Home Sweet Home! The Final Post!

     Sorry it's taken so long to get the last post done, but we're still not completely used to being back in Southport!  We got home mid-afternoon on May 1st, 10 weeks to the day since we started and 11,451 miles traveled.  For those who are interested, we got 14.7 miles per gallon of diesel on the trip!

     The last day was a long drive.  We left before 8am, and traveled via Canada Route 10 to Sherbrook and then on to Corbin Gore, the western terminus of Maine Highway 27.  For those not familiar, the eastern terminus of Maine Highway 27 is Southport, Maine, so we were on our "home" road the entire trip in Maine.

     The trip across Canada was fairly mundane,though it was interesting seeing some views of the St. Lawrence Seaway.  We saw lots of huge, well kept farms on the road.  Also saw quite a few mountains, and a couple of ski resorts as we approached the US.  It did seem strange that ALL the road signs in "PQ" (Quebec Province) are strictly in French--no English.  They apparently don't consider themselves Canadian!

       We crossed into Maine and met US Customs and Immigration at Corbin Gore, not the busiest port of entry into the US.  In fact, there was our RV and one pickup truck, the only "clients" they had during our 20" or so stop.  Dudley seemed to intimidate the Customs guy (who had a nasty, barking German Sheperd in his truck and Dudley was taking no grief from it!).  We were asked to take the dogs for a walk while they did a "walk through" in the RV, and all was fine.  Nice enough guy.

     Maine is such a gorgeous state!  The ride on Route 27 is just exhilerating in its beauty at this time of year, and we passed through Carrabasset, by Sugarloaf ski resort, and through the beautiful Belgrade Lakes area until we got on our more familiar route from Augusta back home. 

      One of the biggest surprises to us was looking at the temperature--for the first time on our trip, all 10 weeks, we saw a temperature of 78 degrees!  It couldn't have been a nicer day for us to arrive home!  Not only that, but all the bulbs we had purchased in the Netherlands last year and planted in the fall were out in full bloom--the yard looked gorgeous!

Greg was glad to see us, and the dogs were thrilled to be back at "their" house and "their" yard!  I'm sure Dudley had felt resigned to living cramped in the RV forever, though it never seemed to bother Rosie.  In all seriousness, it was great to have the dogs along, they were terrific travelers, and it sure made having the RV worthwhile to have been able to bring them.

       In summary, it was a GREAT trip!  We clearly have the "bug" to see more- a lot more- of North America via RV travel.  This country, and Canada, are so vast and interesting that it is thrilling to finally be able to see so much of the country this way.
       For those who have followed Moosedroppings, thanks for looking in and thanks for the many comments we have been given verbally.  It's been fun, and we'll look forward to doing another! 

                                                 Oh, and Katahdin says thanks, too!!

Off to Coteau-du-lac, Quebec

       We had a pleasant and relaxed morning with Jane and took the dogs back to the Commons for some exercise before leaving, and then headed off for our 386 mile trip to the western edge of Montreal.  We drove through Toronto just after rush hour, and had no problem getting through.  We primarily drove on Canada 401 most of the day, and found that they have closed EVERY reststop from the Port Huron border through to Montreal--"reconstruction for our traveling convenience!"  The strange thing is that at each closed reststop, they give you the distance to the next one but fail to say it is also closed!

          It was a pretty boring ride overall, and we were glad to have our audible book on tape entertaining us.  We did get several quick views of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which was nice--surprisingly wider than Jim had imagined.

        We arrived at the campground around 5:30, and were glad to be done for the night!  It is actually hard to believe that this is our last night on the road, and that we'll be home in Southport tomorrow!
 

Niagara-on-the-Lake

      After leaving the Emmett campground, we had a fairly short drive over to Niagara-on-the-Lake.  We drove to Port Huron for the crossing, and it was speedy and efficient getting through Canadian customs.  Our route across Canada was on the main highways, the 401, 402, and onto the QEW into Niagara-on-the-Lake.  We went over the Welland Canal on the St. Catherine's Bridge, and to Jane and John Chappell's new townhouse home for a 2-night visit.  Jane and John are good friends from when we lived in Hudson, and we had actually visited Niagara-on-the-Lakes with them in 2004 when we took a trip for Becky's birthday--they wanted to show us where they were thinking about retiring to, and they actually did it!

