Oh Fred, Say it ain't so...

6500 miles, 13 KOA's, 6 Wal-Marts, a spell at the Florer Family Campground and Fred decided to throw a hissy-fit. What's up with that? It's true we did manage to limp into a Citgo Station, but still, he basically just up and quit on us.

Four hours later we found ourselves hitched up to a huge monster-sized wrecker and on the way to Harvey Chevrolet in Radford, Virginia. I can't tell you how traumatized my princess was (not from the breakdown, but having to ride in the wrecker). I can tell you that neither our new BFF Bruce nor his wrecker was inspiring much confidence.


Never-the-less, it was still a good thing and a bad thing. Bad in that nobody in their right mind wants to see Harvey Chevrolet, but good in that Virginia Tech was close. So, sweet as shoofly pie, I was on the phone to Addie asking him if he (AND HIS CAR) would like to have dinner together. Needless to say, it was not long before Peg and I were headed up I-81 (in Addie's Car; he's such a good boy) and Erma was patiently waiting for Fred to get out of the hospital...

Can you say, "Black Velvet..."

Feets don't fail me now. From New Mexico to Tennessee, we pounded I-40 for three straight days, but who in their right mind would pass up a chance to see the King?

Not us, for sure. "Graceland" was on our "TO DO" list.



After being out west for three straight weeks, the humidity hit us like a ton of bricks. Nevertheless, we were on a mission.

The the folks at Graceland were also on a mission...separating us from our money.



It's still worth the price of admission and something everyone should see at least once. The house sits on thirteen acres of land across the street from the Elvis campground, gift shops, car museum, airplanes, etc., etc., etc.


And yes, there is what the press calls a "jungle room" and it does have shag carpet on the ceiling, but really, it's not as stupid as it sounds. You need to see it! You will not be disappointed. It's a great house.


P.S. They say he's buried here, but I'm not so sure...I could have sworn I saw him in the laundry room at a KOA in South Dakota!

La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis

Because of Fred's "issues" in Cheyenne, we didn't have a prayer of going all the way to Santa Fe. Never-the-less, we came over the Raton Pass, did a hats off to Philmont as we passed the Cimmeron exit and plowed on to a Wal-Mart in Las Vegas (New Mexico, not Nevada).

 It was morning before we checked into the Santa Fe KOA and got a good look at where we were. First thoughts; it's fabulous - museums, galleries, shops, architecture - I'm ready to retire. 

Santa Fe is known for it's Adobe houses. Peg loved this building, which is actually not a house at all - it turned out to be a parking deck - go figure. 

Santa Fe stands at about 7000 feet. The Rocky Mountains, known locally as the Sangre de Christos Mountains, start here and go all the way to the Arctic Circle.

The city is also the home base of Georgia O'Keefe. It should be a must on your tour list, even if art is not your thing. All in all we spent two full days here and are ready to come back next week. Hopefully, we'll see you there...

Hiccup in Cheyenne

My Baby takes pictures of Windmills where ever we go and out here, they're everywhere. 

Following our stay in SLC, we soon found ourselves on the way to Santa Fe via Cheyenne  and down through Denver. We'd traveled over 4000 miles without a hitch. But as soon as my Princess decided to tell me how fortunate we'd been, once again there was trouble in River City. 

Coming up the mountain, outside of Rawlins, all power evaporated and we found ourselves in what I later learned from my new best friends at Tyrrell-Doyle Chevrolet, was "limp mode". 

We decided to crawl on to Laramie, but again lost power coming over the pass. As we were practically on  top by then, we made the decision for better or for worse, to limp on in to the  Cheyenne KOA. And so...here we sit.

My new best friends are telling me new fuel filter and clean the injectors. Never-the-less, we're still thinking one way or another, Santa Fe here or bust!

The Salt Lake

My Sweet Pea's image of Salt Lake City was always the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She wasn't fully aware there was an actual salt lake and although SLC was never really on the itinerary, it's a fabulous place to wind up. 

To see the lake properly, you need to go to Antelope Island (above). The views are incredible - I just keep being overwhelmed every place we go.  

But, if you're a (real) man, you'll want/need to go to the largest open pit copper mine in the world...The Kennecott Copper Mine, about 25 miles south of town. The pit is 3/4 mile deep and 2 1/2 miles across at the top.  

