Bob and Nan's Travels Summer 2018

Today's adventure are the Badlands of South Dakota.  Took scenic route 44 from Rapid City to the Badlands.  One of the things you realize is how emenise this area is.  You can just imagine the early settlers traveling across this area in wagons or even riding a horse.  Seems to go on forever. From the Visitor Center we took the Badlands Loop (also Rt. 240) through the Badlands.  Stopped at several of the overlooks.  I just loved standing at the edge of the wall and listening to the wind, perpetual wind.  Erosion in the Badlands is about 1" per year versus the erosion of Mt. Rushmore which is about 1" per 10,000 years (Mt. Rushmore is going to be around for a long time..). Breath taking views.  Photos just don't do justice to the area.  Very similiar to photographing the Grand Canyon.  You just don't get the feeling through photographs. Nanette says she could just take a chair and sit and look at the Badlands all day long. ...

Busy day today.  First things first, off to Mt. Rushmore.  Right next to our RV park is an animal park and we saw these two goats playing on the "Goat Bridge". On the way to Mt. Rushmore, saw a place that did wood carvings so we just had to stop and take a look.  Expensive but great work.  I wanted to buy the big Indian/Eagle statue and put in our front yard in Middletown but couldn't figure out how to strap it down on the roof of the RV so had to pass. What a great day to see Mt. Rushmore - not a cloud in the sky, high aroung 78*.  Couldn't ask for better weather.  This is a colossal monument to Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.  Everyone should see this monument once in their lifetime.  It was done back when the country was doing very well, so there weren't a lot of talk about what a waste of money it would be.  I am glad they did it.  Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and do something - Mt. Rushmor...

Off to Mt. Rushmore.  During the drive, my thoughts were that we are finally getting to the parts of South Dakota that I thought SD would look like.  Isn't it funny that we have these preconceived ideas as to what the different states should look like?  Is that from geography in grade school that implanted those? On the way, visited the Pioneer Auto Museum and Antique Village.  Another one of those, if it isn't here, you won't find it.  Very large collection of cars (250 of them), motorcycles, tractors, snow mobiles, wagons, an old service station (from the days they actually offered you service), dentist office (sure glad I was born when I was and not a hundred or even 50 years earlier), train station, caboose, toys, clothes, etc.  They even had one British car - a Rolls Royce - so Clustered Spires British Car Club be proud! Back on the road and I noticed that they are actually harvesting the hay in the median strip!  What a novel idea - why p...

Right off the bat, there was a quilt store not 3 miles from our camp site.  Good thing they opened at 9am.  First stop of the day yep, Calico Hutch Quilt Shop in Hayward MN.  Nanette loved this shop.  Small on the outside, but inside, just keeps going and going and going, just like the Energizer Bunny!  They just keep adding onto the shop by adding rooms on the back of the building. You know you are on the Plains when it is a constant fight/struggle to keep the RV on road - just nothing around to stop the wind... Saw a number of fairly large motorcycle groups headed East.  Left overs from the Sturgess get together?  Likely I think. Stayed at Hills RV Camping.  Nice private grounds right off the interstate.  Cash only, nice owners.  Decent park for the price for sure. Flies were terrible though - tons of them.  Don't know how they kept getting in the RV, but they had a way.  We would get rid of all of them; not an hour l...

Travel day today.  Headed to Mt. Rushmore eventually, but tonight will stop in Minnesota. As traveled through Wisconsin, noted the corn fields.  Figure there would be a lot as Wisconsin is the Dairy State and you have to feed those cows something... We took some very nice state and county roads until we got closer to the Minnesota border.  We then jumped on Interstate 90 which seems to be the road MORE traveled. Some nice rock formations as we got closer to the Mississippi River which separates Wisconsin and Minnesota. Got to the Minnesota line and Nanette made the comment that she had never been in Minnesota before, so I posted that on Facebook.  This evening when we were talking with my son, he reminder her that she has been to the Mall of the Americas which is in Minneapolis, so she has been in Minnesota, so that was FAKE news there!  After being reminded I remember that trip - it was a long weekend get away.  Memory isn't what it use to be! ...

Camping at Westward Ho RV Resort in Glenbeulah, WI. Finally got our chance to see the Galloway House in Fond du Lac, WI.  It is owned and operated by the Fond du Lac Historic Society.  Nanette and I have been wanting to visit this historic home for about 6 years and we finally got our chance.  Great for ideas. Also were able to see some old vehicles, so got that car museum in.  One car museum to ZERO quilt stores, I am ahead!!!!!!!!!!

The Road Less Traveled, OHIO Day 4:  Moved onto Arrowhead Lakes RV Resort in Wapakoneta, OH.  For those not familiar with Wapakoneta, OH, this was the birth place of Neil Armstrong.  So of course they had the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum which was about a mile from Arrowhead Lakes RV.  Nice museum.  Gets you thinking, we as a nation haven't had a national goal like we did in the 1960's - to land a man on the moon and bring him back safety to earth in a long time. Arrowhead Lakes Camp Site, seems we have this area all to our selves.

Had relaxing day on Day 2.  It is always nice to have one of those days where you do absolutely nothing.... Day 3, off to Canton, OH.  I had purchased a book on car museums and things throughout the country, but of course I left at home...  Any rate did find the Canton Classic Car Museum, so off we went.  This museum has mostly 1930's and 1910's cars, though it did have some others.  Very nice museum - packed full of memorabilia, old cloths, toys, etc.  Just about anything you wanted to see was in this museum.  Recommend if you ever get to Canton.       Nanette found a place to eat, Kennedy's Bar B Que.  Drove by it once then decided why not?  Very small place.  Been around since 1922.  Must be doing something right.  Food was very good. After that Nanette also found 3 quilt stores and we of course just had to visit each of them - actually there were a lot more, so am I lucky or what?  Only...

We are off!  Left just about on time.  Cloudy, misty day.  Fog in the mountains of Maryland as we transversed. First stop Rocky Fork Ranch Resort.  We got the "SUPER SITE".  Must rank pretty good!  Had our own pavillion, grill and large site.  Really liked this place.  Horseback riding was just one of the many activities that they offered, but we decided no on this trip