2021 July Great Lakes traveling east

  After traveling with family from Oregon to Wisconsin and seeing National parks, Presidential Library’s we parted after the 4 July weekend in International Falls, MN. Bob family headed west to home, and we are staying along the Great Lakes for the cool weather. So many heat waves throughout the country this year and we have had enough going through the Midwest that it is a blessing to stay in cooler weather.

Boondocking at a Moose Lodge along Lake Superior shoreline and wake to 55’ weather is so refreshing. I was confused for I thought east, and sunrise would be towards the lake. No, the coast is angled, and the sunrise was across town and poor to see this morning.

Motoring along the coastline in Silver Bay, MN a sign says scenic view and we pull off and it rises above the town with views of the shoreline and the city. Very nice view, strong winds and amazingly fast internet! Decided to spend a few hours here catching up on online items.  A short walking path with views of the lakeshore had a sign sharing what you are seeing – Apostle islands from the north shore!

A manufacturing plant for Tectonite, an iron ore processing plant, Taconite is a low-grade iron ore. When the high-grade natural iron ore was plentiful, taconite was considered a waste rock and not used. But as the supply of high-grade natural ore decreased, industry began to view taconite as a resource. Dr. E.W. Davis of the University of Minnesota, along with other scientists and engineers, conducted years of laboratory tests and experiments to find a way to take the iron ore out of the taconite rock. After many years of hard work, a process was developed to create taconite pellets. Taconite saved Minnesota's iron ore mining industry.

The ships pull into a large pier where trains pull onto the pier and off load directly into the ship. Large long pier built of steel. Most of this mining and shipping is done near Duluth, MN.

Two Harbors and Grand Marias have become a tourist town for the drive along North Shore of Lake Superior is awesome with high cliffs, crashing waves, deep water. Grand Portage has a reenactment of Voyagers Rendezvous in August. We contemplate returning someday to see this and dawdle around for the fall leaves, do some kayaking in Boundary Waters, Voyagers National Park and Apostle Islands. This area has a lot of Aspen trees, and I am sure fall colors are awesome!

As we drive slowly around the Great Lakes, I think about the travel map we create and look for other roads that we have not been on before.

2021 Trip by Blount Family Group

Tanya's 3,000-mile Solo trip (RED)

Family trip together xxx miles (BLUE) 3,805 miles

Tanya and Tom (PINK, BLUE, RED) 11,450 Miles

As you can see it is an easy way to identify what areas we have not been and find new areas to explore! Obviously, winters in Florida are popular and we sometime want to spend time in southern Texas and Arizona for winters. Someday we will buy a winter home, just have not decided where so using this map certainly helps to know that we have checked out the area.

I have downloaded into the GPS interesting things to see and as we travel can search and find places to go, this is spur of the moment slow traveling style and I love it! Other ways I find places to go is to use Bing Maps, enter a origin and destination then select attractions along the route. You can create a trip then download that into the GPS and you have your route planned out for you. Using both a planned route and spur of the moment stops, and you can spend many months traveling and always have interesting things to see along the way.

Right now, we are in Iron Mountain, MI and stopped at a Home Depot for replacing the window screens. At casino campground nearby we have a picnic table to work on and waula, a short task made enjoyable in a nice setting. Hmm 22-year-old screens did not allow the same view, who would have guessed.

 Previously we had followed the norther Lake Superior coastline in UP Michigan, so this time we followed the southern Lake Michigan coastline. Crossing over to the southern coastline was hilly, not mountainous just hilly. National Forests along the way and we tried to find places to camp in the National Forest but there were no open spots! This is rather unusual; we commonly have no problems finding places in National Forests. We do have other boondocking spots but in rural areas are not as common. Fortunately, a casino had availability here. Later near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in Michigan we had a similar problem finding campsites. In the news it talks about post covid many more people are out visiting National Parks, this is the first time we have encountered large enough numbers of people to make it reasonable that we should be making reservations in advance.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park was very beautiful. The scenic drive had beautiful forests over rolling hills and the dunes themselves were so impressively steep it boggles the mind. Some people did walk down the steep hillside to the beach, but we did not wait around for them to climb back up, it was going to take quite a while!

Again, campsites were all taken in the National Park, we just stumbled upon a scenic overlook that was not posted for no camping, so we stayed there. I lasted until sunset tonight for I thought this scenic view would be spectacular, unfortunately clouds did not align properly to make it so. I’m sure there are times when this would be one of the best sunsets a person could see.

Michigan travel is different because away from major cities you find less National chain stores. The feeling of supporting local businesses is very obvious.  We were lucky to find places to stay through some of our memberships and enjoyed visiting small towns.

 Continuing into Ohio Cuyahoga National Park is very different from other National Parks. A highly polluted river has been reclaimed.  Once labeled as the most polluted river in the US that had actually caught on fire is now clean and restored.  A train through the park is available if you like. We chose to hike to a very beautiful waterfall. Brandywine Falls.

