The Blackhills of South Dakota .... Riders Paradise

July 12/2014 Saturday Beautiful sunny warm day 82, night in the 60's.  Another T Storm late afternoon.  We seem to be timing it just right and heading out early since and just in when the thunderstorms hit.  This is the 3rd day in a row.   Our stay here is in Rapid City at Rushmore Shadows RV Resort.  It's a good campground for location to do all the riding in this area. 

There are motorcycles on every turn and bend, it really is a riders paradise.

Spearfish Canyon

along Spearfish Canyon

The 180 mile loop today took us to Hill City then north to Lead and Spearfish Canyon then around to the famous gold mining town of Deadwood (I am hooked on the TV HBO series of Deadwood, it brings Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Sheriff Seth Bullock to life)

main street in Deadwood

and on to Sturgis where the infamous Biker Rally has been held for over 70 years now, then south back to Rapid City.

Rosey trying to read the map to find our way back to the campground

Only 1 drink  - promise :)

Pigtails and Presidents - Iron Mtn Rd & Mt Rushmore & Custer State Park

Friday July 11/2014   Hot 87, T Storm late afternoon, then cool at night 65.
It is Mountain Time here so we are 2 hours behind our body clock from Ontario.  We were up at 6:11 am this morning.  And that felt like we were sleeping in!!!!
Oh well it was bright and sunny and warm.  By 8 am we were on the bike and ready to ride The Black Hills.  Appropriately named for the colour of the cedar trees.

We chose to take one of the most scenic loops in America.  Mount Rushmore is so impressive. WOW.  Carved in granite from 1927 to 1941.  We had went in and toured it before so today we just road by but it is one of our favourite attractions, you really have to see it.

the presidents

There are picturesque lakes, towering granite formations, six picture-perfect tunnels, tight hairpin curves, spiral “pigtail” bridges, and the wildlife ranges of Norbeck Wildlife Preserve, Black Elk National Wilderness Area and Custer State Park.  We encountered steep grades, sharp curves and tunnels with height and width restrictions definitely not a place for a motorhome!

8ft tunnel - must honk horn before entering

pigtail bridges - the road winds around itself

You can expect a traffic jam here caused by tourists watching a herd of buffalo, or burro, deer or mountain goat.  We stopped for the jam and got caught in the middle of the buffalo.

in the distance that brown line is a herd of buffalo

now right in front of our bike

Phew good thing we had our windshield on, that made us feel very safe!  Ha ha.  "Billy don't move"........ here they come right at the bike.  So many young.  We shut off the bike as we heard the Bulls do not like the noise.  Yikes!

Wall Drug Signs - South Dakota Interstate 90W

July 10/2014  70's to 80's today, low in 60's; Thunderstorm when we pulled into our campground at 2:30.

Anyone that has ever drove West or East on Interstate 90 can tell you about the marketing job that the little town of Wall Drug has accomplished.   We saw the first sign just inside the South Dakota border from Minnesota.   It said "Wall Drug 366 miles".   Then a few miles down the road we saw another sign.  And so on and and so on.  If you come anywhere close to the Black Hills you will be so curious that you simply must stop.   The mind just won't let it go.   I once was told by someone that the farthest sign was in Japan.    Really?  I think he was pulling my leg.   But I have to admit.  It's effective.

Wisconsin & Minnesota

July 8, 9/2014

barn quilt

Weather has been cool, in the 70's and 50's and rain at night.  Actually great for traveling and camping.    Today started in the 70's and as we drove west it ended up in the 80's.  We are actually headed into a heat wave in the Rockies (high 80's) according to the weather network..... 
Even the travel days are fun:)  Of course it doesn't take much to make us happy.
Wisconsin is a pretty state to drive through.  We headed south towards Green Bay then cut across due west to hook into interstate 90.  Hilly and lush scenery.  The farmers all have silo's with their barns.   Lots of dairy and yes Wisconsin Cheese.  I think it's the best in the USA.  Tuesday night we stayed in Tomah at Oakdale KOA. 

Now depending where you are in Minnesota the scenery changes.... there are 15,000 lakes and the northern area is trees and rock and lakes.  Paul Bunyan country.  Sadly we did not make it there this time.  Put that on the bucket list.   We went across the southern end which is pretty around the Mississippi River but as you head west it is known as the plains so it is basically flat farming land.  Tonight we are staying just inside the South Dakota border at Sioux Falls KOA.   The cool thing that we were chatting about all day today was the John Sanford novels that feature Virgil Flowers from Minnesota.  

