California

We are on our way to the Napa area for a few weeks. One more stop before we get there. We stayed at the Durango RV Resort for an overnight. We didn’t unhook the trailer. The campground was really nice, it had concrete pads and the whole park was really clean.

We planned to stay in the Napa area for one month, but because fall is a very popular time to visit the area, we couldn’t find a campground that could accommodate our stay. We booked three weeks in Petaluma, CA. (Sonoma County) at the Petaluma KOA. It is a KOA Resort and is very large and family friendly. We relocated sites once to accommodate our stay. This KOA is very popular and expensive.  It was time to do laundry and they  had plenty of washers, however, only one dryer was working. There were three of us doing our laundry. The good news was that we were there first, so our laundry was done first and we got to use the dryer. (The laundry situation was disappointing, considering the cost of the park.). The campground was fairly quiet during the week and crazy on the weekend, however, it did quiet down during quiet hours.

We spent several days driving the Sonoma County area. We drove through Cotati, Sebastopol, and Graton area. All small towns and rural. Healdsburg has a neat historical downtown with plenty of shops and restaurants.

The kids came over from San Francisco and met us in Sonoma for dinner. There happened to be a wine tasting and art show in the town square. We met them in the park and then walked to a tasting room for some wine before our dinner reservation. We ate dinner at Eldorado Kitchen. Doug and I split the salmon and it was very good.

 

This two year adventure is almost over and we are getting anxious to be home in Southern California. We decided to shorten our stay by one week. We spent the rest of our time exploring Napa County, taking a drive to the coast, and spending a night in San Francisco.

They are making a lot of changes in Napa. There are new shops and restaurants downtown.  We did some shopping in Napa, and had a glass of wine by the river at Angele’s. It was a beautiful afternoon. Another day, we visited St. Francis and did a wine tasting.

Mural in Napa – we were photo bombed

Anele Restaurant

Angele Restaurant, Napa

The next day we drove to the Bodega Bay. The land was hilly and rocky, the weather was cool. We had some Red Chowder across the street from the bay with the locals.

Bodega Bay

The fog bank was moving in so we headed back toward Petaluma by way of Bodega. We had to get a picture of the school from the Hitchcock film, “The Birds.”

St. Helena has a neat historical downtown and we also really liked Calispell. Calispell is a nice little town with a sleepy feel. We heard that the mayor is young and doing really good things for Calispell. It felt like a welcoming town, to us. We drove to Rutherford and had dinner at the Rutherford Grill; one of our favorites. We also had to make a stop at Dean and Deluca and the Oakville Market.

We drove into the city and had dinner at State Bird Provisions, where the kids made reservations.   We arrived and there was a long line waiting outside.  We were thankful for the reservation, and we were seated right away.  It was a fun meal of sharing all kinds of interesting foods.  In the morning we met again and walked down to the pier.  Again, we sampled some great food.  After our visit we headed back to the campground in Petaluma.

State Bird Provisions Restuarant

View from our hotel

Coit Tower from our hotel

The day before we left, we drove out to see California’s Old Faithful and the fainting goats. They didn’t faint for us, but then again, we did not bring the umbrella that was suggested. Apparently they are afraid of umbrellas not people.

California Old Faithful

Fainting Goat

Almost home, we had an overnight stop in San Juan Baptisto in Betabel RV Park.  Our last two stops are very familiar to us. We stopped in Paso Robles and stayed at Wine Country RV resort. It was a short stay. We drove the country side and took a photo of an olive farm for sale, complete with the label rights to make olive oil. We really like the little town of Templeton. We had lunch there and walked the small town.

Olive Farm

Templeton, CA

McPhee’s

Wine Country RV Resort

We spent the last couple days in Buellton at one of our favorites, the Flying Flags RV Resort. They’ve made some upgrades to the park. There was live music in the common grounds while we were there. It is always nice to visit the Maverick in Santa Ynez, and the Carhart tasting room in Los Olivos.

We will be home today. It has been an amazing “almost” two years for us……Dorothy had it right, “There’s no place like home.”

