We continue south, finally out of Illinois, a very long state, into Missouri, on our way to Alabama, to drop off the motorhome at the manufacturer for some minor repairs and regular maintenance. Passed miles and miles of cotton fields along the way.
We crossed the great one, the Mississippi River, and into Memphis.
Believe it or not, we crossed this bridge THREE TIMES, looking for the exit to the campground we reserved. Between the GPS, directions from the campground manager, and the 2 of us, you would have thought we could get it right. That not being enough, after we checked in, we looked up the location for a Wachovia bank, so Tony could deposit a check, and again, despite the GPS, and internet directions, we couldn't find the town on the GPS. Turns out, we had driven into Mississippi! That's why the town and street were not showing up on the GPS. We don't even know what state we're in anymore. Never mind what date or day it is!
We finally made it to Red Bay, Alabama, to leave the coach with the manufacturer, Tiffin Motorhomes.
It's brutally hot here - tomorrow is expected to be 98 degrees. Back in shorts again!
There must be 100 motorhomes here, waiting their turn.
This is the official end of our road trip, as we'll drive the Jeep home and pick up the motorhome in January as we head to Arizona, to spend the winter.
We drove just over 8,000 miles, saw some of our country's most beautiful sights, and for the most part, had great weather. We got married, and seem to be surviving it very well!
We have a "Visited States Map" adhered to one of the slide out rooms, and as we spent time in a new state, we added it to the map.
We started this about 4 years ago, and the only states we have yet to visit are: Rhode Island, Vermont, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, and of course, Hawaii. Next January, we'll visit New Orleans and San Antonio, on our way to Arizona, so that will be 2 more states added.
Thanks for visiting with us! We enjoyed doing the blog, and it will bring us back to these wonderful places many more times.
Ciao!
Breezed through Wisconsin, sans cheese, and into Illinois on our way south. Since we were here, we thought it appropo to put our flags out:
Had to do our annual re-certifications online today, to sell Medicare insurance, so that was no fun. Of course, Tony picked a campground not far from another Indian casino, where he left a small deposit.
Today, he was able to get one of his famous naps in:
Out cold, mouth open.....can't you just hear the snoring?
We arrived at the State of 10,000 lakes and were back in an urban setting after traveling through rural areas for the last week. We settled in Shakopee, near Bloomington, which is home of the Mall of America. Our Campground offers teepee sites to rent out - the kids would enjoy them:
The Campground is affiliated with a casino, so TZ made a beeline there the first night!
We visited the Mall of America, which was completed in 1992, and it the country's largest retail and entertainment complex, with over 520 stores and 50 restaurants on over 4 million square feet.
The interior could hold 32 Boeing 747's or 7 Yankee Stadiums! It has forty million visitors annually - more than the populations of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Canada.......combined!!! It is a city within a city, and because of the many musical events, is called the "Hollywood of the Midwest". The center of the mall holds Nickelodeon Universe - an amusement park, complete with roller coasters and rides!
There is a 1.2 million gallon Aquarium, Dinosaur Walk Museum, and a Flight Simulator, where kids of all ages can enter one of these and "fly" the aircraft as if they're in the cockpit:
As if this complex is not enough, there are expansion plans in process for another 5 million SF, for hotels, spas, a dinner theater and a water park! We were there for 4 hours, and we walked so much we needed to take Ibuprofen when we got home! You KNOW it was interesting if Tony stayed in a mall for 4 hours!
Tomorrow we'll leave for Wisconsin.
We drove through almost 500 miles in Montana, before finally reaching North Dakota. We didn't expect the gorgeous scenery we found in here - it reminded us of The Painted Desert.
There really is a Home on the Range:
We checked in to a little town named Medora. The storefronts, and even the town playground, are all in western design.
The city has many family events throughout the summer, including a nightly musical about the west, chuckwagon buffets, concerts, seven museums, horse parades, and more.
After dinner, we visited the nearby Theodore Roosevelt National Park at sunset.
We were treated to a multitude of animals who came out to graze, including mule deer, white tail deer, a badger, an owl and this huge bison, who was only about 30 feet from the road:
This park is named for Teddy Roosevelt, as a tribute to the 26th President, who spent some time here in the Medora area, and grew to love the west. He purchased two cattle ranches, and enjoyed hunting bison and other large animals. He often said:"I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota". When he arrived here in the ND Badlands, he was all of 98 lbs, and after living the western life and working his ranches, he left a stout fearless man, 30 lbs heavier. During his visits out west, he became concerned about the damage being done to the land and the wildlife. He learned of herds of buffalo that were decimated by hide hunters and disease. He witnessed the destruction of some big game species. He had a new appreciation of the pristine wilderness and its wildlife, and after he was elected President, he worked to preserve it - he had the greatest conservation record of any US President: He established the US Forest Service, proclaimed 18 national monuments, 51 Federal Bird Reservations, 4 National Game Preserves and 150 National Forests.
