Iron Mountain, Michigan

Choosing a place to stay often depends on whether it’s en route to another destination, if we need to catch up on domestic things or visit tourist attractions.  When an American Holiday is coming up such as Memorial Day, 4th July or Labor Day, we have to book well in advance because many places have been booked for a year and it’s hard to find somewhere at the last minute. That’s why we found Iron Mountain and “Summer Breeze Campground” in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

The owner, Carole, managed to find a site long enough for our vehicles, even though they were fully booked.  Once we arrived, her husband, Jerry, asked if we’d like to check out  the site in his golf-cart (that’s the usual mode of transport around campgrounds for the owners and workers).  There wasn’t much room for three of us and no room at the back, so he said I’d probably have to sit on Howard’s lap and added “I’ll bet this is the most fun Howard’s had in some time!”  Cheeky monkey - but it was funny. 

Trillium in the woods

We found a lovely wooded site but having  inclement weather stayed on for a fifth night to let the storm pass.  

We also took out three DVD’s from Family Video and couldn’t believe their special deal for being a new customer, only $1.00 for all three.  One of the DVDs was “Saving Private Ryan” - what a perfect film for Memorial Day - the ending made me weep.

At the Welcome Center in Iron Mountain, we met a charming young girl called Lea, who was very happy to help us and gave us two large bagfuls of brochures, each for the Upper and Lower Peninsula.  The two parts of the state are divided by the five mile long Mackinac Bridge dividing Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  I’d heard that people from the UP were called “Yoopers” so I asked her if that was true and if so was there a name for people in the Lower Peninsula.  She said yes “they’re called Trolls because they live under the Bridge”.  This was just hilarious and we thought it incredibly funny, but she did add that some people were offended by this, especially if they lived south of the Bridge.  Really!  It’s good for people to laugh at themselves sometimes.  I usually laugh at my own jokes because no-one else does. 

Muldoons in Munising, MI

We ate lunch at a local restaurant called  “Family Kitchen” and their Wisconsin cheese and potato soup was so good that we went back another day. They also made their own garlic bread - mmmmm.  

We didn’t visit the Cornish Pump Museum or the Iron Mine but I now understand why the pasty (pronounced pastee) is so well known here because when the tin mines gave out in the west of England the miners from Cornwall arrived in the UP and made this particular hand-held meat and potato pie so popular that there are now specialized Pasty Shops.  This one was in Munising, our next stop.

Eau Galle Cheese Factory, Wisconsin

Howard and I really enjoy driving through rolling hills and wide open country and we especially liked the center part of Wisconsin with its many dairy farms on lush green acres of land dotted with black and white Holstein cows.  Maybe it reminds me of some parts of the English countryside.

We were very fortunate to have had a privileged private tour of the Eau Galle (pronounced O Galley) cheese factory with Bob, after I’d called a couple of days before to ask if we could take a tour. They no longer do tours but he kindly offered to show us around himself.  Bob is the Plant and Office Manager and he knew the factory inside out and we knew how proud he was of it as he explained the process of cheese making as we passed the enormous, shining, stainless steel tanks that hold thousands of gallons of milk and cream, saw tanks of curds being separated from the whey and gazed into the huge drying room of parmesan cheese wheels, each weighing about 22 lbs and watched the man whose job it was to turn each one and test them for moisture content. 

They use 500,000 pounds of fresh milk each day five days a week and must use the milk within three days of delivery although Bob told us that most of the milk is processed the same day and is constantly tested for quality assurance. Cheese is also sold according to age, texture and strength of flavor. They produce “over 9 million pounds of Parmesan, Asiago and Romano cheese each year, including some organic”. 

Eau Galle Cheese Factory, Durand, Wisconsin

The history of the factory and founding of it by Leo Buhlman, whose son now operates it, is well written on their web site where they also have a mail order catalog of an amazing array of cheeses and gifts boxes. We spent some time after our tour in the extraordinary gift shop where they sell cheeses from around the world and delightful craft and Christmas items which are also shown in their online brochure. By gosh it was hard to choose but we didn’t leave without purchasing some of their own parmesan and asiago cheeses.  

