...or so Earl said when Barbara asked him to comment on the trip so far. I spoke with Barbara yesterday, my first and only check-in with them since they headed off. When asked for comment, Earl mentioned the above cryptic comment. So we have to assume that something went wrong with the RV's refridgerator. However, Barbara reports that it is "fixed and refridgerating beautifully."
Their week was spent traversing the eastern states of WV, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, SD, and arrived last night in MT, probably in the town of Hardin (get out your gazeteers). Only a week out, Earl and Barbara are one day ahead of schedule, but they promise it's not deliberate. The highlight so far was their visit to the Badlands. They didn't expound, but I assume it was the scenery, and not the gift shops, that caught their eye. In the town of Wall, SD, they visited Wall Drug, which in Barbara's words, is "famous for being famous." Some time in the 1930's, the owners advertised "Free Iced Water" to parched travelers. The self-promotion that followed made it a household name (to households that often talk about obscure tourist traps in the middle of nowhere). Wall Drug went so far as to post a road sign at the SOUTH POLE!! (Monroe Reunion 2013, anyone?) Pictures available in the slideshow below.
I am writing this from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, awaiting my flight to Denver, then to Billings. (Julie and I just spent a week with some friends in a cabin in Michigan not far from Muskegon, thus the Chicago departure.) I should join the Monroetorhome crew a little before 1:00 pm, then it's off to Bozeman, Glacier NP, and points west.
Should the promise of internet connections at motorhome campgrounds turn out to be a case of false advertising, subsequent posts may be few and far between (literally). However, we will do our best. That's all for now. 10 days 'til the Monroe Reunion 2008!! Thanks to Jean Cerar for her tireless work in coordinating, troubleshooting, and wrangling indecisive family members and state park officials.
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2 comments:
Glad to hear the trip is going well. We look forward to hearing about your adventures when we gather at Fort Worden.
Fun family fact about Glacier National Park: Uncle Clarence nearly killed off a number of us when he led a hike up to Grinnell Glacier on the first day of our 1960 reunion. Clarence was in great shape; most of the rest of us weren't. We all limped around, favoring sore muscles, for the rest of the reunion. The only ones to escape this fate were Grandpa and Alberta and Jim (Ed) and Bee, who stayed in camp to tend the fire and start dinner.
Our aches and pains hardly mattered when measured against the views from the trail and our close encounter with a glacier.
Jean
Ha! On my trip with my boys this summer we made absolutely certain NOT to visit Wall Drugs. But Badlands was a highlight for us, too. Especially the no-RV's-allowed campground out at Sage Creek.
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