Traveling through Washington and Oregon

We are on our journey home now with no long stops until we arrive in Petaluma, CA, where we plan to spend a few week touring the Sonoma and Napa counties.

Ellensburg, WA

On our drive from Coeur d’Alene, Doug spotted three elk running to the waters edge for a drink. We have seen a lot of wildlife on this loop of the US.

We passed a scenic overview that was beautiful.

We stayed at the Ellensburg KOA.  About one hour from Ellensburg, WA is a small German town called Leavenworth. We had lunch and visited the German shops. Our favorite was Schocolat where we sampled some great chocolates. We also bought some pear caramel sauce. On the way back to the campground we stopped at a farm stand and bought some apples.

Lunch in Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth, WA

Issaquah, WA

We enjoyed two days of family time in Issaquah. This is a beautiful area outside of Seattle. We enjoyed visiting with family and touring the area together. The food and conversation during out stay in Issaquah is forever memorable.

Kelso, Jefferson, Roseburg, Glenyan, OR

These were all quick stops through Oregon. Oregon and Washington are beautiful states that we plan to come back and explore in the future. On the way through Oregon we stopped at several shopping areas (no state sales tax in Oregon). We traveled from Kelso (staying at Brookhollow RV Park) to Jefferson (staying at Emerald Valley RV Park) and then Roseburg, OR (staying at Twin Rivers RV Park).

Twin Rivers RV Park, is a very quiet, woodsy campground. We walked to a garden across from the campground and also to a public park along the river. Very beautiful country area with lots of out door recreation and wineries.

From Roseburg we travelled to Glenyan, OR, which is close to Ashland. Ashland has the Shakespeare Festival that runs from May through October. There are performances nightly and a free show prior on the Green Stage.

Ashland, OR

Ashland, OR

Fall Harvest Fund Raising Dinner in Ashland, OR

We ate some really great BBQ in Ashland.

Great BBQ in Ashland

We had to sample the local beer

Ashland, although touristy, was a neat place to visit.  Also, near our campground, we stopped at the Dagoba for chocolate.   They have a really neat store at the factory with lots of chocolate samples!!!

Chocolate lovers dream

One more stop before we arrive our next destination in Sonoma and Napa.

Idaho

Coeur d’alene
We left St. Regis, MT and drove to Coeur d’alene, ID. We stayed at Wolf Lodge Campground. It was not the best, but not the worst. There is a sign in the office that says “Absolutely no refunds, don’t even ask.” Small campground and wooded. The smell was terrific with all the pines.

Cd’A is a beautiful city. The downtown has a lot going on and the lake has restaurants, rentals, cruises, airplane rides, parasailing…… A very active place. We chatted with a gentleman at the visitors center, and later a waiter, who both said that they were sure we would want to move to Coeur d’Alene. It is beautiful but we have no plans to move to Idaho.

We took a cruise of Lake Coeur d’alene.  It was a one and one half hour cruise. We had great weather for the cruise. The air was cool but the sun was warm. I am glad that we had our jackets.

 

We have noticed that the weather is beginning to change. The air is much cooler and the the nights get cold. We hiked Tubbs Hill. It was a great hike with spectacular views of the lake.

View along Tubbs Hill Hike

Tubbs Hill Hike

We had dinner at two restaurants mentioned in “1000 Places to See Before You Die,” by Patricia Schultz. Wolfe Lodge (no connection to our campground, although it is just down the road) was a good steak house. It is very rustic; the food and service are good.

Photo taken in Wolfe Lodge Restaurant

The other restaurant is called Cedars Floating Restaurant. This is a really neat place to eat. It is floating on the lake and the views are wonderful. We had the Cedar planked salmon and then indulged in a dish of huckleberry ice cream.

Cedars Floating Restaurant

Cedars

We decided to drive around the lake but realized after about an hour of driving that the lake was too big — it would take longer than we were willing to drive. We stopped in Harrison, a cute lake town, for coffee and took an inland road that took us back to where we started.

