Only a few days left in Paradise

Mya in the lake after having been flung off the floaty.

I am sitting here in the RV looking out over the lake and have such mixed feelings about going home.  If it were just Jeff and I, we'd stay until the absolute last minute until I have to go back to work but we were talking last night and we feel badly that the girls are not enjoying the time here as much as us. Yesterday we coaxed them out onto the boat and once they get going they have a blast.

(I was a"good mom" this time and videoed them but just tried to upload it and the file is too big - darn!)This has been an incredibly lazy summer so it's probably good we head back to

Us girls staying cool in the lake.

reality now or I never will make it back to work.

The other day I wandered up to the activity building and they have a book exchange there. Perusing the books, I discovered a copy of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie. I've wanted to read that for a long time but never have. It's such a perfect book to go along with our adventure. A true story, Steinbeck travels with his poodle, Charlie, across the United States. Of course, he's not in an RV but something akin to a cab-over camper that he had specially made for the adventure. What a delightful read!! He travels from his place in Sag Harbor, NY up through northern Maine. He mentions a few of the towns we visited last year on our east coast journey. The chapter I laughed out loud at is his attempt to take a "short cut" through Canada on his way to Michigan and the difficulties he has at the Canadian border. Totally reminiscent of our experience last year trying to get to Nova Scotia. Instead of the gun issue, he has a problem because he has no paperwork showing Charlie is vaccinated. This book was published in 1962 and it seems nothing has changed as border crossings go! He had guns and that wasn't even an issue - go figure. He's currently on the west coast and his description of the awe that the redwoods inspires is described perfectly.

The "grieving sky".  Normally, you could see the lake from here.

Steinbeck's description of "The grieving sky turned the little water to a dangerous metal and then the wind got up -" sounds like he's talking about some of the weather we've experienced here.  Last night, we were sitting here watching The Desolation of Smaug and all of a sudden the wind comes screaming out of nowhere and starts blowing everything away. You could see people all over the resort running around outside trying to grab and secure stuff.  It even blew the charcoal grill off the picnic table. Luckily, Jeff got up right before it hit and rolled in the awning, otherwise it would have been a scene right out of the movie RV. We monitor the weather around here all the time but that one snuck up on us. 

"Peeping Tom"

Tomorrow we are going to go into "town" and end our stay here like we started it - buffet at Pizza Hut. Then come back and spend one more afternoon enjoying the lake. Monday is "cleaning day" to get the boat pulled and clean off the slime it's accumulated sitting in the lake. Seeing that makes me really question immersing our bodies in that water - yuk. We just had the outside of the RV cleaned by Brian, our hero. We had a problem with the air conditioning a few days ago and he fixed it lickety split.We didn't know he also did RV cleaning until we saw him at a neighbor's spot cleaning their's. He is an awesome young man. I'm going to assign the girls some indoor cleaning tasks and then maybe we can all spend the last afternoon up at the pool. We are leaving on Tuesday, bright and early and going to try to do the return trip in two days rather than three. We aren't telling the girls though - going to surprise them with day-early return. 

SAD STORY: of this lost baby robin. He must have fallen from
the nest and wandered away. We tried to feed him something
but he didn't take it and I was afraid to touch him in case his
mom did find him. (He's under the RV by the tire).  We let him be
but came out of the RV a few hours later and he was lying on
his side. I picked him up and yelled at Jeff to get some water
but it was too late.  He died in my hands.  This was the same
day I saw the dead deer on the golf course and the dead fish
floating in the lake.  Creeped me out completely. I placed
it under a tree in case it's momma was looking for it but the
next morning all that was left was a pile of feathers.  As Jade
always says, "circle of life".  

Going to enjoy the last few days here though.

It's been awhile

We are just so busy doing nothing that I just haven't sat down to the blog.

The Loch Ness (Nessie) monster.  She showed up after
the flood.  (center of picture). This is the 2nd green of the
flooded golf course.

