September 23-25, the way home & factoids

Our drive across Oklahoma was uneventful. We stopped at the best rest area building we've seen. You can probably guess from the lone star that it is in Texas! Cattle Call restaurant a favorite stop in Amarillo thanks to our friend Allen, who introduced us to it years ago. Our plan to eat there was derailed when we found Oasis RV Resort about 7 miles west of town. This nearly new park is fantastic, with it's own restaurant/bar, huge pull-thru spaces and only $24 per night. We ate dinner and breakfast there. They even have their own version of the nearby Cadillac Ranch. Our next overnight was at the Route 66 Casino outside Albuquerque and then it was time to make the final 450 mile push for home. This is the farthest we have traveled on a single day. Just when we've convinced ourselves that no one is reading the blog, we'll hear from someone who is. Shoot us an email if you are in the "mystery reader" category! We hope we have kept you entertained and inspired you to get out and see this great country of ours. Oh yeah, feel free to take a peek at Canada too :)

Factoids:
130 days
14 states
3 Canadian provinces
10,636 miles on the RV, approximately 5,000 more on the Jeep
10,000 miles from Phoenix to Tucumcari NM



4 bird strikes and 1 frog who hopped when he should have ducked
1,776 photos
favorite 13 days of the trip were when Mom was with us
most expensive fuel was $5.40 per gallon in Canada
on the savings front, spent $50 for a Northern Lights coupon book in Alaska, saved $755!

September 20-23, Wichita KS & Tulsa OK

Dennis enjoyed driving through the countryside and seeing the changing fields as we continued south. Barb doesn't notice these subtleties quite as much, but the hills and trees were pretty. An interesting wall caught our eye as we drove past it in Concordia KS. We are not able to stop on a dime or turn around easily, but Dennis is a good driver and got us around the next block and back for a second look. It was so interesting that we pulled over to take an even closer look at the Whole Wall Mural, the longest sculpted brick mural in the US. According to the woman in the museum, an artist designed templates for each brick in the mural in 2007 and locals were encouraged to help with the carving. The mural was installed in 2009. The bricks are much larger than standard bricks to allow for the depth of the carving. Scenes were chosen based on current and historical activities in Concordia. One scene shows children from the Orphan Train that used to run through town from 1854 to 1929. There was also an Orphan Train Museum that would have been interesting to see but it was closed while we were there. Orphans were sent from large cities to farms in hopes that they would have a better life. Many did, but it sounds like equally as many ended up as indentured servants. The brochure states that one in 25 Americans is connected to an Orphan Train rider. Interesting, and we will definitely stop when we are through there again. This time, however, we had a very important stop in Wichita to visit Shirley and her family. We gathered for pizza at Shirley's house with Tammy, Krystle and Herb. Sorry, but Barb forgot her camera. Shirley didn't order delivery on the pizza since Herb would pick it up on his way over. Let's just say, we think he enjoyed his delivery tip! Shirley was up for seeing the Keeper of the Plains statue that night, so off we went. Fires around the statue are lit at 9 each evening. It was really impressive and reminded us of Waterfire that we attended in Providence RI in 2008. Cathy offered brunch at her house the next morning and it was delicious. We had a lovely visit and even got to see Paul - a rare occasion indeed since he is a busy man! Shirley took us on a driving tour through Wichita and visited with us in the RV for the afternoon. We then met up with Cathy, Emily, William and Natalie for dinner. Natalie was dressed in her finest, honoring Princess Kate, and we thought she was even prettier than the new princess. We made a quick stop to see Emily and William's house, which they are doing a fantastic job restoring. Barb had to finally admit that she has not been very kind to Kansas over the years. However, her entire experience has been in the heat and wind riding on the motorcycle in Western Kansas. She knew there had to be a nice part of the state and was glad to finally see it! We then headed south for an all-too-short visit to Tulsa. We spent the afternoon with Gayle, Tim, Elizabeth, Eden, Amos and Nissi. Elizabeth put out a delicious dinner and we once again ate too much. Eden and Amos were so much fun and showed us their room and toys, but wouldn't let us jump on their beds with them. So, they are cute AND smart! We stopped back at Gayle's house in the evening and attended Barbie's wedding (on video). Josh stopped in on his way to his security job and scared Barb with his Taser. Maggie is literally a day or so away from giving birth (though you'd never know it by looking at her) and not up to visiting, but she rebounded in the morning and we got together with her, Gayle, Sam & Ben for bagels. We are excited to come back to see Sam when he is 5 and we can all go down the big waterslides! It was a whirlwind visit but so good to see everyone.

