Last Post

Well, we got home last night around 7:30. I was so tired, I couldn't sleep. I traveled 4,226 miles. It is still taking a long time to unwind from all of the excitement of a vacation. I was thinking last night that I enjoyed laughing and being with my parents. My favorite sight was the herd of buffalo, although I must say having them surround the car was a little frightful. Those beasts are hugh!! I also liked the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead. It makes me imagine what life must have been like way back then.
Some of the places had the funniest names like

Whao and Go
The Butt Hut
Kum and Go

They really are the ones that stuck in my mind.
I enjoyed writing this blog and it will be a great to come back to it time and time again in order to refresh my memory. I hope that you enjoyed the trip as well!

On the Road Home

Mississippi River

Mississippi River

Windmills in Adair, Iowa

Windmills in Adair

Floodplain of Mississippi

I couldn't write last night because the motel we stayed at did not have internet service. We had a great day of driving another 500 or so miles to Montpelier, Ohio. We stopped here because I was once again worn out. We passed all of the windmills as we drove out of Iowa and this time, I got pictures. It is a great project that will save the town Adair some money. The pics are above. The second group is the Mississippi River which I loved. I would really like to take a cruise down the Mississippi on one of those paddle boats. I think that would be awesome. The scientist in me would love to study the Mississippi and why the Army Corps of engineers wants to keep changing the direction of the river. We also got to see where it flooded the plain, a few years ago. That river is just hugh!!!

The hotel Econo Lodge where we are staying has no hair dryer, no internet and no clock/radio. It is the strangest thing. I have never been to a motel that did not have a clock. We decided to go eat at this restaurant called Four Seasons Family Restaurant. We get out of the car and are walking towards the door when I hear this crash, I turn around and there is my dad on the ground. He tripped over the concrete parking barrier. He hit his head on the wall and his knee was really skinned. He is alright, thank God. I got ice and some band aids because his head was bleeding. I thought he cut it but he just really skinned it. He was a little embarrassed but we managed to eat and I kept a check on his head for swelling but all was well.

One more day of travel and then it is home.

Leaving South Dakota

Windmills in Iowa

Missouri Floodplain

Missouri River

Missouri River

St. John's Roman Catholic Church

Well we left SD at around 8:30 AM and traveled 600 miles to Avoco, Iowa where we are presently staying the night. It has been a great ride. I think that we are all punch drunk from driving so much. All we did was laugh today at everything. I took some pictures, not a lot because we are on our way home. It was sad to leave SD, I really liked it but life must have been so hard for the pioneers. The plains are so flat and vast and lonely. Storms blow up quick and just like that they are gone. I couldn't help but think about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books when she describes what life was like at that time for her. I don't think that I could live on that prairie. I also discovered as I was driving that the eastern side of South Dakota has been receiving so much rain that they have not been able to plant their crops for two years. You could see a great deal of their land was underwater. I felt bad for all of the farmers.

We also crossed the Missouri River. WOW is that a wide river!!. I took some pictures of it. Very pretty river. We will be crossing the Mississippi River tomorrow and I can't wait to take pictures of that river.

Tomorrow, I will post the pictures of all of these windmills that dot the land out here. Apparently, they received a grant to use windmills to generate electricity and conserve some energy. I can't believe the number of windmills here, I feel like I am in Holland. You can look forward to them tomorrow.

Well that is all for now. I am about ready to fall asleep. We crossed the mountain time zone and lost an hour so I feel really exhausted. I think we lose another hour tomorrow when we cross into the eastern standard time zone. Oh well, it is the price of traveling!! Till tomorrow!!

Deadwood, Devil's Tower and Buffalo

Buffalo on the road

Devil's Tower

Deadwood, SD

WOW! It has been a day our last day here in South Dakota. I can't believe that we head back to Lake Wallenpaupak tomorrow. Anyway, it was cold this morning 55 degrees!! We went to church at St. John's Roman Catholic Church here and it was so crowded, standing room only. I haven't seen anything like that since I was a kid. It was a beautiful mass, very friendly and filled with fellowship. They would call out to the priest during his homily, there were no formal petitions, people just called out. The sermon was interesting since Father Peter put the Good Samaritan in the context of the culture 2000 years ago. It was very interesting. Before mass, people would just stand up and make announcements. It was very different.

