Monday, 21 Sep

We started our day by driving to Custer State Park. We really didn’t know what to expect but it was wonderful. One of the many rock formations is called the needle’s eye. I think from the picture you can tell which one it was. But the main attraction to this park is the wildlife. We saw pronghorn in small groups. These are really small deer-like animals with sharp horns and black and white faces. Then we came across a herd of burros in the road. As you can see from the picture, James made two new friends. A little further down the road we came across a huge herd of buffalo, many in the road. I love the picture of the one that appears to be charging. Finally as we left the park we saw a small herd of rams. This has been one of the best parks we have seen. From there we drove over a road called “Iron Man Road” which has several one lane tunnels. We were able to get a picture of James in front of one of the tunnels. They are really narrow although we have a postcard of a bus going through one of them so I guess they are wider than they appear. Iron Man road took us to Mt. Rushmore. The entrance is impressive with flags from each of the states and a pillar commemorating that state. The carvings are tremendous. Pictures just don’t do them justice. We met the last living worker on the monuments, Nick Clifford. James got his picture made with him. From there we went to Crazy horse monument. The carving is impressive but the story behind it is even more impressive. One man started the carving as a result of a request by Indian elders. He worked 62 years! He lived there and raised his family there. Seven of his children have elected to stay and continue the work. It is an independent, non-profit organization and he turned down $10 million dollars from the federal government because he was afraid they would decide not to finish the sculpture. It is estimated that it will require an additional 25 years to complete, even with all of the up-to-date equipment and technology. This was really impressive. We made it back to the hotel about 6 p.m., in time to rest a little from a long day. Long day but another GREAT day.

September 20

We started our day in Mitchell, South Dakota – home of the one and only CORN PALACE. We didn’t know what to expect but we were really impressed. This building has been in Mitchell since the early 1900’s and it is used as a civic center. What makes it unusual is that each year the outside (and part of the inside) is decorated with corn. Each year an artist designs a new theme and sketches it on special paper on the outside of the building. Then the workers fill the sketch with corn. Most of it is full ears of corn cut in half lengthwise and nailed to the boards. I hope you can see from these pictures that it is really a work of art. Everything in the design is corn related (including use of shucks.) As we traveled on toward the badlands James found a new mode of transportation which he recommended we consider in the future (I admit that guy got a lot of STUFF on that motorcycle.) We stopped at a scenic overlook in Chamberlain, SD and learned that is where the Lewis and Clark expedition camped several nights during their trip westward and again on the return trip. From there we headed west across SD to the badlands. We were surprised at the sheer beauty of this area. I don’t know what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised. As you can tell from the pictures we saw deer and prairie dogs. There were 100’s of prairie dogs and they were not afraid of people. We didn’t get out of the car where they were but when we rolled down the windows we could hear them “barking.” You can also see the sign about other animals that are in that area. We were very careful about where we stepped. We made it to Hill City tonight just as the rain started. It dropped from 82 to 45! We are hoping it clears tomorrow.

Day 6 - September 19

Left the hotel this morning and stopped at Targets to get a poncho. Rain is forecast later this week and we don’t want to miss anything. We drove to St. Paul, Minnesota (the state capitol.) We found the capitol (thank goodness for a GPS). The grounds are beautiful, lush grass and beautiful flowers. They have several monuments in an area of honor. The monuments start with the war of 1812 and go through Desert Storm. They have a really impressive monument to Korea (pictured with the soldier sculpture) and one to the honor of police officers. The capitol building is really grand from the outside but the inside is not as impressive as Alabama’s capital. James scared me here – we were coming down the marble steps into the rotunda and he fell – he landed on the floor (two steps down) and said he was not hurt – although later admitted he was getting sore. You can see St. John’s Cathedral from the capitol steps and we went there next. We went inside and they were having an ordination service, ordaining 7 men as priests, so we didn’t tour the inside. Leaving there we rode down Summit Avenue which is the longest row of Victorian houses in the U. S. Many are very beautiful. From there we headed south to Interstate 90 which we took west toward South Dakota. We came across another windmill farm and got off the road and made some great pictures. Look closely at the one that has several windmills and you will see the others in the background. On the picture of the large windmill, that is James standing on the step (that little dot.) I wanted to do that so you could realize how large these windmills are. We were close enough today to hear the “whoosh” sound they make as the wind turns them. AMAZING! After driving 380 miles we stopped for the night in Mitchell, SD.

Day 5 - September 18

We decided to spend today in downtown Minneapolis. We took the light rail train to downtown where we went to the Metro Dome – home of the Minnesota Twins pro baseball and the Vikings pro football. We saw a beautiful clock tower in the distance and we walked a few blocks in that direction. Once there we learned this beautiful, historic building is the City Hall and old jail (pictured here.) We walked through it to an underground tunnel that went under the road to the government center buildings. There we found a beautiful fountain and got a few pictures of planes over the buildings. We also got a couple of pictures of us with cartoon characters in the park. Once we got tired of walking we got back on the light rail train and went to the Mall of the Americas. We learned it is the largest mall in the world and has more visitors than any other attraction in the US (including Disney World.) We had heard about the mall but we were really not prepared for the size. In the center of the mall is a full amusement park (6 roller coasters, a full size ferries wheel, a space shot, a full set of children’s rides and lots more.) There is a picture which doesn’t do it justice. There is also an area built with Lego blocks, a full size aquarium and numerous restaurants. The shopping area has 4 wings, each one with 4 floors. The stores are numbered and we know there were 76 stores on the 2 floor of one of the wings. You can imagine how large this thing is. By the way, James made a new friend (picture enclosed.) We did not move the car today – first day this week with no miles (except what is on our feet.) We were able to do our laundry today and we are ready to “hit the road” tomorrow.

