Wednesday, September 3 – As we entered West Virginia today, the temperature was 95 degrees! We expected to wear long pants and sweaters, but maybe later. We drove through Charleston and then north on I-79 to the Flatwoods KOA, a very nice campground in a resort area. The campground is in a hilly and wooded area and we saw several deer as we returned from supper. We went to the Outlet Stores before supper and Barbara bought a couple of Fiesta plates. We had a good supper at Shoneys and then walked around the hills of the campground before going inside. We drove 312 miles today and 637 for the trip.
Friday, September 5 – We drove to Mount Pleasant and the company that makes the Aliner trailer, Columbia Northwest. They give factory tours each day and we were taken around by a young man names Sean. We went through the preparation areas and then the assembly lines where various parts of the trailers were assembled. It appeared that the workmanship was very good and we were pleased with the company. When we finished, we took Sean to see the Roadtrek, and the CEO of the company also came out to take a look. We drove on through rolling countryside to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the town where a flood in 1889 destroyed the town and killed over 2,200 people. The flood occurred when a man-made reservoir broke through an earthen dam and flooded Johnstown and surrounding areas. In the recovery process, Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, spent several months in the town caring for survivors and organizing aid. We went to the Museum, saw a video, and looked through the pictures and exhibits. Jim had read the book on the flood by David McCullough. Following the visit to Johnstown we drove on to Altoona and got a nice campsite near an orchard. We went to a local restaurant, The Dream, and had a very good m
eal. The pictures are at the Aliner factory with our tour guide Sean, and of Laura and Harry with her Aliner. Today we drove 140 miles and 949 for the trip.
Saturday, September 6 – Driving through Pennsylvania into New Your, we encountered quite a lot of fog and some light rain. It rained off and on most of the afternoon. We passed a lot of vineyard and wineries, and stopped at a very nice Farmer’s Market in Naples, New York. It was Joseph’s Wayside Market and we bought corn, apples, cheese, apple cider, honey and apple cinnamon donuts. As we were leaving, a couple pulled in behind us and wanted to talk about Roadtreks. They had been looking at them, so we did our best to persuade them it was the right vehicle for them. I believe they were convinced, and Francis may soon get an application from Jim and Ethel Cook from Geneva, New York. We continued on to the KOA between Rochester and Syracuse and it continued to rain. We went out for supper at the same place as last year – The Park Place – and it was very good. We returned and did laundry before turning in.
Sunday, September 7 – We drove to Syracuse for worship at the Southside Church of Christ. It was a very nice building in a lower class area and the congregation was predominately black, although the preacher was white. We were greeted warmly and enjoyed the service. There were several other visitors including a couple from Bowling Green who are members at the church where we attended on our way home from the Amish rally in Ohio. We had lunch at a Cracker Barrel and drove north through Watertown and on to the St. Lawrence, where we stopped at Jacque Cartier State Park for the night. We are only a few feet from the river and have electricity but no water hookups. A couple from Florida is also here and will be going to the rally tomorrow. We cooked the corn we bought yesterday along with some hot dogs for supper. It continued to rain lightly off and on during the afternoon and evening.
Monday, September 8 – It was clear in the morning and we had a leisurely breakfast and left for Canada and the rally about 11 am. We drove through Ogdensburg and crossed into Canada with no waiting. The campground was only a few miles from the bridge and we got in and set up quickly. It was very windy. We walked back to the office to look around and saw an Aliner in the check in lane. We talked with the lady while her husband registered and found out they are Germans who now live in Calgary, Alberta. They were assigned a site near us, but when they found out how windy it was, they got another site away from the water. When they got out of their van, they had a 2 month old dachshund (or “duck hound” as the man called it). We also found out he was a member of the “duck hound” club in Munich, Germany before moving to Canada. They were very friendly and we hope to see them again before we leave and get a picture. We had a pot luck supper in the meeting room and there are about 56 people present. It started raining lightly during dinner and continued all night.