They've been digging this hole since 1903 and it's so big it can be seen from outer space. The scale of it is incomprehensible.

The largest shovels hold 98 tons in a single pass, the dump trucks hold up to 320 tons and each of the eight tires cost $20,000. Whoa...

 

And then of course there's Temple Square which, essentially, is  "Mormon Central"; a 39 acre campus somewhat analogous to Vatican City, but not really. 

When you walk through the gate you are greeted by a number of Elders and "Missionary Sisters" whose sole job is to answer questions and show you around. The dominant building is, of course, the Temple (which is off limits to non-members) but, you'll also find the Tabernacle, the Conference center (the largest in the U.S. seating 22,000) the Family History Library (the genealogy place), and a host of other buildings.

And then of course, there's the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; 360 choir members and a 110 piece orchestra. We had the opportunity to hear them sing live in the Tabernacle on Sunday morning before we pulled out, it was fabulous.

The choir is excellent and the acoustics are such that you can hear a pin drop from one end to the other (without the use of a microphone). 

They do a live radio and TV Broadcast from there  every Sunday ("Music and the Spoken Word") which they claim is the longest running broadcast of its kind in the world. This was what we attended. At the end of the taping, the choir sat down, the speaker welcomed visitors, then... choir, orchestra and conductor stood, turned to us and sang softly and acapella, "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again". Every member was smiling sincerely and making use of every appropriate crescendo as they made eye contact with the 2500 member audience. They needed no music. 

My Sweet Pea had tears.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

My princess was practically foaming at the mouth to see real bears.

So, without hesitation, we turned our sights on Idaho Falls and set off across the mountains in search of the next big adventure. 

We came upon "Bear World" in an ad from the Yellowstone newspaper.  This  is the paper you're given at the park entrance. 

 

We drove amidst not only bear, but, moose, buffalo, antelope and a host of wild animals. In any case, it's not as bad as you'd think. It does, of course, have the tacky gift shop (my Princess disagrees), the photo booth and the food stand and much, much more...

Oh yeah, and let us not forget the petting Zoo!

Oh Captain, My Captain

"O Captain, my Captain! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weathered every rack, 

the prize we sought is won..."

With due apologies to Walt Whitman, I've never doubted my Captain/Princess once (OK, well, maybe once). Teton National Park is about the view. And as you can see, our adventure was highlighted by a scenic cruise around Jenny Lake. 

If you go, it's worth the money. And while you're at it, do lunch at the Jenny Lake Lodge - both the food and the view are incredible.  

The Tetons are quite simply the most "in your face place" you'll ever go. The peaks tower more than a mile above you, with the tallest topping out at over 13,800 feet. The closer you get, the more unbelievable they become. 

And while you're here, take a spin up to the top of Signal Mountain. The views of the valley below are fabulous.

While here, we had the opportunity to stay at Teton RV park near Moran Junction. To tell you the truth, it's probably on the "Motel 6" side of a KOA. It's sort of a combination Gas station, RV Park, Food Mart and Grill, carved out of the corner of working cattle ranch. Never-the-less, the views were still incredible.

Yellowstone

You cannot come to Yellowstone and 

not see the hand of God. 

Every turn hides a mountain, a waterfall, a geyser, a sight better and more amazing than the last one. "Old Faithful" has pretty much been and always will be the last word in punctual entertainment.

It's a 14 mile drive from the west entrance to the "Grand Loop" and nearly a hundred miles around that. We didn't stand a prayer of seeing even a fraction of the Park. And in this regard, I admit defeat. I'm forced to consider this short expedition, "recon" for our next western adventure.

Every stop seems to offer one more wonder, one after another, all the way from Madison Junction to West thumb and back around to Mammoth Hot Springs. The variety and colors of the hundreds of hot pools and mud pots is way beyond your imagination. 

And by the way, for those of you who were 

wondering if we saw any wildlife, 

take this...

Looking very Presidential

What can I say? 

Mount Rushmore is just one of those icons of America that no one can afford to miss - everybody should should see it at least once and Fred 'n Erma were no exceptions. 

