Welcome to Wisconsin, and Mechanical problems

We spent a couple of days in a Sioux Falls, SD KOA. We signed up with a mail forwarding agency, obtained our South Dakota drivers license, and begin the paper work for transferring vehicle titles to South Dakota. The process was painless, and took only a few hours to accomplish. We still haven't changed our official address on our vehicle insurance or any other documents, but plan to begin those actions soon. As we left South Dakota, we drove through Minnesota planning to drive to another KOA near Oakdale, WI. However, we began have some strange electrical problems with the dash instruments. When Ted turned on the headlights, the entire group of warning lights on the dash came on. We spent several hours finding a truck repair and having them check out our alternator, batteries, and numerous fuses. When they couldn't find anything wrong, we again hit the road but spent the night in a KOA near Rochester, MN. The next morning, a Sunday, we headed west on I-90. About 11:00 am, at the intersection of I-90 and I-94, suddenly the motor home engine quit, the horn began blaring, and Ted somehow manhandled the RV with jeep towed through the intersection and to the side of the road. Luckily there was not much traffic at that time of the day. Ted checked all the fuses, and their connections again, called the Freightliner hot line,and finally AAA road service. We sat on the side of the road until 3:00 pm, when Motoridge Towing's lowboy flatbed tow truck arrived. The first tow company that AAA called never showed. The Wisconsin state police never stopped to check on us, alleging they couldn't find us on the side of the road. Image that, how could they miss a 40' motorhome with jeep behind it when they were given the exist number we were near on I-94. Motoridge Towing took really great care loading the RV on the flatbed, and delivered us to Kimpton Truck service by 4:00. Motoridge is a father/son company and they highly recommended Kimpton for repair work. We spent the night in Hampton Inn, Tomah, WI, less than 1 mile from Kimpton's location. We returned to Kimpton's the next morning to check on the damages. Mitch from Kimptons was able to locate a loose wire under the Cat engine, charged us $50 for his time, and we were happily checking out of the Hampton Inn by 10:00 am, on our way to Eagle River, WI for the night. The next day we drove across the Upper Penninsula of Michigan and spent a couple of days at Bay Mills Casino RV park, Brimley, MI.

Crazy Horse Monument

After leaving Mount Rushmore, we drove to the Crazy Horse Monument. We were disappointed with this exhibit. We had thought more of the monument would be completed. There is a $10 per person fee to enter the grounds. This fee allows you to view the museum, gift shop, and restaurant area. There are many interesting exhibits inside the museum. However, you are asked to pay an additional fee to ride a bus to the base of the monument. We decided to take our pictures from the parking lot of the museum and save our trip to the base of the monument for when further blasting is completed on the project.

Mount Rushmore, amazing

We spent several days at the Heartland RV park in Hermosa, SD. We were amazed when we visited Mount Rushmore!! You really have to be there to appreciate the view. We drove through part of Custer State Park on a winding road that lead us through several tunnels. As you approach the tunnel, there are signs instructing you to honk your horn to warn potential drivers coming from the opposite direction, because the tunnels are only one lane. At the exit of some tunnels, they frame Mount Rushmore. There is an $11 charge to park at Mount Rushmore, but no entry fee to view monuments. This is really an impressive place to visit. As we left Mount Rushmore, we were able to see the profile of George Washington.

South Dakota May 2011

We had decided to become South Dakota residents. However, since we arrived on the weekend, we decided to continue driving west on I-90 instead of stopping in Sioux Falls. We spent our first night at a KOA in Mitchell, SD where we found the "World's only corn palace. The outside of the corn palace is changed each year. The huge, colorful murals are made using roughly 275 thousand ears of corn. We then drove further west where we found a nice campground in Hermosa, SD just 15-30 minutes from Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Monument. We arrived there on Sunday, Mother's Day, and had a nice dinner at the Blue Bell Lodge in Custer State Park. Alice Shelton, daughter of a former co-worker is desk manager at the lodge. She recommended the buffalo meatloaf which was delicious. After dinner we drove back to Heartland RV park by way of the wildlife trail. We saw lots of buffalo, a few deer, and burrows. The last picture of buffalo was taken when we returned to the entrance of the park at the end of the wildlife trail.

North on I-35 Winstar Casino,

Heading north on I-35 just north of the Texas/Oklahoma border, driving in pouring rain, we found the Winstar Casino. They claim to be the 3rd largest casino in the US. For sure they have more penny slots then I have ever seen. They are adding on hoping to become the largest casino in the US. Their 200 space RV campground is really nice. We got our first night free by signing up for a players card. Regular price about $20 a day. We decided to spend several days there and get some laundry done. Never had to take the Jeep off tow. 24-hour shuttle service was provided every 15 minutes from campground to casino. Really nice amenities at the campground. We enjoyed a few buffet meals at the casino and also lunch and dinner at Toby Keith's bar and grill. They also provided free senior buffets two mornings each week. When we left the Winstar, we spent one night at a KOA in Wellington, OK, and one night at small private campground in Rockport , MO, on our way to South Dakota. We have decided to become South Dakota residents.

