Thursday June 27, 2013- The Only Rushing I'm Gonna Do is to the Mountain.

Left: The Badlands (Cedar Pass National Park), South Dakota 7:58am MST (E)Pitstop: Rapid City RV and Auto Supercenter
Arrived: The Black Hills South Dakota (Horsethief Lake National Park), 6:16pm MST (F)
Total time on road: 10 ½ hours
Miles driven on this leg: 121.1
Total miles driven: 1912.7

Breakfast: Cold Cereal and Pop-Tarts.

Today’s Travel began with our stop at the RV center (in Rapid City, SD) to have the RV looked at. It’s a failed generator fuel pump, which will be replaced tomorrow.

While in Rapid City, we stopped at Cabella’s to get Pete a set of binoculars. With all the preparation hub-bub, his pair got forgotten. The Great Plains is not a place I want him to go without binoculars. If that is the only thing that got forgotten, we did a pretty good job packing! Then we stopped for a fun lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube. The food was fresh, the theme was fun (it was a bit manly- racing and cars and sports and such) but we had a really fun server named Lance. He told us about growing up in Rapid City and how hot it is. We told Lance about the humidity in New Jersey.

There are lots of casinos in South Dakota. However, they are not the same casinos I am familiar with. Unless you are at a “gaming resort”, the casinos are more like dive bars with video poker machines. Kind of seedy, if you ask me. I know. You want to know where this came from. Well, in Rapid City, there’s a ‘casino’ in every mini-mall. We had to explore the local culture!

Visiting Mount Rushmore was our main focus of the day. This National Monument is located in Keystone, South Dakota. As you pass through Keystone, you make the ascent to Mount Rushmore and as you get to about 3/4s of the way up, the presidents’ faces make their appearance.

It’s difficult to describe what seeing these landmarks up close and personal feels like. When you’re sitting in your own house in New Jersey planning this trip, and Mount Rushmore is something that you’re interested in seeing, but not completely gung-ho about, you’re okay with taking the time out. When you finally get there and this incomparable feat of workmanship, dedication, business acumen (Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor was as savvy as he was talented!) is in front of you in this incredible natural setting, you can’t imagine being so close and not stopping. Possibly, you might think, as I did, that it is a mistake to live in this country without ever seeing sights such as these. LESSON LEARNED.

We took the trail around the monument. Along the way, we saw a wild mountain goat. He was in a fenced area eating grass. So it looked like a petting zoo. Wildlife wise, this trip has been so much better than a zoo could ever be. We also saw a groundhog. Not as thrilling, but he was about 1-foot in front of us, non-plussed by our presence. Allow several hours at Mount Rushmore, at the very least. There’s a great, short movie in the visitor’s center and a cool gift shop. In the gift shop, we met an original driller of Mt. Rushmore, Don “Nick” Clifford . We purchased his signed book to take home for Pappy. Mr. Clifford is 92 years-old and has some interesting stories to tell. It was a pleasure to meet him.

Horsethief Lake

Our stay was at Horsethief Lake Campground at the Black Hills National Forest site (not the private campground). It is the lake nearest Mt. Rushmore. We tentatively thought we might check in, have dinner and then take a trip back into Keystone, which is a family-friendly tourist town. However, once at the beautiful Horsethief Lake, we decided to stick around the campground. THIS WAS THE BEST IDEA, EVER.

Millie and I took a walk to the lake and stuck our toes in. We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner and watched the Natural Zoo ensue. A family of YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS!!  Was right over our heads! A Western Painted turtle with a shell of at least 10 inches made its way through our campsite on its way to the lake. At night we were sung to sleep by meadowlarks and bull frogs.

Our family talked and laughed and relaxed. Two of us drank wine and then the kids built a tiny fire to make s’mores. We agreed that although our spirits wanted to visit Keystone, our bodies really needed to relax and our hearts needed to connect with each other, not more attractions. There’s really nothing more attractive than those Quellies, if I do say so, myself.

We had no hook-ups at all. No electric, no water, no sewage. The air was cool and it was the most peaceful night of sleep I can remember.

Western Painted Turtle- our temporary pet, for about 30 min.