Wallace
We drove to Wallace a historical silver mining town. They still mine silver in Wallace. We took a tour of an old mine. The Sierra Silver Mine Tour takes you into a real mine. The mine was opened in 1900 and mined for several years. At one point, there were so few miners, that they used his mine to to teach high school students vocational courses in mining. Now the public can view the mine and equipment. It is an interesting, educational tour given by retired miners. Our miner showed us how to run a piece of equipment and said “it is really fun; once you get on to it.”  Wallace has a lot of outdoor activities as well as historical mining tours and museums. It started to rain at the end of our tour so we left Wallace and drove back to Coeur d’Alene where surprisingly it wasn’t raining at all!

On to Washington!

Montana

Montana is a beautiful state. We spent the month of August touring Montana. We did a loop from Billings, through Bozman (Livingston), West Yellowstone, Butte, Polson, Kalispel, Shelby, Great Falls, Lewiston, and back to Billings. This was not most efficient plan because we must back track to Idaho, however, we purchased our tickets to fly home a long time ago.

Billings

We stayed at the KOA Holiday campground in Billings, MT. This is a very nice campground with lots,of amenities. Bikes, mini golf, pool, sunrise breakfast and sundown supper daily, and a very nice staff. This is KOA #1, the first KOA began here fifty years ago. A great campground to hang out and relax.

KOA Holiday, Billings, MT

KOA Holiday, Billings

Livingston and Bozeman

Osen’s RV Park was very small, but nice. There was only one spot to accommodate our two night stay, and that site did not have sewer. We used the dump station when we left. The people who manage the park were very nice. They had some neat jewelry for sale in their office.

Road outside Osen’s RV Park

Livingston was a thriving railroad town in its heyday. Calamity Jane lived in Livingston. We walked the old town; bars, casinos, and shops. There was a few nice boutiques and art shops in town. We met a young clerk who was interested in our travels. She will be a freshman this fall at Oxford! Smart young woman, we wish her the best.

Bozman is a college town and appears to be doing well. There are lots of restaurants and shops downtown, a pretty “hip” place. We ate lunch at Ted’s Montana Grill.

West Yellowstone

Our next stop was the Wagon Wheel RV Park. We did not like this park at all. It was convenient to Yellowstone National Park and downtown but there are nicer places to stay in West Yellowstone. We would not recommend this park.

After setting up camp, we waked the (very small) town of West Yellowstone and had dinner at Bill wrinkles Saloon and Eatery. We had their Rainbow Trout. It is always fun to eat at the bar and talk to the locals and other travelers. Our second night in town we came back and split the Bison rib-eye steak for dinner and huckleberry cheesecake for dessert!

The next day we got up early and spent the day driving the south loop of Yellowstone National Park. It had been smokey due to local fires, but the park was clear while we were there. We stopped to see the geo-pools, mud volcanoes, and Old Faithful.

While we were waiting to see Old Faithful do its thing, we talked with a nice woman and her son who were traveling back to Pennsylvania from LA. He had been studying film making in LA and she flew to LA to drive back with him.

The sounds and colors of the geo-pools, hot springs, and mud volcanoes are very interesting. Old Faithful is a favorite and we enjoyed the nature and wildlife, too. We saw buffalo along the road. One of the Rangers told us that traffic was backed up for two hours the day before due to buffalo on the road. We saw Elk on the peninsula. We also saw a Heron and six white swans.

Elk on the Sandbar

Dragons Mouth Spring

Mud Volcano

It was exciting to get up close to these guys (don’t worry, we used zoom).

South Loop, Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Anaconda (Butte)

We drove Hwy. 287 into Idaho. The land was baron however there is a beautiful river that runs along the highway. We saw lots of fly fishermen, scattered log cabins and homes, but no markets or gas stations. Fairmont RV Park is a fair campground. There is a walkway to Fairmont Hot Springs, a hotel convention center and resort and casino.

