely "Luther" land. Lots of big Lutheran churches.





Small towns visited: Two Rivers, Kawaunee, Algoma, Sturgeon Bay, Bailey Harbor, Fish Creek, Sisters Bay, Ellison Bay, Gill Rock, Ephram, Egg Harbor and Alaska (we thought we were really off course when we saw this one).

Day 15 - May 25

Again intent upon taking the road less traveled we slipped off of Interstate 90 onto Highway 33 through farm country.

As usual, Donna tried to photo every old barn we passed. Not always successful from a moving vehicle. The farm houses seemed to be evenly divided between large newer houses and those clinging steadfastly to the old two story beige brick homes with the cracks in the bricks and the sagging porches. Regardless of the house they all had meticulously manicured lawns and flowerbeds next to the neatly tilled fields.

Unfortunately due to the road construction the trip that we anticipated would take a few hours too all day. The detours and alternate routes took us north then south and back again rather than the mostly easterly direction we had anticipated. We did note that the midwest is truly Americana and far more patriotic than the west coast as home displayed red, white & blue, stars and strips bunting on thier porch rails and front yard fences.

We ended our day's trek at Point Beach State Forest on Lake Michigan. The shore and sea grass looks much like the Pacific Ocean shores we have stayed at. Debbie, the lighthouse pictures are for you and why didn't you tell us that Wisconsin is king-sized mosquito country.

Footnotes

For those of you that are regular readers and photo followers we just wanted to make sure that you knew that you can double click on the photos to get a bigger view.

Day 14 - May 24

Awoke to more rain and wind...ah how I hate the wind. We finally left the pretty municipal park in Adrian, MN and continued east. The further east we went in Minnesota the prettier it became (greener and greener).

When we enter Wisconsin crossing the wide Mississippi River it was as we remembered it. Green rolling fields and trees. The wind has subsided and driving has become easier. The problem is that it is Saturday night, Memorial Weekend, and we are finding that many campgrounds are booked full. Alas there is always KOA :-(. Tomorrow we will continue to march on in our trek towards Mackinac Island, Michigan.

Day 13 - May 23

ROCK & ROLL. After a night of lightning and thunder and pouring rain which created a lake around our RV we started today's drive was from Kadoka, SD to Adrian, MN. We embarked in driving mist/fog and then spent the remainder of the day in buffeting winds...my favorite kind of driving weather.

For all of our camouflage and hunting friends we made a walk thru tour of our first Cabela's store. Lots of dead animals on the walls and everything imaginable in camo. And yes Jon, we did check out the Library Collection gun department but $9,000 was the most expensive we saw. I had hoped to see something similar to my great grandfather's shotgun for a value check but nothing close.

We were completely mindless that this is Memorial Day weekend and when we whipped into a municipal campground in Adrian, MN and found a cancellation spot we were surprised. Gorgeous green lawns to park on with electricity and water for $18. According to the locals parked one site over, the park is full every weekend during the season...we lucked out. One of their friends canceled their spot due to reported bad weather (rain, hail, etc.). I guess we will see what comes.

For tonight, it is kick back and enjoy, although I get the feeling that we are camped between to "party" groups.

Day 12 - May 22

Lazy morning...slept in and awoke to the sound of rain on the roof (that was after getting up with the pup at 6:00 am). It was a good morning to pull up the covers and snuggle down for a little more sleep.

As part of my visual imagery experiment I will call on you movie buffs to visualize a scene from "Walk in the Clouds" but with trees rather than vineyards. Our camp site was apart from the other camp sites and surrounded by towering Ponderosa Pines and large out croppings of rock. When we stepped outside the trees were bathed in fog (actually low hanging clouds) and the tops of the trees were swaying in the wind and making that whispering sound that those of us that live in the trees come to know. The affect was almost ethereal and movie like.

As we left Custer in the wind and sideways rain, we pulled into the National Museum of Woodcarvers (don't look for it on any real National Museum register). Interesting but I am not sure I would spend the $7 (with senior discount) per head to do it again. We once again entered Custer State Park to traverse that wonderful highway 16A (the good part this time) and then onto highway 36 and eventually onto highway 90 headed east. We made our stop at Wall, SD to satisfy our curiosity about the bumper stickers that we had seen saying "Where in the heck is Wall Drug". Think of Mall of American on a small scale and set to a country and western theme. The wind still blowing and unpleasant.

