Day 8-- Death Valley to Las Vegas on Halloween, Monday, October 31, 2011

Today, we drove through Death Valley, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Death Valley is a colorful and varied landscape. My pictures of the mountains don't capture their color. Therefore, I will let more knowledgeable photographers show those mountains.

Death Valley is the lowest spot in North America. Signs along the roads provide elevation above sea level or below sea level. Badwater the lowest point, -282 feet below sea level. In the distance behind us, in the picture, are the salt flats, just a layer of salt about 6 inches thick. Nearby is a pond of salt water. An early surveyor wrote "badwater" on his map when his mule refused to drink from the pond nearby. We saw at least three different tiny animals in the pond. One was a water strider. During our whole vacation, the temperature has been pleasant to slightly cool. It was actually a little hot here, i.e., upper 80s or low 90s.

Another interesting place is the "Devil's Golf Course." From a distance the land looks like overzealous plowing. But when you get up close you can see that these huge clods are a mixture of soil and slat. Huge blobs of salt. In the smoother areas, the dried soil cracked. Salt water in cracks evaporated leaving the salt to fill the cracks..

Death Valley does have some sand. A young French speaker tried to impress his girlfriend by hitting golf balls off the sand. The bushes are creosote bushes which grow well in the sand because it absorbs and holds water.





























The one cool place we didn't see is racetrack playa where rocks are blown across the valley floor leaving tracks.

Since this is Monday, we scooted down to Las Vegas to see Cirque de Soleil's Mystere in Las Vegas. We made it to Treasure Island Hotel and Casino with almost an hour to spare. After the show we drove over to the KOA campground at Circus Circus. This became our base for the next day. Before going to bed we played roulette in the casino for about an hour.

Day 7-- A sober ending to wash day: Manzanar, Sunday, October 30, 2011

On awakening in Mammoth Lakes, Kathy announced that the first order of the day HAD to be washing clothes! So we headed in to the business district and found a laundromat. This activity used up much of our morning (yes, we don't always get up and around bright and early; which should not be a surprise to those that know Kathy! ;-) ), so we didn't get to0 far during the day's drive.

Remember the really OLLLLDDDD sequoia trees we saw a few days ago? Well, Chris was very interested in seeing some REALLY old trees, so when we saw the turn-off to go to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, we simply had to go. A winding road up took us, eventually, to the Visitor's Center administered by the US Forest Service.

Chris decided to to hike up some of the trail toward some other, older trees than what we had already seen and photographed on the way in to the site. He stopped at a fallen tree that had been 3200 years old when it fell in 1676! The plaque at the site also said the rings are so compact that one inch can contain 100 yearly rings! The oldest known bristlecone pines are over 4,000 years old. The oldest one (exact site undisclosed) is named "Methuselah."

If you compare the photos at of the bristlecone pine on the left to those of the sequoia on the right, you will see that just because you are tall and stately doesn't mean you will win the aging race! Being shorter and rather gnarly seems to work....













After returning to the main highway, we continued toward Kathy's "must-see" location on the trip: Manzanar National Historic Site, or the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Many readers of this blog may not be familiar with Manzanar. Manzanar was just one of several "relocation centers" (internment camp!) set up by the federal government beginning in 1942 for Japanese Americans.

Remember that this was shortly after Pearl Harbor had been attacked. American feelings were high and the war with Japan was escalating. In order to "protect" Japanese Americans from anti-Japanese discrimination (and to round-up potential "enemies"?) Japanese-Americans in the western 1/3 of the United States were sent to one of the camps with very little notice. Many either lost their businesses, homes, and belongings (they could take what they could carry only) or had to sell or have someone watch over their property for an undetermined length of time.

These centers were behind barbed wire and had guard towers with armed soldiers looking IN, not OUT, so they actually were little less than "prison camps" in many ways. Families often had to share a barracks (one big room) with strangers. They later split up the area with blankets so they could have more privacy).

The one difference from the usual prison camp it was attempted to have this community at Manzanar continue as "normally" as usual. Since several generations were living at Manzanar, there were schools for the kids, complete with sports teams, cheerleaders, bands, etc. Because they internees could not leave, other teams would come to the camp to play ball games (so Manzanar ALWAYS had the "home court advantage!" Teens from the nearby communities would come out for dances and some of the local high school students even petitioned to allow the Manzanar teens to attend the local high school. This didn't happen...

The community of around 10,000 residents also had factories they worked at, newspapers, and other aspects of American communities. Since residents could not leave, however, recreation was an important part of life. Some citizens made beautiful Japanese gardens for everyone's enjoyment (remember, this area is basically desert surrounded by mountains), but baseball was the big activity. They camp included 100 baseball teams, in twelve leagues! (Ansel Adams picture of a game.) Both men and women's teams were available.

The older generations at Manzanar were often immigrants from Japan since the late 1800s when emigration from Japan was allowed. However, the younger generations were mostly United States citizens!

This is the tragedy and the shame of the internment camps, as far as I am concerned. (and many others) Although our Constitution gives us some many rights and freedoms, all of these U.S. citizens had those rights violated! Big time.

There are no proven cases of espionage or sabotage by Japanese Americans during World War II, I believe. On the contrary, eventually many of the Japanese (both immigrants and next generation citizens) were allowed to join the armed forces and served gallantly in the European theater. A group of Manzanar detainees were deported because they would not, or could not, answer certain questions about loyalty during this time. Some were because of principles, some because the questions confused them or seemed to contradictory.

Before touring the museum and grounds (most of the buildings are gone now), a film is shown, Remembering Manzanar. The film is very informative and Kathy left with tears in her eyes; from sympathy, anger, and shame for the U.S. Chris also found the film moving.

Since it was late in the day, we really didn't get to view the museum completely. Kathy will be adding the book Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, to her reading list! [readers using Pathfinder Central can place a hold there!-kdr]. We did follow the driving tour of the grounds and got to read the informational signs before it got too dark.

Explore the link for the National Park (several paragraphs above) to learn even more about the history of this important site in American history.

We spent the night in a very nice RV park south of Manzanar near Lone Pine, California. Boulder Creek RV Resort had good facilities, a large store, even a jacuzzi. Chris especially liked the large community room; it had many nice groupings of sofas and comfortable chairs, as well as TV and tables to eat at. A free muffin and coffee breakfast is served. The showers were also very nice (yes, we seem to be somewhat obsessed with shower facilities!!)

Day 6-- Yosemite, in all it's glory, Saturday, October 29, 2011

Our campground for last night was right south of Yosemite National Park, so we woke up expecting to begin visiting Yosemite that morning. Kathy was out-of-sorts since last night because the nearest restroom to our campsite (up a hill!)closed at 9 PM ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnd we walked up AFTER that!!She was still grumbling this morning...

