We're on the way!

But we haven't been hurrying. Because of Labor Day being late, and our appointment at the Winnebago factory on September 8, we've had time to get sidetracked. When we were looking at the map and planning our route, we realized that Devil's Tower was not far off the highway.

It really does get your attention when you come around the corner and there it is! No space ships were there, but then, we didn't visit at night.

We walked the mile or so around the base of the monument. On the shadowed side there were two climbers about a quarter of the way up, and on the sunny side there was a group of climbers just starting their climb. Before you even get to the sheer side, you have to climb over huge boulders. Wow.

Our next stop was Mt Rushmore. We had been there a few years ago with Glen and Ardyce, but decided to see it again. This time we stayed in Rapid City, South Dakota. When we arrived at the RV park, the owner asked us if we planned on going over for the lighting of the Presidents. We didn't even know they did that! It was a beautiful night. There is a ranger program, a film about the impact each President had on history, and acknowledgment of past and present members of the armed forces. And as the film ends, the mountain is illuminated.

And then, of course, we needed to go back to see the mountain in the morning when the carving looks white. The last time we were there it got cloudy and rained and the mountain disappeared in the fog, so this was great.

As we traveled through South Dakota, we went through Mitchell. Had to stop at the Corn Palace! It's the only one in the world so the billboards say. All the scenes on the two open sides of the building are made of corn and other grains. They had just had the annual festival at the end of August, and there were new murals starting on one corner. That showed it what it looks like before they add the corn. They say it is "corn by number". And they also say it is the biggest bird feeder in the world.

And that brought us to Forest City, Iowa. Home of the Winnebago Industries Factory. We arrived on Labor Day evening, and had been told to pick a spot to park in the lot, hook up to the electricity, and the doors would open at 7:00 on Tuesday morning. There were several RV's when we got there, and more arrived during the evening. Bright and early on Tuesday they took the RV in to fix the jacks and the AC/heat pump, and a few other things that needed their expert attention.

We used the waiting time to visit the Visitor's Center and museum and go on a tour of the factory.

Winnebago is still in production even though there aren't as many being made as there were a few years ago, and they are only building motor homes that are ordered instead of stocking their yards with all kinds. We didn't get to see the very end of the production lines, but watching from the catwalk areas was pretty cool.

The factory is open from 7 to 3:30, so we were happy when our RV was all finished and returned to us before 3:00. But then the waiting started. We have an extended warranty, and we had to wait for an inspector to arrive to check what had been done before they would agree to cover the work that was done.

Now, the receptionists and the technician that worked on the RV were wonderful and helpful. And they were able to fix the AC and now the jacks go up and down just like they are supposed to work. But the Service Supervisor that was in charge of the financial part of the work was not by any means wonderful and helpful! We had to wait around from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday at about noon for things to be settled between the Warranty Company and Winnebago Industries. And waiting is something that comes so easily for us because Sue is a very patient person. (Do I hear snickering? Shame on you!)

Seems that Winnebago went ahead and finished doing the work before taking all the steps that the warranty contract calls for and therefore they don't want to cover everything. That didn't make us very happy, but the way we were treated by the Service Supervisor was what really annoyed us. We went over the problem with them but they seemed rather reluctant to be up front with us about the procedure. It was not a pleasant conversation. Jim said that Sue used her "teacher's voice". Jim doesn't have a teacher's voice, but made his feelings very clear also!

So we packed up and hit the road. And now we are in Angola, Indiana on Friday night, and expect to be home on Sunday afternoon.

The adventure is all but over unless something unexpected happens in the next two days. But we are sort of hoping it won't!

See you all soon!

Sue and Jim

One Great Big Science Lab!

Mr Wizard, Bill Nye, and your favorite science teacher would love Yellowstone! It is so cool! Or maybe your favorite plumber?

We found an RV Park near the western entrance which isn't too far from Old Faithful. Our first evening there, we drove to Firehole River Canyon. The walls of the canyon show the volcanic history of the park, and it is one of the few places in the park that people are allowed to swim in one of the calmer pools.




The next morning we drove further into the park with the idea that we would see some of the Old Faithful area and drive as far as we could. Well that idea didn't last long. The geysers were so interesting that we ended up spending the whole day there.

