EAT IT!

Mom and dad took us to this joint last night for supper (Midwest term). It is known for the best pork tenderloins around, something that JB has been drooling for.


We drove to St. Olaf, Iowa, probably about less than an hour from Waukon. Keep in mind that this little burg doesn't have many streets.


We get there and mom and dad "think" this is the place. I had been pre-warned that there was no need to dress up. There is an "open" sign but no cars around. Is this really the right place?

Yes it was. Once they got inside, they recognized the joint.


This is the pork tenderloin. It filled the entire oval plate and cost only $9.95. What a big sucker! Dad got one, too. I think they need to change the size of the bun!

And this is JB's plate 25 minutes later. Dad only ate half of his.

I had a pizza burger, something that is common in the Midwest.

So that is what we had for supper last night!

Guttenberg, Iowa

Tuesday, June 15th we left Wisconsin in a downpour and drove almost 200 miles in a downpour to get to Guttenberg, Iowa....on the Mississippi River...to see JB's sister, Wendy, and husband, Barry.

Prior to us leaving, we received a call from the campground that we had reservations at telling us he could not accomodate us because our planned campsite was under water. He graciously called the other campground in town and was told they had space. Halfway through Wisconsin I called the number and left a message. Didn't here anything back. Got to the campground. No one in the office and door was locked. Remember, it is pouring rain. I stood in the rain, calling the 3 numbers posted on the door. Gave up and went back to the rig. We sat there a while and called one of the numbers again. Finally got a human being....the owner. He told us we could park in one of 2 spots so that was good. His son would be by to settle up with us sometime. We got Buzz parked with me directing the back up maneuvers....in the rain!

A few hours later the clouds and rain diminished and the sun came out.

This little guy was strolling across the road, enjoying the sun that he hadn't seen in a week.

Later in the week I took this pic. Do you know what it is...a logful of turtles. Trust me!


We went to the Damn Riverside Sports Bar for pizza. This barge was passing through the locks. Told these guys that they would be on Facebook.


The barge's name was the American Beauty.
We watched another barge make a u-turn on the river. Now, that had to be tricky!

Wednesday was a glorious day. The sun was shining. JB went golfing. I was by myself for 4 hours. Clipped coupons and went to a bench on the river to read.


Drove to Balltown and ate at this establishment, which is more than 150 years old. Unfortunately, it burned down and burned a second time when it was under construction a couple of years ago. The locals helped rebuild it and they are once again a thriving restaurant. People come from miles around because they have always had excellent, reasonably priced food.




Thursday was another glorious day and I was by myself again but only for 2 hours. I woke up with half a swollen face, due to a bug bite. Lovely! We still haven't connected with the camp guy and we are leaving tomorrow. Maybe he is just looking for donations. We do like this campground better than the reserved one so it was a blessing in disguise that they got a weeks worth of rain!



A tidbit----German immigrants purchased this land in 1844, envisioning a German settlement. They named the town Guttenberg. The town still has a very German feel.

Went out to lunch today and tried to pay with a debit card. They were out of paper! Have you ever heard of that?

We finally connected with the campground owner after a couple more phone calls. HE was going to connect with us tomorrow but I told him I would rather write out a check and slip it under the office door. He said the door should be open and I should put the check in the cash register. And I did!

Heading for Waukon tomorrow.

Wisconsin Dells

Monday, June 14 was the day we planned to go visit the Wisconsin Dells. Mostly we want to see how much it had changed since we had been there last...many decades. The Dells are known as one of the oldest resort areas in Wisconsin. This area began as the "Dalles" of the Wisconsin Rivr in the 1700's, known as a reference point by the French explorers. The name was later informally changed to the "Dells". When the railroad arrived in 1857, the village was named Kilbourn City, after the railroad founder. The locals and visitors never stopped calling it the Dells so in 1931, the city was officially changed to the Wisconsin Dells.

Everyone remembers that there are ducks at the Dells.

There are several companies who are marketing the land and water things. They were introduced in 1946.

There are dozens of water parks and amusement parks.

.

I can't believe Tommy Bartlett is still going. The show started in the 50's.

Then there are some strange sites.