          This is a gorgeous city, and we had great weather for walking around.  Wednesday afternoon, after taking care of the dogs, we walked around the downtown area and got reacquainted with this beautiful city.  The Clock Tower is in the center of town on the main steet, and it and the several blocks are decorated with hundreds of tulips in beds.

     We ate back at their house, and spent a delightful evening talking.  We slept in the RV with the dogs, but had all the luxuries of a B&B the next morning with shower facilities, cooked-to-order breakfast, and lots of great conversation!   

        On Thursday they gave us a driving tour of the area, and we started at the Welland Canal Museum at lock 3 on the Canal.  The Welland canal consists of 8 locks connecting Lake Ontario with Lake Erie, rising 326' and by-passing Niagara Falls.  Ships up to 775' can traverse the canal, and we quite enjoyed watching one go through.  The photo shows the Canal, part of the museum display, and the St. Catherine's Bridge in the background that we drove over to get into the Niagara district.

        After lunch we took the dogs to "The Commons", a huge "wilderness" area within the city that is probably 1/2 mile long and 1/4 mile wide.  It used to be the barracks area for Fort George, described below.  Dudley and Rosie could run free, and boy did they!  Tired them out so much, they collapsed back in the RV and were happy not to have to do anything but sleep the rest of the afternoon!

          John took Jim over to Ft. George, which was a major British fort constructed in 1799 and was the site of battles in 1813.  It's massive, and is undergoing reconstruction but was open for wandering about.  There was a "reenactor" giving a demonstration on the history and the use of the musket, which would seem to be a rather dry and boring topic.  On the contrary, the man was not only informative but was one of the best stand-up comedians you can imagine.  His delivery had the entire audience, including us, in stitches, and was a true delight!

        Jane and Becky, in the meantime, went touring on their own, including checking out a shop specializing in lavender.

         We met later that afternoon and went to their favourite restaurant in the area, the Angel Inn which dates to 1815 after the original was burned by the Americans during the 1813 battle.  We had actually been there with them 6 years ago, and they serve terrific British pub fare.

         The evening was spent back at their home, where we looked at some old pictures, watched a British murder-mystery, and just enjoyed each others company.

Another travel day - to Emmett, MIichigan

        This was a travel day for us.  Of course, now that we were leaving Baraboo, the weather got nice again and we sped through the Wisconsin and Illinois countryside in sun and temperatures in the high 60's.  Our Garmin GPS decided we should be routed through downtown Chicago, and we were fortunate in not running into any of the traffic problems that one usually encounters between O'Hare airport and downtown.
        The brief travel through Indiana was not pleasant.  The highway construction around Gary is terrible to negotiate, clearly the worst construction job we had been through since I95 in Georgia two months ago.  Northern Indiana is heavily industrialized, and driving by the steel mills and the other heavy industry doesn't make for great photographic vistas!
        Scenery improved as we got into Michigan, and we enjoyed seeing the pretty faux-Dutch city of Holland.  There are tulips all over the place, and we were actually there at the right time to enjoy them in bloom.  There are faux windmills, dutch houses, and even a store that makes and sells wooden shoes!  Nice place to drive through, and probably to visit if we had had more time.
        We arrived at our campground on a beautiful evening.  The site itself was beautiful, but the place is transitioning to a full "KOA" facility and it has a long, long way to go.  For example, though they advertise propane, Kabins, K-9 park, and cable TV, the former three aren't available and the TV isn't at all sites--including the one we were at.  On the other hand, it's a huge, lovely facility, and again we were among the few RV's there.  The dogs loved it, and we took advantage of the time to clean the RV, do some laundry, and catch up on our computer work.

