Well, shame on me again. While it has been an eventful year that is no excuse for waiting so long to put up an update.
When I posted last we were on our way to the east coast to visit the kids and spend the winter. We traveled to Rhode Island in October to visit my daughter and her family. They had recently purchased their first home so it was a joy to see them all settled in. We bought the three boys a tire swing in Hill City, SD that had been made to resemble a horse. I spent the better part of a day throwing a baseball with a line attached up into the trees behind the house trying to get that swing up. Finialy got it and the swing was a big hit with the kids and the neighborhood.
While visiting Rachel the nearest RV park was just over the border in Conneticut. The Mystic KOA turned out to be one of the most expensive parks we have ever stayed in. We had to pay close to 50 dollors a night for a water and 30A overflow site during Columbus Day weekend. Prior to that we where paying about the same for a basic, no frills site inside the park but had to move to the overflow because we did not have a reservation for the holiday weekend. Who would have known Columbus Day weekend would be so busy. This was our first of two expensive KOA's during this trip but more on that later.
After a wonderful visit we headed south for Washington DC. Joan has wanted to visit DC for many years so we decided to spend a few days in the area. We set up at Cherry Hill RV Park just outside DC. Very resonable, very nice people, very clean park. Public buses stop inside the park several times a day so getting into DC is very easy. We spent time at the archives, toured the Mall and monuments and plan to return for an extended stay in the future.
We next continued south to Virginia Beach, Virginia where my youngest son lives with his family. This is where we planned to spend the winter. Our first night in town we stayed at another very pricey KOA in Virginia Beach. Again, it was close to 50 dollors for a 30A basic dirt site. One night was enough and the next day we moved over to the FAM Camp on the Oceana Naval Annex at Dam Neck. I was stationed here a couple of times while in the Navy and have always enjoyed the area. Because it is a military park we where only able to stay two weeks so we started looking for something more permanent.
A couple of miles north of Dam Neck and just about across from the KOA is the Virginia Beach Holiday Trav-L-Park. We stopped in to check on workkamping and walked out with jobs for the winter. This is a very large, 550 site park that has been owned and run by the same family for over 30 years. They know how to run a park and receive alot of repeat visits every summer. They have been using work kampers for a long time and really treat them well. They have set aside a seperate area for the work kampers. Full hookup, 50A sites are included for all work kampers.
During our stay at Holiday we received news about an RVing job we had applied for in June 2007 while we where in the Black Hills. We had met a couple who were working for Trailer Life Directory as Marketing Consultents. They traveled through their assigned regions rating campgrounds and assisting campground owners with marketing and advertising. We spent many evenings picking their brains and decided this might be something we would like to do. We sent in our resume and kept our names in front of the woman doing the hiring with messages and email. We received the call in November, flew to California for an interview and were hired. We went to Savannah, GA in January for training with four other new couples then attended the annual seminar to meet the other couples and the management team. We had a blast and learned alot. We where assigned Nebraska and Minnesota as our region then about a month before we planned to start we were asked if we would like to add Iowa. We jumped at that as we had already planned on buying a fixer upper in Joan's mother's home town of Lone Rock, IA.
http://ourlonerockpad.blodspot.com
We began working our region in Iowa in mid April. I'll include More about that in my next post.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Thursday, September 20, 2007
20070920, Heading East
Well, here I am again(finally) trying to update our travelblog when I haven't done it in well over a year. SHAME ON ME. I was going to put up entries detailing what we've been up to since Jan. 2006 however I've decided to outline it instead.
200604 - We left Indian Wells RV Resort in Indio, CA and made our way to Flintstones Campground in Custer, SD for our first summer workkamping experience. I did maintenance and Joan worked in the gift shop. We worked from April through September and had a blast. Met a bunch of very nice people and bought 3.2 acres outside of Custer for a future home base.
200610 - Traveled to Mesa, AZ for or second workkamping jobs. We where hired at the Apache Wells RV Resort in Mesa, AZ. They are a 55 plus resort (first for us) so the experience was interesting. We still don't know if we prefer whining kids or whining seniors, at least with the kids you can send them to their parents. We worked with many wonderful people until the heat drove us out on June 1st.
200706 - Back to the Black Hills. We returned to the Black Hills, Joan had a job from the previous summer at the Quilt Corral in Hill City, SD and I workkamped in the maintenance department at the Rushmore KOA. So far the KOA has been the best workkamper deal going. They charge a very fair $40.00 a week for a workkamper site with CATV, 50A service in a separate worker area and paid me for very hour worked. The management there is great and the campground is very nice.
200709 - On our way to the east coast. We have not been back to see the kids and grandkids for two years now so here we go. We left SD a week ago and are now in Iowa while Joan does some family research. We are planning stops in Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Washington DC before arriving in Virginia Beach, VA in mid October.
200604 - We left Indian Wells RV Resort in Indio, CA and made our way to Flintstones Campground in Custer, SD for our first summer workkamping experience. I did maintenance and Joan worked in the gift shop. We worked from April through September and had a blast. Met a bunch of very nice people and bought 3.2 acres outside of Custer for a future home base.
200610 - Traveled to Mesa, AZ for or second workkamping jobs. We where hired at the Apache Wells RV Resort in Mesa, AZ. They are a 55 plus resort (first for us) so the experience was interesting. We still don't know if we prefer whining kids or whining seniors, at least with the kids you can send them to their parents. We worked with many wonderful people until the heat drove us out on June 1st.
200706 - Back to the Black Hills. We returned to the Black Hills, Joan had a job from the previous summer at the Quilt Corral in Hill City, SD and I workkamped in the maintenance department at the Rushmore KOA. So far the KOA has been the best workkamper deal going. They charge a very fair $40.00 a week for a workkamper site with CATV, 50A service in a separate worker area and paid me for very hour worked. The management there is great and the campground is very nice.
