Another Week In Elkhart

A very common site here in several areas in
this part of Indiana.  Many stores provide
'parking' (sometimes covered) for the horses
while you shop

This has been a very warm and humid week in Indiana.  We're not complaining though when we see the temperatures in the Phoenix area.  Wow.......we thought it was hot last year when we spent the summer there but I believe this summer beats that.  We have had more rain including some thunder and lightening but nothing as serious as they predicted.

We enjoyed company last Sunday.  Some friends from TN who were in the area for a few days stopped by.  When we met them a few years ago, we discovered that she and I are from the same hometown, Morris, IL and even went to the same high school for a short time.  Her family moved, however, her brother and family still live in Morris and 'back then' my parents, as farmers, patronized her parents implement shop.  Wow....small world!!

We also did another RV factory tour about two hours from Elkhart one day.  Very interesting.....we have learned a lot taking these tours 'in the event we ever want to buy another one.'

There really isn't too much exciting to share this week.  It has been a week of housekeeping, both inside and out, an oil change in the car, some shopping for yours truly, some good food (we eat way too much when in this area for some reason......no willpower) and some visits with campground neighbors.  Murphy hasn't caught a gopher yet but is still trying every time we go outside.  In fact, as I type this he's laying looking out the screen door just itching to get out there again.

Our friends here purchased a 'new to them' 5th wheel last fall and for many reasons haven't been able to use it yet.   They have had fun 'making it their own' (she is an AWESOME quilter and has even made a quilt just for the RV).   They are planning to bring it to the campground while we're here for their 'shakedown cruise' and we look forward to sharing whatever tips we can give them in hopes they will enjoy RVing as much as we do.

This particular area of IN is along what is known as the Heritage Trail and is famous for their Quilt Gardens which are in full bloom right now.  There are 19 gardens, in various areas along the trail, each a replica of a different quilt pattern and I've attached a picture below of one of them.  We've done much of the Heritage Trail over the years but we haven't driven it from one end to the other.  You can pick up an audio tour CD at the Elkhart Visitor Center and just follow it through Elkhart, Bristol, Middlebury, Shipshewana, Goshen, Nappanee and Wakarusa and we may do that on our next trip.  I want to visit some of the other Quilt Gardens this next week so will post pictures then.

Yesterday (Saturday) after running some errands we stopped for lunch at a soda shop/diner that has been featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, the TV show, plus it has been recommended by some RVing friends.  My sandwich (turkey club croissant) was very good, Dick's burger was 'ok' BUT his hot fudge sundae was like one we haven't seen in a long time.  It was huge with lots of hot fudge.  Of course, we had to take a picture and I've posted below.  And yes......he ate it all!!!

We're expecting this park to fill up this week as the 4th of July approaches and folks want to be off the roads for the holiday.  We're glad to be parked, RV work done, and able to just enjoy the area for another week.  We will begin to plan our next destination which will be in VA to visit Dick's niece and family.

Until next time.......Happy Birthday America!!   Everyone be safe out there.......

Worth every calorie he said!

Beautiful flowers are everywhere.  This particular picture is at the
Shipshewana Furniture Store

Never a weed in sight!!

'Quilt Garden' at the famous Das Dutchman Essenhaus Restaurant in
Middlebury, IN.  Pattern is a Double Wedding Ring

Second Week In Elkhart

This has been a week of RV repairs at Haulmark, a return trip to one of the RV factories, towing mechanism all installed on new car (no more following behind.....hopefully), meeting new people at campground, some rain, Murphy getting to play all day at 'doggie day camp' a little shopping for yours truly, and a little touring of the local area.

We were at Haulmark bright and early Monday a.m. (6 a.m. so up at 4 a.m. to get ready and things put away).  They got right to us and fortunately we were back at the RV park by noon.  Some parts had to be ordered so it means a second trip later in the week but most things were easily accomplished.  It was nice to see everyone at Haulmark again since we got to know them very well three years ago when we were there a lot watching the coach being built.  All those employees are still there, families have grown and changed, and a few employees have even been added since business is improving.