Baraboo, Wisconsin

         So much for the beautiful weather we had experienced this past week!  We parked in Jim's brother Kermit's yard in Baraboo yesterday, and the RV remained parked for both Saturday and Sunday.  Kermit's daughter Brianna has a small bird in her room, and his son Kyle has a very elaborate working roller coaster model set up in their living room.  Rosie thought these were the most enticing treasures ever, and spent the entire weekend trying to get to either

 or both.  We are pleased to report

she didn't, but only because she remained on a leash in the house the entire time, something that we

 very rarely have to do.  You can see, though, that she and Dudley have great big eyes for Kermit!

       We visited Kermit's wife Dorothy both days in the very well run Nursing home that she is in since her surgeries and brain aneurism.  Though she cannot speak, she was clearly understanding and responding to quite a bit of the conversation that was going on.  It has to be unbelievably frustrating for the whole family, and we cannot but admire how devoted and close they all are during this difficult time.

        On Sunday we went into Madison with Kermit and had a good time with he and his family;  Becky hadn't seen some of the kids for years, and had never met Kermit's son-in-law Adam.

       We enjoyed seeing where Kermit worked on the way back to Baraboo, and taking the ferry he commutes to work on every day.

       Despite the rain, it was nice to see the Baraboo/Portage/Lodi/Madison areas, and how scenic they are with rolling hills, trees, and lakes/rivers/streams everywhere.  As a final note, we didn't see one single Cheesehead the entire time we were in this Green Bay Packer area of the world!

Oshkosh, and on to Baraboo!

     Yet another nice day greeted us, and we headed north to Oshkosh where we had read about their large and welcoming dog park.  We finally found it, after going around several detours.  Seems like half the roads in the city are torn up and under construction!  Really nice, huge, and well maintained by the local prison inmates!  Not many dogs there, but Dudley and Rosie thoroughly enjoyed themselves and tired themselves out.
       Not having been on the internet yesterday, we drove over to the Oshkosh library, took our computer inside and took advantage of their high speed wireless.

        We then went to see what Oshkosh is most famous for, the Experimental Aircraft Association museum.  Each year, the biggest experimental airshow in the world is held here in Oshkosk, and they have a magnificent museum with an adjoining grass strip (and that is situated next to the real airport).  The hangers shown above are actually part of the museum, and are filled with vintage aircraft--unfortunately, they are not open until May for public display.  After dining in the RV for lunch, we went inside and enjoyed the various exhibits and aircraft on display.  Burt Rutan and his brother Dick are honored with a wonderful display of some of their world famous aircraft, including their rocket aircraft that has circled the earth from space and the ultra-long range aircraft that has circled the earth without refueling.  They have an interesting 15" film on the rocket aircraft, and as it is shown on the movie descending, the actual full scale model shown in the picture above (the white and red aircraft with the stars) has its parts move in synchronization.  Pretty cool!

 

       Jim saw quite a few aircraft he had never seen "live" before, including the British Mosquito fighter, an F-89 fighter, and a fascinating WWII rescue aircraft that participated in numerous actions in all theatres of the war.  The photo at the left is Becky in front of an early American Airlines aircraft, as a WW I Spad flies overhead.
        We arrived in Baraboo about 4pm and Jim's brother Kermit got some quality time with Dudley and Rosie.  We visited Kermit's wife Dorothy in the nursing home where she is at in Portage, and then had a delightful tour of the famous Wisconsin Dells.  For those who don't know, the largest concentration of waterparks in the world is located there, along with numerous miniature golf courses, roller coasters, and other family amusements.

A travel day to Fond du Lac, WI

     It was another beautiful day, and we decided to treat the dogs to the Rochester dog park they had enjoyed so much yesterday.  They were thrilled as we approached the park and docked the RV, and they charged forthwith into it!  Unfortunately, there was no one else there!  We played frisbee with them for awhile, and after 1/2 hour or so decided to leave and head east for Wisconsin.

          An hour later or so we found ourselves in LaCrosse, trying to locate what turned out to be a dinky little park with no pizazz at all.  There were four or five people there with their dogs, and we didn't find either the two legged or four legged friends particularly friendly.  This is illustrated in the picture you see on the left, where Dudley was trying to make friends with this rather wild looking puppy!

