Good Times in the Badlands: Custer SP, South Dakota 10/17/09

We had an amazing day! Woke up to 23 degrees, but it warmed up to mid 70’s today. This was the first warm and dry day we’ve had in awhile, so it was especially appreciated. We drove into the Badlands and practically had the entire park to ourselves. After spending some time at the Visitor’s Center, we decided to take the Badlands Loop Road and the gravel 35 mile Sage Creek Rim Road. The light on the pinnacles, mounds, grasslands and rock formations was fantastic from every height and angle. (See today’s pic. It was really hard to pick just one picture today, we had so many great photo opps). We stopped several times to take the short fossil walk or just take in the scenery. Fortunately for us we picked up another hour today, which gave us that little extra time to explore Rapid City, Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. There’s a skyline drive that overlooks Rapid City, but the real attraction here is the Dinosaur Park, built by the WPA in 1936. These concrete dinosaurs are pretty cheesy, but Ned and I had a blast crawling all over them and taking silly pictures of each other in compromising positions. Ah the beauty of visiting attractions in the off season! Next, we drove into the Black Hills heading for Mount Rushmore. At first we were a little discouraged (or should I say appalled?) at all the tourista shops, billboards and kitch as we drove into Keystone, the gateway to Mount Rushmore. However, the minute we actually entered the park calmness reigned and you were actually able to take in the beauty of the natural area. Mount Rushmore was fun to see, but what we particularly enjoyed was the “Presidential Trail” that allowed us to walk below the Rushmore Monument and view the sculptures from different angles. We were also able to get some great views of the Black Hills from this walk. Early evening came upon us as we took the Peter Norbeck Iron Mountain Highway. For me, this was the true highlight as we drove through “PigTail Bridges” and one lane tunnels as we spiraled up the mountain. Peter Norbeck built the highway so that you can view Mt. Rushmore from all different angles. A particular stunner was coming out of a tunnel with a straight on view of Mt. Rushmore in the distance framed by the Black Hills – breathtaking! As we drove further into the wildlife preserver to camp at Custer State Park we were surprised by all the Bison grazing by the side of the road. I appreciated Ned’s calmness as we waited on more than one occasion for a wandering Bison to clear the roadway. Over our home-cooked meal in the winniemobile tonight, we took a tally of all the animals we had seen in the Badlands and Black Hills: Big Horn Sheep, Bison, Antelope, Prairie Dogs, a Badger, Mule Deer, Wild Turkeys and a bunny. Pretty amazing day!

The Pillars of Pilot Rock: Valentine, Nebraska 10/16/09

If you’ve ever camped or been to a picnic area of a State Park chances are the fire rings and picnic tables were made by Pilot Rock. Ned and I have been camping together for about 7 years and the first thing we do when pulling into a campsite is check out the fire-rings. Yep, over 90% of the time they are manufactured by the RJ Thomas Company – aka Ned’s cousins. (Well, actually they are his double-cousins: two brothers married two sisters the lineage continues and thus some convoluted connection). This morning we got a personal tour of the Pilot Rock plant and saw raw steel being turned into fire rings, grills and such. For such a small Midwest town, it’s quite impressive what these two brothers have accomplished. Their dad started this company in 1959 and today they employ about 60 people. Their products are shipped worldwide, including Disneyland in France! One statistic that I learned and was very impressed with was that in the company’s 50 year history, they have had continuous employment, never having a layoff. After all the small towns Ned and I have traveled thru in the last month, with many of them struggling, I found this inspiring. Today’s pic is Steve (left) and Craig (right) standing amongst their trade-mark fire rings. After the early morning plant tour, Craig and Julie treated us to that wonderful mid-west hospitality with a scrumptious brunch. Knowing we had a long haul, Ned and I soon “skedaddled” out of Cherokee, Iowa and headed for the Nebraska border. As usual, we decided to take an obscure route, called the Outlaw Trail, along the Northern edge of the State. We were on highway 12 most of the day and only saw a handful of other vehicles, including tractors hauling hay. (It just amazes me some of the remote places people live.) The route was quite pretty with the continuously rolling sand hills and grazing cattle. We finally arrived in the town of Valentine, Nebraska (aw – how cute is that?), and decided to have a corn-fed Nebraska steak at the local “fine dining” establishment. It was quite the local haunt, by the time we left it was hoppin’. Ned and I are currently staying on a wind-chilled grass prairie RV park –brrr. As I write this the van is a rockin’ to the gusts outside. I’m so glad we have a furnace!!! I hear it’s roasting in California so sure hope to pick up some of those heat rays as we head into South Dakota tomorrow.

