Travelogue

Another long day of driving--almost 12 hours. It's not good to string too many of these in a row or trip fatigue sets in. It was almost dinner time when we pulled into Lake Manawa State Park near the Iowa-Nebraska border. The lake was okay we thought, kind of pretty if you squinted and didn't look towards the more industrial end.

It was a warm evening, so the kids easily convinced us to go for a swim. Rather than go all the way to the swimming beach, we just walked from our campsite through some bushes to the shores of the lake. As we were splashing around in the water having a good time, we watched a beautiful red sunset over the smokestacks at the end of the lake. "I think this is going to be a trip highlight," Andrew said in all seriousness. I just wanted to hug him. One thing we really love about both our kids is their ability to seek out the best in everything and to have a good time at whatever they do. Here we were, only 2 days into a 3 ½ week trip and hadn't even reached Nebraska yet, but we had already given them a highlight. This was going to be a good trip.

Description

Lake Manawa State Park is a 1,529-acre park near the Iowa-Nebraska border in the town of Council Bluffs. Its beautiful 660-acre natural lake was formed during a flood in 1881 when the meandering Missouri River cut off a portion of the river channel. The result was an "oxbow" lake which was named Manawa, a Native American word for "peace and comfort."

Today the lake is very popular for swimming, boating, and fishing for crappies, bluegills, catfish, bass and walleye. Facilities include a swimming beach, boat ramps, picnic areas overlooking the lake, and a 73-site campground with 37 electrical hookups.

Travelogue

There's nothing like the feeling you get when you pull out of your driveway and head out on a road trip. All the hard work has been done: the trip has been planned, the RV is stocked with groceries, and everything is packed (hopefully). There is only fun and adventure ahead for the next few weeks. You're packed into tight accommodations with the people you love the most, who now are forced to spend quality time with you whether they like it or not. Excitement and anticipation is high as you head out, unsure of what the next few weeks will bring.

Since most of our trips are to the west, we always start out with some long driving days. Rather than pull into a commercial campground, we usually look for an all night Wal-Mart or a Flying J Travel Plaza. Both allow you to park overnight. I prefer the Flying J's because you feel much more secure in an area designated for overnight RV parking than you do in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Since all we need to do is sleep, these places are perfect. Once you pull the shades in the RV down, you can imagine that you're anywhere. On this particular trip, we were heading west on Route 80, so we drove 9 hours and stopped at a Flying J outside of Toledo, Ohio.

I think some of my happiest moments on an RV trip are these first nights in a truck stop. The whole trip is ahead of us, spirits are high, and we haven't gotten on each other's nerves yet.

Description

Flying J's are Travel Plazas that cater to truckers and RV's. Their numerous services include gas, dump station, propane, fast food restaurant, limited groceries, and even showers and a barber shop. However, the best feature of all is the section for overnight RV parking.

They are conveniently located on most of the interstates (except for the East Coast).

Travelogue

We made the push home from Indiana in one long 13-hour day. The trip had been wonderful, but it was good to be back home. Everything seemed so different. After the long vistas of the desert and plains, everything seemed so small and closed in. The only thing that felt bigger was our house. After living in an RV for 3 1/2 weeks, even our little house appeared spacious.

Description

Our home in Upper Saddle River, a suburb of New York City.

Travelogue

I had found out about Indiana Dunes in the National Geographic State Park book which highlights the best state parks in each state. Besides being a state park, there is also about 15 miles of National Lakeshore adjacent to it, so I expected it to be pretty good.

Herb with SmokestackI admit that I was a bit disappointed. Although the dunes were impressive and fun to roll around on, it wasn't nearly as pristine as I expected. I had hoped for another experience like Sleeping Bear Dunes, but this was not even close. The park was positioned between Gary and Michigan City, both pretty industrial-type towns. Their smokestacks, spewing god knows what, were quite visible as you gazed down the beach. As if that wasn't bad enough, swimming in Lake Michigan was prohibited because of high e.coli counts.

Since swimming was out of the question, we took a nice long hike along the dunes and a bike ride along the Calumet Bike Trail, which runs along a railroad bed through some pretty nice sand dunes, forests, and marshes. The kids' favorite activity by far was climbing and rolling back down the Devil's Slide, a steep dune overlooking the beach pavilion. Being the competitive family we are, we had races up the dune. Running in sand up a hill is unbelievably exhausting.

This was it, the end of our trip. The next day we would make the 13-hour push for home.

Description

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which stretches about 15 miles along the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan between Gary and Michigan City, has some of the highest dunes along the Lake Michigan shore. These dunes are called "living" dunes because they continue to move inland a few feet each year, burying plants and trees as they go.

