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.