On our way to Old Faithful we came around a bend in the road and had our first glimpse of the Fountain Paint Pot geyser field. So cool! This is also one of the areas where there are the bubbling mud pools. There is a very distinctive odor to the area however!





We arrived at Old Faithful close to its predicted eruption time, so stayed there to watch it. It puts on quite a show.

But there is so much more to see than just Old Faithful! There is a walkway that winds in and out around the geysers, pools, and fumaroles, which are very noisy steam vents. There is a bulletin board that gives a predicion of when some of the more dependable geysers will erupt and we just wandered around seeing as many as we could. We were really fortunate to see some of the more interesting ones go, including one that goes higher than Old Faithful and has three spouts going at once. There are also beautiful pools that are deep shades of blue in the middle, and browns and yellows on the outside edges where micro organisms can survive the harsh water.

There is a web cam for Old Faithful that our brother-in-law told us about. You can watch it erupt and see the people watching it. Just find the Yellowstone National Park web-site and look for the web cam to click on. We made some phone calls and had a good time waving to family and probably lots of other people.



Unfortunately, part of one of the park roads has been closed for the season for bridge repairs, so driving to some of the interesting places takes longer than it usually would. We headed out to go to the Yellowstone Canyon the next morning. There is quite a hike going down to see the lower falls, but very impressive when you get to the bottom. Those of you that have been to Yellowstone will recognize the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and those that haven't may be inspired to visit the park.

The Yellowstone area is very unstable, and within the National Forest area is Earthquake Lake. In 1959 there was a huge earthquake that caused the side of a mountain to block off a river and form a lake. Many people lost their lives trying to escape the landslide and flooding. We found a very interesting visitor's center with displays and a movie about the event.

We stopped there on our way out to see some ghost towns that were recommended. We stopped at Virginia City and Nevada City. Virginia City had been the capital of Montana for a short time but when the railroad went through Helena instead of Virginia City, the capitol went with it.

Another morning we took a walk out to Fairy Falls. It was a good walk and the falls were really pretty. The area had been one of the places in the park that had been damaged by fire but is recovering. Someday the trees will be big and shady again.






There is plenty of wildlife in the park also. We saw herds of buffalo and plenty of elk. It's easy to tell when there is something to see because there are cars all pulled off on the side of the road. Unfortunately, some people are taking real chances by getting very close to the animals. One big bull elk was getting very upset with the people getting too close to his herd. We got to hear his opinions on the issue!

But there are also single bison walking on the roads! That really stops traffic. They just amble along the roadway and don't seem to be too disturbed by people slowing down to take pictures.

We did some figuring, and realized that we had some extra time to spend at Yellowstone so we drove around to the other side and got a site in Mammoth Hot Springs campground in the park. This would be one of the first "dry camping" we have tried with the RV. As long as we plan ahead, it works pretty well.

There is one herd of elk that stay around that part of the park and can usually be found on the grass in and around the hotel, the old fort grounds and on the terraces of the hot springs. The park rangers direct traffic and block off sidewalks and roads to keep people and elk safe.

Again with our brother-in-law's recommendation, we drove out the Northeastern entrance of the park toward Cooke City and the Beartooth Mountain Pass. You are really on the top of the world there! The views were just beautiful and driving the twisty winding roads was exciting. There was road work going on and guard rails being installed. Very glad it was just in the Jeep!

We had planned on getting an early start the morning that we were heading east toward South Dakota. Well, we woke up early, with the help of that herd of elk. They were in the campground calling out to each other. It took us a few minutes to figure out what the bleating sounds were. We were able to get all ready to go with the car hooked up, but driving out was tricky. The whole herd, including the bull had made themselves quite comfortable eating grass, resting in the bushes and standing on the roads. There was one doe that seemed to be very interested in a small tent. She rubbed her head on the frame and pawed at the nylon. There wasn't anyone inside, but there must have been something in there she wanted. It took quite a bit of noise, waving, and clapping to get her to leave it alone. But whatever kind of tent it was, it held up to her abuse!

So, we left Yellowstone knowing that we had only scratched the surface of the park. We are heading east to arrive in Forest City, Iowa on September 8. Who knows what we will find on our way!

Jim and Sue