200709 - On our way to the east coast. We have not been back to see the kids and grandkids for two years now so here we go. We left SD a week ago and are now in Iowa while Joan does some family research. We are planning stops in Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Washington DC before arriving in Virginia Beach, VA in mid October.
Friday, January 13, 2006
20060113, Indio, CA
Thank you Jim and Michelle for the subtle reminderthat our blog was seriously out of date. Here we are already into 2006 and I hadn’t put up anything since we were in Salt Lake City last October. Shame on me.
We met Jim and Michelle last April in Black Canyon City, AZ. They where camped next to us and were on the tail end of a year long adventure where they had traveled from Florida to Alaska, then down to winter in Oregon before heading back to Florida. We were only there one night but when we met Jim and Michelle it felt like we had known them forever. Kindred spirits I guess.
When I last updated we were in Salt Lake City so Joan could do some long awaited genealogical research. This was a trip she had dreamed of for many years. We ended up staying in Salt Lake until November 6th.
We had considered going west towards Reno then south along 395 on the east side of the Sierra National Forest but just before we left they were predicting snow in the mountains. Now, I’ve driven in snow for years but never in a 40ft RV and it’s not something I’m willing to experience at this stage of my driving career so we headed south on I15 towards Las Vegas. We spent our first night at the Virgin River Casino RV Campground in Mesquite, NV, just across the border from Arizona. Clean campground and a good buffet.
The next morning we continued south, passing through Las Vegas in the early afternoon and continuing on towards Indio, CA. We had scoped out a couple of RV parks so when we arrived in the late afternoon we where surprised to find our first choice had closed up and the land was being redeveloped into homes. Our next choice was just around the corner so we headed over and found a very nice RV resort called Sunburst at Indian Wells. This is a very popular winter destination and we’re told is booked solid from January thru March. Since we arrived early we were able to pick a spot on a monthly basis.
One of the features that helped us decide to spend the winter here was the availability of WIFI internet from TengoInternet. We had used this service at various campgrounds around the country and had found it to be reliable and reasonable. We signed up for a month of service our first day here and had nothing but trouble with the service for the next 30 days. The connection would disconnect every night and would take a service call into TengoInternet each morning to get it re-connected. When it went down on Saturday nights we would not get our service back until Monday afternoon. As you can image, this was driving me up the wall. It was affecting every user in the park and they claimed it was a problem with the internet provider. Personally I didn’t care whose problem it was, TengoInternet took my money so it became their problem.
After our month was up I contacted Time Warner Cable about their Road Runner High Speed Internet service. Since the park provides the basic cable service I was able to pick up the cable modem from the nearby Time Warner office and had my screaming internet up in about 20 minutes. It has been up and running now for over 30 days and has not gone down once and it’s cheaper to boot.
As I said earlier, this park fills up for the winter and when we first came in we were not sure if we were going to stay the winter due to the internet problems. Once we got the Road Runner service up and running I went into the office and told them we would be staying until March. We paid for December and continued to enjoy of time here. When January came around Joan went into the office to pay for the next month and she was surprised to learn that someone had called in and requested our spot and since we had not extended our stay it had been promised to them. Luckily we were able to get a new spot further back in the park and went ahead and paid through March. As it turns out the new spot is much better as it does not back up onto the major road and is much quieter.
One of the reasons we decided to spend the winter here in southern California is to be close to my sister Debbie. She contracted a severe form of West Nile Disease last August and was in a coma for almost five weeks. After coming out of the coma it was another month or so before they had her off the ventilator and she was able to be transferred out of the ICU. She was transferred to a local hospital where she began what has turned out to be a slow recovery process. She is now in a rehab hospital and is making progress every day but she cannot yet sit up by herself, get out of bed or walk. She has her old sense of humor back and is in good spirits and hopes to be home by March.
Since we’ve been here my little brother Mike has come out every other week and spent the night with us. He always brings a movie or two and Joan fixes him his favorite Nacho’s and we spend the evening watching movies. During his last visit I took him up to the top of the Palm Springs Tramway. This is a two mile long aerial tramway that was built to carry visitors from the Valley Station at 2,450 ft up to Mount San Jacinto State Park at 8,525 ft. We traveled from an arid desert to a snow covered pine forest in about 15 minutes. Bring your camera and walking shoes as it’s a wonderful day trip with access to miles of maintained hiking trails and beautiful views of Palm Springs and the surrounding areas.
Well, that going to be it for this update, I’ll post more soon so check back often.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
20051019 Return to Salt Lake
After our return visit to the doctors in Rapid City we began our trip back to Salt Lake City so Joan could continue her family research. We decided to head towards Denver to visit with family for a day or so.
One thing we have discovered during the past year on the road is that the larger the city, the fewer decent campgrounds. Denver is no exception. Last summer we stayed at the nicest we have found campground in the metro area. It is the Chatfield State Park Campground and we where lucky last June to be able to stay there for about a week. It’s usually booked up. This time we didn’t want to go all the way into the city so we stopped at Johnsons Corners about thirty miles north of Denver. It’s a nice, clean campground close enough to visit with family yet far enough out of town not to be bothered with the hustle and bustle.
We spent two days catching up before we continued to Salt Lake City via I80 west.
One thing we have discovered during the past year on the road is that the larger the city, the fewer decent campgrounds. Denver is no exception. Last summer we stayed at the nicest we have found campground in the metro area. It is the Chatfield State Park Campground and we where lucky last June to be able to stay there for about a week. It’s usually booked up. This time we didn’t want to go all the way into the city so we stopped at Johnsons Corners about thirty miles north of Denver. It’s a nice, clean campground close enough to visit with family yet far enough out of town not to be bothered with the hustle and bustle.
