Fort Knox to Virginia

Visitors Center/Offices
in Roundabout in Bardstown

My goodness where did the week go.  Thursday 9-26 we headed over to a little town called Bardstown, Ky.  We did a bunch of the local craft and antique stores and finally about 3:00 we decided to do one of the distillery tours....just our luck, too late the distilleries all do their last tour at 3:00. Oh well, we want to come back here again, so they will go up the priority list.  We did some driving around, checking out a couple of the local CG, then headed home about 4:30.  We did our best to travel back roads on our way back, so it took us about an hour to get there but it was nice ride. 

 

Friday we had planned on going to the General Patton museum, but the nice day got the best of Brad, so washing the motorhome took priority (this is why we are coming back to this area).  So he washed the moho, I did all the big laundry at the laundry mat, talked with Mel, Theresa and then made reservations for the IRV2 Rally next September, nothing like planning ahead!!  Then off to Wal-Mart for some of the supplies we needed, back home, dinner and start putting stuff away for the travel day tomorrow.  It was a beautiful day to work on the moho, but not so nice packing up to move.

Saturday we didn't get on the road until 11:00 and ended up stopping just inside the Kentucky state line for the night.  We did a just a couple of stops,  Walmart/Burger King, then four stops for gas.  Yes four, first one we couldn't get in,  three blocks to another, cheap but couldn't get in.  Third one we drove by, they didn't have diesel.  And the fourth,  Brad turns into this tiny gas station we are blocking half the pumps, and he goes out the entrance only because there is not enough room to turn around, only to pass a nice big gas station another mile down the road.  Anyway, we  ended up stopping at the Ashland/Huntington West KOA.  Talk about a no frills CG, kinda of funny though, we had a pull through site, but still had to disconnect the car to be able to hook everything up.  I think that was poor planning on their part.  We were both exhausted, so just hot dogs on the grill for dinner with very little stuff gotten out since it's back on the road tomorrow. 

Sunday we were on the road about 10:00, stopped for gas(once), two different rest areas and pulled into the Walnut Hill's KOA about 5:00.  This place is beautiful CG, we are up on the hill top with a view of the small lake down below.  Chicken on the grill for dinner, and a do nothing night.  For some reason putting on the miles tires us all out.  That was 520 miles in two days perhaps a new record for us.  We are staying here until Wednesday and then heading back to PA.  We'll stop in Dillsburg for about a week, then off to Tioga County to visit our Dr's and get all those appointments out of the way. 

 

Indiana to Fort Knox, KY

Saturday 9-21 we packed up from Sugar Creek and headed down the road, destination, Kentucky.  We got to Camp Carlson, the Fort Knox CG, about 4:00 Saturday evening, getting the last full hook site they had.  We get checked in find our site, right under a walnut tree, ugh.  Not much we can do, so we get set up, a quick meal on the grill and settle in for the night.  Actually it was a peaceful night and we woke up to a beautiful morning.

 



Yes that is the Gold Depository!

Sunday was a lazy day, Brad made breakfast on the grill, while I got some laundry done.  After that we checked out the base with a not so great of map, needless to say it wasn't an easy one to navigate around.  A little tour around the immediate area, only to find nothing then back home for sausages on the grill.  We did some internet surfing trying to planning our touring of the area, then off to bed with a plan of attack for tomorrow.

 

Monday 9-23 had a quick breakfast and were headed out the door about 10:00.  Oh no, what's this we notice, 3 sites where people have left, and they aren't under the walnut tree.  Off to the office and a change of plans.  Back to the RV, pack up and move sites, now I have learned, moving across town or across the CG, you still have to pack up the RV.  Once we are in the new site, I climbed on the roof to sweep of the walnuts that didn't roll off, when I noticed just how dirty it was and how the walnuts had really marked the roof.  After we are set up, again, we finally set out about 2:00.  The lady in the office told us a few places to check out, so down 31W through Radcliff and into Elizabethtown, neither of which are the tourist places she mentioned, but we found Elizabethtown quite nice.  We did some driving around checking out some of the old town area, geocached in the old cemetery and hit the visitors center while there, where we finally got a Kentucky map and some visitor information on the area.  We then headed back home, a quick chat with Pat McCurdy on the ride home and then burgers on the grill for dinner.  Settled in just in time for the 'Bones' season premier.  A good day, then off to bed.

