Greetings to all from Maria Stein, Ohio. Yes, we are home from our westward ho adventure, and what a wonderful trip it was. Just shy of 3,500 miles on our van, 15 days of the 4 of us, 9 states, and yet, we are all still happy and healthy. What a great trip.
Sunday, June 7, 2009 We woke to rain....and on our day to start the Oregon Trail experience. We drove to Bayard, Nebraska, and the weather cleared a little. We had lunch at the base camp, and then our wagon master, Merph, took us by rickety old van to Chimney Rock. We climbed up to the base of that and had wonderful views of the Oregon Trail route. We visited the Visitor's Center and just got back in the van when the heavens opened up and it RAINED and HAILED and then it HAILED some more. Big pea sized hail over all the ground. Merph took us to his house. It defies description, but just let me say that my Mom would not have approved. He told us that the decision to go on the trail or not was all ours. Paul and I looked at each other and said, "Let's do it." We loaded up the wagon - we were the only 4 on this trek - and....."Wagons HO". That's what they always yelled when the wagons started up. It was probably a 1 mile ride on the original Oregon Trail to Howard Canyon. What a beautiful place. This is where Amy and I camped on the last night with our 5 11 year old nieces and nephews 11 years ago when we went on the 4 day trek. They even still had the horse trough and wind mill there. It was so strange to see the green hills - they have had lots of rain...more than ever in the last 7 years - and the 3/4 inch hail covering the ground. The fire wood was all wet so Merph brought along his gas grill to cook for us. The ground was too hail covered to pitch a tent, so Merph said that we should sleep in the back of his van. So, it wasn't real authentic, but at least we were roughing it a little like the pioneers did. We went to bed as soon as it got dark and actually had a good night's sleep. The temperature was 40 degrees, but we were plenty warm in the sleeping bags in the back of the "little van on the prairie."
Monday, June 8, 2009 Up with the sun for some breakfast hash: eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, ham, steak, and cheese. Tasted GREAT, but looked bad. The Pony Express rider came riding up the canyon with his red shirt and a note for us, Merph let us shoot off his black powder musket, and then.....the girls got to ride the horses. What a treat and what a thrill for them to be able to actually be in charge of a horse and not just follow nose to tail on a trailride or to have someone lead them. Oksana rode Red Neck and Karina was on George (who was still there on the trail from our last trip). They had a great time. Merph was out with them, and they enjoyed themselves for close to an hour out there in the canyon. After that we heard, "Wagons HO" again and we jostled in the covered wagon back to base camp while the girls rode the horses. Not the horses who were pulling the wagon....they never get ridden. It was a beautiful morning and a fitting ending to our Westward Ho adventure. We started our Eastward Ho right at noon on Monday. We drove all the way across Nebraska and stayed the night in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 Arrived at Cathy and Alan Guebert's house right at 3:00 their time. They live south of Peoria, Illinois. Cathy was in Belgium the same year that I was and we went to the same school there for 13 months back in 1973-1974. Cathy and Alan were great hosts for our 3 hour visit. It was fun to see them again and to introduce them to my family. I had visited them once in 1980, when their son was just a baby. We left there after being fortified with sandwiches for our trip home, and we arrived in Maria Stein at 12:29 Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. What a time, what a trip, what memories.
No more blogging. Take care-
Penny
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Wow, another 2 days of travel and activities. Friday.....Crazy Horse Monument is BIG and a work in progress. You should google it to see what it even is....I didn't know until I looked it up. Very impressive. Paul drove Needles Highway like a pro - even the one way tunnels did not phase him. We hit over 2222 miles today, and I've navigated the whole way. Custer State park was where the girls were looking forward to feeding the burros, because someone had told us to take food with us to do that. Well, the burros did not follow the rules, and were nowhere to be seen. But, we did see plenty of buffalo and deer, and even sat in the middle of a buffalo herd as they were crossing the road. Probably about 50 adults and 10 calves. They were licking the dirt off the van, so yes...they were close. Stayed in Hot Springs, SD in a Super8. I've always turned my nose down on that chain, but we have stayed there twice on this trip and they are really nice for the money.
Saturday.....Cool day (50 degrees) We took a two hour bus tour of the Black Hills Wild Horse Santuary. Lots of horses roaming wild on this 11,000 acre ranch. Lots of babies, and lots of horses. They were not running like in brochure,but it was still a great trip. Then we went to the Mammoth Site which is right by our Super 8. They have an excavation pit with mammoth bones in it. They discovered a sink hole here in 1974 and have turned it into a HUGE excavation site. Very interesting. Then we went to swim at Evans Plunge, a 100 year old indoor natural swimming pool with a rock bottom. Fun.
We are keeping our eyes on the weather for our 24 hour Oregon Trail trip. I'll keep you posted.
Penny
Saturday.....Cool day (50 degrees) We took a two hour bus tour of the Black Hills Wild Horse Santuary. Lots of horses roaming wild on this 11,000 acre ranch. Lots of babies, and lots of horses. They were not running like in brochure,but it was still a great trip. Then we went to the Mammoth Site which is right by our Super 8. They have an excavation pit with mammoth bones in it. They discovered a sink hole here in 1974 and have turned it into a HUGE excavation site. Very interesting. Then we went to swim at Evans Plunge, a 100 year old indoor natural swimming pool with a rock bottom. Fun.