We spent two days catching up before we continued to Salt Lake City via I80 west.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
20051018 Rapid City, SD
Rapid City
Our return to Rapid City was mostly uneventful. We traveled east from Salt Lake on I80, into WY, then northeast on Hwy 220 to Casper. We don’t usually travel after dark but this day we where moving pretty slow and we arrived at the Casper East RV park well after dark. It was raining slightly, it was very dark, the late check in window had a very hard to read, hand drawn map showing the available spots so we figured, what the heck, we picked a spot then tried to find it. Now this is not a large park so the roads are pretty tight. I guessed wrong on which road to take to our selected spot and came in from the wrong direction. After driving up and down most of the roads in the park I finally got positioned to come in the correct way. After getting hooked up and settling in for the night we figured we where OK. NOT. About 11:00PM we where awoken by a freight train passing by us VERY CLOSE. The ground shook, the RV rocked side to side. I actually like trains and enjoy listening to them however, this one sounded like it was coming through our coach. The next morning I looked out the drivers side window and 15 feet away was a very tall hedge growing up against the fence that was separating the RV park from the tracks. Another reason to arrive in the daytime. The remainder of our trip was good and we got back to rapid City and the Lazy J RV park the next night.
Joan’s medical appointment was the next day and thankfully, after some new pictures, everything was OK and she was cleared for takeoff with the promise to return next year for another physical.
We left Rapid City and on our way back to Salt Lake decided to make a side trip down towards Denver to visit Joan’s family. More on that later.
Our return to Rapid City was mostly uneventful. We traveled east from Salt Lake on I80, into WY, then northeast on Hwy 220 to Casper. We don’t usually travel after dark but this day we where moving pretty slow and we arrived at the Casper East RV park well after dark. It was raining slightly, it was very dark, the late check in window had a very hard to read, hand drawn map showing the available spots so we figured, what the heck, we picked a spot then tried to find it. Now this is not a large park so the roads are pretty tight. I guessed wrong on which road to take to our selected spot and came in from the wrong direction. After driving up and down most of the roads in the park I finally got positioned to come in the correct way. After getting hooked up and settling in for the night we figured we where OK. NOT. About 11:00PM we where awoken by a freight train passing by us VERY CLOSE. The ground shook, the RV rocked side to side. I actually like trains and enjoy listening to them however, this one sounded like it was coming through our coach. The next morning I looked out the drivers side window and 15 feet away was a very tall hedge growing up against the fence that was separating the RV park from the tracks. Another reason to arrive in the daytime. The remainder of our trip was good and we got back to rapid City and the Lazy J RV park the next night.
Joan’s medical appointment was the next day and thankfully, after some new pictures, everything was OK and she was cleared for takeoff with the promise to return next year for another physical.
We left Rapid City and on our way back to Salt Lake decided to make a side trip down towards Denver to visit Joan’s family. More on that later.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
20051001 Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City
For more than 20 years Joan has wanted to come to Salt Lake and spend some time at the Family History Library. We had tried to get here last year but the stars did not line up quite right. This year we decided we would come in the fall and spend at least a month so Joan could do some serious research.
We arrived at the Salt Lake City – KOA/VIP campground and where pleasantly surprised to find a very nice, very clean RV park with WIFI located in Salt Lake City about two miles from the library. Our experience during the past year and a half has taught us that the RV park pickings are slim when you get into the larger cities. Not so here in Salt lake City.
We checked in and settled down for what we hoped would be a month long stay. Since we where going to be here for awhile we sent for our mail from our mail forwarding service, Alternative Resources. When it arrived Joan had a letter from her doctor in Rapid City asking her to make an appointment to come in for some follow up on her physical she had a month ago. She called and sure enough, they wanted to see her again. We made an appointment ten days out and decided we would go back then return to Salt Lake to finish up our research.
In the mean time there was a family history library screaming at Joan to come visit. The Family History Library is five stories of nothing but genealogy records from all over the world. It is considered to be mecca for anyone researching their family tree. They are open six days a week and have dozens and dozens of volunteers to help in any way possible. We spent 17 days at the KOA while Joan did her research before leaving to return to Rapid City. We made arrangements to return once everything was complete with Joan’s doctor.
For more than 20 years Joan has wanted to come to Salt Lake and spend some time at the Family History Library. We had tried to get here last year but the stars did not line up quite right. This year we decided we would come in the fall and spend at least a month so Joan could do some serious research.
We arrived at the Salt Lake City – KOA/VIP campground and where pleasantly surprised to find a very nice, very clean RV park with WIFI located in Salt Lake City about two miles from the library. Our experience during the past year and a half has taught us that the RV park pickings are slim when you get into the larger cities. Not so here in Salt lake City.
We checked in and settled down for what we hoped would be a month long stay. Since we where going to be here for awhile we sent for our mail from our mail forwarding service, Alternative Resources. When it arrived Joan had a letter from her doctor in Rapid City asking her to make an appointment to come in for some follow up on her physical she had a month ago. She called and sure enough, they wanted to see her again. We made an appointment ten days out and decided we would go back then return to Salt Lake to finish up our research.