After church, we took the scenic ride up to Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane performed. It was beautiful. We then headed west into Wyoming to see Devil's Tower, a geological wonder. Of course we had to shop once we were there!!!

Driving back to our hotel in Custer, we drove through Custer State Park and encountered a herd of buffalo in the road!! OMG! They were amazing and beautiful and truly huge!!! I was happy that they did not attack the car!! I hope that you like the pics.

Our final dinner here was at the Dark Horse Saloon and the food was delicious!! One funny thing happened. When we returned to our hotel, we tried to get in the back entrance because our room was nearer the back entrance but the key would not work. We went around to the front and here, they checked us out!!! They thought that we were leaving on Sunday instead of Monday!!! It was funny and the woman at the desk fixed the problem.

Wounded Knee

Storm over the Priarie

Monument at Wounded Knee- Pine Ridge Reservation

Wounded Knee

Actual monument erected by the Lakota and Ogala Sioux to their ancestors killed. This is the mass grave site

Buffalo walking west on Route 16 Taken from my car.

Today began with going through Custer State Park on the way to Hertz Rent a Car in Rapid City and while driving through the park, we encountered this large male buffalo walking along the road in the opposite direction. I snapped this picture hoping he wouldn't turn on me and think we were for breakfast. My heart was racing because it was so close. Thank goodness he kept walking!! That was the highlight of the morning. Once we got to Hertz, it all went down hill. We told them about the light requiring maintenance was lit and they said they couldn't do anything. That we could go and get the oil chcnged and the Hertz company would not authorize us another car but will reimburse us the oil change. I was so frutrated and angry that I wanted to scream. It felt like they couldn't be bothered with us. My dad was yelling, so I interfered and talked with the lady but she insisted she couldn't do anything. Several of the customers began telling the woman that it was ridiculous that she could not issue us another car. So off we went in the same car with the light on to a juffy lube place, where they could not believe the story either but were very nice to us. It took the whole morning, so we did not leave until 12:30 but we did manage to get to the museum to learn more about the massacre. My heart felt so heavy about the way the whites treated them. Worse than how we treat animals. We then drove two hours to the small memorial. It was not erected by the government but by the Sioux. It is very modest but it contains all of the names of those massacred and were placed in a mass grave including Sitting Bull. I really felt ashamed of how the whites acted. The place was so eerie and very windy. The wind is a sign of the spirits moving about. It was very chilling.

We meet a nice young Sioux named Soaring Eagle and he told us all about the Sun ceremony and how they reinact the march by Sitting Bull every year on December 29th. He was an incredibly nice young man.

On the drive back to Custer, we hit a storm and I honestly thought that we were going to be in a tornado. The sky was black grey and the wind was unbelievable. I was praying we would get through safely and thank God we did.
Well that was the excitementfor today. Tomorrow it is Deadwood and maybe Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Good night

Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse: Can you see the profile of the face?

Mt. Rushmore

Badlands

Badlands

Badlands


Well, today we went to all of the above places and it was beautiful. I woke up with a huge headache and my neck and back killed me from all of the driving but thank goodness for tylenol. Felt better in an hour. These places were very crowded of course, especially Mt. Rushmore. I was to all of these places about 15 years ago and I can't believe how much the areas have changed. They are all so built up and commercialized, it's crazy. Anyway, I took a ton of pics and videos. Tomorrow, we have to go to the Hertz place because the car has a warning light that says maintenance is required. I have been driving for 800 miles with that light on, praying that we would not break down and thank God we made it safely here. We are suppose to get another car. I wonder what it will be, hmmm... a BMW? Ha Ha!! We may have to pay for damage to the room because my dad just broke the handle on the night stand!! LOL

Looking forward to tomorrow!!!

Little House on the Prairie

Wayside Chapel

Ingalls Homestead

Mom's Little House

Hope you like these pics

Sorry I missed yesterday but I ended up driving for 600 miles and I was so tired, I went right to sleep. I also failed to add the video but I will do that tonight. Yesterday was a great day because we stopped at the homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder in De Smet, South Dakota. It was really cool to actually see the land and the replica buildings which she wrote about in her books, which I loved to read when I was younger. I will post those pics, I promise. We also made a stop at this rest stop that had a little chapel called the Wayside Chapel which was adorable. But it was all about the driving yesterday and I am glad that it is over for now.