Tuesday was another work day.  The roof was stained with walnut juice, so first was the scrubbing of that.  Then windows got washed, the inside of the car got scrubbed,  and we still need to get the RV scrubbed again. That took most of the morning and early afternoon, so then we just cleaned up and headed out to do some running around, our daily geocache,  a quick stop at the local (out of our way) Rite Aid store, and some grocery shopping.  Back home for chicken on the grill and again settled in to was the 'NCIS' season premier (some things you just have to make time for).

Wednesday they are calling for rain all day, so we decided to head into Louisville for the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour.  After breakfast we got ready and left about 10:30 and made it in there a little after 11:00.  We checked out the information on the tours and museum and decided to eat lunch first.  The guy at the door recommended an Italian place down the street, so we headed there..... we'll never listen to his advice again.  Oh well, back to the Louisville Slugger building.  Our factory tour wasn't scheduled until 2:00 so we had some time to kill in the museum.  That was pretty cool, I actually got to swing a bat that was used by Derek Jeter, it was the only one light enough for me to swing, I held one or two others, but they were way to heavy for me.  We walked around there about an hour, then squeezed in on the 1:40 tour.  They actually have their own forests of Ash and Maple trees(in northern Pa) where they harvest trees for their bats.  They showed us how they used to make bats, using a hand lathe and then the new lathe's used to make the general bats the every day person would buy and the new special lathe 's used to make the bats for the professional ball players.  I was surprised to learn that the players actually design their own bats and request them to their own specifications.  Our guide was interesting and talked faster than anyone I know, but I guess you get used to running through the tour spiel.  After that we watched a short film on baseball and then toured the batting cages and the rest of the building.  We finally got out of there about 3:30.  We then headed over to one of the history museums, but didn't really have enough time to do that, so we headed home.  A roast was in the crock pot so dinner was ready, feed Rudy, a couple of walks and now we are settled in for the evening. 

Dad, I took this picture just for you.  It's funny you just mentioned this this morning when we talked.    Love ya.

Thanks for the visit,
Diane and Brad. 

Sugar Creek CG, Indiana

Wednesday 9/17 we're at the Sugar Creek CG in Crawfordsville, IN. to relax and do some unwinding.  Not bad for a lazy day, some laundry done, a trip to the grocery store and then home for chicken on the grill.  It was a nice day to hang out here at the CG and just enjoy the day, beautiful weather and a nice creek behind us.

Thursday is another stay put day.  We worked on changing our mailing addresses and planning our next more.  We were originally supposed to move today, but with the rainy forecast we decided to stay put.  About 1:00 we headed out to check out some more of the area, first a hair dresser for me, then off to check out the KOA CG, we did good staying where we are.  We did our daily geocache, stopped at a vegetable stand then time for some more touring through town.  We were heading down this one street when we ran across some neat looking homes, so around the block to check them out again.  On our way around the back we ran across this museum, the Lew Wallace museum.  They close at 5:00 and it is already 4:00, so we decided to return tomorrow.  After that we head home, but stopped at the local Moose Lodge on our way, planning on eating out tomorrow night so we needed to see if they have dinners.  After that, back home, burgers on the grill and some sitting under the awning talking away the evening. 



