Day 18 ~ Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Our first full day in Cedar Rapids.  We found a wonderful kennel to put the boys in during our stay here.  Shortly after our viewing of the kennels, we drove over to Aunt Pearl's house to surprise her of our arrival.  So cute!  We called her and told her we were in her driveway.  She of course panicked because she had curlers in her hair.  No need for her to worry!!!  We have seen her in curlers before!

We visited with Pearl and Steve for about an hour then left to go surprise our cousin Barbie at her workplace.  It was fun!  John had the girls at the front desk tell Barbie that Dr. Nolte was there to see her, you could hear Barbie laughing on the phone!  What a great reunion!  Such a wonderful family.

The RV Park is getting full, Labor Day Weekend and all.  We feel very blessed to have such wonderful accomodations and are looking forward to spending our time here in Iowa with the family.

Aunt Pearls Place

Pearl's neighborhood

John & his 93 year old Aunt Pearl...She is amazing!!!

Day 17 ~ Clear Lake, Iowa to Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Our stay here in Clear Lake has been such a wonderful experience.  When we got up this morning we only can hope that our next destination at Squaw Creek in Marion (Cedar Rapids) would be as nice of an RV Park.

While John went to fuel up the truck, I got everything cleaned up and ready to go for our next destination.  We know our drive today isn't a very long one, no need to rush out because we have so enjoyed this area.

The boys (Tanner & Frankie), were so happy to be on the road again.  I think this is when they get their best rest.  Tanner has allergies really bad, John is going to have him checked out at a local vet in Cedar Rapids when we get there.  His eye seems to be very swollen and irritated.  We thought we had all our arrangements made to kennel them while we are in Cedar Rapids, but it seems all doggie day cares and kennels are booked solid. 

We arrived Squaw Creek RV Park at 2:00.  WOW!!!  This park beats ALL parks that we have EVER stayed at!!!  We are so glad to be staying here for seven days.  Who knows, we may change and stay longer!

Once we got all set up, Lori phoned us to see if we wanted to come by for dinner.  Why of course!!  We could not wait to see Jim and Lori...

What a great evening!!  We packed up the doggies and staked them in Jim and Lori's back yard.  They gave us a tour of their house..OMG, it's an absolute HGTV Home!  Lori is quite talented...I think she's related to Martha Stewart!   Chad (Lori's son) and his wife Dana flew in from Texas for the reunion and we got to meet them for the first time.  What a GREAT visit.  Lori made us homemade chicken enchiladas.  And...let's not forget dessert, brownies with heath bar crunch on top.  Bye bye weight loss!  lol!!

Fun day, Fun Evening.  Back to Camp Nolte!

Day 16 ~ Clear Lake, Iowa

Hot summer day today!  It reached 98 degrees with a wonderful breeze.  Couldn't ask for better weather.  I know it sounds too hot, but with the wind if felt good!  We are loving this RV Park.  We did Laundry last night in a super "Old" building with brand new washer and dryers.  This Laundry Room is run by an honor system.  You pay $1.00 for each load of wash and $1.00 for each dryer used.  They have a box where you put your money. 

We went into town today and saw the Surf Ballroom.  Amazing!  We had no idea the history behind this Ballroom.  It was such an awesome surprise.  This is where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper performed their last live performance.  Soon after their winter concert here, their plane crashed shortly after take off out of Mason City Airport (Clear Lake, Iowa).  February 2, 1959.  When you walk into this Ballroom/Museum, it's like walking back in time.  It was such a moving experience.  This was definately a big highlight to our vacation. 

After some time spent at the Ballroom, we enjoyed the down town Antique Stores and Boutiques.  What a fun day it was.  We ended it with a Yummie Pizza from "The Other Place" Pizza  Joint here in town. 

Out for a mid morning walk......

RV Site in Oakwood RV, Clear Lake, Iowa

Morning Stroll

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Entrance to the Stage where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper walked through for the last time,  2/2/1959

This is the "Green Room", prior to performance, they staged in here.  Walls are signed by other groups who performed here at the Surf Ballroom....ie...Waylon Jennings, Dwight Yokum, Lynard Skinner etc....