Leaving Wall, we ventured east along highway 90 until we came to the the "240 Badlands Loop". The winds were very stiff which made the drive a little "white knuckle" and rocky. We stopped for gas and the evening in Kadoka, SD. A virtual paradise of the prairie states. As I am penning this edition of the blog we are experiencing thunder, lighting and a torrential downpour. We just stopped for the night in time to get set up before it started.

Day 11 - May 21

Today was our last day with the Dodges and our last day to be chauffeured around the countryside. We made a road trip to Lead (pronounced Leed) which is the home of the Homestake Mining Company which was one of the companies that made George Hearst (William Randolf Hearst's father) wealthy. From there we went to Deadwood, a town with a questionable past. The old downtown area is now almost exclusively Casinos. The scantily clad mannequins in the upstairs windows suggest the past of the town. From there we went on to Sturgis which is the home of may large motorcycle "group" gathering. Most of the businesses are motorcycle oriented. The highlight of the town tour was seeing "Big Bad Bertha's Biker Bar"...Wow that is a mouthful.

Fair warning to our dedicated readers that you will probably be seeing fewer pictures since the post for yesterday took 3 1/2 hours to upload. We love you all but I will probably try to make more pictures with words.

Day 10 - May 20th

Today was busy and rewarding. First we traveled to Mount Rushmore and spent several hours touring the exhibit halls, watching the documentaries and visiting the artists studio. Seeing the models for the monument and the final results was quite amazing.

After spending the better part of the day at Rushmore, we went home to feed and walk the girls, have a quick bite to eat and then took an evening drive through Custer State Park along the Wildlife Drive. There is no doubt that Buffalo (Bison) should not be on the endangered species list. The large herd that we watched was made up by at least 25% new calves. Continuing on our drive we saw white tail deer, prong horn deer and mule deer. And oh yes, donkeys that immediately came right up to the car and one stuck his nose in Donna's window...definitely not shy! Towards the end of the drive we spotted a prong horn with its antlers stuck in a section of field fencing. We have no idea how long he had been there but ever 20 or 30 seconds he would twist and jump or turn as much as he could to try and get free. We finally checked out cell phone service and called the emergency number for the park which gave us the local sheriffs since all of the park rangers were gone for the day. The sheriff promises to contact the rangers to come and set it free. We waited about 20 more minute and the prong horn finally made the correct flip to free itself, so call the sheriff again and proceed on our trip. And oh by the way, for our Oregonian friends...coming upon a deer on the highway at night pales by comparison to coming upon a 2000 pound black Bison standing in the middle of the road.

By now it is dark and we are taking 16A back to Rushmore to see it lit up at night. We have determined that any road labeled with an "A" is an indicator for "Awful" we are hopeful the those labeled with "B" will be "Better". This road is one hairpin turn after another followed by pig tail turns (corkscrews). Periodically it divides into two small single lanes in each direction. There are numerous low clearance bridges and four single lane tunnels chipped out of solid granite. At one of the tunnels, as you look forward, you get a view of Rushmore lit up in the distance. At two more of the turns were also views of the illuminated figures and it appears that trees had been removed just to accommodate the view.

When we got back to Rushmore it was a totally different feeling under artificial lights rather than natural daylight. The walk of flags was much more dramatic but the artificial lighting failed to show the sculptural features of the Presidents as well as in the daylight. As we were leaving, we noticed that a large harvest moon had arisen and was framed by the granite arches at the far end of the walk. It was quite an awesome sight.

Day 9 - May 19th

Today was a wild west travel day driving from Cody, Wyoming (as in Buffalo Bill Cody) to Custer, South Dakota (as in General George Armstrong Custer). Not much that I can say other than that the Pronghorn Deer is really plentiful in the open grasslands country. No particular sightseeing today, just driving and vegging out on books on tape.

P.S.: We have now decided that the strange patterns on the frozen lakes are from snow mobile tracks across the ice.

Footnotes

Dear readers, over the last four days we have had no internet service so we had to miss a few days which now have been brought up to date. If this happens again in the future we will make every attempt to play catch-up as soon as we have service again.

Day 8 - May 18th

Time to leave Yellowstone. We traveled from Madison to Norris, Canyon Village (stopping to take in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone), past Fishing Bridge to Lake Village and had lunch at the Lake Hotel, the oldest in the park (the Big Yellow Hotel). Once again it is managed by Xanterra and fell somewhere in between Old Faithful and the Mammoth Hot Springs. Had some fun with the young waiter...he professed to have worked in fine dining his entire life (all 18 to 20 years). I must admit that he was on top of his game and would have passed a Ponti mystery shop with flying colors by offering a bottle of wine with lunch and trying to cross sell appetizers and dessert. So needless to say, Winston got a decent tip to help fund some of his summer work program fun. After lunch and one last outing in the gift shops, we ventured on through the East Gate of the park and on to Cody, Wyoming.