As we reach Watertown, NY the humidity coming from Lake Ontario is heavy! After being in the west we are not used to this heavy humidity! After a driving tour of Thousand Islands, I feel the need to have my kayaks with me to spend a little time paddling through these awesome islands! This trip I have not had any of my toys along like kayaks and motorcycles so driving tours and little hikes along with looking for interesting places to see.

Covered Bridge in VT

NY, VT, NH are much, much cooler than anywhere in the US right now. Keeping along the Canada border in as much cool weather as there is I begin to slow down the travel rate. We spent 2 weeks near Acadia National Park for it is very cool here, rain on a few days call for downtime and we begin to relax after the hectic traveling with my brother’s family. Tanya continues to work each day but on weekends we are immersed in going through small towns along the way.

Tanya’s office today! 

After spending 2 days here we go to nearby Garfield Presidential Home, library and museum. Nice tour, original furnishings, part of the National Park Service.  Garfield only had 200 days in office before being assassination.  Read more about it on the NPS site. Interestingly corruption in politics is nothing new. Also see Rutherford Hayes on website for more from that era.

We are currently in the coolest part of the country by staying along the Great Lakes. After last month (June) experiencing high heat in the Midwest we are definitely enjoying being in cooler weather. Some days we only travel 100 miles, poking around small towns. Looking at the types of homes and office buildings sometimes I cannot tell how they developed.  There are no major industries to support employment so how does one town appear to be more developed than another? At this time, I cannot really tell, there has to be something back in the past to explain why. It's been raining for several days now so we have not walked any of these towns, just do a drive through. 

 

Tanya has gotten a great haircut! This is the longest covered bridge in the US, 216 feet long, Ashtabula County, NY.

Oswego, NY a restored Army Fort from the revolutionary War, Fort Ontario.  Although closed on Mondays and Tuesdays I walked around it to read the displays. A signal tower to ships on Lake Erie was there and the display stated that women were used primarily to hoist signal flags to signal ships about the weather. National Weather Service would telegraph the town and it was forwarded to the woman keeper. Only a few of these towers are left and are automated with lights.

Also, there is a memorial for Jewish refugees.  Sailing from Italy to New York harbor then train to Fort Ontario under an agreement to return to Europe following the war. 928 refugees lived out the war enclosed in this encampment.  At the wars end the President of the US allowed those who chose to stay in the US.

You know you're in Maine when they have carved totems of a Moose!

Early morning sunrise in Acadia National Park is pure pleasure! It really does seem that sunrises on the east coast have much more color than on the west coast? Maybe I am biased, but it really does seem that way. Touring Acadia NP is fabulous, rocky shorelines, many, many lobster and crab floats across the water and really extreme tide changes, 9’ is common. I really wished I had the kayaks here with me so that will have to be a trip for another time. Quite a few hiking trails in Acadia NP, many are too steep for my level of fitness but there are a lot of easier trails too. Tanya has been able to join me on a few of these excursions too!

A long weekend is here so Tanya can participate more, and we decide to see what central Maine has to offer and we are so glad we did. Going inland and following Route 11 all the way to the Canadian border is a very beautiful road. Rough at times and very high center berm (I suppose to help with run off snow and water). Mount Katahdin is a real surprise, jutting steeply up amongst rolling hills it really stands out.

The people here are down to earth and very friendly, one place we stayed, and the locals spent a lot of time telling us of places to see. Quite welcoming for us. I had always thought that Maine was flat, swampy or bobby but interestingly it is very hilly throughout. Every 10-20 miles along these 2 lane roads is a small town where speed limit drops to 30. Sometimes you are not sure if it is really a town or not for there are no stores at all.

 

The farms mostly grow Potatoes fields, with either white or purple flowers. Much too soon to harvest, although a few roadside stands (unmanned – honor system) offer bagged potatoes. These rural roads had may roadside rest stops with covered picnic tables, we stopped at one for a very leisurely and pleasant lunch.  A sign stated the US1 we were on was called the Million Dollar Scenic Highway with awesome views of Mount Katahdin far in the distance.

 

PIC MOUNT KAHDIN

 

Once again, I am so impressed with kayak opportunities, rivers and lakes everywhere, rolling hills with mostly deciduous trees, I am sure this is the perfect foliage tour! This time of year (end of July) and there a very few flies or mosquitoes. We will be back someday to see this for sure.

At the Canadian border in Fort Kent is the beginning of US Route 1. We vow to someday follow this scenic route all the way to Key West, FL. This time though we followed it and the Canadian border back down to Acadia.

Acadia Village – was not open while we were there, walking around the buildings and reading the signs in front of them, we learn how early settlers would farm in the summer and go to logging camps in the winter. The woman would manage the homes and expenses while the men worked the fields and lumber. There was a sign stating that a man was considered to be overbearing if he managed the finances instead of the woman! 10 kids were the normal family and children were expected to begin helping with farm work at age of 10 and would be self-sufficient in their own home by age 30.

The farms were laid out different here, long and narrow rather than square. This allowed each farm to have good soil in the bottomland and thinner soil in the higher portions away from the river.

We noticed that many homes had roofs shaped similar to barns, I reason this to be that with long winters and heat rises this allowed more livable area in the second story of homes.

