On to Minnesota

An early start from Amana helped us arrive at our friends farm in Decorah by 11:00 AM. Bill and Cathy moved on to the farm three months ago from Thousand Oaks, CA after a major renovation of the 130 year old farm house. It is beautiful and we enjoyed wonderful conversation and lunch with them before continuing our journey to Minnesota.

We arrived at Camp Fairbo RV Park in Faribault, MN at 4:00 PM. Long time friend Kay Heiskari joined us for dinner and more conversation. We left her with two memory boxes for grandchildren Brenna and Frank.

I managed a 20 mile bike ride on a beautiful bike trail along the Cannon River on Monday morning before packing and heading for Maple Grove.

We arrived in Maple Grove at 1:00 PM and got a bunch of chores done before having wine and pizza with friends Roger and Audrey.

We are here for a couple more days to stock up pass on another memory box and visit with a few more friends before moving north to Marble.

Then came the floods

From Keokuk we headed for Mt Pleasant, IA and the Thresher Museum. Unfortunately it was raining heavily when we got there and since this is an outdoor museum we decieded to continue driving on to the Amana Colonies. We last visited Amana in about 1972. Things sure have changed. Now it is an official tourist trap. Gone are the demonstrations of local crafts and skills. They have been replaced by store after store of imported souveniers. There are still a few examples of the old communal life but not much remains.

We are staying in the Amana RV Park, which is essentially and open field, minus the corn, with full hookups and an excellent view of the arriving storms. Last night we were blessed with about 6-7 inches of rain. Marengo, a town about 14 miles west of here, was completely flooded. Our campground was pretty well covered with water, but we were able to stay reasonably dry.

I went for a bike ride this morning and had a great time riding through many flooded parts of the bike trail. The water receded pretty fast and the ride was really very pleasant.

We spent the day touring the remainder of Amana's attempts to preserve their heritage. They do have some pretty good furniture manufacturers and some other demonstrations of their old skills. I did end up buying a very nice filet knife and a 1907 edition of the poetry of Robert Service, you know...The Shooting of Dan McGrew. Good stuff.

Tomorrow we resume our journey to Minnisota with a stop in Decorah, IA to visit friends who moved there from Thousand Oaks, CA.

On the Mississippi

On Thursday we made the short drive to Keokuk, Iowa and, once again, parked the motorhome in an RV park and then went touring. We visited Nauvoo, IL where the Mormons spent some time in the 1800s. The tour of historical Nauvoo was very interesting. The Joseph Smith home area is owned and managed by the Community of Christ Church (formerly the Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints). The rest of the historical area and the Temple are owned and managed by the LDS church out of Salt Lake City.



Our picnic on the banks of the Mississippi was very pleasant. Our return to Keokuk took us through Fort Madison where we did some antique shopping. Back in Keokuk we visited an old steam powered paddle wheel tow boat. It was purchased by the city in 1960 and has been a museum ever since. Another glimpse into life on the Mississippi.

The mighty Mississippi

Wednesday morning we began following the Mississippi River north. We stopped in Clarksville, MO and visited a maker of Windsor chairs. Like most woodworkers I have met, Ralph Quick was open about telling us about his work. We visited his shop and then looked at a few of the chairs he has made. His wife Caron finished the chairs with milk paint, a finish similar to what they used to use in the late 1700s.

We continued on to Hannibal, MO where we visited Mark Twain's (Samual Clemmens) home and took a ride on a river boat.

We spent the night in Injun Joe's RV Park in Hannibal.

Wine tasting - in Missouri?

On Monday morning we loaded up and headed east to Hermann for a little Missouri wine tasting. We sequestered the motorhome at Lazy Daze RV Park and headed for the Stone Hill Winery. At the turn of the century Stone Hill Winery was the third largest winery in the world. That's right - the world. After a tour of the winery we tasted what they had to offer. Varietals new to us like, Norton, Seyval, Chambourcin, Vignoles and Chardonel. I wouldn't class the wines with the best I've ever tasted but they were not bad.

We celebrated my birthday at the restaurant at Stone Hill Winery which is a converted stable. The German style food was excellent and we enjoyed a bottle of 1999 Stone Hill Norton with the meal.

In all we tasted wines at about 7 wineries and enjoyed the wines at five of them. A few bottles even found their way into the motorhome for later consumption.

Shawnee, Kansas

On Friday morning we drove to Shawnee, Kansas to spend the weekend with our good friends, Doug and Peg. One of the highlites of the weekend was a visit to the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, MO. This steamboat encountered a snag on the Missouri River in 1856 and ended up covered with mud to a depth of almost 40 ft over the years. About 20 years ago a bunch of guys from Kansas City found it and exhumed it. The boat was loaded with supplies for the frontier. More than you could imagine. What a snapshot into the middle 1800s.

Among our memories are Sunday church services with Doug and Peg at their church and many excellent meals.

On to Kansas

On Wednesday morning we departed Estes Park and headed for Kansas. The weather was fine until about 3:00 PM when it started raining. Then it rained and rained and rained. Running very low on fuel we finally made it to Wakenny, Kansas and an RV park. I got hooked up without drowning and then we relaxed, or tried to relax, with the rain continuing to come down.

On Thursday morning I woke up with my engine missing. The engine in the motorhome that is. After many miles of driving, several calls to Workhorse Customer Service and an appointment made for Monday morning in Kansas City, MO, I finally decided to take things in my own hands. I pulled over to the side of the road and poked my head in the front wheel well and found a loose plug wire. A poke with a stick and we were back in business.

We then went on with our itinerary. After parking the motorhome at an RV park in Emporia, KS we headed for the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve north of Strong City, KS. I got a bunch of flower and butterfly phots and we had a nice relaxing afternoon.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We had a beautiful view of Longs Peak from our motorhome parked in Elk Meado RV Park in Estes Park, Colorado. On our first day we just relaxed, did some shopping, tasting some Colorado wines and reviewing the information we had on Rocky Mountain National Park.

On Sunday we went hiking in Wild Basin with old Winnebago days friends Dan and Karen Gust who live in Longmont, CO. Dan is a great outdoorsman and knows this area very well. After a great picnic at the trailhead we hiked about a mile to a beautiful waterfall. The hike was filled with great conversation catching up on each others lives. Then we retired to the motorhome for dinner and more conversation.

Our plans for a visit from Boulder friends Jim and Angie Walker, Beloin didn't work out so we took a drive on Trail Ridge Road. The road reaches an altitude of over 12,000 feet and offers some incredible views of the Rocky Mountains. We continued down the other side and had a nice relaxing picnic at Beaver Ponds where we watched a herd of Elk feeding in the meadow.

Then we returned over the Trail Ridge Road to the east side of the park. Saw another herd of Elk near the top. We visited the Alluvial Fan created by a flood in the 1980s. We also searched the hills looking for Bighorn Sheep and were only able to spot a couple at the very top of the rocks.

Tuesday morning I went out early in the morning, in the rain, and took some photos. When the rain let up a bit I took a hike to Emerald Lake. What a beautiful part of the world. Mary and I then had a picnic at Endovalley.

Into Utah

We finally got on the road at 12:30 PM on Thursday, 7 June 2007. Made it as far as St George, Utah that day and then continued on into Colorado the next day. We stayed overnight in an RV park just east of Grand Junction. On Saturday, 8 June we made the beautiful drive to Estes Park, Colorado.