The Lew Wallace Study

Today we got up, more laundry and then about 11:00 AM a hair cut for me, yea.  After that a quick bite for lunch, then off to the 'General Lew Wallace Study and Museum'.  It really was interesting, he built the study for himself in the 1890's, which they referred to as the 'original man cave'.  It was meant to be very private, with no windows and a moat around part of it, which he even stocked with fish.  This is where he wrote 'Ben-Hur' and it used to be call the 'Ben-Hur Museum'.  The guide was interesting, very informative and seemed to have an real interest in the preservation of the Study although the house and the rest of the original property was no longer in tact.  While there he told us about some more of his family, or actually his wife's family,  the sister's house  the 'Lane Place' was just down the street and also open for touring, so off we go to the 'Lane Place'.  This was a grand place and most of the furniture it was original from the last 1800, early 1900.  For a small town they sure do have their share of museums.  After that, back home to tend to Rudy, then off to the Moose for dinner.  The people were very friendly and welcoming, and not only that, the food was good.  We hung out there until about 8:00 then headed home, a little TV, blogging and bed will be following shortly.

  

Gas Fireplace in the study

                                             Diane and Brad

 



The Lane Place

 





Art work made out
of family hair in
the Lane Place



Iowa, Illionois, Indiana

Sunday we got up to a rain which lasted until early afternoon, so no early morning packing for us.  After hanging out inside and going a little stir crazy we headed out for lunch at one of the local restaurants.  After that we hit a couple of the local shops, some we had been in before, but one or two of the shops we had missed before.  No purchases there, but then off to the butcher shop where we spent about $50.00 on meats thinking it should keep us fed for the next week or so.  We then headed home, but it was raining again, so inside to put some of that stuff away and then lazed for a little bit.  Just about dinner time was setting in, the outside started to dry out so packing started while dinner cooked on the grill.  About 7:30 we headed down to visit with the Burkette's hoping to have a fire, but with the wind we just headed inside for a visit and to share a bottle of Tennessee wine.  It was a nice visit and a great way to end the week.  We headed back to our RV about 10:00, a walk for Rudy and then off to bed for us.

a Dam on the Mighty
Mississippi

Monday we got up and watched the last of the rally crew pull out and then finally got on the road about 10:00.  We are only headed about an hour away to get the hydraulic leak checked out, so off I go to Wal-Mart and Brad off to HWH.  I arrive shortly after he was checked in, unloaded the things purchased then Brad, Rudy and I head into Tipton, Brad and I looking for lunch. We ate at the local restaurant then got Rudy out for a walk.  As we were heading back to the car the cell phone rang and they were ready for our Moho (Motor Home).  Back to the shop, Moho in and they were done with the check up in about 30 min., nice.  Back on the road and just as we cross the mighty Mississippi, we look for an ACOE (Army Corps of Engineers) CG.  Well we drove right past, by accident and pulled into a County CG, nice.  We stopped at the office and was met by the camp host, $18.00 a night for water and elec., needless to say, we stayed.  The host was very friendly and came over to our site to check us in, telling us if we needed anything, just to let him know.  We did a walk around, down to the water, I had enough of the bugs and headed back, Brad and Rudy right along with me.  Other than the bugs, which you have in every CG, neither of us had any complaints about this place....would go there again.  We did another stroll or two after dinner, avoiding the waters edge, then off to bed about 10:00.


Black Squirrel

Tuesday we were moving very slow, and didn't get on the road until about 10:00, but not before I got a picture of the black squirrel.  Back on I-80 then we hit 74, heading back to Crawfordsville, IN.  There really aren't too many CG in this area, and after reading some of the reviews we were heading back to Sugar Creek CG.  We stopped for gas and I took over driving for about the next hour or so, stopped to change drivers and there in the rest stop are two wind mill blades.  Wow, are those things ever huge, I talked with one of the guys in the escort truck, the blades are about 112 feet in length and the total length of the rig hauling it was about 166 feet, they don't pull in just anywhere for a break.  We finally pulled into the CG about 6:00 (with the time zone change), got set up, called Lynne, burgers for dinner, a bunch of walks with Rudy, then a little TV and off to bed.  Long day on the road, but an uneventful ride. 