        Our road atlas said that a trip to Trempealeau would be worthwhile, with beautiful views of a dam and bridge.  We drove up there and saw there was a dam and a bridge.  We were underwhelmed, and don't recommend taking that side trip if the reader is ever tempted!

         As the dogs needed a break and it was lunchtime, we stopped at a scenic overlook park in Unalaska, and were impressed with their welcome sign, shown here on the right.  Tough day when the highlight of the day is showing a fish sign!

        We took a "red road", which are generally more scenic than the interstates across the state.  Unfortunately, this wasn't the case on this ride, and it was frankly pretty boring.

        When we went to check-in at the RV campsite, the owner wasn't there but her daughter-in-law was.  She said she wasn't sure if the camp was open yet (the KOA book said it opened today!), but she knew four sites were available with full hookups and told us to pick one; so we did.

        After 6pm the owner did show up, and was apologetic for not being there.  She said she was so busy she didn't know if she was opening this day or tomorrow, but was glad we came in!  We constituted 50% of the guests there this night!

Rochester, MN

       What a gorgeous day here in Minnesota!  Sunny, no clouds, high 60's and no wind!  Couldn't have been a nicer day!

         Today was genealogical research day at the Olmsted County Historical Society.  It's a large, well kept complex that also has an extensive museum attached to it, and good research facilities.  Becky went there at 9:00am on her quest for information on her great great granddad, Harrison France.  He had been in Minnesota visiting with his brother Harmon A. France, who was apparently a prominent figure in the Rochester area.  Harrison died while visiting here, leaving a lot of questions unanswered as to why he was here, and his family was back east.  In any event, Becky was able to get some information, but it really didn't answer the core questions as to "why".  She was able to get additional information on Harmon and his family, and a chart that explained who some of the other folks in the cemetery plot were.  Best of all, she is getting a scan of a great photograph of Harmon.  

       In the meantime, Jim took the dogs to one of the two Rochester city canine parks, both named after Jean and Carl Frank.  We went to the southernmost one, and it's a beautiful facility--probably about an acre.  There were only about 8-10 dogs there, but Rosie and Dudley had a wonderful time and completely wore themselves out!
       Becky finished her research about 1:30, so we dined in the RV, and toured around Rochester awhile.  It's really a very nice little city.  The downtown is dominated by the Mayo Clinic, which for those who haven't seen a major "clinic" is really a large collection of many medical facilities--in this case, 29 buildings including several hospitals.  Most of downtown is connected by aerial bridges, or underground subways so one can get practically anywhere without going out in the weather.
        We took advantage of the beautiful day by washing the bugs off the RV; they have really come out here in Minnesota!

Eyota, MN and Harrison France

        After a good nights sleep, we awoke to great weather and took our time getting started.   We only had about 140 miles to drive to the Rochester, MN area, so we struck out on I90 through more farm country.  The farms are widespread, lots of activity going on, and they all looked quite prosperous as we drove along. 

       Though it wasn't mentioned yesterday, it is worth noting that Minnesota, unlike South Dakota and Wyoming, apparently doesn't it feel necessary to have a casino in every gas station and town in the state!  The other thing we observed is that there are a lot of giant wind turbine farms here in Minnesota.  Not only are there large concentrations, but in many places there are only two or three.  It's refreshing to see that the technology is apparently being put to good use here in farm country!

        We made the decision to stay at an independent RV park near Rochester Airport, and we camped at Autumn Woods Campgrounds.  They are reasonably new, good sites, and all the usual amenities.  In addition, they are very concerned with making sure one polices up after one dogs, and have a sign up asking readers to report neighbors who don't.  Plus, there is a $20 cleanup fee PER PILE if you don't comply!  Needless to say, Jim carries plenty of bags with him when he walks Dudley and Rosie!

