Sunday, July 31st

It has been a busy few days here in IL. 
Thursday we headed over to Fair Oaks, Indiana and went to one of the most interesting dairies I have seen.  It is the Fair Oaks Dairy.  This dairy has a great tour.  You load up onto a bus and they drive you around the spread.  The care taken for these animals is impressive.  Their philosophy is that happy cows produce more product.  The highlight for me was the milking area.  The cows enter the milking area onto a a "merry-go-round", they enter as they please and exit when they are done.  All on their own.  They really seemed to enjoy the ride.  Some didn't want to get off the ride and went around for another spin, without getting milked.  They have a birthing barn at Fair oaks, the kids were able to see a calf being born for the first time.  What a beautiful site to behold.  Nature in all her glory, with a little help from a vet. 

They also make their own milk and cheese products at Fair Oaks.  We sampled and ate plenty of cheese and milk while we were there.  From the dairy we cruised up to the northern edge of IN to Hammond.  Hammond is home to a HUGE Cabelas.  I swung by the fly shop and checked out what the Midwest folks throw.  The fish tanks hold much different fish that the ones back home.  Lots of bass, catfish, gar, and muskie.  We finished the day with a big bonfire, roasting dogs and enjoying the smores that Jess had showed us how to make.  Fudge stripe cookies and marshmallows.  Delicious!!

Friday we were woken up by a big storm.  Lightning everywhere and about two inches of rain.  The low grey clouds were flying by.  Once the storm passed, Tres and Rebecca went out to the local antique shops and I headed down to the creek with the boys.  What a different landscape than we have in Idaho.  The giant hardwood trees and black soil is a place made for kids to run wild.  We hunted for fish but none were found.  That evening was a treat.  Off to the Kankakee speedway for some 1/4 mile dirt track racing.  We have a track back home but it is not dirt.  This stuff here looks like a hoot.  Full power slides around the track.  We all had a great time.

Saturday was a road day.  Up to Milwaukee, WI.  Our drive took us back thru Chicago and all of its traffic.  The first stop was the Miller Valley.  Home of the Miller Brewing Company.  We took the brewery tour and were blown away by the history of the area.  The sheer volume of adult beverages was crazy.  A 200,000 sq./ft. warehouse that is filled with beer of all kinds.  A complete turn over of product in around 24 hours.  Man, people sure like their beer.  We again sampled and hit the gift shop.  I was very proud of myself, only making a small purchase.  I could have easily walked out with one of everything.  I was in heaven.  For those of you that know me well, you know my beer of choice is "Miller High Life".  Heaven indeed. 

Back on the highway to Madison, WI.  The tour at Miller had taken a bit longer to complete than I realised so I was forced to break every speed law that the state has to make it to the National Mustard Museum before they closed.  My boy is a mustard freak and we really wanted him to visit this spot.  As the great Sammy Hagar says, "I can't drive 55".  More like 75ish!!  We made it to Madison with about a half-hour to tour and taste.  It was just enough time.  I don't think that any of us realised how many mustards there are in the world.  Lowman was in heaven.  Samples to taste and free dogs to go with it. 

Our drive back to Kankakee was a long scenic drive thru the country.  It was a long day, but that is what this trip is all about.  Getting out and experiencing what the area holds.

Chicago

Where do I begin with Chicago, IL?  I am sitting here, back in the beautiful rural confines of Kankakee, looking back at our day in the city.  I won't say that I hated it, but it is definitely not one of my top places to see.  We left mid-morning and set out north for what we were thinking was a great day to come.  The drive up was much faster than I thought, you can really fly without the great Jayco anchor in tow. 
We hit Shoreline drive and went looking for a place to park.  First mistake.  Try and have some idea of where you are parking before heading into downtown Chicago.  Missed the turn into the "millennium park" garage and it was on.  That started a frustrating drive thru narrow residential streets and culminated in a frenzy of activity in downtown Chicago.  And I mean DOWNTOWN Chicago.  People everywhere!!  Watch where you turn, you might flatten a pedestrian.  They way these people drive was appalling.  I must have seen a dozen near misses.  They would have been near misses for me, but to the locals it might be just another day.  Finally hit the parking garage, it was literally the only place I could see to park.  Nice price, $14 minimum, $29 maximum.  The $14 price was for like the first half hour.  I guess when you own the only parking garage around, you can charge whatever you want.

We parked and headed to Millennium park.  Pretty neat park really.  It had some neat sculptures and fountains but not a bathroom in sight.  We took the tourist pictures and headed over to Navy Pier.  Nice walk, probably took us half and hour to get there.  People everywhere.  Hot, sweaty, angry people everywhere.  We headed out to the end of the pier and took some pictures of Lake Michigan and enjoyed the breeze. 

