Rolling Hills of I90

     After 1600 miles from our starting point in Florida, we were ready to tackle the last 350 miles and land in our vacation spot of Rapid City, SD for the rest of the summer.  This leg of the journey turned out to be a beautiful ride with rolling hills of prairie grasses, baled hay, and many horses and cows.  We had anticipated it to be a long drawn out ride from the East side of South Dakota to the very West side, especially after all the days we had already been on the road.

     We were absolutely positively right!!  During those very long 350 miles of barren road the lil one and I started making up games with the road signs.  Of course, they were all variations of ‘I Spy’ in one way or another.  I’ll tell ya, you can get to know someone when you go on a road trip with them; but if you want to REALLY get to know them, go on a VERY LONG road trip with them.  Don’t get me wrong, I knew my lil one to a tee, but our lil one doesn’t know how our lives were growing up; you should see the eyes light up and the smile we get.  We hear “Really?” quiet often as we tell stories of our childhoods.

     This seemed to go on for hours, there were only so many times you could listen to your favorite cd’s and belt out the parts that we knew without a care in the world.  Zooming along America’s Interstates with the wind in your hair, the sun on your face and one of your most favorite people on the Earth riding along by your side; headed to a whole new adventure for the summer; life couldn’t get any sweeter.

     We were going along at a pretty good speed and all of a sudden we would hit a slow incline that seemed to go up and up forever.  These rolling hills were a pain, ol’Blue didn’t like this one bit; we would go from 65 mph to 40 mph in a heartbeat.  Our mantra became “Slow and Steady, Slow and Steady”; after a while “Oh great! Another one!” became the lil one’s favorite reply to the steep hills we were climbing.  I personally can’t tell you how many times I prayed that day, hoping one of the 18 or 4 wheelers wouldn’t ram right into my tailpipe when we were forced to slow for the steeper grades, but we survived and ol’Blue was a trooper.

"Gas now, Or gas can later."

     We learned that gas stations were very few and very far between.  If we were on our second tank and came across a gas station, we were stopping and topping off, no matter what.  You just never knew exactly how far and how many long slow diesel burning hills there were between you and the next truck stop. 

     It wasn’t too long before we started seeing signs for Wall Drug.  I don’t mean every 100 miles you see a sign, I mean every 3-5 miles you see a sign.  I only wish I had taken more pictures of the signs.  We could tell when we were getting closer; it was like all the signs for Disney when we turned onto Epcot Center Dr., if you can imagine that.  Only about a 100 more miles to go and we would be there, to Wall Drug that is; we still had a ways to go before landing in the Black Hills.

         

     Soon enough, there was an 80 ft. dinosaur sticking his head over the very distant horizon.  It didn’t take long before the exit in front of the giant green 80 ft. brachiosaurus came into view and the lil one’s eyes lit up again; we were getting good at getting this reaction. 

     We had landed at Wall Drug, one of the many unplanned, unexpected stops that almost always go along with road trips.  They had RV parking; it was cool enough to leave the dog in the fifth wheel and go enjoy lunch and just being a tourist for a few hours.  I was looking forward to stretching the legs and filling our bellies, not to mention pump a little bit more knowledge into the lil one’s brain.

Until next time....

Sticking Our Toes in the Falls

Sticking Our Toes in the Falls

     After a short trip through Sioux Falls we arrived at the waterfalls the town is known and named for.  We pulled up to a beautiful park with rolling lush green hills leading down to the river, everywhere in the park were huge outcroppings of rocks.  There were walking and biking paths all over the park.  It just so happened that the time of year that we visited Falls Park, the water level was really low; not surprising after a record drought the year before.

      

     After a look around this massive, beautiful park, we quickly decided to make our way to the river’s edge.  Knowing we may not be back in this area for years, I just had to get pictures of the lil one sticking the feets in the cold, chilly waters of Sioux Falls.  With the water levels down it wasn’t hard to hopscotch across the individual falls to explore all the pools created.

      

     After exploring every one of the Falls that we could easily get to, we began the hike around the park to see what else it had to offer.  Across the river, there was an old hydraulic plant turned café, being the off season for tourist, it was closed.  Just next to this was the Queen Bee Mill, long ago closed, but a beautiful structure in itself.

