Williamstown, WV

We're on our way down to Clifftop for some good old-time music. As soon as we crossed the Ohio River, we stopped off for a while to visit the Fenton Art Glass factory in Williamstown, WV. Their factory tour gave us an excellent close-up view of the steps used in making the gorgeous glassware for which they are so famous. During the tour, we stood on the production floor and watched as a master glass blower created a beautiful vase from a glowing blob of glass. Once he was satisfied, he heated it again and stamped his initials on the bottom. From there, we watched some of the finishing operations where designs are painted or etched onto the glass and any burrs or sharp edges are removed. The tour ended at the gift shop (where else?) where Susan purchased a nice piece for her collection - of one.

Zanesville, Ohio

A short drive from our campground and we're at the Longaberger Basket Factory in Frazeysburg, OH - one of Susan's "must-see" stops on our trip - so this was totally Susan's Day. We started by touring the humongous factory from the second level walkway where all segments of the basket making process could be viewed. Next, Susan got to weave her own basket using one of their production workstations. She even got her new basket autographed by two members of the Longaberger family. She'll treasure this basket for a long time. Then there were several more hours of shopping and looking around the giant, well-landscaped grounds. We even saw the world's largest apple basket which is over 20 feet tall! Quite a place.

Elkhart, Indiana

Yesterday, we had a six hour drive (most of it in heavy traffic thanks to our proximity to Chicago) from Iowa to the little town of Shipshewana, Indiana (near Elkhart) where someone had recommended a nice RV park and an excellent Amish restaurant. They were so right - those Amish really know how to prepare food and we left feeling like we'd eaten it all!

This morning we drove to Elkhart to tour the RV/MH Hall of Fame. This facility, which was relocated last year to its new building, houses one of the largest (if not the largest) collection of vintage recreational vehicles in the world. We saw everything from early 1900s tent trailers to some of the first pop-tops, trailers and innovative motor homes - including many handmade prototypes that led to the future of RVing as we know it today. Highly recommended for all you RV lovers out there.

From there, we went back to Shipshewana (pop. 550) which is actually one of six Amish settlements in this state. We toured the Menno-Hof Amish and Mennonite History Museum where we learned a lot about the history of the Hutterites, Mennonites and Amish people, their current culture and their way of life. Simply fascinating. Everywhere we looked as we drove around town, there were families traveling around in their horse-drawn buggies and carriages doing their shopping or whatever. We were definitely in their town and we loved it.

West Branch, Iowa

On Thursday morning we drove to West Branch, Iowa to visit the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Yep, there's Susan with yet another dead president. ;-) What an amazing person he was! So many things we take for granted today would not have been possible without Hoover. Also on display was a collection of Caroline Kennedy's dolls that really fascinated Susan. As we left the museum, we visited his birthplace, a tiny two-room cottage in a small Quaker village. His father's blacksmith shop, the school he attended and their place of worship were also on display. It is hard to believe that such a great man came from such humble beginnings.

WIT GNR Winds Down

Our last days at the rally were fun. On Tuesday evening we had dinner with the other RVers from NC. As we finished, we were entertained by a traveling polka band complete with a hilarious she-male performer who was looking for a dance partner. Guess what... I got elected... and I don't even know how to polka... but I had fun anyhow. On Wednesday, there was an antique automobile parade through the area. There were over 100 nicely restored cars including a 1914 Ford, a Ford Cobra, an old Willys convertable and an Amphibicar - the first one we had ever seen. Pretty cool rides... One last note to our Sams-O-Wake friends: We ran into Jim and Donna Lamb as we were going to the parade. They are now representing Freightliner at RV rallys and loving the experience. They said to say 'Hi" to everyone.

WIT Grand National Rally in Forest City, IA

Well friends, here we are in corn country - and I'm not talking about the type of comments I'm known for making either. We're at the Winnebago factory with about 1200 other Winnebago and Itasca RV owners enjoying the celebration of Winnebago's 50 years of making quality RVs. The whole theme here is the 50's from Elvis to old cars as you can tell from our first picture taken in the Winnebago Visitors Center. Saturday, we went downtown and watched a local parade that featured not only the usual town bands and celebrities but also RVs of all ages plus some antique tractors and farm equipment ('Only in Iowa', someone commented).