We did some more walking and decided it was time to head out.  I didn't really want to fight the traffic anymore so it was time to head back to the country. 
CRAP!!!!  TONS of traffic heading out of town.  It takes ten times as long to get out of the hell-hole as it does to get in.  Nice trap.  Anyway, we will gladly scratch the great city of Chicago off of out list, probably never to return.

Kankakee, IL July 26th

We had such a great time in Custer.  That is such a wonderful place.  It is amazing just how much you can "live" in a short span of time when you really give it a whirl.  I can see my children growing right before my eyes.  From Lowman taking steps to manhood, to Hailey really finding the courage to step out.  We enjoyed the new Family we now have in Custer.  Watching the Storey kids enjoy the outdoor places that they are fortunate enough to visit every summer.  Having them teach us things about life and curiosity.  The joys of just being a bunch of kids.  All the children played so well together, not one spat in two weeks is a feat in itself.  The Carrolls welcomed us with open arms and made us feel right at home.  I can not thank you enough for the time you gave us.  It was sweet. 
It was bitter sweet leaving Sunday.  Not wanting to leave the people we had gotten to know, but ready for the next step.  Hello highway!!
Sunday was spent driving across South Dakota.  I mean all of Sunday.  I wouldn't stop until we hit Sioux City IA.  I just had to get to a new state.  We "boondocked" for the first time there.  We stayed in the Walmart parking lot along with five other campers and a semi or two.  I felt very comfortable and we saved about $45.  The more we do that on our drives to a destination, the more destinations we can get to. 
We were up and gone with the sun on Monday.  We drove along the Missouri river, spilling over the farm land and closing highways as it pleases.  I truly feel for the farm and ranch families.  We saw houses completely surrounded by the mighty river.  We saw a sign that read "honk and pray for us", so I did. 

The drive thru IA was brutal, not brutal because it was long like SD, but brutal like this humidity is killing me.  High 80s low 90s with heat indexes well over 105.  DAMN!!!  I had no idea IA was so rolling.  The hills stretched out for miles in front of us.  Miles and miles of corn laden hills.  Tres took pictures of old barns as we traveled. 
We made great time and hit Kankakee, IL at 7:00 pm on Monday.  Seeing Tres and her sister meet for the first time in 19 years was enough to bring tears to my eyes.  It was beautiful.  We set up shop at their spread, surrounded by corn and the farm life.  Fireflies and cicadas fill the night air.  A clear star filled night is what we went to bed enjoying.

July 17th

It is the end of our first week in Custer SD.  We have had such a good time here.  So much to see and do.  We will spend one more week and then start traveling east.  It has been quite a busy week for us here.
We headed up to Sylvan lake on Wednesday the 13.  Had a great hike around the lake and did a bit of fishing.  After the lake, Jess had a hike for us.  We went off trail with all of the kids up to a place called "the poets table".  It was such a neat place.  Up in the peaks of the mountains surrounding Sylvan lake.  People have been heading up there since the 60s and writing poetry.  Somebody even took a table and chairs up from the valley.  Not a small set either.  Full on wood table and chairs.  From the hike it was off to the needles.  Rock spires that you can climb and play around on.  We had a blast.

Thursday the 14th we all headed to Stockade lake for the morning.  The kids swam and I went fishing while Tres and Jess visited.  Next up was the Badger Hole, named after Badger Clark.  Badger was a writer and poet that carved himself a sweet niche into Custer state park in the 1930s.  He built a cabin by hand and had, from the looks of it, many visitors.  The cabin is in the same state it was on the day he died.  Everything in its place.  Off to Jewel cave for a nature/information hike around the grounds.  After the nature hike we took all of the kids on a 3.5 mile hike around the Canyons trail.  It was probably in the upper 80s-low 90s.  Hot in the canyon.  On the way out of the canyon we walk right up to the only natural entrance to jewel cave and the blast of ice cold air is soooooo welcome.  It is like standing in front of a freezer with the door open on a hot summer day.  Everyone was spent.  Time for some much needed sleep.

Friday was my fly fishing morning.  I took the kids to Jess's place to play for the day and I headed into Custer State Park for some much needed alone time.  What a beautiful place to fish.  Some action, but nothing like home.  When I returned to the casa, Tres had some more work to finish up on so I headed down to Hill City for a new pair of Tevas.  (I blew my sandals out in the needles).  Once home again, Tres and I headed out to the Wildlife loop in the park and checked out the antelope, prairie dogs and the wild burros.  Half way around the loop,  the check engine light popped on.  Great timing.  We nursed the truck back, surging and hard shifting the entire way.  Worried that the truck would konk out at any time.  I got on the Internet and found that I can turn my key 3 times in the ignition and get the trouble code off of the odometer.  Pulled the code, looked up the problem on the Internet and found how to fix it.  It was a throttle positioning switch that had gone bad. The NAPA here in town doesn't have one so I had to make the trip into Custer.  To late in the day at this point so off to dinner at the Carroll house.