     

     Our next stop in the park was the five story viewing tower and visitor center, as we glanced around we saw a busload of kids running toward the entrance. Me being me, I quickly closed the elevator doors to beat them to the top, there was no way I was going to be locked in an elevator with 10 screaming kids that weren’t ours.  Upon exiting the elevator we were met with a 360˚ view of Falls Park that was absolutely breathtaking.  Imagine gentle rolling slopes with the greenest grass, a few beautiful rocks placed here and there; not to mention the meandering Big Sioux River cascading over multiple waterfalls.  In my eyes it is one of many gorgeous sites placed here by our Creator.

     

     We went back down by the stairs this time, the lil one’s choice, and stopped in at the gift shop.  If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for a clearance rack; and they had one!  The lil one and I both found souvenirs, a stuffed husky pup and a Sioux Falls T-shirt.  After talking with the sweet ladies running the shop we found out that they offered a free trolley ride through downtown.  Free!! Yep we were in line for that.

     

     The trolley driver was very knowledgeable about the town and area, we even got a history lesson as we waited, the lil one soaking up every word.  We only had a few minutes to wait and we were off on another adventure.  The ride was pleasant, a little bumpy; I’ve found that in the colder climates it is a lot harder to keep the roadways maintained. 

      

     They have bronze statues EVERYWHERE we’ve been, not really understanding why at the moment but they are neat to look at.  If you take the time to read each plaque attached you will actually learn a few things along the way.  There was even a building named after the lil one, had the first name we chose right on the side of the building; of course we had to point this out, boy did that bring out a smile.

     

     Before we knew it, it was time to get back to the fifth wheel and prepare our meal for the evening, take the dog out, showers and some quiet time.  Knowing that we may not be back for a few years I’m glad we got to see the highlights and stick our toes in Sioux Falls.  It turned out to be a very relaxing weekend before hitting the road again, this time headed from the east of SD to the west side of the state; Rapid City and the Black Hills being our next destination.

Until next time…..

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.  ~Robert Orben

A Day in the Life of a Tourist

     After a very short 7 hours of blissful sleep (being a mommy I can always use more ZZZ’s), we were ready to pack a lunch and tackle the plans we had made for the day.  The first stop was the front office to get a complimentary city map of Sioux Falls to see what all may be along the way to add to our list of things to do and see.  Lunch and drinks in the cooler, dog taken for a walk and we were loaded up and looking for new adventures.

We made it to the Zoo pretty easy; Sioux Falls was not too hard to navigate, not as big as some cities we’ve been in but not as small as some of our favorite towns either.  The lil one was super excited, we were about to add another zoo to our list of the zoos around the country that we have visited, we’re secretly trying to see them ALL! 

     Once inside the gates the very first attraction to greet us was a walk-around museum of extinct animals with podiums of knowledge, where we could hear what they used to sound like. The lil one really enjoyed this part but was also very sad that man had taken so much of Mother Earth that we had hunted and driven these species to extinction, as I’ve said before, every step we take in life there is a lesson behind it.  We have accomplished one of our goals, instilling a love and respect of animals, Mother Earth and life for every soul, be it homosapien or any other species on our planet.  Unless it is to be eaten it is NOT to be killed; unless for protection, of course.

     We quickly went through the flamingos, alligators, lions, tigers and bears, as we had seen them on a weekly basis while living in Florida in sticks and bricks.  They were working on several exhibits while we were there, never fails it is always our favorite animal enclosures that are being worked on, like the monkeys.  We did get to see a huge Galapagos turtle, something Jacksonville didn’t have.  The wild dogs, bison and pronghorns were pretty neat, but we were also looking forward to seeing wild bison farther west.

one of the many many photo ops they had

     

     I would have to say that the favorite part of this particular zoo was the Hy-Vee Face-to-Face Farm.  In here we could buy feed to feed the goats, my favorite being the smaller pygmy goats.  We could crawl through a tunnel to a turtle dome and view them at ground level, all of this was very exciting for the lil one, all we had done previously was feed a giraffe and stingrays in Jax.  They even had a statue of a cow with utters to learn the art of milking a cow, of course we had to show the lil one how, as me and daddy grew up on farms. 

     They had a ton of other activities to do here, the thing is, we’ve already done most of these at other zoos so we are picky on what we spend our time seeing.  We tend to skip what we’ve already seen and head straight to the new sights to expand the ever-growing mind we created.  There was a mining sluice where you could buy a bag of dirt, wash it and see what gems you were left with; knowing we were going farther into gold country, we saved the money opting to do some real sluicing in a creek in the mountains.  What zoo wouldn’t be complete without the carrasoul, camel and train rides? Yep they had those too, but once again, we had already experienced those. 