Virgil Flowers based in Minnesota

We have read about 6 of them just recently and they all take place in remote places in the state.  (Detective stories - we rate 4 out of 5)   As we drove I found them on the map.  Of course Virgil has a favorite beer brewed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin - Leinies  Leinenkugel's.   When we stopped for gas guess what I brought back to the RV????  

Wagon Train West - Michigan

July 6 & 7, 2014
We are thrilled to be on the road again.  This is our 3rd full time anniversary (36 months, 1080 days)  - and it's easy to remember cause it's time to pay the Motorhome insurance.  Honestly we are still pinching ourselves everyday cause we are so lucky we both love this life.
The goal this summer is to see the Rocky Mountains in the USA and Canada and end up along the California coast before we warehouse the RV and fly back to Ontario.
Looking at the map the logical way out west is across from Detroit and run the bottom of Chicago.  HOWEVER,,,,, yes that is a big however!   We have made several trips to Iowa and there has never been a good time to drive through Chicago, between the traffic and construction.  So my brother had the ingenious idea that we should take Interstate 75 north through Michigan and cross at the Mackinaw Bridge then turn left.  Brilliant.   So that is what we did.  Good for us heading north on Interstate 75 and bad for those coming back from the July 4th weekend.  Never have we seen such a bad traffic jam going southbound, back from cottage country.  From Saginaw up it was stop and go and mostly stopped for 60 miles.  It was the worst traffic jam we have ever seen in 3 years on the road.
Our ride north was fine and our first stop was in Mackinaw City at the KOA.   Nice campground for the night. 

Mackinaw Bridge

Then taking the 5th longest suspension bridge in the world the  Mighty Mack Bridge into the "UP"  Upper Peninsula. 

entering the U P - excellent share the road motorcycle sign

This would be a beautiful place to stay for a week, we have done this on the bike previously so it is still on the list to come back in the motorhome.  Lots of motorcycles and campers on the road.  Summer season is here.

View from the motorhome on Hwy 2

The ride along Lake Michigan on Hwy 2 was very scenic with many miles along the coast of Lake Michigan.  The road is often 3 lanes and has big wide shoulders so it was great with the motorhome.  The second night we are staying in Iron Mountain, an old mining town just on the edge of Michigan and Wisconsin.  Cute little campground called Summer Breeze.
If you like going under ground you can visit the mine and they will take you 400 feet into the Iron Mines.

But Billy and I are above ground people you might say,,,,,,,,   We prefer to keep our feet in the sun.  :)

Washing and Weighing the Rig

We've only been on the road for a few years with one major item yet to be checked off the "to do" list ~ weighing our Rig.  

My brother is a trucker so he is constantly on weigh scales and when he purchased his motorhome the first thing he did was weigh it,,,, in fact he probably did it on the drive home!   So it has been a standing rib between him and Billy every time they talk the question comes up "so did you weigh your bus yet?"     On our trip home this winter we actually were fueling up and saw an open CAT Scale sitting in front of us and said it must be an omen, let's weigh this thing.   Billy pulled on and I went in to pick up the weigh receipt.   It was close to what we thought it would be - front axle was 10,500 lbs, rear axle 20,800 lbs, trailer axle 2,240 lbs.   33,560 lbs.     We are planning on a trip west this summer and will be putting new tires on before we go and with that in mind the articles tell you before you start talking tires and tire pressures you should know your weights.   So we sent a picture to my brother and said "guess what you can't bug us anymore!"

It seems like when we do come back to the area we have so many errands and appointments for ourselves and assisting my Mom on the farm that the days fly by without taking care of simple day to day on our motorhome.   When traveling we are usually washing the RV from top to bottom at a minimum 1 x per month.   Depending on where we are and the weather and pollen and salt it could be 2 x a month.    I always am the roof girl.   In a park one time I had a lady yelling at me to "get down,,,,, before my husband sees you!"   Ha, Ha.  First time couple times I was tentative but now I am used to it, still I stay away from the edges and always wear my boat shoes for extra grip on water.   Highly recommended.   With the two of us it takes about 3 hours and that includes drying all the sides and windows.   Oh yes,,,, just like when you chamois the car.   We use a chamois but also found this very handy tool that attaches to any broom handle called a California Water Blade.   It is super pliable and does not harm or scratch the paint.   Wipes the water beads right off. 

