The Ray Adventures: Glacier National Park, thru Montana and North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and back to Missouri 9-19

It's been a while since my last blog, I'll try to keep this brief but it's been a busy few weeks.

Monday, Sept. 19th The weather has not been cooperative for us to make the 50 mile Going to the Sun Road, today is not going to be as nice as forecast but we are leaving for points east tomorrow. The road starts at the W. Glacier entrance and travels the width of the park to St. Mary's at the E. Glacier entrance, crossing the continental divide at the summit of Logan Pass 6,646 feet. Some of the highlights are the tunnels, both East and West, imagine the engineering, time and manpower it took to bore through 408ft and 192 ft respectively. The two lane highway had to be cut out of a steep mountainside, taking more than a decade to complete. The Visitor Center at the summit is not heated, the poor rangers work all day in freezing cold weather. The view from the top was beautiful even if it was hampered a bit by snow and low clouds. We weren't dressed for the cold weather so our stop there was brief. The only glacier you can see from the highway is Jackson Glacier, it is, as well all the other glaciers in the park, shrinking. A beautiful park and drive, it is a must for everyone.

Tuesday, Sept. 20, We started our trek across Montana, our first night was at Havre, pronounced Have-er. A rather long day 245 miles, we stayed at a "rustic" county campground A surprising little town, elevation 2,500ft with a population of 9,000. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Wednesday, Sept. 21, another long drive 337 miles to Lewis and Clark State Park North Dakota in the heart of the oil fields. A light rain was falling, add in the mud from the oil trucks and you get one filthy car and coach. We didn't realize the park was so far off the main road, about 20 miles from Williston, ND. on lake Sacajawea.

Thursday, Sept. 22, Another long drive, over 300 miles to Grand Forks AFB fam camp for just one night.

Friday, Sept. 23, A shorter drive today to Lake Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River flow out of the lake which is fed by smaller creeks. We were amazed to see how wide the river grew in a relatively short time. Gary waded across the Mississippi River, about 30 feet wide and 6-8 inches deep, now he's crossed the Mississippi and Rio Grande.(it was all sand at Las Cruces NM. I think we have sworn off staying in state parks, too many trees and very tight spaces, it took Gary 30 minutes to back into our space and on the way out Saturday he hugged a tree. Yikes!!!!!

Saturday, Sept. 24. We drove 175 miles to Monticello, Mn. a suburb of Minneapolis for 3 nights. At this point we were both pretty wiped out after pushing through 3 states in 3 days. The leaves were turning some beautiful colors. The RV park is right on the Mississippi, in fact there were some sandbags left over from some recent flooding.

Sunday, Sept. 25, We drove into Minneapolis, a easy 30 minute drive on Sunday morning, to see the US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. A beautiful new stadium that opened in time for this season. We were bummed, all the tours have been sold out until November, we went to the Pro Shop then decided to walk around the building. We noticed several middle school boys carrying their shoulder pads and helmets into the stadium, they were having scrimmages. As we walked around the building we talked with an employee at a back door. He asked if we had been in to watch a grandson play. Of course we hadn't, so he told us which door to go in and to tell them we were here to watch a grandchild play. Why not? We sat on the 50 yard line and watched #81, our grandson "Chad" play ball. The stadium is beautiful, completely enclosed with lots of glass. Out front is the bow of a Viking ship along with other works of art. We drove through the downtown area to have lunch at Rock Bottom Brewing before heading back to Monticello. Both of us are still frazzled after our quick trip across Hwy 2 in 3 days.

Monday, Sept. 26, We took the day off from sightseeing, we took   Luci for a walk on the nature trail behind the park, beside the Mississippi River. We started geo cacheing, the next thing we knew we were about 3 miles from the park, a .10 of a mile at a time. We did some shopping at Wal-Mart and got our flu shots before I had my hair colored at a salon near the park. Ahh it felt so good to have someone else do my hair.

Tuesday, Sept. 27, We left Monticello after fueling up about 10:30 for our 335 miles to Amana Colonies RV park in Amana, Iowa. We traveled thorough acres and acres and acres (you get the picture) arriving about 5:30 completely pooped, we had a cross wind and the roads in Iowa leave a lot to be desired.
Members of a religious sect from Germany in the 1850's settled along the Iowa River, The 7 colonies thrived until 1932 when they voted to end their communal way of life. From a workshop where beverage coolers were made the Amana Regrigeration grew from kitchen appliances to heating and cooling systems, now owned by Whirlpool.

Wednesday, Sept. 28 We drove to West Branch, Iowa to visit Herbert Hoover's Presidential Library, birthplace home and village.
Hoover, our 31st President, was orphaned at the age of 11, he was sent to live with an Uncle in Newberg Oregon. In 1888 the family moved to Salem, Oregon where he worked at his Uncle's Oregon Land Company. Who knew? He was in the first class at Stanford University graduated with a degree in geology. He worked in the California gold mines and as a mining engineer in Australia. Gary and I were surprised about how little we knew about Hoover, we spent several hours in the library and wandered through the village. After picking up our mail and getting a quick bite at DQ in Iowa City we hurried back to Amana, Gary's sister Suzanne and husband Jeff were on their way from Michigan to visit, about an 8 hour drive. We had yummy wood fired pizza from PHAT Daddy's restaurant in Amana. PHAT stands for "pretty hot and tasty).