On Tuesday we went back to Newmar and did another tour.  We enjoyed the first one but the regular tour guide had been out of town so we went back hoping she'd be back.  She wasn't but it was still another good tour and at the end we saw even different coaches that had been completed.  One being a beautiful HUGE 'top of the line' Newmar going to British Columbia that was all custom and we weren't allowed to go inside that one.  The outside was beautifully painted black/white/silver so I can only imagine what the inside looked like.   On our way back from this tour we stopped for lunch in Wakarusa, a very small town between Nappanee and Elkhart along the Heritage Trail.   We spent several weeks over the years in Wakarusa when we had our Travel Supreme 5th wheel because this is where they were located and we would come back for service.  It is a cute little town, with one stoplight, a couple of restaurants, some family owned businesses, one of which is the Wakarusa Hardware that has been selling items from its 'wall of 1000 drawers' (remember in the movies all the wooden drawers in hardware stores 'back in the day').  There is also a Wakarusa Dime Store, famous for 'Jumbo Jelly Beans' and aisles of all the candy and gum we remember as kids......Bit-O-Honey, bubble gum cigarettes, candy necklaces, Beemans and clove gum to name a few.   This little town is so neatly kept with flower baskets hanging on the street corners and maple trees lining the main street.

Wednesday we went to the RV Hall of Fame and Museum.  This is a gem of a museum if you want to see the RV's of the past.  They have many and have done a wonderful job of showing them off.   There is also a wonderful library of any RV magazine or book you can imagine.   There are hopes and plans for displaying many more as time and money permit.  We were privileged to sit and visit with Al Hesselbert, historian, curator and librarian for the museum.    He is a very interesting gentleman with many RVing stories to tell from years past.  He is 71 I believe he said and still RVs in his 'vintage' Newell motorhome.  His travels don't take him to as many places now but he still goes to FL in the winter, and then two or three other places throughout the year.  In fact, his Newell is parked in our campground in storage, until he needs it next.

Thursday was housekeeping day for Murphy and I as Dick took the car to have all the towing gear installed.  This was pretty much an all day job so Murphy and I held the fort down here at home.  Haulmark called and the parts are in so Friday a.m. we'll go back there to complete that task.

Murphy has been 'chomping at the bit' to get to day camp so while the rig was at Haulmark on Friday, he got to go to camp and boy did he come home exhausted.  He plays and plays and plays......this particular 'camp' is the best we've encountered as she has 10 acres, some inside and some outside, and they have all kinds of doggie play equipment, doggie pools, birthday parties, you name it.  He slept well Friday night and was pretty lazy even Saturday.

One of the things we wanted to see this week was a 9/11 memorial steel beam that was erected here in Elkhart at the Osolo Township Fire Department.  They received this beam in the summer of 2011 and now have made a permanent memorial at the station for the public to see.  We were here in Elkhart when the beam arrived in town in 2011 but we didn't know it until the motorcade was over with (and it was quite the motorcade we heard later with hundreds of motorcycle riders and cars following it from Ft. Wayne to Elkhart).  The fire department had requested it in 2009 and realize it was quite an honor to have been granted that request so they have really made a wonderful memorial with a brick walkway up to the memorial containing the 9 names of people from IN that were lost on 9/11.  There is also a stainless steel book containing the 2976 victims names on display near the beam.  This 'book' was donated by a local metal etching company who also donated a book that rests at the base of a cross near  Ground Zero.  Very impressive to say the least!

We had dinner Saturday evening with our friends Craig and Cheryl and then back to their beautiful country home for dessert....fresh strawberry shortcake!!  Today some friends from TN are coming by for a visit.  It has been several years since we've seen them so it will be fun to catch up and we hope to see them again when we get to Crossville, TN in a few weeks.

Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful week.  The weather is warming up here in the midwest (90's today so that means higher humidity as well) and it looks like it'll be here to stay for the next week or so.  Summer has arrived.

Here are a few pictures from this past week.

Murphy found a gopher (one of many) in this campground
and he was bound & determined to get it!! (He didn't)

One of many hanging baskets along
the streets of Wakarusa, IN

An old-fashioned Dime Store in Wakarusa

One of the many many flavors they have of these jelly beans

9-11 Metal Etched book with all the names of the victims

Steel Beam from one of the Towers destroyed on 9-11

9-11 Memorial at Osolo Fire Department in Elkhart, IN

RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN

One of many 'housecars' on display at the museum  This one is a 1928
Pierce Arrow Fleet Housecar, one of only three built before the market crash
of 1929 which ended the manufacturing of these 'luxury' housecars.

1958 Airstream, the smallest Airstream ever built

I saw these swans enjoying an early morning 'sail' on Lake Simonton
near our campground when I was taking a bike ride

First Week in Elkhart

My dad many years on Christmas morning!
ALWAYS wore those bib overalls

Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there both young and old.  It's pretty easy to become a father, but a 'dad' is something special and I miss and think of mine every day.  I know that he is watching from above and I hope he's proud of what he sees from his two children and their families.

I do want to make a correction to last week's blog.  I wrote about the 800+ truck parking at the Walcot, IA exit and that it was a Pilot station when in fact it is Travel America (TA as referred to by the truckers).  There are two Pilot/Flying J stations also at that intersection but both much smaller than the TA.

As for this past week, we hoped for some nice weather but, of course, we are in 'humid' country now so we have had to adjust our bodies to 99% humidity some days, a little rain a couple of afternoons and/or evenings and some pretty serious thunderstorms one night this past week.

Indiana is well-known for many RV factories (not as many as earlier years since the economic downturn) and we had on our list of 'things to do while here' a couple of RV factory tours to see what's on the market now.  We did a tour of the Newmar factory on Tuesday and learned a lot about that brand.  Friday we did a tour of the Jayco Factory/Entegra Division and again learned even more about their product.  Each manufacturer does things just a bit differently and we have always been interested/concerned about how these big coaches are built since this is our home that has wheels and travels over some roads that aren't always in the best condition.  We also took a drive to Grand Rapids, MI and visited a Newmar dealer that I had read a lot of positive comments about on the web and can say that we would say positive things too now that we've been there.  It amazes us that both of these manufacturers can't build coaches fast enough to have any on display.  Newmar builds 5 a day (up from 3 in the downturn years) and Entegra builds 12 (up from 7).  As fast as they can build them, they are sold to the dealers across the country and most are sold to the consumer by the time they reach the dealer.  In other words, people are buying from pictures, the web, past experience with that brand or word of mouth.  Kind of hard to believe but we'd have to say the economy is doing better in the RV world.  We were able to see a coach or two at the end of each tour but each day it's different depending on what model they're building so you never know what you'll see and those are shipped to a dealer within the next day or two.

It is very obvious here in the Elkhart area that the economy is better.  Since this area is known as the RV capital of the world, there are many many other RV related companies/products made in this area all of which are also doing better and hiring back people who may have been released during the downturn which has the domino effect on restaurants, shopping, etc.  All good news for the area.

Both of the manufacturers we toured hire many Amish folk.  The hours work well with their farming since most start at 5 or 6 a.m. and finish by 1:30 or 2 p.m. giving them time to go home and work in the fields before dark.  The Amish are fabulous wood crafters and we know from past experience they make great cabinets in these RVs.  They prefer to not have their pictures taken, nor did the factory tours allow pictures, so I can't provide you with any but take my word,  it is impressive to watch them go from a bare chassis to a finished 40+ foot motorhome.