In the mean time there was a family history library screaming at Joan to come visit. The Family History Library is five stories of nothing but genealogy records from all over the world. It is considered to be mecca for anyone researching their family tree. They are open six days a week and have dozens and dozens of volunteers to help in any way possible. We spent 17 days at the KOA while Joan did her research before leaving to return to Rapid City. We made arrangements to return once everything was complete with Joan’s doctor.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
20050929 Teton Pass
Teton Pass
Since we have been living in the RV we have crossed over several mountain passes. We are never in a hurry and just try to stay out of everyone’s way. Leaving Jackson, WY we decided to cross over into Victor, ID via HWY 22 and Teton Pass. What a trip! Teton pass is a very well maintained, two lane road, without too many serious switchbacks but it is by far the steepest pass we have traveled. Thankfully, there was not much traffic and when we did collect a few vehicles behind us we where able to pull over to let them pass. Our VMSpc displayed 1.4 mpg as we came up to the summit at 25 mph. Our Phaeton did a great job and pulled the pass in comfort while towing our Jeep.
Since we have been living in the RV we have crossed over several mountain passes. We are never in a hurry and just try to stay out of everyone’s way. Leaving Jackson, WY we decided to cross over into Victor, ID via HWY 22 and Teton Pass. What a trip! Teton pass is a very well maintained, two lane road, without too many serious switchbacks but it is by far the steepest pass we have traveled. Thankfully, there was not much traffic and when we did collect a few vehicles behind us we where able to pull over to let them pass. Our VMSpc displayed 1.4 mpg as we came up to the summit at 25 mph. Our Phaeton did a great job and pulled the pass in comfort while towing our Jeep.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
20050928 Jackson, WY
Jackson, WY
On that same trip a few years ago we drove along Teton National Park and where impressed with how beautiful it was. Since we didn’t have time to stop we promised we would return someday and enjoy the area.
Jackson is located in a valley on the southern end of the Tetons. It’s a neat little town with a lot to see and do. Unlike Cody, which is about the same size, the real estate in and around Jackson is VERY expensive. It’s a nice area but we could not live there.
We stayed at the Virginian RV Park located a little south and west of the Jackson business district. It was a nice, clean park that had WIFI and was reasonably priced. Only a couple of minutes away was all the Jackson restaurants and shopping you could ever want. Teton National Park was a 30 minute drive north.
We spent three days here touring Jackson and the surrounding area. We spent one day driving north through Teton. What a gorgeous place! The trees where changing colors, the weather was perfect. What more could you ask for.
During our drive through the park we came upon an area where they had posted signs warning of possible congestion ahead. Shortly after we where stopped in what appeared to be a traffic jam. A couple of park rangers where standing by the road and when we asked about the jam they explained it was caused each day by a momma bear and her two cubs. The momma bear brings her two cubs through this area every day at the same time and people come out to take pictures. The bear is completely wild yet used to the crowds. I was able to walk up the road and take some pictures as she herded her cubs across the road and went down into a small pond. She walked right between two large groups of people with cameras. She did not seem to be affected by the people at all. The rangers however did a good job of making sure the crowds did not get between momma and her cubs.
We left Jackson and began a short trip down to Salt Lake City.
On that same trip a few years ago we drove along Teton National Park and where impressed with how beautiful it was. Since we didn’t have time to stop we promised we would return someday and enjoy the area.
Jackson is located in a valley on the southern end of the Tetons. It’s a neat little town with a lot to see and do. Unlike Cody, which is about the same size, the real estate in and around Jackson is VERY expensive. It’s a nice area but we could not live there.
We stayed at the Virginian RV Park located a little south and west of the Jackson business district. It was a nice, clean park that had WIFI and was reasonably priced. Only a couple of minutes away was all the Jackson restaurants and shopping you could ever want. Teton National Park was a 30 minute drive north.
We spent three days here touring Jackson and the surrounding area. We spent one day driving north through Teton. What a gorgeous place! The trees where changing colors, the weather was perfect. What more could you ask for.
During our drive through the park we came upon an area where they had posted signs warning of possible congestion ahead. Shortly after we where stopped in what appeared to be a traffic jam. A couple of park rangers where standing by the road and when we asked about the jam they explained it was caused each day by a momma bear and her two cubs. The momma bear brings her two cubs through this area every day at the same time and people come out to take pictures. The bear is completely wild yet used to the crowds. I was able to walk up the road and take some pictures as she herded her cubs across the road and went down into a small pond. She walked right between two large groups of people with cameras. She did not seem to be affected by the people at all. The rangers however did a good job of making sure the crowds did not get between momma and her cubs.
We left Jackson and began a short trip down to Salt Lake City.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
20050925 Yellowstone Park
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Yellowstone Park
A few years ago Joan and I drove through Yellowstone Park on a trip from Yakima, WA to Denver, CO. We only had time for a short visit but we where so impressed with the little we did see that we have always wanted to return.
We left Cody, WY and traveled west towards Yellowstone. The east entrance of Yellowstone is only an hours drive from Cody. We had been warned that the entrance road into the park has been under construction and delays where likely because they where using an escort vehicle and only allowing one way traffic. Well, the wait at the construction site turned out to be less than a minute as we arrived just as our side was being led through. However, the construction itself was the worst I’ve ever had to drive through. Can you say NARROW! Shear drop offs! Rough road! Thankfully it only lasted for a few miles. I’d like to tell you about the beautiful scenery but I didn’t see it, all I saw was the 8 ½ foot wide road right in from of the RV.
Once we got through the construction the mountains are beautiful. We traveled another hour or so and arrived at the Fishing Bridge Campground in the early afternoon. We planned to spent several days here and we discovered and we found when we checked in the campground was going to shutdown for the season the following week.
One thing they warned us about when we checked in was the momma bear and her cub that had been spotted walking through the campground. We watched for her but never saw her during our stay.