Butte was about 25 minutes from our camp ground in Anaconda. Butte, MT boasts of the largest nationally registered historical district. The town is not touristy. There are some homes to tour and a few museums, but it appears to be a working town that is struggling. The town was once known as the “Richest Hill on Earth” at the turn of the century. The hill is lined with mining headframes that are still seen today.

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Downtown Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

Butte, MT

We toured the home of W. A. Clark the copper mogul; now a bed and breakfast. The W. A. Clark Victorian mansion was completed in 1888. Clark also built a home for his son, as a wedding gift, in 1898. This home was not opened while we were in town, but is beautiful on on the outside.

W. A. Clark Mansion, Butte, MT

Charles Walker Clark Mansion, Butte, MT

Clark was an interesting character. He started his career as a teacher but left his confederate army post to go west for mining. He made his money in the copper mines of Butte, Montana and Jerome, Arizona. He also established a maintenance stop for his San Pedro and Salt Lake Railroad by subdividing 110 acres into lots, which grew to become Las Vegas; hence “Clark” County, Nevada.

During the tour of his mansion in Butte, the docent mentioned, Hugette Clark, W.A.’s youngest daughter. She died just shy of her 105th birthday in a hospital room which she occupied for 20 years, though she was not ill. She owned several mansions and was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This inspired me to read a very interesting book Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

The weather has finally started to cool down at night – great for sleeping.

Polson

Our next campground was small, clean and inviting. There are several who are here for the summer (many Canadians). The campers seemed to be winding up their summer stay and we were invited to a birthday/going away cookout the evening we arrived. Eagles Nest RV Park is close to town. We were not here long but would definitely stop here again. We did some shopping in town the next day and enjoyed their farmers market. We bought some veggies and huckleberry jam from the market and Doug bought a hat downtown.

Polson, Montana

Kalispell,  White Fish,  Glacier National Park,  Swan Lake,  Big Fork

It was a beautiful drive up to Kalispel where we planned to stay for a few days. Glacier Pines was a nice campground. It is a basic campground, the sites are level and gravel. This was a convenient campground for our sightseeing plans. We set up camp and drove to Kalispel to walk the town. There were several art shops and boutiques.

Flat Head Lake (Polson and Kalispell)

Flat Head Lake (Polson and Kalispell)

Brewery in Kalispell

The next day we drove to White Fish a nice upscale town. There were also great boutiques, art shops, and restaurants.

Glacier National Park was beautiful! It was warm 70 degree weather. The morning was partly sunny but the clouds disappeared by noon. The photos just don’t capture the full beauty. The drive on Going to the Sun Road was a little harry out my side window —- overlooking long, long drops. I survived, but according to Doug made many unrecognizable sounds as my tummy was doing flip-flops.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Going to the Sun Road

Glacier National Park

We stopped for several photos and a hike down to the river. The river rocks are so colorful.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

River Rock, Glacier National Park

We entered the park using the West Glacier entrance, and I’m glad we did because the other side was not as beautiful due to a large fire several years ago. It was still pretty with its mountain peaks and wild flowers. To get home from the park (making a loop) we drove highway 89 to 49. Highway 49 was super twisty. Highway 49 had some beautiful scenery, just as beautiful as it was on the park drive, only without the guard rails! We had to stop twice for cows that were crossing the road.

Highway 49, Montana

Highway 49, Montana

It was a beautiful day at Glacier National Park.

The next day (Tuesday) we visited Swan Lake. We expected a picturesque small lake with a small town. It was a beautiful large lake and the town was very, very small. Doug’s brother spent his summer working at a neighbors gas station here when he was 15 years old. There was a closed gas station, the Swan Lake Trading post and a cabin rental/restaurant that was closed on Tuesdays.

Old Conoco Gas Station in Swan Lake, MT

 

Laughing Horse Restaurant and Cabins

We drove to Big Fork on our way back to camp. We walked the little resort town on the Swan River. It is a nice small vacation town.

Shelby

We had an overnight stay in Shelby, Montana. The drive had both beautiful and plain and yellow scenery. We did see a herd of bison. We stayed at the Lewis and Clark campground run by an 85 year old gentleman. We were one of two campers there. It felt a little eerie. By nightfall, several other trailers came in for the night. We didn’t unhook at this campground.