Tuesday, September 9 – It was raining lightly this morning as we had a good French toast breakfast and then left in our Roadtreks to visit several historic sites along the St. Lawrence River. In the morning we went to Fort Wellington and then the Battle of the Windmill, both of which were involved in the War of 1812 and a later conflict in 1837. About noon, we drove east several miles to the Upper Canada Village, a National Historic Site that has many shops, building, farms, etc that depict life in the early 1800’s. After lunch at a restaurant in the village, we walked around and looked at the buildings, and then bought some freshly bakes bread and other items at the Gift Shop. The rain stopped during the afternoon and we returned to the campground with the sun shining. We had a very good catered dinner of barbeque chicken, salad and vegetables, with ice cream for dessert. Walking around after dinner, we again came across the German couple and their “duck hound” named Axel. We promised to look them up Thursday morning and try and get a picture.
Wednesday, September 10 – After a good breakfast of pancakes and sausage, we boarded a tour bus for a day at Ottawa, Canada’s Capital city. We visited two major museums, the Canadian War Museum and the Museum of Civilization. We spent several hours at each, but could easily have taken a whole day at each one. One of our rally hosts, John McGinnis, was a high ranking officer in Canada’s military, and had an in-depth knowledge of the War Museum and the overall history of Canada, particularly as it was related to the military. He and another retired officer took us around in small groups to look at the military equipment and the history of Canada from the early 1800’s until the present time. We drove across the Ottawa River to the Province of Quebec and the city of Gatineau, where the museum of Civilization is located. After lunch overlooking the river and the Parliament buildings on the other side, we spent just over an hour touring the museum, which again described the history of Canada through several centuries. The exhibits were well detailed and spectacular in their display. We drove to the Bytown Market where we were allowed to stroll among the vendors for about an hour before heading back to the campground. We managed to find a vendor selling beaver tails, a flat fried pastry topped with any number of delicious items including chocolate, maple butter, cinnamon, etc. Sever others of our group arrived and we convinced them that they were well worth trying. Returning to the campground, we had a very good barbeque beef dinner and then gave out small door prizes to everyone. It was a very long and tiring, but very interesting day. We will try and add some pictures in the next day or so.
Thursday, September 11 – After a very good breakfast of fruit, pastries and bagels, we said goodbye to everyone at the rally and also our German friends, Otto, Ursula, and their “duck hound” Axel. They folded up their Aliner and left about the time we did. After stopping at the Visitor’s Center for information, we drove north toward Ottawa, essentially retracing the route we took yesterday; but then we turned north and west into Ontario. We stopped for soup and sandwich at a Tim Horton’s in Renfrew, and then headed west toward Algonquin Provincial Park, a very large park which is accessible only in a small part by car. The larger portion can be access only by hiking or canoe. We stopped at one of four campgrounds in the park still open and got a good electric site. The bathhouse is actually better then we had at the rally, and the showers are free. Another Roadtrek came in and we went to see who it was, but found out it was another German couple in a rented unit, and they were not overly friendly. We fixed a sandwich for supper and walked to look around in the store before turning in.
Friday, September 12 – It rained lightly during the night and as with most Provincial Parks, the sites and roads are somewhat messy after a rain. We took our time and went first to the Visitor’s Center where we viewed a film on the Park and then looked around at the exhibits of wildlife and vegetation. We also made dinner reservations at the Bartlett Lodge, and we will talk about that more later. We went to the Logging Museum and walked the trail where scenes were prepared to show the aspects of logging in the Park in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It was both a tough and dangerous life. We drove to a departure point and store where many people in canoes were heading out for a campsite that can only be reached by canoe. It seemed that almost every other vehicle had a canoe tied on top. We went to another campground and got a site for the night and then went to the Algonquin Art Centre where we saw many paintings of the park’s wildlife and scenery. We left the Art Centre and drove to the parking lot where the boat was to take us to the Bartlett Lodge for supper. The lodge is on an island and is accessible only by boat. There were several guests on the boat including a man and his two daughters from Toronto who were spending several days in one of the cabins. The rate includes your own canoe for the time you are at the lodge. In the restaurant, which is written up in many fine dining magazines, we had a five course meal which included a chef’s surprise, soup, appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Barbara had the beef tips and Jim the lamb and every aspect of the meal was outstanding. We took the boat back to the parking lot with a sample of beef and lamb for Simon and he was pleased with the taste.