Thursday, Sept. 29, After a light breakfast, we pulled the coach together and moved it out of our space, we couldn't spend another night, the park was booked. The four of us headed into the quaint village of Amana, restored to it's 1850 look, we started at the Woolen Mill, you can see how they still make their blankets, etc.,the blankets were beautiful but out of our price range. We strolled through a winery, Suz and I had a few tastes. Man it went straight to my head. We walked through funky shops, picked up some yummy meats at the meat market, Suzanne and I bought a purse and wallet at the leather shop while Gary and Jeff made purchases at the fudge shop. We had a tasty lunch at the Mill Stream Brewer before heading out of town, J & S to Michigan and Gary and I to Winterset, Iowa. Only 140 miles, we made it to Winterset City Park by 5:00. A beautiful park and campground, Cutler-Donahoe Covered bridge is located there now, 79 feet long it was moved from the North River in 1970. Winterset is in Madison County where the Clint Eastwood/Meryl Streep movie Bridges of Madison County was filmed and also the birthplace of John Wayne.

Friday, Sept. 30, We started our day at the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, it's a John Wayne fan's dream. A 2 1/2 million dollar museum dedicated to John Wayne's life showcasing his movie career. A two block walk takes you to the home he was born May 26, 1907, the 13 pound baby boy was named Marion Morrison, the nickname Duke was coined by a neighbor, the Morrison's dog was named Duke and the neighbor used to say "here come the 2 Dukes". The house itself, built in the 1880's is original but the furnishings are period pieces. The family moved to California in 1912 for Mr. Morrison's health. Since I went to the John Wayne museum it was only fair that Gary go to the quilt museum with me. A new exhibit opened that morning featuring quilts old and new with a star pattern. The building was an old JC Penney store. A few blocks down the same street I visited a quilt store which was previously owned by Fons and Porter. That last fact will only mean something to quilters. After lunch at Northside Cafe, where Clint had a scene at the lunch counter, we went off to look at some bridges. Roseman, featured in the movie, is 107 feet long and is still at the original location. It is closed to auto traffic, as is the Cedar Covered bridge which is on the cover of the book. It was moved to it's present location in 1921.

Saturday, Oct. 1, We started our day with about a mile walk to the Clark Tower, located in the park, it is a 3 story lime-stone structure that over looks the Middle River valley. A couple of cars drove up as we were climbing the steps and ladder to the top, the men were in suits and ladies were dressed in dresses and heels. We didn't get the memo, we were way under dressed. A wedding was going to take place but we didn't see the bride and groom. We took a different path to the park, picking up a few gc's. After lunch we checked out Hogback Bridge and visited Covered Bridges Winery for some tastes, Gary had a glass of white and I had a sweet red. Pretty tasty.

Sunday, Oct. 2, Moving day, we left Winterset for St. Joseph Missouri, a180 mile drive on good roads arriving at Beacon RV park, after staying in such a lovely park in Winterset this place was a disappointment, oh well, we've stayed in worse. First thing I did was find a car wash, I couldn't stand driving a dirty car any longer. We had a quiet evening, meeting new neighbors and checking out the neighborhood.

Monday, Oct. 3, There is a lot of history in St. Joseph, founded in 1826 as a fur trading post it became the starting point for many after the discovery of gold in California in 1848. The Pony Express started it's famous mail service on April 3, 1860 when Johnny Fry, the first rider to leave St. Joe, to do the first leg of the 1,900 mile trip to San Francisco. There were 184 stations built along the way, 400 horses and 120 riders were needed. A mochila is a leather cover that went over the saddle, it had four box like pockets that each carried 5 pounds of mail, no more than 20 pounds of mail, each letter cost $5.00 that is $130. in today's money. And we complain about .42 cents. The Pony Express Museum is very well done. We visited the Patee House museum was one of the finest hotels west of the Mississippi and was the headquarters for the Pony Express. Next to the Patee House is Jessie James home, where he was shot and killed in April of 1883, you can still see the bullet hole in the wall.

Tuesday, Oct. 4,    We took Luci down to the walkway along the Missouri River, Gary visited the Remington Nature Center while Luci and I got a much needed walk. Poor Luci snapped at a bee, successfully catching it. She had a reaction, after a $78.00 trip to a local vet and a steroid shot she was fine but a little sleepy the rest of the day.

Wednesday, Oct. 5, One the move again, we left about 10:00 for Abilene, Kansas, just a short 190 mile drive across Hwy 36, the Pony Express Highway to visit Eisenhower's Presidential Library.

Thursday, Oct. 6, We visited the library,
it consists of 5 buildings on 22 acres including his boyhood home in it's original location, the visitor center, museum, library and meditation chapel where Ike and Mamie are buried. We toured his home which contains all original furnishings. After lunch we drove 3 miles west on I-70 to the Russell Stover factory and show room. We sampled a few then settled on a one scoop ice cream. As we left I commented to Gary about the sky, it just looked "eerie". After a quick stop at the Abilene quilt store, the owner said we were under a tornado watch, we headed back to the RV park, as we pulled in we saw a funnel cloud to the west, yes I about pee'd my pants. Fortunately our neighbors were heading out, I ran and asked them where the shelter was. They said to follow them, I raced to the coach and grabbed Luci and headed for the County Courthouse. By the time we got there it was really windy and raining hard. We spent about an hour and a half there, I didn't want to leave since there was still a warning until 9:00. All's well, we got back to the coach and it was still there. An experience I never want to go through again!

Friday, Oct 7, We're out of here! We drove 150 miles to Independence, Mo. Arrowhead stadium is the last NFL stadium on our list. There is one more, the new Rams stadium in LA, we'll have to wait, it's not built yet. We got in early enough to catch the 4:00 tour. What a great way to end stadium trek, recently having undergone a multi million dollar remodel it's is absolutely beautiful, not as nice as Dallas but close. It was just Gary and I on the tour so we literally got a private tour. For dinner we had to have Kansas City BBQ, we ate at the Smoking Pig. Delish, way too much food to eat in one sitting.

That's it for now, I tried to keep it brief but we saw so many things. Enjoy the pic's.

TTFN

Gary and Pam