Sept 30-Adirondacks are Borrrrrring!

Leaves, leaves, leaves...its all in black and white for me anyway. Here we are parked by this great swimming lake, I think its called Saranac, but all my people can do is scream at the television. Go Cougs! Whats the big deal about cougars anyway, they're just big cats. I'm with Uncle Matt, Go DAWGS! And to think I could be outside swimming if I could just reach the doorknob. Love, Elsie

Sept 28 and 29-My Syracuse Family

I had a wonderful time in Syracuse. We looked up my Dad's brother, James, and he rallied the family so I could see everyone. We visited Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Marcia's church and saw the beautiful window that Jimmy had created as a memorial to Marcia and David Oakerhater, the first Native American to be ordained in the Episcopal church. It's a beautiful tribute to both. We explored the Onondaga Nation and had lunch with my cousin Sandra. The next day we had breakfast with Uncle Jimmy, and my cousins Marcia and Erik. They are all thriving and happy, with teenagers to keep track of. We missed my cousin Leslie since we weren't in town very long--she was scheduled for a root canal! Gene and I also zipped down to Skaneateles to see if we could track down the wooden train company that Edna told me about. She used to sell them at the Toy Store. The company has been sold twice but its still in Skaneateles--although recently the trains started being made in Germany...but the distribution center is still there. Skaneateles is on Lake Skaneateles that is part of the Finger Lakes. Its a cute town with upscale, small restaurants and shops, beautiful homes along a pristine lake. It would be a super vacation spot.

Sept 27-Fort Niagara and Elsie in Lake Ontario!

Not too exciting today, but we rode bikes around our campground and then drove over to see Fort Niagara. The fort changed hands a number of times, but was origionally built by the French in 1727. They built it to look like a castle so that it wouldn't worry the Iroquois. Probably not worth the $20 we spent to get inside. Headed back to camp and I took Elsie down to the lake for a swim while Gene did all the work getting the rig ready to move on. Nice beach at the campground and today there were a few waves, but still not nearly as rough as Puget Sound. Elsie obviously loved it!

Sept 26-More Niagara Falls-from the Canadian side

From Niagara, NY, you can walk across the bridge to Canada. We took our car across today with the intention of riding our bikes around the park on the Canadian side of the falls. Unfortunately, there were so many people that riding wasn’t possible. Had fun though because we discovered that the falls are much more beautiful from Canada! The views are better, the park is bigger and more beautiful, there are huge hotels and restaurants, and a 500 foot tower called Skylon that looks a bit like the Space Needle. We took the elevator to the top and took a few pictures from up there. Even found a Starbucks at the base so we had lattes and ate our sack lunches in Seattle style!

Sept 26-Da Bomb!!!

Hey doggie buddies Jak and Charley. Mom just showed me your blogs and tried to post for me...but she doesn't know how! Can you believe it? What a waste of opposable thumbs! Cool pictures though. I know Jak Dog is having a vacation from C and M...staying with Caddy and probably digging up everything. I hope you aren't too lonely. Charley Dog, you look REALLY big...but keep in mind that size isn't everything, I'm still the Big Dog in the family! I'm not sure where my people are taking me but the ride is Da Bomb! I got to swim in the Mississippi River, and then some weird ocean with no salt that they called Lake Erie. There are wonderful new smells everywhere and when I'm lucky, something to roll in (I've had a lot of baths on this ride). Miss you both. ELSIE (BIG letters, BIG dog...remember that!)

Sept 25th-Niagara Falls, NY

Well, Elsie didn't like her day because she had to stay in the rig, but we had a great time. We did a lot of the Niagara tourist activities today, and didn't finish. Started with the Maid of the Mist...which is a boat that takes you right up near the falls and gets you all wet. They give you a blue raincoat to wear but it's so windy that it doesn't really help much. After the ride we climbed up the long wooden staircases on each side of the falls to get up really close and got SOAKED. Our tennis shoes were squishing all afternoon and Gene's jeans never did dry out! The water really roars over. All the water from 4 great lakes flows through here and over either American (10%) or Horseshoe (90%) Falls on the Canadian side. It continues on to Lake Ontario and then to the St. Lawrence Seaway and on to the Atlantic. Both falls are most impressive because of the enormous amount of water that is going over. Both Snoqualmie and Multnomah Falls are higher and more beautiful, but you should see the rapids coming down around Goat Island before they head over. We wandered the island a bit too. No swimming for Elsie here!

Sept 24-Teddy Roosevelt Inaugual Site

It rained and poured at Lake Erie so we finally gave up. Headed up to Buffalo to see where Teddy Roosevelt took the oath of office. Buffalo was the eighth largest city in the US at the turn of the century, but with the closing of the steel mills the population has been steadily decreasing. I think I read that its the 59th in size today. Looks like it needs a lot of urban renewal projects. William McKinnley was the 25th president, and TR was his vice president. McKinnley visited Buffalo for the Pan-American Exposition (the big feature was the electric light bulb and electricity from Niagara Falls) and was shot in 1901. TR was up in the Adirondacks hiking and zipped down to take the oath of at the home of a wealthy friend, Ansley Wilcox. That makes TR the 26th and youngest president of the US. The home has been all restored and has a lot of the furniture and arifacts from the day.