We also picked up a guide of the varieties of cheeses that are made in Wisconsin and we counted 33.  This very useful brochure shows glossy photos of each type of cheese with a description of the taste and how it can be used.

It was only after we left that I realized I hadn’t taken a single photo of our tour or of Bob or written down any of the exact details and amazing statistics that he had related to us of the whole process of cheese making.  What a shame.  No wonder that theirs is one of the finest, family owned and operated cheese factories in the state of Wisconsin.

Minnesota to Wisconsin

It seemed to us that whichever way we decided to travel north or east, bad weather was ahead of us for the next five days showing more rain and thunderstorms, so we stayed longer than we wanted to in Minnesota.  We found it quite difficult both in Minnesota and Wisconsin to find sites that were big enough for our rig and truck, especially if we only wished to stay for one night and not unhitch.  The roads were mostly well maintained  here and this is typical of one of the good roads in MN.  These northern states have heavy snowfall during winter and we saw snowmobile crossing signs for the first time.

Many of the huge casinos located mostly in Indian Nation Territory now have RV resorts along with Hotels and many self-contained RVers are allowed to park free in certain areas for some nights.  Although we are self-contained, we neither have a generator nor solar to power our electricity so we nearly always park with hook-ups at least for electric and water.  Not finding another campground available, we stayed at Grand Casino in Hinckley, near the border of Wisconsin for a few nights. 

Grand Casino and RV Park, Hinckley, MN

Often casino RV parks are cheaper to stay in than private ones. Although the larger casinos often have a variety of restaurants including huge buffets, we found a really pleasant restaurant just down the road, called Tobie’s, which was also a bakery (they’re just so hard to resist) and had a great breakfast before leaving the state and naturally had to buy some of their homemade wheat-raisin bread and a couple of donuts. 

Madison, South Dakota - our “home”

From Nebraska we drove north into South Dakota to visit our “home town” of Madison again and to pick up our mail. Terri has been mailing our letters, magazines and packages ever since we started full-timing and has been truly efficient.  We just email her to let her know to which address she needs to mail our stuff and we usually get a response the same day to say when it has been sent.  She now handles mail for 1,800 boxes.

The Post Office is very convenient because it’s right across the road and the mail is delivered to her in large, wheeled containers.  Also a block away is the County Court House, a large square building built in 1935 in the Art Deco style.

Lake County Courthouse, Madison, SD 

Sometimes we can pick up mail from an RV park if we stay there for some days and if not, we can pick it up at a post office when we go through one of the towns on our travels when it’s sent to our name c/o General Delivery. Our mail has been delivered this way for almost four years now and we’ve never had a problem with it.

 Old Railroad Depot, now the Tourist Information Center

At the 2nd Street diner later, where we had a superb lunch (all home-made food), we'd brought in our atlas and laptop deciding where to stay that night.  We mentioned to the waitress which road we were taking and she informed us that that particular highway was flooded and it would be best to go via the interstate, which we did.  So, the muskrats were right, eh?

Watery Homes

Sometimes we see things along the way that we just have to ask questions about and along the Nebraska and South Dakota highways, we saw a lot of standing water; some like small lakes and others long gullies alongside the roads but nearly always with corn stubble, reeds or rushes nearby.  In these waters we saw mounds that had obviously been built by some animal or other. 

muskrat mounds along the road in South Dakota

We found out what they were when we stayed at a near the small town of Salem. (There are many towns or cities called Salem in north America). The owner and her daughter were very knowledgeable about the little critters, called muskrats, sometimes known as marsh rats, and they’re very similar to beavers with their little flattened tails although a great deal smaller, about two feet in length including their tail, and their homes are also called lodges.

photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson, PhD 

of a muskrat swimming in the Rideau River, Canada

When the muskrats build their dens higher than usual in the Fall (Autumn), it’s a good indication that there will be more rain and snow than usual.  The amazing instincts of animals are usually right and northern America had huge amounts of rain and snowfall this year. 

