Just in time

Looks like I left the midwest just in time!!
I was camped at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore about 15 miles from where the photo was taken.

--
Ron

Home!

Had a good visit at Angela's in Annville, PA. Samantha walked to me!
Made it home in 5 hours.
Over 5,000 miles on this trip!! Only problem was the flat tire.

My brother had a surprise waiting in my fridge for me!

Jamestown, VA

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> Yesterday we went to see Jamestown, VA, site of the first English settlement in the US. An Indian village was there along with Fort James with the buildings within and the 3 ships that brought the settlers. It's a much larger display than when I visited here in 1984. Lots more period "actors" in costumes giving tours, etc. Emma ground up nutmeg and spices and chopped apples for apple pies but refused to wear any armor!
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Yorktown, VA

I am at my daughter Laura's house now at Yorktown. A long drive from
Marblehead, OH: 575 miles. Evidently the whole state of PA is under
construction from what I saw. It got so rough my rear bumper cap was
jostled off and the sewer hose bounced it's way out until it dragged
along behind me. Finally a frantic driver honked and pointed behind me
so I stopped.

I'm parked right in their driveway here. All the neighbors came over
for a tour. Saw my first clouds and rain for about a month today but
autumn is j u s t starting here.

Emma played in my laundry bag and Jackson gave me his "Churchill" look.

East Harbor Again

Boy, seems like I've driven from summer right into fall! I am back in
Ohio (and finally the Eastern Time Zone) at East Harbor again. Last
time here on 9/13 it was my first stop and I had the a/c on in the
camper. Now the leaves have turned, it's 58 and the water lillies have
gone to seed. Still a number of campers here, all retirees from what
I see. Most of the camp areas are closed, as is the camp store and
office. Had to self-register here. It's a huge park with 570
campsites!

My plan is to leave at 6:00AM tomorrow and try to make it to Yorktown,
VA (550 miles) in one hop.

Didn't know but this state park has free wi-fi, too!

--
*Ron*

Greetings from Chicago

Took the morning train into Chicago to see the Field Museum. It was a
free admission day (every 2nd Mon.) so it was pretty busy. Way too
much to see in a week let alone a day. I took a guided tour of Ancient
Egypt & saw tombs, mummies, even a wood boat built for a dead pharoh's
tomb.
Sue, the most complete T-Rex, and many others.

Yet another hot, gorgeous day.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Beautiful 85 degree sunny day. I climbed to the top of a dune next to
Mount Baldy about 150' high. Sand is very fine, almost like Clearwater
Beach, and very deep. Tough climbing the dunes. A handful of people
around.
Only saw 2 people actually swimming but quite a few waders.

Trapped (sort of)

Called around and due to it being a holiday weekend parks are full.
This one is almost full even with no electric sites. So I may have to
stay here until Mon.

Quite a change from Minnesota, leaves just beginning to turn here.
Hot: 85 and sunny today.

Herbert Hoover

Stopped to see the birthplace and museum of Herbert Hoover. Pretty
interesting. Didn't know he made the 1st tv broadcast. The house was
tiny; 2 rooms & no insulation at all. His cradle & high chair were in
the museum. He was an avid fisherman.

I'm camped back at Dunewood in Indiana National Seashore. It's a
holiday wkend and here there are no reservations, walkins only so I
got a site!

Threshers

A lot of huge farm machinery (threshers?) kicking up so much dust it's
like fog.
I camped at a Wal-Mart in Cedar Rapids. Price is right by not too
scenic, bright and noisy unti 11 or so.

Deciding

Cool last night; 38 outside at 6. Stayed about 54 in here. I covered
the plastic roof vent and left my sunshades up over the windows which
helps insulate. Nice sunset over the lake.

To warm the place up this morning I baked cinnamon buns in the oven
for breakfast.

Now I am deciding where to go from here. You can see it's really
autumn here. BUT supposed to be 75 today; 80 tomorrow so may be nice
to stick around.

Sakatah State Park, MN

Left Pipestone this morning after dumping my tanks. Wind from N
today. Lots of wind power fields out here. Just past Pipestone is a
big plant that makes wind turbines. Stopped at Blue Earth, MN to see
their 60 ft. statue of The Jolly Green Giant! Along the way saw these
fighter jets by an airport.

Got to Wholesale Tires in Morristown and my tire was there so I
lowered the bad spare and they mounted the new one. While underneath I
noticed the tires were pretty cracked on the INSIDE; the side away
from the sun?! Not reassuring. Looks like I should replace them all
soon. Glad Zi got the spare!

4 miles from the tire place is pretty Sakatah Lake and I'm camped here
for the night. Really autumn here; a lot of leaves in the ground
already.

Pipestone

I walked over to the monument this morning (it's 84 right now?!).

A small museum showing what the Indians made from pipestone and how.
This was a sacred place and tribes all over North America traded for
this stone which is mainly only found here. Many legends about how
it's the blood of their ancestors.

The quarries here are still being worked but are all filled with water
now due to the recent flooding. Glad I missed that. I watched a
couple of them pumping one out.

One was not flooded and you can see the pipestone. A trail runs along
a stream with quarries and rock formations like " The Old Man". A tall
pillar is Lovers Leap. Some inscriptions by an early explorer in 1800's are in the rocks along with some 1880's graffiti! It ends at a waterfall.

I also had to wash clothes today and the camp laundry is being painted
so I drove into town.

Busy Day

I left Chamberlain and the Sioux museum and headed east. Again really strong winds made it a pain to drive. Stopped at a Lewis & Clark exhibit at a rest stop on I-90 right outside of town. The Lewis & Clark Expedition camped here on the way out and on the way back 2 years later. He called it Plum Camp because he found a lot of plum trees here along the Missouri. There was a 55 ft replica of one of the keel boats they used.

Next stop: Mitchell, SD, home of the Corn Palace!
Since 1892 they've had a Corn Palace here. It's wood underneath but covered in corn husks and ears. Inside is an arena for sports events and concerts.
Just follow the feet! "Corny" lives across the street. Even the lamp posts have corn.

Then I stopped in Sioux Falls, SD to see the USS South Dakota Monument. The South Dakota was the only ship in every major WWII Naval battle. The state couldn't afford to move the whole ship here so only bought pieces and then poured a concrete outline of the ship. The bow guns are now permanently aimed at a poor Walgreens.
A museum is in the center but CLOSES after Labor Day!?

Now I am 50 miles or so NE of Sioux Falls in Pipestone RV Park, Pipestone, MN. I picked this because it's half price with my Passport America card and it has wi-fi. It's next door to Pipestone National Monument: http://www.nps.gov/mwr/pipe/ which I'll see tomorrow.