     We saw all we could see here before heading to a picnic table to rest for a bit and refuel the bodies.  Soon we said goodbye to all the habitants of the Great Plains Zoo and were zooming down the road again on to the next attraction, Falls Park.

Until Next Time…..

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  ~Seneca

Chocolate Delusions

     I had made reservations at a Jellystone Park, as these were the lil one’s favorite after staying at one in Texas on a weekend camping trip in a tent during the summer.  We were expecting to stay busy with all their activities the campground normally plans, for the busy travel season.  When making these plans we had visions of sitting in the hot tub, bouncing on the pillow, playing putt-putt, evening hayrides meeting the neighbors; and on special weekends zooming down a CHOCOLATE slip-n-slide, who wouldn’t love THAT?!?! 

     

     We couldn’t wait to get there and when we did, boy what a surprise it was. The date being 2 weeks prior to Memorial day never dawned on me until that moment.  Our being new to RV’ing is what I’ll blame this one on, you see Memorial Day is the day when most campgrounds kick off their Summer activities, and not a day earlier.  If you’re thinking ‘What could go wrong now?’, well thank you for paying attention and noticing that we very often seem to have some of the worst luck possible. 

      

    

      We pulled in and the first thing in our vision is of course the big Yogi Bear photo op statue with nothing but a drained pool that is being repaired behind it.  We looked around and the bouncing pillow was deflated, the golf course was closed, the hot tub was also drained; nothing like we have envisioned for our first weekend in South Dakota.  While getting checked in they did let us know that on request we could get the bouncing pillow blown up in a matter of minutes if the lil one wanted, that made the day a little brighter, but the hot tub was out of the question.

     

     It didn’t take too long to set up, knowing it was only going to be a weekend stay, I knew what needed to be unpacked and what we could live without.  My dream is to eventually get the whole rig down to only the things we can’t live without, and that is why I call it a dream, forever out of my reach.  Learning that the park was not operating at 100% we had to plan the day, actually plan the day; Yogi wouldn’t be hosting crafting hour and puppet shows this weekend to entertain the lil one.  Us being us, the tourists that we are, this wasn’t very hard to do.  The locals suggested going to Falls Park to see the waterfalls Sioux Falls is famous for, the Great Plains Zoo was close by, open, and it was a nice day outside; seems tomorrow was planned in a matter of minutes.

   

     After getting the dog walked and the bellies full, we settled in for the night.  Being that we were still in the ‘off-season’ the park was empty and very quiet, it made for very peaceful rest.  This is the double edged sword you walk choosing where to stay and what season to be there in.  For all the fun family activities, the squeals/screams of kids as they play well beyond dark around the blazing campfire as the parents move onto their liquid diet, you have to put up with people all around, all the time.  For the peace, quiet and solitude on the side of a lake with only 3 kids total in the whole campground that have bedtimes, you have to get off the beaten path, as the lil one’s parents like to do.  The parents just don’t always get their wish and we have to visit these tourist traps every now and then to keep the tranquility.

Until Next Time…..

When using a public campground, a tuba placed on your picnic table will keep the campsites on either side vacant.  ~Author Unknown

A Brighter Day

     We awoke to a beautimus day, the whole landscape looked as though it had been scrubbed clean by the storm the previous evening.   By the looks of it, we must have gotten more rain than expected, no complaints here though!  A quick look around and we found our first victims of the morning, the closest convenience store with piping hot COFFEE!!  After a quick java and lottery ticket run (a bad habit I have acquired after 1^st leaving Bama), I was making us a healthier~than~eating~out breakfast, I’m getting really good at doing one pot dishes while on the road.  This way I didn’t have to worry about doing the dishes at that moment with no water and I wouldn’t have a stack of dirty ones waiting on me when we landed in the new spot, saves me a ton of headaches.

  

We were ready to hit the road and realized we needed to scratch off the tickets before crossing into another state. We won; only a few dollars, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, or so I’ve always been told.  I took the winning ticket in and traded it for more, it was a winner too!! After a total of 3 trips to the store, more tickets and few extra dollars, I was done playing when the winning stopped.