Wind Mill Blade headed
 toMassachusetts

Diane and Brad


 

 

The Final Days of the Rally

Tuesday morning was a catered breakfast, not bad, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, donuts, fruit, oj, milk and coffee, if you went hungry it was your own fault.  After that back home and we hung out here for 2 or 3 hours then decided we had to head out, even if it's almost 100 again.  After that we headed to Homestead looking for a place to have lunch, the first couple of places we stopped at were closed but, we finally find a place about 2:00.  After that we headed to the Woolen factory, the furniture store (if I had a house I could shop here) then 2 wine shops with at least one purchase being made.  We then did a little tour of East Amana, where we did our daily geocache and then headed.  Back home for a very small dinner, when the texting started between Tee and myself.  After a while I met her and Buddy outside, while Brad packed up for the camp fire.  We headed to the fire circle and hung out there until about 9:30 then headed home, out of the bugs and the heat. 

 

Wednesday we got up, Brad went to the coffee gathering, while I stayed back with Rudy.  After that we headed out to see more of the Amana Colonies.  We drove through Middle Amana, where all the tourist things were closed, then to West Amana where we did find one place open, 'The Broom and Basket Shop'.  We walked around there for a while, bought a little wooden box, had our picture taken on the giant rocking chair, toured around their little history museum then off to South Amana.  Here we toured the 'Mini-Americana Barn Museum', the 'Hill Gifts & Quilts', then on our way out stopped at the 'Schanz Furniture & Refinishing Shop',  here you could walk through the shop area, but everybody had already left for the day, but the furniture was absolutely beautiful.  After that back to Amana to the Meat Shop, where we bought something for dinner and some other snacks.  It was a long day, I was tired so we didn't even go to the camp fire, a lazy night at home.

The Children's Shop

Thursday we got up moving slow.  Brad went to the coffee get together, came back and planted himself on the computer.   We hung out here then headed down for the ice cream social about 1:00, hung out there for about an hour, then headed into Amana.  We rummaged through a couple of antique shops, the cutlery shop, and 2 or three others, then we tried to do our daily geocache, but after looking for over 30 min., no luck, we just couldn't find it.  Back home chicken on the grill for dinner, phone call to Lynne and off to bed by 10:00. 

Attached to a Wind Mill,
moves like he's sawing.

Friday we got up and headed out for breakfast the over to the Basket Shop where the lady was to be weaving her baskets.  Just as we got there and I was talking with her, she decided to tear the one apart she was working on, she didn't like it,  the hard frame had dried out too fast.  It really was interesting to watch her start a new one after that.  We left shortly thereafter, as a bus load of school children pulled in for a tour, kids, kids, kids everywhere.  We then headed back to Amana and hit a couple of the shops we had missed before, then Ice Cream Shop (for lunch), then the coffee shop after that.  We headed home, walked Rudy, then down to the social hall for dinner, door prizes and a band.  Dinner wasn't bad, nothing special, and once again, we didn't win a door prize :-(, but our friends did so we were happy for them.  Back to the house to attend to Rudy, grab a bottle of wine and off to listen to the band.  It was kind of funny, they were scheduled to play from 8:00 to midnight, but with the age of the crowd here, they were packing up to leave at 10:00.  Buddy, Tee, Brad and myself had to laugh when the organizer told them they could leave, as there were only about 10 of us left there to listen to them, so back home we headed, talking until about 11:00 at the street corner.  We walked Rudy, Brad headed to bed and I followed about midnight. 

Saturday was the last day of the Rally, people are packing up and heading out.  Brad headed over to the local mini-market for creamer and a breakfast sandwich while I managed to talk with a couple of our neighbors and say good-bye.  We showered and did a couple of laps with Rudy, seeing a few other people off that we had met, then Tee texted, off to the 'Fireside Winery' for the 4 of us.  It was only about 15 min. ride, with good wine.  We each bought a couple of bottles and then an extra for the 4 of us to enjoy on the patio at the winery.  It was a beautiful day, sunny, cool and a view of the vineyards.  We then headed back, stopping at the veggie stand on our way, quick walk with Rudy and off again.  There were 8 of us from the rally, still at the CG, so into town for a 3:00 meal at the 'Colony Inn Restaurant'.  The food was good, your ordered your meat and then all the rest was server family style, so if you went hungry it was your own fault, needless to say we all brought something home.  Back home to rescue poor Rudy, then about 7:00 we headed down to Frank and Rita's for an evening campfire, what a perfect end to the week.  Back home about 9:30, walk the dog and off to bed for us, Brad first and me by 11:00.