Fabulous in the Great Plains

DINNER: Provincial “cold” dinner. Millie had lunch leftovers, we made garlic bread on the grill and enjoyed Soppresata, Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Pork Sausages, Bruschetta, and remaining coleslaw. S’mores for dessert. Yellowtail Pinot Grigio.
This was the best vacation day because relaxing instead of more sightseeing was the perfect choice for our family. We've been realizing more and more that they kind of like strolling or sitting around with us. The Quellies are skilled at making their own fun.

VACATION BONUS: I have been sleeping so soundly, every single night.

Real Time Post: In Cody, Wyoming

Taking a break to replenish supplies, wash the laundry (we packed enough, but it's prudent to wash when you can so that you have your comfie favorites available--plus, the dirties are really dirty and get smelly) and there's a hotspot at the LaundroMat. Nobody likes a Smelly Quelly.

Wednesday June 26, 2013- Badlands or Bust!

Left: Mitchell, South Dakota (pop. 15,254) at 9am CST (D)
Arrived: The Badlands (Cedar Pass National Park) 6:45pm MST (E)
Total time on road: 10 hours 45 minutes
Miles driven on this leg: 273.7
Total miles driven: 1791.6

Game Played: Flap, which is a great game of engagement where you flap a cootie-catcher that tells you and your companion how to act or what to discuss.

Paper and pencil are important because I/we have random, important thoughts and discoveries and I don’t always remember them upon arrival. The thoughts get absorbed by the scenery and our weariness from travel miles and conditions. Today, however, I’m using the time on the road to write on the laptop. Isaac is nestled up front to keep Pete company and that’s a great spot. Isaac is really enjoying our new fancy-schmancy digital camera. I upgraded from a digital point and shoot to a Nikon 3100 digital SLR. Lovely.

We had planned to serve microwaveable lunch when we took our lunch stop. Good thing, because it was early in the day and as we attempted to microwave, we discovered that the generator (you remember…the guy at Cruise America in New Jersey replaced it on Friday!) is not working. Pete really kept it together, temper-wise. We contacted Cruise America and they’re working on it.

South Dakota is FIERCE.

The prairie grass is much deeper than it looks. You can see for miles. It is hot. It is dusty. You can just feel, like a magnetic pull, the spirit of the peoples and animals that have roamed these plains. I know I love Wyoming, but South Dakota may be taking over the spot of favorite states on my list.

There are so many things to see and do in South Dakota that we may have to come back and stay for a while.

Downtown Wall, South Dakota

Get Free Ice Water at Wall Drug

First stop: WALL DRUG!! Yes, it is a tourist trap. It is an overwhelming amalgam of indigenous goods, a café, a drugstore, Harley merchandise (Sturgis, Harley HQ is right up the road) and Southwestern-looking crap made in China. What a fun place! Of course, we partook in some free ice water, a few nickel cups of coffee, a maple glazed cake donut and some homemade ice cream on cones. A

delightful snack. I did see some Tommy Singer Kachina jewelry for half price that I kind of regret not purchasing. It was beautiful, but even at half price, it was expensive and I’m still not sure I liked it that much.

At the base of the hills is The Visitor Center for the Minuteman Missile Silo (no tours available today much to Pete’s chagrin—we’ll try again, tomorrow!) and a great gas station/convenience store/gift shop.

Roberts Prairie Dog Town

Instead of going straight to the Cedar Pass Campground (it’s a national park campground) we took to Badlands Loop around the National Park. I am unable to find words to describe the beauty in these hills. We also took the Sage Rim Bypass which leads around Roberts Prairie Dog Town. At Prairie Dog Town, in addition to the prairie dogs, we saw a herd of bison. This moment alone made the entire trip worth it for me. I love those prairie dogs. Roberts PDT is one of my new Happy Places.

Along the road we saw a young pronghorn (or antelope, as we know them) . We pulled into the campground about 6:45pm MST. It is very rudimentary and I see the sense in that. We did have an electric hookup (thank goodness, because we have no generator!) and while the sun is still out (which it was until 9:15 pm) it is hot in the sun. In the shade, it’s actually quite pleasant. You basically just pull off the road into a spot. The lack of streetlights and amenities is important so that the natural beauty can shine through.

The daytime view is grand. We watched the sun set after enjoying a quick dinner and then we strolled to the amphitheater to hear the evening camp talk offered by rangers. Tonight’s program was by the ranger of the National Grasslands (next to the national park) and it was time well-spent.