Just past this marker is where the plane went down that night.

Day 15 ~ Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Clear Lake, Iowa

A Thunderstorm came through this morning.  Both John and I were happy to have gotten up earlier than usual and got everything ready to go when the storm actually hit our area.  It lasted for about and hour and a half.  The skies were black and the rain came down so hard I thought it was going to dent our fifth wheel and truck.  The Thunder Roared and the lightening strikes were frightening!!  Tanner snuggled with me on the couch, he was so scared!

After the storm went through, we hooked up and headed to Iowa.  We stopped in Albert Lea, Minnesota to fuel up & take a break.  They have some really nice Travel Centers out in this area.

We made it to Clear Lake, Iowa around 2:30pm.  What a lovely area!  The Resort here is so Awesome!  The lake houses remind us of the 1940's 1950's era.  We are staying at Oakwood RV Park, just a hop, skip and a jump to the lake.  We took Tanner and Frankie to the City Park swimming.  It's just been another wonderful day and we are looking so forward to our day tomorrow! 

Bye Bye Yogi!!!  Leaving Sioux Falls, SD

I-90 East....Minnesota/corn fields and power lines as far as the eye can see!

Rest Area in Minnesota



Pretty Self Explanatory



Playing in the Lake at the City Park



A Good Swim at Clear Lake City Park



Day 14 ~ Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Very Very Hot here today!  We took the day off just to have a day of doing nothing!!  We enjoyed getting things organized and cleaned up.  We drove into town mid afternoon to get stocked up on groceries, boy is there alot of road construction!!!   We also enjoyed meandering at the Scheels Sporting Goods Store.  After our errands were done, we went back to the fifth wheel and just did some reading and relaxing.  I made a nice dinner, then after dinner we took the dogs over to the Sioux Falls Park.  Beautiful relaxing day and a wonderful warm evening spent at the park. 

Our Morning Ritual....Good Cup of Coffee!!!

Jellystone Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Sioux Falls Park

Day 13 ~ Badlands, South Dakota Sioux Falls, South Dakota

All that fresh air yesterday hiking on the trails in the Badlands, both John and I slept like babies!  Got up later than usual, we weren't sure if we were going to pack up camp or get on the road again.  We loved this campground but decided we needed to hit the road, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get to Cedar Rapids.

Before we left today, John gave Tanner a good bath at the KOA's Doggie Wash Station.  Frankie seems to be pretty darn happy because he didn't undergo the garden hose!  We left camp at 10:00am.  We were on the road for about 5 hours.  The traffic is so light out here in the middle of nowhere.  It's good traveling!

We made it to Sioux Falls, SD and have decided to stay at Jellystone RV Park.  Yep...Yogi Bear lives here!!!  Nice park....lot's of lawns and not very busy at all.  We decided to have dinner at the Cracker Barrel.  Had a fabulous dinner.  Our waitress was the best.  They sure like to visit here in Sioux Falls!  It was a good travel day.  Having a Great time!

Day 12 ~ Spearfish, South Dakota to Interior, Badlands South Dakota

Started our day early.  John took the boys to the local vet to have them checked out because they are itching so much.  We wanted to make sure they weren't infested by fleas or maybe even an allergic reaction to something.  Turns out they are perfectly flea free, but have very dry skin from the weather here.  A little Benedryl and a special shampoo treatment and they should be fine.  We just don't want the itching to turn into "Hot Spots".

We left Spearfish around 11:00 am, headed for the Badlands National Park.  We stopped in at Wall Drug, in Wall, South Dakota.  What a GREAT place!  We enjoyed the specialty shops and bought a few souveniers.  We certainly are in Cowboy and Indian Country!

After our visit in Wall, we made it to the Badlands National Park.  We drove through part of the park to get to our campground in Interior, we were amazed by the beauty of the Badlands.  Our campground was the KOA in Interior.  What a wonderful place!  I would highly recommend this park to anyone visiting the Badlands.  We set up camp, gave the dogs a good run with their ball, then left to go to the National Park to do some hiking on the trails.  What a sight to see.  Fantastic day!

