Painted Canyon & Enchanted Highway

Sunday we were on the road again.  We stopped at Painted Canyon Visitor Center, also in T.R.Nat'l Park. Even though it was overcast, the scene was still spectacular.  We had read in Nick Russell's Gypsy Journal about the Enchanted Highway that goes from Gladstone to Regent, ND on Hwy 4531.  The sculpturer, Gary Greff, has made seven larger than life sculptures from old farm machinery and other scrap metal, beginning in 1991.  His purpose was to bring tourists into his town, Regent.  We traveled the Highway taking pictures and enjoying the pastoral sights along the way.  The wheat was rippling in the breeze, "amber waves of grain",  horses were silhouetted on the top of a hill, and the canola fields were bright yellow.  When we arrived at Regent, we stopped at the Ice Cream/Gift Shop.  When Gene asked the fellow who was dipping up ice cream what Gary did when he wasn't sculpturing, he answered, "I work here."  He has several more sculptures planned.  The next one will be "Spider Web" 

Painted Canyon

Geese in Flight

Pheasants on the Prairie

Deer Crossing

Teddy Rides Again

Largest Tin Family

Grasshoppers in the Field

Fisherman's Dream

We traveled on to Bowman Haley Rec.Area near Scranton to spend a couple days and on Tuesday we left North Dakota and into South Dakota.  So, this is a good stopping place for now.  I have high hopes of having wifi again wherever we end up tomorrow and can continue this saga. God's blessings to all.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We've seen so much in the last two weeks!  This may be a "series" instead of just one post.  When we left Lewis and Clark State Park, we drove up through Williston, ND.  There were a lot of  trucks on the road, as we had been told - trucks carrying oil, gravel, and who knows what.  There was also a lot of construction on Hwy 85.  Gene gets a little antsy driving for 25 mph for any distance, so after we stopped for a picnic lunch in Alexander, we took the scenic route 68 through the Little Missouri Grasslands Area to Beach, ND, then over to Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit, Medora, where we spent three nights.  As we are over 62 (most definitely) we have the Senior Access Pass that gives us free entry to National Parks and Monuments and half price camping.  The only drawback is that camping is usually without electric.  There are always several places to get water, though.  If necessary, we can run the generator, but we were out and about during the day and it had cooled down when we returned to our campsite.  We met another Roadtrek couple, Marlene and Buddy from MN.  Since this was their first trip out in it, Gene was able to help with info and suggestions.  The next day we traveled the 5 miles back to Medora and ate lunch at the Chuckwagon Buffet.  It was a very good selection, reasonably priced and delicious.  While in line, a lady spoke to us and when we turned around, we were surprised to see she was in period costume.  It was Mrs. Edith Roosevelt. When we met later on the street, she introduced us to her husband, President Theodore Roosevelt and we had quite an interesting conversation.

That same day we toured the Harold Schaefer Heritage Center (Gold Seal products - Glass Wax, Liquid Floor Wax and Mr. Bubble bubble bath).  He contributed majorly to the restoring of the Rough Riders Hotel and promoted the town of Medora.  The buttes and cliffs with different hues make it a beautiful place.  We could see why he loved it so.

The next day we went to the Visitor Center, saw the Maltese Cross cabin where Theodore Roosevelt spent a lot of time, and then over to the Chateau de Mores.  The Marquis de Mores started the town of Medora in the mid 1800's.  His idea was to butcher the cattle there and send the meat to the East rather than ship live cattle.  It must have been an idea before it's time, as it didn't prove to be profitable.  On the porch of the Chateau, we enjoyed an interpretation of Felix Gottnick, a German immigrant to this area, presented by Don.
He is a very talented actor who made the life of Felix come alive.  The information he presented was gleaned from letters given to him by Felix's great grand niece. It was a step back into history and much enjoyed.

We finished our day by driving the scenic loop - and it truly was - the variety of grasslands, prairie and cliffs are amazing.  Pictures just don't do it justice.  We even saw a few buffalo - not the main herd, but  we were able to get a few pictures.

S

On Sunday we headed out to new adventures, which I'll cover in my next blog.   Until then, God's blessings to all our friends and family.

Following Lewis and Clark

Not exactly in their footsteps or in their mode of travel (thank goodness!), but we have stopped at several places where they also traveled.  From Jamestown, ND we went to Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, ND.  This is the place where Gen. Custer was stationed with the 7th Cavalry before departing for the Little Big Horn in 1876.  They built a replica of his and Libby's home 25 years ago and this weekend was the celebration of that event.  There were demonstrations of the 10 barrel Gatlin gun and cannon, tour of the Custer House with period interpreters,  and an army camp illustrating life during that time.  Gene enjoyed all of this while I stayed at the RV with a headache.  This is the first time I've been not well since we left June 3rd.  The day before we had walked up to the Visitor Center, looked at the exhibits and then walked out to the On-A-Slant Mandan Village.  The name came from the fact that it was built on the hill overlooking the Missouri River.  When Lewis and Clark arrived at this place in October 1804, the smallpox had already wiped out most of the people and those remaining moved north to live with the Hidatsas.  A few earthlodges have been reconstructed  so we can see how they lived.  The women were responsible for building and maintaining the lodges, growing corn, squash and beans and the men hunted elk, deer, etc. 

