July 13, More Badlands

Bad - yes, but not so bad they had to lock us up!

Jane and Bill arrived yesterday and we set out to explore the little town of Interior which is at the foot of the Badlands Park. There is a tiny jail, a schoolhouse, a grocery store and a filling station that also serves lunch everyday.

The Badlands, a name given to this area by the early Lakota Indians and French explorers, includes 240,000 acres of rolling grasslands, spires, buttes, peaks and valleys "of delicately banded colors that shift in the sunlight into thousands of tints that appear on no color chart". Today was an overcast, rainy day so the pictures are not a true indication of the magnificence of this area.

When we first entered the area, it looked like a giant sand castle rising from the flat prairie land. I was immediately intrigued. Bill took us on a 30 mile loop and although I shot probably 100 pictures, I knew a camera could not interpret the majesty of this place. It was mind boggling to see how rain, wind, erosion and deposition of materials, prehistoric fossils, and remains of ancient life could reveal themselves in such a mysterious, almost "unearthly" form. This formation took millions of years. Today we absorbed as much of that history as we could.

July 12, Badlands KOA

We've had a few days to rest and recuperate at this great KOA campground outside the Badlands National Park. Not only do they have all the amenities typical of KOAs, but they also have pancake breakfasts and an evening meal. We'll be ordering an Indian Taco meal for supper tonight - a nice break from our regular RV fare of chicken salad, ham sandwiches and chili.

Right outside the campground is a bridge with hundreds of bird nests under the ledge. It looks like a huge bird condo! The nests appear to be made of mud. You can click on pictures to make them larger.

This is a view of a modest size mound outside the park. Tomorrow we'll spend the day touring the Badlands. The weather today has been fabulous - high was 79. We slept with the windows open last night. Tomorrow should be a balmy 82. Sorry about that Columbus!

July 10, Manhattan, KS to North Platte, Nebraska

Our next destination was to visit an 80-year old cousin whom I had not seen in many, many years. She has lived in Manhattan, KS most of her life, but lived a while in Columbus when her husband was overseas. We had a wonderful time with her and she was elated that we stayed with her a few days. I enjoyed hearing stories about my mother and grandmother's family when they lived on a farm near Comer Ga.

Wadine and Joe bonded so well after all these years.

She has a granddaughter, Cecilia, who is in college at Kansas State, majoring in Veterinarian Medicine. She checks on her grandmother regularly and the two have a sweet relationship.

We left her house this morning and are now at the Holiday Travel Park in North Platte, NE. We had stopped at a KOA earlier today but it had been flooded by the Platte River, so we went on down the road to this campground. www.holidayparkne.com

Tomorrow we head north on hwy 83 and will probably stay at a State Park near Valentine, NB.

The one thing that has amazed me about this part of the country is the abundance of cornfields.

Mileage - Columbus, Ga to North Platte, NB 1, 369

July 7, Topeka, Kansas

"Driving Mr. Joe"

We were going to make a short trip today to a campground in Clinton, MO, relax, clean up, organize, blah, blah, blah. But the campground did not appeal to us and the day was still young so we headed to Topeka, KS. Had to pull off into a small town along the way due to a really serious storm. Parked in front of a cute grocery store and did a little shopping. Once the weather settled into a mild thunderstorm, we headed on toward Kansas City and Topeka.

So our "short" day became another 7 hour day of driving. But that's OK, after all I want to put in a full day's work for my pay!

We stopped at a large truck stop for fuel and I couldn't resist this adorable shot of Chuckie and his friends.

We made it to Topeka and stopped for the night at this KOA campground.

It has all the amenities we wanted -

,

cable TV, Internet access, hot showers AND Blue Bell ice cream. The owner had this barn moved to this location and rebuilt to serve as his office, entertainment/group room and even a theatre. They serve pancakes on Sat. morning and have hayrides Friday nights. We'll miss both! The landscaping is impressive - to include geese (they're real), ponds, wishing well and flowers.

July 6, Mountain Grove, MO

Our goal today was to get to Springfield, MO - it just didn't happen!

We stayed at Wall Doxey State Park campground last night. It was a really nice park with level sites and plenty of shade trees over head. Didn’t take any pictures though; I was a little tired.

We left around 8:30 this morning and I immediately got lost because some detour signs said to "turn here"! WRONG. I think the local highway planners are a little behind on removing their signs. So after wasting 20 min. finding my way back to the correct highway, we headed out hwy 78 toward Springfield.

Getting around Memphis was a trick indeed, but your intrepid Empress of RVing still reigns. As I was about to make a premature turn, I realized my mistake, so I ever so gently eased back into the left lane, causing only one 18 wheeler to swerve across three lanes to avoid hitting me. The other 4 drivers just made obscene hand gestures . I made my exit! Yea ME!

This is NOT the look the 18 wheeler gave me!

Leaving Mississippi and Tennessee behind, we crossed over the Mighty Mississippi River into Arkansas. Ahead lay the Ozarks! (N0te the blue squiggly line on the map above) I really was not prepared for the twists, turns, ups and downs of these hills. Kind of made me sorry we had eaten breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.

We didn’t make it to Springfield; stopped early near a little place called Mountain Grove.

July 5, Holly Springs, MS

We left the house this morning at 9:00 AM and arrived in Holly Springs, Mississippi (approx. 366 mi) around 4:00 PM Central Time. We stopped three times for respite, lunch and fuel.

Holly Springs is reputed to be the quintessential antebellum town. I had read an article about an old grocery store in Holly Springs that touts the best hamburgers around these parts. I flagged down some locals in a city utility truck, to get directions. When the fellow saw my perplexed expression, he said “come on, follow me”. Small town America is still alive and well!

This was the first thing I spotted - of course -railroad brat that I am!

The Railroad Depot was an elegantly designed building resembling a castle more than a depot. Locals said a woman bought the depot to convert it to a B&B, but just never got around to it.

Phillips Grocery was a nostalgic trip back in time; a time when you could walk a few blocks to the drug store, get a Cherry Coke at the soda fountain and go sit at a tall black iron table to enjoy it. Your mother didn't worry about you because everyone there knew you and you were safe.

We chatted with some ladies in the store and ordered our hamburgers; I got some deep fried mushrooms recommended by another customer.

There were thousands of antique items in the store, but no groceries! I assume they make enough off the hamburgers, etc. to survive. We returned to the campground with full tummies and sweet memories of a time gone by.

Wagons Ho! June 19, 2011

Beginning our NorthWest journey. Looks like we're heading out in the wrong direction, but it is actually easier to go to Montgomery, then up to Birmingham. Only a few miles longer and not as many stops as going hwy 280.

We're packin' up our gear, hitchin' up the wagon and headin' out West. We'll be joining the Yankee RV Caravan Tour in Rapid City, SD on July 14. We'll follow the Oregon Trail with 20 other RV rigs and I'll be posting some pictures and other info about our trip.

Meanwhile, we've been having a great summer with our kids and grandkids.

Sarah, Hannah and Caroline

making Lemon Blossom cupcakes

Jerrod, Hannah and Caroline chillin' on the back porch.

Aunt Carla with her nieces, Sarah and Hannah

Sharon, Brad and Hannah on Mother's Day