Finishing up our time in South Dakota!

Sturgis, SD

We visited Sturgis on a Sunday and it was kinda sad.  Not much open and nobody was around.  I guess you have to be there for the big motocycle rally for it to be fun....yikes.

Wall Drug in Wall, SD

This place is just weird.  It was established in 1931 and it's claim to fame was free ice water for visitors.  Wall is at the entrance to the Badlands so perhaps thats the draw, but it's a giant collection of souvenir shops with a cafe, chapel, crazy taxidermy, and a drug store.  I would not put it on our "recommend" list but Bob says that kids will love it (just bring your wallet!)

The Badlands - beautiful!!

THE CORN PALACE in Mitchell, SD

Mitchell is the home of the World's Only Corn Palace!  Dates back to 1892.  The murals are changed annually and have a different theme - this year's theme was South Dakota weather. All the mural designs are made of different colored corn cobs (over 300,000 cobs).  The cobs are cut in half and nailed to the boards to create the designs. They are very cool. 

There were some 34 Palaces on the Prairie in the late 19th century (grain, alfalfa etc) ...but only the Corn Palace survived!

LESSON LEARNED:  Don't open your windows at night when you are staying in an RV park next to a farm with cows.  VERY SMELLY!!!

Close Encounters in the Black Hills National Forest

The Black Hills area of South Dakota and Wyoming are truly spectacular.  We love it here!!

Devils Tower

The drive to Devils Tower is almost as beautiful as the Tower.  It's just across the border into Wyoming and  was the first National Monument in the US (1906) .  Remember when Close Encounters of the Third Kind came out in 1977?  You can hear those 5 notes now......YEP Bob is pretty sick of me singing them (off key).  I thought there might a few left behind aliens on the side of the Tower but it was just some crazy rock climbers.  

Prairie Dog Town....awwww they are so playful.

Spearfish Canyon

Another amazing drive:  Bridal Veil, Spearfish and Roughlock Falls,  crystal clear water, the film site for the winter scenes in Dances with Wolves (you can just feel John Dunbar in the woods).

Deadwood 

Black Hills gold rush town established in 1876, named for all the dead trees in its gulch, a National Historic Landmark and a true old wild west town. 
TODAY:  Cute shops (many of the shops have bars IN the store!!), gaming in hotels, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations.  I found Game King video poker and won 4 dollars.....almost doubled my money!  I'm back on a winning streak girls.  The Chubby Chipmunk is a fabulous gourmet hand dipped chocolate shop....beautiful and delicious chocolate!  Chubby Chipmunk = Chubby Richele and Bob.   Fun antiques and other "stuff" too.

Spearfish, SD

We had a great RV Park, the bronze elk is the only elk we saw though, great beer at Crow Creek Brewery!

Lead, SD

This is the place to visit if you are into Gold Mining and Physics.  The Homestake Mine was the most productive gold mine in the Western Hemisphere before closing in 2002.  Today the mine is the home of the Sandford Underground Research Facility.  It's the deepest underground lab in the US and houses many physics experiments in the areas of dark matter and neutrino research to name a few (mostly because I have no idea what any of the other experiments are)....OK you physicists, this is place for you to research more.  

Two disturbing things:

South Dakota Fatality Markers.  We finally figured out that the "X Marks the Spot" signs are the sites of road deaths.  There are too many of these signs!

The Vore Buffalo Jump.  (We couldn't even visit this site after reading about it).  This is an archeological site today.  It was a huge pit/sink hole that native hunters would use to herd stampeding buffalo into to kill or disable them for butchering. The site was active from 1500 - 1800 AD.  This pit is estimated to contain the remains of 20,000 buffalo.  

Oh Give Me a Home....(sing along!)

....where the Buffalo Roam (or are right next to your car!) and the Deer and Antelope Play!

We traveled through Wyoming and are now in South Dakota.  So beautiful. 
I saw Mount Rushmore 30 years ago, but it was a quick "drive by" on the way to Yellowstone...very glad we visited again. 

We then spent the afternoon in Custer State Park.  Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, beautiful rock tunnels and the Wildlife Loop made it a great drive.

Some fun moments: 

• Wide open spaces driving through Wyoming.  We spent the night in Glendo Wyoming.  Our park was on the edge of a cattle ranch.  Richele had a little stand off with some cows when she was trying to go for a bike ride.  How do YOU get big cows to move out of the way!?
• Who might be the next carving on the Mount....Bob?
• The Crazy Horse Monument.  70 years in the making and not much progress for many many years! 
• The Rafter J Bar campground in Hill City had more wide open spaces (thanks Joanne and Joe).  Great bike trail right through the RV Park too.
• OK, we just couldn't bring ourselves to try Rhubarb wine. 
• And then we had a big Thunderstorm....FYI, You can't hear anything when it's pouring on the RV. A great excuse for "What did you say???"

