Some final thoughts

After almost 8 weeks away and over 8,000 miles we start to see some things in a new light. Of course we missed our family and friends, although with e-mail (such as it was) and cell phones it was easy to keep in touch.

We missed our house. But we did amazingly well in our 225 sq. ft. "small home" after living for years in our 2700 sq. ft. "big home." You learn about lots of things you can live very well without.

We learned that there are many beautiful places in our great country and that we live in one of the most beautiful.

We learned just how precious a resource water is. And it will become more so. It will be the "oil" of the 21st century. While Yardley had heavy rains and floods and Wyoming was green and beautiful, we went through areas that would give anything for just some of our water. Santa Fe has been in a drought for 9 years. The Navajo reservation in Arizona was magnificently beautiful - but no water at all. In Colorado the price of hay has skyrocketed because of a water shortage. But it is a different kind of shortage. Some farms and ranches have water rights where adjacent ones don't. So only some can grow hay. This has to do with historical riparian rights and can get ugly.

Did you know that Los Angeles is a desert and survives only because of water piped in from the Colrado River? Because of riparian rights a rancher in Colorado can have cattle dying of thirst while Los Angeles is taking water out of a river near his ranch.

In our RV we learned to take a "navy shower." You turn on the water, wet yourself down, and turn the water off. Then you lather up. Finally you turn the water back on for a rinse. When you have a 6 gallon water heater and a small holding tank these things matter.

We learned to roll with the punches: a broken air conditioner, a dead battery, a brake warning light, the "Bates Motel" campground. It takes a sort of a "glass half-full" approach. Instead of complaining about the negatives you cherish the new experiences.

Would we do it again? You bet! Two changes I would make. First, I would be less tied to a schedule. There were any number of places we would have stopped if we didn't have to be someplace. Second, we needed some time apart. Even though Judy and I worked together for over 20 years, this was different. In the 54 days we were gone we were apart for a total of maybe 6-8 hours. That is an impossible situation for any two people.

So what's next? It's a pretty sure bet we will do another smaller trip this summer - maybe 7-10 days to Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee or Acadia National Park in Maine. Next summer? We'll see, but we sure would like to get back to Alaska.

I said before we left that one of two things would probably happen when we got back - either we would say we had had it and sell the RV or we would jump in with both feet and trade up. It looks like I was wrong. I think we are going to keep this unit. It worked fine for us. A newer, bigger unit would be nice, but this one has one feature that none of the others has: it's paid for!

Thanks to all of you who followed the blog and sent comments. We really enjoyed hearing from you. We also had fun writing the blog. Now comes the fun - editing the 2,000+ pictures. But don't worry. We won't make you watch all of them!

There's No Place Like Home

However humble - there's no place like home. Dorothy had to click her ruby slippers, but we had our faithful Popeye to take us back to our favorite place. After a few minutes it was like we'd never been away. Everything was so green - it had been raining daily since we left and my plants looked so healthy even if they are covered in cobwebs.

We entered the house with only our basic necessities and turned on some lights and the computers. We had no internet connection so we went to sleep with dreams of e-mail and blogging in the morning. Ziggy seemed so happy to be sleeping in her "big" bed. I wonder if she ever thought (does she think?) we'd be back here.

We had a wonderful time on the road and there are so many memories and pictures in my head as well as the 2000+ photos in our files. We are so lucky to have the time to make such a journey and I hope we can plan another for the future. I spent most of today unloading the RV and sorting mail. Tomorrow will be laundry and cleaning and soon everything will be back to as normal as it gets around here. Thursday night is Mah Jongg and that is a big part of my regular routine and I'm looking forward to the game.

So life goes on. I thank everyone who cared to share our experiences on the road this summer with this blog. All your e-mails, comments and calls made us feel very connected. I hope we can do it again. My most special gratitude to my traveling companions Jeff and Ziggy who made every day an adventure for this stranger in paradise.

Rock 'n Roll is Here to Stay

Tuesday in Cleveland and we are at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum right after it opens. The city is lovely and the museum sits on a site near Lake Erie and next to the Science Museum and Bears Stadium. The building was designed by I.M. Pei with his traditional glass pyramid structure and stainless steel walls. We were very excited as this music is an integral part of our growing up and what we listen to today.

