George Rogers Clark Memorial

The George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes, IN was originally constructed in 1932 and just last week was reopened after a major renovation. The Happy Travelers met a very nice park ranger who gave us a private tour of the Memorial.

Just over this bridge is Illinois from the George Rogers Clark Memorial and park in Vincennes.
This was the high school where Carl and Marguerite Holt graduated in the 1930's. It is now a community center.
We met Edward Stewart, the historian at the Blue Jeans Center in Monroe City, IN. He knew the Holts, was able to show us some very interesting pictures, as well as gave us a map to Carl's home place. He was a great resource and very much a gentleman.
The Happy Travelers are off to Frankfort, Kentucky and getting closer and closer to Virginia.

Heritage Trail and its Quilt of Flower Gardens

The Welcome Center in Elkhart, IN had a very interesting display and advertisement for the Heritage Trail and its quilt of flower gardens. It was about a 90 mile around trip if you took in all of the gardens and murials. It spanned the area of Elkhart including Warsaw, Goshen, Middlebury, a good bit of Northern Indiana. The first picture is the quilt murial on the front of the Visitors' Center and the next two are a couple of the gardens we got to see. It is at the end of the season so the flowers are getting a bit shaggy. It is another sight that is more beautiful and I am able to capture.



Our next stop will be outside of Vincennes, IN, homeland of the other Happy Traveler's parents (actually it is Monroe City, a small town outside of Vincennes). More later from your Happy Travelers as they wing their way back to Virginia.

Amish Acres, Nappanee, IN

Today we went to Nappanee, IN to a place called Amish Acres. It was a farm owned by 3 generations of Amish and sold in 1962 to a group to become an educational tool to teach people about the Amish. Of course, they have quilts for sale as well as quilts on display. They have a farm house, a grandparents' house, a barn, lots of animals as well as a theater and restaurant. They are relocating buildings from the area and have a relocated a school building as well as a number of outbuildings.



Here are a few of the animals we saw.



Amish Acres is having a scarecrow contest. These are just a few of the cuties hanging around along with lots of pumpkins and gourds.


Tomorrow we are going on a special kind of tour...the Quilt Gardens Tour where folks have actually planted flowers to form quilt blocks. We saw a couple today and tomorrow we will be going to Elkhart and Goshen for a few additional gardens.
More later from your Happy Travelers.

Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana....

Well folks, we didn't fall off the world....just slipping back to home through Iowa...well, we did have a little blip on the radar screen. The bearing on one of the wheels of the trailer went out while we were traveling from the Badlands into Iowa. We were just a few miles from an exit so help wasn't too far away. On to Sioux Falls, Grimes, Iowa, Colona, Illinois, Joliet, Illinois and now Warsaw, Indiana, Hoffman Lake Campground. We are in the country...lots of corn fields, soybeans, etc. It is very serene, tranquil and we just about have the place to ourselves, probably until the weekend. Know that fall is here because the trees are turning and the corn is ready to be harvested.

While we were waiting for the trailer to be repaired, we met Jun Wang, a trucker from China who now lives in Canada. Unfortunately, he had had an accident, wrecked his rig and needed a ride to Sioux Falls to get a plane home. So he rode with us and we chatted for about 120 miles. Haven't heard from him but we sure hope he made it home okay.

Well today we are going to an Amish Farm for a tour and lunch...more later from your Happy Travelers, on the way home but always enjoying the journey.

Badlands and Wall Drug

The Badlands were not bad, they were fabulous. The Indians call them the land of light and stone....that is what they are. I was unable to get a picture of one of the inhabitants...the prairie dog...cute as can be. They have 30 to 40 burrows in an area and pop up and down in those burrows.



We promised that we would stop in at Wall Drug which is South Dakota's answer to South Carolina's South of the Border. There are signs along the highway advertising 5 cent coffee and free ice water 50 miles away....then 45 miles away....40 miles away. It is a real tourist attraction. I just liked the lady and gent that were sitting on the benches. Had to capture them.


Well folks, the Happy Travelers are going to be on the move again, heading east, next stop, Oacoma, SD. Hope to hear from you.

Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument

We took a scenic route to arrive at Mt. Rushmore. It was a narrow, winding road with 3 tunnels through rock that were so narrow only one vehicle at a time could pass. You had to blow your horn before going through. Once we arrived at the Mt. Rushmore complex, we passed under all the state flags, saw a film about the craving of the monument and took a walk with one of the park rangers for some additional history. It was quite patriotic.


We traveled through Custer State Park to arrive at the Crazy Horse Monument and museum. Below are a couple of pictures of the monument, a plaster sculpture and a small bronze. This was quite the attraction with a museum of Indian artifacts, Indian artists, the sculptor's workshop and a replica of his log cabin.



More later from your Happy Travelers who will travel to the Badlands and Wall Drug tomorrow.

Entering South Dakota

The South Dakota Welcome Center and red cliffs across the road were our first stop in South Dakota.

We met this amazing couple at the South Dakota Welcome Center. They were delightful. Myrle gave us so much informtion on what to see and how to see it. He was so enthusiastic, probably the best representative at a Welcome Center that we have met all the way across the country. Pat is Myrle's child bride. We will count them among our treasured memories of this super journey.
My beloved bought me a bundle of wood for a wonderful campfire, the first one we have had in a while. The temperatures dropped and the fire felt really good. Do you see the full moon. Tomorrow we begin our adventure in this part of South Dakota...Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Badlands, Custer's State Park....lots to see. More later from your busy Happy Travelers.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming

We spent the day at the Buffalo Bill Museum. What a place! There was an art gallery, a gun museum, a Plains Indian Museum, the Buffalo Bill Museum, plus gardens, lots of sculptures and Buffalo Bill's Boyhood Home. You could actually spend several days touring this location. I took a lot of pictures but I will only publish a few examples for your enjoyment.


These were a few of the items on display in the Buffalo Bill Museum...there were so many wagons, coats, pictures, posters....you name it,,,it was there. Such an amazing place.


This blanket was made of Russian furs--it looks like a quilt done in lots of different kinds of fur.
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These are a couple of sewing machines from the early 1900's plus a beautiful quilt for my quilting sisters.

These are a few of the items on display in the Plains Indian Museum. There were many beautiful pieces of workmanship, many displays and a few movies to enjoy.



There were sculptures everywhere throughout the museum and gardens. These are a few examples of the artwork.

We will moving on to South Dakota. More later from your Happy Travelers.