Sat. I went fishing with Jess's Dad Frank in the morning.  Sylvan lake is gorgeous at 0530.  No one else on the lake yet.  We spent a few hours fishing and talking about whatever popped up.  He is an interesting man with so much to teach.  Now it was time for the dreaded repair.  Off to Rapid city for the autozone and to try my hand at fixing the truck.  The 40 mile drive to Rapid City was a drain.  We got in and got the part, with my assistant Tres at my side we were done in about 15 minutes.  2 bolts, 2 Torx screws, one band and finished.  Thank you lord!!  Truck is running great again.  We were not even out of the Autozone 5 minutes and some 17 year old girl runs right into the side of the truck.  We all pulled over and I went around the truck thinking I was going to see a big hole in the side.  She just barely grazed us.  Her mirror was ripped up, but she said that it was already like that.  My scratches will buff out, no harm no foul.  She was scared to death.  She apologized and we were on our way.  Up to Ft. Hays to check out where they filmed Dances with Wolves.  Ate lunch and checked the old stuff out.  The kids made a hemp rope with a machine from the early 1900s.  Pretty cool.  We had a beautiful drive back to Custer thru Keystone and up the pigtail highway.  Breathtaking.  We finished that day here at the trailer with Jess and the kids.  BBQ and great conversation.  Kids playing and having the time of there lives.

Today was our opportunity to head into Jewel Cave.  The cave had been out of commission for a while so they could fix one of the two elevators that take guests into the cave.  It was well worth the wait.  It is a great cool place to take a walk on a hot summer day.  Beautiful formations everywhere you look.  The tour lasts about an hour and a half.  You should have seen the near panic on my beautiful wife's face when the elevators opened and we were in the airlock room.  Stuffy and damp.  Can you say claustrophobic.  She took a few deep breaths and as soon as the ranger opened the door she was good.  We will finish the day with the Carrolls again tonight.  We have been invited to dinner and will enjoy the time with friends while we can. 

Rapid City July 12th

We hopped over the hills to Rapid City SD and went to the S. Dakota School of Mines and Technology museum of geology.  What an interesting place.  It was jammed packed with every mineral you could think off.  The different colors and textures was amazing.  The museum also had a healthy collection of fossils.

 

The next stop was the Rapid City dinosaur park.  Years ago the city created a park with several sculpted dinosaurs that you can climb and play on.  It has a great view of the city and surrounding country.  We all had a good time. 

Back on the hwy heading back into Custer we stopped at an interesting spot for all of you stuffed animal people.  It is in Hill City SD and it is the worlds largest teddy bear collection.  This place is crammed with, on the day we were there, 7182 bears of all shapes, sizes, and ages.  You can hardly walk around the building it is so full.  Still not sure just how I feel about the place, I will just say it is interesting.  Just up the road was one more stop, the mistletoe station.  Christmas 375 is the best way to describe it.  From the carpet to the ceiling.  Ornaments and decorations for the holidays.  (This one was for the girls.)
Back in Custer we visited with Jess's parents, had some pizza and visited.  Sounds like her Dad is going to show us some fishing spots.  He mentioned something about 5 pound trout and I about jumped out of my skin.
The kids stayed and hung out with Jess's kids for a few hours and Tres and I went out to Custer state park and walked around Bismark lake.  Lots of turtles scooting around and fish jumping.  Another beautiful spot in a really beautiful place.

Custer South Dakota

We rolled into Custer on the evening of the 10th.  I will walk you thru the day, it was an interesting one. 
The drive from Rawlings WY to Custer S. Dakota is beautiful, if you like the desert.  More colors than a crayola crayon box.  Rock formations that would blow your mind.  Rising either out of the dry desert floor or out of a lush grassland. 