Another interesting idea was we noticed 10 homes along the route that had once had homes then removed the old house and set up a RV pad. You can tell for there is the old power lines, septic, water still serving the pad where once it served the house. I assume this is a summer home for full time RV’rs. Most often there would be a large storage shed or sometimes a garage there as well. This is exactly what we have been thinking about only for winter home use. We are continuing to travel to determine where that will be. My brother told me of a man in Oregon who did the same thing in Arizona.

Marquette, ME is the most northern place in US, it has a paper mill on both sides of border that works together to produce paper. The US side grinds the wood and makes it into pulp then a long pipe attached to the bridge it passes the mulch to the plant on the Canadian side to process into paper.

 

We were surprised to see Blueberries fields as small ground covers not bushes like in Oregon.

 

 

 

2020 May, MD, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD, Badlands

 Wow, its finally time to go travel again! Covid-19 travel restrictions are being relaxed, places are opening and we can travel and see interesting places in this wonderful country of ours.

Thankfully, I have been employed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, otherwise I would definitely have gone stir crazy staying at home all this time. The original plan was to depart in April, now 2 months later it is time to go. The route we had planned has been changed several times, for there is so much to see yet. When Tanya suggested that it is so warm now, how about reverse our route and go north for the summer. What an excellent idea, one thing about travel without any restrictions, you can change destination on a whim and be happy about it!

As I redrew the route it occurred to me that we would be in the southwest in the fall. I remembered the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and had to check when it occurs. October first half, yay, I can make this work! So long that this has been on my bucket list! I texted my brother to see if he was interested and he tried to reserve and not an hour after I reserved and there were no openings left L Hopefully that will change, it would be great if my brother and perhaps my Mom can join us.

To prepare for the trip, we had replaced the A/C with a bigger unit, installed a refrigerator with a bigger freezer, covered the windows with perforated vinyl to block the heat. Of course, we are going north now so all this preparation may not have been needed but we are ready if a heat wave hits at any time.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN! 11 am and we are off, after 6 months the RV needed a good bath so stopping at a carwash we have used before with good results, we move on feeling everything is ready for a great trip experience. Taking I-68 through Cumberland, MD we look up my colleague whom I worked with at Western Maryland Medical Center. Catching up on hospital improvements and people we both knew. It so happens that the first manned space flight takes off from the US soil in 11 years. What a change in technology and we enjoyed chatting and watching the liftoff.

Staying in Western Maryland for the night, our first day’s trip was only 70 miles. Yes, we are learning to stop and smell the roses. The second day we thought to make some miles but soon felt the need for a 3-hour nap. Staying over in London, OH we realized that 2 days of driving made only 370 miles – hmmm, this is a really good way to travel.

We attempted to stop at a trail found on Alltrails to get some exercise and surprisingly there were a lot of people here. Deciding that it was too crowded to enjoy a nature hike we moved on and happened to come across a building which looks like a picnic basket. Wow!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longaberger_Company

Read about this company, it is really interesting.

Staying the night at Madison County Fairgrounds, we saw that they had numerous electrical and water connections. We did not need power but enjoyed the solitude and quiet for the night. I had a bbq grill from the days of my Class A RV travel and we fired it up cooking stuffed poblano and green peppers. Much to my surprise this flameless grill cooked them in a reasonable time - I had removed the heat shield pan and more direct heat reached the food. Going to have to try meat products this way next time.

Tanya watched the swallows flying all over, eating the insects that come out at dusk and it reminded her of her childhood story of why swallows have a forked tail.

Monday morning – after taking an outside shower (an outdoor adventure!), Tanya works a few hours, and off we go heading for Auntie Bea and Uncle Carl in Indianapolis. Spending a few hours together is always fun. Catching up on what has been going on in each other’s lives.

Traveling into downtown Indianapolis we find that the downtown area is closed due to the protests. Later, we learned that Chicago downtown was also closed. What a shock, we often use an app called izitravel to take walking and driving tours, and this is not an option right now.

Indiana Dunes National Park was open, and we were able to take a 1 mile walk through the sand dunes. At the end of the walk, it was a big surprise to see hundreds of people on the beach of Lake Michigan. Seriously, we were practically alone on the sand dunes but once we drop down to the beach there are so many people there. The visitor center was closed so we were unable to get the passport stamp. But I wrote it in by hand.

We also have been monitoring how people are reacting to Covid-19 guidelines. Seems that larger cities have much more awareness and use of masks or gloves. Restaurants are closed in most places. In more rural areas there seems to be a slackening of mask use. MD, PA, OH were quite strong on mask use and business closures, as we continued in IN, IL, WI there was less use in the rural areas as there was earlier. While we were in WI the relaxing for restaurants occurred and we were able to sit down for a meal at last.

After finding out that Chicago was being closed due to the protests, so no tours of the Windy City. We went to our extended family’s Lake House. Tom’s niece was there with her boyfriend fishing to have a fish fry. Very nice to be here and get some down time. We plan to stay a week or so to catch up with family and rest.

Tanya works remotely and here is today's office!!

