Sign Says Indiana, Weather Says Florida

The signs say we are are in Clinton, Indiana but the weather says we are in Florida. The weather in Clinton, Indiana is temperatures in the 90's and the humidity is also in the 90 percent range. Lenny and I have not wanted to spend alot of time outside. It is just too hot and miserable. We enjoy staying inside with the air conditioning. Mom and Dad walk outside and they are wringing wet. Its like, "the hottest summer I spent in Florida was the week I spent in Clinton, Indiana". We have not done much here in Clinton. Clinton is just North of Terre Haute. Terre Haute is where Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber was executed. Wow, what a claim to fame for a city. Tomorrow we leave for a 3 week stay in Batesville, Indiana. Hopefully the humidity will not be as bad in Southeastern Indiana. For all you old timers, Batesville's major industry is the Batesville Casket Company. Anyone want me to place an order for them?

Stay cool everyone!

Is This Heaven? No, Its Iowa

Willkommen from the Amana Colonies of Iowa. Iowa is the 48th state I have visited. I have now been to all of the 48 contiguous states. I will probably never make it to Hawaii but I am hoping Mom and Dad will someday take me to Alaska. Since Mom and Dad have already been to Hawaii and Alaska, they have now visited all 50 states. We arrived here today from Minnesota. We are staying at the Amana Colonies RV Park, which is owned by the Amana Society. When you hear Amana, most people today think of the Amana appliances that are still made here today. The Amana Colonies date back to the mid 1850's when German immigrants set up a communal lifestyle here. Many of the original building are still in use today. Dad said this area reminds him a lot of the Amish towns, such as Intercourse, in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow, Mom and Dad will be touring the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, Museum and gravesite. Friday we will be heading to Indiana.

SPAM Museum

Today, Mom and Dad left me and Lenny at home and went to the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN. This is the hometown of Hormel, the makers of SPAM (the meat, not the computer crud). Mom and Dad were really fascinated by the museum and the amount of Spam consumed throughout the world. Hormel makes almost 200 different foods but Spam is their most popular item. They did remember us and bought us a Spammy pig to play with.

I'm Now An Official Member

Hi folks, I'm Lenny and I am doing Trike's Blog today. As you can see from the picture, Mom and Dad have now put my name on the sign so I am now an official member of this gypsy traveling bunch. We are at Hidden Bluffs RV Resort in Spring Grove, Minnesota. This is one beautiful park with plenty of room for Trike and me to run. The park is in a tree lined hollow with a stream running through it. Minnesota is a lot cooler than Texas. Yesterday morning when we got ready to leave Northern Minnesota to come here, Dad had to wait for the ice to melt from the truck's windshield. We will be here for two weeks exploring the area, so I am sure Trike will fill you in as we see things. Stay tuned......

Buffalo Country - North Dakota

Today we arrived in Jamestown, ND, home of the world's largest buffalo. It weighs 60 tons and is visible from the Interstate. We left Rapid City yesterday, a day earlier than was planned. Mom and Dad learned that Sitting Bull was buried in Mobridge, SD so we went there to see the gravesite and spend the night. Right beside Sitting Bull's grave is a memorial to Sacagawea, who served as a scout and guide for Lewis and Clark on there first trip to Oregon.

Jamestown is a neat town with a frontier village and a herd of buffalo. The herd is right beside our RV park. There is an albino cow and calf in the herd. Remember, "when the chips are down the buffalo is empty". Jamestown was also the hometown of Western writer Louis L'Amour. His writing shack is now in the frontier village.

We will be here until Tuesday then we will be heading to Minnesota. Take care!

Its Official, Dad's An Old Codger

Today, Dad received his first Social Security check so he is now officially an "OLD CODGER". Thats OK, we still love him. We certainly are enjoying our visit to the Rapid City area. Sunday we went to Devils Tower in Wyoming. Mom and Dad have also visited Jewel Cave, Wind Cave and the National Presidential Wax Museum. Today they plan on going to Deadwood, where Wild Bill Hickok lived and died. They previously have been to his grave and the grave of Calamity Jane, which are in Deadwood. Our time here is winding down as Sunday we leave for a two day visit to North Dakota.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend From Mt Rushmore

From Rapid City, SD, Lenny and I want to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day. We hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend, but please take time out to remember those who paid the ultimate price so we can enjoy the freedom we have.

We are having a blast in the Rapid City area. So far we have visited Mount Rushmore, The Badlands, The Crazy Horse Memorial, the Minuteman Missile site, Custer State Park and seen Fort Hayes from the movie "Dances With Wolves. This is a beautiful part of the US with magnificent scenery and lots of wildlife. So far we have seen buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, a coyote, wolves, bears, wild burros, mountain goats, wild turkeys (the birds not the booze), prairie dogs, rabbits and rattlesnakes.

We are staying at the Rushmore Shadows RV Park which is very nice with lots of room for me and Lenny to run. The weather had been nice but today it turned cold so we have had to have the heater on.

That is all for now but again, have a great Memorial Day weekend.