Colorado Springs

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms!
This was an unexpected really fun day and a half in Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City.

Garden of the Gods

This is 1350 acres of beautiful red sandstone formations.  The land was purchased by Charles Perkins (CEO of the Chicago Burlington Quincy Railroad) in 1879.  After he died in 1909, his family gave the the land to the City of Colorado Springs.  It's been a free park since.

Seven Falls

Seven cascading waterfalls tucked in the Cheyenne Canyon.  185 steps (or and elevator - Bob) to the Eagle's Nest observation deck.  It was a beautiful sunny morning.

The Broadmoor 

Truly a 5 star luxury historic hotel (est 1918) ....I love our RV, but it would have been REALLY nice to stay here.  The grounds are just beautiful!

The US Airforce Academy

I really wanted to see the Cadet Chapel....It was pretty amazing!  Bob, my airforce man, told me ALL about the B52 Bomber!

The Outakes:
Still trying to perfect the selfie, we finally are seeing wildlife....oh, that's because the mobile home park folks down the road are feeding the deer, and did Bob say "your BEARable today honey"!?

Southwest Colorado: Breathtaking!

We spent three beautiful days in Southwestern Colorado. 

Durango

We stayed in this old mining town along the Animas River.   They mined  coal and uranium for the Manhattan Project (that would be 12 million tons for the A Bomb), cute downtown, great bike trail along the River.  San Juan National Forest and Lemon Lake.

The Alpen Rose RV Park

Pretty views, our first lialacs, a dog park and DOG WASH!  Pizza delivery via golf cart to your RV space.

The Million Dollar Highway

This was our little day trip (in the car thank goodness). 70 miles of breathtaking views in the San Juan Mountains between Durango and Ouray.  There were 3 mountain passes (all over 10,000 ft), hairpin turns, white knuckles (yes mine, Bob was driving ).  I found out a little more info on this Highway on www.dangerousroads.com (after the fact).  So the first ski area we saw was called Purgatory....hmmmm...that might have been a sign.

Some Towns along the way!

Silverton

Ouray:  The Switzerland of America

And the Outakes (of course)

Off to Colorado Springs!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

 We left Arizona yesterday.  It was HOT....103 degrees!  And just to say it, it's stressful enough to get this big rig packed for 5 months and get the house closed down...but to do it while sweating like a dog....can you say "tempers flared"!  Even poor Sam was having a tough day.

First Stopover: Gallup, NM

Not particularly a vacation destination spot, but it was about as far as we could travel on our first day.  Thanks to a recommended tip from Paul, we visited El Rancho Hotel and Motel in Gallup.  It opened in 1937 and was the "Home of the Movie Stars" filming in the area.  Ronnie Reagan, Spencer Tracy, Jane Wyman, Katherine Hepburn, Kirk Douglas and tons of others.  I don't think it's been updated much since then....but fun! 

Day 2:  The trip to Durango

• FIRST, to ACE Truck Parts Store.  We had a rear light bulb out (of course we check at the start of every trip).  This was our cheapest RV repair yet!!  $1 .97 for the bulb, free labor from  the ole master mechanic Bob.
• NEXT, travel through northwest rural New Mexico.  Those huge rock formations that spring up from the ground.....fractured volcanic breccia and black dikes of igenous rock called minette  or lamprophyre - WHAT???  Old volcanic rock from 27 million years ago!

CHICAGO Here we come!

Utah National Parks: Arches and Canyonlands

Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park

YIKES!

Richele's first big off road adventure

Helen had her Jeep, Bob left us unsupervised, and we decided to take an adventure.  We traveled from the top of the plateau to the canyon floor.......one VERY narrow one lane gravel road, switchbacks, passing a few trucks by the skin of our teeth, hanging on for dear life, begging Helen to stay in the car.  Beautiful views...but very sweaty palms!

The finish to a great trip we had snow!  Bob and I have successfully avoided snow all winter....but alas it wasn't meant to be!

White out conditions as some would say...

A little more time in the Midwest...before the big drive home.

We were only here for a such short time but we had such fun. 

