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| [Ken 07/30/2017] Deb and I have always enjoyed the Rails-To-Trails network of bike paths. They are usually fairly level, and generally away from cities and highways. The better 'Rails-To-Trails' (in my opinion) still feature some of the legacy railroad signals, whistle posts, and water towers. If you are lucky, you will get to ride through old tunnels and across abandoned trestles, as well. Such was the case for us on the George S. Mickelson Trail. | |
The Mickelson Trail reminisces 109 miles of historic train travel from Deadwood to Edgemont through the beautiful Black HIlls of South Dakota. We did just over sixteen miles of this Hall of Fame trail, starting in Hill City, and turning around at 'Trestle Three' about a mile-and-a-half past the ghost town of Mystic, SD. Our out-and-back route took us [twice] up an hour-long climb with a 1765 foot elevation gain, but it was worth it. The rugged, western scenery was majestic and there were plenty of reminders of the vintage steam engines that once hauled loads of gold, silver, and lumber across this old railroad grade. We got a little rain on our way back (mile-marker 26.8) which made the rest of the trail a little muddy, and so we became muddy, too. But that ended up being kinduv fun. From sunshine to rain, it was a great 33.5 mile day of biking.
ON EDIT: Deb and I returned to the Mickelson Trail on 18 August for an "Anniversary Ride." This time we started at the trail's north end, near Deadwood. The old Burlington-Northern railbed has more elevation in the north and offers a different kind of Black Hills' panorama. This section worked its way along a ridgeline for most of the way from Lead (pronounced "Leed") uphill to Dumont. It is such a beautiful trail!
another front yard
[Ken 07/28/2017] Back in beautiful South Dakota, we are at Cedar Canyon Camp for our next SOWER project. This camp is actually located in the foothill suburbs of Rapid City. There is a precipitous, rocky gorge along one side of this RV park, so we shoe-horned Faith into a smaller site on the uphill (safe) side, away from the gorge. We would like to explore the gorge by foot, and not by looking out of our bedroom window!
| Faith came to camp F-I-L-T-H-Y. The trip to Serenity Now Ranch was absolutely beautiful, but the dusty dirt roads left Faith the grimiest we have ever seen. As soon as we were settled into our campsite we hooked up a hose and rinsed all of the brick-red grit from Faith. There was sandy red dust EVERYWHERE, from the exterior, to each crossbeam of the under-chassis and inside the slides and wheel wells. After scrubbing the tires, they still have a red tint! Regardless, she looks much better after her hose-down, but we will need to give her a full bath before we leave Cedar Canyon, I am sure. |  |
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| [Ken 07/27/2017] Believe it or not, there is more road to drive after your visit to Devils Tower National Monument. And if you keep on driving, you end up "on top of the world" in southern Montana. Actually, it's northern Wyoming. Well ... it's really both. We camped for two nights atop a butte on the border of these two states. We were visiting the Serenity Now Ranch, the retirement home to Dale and Karen, two former colleagues of Ken's. |  |
 | We were certainly second-guessing ourselves as we drove the fifty-two miles [mostly] uphill to Serenity Now. This is the dustiest road we had ever taken Faith on. And the powder coating of red grit that envelopes her now is the dirtiest that she has ever been, that is for sure. But once we arrived at this on-top-of-the-world ranch, we knew it was worth it. I have never before seen so many stars at night! |
| CAN YOU FIND FAITH IN THIS PICTURE? We hiked to the top of an adjacent knob to capture this humbling photograph of our boondocking spot. |  |
this could have been the beginning of
the end of the world...
 | During the Cold War (primarily the mid-1960’s through the 1970’s) the United States planted one thousand missile silos around the northern Great Plains of our country. Completely underground and hidden from view, the exact locations were secret to the public. All that could be seen (if you knew where to look) was a low-to-the-ground concrete pad and a couple of modest antennae. It is what was underground that mattered ...so we |
The majority of these underground silos contained ICBMs which were aimed in the general direction of Russia. Of course, Russia had a complementary set of missiles aimed in the direction of the United States. According to the exhibits, it took only one minute for the US Air Force to complete the missile launch cycle (once the order had been given) and about thirty minutes for the missile to fly the approximately 6000 miles over the north pole and into Russia.