The museum was just okay for us. The whole thing was unstructured and you moved from floor to floor without direction. The ground floor exhibit was terrific and we could have spent more time there listening to the 500 greatest songs of all time and seeing memorabilia from rockers since the 50's. There was lots of attention paid to the Beatles (as it should be) and exhibits on Ricky Nelson and Roy Orbison. Upstairs there was a special exhibit on Bob Dylan so we were in hog heaven. We also watched a movie on all the inductees and felt that it could use some professional help and they needed more comfortable seating for us aging rock fans.

We left and had a ceremonial last lunch at a Steak 'n Shake and headed east towards Pennsylvania. One comment on highways. In Texas we had a short toll road, then in Illinois we had a toll road that accepted Easy-Pass. Both Indiana and Ohio have antiquated toll roads that use paper tickets and cash only. When we crossed into Pennsylvania we saw lots of green grass and rolling hills and I thought we live in a beautiful area.

Jeff was feeling good and decided to head for home rather than spend another night on the road. After putting in 8053 miles we arrived in Yardley just before midnight and declared any safe trip a great trip!

The final irony

Well, we're home. Happy, sad, tired, elated. I'll share some final thoughts in a future blog, but I have to report on the ultimate irony.

We got home and virtually ran for our computers. As you are surely aware, we have had spotty Internet service - especially over the last 2-3 weeks. Guess what. Our Internet connection at home was down! Verizon was great about getting it back up in a couple of hours, and I am sure you will be hearing lots from Judy.

Anyway, we are glad (I think) to be home. We are safe and sound. Ziggy was great and is also happy to be here.

Now for the unpacking!

One More Day...One Day More

Today we drove on the Interstate from Chicago crossing Illinois, Indiana and most of Ohio without seeing any wild animals or gorgeous scenery. We are at a very nice KOA campground near Cleveland and tomorrow we go to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. After that we head home arriving Wednesday night. It's hard to believe that our dream trip is over. But the 2000+ photographs will be a constant reminder until we get them catalogued and in presentation form.

I have taken lots of pictures of hay and no I do not have a Monet (or Van Gogh) complex, but love them both. Just fascinated by the rolled hay and its importance in the life of the farm and animals. So here are a few shots I thought interesting.

Happy Birthday

Today we wish a happy 65th birthday to three special relatives. July 9th is the birthday of my brother-in-law Harold Liff of Lexington, MA. He and Carol are spending the weekend in Connecticut and seeing Paul Simon in concert. Hope it was happy and many more!

We are celebrating in Chicago with twins Terry Sachsel & Marilyn Glazer who turn 65 tomorrow. We've had a fun weekend of get togethers and today we had a luncheon and pleasant afternoon at the Arlington Park Race Track . The weather was perfect and the thoroughbred horses and expert betting made for a fun time.

Photos: Sachsel/Glazer Clan - Dave, Stacy & Jessica Sears; Terry; Marilyn; Glenn, Mindy, Jeremy & Miranda Luebke.
Our hosts Mindy & Glenn
First Cousins - Rick, Marilyn, Sunny, Terry & Jeff
The birthday gals

Tomorrow we head east towards Cleveland.

Why did the AKs cross the country?

Surely not to get to the other side because they are on their way back home. But seeing this magnificent country is a treat of which every American should partake.

We saw it all: the amber waves of grain, the purple mountains' majesty, the fruited plain. We saw the people: city slickers, bible belters, red states, blue states. We saw the cities and national parks; strangers and relatives; young and old; rich and poor; interstate highways and bumpy back roads. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this trip is how much we didn't see. There were dozens of places we would have stopped if we did not have a schedule to meet.

Would we do it again? You bet! Will we do it again? If there's any way we can afford the time and money we surely will.

So what would we do differently? I think the biggest difference is that we would not have a schedule. We would take time to stop in Wisconsin Dells or spend another day in western South Dakota.

Our family in Chicagoland has been their usual gracious self. Judy filled you in on the details. Tomorrow it's off to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Then home. More thoughts on that in a day or two.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Saturday in the summer and it was just a perfect day. We slept real late and I took a nice bicycle ride. Glenn helped me do our laundry and set us up with an internet connection. Miranda was in charge of Ziggy and they are getting to be great friends.