We had time with those cute little GRANDKIDS:  Gavin, Liam, Lennox, Audrey and Scarlett!!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS at the Palatine High School Homecoming. Richele was a Palatine Pirate and now her nephew Gavin plays in the marching band!  That was such a fun night.

IOWA FOOTBALL at the Iowa Penn/State game.  Heartwarming and Heartbreaking!!!
- Richele and her sister are both Hawkeyes and huge fans!!!  Now Richele's nephew Jack is a Hawkeye and plays in the marching band...THAT BAND ROCKS THE STADIUM!!
- This was the ANF (America Needs Farmers) game..a great way to honor our farmers.
- The University of Iowa Children's hospital overlooks the football field.  At the end of the first quarter, all the fans and players turn to wave to the children watching the game from their rooms...SOOOO heartwarming it makes you cry.
- THEN after such and exciting game, Iowa lost in the last 2 minutes. It was just like a balloon popped. - we all walked away so deflated. SIGH.
- OH and it was 85 degrees with 90% humidity for this night game - UGH - this is not Fall football weather.  We were sweltering!

Richele got her DIY fix (with her willing assistant Bob) repainting Jimmy and Sarah's cabinets at the lake house. Here are some of the BEFORE/DURING AND AFTERS!  We will work for free lodging at your lake house toooo!!

Now we are ready to be home (to the one that's not on wheels). So we're working our back!!!

Northern Michigan.....We just love it!!!

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If you have never been to Northern Michigan, you're missing a little slice of heaven.
 

Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore

Sunrise overlooking Glen Lake from the top of the Dunes....and we made it to the top of the dune!!

GLEN ARBOR....a really quaint little town.  One of our getaway spots for the last 20 years.  Great beaches too.

Write here...

This makes you think twice about heading out on this bike trail!

of course this is the day I'm wearing a gray shirt.  I rode fast!!!

TRAVERSE CITY:  This is a great summer town with so many things to do and see. Lots of breweries and wineries in the area.
 

Grand Traverse Commons

This is the largest re-use project in the country.  The historic 1884 Northern Michigan Asylum complex on 135 acres in Traverse City has been and continues to be transformed:  Shopping in the old underground tunnels of the hospital, senior living apartments, condos, dining, a winery, brewery and an arboretum.  
The Asylum cared for the mentally ill using a compassionate approach for the time, trained nurses and expanded during outbreaks of TB, Typhoid, Influenza and Polio. They host tours and ghost tours (yikes).  This facility didn't close until 1989 and was the largest employer in the Northern Michigan for decades. 

CHARLEVOIX....so picturesque

BAY HARBOR:  They call this the "Pebble Beach of the Midwest".  The marina, the yacht club, the hotel and the homes are so beautiful. OK, so I could live here.

The PETOSKEY RV PARK was pretty nice...clubhouse, tennis court, pool and hot tub for Bob.

Making our way back.....

Despite all our travels in the beautiful Northeastern US and the Eastern Provinces of Canada.....

• 1. We NEVER saw a Moose.....Despite all the warnings!!  
                     I think some of the warning signs in French really translated to...    
                     "there really aren't any moose here - stupid!"
• 2. We NEVER saw a Beaver!  We went to Beaver Creek, Beaver Pond, Beaver Marsh, Beaver Lake, Beaver Trails,  Beaver Stream, Beaver, Beaver, Beaver..........AND the Canadian National Park mascot is a Beaver.  UGH!!!

We finally made it to Michigan and back to the US !!  
We had more car trouble in Ontario and had to have the car towed to a Ford dealer for a new radiator
                     So that was a mess.  
Despite the good exchange rate, everything in Canada was very expensive...so we needed to get back.

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We spent the weekend with VERY dear friends in Whitehall/Montague, Michigan
      - Home of the Worlds Largest Working Weathervane.  
We are on the east coast of Lake Michigan...about have way up the coast. 
We celebrated birthdays, went to Fetch (a great new Brewery), drank lots of good wine, hung out at the beach and had a ton of fun!  
Thank goodness for wonderful friends!

Thousand Islands

This is the group of around 1800 islands in the middle of the St. Lawrence River in between the US and Canada  (its about 1/2 way between Montreal and Toronto).  It's where the rich and famous in the 19th Century built waterfront mansions.  The most famous is Boldt Castle.    It's also the place where Thousand Island dressing was created (or so the story goes).