However, we were easily distracted when driving through the first town after our
campground, Coarsegold, California. It was the day of the Coarsegold Tarantula Festival. We saw the sign as we went by and proceeded to turn around to check it out. The Festival seems to be a kind of craft show, flea market, Renaissance Festival, and cook-off combination with activities for all ages during the day.



We were just there for a while, but did find some interesting buys at the booths. The booths of the Festival are set up around the Coarsegold Historic Village; there are permanent businesses there also. The thrift shop had a great sale with almost everything 1/2 price off. We picked up some things for the camper, such as measuring cups (we think we left our nice Pampered Chef one at Needles, CA!) and another blanket. The nights have been pretty cool and our feet have been cold; but the new blanket will sure help!)

So, on to Yosemite! The scenery is majestic. Lots of mountain roads that keep Kathy gripping the armrests (but not as bad as all the switch-backs in Sequoia Natl. Park). The valley, where the Visitor's Center is found, has a whole community built up around the tourism business, with resort-type lodgings, in addition to campgrounds, etc. The view from the valley was also great; check out some of the classic Ansel Adams photographs that he did of Yosemite...

One of the stops we made along the way was to walk up near the Bridal Veil Falls that are often seen in photographs. This time of year finds the water flow much lower than in the spring, when the snowmelt begins. But it was still impressive.

After leaving the valley we drove across the entire northern part of the park on Highway 120. Many of the vistas were awe-inspiring. It was getting late in the day (because we had spent the extra time in Coarsegold), so we stopped for the night outside the eastern side of the park at Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Our campsite at Mammoth Mountain RV Park was completely on asphalt, but was fine for a quick overnight stop. They also had good showers.

Day Five: Sequoia National Park

Yesterday's campground had California quail. This morning's campground had acorn
woodpeckers. They peck holes in trees and put acorns in them. The telephone pole beside our campsite was riddled with holes.

As I said earlier, Sequoia National Park was just eight miles down the road. In the park, Sequoia trees tend to be clustered in groves. (Pictures) Groves does not mean only sequoia trees lined up in neat rows. Groves means a concentration of Sequoia trees with lots of other evergreens mixed in. In fact, most trees in the groves are the other evergreens.

Despite being hundreds of feet tall, their roots only about 3 feet underground. As long as the root system remains in tact these trees continue growing until they fall over. When they fall over they create an opening in the forest for many new Sequoia trees to grow. It is common to see three or four Sequoias in a row.

Sequoia bark doesn't burn well because it lacks pitch. Since the big Sequoias are so old, they have lived through many fires. Many Sequoia trees have openings in the bark and you can see the insides blackened by past fires. The tree rings of Sequoias can show the history of local forest fires.

In fact, fire has an important role in the spread of Sequoia trees. The trees produce thousands of 3-inch long cones with tiny seeds. These seeds can remain on the tree for 20 years. The cones remain closed until fire opens the cones releasing the seeds. Fire also exposed the forest floor so the seeds could germinate in the soil.

The forest service practice of stopping fires allowed old leaves, limbs and other vegetation to build up on the forest floor preventing the Sequoia seeds from reaching the floor and germinating. So for a while no new Sequoia trees were starting. For the past 25 years, the forestry service has introduced controlled fires to clear away brush and exposing the forest floor to allow new Sequoia trees to grow.

After a day looking at Sequoias, we headed down to Fresno and then north again on highway 41 toward Yosemite National Park.

Day 4: Needles, California to Sequoia National Forest

This morning was glorious. The bushes beside our camper were in bloom. A bevy of four cute California quail were running around the campground scratching for food.










Leaving the campsite we headed west along Interstate 40 through the Mohave Desert (Pictures), past Barstow to Bakersfield. We drove through residential areas with palm trees, slim evergreens and low California style houses. We ate lunch in a small, expensive restaurant on Stockdale Highway called Little Italy. Kathy had cheese manicotti. Chris had Salmon Mediterranean. Both were very good.

We next shopped at Walmart. Had two car keys made. Shopped for some groceries, etc.

After Walmart, we took highway 99 north to Fresno. At Fresno we changed to highway 198 north to the campground near Three Rivers, eight miles from Sequoia National Park.

On the way, we stopped at a roadside fruit and vegetable market. We purchased tomatoes, pears, one yellow sweet potato and bags of dried pears and hot spicy dried mangos.

Painted Desert and Fossil Trees

We spent the first half of today driving through the Painted Desert National Park (Pictures) and the Petrified Forest National Park. (Pictures)

In the late Triassic period, from 225 to 200 million years ago, all the continents were joined together in one giant landmass called Pangea. The land occupied by these parks was approximately were Panama is now. Three rivers flowed through the area, depositing a 1,000 foot thick layer of mineral rich, hence colorful, soil. This formation is called Chinle. Later when the land rose, erosion exposed colorful layers of soil now called the Painted Desert.

Petroglyphs adorn some of the rocks. A dark "desert varnish" covers many rocks in the desert. From 2,000 to 650 years ago, Indians chipped away the desert varnish exposing the lighter rock beneath. The light colored rocks are in the patterns animals, people, and some symbols. One of the most famous collections of petroglyghs is called Newspaper Rock. Hundreds of petroglyps reach at least 20 feet up the rock face and stretch at least 40 feet horizontally. It is an impressive display.

At the bottom of the Chinle Formation are fossilized trees. In the Triassic period, the logs of 200 foot tall trees floated down the three rivers, becamed waterlogged and sank into the river bottoms. Silt covered the logs protecting them from decay. Mineral rich silicon dioxide seeped into the logs replacing plant cellulose with minerals, thus fossilizing them.





After leaving these two parks, we drove West stopping for the night at a very nice campground outside Needles, California.

To Holbrook, Arizona (nearly)

At the Tucumcari KOA camp, last night a family checked in claiming they were going to pitch tents and, instead, moved into one of the campsite's cabins. In the morning there was a confrontation between the campsite owner and the family who claimed they did not sleep in the cabins. We left before the confrontation came to a head.

Most of the day was spent driving to Arizona interrupted by three events.

The first event is that Chris locked the keys in the car at a rest stop. We borrowed a neighbor's cell phone to call 911 who called a wrecking service in the town of Clines Corners. He came in about 20 minutes. He took about 30 minutes getting the door open. The seals at the bottom of the windows were two tight to get his tool in. So he tried using another tool to open our side vents. The challenge with the side vents is that there is a button that needs to be pushed and held down before the latch can be turned. He was out of practice and had trouble remembering how to use the tool. Eventually, he used two tools. One to hold down the button. One tool to turn the latch. This experience cost us $60.