We are still in Arkansas at our place on Table Rock Lake. I've discovered the joys of listening to audio books and staring out at the lake.  It's hypnotic!  I use the binoculars to count the turtles that show up every day around 5 just in front of home away from home. We also have front row seats to watch all the crazies on their boats and jet skiis. Weekends are crazy but then during the week things quiet down. Jeff and I are enjoying our time here immensely. He goes out fishing every day before we ever get up.  The girls are doing their "sleep til noon" thing. Unfortunately, all they want to do is go home.

I caught a fish!  A large-mouth bass?

We've got the boat, the wakeboard and the big floaty thing we pull behind the boat, fishing poles, an inflatable kayak made for two, my kayak, two swimming pools, pickle ball courts, tennis courts, and of course, the lake.  Maybe it's just too much of a good thing. It's been a little tricky on the lake too.  With all the rain there are tons of logs in the water and we don't need to wreck the boat or the girls running over one of these. But that's improved over the last week.

Jeff and I don't know what we are going to do next year. This place is paradise but apparently not for the girls. We did go out wake boarding again the other day and both girls are getting the hang of it. Jade asked me if I had taken pictures which I hadn't (I'm lousy at remembering to do that when we are on the boat) and she said "What kind of mother are you?!" - jokingly) They aren't interested in going to the pool. UGH!  On the positive side, both of them have finished their summer reading and assignments for their pre-ap classes and we are proud of them for getting that done and out of the way.  

One of Jeff's many catches.  Fishing after dinner - no pressure!

Many people have told me that this is the age when all kids want to do is be with their friends and now I see what they mean. Jeff said when they return to school and are asked to write a paper about their summer vacation, they both can write "We slept - The End".  

Eureka Springs Parking Signs

We made a trip into Eureka Springs (about 25 miles from here) just to window shop and go out to lunch. Jade had fun taking pictures of all the silly, but serious, parking signs.  One said something about "no parking here, violators' cars will be towed to another continent!"  It's an old Victorian town that's been around since the mid-1800s and now is a funky little tourist town with delightful shops selling all kinds of "hippie" stuff. We've been there a number of times in past years and it was fun to hear the girls reminisce about previous visits. 

Went kayaking this morning. I was kind of grossed out when I came upon a dead bloated deer that had washed up on the edge of the flooded golf course - yuck.  There was also a BIG dead fish (catfish?) that had washed up. All that rain that we got last week made one heck of a mess of the area. In early June when this happened, they opened the spillway to let out some of the water but they haven't done that this time. There are three or four dams in this area that all work in sync with one another and it's a balancing act to keep the water levels where they need to be on each lake.  Apparently, one of the dams has a problem and they have to lower the water on that lake so they can fix the floodgate problem. So they can't release water from this lake until they can drop the other lake levels down and complete the repairs.  

These grow wild all over the place.

When I kayak I love to just go slowly right along the shoreline because I always see something interesting; birds, deer, flowers, etc. But because of the water level, there is a lot of trash that's floating around so shore cruising isn't exactly pretty at the moment. Although this morning I saw a number of herons and some beautiful flowers. Also saw a deer just lying in the woods and she didn't spook when I drifted by.  I'm getting quite stealthy in my kayak. The other day I found an old fishing tackle box floating on the shoreline.  

Some kind of puff ball flower.

I hauled it in to the kayak hoping for some good local lures but no such luck. Just old rusted stuff.  What I need to do is get a big net I can drag behind my kayak and pick up some of the trash.  Makes me sad to see so much yuck in the lake.  LOTS of plastic bottles.  We are killing our planet:-( ~sigh~)

The Branson Belle stearnwheeler.  I think this is a
dinner/gambling place.

