Van made it to USA

[MOJO]

National Museum of the USAF

Based in Dayton ,Ohio this museum is huge,no surprise.
It takes a day to rush through all the exhibits and not just aircraft but also their nuclear missile arsenal.
Pics speak louder than words.

Struggling a little with this idea you can use Walmart to overnight.The idea is very convenient but we come across signs saying no RV overnight at some locations forcing a move to the next town that may not have such exclusions.
Last night we moved on to be told at the second to park with trucks on adjacent lot.
A noisy night .
Maybe in years gone by they were more lenient or in more western states it will be easier ?

 

[MOJO]

2cv. Falling Waters not on our westward route unfortunately
Thanks

 

[MOJO]

Update on the Walmart stopovers.Here in Dayton I made my usuall enquiries in Walmart for stay over permission.This time I spoke to a security officer and told they stopped allowing RV parking on all Walmart's three weeks ago !
Typical luck I thought ,just as we arrived.
However.
He explained that Sam's Club is a Walmart subsidiary and RVs are allowed . Usually nearby these are like our Costco but close at 8:30pm so less problematic than the 24hrs Walmart.
Now after 9pm and the trucks are arriving

 

[Monasdelight]

I have found your article (trip) very interesting so far, and look forward to your next post. Maybe a rude question (sorry!!) my husband and I are in our early 60's and retired, our you of a similar age. It's something we would love to do but not sure whether we have left it too late to really enjoy. In 2011 we relocated an RV from LA to Orlando, it took us 3 weeks and we loved every minute of it, that trip was why we purchased our Auto-Trail Scout. Enjoy your amazing journey.

 

[MOJO]

Hi Monasdelight
We are early sixties

Walmart remarks

Trivial but true,I have not found any blue cheese in the many Walmart's now visited ,my favourite.
Sugar free anything is a challenge.We had two shop workers looking all over for a sugar free dilute drink ,no luck and surprised we wanted it sugar free.
Last thing,they have electric chairs with baskets for free use at the entrance and you see perfectly healthy people walk up and use them!

 

[Winks]

My only trip to the States was about fifteen years ago and was limited by time to Vermont/ New Hampshire/ Massachusetts which is a big dairy producing area, Ben and Jerry etc. We struggled to find anything resembling cheese and ham was always adulterated with some sweet gloop or other. But the folk were polite and friendly even in Boston.

Really enjoying the thread, thank you.

Cheers

H

 

[MOJO]

Immersed our selves in American society today by visiting the Indianapolis State Fair on a very hot day.Allowed to camp for 10 bucks .Huge set up with far too many foodstalls ,but the agricultural and livestock programme very good.An eclectic mix of music and dance venue's meant for a great all American experience .Some pics.

 

[MOJO]

You notice even the police joined in the line dancing.We avoided the doughnut burger but did eat a elephants ear

 

[The laird]

You notice even the police joined in the line dancing.We avoided the doughnut burger but did eat a elephants ear

Looks like your having a great time

 

[MOJO]

A surprisingly quiet central Springfield , Illinois today for our ,all things Abraham Lincoln day.
This city is where he arrived in his late twenties to practice law.He came from a very poor farming family in Indiana .
Here he married and lived for 17 years before becoming President .They had four sons but only one lived to adulthood.
The city is proud of their association and have a excellent museum charting his life there and subsequent presidency.
He only ever owned one house and you get a free tour of the pleasant but simple middle class detached property.
Thoroughly enjoyed getting to learn about the great man and his family life.Will visit his memorial,his body was returned here, in the morning before continuing our westward direction.

 

[MOJO]

Buy a house in Abe's town ?

 

[2cv]

Enjoying seeing the updates, St.Louis arch next perhaps?

 

[MOJO]

That's about October

 

[MOJO]

Nauvoo. 9 Aug

Well,when you only have a rough idea of the direction you wish to follow you end up discovering places.
Today we came to the City of Nauvoo (Hebrew for "they are beautiful".Not really a city but a successful Mormon settlement on the Mississippi River in Illinois.
A fascinating story unfolded of the arrival and huge growth of the community over a short span of seven years before persecution finally forced them to leave on the amazing journey to settle again in Salt Lake City.Led by John Smith to this area in 1840 who oversaw it's growth he was arrested and ,along with his brother, murdered by a mob of 200 in the jailhouse of Carthage,a small nearby town.This prompted the exodus just months after completing the enormous stone temple.
It has all the streets but only a few buildings from the original 2500 .The area is a huge museum to the past with people in costume showing the buildings,crafts,cart rides,music,etc all FREE.
Because it's owned by the Community of Christ you are given some religious information at the locations but not pushy, acceptable as your not paying for visit.
The temple was destroyed by fire and then tornado but a exact replica has now been built .