From Illinois to DesMoines Iowa

It has been such a long day. We traveled an additional 500 miles for a total of 1084 mles in 2 days. I really had a hard time dealing with the drive and I am hoping tomorrow night we will be in Rapid City Sd and then we can begin to sight see. I wanted to stop in Chicago but dad did not feel like it so we moved straight through the state. I am a little disappointed about that because I really wanted to see Chicago and I don't know when I will get back there again. Anyway, it still was a great day, although we hit a bad storm in Iowa. I couldn't even see out of the window. we almost had to pull over but nobody was moving on the highway as it was. We also got to see some things as we drove by. We got a look around Ronald Reagan's birthplace in Dixon, Illinois. We stopped in West Branch, Iowa for Herbert Hoover's birthplace and lastly, the famous John Wayne, we got to look at his birthplace of Winterset Iowa.
We also crossed the Mississippi River which in the rain was still so beautiful. That was the first time I saw the Mississppi and it was pretty exciting. We are now staying in Stuart Iowa and it looks like it is going to pour again. We also had to turn our clocks back an hour on Central time now. Weird, but I get an extra hour of sleep YEAHHHHH!!!!
Check out the video. I really haven't taken any pictures of anything yet but you have to see the video of our view from our window in Iowa. I really like this place. It has been such a peaceful drive except for the one part around Chicago where it was really congested sue to paying a toll.


We also stopped at a viewpoint where you could see Omaha Nebraska on the left side and the Missouri floodplain straight ahead. It was gorgeous. The 85 year old guide told us about his wife writing a book about barns from a barn's point of view and it is called A Autobarnography. I loved it and I will definitely look for it. He was a very interesting man.

Day 1 Traveling

Well we finally left at 9:45 this morning. It took us awhile to get ourselves together. Sometimes thinking about driving 1600 miles is a little overwhelming. I enjoyed the drive. It was long but it was nice. We traveled through PA, then managed to get through all of Ohio and we are now in Indiana. I drove 564 miles in 7 hours and we arrived at the hotel at 6:40. We finally ate and now it is 10:00 and it is time to hit the sack.
I loved Ohio, it wasn't what I expected. Flat and a lot of farm land. I can't believe that Ohio is all farmland and gorgeous. I always envisioned Ohio as a little dumpy and divey but boy was I wrong.
Indiana is pretty nice so far. I am only like 10 miles inside the state line. We are about 150 miles from Chicago. We are hoping to get to maybe Iowa by tomorrow. I would like to stop a few minutes in Chicago, we will see what happens. It is a little coolet here that is for sure. Until tomorrow.

July 3, 2010

I am so excited about the trip. Today, I formalized the plans for trip. I didn't know that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about her life on the prairie which was in DeSmet South Dakota. Since I loved reading all of those books, we are going to stop in De Smet to check out her homestead. I think it will be pretty cool.
Then we will head to the badlands, Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park. On the way home, I thought we would stop at Wounded Knee (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) where 300 Lakota people were massacred. I learned about all of that in high school and it is kind of strange to stand on the land when you read about it in a book. Somehow, standing on the land where it actually occurred makes it real.
I think that this will be a great long trip.
Our car is a Nissan Sentra and the date of departure is Tuesday, July 6
72 hours and counting

June 28, 2010 Prep Week

Today I begin the prep work for the trip to South Dakota. I think there is more work in the packing than in the actual trip itself. I will be traveling with my parents, which I think will be a great deal of fun. I know most people think, ewww! your parents but I really like my parents. Not only are they nice people but they are funny as well. My dad already bought the lysol spray disinfectant because he doesn't like old people smell, so he will spray it in the hotel room!! He doesn't smell like an old person and neither does my mom but I think they are in fear of the SMELL!! Too funny.

Tried to look for pictures of Mount Rushmore and I can't find them. I know I was there but I looked in all my photo albums and those pics are missing. Really strange. Maybe I put them in the garage.

Anyway, the countdown begins and I am looking forward to a relaxing, nno time limit vacation. I do not have to be back in the city until July 23rd. I hope all goes well.