Lewis and Clark Campgrounds

Great Falls

We stayed at Dicks RV campground in Great Falls, Montana. It was a lovely campground. There was road noise from Business 15, but it was not bothersome. It was a nice park for walking the park.

The one thing we wanted to do in Great Falls, listed in 1000 Places to See Before you Die, by Patricia Schultz, was the Russell Museum. Doug (we both) really enjoy his western art. We drove to the Museum in Great Falls and it was closed! According to the notice on the door, it was closed due to storm damage. There was a bad storm that went through Great Falls just three days prior to our arrival. Disappointed. We were able to take photos of some art on the lawn.

Russell Museum

Russell Museum

Russell Museum

We visited the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center. A beautiful and educational museum center. It had become apparent to us that we have been following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark since we left St. Charles, Missouri where they were commissioned to follow the Missouri River north. We should have noted how many times we have crossed or driven parallel to the Missouri River.

We drove to Ryan Dam to see the falls and also Rainbow Falls. Lewis and Clark were very impressed with the falls in the Great Falls area. The river drops 500 feet in elevation. The falls, were more spectacular before there were dams built to regulate the water.

Ryan Dam, Great Falls, MT

Ryan Island

 

Rainbow Falls, Great Falls, MT

Lewistown

The home of the Cowboy Poetry Festival. We wanted to be here for the festival (we arrived just after) but the campground  (Mountain Acres RV Park) was booked for the festival. This county is the least populated county in Montana. We saw a mountainman on the drive to Lewistown. He had a long white beard and was walking a pack mule by the side of the road. We didn’t do much but relax and go for walks on our short stay here, the park was nice. We had a very weird rainstorm. It rained sideways for a short time.

There is a religious group in this area called the Hutterites; communal living, German speaking people’s living in Montana and Canada – similar to Amish but they use modern farming equipment.

Back to Billings and then home for a week.

 

Sheridan, Wyoming

It was about 4 1/2 hours drive from Rapid City, SD to Sheridan, WY. There was a beautiful tourist center along the way, with lots of information about Wyoming. The drive was nice and we saw cattle, horses, goats, big vultures, and herds of deer.

Our campground, Peter D’s RV Park, was pleasant, with few amenities, but super convenient to town. There were garden vegetables (grown in the park) on the counter for guests. The cucumbers were delicious!

We went to old town Sheridan and had a really nice afternoon.

There were several shops and a bar called The Mint. This bar is 109 years old. It was (somewhat) remodeled in 1947. There are mounted heads of deer, moose, and bear on the walls, along with other racks; a very interesting place. We walked from there to the Chop house and split a pork chop dinner. On our way out of town, we noticed a band at the Sheridan Inn. We parked and walked over to check it out. It happened to be a country band and a street dance. The band was the Texas Jam Band (with members from Ace in the Hole.) We stayed until the end and really enjoyed ourselves.

SHERIDAN, SD

Mint Bar

MINT BAR

Texas Jam Band on the porch of the Sheridan Inn

The Sheridan Inn is a National Historic Landmark. It is also, according to their brochure, the residence of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, from 1894 to 1902. The brochure also states that Buffalo Bill held auditions for his “Wild West Show” on the front lawn of the Sheridan Inn. The Sheridan Inn is a beautiful old Inn that opened in 1893. The front porch is really neat and the lobby is warm and inviting.

The Sheridan Inn

We also visited the Brinton Museum. This museum is a modern building which opened in 2015 and houses Bradley Brinton’s art collection of Remington and Russell artworks, as well as other western and American Indian art. The building is lovely and has beautiful views of the Bighorn Mountains.

Brinton Museum

Cafe views at the Brinton Museum

Big Horn Mountains

Included in the admission is a tour of the Bradford Brinton Ranch House and Gardens. This gentleman’s ranch was purchased by Brinton in 1923. The tour included the museum, Brinton’s ranch house, saddle and carriage barns, gardens, and also his hunting lodge called Little Goose Creek Lodge.