Two years ago Lake Delton was drained when a

highway dam collapsed, following a huge rainstorm.

All is good now but this plaque commemorates the event.

JB doesn't remember the Dells looking like it does. It has grown an awful lot, just like Branson and many other touristy places.

This is for Timmy.

Tomorrow onto Iowa.

PS I know this format is screwed up but I don't know how to fix it!!!

It's gonna be a good day

Sunday we left Fayette, Michigan and headed down highway 2 towards Wisconsin. It was going to be a good day. We were back in range for the phone and computer to work. (I was really getting behind with my blog postings.) We saw lots of deer, both dead and alive, and were lucky enough to watch a big black bear cross the road ahead of us. Of course, I was too slow with the camera so no documentation. We noticed that diesel prices seemed to be cheaper in the U.P. In Escanaba, we made a stop and filled up for $2.76 a gallon. That's the cheapest we've paid. Woo-hoo! Following the next fill ($2.92) I calculated an astonishing 9.8 m.p.g! Wow, that's a double woo-hoo.!!! The road was so smooth that JB asked me if I wanted to drive. I respectfully declined. Well, most of the roads were smooth. We did have one mishap- the glass pepper shaker fell out of the cupboard and broke into a million pieces. Of course, I had refilled it the day before!!

So we were on our way to one of the half price campgrounds that JB chose in Pardeeville (near the Wisconsin Dells). I only had a tiny map that is in the camping book and no Mapquest so we had to rely on Ms. GPS. That's a scary thing! I tried several times to call the reservations number to confirm they had a spot for us. Kept getting a stupid machine. Finally I decided to call their regular number and it was nice when someone answered. Yup, they had room for us. Their machine had said they close at 2 on Sundays. That seemed kind of weird but we would make it before then so not to worry. We did get to the campground, which had an awful lot of activity. I went in to check in and they wanted us to choose our "VIP site". I sent the staff guy to go with JB so he could choose. He picked #5. Got paid up and went to our site. Because of one vehicle in the way, really couldn't easily get into the site. JB unhooked the pick up and then scratched his head. I thought he should just go straight ahead to #4, but it wasn't as long. What does he do...goes into #4. Man, that must have been a good idea! I went back to the office to ask if we could change from #5 to #4. They were so good! Before I could even say a word, they had a new hanging mirror sign for the pick up with a #4 on it. I was impressed!!!

Keep in mind that we knew the NASCAR race in Michigan had begun about an hour before so we had to hurry up and get the TV going. Everything was going as planned. JB didn't like how I parked the truck sideways in front of the rig so he changed it. OK, now we can watch the race. A short time later JB noticed a pick up and a trailer out on the road in front of us backing up. He thought he would stop before he hit our pick up but he didn't. He must not have had any depth perception or something. Crash! He continued around the circle drive and I went out and yelled and motioned for him to get back here. His buddy in another trailer said he wasn't going anywhere. So then we had to get insurance information and all that crap. The wife was very apologetic.....good thing she wasn't driving!! It's a dent in front of the drivers door with some white paint left. There was alot of groaning and moaning but it could have been alot worse!

The NASCAR race results were most interesting. All of our drivers were within the top seven spots, even Jr.
1. That darn Hamlin #11.
2. Kasey #9
4. Jeff #24
5. Tony #14..he's now #11 in points.
6. Jimmy #48
7. Junior #88

Well, I guess it could have been a better day!!

Fayette in Michigan

Friday, June 11th we were on our way to Fayette, Michigan. Most of you know that JB is from Fayette, Iowa so it was only fitting that we make a planned stop. We found a great grocery store in Manistique, MI- lots of fresh bakery stuff, fresh meat and even some Michigan pasties. (I bought one.)

We only had to drive about 130 miles to get to the Fayette Historic State Park. It threatened to rain most of the way. I had made online reservations so I expected the check in process to be a snap. Well, the young girl did not know very much--probably cheap summer help. I got the impression that I needed to keep pumping questions to her. I finally found out (after she made a confirming phone call) that our reserved site- nor any of the sites- had water. It's was starting to sprinkle and we had to fill the water holding tank. I had asked where that could be done so I wasn't in too much hot water. OK, so now it's raining harder! JB got the rig in it's place and power hooked up! Guess what...no cell phone service and no computer service. There sure were alot of trees around. The next problem will be no satellite signal. That really would be the frosting on the cake. Keep in mind that it is POURING outside.