The second event was shopping in a Hispanic grocery store. We tasted the cheeses. We purchased a pound of fajitas in a huge display of meets that included chickens feet among other unique delicacies. Eventually, Kathy and I went through the cafeteria line. Kathy had chili rellenos with refried beans and rice. I had tripe with refried beans and rice. The food was good. Since the seeds had been left in the chilis, the chili rellenos was hotter than Kathy liked, The tripe had good flavor, but very greasy.

In Gallup, we stopped at Richardson's Trading Post. It is a pawn shop where the Indians pawn their turquoise and silver belts, bracklets, etc. The display counters had hundreds and hundreds of genuine silver and turquoise belts, bracelets, rings, huge belt buckles, Hopi Kachina dolls, and Zuni Navaho bear fetishes, etc. that I believe the Indians themselves once wore. This stuff was pawned and had not been recovered by their owners. Through a door leading to the back I could see hundreds more belts waiting to be claimed.

Another part of the store contained stacks of Indian rugs going back to the 1800s, shelves lined with baskets and pottery. These are good, high quality handicrafts. Like the stuff you see in museums. Not the sloppy stuff you see in most souvenir shops. The back of this store was blocked off by some stacks of rugs. Looking passed these rugs to the delights beyond, hanging on the wall are two paintings on hides of battle scenes between the Indians and the cavalry. The hides are very white and the colors very bright. So these paintings are probably new, but they are cool, nonetheless. Someone has posted 23 pictures of the inside of this store, Perry Null Trading Company, and Shush Yaz Trading Company.

Tomorrow morning we visit the Petrified Forest National Park. Photos.

Kansas to New Mexico, all in a day's play -- Monday, October 24, 2011

Another year's vacation sneaks up on us! Although we had told everyone we were going to the Florida Keys this year, our first night out was in Tucumcari, New Mexico!

We had gone places for the weekend for the last month, so it was nice to actually spend a weekend at home. So, we took it easy on Saturday and gradually packed the camper on Sunday. Kathy was loading her clothes after dark!

Got up as usual on Monday morning, packed the food and headed to the library to do a couple of quick things on the way out of town (and borrow some movies!). A few more Great Bend errands and we were on the road, finally, heading toward California. We're entitled to change our minds! Lunch was on the run as we drove along: some of our favorites from Mary's Kitchen Burritos in Great Bend! (Chiles relleno for Kathy and a bistec for Chris). It won't be the last Mexican food we have on this vacation...

Rather an uneventful trip, unless you count changing timezones!

Supper in Dalhart, Texas, at one of the many Mexican restaurants. We really liked the freshly-mad salsa they served. Unfortunately we can't remember the exact name! There at least three Mexican restaurants in Dalhart starting with a "P"; it's one of those we think!

Drove a long stretch of really deserted road from Dalhart to Tucumcari in the dark. Many semis seem to travel that way however; at least that's what we mostly saw!

Bedtime found us a the KOA in Tucumcari.

Home Fires... -- Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Yeah, we know, we're behind. At least we've gotten this far. Keep checking back... we're on I-70, almost home! Click on the "2011" in the right-hand column for all of this year's posts...

Body Worlds: Science the Easy Way -- Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Yeah, we know, we're behind. At least we've gotten this far. Keep checking back...

Shop 'til You Drop -- Monday, August 1, 2011

Yeah, we know, we're behind. At least we've gotten this far. Keep checking back...

It's Magic! -- Sunday, July 31, 2011

Today, Kathy wrote a list of quite a few attractions and then asked Blake which three he definitely wanted to do.

To be continued...

Zippity Doo Dah-- Saturday, July 30, 2011

After breakfast we first visited Top Secret, one of the local attractions. Although we had all read some negative reviews of the site, Blake thought it was intriguing, so off we went. The coolest thing about this place is the exterior; it's a large replica of the White House, upside-down!! Inside they have it decorated with all the furniture, etc. on the ceiling so that you feel like you are walking on the ceiling. OK, that's about the extent of what was interesting here; although, as Blake put it, "our guide seemed real nice."
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Blake enjoyed the tour around the site. Chris and Kathy thought it had potential if they just plain hyped it as a "haunted [White] house" attraction. Several times the guide let the visitors walk down very dark tunnels on their own, sometimes with surprises along the way. They could also make use of the basic premise and make more of the fact that something has happened to the White House and we have to gather clues; or we time travel in to the future and find the White House in this condition and discover all these anomalies on the premises, etc. Oh, well, what's a trip to a tourist town without something like this?

Our big planned activity took place during the afternoon. After a lunch at perhaps the largest (and noisiest) McDonald's we've ever seen, we headed over to Bigfoot Zipline Tours. Kathy didn't take part in this activity because the doctor recommended she not do it because of the osteoporosis in her spine. Afterwards, Chris agreed this was probably a good call, after all!

The zipline course has 6 ziplines. You start by climbing 4 to 6 flights of steps to the top of a tower. The zipline course ranged from 462 feet to 1,397 feet. The last and longest course was a race between Blake and myself. Blake was given a headstart and won the race.

Our zipline guides were Gilligan and Jordan. Since Jordan caught us at the other end, he would go first showing us the trick they encouraged us to try. Gilligan would stay behind and attach each of us to the zipline and send us on our way. Our equipment consisted of a harness, helmet and leather gloves with thick leather attached to the palm. We were supposed to hold on to the harness with our left hand and use the glove on our right hand to lightly hold the zipline for control and breaking. Chris tried all the tricks, but had difficulty using the glove to guide and brake because it is too fat and weak. Nevertheless, it is fun.

One of the nice things is that the Bigfoot people let Kathy go out on one of the buses about two hours after the guys left. She was delivered to the final tower and got to go up and see Chris and Blake come zipping toward her on the only double zipline of the course. So at least she got to see what they looked like!

We purchased one of the photos of Blake ziplining and one of their entire group.

Next stop on the vacation agenda was a tour of the Upper Dells on a jet boat! We took the tour with Captain Ron's Original Dells Jet Boats. This is one form of Dells tour that both Kathy and Chris and never done before, so it was another new experience for all three of us! Although the tour itself is much like some of the slower boat tours of the upper Dells, it's the speed that makes it different! And to spice things up, Captain Ron would "put on the brakes" and that would splash many of the passengers. If you want to get really wet on the tour, sit in the first couple of rows in the boat. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we were running late getting there and the three of us ended up sitting in the back of the boat. We still were splashed, but not much.

For supper, we decided to go eat Japanese food at Ginza of Tokyo. We enjoyed watching our food be prepared at the table, and Chris also ordered some sushi. There were two other parties at our table; both from Wisconsin. That made 7 adults and three kids; it was fun watching the kids experiment and try to use chopsticks. Well, actually, Chris was teaching the other adults how to use them too!