Brinton Hunting Lodge

Our tour guide was a young woman, who mentioned that she has lived in several different states. She went to school in Montana and has decided to settle in Wyoming. We asked her why Wyoming and she said, “there aren’t many people in Wyoming. I like to be alone.” She was cute, and we agree that Sheridan is a peaceful place.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls

We started from Omaha, Nebraska and went north to Sioux Falls, SD. It was a very easy drive for us, and the weather was great. When we arrived, it was hot and the humidity was high. We set up camp and did some grocery shopping. Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park of Sioux Falls in Brandon, SD, is a very nice, large family campground. There is an 18 hole miniature golf area, pool,  and playgrounds.

The next day we drove to the falls. There is a large park with paths all around the falls, and a tall observation area. The terrain was different than other falls that we have seen.

Sioux Falls

 

Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls

We also spent some time downtown Sioux Falls. We had lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant called Mama’s Lada. The salsa was exceptional and we bought extra to take back to the trailer.

Restaurant in Sioux Falls, SD

Since we’re were so close, we drove to Minnesota. We drove 22 miles east to Luverne, MN. It was a very small town. I took a photo of a building because we found the color of the brick so interesting. Sioux Falls also used this color of brick.

Louverne, Minnisota

 

Presho, SD

 

 

 

Our next stop was Presho, SD for the night; we stayed hitched. It was 106-109 degrees the day we were there. We asked in the office if it was always that hot and were told that this heat was extreme. Usually, we were told, it is 90-100. Even with shade from a nearby tree, the trailer air conditioner had trouble keeping the trailer cool.

View out our back window in Presho, SD

New Frontier RV Park in Presho, SD

On the drive from Sioux Falls to Presho, we saw a lot of corn fields, cut hay, hay being cut, and cattle. We even saw a dead cow…that was a new one. Before setting up camp in Presho, we drove north to Ft. Pierre to buy two new tires for the trailer. Ft. Pierre is the Capitol of South Dakota. We returned to Presho, and set up camp at New Frontrier RV Park. It is adequate for a one night stay.

Plains of South Dakota – near Presho, SD

Train depot in Pierre, SD

New tires in Pierre SD

 

Great Falls, SD

The next day we traveled across the plains to Great Falls, SD, staying at Rushmore Shadows RV Park. The plains (fitting name) is very “plain” – flat and neutral in color. The terrain changed just before we reached Great Falls. This area is hilly and green with lots of pines. Rushmore Shadows is a really nice RV Park outside of town. The park has a pool, mini golf, and activities; it is also a nice park to walk, and it is only 20 minutes from Mount Rushmore.

Campground

Rushmore Shadows RV Park

Several storms have gone through the area, thankfully, they have been either north or south of us. It has also been windy.

There is much do in the Great Falls area. We made a list of the things we want to see the most. On the way here, we passed Wall Drug in Wall, SD. There were signs 260 miles away advertising Wall Drug. We decided that we would continue on to Great Falls and backtrack to Wall Drug. So, that is was we did on our first day. Wall drug is Wall, SD, there is not much else in town. It is worth experiencing, however, we could have stopped on our way because there is RV parking. It is very touristy and great for people watching. We enjoyed our donut and 5 cent coffee, free to veterans.

Wall Drug

Wall Drug

Wall, SD

The next day we drove a loop from Sturges to Deadwood, Deadwood to Lead, and from there to Keystone/ Mount Rushmore. It took all day. It was good to see pine trees and and mountains again. A very nice drive especially highway 385 from Lead to Keystone.

Sturges was an active town even though it was not rally time.

Sturgis,, SD

Deadwood is a legendary place, and very touristy. Old historic buildings now house souvenir shops, bars and casinos. We thought the town was neat to look at and we did enjoy our burger at Mustang Sally’s.

Deadwood, SD

Wild Bill  Bar (and gift shop)

Deadwood, SD

Deadwood, SD

Deadwood, SD

Lead is an old mining town, very small and not as touristy as Deadwood.