Monday, we took a tour of the Winnebago plant. We saw everything from the bare chassis getting fitted, to installing flooring, walls, cabinets, roof and final assembly. It's all done in a series of large buildings and I was amazed that, other than the Class B line which appeared to be the same model, the Class A's were all different models going down the line and yet the right parts and operations were done flawlessly. Quite an operation!

This morning, we had a special treat. Dave Price, the CBS Early Show weatherman, was here doing the show just a short ways down from our RV. He was only on during the weather portions of the show but he covered a lot of the goings on here. I don't know if you happened to see it, but I even got on nationwide TV this morning (I'm in the green shirt in the upper right) during his last scene. Now that I'm famous... yeah! As I write this, I'm sitting out front of the Winnebago service building awaiting some minor repair work. It's always nice to have good service on the road.

SPAM Museum

Today we headed south from the Twin Cities to Austin, MN on our first rainy day of the whole trip. We hoped that the rain would wash off the RV and the car but no such luck. Once we got there, we visited the SPAM Museum. I think I'll just let their brochure explain it:
"This SPAM Museum contains no artificial stories or preservatives. Items within may be replicas or substitutions but the truth is there. Let's face it. You can't make this stuff up.
Serving size: 16,500 square feet.
Nutrition Facts: This museum is good for you. It contains all the necessary vitamins and minerals required by law. Based on a daily museum diet, the SPAM Museum contains over 20,000 museum calories. That's a lot of museum in one dose. Technically, there is no protein in the displays. They are, however, meaty with information.
Ingredients: SPAM history. Water. Nostalgia. Carpet. A viking. Chairs. Facts. Displays. Old cans. Audio visual exhibits. Shopping carts. A letter from Eisenhower. Interactive kiosks. A conveyor belt. Advertising. A wagon. A tent. A puppet show. Glass. An old refrigerator. A game show. Rope. A light show. Fake pork chops. A map. Statues. A shop. Subliminal pigs in cloud murals. Wooden crates. Truth." That about says it all...

Tomorrow, we head down to Forest City, Iowa to visit the Winnebago Factory where we'll spend the week at the Winnebago-Itasca Travelers Club's Grand National Rally. I doubt that we'll have Internet there so the next blog post might not happen until we leave. Stay tuned...

Mall of America

OK, so the Mall of America is just a shopping mall...on steroids! This place is downright huge! There are four floors of stores and eating establishments all surrounding a gigantic indoor amusement park with multiple roller coasters, a plume ride, mini-golf course, a Lego play station, games, and other devices all designed to mess with your concept of reality. Other than the usual Sears, Pennys, etc, there were some unusual and even interesting stores like the Lake Woebegone Store and a Halloween Store. We actually walked around three of the four floors and toured the amusement area (without riding anything somehow) before heading for the door. Whew! I'm glad this isn't in Raleigh...

Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN

Yesterday, we drove up to the Minneapolis area and went to visit my old Navy buddy, Bill Obedoza, and his lovely wife Grace at their home. We enjoyed some good food and some great company.

Today, Bill & Grace picked us up and gave us a tour of the Minneapolis / St Paul area. Along the way, we saw some of the nice old neighborhoods near the State Capitol; then went into the Capitol itself so Bill could take part in a special ceremony honoring the state's Attorney General, Lori Swanson, and her staff for their special treatment of military reservist employees. Then we visited Minnehaha Falls and walked around the park. What a pleasant day. Tomorrow we'll go shopping at the Mall of America. Susan can't wait...

Pipestone, MN

Here we are in yet another new state... Minnesota. We're staying in Pipestone, MN which gets its name from the soft red stone found here that the Plains Indians have used for centuries to make their peace pipes. We toured the Pipestone National Monument where native indians still quarry this stone for making pipes and other art.

Now for a few random observations we've made about our travels so far:

1. RVs. It seems that the further west we go, the more motorhomes and travel trailers we see parked alongside homes. In some areas, I'd say there is at least one RV for every two homes. And the percentage of RVs to autos is pretty darned high out here too.

2. Roadside litter. The most amazing thing is that there isn't any...anywhere! The south needs to take a few lessons from the midwest.

3. Traffic. There isn't much of that either. Hooray!

4. Wind. There may not be any litter or traffic but there is no shortage of wind around here. That must explain why there are so many windmill farms around here. One windmill can supply enough power for 500 homes. Now that's impressive.