The other afternoon we took the boat out and went way up to the dam.  Now we have seen it from both land and water.  I didn't like being that closed to the spill gates though. I could just imagine them opening up and sucking us through there - horrors!  We've been looking for restaurants along the shore so we could just jump in the boat and drive to dinner. There is one not to far from here but it's in an exclusive club and the prices are out of this world. I don't think we packed clothes appropriate for dining in such a place.  We are looking for the shorts, t-shirts, and flipflops kind of places and surprisingly, there don't seem to be too many of those within easy boating distance. We did find a great burger place - Blue Eye Burgers - in the little town of Blue Eye about 7 miles from here.  Awesome burgers!  It's a family-run business, so friendly, and the place is so clean and quaint. We've seen a crowd parked outside every time we've driven by.  We really are in the sticks out here.

We are scheduled to leave for home a week from tomorrow. There's a lot of rain in the upcoming week's forecast.  I hope it's wrong because we can't take much more water here and it will mean more debris in the lake. I'm going to miss feeding the chipmunks, hanging out at the pool, and watching all the activity on the lake. On the up side, we won't have four people sharing one bathroom anymore!The girls will be delighted.

Rain, Rain Go Away . . .

Made it back to Arkansas Tuesday. The dang rain has been hounding us the whole way.  Driving into St. Joseph was hairy.  We were only about 20 miles from our destination, Sharp RV park, when the skies opened up.  What started as a drizzle became a deluge in short order.

It got worse than this but I was too nervous to take more
pictures.  Even froggy (bottom right) is dazed by the rain:-)

 I don't think I've ever been on a highway when EVERYONE had their flashers on and driving about 10-15 miles an hour.  Scary stuff.  Especially on a major freeway with all the big trucks.  They had their flashers on too.  

So we get parked (only $25 for the night - full hookup - a bargain!  And a cute place) and turn on the TV to see what the weather says and there is a tornado warning just north of us. Yippee! We didn't get anything out for dinner because we thought we could have pizza delivered like the last time we passed through St. Joe but we were in a different RV park and apparently too far away.  No worries.  I saw a sign for Olive Garden as we exited so we unhooked the car and had a yummy dinner there.  If you've never tried the Portobello Ravioli, it's delicious. 

When we left on here on the 24th to head north we told the folks at the reservation desk that we would be back on the 7th or 8th.  Our lot is in the rental pool (so we can make money on it when we are not using it) and we didn't want them putting someone in our spot when we would need it.  So we called them on 7/6 to remind them that we would be back on the 7th.  WELL . . .  they had rented our spot through the 9th (some type of miscommunication I guess - argh) so we are sitting in one of the HOA lots up by the activity center. Which isn't so bad - it's right near the laundry too so Mya and I did a load of towels and everyone's blankets yesterday.  We didn't want to disturb the other people in the middle of their vacation.  I feel badly for them.  It's rained the entire time they've been here:-(

A little bit of water around here.

But it's STILL RAINING! It seems to be following us.  There is a squall line from Dallas up through Missouri and it seems like it keeps reforming. It rained all day Tuesday, yesterday there was slight break, and then it started again yesterday afternoon.  It stops a bit in the evening which is convenient for a short stroll around the neighborhood. Then last night I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of the sky opening again.  Geesh! According to the weather map, there is a 60% chance of rain again today.  Can you say "Stir Crazy". Might have to challenge the girls to a ping pong game at the activity center if this keeps up.  They also have a gazillion puzzles in there.

He has his boat back - we're happy.

Pretty lilies around here - covered in raindrops.

The lake is back up and covering the golf course path again.  The trees, logs, and various other debris are still all piled up from before we left and it's just getting added to.  The good news is we got the boat back and fixed and ready to go. The bad news is there is more debris in the lake because of all the rain. The good news is it doesn't matter because I told Jeff he can't drive more than 5 miles an hour so the boat doesn't get hurt - lol!  

The sun peaked out while I was typing this but the clouds are moving in again - ack!  It's supposed to clear out for the weekend and get up into the low 90s. That should make for some fine steamy weather.  But hey, as they say, a bad day of fishing (or camping) is better than a good day at work. Time for me to go for a walk before it starts pouring again.  

Beautiful Black Hills - South Dakota

We made it!  So strange feeling to see it in real life.