CLICK ON INDIVIDUAL IMAGES TO ENLARGE
[Ken 07/25/2017] Several miles from the Visitors Center is a preserved underground launch facility and several miles from that is an actual, restored missile silo. "Only one hundred and fifty of the silos are still in active service," I hear. The remainder of the launch control facilities and missile silos have been filled-in, sealed-up, and the nuclear warheads and missiles removed and destroyed. It is a scary national park facility, especially when you think of what could have happened had either Russia or the United States “turned the launch keys.” It was a "MAD" time (see photo above), for sure.
I had never before been to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. There is a Visitors Center that poignantly illustrates the story of the Cold War and the feeling of America during that time. It was a very uncomfortable story for me to read -- perhaps because I lived during the Cold War. Note: It is not called the "Cold War" because it was fought during the winter.
I had never before been to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. There is a Visitors Center that poignantly illustrates the story of the Cold War and the feeling of America during that time. It was a very uncomfortable story for me to read -- perhaps because I lived during the Cold War. Note: It is not called the "Cold War" because it was fought during the winter.
how do you know
when you are in
south dakota?
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when you see
a 'wall drug' sign
every mile!!!
in the valley of the jolly...[Ken 07/24/2017] In the southwest corner of Minnesota, in the Minnesota River valley, is an insignificant highway pull-off. The exit is for the town of of Blue Earth, Minnesota, and the surprise that greets you is as large and green as they come. And I'm not just talking about the size of the peas that they grow up here! At almost 60 feet tall, the monumental statue of the Jolly Green Giant commemorates the local pea and corn industry and the enduring cannery that has been located in Blue Earth since the very early 1900s. Just down the road stands a statue of the Little Green Sprout, we heard, but we did not see him. Alas... |  |
...ho, ho, ho...green giant!
another front yard
 Winnebago's rally grounds are adjacent to the Winnebago factory. They make only motorized products here (no towables). We hiked over to the Visitors Center and Customer Service Center several times. We also took a tour of the factory. They have 600 acres at the motorhome plant, and 80 of those acres are enclosed. This is a BIG facility! In fact, their motorized product assembly building, “Big Bertha,” is the largest RV building in the world. | [Ken and Deb 07/15/2017] We made our "grand" entrance onto the vast Winnebago Rally Grounds on this Saturday. We were back in friendly Forest City, Iowa, for Winnebago’s annual RV celebration -- the Winnebago 2017 Grand National Rally. This is the third time we have taken Faith back to Forest City -- the second time Faith has been to a GNR. Then there was the time that she was assembled here, of course!  |
We walked through Big Bertha on our tour. From raw chassis to furnished RV (although unpainted), there are rows and rows and rows of motorhomes in various stages of completion creeping down the assembly line at a whopping fourteen inches per minute. Winnebago employs 5400 people – 3200 of them work at the Forest City operation. By the appearance of things at this manufacturing facility, the RV industry is doing very well.
a rainy national rally[Ken and Deb 07/22/2017] We arrived at the Rally gate at the perfect time to score a prime, end-of-the-row, corner, 50amp, site. We were also on a slight rise and had a pretty good look around us at the [approx.] 1400 other RVs on the jam-packed rally grounds. We saw license plates from almost every state, I think, except Alaska and Hawaii. And many from Canada. |  |
| | The rally theme this year was Fabulous Las Vegas. RVs on the grounds were arranged by state, and/or by interest group, and/or by RV type. We spent most of our time at the tent in the “Texas state row.” On Thursday evening, each state prepared a Vegas-type game and their most famous food item to share with all. The green chili stew from New Mexico was my favorite, but the Wild Rice soup from Minnesota was a close runner up. |
| At the Texas row, we made a TexMex dish. California predictably offered wine and cheese at their booth. North Dakota had macaroni and cheese. Tennessee was spiking lemonade with home-grown whiskey. Ohio offered A&W root beer floats (Yum). Georgia made peach smoothies. The rally rumor was that the Colorado row was serving something that was legal only within their state, but it turned out they were pouring [familiar to us] craft beers. Nevada gave out decks of playing cards (they needed a lot of gravy). | |
Deb and I wore our SOWER badges during the GNR. They drew attention and we answered a lot of questions about the ministry. Deb talked frequently about SOWERs and handed out a lot of our AiF business cards, and almost all of our SOWER cards. We knew that there was at least one other SOWER couple at the rally, but we never ran into them (we had noticed the familiar SOWER decal on a towed car parked at the opposite side of the rally grounds).