         Our main purpose for going via Rochester is to let Becky do research on her great great grandfather, Harrison France, who is buried in this vicinity in the Oak Grove cemetery in Eyota, MN (pronounced "E-otah").  There is quite a mystery about him that demands resolution, starting with why he left his wife and children and ended up in Eyota.  Hopefully we'll discover some answers in the next few days!

        After checking in and dropping our bikes, we headed for Eyota, a small farming town of about 1700 souls 20 miles east of the Airport.  It's a very small downtown, but fairly large in area.  We found the cemetery with little difficulty, and had instant success locating Harrison's grave, along with that of his brother (who owned the plot) and a few others.  It's in the Oak Grove cemetery, probably 6 miles out of town, a pretty and serene location. 

     Instant success!  Becky found the plot owned by one of Harrison's brothers, and Harrison's grave itself!  There are several other relatives buried there, plus a mystery child with the last name of "Bailey" who died at the age of 14 months.  We're looking forward to trying to track the mystery down tomorrow.

     Becky spent a good deal of time marking down all the available information, and Jim of course took pictures.  Here is photo of Becky working over the entire Harrison plot.

        We tried to find additional information at the town hall, but none was available--they suggested the reference library that Becky already planned to attend.  We called it a day at that point, and went back to the campsite to do some chores, some computer research, and just enjoy the absolutely beautiful day with the 72 degree temperature!

   

A long day from Interior to Jackson, MN

        This was a long day in the RV!  Beautiful driving day, though,    sunny and temps in the 60's and up to 72 degrees.  When you think they still have snow here occasionally in April, we've been pretty lucky!

     We had a nice relaxed morning getting going, and took advantage of the best "dog park" we've found on the trip--Dudley and Rosie had a great time playing Frisbee, and it wore them out for the morning!  Note Dudley's technique--stand on one, and lock his teeth around the other!

         Our drive started at the South end of the North unit of the Badlands, and we had a nice 8 mile drive through the picturesque mountains prior to getting on the highway.  The natural effectgs of wind and rain on this area of the continent make for truly dramatic effects.  It was a nice way to start our trip.  Here are two more photos of what we saw in the park today.

       Driving I90 through South Dakota can be one tremendously boring experience!  We drove nearly 300 miles in South Dakota today, and saw more agricultural fields than about anywhere we've ever been!  Very few hills, not many trees, small towns for the most part, and very isolated farms.  Wonderful for the economy, but this drive falls into the category of  "been there, done that, don't want to do it again!"  The one thing that is noteworthy, though, (and unfortunately we saw scores of these signs) are the "X marks the spot".  Evidently South Dakota places one of  these markers at every spot where a motorist is killed, and we saw way too many.  Some are decorated with flowers, momentos, and other rememberances left by friends and families, but when you know what the signs stand for you see every single one! 

       One of the few highlights of the drive was detouring through the town of Mitchell, which is in the middle of "corn country".  They have a very elaborate building located there (along with accompanying museums and souvenir shops) called the "Corn Palace".  Mitchell is also noted as being the home of the 5 Sullivan brothers, who were killed at the same time in World War II on a destroyer that was sunk.

       At one point we crossed the Missouri, and there is a rest stop located on the eastern side up on a bluff.  We stopped there for lunch and some exercise for the four of us, and read a little about how Lewis and Clark had had several encampments in this area.  The bridge was built in 1974, and is the Lewis and Clark Memorial Bridge!

       We decided that we wanted to swing through a small part of Iowa while on this trip, so after crossing into Minnesota we detoured south on US 75 (same one that goes through Plano and Dallas, TX) and crossed into Iowa.  We traveled east on Iowa 9 for about 60 miles, and went through what appears to be very prosperous farm country.  Between South Dakota and Iowa we got a good feel for what the "breadbasket" of American looks like.  We also felt like we've finally arrived in Spring, as grass is greening up, trees are blooming, and the farmers are plowing the fields with huge tractor-like devices.  Nice to be where it's warmer, too!  Tonight we're at another KOA, this one in Jackson, MN.  Like several others, we're among the very few RV's here in this off season.