We stayed for several days and used our Jeep to take day trips to all the different sites around the park. This park is massive and it would take many visits to really appreciate everything it has to offer. We had arrived late in the season so a lot of the park was either shutting down or already shutdown. Since the weather turned very cold during our visit we cut it short a day or so and headed south towards the Tetons and Jackson, WY.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
20050922 Cody, WY
Cody, WY
We arrived here in Cody this afternoon. We were not sure what to expect so we were pleasantly surprised to find that Cody is a very nice small town that caters to visitors. We are set up in the Ponderosa Campground on the west side of downtown. We are within walking distance to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and Museum. Joan’s father recommended we visit this complex while we are here so we’re going to go tomorrow. We checked at the office here and tickets for the center and museum are good for two consecutive days so there must be a lot to see. Tonight we are going to take the local trolley tour of the city to get our bearings and some of the local history.
We arrived here in Cody this afternoon. We were not sure what to expect so we were pleasantly surprised to find that Cody is a very nice small town that caters to visitors. We are set up in the Ponderosa Campground on the west side of downtown. We are within walking distance to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and Museum. Joan’s father recommended we visit this complex while we are here so we’re going to go tomorrow. We checked at the office here and tickets for the center and museum are good for two consecutive days so there must be a lot to see. Tonight we are going to take the local trolley tour of the city to get our bearings and some of the local history.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
20050920 Rapid City, SD
Rapid City, SD
Well, we’ve been here in Rapid City for a couple of weeks now. This visit we stayed at the Lazy J RV Park just south of Rapid City on Hwy 16. This is the main route into the Black Hills and the monuments and parks from the city. The RV park sits on the bluff with a magnificent view of Rapid City and the plains towards the east. During the season this is a pretty busy park due to it’s proximity to the city and the sites.
Our medical stuff is done. We’ve enjoyed visiting with all our friends here in the Black Hills and we are both ready to hit the road again. We have decided to head towards Yellowstone Park via Cody, WY then head down to Salt Lake City for a few weeks of genealogy research at the Family History Library.
Well, we’ve been here in Rapid City for a couple of weeks now. This visit we stayed at the Lazy J RV Park just south of Rapid City on Hwy 16. This is the main route into the Black Hills and the monuments and parks from the city. The RV park sits on the bluff with a magnificent view of Rapid City and the plains towards the east. During the season this is a pretty busy park due to it’s proximity to the city and the sites.
Our medical stuff is done. We’ve enjoyed visiting with all our friends here in the Black Hills and we are both ready to hit the road again. We have decided to head towards Yellowstone Park via Cody, WY then head down to Salt Lake City for a few weeks of genealogy research at the Family History Library.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
20050911 Hill City, SD
Hill City Quilt Show
Since Joan had worked for one of the local quilt shops when we lived here we planned our trip back to coincide with the annual Hill City Quilt Show. This event takes place in downtown Hill City where they hang almost 300 local quilts along the Main Street. Just south of Hill City is the Quilt Corral at Mistletoe Ranch, a very nice quilt shop where a couple of Joan’s friends work. They also hang up local quilts during the Hill City Show. This year they had almost 200 on display among the pine trees on their property. Joan and I volunteered to help hang all the quilts before the show. The weather was perfect and the turnout was very good for both displays.
Since Joan had worked for one of the local quilt shops when we lived here we planned our trip back to coincide with the annual Hill City Quilt Show. This event takes place in downtown Hill City where they hang almost 300 local quilts along the Main Street. Just south of Hill City is the Quilt Corral at Mistletoe Ranch, a very nice quilt shop where a couple of Joan’s friends work. They also hang up local quilts during the Hill City Show. This year they had almost 200 on display among the pine trees on their property. Joan and I volunteered to help hang all the quilts before the show. The weather was perfect and the turnout was very good for both displays.
Friday, September 09, 2005
20050909 Rapid City, SD
20050909
Here we are in Rapid City once again. This is where we started our adventure seventeen months ago. We had lived here for a couple of years and owned a home in Black Hawk northwest of the city. We have always felt if we ever stopped traveling this area is on the short list of where we would settle back down. Returning here has just reinforced that feeling.
We are going to be in town for a couple of weeks taking care of our annual medical visits, some service on our Phaeton and catching up with our old friends. I just came in from sitting outside and enjoying an absolutely beautiful evening, 72 degrees, light breeze, clear night with the city lights below us and not a bug in sight. PERFECT!
My last update had us heading for Minneapolis. We made our pilgrimage to Camping World then drove down to Lone Rock, IA to visit Joan’s mother. Anyone suffering from stress should visit Lone Rock. This town of 150 is so laid back and relaxing, in fact after 5 or 6 days I could feel myself slipping into a coma. The visit was excellent; Joan’s mother is a great cook and provided us with many comfort meals. Her stepfather Dwight has an excellent wood shop that I have used during past visits to make a few things for the RV. This trip Dwight made us a couple of very nice stools for the RV. I’ll put some pictures up on our site later.
After leaving Lone Rock we stopped in Vermillion, SD to visit Joan’s brother David. He and his son Jessie have just started college in Vermillion. Jesse is just beginning his college experience, David is returning to get his Masters. We spent one night camping in the Vermillion City Park, they have several very clean RV spots for a $5.00 per night donation.
Fuel prices are nuts. We filled up in La Crosse, WI for $2.51 a gallon, nine days later it was $2.71 a gallon in Fairmount, MN and today I filled up here in Rapid City for $2.89 a gallon and that is down from over $3.00 a gallon a few days ago. We are going to be delaying our journey considerably as we slowly make our way to southern Arizona where we plan to spend the winter, as of now we are planning to get down near Casa Grande sometime in late October.
Here we are in Rapid City once again. This is where we started our adventure seventeen months ago. We had lived here for a couple of years and owned a home in Black Hawk northwest of the city. We have always felt if we ever stopped traveling this area is on the short list of where we would settle back down. Returning here has just reinforced that feeling.