We left early to avoid some of the heat.  That worked very nicely for the truck.  She ran like a top.  Until we ran into the black hills at about 90 degrees.  I guess when I say that the day was an interesting one, I really mean the last hour or so.  We cruised thru the thunder basin area and saw the most gnarly coal mining operation I have ever seen.  GIANT!!!  Big trucks, shovels, tankers and enormous piles of dirt everywhere.  The thunder basin national grassland was not what I was expecting.  Basically hills with grass and scattered oil and gas drilling rigs.  Not much to report on that.  Once we hit the foot of the black hills we were still cruising along, enjoying the change to a conifer forest.  Pines and aspen all around.  Still going strong until we ran into a small string of campers at the steepest, most narrow spot in the entire mountain range.  None of which was doing anything to the speed I was looking for.  I am a big fan of momentum.  They were not.  Once we lost the big "MO", it was all over.  Traveling at a snails pace with a big load was hard on the temp. gauge and the transmission.  No matter what I tried I could not find that gear that the truck and I could agree on.  High RPMs to low RPMs back and forth.  What a nightmare.  Tres was not comfortable due to the erratic engine and the steep winding road crammed with traffic.  Needless to say, we made it out of there.
Once in to Custer, we decided that we should get our home for the next few weeks.  Something we should have done earlier in the day when we were calmer, cooler and more level headed.  Tres started making calls,We had wanted to stay at the Crazy Horse but they were wanting something like $660 for the two weeks.  NO!!  By the time she was done talking to them we were now out of town and I was as hot as the truck.  Frustrated!!!  We need to call some more places.  Oh yes.....her phone just died.  This is her iphone, the one with all of the internet connections to find rv parks.  Now we are thru town with no way to see who has what unless we go to every park and get rates.  FRUSTRATED!!!!!  She suggested that we pull off somewhere, keep in mind that I have a long bed truck with 26' of travel trailer behind it and not a ton of experience.  Well folks, faith is still the theme of this trip.  Around the next turn is a great little turnaround spot that just happens to be Custers germinate camp from back in the day.  I pull in and after dragging out the power inverter to charge things up, notice we are right in front of a sweet little rv park.  We decide to check the rates.  Thank you lord.  Less than half of what the crazy horse wanted.  Super quiet little spot with no one behind us.  We have a great view of the hills, pastures, wildlife and did I mention No one behind us.  What really blows my mind was that as we were leaving Rawlings that morning, we did our morning travel prayer and I asked the lord to watch over us and to "show us what he wanted us to see".  I don't know about you, but I believe we were where he wanted us to be.

July 11th.  Today was a tourist day.  Mt. Rushmore in all its glory.  Much smaller that I remember.  It was an educational tour.  We walked the presidence trail and saw the artists studio.  What a feat.  Looking back at the technology that they used, it was quite a feat.  From Mt Rushmore we were toying with the idea of the Crazy Horse monument, but the clouds were aaaarollin in.  Antique shop! might as well hit it.  As we walked around the first corner to the outside displays we are greeted by a 19 year old donkey named Donk!!  This little fat thing has free roam of the store.  Up and down the isles.  Crazy.  We picked up our first license plate and a sweet old jar (ha ha Jenny) for our squished commemorative pennies.  Off to the Custer county courthouse museum.  That was a 2-3 hr tour that we all learned from.  The kids did the scavenger hunt and we helped.  What a great way to learn some history.  So much history in this neck of the woods.

       

Rawlings

Well folks we are in it!!  Made it over to Twin Falls, ID on the evening of July 7th.  HOT drive!!!  Was more than a bit concerned about the truck.  Lots of weight, a hot day and an impatient driver is a bad combination. 

Our first stop on July 8th was Shoshone falls, Tres and the kids had never witnessed it.  Not fully pumping, but beautiful none the less.  After enjoying the spray of the falls we headed up to the Shoshone Ice Cave.  I had forgotten what an interesting place that was.  We had a great guide that could not have been older that 15.  He will be a geologist some day I'm sure.  We had an older couple in the group that was having a hard time keeping up, so I offered a stable hand to a very nice lady from Texas.  She took it, I helped her up the many rickety steps and we talked the entire way back.  Once done at the cave we were off on a drive up to the Craters of the moon.  Fascinating place.  We drove and hiked around for about half of the day.  The highlight was hiking up one of the cinder cones with about a 45mph wind.  I could actually lean into the wind and have it hold me up.  The big gusts felt like 55-60.  All fun and games until the wind blew Lowman's new prescription sunglasses of his face and down the hill a bit.  No worries, super Mom leaped down and rescued them.  It was time to get off of the cone.

We headed East out of Twin this morning bound for Custer, S. Dakota.  We have made it to Rawlings, WY.  A very nice drive with a great tailwind.  Many stops along the way to check out little places and stretch the legs.  I cannot believe how green the desert is.  Just love the wet year we have had.

Short timers

We have sold the Rodeo!!!!  Thank you lord!!! 

I went down and got new shoes on the truck today.  One more step down.  I will have the hitch put on and the trailer bearings done by Thurs.  That means we are rolling out this week.  FINALLY. 

Will be heading thru Southern Idaho and be in Eastern Idaho by the weekend.  Lots to look forward to.  A little trip to God's fishing holes around Island Park, Yellowstone, the Tetons and then over to S. Dakota to see Jess!!!

I think the time has finally come