Cool co-worker

Nearly a week we stayed in WI visiting family, fishing, resting. A day with Uncle Jerry is like a trip in time, he has done so much in his life, one of the more interesting stories was about fishing in Canada. We liked his story of hunting bear as we sat in his living room looking at the stuffed 500 lb bear on the wall!

The majority of the family had quite a lot on their own schedule so not everyone was available while we were here. Along with the Covid-19 changes for all of us socializing, I in particular was very aware of how each person reacted to meeting up. I felt it was important that I explain that I had worked directly with Covid-19 testing sites and hospitals treatment rooms. As I explained this, I was also spraying my hands with alcohol and wearing face mask. Each person then could weigh how they felt best to interact with me. All turned out well and I left each family member a box of face masks that I had brought along for them.

Earl and Denise were available for dinner on Friday Fish Fry night! We really enjoyed our time with Earl and Denise, too bad we don’t live closer, I think we could have been great friends. This was a biker bar near the lake house, and you still felt comfortable in here. Wisconsin had just open restaurants with restrictions, so it was nice to have a sit-down meal.

Turns out Earl and Denise are close to retirement also; they have bought a winter home in Arizona so we plan that someday we could stop and visit them there.

Carol and Greg were available during the lawn mowing efforts, so much has changed in all of our lives, and it is so nice to catch up and share with each other. Finding out that Carol and her husband have been retired for 7 years already – where has the time gone! She has been lucky enough that the right time in her grandchildren’s lives, soon they will be in school, and Carol will not have the time as she has had with them. Hmmm perhaps some travel plans in her future?

Quiet mornings sitting on the dock on the lake as sunrise slowly wakes the day. Nice and slow I’m learning!

So, after several days of visiting and resting we had been keeping an eye on the weather, first a cold front from northwest is coming, then Cristobal, a tropical storm from the Gulf of Mexico. Thinking we would have a decent day driving on Monday we headed out going due west.

Taking 2 lane roads at the beginning of this trip is enjoyable, but sooner or later you end up on interstates. We had lunch along the Mississippi River in La Crosse, WI - hmmm I wonder how kayaking would be here? Crossing the Mississippi river is always exciting, the Mississippi goes such a long way, and we would be crossing it in many different places over time.

The Spam Museum was closed due to Covid-19 but we got to take our pic and will have to visit another time.

We stopped at a county fairground in Minnesota for the night and were kindly told that it was closed but they let us stay anyway. That was a first for me. The next night we stayed in National Grasslands alongside the Badlands of South Dakota. Wow, pretty cool, sitting on a bluff high above the erosion of hills that creates the Badlands. Morning sunrise did not have clouds but the wide expanse of sky that you could see is amazing. We chatted quite a lot about BLM lands, National Forests and how we are still just beginning to learn how and where to camp in these areas.

Corn Palace - I have stopped here before, but this is Tanya’s first visit. Unfortunately, it was rushed for the cold front was making its appearance at that time. As we drove, we could see up the cross streets a HUGE BLACK WALL of RAINCLOUDS coming right for us. Never seen anything like it. We parked alongside a building to be protected from wind and rain. WOW, scary as the whole day becomes dark, high winds, very heavy rain in fact a deluge! We sit it out, both awed and scared at the same time. It was so amazing the brief glimpses we had of the Big Black Wall coming toward us. We both thought of how we could have parked to experience that Big Black Wall coming closer to us and over us and still be safe.  This was the northern cold front we had seen on the weather reports. We were able to track it on a phone app right to the point of impact, but the real thing was so much more impressive than seeing a picture on an app.

Sunrise was very different; it began getting light at 4am and the sun does not make an actual appearance until after 5am. Everyone knows I am a sunrise kind of guy, and this was vastly different for me. I think it also had something to do with the high bluff we were on. Something to think about.

As we are moving west, Tanya’s work still starts on the East Coast time, so we are now getting up even earlier – a great opportunity to enjoy a sunrise every morning. It was quite cool when we woke up, probably in the mid-40s. So nice to have our trusted Gas Buddy heater on a cool morning like this. Tom cooks an amazing breakfast! I think hash browns with peppers and onions, eggs, and a toast taste so much better in the fresh morning air in the RV than at a diner. 😊

Touring the Badlands is awesome. Our friend Joy talked about her trips here and how much she enjoyed them. When Joy and I discussed the Badlands, I thought this is where I toured many years ago, but I discovered it is not and I have memories of a totally different mountain and sights but cannot place it, I will have to research it and go there again. OK I read through some of my old journals and found it was the Bighorn Mountains, will have to add that to this trip. Travel is interesting, places you have been before are often worth visiting again for memory fades and although it is not a new experience you see different things that you had not noticed before. So, I am looking forward to seeing the Bighorn Mountains again, seeing things I remember and new things as well.

To emphasize that thought, how about Wall Drug store? Anyone who has traveled I-90 has seen the numerous billboards for Wall Drug and just had to see it. What was on the billboards is not what I remember but the quantity is astounding, I counted the billboards this time and found 62 billboards! They started at South Dakota mile marker 410, were individual billboards and occasionally 2 and 3 together.