April 2011 in Texas

We spent most of April back at the Sunset Point RV park in Marble Falls, TX. Dorothy needed to get medical updates, had lots of doctor exams, tests, and even a surgical procedure on her birthday. Not the most fun birthday I ever celebrated, but yearly checkups are a good thing when they are all over and done with. We also spent a week in the Waco, TX area so Ted could have a checkup with the VA. While in Waco we enjoyed visiting with friends Carline and Wade Maybin including Easter dinner with Carline's Dad, stepmom and two of their sons and families. Ted and Wade were able to golf twice and Dorothy and Carline enjoyed girl friend time together. We also celebrated Carline's birthday by taking her out to dinner. When we left Texas, we were headed north hoping the northern weather would warm up before we arrived at our next destination.

Bluebonnets in bloom, must be spring in Texas, and another windshield replaced!

We returned to Texas just in time to find bluebonnets in bloom! It has been 9 years since I saw blue bonnets in bloom! Not a great year for bluebonnets, but I was able to find these blooming in Burnet, Tx, about 12 miles from the RV park where we spent a good part of the spring. The cactus in the RV park were really blooming this year too. Really pretty to see wildflowers in bloom this year.

We also had to replace the passenger side windshield, a-g-a-i-n!! Large trucks are not our friends when it comes to windshields. Thank goodness for the Progressive vanishing deductible. Also the repair company sent the crew to the RV park where we stayed, so we didn't have to drive to Georgetown for the replacement to be completed.

More Arizona pictures

While we were in Arizona in March, we decided to drive north to Laughlin, NV for a few days. Were not able to get reservations in RV space in Laughlin, but found a nice park in Bullhead City just across the river. The first two pictures above were taken while driving the Joshua Forest Parkway to Laughlin. We stayed three days in the Bullhead City, Laughlin area. Had fun gambling, but the main casino drive in Laughlin was under road construction. We found traffic backed up for 30-45 minutes for the short drive from Bullhead City across bridge to Laughlin unless we made the trip early morning, stayed for lunch then returned to Bullhead City. I was disappointed we didn't make any side trips to Las Vegas, or the Grand Canyon, but we have a good reason to return to the area. Returned to Benson, Arizona and spent several days at Cochise Terrace RV Resort and visited with friends Bob and Phyllis. The 3rd picture is the drive-thru space in the park. There was a big wind, rain storm headed east from California on the day we left Arizona to return to Texas. We thought we could get to Texas before the storm hit. However, Ted had to fight heavy winds gusting up to 50 MPH on the drive across I-10. The wind was so heavy it was pulling the awnings away from the RV on the passenger side. We had to make 3 emergency stops to secure the awnings and readjust the side mirrors. Thank goodness for duct tape and long zip ties. The wind was so strong, it blew the side mirrors over as shown in the last picture.

Tucson Airplane Graveyard and vsiting with friends

Ted and Bob visited the Tucson Airplane Graveyard in Tucson. The collage includes a picture of a helicopter used while Ted was in Vietnam. Several days later, we also returned to Tucson to gamble at the Desert Diamond Casino and have lunch. We can't resist a casino when we are within driving distance~The first picture above was taken of our friends Bob and Phyliss Evans. We have been friends since the late 1970's. Ted and Bob were also business partners for years. Our families enjoyed lots fun together on trips in our motorhomes, our cottages in Gladwin, MI, Carribean Islands, Florida Christmas trip when our sons were very young, fishing trips for the guys to Canada and Florida, and also a great trip to Europe. It is wonderful to catch up with friends and talk about the "good old days" while we are still able to remember them!!

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, Tucson AZ

On 3/8/11, we drove to Tucson AZ for lunch. Phyllis and I visited the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun and Ted and Bob checked out the Tucson Airplane Graveyard. The DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is a 10-acre historic district in the foothills of Tucson's Santa Catalina Mountains. It was designed and built by Arizona artist Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia known for his colorful paintings of native cultures of the Sonoran desert. The foundation was established to preserve his gallery and ensure permanent exhibitions of his artwork. In October 2006, the 10-acre foothills site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The exhibit is free to the public. It includes 15,000 DeGrazia originals, including oil paintings, watercolors, ceramics and sculptures. You can also walk through a home he built and lived in for several years, a chapel, and also see the place of his burial. There are permanent and rotating exhibits. The gift shop offers a variety of DeGrazia reproductions and a lmitied number of origianls are available for purchase. This was a beautiful place to visit. I took lots more pictures, but you really have to see them in person to appreciate.