Greetings from Shipshewana, Indiana
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Greetings from Pukwana, SD! We’re staying at a working cattle ranch where the owner has added electric hookups to attract travelers like ourselves. It’s a very nice place, quiet, grass, friendly fellow travelers, but cell service is so weak I can’t post pictures.
Last two nights were in Hermosa, SD, Rapid City adjacent. My. Rushmore. Nice commercial campground, laundry, full hookups. Took long showers and washed out a few dainties. Vacuumed the trailer and scrubbed the floors.
Mt. Rushmore. Various people have told me it’s over hyped and not to bother. I’m here to tell you that those people are full of sh!t. It’s one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited! The setting alone is spectacular - mountains with thick forests of Ponderosa Pine. Narrow winding roads, spectacular vistas and rock formations.
And the mountain is breathtaking! The story of how it was created is even better and the Park Service knocked it out of the park when they built the visitor center. Not sure how they are able to keep it all up with their reduced budget (Musk needs more money - gotta respect that) but it’s a wonderful presentation. If you ever have a chance to see it I suggest you do so without delay - who knows how long it will remain open.
Minneapolis tomorrow - a 450 mile drive. Not sure what idiot planned that leg of the trip but future reservations depend on it.
I’ll post pics when I get a WiFi connection.
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@Daniel that’s a very different kind of blue hair!
I used to walk my baby around the living room, narrating things that we could “see” and I remember mentioning all the blue haired ladies. Women used to use bluing in their white hair to make it look whiter. That was a generation ago!
My baby is 38 now…
@Daniel that’s a very different kind of blue hair!
I used to walk my baby around the living room, narrating things that we could “see” and I remember mentioning all the blue haired ladies. Women used to use bluing in their white hair to make it look whiter. That was a generation ago!
My baby is 38 now…
@adagiom Indeed!
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@steve-miller
I'm loving your tour, its all fascinatingly different to anything I've ever seen I dont know what else to say.
Even your caravan, the way it fits over your pickup! -
A note before we head for Minneapolis to see the house where I was born.
One thing that’s made this trip interesting is the Internet. If we see something we can immediately find out more about it and we’ve been doing that a lot.
What is that crop? (Sorghum)
What do you do with sorghum? (Animal feed)
Why did Studebaker go out of business? (Couldn’t compete against Ford/GM)
Population of Pukwana, SD? (About
300)Top 10 industries in Iowa
Top 10 brands of RV in the US
Best grease for trailer hitches (sticky red)
History of the Interstate Highway act
Biography of General Custer
Typical voltage of long distance power lines
Why isn’t buffalo meat more popular
Does Bobs Red Mill sell Amaranth flour
Number of national Parks in the US
Difference between National Parks and National Monuments
Did Allied Radio ever have brick and mortar stores
How much $ would each Sioux Indian get if they divided up their billion dollar settlement?
Cost today to build Mt. RushmoreAnd on and on. Makes the miles just slide by!
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@steve-miller do you have a National Parks Pass?
Love your list of questions.
Bob’s Red Mill is based here in Portland (Milwaukie), OR. My brother works for them.
Enjoying your travelogue! I haven’t seen Mt. Rushmore yet. Mr. AM has, but he’s not a big picture taker.
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Also stopped at Wall Drug - an icon of the Midwest. Billboards advertising it start showing up some 200 miles before you get there.
90,000 square feet of “stuff”.
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@steve-miller do you have a National Parks Pass?
Love your list of questions.
Bob’s Red Mill is based here in Portland (Milwaukie), OR. My brother works for them.
Enjoying your travelogue! I haven’t seen Mt. Rushmore yet. Mr. AM has, but he’s not a big picture taker.
@steve-miller do you have a National Parks Pass?
Love your list of questions.
Bob’s Red Mill is based here in Portland (Milwaukie), OR. My brother works for them.
Enjoying your travelogue! I haven’t seen Mt. Rushmore yet. Mr. AM has, but he’s not a big picture taker.
I got mine for $10 before it changed. if you use the parks, $80 is still a great deal for a lifetime pass.
Love Bob's products. Did not know they were based there.
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@steve-miller I missed it if you mentioned the ultimate destination on your road trip.
How wonderful for you.
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@steve-miller - been super busy so haven't had time to read this thread and to post another comment till now....great thread, pics, and stories of your adventures. You and Ron are lucky to have each other to share this great road trip.
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Yes, both Ron and I have passes, but Mt. Rushmore is a national monument and the passes don’t work. No matter, there is no admission fee and parking only $10.
Ultimately destination was Mt. Rushmore, mostly to give us a direction to travel. Glad we saw it!
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Before I post the earlier pics, I have to share this one. Ron was craving the steak bowl from Yardhouse so I looked up a copycat recipe and made it. Never tried stir frying, don’t have a wok, couldn’t find snap peas in Rapid City so subbed green beans. Did find quinoa and mixed it 50/50 with brown rice per the instructions.
Made a rightous mess of the little propane range in the trailer but very good and it will go in to rotation at my house! Also a lot prettier than a lot of we’ve been eating.
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Park entrance. Designed for maximum impact and they nailed it
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Glamour shot:
Detail:
Side view:
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These are the scale models made by the sculptor. The dimensions were recorded and sent to the field. They multiplied the dimensions by (13?) and reproduced them on the mountain.
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Greetings from Maple Grove, MN! Suburb of Minneapolis. Commercial campground with WiFi so I can post pictures. From the trip:
1880 town. This guy collects buildings like some people collect pottery. He goes all over the Midwest buying up 19th century buildings and moves them in to his town. They’re wood - would be a lot more difficult if they were stone.
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One of the buildings features antiques for sale and another is a gallery. The gallery showed this bronze by a guy I’ve never heard of it. I think it’s exquisite and need to learn more about him.
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This pic is for Andy.
European visitors to the US often comment on just how vast the plains are. For some 1500 miles this has been our view - corn on one side, soybeans on the other with a broad horizon ahead.
We managed to dodge the rainstorm.
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