Thursday - Sep 17

Well today started out interesting. While looking for a Best Buy to get a USB cord for my camera, we found a YARD SALE! That is where we started our day – they are no different than the ones at home – JUNK! We didn’t find the “diamond in the rough” so we left Waterloo heading north toward Minneapolis, MN. We had seen the information regarding the “Little Brown Church in the Vale” and we are old enough to remember the song so we HAD to go there. It is located in the area of Nashua, Iowa. The church was built in 1860 and the song was written in 1861. This church was the inspiration for that song. The church has an active congregation (70 people) and was the site of their 173,000th wedding this summer. Each year they have a reunion of people married in the church and the ones that come back renew their vows. The church was open and is absolutely beautiful. We took several pictures but the one here reflects the church in its entirety. After spending time in this area we headed north again. After we went into Minnesota, we took a detour to Northfield (about 7 miles off the interstate.) This town is the site of “the defeat of Jesse James” and they celebrate that event the first weekend in September each year. The James gang was “defeated” in the act of robbing the bank. We have pictures of James at the bank site. The other pictures of Northfield reflect the historic buildings there. The entire downtown consists of this type building – and believe it or not – all of the buildings are occupied by businesses that appear to be thriving. The picture of the really long building - that is an old hotel. I must comment that the countryside in Iowa and Minnesota is covered with corn fields. There has been a severe drought and it appears to have really affected the potential harvest. We have seen just a touch of color in the trees but many are losing their leaves due to the drought. We continue to see the windmill farms. I wish we could get a picture that really reflects their size and abundance (40 to 50 on a farm.) We got into Minneapolis about 6 p.m. and settled for the night. We continue to enjoy every day.

Wednesday - Day 3

We left Morton, Ill, early this morning headed to Moline, Iowa and Rock Island Arsenal. Again, the country side is beautiful – lots of farm land. We finally found a STARBUCKS!! My first since early Monday morning – that is a record! Moline is an old manufacturing town and is home of John Deere. There is a huge John Deere Pavilion in the middle of town. There is a new development by the river that reminds me of Bridge Street in Huntsville but so far the stores are not open. We found Rock Island Arsenal and I was able to see some of it from the bridge but we decided it really wasn’t worth the effort to go through Army security just to ride through it. We headed out toward Clinton, Iowa, because we wanted to take the scenic tour to Wisconsin. Although the map indicated the road ran along the Mississippi river, we saw very little of the river. We stopped at a roadside park and ate lunch and then were on our way again. The countryside is absolutely beautiful but there is one thing that amazes me – only the main highways are paved. All of the side roads and the driveways to houses are gravel roads. The cars in the country are covered with dirt and obviously it does very little good to wash them. We have concluded the government cannot afford to keep all of the side roads clear of snow and ice in the winter and that the cars get better traction on the gravel. That makes sense, it just really shocked me. After going through Clinton, Iowa we went to Dubuque, Iowa, which is on the Wisconsin border. Here we stopped at a Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam on the Mississippi River and made pictures of the river barges. We made a few pictures of the town, including some of their courthouse – beautiful structure. We rode over the bridge to Wisconsin (just to say we had been there) and then headed toward Minneapolis, Minnesota. We stopped for the night at Waterloo, Iowa which is about 125 miles south of Minneapolis. We were ready to get out of the car for a while and we walked through a shopping mall just to get some exercise. It has been another really good day. There are no pictures today because I can't them to upload properly and I am too tired to keep trying. Maybe tomorrow.

Day 2 - In Illinois

Another day of things not going exactly as planned - but it was GREAT! We left the hotel early this morning and almost immediately got off the interstate highway - headed to Springfield. The country side is beautiful - we saw lots of HUGE windmills in the farm fields. As we drove we saw lots of small villages - very few new homes and even fewer brick homes. We lucked up on a small town named Vandalia. This is the site of Illinois' first capital and we actually walked through doors and stood on wooden floors where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas stood in service to the Illinois House of Representatives. WOW! As you can see from the picture, I had my picture made with Abraham Lincoln with the first capital in the background. We also saw the monument to the termination of the Cumberland Highway. Didn't mean a lot to us until we learned that it was the first federal highway, was supposed to go from coast to coast, and they ran out of money. James commented that evidently President Obama was not the first President to spend federal money for "the good of the states." Ha! When we left Vandalia, we headed to Springfield. Boy what a sight - the current state capital is beautiful. We thought Alabama's was beautiful but this puts ours to shame. We made LOTS of pictures and the one here is James with the House of Representatives in the background. After a tour of the capital we went to the Presidental Library and Museum where we had our picture made with the Lincoln family in front of the White House. From there we went to the cemetery and toured the Lincoln tomb which again is fantastic. We learned that it was built with money donated - none came from the southern states (SURPRISE!) Guess what - with all of this we didn't make our planned stopping time of 5 p.m. It was closer to 7 but it was worth it. Tomorrow we head west for a while to Rock Island Island, Il (I used to work with people from there and I just want to know what it looks like) and then we head north toward Minneapolis - Wonder if we will get that far - probably not! But it is great being on the road.