Diane and Brad 

Amana Colonies and IRV-2 Rally

Amana Colonies CG

OK, I lied, we got up Saturday, no hurry to leave with  only an hour drive to Amana, but the noise was so bad we pulled out, got gas and then hit the road by 10:00.  Instead of getting on I80 we decided to take route 6 over to Amana, nice drive, but it still only took us an hour.  Lucky for us, when we arrived at 11:30, we were allowed to check in and we were shown to our spot.  We got settled, met the rally organizers, Lori and Dave and then at 3:00 I headed up to the office annex to help put things together for the rally.  There were a bunch of us helping, putting together goody bags, and getting the badges ready and we were finished by 4:30.  Back to the RV where I gathered up Brad and Rudy and headed over to introduce them to Buddy and Theresa.  We had a nice visit then headed back home for a late dinner.

 

Sunday the rally check in was scheduled from 2-4 and I was helping at the registration table.  We hung out here at the RV until about 11:00 then headed in Amana for lunch, a little walk and some shopping a couple of the shops in town.  Back home, then about 1:30 I headed up to the registration table, to get ready.  We had 40 rigs to register and it took the better part of the 2 hours that were scheduled.  Back to the RV to get cleaned up and ready for a catered dinner at 6:00.  We had salad, pork sandwiches, baked beans, mashed potatoes, pickles, iced tea or lemonade, and cookies for desert, pretty good.  After that a local historian came in a gave a talk on the history of the Amana Colonies, how they came to settle in Iowa where they lived as a communal colony until 1932, when that changed.  It was interesting, the speaker was very knowledgeable, kept it interesting and was able to answer any of the questions.  After that home for a good nights sleep after a very busy day. 

 

Monday there was a coffee and cookie gathering that Brad headed out to, me I stayed home.  Then we were scheduled for the 10:30 walking tour though town.  It was a great informational tour that last about 1.5 hours in 90 degree heat.  Our tour guide was wonderful and tried to keep us in the shade, and really didn't try to hurry through anything, even in the blazing heat. There were 6 of us from the tour that went out to lunch together, and I think  a nice time was had by all.  After that back to the RV for a cool down then off to town for some supplies.  On our way home we headed over to 'High Amana' to do a tour of the General Store there, where it is  mostly still original as it was in the 1930's.  It was well worth the ride over and the ladies there gave us a little history of the place and were enjoyable to talk with.  On our way home we remember to get our daily geocache, even in the 100 degrees, then back to the RV for another cool down.  We just had a few left overs for dinner, then about 8:00 we headed down to the camp fire, yes it was still hot out side, so the circle around the fire was rather large.  We lasted a little over an hour, then the bugs got too bad, so back home, a walk for Rudy, AC turned down and off to bed. 

 

More to follow,

Diane and Brad

 

Omaha, NE

Wednesday 9-4 we got up not having a plan or sure what we want to do.  OK, let's head into 'Ole Town Market' for lunch and see what there is to do.  We found the visitors center, got some information, then headed out for a walk.  Well  the 'Ole Town Market' is a misnomer, since there is no market, but a three by four block area of shops and restaurants, in some neat old buildings.  After walking about 3 blocks we headed to the 'Upstream Brewing Company' for lunch (another old firehouse), and had lunch on the patio, great food and nice weather .  After that we walked around town for about 3-4 hours checking out the shops, art galleries and junk shops.  Some of the shops were great, some of them interesting and yet some of the others looked like they should just close their doors.  All in all it was a fun day, then we headed home, burgers for dinner, a chat with Lynne and a couple of nice long walks around the park. 

Piano in the park,
just sit down and play!