South Dakota sightseeing from Hill City to Interior (which is a town!)

       Started off the day with drizzle coming down, and had already decided not to spend a 3rd night here in Hill City.  We thought Deadwood looked like a great little frontier town to visit, so we packed up and left by 7:30am (and still never saw the campground hosts, so we left them cash and a phone message!).  Got to Deadwood, and what a major disappointment!  The whole place is basically nothing but casinos, 80 of them from what we read.  Not a single eating place in town open for breakfast, unless it was attached to a casino.  A lady in a gas station recommended we eat at Silverado, which "had a GREAT breakfast buffet".  Mediocre, and the place was drenched with smoke.  We decided it was time to move on.

     Our next stop was Sturges, which is renowned for it's famous "bike week" each summer when over 100,000 motorcycles descend on this small town for a week of fun.  And yes, they have casinos here, too!  The town was actually fairly modern and neat, and has a huge VA facility at old Fort Meade (not the Maryland one!).   We bought some postcards, and then headed off on I90. 

          Ellsworth Air Force base near Rapid City was our next destination. It's the home of the South Dakota aviation museum, and has a large collection of vintage aircraft that have been based there at one time or another, including the B-29, B-52, and B1B bombers.  They also have a Minuteman ICBM displayed, as Ellsworth was a central command post for these cold war nuclear missles.  Becky is being very indulgent of Jim's fondness for visiting military museums!

        The next stop, a real fun one, is the famous drugstore town of Wall, and the highly popular Wall Drug Store.  Becky is pointing out the Drugstore, in case you can't see it.  It actually takes up a whole city block, some 75,000 square feet, and is basically what the town is all about.  It was started back in 1931 in this little depressed town by a couple who had moved in looking for a small town atmosphere and a good Catholic Church.  It was struggling mightily until the wife had the brilliant idea of putting signs on the nearby highway offering free ice water.  Sounds hokey today, but in those days of dusty roads, no air conditioning, and 50+ miles

 between towns, it was a huge hit.  On a busy summer day today they will have upwards of 20,000 visitors, and they still dispense free ice water and 5 cent coffee!  Not just a drug store, it sells entertainment, souvenirs, food (great cheeseburgers!), and is a good novelty spot to stop at.  Here on the right is a photo of  Becky and Jim in a covered wagon!

       We decided to travel the north loop of the Badlands national park, which is about a 25 mile ride.  We're really glad we took this, after the disappointment of the south loop yesterday.  It is a spectacular drive, a huge area that was originally formed by volcanos.  Millions of years of wind and rain have carved out this incredibly beautiful wasteland, and it is truly impressive to see.

           Around nearly every corner is another picture postcard view, and the only thing that could have made the drive better would be if it were early morning or late afternoon, when the lighting would have made the rock formations even more dramatic.  Here are a few of the photos we took.

      We decided to stay at a KOA campground situated near the center of the two park sectors, and it seems like a good choice.  Funny being only one of the two customers here, though!  Guess that's the advantage of traveling off-season!

Mount Rushmore and the Badlands National Park

     As we came down a hill 10 minutes from our campground, we saw a scenic turnoff and pulled into it to see what the view was of.  Reading the description, we turned around and saw George Washington in profile up behind us!  What a surprise!  We proceed on down the mountain, then up the other side into the large and professional parking lot, and pulled into the RV parking area.  We were among the first arrivals of the day, and walked up to the monument through a most impressive entrance with flags from all 50 states.  The complex is run by the Xantarra Corp, the same folks who have done such a great job with the Grand Canyon railroad and train.

     Mount Rushmore is awesome, in the original sense of the word.  It took 14 years to build it, and started under Calvin Coolidge and ended under Franklin Roosevelt.  Gutzon Borglum was the designer, architect and builder, and his studio is still available for tours at the site (though it wasn't open that morning).

        Becky and Jim walked the 3/4 mile Presidential Trail to catch and see all the views, and it's quite exhausting!  Over 240 steps back up to  the top if you go to the bottom where the hydraulic power station was.  This picture is of Becky filming the monument from that location (she took quite a few beautiful movies of the site). We purchased some postcards and souvenirs, and decided to move on--too many things to see!