 From there we traveled to Cross Ranch State Park near Washburn and visited the ND Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.  They had exhibits depicting the journey from the beginning May 14, 1804 from Camp Dubois to the end September 23, 1806 back in St Louis.  The hardships they endured can hardly be imagined, but a route to the Pacific Ocean was found.  We also toured a replica of Fort Mandan, just two miles down the road.  This fort was built to shelter them during the winter of 1804 to 1805.

Our guide for the fort tour was extremely informative and we enjoyed the time spent there learning more about these brave men.

Next day we were off again to the Knife River Indian Village in Stanton where again we enjoyed learning more about the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes - later known as the Affiliated Tribes. This is where Sakakawea, a Shoshone girl, lived after she was taken from her tribe near the Bitterroot Mountains.   We ate at a local cafe - Cafe du Mond - recommended by a volunteer at the Gift Shop.  He suggested ordering fleischkuechle - seasoned ground beef wrapped in a pastry/dough and fried.  It was delicious. 
We spent the next three days at Lake Sakakawea State Park.  Yes, there are about 20 ways to spell her name, all because Lewis and Clark would write it phonetically in their journals.  We had not made a reservation and found a beautiful "first come first served" spot overlooking the Lake.  Gene set up my screen room and I enjoyed the time to rest and relax. 

We then spent time at Lake Sakakawea
COE on the Missouri River, visited the Audubon Refuge Center in Coleharbor & spent last night at Fort Stevenson State Park on Lake Sakakawea.  Today we drove north to Lewis and Clark State Park on Lake Sakakawea near Epping, ND. It's a big lake!  We are now in oil country - seeing the oil rigs and what we call "praying mantis" drills.

 We have seen beautiful country on our trip - grasslands, wheat fields, corn in all stages of growth and have now learned what the brilliant yellow fields are - canola, and purple/blue fields are flax.

So we shall rest up for another day or so and turn south towards Theodore Roosevelt National Park and then into South Dakota.  I am so thankful we have this chance to see this glorious country of ours.
It is truly a blessing!

So until I have wifi again, blessings to all our family and friends.

 

And WiFi at Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Washburn, ND

But to back up - on our way to Mel Rieman Rec Area we drove through Akeley, MN and saw Paul Bunyan.  We met the son-in-law of the man who constructed it - in his backyard - with steel frame, then covered with fiberglass.

These little surprises are one of the reasons we enjoy traveling the back roads.

While at Jamestown, we saw White Cloud, a white buffalo, which has great spiritual significance to the Native Americans and her 5th calf, who was born white, but now has reddish coloring, Dakota Miracle (pictured below).  We also saw the small herd of buffalo that roam the very large fenced in area.  There is a concerted effort to restore buffalo herds in various areas of the country.  Currently, Yellowstone National Park has the largest herd, which we were privileged to see in 2007.

We stopped at Wal Mart and found a small screen room that would 1. protect me from the bugs and 2. was in a small enough case that it would fit in the RV behind my seat .  The one at  Gander Mountain was so big we would have had to buy a carrier to attach to the back of the RV!  Back to Pelican Point where we were staying and Gene put it up for me.  Now I can sit outdoors and enjoy the fresh air without being harassed by the mosquitoes.  Pelican Point was another delightful campground overlooking Jamestown Reservoir.  I could watch boaters and fisherman enjoying the beautiful weather we were having.  The next stage of our journey will be covered in the next blog - to Ft.Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, ND.  See you later.

WiFi at Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park!

It's been almost two weeks, but I'm online again.  Gene has the advantage of a tablet and excessive energy so can walk to wifi locations when they're available at campgrounds.  But, here I am, so will catch you up.

We spent the 4th of July weekend at Winnie Dam Rec. Area on Lake Winniebigoshish.  It was a restful time with some rain and even a pelting of small hail stones.  The mosquitoes, however, were bothersome, so I spent most of the time in the RV.  That's when I decided I'd like a screen room.  When we left there, we
drove south and west and into Fargo, ND.  I spotted a Gander Mountain and we turned around and stopped in to look for one.  We thought at first we wanted one with a floor, which they didn't have, and we traveled on. 

The next two nights we spent at Mel Rieman COE which was beautiful and mosquito free.  We watched little bunnies feeding in the evening and  little yellow birds which I think are finches.  Our view was Lake Ashtabula - gorgeous.

We then traveled to Jamestown, ND and stayed at Pelican Point.  Went to Buffalo Museum. 

OK, battery is low.  Hope to continue soon.