See the puddles! The satellite tried and tried but could not get a signal. Finally when the rain let up a little, JB tried again and a miracle occurred. We had TV. We will make it now. In hindsight, the website described the campground as "semi-modern". For future reference that must mean no water and sewer.

We did not do any touring on Friday, as it continued to rain. JB spent his spare time tormenting the seagulls, who spent their time tormenting JB by landing on the roof! I wonder what the neighbors thought! We had the beef and potato pastie for dinner. The ingredients included the dreaded "onion" word but somehow JB suggested we buy more if we ran into them in our travels. We sampled a bottle of wine from the old school house that I spoke about in an earlier post. It was called "Homework" and was a sweet pinot noir. Wow, was it good!. Will have to remember to ask Carpenters to bring some back to AZ.

Saturday we toured the historic town of Fayette. It is a village that was started in the mid-1800's and very well preserved, as you can see by some of these photos.

Every building was open and each appointed with examples of related furnishings from the era.

We stopped at the gift shop so JB could buy a memento. The set up of this town site was done to make you feel that you could actually imagine living within the compound. Fayette was once one of the Upper Peninsula's most productive iron-smelting operations. It grew up around two blast furnaces, a large dock and several charcoal kilns after the Civil War. The operations closed in 1891. This was a very good stop and most interesting.

We drove down to the end of this little peninsula to a town called Fairport.
Not much to see except some old, beached boats.

There were really 3 deer here in the park looking at us.

JB was in charge of determining where we will stop tomorrow. Remember, there's no computer to consult for RV parks or Mapquest instructions. Hope he makes a good decision!!!

Happy 2 yr Retirement anniversary- June 10

Thursday, June 10th was our 2 year retirement anniversary. It's hard to believe we have been jobless that long. We can certainly say that we haven't let the dust collect under our feet. We've seen alot of the U.S., many great NASCAR races, visited friends and family and are enjoying spending the kids inheritance! May the fun continue.

We left Leland and drove through the Michigan back roads to get to I-75, which hardly had any traffic. Got to the KOA at Mackinac City, even though there was some major construction on their main road. I asked the KOA guy about the ferry ride to the island..."$21 a person plus everything there is in quantities of $20's " so we decided to fore go the Mackinac Island tourist trap and drive around the big town.

How about a little lesson? Is it Mackinac (like it sounds) or Mackinaw (like it sounds)? Both spellings are interchangeable and both are pronounced with the "AW" sound. I don't get it! It has something to do with the Indians and the French. Long story.

Built in 1892. There are 22 lighthouses in the Mackinaw Straits.




We wonder if Brent's ferry has a rooster tail.

We celebrated at Dixie's Saloon, which was a rather unique restaurant. You could write anything in the wood beams or table without getting arrested!

I should say a little more about Mackinac Island, since it is said to be one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Midwest. The perimeter of the island is 8.5 miles. Motorized vehicles have been banned since 1898. Fudge is the island's primary industry, selling 10,000 pounds a day! Now, that is hard to believe!

Mackinac City has only 900 full time residents. In the summer they estimate between 10,000 and 15,000 come to the city EVERY DAY. No wonder there are so many motels. They all must buy a pound of fudge! This area is described as a premier vacation destination in the summer. It's a very beautiful location, surrounded by clear water but I bet in the winter there is not much action.

The Mackinac Bridge was built because of deer hunters! Well, the story goes like this. Vehicles always rode ferries to go between the peninsulas. The day before the opening of deer season in 1954, vehicles waiting to cross the water were lined up for over 7 miles. It became evident that something had to be done. In 1957 the "Mighty Mac" opened. Over 4 million vehicles cross the bridge each year.

Friday morning it was our turn to cross the "Mighty Mac". Here we go....

Oh, there is construction on the bridge, down to two lanes in some spots.

Only saw one barge and no other water traffic.

It cost us $12.50- our first toll of this trip.

And here we are at the U.P.!!!