Fini 7/19

We were on the road early, stopped of at Mickey Ds for coffee and crap before heading home.  I do like Wisconsin.  It is a wonderfully beautiful and wholesome state.  A ton of farms that look prosperous for the most part.  Very lush right now due to large amounts of rain.  The drive to and from Amy's is sort of amusing.  There is no direct way other than going on a series of county roads creatively named capital letters like L, M, I, V, winding with sharp turns as farm after farm after farm passes you by until you get close to the city.  Then we took a number of turns through several neighborhoods before reaching their home.  Again, we tried to,stay off the highways, preferring the scenic route.  We got home around 5:00.  In one piece and still married after 40 days and nights in a 23 foot travel trailer.  It didn't and doesn't seem that long.  We saw a lot, but didn't have as much time as we would have liked to have had in many places along the way.  We saw a huge chunk of this marvelous country, met a lot of nice people and campers along the way.  I spent a lot of time thinking and doing what people my age do when they allow themselves the time: reflecting on life, one's successes and failures, what remains on the bucket list to cross off, memories of my childhood, knitting, chatting with the R about his memories, goals. Successes and flops.  Things we wished we did as younger people, decisions we should or should not have made.  Then there were all the podcasts we got to listen to.  Hardly any TV, actually none since we left Rob and Desi in Wa and until the last two nights.  Minimal current events unless we were able to get it through eml or FB.

And now... the TV blares, mail needs reading, the HH needs unloading and washinglaundry en masses has to be done.  The truck is filthy inside and out and then there are the repairs and replacements of broken pieces and parts.  Not many, just a few.  Venetian is in full force, the music from the park is audible from our house.  The garden needs tending and......rain is forecast for at least the next three days!  Susan and fam were going to come, but won't now as Chris has work to do with the Flint water debacle and coming alone with the kids to be here in the rain isn't exactly what they have in mind!  And so it goes.....thanks for joining me on this. Entire.  I apologize for grammar - especially used of passive voice.  Not much editing went on..

And then there was Wall Drug and the Corn Palace

That evening we saw our first prairie sunset that was not quite a Michigan sunset over the lake, but nonetheless pretty.  Pooped and hot, we escaped into the A/C to read until our eyelids said "enuf for today"
The next morning, despite the R balking at going to Wall Drug.  We did.  And that is about all I can say about it.  Ice cream was good.  Free ice water!  Silly photos taken to memorialize the stop off marked by more very hot weather, lots of gawkers, shoppers and tchotchkes that we managed to pass on.  Next stop, described by a friend as a nice piece of Americana - The Corn Palace!  A huge venue filled with trivia and old equipment used to harvest and shuck.  But before going in, one HAS to stop and admire the facade of corn made into murals.  The one right now is 2 years old and is being eaten by birds, but they change it every two years to the tune of 180,000.00.  One side of the building even has Willie!  Lots to see inside.  There is a venue that doubles as an auditorium and gymnasium.  Apparently class C and D basketball regionals or something are held here amongst other things (conferences). This day the floor was filled with corn memorabilia.  The R not above collecting more baseball caps secured one for his collection.  I passed on everything.  We killed quite a bit of time and headed to Wisconsin - Madison to see our niece Amy and her family.  We found a nice  KOA for two nights and I met up,with Amy the first night, briefly seeing Bruce, Pete and Helen before they went out for dinner together.  The next night was to be a UofW evening.  We caught up with Pete at the Union where he is working as a youth assistant with the sailing camps and waited for Bruce.  Pete had a rough day with spoiled 15 y/o boys who wouldn't listen were smart asses and on a whole dangerous.  So he had to threaten to call parents before they settled down.  When I asked him if he ever did anything like that he replied "only at home, NEVER in public!".  We indulged in fried cheese curds (appetizer) and beer before venturing outside for more local beer, brats, corn, burger (that would be the R and me) while the others ate sensibly.  Then of course pictures.  Apparently, the U has wonderful,ice cream, so we sauntered over and had to taste a variety of flavors before meandering up,to,the Capital and campus before heading back to their house. BTW! The ice cream was wonderful and pure. We left shortly thereafter, knowing we had a long drive back home.  It was a worthwhile stop along the way and nice to see them as we have missed them in Charlevoix the last few summers.