Open pit mining in Lead, SD

Keystone was also very touristy. We drove through Keystone on our way to Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore was neat, we were very impressed.

Mount Rushmore, Keystone, SD

Nebraska

It is always nice to stop in Omaha to see the kids. Last year, while in Omaha, we spent some time touring the city, eating and shopping in the historic downtown area (which is very nice), shopping at the outlet mall, and visiting Lincoln, NE. We looked forward to doing some of these things again, however, this year was a whole new agenda.

Our campground was the same as last year, the West Omaha KOA in Gretna, NE. This was the most convenient campground, about 20 minutes from family.

We visited the Henry Doorly Zoo. This zoo is one of the best zoos in the nation, ranking in the top three. It’s competition is the San Diego Zoo; both are really great zoos. It was very hot in Omaha while we were there. The Henry Doorly Zoo does a good job keeping folks cool with misters, shaded areas, and indoor (air conditioned) exhibits.

 

We toured two historic homes that we did not have time to tour last year. The General Crook House at Fort Omaha, once the headquarters for the Department of the Platte. Quarters One, Fort Omaha was the home of the Commander and named after its first resident, General Crook. The docent on duty during our visit was very informative. He shared a lot about General George Crook, the home, and lifestyle of the people during the time General Crook lived at Quarters One. We did a self-guided tour. The basement level had an exhibit called, “Big Noise in the Heartland: Omaha Broadcasting,” which was also interesting.

General Crook House

Wallpaper border, stained and hand painted, with silver leaf.

Secondly, we toured The Joslyn Castle, a 35 room Scottish Baronial mansion. According to joselyncastle.com, “George and Sarah Joslyn were important business and community leaders and were the wealthiest couple in Nebraska during the first two decades of the Twentieth Century. They built a home to reflect their status in 1903 on what was then a hill on Omaha’s western outskirts.” The tour is a guided tour and it was interesting to hear about the house, the family, and their lifestyle in that time period.

Joslyn Castle

After our tour of the “Castle”, and since it was “National Ice Cream Day,” we went to e-Creamery Ice Cream and Gelato. They create and deliver custom ice cream and gelato, and they were featured on ABC’s Shark Tank.

eCreamery from Shark Tank

We always look forward to a good steak dinner in Omaha. Last year we ate at Johnny’s Steakhouse, a classic. This year we ate at The Drover; the steaks were great and the rest of the meal was wonderful, no room for dessert!

On another outing we stopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Wow, this store is huge! We ran into our favorite HGTV celebs, Chip and Jo Gaines (OK, they were cardboard, but this store has a whole section featuring Magnolia Farms furniture and accents.)

Nebraska Furniture Mart

Another great restaurant was Westfields – the best part is the bakery!

Enter a caption

Thinking of you while in Nebraska, James!

The very. best part of Omaha was being able to do all of this with family! We miss you already.

St. Charles and Kansas City, MO

St. Charles was a nice treat for us.  St. Charles a was established in 1769 as a fur trading post.  “In 1804 it was Lewis and Clark’s last point of contact with the “civilized” world before they sailed up the Mississippi River.”  Also the “frontiersman, Daniel Boone lived out his final years in this area, moving here in 1799 because ‘Kentucky was too crowded,'” according to 1000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz.

We planned to be there over the Fourth of July, however, we had no idea that St. Charles is a wonderful 4th of July destination. It was Riverfest this weekend in St. Charles.  Frontier Park had music, rides, and vendors, with fireworks on the 4th.

St. Charles, MO – Missouri River

Our campground, Sundermeier RV Park, is across the road from Dusable City Park. Dusable Park is about a 1 1/2 mile walk along the Katy Trail to Frontier park. This crushed rock path, that was once the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad line (M-K-T), runs along the Missouri River and behind old buildings. It was easy to imagine the trains loading and unloading through doors in the back of the buildings.