What a beautiful place we have landed.  The Black Hills area of South Dakota is just gorgeous.  Forested rolling hills and grasslands and everything so green. They've been getting a lot of rain like us in Texas.  The campground is nothing to speak of although it's located right near a beautiful lake and park with trails (and of course, the girls love the excellent wifi!).  But we are right in the middle of everything. So our first day here, July 2nd, we decided to go to Mt. Rushmore and beat the crowds that undoubtedly would show up for the special events on the 3rd and 4th.

Patriotic touch to the whole experience.

Jeff and the girls

We are kind of weird in that we try to avoid crowds at all costs. Seems to us it makes for a better experience.  Anyhoo . . . once we got settled in our rv spot, we headed right to Mt. Rushmore. One of the rangers we spoke to said they were getting at least 58,000 visitors a DAY! He said the 3rd and the 4th would be way busier than that - ack! So surreal to actually be there looking up at the monument.  The entrance has pillars on each side with each state flag and the date it became a state. As you look through the pillars, the mountain is sort of framed by it.  You can stand at the top of the amphitheater and look up at the mountain but you can also walk the "President's Trail" and get a view from different angles looking up from below the monument.

July 3rd - Crazy Horse Monument. Not much work being
done at the moment.

They had interpretive information about the electricity needed to keep the jackhammers and other equipment running. They noticed that on Monday's they seemed to have a shortage of electricity and they couldn't figure out why. They looked into it and realized that it was laundry day and the women were all doing laundry and draining away some of the electricity. So they had to come up with a way to get more electricity to the site to keep the jackhammers running smoothly. I thought that was funny!

Survivors of the Battle of Big Horn 1876 - Reunion in 1948

July 3rd we headed over to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is privately run and receives no federal funds but the visitor center and museum are fabulous.
However, I was saddened at what the "white man" did to the Native Americans.  The museum doesn't dwell on that, it's really a celebration of their culture and heritage. But I felt less than patriotic thinking about our history as a people and what we did to "claim" the United States. Visiting both of these monuments at the same time left me feeling extremely conflicted.

Weaving - shows the plants that were used to dye the strands
used to create the pattern - fascinating.

Today during our drive (we are heading back to Arkansas) I downloaded the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".  I bought the book years ago but never read it but it just seemed timely so I'm listening to it as we drive. Once again, wishing I'd paid more attention in history class.  The museum had so many examples of native american clothing, ceremonial headdresses, weapons, peace pipes, pottery, etc.  Almost too much to take in all at once. I could have spent hours there but alas, my traveling companions are not quite as intrigued by it all. Of all the places we've been on this trip, this was my favorite stop.

Artwork - made of all scrap metal soldered together - intricate.

Had lunch in a little town called Hill City and strolled the streets looking at all the tourist stuff.  There were a bunch of sculptures done by one particular artist, all made from scrap metal.  Just beautiful and so fun to look at all the different pieces he used to create the final sculpture.

Poor Wild Bill

Our final destination in and around Rapid City was Deadwood, site of the demise of Wild Bill Hickok.  What a fun town. Most of the buildings are the original building, well, the ones they made out of brick after an early fire destroyed most of the town because the buildings were made from wood.
We didn't go on the bus tour but did wander up and down the main street.  Went into Saloon #10 where Wild Bill was murdered during a poker game.  Apparently, he was holding two black aces and two black eights and now that is called a deadman's hand.

Some of the original buildings in Deadwood

About 5 miles from Deadwood is Sturgis, the place where the Harley Rally is held each year. 2015 is the 75th anniversary.  We have seen more motorcycles in the last three days than we have seen in three years in Texas.  The topography of the area is perfect for motorbike riding.  Twisting, turning, hilly roads.  Interestingly enough, Sturgis doesn't haven't much appeal but Deadwood is a hoot.  Jeff and I both want to come back to this area. We didn't get to Devil's Tower NP in Wyoming just across the border and we didn't stop at Badland's NP on our way out today.

