Saturday July 31st Wind Cave National Park

Decided to visit Wind Cave National Park this morning. We drove through part of Custer State Park again and continued to see more wildlife. We saw buffalo also in Wind Cave NP. This area has some unique scenery and the caves. The lines were too long for us to get a tour of the caves but we did see a movie about the history and video of the caves. Wind Cave is the fourth longest cave in the world with 132 miles of passageways with boxwork, frostwork and popcorn crystals. This is out 7th National Park.

Friday July 30th Grazy Horse Memorial

Today we left the campsite early AM and drove through the Custer State Park (check the blogs Custer State Park Scenic and Custer State Park Wildlife) and visited Crazy Horse Memorial. What a great day, great scenery, lots of wildlife and the amazing Crazy Horse Memorial. Yvonne and I visited this area back in 2004 and were impressed at that time with this area of South Dakota. The marble statute of Crazy Horse on his horse is what the mountain will look like once completed. We noticed little change in 6 years and it won't be completed in our lifetime. Its a slow process and receives not Federal or State funds to support the project. The family of the original sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski are continuing his efforts which he stated in 1948 at the request of the Native American Indian tribes of the Black Hills.

Friday July 30th Custer State Park Scenic Drive

The drive through the scenic portion of Custer State Park was great. The rock formations were something to see and we had to pass through 9 tunnels along the route. The tunnel pictured was the the most interesting. As you can see the small motorhome didn't have much space to spare. In fact Ivan and I had to guide him through with only inches to spare.

Friday July 30th Custer State Park Wildlife

Custer State Park is known for its wildlife and today we were lucky to see lots of it. The buffalo were everywhere along with lots of other wildlife. The drive through the wildlife loop part of the park was amazing.

Thursday July 29th Mt Rushmore SD

Dakota RV was able to replace our rear air conditioner the first thing in the morning so we were in our campground and hooked up by noon. Ivan, Randi, Yvonne and I then drove over to Mt Rushmore National Park for the afternoon. This was Yvonne and my second trip here. Pictures do not do this memorial justice, you have to see it in person. We hiked the Presidents Trail around the base of the mountain and had some great views. This area of the Black Hills is forested and the rock formations are very unique. We left just in time, as a major rain and wind storm hit the area. I left my flag pole up and when we returned to the campground it had snapped off at the base. It will now we about 2 feet shorter.

Wall Drugs and our Camping Site

After visiting the Badlands National Park we stopped by Wall Drugs. Wall Drugs has been around since the 1930's and is a famous stop for travelers on the I90. We shopped and had lunch at their cafe. Wednesday night we stayed at the Dakota RV Repair Facility where our rear air conditioner will be replaced tomorrow. They provided us with free AC for the night. I tested the heavy equipment next door and may go to work for the highway department here. Looking forward to hooking back up with Ivan and Randi on Thursday.

Wednesday July 28th Badlands National Park

After crossing the Missouri River we traveled through the grasslands of South Dakota and arrive at the Badlands National Park. Very interesting area of South Dakota. The views were wonderful.

Wednesday July 28th Missouri River

Left Mitchell SD early this morning and stopped at the visitor center on the Missouri River. This is the spot where Louis and Clark camped in 1804 and on their return in 1806. This part of South Dakota is rolling hills and lots of wheat fields. Great drive on highway 90 with a nice tail wind, which is great for the gas milege.

Tuesday July 27th

Left Clear Lake around 7AM and arrived in Mitchell South Dakota early afternoon, about 300 miles. After getting set up in the campground we drove a few miles to the famous Corn Palace. The Corn Palace first built in 1892. Each year the outside of the Palace changes with a different theme. They use local corn and corn stocks to make the outside of the Palace. Inside the displays are also make from corn. They hold concerts and other events inside the Palace. Very interesting. Fired up the barbque for hamburgers for dinner and had a heavy rain storm around 9:30 and it only lasted for about 1 hour.

Monday July 26th Clear Lake Iowa

Today we drove about 160 miles to Clear Lake Iowa to hook back up with Ivan and Randi. Clear Lake is a resort town and the downtown was very nice. We were surprised how large the lake was. Its a 13 mile drive around the lake. Tomorrow the Bike Across Iowa is scheduled to arrive in town so we will be leaving early to avoid the crowds and traffic. The weather has been nice the past few days so we hope it continues are we head to South Dakota.

Sunday July 25th Last Day in Manchester Iowa

Today was our last day in Manchester Iowa. We had a great visit this past week with my cousins Jack and Janet. We experienced one of the worst storms in Iowa history and the flooding that followed. Today we had great weather and spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the inside and outside of the motorhome. Getting ready to get back on the road again. We all went out to dinner at the Pizza Ranch in Manchester. The flood waters have started retreating and hopefully Manchester will be back to normal by Friday. Friday about 17,000 people will be in town for the Ride Across Iowa Bike Ride as Manchester is an overnight stop over for the ride.

Saturday July 24th More Flooding

Another night of heavy rain, around 3 inches. With three nights of heavy rain the rivers in eastern Iowa are all above flood stages. We drove downtown Manchester again today and noticed that the flooding was even worst than yesterday. Many more building are under water and now homes have been affected. We are still ok in the fairgrounds campground. Hopefully we won't have problems getting back on the road on Monday. This is a big deal in town and the town is full of people checking out the flooding. Many of the other towns in eastern Iowa have also been flooded and one dam about 10 miles from here cracked and will probably break and flood the town. No rain expected tonight and we hope it dries out tomorrow.

Friday July 23rd The Flood

Last night we had between 4 and 5 nches of rain with constant lightening and thunder. Parts of downtown Manchester today are underwater and the main road into town is closed. This is the worst flooding that has hit this area in many years.

The campground is on higher ground so we are fine but a lot of campers have been arriving from other campgrounds in the area which have been evacuated. More rain coming later this evening so should see even more flooding tomorrow.

Thursday July 22nd Rest Day

No trips were planned for Thursday so decided to wash the car. We spent the day relaxing and catching up with my cousins Jack and Janet. Went by Janets house and picked some fresh items out of her garden for dinner. That night Jack prepared a Texas barbque with brisket and smoked sausage. Yvonne drove out to one of the local farms and pickup up fresh sweet corn. Jacks high school buddy and his wife joined us for dinner. We retired to the motorhome around 9:30 and at 10:30 a severe thunder storm hit the area. Lasted all night. Welcome to the mid-west.

Wednesday July 21st Marion and Maid-Rite

Iowa is filled with small farming towns, but most have seen better days like Greeley IA. Marion is still an active town with an historic downtown. We drove over to Marion, where my cousin Jack grew up and had lunch at the famous Maid-Rite Cafe. Maid-Rite sandwiches are similar to sloppy joes except there are made without the red sauce. Its just ground beef, pickles and seasoning and served with onion rings. The cafe has been in business and serving Maid-Rites since 1926.

Wednesday evening Jack fired up the barbque and cooked stuffed Iowa pork chops. There are pork chops, then there are Iowa pork chops. Yvonne and I will stock the freezer before we leave Iowa.