Rest Time (Mitchell SD)

 

Yesterday we stayed in a campsite in Albert Lea, Minnesota.  We woke up around 7 AM, took a nice deep breath.  There is nothing like the smell of fresh spread Manure in the morning.  It gives the term “Bull Shit” new meaning.  This is very strange for a nice Jewish couple from Queens.

Anyway, we finally pulled out around 9AM, taking the back roads north until we hit I-90.  We then made a left and headed for points west.

This is farm country.  They grow lots and lots of Corn,  Cell Phone towers, Power line towers and Wind Farms.

 

You know all this traveling is hard work.  So we decided to rest our weary bones here in Mitchell for a few days.  We will stay here until Sunday and see the local sights.  One main attraction is the Corn Palace.  I will report on that in the next blog.

Last night we had some excitement.  We had an emergency alert radio that went off last night.  It said “Severe thunder storms with dangerous winds exceeding 60 mph.  Get to a shelter or to an interior room on a lower floor.”  So since we do not have any lower floor or interior room, and since the camper was rocking and rolling in the wind and rain, we took off for the shelter of the campground office.  There were a few other families there.  Not sure where the rest of the people were though.  We had a nice discussion with a couple from Sacramento.  In a few minutes it pretty much blew over and we went back to the camper for the night.

Here are a few pictures that Ann took:

That’s Me driving                                     That’s Ann’s Work Station.

Sunday we head west on I-90 for the Black Hills.

See you on the Roan road…..

Relaxing in MN (Twin Lakes MN)

 

This blog is dedicated to H & K.  You guys know who you are, now leave me alone.

Well, yesterday we were in a campground right off I-80 in Iowa City, Iowa.   Looking at a map I realized that we should have made a right past Chicago and continue on I-90 which goes north and then west.  We stayed on I-80, which is further south. 

So this morning we hitched up and headed north.  We followed I-380 to SR 218  north to intersect with I-35.  We are now in a campground just over the Minnesota border in the middle of, a corn field, of course,.

If you like corn, this the the place for you.  We pasted miles and miles of corn fields. 

Corn to the left, corn the the right.  Miles and miles of corn fields.

Here is a picture out the back of our window.

We arrived in the campground around 3pm, didn’t un-hitch, just hooked up the electric, water and sewer and off the the pool for a nice cool swim.

Tomorrow it back on I-90 west.

See you down the Roan road…

Note to all, retirement is great!!!

Sitting in a Corn field (North Utica, IL)

 

Right now we are sitting in the camper in Hickory Hollow Campground in North Utica, Illinois. We are just finishing supper and the third thunder storm just passed through.  The first was the worst so far.  Just as we pulled in.  it felt like the world was coming to an end.  Lightening thunder and all kinds of winds.  First the sky turns dark then the wind followed by the end of the world.

Then it clears up and the whole thing starts all over again.

After leaving the Poconos we stayed in a campsite on the Pennsylvania/Ohio boarder for one night.  We left early going west on I-80 again to Elkhart, Indiana.  We stayed in a really nice campground in Elkhart, Thursday through Sunday.

Here is Ann, as usual, working hard.  I, of course, was slaving over a hot grill making dinner.

Elkhart is has some nice walks down by the river,  but it is still a depressed area with many stores and building for rent.

The downtown river walk.

The next day we went to the RV Hall of Fame where they have on display a sample of the different types of RV’s from 100 years ago until now.

After the RV Hall of Fame we went to the Midwest Museum of American Art where we saw an excellent collection of Quilts and Norman Rockwell paintings.

Since there is a large Amish population in Elkhart, we went for a 90 mile Audio tour around the countryside.  We went to Bonneyville Mills Park which is park build around an old Gris mill. There was a group of Amish having a picnic.  They all arrived either on bicycles or buggies.

And is Shipshewana, which is mostly one big flea market or shopping malls, Ann got her Carousel fix.

We then headed back to the campground.  This morning we went to Trail Air to have the modification to the hitch.  It is supposed to reduce the forward and backward motion of the trailer called Chucking.  It seems to work.

Well that’s it for now.

See you down the Roan road….

First Day out (Tobyhanna, PA)

 

Well, we got up around 4 AM to get an early start.  After packing up the truck with all of the clothes and food from the frig, we left the house around 5:30 AM. The sun was just starting to rise.

We made it to Amityville around 6 AM,  not much traffic at that hour of the morning.  After putting all of the food in the freezer and refrigerator compartment we hitched up and backed the camper out by 7:30 AM.

No real traffic on I 495, Clearview, or Throgs Neck bridge.  The Cross Bronx was a different story, as usual, bumper to bumper until we crossed the GW bridge.

Headed west on I 80, until we hit the Poconos, then North on SR 611 to Hemlock Campgrounds.  We are here to unpack and straighten out the camper.  Getting it ready for the next 6 weeks.

It is a nice campground in the a wooded area.  No satellite, intermittent Wi-Fi, good internet on the Air card, though.  One bad thing is the the poor power.  The voltage is all over the place, so no AC.  Didn’t really need it because the temperature is nice and cool.

Last night we had dinner with our good friends, Pauline and Irwin, who have a place near by.

Yesterday we didn’t do much, just relaxed.  Today we will do most of the fixing up.  Tomorrow we will get back on I-80 heading West.

Well that’s our story and we are sticking to it!

See you down the Roan road….

2 Days Left (Flushing NY)

 

38 hrs, 54 min., 24 sec.

 

Enough said.

3 days left - (Flushing, NY)

 

August 1st is the day we leave for Wyoming.

The House is cleaned up and the Real Estate broker is starting to show the house.  The sign goes up on Monday in front of the house.  That is one big scary step for us.  Oh well, soon we will be Homeless.

Monday morning we pull out of Amityville, where the camper is parked, and head west on I-80 again.  This is the same route we took in 1974.

First we will be staying 2 nights in the Poconos to straighten out the camper and rest up.  Then we are headed to Indiana, the Elkhart area.  On August 8th we have an appointment to have a part added to the hitch which will make pulling the trailer smoother and a less tiring ride. 

Then back on I-80 west.  We have to be in Cheyenne, WY on August 26th for the Escapees Bootcamp, for two days.  The bootcamp is for RV newcomers.  After the bootcamp we stay put and the Escapees Rally begins, they are expecting around 800 RVs.

More than likely we will make some stops in South Dakota.  The Badlands area to be specific, Deadwood, Custer NP.,  etc.  We will keep everyone updated as we go.

See you down the Roan road….

Well, We did it!! - Flushing NY

 

Ann and I have been working on the house getting it ready to be put on the market.  The inside has been painted upstairs and down.  The carpet in the basement has been cleaned. We planted flowers in the front and on the back deck.  The front and back yards have been landscaped.

Today we did it.  We signed the agreement with a Real Estate agent to sell the house. 

We have been cleaning, well mostly Ann has been getting rid of many, many years of STUFF.  That is the hard part.

Andrew and Caroline are in from Paris for a wedding and will be staying with us for a few days.  After they leave, the house will be officially listed.

We hope to be leaving August 1st for Wyoming.  We will be taking our time on the way out there.  There is an Escapees Rally the end of August we are going to attend.  After that we will spend some time in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the Custer area. 

We have an appointment at the factory in Kansas on September 14 to have some work done on the Trailer.  We plan to be back home by about September  21st.

I will have more blog updates when we hit the road or something important to say.

To be continued ……