        Our plan for the day was to drive through the Badlands, into Nebraska for a short visit, and then return via the Custer Park and the Crazy Horse memorial that is being carved on the backside of  Mt. Rushmore.

        There is a choice of two routes through the Badlands National Park, the South being jointly run by the US National Park Service and the Oglala Lakota Sioux.  The Northern sector, basically to the east, is National Park Service.  We unfortunately took the southern route, primarily through the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.  Unlike the photos that show fantastic mountain and valley views, the southern route goes through truly ugly and useless bad lands.  Wind and rain over the centuries has eroded much of the land, and one can see why it's essentially good for nothing!  That's probably why the US government gave it to the indians!   There is a Ranger and information station along the route, but it doesn't open until May.  We pulled into the parking lot to give the dogs some exercise and eat lunch, and found a sign depicting how a good portion of this land actually had been put to some use by the US government.  During World War II, on short notice, the government decided it needed a third of a million acres of the reservation for aerial bombing practice!  Many residents had to move out on short notice, some never to return. 

       After leaving the Park area itself, we drove for many miles through the reservation.  It is really tragic to see how so many of the native Americans live, not just here but on several of the reservations we drove through.  The common homestead is a beat up mobile home, used 5th wheel RV, or a small house.  The yards are generally filled with cars, trucks, buses and/or RV's, of which at least 50% of all we saw were rusting junk.  The yards are generally filled with trash, scrap metal, and lots of paper.  To see any kind of landscaping or flowers is an extreme rarity.  And it's consistently like this, even in the areas where farming or raising cattle is possible.

       We wanted to get to the site of the Wounded Knee river massacre site.  On 12/28/1890, Chief Big Foot of the Sioux had surrendered to the Army and were escorted to a site on the river, where they camped.  The next day, 470 troopers of the 7th Cavalry (of Lt Col George Custer fame) surrounded the 350 Sioux warriors, women and children and mounted cannon on the hill overlooking them.  Someone, no one knows exactly whom, fired a shot and the Cavalry opened fire, killing a majority of the Indians.  This was the last major military action taken by the US government against the native American tribes.

     We got to the site, which is basically a large muddy parking lot now with this large sign depicted here.  The other side of the sign, which is defaced even more, tells the second half of the story related here.  As we were reading it, an American Indian man drove up and started talking about how the small souvenir shop across the street was still closed for the winter, but he had some "dream catchers" made by some of his students who were traditional indian singers, and they were raising money to go east to perform at some event.  We of course bought one.  He pointed out the gravesite on the steep hill opposite the parking lot, which our RV wouldn't have been able to traverse, and thanked us.  It was really sobering being at the site and thinking what has happened over our country's history.

       Moving along, we drove into the tribal town of Pine Ridge, and stopped for diesel fuel.  As Jim was fueling, two teenage girls came up with locally made jewelry and asked if we had "been to the massacre site", and wanted us to buy some.  We declined.  The local school had just let out, and there were a lot of folks walking around, and boy did we stick out as tourists from another planet!

       Just south of Pine Ridge we crossed into Nebraska, at a town called "White Clay".  If we thought life on the reservation was bad, it looked great compared to this unbelievable shanty town.  The buildings were decrepit, the natives lounging around all looked inebriated, we saw two men fighting rather ferociously.  Really tough to see how badly some people have to live, and how fortunate we are.

       We drove through Nebraska for about 40 or 50 miles, farm after farm after farm, all of it in much better shape than anything we had seen recently in South Dakota.  Pretty boring, actually. 

       As we ended up the day driving nearly 300 miles, and all four of us getting pretty tired, we didn't stop in Custer state park or at the Crazy Horse memorial.  We got back at 4:30, the campground office was closed (though the "open" lights were on!), so we went grocery shopping.  Came back, still no proprietor, so we camped for the night - one of three RV's in the campground.

     Pretty exhausing day, and very educational!