Exploring Ned’s Iowa Roots: Cherokee, Iowa 10/15/09

The state park we stayed at last night was absolutely beautiful, unfortunately it was too wet and cold to do much exploring. Unlike the other states when we meander the back roads, Iowa’s roads are straight. We drove due west most of the day. Our first stop was in Ames, Iowa. We drove around the university, where Ned’s parents both went to college, took advantage of their free internet and stopped to have lunch. The afternoon is when things really got interesting. We drove to Bagley, a VERY small town, about 50 houses and not much else. Ned’s dad was raised here and it was fun to drive by the abandoned high school and take a tour of the town. Ned really wanted to send his sisters a post card from here, but you can imagine the likelihood of that with no stores. We stopped by the one room/one employee post office and chatted with the very sweet postmaster, Linda. When she heard about Ned’s connections to the town, she sold us two of her own Iowa postcards and proudly put the Bagley, Iowa cancellation mark on them so that Ned’s sisters could have a memento from their father’s home town. Very touching! From there we drove down a dirt road, up a small ridge to visit the Dodge Center Cemetery where Ned’s great grandparents and other relatives are buried. It was something to see the headstones with dates from the 1800s, hear their stories, and know they were related to Ned. Quite moving. The next stop was due North for about 2 hours to Cherokee where Ned’s mother was born and raised. We visited the house where she lived from age 4 til she left for college. We think we also found the Methodist Church where his parents were married. It was so much fun to experience and share in Ned’s family’s history. Tonight we are staying at the home of his second cousin Craig and his wife Julie (the same ones we stayed with in Minnesota). We had an absolute blast going out to dinner with Craig, Julie, Steve and Laurie (more cousins). These Iowa guys sure can drink! We enjoyed a German Oktoberfest meal at the Gashaust, complete with lots of German beer and stories. Too much fun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow where we take a tour of the family owned Pilot Rock plant.

Oh Deere!: Palisades-Kepler SP Mt. Vernon, Iowa 10/14/09

(Ned again) We enjoyed our morning with Marc, Sheila, Owen, and Brian, until everyone had to leave for work, school, and daycare, respectively. Debi was particularly pleased when Brian emerged this morning wearing his Obama t-shirt, which matched the PJ top that Debi was wearing. The two of them rejoiced in this fact with the traditional fist bump. We left soon afterward headed toward the Iowa border. We reached Lowden State Park, on Marc’s recommendation, where we admired a beautiful view of the Rock River, along with the very impressive 50 foot tall statue of an Indian warrior overlooking the river below. Soon after we came upon the John Deere Historical Site. We decided to pay the $5 entry fee and check the place out. Much to our surprise, not only does this place contain the archeological digging site of the ruins of John Deere’s 1837 blacksmith shop, and a reconstructed version of his original home, but there is also a very entertaining onsite blacksmith, named Rick, who does a showman-like job of demonstrating the art of blacksmithing. (See today’s pic) I’ve always associated the name John Deere with farm tractors, but John Deere himself was dead and gone long before tractors were invented. His landmark accomplishment was to develop a very specially shaped and highly polished plow, which cut cleanly through the sticky black earth beneath the tall grasses of the Great Plains, allowing farmers to utilize the fertile soil of the prairies. Soon his ploys were so popular, that he moved his operation to Moline, Illinois, to exploit the shipping advantages of the Mississippi River, where the John Deere Corporation is still headquartered and which now employs about 56,000 people worldwide. Not a bad accomplishment for a young blacksmith from Vermont. Our next stop was for lunch at a good Mexican restaurant in the town Dixon (which also happens to be Ronald Regan’s boyhood hometown). From there we took Highway 30 (the old Lincoln Highway) across the Mississippi River into Iowa, where we are now camped at the very beautiful Palisades-Kepler State Park. The weather remains cloudy, and a very chilly 47 degrees. However, we are pleased that the Winniemobile has such an efficient little furnace, and we’re hopeful that our propane supply will last until morning. Debi is cuddled up with her “Born Fighting” book, by James Webb, which she has been quoting to me with great enthusiasm as I’ve been righting this. Yes, her fascination (obsession?) with the Appalachian people continues…