Forgot to mention SD

july 19 - late entry
Since SD, the trip has seemed like a whirlwind., but despite not posting anything since Wy.,  SD and the Badlands was a must see.  The drive was long..,.it didn't help that we were led astray by Google maps (and the paper map was of no help).  So after driving in and out of the Badlands several times, and the R justifiably from driving three sides of a square, we somehow found it mid afternoon after landing in Rapid City! This of course was not our goal, and since the day was rapidly passing us by, we ended up just taking a scenic drive through this strangely stark expanse of land. A bit creepy in some ways, but oh so lovely.  Quiet.  Lumpy land carved out by winds and water creating an amazing panoramic view of nothingness, sparse grass, dry rice lets, prairie dogs no where to be seem ,but evidence of their "digs".  Apparently the best time to see it is late afternoon when the sun casts shadows over these primaries rocks, but alas, we couldn't stay.  There were a few areas that I tried to photo because of their coloring, but the pics didn't do it justice.  It was a spiritual journey for me.  Slogging on, trying to find somewhere to lay our heads, we drove on hoping to get toMitchell to see the Corn Palace.  But, oh dear!  The rodeo was in town and while I was doing my usual hunt with no help from wifi, we were dissuaded from coming further east and I was given the name of a place that had openings.  It was a bout 20 miles west of Mitchell.  Not much to,say about it other than it had the things we have come to appreciate (water, electricity and sewer hookups).  When we started to undo, the R discovered the storage door was jammed and wouldn't open.  Not a good start, but we tracked it back to our last stay when we noticed the bag that held our leveling blocks came up missing.  It probably blew away, but was no where to be found.  So the blocks were put in the storage area, and we think, because the roads and drive were winding and bumpy they fell over and jammed the lock.  Of course the tool bag was in there too.  Fortunately there was one of those eye candy rigs next to us with a kindly gentleman who opened up one of his storage lockers to reveal any kind of tool imaginable that we both laughed about. Mind you this included a generator, electric saw, drill and three tool boxes.  Pretty sure we could make it work!  Using a long flat screwdriver, the R managed to get it open so we could finish the job.  If worst had come to,worst we could have just left it hooked up, but it wouldn't solve our next stop. TBC ont'd

Probably last post (and at home)