September 12-20, Ortley SD & Stromsburg NE

Here are some pictures of our favorite RV park and it's guard dog. It seems like the former Brink farm grows exponentially every time we go back to see it. We were lucky to be there during one (of many) very busy times during the year. Kris is running large equipment and 10 support trucks all over the area. Needless to say, things break. Dennis has been riding around with Dale on parts runs, including a night run to Fargo and an EARLY morning run to Minneapolis. Gloria and Barb decided to sleep in that morning and then managed to turn a profit at the casino. Dale is exhausted by Dennis' constant barrage of questions. Barb decided to turn the tables for a day and try to learn more about farm life. We first stopped to take a picture of Dennis on his land, which is currently planted in corn. We have driven by it on every trip to SD over the past 19 years. Barb could probably find it on her own if only she could convince herself that the east/west roads don't run north/south. Next, we managed to get in the way over at the farm just as a bunch of equipment and trucks were coming in. Dennis tried his best to explain how everything works, although things have changed incredibly since he moved away 40 years ago. A little more sunk in and Barb is hopeful that she will have enough info to ask intelligent questions in a few more years. Mostly it's just fun to see the sheer size of the equipment and products. Disclaimer: these sunflowers are not being grown on Brink land and are not in the best shape, but look at the size - and they are heavy! When not on parts runs, Dennis has continued learning about hail adjusting from Don. He rode with him last year while adjusting hail losses on soy bean fields. This year, there was damage to corn fields caused by high winds. It is difficult for the farmers to know what to insure their crops against from year to year. While the boys were out, the sisters-in-law got together to celebrate Carol's birthday at Pizza Ranch. Other visits were with Larry & Cindy, Don & Carol, Wayne & Kay, Todd & Kathy and old friends from high school. All in all, we had a wonderful time. We found we were not the largest "home on wheels" just 5 miles down the road from Dale & Gloria's. Thank goodness we came across the pilot car at an intersection where we could get out of the way. We drove through Norfolk NE, childhood home of Johnny Carson and ended up in a nice city park in Stromsburg, self-proclaimed Swedish capital of Nebraska. We'll often talk about how RV parks are located near highways, railroads, airports, etc. It's just something you get used to. We didn't see the train tracks through the trees, but a train came through that shook the ground and rattled the RV. Google maps showed that we were about 100 feet from the tracks!

September 6-12, Ortley (so far) & Colton SD

Let us start by admitting we take absolute advantage of Dale & Gloria, but only because they make it so easy and so much fun. We have moved onto their property and are running up their water & electric bills while letting them entertain us day after day after day... We are paying it back a little by giving Tiny all the attention she lacks when we're not around! Dennis was in farm heaven as the field right across the street from us was being chopped and he quickly hitched a ride with Todd. Dale dragged him all over the countryside too but didn't know the answers to most of his questions. Gloria & Barb had a much more relaxing day getting their fix of Mexican food and the clearance racks at Herberger's. We met up with Kay, Wayne & Dann for the BEST prime rib sandwiches ever at Wally's, aka Redlin's, aka Bittersweet Lodge. The advantage to traveling in the RV is that we never have to pack or unpack all summer. Oh well, it's completely worth it to throw a few things in a suitcase when we have fun relatives to visit! We took the Jeep down to Colton to stay with Arlys for a few days and arrived to find her relaxing under her gorgeous trees. Rick & Cheryle hosted us for dinner at their beautiful NEW home. Finishing touches are still being applied, but it is an impressive place. Too bad they're rarely home to enjoy their wraparound porch and lake views but we made up for it that night. We were amazed to find it was 1:00 am by the time the party broke up. Arlys and her friend Clark took us on a sightseeing trip to Sioux Falls the next afternoon. Hard to believe that Dennis had never seen the falls before then, but they were worth the wait. Roger & Jodi hosted us for dinner at their beautiful OLD home. Brandi made another appearance (we think at her mother's request) to join us and introduce her very nice, very cute boyfriend Nate. We returned "home" to the RV and spent a fun afternoon with Don & Carol. Then we let Dale & Gloria beat us at hand & foot since they're such great hosts.
Just to prove it's not all wine and roses at the D&G Brink Estate, here's a copy of an abusive email we received: "blog update needed blogs are a job get to it please what else can i say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,gloria"
That "Gloria" can be a rough character!

September 1-6, Fargo ND & Deer River MN

Brink family visits are the order of the day for the next few weeks. We arrived in Fargo to visit the Greseths and saw everyone except Kayla, who was having hurricane and lost luggage adventures in Florida. We're glad to report that all ended well. It was an exciting weekend at home too since Michael and Carrie got engaged. In the picture are Sheila, sister Arlys, Todd, Carrie, Michael, Matthew, Brandi (more on her in a few days), Cole, Greta and AJ. And then there's Beau! Both Matthew and Michael have been involved in racing since they were teenagers. Sheila "knows people" and managed to get us a VIP suite at the racetrack so we could watch Michael win second in one of his last races. Geez, that's a fast car! Matthew was in the flag stand all night and then came out of his racing retirement to run Michael's car in the mechanics' race at the end of the night. The racing was really exciting and the suite was comfy as can be but the highlight of the night was AJ & Matthew's 4 year old son, Cole. He could be a sitcom. Some of our favorite lines included "I take my legs with me wherever I go", "My dad is smart and he made me smart too" and when Sheila asked him what he would think if his dad crashed, "That's OK, he's still my dad". Wish we could have recorded them all! Todd took us to his machine shop the next day while Sheila made another fantastic dinner. We had a great day hanging out with family. Midway through our time in Fargo, we hopped in the Jeep and headed to northern Minnesota to visit cousins. Dick & Lori were nice enough to let us invite ourselves to their house and gathered up a lot of the family for a great dinner. Dick took us on a tour of Deer River and his wild rice fields. Barb fired off the questions like a 2 year old on a sugar high and we learned a lot. Dick's dad Frances was the first commercial wild rice grower for Uncle Ben's. Dick is a great ambassador for the industry and it was really interesting to see the fields that had just been harvested and the processing system. The rotating dryers heat up to over 800 degrees and a worker uses a laser type gun to check the humidity from a safe distance. (Sure hope I reported that correctly) Dick showed us how he converted this combine and about 30 others specifically for use with rice. Love the oak treads! Barb is kicking herself for forgetting to get some wild rice from them, but will do so when they are in AZ in a few months. She will also be contacting Dick's sister Gloria, who we visited in Homer, for her delicious wild rice recipe. Jim & Bonnie were our tour guides the next day and took us all around Grand Rapids. We got to visit with 101 year old Aunt Hazel, saw their daughter's beautiful house on a lake, had lunch with Ronnie & Carol and then went to a party thrown by Jim & Bonnie's friends at another wonderful lakeside house. Bonnie & Jim are 2nd & 5th from the left in this picture. It was a whirlwind 2 days but so much fun.