Boldt Castle

George Boldt (millionaire and owner of the Waldorf Astoria in NYC) started to build a full size rhineland castle as a tribute to the love of his life - his wife.  He started work in 1900 but his wife tragically died in 1904. He stopped work on the castle and never went back to the Island. The unfinished castle sat vacant for 73 years before the Thousand Island Bridge Authority obtained the property, did the rehab and then opened it to the public. The castle is on beautiful grounds, the pictures below show the power house/clock tower, the children's playhouse, and boat house.  Crazy beautiful.

Some of the other island houses

The Boat ride itself was pretty interesting....

• We were buzzed by about 25 racing boats

  • They were heading back after a big race on the St. Lawrence.

• We got buzzed by a helicopter - don't know what that was about

• We saw a pirate ship reenactment  

  • Bob was thrilled

• We were mooned by a speed boat full of guys -

  • Richele was thrilled

• We drove by a bachelorette beach party with scantily clad girls and their giant penis balloon

  • All the boys and men (big boys) on the boat were shouting! 

NOW FOR THE CAMPGROUND (you just never really know what you're getting).  

•  There were 2 weddings with the Cinderella carriage ride through the RV park.

•  It seemed to be some sort of strange bird sanctuary

  • Thank goodness the roosters were far enough away from  our campsite we didn't have to hear all that crowing in the morning.  

  • Now we know that Sam HATES peacocks -  Not sure what that's all about!

  • We have now idea what those big round birds are???  anyone?

Strangest named church

We have seen so many churches in this area.  I guess when the British Loyalists migrated north they brought many different religions and built lots of churches. 

Our Montreal (and beyond) highlights!

We did have some fun in Montreal!!

Basilique Notre-Dame De Montreal

So Beautiful!

Vieux (Old) Montreal 

AND MONT ROYAL: 
a city park (designed by Olmsted) that sits on top of this big hill in the middle of the city...Mont Royal = Montreal. Now we know where the name comes from!

After a few days fighting all the construction delays and heavy traffic, we decided to:

• Spend a day at the Spa Nordique (fluffy robes, massages and amazing hot and cold pools).

• Head out the country: we found a wine route and some small towns to visit.  We loved Magog it's a great town on the Memphremagog lake with it's own sea monster legend). 

We were also hanging out in North Hatley, Quebec
with HILLARY and BILL CLINTON.
OK -  so they obviously didn't know we were here, so we didn't get together... but we were in the same town at the same time.  They must have been resting back at their 5 star resort Manoir Hovey while we were eating lunch. 

Au Revoir to our French speaking province.  We'll miss you Quebec - even though we didn't really get very proficient at French!

CSI Campground...you have got to be kidding me!

Just when I was saying what a nice campground this was.....
We came home today to crime scene tape, police and the coroner.  We're not sure what happened and probably don't want to know.  Luckily we leave tomorrow!  

OK.
YES BOB, maybe we should have gone to the "Naturiste" Campground and
YES MOM, our doors are locked and the shades are down!
GOOD GRIEF.

Our intro to Nudist Campgrounds...WHAT??

On our way to Montreal we see a sign for the Centre Naturiste D.S.A.  Upon further investigation, we find out it's the Family Nudist Campground.  Bob was pretty mad when I told him we WERE NOT staying at the Family Nudist Campground but we were staying at the KOA (which has a new meaning for me - Keep On Attire.)  So now, Bob thinks he is going to be doing all future campground reservations.......Over My Clothed Body! 
I suggested we buy him a little tent and drop him off at the campground with extra sunscreen and bug spray, Sam and I will pick him up later.  

So I had to do a little research on this....

As it turns out there at quite a few Naturist Campsites in Canada and the US!  

• According to the Naturism Directory in Canada:  Naturism (Nudism) was perhaps started by a religious sect called the Doukhobors.  Russian migrants to Western Canada.  The first Naturist club to open in Canada was the Van Tan Club in 1939 in North Vancouver and is still open today. 
• According to SpotNaked.com: Nudism in the US was introduced by German immigrants in the 1930's with the establishment of Sky Farm in New Jersey as the first camp. According to Spot Naked, Nudism is on the rise!  

Forget it Bob!

Quebec City...Bon Jour!!!

Our "European" Vacation in and around Quebec City - C'est Magnifique!

Old Quebec City

* Le Chateau Frontenac
* Cobblestone streets
* Cute shops
* Great cafes
* Amazing flowers (my garden fix) 
* Basilique-Cathedral Notre-Dame
* Les Fete de la Novelle France (to get a taste of the French history in Quebec....and there is a lot of amazing history!) 

Arrrrr Matey!