Such a busy day... we ended it by going to the nearby drive-in theater, Big Sky Drive-In. Yes, Wisconsin Dells still has a working outdoor theater. Not only do they have a drive-in, but there are two different screens! Annndddd.. each screen shows a double feature of first-run movies for the same price! Blake chose to go to Captain America. We enjoyed it, but Blake was really wiped out after the movie, so we didn't stay for the second feature, the third Transformers movie.

One bit of excitement "hit" when we were entering the theater lot. After paying at the booth, we began driving in and heard a crash. We had no idea what it was! Chris got out and looked and couldn't see anything at the beginning. He finally found the pieces of our lid for our vent on the camper. Come to find out, there was a bar across the entrance and it must have been just a fraction too low for our van!

But wait, there's more! When we got back to the campground it was very dark (after midnight, etc.). Kathy was trying to be quiet in the campground and Chris couldn't hear her directions, plus couldn't see much behind him in the dark. Long story short, he scraped a tree while he backed! This may not have done much more than scrape a little paint, but we had been lazy (and hot!) and had left the louvered windows in the back open. We ended up losing the bottom louver off the back passenger side... Bad words were spoken, testy words were exchanged, life went on...

On Wisconsin... In Which We Have Seen Kyle, Shawn, Maddie, & Atlas! -- Friday, July 29, 2011

Kyle and Shawn actually had to go to work, like real people (not vacationers!), so we were on our own for the morning. We made plans to meet Kyle for lunchtime before we headed north out of Madison. The guys had some breakfast there at the apartment and then we made a trip to Wisconsin Active Sportswear so that Blake could buy some Badger gear (yes, he's still a Jayhawks fan, but he has an aunt in Madison now!).

The rest of our morning was actually spent in Middleton, Wisconsin. For you Kansas readers, think Overland Park related to Kansas City. (And Madison seems to be a combination of Lawrence and Topeka, only bigger...). Middleton is the home of the National Mustard Museum. The museum is in the basement and shows some history of mustards, plus hundreds of containers of mustard from around the world! The displays are divided by state and country, even. It was interesting to see that some of the European mustards are packaged in a toothpaste tube-like container.

But we really had fun upstairs on the ground floor. This is actually the "gift shop". They have a lot of t-shirts with clever sayings (about mustard, of course) and other unusual gift ideas. The bulk of the shop is mustard after mustard, grouped in various categories. Want a mustard made with some sort of liquor or beer? Look over there... Want one made with fruit? Look over there... The best part is that they have a tasting stand, where knowledgeable staff will discuss the mustards and let you taste-test! Yes, we did alot of that; but we also left the shop with quite a few mustards and assorted clothing, etc!

Back to the apartment for a few more minutes with Kyle, and then we bid Madison "good-bye" for now. For those of you that are asking, "Why didn't you visit all the other cool things in the Madison area?", we have done so (all three of us) in earlier trips, plus we hope to be visiting up there other times in the future!

So, on to our destination, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin! For Kathy's kids, this name conjures up other memorable trips to similar sites: Keystone, South Dakota; Branson, Missouri; and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. What do these four locations have in common (other than the fact that the kids and I have all visited them)?

During the late afternoon we walked around downtown, ate, and visited the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. We do NOT recommend the Wisconsin cheese and beer soup at High Rocks; it was really awful as far as we were concerned. Buyer beware.

We found a nice campsite north of town at Stand Rock campground and will stay here two or three nights.

Earlier in the day we purchased tickets for the Rick Wilcox Magic Show, so we headed over there at 8pm. We had great seats right on the third row, but we couldn't seem to convince Blake to volunteer! This was the second time Chris and Kathy had seen this show, although much had changed. All three of us enjoyed the show.

If It Rains, It's Still Fun!-- Thursday, July 28, 2011

We ate breakfast in downtown Amana and headed for the meat market. The restaurant gave us tokens for a pound of brats for $1, so we had to take advantage of that. And, of course, we spent more money there, just as they hoped!

The morning started with thunderstorms, so the temperature was better than the day before, but the humidity it still, naturally, pretty darn high! Chris and Kathy will be ready to return to the much lower humidity of central Kansas before this vacation is over.

Our first planned stop was in Dyersville, Iowa. Since it was still raining we first visited the National Farm Toy Museum. If you ever owned or played with any toy even remotely related to farms and farming, this is the place to reminisce. All companies are represented, even though the Ertl Company began the Museum.

With her love of genealogy, Kathy's favorite part was a whole wall tracing the "genealogy" of present day AGCO . It's amazing how many companies have merged to create this company! Some of the best known names, even to this non-farm kid, are: Massey Ferguson, Gleaner, White, Hesston, etc.

The rain had stopped, so we headed to our "real" Dyersville destination, the Field of Dreams Movie Site. Even though the field was awfully soggy, with standing water, Chris and Blake were able to play a little catch and pose for the photos Kathy wanted to take. [photos to be added] Since the corn is nearing harvest time, we even got to take shots of them entering and exiting the cornfield. (For those of you that don't understand that part, you really need to watch Field of Dreams!)

The site was a little different from when Kathy took her kids years ago, but still is a peaceful stop for families, whether you like baseball or not! There's a new souvenir stand now, but that's about it. I appreciate the simplicity. As stated in the promotional information: "Enjoy the surroundings. Bat a few balls, play a little catch, run the bases or sit and dream on the bleachers."

After leaving the Field, we were officially on our way to Madison, Wisconsin, home of Kathy's daughter, Kyle. But even stalwart travelers need to eat, so we stopped in Dubuque, Iowa, at a restaurant Blake had enjoyed with his folks, Crust.

By the time we arrived in Madison, both Kyle and Shawn were home from work. We had a good visit with the two of them and enjoyed watching the antics of Maddie, the cat, and Atlas, the dog.
The five humans went out to eat and spent the rest of the evening talking and watching the new version of Arthur.

Another high-point of the day was the fact that we got to sleep in the apartment for the night, out of the heat!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!-- Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Chris and Kathy arrived in KC, MO on Tuesday night and stayed at the Jason & Toni's household so we could start out bright and early (?) on Wednesday morning. Although Jason leaves for work even brighter and earlier, Toni had some munchies to start the day and off we went!

This is our second "grandkid" trip. Kathy's grandparents began by taking their 10 grandchildren, one at a time, on each child's own vacation. Their two kids and spouses continued the tradition and now the original grandchildren are taking the next generation! This year it's Blake's turn! Thie challenge for us is to find activities for a pre-teen boy...

