Thursday, September 10, 2009
Westward Ho
Thursday, September 10th and we’re back on the road, heading west again. The original plan was to stay on I90 all the way west but we decided to take a “dotted line” road across another bridge in downtown La Crosse and go thru the Richard J Dower State Forest on Rt 16 and then pick up I90 at the other end. The fog had rolled in over the Mississippi River and it continued thru the 1st portion of the scenic state forest hills and valleys. Minnesota’s answer to the Smokey Mountains!! When the wispy white mist lifted for the final time, we saw the hillsides were blessed with niches of well tended but old homesteads, nestled like clusters of like painted chess pieces. The fields were full of the usual beans, corn and black and white dairy cows. Small farm towns with “historic downtown” designations filled in the “in between spaces” on the 2 lane winding road.
Back on I90, we went MUCH faster but it did get tiresome with all the road construction and all the millions of bugs that committed suicide on the windshield of the van. We had ridden this road a long time ago on the bike when we were MUCH younger and it was MUCH hotter that time but we didn’t encounter all the bugs!! We did see lots of big bikes pulling trailers but all were going east. The farmlands spread out and the fields seemed as one that stretched from horizon to horizon. We stopped in Blue Earth for gas and learned that the Indians named the area because the earth actually was bluish in one spot. And we learned that the town was the home factory for the Jolly Green Giant and all his veggies!
Our 3rd state for the day was South Dakota and after a picnic lunch at the visitor center we easily found the Falls Park on the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls. Red granite rocks/boulders filled the river and the muddy waters raced over them where a mill had once stood. Now there are strategically placed observation places, plus an Overlook Café and an observation tower complete with gift shop. I have just enough space on my jacket for one more small patch and this red and white one will fill it nicely!
We HAD to stop in Mitchell to see if the Corn Palace had changed any since we were there last. The design had but the building itself had not. We got our picture and got back in the van. And while the Palace had not changed – we sure noticed that the town sure had!! Neither of us remembered it as being that big or busy!
The van is parked this evening in Chamberlain SD, which is right on the banks of the Missouri River. The Best Western Motel, ½ block from the river, was the best deal and obviously we have wifi!! In the morning, H will have a waffle! .
Tomorrow we’ll be Westward Ho again!
Back on I90, we went MUCH faster but it did get tiresome with all the road construction and all the millions of bugs that committed suicide on the windshield of the van. We had ridden this road a long time ago on the bike when we were MUCH younger and it was MUCH hotter that time but we didn’t encounter all the bugs!! We did see lots of big bikes pulling trailers but all were going east. The farmlands spread out and the fields seemed as one that stretched from horizon to horizon. We stopped in Blue Earth for gas and learned that the Indians named the area because the earth actually was bluish in one spot. And we learned that the town was the home factory for the Jolly Green Giant and all his veggies!
Our 3rd state for the day was South Dakota and after a picnic lunch at the visitor center we easily found the Falls Park on the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls. Red granite rocks/boulders filled the river and the muddy waters raced over them where a mill had once stood. Now there are strategically placed observation places, plus an Overlook Café and an observation tower complete with gift shop. I have just enough space on my jacket for one more small patch and this red and white one will fill it nicely!
We HAD to stop in Mitchell to see if the Corn Palace had changed any since we were there last. The design had but the building itself had not. We got our picture and got back in the van. And while the Palace had not changed – we sure noticed that the town sure had!! Neither of us remembered it as being that big or busy!
The van is parked this evening in Chamberlain SD, which is right on the banks of the Missouri River. The Best Western Motel, ½ block from the river, was the best deal and obviously we have wifi!! In the morning, H will have a waffle! .
Tomorrow we’ll be Westward Ho again!
Westward Ho
09-09-09 !! And at 9:09 in the morning, we were on Central Ave (Rt 20), almost to Angola Indiana and heading to a lot of points west! Rt 20 from Toledo to Elkhart Indiana is mostly agricultural and the soybean fields are turning yellow and the tassels on the tops of the corn are turning brown. The sumac and maple trees are already turning red. It is our Fall West trip?
$10 in tolls on the Indiana and Illinois turnpike - I 90, got us thru Gary Indiana (right along side the electric train tracks that took us to downtown Chicago last year!), traffic choked skyscraper lined Chicago and then west to Rockford and then due north to the Wisconsin border. The landscape went from the flat farms of Indiana and Illinois to the rugged and rolling hills of Wisconsin dairy farms, past the very commercialized Wisconsin Dells and on to the river town of La Crosse, right on the east bank of the Mississippi River. So far, the gas mileage in the Chrysler minivan is 26 miles per gallon- much better than when pulling the trailer! Supper tonight was KFC and our home for the evening is HO JO’s – both with money saving coupons!
