Mores pictures

July 7, 2007 (6:45PM)

Well, we didn't win the Illinois lottery. Oh, darn, because if we had this is what we would have finished our trip with. Brad really likes the idea of a rig that he can drive, (Yes, Dave, he did say that!) I don't see it happening unless we do actually win the lottery! This one was cute. It had a King size bed in it. It wasn't very long either, I think it was 32' . But we'll be back with our old faithful tag-a-long Caravan. So far it has worked very well for us.

We traveled a long way today. We are now in South Dakota. A little town called Salem on Route 81, just off Route 90. Nice little park. It is so hot, we are not going to take a walk until late or maybe tomorrow morning. We came in set up camp, then headed for the nearest pizza place (air conditioned) that we could find. Way too hot to cook tonight. 97 in the shade. (Hey, you guys in New England, look what’s coming your way!) We should be out of it by tomorrow. 80’s are predicted for here tomorrow, but it is moving east. Glad we are going west.

Brad, Murtle and I went for a walk this morning. Murtle was up with the chickens! (And yes, they cock-a-doodle-dooed this morning at 5:45.) I was awake, but not Brad. I think I am wearing him out with all this driving. I offered to drive tomorrow morning, but he said no, he was OK. (There is a chicken behind Murtle!)

Also on our walk, we found the largest golf ball on a tee. I think it was a mail box, but Murtle jumped up and wanted her picture taken. Hmm, I wonder how big the club has to be?

We drove by MORE corn and soy fields, LOTS of them again. It wasn’t until we were near the Missouri River that we started seeing beef cattle. Then the fields changed and we saw some hay fields. We stopped for lunch right on the road (there was a wide shoulder that we pulled over on, took a picture of the hay field with corn all around it). The roads are so straight out here. You can see for miles, and miles, and miles, and miles (oh, that’s a song, sorry!)

This is a picture right here at our campsite. This happens to be soy, not corn. It is interesting how the fields come right up to the property lines. At some of the homes, the yards are surrounded by corn (or soy) on three sides. Looking around here, the campground is surrounded on all three sides by crops.

We had dinner at the cutest little spot called the Cookie Jar. (Yes, they did have cookies, but we didn’t have any.) It was called the Cookie Jar because of the collection of cookie jars. There had to be at least 100 of them there. All kinds, teddy bears, snowmen, apples, chickens, and yes, even a John Deere tractor cookie jar. At least it was cool in there. Oh, by the way, the pizza was terrific.

Tonight we went for a walk after it cooled down. Actually I just came in and it is quite comfortable out there. I left Brad at the store, he was on his second ice cream bar, doing what he likes to do best, “Talking to a lot of people, about a lot of things, for a long period of time!” He does that, oh, so well.

Tonight on our walk, we walked the labyrinth. Murtle went too. Someone had done a wonderful job putting it together. We also walked up the spiral garden. (There are two ladies that run the campground and it is very well manicured. They put a lot of work into the grounds.) There were squirrels (big ones) and some other interesting things along the way. This campground isn’t that big, but very nice.

I made reservations for the next 4 nights to stay at a campground near the Badlands. I think we will enjoy staying put for a few days. Can’t wait to see the sights in that area. I need a change from the corn fields.