BACK IN SOUTH DAKOTA FOR ONE DAY

WE WERE  BACK IN SOUTH DAKOTA AFTER THREE  YEARS! WE GOT DARRELL'S DRIVERS LICENSE RENEWED IN 2012.

WE WERE SURPRISED TO SEE EVERYTHING SO GREEN HERE, USUALLY BY THE MIDDLE OF JULY, THE RAIN HAS STOPPED AND EVERYTHING IS BROWN.

THE CROPS LOOKED GOOD TOO, I KNOW SOUTH DAKOTA HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF RAIN THIS YEAR.

YEP, WE KNEW WE WERE BACK IN SOUTH DAKOTA.......COWS!!

WE HAVE RESERVATIONS AT YOGI BEAR CAMPGROUND IN SIOUX FALLS FOR ONE NIGHT. TUESDAY MORNING I WAS GETTING MY DRIVER'S LICENSE RENEWED, BUT, WE NEEDED A PAID RECEIPT FOR ONE NIGHT'S STAY IN SOUTH DAKOTA.

THE REASON WE STAYED HERE IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A HOT TUB! AS SOON AS WE GOT SET UP, WE WENT TO THE HOT TUB. DARRELL  FOUND AN RV PARK IN GRANITE FALLS, MINNESOTA, AT A CASINO WHERE WE CAN HANG OUT FOR A WEEK. IT IS A COUPLE OF HOURS FROM ST. CLOUD. I CALLED TO GET RESERVATIONS FOR A WEEK, SEAN CALLED ME BACK TO SAY HE DIDN'T HAVE A SITE OPEN FOR SEVEN DAYS STRAIGHT. HERE WE GO AGAIN....... I CALLED SEAN BACK TO SAY, YES WE WOULD TAKE A FULL HOOK-UP SITE FROM TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, MOVE TO AN ALL ELECTRIC SITE FOR THE WEEKEND AND THEN BACK TO A FULL HOOK UP SITE. WE WEREN'T THRILLED ABOUT THE MOVING, BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO?
THE NEXT MORNING WE WERE UP EARLY TO GET TO THE DRIVER'S LICENSE BUREAU. I WANTED TO BE FIRST IN LINE.

I WAS SECOND IN LINE, IT ONLY TOOK 23 MINUTES TO GET MY LICENSE.

AND IT IS  GOOD UNTIL 2020!

 WE LEFT SIOUX FALLS  AT 10:30. I DROVE TO GRANITE FALLS. IT FELT GOOD TO DRIVE AGAIN!

WELCOME TO WELCOME!

WE CROSSED OVER INTO MINNESOTA, JUST  FOR ONE NIGHT.

WE HAVE RESERVATIONS AT THE WELCOME RV PARK, A  PASSPORT AMERICA PARK. .

IT WAS A REALLY NICE RV PARK,  WE HAD A LARGE, PULL THRU SITE.

I  EMAILED ST. CLOUD CAMPGROUND FOR RESERVATIONS FOR A MONTH. WE ATE AT PERKINS, WE BOTH HAD HOT TURKEY SANDWICH. VERY GOOD! THEN, OF COURSE, WE WENT TO WALMART. WHILE IN WALMART ST. CLOUD CAMPGROUND  EMAILED ME  BACK SAYING THEY HAD NO SITES OPEN FOR A MONTH'S STAY. WHEN WE GOT HOME DARRELL CALLED THEM TO SEE IF  WE COULD GET ANY  KIND OF SITE. HE TALKED TO MARY AND SHE SAID THEY WERE FULL.....NO SITES OF ANY KIND. WE WERE DISAPPOINTED!  AFTER CALLING SEVERAL CAMPGROUNDS AROUND  ST. CLOUD, WE FINALLY GOT RESERVATIONS AT ST. CLOUD/CLEARWATER RV PARK FOR A MONTH, THE ONLY CATCH WAS THEY HAD NOTHING AVAILABLE UNTIL AUGUST 3. WE WERE TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT WE SHOULD DO. WE HAD TO BE IN ST. CLOUD BY AUGUST 30 FOR THE RV REPAIR, WHILE WE WERE FIGURING IT OUT, WE DROVE THE NEXT DAY TO SIOUX FALLS, S.D. TO GET MY DRIVER'S LICENSE RENEWED.