It's actually is pretty impressive. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, and over 400 workers began work in 1927 and continued until his death in 1941. You have to know that the original concept was for full figures and was never completed because of his death. Can you imagine what would have happened if he started from the bottom up?

Just asking...

Up Against "The Wall"

Fred n' Erma do the Badlands...

The Badlands is an indescribable experience, which photographs really don't/can't capture at all. 

First of all, you're on the prairie, which essentially is a flat, wall to wall, 360 degree horizon with straight as an arrow roads. This area of the Badlands is also referred to as "The Wall". It's like the floor has dropped out from beneath you; first there's prairie...and then there's not. 

It's a stretch of desolate landscape one-half to three miles wide and about twenty miles long; think of the beach with miles and miles of giant drip castles. Essentially, "The Wall" is a barrier separating you, from the White River Basin (or vice-versa). And by the way, the "White" really does look white; It looks thick as chalk. We stayed at White River KOA underneath the cottonwoods; it was super.

Wall Drug

At the end of the park loop is the town of Wall, South Dakota. The dominant attraction here is "Wall Drug". Started by a pharmacist, he barely made it through the '30's and started giving away free ice water to passing tourists. Today, it's 76,000 square feet of tourist nirvana. 

If you're from the east, think "South of the Border" on I-95. It offers belts, boots, hats, trinkets, magnets and ohhhh sooooo sooooo much more. 

Regretfully, I have to report that, it was here my Sweet Pea succumbed to the dark side. Yes, she was caught in the act...

The Corn Palace

As you're driving down I-90 toward the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, everything you came west for, you begin to see signs for "The Corn Palace". The Corn Palace is located in Mitchell, South Dakota and at first you only see a few signs, but quickly enough they're everywhere, practically every other mile post; "It's A-Maize-ing", "The World's Largest Corn Feeder", "something that's difficult to Corn-ceptualize".

You say to yourself that's it's out of the way, it'll take to long, it's a waste of time. But you know that you will kick yourself if you get this close and don't stop. In the end, you don't have a chance, you give over to it.

The building is famous for the huge, colorful Murals on its sides, which are made entirely of grain and corn. 

Basically, It's a convention center. When basketball teams play there it's referred to as "playing the Palace". 

In any case, it's worth a stop - who knows when you'll get to make a fool of yourself with an ear of corn again...

Les Petites

I thought life as I had known it up to then, or at the very least my vacation, was going to come to a quick end Monday night as we gathered at the Florer's farm. We were intending to supper on the last of the summer sweet corn, but alas, Les Petites had other ideas; they had decided on a walk-about...

As usual, Steve was in the corn. I was in charge of the girls, but mea culpa, my attention was diverted as I was tending to Erma's needs at the same time. The girls obviously had talked this over and between them had a plan. As soon as I turned my back, they bolted and when I looked up, they were gone...I mean really gone.

Panic immediately started to set in - I knew in my heart that my Princess was not going to be happy and that whatever hit the fan, most of it was coming my way. 

On the plus side I had had them roped to each other so I figured how far could they get? We found the rope wrapped around a tree...so much for the rope idea. I had visions of them lost in a hundred acres of corn, never to be seen again. In Iowa, the cornfields stretch all the way to Indianapolis - there is corn everywhere. 

Nearly ten of us joined in the search by the time it was all said and done. As it turned out they were a mile down the road playing havoc with the traffic and chatting up the golfers at the local club.

Needless to say, they're on a short leash now...my Sweet Pea has graciously forgiven my transgressions and all is right with the world.

The Butter Cow

Every summer, over 1 million people flock to Des Moines’ 400 acre fairground to see everything

from Super-Bull to the biggest pig, pumpkin, watermelon and especially "The Butter Cow", a life-sized sculpture done completely in butter. It's amazing. The Iowa State Fair is one of the biggest in the Country and they have it all.

There are shows, rides, demonstrations and anything to eat on a stick you can possibly imagine – corn dogs, pork chops, hard boiled eggs, deep fried Oreos, Twinkies, and oh so much more...

Hardcore fair goers will come for long hours and be back several times. 

 

My son and daughter-in-law,Tom and Missy, did 14 hours on opening day (piece of cake...) and came back Sunday to do another four hours with us.

For anyone who misses the old atmoshere of a true fair experience, this is the one!