 

[Clunegapyears]

We did a bit out of Chicago on route 66. Spent the night at St Louis and did the museum and Abe’s house. The museum also houses a section on the civil war and the LACK OF AND BARBARIC medical treatment. I was emotionally scarred. Most of the guns supplied seemed to have come from England.

 

[MOJO]

We just had to visit the classic Americana tourist trap of Carhenge just north of Alliance.
This pop art ,built 1987,represents the stones of Salisbury Plain using 38 old Cadillacs, Plymouth's and Chevy's.
Crazy but a fun sight.

 

[MOJO]

Nebraska 15 Aug
First today was Chimney Rock .A iconic pinicle rock on the Oregon Trail.After nearly 600 miles across the plains this would have been the first sight for all emigrants signifing the start of the Rockies.
A further 23 miles brought us to Scottsbluff.
The town sits below the 800ft sandstone rampart that has a pass for the Oregon Trail.
A National Monument run by the NP employees, we had a mini bus to the top and a 1.5 mile walk down to the visitor centre that houses a simple Oregon Trail Museum.
Others came and went whilst it seems to take us best part of the day to explore and read.
On to a little visited but poignant reminder of the trails hardships.A grave outside of town with a bent iron bar headstone discovered after grass fire.On the bar is inscribed "Rebecca Winters ,Age 50"
Research has found her family who made it to Salt Lake ,she had died of cholera and the grave is unusual in that most graves were directly under the trail to avoid animals digging . Notice bullet hole in info board.
Walmart tonight.

 

[The laird]

Nebraska 15 Aug
First today was Chimney Rock .A iconic pinicle rock on the Oregon Trail.After nearly 600 miles across the plains this would have been the first sight for all emigrants signifing the start of the Rockies.
A further 23 miles brought us to Scottsbluff.
The town sits below the 800ft sandstone rampart that has a pass for the Oregon Trail.
A National Monument run by the NP employees, we had a mini bus to the top and a 1.5 mile walk down to the visitor centre that houses a simple Oregon Trail Museum.
Others came and went whilst it seems to take us best part of the day to explore and read.
On to a little visited but poignant reminder of the trails hardships.A grave outside of town with a bent iron bar headstone discovered after grass fire.On the bar is inscribed "Rebecca Winters ,Age 50"
Research has found her family who made it to Salt Lake ,she had died of cholera and the grave is unusual in that most graves were directly under the trail to avoid animals digging . Notice bullet hole in info board.View attachment 37104View attachment 37105View attachment 37106View attachment 37107
Walmart tonight.

 

[MOJO]

South Dakota 18 Aug

Drove through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to reach the Badlands NP.
A sad sight to behold .Many towns on our travels are obviously down on their luck but on a reservation it gets one stage worse.
A huge area of grassland interspersed with tiny settlements mostly all using what we would call static caravans in ruinous condition often with collections of trashed cars.
Before and after the reservation on the same grassland they have prosperous looking farms but the Indians showed no obvious signs of success from a western perspective.
It reminded us of our travels through Aboriginal lands in Australia who also did not emulate their emigrant neighbour's.
Roads were fine,good looking schools and hospital were seen but the communities ?

Wounded Knee .

Some may know of its part in the Indian wars.Effectively the last conflict that ended approximately the 30 years of fighting since the end of the civil war in 1865.
Winter 1890 ,the USA massacred men,women and children on this very spot .The pics explain.

Tonight on this site just outside Badlands NP we had a mishap.Sitting outside in cool wind for a cuppa in 37 deg it suddenly blew a gale.At this moment the door slammed shut across the fly screen and would not open.The cab door was locked.Thankfully the garage was not and with the stepladder I climbed in through the open bedroom window.Phew!
Fellow campers bemused.

 

[MOJO]

South Dakota 19 Aug

After two weeks of sunshine today we have gales and rain.Sitting it out on site I notice The Minuteman Missile Site 10 miles out of the NP.
Drove through the weather to check it out.
What a surprise.
Run by the NP service it is a small museum of the cold war and the ICBM silos stationed underground here on the Great Plains.
Strange to think we are surrounded by these missiles even today.
Not pleased to learn that the Americans and Russians have both had about six mistaken alerts each over the years !
Disconcerting but educational way to spend a wet afternoon.
Rain held off on our return long enough to get some pics of the Badlands.