We are going to be in town for a couple of weeks taking care of our annual medical visits, some service on our Phaeton and catching up with our old friends. I just came in from sitting outside and enjoying an absolutely beautiful evening, 72 degrees, light breeze, clear night with the city lights below us and not a bug in sight. PERFECT!
My last update had us heading for Minneapolis. We made our pilgrimage to Camping World then drove down to Lone Rock, IA to visit Joan’s mother. Anyone suffering from stress should visit Lone Rock. This town of 150 is so laid back and relaxing, in fact after 5 or 6 days I could feel myself slipping into a coma. The visit was excellent; Joan’s mother is a great cook and provided us with many comfort meals. Her stepfather Dwight has an excellent wood shop that I have used during past visits to make a few things for the RV. This trip Dwight made us a couple of very nice stools for the RV. I’ll put some pictures up on our site later.
After leaving Lone Rock we stopped in Vermillion, SD to visit Joan’s brother David. He and his son Jessie have just started college in Vermillion. Jesse is just beginning his college experience, David is returning to get his Masters. We spent one night camping in the Vermillion City Park, they have several very clean RV spots for a $5.00 per night donation.
Fuel prices are nuts. We filled up in La Crosse, WI for $2.51 a gallon, nine days later it was $2.71 a gallon in Fairmount, MN and today I filled up here in Rapid City for $2.89 a gallon and that is down from over $3.00 a gallon a few days ago. We are going to be delaying our journey considerably as we slowly make our way to southern Arizona where we plan to spend the winter, as of now we are planning to get down near Casa Grande sometime in late October.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
20050831 Red Wing, MN
For the past few days we've been slowly making our way from Chicago to Joan's mother's home in Lone Rock, IA. We've only been traveling a hundred miles or so, a day. With all of the devastating news about Katrina we have been glued to the news channels when we are not traveling. We spent a couple of weeks in New Orleans last April and was very impressed with the city. It's impossible to comprehend the level of damage that has occurred all along the Gulf Coast.
Since leaving Chicago we have been taking our time checking out some local sites. Our first stop was the Wisconsin Dells area. We spent two nights at the Country Roads RV Park. Since we were in this fabulous tourist area we played like tourists. I took two of the three waterborne tours offered, the Original Wisconsin Ducks and the Wisconsin Jetboat Tour. The Ducks tour is in 1950's vintage military amphibous craft over land and through water. It was very interesting and fun. The Jetboat tour though was exciting. I rode along as one of forty passengers in a 900hp jetboat that can hit 45mph. High speed spins, full speed stops, it was a blast! Since Joan does not do water she spent some time checking out a couple of gift shops. We walked the River Walk along the water in the Upper Dells.
Our next stop was House on the Rock. This place is much more than we expected. We had read about it and knew it was a tour through a house that was built on a rock (hense, the name) and that the man who built it collected various items and had them on display inside the house. This place is massive, I believe it is over 60,000 sqft of displays, collections and home. It took us more than three hours to walk through it and it would taje several more trips to begin to feel like we have seen it. One guide told me the collections where valued at more than 2 billion (that a B) dollars. I would believe it.
Next we spent the night at the Pettibone RV Resort, right on the Mississippi River in LaCrosse, WI. Very pretty sites, good prices and the check in office doubles as a bar.
We are now in Redwing, MN having spent the night at the Treasure Island Casino RV Park. Again, nice with good prices. We ate dinner last night at the buffet inside the casino and made a donation to the tribe as we where leaving.
Today we are heading to northwest Minneapolis to make a stop at Camping World. After that we will be heading south towards Algona and Lone Rock, IA.
Since leaving Chicago we have been taking our time checking out some local sites. Our first stop was the Wisconsin Dells area. We spent two nights at the Country Roads RV Park. Since we were in this fabulous tourist area we played like tourists. I took two of the three waterborne tours offered, the Original Wisconsin Ducks and the Wisconsin Jetboat Tour. The Ducks tour is in 1950's vintage military amphibous craft over land and through water. It was very interesting and fun. The Jetboat tour though was exciting. I rode along as one of forty passengers in a 900hp jetboat that can hit 45mph. High speed spins, full speed stops, it was a blast! Since Joan does not do water she spent some time checking out a couple of gift shops. We walked the River Walk along the water in the Upper Dells.
Our next stop was House on the Rock. This place is much more than we expected. We had read about it and knew it was a tour through a house that was built on a rock (hense, the name) and that the man who built it collected various items and had them on display inside the house. This place is massive, I believe it is over 60,000 sqft of displays, collections and home. It took us more than three hours to walk through it and it would taje several more trips to begin to feel like we have seen it. One guide told me the collections where valued at more than 2 billion (that a B) dollars. I would believe it.
Next we spent the night at the Pettibone RV Resort, right on the Mississippi River in LaCrosse, WI. Very pretty sites, good prices and the check in office doubles as a bar.
We are now in Redwing, MN having spent the night at the Treasure Island Casino RV Park. Again, nice with good prices. We ate dinner last night at the buffet inside the casino and made a donation to the tribe as we where leaving.
Today we are heading to northwest Minneapolis to make a stop at Camping World. After that we will be heading south towards Algona and Lone Rock, IA.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
20050825 Chicago
Joan and I are still here in the Chicago area. She has been very successful finding information on her ancestor, Peter Shaddle who lived in this area begining in 1834. We found his land in Mundelein and found his obit in the Evanston Public Library. Today we're back at the library looking up his wifes obit and some of Joan's cousins who still live in the area. We are also going to check out the Evanston Historical Society this afternoon.