Kid's dune jumpingWithin the National Lakeshore, a 3-mile section of the beach is actually a very popular State Park. This is where most of the action and facilities at Indiana Dunes are located. There is a large beach pavilion complete with snack bar and gift shop, a nature center, a lifeguard protected swimming beach, over 16 miles of dune hiking trails, and a large 286-site campground.

Another popular trail is the 9.2-mile Calumet Bike Trail, which is located in the National Lakeshore section of the Dunes about 2 miles inland. This trail runs along a railroad bed through a wide variety of habitats--beach, sand dunes, black oak forest, and marshes.

Travelogue

We were into that phase of the trip--long driving days home across the plains with little in the way of family entertainment. That's why even my suggestion of stopping at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site was greeted with such enthusiasm. It's all in the timing.

"Maybe they sell hat pins," Andrew said hopefully always anxious to add to his already impressive collection. Wanting to discourage this "hat pin bagging" mentality, we explained that pins should not be goals in themselves, but rather a souvenir of memorable experience. I'm sure that made a big impression.

Although we joke about the Herbert Hoover Historical Site being our trip highlight, it was actually quite enjoyable and educational. Apparently, Hoover was a Quaker, so the site contained a re-created Quaker Village of the type that he grew up in, complete with blacksmith shop, meetinghouse, and schoolhouse. We also got to see the 2-room cottage that he was born in. I don't know why, but there is something about historical villages that makes me happy. The kids thought it was pretty good too.

Description

The Herbert Hoover Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa, is a re-creation of the 1870s Quaker Village that Herbert Hoover grew up in, complete with blacksmith shop, Friends meetinghouse, and a typical Quaker schoolhouse.

The Historic Site also contains the simple two-room cottage that Hoover was born in as well as his gravesite. The Presidential Library-Museum, also on the site, contains many documents and exhibits related to his life in public service.

Hoover's life was shaped by his Quaker upbringing and the strong principles of honesty, hard work, and generosity. Although orphaned when young, he studied hard, worked as a mining engineer, and became a millionaire by the age of 40.

Before he was elected president, he served in many public positions. His Quaker ideals are exemplified in the way he worked tirelessly to help feed the millions of hungry people in countries devastated by World War I.

Herbert Hoover became the 31st president in 1928. One year later, the stock market crashed sending the nation into the Great Depression. Despite Hoover's efforts to improve the country's economic distress, his popularity declined, and he lost the 1932 election to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Many in the country blamed Hoover for not doing more to bring the nation out of the depression, and he left office more reviled than any other president.

Travelogue

We were now into the long, monotonous driving days home across the plains. As I was scanning the campground guides for a nice place to stop, I couldn't help but notice how close we were to Nebraska, a state we had not yet laid claim to on our RV map. After some mental struggle, I did something that I am ashamed of today--I had Herb get off I29, cross the Missouri River into Nebraska, and drive down the west side of the river before crossing back into Iowa, just so that we could put Nebraska on our map--the infamous "Nebraska dip" as we call it today. I was not proud of what I had done, but I just want it noted that since that time, we have spent several wonderful days at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska, truly earning our claim to having visited the state.

We spent that night at a very nice state park along the banks of the Missouri River in Western Iowa, called Wilson State Park. After spending so much time out west, everything here seemed so lush and green--more like back home. I guess our trip was coming near an end.

The next morning before we left, I went for a very nice run through the De Soto National Wildlife Refuge which was adjacent to the state park. During my run, I noticed that there were tornado sirens positioned throughout the park, poised to squeal at the first signs of any tornadic activity. I guess that's a genuine concern in this area of the country. Thankfully, they were quiet now, but it reinforced the weather phobia I have every time we cross the plains.

Description

Wilson Island State Park is located in western Iowa on the banks of the Missouri River. The park is popular for boating, fishing, and hunting. A half-mile trail along the shoreline of the Missouri River and a boat ramp provide easy access to the river. There are an additional five miles of trails that are good for hiking and mountain biking.

There is a campground with 140 well-shaded, spacious campsites.

Just to the north of the state park is the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, which has additional hiking trails and is also good for fishing, hunting, and observing wildlife, such as deer, snow geese and bald eagles.

According to historians, Lewis and Clark camped along this part of the Missouri River on their historic trip to the Pacific Coast back in 1804.

Travelogue

If there is one defining characteristic of our family, I would have to say that it is a love of the outdoors and all the wonders it has to offer. Enjoying the outdoors often requires some equipment. As a result, we have a room in our basement affectionately nicknamed Campmor (after a large mail order outdoor outfitter), filled with every conceivable piece of outdoor gear--rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, fishing of every variety, camping, mountain biking, etc., etc. That is why Herb knew that on our drove home on I90, we would be passing a Cabela's in Mitchell, South Dakota. I'm not sure what else we could possibly need, but we decided to stop anyway to break up the long driving day.