We drove on through North Dakota, and the central part of the state is mostly barren, and all you see are the tail lights of the car in front of you. These are some of the straightest roads we've seen - If you hooked up "The Club" to your steering wheel, and set the cruise control, you'd do just fine.
We'll continue east and spend tomorrow night in Minnesota.
The drive through Idaho into Montana was one of the most scenic areas we've seen (I think I've said that about a number of other places, but the West is just breathtaking). Our first stop was Rich Ranch,
to visit with Tony's friend from Campfire Club, Jack Rich and his wife Belinda.
They offer wilderness tours, including hunting and fishing expeditions, and also dude ranch activities for families. The kids who visit must have a ball - they camp outdoors in teepees and cabins, and have plenty of outdoor activities to keep them busy. They get to wear cowboy hats and ride horses.
Tony hasn't seen Jack in over 18 years, since his last Montana hunt, so they had a lot of catching up to do.
After our visit, we drove north, and passed an unusual sight: How would you like to live in this home, which occupies almost an entire island in a lake?
We eventually arrived at our next destination, and another National Treasure - Glacier National Park.
We drove through the park on the famous "Going to the Sun Road", and if you were ever there, you'd understand the meaning of the name. The ascent up is a one of a kind drive, with the road cut right into the side of the mountain.
Clearly, there are driving restrictions - no vehicles over 21 feet are allowed on this road. The West Tunnel is 192 feet long - imagine the time and manpower it must have taken to bore through the mountain, using 1926 technology.
The Bird Woman Falls cascades 492 feet down a mountain.
Although the weather today was dismal - cool and rainy, at one point, the clouds broke, and the sun peeked out to reveal a stately mountain top.
It looked a little spooky!
At Logan Pass, elevation 6646 feet, we crossed the Continental Divide, and we were treated to sleet, snow and very cold temperatures.
Here are some of the other beautiful sights in the park:
There was an extensive area which was burned, and although it was disheartening to see the scorched trees and barren slopes, if you look closely, you'll notice new growth at the base of the trees - it looks like grasses, but its tiny new pine trees which one day will tower above the slopes.
Unfortunatley, fires are inevitable, but that's Mother Nature at work, replenishing the forests.
During our ride through the park, I was reading the brochure and Tony was driving (he's only allowed to drive the Jeep), and apparently he was looking here and there - A park ranger who was following us, flashes the lights and pulls us over. It seems, TZ was doing 54 in a 45 mph zone, and he was weaving in and out of the lane. No tickets, but guess who had to take over the driving? As if I don't drive enough. I did over 6,000 miles in the motorhome this trip (so far), and Tony did 40 feet - he pulled it up after a fuel stop to allow a truck to move in to gas up.
On the way home, we were treated to a rare double rainbow:
We needed the heat on through the night, and the next morning, when I walked over to the showers, it was so cold that I saw my own breath!
We went south to Darby, pop. 700, to visit with another of Tony's Campfire friends, "Jimmy, the Hat Guy", who happens to be an internationally renowned western hatmaker, who makes cowboy hats out of beaver. He is one of an exclusive club of only 50 people in this country in this trade. Tony calls him "Doc Holiday", because he comes to the outings at the club in full western wear.
Darby is a quaint town, where the storefronts look like something out of a western movie.
After we left Jim, we went on a wild goose hunt to locate other friends of Tony's, Billy and Cody, who run an outfitting business out of Billings, Montana. Tony hasn't seen them in over eight years.
Driving east out of Missoula brought us up and over yet another mountain.At a rest stop, there was a huge warning sign about fatal accidents from the sharp descent and tight curves ahead:
We got through it just fine, in second gear and 25 mph all the way down the mountain. There was a gravel runaway truck lane - a steep uphill lane to quickly stop the truck.
As usual, the scenery was stunning -
Here's a great shot of Tony Z in his typical position during the drive:
You had to see it! He was out cold, and practically falling out of his chair. I don't see a seat belt, do you?
Tomorrow, we'll make it out of Montana, and into North Dakota.
