What a long strange trip it's been...

We're back! Tired, excited to see folks at home, a little sorry it's over, and with a sense of accomplishment at having crammed so many wonderful things into three short weeks.

Accomplishments:

No tears

No fights ( a spat or two after 2 weeks)

No one threw up!!!!

Drew blood only twice (both Josh)

Postcards sent: 64

Ice cream stops: 11 states

Visiting 15 (18) states total

7 National Parks

11 National Historic Landmarks

6 National Monuments

Most scenic Interstate: I-70 (Utah and Colorado)

Least scenic: Rt. 30 in Indiana

Highest point: near Loveland Pass, Co 11, 000+ ft.

Number of KOAs: 4

Most pictures taken: at Bryce Canyon NP

Favorite spot: Depends on who you ask ;)

Total mileage: 6580

Cast of Characters:

Steve: the driver and official wallet carrier (buys the ice cream)

Mary Ann: the navigator and concierge

Matthew: chef, chief photographer (because he takes orders best), and photo archivist; also in charge of music

Elizabeth: organizer and people "mover", morning person, and Big Sister (also photographer)

Joshua: gas pumper, swy flotter, and Chief scapegoat (also photographer)

Victoria: voice of reason, helping hands, and big sister too (also photographer)

Madeline: enthusiasm specialist, mule motivator, planner, member of the BRC, and wildlife photographer

Miriam: Junior Ranger, cheerleader (c'mon cupcake!), bathroom rating specialist, and widest smile (sometime photographer)

You know its time to go home when...

...subtle reminders are popping up everywhere.

Webster County Iowa

Exit 277

Durant

Bennett

Eerie isn't it?

(For those who wouldn't know, those are the names of Elizabeth's "boss" and mine. Hi Olivia and Terri! See you soon! )

Trivia time!

Question: What state had the first western train robbery?

Answer: Iowa

Question: does anybody care about #1?

Answer: not really

Question: Where are we?

Answer: See #1, at a nice rest area that just happens to have wi-fi (and pictures of corn DNA on the walls...)

See, you're smarter already!

This morning was a wonderful start: we all got to sleep in some. The KOA that we stayed at was at least tied for the best we've stayed at yet. After a leisurely breakfast we left heading east, hoping to run, er...drive, faster than the rain which is hard on our heels. We went through a corner of Nebraska and, like most of the other states we've been in, we had to stop and have ice cream (number 10 all together in 9 different states). We stopped a place called Butch's. Lots of choices there, but we eventually made it back on the road to get here.

Plans? We're spending the rest of the day and tomorrow in the I states (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana). After that? Home!

Back to the road!!

Delivered in 30 minutes or less, or your next one free!

This is still Josh, for you viewing pleasure.So, the above picture looks like a semi normal room. Now, this room is in a ranch, a somewhat regular 60's ranch. Except for the barbed wire around it and this sign:


Note the "Deadly force authorized". Yeah. This is the former control center for ten minuteman-two missiles, known as Delta-01. It was one of 5 control centers in South Dakota, meaning that there were 50 missiles in SD that could be launched anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. And that's just in South Dakota.

We arrived outside the ranch to find a line waiting outside, and although it we were told it would be a quick wait it still was about 40 minutes or so before we made it inside. Only 5 of us went in as Eliz thought this was a "boy toy" and preferred to wait outside with Miriam and Madeline. The rest of us made it through the tour. The upstairs really did almost look normal, it really wasn't until you made it downstairs that things started looking really strange.


This was the sign painted on the blast door to get into the firing vault. It's a chilling thought, but very true. All in all it seemed to be worth the wait to get inside, because how often are you going to be able to see a real live missile launch center in person.

And now a nice thought to keep you awake at night: There are still over 300 live and active minuteman missiles throughout the United States right now (10 per control center, 40 some odd control centers). The president still carries around a briefcase with the firing codes with him at all times (or someone near by him has it). The last thought: these control centers are expected to be active until at least 2040 or so.

After seeing this sight, we drove for a few hundred miles and made it to the Nebraska state line (or very close). We are currently sitting on the South Dakota side by 2 miles. Tomorrow is another driving day, and we should make it back to Ft. Wayne on Saturday (time dependent on how far we go tomorrow).

Alternate post name: Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

"They're Badder Than I Thought..."

The Badlands turned out to be an unexpected surprise -- very cool views, lots of animals, and a nice campground with covered wagon tables. We saw goats, prairie dogs, a snake (not a rattler, despite the warning signs), and various pet dogs and cats.

Shower time now, so I'm turning this over to someone else...

Hey, swy flotter, I mean, fly swatter (aka Josh) reporting in. The badlands were cool, especially since they were so open. They said clearly that there were trails there, but the entire park was open to hiking (but hike at your own risk, as always). So the trails were little markers every 10-30 feet but how you got between them was up to you.

You also could climb the little dunes that seemed to be everywhere. It was there that the first major blood has been spilled (funny how all the blood spilled at all on this trip has been me) as I got into a fight with the badlands and (amazingly enough) lost. No pic of the war wounds though. I'll just take this as a lesson: while on a small dune pay close attention to where your feet are.

Unfortunately we just waited a little too long in the visitors center (somehow we spent almost 40 minutes in it), so it got too hot too fast and we decided it was better to leave outside and stay in the RV then spend more time out in the hot hot sun.

PS. The post title is from a little boy who was overheard near the bathrooms. When asked how the badlands were this was his response. And swy flotter is actually a brand name of fly repellent.

Freedom Express

On our travels, we have noticed quite a few other people traveling in a similar manner...by RV, camper, pop-up -- whatever you want to call it. Lately, we have been taking note of some of the names of these vehicles. We will now relate some of them here to you for your reading pleasure. We have divided them into several categories.

Cool names: Freedom Express ;), Passport, Wanderlodge, Hurricane, Open Road, Ultrastar, Sunseeker, Hitchhiker, Rampage, Searcher, New Horizons, Sundance, Casita, Flair, Dreams, Titanium

Spaceship names: Expedition, Challenger, Triumph, Endeavor, Air Stream, G Force, Conquest, Voyager

Misspelled: Kountry Star, Carri Lite, Cruise Aire, Mountain Aire, Skamper, Komfort

Animals: Cougar, Wildcat, Prowler, Jay Flight, Eagle, Artic Fox, Monarch, Hornet, Tail Manor, Raptor, Bobcat, Jay Feather, Mallard, Cardinal, Wolf Pack, Bighorn

Funny names: Minnie Winnie, Wanderer Wagon, Prairie Schooner, Intruder, Patio Hauler, Holiday Rambler

American themed: Independence, American Tradition, Spirit, Patriot, Pioneer, Majestic

Sports themed: Victory Lane, Sportsmen, Octane ZX, Weekend Warrior

Ones that make us go 'huh?': Alfa, Sprinter, Jamboree, Cypress, Cordova, Nash, Award, Impulse, Crescendo, Dynasty, Phaeton

Wind: Tradewinds, Four Winds, Windsong, Cyclone, Sea Breeze, Southwind

And some other random ones: Road Trek, Outback, Fiesta ("Goin' places with smilin' faces"), Road Ranger, Tropical LX, Terry Dakota, Cedar Creek

No doubt there are many more and we will see many more in the remainder of our journey.

Which is your favorite?

Lions and Tigers and...Mountain Goats, oh my!

I forgot to mention that not only did we get to see some very fuzzy and cute mountain goats here in South Dakota, but we also got to see some more petroglyphs and even dinosaur tracks in Moab. There were also some deer in our campground last night, just across the road. We've seen numerous deer along the drive, though we've been keeping a lookout for any types of wildlife.