Tomorrow we are going to head northwest. We found a couple of things we would like to see in Country Discoveries Magazine. I take our magazine each month and when I see something interesting I add it to a draw layer I created in our DeLorme Street Atlas mapping program. I add a mapnote at the location of the item with a description and the month/year/page# of the article. When we are driving I can turn this layer on and see when we are getting close to something we might want to see. There is a place called "The House on the Rock" west of here, then we are going north along the "Great River Road" up to Red Wing for a factory tour. After that we plan to head down to Iowa to spend Labor Day weekend with Joan's mother. The last two visits to her mother I took advantage of her stepfathers excellent woodshop and built a computer desk then a magazine rack for the RV. This time I think I'm going to build a couple of small stools that he designed. They will fit under our table and also serve as footrests for the sofa's.
Tomorrow we are going to head northwest. We found a couple of things we would like to see in Country Discoveries Magazine. I take our magazine each month and when I see something interesting I add it to a draw layer I created in our DeLorme Street Atlas mapping program. I add a mapnote at the location of the item with a description and the month/year/page# of the article. When we are driving I can turn this layer on and see when we are getting close to something we might want to see. There is a place called "The House on the Rock" west of here, then we are going north along the "Great River Road" up to Red Wing for a factory tour. After that we plan to head down to Iowa to spend Labor Day weekend with Joan's mother. The last two visits to her mother I took advantage of her stepfathers excellent woodshop and built a computer desk then a magazine rack for the RV. This time I think I'm going to build a couple of small stools that he designed. They will fit under our table and also serve as footrests for the sofa's.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
20050823 Chicago
Well, here we are in Mundelien, IL. We checked into the RV Park yesterday afternoon. Decided we're going to spend two or three days here checking out Joan's ancestor Peter Shaddle. He is listed as the first settler of this area, however the cabin that he built in 1835-1836 is long gone. It was sited on what is now the St. Mary's Seminary. Since he was only in this area for a year or so we consider it a miracle to find anything at all in the references. He moved to Evanston and became a very successful businessman. Family lore has it that he donated some of the land were Northwestern University was built. Tomorrow we are going into Evanston to do more research into the history of the University to see if we can prove the story.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
20050820 St. Charles
20050820
Yesterday morning we met a group of RVer’s who were meeting here at Sundermeier RV Park to begin a Lewis and Clark, 40 day caravan with Creative World Travel. When Joan and I attended the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival last April we camped at a temporary campground set up by Creative World. We had a blast at the festival and I’m sure this group will also enjoy their trip. We wish we could go with them but have plans to visit friends and take care of our annual medical stuff next month.
We are leaving here tomorrow morning on our way to a suburb just north of Chicago where one of Joan’s ancestors built a log cable that has been preserved. Ought to be interesting.
Yesterday morning we met a group of RVer’s who were meeting here at Sundermeier RV Park to begin a Lewis and Clark, 40 day caravan with Creative World Travel. When Joan and I attended the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival last April we camped at a temporary campground set up by Creative World. We had a blast at the festival and I’m sure this group will also enjoy their trip. We wish we could go with them but have plans to visit friends and take care of our annual medical stuff next month.
We are leaving here tomorrow morning on our way to a suburb just north of Chicago where one of Joan’s ancestors built a log cable that has been preserved. Ought to be interesting.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
20050818 St. Louis
2005/08/18
We went to the Arch today. While I have always heard this monument referred to as the St. Louis Arch it is officially called the “Jefferson National Expansion Memorial”. No matter what you call it, it’s well worth the visit. Sitting on a beautifully landscaped site above the Mississippi River it is a wonder to look at. At first we wondered where the visitor center and such where located as nothing but this huge, stainless steel arch is visible. It turns out everything is underground, the visitor center, gift shop, theater, museum and trams to the top of the arch are all located underground between the two legs of the arch.
We went to the Arch today. While I have always heard this monument referred to as the St. Louis Arch it is officially called the “Jefferson National Expansion Memorial”. No matter what you call it, it’s well worth the visit. Sitting on a beautifully landscaped site above the Mississippi River it is a wonder to look at. At first we wondered where the visitor center and such where located as nothing but this huge, stainless steel arch is visible. It turns out everything is underground, the visitor center, gift shop, theater, museum and trams to the top of the arch are all located underground between the two legs of the arch.
Friday, August 19, 2005
20050819 Saint Louis
Well, we’ve been here in St. Charles for almost a week now. We’ve had internet here at Sundermeiers RV Resort (map) so at least that has been nice. While this is a nice, clean park it is nothing special and it’s hard to justify the $45.00 to $50.00 a night cost. They do target the big rigs and get a fair amount of high end coaches in here so the prices must serve as a filter. Like other large cities around the country the number of RV parks near the cities is very limited. As the city grows the RV parks either sell out for the value of the land or become run down little communities for full time residents. At least that has not happened here.
We arrived last Friday so we could attend the “Jour de Fete” in St. Genevieve (map) on Saturday. It’s an annual street fair and festival where they honor three different families each year. Joan’s ancestors, the Janis family, where a prominent family in this area back in the 1700 and 1800 hundreds and were one of the families being honored this year. The festival was a blast even though the temps were in the 90’s. They advertised 600 vendors were present, it looked like at least that number as all the downtown streets where lined with them.
Joan has been spending her days in the local historical society, genealogical society and libraries. I’ve been working on our website (http://www.travelinggene.com/) while we have internet. We decided last night to extend our stay here another couple of days so we can do some St. Louis sightseeing this weekend. We think our next stop will be near Mundelein, IL where Joan has some additional family history to research. After that it’s pretty much up in the air. All we know for sure is (maybe) we’ll be traveling in a sort of westerly or southerly or northerly direction (easterly would be into Lake Michigan).