Muskrats eat mainly water plants and small water creatures but also eat crops so farmers aren’t too keen on them and trapping is still legal. They also burrow into river banks eroding the edges or damage dikes and dams. But, they’re beneficial for other animals too because they leave open water for ducks or geese so that their abandoned dens are often used as homes for other animals. We read later that muskrats were introduced to Europe in the early 20th Century for their thick, glossy and warm pelts.

“Chances R” Restaurant, York, Nebraska

By now, I expect you’re wondering if we ever stay home to eat - yes, we do and there are times when I really want to cook meals, but it is so tempting to eat out when you find such good restaurants and want to try the food in different parts of the country. 

We enjoyed this restaurant last year and couldn’t resist returning for the Sunday brunch. Crab seafood salad - scrumptious! 

The brunch is one of the best we’ve been to and the 1950’s/60’s decor is fun with lots of old posters and neon signs. 

Occasionally I like to take photos of some unusual water towers (often just to remember where we were).  Most towns have their name in huge lettering on the side and some are uniquely decorated, like this one in York. 

Tornado - too close for comfort

Our trip mileage now reads 1,874 miles since leaving Tucson and we are now in Central Time Zone, which we crossed at some point in Kansas.  Just several miles east of York, Nebraska, we stayed put for four nights because of predicted thunderstorms. 

Weather is often a major factor in our decisions of where to stay next or for how long and we knew that severe storms were forecast.  Last year in the Badlands of South Dakota, we were ready to evacuate the RV because of a tornado warning. We had no idea there was one close by even though winds were rocking our fifth wheel so much we were thinking of leaving it.  After that close call, we bought a weather radio and used it several times since. This evening when the sky grew black and the rains came with thunder and lightning overhead, we were glued to the radio listening for almost two hours to the constantly updated weather news for our area.

In the States, all but two of them (Alaska and Louisiana) are divided into counties. It’s very important to know which county we’re in, as the weather reports are so accurate they can specify just about where a tornado or hail can hit. We were on the edge of two counties. On our map of Nebraska, we followed the line of the storm and heard the warning that said a tornado had touched down just nine miles east of us. Had it been much closer, we would have heard a siren and gone immediately to the storm shelter at the Park. This year with all the winds, storms and flooding that have occurred, our weather radio is an important piece of equipment for us.

Oakley, Kansas

Having spent the night at Raton Pass, after driving 223 miles the day before, we headed down what had been the old Santa Fe trail along the eastern edge of Colorado and spent one night in Lamar, at an RV and Horse campground.

In Kansas we usually pass mile after mile of agricultural land, cattle, granaries, some old barns and hardly any traffic. There were ten of these machines, possibly combine harvesters, on their way to their next job followed by several campers that we assumed were for the crew, a bit like bunk houses. 

one of hundreds of Co-op granaries

We loved the tee shirt we saw - it said something like "we drove past miles and miles of wheat fields (picture of a wheat stalk), then past miles and miles of cattle, (picture of a cow) and mile after mile of telegraph poles (picture of same) - next time we'll fly!"

On most days that we’re towing the RV, we have to stop for diesel at a truck stop or other large gas station for fuel.  The amount we paid here was $107 where diesel was $4.19’9 for a gallon. We average about 9-11 miles per gallon. Howard and I never gripe about the cost of diesel because we know how much more it costs in the UK and other places in Europe.  If it cost over $7.00 a gallon in the USA, there might be a revolution here. 

wind farm from a distance - the blades and columns look so small here

The huge gas station opposite “High Plains” campground in Oakley where we’ve stayed  before, just off the I-70, seems to be one of the few that is big enough to allow enormous, extra long, extra heavy loads to fuel up and the photos show exactly what type they are.  The top one is a rotor blade from one of the gigantic new wind mills that have sprung up over the land and the other is part of the column. One of the drivers told Howard that his truck and trailer were 178 feet long and his load was over 200,000 pounds.