Saturday, September 13 – It did not rain during the night and we were able to pack up and leave the campground without difficulty. We stopped again at the Art Centre and bought some gifts and then drove to another store and access point where again many people were renting canoes and heading out for a camp site on the lake. We continued west to Huntsville, Ontario and stopped at a very busy Tim Horton’s for lunch and then headed north for North Bay, where we plan to go to church tomorrow. As we approached North Bay, we saw a sigh for maple syrup and other maple products, so we left the highway and drove about 5 miles to find the Matthew’s Maple Syrup store. The syrup is made right there and the prices are much less than in a store. We bought several items. Continuing on to North Bay, we got a site in the Champlain Tent and Trailer Park just next to the park on Lake Champlain. After doing laundry and checking email, we drove into town and had supper at Joey’s Only, a seafood restaurant that we first found in British Columbia. After getting some groceries and checking the location of the church, we returned to the campground.
The picures above show Jim and Barbara at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, a German couple, Otto, Ursula and Otto the "duck hound" with their Aliner, the Beaver Tail kiosk at the Byward Market in Ottawa, and a group of French girls along the Ottawa River.
Sunday, September 14 – Jim got the blog updated and some pictures posted before we left for church. The church was small but there were a lot of children – Jim counted 22 but the minister said they had nearly 40. The total attendance was around 60. The singing and preaching were very good and the people very friendly. They recognized birthdays so Jim and another lady whose birthday was also September 15 stood up as they sang “Happy Birthday”. After church, we had a bowl of chili at Tim Horton’s even though the temperature was around 70 degrees. Barbara then went to the Dionne Quintuplets Museum and said there were a lot of pictures on the walls of the small house, which had been moved to the site next to the Visitor’s Center. We then started north and the rain started lightly as we continued through the afternoon. We drove to New Liskard and then east toward Quebec, stopping at the Sutton Bay campground for the night. It is nice and grassy on a lake, but very wet from the all day rain. Perhaps tomorrow will be drier. We had supper in the Roadtrek before turning in.
Monday, September 15 – The rain stopped about midnight, but then the wind picked up and the temperature dropped to around 42 by morning. We drove up the hill to the bathhouse and then left the campground for breakfast. The campground was very pretty on the shore of a large lake, but the rain and cold drove us to leave somewhat quickly in the morning. We drove a few miles into Quebec and had breakfast in the small town of Notre-Dame-du-Nord. It was a small restaurant with no English menu, but we could make out the listings pretty well – Barbara had crepes and Jim eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast with home made bread. Everything was very good. We returned to Ontario and drove on several gravel roads to reach the Belle Valee Woods woolen mill. Sheep were in abundance and we bought a couple of wool scarves and a throw. We were offered a tour but decided to go on. We continued on with the temperature staying about 45 degrees as we stopped at a very nice roadside park for lunch. There was a sign that read “because of the abundance of bears visiting this rest stop, the garbage cans will be removed until further notice”. We left without seeing any bears. However, this area is very far north and there are few towns and very few people. We bought gasoline at $1.45 per liter, and just a few days ago we paid $1.22 per liter. They said Hurricane Ike caused the rapid increase. We stopped for the night at Kettle Lake Provincial Park and it is almost deserted, but there are quite a few trailers set up as if they would have people coming back, probably on the weekend. While Jim washed a little of the dirt off the Roadtrek, Barbara worked on a camp fire using wood that was left behind. After about an hour, we had a very nice fire and most of the smoke had dissipated. We fixed a hot dog for supper.
