MICHIGAN

We are so glad we made the time to stop in Dearborn to see Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum. This is an all day excursion, there is so much to see. This weekend being Memorial weekend it was Civil War Remembrance Days. All the lawns were set up as a camp with everyone in period costumes. There were marches, drills, music, etc…. The Village itself has so much history with each house or building you visit. Another must see on our list. 

And I could say if you only want to see one museum in the country The Henry Ford Museum (not counting the Smithsonian)

should cover most everything. Not only automobiles but planes , trains, bikes, farm equipment, furniture and people,

the Weiner Mobile, etc…Again it is huge. Plan on all day.

INDIANA

OUR FIRST STOP IN INDIANA WAS THE INIDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE. A GEOGEOUS HOT DAY JUST CALLED FOR A BIKE RIDE ALONG THE COAST.

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NEXT WE WENT TO SHIPSHEWANA FIRST AS THE GIANT FLEA MARKET IS ONLY OPEN TUES & WED.  FANTASTIC PRICES AT THE ANTIQUE AUCTION. ONCE AGAIN , CAN’T GET STUFF INTO THE CAMPER……..DARN!  WE THEN VISITED THE MENNO-HOF, THE AMISH & MENNONITE STORY-YOU TRAVEL THROUGH FIVE CENTURIES OF FASCINATING HISTORY,FROM SWITZERLAND TO AMERICA. THEN STOPPED INTO THE VISITOR CENTER FOR OUR FREE CD OF THE HERITAGE TRAIL. IT IS A 90 MILE LOOP,                                                                                                                  

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YOU FOLLOW ALONG LISTENING TO THE HISTORY AND LOCAL SIGHTS.IT GOES THROUGH THE TOWNS OF ELKHART, BRISTOL, MIDDLEBURY, SHIPSHEWANA, GOSHEN, NAPANEE, & WAKARUSA.

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AND OF COURSE NO TRUE RV’ER COULD LEAVE ELKHART WITHOUT VISITING THE RV-MV HALL OF FAME! AMAZING STUFF.

CHICAGO

We have never been to Chicago before and found it to be a wonderful city. The first thing we did was ride our bikes along the Lakeshore Trail. Along the waterfront  is 26 miles of public beaches and parks. Just beautiful!  This was thought of in the 30’s by an architect so this area was filled in. What foresight!  The weather was hot and the beaches were packed. We stopped at the Navy Pier which is full of restaurants, some amusement rides, tour boat rides, a grand ball room, shopping mall and a Stain Glass Museum, etc.
This is the John Hancock Building, second tallest in the City. We went to the Signature Lounge on the 96th(our ears popped on the way up) floor for a drink and snack. Just look at that view. Breathtaking!
We would definitely visit Chicago again, hopefully to see more of their great Museums. We did see the History Museum which we enjoyed.
Look how busy the beach is on May 26th.

Wisconsin

  We crossed the bridge into Wisconsin at La Cross stopping at the Moose Lodge for an overnighter and not an hour after we were there, hundreds of bikers started pulling in. What a sight that was! They were on their way to Lambeau Field in Green Bay WI to a Big" Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans” ceremony for Vets. A long overdue welcome.

        We had hoped to take a tour of the brewery but no tours are offered.                                                                                            

       The following morning we again headed down the back roads towards our destination Baraboo WI.  Unlike MN we were in lush green rolling hills. We drove through an Amish area. Got so excited when we came around a curve and there was a buggy in front of us. We later stopped at this little cluster of gift shops down a country road which sold Amish wears along with other local crafts. Wonderful stuff. Good thing I’m in a small camper, sure did want to buy stuff. We also couldn’t resist the Carr Valley Cheese Factory. That we’ll eat!

 

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For those of you who don’t know it Jim is a big Circus Fan. He was in a Youth Circus  from age 12 to 16 . And has wanted to come Baraboo  to the Circus World Museum for a very long time. We spent an entire day enjoying the shows, they had a Tiger show, An Illusionist show and of course the Big Top Performance show, and on this day only was an added feature Buffalo Bills Wild West Show. Plus the museum were Jim read EVERYTHING!

Minnesota

Sharing the road on the back roads.  Minnesota is a land of fertile soil dotted with thousands of small lakes. As far as the eye can see, are the flat crisscross of plowed fields with clusters of shade trees scattered throughout surrounding the farm homes.

Stopping along the way for a little exercise. We found a great trail in Wilmer called the Glacial Lakes Trail. 
Of course there is the bizarre also. The World’s Largest Twine Ball in Darwin. Enjoying the drive, we visited the Schell Brewery in New Ulm, The Village of Yesteryear in Owatonna, and last but NOT least, yes Jim’s favorite food Spam!  The SPAM Museum in Austin MN. Fun Fun Fun

North Dakota

We spent the night in a small city park in New Salem ND. Just down the hill from Salem Sue “The World’s Largest Cow”  Traveling the back roads really has it’s rewards.

This is the Capital Building of North Dakota. And next door they have a fantastic Heritage Museum. We would definitely recommend this one. Well laid out with great displays. And it’s free. Can’t top that.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK

We loved this park. No where else have we seen such unique terrain. The Bad Lands are so fantastically broken in form and so bizarre in color as to seem hardly to belong to this earth. The campsites in the Cottonwood campground are huge.  But you get to share it with the roaming buffalo and deer. In the southern park is a 36 mile loop drive with many outlooks and trails.  

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MONTANA

The first picture is Livingston Mt where we stopped for lunch and took a walk around town.

  The carousal and building are in Missoula, a stop we made to walk the downtown area.

 

A fun visit at Frank and Gretchen’s new home in Billings MT. We had a great weekend catching up, eating, and sight seeing. A great way to start the morning is breakfast at the Prairie Winds restaurant in Molt. From 8:00am till noon a live band plays music in a great old building that was once a hardware store. Afterwards they drove us out to Pompeys Pillar a National Monument. It’s a massive sandstone outcrop that rises 150 feet on the banks of the Yellowstone River. Hundreds of markings, petroglyphs, and inscriptions left by visitors have transformed this into a living journal of the American West.  The most notable visitor Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, arrived at Pompeys Pillar on July 25, 1806, on his return trip from the Pacific coast.