Sept 22-Lake Erie

No pictures yet, but we drove all day and finally made it to Geneva State Park on Lake Erie. Haven't done much yet except get camp set up and let Elsie have a swim. Odd looking place. The lake is flat calm, but looks like the ocean with sandy beaches and a narrow band of smooth, flat rocks around the edge. Can't see the other side. Its drizzly today so we're hoping for clear skies tomorrow.

Sept 21-Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Dayton, OH

We toured the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB for an hour or so, and then played most of the afternoon at the prairie where the Wright Brothers flew. The brothers lived in Dayton, running a bicycle shop. Their first flight was at Kitty Hawk, NC-but their first practical airplane (they could steer it) was built and tested on Huffman’s Field. They rode an electric trolley from town out to the field and built a hangar. Huffman (a farmer), loaned them the field and just asked that they move the cows out of the field when they were using their flying machine! The 84 acre field was far enough from town and hidden from the trolley line. No one actually believed they could fly and the brothers were keeping it a secret while they tested and refined the plane. The catapult that I’m playing on was used to launch the plane along a track. This was the first dependable, fully controllable aircraft-the Wright Flyer III, in 1905. They established a flying school here too, and trained lots of new pilots. The Wright Flyer was sold commercially and to the military. I’ll post a few silly photos of us “flying” at Huffman’s Prarie!

Sept 21-Jane

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jane and all the M's this morning as we travel to Ohio. We know she'll be feeling a lot better and walking the course soon. We send our love. B and G

Sept 19 and 20-The Joy Ann Bakery

Richmond, Indiana-Go Red Devils! We have enjoyed two slow days exploring Richmond, childhood home of a famous (in our minds) deep thinker. Greg M. gave us a telephone tour so we managed to find his old home, elementary school, high school, Forest Hills golf course (absolutely beautiful), and most important...The Joy Ann Bakery! Greg told us they made the best cupcakes on earth so we gave it a try. Not up to Mumsie's recipe, but mighty good. Off the healthy diet for a couple of days, but well worth the calories. Managed to do laundry for the first time, so we used 7 machines (cost $25 in quarters)but look a lot better in clean clothes. Still stealing WIFI-I'm outside Holiday Inn. Gene will get it yet! CK and Marc are off to Brazil today for Beau's wedding--I know they'll have an exciting trip. Gene is paying bills and we'll be off to Ohio tomorrow.

Sept 19- FINALLY ONLINE

We are really sorry about the lack of communication. It has turned out to be MUCH more difficult to get our satelite connection so that we can go online from the rig. We are stealing from Super 8 at the moment. We're still in KY--somewhere between major cities, having a cleaning and relaxing day. I have pictures to post and will do it after I answer my email (assuming my battery holds out)!!!! Love to you all. Thanks for all the great pictures of Sue's birthday party. I'm so sorry to have missed it. We have a wonderful family and I'm thrilled that you all got together. Mom and Sue have sent us lots of pictures so I'm living vicariously through them. Meg and Bob's place looks fabulous of course and I WANT 8 LAYER CAKE!!!!

Sept 18- Real Kentucky Country

Today was for Meg. Meg, you really have to come to Kentucky and explore. We couldn't tell a thouroghbred from a nag, but loved this area. We drove miles on narrow, winding roads looking at the most magnificent horse farms. Miles and miles of mostly black wood fences (some white too but mostly black). At this time of year this may be the most beautiful spot yet. It they had a mountain and an ocean nearby it would be heaven.

Sept 17- Mammoth Cave

This was a cool day. We found a great campground, complete with a golf course! Kentucky has the mose amazing State Parks--more like resorts than our parks. We snuck on the course early and rode our bikes all around the course. Didn't get caught until the very end. We drove down to Mammoth Cave and took the "lantern tour". It lasts 3 1/2 hours underground without electric lights or flashlights. Its supposed to make it seem more like it would have been for the original cavers. Cold, dark, spooky, REALLY fun. We scrambled up and down for about 3 miles...down to about 300 feet below the surface. Caroline and Laura, you would have hated it! No cameras allowed, so you'll just have to believe us! On the way back to the rig we stopped in for a quick look at the George Patton museum at Fort Knox. We are really jumping around on this history tour! No time to see tons of gold-oh, well.

Sept 16- Baseball bats

Today was a driving day. More rolling hills, a bit less corn, and a few more people! We passed briefly through Indiana (very briefly) and into Kentucky. We toured the Louisville Slugger Baseball factory in Louisville, KY and then drove on to our campground.

Sept 15- Gateway Arch, MO

St Louis, MO!!!! The Gateway Arch (actually called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) is beautiful. Its 630 feet high and 630 feet wide at the base (how high is the Space Needle?). We rode the tram up to the top and took pictures out the window. Great views of the Mississippi River, Busch Stadium-home of the Cardinals, the Rams domed stadium, and the city. “Seems like you can see the entire Louisiana Purchase”-- Gene
You might think Elsie would be bored…but NO…she discovered chipmunk holes in the grass at Walmart. Good fun was had by all (except the chipmunks)!