We are keeping our eyes on the weather for our 24 hour Oregon Trail trip. I'll keep you posted.
Penny
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday,June 5
Wednesday - a dreary kinda rainy day. So....we visited the Roo Ranch near Deadwood, SD. It was an okay tour through a nature center that houses kangaroos, wallabys, singing dogs, lemurs, and even a cucaburro. Kind of an Australian theme. It was a good activity for a rainy day, but our kid guide had a cold and kept coughing in his jacket. Our activity, in addition to looking at the animals, was to keep away from our guide. Then, we drove on to Devils Tower in eastern Wyoming. A pretty drive there - lots of weird scenery, and ...the rain stopped. A fun walk along the base of the tower- this is the tower that just juts out of the ground and has a flat top. It's from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". When we were leaving, we ran into Don and Susie Wolters from St. Sebastian in the parking lot. Small world, huh? We all had to have our pictures taken together with the tower in the background. I'm going to try to get another picture on this blog. Maybe tonight.
We drove back into Deadwood and stayed at the Penny Motel. Decent Mom and Pop joint. Oksana hates it when we stay in a motel instead of a chain with a pool. But, the name......
I walked next door to the Golden Nugget Saloon and gambled on the penny slots. In a nutshell.....I spent $30 and won $68, so I "made" $38. It was so much fun.
Thursday
A BEAUTIFUL day. Thank goodness we flipped our days and had this weather for Mt. Rushmore. It was all we had imagined and a whole lot more. It is just incredible to see this monument and realize how it was made. Lots of informative exhibits, ranger talks, videos, and walks. The girls participated in the Jr. Ranger program, and after completion, were sworn in as official Jr. Rangers. They had to promise to bring their kids back to visit. After hours in the park, we played tourist and rode a tramway to the top of a "mountain" and then came down in an alpine slide. The girls even went twice. It's like a cement slide and you sit on a little sled and came on down. Fun. Then we toured an old gold mine and even panned for gold. I'll stick to the penny slots to make my fortune. Lots of work for a little gold dust. At 8:30 we went back to the mounument for the evening ceremony. It is only 2 miles from the town of Keystone where our chalet is. The ceremony was cold, but SO IMPRESSIVE. They shine white lights on the faces, and we all sang The National Anthem, and then the vets came out of the audience and gathered on stage. There were 75 there last night. They all got to say their name and branch of service, and we all stood and clapped and cheered. It was so moving, and a perfect ending to our Mt. Rushmore day.
Friday
We are cleaning out our cooler for breakfast this morning, and then we're off to Custer National Park, and the Crazy Horse monument. We should be in Hot Springs tonight.
Later.
Penny and all
We drove back into Deadwood and stayed at the Penny Motel. Decent Mom and Pop joint. Oksana hates it when we stay in a motel instead of a chain with a pool. But, the name......
I walked next door to the Golden Nugget Saloon and gambled on the penny slots. In a nutshell.....I spent $30 and won $68, so I "made" $38. It was so much fun.
Thursday
A BEAUTIFUL day. Thank goodness we flipped our days and had this weather for Mt. Rushmore. It was all we had imagined and a whole lot more. It is just incredible to see this monument and realize how it was made. Lots of informative exhibits, ranger talks, videos, and walks. The girls participated in the Jr. Ranger program, and after completion, were sworn in as official Jr. Rangers. They had to promise to bring their kids back to visit. After hours in the park, we played tourist and rode a tramway to the top of a "mountain" and then came down in an alpine slide. The girls even went twice. It's like a cement slide and you sit on a little sled and came on down. Fun. Then we toured an old gold mine and even panned for gold. I'll stick to the penny slots to make my fortune. Lots of work for a little gold dust. At 8:30 we went back to the mounument for the evening ceremony. It is only 2 miles from the town of Keystone where our chalet is. The ceremony was cold, but SO IMPRESSIVE. They shine white lights on the faces, and we all sang The National Anthem, and then the vets came out of the audience and gathered on stage. There were 75 there last night. They all got to say their name and branch of service, and we all stood and clapped and cheered. It was so moving, and a perfect ending to our Mt. Rushmore day.
Friday
We are cleaning out our cooler for breakfast this morning, and then we're off to Custer National Park, and the Crazy Horse monument. We should be in Hot Springs tonight.
Later.
Penny and all
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wow, we have been busy the last few days. We did indeed arrive at Jeff and Wendi's on Sunday. It was wonderful to see them all again, and to check out their new house. North Dakota is SOOOOO FLAT !!!!!! and so straight. Jeff said that there are more people in Columbus, Ohio, than in all of North Dakota. He also told us that ND is ranked 50th as far as tree cover goes. You only see trees by a river, or by houses. He and Wendi also told us about all the flooding that is now -finally after 2 months- gone. Hard to imagine. The girls had a blast playing with Lahni (6 years old) and pestering Nathan (15 years old). Jeff grilled for us, and we just had a great time.