 

Thursday we got up to the sound of rain, well I guess the zoo is out.  I did some laundry, called a state park (Iowa you have to call 3 days in advance for a reservation, so sorry), no luck on a CG, but then about noon the rain quit.  We finally headed out, looking for a gas station to pull into with the RV tomorrow, and to do some shopping.  (We are headed out of here tomorrow then heading to a rally on Saturday and I wanted supplies so we don't have to do much shopping while we are there).  We didn't find a gas station, but we did find a Star Bucks and got our shopping done while finding our way in and around the area.  We ended up being gone about 4 hours, how that happened I'll never know, I think there was another stop or two in there that I missed.  Back home, chicken on the grill, a chat with dad and yes a few more walks around the park.  Off to bed.

 

Today, Friday we got up and slowly packed, no hurry to leave.  It is about a 4 hour drive to the Amana Colonies, so we plan on driving about half way today, no rush.  We hit the road about 10:00, me in car to pick up something's on base, and Brad in the motorhome to get gas.  Brad gets stopped for a train which is moving very slowly, then it stops, moves slowly, stops and finally moves on.  I almost beat Brad to the gas station.    We get gas and are off again by 10:30.  We hit a couple of rest area stops, geocache or two, and coming up to our state park....no sites available.  Ok, on the IPhone and the GPS looking for another campsite (and not $45.00 a night).  I find one called, Kellogg's RV Park, in Newton, IA, $20.00 a night.  We ended up being only an hour away from Amana Colonies, but they had room, for one night and we had a spot.  It ends up being a gas station, with a restaurant, and an RV Park out back.....right of I-80.  A little noisy, but for a stop for the night place, and dinner for $11.00, not bad. 

Thanks for the visit,
Diane and Brad

 

Mitchell, SD to Omaha, NE

Sunday, September 1, it is a beautiful morning, no AC needed today.  We headed out for breakfast at a local restaurant and weren't disappointed, then headed back home.  Now that we have our camera, phone and maps, we can do some site seeing.  First stop is the infamous Corn Palace, actually it was quite interesting, the building is decorated with multi-colored corn and different local grasses.  Inside there were pictures of the past buildings themed décor, as well as a BB court, and stage that also had corn decorations around it.  Not a place we need to see on a regular basis, but it was interesting for a new-bee tourist in the area.  From there we did a geocache, and then headed for a ride outside of town.  We came across Lake Mitchell and did the drive around that, stopping at a couple of the little picnic/park areas on the lake (beautiful place).  As we were headed back to the main road, we found this Archeodome, over a 1,000 year old Indian village.  They had a short film to watch, a tour through the museum and then you actually got to go into the area were they are doing the archeological dig.  Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative, making the visit very interesting.  Back home for chicken on the grill, and interesting night watching all the folks in the CG.

Archeological Dig Site

 

 

Monday was an interesting day, about 10:00 the whistle must have gone off and the people starting pouring out of the CG.  It was almost funny to watch, and it made the CG look much larger.  We had a lazy morning, then I drug Brad out to do some shopping, first to Wal-Mart and then the grocery store.  It was going to be a steak dinner for us, but since lunch wasn't eaten until 2:00, we settled on sausages and potato salad.  We managed to pack up a few things, getting ready for the move tomorrow, but didn't do much other than enjoying the cooler weather and quiet CG. 

 

Offutt AFB Camp Site

Tuesday we packed up and were ready to hit the road about 10:00, heading towards Omaha, figuring we would stop after about 150/200 miles.  In the process of packing up, we must have left in half of the fly population from Mitchell, it took me an hour of swatting and cleaning up, 'til we could finally sit without feeling like you were being swarmed.   We finally hit Sioux City about 2:00, stopped at a visitor center asking for local CG information, the gentleman was very nice, and gave me lots of brochures and information, but nothing on CG's.  We looked at our map again and decided to do the last 100 miles and get to the Offutt, AFB in Omaha, it is so much easier driving the 300 miles on the straight, flat roads in the west than it is back east, and this way we will be parked for 3 nights.  We got to the grounds about 4:00, parked and set up by 4:30.  We did our normal walk around the CG, then started dinner, steak, mushrooms and a baked sweet potato, delicious.  After that we headed out for a nice long walk, to the little peninsula that sticks out into the lake.  Back inside, dishes done and ready for bed, let's see what we find tomorrow. 