I noticed a new billboard for Firehouse Brewery, these billboards are unique because they had an actual firetruck next to or a part of the billboard. I did not mark what was the mile marker when I started seeing them but there were 12 firetrucks! Where did they get all of these vintage firetrucks?

Wildlife in the Badlands

   

Badlands SD Prairie Dogs

https://youtu.be/DhzmPFwZE-0

 

 

I have been doing some work on a map to show all of the places we have traveled in an RV. The current trip is in red. Sometimes there is overlap with previous trips, that’s ok too – we are seeing friends and places over again because we enjoy them!

We plan to spend time around Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park and other interesting things to see nearby. See you on the next blog.

 

2019 September, PA, OH, IN, MI, NY, VT

 This is the 1st day of our honeymoon adventure.  Starting Gettysburg Pennsylvania, the mural on the wall of a grocery store was the first attraction on the Lincoln Highway and we decide to have lunch at the Chinese restaurant in the same shopping plaza. Great way to start a road trip!

Round barn attraction but was closed when we're arrived.  It is also a fruit market surrounded by orchards.

Learning how to use the document downloaded from the Lincoln Highway National Foundation and it follows as a Google map but it doesn’t announce as you get to an item in you have to zoom in zoom out made it a little bit challenging but it’s been interesting we missed a few items to some of the items as we’re sitting there on the side of the road where the item is marked and I cannot find it now I don’t think Google missed it and then I found out later because I zoomed out and it was on the next street over so I am just learning how to use the program and we’re going to get more out of this as the trip progresses

Mural on Lincoln Bowling Alley

 

We stopped for the night in a quiet place behind a small office building near Chambersburg, PA. It’s a very pretty place here, really nice and quiet. We brought with us our beautiful wedding bouquet and put it up in our RV. It’s the 1st day of our honeymoon travel. I am so, so, so very happy! See you tomorrow 😊

Starting overnight in a parking lot with bright stars overhead, cool breeze through the windows was a welcoming respite from the summer heat.  The old road was much slower than expected, windy hills steep climbs at slower speeds than were ate accustomed to we DE scuffed to Gerry on the Pennsylvania turnpike until we're free of the mountains. Along the way we followed the gps for our final destination and somehow ended up very looking way from the Lincoln Highway.

RIALTA RALLY, Heartland of Indiana

We spent three days at the Indiana Heartland Rally, in a very nice campground in the middle of endless corn and soybeans fields. We met a lot of very nice and interesting people from various states (there was a couple from Canada too), different backgrounds, ages, interests, who all enjoy exploring life and traveling in their Rialta's! There were maybe about 20-25 Rialta’s there – what a pretty view! We toured each other's campers, saw all kinds of smart and useful modifications people made, and shared “tips and tricks.” The organizers did a great job thinking about ways to bring us together and have fun. We had a nice taco bar and potluck dinner and spent our evenings around the campfire. There were several very talented guitar players among us! I got to listen to a “true gem” of American country music: a gentleman with the deep southern accent (I have never heard such an accent “live” before, only something kind of like that in the movies), who learned to play guitar by ear, without knowing how to read sheet music, and he played the guitar and sang some gospel and other songs so beautifully! Two of our friends, whom we met before, played their guitars and sang very nicely too! We chatted with other fellow RVr’s about travels, interests, families, experiences – all kinds of very interesting conversations. The place where our RV was parked was very pretty:

 Touring each other's RV and sharing ideas for upgrades and improvements I fell in love with the kitchen counter extension.  I got dimensions and pictures to help me construct one for our RV and as soon as I find the material that I want we will make one.

Hitzer Woodstoves, Berne, IN

Small family owned started in 1975. 4 Amish families together create wood and anthracite coal burning stoves.  Both radiant freestanding and inserts.  The grandson of the founder provided a great tour showing his knowledge of every step odd the process. Original sheet metal press, punch machines and shears was the mainstay until very recently a laser cutting machine was purchased.  Keeping the original equipment and doing smaller orders keeps the skills up to date. Production runs from 1000 to 2500 units per year, manufactured year-round.

Swiss Heritage Village and Museum, , Berne, IN

Tour consists of farm buildings with history of early Swiss settlers.

Museum had map of route from Ellis Island to Bernie, IN four early settlers, clothing, books, household furnishing demonstrating fine wood craftsmanship. Print shop equipment, shoemaker, U.S. Mail horse drawn cart, musical instruments, Nobel Prize winner Richard Schrock for chemistry efficiency more environmentally production for pharmaceutical, fuels, synthetic fibers.

We're staying for the night in Berne, IN. It's a small, pretty, friendly town with an extensive Amish community. We saw several buggies while driving around on the country roads. One buggy was full of kids who were looking at our RV with lots of interest. Two worlds meet each other on a small country road: RV travelers out to explore the country and enjoying every new site and experience we encounter; and the kids from a very traditional community that is tightly knit around long-lasting traditions, keeping the way of life that's not open to a lot of new things. We looked at each other with great interest, smiled and waved, and went on to our very different adventures.