Kinda creepy

 I was afraid we wouldn't fit what with being in the RV and towing the car. Now we have an excuse to return some day. Add it to the bucket list.

We left at 8 a.m. this morning to head back to Arkansas.  Once you leave the Black Hills area it's all grassland again. Jeff fought a crosswind for 320+ miles today and it's stinking hot. Not the usual temperature today. We are settled into an rv park in North Platte, Nebraska for the evening and it's 93 degrees. The forecast for tomorrow is a high of 76 so some kind of cold front is headed this way - Yay!!!!  We are just talking about which way to head home and I told Jeff I'm pretty done with grassland - lol!  I think it will be freeway driving tomorrow.  What I would like to do is come back to this area in late March.  The North Platte area is the flyway for the Sandhill cranes as they make their way north each year. Hundreds of thousands of cranes stop along the North Platte river as they make their way up into Canada, Alaska, and Russia.  I would LOVE to see that.  I wonder if you can drive an rv up here that time of the year.

Calling tomorrow to see if the boat is fixed.  Want to spend some time on the lake when we get back to Arkansas.  Sounds like it's raining there again.  Hopefully, we CAN get back, no flooded roadways.  Ah, always an adventure!

North Dakota - Canola and other types of oil

Who knew that North Dakota was an agricultural state.  It looks like Iowa!  They are the nation's top producer in everything from wheat, to beets, to canola.  And who knew that canola was a plant crop. It's the most beautiful sight, whole fields of bright yellow.

Canola - fields of gold

 Jade looked out the window and thought it was the sun shining on just one area. Even though the day was overcast, the fields were bright, bright, bright. It's where canola oil comes from. They process the plants for the oil and the "scrap" parts are fed to livestock.  No waste!  But I think we've seen enough farm and pastureland for awhile now.  It's been overcast but added to that is the smoke. The whole way across ND was dingy because of the heavy haze. We drove almost all the way across the state on Hwy 2.  Ended up spending the night in Williston.  Such a sad site.  We went from beautiful farmland to fracking land.

Buffalo Trails (Chip!) Campround, Williston, ND

Apparently, ND is in the middle of being exploited by the oil companies just like south Texas.  There are oil derricks everywhere flaring off the natural gas into the air. Even without the added smoke the place was just dusty and dirty and gross. The RV park we stayed in (the only one for miles or we would have gone somewhere else) was basically a worker camp.  There are vehicles from all over the US - people coming for the work in the oil fields. They had a help wanted sign up at Wal-Mart; they were paying $17/hr. The prices of food proved how they were able to pay that!  I've never been down to south Texas around Karnes County where all the fracking is going on but

Flaring off the natural gas - what a waste.

now I can only imagine. It's too bad they have to destroy a place.  The name of the geological area is the Bakken Formation and apparently is runs under Montana, ND and Saskatchewan. Because of the oil and gas development, ND has the highest employment rate in the US.  It's all about the money - seems like it always is.  

Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Two of the "strays" that the big guy called back into the herd.

We were glad to head south and we were richly rewarded in our journey.  The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is on the western side of the state and the landscape changes dramatically from the farmland.  It reminded us a little of parts of Arizona.  We have been to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest and it was similar to that. There are actually pieces of petrified trees in the park and the coloring of the landscape, while not as dramatic, was still beautiful. The girls were delighted to see the Prairie Dog "towns" in the park.  Acres of prairie dog mounds with the little critters running everywhere, sitting up on their haunches to stare at us, and then squeaking a warning to the others. It was hysterical, hundreds of them.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get a decent picture of them. I did get a decent picture of some bigger critters though.  We turned a corner and were greeted by an entire herd of buffalo!  Daddys, mommas, and babies. So huge!  And so close to us.  They walked right by the car.  Mya was a little freaked out!  A few of them has split off and gone to the other side of the road and I saw one huge male stick his head over the guardrail and "talk" to the others as if to tell them they were going the wrong way and to get back with the others.  And they did!!  He was trying to keep them all together and you sure could tell he was the boss!  The visitor's center was fascinating.  I always in awe

