Where's Wanda (and John) Now?

After leaving Pierre we went up north to a little state park for a few days.  It was empty and quiet – just the way we like it.  I also have a new favorite place to ‘hang’ out.  I spent over 2 hours just rocking and reading in the shade of those beautiful trees.

Then we came down to the little town of Wall South Dakota which is close to the Badlands.  We wanted to try to camp in the Badlands again this year but it’s already too hot here to do that comfortably.  So instead, tomorrow morning we’re going up into the Black Hills to camp until Monday.  We took a ride up there today to scope out potential sites and we ran into a guy named Terry.  He’s in his 70’s and he travels and lives full time in his ‘RV’ trailer which he built himself!  Take a look at his rig 🙂

He has a little wood stove in the back there so he’s all hooked up.  He’s leaving tomorrow and we decided to take his spot there.  It’s right in the heart of the hills and it should be perfect.

 

 

I’m so proud of John! He’s making money on the road with his drone skills.  The owner of this RV park saw the video we posted yesterday  and she loved it.  She asked if she could use it on their website and gave us a couple of nights of camping for free.   Then she showed it to the owner of the nearby Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center Museum and he offered to pay John to do one for their website.  So now he’s making money while playing with his toys 😁 Nice!  Video below and then some photos from inside the museum.

 

 

On Tuesday we left Nebraska and drove north to South Dakota.  We are staying in a campground just outside of the state capital Pierre which is just east of the Missouri River.  Our site overlooks the city from across the river on the west side and we have an amazing view as night falls and the city lights up below us.  And John is getting pretty good at this drone video stuff 🙂

Here are some still shots from the drone.

Tonight we’re looking forward to heading down into town for a music and art festival on the river.  We’ll be here until Saturday and the weather is looking good!

Last Thursday we left Iowa and traveled northwest into Nebraska.  We’ve been staying at the Louis & Clark Recreation Area just below the South Dakota border.  Here’s a drone video that John did today of the view.

We’re camped by the lake and it’s been a nice relaxing stay.

Our site is close to the Marina and on Saturday they had a little boat light show.  The people here are very patriotic as you can see. . . and it’s not even the 4th of July yet!  I think they’re just getting warmed up 🙂

The little doggie on the lawn watched the whole thing!! He was very interested 🙂

We’re packing up tomorrow morning and heading north into South Dakota. We’re going to stay in the Badlands area again for a little while and then head to one of my favorite spots from last year the Black Hills.   I am really looking forward to camping up there in those magical mountains. Stay tuned for some amazing photos by John from the Badlands and from the Black Hills!

 

 

Yesterday we drove to west Iowa and we’re staying at a lovely campground on Lake Anita.  We’ll be here until tomorrow morning and then we head up near South Dakota.

We discovered that we are near the covered bridges of Madison County.  Some of you may be familiar with the book by Robert James Waller or with the movie staring Clint Eastwood (who plays a photographer) and Meryl Streep (who of course, falls in love with him).  We went into the small town of Winterset and had lunch at the Northside Cafe featured in the movie.  The food was good and the atmosphere felt just like what it was – a small town place with authentic small town appeal.

In the movie Clint sat at the fourth stool from the right 🙂 Just sayin’

We spent the afternoon taking pictures of the bridge that Clint photographs for a magazine in the movie.  It’s called Roseman Bridge and was built in 1883. Here are some of the shots and video we captured.

A little drone footage.

This is a time lapse of the clouds moving in the sky.

It was a romantic movie. . .

And look! John is just like Clint! 

We had fun and just really enjoyed the day.  What a great find in Iowa!

 

Yesterday we left Indiana and continued northwest through Illinois and into Iowa.

We’re staying at an RV park just off the highway near the little town of West Branch.  The biggest thing here is that it’s the birth place of Herbert Hoover and site of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.  John and I spent the afternoon visiting the site and learning more about the 31st president.

This is the cabin he was raised in on the original grounds that his family owned.  His mother and father and 3 children lived here.

This is the schoolhouse built in 1853.  It was originally located 2 blocks away and then moved to the museum grounds in 1971.

It was an interesting and educational day 🙂 and here’s a great quote from Herbert Hoover that speaks directly to all of us:

“. . . days should be filled with adventure and great undertakings, with participation in good and comforting things.” – Herbert Hoover

 

 

 

Today we drove northwest into Indiana.  We’re camped at a really nice site on the lake for the next few days.  On Sunday we head northwest again.

 

On Tuesday we drove from Pennsylvania through Ohio and into Kentucky.  We are  staying just south of Cincinnati in Big Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky.  And yes that is really the name of the site.  We’ve been spending time with John’s sister Corinne and brother-in-law Phil and yesterday we visited the Cincinnati Museum to see the ancient Egypt exhibit.

Today we went to see the Ark Encounter which is a full-size Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. It’s 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and is in Williamstown, Kentucky, halfway between Cincinnati and Lexington.  It was very interesting and we spent several hours there checking out the 3 floors of exhibits and recreations.

We’ve had a great time here in Kentucky and many thanks to Corinne and Phil for their hospitality! Can’t wait to come back and spend more time 😁

We left NY this morning and traveled southwest into PA.  We’re staying at an Elks lodge just outside of Pittsburgh.  It’s a really nice lodge and we were able to have dinner here when we arrived.  They gave us this pin as a souvenir.  We now have a lot of suggestions for Walter – our Brandon Elks lounge manger 🙂

Tomorrow we take off for Kentucky.  The weather looks good so maybe John will get a break from hooking up in the rain!

It finally stopped raining long enough for John to do a drone video.   My mom and dad live on Honeoye Lake and we filmed this on the point not far from their house.