It’s the nighttime that is breathtaking. Dense, unobstructed star-gazing for miles around. Between the heat and the in-and-out business of observing view points, I was soooo tired, but I COULD NOT drag myself away from the stars to go to sleep. I finally packed it in at 10:38 pm MST.

4:45am MST and Pete’s alarm literally ‘cock-a-doodle-dos’ to wake us up to see sunrise at 5:08am.  Glorious and yes, worth it. Who knew that included in the free Sun Show was an outdoor concert of the opening band The Trilling Meadowlarks followed by the main event: Bisons Mooing Loudly?!!!

This was the best vacation day because the kids had a good time at Wall Drug and looking at the big and small rocks of The Badlands, we saw some wildlife, and the scenery is so vast and new to us.

Real Time Post: Back at RV Supercenter

Yesterday's trip to Rapid City RV Supercenter resulted in the diagnosis of a failed fuel pump in the generator. Dr. Leroy, our RV physician did not have the part but could get it within 24 hours. So, we decided to go on our planned field trips and return bright and early today to have the fuel pump installed and grab an oil change, while we were at it.
Placed a quick phone call to Pappy and now we're occupying ourselves, peacefully. Grateful for Dr. Leroy and super thankful that our RV malady is not worse.

Tuesday June 25, 2013- Romance in Madison County

Left: Adel, Iowa at 10:50am CST (C)
Arrived: Mitchell, South Dakota (pop. 15,254) at 7:15pm CST (D)
Total time on road: 8 1/2 hours
Miles driven this leg: 467.5
Total miles driven: 1517.9

Today’s Travel was going to be a bit different. After some loving discussion, Pete and I came to an understanding. I understand his need to get wherever we’re going and he understands our need to experience the culture and sights along the way.

There isn’t much to see and do in Adel, Iowa. Its central location makes it a handy stopping place. However, the neighboring town, Winterset (population 5,222), is the birthplace of John Wayne and home to The Bridges of Madison County.

Stone Schoolhouse

Madison County’s countryside scenery is romantic. Possibly the most dreamy, bucolic hillsides I have ever seen.  

Hogback Bridge, Madison County, Iowa

We took a ride through the rolling countryside to see the Stone Schoolhouse and Hogback Bridge. Hogback was built in 1884 and refurbished in 1992. We took some romantic photos while we were at Hogback Bridge and then we stopped at a farmhouse and asked if they had a clawfoot bathtub that we could use to pretend we were Meryl Streep and (a younger, saner) Clint Eastwood. The lady of the house must have not heard me because she closed the door in my face. When I knocked again, her husband came to the door with his shotgun.
Where is the friendliness that the Midwest is so famous for??!!

Not John Wayne's House

The drive continued into the center of town to see the courthouse and John Wayne’s statue. There is a beautiful home next to the statue. It is not his home, but I am pretending it is because it looks like it should be.

In Adair, we witnessed the hundreds of wind turbines of Iowa’s wind project. Iowa produces 24.5% of its energy from wind. It ranks third in wind production in the United States, coming only after California and Texas.

Windmill of the Adair Wind Project

The One and Only Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota

As we made our way into South Dakota, we took a side trip to the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. This is a free museum that is annually stripped of its exterior adornments and redecorated with new corns and grains. Over 3,000 bushels or rye, oat heads and sour dock are tied in bundles and attaches. When the corn is ready, about 275,000 ears are sawed in half, lengthwise and nailed to the building following the theme’s pattern created by local artists. There are lots of corny items in the gift shop that we chuckled over and then walked away from. It was cute. Worth about 1 hour of time.

We pulled into the campground. Kids took a swim. Mama wrangled up some grub.

Dinner: Grilled Chicken Breasts, Knorr Rice Side Dish, Micro-steamed Veggie Blend, Pickled Roasted Peppers, Peach Mango Daiquiris, Remaining halves of Chipwich Ice Creams.

Tomorrow: Wall Drug or Bust and The BadAss Badlands

Real Time Post- Sitting in the RV Repair Center

We are in Rapid City, SD.  Cruise America arranged for us to get the generator fixed (and we'll take an oil change, too.) at the I-90 Car and RV SuperCenter. Some super nice, very talented folks. So, I'm patiently waiting and uploading while I have the chance.