The BAD -- Our first stop wasn't too far north of Kansas City, Jesse James' birthplace. The tour wasn't bad, it's Jesse that we're talking about here. The movie shown at the beginning of the tour shows how Jesse and Frank got started in their lives of crime during their lives as Bushwhackers during the Civil War. (Well, they might have called it the "War of Northern Aggression" since they were Southerners in a Union state!).

Several rooms of museum displays are there at the Visitor's Center and then we took a guided tour of the actual house where the James' lived for several generations. One of the main themes seems to be the role of Jesse and Frank's mother in, not only their lives, but as a fiercely protective mother of all her children.

When Jesse was killed (while straightening a picture on the wall of his own home) by a man he considered a friend, his mother, Zerelda, had him buried in the front yard of the family home with a tall monument. She even moved her bed so she could watch out the window and make sure no one came to desecrate the memorial!

Zerelda was actually married three times; Mr. James, a preacher, was her first husband. She lost two children because of Jesse's life choices: Jesse and one of his young half-brothers, Archie, who was killed when the Pinkerton detectives through a "bomb" in to the house hoping to flush out Jesse and/or Frank.

We began with our first of our sports-related trivia here at the James Farm. The family maintained the site as a tourist attraction for at least three generations. One of Frank's sons liked golf, so for awhile the home had a three-hole golf course attached so that visitor's could play a little golf when they came too! We then headed out of Missouri in to Iowa

The GOOD -- Our "good" is an all-American legend. John Wayne was really born as Marion Robert Morrison in the small town of Winterset, Iowa. "Duke", as he became known, only lived in Winterset a few years, but visitors can tour his home and view memorabilia from his long and varied career. As Blake pointed out, people think he was just in Western movies, but he was in a lot of different ones: war movies, one in Ireland, sports movies, "romantic comedy", historical movies, etc.

Our sports trivia of the tour was the fact that John Wayne, as he became known later, played football on a scholarship for the University of Southern California.

Although the house is small, the curators have filled it with movie stills and other mementos of Wayne's career. There are also items from his childhood, even a copy of his parents' wedding license.

If one wants, you can take a photo next to one of the several images of Wayne found in the gift shop.

The UGLY -- Oh, yes, there is no doubt what is the UGLY of our day... the heat!!! There was a disagreement (Chris and Kathy) about whether the air conditioner was working in the camper van. The result is that we rode the rest of the day with the windows open!! It was hot, hot, hot! I believe the gauge hovered around 100 for most of the day with maximum humidity ranging from 62-98!! Maybe it was the humidity, not just the heat.

Even at night when we were setting up our camp at the Amana Colonies Campground in Amana, Iowa, the sweat was just pouring off us (I apologize if anyone's tender senses are offended, but it WAS offensive). In the end, Chris slept outside on the sleeping bag on the ground most of the night while Kathy and Blake slept in the camper. After a cool shower, it wasn't too bad once we actually settled down for the night,

Chris moved inside around 5:30 AM or so when a thunderstorm actually arrived!! That did lower the temperature, but the humidity was awfully high!

A high point of the evening was eating in Marengo, Iowa, at Phat Daddy's restaurant. We saw lots of people entering, including children, so we figured it must be popular. The food was very good. And it had the extra perk of being air conditioned! ;-)

Home again, home again... Merriman, Nebraska to Great Bend, KS - Saturday, September 4, 2010

More to come!

See note on Friday posting!

Wall, SD to Merriman, Nebraska - Friday, September 3, 2010

More to come...

For all of the vacation postings, click the 2010 tag in the right column. Then you can view all vacation postings. The newest is at the top!

Hill City, SD to Wall, SD - Thursday, September 2, 2010

More to come... Yes, we know we are very far behind!

Deadwood, SD to Hill City, SD - Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The first stop of the day was at Tantanka: Story of the Bison. This is an attraction created and owned by Kevin Costner and is found a few miles north of Deadwood.

The museum is small, but has interesting displays and a small gift shop. Our tour guide was very informative about bison and the animals' role in the life of the Lakota (Sioux). She also spoke about Lakota history and how they lived before white men moved in to the area. The guide was actually of Cheyenne heritage. She has a degree in American Indian Studies and has lived in South Dakota most of her life, I believe.

Outside the main building there are tipis and then the pièce de résistance, a huge sculpture of a bison hunt. This larger than life bronze sculpture features 14 bison pursued by 3 Native American horseback riders. It is very impressive.

We then drove through Sturgis, home of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, on the way to Rapid City. The Rally is usually held the first part of August, so we did not have to compete for camping space during our stay in the Black Hills. We DID see many motorcyles in this whole region of South Dakota. It's almost like bikers like to make a "pilgrimage" to Sturgis even if they don't attend the event.

We did some needed grocery shopping in Rapid City and decided to head towards Keystone. It just wouldn't be a Black Hills vacation if we didn't go to the Black Hills Maze, so that was the first order of business. The promotional material states that it is one of the world's largest mazes. Over 1.2 miles of walkways, bridges, and stairs are included. A new, challenging configuration is created every two weeks. Visitors search their way to all four towers, stamped a card at each, and then find the exit. Staff stamp your card at the beginning and the end so that you can see how long it took to finish the Maze.

Chris finished first, two minutes before Kathy. Both took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish. Luckily we were not quite slow enough to be included on the posted "Board of Shame" that shows the slowest times for the last few configurations! Traveling through the Maze can be extremely frustrating, but it's also fun to face the challenge and finally finish! Highly recommended for all types of families! (The last time Kathy and her kids visited, all four teens finished well ahead of her. They sat on the hill side outside and heckled while she continually back-tracked trying to find the way to the final tower!)

More to come...

Lead, SD to Deadwood, SD - Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In the morning we ate breakfast in the campground's restaurant decorated with pictures of motorcycles, campers and advertisements. Picked up a newspaper about this year's recent Sturgis motorcycle rally. At this year's rally, Pee Wee Herman was auditioning for extras in his new movie on his bike adventure.

After breakfast we drove into the Lead to the Black Hills Mining Museum. The museum covers gold mining and the economic development cultural/social history of Lead. Kathy found a telephone operator's panel.

The museum was in an old Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store. Some ex-miners had converted the basement into a simulated mine. A young man guided us on an interesting tour explaining the history of the Homestake Mine and the process of gold mining mixed with jokes, e.g., alcohol is not allowed in the mine because everyone is a minor.

The Homestake Mine is the deepest mine and the second largest producer of gold in North America . It goes down 8,000 feet below the surface. The mine closed in May 2001. (Google pictures)

Now the mine is being converted to look for neutrinos and dark matter particles. The new lab is called the Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake. At this time they are draining the mine of water. By May 2009, the water was drained down to 4,850 feet.