Dick took our

motorhome on Friday to a Freightliner service center for a 33 point tune up as they called it.  For those family and friends that are reading this and not familiar with an oil change in a motorhome......Freightliner used 47 quarts of oil so as Dick says, 'a quart low in this world, doesn't mean much'.  Tomorrow we have to be at Haulmark at 6 a.m. (remember I said they start early) and we're hoping our punch list will only take two days to fix but we'll see.

While Dick was at Freightliner, I went to Linda's Camp K-9, where Murphy LOVES to go for day camp.  She is very particular with which dogs she allows to play and/or board, so I took all of his papers to show that he was current with shots, etc.   He 'played' a lot there in 2010 when we were here for so long getting this coach built, so he knew IMMEDIATELY where we were when we got out of the car & as soon as I opened the door, he wanted to go back and play.  Unfortunately, one test was outdated (they missed it in AZ in April) so he couldn't stay and was disappointed to say the least when I put him back in the car.  We got that test on Saturday and should have the results tomorrow so hopefully by Tuesday he can go back and play a couple of times while we're here.

Cute little bus outside Linda's doggie camp

Last evening we had dinner at Antonio's here in Elkhart with some good friends who live in this area.  They were our neighbors in Apple Valley, CA many years ago and we have stayed in touch.  Cheryl is a fabulous quilter so I look forward to seeing what she has been working on lately when we get together again.  Her husband, Craig, just retired this week from the school district and is already talking about applying to be a tour bus driver so I'm guessing the word 'retirement' isn't in his vocabulary just yet.

Today, Father's Day, is a bright sunny morning with some rain predicted for later this afternoon.  In the meantime, we'll take all the sun we can get.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Beautiful Weather in Illinois But More Rain Coming

We were finally able to catch up with one of my former Verizon bosses and her husband in Rapid City on Monday.  They are fulltimers too and our paths hadn't crossed for awhile.  It was nice to catch up over a nice lunch at Sanfords, the place with all the 'garage memorabilia' I talked about last week.  Then we went to see each others 'home on wheels' and visited some more and were entertained by Tucker, their Aussiepoo.  He 'sings/barks' along with Todd when he plays 'Happy Trails' on the guitar.  I must say it was quite entertaining and something I've heard that dogs can do, but never actually witnessed it.  I told them they need to do a YouTube video on it.

We left on Tuesday as planned and made it to a WalMart parking lot in Worthington, MN, 400 miles, for the night.  Of course, some rain but nothing serious.  Apparently, Walmart is the place to stay in that area because there were several of us, along with some semis, there for the night.  Wednesday we traveled as far as the I-80 Truck Stop in Walcott, IA(another 410 mile day).  We had a LOT of rain most of Wednesday so was glad when that driving day was over.  I guess those of us in the SW, that aren't used to rain, have become 'wimps' at driving in it because people just passed us like we were standing still and that makes me very nervous.  Remember, I'm following Dick in the new car because we don't have all the towing stuff installed yet!

That entire exit for the I-80 truck stop, known as the world's largest truck stop, is something else.  Two HUGE pilot fuel stations, restaurants, CB radio shop and anything else that a trucker might need/want.  The one Pilot station where we stayed can hold 800+ semis in the parking lot so you can imagine how big it is.  We quit about 4 p.m. and by 8 p.m. the lot was almost full.  We were off in a far corner and 'hoped' to have no one next to us but by 9 p.m. we had a semi on each side.  One side the driver didn't turn his engine off all night.........grrrr!!!!  I do admit though that you kinda get used to the 'hum' of the engine and after awhile you barely notice it.  Of course, they come and go all night so that can be interesting.

I-80 Truck Stop in Walcot, IA

Thursday was a short driving day with only about 130 miles before we arrived at my brothers in Illinois about noon after driving in rain up until about 5 miles from their house.  It was the craziest feeling to be in all this rain and then all of a sudden it stopped and the sun was out and Jerry was actually planting beans in the field.  He only had about 2 days of planting left and was working frantically to get done before the next storm comes on Sunday.