WISCONSIN

WE GOT A PRETTY EARLY START....9:30, WISCONSIN WAS JUST DOWN THE ROAD.

WE HAD PLANNED ON STAYING AT WISCONSIN DELLS FOR A FEW DAY. WISCONSIN DELLS IS  THE WATER PARK CAPITAL OF THE WORLD,

 BUT IT WAS THE WEEKEND AND IT WAS A CRAZY, BUSY PLACE. THE RV PARKS WERE $57.00 A NIGHT.

WE STOPPED AND BOUGHT GAS AND WHILE I WAS WALKING MAGGIE AND MARLEE DARRELL FOUND US A KOA DOWN THE ROAD AT OAKDALE, WISCONSIN. SO, WE KEPT GOING.

THIS WAS A VERY NICE KOA AND WE HAD A GREAT RV  SPOT.

BY NOW IT WAS FRIDAY, JULY 17, WE WERE STAYING HERE  FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT.  WE WERE ON I 90 NOW, IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE TRAVELED I 90......  THREE  YEARS!  WE HAD A KOA BREAKFAST THE NEXT MORNING.  I STARTED IN CLEANING THE HOUSE AND WASHING CLOTHES. DARRELL WAS WORKING OUTSIDE. LATER THAT AFTERNOON WE DROVE OVER TO TOMAH, WISCONSIN.GUESS THEY GROW CRANBERRIES HERE....WHO KNEW????

STOPPED AT THIS CHEESE SHOP AND BOUGHT SOME CHEESE.

FOUND THE MOVIE THEATRE AND WENT IN AND BOUGHT POPCORN, THEN HEADED FOR HOME. LEAVING FOR MINNESOTA IN THE MORNING, HAD RESERVATIONS IN WELCOME, MINNESOTA.

UTICA, ILLINOIS

IT WASN'T TOO  FAR  TO  ILLINOIS......WE WERE ONLY DRIVING A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILES A DAY.

WE DROVE ACROSS THE ILLINOIS RIVER.

HICKORY HOLLOW RV PARK IS A PASSPORT AMERICA PARK.

IT WAS A NICE RV PARK, BUT THEY ONLY HONORED THE PASSPORT PRICE FOR TWO NIGHTS. WE HAD A NICE SPOT.

WE WERE SET UP BY 1:30. TOM FROM  PLEASURELAND RV  CALLED AND SAID DOMETIC WOULDN'T SEND THE COOLING UNIT. DARRELL  CALLED  DOMETIC  TO FIND OUT WHY THEY WOULDN'T SEND THE UNIT.  AFTER SPEAKING  WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE,  DOMETIC SAID THEY WOULD CALL TOM AT PLEASURELAND  AND GET IT SET UP. WE DROVE IN TO THE LITTLE TOWN OF UTICA AND BOUGHT SOME HOMEMADE SAUSAGE AT A LITTLE GROCERY STORE AND CAME HOME AND MADE MACARONI AND  TOMATOES WITH THE SAUSAGE. IT WAS VERY GOOD! IT WAS CLOUDY AND RAINY ALL THE NEXT DAY, DARRELL WASHED TWO LOADS OF CLOTHES IN THE MORNING. WE DROVE OVER TO PERU, ILLINOIS TO WALMART AND HAD LUNCH AT OLIVE GARDEN.

WE HAD NOT HEARD ANY THING FROM TOM ABOUT THE COOLING UNIT, DARRELL  CALLED AND LEFT HIM A MESSAGE. WE WERE STARTING TO GET WORRIED. ON THE WAY HOME WE NOTICED THIS J.C. WHITNEY AUTOMOTIVE STORE. WE HAD ORDERED MANY AN ITEM FROM THEM OVER THE YEARS. WE STOPPED TO TAKE A LOOK.

WHEN WE GOT BACK IN THE TRUCK, TOM CALLED AND SAID THE COOLING UNIT WAS ON IT'S WAY TO THEM AND WE HAD AN APPOINTMENT FOR AUGUST 30  TO HAVE IT PUT IN. WE WERE SO HAPPY! IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE HAD A WORKING REFRIGERATOR. WE WERE LEAVING THE NEXT DAY FOR WISCONSIN DELLS, WISCONSIN. 

CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA

WE DROVE  THROUGH THIS TUNNEL............

 AND  ACROSS THIS BRIDGE...........

 TO CROSS THIS RIVER...........

TO GET TO  INDIANA.......