Later Mindy & Glenn hosted the entire family for a wonderful BBQ. We ended up with birthday cake on the patio complete with wood burning fireplace and roasted marshmallows.

Photos from top:
Jeff and Miranda
Mindy, Terry, Marilyn & Stacy
Jeremy with Terry & Marilyn
The first cousins
Miranda & Jessica entertain

Chicago

Here we are in the windy city to spend time with our Glazer cousins and celebrate the special birthdays of twin cousins Terry & Marilyn. We decided to get an early start this morning and later stopped to nap in a rest area. We visited a cheese store and had lunch at a Cracker Barrel - our first one this trip.

We arrived in Arlington Heights and parked in the cul de sac at the home of Terry's kids Mindy & Glenn Luebke and their children, Jeremy & Miranda. Ziggy is their first canine guest and Miranda makes her welcome in the house. Jeff and I head over to Terry's for a scrumptious pasta dinner and to see her, Marilyn and Rick & Barbara who have driven out for this special weekend. Entertainment was provided by Jessica Sears, Terry's other granddaughter and later Jessica's Mom Stacy stops by.

After lots of food and visiting we head home.

Wonderful World

Thursday, July 6 and we are in Minnesota. This is the home of Garrison Keillor and his "Prairie Home Companion" and Jeff and I are huge fans. So this blog is brought to you by Duct Tape, Catsup and Rhubarb Pie. Here we are in the middle of nowhere on a country road we see a street sign that says 425th Street. Even New York doesn't have that much chutzpah.

We are on our way to the Mall of America and you don't have to hire Guy Noir to find it. It is the largest mall anywhere and has an amusement park and aquarium inside in addition to stores and restaurants and movie theatres. Sadly all the stores are the same ones we have at home and in every other mall. I spent my time getting a manicure and pedicure while Jeff got a water massage and explored.

Being in a metropolitan area again is fun, but means we are nearing the end of our trip. We are seeing Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts stores. I have to tell you that there are many areas left if you want to get a franchise in some of the states we visited. Some of those places could use a Steak 'n Shake or In & Out Burger also.

One of the nicer things we saw were people sponoring sections of the nation's highways. Clubs, businesses, religious groups and even individuals had their names as volunteers. We noticed 4-H clubs, Rotary Clubs, Lutheran Brotherhood, high schoolers and every type of business. I also want you to know that we have two mascots with us. Our pals are Bucky Beaver and Buddy Bison and they are looking ut for us as we ride along.

After the mall we put on some miles and get into Wisconsin, home of Michael Feldman of What d'ya Know fame. The state looks very green and hilly. We make our way to Lake Menomonie and a just plain weird campground. Dinner at Applebee's and a confrontation with a really nasty insect completes our day.

Like A Rolling Stone

Here is my homage to Bob Dylan as we travel to Minnesota today. As we travel across South Dakota we leave behind the green grasses and mountains when we cross the Missouri River. With the Badlands and Black Hills behind us the eastern half of the state is more flat and brown. We start to see more agriculture with foot high corn growing and several farms powered by windmills.

No visit to S.D. is complete without a visit to Wall Drug. This store has been welcoming visitors for years with free ice water and 5 cent coffee. It is an amazing hodge podge and we had to stop and take photos on the huge jackalope as we had done 27 years ago.

We continued on Interstate 90 and stopped for lunch at Al's Oasis, a Wall Drug wannabee. Lewis & Clark did a lot of exploring in this area and the historical markers were interesting. In the afternoon we visited the Corn Palace and found the outside decorated with murals made of corn and corn husks. Inside it is a sports arena and gift shop.

We stopped at a Jellystone Campground, complete with Yogi Bear, and went to the nearby town to a highly rated steak house. Jeff was not impressed with his prime rib, but my Wall-eyed Pike was good.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

What can be better than being at Mt. Rushmore on the 4th of July? Just the ride to get there.

Another day in Paradise starts and the sunshine and scenery are exhilarating. Ziggy and I take a long walk and she is loving the cooler weather and the green grass. She is a great traveler and is really taking to the road quite well. We set off for Mt. Rushmore admiring the wildflowers, especially the black eyed Susans. The park has built roads with astonishing views of Mt. Rushmore. You drive through a narrow tunnel and the light at the end of the tunnel has the four presidential faces. It is an amazing engineering feat and they also invented special piggy-back bridges to facilitate traffic.