      

     Around 9 or so we were pulling onto the Interstate again, heading north towards Omaha, but never crossing the Nebraska line.  The day was a wonderful carefree day as we puttered along through the great Midwest, always looking for the new sights just over the next hill.  The lil one and I listen and sing along to all sorts of music, the playlist is open to anything from Alan Jackson to Zeppelin and everything in between.

      

   

     The lil one has come up with all sorts of traveling games that tie in with the home schooling, it changes with the moods.  Some days we’re looking for numbers and shapes, other days we’re counting how many of the ABC’s we can find.  This was a lot of fun when in the south but much harder the farther north we go as the road signs are fewer and farther in between, like the gas stations.  We’ve tried the color~of~the~next~car game to no avail, there are just too many cars and trucks on our highways and Interstates. If the lil one wanted to, a ride with daddy is always possible, the choice is just always made to ride with mommy, who has the A/C and music; daddy gets the dog for company on these long hours.

      

     After many hours on the road, a total of almost 50 we finally landed in Sioux Falls, SD.  Normally this trip would take approximately 26 hours, we call this ripple in the time continuum ‘RV Time’, it is approximately double the normal time a trip should take a normal family driving a normal vehicle.  With us ALWAYS passing thru these unseen ripples I have learned to just double the amount of time estimated, we’re usually not far off, unless of course we’re a day or MORE, later than planned.

Until next time…..

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.  ~Lao Tzu

One More Day on the Road

     The time had come for those dreadful ‘good-byes’, yet again, amazingly we were getting better at these too; although it was a little harder this time as we didn’t know when we would be passing thru North Alabama again.  After many hugs and quite a few tears, the cousins had a sorrowful moment of realization, not knowing when they’d see each other again, but always knowing the cell phones would be in range, we hoped.  A few last minute checks and we were on our way, continuing on our journey to see what is over the next hill and around the  bend, never knowing exactly what is in store for us when we get there;  sometimes never really knowing where ‘there’ is until we’re there.

     

     This journey was to take us up to the Black Hills area of South Dakota to explore the splendor of the hills (ya’ll know they was mountains to me, coming from bama ) and show the lil one a little Sioux heritage while there.   Everything went good for the first leg of this trip, we made it uneventfully (when traveling this is almost always the way you’d rather land somewhere, uneventfully) to Perryville, MO.  Surprisingly something happened on this trip, something that hasn't happened often. I had looked up the campground, planned our route, we left almost on time and we made it to the RV park before they closed for  the night; the moons don’t always align like this while traveling, but I was grateful they did this time.  It felt good to finally have an easy trip under our belt and give us a taste for the way it can be, you know, with no flat tires every few hundred miles, no running out of gas, no troubles; we felt as if we were finally doing this right after a year of trial runs.

                                  

   

     We stayed at Perryville Campground while in Missouri, the whole park was very shaded, and it would be heaven on those hot summer days of August, although hell for anyone with slides, our first spot wouldn’t allow us to slide out on both sides of the fifth wheel.  It had a small playground that was in need of attention but other than that it was a great one-night lay-over spot.  It didn’t take long to get ready to go in the morning as we hadn’t fully unpacked and spread out, on the road again before noon, headed to somewhere in Nebraska, that was to be determined later in the day.

      

     We went along at a good pace winding north along I55 towards St. Louis, taking the outer loop so as to avoid possible heavy traffic that usually accompanies bigger cities.  We made it through what in my mind was going to be a treacherous few miles as we wound through rush hour traffic, but all went well, once again for us.  After the interchange to start heading west on I70 it got really boring and monotonous.  
    We made it through, or around, Kansas City, MO, and onto I29, kissing the Nebraska state line.  Our eyes were steadily going to the weather apps on the sometimes not so trusty cell phones, not knowing how far we had until we hit the storm ahead, we pushed forward; I was always told to never go straight ahead, go forward---- you may hit something.

      

     It wasn’t long before we started seeing a spectacular light show in the darkening skies ahead of us.  At this point we were beginning to ponder how far we could actually go if the storm didn’t settle, the gas tank made that decision for us.  Yep, the F350 was getting close to that ¼ tank mark, the mark that told us to get fuel or it would die soon, very soon.  As our luck goes, if you followed me this far, there were no gas stations with diesel open at that hour.  The lil one and I took the Ranger off the Interstate on the hunt for fuel, it didn’t take long to find one, they graciously leave their pumps cut on at night just for travelers like us.  We had just enough monies left on the card to get at least one tank of fuel, that would have to be enough.