The 4,850 foot level was the central clearing level when the mine was in operation. This level contained the mine's most extensive and sophisticated railway and communications system and many major workshops. Each day, miners went to this level first before proceeding to the level where they would work for the day. The Sanford Underground laboratory is going to put their first detectors at this level.

After the tour, Kathy and I went to look at the big mining hole in the middle of Lead. Homestake started as a surface mine. The surface mine continued off and on until 1998. The hole is 1,200 feet deep and a half-mile across. It is big.

One the way our of Lead, we stopped for lunch at the Pizza Lab. Kathy and I had three kinds of pizza: ranch vegetarian, pesto tomato, and a thai chicken pizza. We agreed that the thai chicken was the best. Though the place is a really good pizza place, Chris was disappointed that they had not emphasized the "lab" theme. You can see the kitchen from the front. They could have had bubbling beakers and tesla coils sparking between the kitchen and front. (Video of a tesla coil playing 2001: Space Odyssey) The servers could dress in lab coats and laugh maniacally, i.e., like a mad scientist, when they served your pizza.

We drove the short distance to Deadwood. After finding our campground, Kathy and Chris took the trolley in to see a murder of Hickok in the #10 Saloon (video) and the Trial of Jack McCall. (video) The shows Kathy and I saw were more relaxed than the ones recorded in the videos linked to.

Fifteen minutes before the trial began, the main actors in the trial including Jack McCall played music. The music was humorous. My favorite was "Ghost Chickens in the Sky" to the tune of "Ghost Riders in the Sky." The audience helped by making chicken noises after each line and in the chorus of "Bwaak Bwaaa Bwaaa" instead of "yeppie yi yo, yeppie yi yeaa." (video by Sean Morey, the writer of the song) (Other Sean Morey songs)

Spearfish, SD to Lead, SD - Monday, August 30, 2010

Spearfish's city campground is beside the DC Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery. The first thing we did this morning was tour this historic site.

When the whites stole these hills from the Indians for the gold, the whites also discovered the streams are a perfect environment for trout. Trout are not native to the Black Hills because the fish can't get here on their own. So the federal government sent D. C. Booth to establish a program for seeding the streams with trout. Over the next 30 years, Booth built a hatchery that provided over a million tiny trout a year to streams in the Black Hills, around the country and even Europe. In the picture, Kathy stands in front of a bronze statute about restocking a stream.

One of the most interesting exhibits on hatchery grounds were the fish railroad cars. The government had 10 railroad cars specially designed and built to transport tiny trout across the country. The car had a dozen of wooden fish tanks, plus facilities for the room and board of a crew of five people. These railroad cars were discontinued in 1947 with the building of more hatcheries across the country, more and better roads, and the development of better trucks for transporting stock fish.

The historic hatchery still stocks some trout even today. Though they now release fewer numbers, the fish are larger, the size is called "catchable." We fed the fish.

Our next stop in Spearfish was the workshop art gallery of Dick Termes. Termes creates six-point perspective spherical art called Termespheres. Since visiting his workshop, we have seen a number of them hanging around the Black Hills. (Google images of Termespheres)

We left Spearfish through Spearfish Canyon. We saw Roughlock Falls
and one place where they filmed the Black Hills scenes of Dances with Wolves.

Roughlock Falls has changed a lot since Kathy first saw it as a child; it's even changed a lot since she began taking her own children to see it! Where once we climbed down the bank to the stream and then walked in the water to go under the Falls, you now can not even go down to the stream! There are now fences and viewing platforms around the Falls. The banks near the falls are now pretty much straight up and down and there is a lot more vegetation everywhere.

It's still a beautiful little falls; quite photogenic. But part of the magic is gone now. It was always fun to walk in the freezing cold water (in our tennis shoes) and struggle up the rocks to find shelter in a "cave" under the Falls. I hope our grandchildren will still get to see Roughlock Falls, but I regret they won't get the same fun experiences three other generations of the family had!

Near Cheyenne Crossing, we found the road and Hanna campground Kathy remembered from her childhood visits to this area. She also camped here with her children.

We camped five miles from Lead.

Dickinson, ND to Spearfish, SD - Sunday, August 29, 2010

When we left Dickinson we traveled east along I-94 until be saw a sculpture called
Flying Geese. This marks the northern end of the Enchanted Highway south to Regent, ND. Along the highway, the fields every 5 miles or so contain large, often amusing, sculptures of mostly steel welded together. Beside each sculpture is a parking lot for people to stop and take pictures.

The lower picture is one of our favorite sculpture of an aquarium out on the plains. Kathy is pretending to be the little diver at the bottom of the tank. At the bottom, Chris looks at the panties of a farmer's giant wife.

The Enchanted Highway is the inspiration of artist Gary Greff. He had the idea of using large sculptures along this highway to draw tourists 25 miles south to his hometown in Regent. It works. Lots of people drove the highway, even on a Sunday morning, stopping at each sculpture to take pictures. We also talked and got to know each other. Visiting each other over and over again at each sculpture, several carloads formed a cohort driving down the road. At the end of the road in Regent, some of us again met in the artist's ice cream parlor and souvenir shop and talked some more. Kathy and I sat at a table talking to a couple from Georgia. One of the other families was from Minnesota; the wife had grown up in Concordia, Kansas!

We then drove south to Spearfish, South Dakota. We camped in the city's wonderful campground. We were camped near a very nice running stream. Off and on we have commented about camp showers. On this trip, we have suffered some of the small showers little bigger than coffins. We have also had the good fortune to use some really nice showers. The showers at the city campground in Spearfish are the best we have seen.

Medora, ND to Dickinson, North Dakota, Saturday, August 28, 2010.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was the first thing on our agenda for Saturday. We first visited the Visitors' Center, viewed the exhibits, and watched a video about Teddy Roosevelt's time in the Medora area.

We then drove the loop for the scenic tour. We only visited what is called the South Unit. The area is considered badlands and has a stark kind of beauty. It is not as empty of vegetation as some of the Badlands National Monument. Prairie Dog villages appear regularly along the loop drive. Early in the day, they appeared far away from the road. Later as we neared the end of the loop we saw them very near the road. One had even been killed by a passing car. At the end of the loop, we finally saw bison. They were graving and resting beside the road (they are not fenced). We stopped to admire them. They ignored us. One handsome horse wondered by, but we don't think it was part of the wild horse herd. Probably just an escaped domesticated animal. (More Google images)

From Medora, we drove along I-94 to Dickinson, ND. Their motto is "Explore the Western Edge." Dickinson is home of the Dakota Dinosaur Museum. This is a small museum with a nice collection of dinosaur and other animal fossils and minerals wonderfully displayed. Their mineral collection offers several interesting examples of objects that look like fossils of animals and plants, but are not. One looked like the skin of a dinosaur. Another looked like a fish.