We stop at the visitor center which is informative and then come across one of our favorite places on the whole trip. The "Begging Burros" are mentioned in the park brochure and are the only animals you are allowed to feed. They are pack animals left behind by miners and they survive in the hills and by begging for food from the tourists. Their favorites are cookies and crackers, but they are not shy and will stick their head in your car window to see what goodies you may have. We weren't prepared with food, but one nice guy gave me a carrot to dish out. These burros are so sweet and their mouths are so soft when they take the food, but they are not shy. We decided to come back this way and stop for crackers on the way.

Mt. Rushmore is a tourist zoo, but the mountain is big enough for everyone to get a good view. It is fun to see the president's up there in granite and gives you a patriotic feeling. To add to the holiday festivities there was a Native American band playing contemporary rock music. We took the Presidential path which leads you right underneath the faces and then down lots of steps to the sculptor's workshop. There I saw the model of how the mountain was supposed to look, but it was never finished. The original intent was to show the figures down to their waists.

On the way back we stopped and got some Cheez-its to feed the burros and had just as much fun as earlier in the day. Whenever you see animals in the parks it causes a traffic jam. People pull over in their cars and jump out to see what's going on. You can always tell something good by the number of cars. The last photo is a mom and nursing baby burro. The baby was so adorable and sure to delight visitors to Custer for years to come.

Later we lit a fire and relaxed planning to return to the road in the morning.

Proud To Be An American

We woke up to blue skies after a torrential thunderstorm last night. It is our first real rain and we feel guilty since it has been raining and flooding at home since we left. Driving toward our next stop we discovered Wind Cave National Park and it is a charmer. First thing were herds of bison very near the roads and extremely photogenic. Next were miles of prairie dogs. These are the cutest and bravest little rodents living in dirt mounds along the plains. At one time there were an estimated 6 billion prairie dogs on the plains. Glad there are some left to enjoy. We also saw mule deer and pronghorn antelopes.

Our campground at Custer State Park was big and beautiful. In any private campground this would have been three sites. But this is rustic camping, no electric, water or sewage. Luckily we have all three on board so we are very comfortable. We also have a little swimming lake with cat tails (punks) - remember them? Custer is a gorgeous park and could easily be a national park, but I guess South Dakota grabbed it first. Anyway they have camping, lodges, cabins and the most gorgeous scenery at every turn. If that isn't enough, the bison graze on the lodge's front lawn.

In the afternoon we took a drive on the Needles Highway. We thought it was for all the pine tree needles, but found it was named for rock formations which had fantastic shapes. The roads are very narrow with one lane brides and S curves keeping your speed slow enough to enjoy the views. We passed Sylvan Lake which looked like a picture postcard and is one of the four man-made lakes in the park.

We decided not to see the fireworks at Mt. Rushmore tonight because you had to be there before noon to get parking. Instead we opted to see the laser light show at Crazy Horse Mountain. This place was one of our fondest memories from our 1978 trip and we were pleased to see how much progress had been made since then. Crazy Horse is a private endeavor byone dreamer, sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, and his family. They accept no government money and this project dwarfs the size of Mt. Rushmore.

The site has been built up with museums, gift shops and viewing areas. The carving is huge, 563' high, and Crazy Horse's head is now complete. This project will not be done in our lifetime, but I hope to see it again. When it finally gets dark around 9:30 they start the show and of course the music is "Proud To Be An American" over and over with the theme being the unity of Native Americans and other Americans. Lots of colored lights and cool laser stuff and well worth the drive.

Vroooom!

It's funny, but there is one recurring theme in this trip that neither of us has mentioned: motorcycles.

As many RVs as we have seen on the road - and there have been a lot - the number of motorcycles has been astounding! I would guess that the motorcycles have outnumbered the RVs by at least 5 to 1.

I'm not talking just any motorcycles here. They are about 90% Harley-Davidsons. Not bad for a company that was almost bankrupt a few years back.