Tuesday, September 16 – We fixed oatmeal for breakfast and left for Cochrane and the Polar Bears about 10 am. The drive was only about an hour and we had decided to return here for the night since all the Provincial Parks and many of the private campgrounds west of Cochrane had closed. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and then drove to the Polar Bear Habitat to check the schedule for feeding and swimming with the bears. We found out it was at 2:30, so we decided to have lunch first and then return later. We had a nice lunch at the Railroad Station Restaurant and then went to the Tim Horton Museum for a short visit before returning to the Polar Bear Habitat. Cochrane is the birthplace of Tim Horton and the Museum has quite a bit of information on his life and his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was killed in a car accident at the age of 35, but in addition to his skill as a hockey player, he was an entrepreneur and was involved in a number of undertakings including starting a restaurant which became famous in Canada over the years. At the Polar Bear Habitat we walked around and looked at three of the bears in their enclosures, and also walked through the Heritage Village that was part of our admission. We were also able to view the bears underwater through glass windows. At 2:30 the keepers arrived to feed the bears and Jim got in his bathing suit and entered the small pool adjacent to the bear’s pool. The temperature was about 34 degrees and the wind was blowing. Barbara got several pictures of the activity until Jim departed the pool. We got some gifts and stopped at a real Tim Horton’s for coffee and sweets before returning to Kettle Lakes Park for the night. Someone was in our previous camp site so we chose another one even closer to the bathhouse. It was a very enjoyable day.
Wednesday, September 17 – We left Kettle Lakes and drove a few miles to Timmons, a gold and silver mining town of about 45,000 people. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and the lady said they had 12 Tim Horton’s, enough even for us. We stopped at one of the twelve and got a bagel for breakfast tomorrow and a refill on coffee. After getting groceries and gasoline, we headed west and south for Wawa, where there were still campgrounds that were open. It was a very lonely drive of about 150 miles and we saw few cars and even less houses. The scenery was very pretty, though, and there were signs alerting people to watch for moose every mile or so. We arrived in Wawa about 5 pm and got a site at the campground, where there were very few people. We had supper in a European restaurant and then turned in for the night.
Thursday, September 18 – The temperature plunged to about 30 degrees during the night and we did not prepare too well for that. Barbara had her Travasak “summer side up” and got cold about 3 am when she got up and put a blanket over it. We used the gas heater when we got up and it warmed us up quickly. After getting gas, we headed west for Thunder Bay, about 300 miles away. The road was generally good, but we ran into quite a lot of construction, which slowed us down, but caused no other problems. We stopped for lunch at an Overlook and Visitor’s Center at Marathon, and then continued on to the KOA in Thunder Bay, arriving about 5 pm. This is a very nice KOA and that is evident by all the work they have done and are doing to make it a good campground. We got a good site and then drove into downtown Thunder Bay and the Prospector Steak House where we had eaten six years ago. We each had a very good steak along with a salad bar and freshly baked popovers. The temperature has warmed considerably and should stay in the 40’s this evening.
Friday, September 19 – Today was a relaxing day in Thunder Bay. It was warm and sunny and the temperature reached 80 degrees! After a stop at the Visitor’s Center and Terry Fox Memorial, we made a quick stop at one of the ten Tim Horton’s in the city and then drove to the city and stopped at a Finnish Bakery for bread. We also went to a very busy Wal Mart and then to a shopping center to walk around some. After a small lunch, we drove to one of many parks and walked around until time for supper. We talked with another lady walking her dog in the park and also saw several more. The grass was very green and flowers still blooming because of the warm temperatures. We had supper at the Hoito Restaurant, a Finnish establishment where we also had eaten six years ago. It was very good, and we plan to return in the morning for breakfast. We walked Simon after supper and also went to the pet playground they have at the KOA.
Saturday, September 20 – We drove to the Hoito Restaurant for breakfast and each had some very good Finnish pancakes. They were busy but we only waited about 15 minutes for a table. We then drove to the Farmer’s Market where they were out of corn, but we bought some honey. They were also having a dog show in one of the adjacent buildings, so we watched that for awhile. On the way back to the campground, there was a sigh along the street for corn, so we bought several ears for supper. Returning to the campground, we did laundry, had 8 liters of propane put in the tank, and then Jim hit some balls at the driving range in the campground. We had the corn and a sandwich for supper.