      

     As we’re pumping the diesel, we are once again checking the weather radar, and deciding to find somewhere close to spend the night.  If the radar was correct, we would be just south of the worst of the storms; looking to the skies and watching the lightning show Mother Nature was giving us we knew it was bad ahead of us.  We circled the local truck stop and quickly decided this was not the place to sleep, I’ve found the noise of the trucks running all through the night makes for very shallow sleep for mommy and in turn a grumpy tomorrow.

     

this is a similar view we had when we decided to stop for the night, didn't get to take my own shot, had to borrow one

     Firework stands are great in the Midwest; they are HUGE, with big enough parking lots to comfortably fit our rig and a couple of 18 wheelers in.  This was our spot for the night to ride the storm out, if it came farther south than predicted.  The hubby made sure to face the truck and fifth wheel nose first into the storms, just in case the winds picked up.  It turned out not to be that bad of a night, we got a good soaker, but when is that not ever welcome? When we awoke we had but only a few things on our minds, coffee, food and heading on towards South Dakota, but that will have to wait...

Until next time……

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel's sake.  The great affair is to move.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Extended Stay

     

     After pitching my conniption fit while getting parked with no more parts falling off, hugs were passed all around and we began the process of unpacking our home, sliding everything out, untying and unloading the bikes, grill and such.  We were scheduled to be here for the next 2-3 days before venturing out west for a few years, so we unpacked just about everything; we had to, so we could reach the tools and parts to fix the plumbing. When we were finally settled on the front porch of the sis’s with our sweet tea in hand, we were told of a benefit being held for one of the nieces in a week. It didn’t take long to decide to stay that much longer, if it was okay to stay parked at their house; being the wonderful couple they are, they let us do just that.

     

     Later that evening my mind went to work on what we could do to help, my eyes wandered to the walls of the fifth wheel at the canvases I had carefully laid paint upon. The hubby and I decided on one to donate together, you would think I could do this part on my own but he had a few he was emotionally tied to and there is no way he’ll give those up. With the sis running around like a very calm chicken with its head cut off gathering and organizing the big event, we felt we needed to pitch in where ever possible.  Quite frankly, she had it all handled pretty well, the only place help could’ve been used was babysitting, although in all honesty she had that handled too, I was looking for an excuse to get to know the little man that was quickly stealing my heart.  We spent the days playing in the yard, exploring nature and letting him teach us all about his prized and favorite animals, which incidentally is every single animal on the planet.

     

     In the mornings we would have breakfast, line out where everyone would be for the day and then play, and paint, play and then paint some more; I had decided to try and get a couple of small canvasses done while there to add to the growing pile of donations.  Some people may see these mundane trips back home as boring, but to us, they are the trips of all trips. You see, on these trips we get to actually see and hug our loved ones, meet all the new additions to the ever growing family, and most importantly we have babysitters for some much needed mommy and daddy time.  I wouldn’t trade any of the days we’ve been able to spend with family for anything in the world.

      

     After everyone else made a lot of trips to town to gather donations and supplies (I stayed at home as much as possible), she checked her list, twice, and got everything in place. The big day was quickly upon us, the family and friends really pulled together on this one! The benefit went off without a hitch; a ton of chicken stew was boiling away, dogs were steadily coming off the grill, and the band did a great job keeping everyone entertained; all while the cash register and donation jars filled up.  What a blessing it was to see such a big turnout to help such a beautiful young woman and mother.

     

     A day on the water filling your belly, dancing, and family will wear you out pretty quick. After the auction, a chicken drop with an unfed chicken, many bowls of stew and home made cookies, it was eventually time to get the little ones home and in bed so the adults could keep on partying, gathering donations and dancing the night away.  With me being such an early riser it wasn’t hard to volunteer to go home with the kiddos and snuggle up for the night, as worn out as they were all the kids were asleep before they hit the pillows without even begging for one last drink or snack.

     

     Our 2-3 day trip turned into a weeklong stay instead, our plans were to be in South Dakota 3-4 days earlier, but I don’t think the Black Hills minded us being a week late to see their splendor.  This is one of the very reasons we had decided to become full-timers and the fact that you can change your seasons and neighbors any time you want to.

Until next time…..

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.  ~Barbara Bush