So Bob hates bag pipes, but has always wanted to be a pirate....he really liked the pirate pistols.

Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre 

This shrine to Saint Anne is the oldest pilgrimage site North of Mexico. It's spectacular and has over a million visitors each year.
It holds a special memory for my Grandmother and Uncle John.

Parc de la Chute-Montmorency

The Chute (falls) is 272 feet tall.  I took the stairs to the top...487 (to be exact) and I "thought" about zip lining across but just couldn't do it.

hmmm...
Wings!!!

If I had these earlier it would have made getting to the top of that waterfall much easier -  and much less much painful the next few days.

Off to Montreal next!

Parlez vous Francias??

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Quebec Province

Richele's high school French isn't helping us all that much right now, but it's starting to come back (a little).  We know we will be speaking fluent French after our 12 days in the province (we hope). Quebec City next, then Montreal.  

Riviere-du-Loup

One of our stopping points before Quebec City. This is a small very hilly city on the St. Lawrence River.  All the church roofs and steeples are shiny silver...they look like they are lit up when the sun hits them. Eglise Saint Patrice, Parc de la Pointe, Parc de Chutes (waterfalls), Le Rocher Malin (This rocky point was the site of a shipwreck and is thought to be haunted), Indian Head painted rock (since 1963 although touched up a few times).

We don't always know what we're driving into when we arrive at our RV parks, but my last 2 selections were quite interesting....a water park, mini golf, kiddie rock climbing wall, rides, Noel au Chateau...and LUCIKLY WE SAVED SAM FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH! 

Prince Edward Island (PEI)....Charlottetown, beaches and farms!

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Charlottetown

The only city on PEI. Very pretty sites: Dunstan's Basilica, City Hall, Victoria Row, Victoria Park, and the harbor.

The PEI National Park is a series of beautiful beach parks along the North coast interspersed with little towns.

• Biked at Blakely Beach

• Lunch in North Rustico

• Visited Anne of Green Gables National Park, Cavendish.

  • I never read this book series when I was young, but based on the attendance at the park these books are VERY popular.  The first book was written in 1908.

Cows

 PEI's famous ice  cream (the name is Cows) and it's made on the Island.

MORE COWS!!!!   The entire interior of PEI is beautiful farmland...reminds us Wisconsin.

Best sign of the trip so far..

We're working very hard not to be kidnapped!!

Bye PEI

Crossing the Confederation Bridge back to New Brunswick.  It's the world's largest bridge over icy waters.  8 miles long!! Opened May 1997 and is the only "fixed link" to the island...all other access is Ferry.

We missed the boat...

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no really.

It was close....we had to wait 2 hours until the next ferry...But we're on RV time...right?? NOT

It still amazes us that these ferries can load all these cars and trucks.  (Although we did reflect on the Poseidon Adventure for a few minutes. )

The town of Baddeck

Before we left Nova Scotia for Prince Edward Island....We spent time in Baddeck: so quaint and the home of the Alexander Graham Bell.

 Alexander Graham Bell: Scottish born scientist, inventor and engineer:  the telephone, committed to communication for the deaf with electronic speech (his wife was deaf as a child after Scarlet Fever), loved kites which drove his interest in aeronautics, invented the hydroplane and loved his grandchildren. (For more specific information please email Bob :))

SOME OUT TAKES....it's not always easy taking pictures ya know.....

Prince Edward Island (PEI)....here we come... finally!

The Cabot Trail - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

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We're now on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.  It's the home of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the famous Cabot Trail (which is 186km long and windy drive around the tip of Cape Breton). On the day long drive (in our car with Sam) we saw beautiful sights, found a great place for lunch outside, hit a lot of construction, and even found some skinny dippers in what is some VERY cold water.  Unfortunately you can't blow up the pictures...oh, but they're there!

Views from the Trail

There are a few other gems too!  The local gun range (where I guess the target is the entrance sign, the moose hunters house (I guess it's why we haven't seen any moose yet), and the sign we NEVER want to see at our campground! 

An thanks to Pine Acres RV Service Center

They squeezed us in to fix our roof....if they couldn't fix it, we were going to trade our RV for this little number on the lot.

Off to explore!!

More of Nova Scotia....BEAUTIFUL!!

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The Halifax Harbor and Boardwalk

Peggy's Cove

A quaint (and still active) fishing village.

Mahone Bay!

An adorable coastal town on the northern edge of the bay.  

Lunenberg

Est 1753. A historic coastal community which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's the best surviving planned British colonial town in North America.

A little Bob Lobster humor