The price is right for this 'farm campground' with 50 amp service

We enjoyed our visit with the family although we didn't get to visit with Jerry much at all.  He did finish the beans Friday evening and is now helping a neighbor.  Becky and I and her daughters did lots of fun girl things......manicures, pedicures, shopping, lunch, etc. so the time went by quickly for me.  Dick usually spends our time there washing/waxing the rig and car but with more rain predicted for Sunday when we were to travel again, it seemed senseless.  We got to meet my great-niece who is almost two, and quite the little charmer.  It was hard to say goodbye to her, because this is such a cute age and she is such a happy little girl to be around.  We said our good-byes this morning over breakfast and headed to Elkhart, IN, an easy 2.5 hour drive.  We like doing this drive on a Sunday morning because the traffic/construction is much lighter on Sunday through Chicago and that held true today.

Last evening before leaving we took a drive to Marseilles, IL, a little town of about 5000 people not far from where we grew up.  In fact, Dick & I lived in Marseilles for several years after we were first married.  There is a granite Memorial Wall sitting on the banks of the Illinois River there that most people don't even know about.   It is called the Middle East Conflict Memorial Wall and contains 7000+ names of those lost in worldwide conflicts since 1979.  It is quite impressive, especially since it is totally supported by the Illinois Motorcycle Association and was built entirely with donated material and labor and is the first of its kind in the U.S. to give honor to our fallen by name while the Middle East Conflict is ongoing.  There will be as many as 10,000 motorcycle riders descend upon Marseilles next weekend to pay tribute and more names will be added.  Needless to say this little town and the surrounding area are overtaken with motorcycle riders that day and my brother tells the story that about 3 years ago he waited at a corner near their house for 50 minutes while a massive line of motorcycle riders got off of Interstate 80 at the Marseilles exit headed to this 'Freedom Run' as it's called.   You can read much more about this memorial on the internet if you are interested.   It was the perfect ending to a nice few days with family.  Marseilles was also hit very hard recently with flooding of the IL River so the financial impact of these people coming next weekend will be a huge boost to their economy.

Middle East Conflict Memorial Wall

We are currently settled here at the Elkhart Campground for the next month as we get some things taken care of here.  It is one of those campgrounds that is considerably cheaper by the month so this will be home until early July.  We haven't had the predicted rain yet today but we can see it coming and is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  What a surprise!

Have a good week ahead and for our family/friends in Phoenix, I'd say 'stay cool' but I don't think that will be happening anytime soon.

Finally........Sunshine in Rapid City Today (Sunday)

We are near a Flying J and this was
the sign one morning about 11 a.m.

I started this blog yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and it was still ugly outside.  Finally about 8 p.m. the wind magically died down and it was a most pleasant night for sleeping......finally.  It is now Sunday morning and we haven't had any rain in about 24 hours, the sun comes and goes, and the breeze is picking up.  We aren't supposed to have winds over 15 mph today and no rain so we're going to take a drive and check a few things out.  In the meantime, this is what I had written as of yesterday.

-----------

Once again as I start this blog, I must pay tribute to the folks yet again in OK that were hit with more tornados this week, as well as parts of MO.  Plus the four brave firefighters in Houston that died while fighting the hotel fire on Friday as well.   To all the families of those lost and injured in both disasters......God Bless You all!

Wow........we cannot believe how much wind, rain and even some hail we have seen these past two weeks.  And with all the wind, 30+ MPH most days AND nights, the temp doesn't get above 50-55 and feels a lot colder plus the rain.  Basically, it has been miserable all except for a day or two.  After watching the above mentioned catastrophes on TV, I really should not complain but it just doesn't make it any fun to go out sightseeing in the rain so we have pretty much skipped that for this trip especially since we've done a lot of the 'well known' touristy things in this area before (Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Bear Country, the Black Hills Steam Train, Sturgis, and Deadwood are the ones I recall at this moment).   We have all the new car 'stuff' done that we can do here in Rapid City and will be heading out on Tuesday.  We had planned to go to Pender, NE next where Blue Ox, (the tow bar company) is located, but they cannot get us in until late June so they referred us to a place in Elkhart, IN where we will get everything installed so that we can tow the new car behind the motorhome.  In the interim, I will follow behind.......ugh!!!  Actually, it will be Murphy and I following Dick because Murphy much prefers riding in the car than the motorhome it seems.  We will be at my brothers in IL by Thursday and spend the weekend with them and then head to Elkhart.