Mitchell, SD

We met one of Interior, SD's 65 residents this morning. His name is Pat, he works on cars at his house and he is one heck of a nice guy. He helped us repair the slideout awning this morning so now we're back on the road again. It didn't turn out to be a completely uneventful day though. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop. Susan turned on the water pump to clean up and got no water. I checked and found the bay with the pump to be full of water. All it was was a loose water hose so I quickly repaired it. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Two hundred miles east on US-90 and we arrived in Mitchell, SD where we'll spend the night. Mitchell's big attraction is the Corn Palace - an auditorium covered inside and out with art made from various species of corn on the cob. The Corn Palace is over 100 years old and has most of its art re-done every 10 years or so to keep it fresh. Who says corn goes bad... The auditorium is used for shows and local high school basketball games, but mainly to host a lot of vendors selling corn-related things. Certainly one of the corniest places we've ever seen. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Badlands National Park

We awoke this morning with the RV shaking back and forth. A strong...make that very strong...cold front came through and we've had northwest winds of 35-50 mph all day long. Our planned 1 hour drive to the Badlands National Park wound up taking over two hours because the wind gusts broke one of our slideout awnings and I had to keep the speed down to 25-30 mph to avoid blowing it off. We hope to get it repaired in the morning.

Once we reached our campground in the absolute middle of nowhere (e.g. go about about 5 miles past a town of 65 people, then turn left down a gravel road for a mile or so...), we jumped into the car and headed off to tour the Badlands. What an awesome site. Miles of grey mountain formations with streaks of other colors thrown in for interest. Then, instead of mountains, there were twisting canyons going every which way. The scenic waysides were nicely done with wooden paths and many hiking trails for the more adventurous.

Then one last stop at the famous Wall Drug Store in Wall, SD. Probably the biggest conglomeration of tourist shopping in the world peppered with everything from life-sized animated country bands singing Johnny Cash tunes to Susan riding a Jackalope. Lots of stuff you'll never need but still fun to see...

Lead and Deadwood, SD

Today we drove north to the town of Lead (pronounced Leed not Lead because finding gold could lead to great wealth) to tour an old gold mine called the Homestake Gold Mine. We saw both the open cut mine (see picture) which is over 1,200 feet deep that was mined from 1876 to 1998 and the deep mine with two vertical shafts over 8,000 feet deep - the deepest gold mine in the western hemisphere. We saw the equipment that was used to power the elevators that moved the miners in and out of the mine and also lift the gold ore up to the processing area. Really massive stuff...

Next we went to Deadwood, a touristy little cowboy town and did some sightseeing. Deadwood is the gaming center for the area and it was loaded with bars and gaming salons down both sides of the street. We didn't gamble at all, but I did have a beer at Saloon No. 10 (see picture) where "Wild Bill" Hickock was shot by Jack McCall on August 2, 1876.

1880 Train Ride

Today we went to the big city of Keystone, SD - population 330 - and boarded the 11:15 train for a three-hour round-trip ride on the Black Hills Central Railroad through the Black Hills to Hill City, SD and back. The weather was perfect and the views were most enjoyable. The locomotive was a steam engine built in 1880 and it pulled seven passenger cars with wide open windows so we could enjoy the view. We saw a variety of wildlife, some old mines and ancient homes along the way.

Then we went back to Mount Rushmore to see the Visitors Center and Exhibition Hall that we missed yesterday. I mention this only because we ran into Amy and Bob Buckingham - some dear old-time musician friends I have known since I started going to the Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week at Mars Hill over 10 years ago. They live in SC and just happened to be arriving there as we were leaving. What a small world! To make matters even more weird, I was wearing my Mars Hill BROTMW t-shirt.

Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse

Today was National Park Day for the wandering Frieds. Our first stop was at Mount Rushmore and it was most impressive indeed. After being awed by the entrance to this monument to America, we walked the Presidential Trail along the base of the mountain and viewed the presidents from many different viewpoints. We also saw some of the tools, equipment and workshops used by the men who created this monument.

From there, it was off to see the Crazy Horse Memorial which is just south of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. BTW, we were told that the Black Hills got their name from the Ponderosa Pines that cover the hills. Their bark is so dark that it makes the hills look black...and they do. Anyhow, Crazy Horse is a work in process. We could see workers and equipment working on the horse's head. Their visitor's center is beautiful and told a lot about the carving, the native indians and their history.