Sunday, September 21 – After stopping at Tim Horton’s for a breakfast sandwich, we went to the Northwoods Park Church of Christ where there were only about 20 present. We then stopped at another Tim Horton’s to buy Hot Chocolate and other items in order to deplete our Canadian funds. We headed south and had a very easy border crossing into Minnesota. The drive from Thunder Bay to Duluth is very scenic and alongside Lake Superior. There were a lot of resorts and a lot of traffic on the road. We intended to spend the night in Duluth, but as we entered the small town of Two Harbors, we noticed a nice campground right on the lake. It was a public campground and we were able to get a site for the night. There were quite a few campers there, most from Minnesota, and we talked with several. We ate supper at the Vanilla Bean Restaurant and it was excellent. It turned a little cool at night but then warmed up during the night to about 60 in the morning.
Monday, September 22 - We stopped for about an hour in Two Harbors and Barbara searched through an antique store, finding a few items. We had planned to drive through Minnesota and on to South Dakota, but decided to take a small detour into Wisconsin for breakfast at the Downing Café. Downing is a small town (population 251) with a café in the basement of the Town Hall. It was written up in Roadfood and other publications and we had stopped for breakfast six years ago. One of the favorites is a single blueberry pancake which fills the plate and is very good. Downing is only about 50 miles east of St. Paul, but we angled south through Wisconsin and found a very nice county campground about 5 miles from Downing. The campground has 61 sites, but we are here with only one other trailer and have not seen the people with it. We plan to eat breakfast in the Downing Cafe in the morning. There is also a very nice golf course in the park with the campground, so Jim hit some balls before we had supper in the Roadtrek. The weather is very warm – up to about 76 today, so we will again get out our summer clothes.
Tuesday, September 23 – The Downing Café was well worth the detour; we shared a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, sausage, and an omelet made with Wisconsin cheese. Everything was delicious. There was a table of six elderly men next to us – probably retired farmers – and after breakfast they were rolling dice in some sort of game. We headed west for St. Paul and then south and west to pick up I-90 toward South Dakota. There were farms all along the highway throughout Minnesota and also many wind turbines. We were going into a headwind most of the day. It rained a good part of the day and the temperature was very warm, up to 82 degrees. We arrived in Sioux Falls about 5 pm and stopped at a very nice KOA. For supper, we drove downtown to Culver’s and had a salad and hamburger.
Wednesday, September 24 – There were a number of unusual tenting configurations in the campground last night. Next to us was a couple from South Caroling who had a tent attached to their van. The hatch opened in back and the tent went over the hatch and attached to the roof of the van. They slept on an air mattress in the van and had quite a bit of room in the tent. We headed west across South Dakota and passed mile after mile of wheat fields where the wheat had been cut and rolled up. We stopped at Mitchell and the Corn Palace, where we looked around for awhile. We went to a Culver’s for lunch and stopped at Wal Mart for some groceries. The terrain changed to rolling and hilly country and we saw some pronghorn running beside the road. We entered Badlands National Park and stopped at one of the overlooks where we walked along a boardwalk to look at the stark landscape. Continuing on, we went to the small town of Interior and got a site at a Good Sam campground just outside the park. There was no restaurant available, so we had a grilled cheese sandwich for supper.
Thursday, September 25 – We stopped at the Badlands National Park Visitor’s Center and watched the 20 minute film about the badlands, and then drove along the loop inside the park, stopping at several overlooks to view the landscape. As we drove along, we spotted a golden eagle, pronghorn, prairie dogs, mule deer and striped squirrels. We completed the loop and stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. This is a very large establishment with much more than drugs and they advertise free ice water and 5 cent coffee. We got some of each and also a donut which was very good. We continued on the 40 miles to Rapid City and after stopping at the Visitor’s Center, drove on the Hart Ranch and got a site for 5 nights. We plan to visit Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and other sites before boarding a bus early Monday morning for the buffalo roundup at Custer State Park. After talking with another Roadtrek couple who stayed after the rally, we drove into town and had a very good pizza for supper. It was very hot today – up to 95 – but is supposed to cool down nicely tomorrow.