I can't pull up anything on the net,so I'm not sure where I ended.  I think we were settling in to Yellowstone.  I am so glad we came.  I  was concerned about crowds at this time of year and between that and the heat we were dealing with, I want sure.  Anyway, after we were settled in we took a drive into the Crater area of the park and delighted in walking along the path with crowds..and I mean both.  Parking was not as bad as I thought.  We lucked into a spot not far from the Crater remains.  I was amused as we passed by the unisex toilets at the visitors from Asia who were puzzled by this concept.  Nattering away, you could see the puzzlement in their faces as they held up the lines forming.  Walking to the first area, the heat was formidable but the breeze balanced that out as we meandered around the people taking selfies, oblivious to holding up the people behind.  There was little sense of driving on the right.  Warnings of holding into ones hat and glasses were unheeded by those who did not read English and varietal hats were seen deserted in the hot waters.  I believe 5,000'gals per minute poured out of the first Crater, forming a waterfall into a river nearby.  The other Craters had various names and distinguishing features including a rainbow coloring.  The smell of sulfur off and on, the small spurts in and along the way.  Fascinating.  We had enough time to find Old Faithful so we set out again, with the crowds.  Once at that area of the park we were amazed at the beauty, once again.   Following the crowds like lemmings, we found a seat facing the ole gal/guy waiting for an eruption.  The Rangers come by and do an oral presentation which is where we heard the expression "sometimes she blows twice a day, sometimes once a day and sometimes not at all."  She had not blown that day, so we had a good chance.  The Ranger 'splained that she was no longer the greatest geyser, and while he was talking he pointed to the BeeHive which was a walk away from where we were sitting but visible.  That one is the biggest, or so he told us (later to be disputed in the literature we read).  Thinking this was not our day or time, I convinced the R to walk through the Lodge.  It was phenomenal.  Any photos I took did not do it justice (nor of the Craters) .  Julie C will take care of that when she comes this way (ha ha). A violinist played in the background on the second level.  The first level crowded with people checking in and waiting for the restaurant seating. It was an old style grand log Lodge of three levels. Open to all levels and with stairs that were easy to navigate.  A romantic place to be sure. The second level offered seating and a clear view of Old Faithful, should she decide it was her time to explode.  We gathered beers from local micro breweries and found great seating overlooking the park.  She sputtered.  She died.  She sputtered again and the group ahead of us exclaimed "Seriously, we drove this far for that!"  Just as we were about to leave,she sighed once more and gathered steam, over and over again until she finally erupted.  An anti climax hat was steeped in eruption dysfunction!
The walks were what we needed and after a couple of hours we meandered back to the campsite for dinner.  The next morning, we left but chose to take the middle drive through the park exiting on the east side.  Along the way, both the day before, we encountered some traffic jams.  The first few were of people stopping to photograph the wild life, but my favorite was the day we left when a huge buffalo decided to cross the road, much a bit, walk in the road, munch a bit more along the side of the road, walk in the road for a while then cross over to the other side to the river.  Much to our amusement.  The drive through the park is exquisite and a wonder.  The trees, the waterfalls, the deep gorges, the snow, the winding curves and the height of 10,000 ' of Avalanche Pass which of course drained our mileage as we slowly drove to that altitude.  We had fleeting thoughts of a vacation with grandchildren......fleeting.  How would they survive without wifi or active things to do?  OK scratch that idea. We enjoyed just entertaining ourselves.  Of note we were in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as we approached Yellowstone,
Our next stop: Cody Wyoming.  And I fell in love! Again struggling with wifi we had trouble reaching places to accommodate us.  Full. Full. Full when able.  Finally I found a place with no reviews on Cody's outskirts but not off the path.  Described as a fishing haven and a Dude a Ranch, this fit the bill and my bucket list (not for the fishing).  The few reviews I found were very high so we tried and after much de,as I getting a call back, we feigned that we had poor phone connectivity and called back to find they did indeed have a spot with a full hookup.  Not knowing.....we drove to the classic ranch sign "over the bluff, you will see us" and passed an Osprey nest at the entrance, then a lake and then the office.  There were a number of cabins nearby and an area that housed horses.  The ad boasted rides and a ranch dinner and breakfast.  An apologetic Brit who was holding down the fort checked us in, had us sign a liability disclaimer and pointed to our area.  Back down the drive to an area that had 4 RV hookups next to a residence that I assumed was the owners.  It took the R about six attempts to get settled in our spot - hard to explain why, but we settled in and after a nap, went in to Cody for a walk about, dinner and the Rodeo.
 Cody has a new and old section.  We chose to walk the old town which housed a number of shops, primarily western where I found a beautiful pair of red sequined cowboy boots.  The R was having none of that, so dispirited, we walked to the Irma hotel that Buffalo Bill Cody built.  They had a free "shoot out" at 5:00.  Seating on the porch was spare to say the least, but we luckily grabbed a picnic bench that overlooked the show, ordered dinner and shared our bench with a delightful Danish family.  The show as honky and amateurish but fun and we enjoyed the company of our new found friends who were also going to the rodeo. The food, not so memorable.
And off to the Rodeo!  We arrived early and stood in line for tickets, then walked up,to the near grandstands, only to decide to move to the other side where we could see the dudes getting ready to be released on the steers and horses and their buck a room tricks.  I wondered why there were so many horses, calves, steer, bulls and brahma bulls in the corrals we passed on our way to the seats. But it was obvious by the end of the day.  A lot of fun!  it started with a drill team of women on horses, all dressed in glittering red white and blue, then there was the unbroken horse riding, followed by calf roping (male and female) barrel racing(male and female) - and boy were they fast!  The peak was a little 35# girl on a huge horse that walked and occasionally trotted around the course without any errors in 6".  Her first and from a family of competitors.  Too precious.  Other times were under 20 seconds unless they fouled and got a 5 second penalty. Now.... back to the crazy bulls and brahma bulls!  They are led into a narrow paddock that barely accommodates their size.  The cowboys somehow arrange a strap around them which is ultimately what they hold onto.  Some wear helmets and neck supports (the cowboys) and they are shuttled through a series of gates where they take a long time, with the help of others to get everything just right (whatever that means).  They each have their own stuff.  All had chaps of various colors and designs, vests to match, often with crosses, boots and spurs.  Many prayed and crossed themselves before getting into the gate.  A range of ages, competing each night for some sort of prize.  The oldest was a man of 50 who did not get out of the gate before being thrown and knocked unconscious.  EMS is on site but I didn't see much concern (like taking him off on a stretcher).  There was a very young looking kid who also got thrown early on, not knocked out, but limping a lot.  Brush it off!  Be a man!  I have to say the young kid had the meanest looking brahma of the bunch and I had odds against him surviving the 6 seconds.  So after all, it seemed that the entire groups of animals were in fact used.  At the end they were fed and were frisky enough to be seen with ah hem, large erections (the bulls).  Not sure is any got lucky, but they looked content as we walked out.  This BTW is consistent with what I read earlier about when animals are fed - as in working animals are not fed until the work is done.
I also have to say that the clowns are amusing and the riders that divert the bulls from the riders are pretty amazing and good looking!
So that was Cody.  And I have fallen in love with Wyoming.