We stayed the night in Dickinson and ate dinner in a nice restaurant. We both had a very tasty garlic soup. Chris had an expensive rack of lamb. And Kathy had an appetizer. The piped in music played Frank Sinatra and similar songs.

Ceylon to Medora, North Dakota, Friday, August 27, 2010

In the morning, the park caretaker came along to collect money and chat. Then we drove to Montana.

The US customs agents took all our uncut tomatoes, one green onion and the mountain ash berries (on right) we had picked up in Boissevain, Manitoba. We had not thought that the food in our refrigerator might be an issue. It all had been in the camper since Great Bend but, of course, we couldn't prove that. It is interesting that sliced tomates were OK.

We reentered the US in the northeast corner of Montana. We drove east into North Dakota to Medora, near Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Medora's history focuses on two major events. The town is named after the wife of a French aristocrat/adventurer, de Mores, who attempted to start in 1883 a cattle business and packing plant to ship meat back east. Theodore Roosevelt also came here for adventure and later to overcome depression over the loss of his wife and mother in 1884. Theodore credits this area into forming him into a man who could become president. So both men were in Medora at the same time and knew each other.

From this inspirational past, the town has slid into mere tourisms, i.e., shops, restaurants, one stage theater, museums, and two campgrounds. In the evening, we went to the Medora Musical.

We were expecting a musical telling the history of Medora. What we got in the first half was music with no real story. The singing and dancing was very professionally performed, but the lack of a story made the event comparatively meaningless compared to the inspirational story we expected. This was a 45th anniversary show which may have replaced the story-telling show we had expected and would have preferred. Why would tourists care about the 45th anniversary of the show? This reminds me of the time Bob Hope did a "Thanks for the memories" show in front of the University of Florida undergraduates. Since the students had no memories of Bob Hope, their behavior showed that they didn't care.

The second half of Medora Musical was much better. Acrobatic clowns, the New York Goofs, were amusing. This was followed by a skit about Theodore's Rough Riders' charge of San Juan Hill. This portion of the show was very sentimentally patriotic, very much in the spirit of Theodore's own enthusiastic nationalism.

We did not partake in the western delicacy popular in Medora, pitchfork (steak) fondue.

Indian Head to Ceylon, Saskatchewan, Thursday, August 26, 2010

This morning we drove north of town to see the Bell Farm Round Barn. Actually, the current attraction is a reconstruction of the original barn. The barn is stone and served as a stable for the large farm. The original was built in 1882.

The barn is more of a museum inside now, with only one stall as an example. However, the panels containing history of the area, the farm, and the owner were well done and interesting about the settlement of this part of Saskatchewan. The farm eventually failed and the owner, Bell, moved elsewhere.

After visting the Barn, we went south of town to the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) Shelterbelt Centre. We were especially interested in seeing any shrubs they are growing because we will be planting new shrubs in front of our house this year. We really didn't find a variety that looked like what we want, but did take a few pictures of possible ideas. We also picked up a few brochures and enjoyed looking at a model of the suggested arrangement of a farm with well-planned shelter belts. It was quite interesting. This summer we had to remove three trees on the north side of the house, so it gave us some ideas about what to do in that area.

We then drove west and stopped in Moose Jaw to visit the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre (SBOIC)First opened in 1997, the interactive interpretive center was developed adjacent to an abandoned racetrack surrounding the native habitat of several wild nesting burrowing owls. The Centre is also home to any wild Burrowing Owls that may not be released into the wild due to injury or loss of migratory ability. We were told that the original wild burrowing owls in the area have not returned at this time; this may be because the city is developing more around that area.

We enjoyed our tour and observing the owls. These owls are very small and nest underground. Although called Burrowing Owls, they do not actually dig their own burrows. They use burrows that have been dug by prairie dogs, gophers, or badgers. At the Centre they actually live in constructed burrows using flexible pipes. However, there are prairie dogs living there also and we saw some "visiting" the owls in their cages. The staff member that was showing us around said the staff have to refill holes near the cage walls made by the prairie dogs often so that the owls can not escape. Since most of the owls currently in residence can not be released because of their past injuries, this is a concern.

They are very small birds and their coloring certainly blends in and makes them difficult to spot sometimes, even in their cages. Three of the owls are imprinted on humans and are used in programs outside the Centre. You can see a short film about some of the Centre's activities and the owls here.

Our next stop was Rouleau, Saskatchewan, location for the Canadian TV comedy, Corner Gas. This is the show we have been watching on DVD in the camper each evening. We like the songs at the beginning and the end of the show during the credits. The song at the end is part of "My Happy Place"; the full song was originally done by The Odds. Here's the part used as the Corner Gas closing theme. Folks in the Great Plains, whether U.S. or Canada, will enjoy!

In the show, the town is called "Dog River." "Dog River" is painted on the grain elevator across the main highway from the town and easily seen from the Corner Gas station/convenient store and Ruby's Cafe, the main locations for show. All these buildings could be seen first as we approached the town from the northwest. We picnicked at Corner Gas and took pictures.

While we were there at least two other vehicles stopped, people got out and took pictures.
After taking the pictures, we drove into town. The local bar and one store sold souvenirs. We bought some.

Then we drove south to Ceylon, Saskatchewan, just short of the border. We camped in the city park.

International Peace Garden to Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Wednesday, August 25, 2010

We woke up to our first day of camping in Canada! We really were impressed with the campground at Adam Lake. It had lots of trees, good separation between campsites, and showers and electricity.

First order of business was to return to tour the International Peace Garden. The entrance is actually on the border between North Dakota and Manitoba. We had to go through Canadian Customs the night before, but did not need to on our return.

The International Peace Garden is a 2,339 acre botanical garden "devoted to World Peace, along the world’s longest unfortified border". The atmosphere while walking in the garden was quite "peaceful". Visitors can walk up one side of the main garden area and then back down the other side. Along the way there are a number of special structures: the Carillon Bell Tower, the Peace Tower, the Peace Chapel, a 9/11 Memorial, and a new Interpretive Center. (PDF map)

The Peace Tower consists of lots of concrete featuring four huge slabs (columns 120 feet high) representing the immigrants' aspiration when coming to both the United States and Canada and the other bonds between the two countries.

The Welcome Center seems to be brand new and isn't even quite finished yet, although it is open for business.

In Chris' opinion, the managers of the International Peace Garden seem to have a strong understanding of the garden part. There are lots of colorful flowers in a variety of pleasant arrangements. Their understanding of the peace part of their name seems more doubtful. Here are two observations.