La Crosse is a well preserved, cute OLD Mississippi river town and the banks along side the downtown area are lined with several pretty little parks complete with bike paths and plenty of inviting benches along the river. One of the parks that we stopped at included a peaceful, well tended Riverside International Garden that had a small babbling brook, winding paths thru the colorful flower beds and a gazebo, right on the bank of a small stream. All thru the town are 7 ft tall ornately decorated fiberglass herons, similar to the huge painted frogs that once graced the streets of Toledo. The river is full of islands and some of the larger islands are lined with houseboats and boathouses – cottages that looked more like small garages on floating platforms, anchored by long poles into the river and secured to the shore by gangways. Each “house” was a different color and most had some kind of boat tethered between it and the next floating dwelling.
Thursday we head across the Mighty Mississippi which right now looks like a sleepy Mark Twain river and on thru a State Forest before rejoining up with Rt 90.
$10 in tolls on the Indiana and Illinois turnpike - I 90, got us thru Gary Indiana (right along side the electric train tracks that took us to downtown Chicago last year!), traffic choked skyscraper lined Chicago and then west to Rockford and then due north to the Wisconsin border. The landscape went from the flat farms of Indiana and Illinois to the rugged and rolling hills of Wisconsin dairy farms, past the very commercialized Wisconsin Dells and on to the river town of La Crosse, right on the east bank of the Mississippi River. So far, the gas mileage in the Chrysler minivan is 26 miles per gallon- much better than when pulling the trailer! Supper tonight was KFC and our home for the evening is HO JO’s – both with money saving coupons!
La Crosse is a well preserved, cute OLD Mississippi river town and the banks along side the downtown area are lined with several pretty little parks complete with bike paths and plenty of inviting benches along the river. One of the parks that we stopped at included a peaceful, well tended Riverside International Garden that had a small babbling brook, winding paths thru the colorful flower beds and a gazebo, right on the bank of a small stream. All thru the town are 7 ft tall ornately decorated fiberglass herons, similar to the huge painted frogs that once graced the streets of Toledo. The river is full of islands and some of the larger islands are lined with houseboats and boathouses – cottages that looked more like small garages on floating platforms, anchored by long poles into the river and secured to the shore by gangways. Each “house” was a different color and most had some kind of boat tethered between it and the next floating dwelling.
Thursday we head across the Mighty Mississippi which right now looks like a sleepy Mark Twain river and on thru a State Forest before rejoining up with Rt 90.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Northern Michigan
OK, OK - - we’re home! Northern Michigan is known for it’s gorgeous vistas and beautiful lakes – NOT for having much wifi! That and we were busy!! Our last posting to the blog was not done until we returned home, so be sure to go back and read it also! Now, where were we??? Oh, yes - - the races!!
Sunday was our day to move from the Waterways so our little caravan moved on – actually up and over to park down the road from Mel and Donna’s log home on Carp Lake. The 2nd leg of the boat race was to begin at noon so we climbed into their van and hustled on down to the town of Indian River where H found us a good spot right in town and on a curve of the river to watch the boats race by! The day was getting sunny and warm so it was a good thing there was a gentle breeze coming up the river. And the spray from a close passing boat didn’t hurt either!! We were CLOSE!! This day’s race was 42 miles long and again started in Burt Lake. They went west thru Crooked River and Alanson, turning around in Crooked Lake, which is at the very end of the Inland Water Route. Back thru the Crooked River, across Burt Lake, thru the Indian River to a turnaround in Mullett Lake - returning once more thru Indian River and finishing up back in Burt Lake. The challenge of the 2-day course resides in the combination of lake and river waters. Drivers are required to maneuver their crafts around winding curves, thru rough-waved waters, all while watching for other boaters and docks, along with sand bars and broken stumps hidden beneath the surface of the water. There are 6 classes with drivers from ages 9 up to seniors; boats ranging from 10ft to 12ft, weighing from 290 lbs (for the 9 yr olds) to 505 lbs, and outboard engines from 15 cu in to Merc 55s. Speeds ranged from 45mph to 68 mph! There was even a class for inflatables and they had 2 orange bodies on board, steering or leaning to keep the boat level – or level as possible!!
After the race, Donna fed us well, as always! Before the sun was setting, we bid our friends goodbye again and headed south as far as Petoskey where we parked overnight for free in the well lighted, secure parking area of casino there. We “donated” our $1 to the penny slots and then went out to get a good night’s rest.