We arrived last Friday so we could attend the “Jour de Fete” in St. Genevieve (map) on Saturday. It’s an annual street fair and festival where they honor three different families each year. Joan’s ancestors, the Janis family, where a prominent family in this area back in the 1700 and 1800 hundreds and were one of the families being honored this year. The festival was a blast even though the temps were in the 90’s. They advertised 600 vendors were present, it looked like at least that number as all the downtown streets where lined with them.
Joan has been spending her days in the local historical society, genealogical society and libraries. I’ve been working on our website (http://www.travelinggene.com/) while we have internet. We decided last night to extend our stay here another couple of days so we can do some St. Louis sightseeing this weekend. We think our next stop will be near Mundelein, IL where Joan has some additional family history to research. After that it’s pretty much up in the air. All we know for sure is (maybe) we’ll be traveling in a sort of westerly or southerly or northerly direction (easterly would be into Lake Michigan).
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Our Blog Begins
OK, a little background is called for.
Joan and I (Gordon) and our cats (Thelma and Louise) have been traveling full time in our 2004 Tiffin Phaeton 40 foot quad slide motor home since May, 2004. Prior to that we owned a home in Black Hawk, South Dakota where Joan worked in a local quilt store and I traveled full time as a project manager for a lighting company. Most of my projects seemed to be in the south or south east so I would be on the road for 5 or 6 weeks then drive home to SD for a week off, then drive back to where ever the current project was located. I had been doing this for a couple of year when my sister told us one day “you know, married people should be together”. Well, that did it, we decided to live our dream of living in an RV and traveling full time BEFORE we officially retired. Since I was already on the road full time, and getting paid for it, why not just make the leap and bring Joan and the kitties with me. We began to make plans to get rid of our stuff and sell the house.
Joan’s brother David had just returned from Cambodia where he and his wife Beth had worked in a Cambodian school for orphans. They had given away everything they owned when they went over and where now living in an apartment in Sioux Falls, SD with only a bed. Here we had a house full of furniture we didn’t need and they had a house and no furniture. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
David, Beth and Jessie rented a U Haul, came to Black Hawk and left with everything except my garage stuff that had been promised to my son Jeremy. We packed the remaining things we had into a trailer and moved down to McKinney, TX where I had rented an apartment to live in while we sold the house and found an RV. We figured it would take six months or so to get ready to move into an RV. Boy was I wrong.
Less than a month after moving in I happened by a Tiffin dealer in Fort Worth one day, stopped in to see what they had and after going home and bringing Joan back we bought a new, 2004 Phaeton. We came back a week later to take delivery and while signing the papers our real estate agent in Black Hawk called to tell us we had a full price offer on our house and they wanted to close in two weeks. Somebody wanted us to be full timing.
Now we had an apartment with five months remaining on the lease and a motor home. I was traveling for my projects so we decided to go ahead and take Joan on the road with me. When I was explaining all this to my boss in Norman, OK he told me since he was down in Dallas three of four days a week on business they had been considering taking an apartment to cut down on hotel expenses and would I be interested in sub-leasing my apartment. As I said, someone was looking out for us.
Thus, we began our adventure. Since then we have been trying to post a monthly journal on our website at http://www.travelinggene.com/. We also post pictures of some of the places we visit in our pictures section. While we will still post pictures and a monthly summary I think we will be posting most of our journal entries here. Please come back often to follow our adventure.
Joan and I (Gordon) and our cats (Thelma and Louise) have been traveling full time in our 2004 Tiffin Phaeton 40 foot quad slide motor home since May, 2004. Prior to that we owned a home in Black Hawk, South Dakota where Joan worked in a local quilt store and I traveled full time as a project manager for a lighting company. Most of my projects seemed to be in the south or south east so I would be on the road for 5 or 6 weeks then drive home to SD for a week off, then drive back to where ever the current project was located. I had been doing this for a couple of year when my sister told us one day “you know, married people should be together”. Well, that did it, we decided to live our dream of living in an RV and traveling full time BEFORE we officially retired. Since I was already on the road full time, and getting paid for it, why not just make the leap and bring Joan and the kitties with me. We began to make plans to get rid of our stuff and sell the house.
Joan’s brother David had just returned from Cambodia where he and his wife Beth had worked in a Cambodian school for orphans. They had given away everything they owned when they went over and where now living in an apartment in Sioux Falls, SD with only a bed. Here we had a house full of furniture we didn’t need and they had a house and no furniture. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
David, Beth and Jessie rented a U Haul, came to Black Hawk and left with everything except my garage stuff that had been promised to my son Jeremy. We packed the remaining things we had into a trailer and moved down to McKinney, TX where I had rented an apartment to live in while we sold the house and found an RV. We figured it would take six months or so to get ready to move into an RV. Boy was I wrong.
Less than a month after moving in I happened by a Tiffin dealer in Fort Worth one day, stopped in to see what they had and after going home and bringing Joan back we bought a new, 2004 Phaeton. We came back a week later to take delivery and while signing the papers our real estate agent in Black Hawk called to tell us we had a full price offer on our house and they wanted to close in two weeks. Somebody wanted us to be full timing.
Now we had an apartment with five months remaining on the lease and a motor home. I was traveling for my projects so we decided to go ahead and take Joan on the road with me. When I was explaining all this to my boss in Norman, OK he told me since he was down in Dallas three of four days a week on business they had been considering taking an apartment to cut down on hotel expenses and would I be interested in sub-leasing my apartment. As I said, someone was looking out for us.
Thus, we began our adventure. Since then we have been trying to post a monthly journal on our website at http://www.travelinggene.com/. We also post pictures of some of the places we visit in our pictures section. While we will still post pictures and a monthly summary I think we will be posting most of our journal entries here. Please come back often to follow our adventure.
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