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. 

Ellsworth AFB to Wall, SD

Monday August 26th was a clean up/laundry day, towels and sheets take forever in the small washing machine, but at least I have one in the RV.  We did take a break about 12:00 to meet the William's for lunch and had a nice time talking with them for about 2 hours.  Back to the RV to take Rudy out for a walk, then off again, some groceries and our daily geocache were on our list of chores.  Not moving to fast, or anything exciting today, just getting ready for our move tomorrow....in 95 degree heat.

 

Tuesday we got up to another hot day, moving slow, packing up the rest of our things getting ready for our long 1 hour drive.  We talked with the camp host and office lady, very nice people that make you feel very welcome in the CG, then we finally pulled out about 11:00.  We have no reason to hurry, heading to Wall, SD which is only about an hour from Ellsworth AFB and check in time isn't until 1:00.  We arrive a little early, water and electric are the only things hooked up, at 100 degrees you really don't want to be outside very long.  We sat inside until we cooled off a little, then decided to head over to the infamous 'Wall Drug'.  We walked around town for about 2 hours, ducking in and out of shops trying to stay cool in the AC, while having a Root Beer Float for me and a milk shake for Brad.  We get back home about 6:00, neither of us hungry but we had to eat, a burger each, no roll or sides was all we could manage.

 



Bad Lands, SD

Wednesday we get up, over to town for breakfast, then back home to pack up and head into the Bad Lands.  First off a minor leak in the slide hydraulics, but Brad was able to tighten a screw and end the leak, but not before we managed to spray hydraulic oil up over the dash and even on the ceiling.  So after the excitement and the clean up, off we go to the badlands.  We headed in through the west end and turned off onto Sage Creek Rim Road where we managed to see the buffalo, prairie dogs and a couple of pronghorn deer.  After about 8 miles(an hour plus) we turned around to head back to the road through the rest of the bad lands.  After lots of pictures, pull overs and stops (we did see some long horned sheep) we finally hit the east gate about 5:00.  We stopped at the Minute Man Missile information center, which was closed, then headed back up route 90 towards home.  We stopped did our geocache, then headed home to pork and sauerkraut that was cooking in the crock pot (still almost too hot to eat).  I talked with sister Lynne for a while, then we both just kind of veggie'd for the night. 

I know the pictures don't do it justice, but here are the pictures from the Bad Lands:

Bad Lands, SD

Thanks for the Visit,
Diane and Brad

Last adventures of the Black Hills (for this trip)

Hello again,

View from the Hill Top

Hill we Hiked

Friday 8/23 we got up with no real plans, then decided to head out for a hike.  Packed up some water and snacks and off to find Boulder Point.  On the way we stopped and got a sub, then headed out to a nice picnic site, then back to Subway to use the rest room.  All this time we kept missing the road we wanted, but on our last try, we finally found our road.  It was a beautiful ride up to the parking area and we took our time getting ready, but decided we were going to do the hike.  We hiked for about 1.5 hours, thinking we were lost, when we finally ran into some youngster (probably in her mid 20's) and she told us we were on the right trail and soon we would be facing another hill we would think twice about climbing.  She did advise us to keep going, the journey was worth it....just take lots of breaks on the hike.  Well she was right, it was steep, but the final destination was well worth the hike. The view was absolutely breath taking.  We take a break at the top and then head down....some how it seems steeper on the way down than it did on the way up...was it the anticipation??  We take a nice break when we get back to the car the head off to home.  No grill parts, so hot hogs and beans for dinner.  Early night, we were both in bed by 10:00.

One of the Many

Saturday morning while Brad was walking Rudy he actually ran into a couple(the William's) that we had gone through Freightliner Camp with.   What are the chances of running into someone 1000 miles from where you met and they were headed south and us north.  Anyway the William's had gone to Custer State Park on Friday and didn't see any Buffalo or other wild animals, so we almost decided not to go, but that was the plan, so off we went.  We headed out, arriving at the park about 11:00.  We stopped at the visitors center and spoke with the one volunteer who told us where the buffalo were, and where to stop for lunch on our way.  We drove about 1 hour, stopped for lunch then on the road again.  We almost missed the road we wanted, you have to pull into the horse stable area, then take a right (confusing), but we found it.  Much nicer ride, not as many cars, but boy were there ever buffalo.  We stopped at the first few we saw and took some pictures but down the road and around the corner the were a lot more.  After seeing the buffalo, we did find a single pronghorn antelope, then a prairie dog village, they were cute and a lot smaller that what I thought they would be.  On the rest of our drive we saw a couple of lone buffalo, a herd of pronghorn (too far away to take pictures), but no Big Horn Sheep.  Back home, grill parts arrived(yea), grill back together and the last of the sausages for dinner.  Lazy evening, walking around the campground, just hanging out. 

 

Custer Park Trip:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/CusterStateParkTrip?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJKF5LmontCwCA&feat=directlink

 

 

Sunday was another nice day, but extremely hot.  We talked to Tom and Carolyn Williams then headed to Rapid City, via a RV dealer for some light bulbs but they were closed, so we headed into town for a stroll.  Naturally by the time we got there it was lunch time so we had to find a place to eat.  The Fire House Brewing Co, an old fire house converted into a brewery, was a nice find.  Brad had the('Spontaneous Heating) (a  spicy gumbo featured on the Rachael Ray show) and I had the Gorgonzola soup and salad with Beer Bread, both were very good.  Rapid City is know for having statues of all the presidents on the street corners in town, some of which we saw and the center town park was absolutely beautiful.  About 2:30 we decide to head back to Hill City  to spend the rest of day and look for a few souvenirs.  As we were leaving we stopped and did our daily geocache, then had pork chops and veggies for dinner.

 

Rapid City Pics: 

https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/RapidCity?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO6b6cHLqOat8gE&feat=directlink