We stopped by a woodwork workshop and store, saw some very nicely crafted items, including large, beautiful rocking chairs and small toys and household items. We bought two very cool towel holders, made of two pieces of wood with a small glass ball between them. The wood gets attached to the wall with a piece of sticky paper, similar to that in Command products, and you just slide the towel between those two pieces of wood. To take it out, you gently pull the towel sideways. Very cool!

We also had some really, really good ice cream! I’d say it's the beast ice cream I've had in a very long time. The store is run by a very nice couple who are in their 70s, raised 7 kids, but showing no signs of stopping and made great ice cream! If you happen to be in Berne, IN, you have to stop by this little store called Dee-Zerts.

This small town had a small park with no signs prohibiting overnight parking, so we decided to give it a try and luckily, we're not disturbed.  Several Amish buggy’s rode by with father's taking their children somewhere and they stared at us rather than us staring at them! It really seems that the two cultures co-exist quit well here.  The morning sunrise while doing yoga was absolutely beautiful over the soybean field alongside the park! This has been one of the most restful sleeps I have had this whole trip.

 

Rialta Friends Rally Elkhart, IN old friends and new friends meet for a fun week of social time! Georgia hosted this Rally, and we had a wonderful time.  Tanya worked in the mornings, and we specialize and played tourist in the afternoons.

Tom held an hour event to collaborate with others on internet tools for traveling.  Sharing tips on how to find interesting things to see we all learned different websites and apps that allow us to get the most out of offer travels.

Duane as always provided technical advice and mouse repairs as needed to a few rigs.

Dinner out night we volunteered to carry others in or RV, 2 couples who had met while doing the gram American Tour which is by boat travel up the East coast, Hudson River, locks and canals to Great Lakes, down the Mississippi and around Florida. What a trip! Back in my early Navy days I had thought to live in a sailboat, of course a trip like that would have been perfect!

Happy hour of course is always a special time and strong friendships were developed. Elkhart has many factory tours and the one we enjoyed the most was the RV museum.  Even had Mae West’s RV! Pretty cool stuff.

We left a few days early to head toward Upper Peninsula Michigan for it had long been on Tom's bucket list.  On the way we stop to see Gerald Ford Museum, on the way back we will stop and see his presidential library near Detroit.

Ford had a trying time in the beginning of his administration, deciding to pardon former president Nixon because it would be better for the country to get behind the concerns of Watergate and restore confidence in the government.  A very seasoned politician he did a great job restoring faith in the government.

It's so wonderful to see sports of color as we drive north toward the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Meeting another Rialta in Mackinaw, MI to see the ice breaker ship discovered that they did not know about the Rialta IO group.  Of course, we're shared all about it and since they are headed south also shared that they could meet others still at the Elkhart Rally.  I hope they get to stop and meet other Rialta members.

Camping overnight at a casino in UP we had a very relaxing night, cool weather, quiet night is the best sleeping weather. Heading for a Walmart so we could get a jacket for Tanya and ended up with 2 jackets! Great we are beginning to set up her wardrobe for the 2^nd home.

Tanya's favorite thing about boondocking is taking a shower outside, stopping at a pullout near Whitefish Point she indulges J the Tahquamenon Falls both upper and lower were well maintained and an easy walk.  The largest waterfalls in North America following Niagara Falls it was nice to stop here.

Visiting Whitefish Point Lighthouse and they were closed when we got there.  Discovering that the former crew quarters were rented like a hotel we decided to stay in their parking lot for the night.  Nice to watch sunset and then sunrise from Lake Superior beach!

A young lady arrived packed spotting scope and long lens camera and headed toward the beach.  She is a paid bird migration counter! I followed her down the beach and she shared allot of things about bird watching.  I had always had an interest but never pursued it, now with my newfound knowledge I will try to do a little more bird watching.

Heading over to Grand Maria, MI were truly going boondocking. Sand and gravel roads for 60 miles! Most of the road was 2 lanes wide but some portions were single lane and on one sandy hill we got stuck! No shovel, what to use? The brand-new soup ladle made an excellent choice! Another road turned narrow, and the trees grew close to the road, a new wrap on the RV and I cringed as we continued. What an adventure!

We stayed 2 days in Munising, MI on the UP Michigan at a casino that provided free electric.  The weather was cool so the need for electric was not strong, but we had also picked up a induction hot plate that we wanted to try out.  Tanya cooked a pot of beans for several hours and it worked great.  The other part we picked up was the LP had safety valve for the refrigerator, now the intermittent problem with the refrigerator had been fully solved! Tanya also had a large amount of work to do so the down days were ok for her to so that she did not miss out on the traveling.

A couple of down days from driving was nice, riding the bikes around town, hiking some of the trails in the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline was beautiful! We did not see all if the area for we vowed to return another year and stay for the whole foliage season. If we didn't have the Rialta Rally in Vermont to go to we would have definitely stayed here for another 3 weeks to see the full foliage. That were scattered trees with great color already, but we knew it was too far away from full color for the time we had before being in VT.