| | An almost daily rain storm did not dampen spirits at the rally. The schedule was full of seminars, shows, music, parades, food, fireworks, laughter, competitions, and product demonstrations. We attended seminars by Winnebago, Cummins, Onan (our generator), King, and on general topics such as solar, retirement living, and even RV bathroom cleaning. We talked with manufacturer reps from Freightliner, HWH (our hydraulic system), Michelin, BueOx, Whirlpool, Jeep, and many others. |
| In our spare time we bought a freezer full of Iowa meats – they make the tastiest brats up here! There was an endless line of shows in the entertainment tent. We had breakfast one morning in the Winnebago hangar at the local airport. We also went on morning bike rides and enjoyed fellowship with our Winnebago friends from Texas and Colorado. |  |
Of all of the American RV manufacturers, Winnebago is the only one that hosts a nation-wide rally. That speaks to Winnebago Industries close alignment with their customers. RV'ers are a travel-happy, peppy, and social crowd! Although the GNR is hosted by Winnebago and only Winnebago product owners are invited, the rally is really an A-to-Z celebration of the fulfilling RV lifestyle. WooHoo!
north shore region
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[Ken 07/10/2017] Duluth!?! What is there to do in Duluth? Our friends were surprised, and we were [a bit], too. We had driven through Duluth in the late 1990’s on a family vacation and did not see much. We were heading from Mackinac across the "UP" to the Tower-Soudan mine, as I recall. Duluth ended up being nothing more than a gas stop for us on that trip.
| Duluth, birthplace of Pie à la Mode, has a population of about 86,000. The port town sits on the westernmost tip of Lake Superior in “Up North” on the eastern edge of Minnesota. It is a shipping center for grain, lumber and iron ore pellets (called taconite). The dock area is HUGE! Loaded, the freighters leave Duluth and power themselves a significant 2,342 miles along the Saint Lawrence Seaway just to be able to access the Atlantic. | |
Like the rest of Minnesota (that we have explored) there are a number of bike ways in the Duluth area. We toured the Lake Walk and took the trail around Canal Park (and down to the beaches). We also rode around the historic, but small, downtown area (it reminded me of a small, but waterfront version of Denver’s popular LoDo).
We lucked out and found a pre-prohibition brewery in the historic district that had since been converted to a theme hotel -- Fitgers Inn (we like old hotels). We got a room and were able to store our bikes in the garage-sized hotel safe off the restored lobby. Cool! We had dinner at The Boat Club on the outdoor balcony overlooking Lake Superior. A storm was crossing the lake east of us (towards Canada) as we ate. It was exciting to watch from our safe (and dry) distance. .
| | Outside of Duluth, we had the opportunity to tour the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior. I had forgotten how rocky and dramatic the rugged north shore of Lake Superior is. The impressive cliffs are absolutely gorgeous as the waves crash against them from below. A couple of perfectly perched light houses made the scenes worthy of a $12 jigsaw puzzle. Split Rock Lighthouse, about 45 miles outside of Duluth, was our favorite. |
| Almost as an afterthought, we stopped at Gooseberry Falls State Park, just off North Shore Drive. We found a trail map at the Visitors Center and made our way to both Upper and Lower Gooseberry Falls. It is odd to consider such large waterfalls so close to Lake Superior, but I guess the water up on the shoreline of cliffs needs to get down to the lake somehow. It was a great hike on a warm day – a warmth that is finally debuting in this part of Minnesota. NOW ... it is starting to feel like summer! |
It was a solitary November tempest that caused this chunk of rock to claim twenty-nine ships. There was no lighthouse in sight. The US Lighthouse Service took notice. In 1905 construction began on Split Rock lighthouse. Completed in five years, this rugged landmark quickly became one of Minnesota's most photographed landmarks. |
| [Ken 07/10/2017] The North Shore of Lake Superior is dotted with lighthouses. On our brief tour we saw three of them. Split Rock Light is, in our opinion, the most picturesque. Perched atop a striking 130 foot high cliff of mostly iron ore, this iconic lighthouse is perfectly situated to guide ships crossing Lake Superior. To this day, crowds of photographers gather each evening in order to get just the perfect camera shot. | CLICK ON THE VIDEO ABOVE TO WATCH THE LIGHTHOUSE IN ACTION! |
minnesota or colorado?