We have some excellent photos, but they are in the camera, in the RV, on the lift, so I will populate the blog with visuals later.

Trust me, they're great photos.

Monday June 24, 2013- Still Married, After all these miles.

Left: Sandusky, Ohio at 9am EST
Arrived: Adel, Iowa at 8pm CST
Total time on road: 12 hours
Miles driven this leg: 631.2
Total miles driven: 1150.4

Book read: The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
This was one of the best stories I have ever read. It was just perfect for a road trip, perfect for the summer, just perfect. The novel, written by a woman from the perspective of a man, kept me captivated from word one. I will look forward to seeing the movie starring George Clooney because it also got rave reviews for the acting.

Today’s Travel felt really long and definitely taxed us. Around 4 pm we found ourselves in the middle of a torrential thunderstorm and under two tornado alerts. The Eye of the Storm, indeed.

Smart move: Pete sent away for tourist information and maps from the various states we are traveling through. Although we are using GPS for directions, when needed, the paper maps have been invaluable when we need to get our bearings or plan for the next day. The tourist books explain many of the landmarks and history we see around us. This leg of the trip is not really thrilling.

And people did this, by chuckwagon, through all kinds of horrible weather and conditions.

We probably waited too long to eat dinner, but we didn’t want to eat roadside junk, we really didn’t want to pull over and eat sandwiches, so what to do but get where we were going and then settle in. The kids went to the pool while Pete plugged us in and I whipped up some vittles.

Dinner: Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs (the pasta I boiled, the meatballs were from our freezer-don’t get crazy, now!) and Newman’s jarred sauce, Micro-steamed green beans (from frozen), Diet Coke and water, Chipwich Ice Cream halves for everyone!

Sunday June 23, 2013-Cedar Point me in the direction of Fun!

Took a day to play at Cedar Point Amusement Park.

Bonuses: We bought tickets online (that morning via phone) and saved some cash. Because we arrived and had to park as an RV, we got a spot right up front.

I have spent many hours, as both a youngster and as a parent, at Cedar Point’s sister park DorneyPark in Allentown, Pa. Pete and I both agreed that Cedar Point is much nicer. First of all, we visited on a Sunday, which, according to a local coaster rider, is traditionally a quieter day at the park, so the crowds were sparse and the lines were not very long. Both the employees and the guests at the park were so much friendlier and mannerly. The ‘city flavor’, which generally includes loud, boisterous, and sometimes obscene talking in line, and entitled attitudes, was virtually absent.

CP has an Old West section of the park, which is delightful. The modern portion of the park feels more spacious than DP and boasts some incredible rollercoasters. Gate Keeper is the newest one and as a leg-hanging coaster, it features high-speed and continuous twists and turns. The kids and I rode that one since Pete maxxed out after he and Isaac rode Mantis due to the ride’s general jerkiness. We all rode and adored Millennium Force. We enjoyed an afternoon snack of PB&Js that we brought along and decided to leave around 5 pm. The weather was warm enough to tap us out and we decided to quit while we were ahead. That was a really smart move. We decided that it would be a much more prudent move to travel 5 minutes back to our campground and enjoy a healthful delicious dinner instead of the expensive metabolic nightmare of park food.

My friend, Bob, commented that it was a shame that we only took one day to visit Cedar Point. I understand his point. It’s a really nice place and I would definitely recommend it, but this is vacation and we are reserving our time and energy for Mother Nature’s Amusement Parks coming up.

Dinner: Grilled Filet Mignon, Salad from our home garden with fresh Mustard Vinaigrette, Micro-Baked Potatoes. 2010 Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon.

Quote of the Day by Millie Quelly: “DAD! You screamed like Elmo on this ride (Millennium Force).”

Tomorrow’s Destination: KOA Adel, Iowa

Real Time Moments

Before we get on the road to Wall Drug and The Badlands, I have a chance to post in real time. Every day there has been one (usually been just one) harrowing moment of time when I wish I had eaten my young while they were still young, tender and delicious.
I'm just sayin'...