Friday, September 26 – We met Mel Wedmore this morning. He is the gentleman who lives at the Hart Ranch and also owns a Roadtrek. During the rally, he helped people visit the various attractions in the area, and also let the dogs out for people during the long bus tour on one of the rally days. He came over with his maps and essentially programmed our drives for the next two days. He told us the direction to drive through Custer State Park so that we would have the best views of all the scenery and he also gave us directions to several sites in Spearfish, where we plan to go Saturday. We left about 10 am and drove south and along the Needles Highway to Custer State Park. There are many curves and hills, but the scenery makes it worth it. After we entered Custer State Park, we drove to the Visitor’s Center and the State Game Lodge, where we had lunch, Jim the buffet and Barbara a buffalo burger. After lunch, we drove the Wildlife Loop in the park and saw a wide variety of animals, including buffalo, pronghorn, deer, and of course, the begging broncos, where we got out of the van and took photos of Jim feeding two of them. We also saw the corrals where they will drive the buffalo on Monday. Returning to the Visitor’s Center, we bought a DVD of last year’s roundup.
We returned to Mt. Rushmore and as we were about to enter the parking area we were stopped by a half dozen mountain goats slowly crossing the road. We were delayed about 10 minutes while they decided which way to go, and then went into the parking area. We had a light supper and a “Monumental Ice Cream Cone” and then looked in the Gift Shop and at the exhibits until the Lighting Ceremony started at 8 pm. It was pretty chilly but the program was very good and the lighting spectacular. We got back to the campground about 10 pm and were pretty tired after a long day laid out for us by Mel.
Saturday, September 27 – We recovered pretty well and left for a somewhat easier day in Spearfish and along Spearfish Canyon. Spearfish is about 50 miles west of Rapid City along I-90. We passed Sturgis, the location for a yearly motorcycle rally, but we did not get off the Interstate. We arrived in Spearfish about noon, and went to the Bay Leaf Restaurant as recommended by Mel. We had a very nice lunch and especially liked the poppy seed bread, so we bought a loaf at the bakery next door which supplies the restaurant. There was a Harvest Street Fair in progress so we walked around for awhile looking in the booths. After a quick stop at the Safeway for a book for Barbara, we drove out of town and into Starfish Canyon. This is about a 15 mile drive through a very picturesque canyon with trees that are just about at their peak color. There are also several waterfalls and a swift flowing stream along the road. After driving through the canyon, we headed north to the small towns of Lead and Deadwood. There were gold mining towns that are now pretty much populated by Casinos. We stopped at a Visitor’s Center in Lead where there was a large “open cut” or very deep hole where mining was done about 75 years ago. We returned to Rapid City and stopped at Culver’s for a sundae for supper. We drove through downtown Rapid City and saw some of the statues of the Presidents that are on the street corners. We got back to the campground about 7 pm.
Sunday, September 28 – After talking with Mel for a while, we drove to the Black Hills Church of Christ and enjoyed a good service. There were about 50 present with quite a few children and also a number of visitors. The lesson was very good. For lunch we drove into Rapid City and another Mel’s recommendation, Pauley’s Sub Shop for an excellent sandwich. We returned to the campground and did laundry in the adjacent building. We had snacks in the Roadtrek for supper.