Monet, Renoir, Owen & Brian: Chicago, IL 10/13/09

We usually wake up to the sounds of the campground this morning it was to the sound of a little one saying, “mama, mama.” It’s been quite a few years since I’ve heard that! I couldn’t resist and had to go visit Luke. What a sociable fellow he is! We had a wonderful time eating breakfast with Lucy and Luke. Then we were off to the Art Institute of Chicago on a beautiful sunny morning in downtown Chicago. We had a great time looking at all the amazing impressionist paintings in the museum, along with all the wonderful buildings downtown. We enjoyed eating lunch downtown, topped off with a large bag of warm caramel popcorn from Garrett’s. Yum! We decided to take a long round about way to my nephew Marc and Sheila’s house. We drove along Lake Shore Drive for miles and miles, past Northwestern University, Grosse Point Lighthouse and through huge mansions in wealthy neighborhoods. Eventually we worked our way inland and visited one of my alma maters, Wheeling High School. Ned has now visited 3 of my 4 high schools reliving all my tortured high school years. What a guy. We showed up at Marc and Sheila’s in the early evening. I forgot how much fun little boy energy was! These cute little tykes, Owen (3) and Brian (2), were a riot – sharing their toys, showing us their room playing with their dog, Cubbie, and being little bundles of energy. (Today’s pic is me reading to Owen). I last saw them about a year ago when Brian wasn’t even walking. Owen is very curious, talkative and quite expressive. Brian was still checking us out, but he does give great hugs and fist bumps! I also really enjoyed spending some quality time and chatting it up with Sheila and Marc when the boys went to bed. We will definitely have to plan a trip each year to Chicago. It’ll be so much fun to watch all 3 of our grand nephews grow up. Later on today, heading into Iowa.

Reconnecting with Old Friends and Family: Chicago, IL 10/12/09

We left the countryside of Indiana and blew into the Windy City. It was quite eye- opening to go from the quiet two lane roads onto the confusing freeways and toll lanes of Chicago. Ned and I illegally sailed through 3 (we think) toll booths, not really getting that you have to veer several lanes over to the right and pay .30, .60 and then .80. huh?! (Being country hicks is really a pain in the ass sometimes.) We picked up an hour with the time change and were deciding between spending sometime downtown Chicago or looking up a childhood friend of mine before seeing Ned’s niece Lucy. Ned was thoroughly encouraging me to look up my old friend. She opened up a restaurant about 3 years ago so we just popped in. How absolutely wonderful to see my friend Teri Kramer again! We were buddies in 8th grade and really hadn’t connected since then. She has the same great spirit that I remembered and we reconnected immediately. (Mom, Teri especially said to say hello to you. She has some very sweet memories of you, too). Ned and I had a great meal at her very cute restaurant and really enjoyed sitting with her, catching up on our lives and telling stories. After that we spent a little time hanging around downtown Chicago and then drove to Lincoln Park to see Lucy, her husband Ian and their 15 month old baby, Luke - who is adorable!! See today’s pic of Great Uncle Ned playing with Luke. It was such a fun evening hanging out with Luke. He is a very good tempered and engaging little guy. We enjoyed a nice meal with Lucy and Ian and I’m now feeling very cozy in a nice warm bed. It’s been about quite a few weeks since we’ve slept in a real bed, I almost forgot what sheets feel like!

Nothing to do but Tippecanoe: Tippecanoe SP, Winamac, IN 10/11/09

We didn’t have a lot going on today, mainly a driving day between Eastern Ohio and Western Indiana. We covered a lot of ground and left the beautiful rolling hills and fall colors of Ohio for the flat plains. Our big adventure of the day was stopping by DeBrand Chocolates in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We were hoping for a tour of the factory, but unfortunately they only give them on Tues. and Thursdays. We did sample their 52% cocoa bar and found it pretty good, but very similar to Lake Champlain Chocolates. Ned is convinced that all the US chocolatiers are buying their chocolate from the same manufacturer, Callabaut, and just molding their own bars. With the money they charge I really think we should get into this business. (The 3 lb. box was $114!). After traveling for several hours on the flat lands we were expecting to be camping in a grassy field tonight. We were pleasantly surprised to enter the nicely wooded state park of Tippecanoe, which is situated on its namesake river. (See today’s pic). It encompasses 2800 acres with many hiking and horse trails throughout the thick woods. We wished it wasn’t so cold so that we could take advantage of the biking, but at a brisk 48 deg. I wasn’t feeling convinced. We decided to go eat instead. The small town close by has a few fast food restaurants and one nice restaurant that was recommended by the teenage girl working at the park entry gate. We weren’t expecting much, and felt quite surprised by the upscale menu and presentation. The chef even came out to check on our meals. Back at the camper, it looks like it’s gonna be another night battling it out with the skippo cards. We are really looking forward to seeing Ned’s great nephew, Luke, tomorrow in the Windy City.