Saturday June 22- Dancing all the way to Sandusky

Saturday June 22
Beginning Point: Washington, New Jersey to Flemington, New Jersey for the Dance Recital
Ending Point: Sandusky, Ohio KOA
Total Miles: 519.2
Total Time: (9 1/2 hours) 2 pm until we rolled into the campground at 11:30 pm

Books read:  Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern (I really liked it. Much of it I had already followed on Facebook. Again, I really liked it, but not enough to suffer through the TV sit-bomb with William Shatner.)

Attending the dance recital without a care in the world was actually enjoyable. Other years we feel the stress of corralling ourselves, friends, and grandparents through the over-full halls of a local high school when we are already overtired from dress rehearsal and all the craziness that goes into preparing our tiny dancer for this glorious event. Not this year. This year, we were prepared to leave most of our cares behind as we embarked on vacation.

The ride to Ohio was made a bit longer by last-minute stops for lunch and DVR tapes at Best Buy. We also decided to stop for dinner at a truck stop after some super-friendly locals assured us the food was good. The food was a little processed, but it was freshly cooked and it actually included some delicious vegetables.

We talked about what was important to us on this trip. One of the most important ideas was that we are all tired of rushing to meet time deadlines and we are going to have very little of that on this vacation. If I want to meander slowly from the parking lot to the camper, I'm going to, damn it. The family concurs. We'll see how long they are patient with my meandering.

The kids and I really enjoyed each others' company. Riding in the dinette, talking, laughing, and playing was nice. Pete did mention that his time went much quicker when someone rode with him, so we duly noted that and Isaac will take a daily shift up front if I care to rest in the dinette.

Tomorrow's Plan: Riding the rollercoasters at Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, Ohio.

Friday June 21: Daddy Plans, God Laughs, Mama Does Not.

Pete was so proactive about this trip. Even though we are veteran travelers and campers, he took it upon himself to make lists for me so preparing was easier. He also made many of the reservations. As vacation quickly approached, his efforts were appreciated. The two weeks leading up to vacation were bears!

We lived through: the end of school for the kids, the end of my school year (in addition to actively operating my catering business, I have been working full-time with special ed in our local elementary school as a para-educator), the end of Isaac's work portion of his Eagle Project, Isaac's driver's test (he passed!), all culminating with Millie's dance recital on Saturday June 22, the day we were pulling out on our road trip. OY.

When we showed up at Cruise America to pick up the RV on Friday June 21, they didn't have the one we had reserved. They had a smaller one. There was a mix-up. They DID have a 30-footer, it just didn't have a working compressor. The guy behind the counter suggested we just rent a compressor and they would pay for it OR we could take the smaller RV OR take a 3-hour detour to pick up a working RV (add in unpacking and repacking!!). None of those options was going to work for us.

As soon as I pressed Counter Guy for details about how we were going to be compensated for our troubles, he quickly found another solution: They changed the compressor from the smaller RV to the 30-footer we had ordered. The only issue was that Pete opted to stay at the RV office for those three hours while I readied Millie for that evening's recital dress rehearsal and finished packing. Not such a great start.

But that was soon forgotten. We got dress rehearsal out of the way. One BFF stopped by to bless our RV before travel and bring us a wonderful Bon Voyage Bag. Other BFFs stopped by with wine while we finished packing and we toasted to our road trip.

Pre-Vacation or How the heck did we get here?!

Pete has had a long-standing vacation dream. His dream was for all four of us to take a family trip, in an RV, across the country before the kids grew up and moved away. We’ve been talking about the trip seriously for two years. We began making actual plans on January 1, 2013.

His notion was to travel from our home in New Jersey to the Grand Canyon and back. We were blessed in that Pete’s brother, Michael and his family have made this voyage twice. Their first trip was three weeks. Their second trip was for a whole month. They kept logs in two large binders, which they shared with us.

As I sat with the binders, I had to break the sad news to Pete. “Honey, your fantasy requires at least three weeks. You’ve only taken two weeks of vacation from work. There’s no way we are cramming in this trip into two weeks,” I explained.

I could imagine the scenario clearly: If we wanted to see any of the sights that our great country had to offer, the three of us would be required to stick our heads out of the windows and roof vents like panting dogs while Pete drove 80 miles per hour in order to reach our destination. THAT is not my idea of a vacation.

Yeah. Um, No. So we changed the destination to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and began planning.

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Just the beginning