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Day 11 ~ Spearfish, South Dakota

John and I woke up to Blue Blue Skies and 80 degree weather first thing this morning.  Wow was it a warm one today!   We are certainly enjoying this dry heat, something we don't get much of.  

John made contact with a local dentist here in Spearfish to get his tooth fixed.  Good thing he did, the filling was cracked really bad.  So an hour later he was smiling big again!  Now we can breathe easy knowing he'll be fine the rest of our vacation.

We were able to do some Antiquing today.  Wonderful Antique Stores in Spearfish.  After our time in Spearfish, we took a drive into Deadwood to see the Kool DeadWood Nites.  Good Music, Good Food, A Lot of Old Cars to look at.  What a fun day!  We played some slot machines only to win $20.00 and then lose it all later in the day.

We ended our day back at the RV Parks Swimming Pool.  Did some laundry, cleaned up house and settled in for the evening. 

Our campsite at Chris's Campground

John by a 1947 Buick

Closed Streets in Deadwood for the Live Entertainment

Hey Lady!!!  Where's your other hand...???

Live Music in DownTown Deadwood!

Fun Car Show

Nice Quiet Swim tonight at the RV Park...Great Way to End the day!

Day 10 ~ Cody, Wyoming to Spearfish, South Dakota

Our day started out rested and ready to head out for a 350 mile drive to Spearfish, South Dakota.  Both Tanner and Frankie were also up for the drive as they were still tired from yesterdays play time at the Doggie Day Care.   We drove over Burgess Junction Mountain Pass, reaching an elevation of 9000 feet.  You can see Cloud Peak  and Black Tooth Mountain (elevation 13,165 ft) .  These are the two of the highest mountains in Wyoming.  It was an absolutely gorgeous drive!  We stopped at a couple scenic viewpoints to give the dogs a break and stretch our legs.  As we traveled farther East, the warmer it got!

We fueled up in Gillette, WY and got back on the road without taking a long break.  We are anxious to get to our next destination.  Looks like we lost one of our Chrome Beauty Rims off the fifth wheel on the pass.  Guess we'll have to get a new one!  Can't sweat the small stuff.

We arrived at Chris' Camp in Spearfish, SD.  We are very pleased with the park.  Looking forward to using the swimming pool!  It's 93 degrees, but it is a nice dry heat.  The park has a great fenced in dog area where we can use the ball slinger, maybe we can exhaust them again so we can enjoy our day tomorrow in Deadwood, SD.

John took me out to an Italian Dinner at Roma's.   Good Food!

We unfortunately have two medical issues we need to attend to while on this trip.  John has chipped a tooth and the filling is exposed, and to top that off, he cut his index finger really bad!  We are going to look into these while in Spearfish.

Day 9 ~ Cody, Wyoming & Red Lodge, MT

Another sunny day here in Cody, Wyoming.  We are heading to Red Lodge, MT this morning, but first we must put Tanner and Frankie in the Doggie Day Care here in Cody.  We dropped them off around 7:45am, and off we traveled through the plains of Wyoming to the hills of Montana.  There it was, nestled in a ravine...Red Lodge, MT.  What a fun little town!  We had breakfast at the Historic Pollard Hotel.  We meandered around the town and enjoyed all the sights.  After our morning in Red Lodge, We drove to the Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming, which is a museum of the Old West.  Many of the buildings here were taken completely apart and moved to this site, the buildings date from 1879 to 1901.  Three of the buildings were used by the "Hole in the Wall Gang", including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  I must say, our stay here in Cody has given us the experience of the Wild West.  What a fabulous day.  We picked Tanner and Frankie up around 5:00pm and ended our day back at the RV with dinner and drinks...Now we are packing up so we can get an early start in the morning.

Breakfast at the Pollard in Red Lodge

Our drive to Red Lodge...Smith Mine in background

A view of Red Lodge as we arrive

Shopping at Red Lodge

Old Trail Town Cody, Wyoming

John at Old Trail Town, Cody, Wyoming

Old Trail Town

Old Trail Town

John at the Hole in the Wall Cabin, Old Trail Town