Now with some of the jobs out of the way back to researching and planning the trip.   Found some great guides - State Parks, National Parks and Army Corp of Engineering.

Slow way home

Weather Very Cool for spring, nights high 30's/low 40's

Time to get out the electric blanket again. 

Day by day we move to the next state.  Wednesday we stopped in Chattanooga Tennessee at Holiday Travel Park.

Trees were flowering and by night the place was full of Ontario, Ohio and Michigan plates.  Everyone is headed north..... Slowly.   Thursday we stopped in Georgetown, Kentucky at Whispering Hills campground.  This place is reminiscent to us.  This is the first place we stayed 3 years ago our first day out.  Wow !!! 3 years.  And we still pinch ourselves thinking we are so lucky to be doing this.
Friday we moved along to Wapakoneta KOA.   There were many Ontario plates again this night.   With only a few hundred miles to home, I guess we are all just slowly going back to the cold country.   So Saturday will be our crossover day, it only took 6 days to get from Florida to Ontario!  

Whoa hold up!

April 15/14 weather taking a severe cold turn!!! Frost warning down to Atlanta!! Snow hit the Great lakes overnight.

We jumped thru Atlanta this morning with no problems however the wind was blustery and made driving miserable.  We stopped for fuel and found that we should keep it a very short day.  We will drive an hour north of Atlanta and call it a day.  Stopped at Cartersville KOA.  Gusts of wind were pushing 39 mph!!!

Scary emails came in from all our northern based friends.  Pictures worth a thousand words!!!  4 inches of snow at home and a record low of. 20 f predicted.   Think we will wait another day.  Lol.   Not sure we want to push snow with our RV!

Georgia has burst into blossoms; the Dogwoods are beautiful.

Sad time ... Time to head north

April 14/14 weather - rain storm coming but warm and humid, followed by a cold front with winds

Trying to decide which route to take to Ontario will be solely based on the weather forecast. Looks like I75 has a better travel forecast right now.   We have 7 days left before our extended health care runs out so we must venture slowly north.  It appears that another extreme cold front is making its way to the Great Lakes so we need to be careful on not getting too far north and hitting frost zones during the night.  An hour is tolerable but we want to avoid 4 to 5 hours of freezing temperatures in a row.   So we will move from St. Augustine, Florida to just south of Atlanta, Georgia the first day.  This sets us up for a good time the following day to take the 285 west bypass about 10ish in the morning. 

Staying at KOA Forsyth, Georgia.  We like the KOA's when we are in transit.  They always have big pull thrus with easy ins and outs.  Bonus: after check in  brought us complementary warm baked chocolate chip cookies!!!

Family Time in St. Augustine

April 7- 14/14 weather very warm beautiful week

Venturing up the Atlantic coast we are camped on Anastasia Island at the St. Augustine Beach KOA. It's not the nicest park but it has a great location for us to see our family. Calea, Kevin and Iyla rented a house for the week with Bruce and Verconica coming in from Scotland.  

On April 13 Calea and Kevin are participating in the IronMan 70.3 in Haines City.  Phew; we get enough exercise just trying to imagine it!

Time flys by when you are visiting everyday and playing tourist too!!!

Stray hound !!!

Every so often you see things that make you laugh... Rvers have a sense of humour with their campers.  

We were having coffee outside this morning as we watched this big old bus leave.  Check out the sign above the windshield!!!

Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Atlantis Space Shuttle, Apollo/Saturn V

Weather  this weekend April 4, 5, 6 - hot hot hot! 

Apollo 13 Space Capsule

Finally the snowbirds in Florida are heading north, and there are some campsites opening up.   We rode the other day with some new bike friends and she said due to the average age of the feathered flyers the nickname should be snowbuzzards not snowbirds.   Ha Ha.   Thought that was kind of funny.  So we found a site for the weekend in Mims at Seasons in the Sun RV Resort which is about a half hour away from the Visitors Complex for Kennedy Space Center.

Rocket Garden

Do you have any interest in space flights to the Moon?  Remember Lost in Space on TV when we were kids? Space Station? Space Shuttle? Hubble Telescope?  Space Capsules?  You can see it all at KSC in Titusville, Florida.

Atlantis Space Shuttle with the Canada Arm

Then this is a day for you.   We came early in the morning and spent all day, walking out at 5:30 and still not able to see it all.   Well worth the time and money if you get a chance. 

Tip:   take the extra tour bus to an up close look at the entire NASA grounds which include the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Vehicle Movers, the Launch Pads, and Headquarters.