The Peace Chapel is the place where the garden managers can most clearly express their thoughts about peace because inspirational quotes are carved on the interior walls. (YouTube video of quotes) The quotes are very thoughtful and inspirational. I really did like them. But this is a Peace Chapel. Shouldn't the quotes be about peace? When the quotes were being selected for the chapel walls the selector(s) seem(s) to have forgotten the main theme half way through and just started picking quotes they liked. For example:

"Does't thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." - Ben Franklin.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you." - Jesus. This quote may or may not be about peace, but Jesus said several things that definitely are about peace, e.g., Matthew 5:9, 5:38-48 and 26:52. Aren't these passages more relevant?

The Interpretive Center's gift shop sells wooden toy guns. This itself is not a contradiction because some claim the intimidation of guns causes peace. But, this garden on the "world's longest undefended border" symbolizes a peace created by trust between two nations sharing a common belief in democracy. Therefore, selling guns at this gift shop is ironically amusing. It would be appropriate to sell toy guns at a peace monument on the border between North and South Korea.

After leaving the Peace Garden, we again had to go through Canadian Customs to re-enter Manitoba. Our plan was to head for Brandon, Manitoba, to catch Trans-Canada highway 1. [as an aside, I think Brandon Manitoba sounds like a great stage name for someone. How about you?--Kathy]

While passing through Boissevain we first stopped to get tourist information. This community has many murals painted on buildings around town and a giant turtle welcoming visitors (remember the Turtle Mountains?). We ate lunch at a new facility that included food and snacks and gifts. It was nice and the folks there were very friendly. The café part had books on shelves all around the large room. It was very nice and homey for two librarians on the road!

We caught the Trans-Canada Highway at Brandon and headed west toward Saskatchewan. This would be the first time either of us had been in that province.

We had discovered, while reading some of the travel brochures, that Indian Head, Saskatchewan, was were a Canadian TV program called Little Mosque on the Prairie was filmed. After reading about it and watching some clips on the Web, we have decided that we are going to interlibrary loan the series to watch. It seems like it might be fun.

So, of course, we decided to stop in Indian Head to see the "mosque" from the show. After driving around fruitlessly searching we went to the city office to ask about this. (Yes, the library was closed!) We discovered that the church building in the show was actually just a façade and had already been taken down for the season (they film in town during July and August each year). The helpful lady in the City Office pointed out where it usually stands during filming.

We decided to stay in Indian Head at the KOA campground. We also ate supper at the Craft Tea Elevator Restaurant. Kathy was excited because they serve breakfast all day (the omelet was very good)! Chris had good liver and onions.

When we first began camping in Canada, our night-time DVD viewing has included episodes of season one of Corner Gas, another Canadian TV show. We have enjoyed watching the show which seems similar in spirit to Northern Exposure. Take a look at the first season, episode one opening scene on YouTube.

We hope to visit the town where it was filmed later on the vacation, so we watched more episodes before we bedded down for the night.

Custer, et al -Tuesday, August 24, 2010

We began the day with tours of some of the sites at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. This park contains a calvary fort, infantry fort, and Mandan village called On-a-Slant because the village is on a slope down to the river. (Map) (Google Images)

General George Custer and his wife, Libby, were posted at the cavalry fort. Custer and the 7th Calvary left on May 17th, and marched West to their deaths at the Battle of the Little Big Horn on June 25th, 1876.

We began the day with a tour of Custer's house. A gruff Sergeant Johnson (in 1876 character) took us through the house (Virtual tour). The time is 1875. The house was very comfortable. Custer and his wife had made a number of modifications to the usual officers' house plan. Libby had added a bay window on the south side of the parlor. That evening the Custer house was hosting a dinner party. The group of Custer's extended family and their spouses would gather at the house at 7 pm. for music, singing, and dancing. At 8 pm the dinner bell rang and everyone moved into a dinner of roast beef and vegetables. Vegetables always included Custer's favorite, onions. Custer loved onions and would even eat them raw.

Another building at the fort is one of the barracks. The design of the barracks is similar to the infantry barracks at Fort Larned, but the back kitchen and dining area are much larger. One side of the barracks was dedicated to the men of the 7th Cavalry at the time of the Little Big Horn. The cots, arranged perpendicular to the walls, are lined up and down the barracks with an aisle in the middle. At the foot of each cot was a light blue wooden box, i.e., soldiers' footlocker. The lids are up and in each lid was a short biography of a 7th cavalry soldier at the time of the battle. Many, of course, died at Little Big Horn, but not all. Several had been posted on other assignments. Kathy observed that many were immigrants.

The Mandan village, On-a-Slant, is near the fort. The Mandan lived here from mid-1600s to the mid- to late-1700s. In other words, they had abandoned this village before Lewis and Clark came through in 1805. This village is located on a peninsula cliff overlooking the river. The river and ravines on two sides protected the village on three sides. A wooden palisade protected the fourth side. At its peak the village had 75 circular earthlodges.

Today's On-a-Slant has five earthlodges constructed by the CCC during the 1930s under the direction of a Mandan spiritual leader called, if I remember correctly, a Corn Spirit. The earthlodges are 20 to 40 feet in diameter and 15 to 20 feet high. (See pictures at the bottom of the page) Extended matrilineal families, i.e,. the female head of household, her husband, her daughters and their husbandsand children, about 10 to 15 people, occupied each earthlodge. Inside, a large fire area is in the center of the lodge. A hole in the ceiling lets the smoke out. A large wooden wall in front of the door forces air to approach the fire from two directions. This encourages the smoke to go straight up through the hole rather than filling the lodge. Our guide said that in another earthlodge without the wall blocking the door, the air rushes in and pushes the smoke toward the walls, filling the lodge with smoke.

We also visited the infantry post on the hill near On-a-Slant. This is now basically the three reconstructed blockhouses. Chris climbed to the top (3 floors); Kathy quit after the second!

After leaving Fort Abraham Lincoln, we drove north to visit another Mandan village called Double Ditch and then north again to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center with Fort Mandan. (Virtual tour of Fort Mandan.)Fort Mandan was built by Lewis and Clark's men to survive the winter of 1804-5. It is a triangular in shape and appears quite cozy, for a frontier fort.

We traveled north again to Rugby, geographical center of North America. Since we travel to Lebanon, Kansas (the geographical center of the 48 contiguous U.S. states), often, it seemed that we should also visit here.

Since the International Peace Garden did not have any campsites with electricity, we crossed in to Manitoba, Canada (yes, we remembered our passports!) to the Adam Lake campground at Turtle Mountain Provincial Park and Forest. It has very, very nice campsites. We were quite happy.