Devil's Tower

This morning we arose early and headed off to Devils Tower National Monument - an easy 35 minute drive from Sundance. Anyone who has gone up Hwy 52 from Winston-Salem toward Mt Airy has seen Pilot Mountain. Well, Devils Tower is kind of like a Pilot Mountain on steroids. After spending a few minutes in the Visitors Center, we took the 1.3 mile walk around the base of the mountain. Quite a sight indeed! We saw several groups of fearless rock climbers climbing up one side of the tower and rappelling down the other side. Not me, Kimo Sabe. I like the view from down here on the trail just fine. ;-)

After lunch, we drove on to Rapid City, SD where we'll spend the next few days at places like Mt Rushmore and Custer National Park. Stay tuned...

Wapiti to Sundance, WY

Today was a travel day...a loooong travel day. So far, our trip has been fun and easygoing. Not today though. After we left Cody, there was almost no signs of civilization until we reached Gillette (about 300 miles away). Along the way, we saw some of the flattest and most treeless land we've ever seen followed by a trip through some gorgeous and very steep mountains. We also watched as the gas gauge dropped down to the Empty mark. When we finally got to Gillette and entered a Flying J to fill up with gas, we only had about 30 miles of gas left. Whew, that was close! Along the way, we ran over a small 2x4 laying in our lane. As I was pumping the gas, I saw that the 2x4 had hit the car right behind the front wheel and bent the wheel well back. At least it didn't go through the windshield and didn't harm the RV. We had planned on going to see Devil's Tower once we reached Sundance but instead I had to repair the damage so the passenger door would open. We'll go there in the morning before heading off to Rapid City, SD. For now, it's a cold beer and a good night's sleep. Good night...

Thermopolis, WY

Did he say Thermopolis??? Yes, there really is a place called Thermopolis. It is about 85 miles south of Cody and is famous for its hot mineral springs. We took the plunge and enjoyed a nice, relaxing 20 minute soak (the max allowed) in the 104 degree mineral water in the outdoor pool shown here. Actually, the water wasn't much hotter than the air was - it was just a lot more humid. ;-)

From there, we went to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center and not only toured its interesting museum but we took the hour long bus tour to the actual excavation site in the nearby mountains. The dark grey areas in the picture show actual fossilized bones from the Jurassic Period and the reddish areas are footprints left in the mud by some large dinosaur (name forgotten). There were several other active digs in process in the immediate area. All in all, quite interesting.

Cody, WY

After touring the Buffalo Bill Dam (the oldest in the USA) on the way into Cody, we spent most of the day at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in downtown Cody. What a unique museum this is. Besides a wide variety of bronze statues, there are five major sections: Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Gallery of Western Art, Museum of Natural History and, of course, the Buffalo Bill Museum.

From there, we walked around downtown Cody and saw some of the 4th of July activities that happen in this unique little cowboy town. Tonight there will be a rodeo (which we won't see) and fireworks. We've decided to chill our heels at the RV park and watch the fireworks from here. BTW, I'm posting this blog from the western bar here at the campground since that's the only place with internet access. There may be another reason but you'll have to use your imagination...

Yellowstone to Cody

We said goodbye to Yellowstone this morning. A small herd of elk came out to wish us a safe trip out of the park. We half expected the beautiful views to stop once we left Yellowstone but we were oh so wrong. As soon as we went through the exit, we entered the mountains and the scenery changed. Gone were the trees and thermal events but they were soon replaced by rivers and some unique cliff formations. Once we reached the RV park near Cody, the views out our windows made us feel like we're in a postcard. We'll be here for the next few days so we can get used to this view. Ahhh, what a life...

Yellowstone - Days 2 & 3

Yesterday we toured the upper loop of Yellowstone. It was as interesting and unique as the lower loop. We saw a wide variety of waterfalls and thermal areas, explored the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, went to Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces and we saw a wild bear, more bison, a female elk and a pair of bald eagles. Just another fun day in Yellowstone.

Today we spent the day in West Yellowstone, MT. We toured the Yellowstone History Museum where we saw movies on the 1959 earthquake that changed a lot of the park's landscape and on the 1988 forest fire that devastated the park. Then we went to an I-Max theater for another movie about the history of Yellowstone. Tomorrow we're off to Cody, WY.