It’s always windy at High Plains (well, it is Kansas) and people are advised never to put their awnings out but it’s a great spot and Mary is a delightful owner and has free coffee in the morning. 

Mel’s Musings - elevations

In mountainous areas of the States, the elevation is posted on signs instead of giving the population of a town or city.  For instance, Moriarty is 6,206’ above sea level but when we camped overnight at Raton Pass, practically on the border of New Mexico and Colorado, we were 7,843’ high.  That was the highest point we've stayed at so far. 

When the air is thin at high elevations, the altitude can lead to some people becoming light-headed but we don’t seem to be affected by it; at least we don’t think so!  

Sandia Peak Arial Tramway

This tramway is billed as the “World’s Longest Tramway” and, as none of us had been before, we went together to the top of the 10,378 feet high mountain. 

looking down on Albuquerque through the tram's tinted glass window

over the ridge on the Sandia Peak arial tram

Melita, Ellen and Tim on the tram

one of the trams at the top of the peak

viewing platform and cables of arial tram

The tram travels 2.7 miles quietly to the top of the peak where we could see a panoramic views of the area east to Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley.  It took two years to construct back in 1964 and was manufactured by a firm from Switzerland.

view towards the west from the top of Sandia Peak

The squirrel we saw had just popped in for a bite to eat in the building at the top.  People can see a variety of animals such as mule deer, raccoons or even black bears;  we saw a squirrel. 

 Abert's squirrel - the one with tufted ears

We returned to Moriarty and left a few days later.  Part of the joy of RVing is making new friends and spending time with other special friends as we travel around the country. 

10 days in Moriarty, NM!

The temperature reached a low of 29F (-1.66C) when we left Milan, so I was glad that I hadn’t packed away my winter nightie!  The weather stayed cold for days and we even had snow!  That was the day our friends, Ellen and Tim arrived for their RV service.  

It hadn’t been our intention to stay in a gravel parking lot just outside Moriarty RV Sales and Service Center for so long with only electric - no water hook-up and no sewer outlet  - but, as mentioned before, plans change. We had water using our fresh water tank.

The town is small, about 40 miles east of Albuquerque, but we needed to have some maintenance work done on our Excel 5th wheel. This center is the No. 1 sales dealer in the states for these brands, so we made an appointment expecting to stay for a few days;  we set off 10 days later because we ordered a new fireplace and had to wait four days for it to arrive. 

I was resigned to missing the Royal Wedding but we’d been wanting to buy a flat screen TV for over a year.   It just happened that the day before the broadcast, we bought a 32” TV, which was installed professionally the same day, so I got up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the coverage and delighted that I did. The heavy old TV was given away. When everything went digital in June 2009 we couldn’t get any programs at all and rented DVD’s instead.  Now though, whenever we go to a new location, we have to retune the channels and change the time zone if necessary. We wondered why we couldn’t get PBS until Tim came over and retuned it for us. Thanks, Tim.  It's great that we can watch “Antique Roadshow” from both sides of the Atlantic now.

from right: Howard, Mel, Ellen and Tim

Apart from spending time inspecting new 5th wheels and learning to restring window blinds in the office, we spent nearly four days with Tim and Ellen Janicki, (who also have a blog) and had a marvelous time playing a strategic game called “Settlers of Catan”, which they taught us.  It really is addictive and we had a great time with them and look forward to being with them again, wherever that may be.

Milan, New Mexico

Crossing into New Mexico we entered Mountain Standard Time and the time difference is now 2 hours from the east coast and 1 hour from Tucson.  Arizona is one of the few states that doesn’t change to daylight savings time so is the same as Pacific standard time in summer.  I watched the cell phone advance another hour as we crossed over the invisible line.  

The intention was to stay one night and continue, but the forecast called for a severe wind warning with gusts up to 65 mph. For weather information, the first is an advisory, the second is a watch and the third is a warning.  It was just too risky to travel with our high sided vehicle so we stayed another night. 

There’s not much in Milan - several large truck stops off the I-40, but there is a remarkable diner called “Wow”.  For a diner, they had one of the best menus we’ve ever seen; their specials even included lobster! 