THE LANDSCAPE HAD CHANGED DRAMATICALLY!

WE WERE BACK IN FLAT COUNTRY...NO MOUNTAINS....JUST . CORN FIELDS.......

WE FOUND THE KOA IN  CRAWFORDSVILLE WITHOUT MRS. GARMIN.

THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME STAYING AT A KOA..... IT WAS AN OK PARK, NOTHING SPECIAL.

DARRELL HAD A TOUGH  TIME GETTING SATELLITE TV!  FINALLY, HE FOUND A COMBINATION THAT WORKED:  SATELLITE DISH ON PICNIC TABLE!

LOTS OF SHADE TREES!
 THE NEXT MORNING WE WENT TO CRACKER BARREL FOR  BREAKFAST. WE STOPPPED BY THE VISITOR CENTER TO SEE WHAT THERE IS TO SEE AROUND HERE.

THERE IS A COVERED BRIDGE NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE.  WE COULDN'T GO TODAY, WE HAD TO GET HOME SO DARRELL COULD CALL  PLEASURELAND  RV REPAIR  IN ST. CLOUD TO  GET THEM  TO ORDER A NEW COOLING UNIT FOR OUR REFRIGERATOR. IT STORMED OFF AND ON ALL NIGHT, MAGGIE WAS SO SCARED!
THE NEXT MORNING WE WERE UNSURE OF THE DIRECTIONS TO THE COVERED BRIDGE, SO WE STOPPED BY THE VISITOR CENTER AGAIN FOR DIRECTIONS. THE NICE YOUNG LADY IN THERE TOLD US WE SHOULD  STOP  BY  THIS  LITTLE CABIN AND WALK AROUND. IT WAS JUST DOWN THE ROAD.

 THEN WE SET OFF TO FIND THE BRIDGE.

WE GOT TO SEE SOME  BEAUTIFUL  SCENERY DRIVING OVER HERE, BUT NO AMISH IN THIS PART OF INDIANA.

THEY KAYAK AND CANOE ON THIS RIVER, BUT DUE TO THE RAIN LAST NIGHT THE RIVER WAS RUNNING TOO FAST.

WE STOPPED BY WALMART BEFORE HEADING HOME. I MADE RESERVATIONS AT HICKORY HOLLOW RV PARK IN UTICA, ILLINOIS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

KENTUCKY

WE GOT AN EARLY START THIS MORNING....WE HAD ENJOYED OUR THREE DAYS IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. IT WASN'T LONG AND WE WERE IN KENTUCKY.

WE STOPPED AT THE WELCOME CENTER AND PICKED UP SOME TOURIST INFORMATION.

OMINOUS CLOUDS AHEAD!

 WE WERE LUCKY AGAIN, TORNADOS ALL AROUND US, WE JUST GOT RAIN. WE STOPPED IN LEXINGTON AT THE HORSE PARK CAMPGROUND, BUT THEY HAD NOTHING AVAILABLE. A VERY NICE GIRL AT THE GATE RECOMMENDED TAYLORSVILLE STATE PARK.  IT WAS JUST A SHORT DRIVE.  WE GOT LUCKY AGAIN! WE STAYED IN THIS BEAUTIFUL LARGE, PULL THRU SITE.

THESE SITES ARE RESERVED FOR HORSE RIDERS, AND THEIR CAMPER/HORSE TRAILERS, BUT THE TRAILS ARE SO MUDDY FROM ALL THE RAIN THEY'VE HAD, THE TRAILS ARE CLOSED. I DON'T KNOW IF THE GRASS HERE IS KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS OR NOT, BUT IT IS THE GREENEST, THICKEST GRASS I HAVE EVER SEEN.

WE STAYED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. I TRIED TO PUT OUR NEXT DESTINATION, INDIANA IN MRS. GARMIN, THERE WAS NO INDIANA! TIME TO RELOAD THE MAPS.  NO WIFI  HERE,  SO WE WENT TO TAYLORSVILLE SUNDAY MORNING TO MCDONALD'S , BREAKFAST AND WIFI!  I COULD NOT GET THE MAPS LOADED....WE WOULD HAVE TO GO BLIND AGAIN!!! IT WAS CLOUDY  AND DRIPPY  THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE IN KENTUCKY. WE LEFT FOR  CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA THE NEXT MORNING, WE WERE READING OUR MAPS!