[Ken 07/07/2017) I was pondering Minnesota sight-seeing options when I discovered that a gas-station map of Minnesota unfolds into the shape of the state of Colorado. "This certainly couldn't be just coincidence?" I thought. This got me to thinking....
Northern Minnesota actually reminds me of the central mountain area of Colorado in many ways (if you could turn the mountains upside down and fill them with water they would be lakes, right?). Most obvious to me is all of the great forests of pine and aspen. There are other kinds of trees in Minnesota, as well, and they all contribute to make the cool summer air smell like Colorado. Then there is the warm sunshine that punctuates all that cool air. Ahhhh...
In the morning there is the lofty smell of wood burning in home fireplaces -- that reminds me of Colorado. There are the bright blue skies with the white, puffy clouds. And the deer run freely through the neighborhoods in both places. A car goes by -- "ka-thunk-thunk" is the unmistakable sound of the left front tire hitting a pothole.
Even the small towns have a craft brewery -- sometimes there is even a moose in the logo. There are a lot of joggers, joggers with dogs, joggers with strollers, kayakers, and bicyclists -- fitness-minded people. And some of those city bike trails become rural hiking trails -- that, too, reminds me of Colorado.
The rustic architectural style would look equally-settled in Colorado as it does in Minnesota -- there is even am expansive variety of log furniture in Minnesota just like Colorado. And life-sized hand-carved wooden bears standing adjacent to entry-ways holding fishing poles, inviting signs, cross-country skis, and such.
In the morning there is the lofty smell of wood burning in home fireplaces -- that reminds me of Colorado. There are the bright blue skies with the white, puffy clouds. And the deer run freely through the neighborhoods in both places. A car goes by -- "ka-thunk-thunk" is the unmistakable sound of the left front tire hitting a pothole.
Even the small towns have a craft brewery -- sometimes there is even a moose in the logo. There are a lot of joggers, joggers with dogs, joggers with strollers, kayakers, and bicyclists -- fitness-minded people. And some of those city bike trails become rural hiking trails -- that, too, reminds me of Colorado.
The rustic architectural style would look equally-settled in Colorado as it does in Minnesota -- there is even am expansive variety of log furniture in Minnesota just like Colorado. And life-sized hand-carved wooden bears standing adjacent to entry-ways holding fishing poles, inviting signs, cross-country skis, and such.
The only difference between the rustic architecture in northern Minnesota and the central mountain area of Colorado is the shape of the stones used in to make the respective fireplaces. Other than that (oh yea ... and the lake vs. mountain thing), Minnesota feels like Colorado to me.
 | sweet! sixteen! |
Deb and I try to find time to kayak in each of the states where we have SOWER projects. In Minnesota, we learned they require a license for your kayak UNLESS you can show proof from your home state that your boat is in compliance. Since neither Texas nor Colorado require a license on non-motorized watercraft, we were not going to be able to show "proof," and as a consequence, not be able to use our boats here.
Not to be discouraged, Trout Lake Camp was able to loan us one of their tandem kayaks. SWEET! As you can see from the picture, we can now say that we have kayaked in SIXTEEN! different states! WooHoo!
Not to be discouraged, Trout Lake Camp was able to loan us one of their tandem kayaks. SWEET! As you can see from the picture, we can now say that we have kayaked in SIXTEEN! different states! WooHoo!