These are not the Hell's Angels type of Harleys nor are the riders of that ilk. They are mostly middle-aged men (and women) who like to see the world with their body wrapped around a big, thumping engine. There were some traveling alone. There were many traveling in groups of 2-5 bikes. There were a few rallies (a big one in Grand Teton/Yellowstone) that had 20 or more bikes traveling together. (I understand we missed the REALLY big one that happens later this summer.)

Of course, you think that a motorcycle has 2 wheels, right? Yes - and no. We saw lots of 2 wheelers and a few trikes as well. The one I still don't get is the one I saw that had 4 wheels - the two regular wheels and 2 wheels that looked like training wheels. (I suspect that is not a term you use around the owner more than once!) It had the effect of making a regular 2-wheeler into sort of a trike. It seemed to pick up a bunch of storage capacity, but it was pretty funny-looking.

There were also a fair number of bikes pulling trailers. They are kind of cute little affairs that add a lot of storage that wouldn't otherwise be available.

A large minority of the bikes carried 2 people usually a man driving and a woman in the rear. It seems to me that you have to REALLY get along or this becomes old real quick.

I think the smartest of the bunch, though, were the people who were driving motorhomes - sometimes very expensive ones - and towing a trailer with a couple of Harleys on it. Not a bad way to see the world.

Rocky Raccoon

I've been waiting the entire trip to use this title (my favorite Beatles song) and here we are in South Dakota near the Badlands. We drove all day from Wyoming and passed lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery. Saw an owl on a phone pole and two wild turkeys. Mostly we saw pronghorn antelope everywhere as well as the everpresent cattle. Our driver last night told me that they expect 90-95% of cows to deliver a calf each year in order to make money. No wonder there are so many cute little calves everywhere.

We did cross the Continental Divide (again) at 9600' and still see snow on the mountain tops. Now we are in Hot Springs, SD and moving to Custer State Park tomorrow. They are having fireworks on the 3rd at Mt. Rushmore and lots of bison and other animals for us to see here.

Country Road

It is Saturday and another gorgeous day in the Tetons. We decided to take Ziggy out with us today and took a stroll along Jenny Lake. This area is so picturesque and Ziggy got to take a plunge in the lake water too. We drove through the park and ended up way south in the town of Jackson. I spent an hour visiting the National Wildlife Museum which had an interesting exhibit of Andy Warhol prints of endangered wildlife. Jeff opted for lunch.
Our evening was a terrific chuck wagon dinner. We drove along a country road to the parking area and then boarded a horse drawn wagon. There were about 60 people and we used two wagons drawn by healthy looking draft horses.We had the brown horses, the other team was white. After a bumpy 15 minutes we arrived at a grove where our hosts Shirley & Joe cooked up some thick rib steaks with all the fixings. Then they entertained us and even got the group to do the chicken dance. After some awesome chocolate brownies we boarded the wagons and headed home.

Blue Highways

This evening we are in Hot Springs, South Dakota having driven all day from Grand Teton National Park. Trust me, Wyoming is a big state!

As is our wont we traveled on blue highways today. Except for one brief stretch on I-25 near Casper, WY we stayed on secondary roads and saw some of the real Wyoming. Those of you from areas with suburban sprawl - especially the Boston-Washington corridor - simply can't imagine what it's like in the wide open country. Wyoming (and Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. Even California when you get away from the major cities!) have individual communities. There is no suburbia, so all the business activity is in small towns. You can sometimes go 40-50 miles between towns! (No cell phone service either, so make sure you don't break down!)

Some of these small towns are delightful. Some are miniscule. Each town proudly announces its presence with a sign detailing the altitude and population. I will never forgive myself for missing a picture of one such sign today. It proudly announced a population of 1!

If you are wondering where your beef comes from, this is a big part of the answer. Virtually all of Wyoming is open ranchland. Mile after mile of fenced-in cattle. Oh yes - if you look carefully you can see pronghorn antelope and other deer-like creatures among them.

Tomorrow we move to Custer State Park for a couple of days, so - you guessed it - no Internet.

We are really on the home stretch. Only 10 more days to go. I can't figure out whether it seems like the time flew by or whether we have been gone forever.

The one thing I can say is that we have had much better weather than if we had stayed at home. I'm really glad our house sits 200 feet above the river.