Anna&Steve's Long Haul

Discussion in 'Long Haul' started by AnnaSteve, Oct 11, 2013.

  1. AnnaSteve

    AnnaSteve Novice

    On September 6, 2013 we started on our 5121 mile trip to Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota. It was a beautiful morning and we had been looking forward to this vacation for months. We had just picked up our new Chevy Traverse 3 weeks before and were anxious to see how it would be towing the teardrop with the new vehicle and having more room and better comfort than we had before with our Chevy Malibu. Our first stop was an overnight stay in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then we went to Terre Haute, Indiana for 2 nights. We had planned to go to the Holocaust Museum, but didn’t know it was closed on Sunday and Monday. I guess we need to do better research next time. We road bikes on the National Heritage Trail and relaxed at the campground. Next stop was Springfield, Illinois for 3 days. We visited the Lincoln Museum, Lincoln’s Home, Lincoln’s Tomb and the Old Capital Building. It was a great history lesson. We should have listened more when we were in school. We road along on Route 66 and ate in the Cozy Dog Drive In. It was fun and delicious. Next stop was Des Moines, Iowa for 3 nights. We went to John Wayne’s Birthplace. The keyword is “birthplace” because he was born there, but the family moved away when he was 5 years old. There was some memorabilia in the house from his movies and some letters written from other actors about John Wayne. That kind of made up for the tourist trap feeling. There was also a woman who takes you through the house and gives you a little history about John Wayne and the house and the memorabilia and answers any questions anyone has. Of course, there are always souvenirs to buy too. Then we drove around to see the covered bridges. That was not worth the time or the dust on the car. The roads we had to drive down to get to the covered bridges were long and dry and dusty. All this just to see an old wooden covered bridge. Then we had to pay to have the car washed. That’s probably what keeps the car washes in business. We visited The Living History Farms. That was fun. We watched a women “dress” a chicken. You would think that means put clothes on it, but it doesn’t. It means remove feathers and it’s insides to prepare it for cooking. Not a pretty thing to watch, but we did. Now we won’t eat a whole chicken anymore. We also rode our bikes on a bike trail that used to be an old railroad. Little did we know that the campground we were staying at was packed with people tailgating for the Iowa/Iowa State Football Game. Nice bunch of people, and we got to know all of them because they all stopped to get a tour of the teardrop. We were exhausted we worked so hard. Hopefully we will be putting more pins in Iowa on the Camp-Inn map after all the tours we did. We left Iowa and headed for Oakdale, Wisconsin for a 1 night stay before going to Necedah to drop off HAPENEST for some work the next day. We visited the factory and Craig told us about some attractions to see in our travels. We left there for Albert/Lea, Minnesota for the night, but had to stop at the Spam Museum along the way. It was great. So much fun and we learned a lot about spam. Who knew it had such a history. We never ate it before that day and were surprised at how good it tastes. Of course we bought some to take with us. The next morning we left for the Badlands in South Dakota. Amazing is all we have to say about this place. At first it looks fake, like a movie set. That’s how beautiful it is. Then of course we stopped at the famous Wall Drugs. It was great. Loved the billboards, the stores and the dinosaur. Stayed 1 night in the Badlands KOA Campground and they actually have shade. Yes they have real trees. Moved on to Mt. Rushmore KOA Campground for 3 days. Mt. Rushmore and the history of it and the night illumination show was fantastic. It’s great how they honor veterans every night. Great job! Crazy Horse was just as nice. They have a long way to go, but it’s nice to be able to see the progress. We also drove through Custer State Park through donkeys and a heard of buffalo. It was great! The scenery all around the area is beautiful. We loved it here. On the way back to Wisconsin, we stopped at more of the attractions Craig suggested. We stayed 1 night in Mitchell, SD and visited the Corn Palace made entirely of corn. We thought there was a film to see inside but there wasn’t. There was just some information to read about the different types of corn and they were selling popcorn and souvenirs. There was a kids tractor pull contest going on, so we watched that for a few minutes. Then on Main Street there was a car show going on which was great, so we walked up and down looking at all the cool cars. The next stop was Sioux Falls, SD for 2 nights. We went to the butterfly house. It was so nice. It had a small aquarium with beautiful fish and a stingray tank where you can touch the stingrays. Then you go into the room with the butterflies. It is very pretty and serene and the gentleman who was there told us all about the butterflies. One fact is that they only live for 7 days. How sad. Some of them were beautiful. When you leave the room there is a woman by the exit door who walks out with you to make sure you don’t have any butterflies on you hitching a ride out. Great place! The park the butterfly house was in was also nice. Then we went to The Falls which were very pretty too. We stopped in Rochester, Minnesota overnight and then on to Necedah, Wisconsin to pick up our teardrop and spend the next 5 nights in Castle Rock Park at our first Camp-Inn Camp-Outt. We had the best time. We met everyone from the forum. We were finally able to put all the faces with the names and finally got to see teardrops in the wild. It was great. We even learned how to cook in a dutch oven. It was the best 5 days of our trip and we made some new friends. When we left it was sad to be going home, but we were also missing our family and friends back home. It took us 4 days to get home. We stopped in LaSalle, Illinois 1 night, Sandusky, Ohio 1 night, Belfonte, Pennsylvania 1 night and then home sweet home. It was a fantastic trip and the new vehicle worked out great.
     
  2. KathyBob

    KathyBob Junior Ranger

    Great trip, Annamarie and Steve! And OF COURSE the best part was the CICO! We stopped at the Burger King in Bellefonte, PA last year. At first we thought the town was named for Harry, but then we learned it's Italian for "the beautiful source" referring to a natural spring.

    Your Long Haul pin goes in the mail on Monday. Wow, two in one week! Kathy
     
  3. mcjimjam

    mcjimjam Junior Ranger Donating Member

    Great summary of your Long Haul, Steve & Anna! And told as only Steve could tell it, full of wit and charm! Best of all, the whole time we were reading it, we were hearing Steve's beloved "New Yaw-ka" accent, in our heads, fondly reminding us of our "yudths", growing up on Long Island!
    May we cross paths again!

    Jamie & Jim
     
  4. AnnaSteve

    AnnaSteve Novice

    Jamie & Jim thanks for the kind words we are looking forward to camping with you again.
     
  5. mariusz

    mariusz Junior Ranger

    wow.... what a trip
     
  6. AnnaSteve

    AnnaSteve Novice

    Mike it was a great trip and you will get to do it someday also. You have to get to at least one CICO it was the best time ever.
     
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