Michigan is a beautiful state, I really do see why many people live it here.  Allot of forests, lakes and wonderful people.  Everyone we met here was open and genuinely.  It was a pleasure chasing with strangers everywhere we went.

Stopping at Fanchers Upholstery in southern MI we were able to get the material for window shades.  I had used this material years before on a Class A RV and it most definitely blocks the heat coming in the windows, knowing we will be in the southwest next spring and summer it was a good find.

Touring Rutherford Hayes Presidential Library and home museum was ok, nowhere as good as FDR presidential library in NY but interesting. 2 lane roads in OH

We stopped by the Historic Lyme Village, it turned out to be closed for tours but there was a lot of people there who gathered for a large function. The small visitors center was open, and we looked up information about local events. It turned out that there was a North Coast Oktoberfest in Sandusky, OH that day, so we went there. It was a blast, not very crowded, great entertainment by Bavarian Club. They performed several dances, including the traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler dance and also a dance that was imitating a log cutting competition. The performers brought real logs, saws, and axes, and had a real competition going on the stage! We really enjoyed it. Tanya tried cheese curds, I had a beer or two odd course and tried a brat taco. What a truly melting-pot-American dish! A taco with a bratwurst and sauerkraut :)

After the Oktoberfest, we rode our bikes along the waterfront, it was allot of fun too. For the night, we stayed in a Walmart on the peninsula. It very close to the lake and right next to a small airport, a lot of open space and a nice cool breeze. It was really nice as we slept. In the morning, we watched several small planed taking off – probably sightseeing too! And we are about to take off for another day of our adventure!

We had so looked forward to a tour of a potato chip factory and were a little disappointed to learn that Google Maps does not keep up to date for the factory was sold 7 years ago and the new owners do not offer tours. We did learn though that similar to the chocolate factory they produce the same chips for several different companies. Do you recognize any of these brands? seems to me that the potato chip is the same, but the recipe is different, so purchase the flavors you want in the cheapest brand and you get the same thing!

 

The next stop was also very interesting. Eden, NY home of the original Kazoo! Built in 1907 using electricity from Niagara Falls the original equipment is still being used today. A not-for-profit company now owns it and utilizes handicap employees to manufacture the Kazoos the same way they have always been made! What a great tour!

 

 

 

Visiting Niagara Falls this time as newlyweds we choose to park in RV parking and use the bikes to ride around and see the sights.  Very nice day to be here, sunny, and just a hint of color in the trees.  The spray from the falls was quite chilly and we did not stay very long up close. Choosing not to tour the town for it was quite a drive to the next destination it was a good stop overall.

Canandaigua, NY we arrive too late to tour and Walmart was posted no overnight parking so looking around thought to try a gym parking lot.  24-hour gym was expected to have visitors at any time, and it worked out well for a overnight stay.  I had learned that hotels also do not monitor their parking loss and different vehicles every day, so no one knows you are there.  I call it stealth camping!

Next day laundry and replace the no slip on the RV running boards before going to Grainger Homestead and Carriage Museum.  Beautiful home built by a major landowner and lawyer, they had 90 carriages including sleighs. I am unfamiliar with sleighs and theirs were beautiful, well maintained. The family history was very interesting the docents very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. 

Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion also in Canandaigua had impressive grounds with many gardens designed for different locations around the world must really be beautiful during the spring.  The goose was very impressive, and the wood finishing was spectacular.  What will stay in my memory is the music box with many combos, 2 drums, chimes. Fascinating! There was a sign that spoke of the combs made in Porter, VT and thought to be the best in the world.  Perhaps we can find them when we reach VT.

Watkins Glen, NY we stayed at the Lodge, the short but very steep hill made Tanya gasps, but our trusty Rialta pulled right on up the hill.  I had thoughts of last year in Astoria, OR when I blew the differential on the steep hill.  Fortunately, this one was very short unlike Astoria.

The State Park here has a waterfall that has 197 steps to reach the top.  The bartender at the Lodge told us that as a young man he earned tip money ferrying people to the top.  Now the state had a shuttle to take you up and then you can walk down. The brochure at the park stated there were 800 steps in the whole park! I followed the Gorge Trail and there were allot of steps, the trail climbs 500 feet in 1.1 miles.  A very, very beautiful Gorge cutting through shale.  This is definitely a place worth stopping, you can take the shuttle to the top and thanks the trail going downhill if you like.

I saw the same people who we met at Sonnenburg historical house the day before, chasing with them they are done with their trip and headed to their daughters in New Jersey.  Oh well, would have been nice to caravan for a while.

Deciding to continue on to Fort Drum to check the wheel bearings we lay over in a Walmart where it rained most if the night, nice to relax and enjoy the rain and not be driving.

Spending the day working on the RV at the base auto skills shop we changed the driver's side wheel bearings.  Not an easy task and the proper tools were not available but got it accomplished in 6 hours. Following this the beating temperatures were not right so with advice from my friend Duane I well- be replacing them again when we return from this trip.