 

Diane and Brad

Wall, SD

     Thursday 8/29 we headed out about 10:30, going to the Minuteman Missile Visitor Center, checking to see about the tours and how they were scheduled.  What a shock, they had room for us at 11:30, (and many more later in the day), but for us back in the car and head west on I-90 about 5 miles to the Launch Control Facility.  Our guide was retired AF(Col) and actually had worked the Minuteman Missile Mission for many years.  We had a little orientation outside the facility, showing us all the different antennas and types of antenna that were used for this mission.  He explained all the miles of underground cables that were installed between all the launch control centers and 1000 missile silos and explained if this all failed and communication is lost between everything on ground, they could be launched by plane.  After all that information we  headed into the "Soft" Control Center (above ground control center).  We got a tour of the living quarters and the control center there and he explained the rotation of all the Airmen  (Missile-teers, Security, and Commander).  Next its down an elevator to the actual Launch Control Center.  It is 30 feet below ground and we see the actual capsule that the Missile-teers are locked in, how everything worked, how the missile launch commands would be received and the process used to launch the missiles.  Our guide, Jim Hastings, was knowledgeable and answered our questions with ease, a very worthy stop. 

Door to Capsule

     After that we headed back to the Minuteman Visitor center to check out the information there and see the short film they had....not bad.  Then back into the Badlands for lunch and another short tour.  This time we headed to a town 'Interior' that is listed on most of the brochures....not much there, but they did have a geocache that we managed to find.  It is getting on to 4:00 by this time and we still need to stop at the actual missile silo, so back on I-90, heading towards home, but the missile silo is on our way.  We got there, did a little walk around, not much to see other than the missile, still in the ground, and a few other cement areas that are closed and locked.  We notice 2 more cars pulling in so decide it's time to leave, but on the way out the gate Brad notices a cell phone tour pamphlet hanging on the gate.  OK we get the pamphlet, call the number and actually listen to their tour, got a few of our questions answered and then actually left after that.  What an interesting day. 

       We then headed home and found a butcher shop on our way through town so we stopped to get some meats for our travels.  The two behind the counter were very nice and as we got to talking, it turns out the  guy at the counter is from Lancaster Pa., seems he came out with a friend last year  and ended up never going home, small world.   After that we headed home to rescue Rudy from his kennel, had left overs for dinner and now Brad is on the count down for bed.  More to come tomorrow, one more day in Wall, SD.

Minuteman Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/MinutemanTour?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIS6j8_Z76y-oAE&feat=directlink
 

Friday was a lazy day, we just hung out, did laundry, breakfast and some mundane things here at home.  Finally we headed out to lunch, which ended up being the Wall Drug Cafe's  'Famous Hot Roast Beef Sandwich and mashed potatoes', delicious.  Brad wanted to go to the BB-Q house, but I think we did good with our final choice.  We ended up walking through the Wall Drug stores again, seeing some of the many things we missed the first time we were here.  After that we headed out to do a geocache or two heading to  a small town about 6 miles away.  We did have to chuckle when we found the town.....this sign has the population on it '44'.  After that back home for a light dinner and some lazy time.

Saturday 8-31 we got up and slowly packed for our  move, getting on the road about 9:30(Mountain Time).  We headed east on I-90, destination, Mitchell, SD.....off to see the one and only 'Corn Palace'.  It's a little over a 200 mile drive, so a rest stop or two with a geocache or two, and we arrive about 3:40 (Central Time), find our spot and get set up.  Not a bad place for $25.00 a night, the place if full and the sites are nicely shaded.  We just hung out for the night, burgers for dinner and wait to see what tomorrow brings.