Monday - Wendi had to leave for a week long FFA convention, and Nathan left for driver's ed. Jeff, Paul, the 3 girls and I toured the Children's Museum of Fargo (fun for the girls) and Jeff took us a tour of NDUniversity where he works as a weed control specialist. Sugarbeets are the main crop around here, and he knows how to keep the weeds away. Nice campus. In the afternoon we headed south to Lake Preston, South Dakota. We slept in a fishing motel and although our dear friend Ruth Dorsten would not have approved, we enjoyed our stay there. Lake Preston is just a "pothole lake" so there is no recreation on it. We actually never saw the lake itself, just the Lake Preston Motel and the "downtown". Kinda like a New Bremen size.
Tuesday - Toured the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead. We thought it was going to be hokey, but it turned out to be GREAT !!!! We toured a shanty, a sod house, Ma's cabin, and the barn. There were people there who helped us...braid rope, make a corncob doll, grind wheat, take a pony/cart ride, and there were chicks and kittens to hold. Then we rode in a covered wagon to the old school house where the girls dressed in bonnets and smocks and the school teacher gave us some lessons as we were sitting at the old style desks. We HAD to buy one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and are reading it aloud in the car. Very informative place. Then we drove on to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Unreal. You have to Google it to see what I'm talking about. It was really a fun place to stop. Then, on to the Badlands. We took the 30 mile scenic loop through, and got out a few times to walk out on the boardwalks that they have. UNREAL !!! It looks like someone VERY BIG took buckets of sand and dumped them wherever. It looks like the moon might. It was really nice - overcast and cool, but not rainy. We just kept saying, "This is unreal. This is so neat. Wow, look at that." We saw an antelope and lots of prairie dogs. Definitely a place to see if you are out this way. At the end of the loop is the town of Wall, and Wall Drug. There are signs forever as you drive for Wall Drug, and their advertising worked. We stopped for supper, 5 cent coffee, free ice water, and some walking around. Into our Big Sky Lodge about 9:00 their time. We drove into mountain time zone about half way across SD. This is a great name for this place. We are on a hill overlooking Rapid City. They have a hot tub, and we used it last night. It was quite the experience to sit there in the dark and look over the entire city all lit up. I always like the looks of cities at night - it reminds me of a painting on black velvet. Today we are scheduled to go to Mt. Rushmore, but the weather report is not good, so we may switch and go to Devil's Tower instead. We'll try to keep our same motels, so if you need to contact us, just flip them. I'll try to keep you posted.
Until the next blog.
Hi to my new followers.
Penny
Monday - Wendi had to leave for a week long FFA convention, and Nathan left for driver's ed. Jeff, Paul, the 3 girls and I toured the Children's Museum of Fargo (fun for the girls) and Jeff took us a tour of NDUniversity where he works as a weed control specialist. Sugarbeets are the main crop around here, and he knows how to keep the weeds away. Nice campus. In the afternoon we headed south to Lake Preston, South Dakota. We slept in a fishing motel and although our dear friend Ruth Dorsten would not have approved, we enjoyed our stay there. Lake Preston is just a "pothole lake" so there is no recreation on it. We actually never saw the lake itself, just the Lake Preston Motel and the "downtown". Kinda like a New Bremen size.
Tuesday - Toured the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead. We thought it was going to be hokey, but it turned out to be GREAT !!!! We toured a shanty, a sod house, Ma's cabin, and the barn. There were people there who helped us...braid rope, make a corncob doll, grind wheat, take a pony/cart ride, and there were chicks and kittens to hold. Then we rode in a covered wagon to the old school house where the girls dressed in bonnets and smocks and the school teacher gave us some lessons as we were sitting at the old style desks. We HAD to buy one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and are reading it aloud in the car. Very informative place. Then we drove on to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Unreal. You have to Google it to see what I'm talking about. It was really a fun place to stop. Then, on to the Badlands. We took the 30 mile scenic loop through, and got out a few times to walk out on the boardwalks that they have. UNREAL !!! It looks like someone VERY BIG took buckets of sand and dumped them wherever. It looks like the moon might. It was really nice - overcast and cool, but not rainy. We just kept saying, "This is unreal. This is so neat. Wow, look at that." We saw an antelope and lots of prairie dogs. Definitely a place to see if you are out this way. At the end of the loop is the town of Wall, and Wall Drug. There are signs forever as you drive for Wall Drug, and their advertising worked. We stopped for supper, 5 cent coffee, free ice water, and some walking around. Into our Big Sky Lodge about 9:00 their time. We drove into mountain time zone about half way across SD. This is a great name for this place. We are on a hill overlooking Rapid City. They have a hot tub, and we used it last night. It was quite the experience to sit there in the dark and look over the entire city all lit up. I always like the looks of cities at night - it reminds me of a painting on black velvet. Today we are scheduled to go to Mt. Rushmore, but the weather report is not good, so we may switch and go to Devil's Tower instead. We'll try to keep our same motels, so if you need to contact us, just flip them. I'll try to keep you posted.
Until the next blog.
Hi to my new followers.
Penny
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