We left Fort Drum on Saturday morning and headed out to Adirondacks. There was a light rain in the forest half of the day, so we just keep on driving, looking around at the leaves.  Even though it was cloudy, with a light mist, the leaves were still very pretty. As we were driving, Tom spotted a boat launch with “overnight parking" sign, and we made a turn to explore that parking space.  It turned out to be a nice gravel covered parking area near a Cranberry Lake boat launch. We walked toward the lake and enjoyed the view. The night rest was wonderful, a perfect “sleeping weather,” light wind and occasional light rain, fresh air, not too cold.

Sunday morning, we decided to drive to the Whiteface Mountain. We went there two years ago and climbed all the way to the top where you could see all the surrounding forest, concerned about the Rialta being able to make the very steep climb to the top of White Mountain instead we continued driving just enjoying the scenery.

On Sunday afternoon we found the most amazing place for an overnight stop – Durant Lake boat launch, near Blue Mountain Lake. That's where Tom- stayed with his CPA kayak group when they kayaked around the Adirondacks a couple of years ago.

A boat launch with a picnic table invited us to stay overnight.  Talking to some fishermen they thought the ranger would probably not stop by so we decided to stay there.  This spur and of course others nearby were found on Compendium website.  I highly recommend this website id you live boondocking.

I (Tom) am ready for some real meat so tonight my honey is preparing sweet sausage with potatoes and onions. Mmmmmm I'm in heaven tonight, a great view of the Lake and foliage and a great meal. Some lucky girl will get lucky tonight! Oops she is now my wife, so she is especially lucky too! Ok, honestly my honey does always take very good of me.  I often cook to take care of her, so it is special when a vegetarian (my honey) takes care if me and cooks a meat dish for me. My friend Georgia’s would appreciate this acknowledgment.

Looking out over the lake with some of the trees in foliage color while sitting at the picnicking table my honey comes over and whispers in my ear to tell me dinner is ready……

The morning was quite cold, the window coverings we had made worked great to keep the RV warm. We made them using the same reflective bubble wrap everyone else uses and covered them with a material with aluminum woven through it, this is the same material that cooking hot pads are made of. Very very good insulation! Attached to the windows with command hooks and lowered behind the seats when not in use. The very large window in back is covered the same and stored behind the seats as well. I firmly believe that all extreme temperatures will be better using this insulation.

Traveling east we begin to follow the Hudson River from its origin in the Adirondacks, logging off the forest was very predominant in early 1900. Fort Ticonderoga was closed for maintenance, and we stayed over in a Walmart. Morning shower and breakfast in a really cool local restraint located in downtown Ticonderoga we're some really great pictures of old household items, cute waitress signs too!

Through this entire travel Tanya continues to work remotely. Usually in the RV as I drive along to the next destination and occasionally taking a break outside. Here she is saying what a wonderful opportunity to work and travel at the same time – “SEE MY OFFICE!”

Crown Point state historic site has a good self-guided walking tour. All that remains of the fort is mounds of dirt and 2 large barracks one for officers and one for enlisted men.  It is very clear why this location was used for control for the waterway narrows to ¼ mile. Also, several flocks of migrating water birds (I am not familiar with types of birds) we're resting in the water. An entire flock took off at once and it was an amazing sight to see.

Lake Champlain Marine Museum was as interesting now as it was many years ago when I visited, Tanya got to tour as well and really loved the feel of the floating boat dock and the replica Philadelphia II, one of the gun boats used during the revolutionary war and commanded by Benedict Arnold.  The docent has worked here 28 years and still loves his job!

The entire story of how important the waterway from New York city up the Hudson River, up Lake George, up Lake Champlain, up the Sorrel or Richelieu River to the Saint Lawrence River and Montreal, Canada. Water was the trade route in these times and important control of the waterway controls the inhabitants.

 

We stop at Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream Factory for a quick tour of the ice cream making process. The tour was short but fun and we of course had to get a pint to share. On the way to the campground for the Rialta RV Rally we finished the pint 😊

Rialta’s RV Rally, Braintree, VT October 4-6 2019

Arriving a late in the day spent the night in a warm coach for the temperature has dropped significantly. The other Rialta’s began arriving on Friday and it was so great meeting up with old friends and making new friends.

First nights get together was snacks and social with a game to help us introduce ourselves to others. The Rally is very short, just the weekend and Tanya and I spent 4 days in the campground just talking to people and sharing ideas about Rialta’s. One day for a few hours I got out and went with Nancy and Pat to see some covered bridges, wow there are so many around here!

 

Social hour was well attended each night.

Following the Rally, we head toward home. Stopping to see the Harley Factory in York, PA and Turkey Hill ice cream factory.

The Harley Davidson Factory Tour was a really great tour. A very modern factory with computer guided laser welding machines, 300 Ton punch presses they manufacture 228,000 bikes a year. No bike is started in production until an order is placed. The assembly line does multiple models at the same time, not a separate line for each model.

The were no pictures allowed in the Factory, but these were in the entrance display area. I highly recommend this tour!

 Turkey Hill was not the factory itself, but a museum geared towards children, interesting facts about their history.

Home after 5 weeks Honeymoon travel. Tanya was very emphatic that she does not want to go home, just keep on traveling! See you on the next trip!