Saturday, June 30, 2007

Buffalo, Wy



After the rally in Gillette, we made a short drive to Buffalo, Wyoming - located in Johnson County ... tucked away between the rolling plains of the old west and the towering peaks of the Big Horn Mountains and the vast Bighorn National Forest. It's a land rich in both western history and scenery. A place of sheep herders and cattle barons, renegades and rustlers. Where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid holed up after their outlaw exploits. Where miners consumed with gold rush fever passed through on the Bozeman Trail. Where some of the most famous Indian battles in American history occurred. And where the Johnson County Cattle War, a rangeland dispute which historians often deem one of the most notorious events in our history, left its mark here in the late 1880s ... and that Owen Wister wrote about in his epic American novel, The Virginian.




After getting setteled in at Indian Campground we drove to Crazy Woman Canyon and made the drive throught the canyon. The road was built by the Civilian Conservation Corp. back in the 1930's. This drive is a loop drive and took us into some real back country.




On our return to Buffalo, we saw a group of people standing along the highway. We stopped to see what they were looking at and saw a big Bull Moose feeding. Boy what a sight!

Newmar Rally - Gillette, Wy





We are in Gillette, Wy for a week to attend the annual Newmar Rally. There are approximately 750 RV's at the rally. Like most rallies, we will have seminars, vendors, entainment and food.


While in Gillette I went golfing at Bell Knob golf Course. It had some of the meanest rough that I have ever seen. Most of us shot 10 storkes or more above what we normally shoot.



I also attended a local Geocaching event that was held close by on one of our free nights.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Toterman



This evening quite a site pulled into the campground. It was Dave and Uta from Delaware. They have a Volvo truck, a Newmar Mt. Aire 5th wheel and a Mercedes-Benz SMART car. They are also on their way to the Newmar Rally in Gillette, Wy.

Deadwood, SD



Today we drove to Deadwood, SD, the town of western lore in the Black Hills. Many of the businesses in Deadwood are casinos which takes away from the history, but I guess it pays the bills. At any rate we walked around town following a walking tour map we got at the information center.

We drove up to Mount Mariah Cemetery where Wild Bill and Clamity Jane are buired. We didn't go inside because they are charging admission.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Crazy Horse Monument




We parked our motorhome in Black Hawk, SD and drove to the Crazy Horse Monument. Just after we arrived, a big rain storm moved in. Because of the storm, we were unable to get any closer than the visitor's center. They show a very nice video about the history of the Crazy House Monument. We walked around the display and gift shop areas.

We drove back towards Rapid City and past Mount Rushmore. It was raining, so we did not stop. We could see rushmore from the road and we had been there 7 years ago.

Wall Drug - Wall, SD




Like most westward travlers on I-90 we stopped at Wall Drug to get our "free" ice water. One has to look very hard for the drug section of the store. It is one of those places where you have to stop at least once.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Corn Palace - Mitchell, SD





We stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace and grab a bite of lunch. This year's theme is a salute to rodeo. It is something what they are able to do we corn and corn related products.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Minn. and the Mississippi River.


We left Rockford this morning and continued our trip on I-90. We crossed the Mississippi River and entered Minn. We stopped at the Welcome center, had lunch, took a few pictures and continued on our way West.

We are stopped for the night outside of Austin, Minn. Austin is the home of Hormel which makes SPAM. There is a SPAM museum, but it closes too early and opens too late for us to visit. Oh well, a future must visit before we die item on the list. :-)

Tomorrow we will be stopping in Mitchell, SD and visiting the Corn Palace.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Exhaust Gasket Blowout

This was day two of our trip. Our plan was to go from Fayette, Ohio to Rockford, Il.

We made a fuel stop in Indiana and as we were coming up to highway speed, the exhaust started to make a very loud noise. Well, we heard this noise several year ago when the exhaust gasket blew on the right side of the engine.

When we arrived at our stop for the night in Rockford, Il. I checked things out and it appears that the exhaust gasket on the left side blew. We will have to wait until we return to Taneytown, Md to have it repaired.

Several years ago we had a Gibson Exhaust System installed and from what the installer said, they used a very poor gasket. I have to say I agree with him. I called Gibson after the first Gasket blew and got the line that they never had a problem with the gaskets that they supply with the exhaust kit. If you are thinking about using a Gibson Exhaust System, DON'T.

Our travels will continue, but with a bit more noise during the trip.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

On Our Way to Gillette, Wy

Well, today is Father's Day and we are on our way to Gillette, Wy. and the Newmar Int'l Rally.

What a week it was prior to our departing. For one thing we worked everyday at the Taneytown Firemen's Carnival and if that wasn't enough, the Perry Brothers were replacing the siding on the front of our house and the sunroom.

Our first day's travel took us to Harrison Lake State Park outside of Fayette, Ohio. We arrived at about 7:30 and after setting up camp, we went to Tom's sister's house for a visit with her family and Tom's mother.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Traveling Americans at Lickdale, Pa.

This weekend the Traveling Americans gathered at the Lickdale Campground in South Central Pa. This was a deli weekend for Saturday evening dinner. Everyone signed up to bring various deli meats and/or cheeses. It worked out very well as nobody had alot of prep work and cooking to do. We will have to remember this for future outings or you can try this with your own group.