Well, apparently we did need something--our poor, deprived sons did not have fly rods. They had caught blues and stripers with their surf rods, bass and trout with their spinning rods, but had not yet had the experience of flailing a fly line and placing a dry fly in front of an unsuspecting trout. They had seen their father's joy in catching a trout with his fly rod in Yellowstone Lake, and now wanted in on the action. At Cabela's they each got a very nice setup for $50, complete with rod, reel, fly line, and case.

Description

Cabela's is the world's foremost outfitter of hunting, fishing, and outdoor gear. It began in 1961 when Dick Cabela ran an ad in a Wyoming newspaper trying to sell hand-tied flies, 12 for $1. From those humble beginnings, Cabela's has grown into an organization with 11 retail stores, a huge mail order and internet business, and 7,000 employees. The founders have kept it a family-owned business and still play a very active role in the organization.

Travelogue

After a very entertaining stop at Wall Drug, we headed for Badlands National Park. Badlands is an easy National Park to visit because it has a 32-mile scenic drive that runs from east to west across the park past several scenic overlooks and trailheads for hikes. Since we were heading home, we entered the park at the Pinnacles Entrance in the western portion of the park.

Notch Trail Shaky Ladder ClimbThis was the first time since we left Michigan about 2½ weeks ago that we didn't have a reservation for the night. Wow, free spirits at last. When we got our first look at the South Dakota badlands from the Pinnacles Overlook, we knew that we wanted to spend the night here. The view was incredible--sharp, jagged ridges and multicolored buttes rising out of the prairie.

Now began the debate as to where to stay. It was over 100 degrees, so my vote was for the Badlands KOA right outside the park where there was a pool and we could run our air conditioning. After our horrible commercial campground experience at Mt. Rushmore, Herb wanted to stay at the Cedar Pass Campground inside the park. He assured me, and I must admit he was correct, that this was the desert and temperatures dropped significantly at night so we wouldn't need air conditioning. He won. The campground was lovely--great views of the Badlands and a nice shade covering over the picnic table.

After lunching and enjoying the views at the campsite, we headed to the Visitor Center to get some information on hikes so that we could experience the badlands more intimately. I had chosen the 1.5 mile Notch Trail, but a very acrophobic woman ranger nearly talked us out of it when she described how you had to climb a steep, shaky ladder and then walk along a narrow cliff edge that dropped sharply off into a steep gully. Although this information made me think twice about the hike, it actually intrigued the kids even more. If they were enthused about a hike, I'm there.

Badlands Notch Trail hikeI'm really glad we didn't listen to her--it wasn't nearly as bad as she made it out to be. There was in fact a steep, shaky ladder, but it was no big deal and although the cliff edge made my palms sweat a little more, it was also very doable. What the kids liked best was that they were able to climb and scamper on the rock formations as they went along--not like other parks were you always had to stay on a trail and just admire the rocks. At the end of the hike we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the badlands and prairie below.

That evening back at the campground, we watched a beautiful sunset from our picnic table. After dinner, the kids and I decided to go to the campground amphitheater for the Ranger Program. I really like to take advantage of these programs--they're always very informative and well done, especially if you have an enthusiastic ranger, which we did. Herb was too content sitting with his Gin and Tonic, gloating about his campground selection, to accompany us so the kids and I went alone, taking along a flashlight to find our way back when it got dark later.

Sunset at the campThe talk was interesting because it focused on life on the Badland's prairie, and made you realize that there was a lot more to this park than just the interesting rock formations. Having very much enjoyed the talk, the kids and I exited the amphitheater into the campground, which now looked totally different in the pitch-black conditions. Despite my ability to navigate our RV across an entire continent, when not equipped with a GPS and laptop I am what Herb politely describes as navigationally impaired. The kids and I proceeded to wander aimlessly up and down each lane in the campground looking for our motor home. Being very aware of my limitations, Herb must have started to get concerned when we didn't return right away. He said he looked out the RV and in the distance he saw 3 little heads wandering aimlessly back and forth across the campground shining our little beacon of light ahead of us. After a good laugh, he came and rescued us.

Before leaving the Badlands for good the next morning we stopped along the scenic drive to hike the Door Trail. This relatively short, but fairly strenuous hike took us through a break in The Wall called "The Door" and into a very rugged, eroded section of the badland that looks more like the surface of the moon than any place on Earth.

Like Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Badlands was an unexpected highlight for us. The rugged beauty and remoteness of the badlands was something that all four of us had come to love.

Description

Badlands National Park encompasses more than 381 square miles of the eroded buttes, pinnacles, jagged ridges, and prairies that make up the badlands of South Dakota. The rock formations rise from the plains like a city skyline, creating a 100-mile-long natural barrier referred to as The Wall. In fact, early French-Canadian fur trappers named this area les mauvaises terres a traverser or "bad lands to travel across."