Monday started out in rain and a little fog but we finished the next leg of our journey in the sunshine to wait in line to get the next to the last non-electric camp spot available in the Platte River National Park Campground, just south of the Sleeping Bear National Dunes. This time we put the kayaks in the water up by the bridge and were both surprised at how much longer the ride was by boat than by car! We slid thru the clear waters on a swift currant most of the time and even paddled out onto the clear blue expanse of Lake Michigan. Of course that also meant we had to paddle back up stream a ways - against the strong currant to the boat ramp to take our trusty orange crafts out of the water!!
Tuesday, it was time to go exploring the neighborhood of Empire, the town just to the north. We found the beach and park complete with a petite white lighthouse. We saw signs that read Empire Bluff Trail and H agreed, after much persuading, to hike it to the overlook. He thought the sign said 1.5 miles each way but was actually the total of the round trip. To hear him whine and grump - - it was 11.5 miles each way!! The up and down hill hike was well worth the view - looking down thru the windswept trees at Sleeping Bear and the Lake Michigan shoreline. A drive further north thru Glen Arbor and around the lake there was completed with a stop at a local vegetable market that was an old blue Dodge pickup truck, parked by the side of the road, with a self serve money bucket in the bed, next to a pile of fresh picked sweet corn. Delicious!
No trip to that area can be done without a stop over at Silver Lake Dunes and a camping night at the city park in Hart. Of course, Wednesday afternoon was spent on the dunes! Thursday morning we headed down Rt 31 to US 96 and home. And you know the rest - - laundry, wash vehicles, empty trailer, weed the garden, pick tomatoes, etc, etc! Now – go read the blog that precedes this one!
Sunday was our day to move from the Waterways so our little caravan moved on – actually up and over to park down the road from Mel and Donna’s log home on Carp Lake. The 2nd leg of the boat race was to begin at noon so we climbed into their van and hustled on down to the town of Indian River where H found us a good spot right in town and on a curve of the river to watch the boats race by! The day was getting sunny and warm so it was a good thing there was a gentle breeze coming up the river. And the spray from a close passing boat didn’t hurt either!! We were CLOSE!! This day’s race was 42 miles long and again started in Burt Lake. They went west thru Crooked River and Alanson, turning around in Crooked Lake, which is at the very end of the Inland Water Route. Back thru the Crooked River, across Burt Lake, thru the Indian River to a turnaround in Mullett Lake - returning once more thru Indian River and finishing up back in Burt Lake. The challenge of the 2-day course resides in the combination of lake and river waters. Drivers are required to maneuver their crafts around winding curves, thru rough-waved waters, all while watching for other boaters and docks, along with sand bars and broken stumps hidden beneath the surface of the water. There are 6 classes with drivers from ages 9 up to seniors; boats ranging from 10ft to 12ft, weighing from 290 lbs (for the 9 yr olds) to 505 lbs, and outboard engines from 15 cu in to Merc 55s. Speeds ranged from 45mph to 68 mph! There was even a class for inflatables and they had 2 orange bodies on board, steering or leaning to keep the boat level – or level as possible!!
After the race, Donna fed us well, as always! Before the sun was setting, we bid our friends goodbye again and headed south as far as Petoskey where we parked overnight for free in the well lighted, secure parking area of casino there. We “donated” our $1 to the penny slots and then went out to get a good night’s rest.
Monday started out in rain and a little fog but we finished the next leg of our journey in the sunshine to wait in line to get the next to the last non-electric camp spot available in the Platte River National Park Campground, just south of the Sleeping Bear National Dunes. This time we put the kayaks in the water up by the bridge and were both surprised at how much longer the ride was by boat than by car! We slid thru the clear waters on a swift currant most of the time and even paddled out onto the clear blue expanse of Lake Michigan. Of course that also meant we had to paddle back up stream a ways - against the strong currant to the boat ramp to take our trusty orange crafts out of the water!!
Tuesday, it was time to go exploring the neighborhood of Empire, the town just to the north. We found the beach and park complete with a petite white lighthouse. We saw signs that read Empire Bluff Trail and H agreed, after much persuading, to hike it to the overlook. He thought the sign said 1.5 miles each way but was actually the total of the round trip. To hear him whine and grump - - it was 11.5 miles each way!! The up and down hill hike was well worth the view - looking down thru the windswept trees at Sleeping Bear and the Lake Michigan shoreline. A drive further north thru Glen Arbor and around the lake there was completed with a stop at a local vegetable market that was an old blue Dodge pickup truck, parked by the side of the road, with a self serve money bucket in the bed, next to a pile of fresh picked sweet corn. Delicious!
No trip to that area can be done without a stop over at Silver Lake Dunes and a camping night at the city park in Hart. Of course, Wednesday afternoon was spent on the dunes! Thursday morning we headed down Rt 31 to US 96 and home. And you know the rest - - laundry, wash vehicles, empty trailer, weed the garden, pick tomatoes, etc, etc! Now – go read the blog that precedes this one!
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