We are hanging out here an extra day to get together with one of my former bosses from Verizon in Phoenix.  She & her husband will arrive here Sunday evening and we will visit on Monday and then head out on Tuesday.  I haven't seen Kay for several years so it will be fun to catch up as they are full-timers too based out of VA.  Todd is a musician and Kay is still working in the healthcare field so their traveling hinges on his 'gigs' as she calls them and where she needs to be for work.

Abraham Lincoln Statue

Rapid City, known as the City of Presidents (and we also read somewhere it is the most patriotic city in the country) is a growing city.   I've talked to several natives here and they can't believe the growth and especially the ladies are excited to see some new shopping here and some new chain restaurants such as Famous Dave's Barbecue, Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse over the last couple of years.  They even have two WalMarts now (the new one is beautiful and HUGE) which folks are excited about.  They are also trying to renovate the downtown like many cities are doing and we must say that they are doing a nice job.    As you walk around downtown, there are 43 life-sized bronze presidential statues on the street corners, many art galleries, shopping, restaurants and even a graffiti-painted alley known as 'art alley' that is beyond unique and there is even a YouTube video on it.

We both like Rapid City, perfect size in our opinion....not too big, not too small with about 70,000 people.  One thing they do have is an abundance of restaurants for a city this size.  Of course, some better than others but we tried a few we liked.  Downtown there is one called The Firehouse Brewery, a unique brewpub housed in the city's original firehouse.  Sanfords is another favorite with so much garage memorabilia on the walls you could be there for hours just walking around looking at everything from hundreds of parking meters to tire rims to antiques.  The menu is overwhelming and very cleverly written with such things as gizzards, lots of variations on a hamburger such as a Pants on Fire burger which is a hand-patted burger basted in wing sauce topped with bacon and melted bleu cheese and then a fried egg on top (yuck in my opinion).  There's also a Piggly Wiggly salad which is mixed greens with southern breaded pork tenderloin strips, cheddar/jack cheese, egg, red pepper, walnuts, purple onion and tomato.  I think you get the idea what kind of place it is.  We also tried Murphy's Pub & Grill and he would have approved of its burgers and salads too.  Just a lot of fun places ranging from casual to more formal and then, of course, all the fast food you could ask for.

Sanfords

There is also a very nice 18 mile bike path through Rapid City that was on our list to do but that didn't happen this time due to the weather.  Another must for next time is the George Mickelson Trail which is a 100+ mile multi-use (bike, walk, run, horse) trail through the Black Hills.

Art Alley

The site across from us on a rainy/foggy morning.

From our campsite a beautiful sunset one evening.  That
was the day the sun came out about 3 p.m. and then this sunset.

All of the above was written on Saturday afternoon.

I must also add that we heard this morning about the wildfires burning in California and send our thoughts and prayers to those folks as well.  I'm afraid this is going to be a bad year for fires in many parts of the country.

Today, Sunday was beautiful and about 70 degrees.  We took a drive out to Hill City, stopped at the Prairie Berry Winery and bought some 'Bad Ass Rhubarb Wine' (that's the actual name) for my sister-in-law.  We bought some a couple of years ago and it was a hit with her.  The drive out to Hill City, Keystone, and Custer is a beautiful drive especially since all the rain everything is very green and lush.  We checked out a few RV parks in that general area for next time and there will be a next time for sure.  A wonderful day, the new car was a joy to drive and ride in, and we wish the weather would have been better to have enjoyed more days like this.  Oh well...........there's always next time!

Have a great week....