Lunar rover

The United States has spent Billions of $'s in exploring Outer Space and they continue to as well.  

Apollo/Saturn V

Seeing the Apollo/Saturn V display and Atlantis Space Shuttle and the enormity of the complex it starts to sink in.   The first launches to the moon in 1969 and all through the 1970's  ....... Those astronauts were a "brave beyond belief" when you stand beside the rockets and space capsules.  They look so archaic.   Then came flying to the moon and returning in the same space ship!!!!  However; even the Space Shuttles have had 2 disasters, the Challenger in 1986 during launch and Discover in 2003 during reentry of earths atmosphere.  So the bravery continues.  Remember when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon?   We were glued to the TV, amazed.  Now it seems that these enormous space ships launch and astronauts stay up in the space station and we kind of pass it by and don't even stop and think about how incredible it is?????    AMAZING

shuttle rockets + fuel tank to send it to space

Triple Crown at Grand Oaks

Weather - gorgeous clear sunny day about mid 70's

March 30/2014  - Triple Crown at Grand Oaks RV & Carriage Museum Resort
Every Sunday there is a brunch buffet, a carriage ride and museum visit special at Grand Oaks.   We have been at this RV park on an off through the winter months.  We stayed 3 days, then went on our way, then came back for 3 weeks, then went on our way and then came back for 1 month.   In all that time we kept saying we must do the Horse Carriage Ride and a visit to the Florida Carriage Museum.   Everyone coming and going told us how excellent it was.   I guess we take Retirement very seriously, we don't move to fast and always think we can get to that tomorrow.   Time does move on!!!    So with only a few days to go before we move on finally we took the Triple Crown.   And yes everyone was so right, it is a wonderful day.   The carriage ride is on a large carriage pulled by the two Clydesdale's - Bud and Weiser.   Beautiful.   

The museum goes on and on.  There is a European section, an American section it is the world’s largest private collections of carriages and equine artifacts.  Every carriage is restored to perfection.  There are many life size horses drawing the carriages.  It will give you that dreamy past feeling.   Easy to imagine now those 1800's times in London, England that you read in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  There are several carriages from the era that bring those stories to life.   As well as the pioneers crossing the USA in their wagon trains.  There is a stage coach, a chuck wagon, a pioneer wagon - preserved impeccably.   Such an enjoyable day.

Air Boat Ride

March 30/2014  Weather ~ Beautiful clear day after the storm, 75.

We are boating people but have never taken an Air Boat ride in Florida.  Many rides are in the Everglades which we hear are quite good.  It's a bit too far to get there so we found a one hour trip in Central Florida's Green Swamp down the Withlacoochee River (Crooked River)  near Inverness on Wild Bills Airboat Rides.  The boat held 21 people it was much larger than we thought it would be, but it was fast and the seating was tiered so everyone had a great view.  Oh yes and loud.  You get ear muff noise protectors which you want to wear.  Our captain was born and raised on the banks of the river, he was proud to tell us he was a Cracker.   (just to understand the slang, a Cracker is a descendant from families who have lived in the state for many generations. It is considered a source of pride to be descended from "frontier people who did not just live but flourished in a time before air conditioning, mosquito repellent, and screens")

The ride is excellent.   Scenery is eerie and since it is spring the colors are so intensely green.  Yes we saw a bit of wildlife; an Osprey in her nest, a gator laying in the banks of the river, a rattlesnake slithering across the top of the river and yet another snake called a water bandit also making its way across the water.   Highly recommend you put this exhilarating ride on your bucket list.

Internation Harvester Museum - Stew Paquette's

March 29/14  Weather Hot 83 with Severe Storm warnings all day.   3 inches of rain and blustering wind.

My brother and girlfriend are visiting for the weekend and it happened that today is a nasty day.  However that does not stop us from keeping busy.   We started with lunch, then shopped at the cowboy store Boot Barn, then loaded up at the Russell Stove Candy Factory, while passing by a sign for a IH Farmall Tractor Museum ,,,,,we thought why not?  It is one of those Roadside America Offbeat Tourist Attractions.

Since my brother and I grew up on our family farm we remembered some of the tractors our Dad had.  As well my brother worked a few years at the International Harvester plant in Chatham.    So we went exploring and were impressed with the amount of fully restored red Farmall tractors in the collection and International Harvester trucks and farm equipment.   Who would have thought we would have been doing this on an afternoon in Florida!!!!