Yellowstone day 31 and 32

Back to our neighbors....he was a proud Army VET, all his clothing had reference to his years of service in Vietnam and beyond.  He and his wife, along with 11 week Yorkie puppies came from Fla to support a local band they follow back home.  He has a contracto be here for a month performing 3 times weekly.  The puppies are adorable. - Coco and Channel.  Coco is the curious one constantly getting into things and quite a handful.  Channel more reticent quietly observing her sister being chastised.  Both are housed in a pack n play divided into piddle pad and sleeping area where they cuddle one another.  ANY estrogen my body still had the ability to lie as I held these little 6# boney balls of soft fur!  Both Yorkies andLucy's  breed are from the part of England from whence my family hailed.  So I think it is reasonable that I get one! OK back to reality
After we settled in early that afternoon, we took a drive through the lower part of the park.  It did not seem to be overly crowded until we got to the Crater area.  There are three ways to traverse the park.  The northern route is over 100 miles around traveling anywhere from stop to 35mph.  Yellowstone was not on our agenda to start off, but I am really glad we came.  This came about when I pointed out to the R that I wanted to go to SD and the Badlands on our way back.  His plan did not include this because it would take us out of our way heading back.  However, Crater Lake was out of our way too, so he relented!

Day 31 onward to Jellystone!

Leaving Arco,  we passed through   Butte City, population of 74, a run down area that hardly qualified as a City.  The few homes in the short area of residency was comprised on tiny houses in ramshackle condition, a closed convenience store and thT was about it.  It was hard to imagine the population was even 30 inhabitants.  Beyond that there were huge expanses of farmed land that continued non stop til we saw signs to the Idaho National Labs.  We wondered who was farming the areas, and we were unable to answer that, pausing to say "it takes a village" so there must be someone out there beyond our view.  The area beyond the Lab alternated between fecund fields and brush, alternating on both sides of the road.  Mud Lake had a population of 358.  The Public Health Bldg was open to all on Thursday's.  Poverty and the need for traveling resources was apparent as we continued to pass through expanses of farm fields in various states of harvest.  This is where I got curious about how theses massive fields were harvested.  The R thought that there were workers with big equipment who travel with the growing season doing this.  In my research I found nothing to support this, but it seemed reasonable since the machinery had to be huge and expensive.  Then I started wondering how this was all timed.  What happened if these dudes and dudetts came too early or too late, then what?  Two growing seasons were apparent.  Those harvested were primarily these massive 2200# bales, piled up piled up on one another, some tipping abit, the lower level. I read was left to absorb moisture from the ground and any excess from the hay bales piled above.  Some of these were stored under "saranwrap" type plastic seen on boats that are wintered, in long rows, others under lean to buildings, but no silos. Then I read about Farmer Lung and feeding patterns of horses by cows, working cattle vs food cattle, sharing this new found knowledge with my on site Funk and Wagnall historian to keep him up on this trivia.
Cruising along we ran into road repair and the use of a Pilot car that alternated leading our side with incoming traffic.  On each side was a dude that kept the traffic at bay until the Pilot car arrived caravanning traffic from the other side.  When we passed the fresh asphalt we noticed big bags of ice strategically placed along the new paved road.  We found this amusing, but assume there must be some benefit gained.
On and on we drove getting closer to Yellowstone which we approached from the west intending to leavet in a massive park on the west side from the east..  we noted again, watercraft inspection areas.  These were tents set up with inspectors who went over the watercraft history and condition to minimize bringing in invasive  snails, weeds and whatever.  This included kayaks and canoes..  we secured a spot, but again, only for a night.  Without phone service and or wifi, trying to stay ahead of reserving spots has become a challenge as the season gears up.  The spot we had was in the edge of the park next to the road with an inconveniently placed tree that required navigating around as the R backed into the space.  One would think we had become proficient with this, but each day is another hit or miss!  I am assigned navigation from behind the HH and in view of the R directing him to hookups.  In this case helping him avoid taking out a big tree.  The spot was so narrow we had no space on 2 sides of us and a shaved down picnic table hat seated 2.  Regardless, it was what we could find and were happy that the neighbor we met after a drive around Yellowstone was friendly and welcoming.  We found him under his Class A trying to fix his grey/black plumbing system that was taken out by a blown tire in a car ahead of him.  Lying on a packing mat with all his tools and pieces neatly arranged around him as he lay on gravel in over 100 degrees.  Yikes!  He pulled a red Jeep behind him and had an American flag and POWflag flying from the front drivers side.

Day 30 cont'd Arco and beyond to day 31

The hail was small but mighty, then more rain, a bit more hail, rain and then the sun came out.  The kids then got serious about putting tents up and retired early.  We ate, and retired early!
The next morning, breakfast was served by KOA and we marched off for Belgian waffles before packing things up.
The parade to the bathrooms and to breakfast was quite impressive with all the teens. Glad we had our own bathroom and shower.