Day 7 - May 17th

Our expedition today was to Grant Teton National Park. To my mind this is one of the most magnificent groups of mountain anywhere. I always find them to be an awesome sight. Many of the side roads and view loops were still closed due to the late snows. We did manage to see a Grizzly bear mom with her two yearling cubs as well as moose. Our travels today took us past Yellowstone Lake, an awe inspiring 136 square miles of water. Thus far all of the lakes have been frozen and displaying their coating of ice in shades of pale blue and green. We also noted some very interesting patterns of ice on these lakes.

Day 6 - May 16th

Today's outing was from Madison to Mammoth and Gardner, WY. We saw the Roosevelt Arch and the markers for the creation of the first National Park. Unfortunately it is sad to see how much damage has been done by thoughtless tourist who pay no attention to the rules to protect these beautiful sights. Today's lunch was at the Mammoth Springs Hotel Dining Room. Today we had one waiter from the Ukrane and one from Portland, OR. Wearing my Customer Feedback hat, I noted that while both Old Faithful Lodge and the Mammoth Springs Hotel are both managed by Xanterra the quality of the food and the service were not comparable. Mammoth Springs was definately superior to the more famous Old Faithful Lodge

Day 5 - May 15th

Today we traveled from our campsite at Madison Campground to Old Faithful and the Lower Geyser Park. We had lunch at the Old Faithful Lodge and managed to do our part for the economic stimulus of the National Parks System by shopping every gift shop in the Old Faithful complex.

Day 4 - May 14

Last night our friends the Dodges join us in Idaho Falls and today we drove into Yellowstone National Park via the West Entrance. The Dodges have been to Yellowstone approximately 17 times and they said they have never seen so much snow. In town and near the entrance the snow was piled six feet high and parking was very difficult.


Shortly after entering the park we became aware of a helicopter hovering overhead and then we saw a cowboy riding up on the ridge. He and the helicopter were driving a herd of Bison (the proper term for buffalo) down from the high country into the meadow lands. Shortly we were stopped by a two ranger cars while they drove the herd down the hillside, across the river, across the road and into a meadow. When most of the herd had crossed the ranger let a group of the cars go. But when we got to him, he stopped us and we spent the next hour waiting for the remainder of the herd to cross the road.

We got to creep forward a few hundred yards and then about five more cowboys started driving the herd back onto the road and across the bridge and then back down into a much bigger meadow. All the while we were sitting or creeping along at about 2 miles per hour. At one point a large male Bison passed right in front of the motor home and stopped at starred at Annie. We were really concerned that it might charge the motor home.Once we got beyond the Bison we saw Elk grazing in the meadows.

We had dinner at the Dodges' and played Hand & Foot without 8 extra feet under the table.

The Road Less Traveled

Today we followed the Oregon Trail, or at least the Goodale Cutoff, named after Tim Goodale who led about 340 wagons, 1000 people and 2500 head of livestock north of the Snake River because of the problems with the Shoshone Indians (Idaho Highway 20/26). Now you have had your history lesson for the day. The first part of the drive was beautiful with magnificent views of the Sawtooth Mountain and travel along parts of the Big Wood Creek.


It was both beautiful and sad at the same time. Abandoned houses and falling down barns. Pieces of Americana falling into ruin. It was clear however that Oregonians are not the only people that keep every vehicle and piece of equipment that they ever owned. It seems that the Idahoan (is that the proper terminology?) have an affinity for collecting relics as well. At a scenic viewpoint where we took the picture above, we found a pile of unidentifiable items. And Jon or Rick we are bringing one home for you to tell us what it is.

The second part of todays travel was endlessly flat and straight and pretty boring. We passed a company that specializes in environmental items and two miles down the road is a nuclear waste dump inauspiciously marked with signs saying Restricted Area - Access By Permit Only and another sign saying "Material and Fuel Entrance". I guess if there is nothing there and no one lives anywhere near you can put in a nuclear waste dump where you want.


We finally got to Crater of the Moon National Monument. We were good tourist and checked out the visitor center and took the seven mile loop drive. I must admit that after the second turn out and walk we decided that if you have seen one volcanic rock display you have seen enough.

Tonight we are stopped in Idaho Falls which has some significance to me since this is the town where my parents were married and my brother was born. We are camped at the Snake River RV Park which is quite pretty for an "in town" RV Park.