Howard had a delicious chopped beef steak smothered with an excellent brown mushroom gravy, baked potato and asparagus as a side. I had a pasta dish with lobster, zucchini (courgettes in the UK) and mushrooms in a yummy creamy garlic wine sauce. Wow.  If other RVers like good food, there’s loads of space to park a large rig at the truck stop opposite; we’d certainly go back if we travel that route again.

Having walked under the Interstate to reach the diner, we stopped to talk to two homeless guys who were sheltering underneath. It was a bitterly cold day. They just asked for food - a loaf of bread and some bologna.  They didn’t ask for money.  We feel thankful that we always have enough to eat, so we stopped to buy them food to last for a few days and gave it to them on the way back.  They were so grateful, shook hands with us and said “God bless you”.  Winds were so strong that dust and grit was blowing everywhere and we hoped that they found better shelter for the night.  We did both wonder though, why one of them had polished his nails with brightly colored purple nail varnish. I didn’t like to ask.

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

This National Park is truly impressive - we loved it.  An amazing array of colors, logs that had turned to stone strewn over vast areas, an ongoing discovery site for fossils from over 225 million years ago and ancient petroglyphs etched into stone by native Americans.  There are vast wilderness areas where people with permits can hike, take a horse or pack animal and camp.

The loop road off the northern side of the I-40 is six miles long and the lower half where we saw most of the fossilized logs is another 22 miles in length. Our first stop is nearly always at a Visitor Center, which usually includes a book store, gift shop and often a small theater where we can see an orientation film and talk to the Park officials or volunteers who are so informative.  

our first glimpse of the Painted Desert

During the heydays of Route 66, an Inn was built in 1924 on a segment of the road that runs through the park.  It was reconstructed in the 1930's and about 4-6 years ago, it was renovated and now looks as it did in 1949. Situated at a high level, we toured the Painted Desert Inn, which included some wonderful murals on the wall of the dining room, by the Indian Hopi artist, Fred Kabotie.   From this high point we also saw our first spectacular views of the wonderful scenery.  

Painted Desert Inn

Salt Lake Mural by Hopi Indian, Fred Kabotie

Nizhoni Point showing the "steps" of clay

About 600 years ago, according to experts, the Puerco Pueblo, which was our next stop  in the Park, contained about 100 rooms and along the trail around the ruins, we saw some fine examples of petroglyphs. Unlike hieroglyphs, these are symbols of people, animals and various designs chiseled into the rocks. Although their meanings are not easily interpreted today, the indigenous people recognize many of them as depictions of religious, ceremonial or story-telling events.

ruins at Puerco Pueblo

petroglyphs in the Petrified Forest

Although a cold wind was blowing on this sunny Easter Day, we hiked the one mile Blue Mesa Trail off a three mile road loop.  Parts of it were very steep but much of it was gently sloping and it was so worth the walk to get close to the amazing  blue and white layered rocks and the logs.  The basic story of how the logs came to be petrified is that millions of years ago, when water covered huge forests, logs buried under the mud eventually turned into stone when silica replaced all the organic material.  The beautiful colors were caused mainly by “iron and other minerals combined with quartz during the petrification process”.  Quote from an NPS pamphlet.

Blue Mesa Badlands

close up view of the bands of color along the Blue Mesa Trail in the Painted Desert

a petrified log appearing to be balanced 

cactus thriving along the Blue Mesa trail

trail of logs in the Blue Mesa valley

Our last stop was near the south entrance where the Giant Logs are located and we could wander amongst them.  There are very strict rules in the Park and hefty fines for picking up any pieces of petrified wood. People who’ve taken some often send letters of apology for the remorse they feel for removing it and occasionally return them.  Huge sections of logs and many smaller pieces, polished at the ends, are for sale but these pieces are taken from private land. They're also pretty expensive but they're a wonderful reminder of a remarkable place.

fossilized logs in the Petrified Forest

Giant Log - almost 10 feet across the base