Badlands sunsetThis barren yet beautiful landscape began forming more than 70 million years ago when the climate here was much warmer and wetter, and the Great Plains were covered by a shallow, inland sea. Over time, the land was pushed up, the sea receded, and the black mud of the sea floor hardened into shale, preserving the fossils of animals now long extinct. The area became a flood plain, receiving sediment deposits every time the rivers overflowed. Some of the sediment was mixed with volcanic ash, which together formed clay stone, the main material that makes up the Badlands buttes. Around half a million years ago, wind and water began cutting through the softer layers of sedimentary rock, carving buttes, gullies, and sawtoothed ridges out of the flat flood plains.

The result is the eerie moonscape you see today--jagged sawtoothed ridges and oddly-shaped spires, with their exposed ancient rock layers painted in shades of sand, gold, pink, and red. The erosion has also exposed the rich fossil beds from the ancient sea floor, drawing scientists from around the world to study the preserved remains of extinct animals, such as miniature camels and saber-toothed cats.

Lolo of the BadlandsThis erosion still continues today, with wind and water washing away an average of one inch of sediment from the buttes each year. At this rate, they will be completely gone in another half a million years.

An excellent way to see the beauty of the Badlands is to drive along the 32-mile Badlands Loop Road that crosses the North Unit of the park, stopping at the numerous scenic overlooks along the way. However, to truly experience the badlands, you have to get out of your car and take one of the hikes into The Wall. There are three excellent hikes that start from the Windows Overlook parking lot.

The ¾ mile, fairly strenuous Door Trail passes through a break in The Wall called "The Door" into a very rugged, eroded section of the badland that looks more like the surface of the moon than any place on Earth.

The ¼ mile easy Window Trail leads to a spectacular view of a deeply eroded canyon through an opening called "The Window."

The 1½ mile, fairly strenuous Notch Trail is not recommended for those with a fear of heights, as it requires you to climb a steep, shaky ladder and then climb along the side of a steep gully to a break in the wall called "The Notch" where there is a commanding view of the Cliff Shelf area and the White River Valley below.

Travelogue

The kids, especially Tommy, love to shop, so when we told them about Wall Drug they were pretty worked up. We didn't have any choice but to tell them. It's impossible to sneak through South Dakota without seeing the hundreds of signs lining the highway, counting down the mileage to Wall Drug and trying to lure you in with the promise of free ice water--pretty good marketing ploy. The Husteads started it back in 1931 in an attempt to get cars to come off the highway and shop in their drug store. It worked. Today it's the largest drug store in the world.

Kids at Wall Drug 'Mount Rushmore'You could buy everything there. They had camping supplies, jewelry, cowboy clothes, rattlesnake ashtrays, tacky souvenirs, and thankfully, hat pins to add to our collection. Even better than all the nosh they were selling, were the free attractions. There was a life-sized Cowboy Orchestra that played every 15 minutes, a shooting gallery, a miniaturized version of Mt. Rushmore, and my personal animated favorite--a giant 30-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex that scared the you-know-what out of us every 15 minutes even though we knew it was coming.

The whole Wall Drug experience was unbelievable. With all the natural wonders we were seeing, it was good to throw in a little culture once in awhile.

Description

Anyone that has traveled across South Dakota on I90 is sure to have seen the hundreds of signs advertising free ice water at Wall Drug. The story of what has now become one of South Dakota's main visitor attractions began in 1931 when Dorothy and Ted Hustead purchased the only drugstore in the small town of Wall, at the edge of the South Dakota Badlands. After 5 years of tough times during the Depression, Dorothy had an idea to get people to stop in their store: put up signs on the highway advertising free ice water. That simple concept, combined with great service and good prices, has helped the Hustead's grow their business into the world's largest drug store.

Wall Drug T-RexToday the store is a giant block-long emporium which draws more than 20,000 visitors a day in the summer. Besides being a store selling everything from Western wear to camping supplies to Indian jewelry, it is also a museum displaying thousands of historical photographs and memorabilia of its history and the region's. Even more of a draw are the free attractions, such as the life-size animated Chuck Wagon Quartet, the 30 foot high animated T-Rex that comes to life every 15 minutes, a replica of Mt. Rushmore, a shooting gallery arcade, and much more. There's even a dining room serving great country food that seats over 500 people.

Today the signs telling how many miles to Wall Drug not only extend for hundreds of miles along I90 in South Dakota, but they are found in numerous places around the world, including the North Pole, India, Kenya, Paris, etc. Some of these signs were put there by Wall Drug but many others by happy customers just wanting to spread the word.