Teddy's first home in ND.  I want to spend the night here.

by the spectacular work the park service does to develop and maintain the parks and the interpretive information they provide.  Roosevelt said that he would never have become president had he not visited ND. It was a life-changing experience for him. He went from a privileged city politician to an avid conservationist and outdoorsman because of his experience there.  Instead of wanting to kill everything, he realized the importance of preserving these beautiful places.  I forget how many parks he is responsible for adding to the park system but it was a lot. We got to see his original cabin (the one further into the park at Elk Ranch doesn't exist any more).  I wanted to stay the night there - so cute.  He even had a waffle maker!!  Go figure! And a buffalo hide for a blanket.  So quaint.  

Thank goodness for Teddy.

Remember the movie "Night at the Museum" - flashback!

If I was independently wealthy, I think I would spend my life visiting every National Park in America.  Every time I visit one, I'm so disappointed that I didn't pay more attention in history class.  There is so much fascinating information that explains so much about our world today. As a teacher, I wish there were a way for all students to experience this first hand. As someone who lived in the same place for 48 years, I am finally getting so see all those things I may  have heard about but didn't really appreciate until now. Feeling a little like I'm making up for lost time. I so hope the girls look back on this and at some point realize the gift we are giving them. They keep saying all they want to do is get home - and all they care about is whether the campground has good wifi.  It's a little frustrating.  But then I remembered the summer before high school when my grandparents took me to England.  I was such an ass.  God bless you, Nana and Grandpa for putting up with me.  And thank you for the experience, even if I didn't appreciate it then.  If I'd only known . . .

Itasca Lake State Park

Mya making the "walk"

Jade put her finger in - wouldn't
take off her shoes!

We made it!  And such a great park center too. They had a gift shop (Mya was happy!) and a cafe (we all were happy).  But most importantly we got to walk across the headwaters of the Mississippi and dabble our toes in the water.
There were a bunch of people there, everyone splashing in the water. Made for a festive atmosphere. Saw a few little fish and a crawdad (or something like that) in the water.  So clear, not like the other end that's so muddy and brown. The drive to Itasca SP was a little hazy. There are a bunch of fires burning in Canada and the smoke it drifting down to us. Makes the sun look like a giant red ball in the sky.

He stuck his fingers in - and then splashed us all!

Minnesota is really a beautiful place and the weather is so temperate. None of us miss the humidity that's for sure.  We can sleep with the windows open listening to the birds and breathing the fresh air - so pleasant.

After leaving the headwaters we headed northwest to Grand Forks, MN. right on the border between MN and ND.  We stayed at a state recreation area and it was beautiful.  It's located right on the banks of the Red River.

Caretaker Woman at Itasca

Story of the "Caretaker Woman" and her turtles.

 I went for a stroll to stretch my legs and found that the area has a tragic story.  In 1997 they had a HUGE flood and it wiped out thousands of homes and businesses.  When they rebuilt the area they put in levees and dikes to try to control massive amounts of water in the future and they didn't rebuild the houses downriver from that area - they turned it into this
State Recreation Area. The place is called Sherlock Park after the neighborhood that was wiped out.  They have a map showing the streets and the names of the families that used to live there.  Such a sad story but such a beautiful restoration of a place.  When Jeff and I were out walking after dinner we saw a number of police in boats and on the banks.  Looked like they

Story of the headwaters - Oh, there is Jade in the background.

were looking for something or someone.  Then when we get parked last night and were watching the news we find out that they were searching for a missing person and that they had found him, drowned!!  Yikes!  That's what we thought but to hear it confirmed was kind of creepy since we were right there.

Monday - North Dakota.  I haven't heard anyone say anything positive about North Dakota so I'm wondering what we are headed into.  We are traveling highway 2 - supposedly one of the most scenic drives in America.  Stay tuned!