St. Charles, MO

Cobblestone – St. Charles, MO

St. Charles, MO

St. Charles, MO

Lewis and Clark’s Restaurant, St. Charles, MO

St. Charles, MO on a rainy day

Lewis and Clark’s Restaurant, St. Charles, MO. – Balcony

St. Charles, MO

St. Charles, MO

Second Street, the main street  in downtown St. Charles (dating back to the 1820’s) has many shops and restaurants. We enjoyed our walk to and from town along the Katy Trail. (It rained, but we decided to grab the rain coats  and umbrella’s and go with it, and we are glad we did!)

After a walk to town in the rain

Sundermeier RV Park was full that weekend. It is in a residential area with the park and river behind it. The spaces are a nice size and concrete. Very clean. We really enjoyed our stay in St. Charles, MO.

Odessa, MO

We left St. Charles and drove to Odessa, MO. It was July 5, 2016 and HOT!

Odessa, MO – July 5, 2016

Our campground, Country Gardens RV, was very pleasant. The campground had a nice store with different jellies, jams, cheeses, candy, and other goodies. It also sold fireplaces and Amish made furniture and crafts. It was too hot to enjoy the out doors, so we drove to Kansas City, KS and walked a very nice mall.

Country Gardens RV Park, Odessa, MO

Country Gardens RV Park, Odessa, MO

The next day we drove to Independence, MO and visited the Harry S. Truman Library. We also saw the Truman House. The Library film was very interesting; we learned a lot about his presidency.

Truman Library

Independence, MO

Truman House, Indenpendence, MO

 

 

Evansville, IN

In Evansville, Indiana we stayed at the 4-H Center. We wondered what this campground would be like, and were pleasantly surprised. This is a huge center for 4-H events. There are not a lot of camping sites, and they are tight, but the 4-H Center is large. There were no events going on while we were there. The campground was not full, and it was quiet. Our sight was level and OK. The 4-H Center is very nice for walking, and it appeared many people in the area enjoy using the grounds.

Our time here was short but we did manage take a drive to New Harmony, IN. Another small town that is really neat. This was a very quiet town and very well kept.

Downtown New Harmony

Downtown New Harmony, IN

Old Firehouse in New Harmony, IN

Residential home in New Harmony, IN

Residential home in New Harmony, IN

Historical log home in New Harmony, iN

Restaurant in New Harmony

The Workingman’s Institute is the oldest continuously operating library in Indiana and it is also a museum. The building was built in 1838 . Originally the membership was limited to “any Working-man over the the age of 18 who gets his living by the labor of his hands.”

On to Missouri….

Nashville and Indianapolis, IN

The Last Resort campground in Nashville, Indiana was once a KOA. This campground was very conveniently located to Nashville, IN. It was quiet and simple. Our site was level. Only part of the campground was being used while we were there. It looks like they are working on some older sights back in a wooded area.

Brown County, Indiana is very pretty. Most of Indiana is flat farmland, however, Brown County has a variety of landscapes. Our campground was across the street from the popular state park and a golf course. The little town of Nashville, has many old homes that have been converted to country decorating shops.

The next day we drove to Indianapolis and walked around downtown. Monument Circle is impressive. Indianapolis has some neat old architecture. We liked Carson’s Department Store, Circle Monument, and the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

Indianapolis, IN Monument Circle

Indianapolis, IN

Downtown Indianapolis, IN

Capitol Building – Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis Repertory Theatre

We had lunch at the Weber Grill.

Downtown Indy

Webber Grill, Indianapolis, IN

After lunch we drove to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. We toured the museum and took the “Kiss the Bricks” Tour.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Indy Museum

Indy Museum

Indy Museum

Indy Museum

Indy Museum

Indy Museum

Indy Museum

The tour shuttles you to the track that was once an all brick track, and that is why it is called The Brickyard. We got off the shuttle at the finish line (original bricks from 1909) to take photos.

First 500 Race was in 1911

Kiss the Bricks Tour Straightaway

Speedway track

Indianapolis Speedway

Indy 500 track Kiss the Bricks Tour

Winners Circle – Kiss the Bricks Tour