Door County, WI to Walnut Grove, MN

We have covered a lot of territory, seen new sights and had a great time since my last post.  As stated before, the campgrounds we've been in have had sketchy or nonexistent wifi, but they have been very nice.
We left Baraboo, WI and traveled up to Green Bay so Gene could stop by Lambeau Field and get pictures of the stadium.  We then went on to Sturgeon Bay to stay at Harbour Village, an RPI resort, for three nights.  We're discovering that we need "rest days" along with our sightseeing days. Wednesday we drove up to the northern tip of Door Peninsula - Gills Rock - and visited the Door County Maritime Museum.  They had a lot of interesting exhibits, (Gene saw a Johnson outboard motor same as his step-dad used to have), some relics from shipwrecks in addition to information on their ferry system.  We ate lunch at the Shoreline Restaurant which overlooks Garrett's Bay, then to the ferry landing at Northport to watch the ferry come in, unload and reload.  This particular ferry travels between Northport and Washington Island.  There was a tour bus on the ferry along with bicyclists, a Segway tour group, pedestrian passengers and about a dozen cars and trucks.  After reading about the shipwrecks that had taken place in this area, I was not too eager to take a ferry ride!  We drove over to Cana Island Lighthouse near Bailey's Harbor to take pictures.  The lighthouse is on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula - very choppy water.  Back to Harbour Village where the mosquito population kept us inside the RV, but we brought several DVD's, so just enjoyed a good movie.  The next day Gene did some RV cleaning (outside) and I worked on downloading and organizing pictures.

Friday we left Harbour Village and stopped at Quietwoods RV Service in Sturgeon Bay.  The hot water heater was not working on electric, only on propane.  The heating element had quit working - it had lasted 11 years, so no complaints.  The new one was installed, we filled up our propane tank and were good to go.  A quick stop at Wal Mart for some groceries and on down the road we went.  We spent that night in Wausau at Marathon County Park.  Gene has found some very nice places for us using  "RV Parky" and "Oh Ranger" apps on his tablet. 

Saturday was another Laura Ingalls Wilder day in Pepin, WI.  This was where she was born and her first book "Little House in the Big Woods" is based on this area.  We toured the museum, spent the night in Lake
Pepin Campground and next day went to the actual site where a replica log house has been built.  I fixed sandwiches for our lunch and we ate there - a lot less work than Ma went through to fix a meal!

Needing a bit of rest, we chose Peaceful Valley Campground in Le Sueur, MN to spend the next couple of days.  To get there, we crossed the Mississippi River again - still very high from all the rain - into Red Wing, MN and almost straight west to Le Sueur.  When we entered the town, we saw a huge sign of the Jolly Green Giant that said "Welcome to the Valley".  As it turns out, the Giant hasn't been in Le Sueur for many years.  I was disappointed.  I looked forward to sitting outside and soaking up some sunshine, but , alas, rain and mosquitoes nixed that, so I read and relaxed inside.  Gene walked up to the office with his tablet and played his "Clash of Clans" game on his tablet
. 
Yesterday we drove further west to Walnut Grove, MN to another Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.  Her Pa traveled almost as much as we do.  They had a sod hut, school house, settler's house, chapel and many items related to the television series "Little House on the Prairie."  In "Grandma's House" they had displays of butter churns, old washing tub, and other household items that make me very thankful I live in a modern age.
It was an extremely windy day and our drive here to Randall, MN in and out of rain was wearying.  Again, the need to rest up before our next leg of the journey.  Tomorrow we're off to Winnie Dam Campground near Deer Lake, another COE, for the holiday weekend, then into North Dakota.  We're still smelling the roses and enjoying the trip.

Wisconsin Dells

Our plans when we left Decorah were to stay at the Blackhawk COE near DeSoto, WI, which we did for one night.  With all the recent rain, the Mississippi River was rising and the campground had to be closed.
We drove up to LaCrosse, WI and took the LaCrosse Queen paddlewheel boat tour on the Mississippi River.  I've wanted to do that for quite some time.  Gene met some folks that recommended Rudy's Drive-In, so we drove over for their famous chili hot dogs.   Since we were in the area, we went up to Granddad Bluff where you can see Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.  It was a lovely view.  We had not made reservations for Saturday night - Gene said we would wing it.   We found a quiet state park near Camp Douglas, WI - Mill Bluff State Park.  It was a non electric, no water site, but we had plenty of water in our fresh water tanks, we switched the refrigerator to propane and our "house" batteries ran our lights.  I opened a can of chicken and dumplings (manual can opener), added some frozen peas and heated it up on our propane burner.   It was quite tasty.  I also made sure I called for a reservation at a campground for Sunday night.  An interesting tidbit - Mill Bluff is #40 on the state park list.  It was also our 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday, the 22nd.  When we left Sunday morning, we took the scenic route Hwy 12/16 rather than the interstate.  If we don't have a deadline we prefer the slower pace.  I'm glad we did because we saw the cutest display of cows for the cow-munity project in Mauston, WI.  We arrived in Wisconsin Dells, stopped at Culver's for lunch and then on to Fox Hill RV Park and Campground in Baraboo.  Another nice, clean campground.  Today we drove into the Dells and took the "Original Wisconsin Ducks" amphibian tour through forests and into the Wisconsin River and Lake Delton.  It was an exciting ride and we loved it.  We ate lunch at Moose Jaw Pizza, then stopped at Market Square Cheese for some real Wisconsin cheese.  We're now back at Fox Hill to catch up on emails and such.  Tomorrow we head for Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay where we'll explore Door County.  We've been busy, but are having a lot of fun.