Monday, September 29 – We awoke at 5 am to get ready to catch the bus at 6:15 am for the Buffalo Roundup. Mel has a key and will let Simon out a couple of times while we are gone. They had coffee for us in the office and the bus left on time with a full load. It took about an hour to reach Custer State Park and the Viewing Area for the roundup. There were already a lot of cars and buses there when we arrived and more kept coming. The estimate was about 12,000 people and we were in the south area where most of the people were watching. The lines for the portable toilets were long and the lines for pancake breakfast even longer. We did make it through both lines, however, and waited patiently until about 10:30 am when someone sighted a thin brown line on a ridge about 5 miles away. The line was passing right to left and then turned into the canyon between the viewing areas. There were probably about 1,200 buffalo and around 50 cowboys along with half a dozen trucks that were trying to direct the buffalo into the corrals. Things went pretty well until about half were inside, then a large group decided they did not want to go that way and turned away and headed back the way they came. A lot of cowboys and trucks took off after them, finally getting most of them turned and eventually into the corrals. One or two, however, were not retrieved and continued on out of the area. They will probably let these go. We got back on the bus and rode down the hill to the corrals where there were lines for a Chuckwagon Dinner. We again got in line and got a lunch consisting of a buffalo brisket sandwich, chips, beans and a drink. After lunch, we looked at some of the buffalo up close in the corrals, several of which had young with them, and then boarded the bus for the return trip. We arrived back at the campground about 2 pm and Simon was glad to see us even though he had been well taken care of by Mel. After resting most of the afternoon, we had eggs, sausage, and biscuits for supper.
Tuesday, September 30 – After saying goodbye to Mel, we left the park about 9:15 am and headed south. As we drove through Nebraska we saw a lot of trains with cars filled with coal, and a lot of trucks passed us filled with cows. When Barbara was driving, she flashed the lights at the oncoming trains, and one out of about 20 blew his whistle back at us, waking up Simon. We continues southeast, again on the route Mel suggested, and got on I-80 for about 50 miles before arriving in North Platte and stopping at the Holiday Travel Park, where we had stayed four years ago. We also ate supper at the same Whiskey Creek restaurant and it was very good. We returned to the campground and called Laura, wishing her a “Happy Birthday”.
Wednesday, October 1 – We had a good breakfast at Penny’s Diner near the campground and then headed south into Kansas. The weather was good but there was a strong crosswind most of the day. We saw a lot of cattle along the road. We stopped for lunch at a nice city park in rural Kansas. We then realized that we would pass near the small Czechoslovakian town of Wilson, where we had bought kolaches several years ago. We stopped again and found a nice Restaurant where we not only got kolaches but a sandwich and slices of pie to go for our supper. They were very good. We stayed at a campground near Salina, Kansas, and there are also two horse trailer/campers here with four horses. Simon enjoyed the view, from a distance.
Thursday, October 2 – After filling up with gasoline and cleaning the windshield of many bugs, we headed south through Wichita and on into Oklahoma. The new and very nice Welcome Center along I-35 was just opened in February, 2008 and is dedicated to the victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. It had two very nice dog play areas, one for small dogs and one for big. After lunch, we continued south toward Oklahoma City and then cut across on a Toll Road to Tulsa. After passing through the city, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop, and after buying a few items, had supper at the Islamorada Fish Company Restaurant, each of us having a fish sandwich. We continued south about 30 miles and stopped at an adequate campground for the night.
Friday, October 3 – We drove out of Oklahoma and on into Arkansas, arriving at David’s about 4 pm. The new garage he had built was almost as big as the house and looked very good, housing his vintage 1972 Corvette and Chevelle. Danielle fixed us a nice supper and after Grayson and Gabrielle had gone to bed, we looked at pictures of their Hawaii trip back in August. We slept in the Roadtrek and it was quite comfortable, with temperatures in the 50’s.
Saturday, October 4 – We visited around the house until the afternoon, when Danielle, Barbara and the kids drove into Little Rock for the play, Treasure Island. David and I did a few projects and then all met for supper at an Italian Restaurant. Again we slept well in the Roadtrek.
Sunday, October 5 – We left early and stopped for a biscuit sandwich at a local McDonalds. The drive home was uneventful and we arrived in Huntsville about 4 pm. The past three weeks on the road were very comfortable with no rain and cool temperatures at tonight. Overall, the trip this year was very enjoyable, the rally in Canada was excellent and we also encountered new places and new experiences along the way. Most of the Canadian people we meet are very friendly and we certainly enjoy traveling to that country. The experience of meeting and listening to Mel Wedmore in South Dakota also made that part of the trip particularly enjoyable. We look forward to more adventures in our Roadtrek.