Sept 14- Lincoln YES, Mark Twain NO

Walmart is great (not for shopping) for sleeping free. We have only paid for 3 nights so far and have been at Walmart or other free spots the rest of the time. Went back into Springfield today, to see Lincoln’s home, law office, church pew, and tomb. We decided to do the scenic route along the Mississippi again so we drove a beautiful, windy road and ended up at Samuel Clements home in Hannibal, MO. I loved his writing as Mark Twain, but his hometown is a tourist trap. Wasted $16. The only good thing I learned was that a mark is the same as a fathom, and that twain means two. His pen name Mark Twain therefore means two fathoms, or twelve feet. Riverboats needed 12 feet of draft, so it also meant “safe passage”. I knew it had something to do with deep water…

Sept 13th-Honest Abe and Springfield, IL

Happy Fiftieth Birthday Sue (Should I have kept the number private?)! I can’t believe we missed the family reunion AND EIGHT LAYER CAKE! Looks and sounds like everyone had a great time together. Ain’t family great!?!?!?!? We slept along the Mississippi last night (Hey Jak and Charlie, Elsie got to swim in the river!) and spent the morning at the John Deere tractor factory and museum in Moline, IL. By afternoon we had made it to the Lincoln Library in Springfield. We parked right out front and used up 3 parking meters! The Lincoln Library was fabulous for the history impaired (and Gene, the history buff). I learned a lot about the Civil War—and will get to see a lot more as we keep driving. The Library had a short movie that compressed the time of the Civil War into several minutes. It was a map showing the boundary line between the North and South along with the number of casualties for both sides. Interesting to see the ebb and flow. Did you know Lincoln was in a four man race for office? He won with only 40 percent of the popular vote, but a majority of the Electoral College. South Carolina seceded from the Union right before his inauguration for his first term, and the other states followed right after. He was re-elected with Andrew Johnson. Lee surrendered to Grant, ending the Civil War, and Lincoln was assassinated six days later. Obviously a lot happened in the interim…

Sept 12

Stopped by Herbert Hoover’s Presidential Museum and Library in Iowa. Did you know that he was orphaned when he was 9 years old and moved to Newburg, Oregon? He lived with his uncle’s family there. All we knew about Hoover when we went in was the mess around the depression. I didn’t know that he graduated from Stanford, was a mining engineer, world traveler, and Secretary of Commerce before becoming President. It appears he began his presidency with citizens expecting the most from him and within days of taking office as president, the stock market crashed. He left office with one of the lowest approval ratings ever seen. He got a bad rap in a way though because even as Secretary of Commerce he was warning everyone that the economy was in trouble and had been trying to pass reforms for several years.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that we have been driving for quite some time on “blue roads” and other small highways. The entire mid-west seems to be rolling green hills full of hardwood trees (no evergreens) with MILES of field corn and soy beans in between. We had to ask a farmer about the corn because it looked to me like they had forgotten to harvest and it was all drying out. The explanation was that its not sweet corn but field corn and they will let it dry out a few more weeks before they harvest. It gets used for corn oil, alcohol, and animal feed, etc….also ETHANOL—go Neil K!!!!!

WiFi Trouble!!

Sept 11-Boy are we having trouble with our wireless, not to mention our Sprint phone service. We apologize for being hard to reach for a few days. We continued through Minnesota with a great swing through Badlands National Park. For those of you who have expressed concern about Elsie I'll post a picture of her. See? She's having a great time too! After Badlands we lost all communication, but continued across the southern side of Minnesota and on into Wisconsin. We crossed the Mississippi into LaCrosse, birthplace of the world-famous-almost-principal-father-of-the-best-kids, KEN HUBBARD! Beautiful town. The Mississippi was gorgeous, although we've been in low clouds and rain for most of it. This whole area is not as I expected. I thought it would be flat and dry--and it's beautiful, rolling, green hills covered with deciduous trees. Corn and soybeans growing EVERYWHERE! We are now in Iowa with internet friends, Gene and Sandy, who are hopefully helping Gene fix our WiFi. Elsie loved their home-base in Williamsburg, Iowa-atop a hill surrounded by their own cornfield. They are full time RVers but luckily were home. Great pizza and cinnamon roll stop in Williamsburg if you are ever passing through! Love, Barb PS-Will someone please email me the date of world-famous-policeman-father-of-the-best-kids, ERIC HUBBARD so that I know when his graduation (that's probably not what you call it) is? I need a photo of him too!!!
April 1-Now that the cat is completely out of the bag and the whole world knows about Lentil Toy, I thought I'd put in an addendum to this post. Caroline and Marc called us while we were in Williamsburg to announce that they were indeed pregnant. We had been hoping for such an announcement but still weren't ready for the emotions it instilled. All we wanted to do was hug them both--which was tough since we were miles apart. We were sworn to secrecy but of course we told EVERYONE in Williamsburg figuring it wouldn't get back to anyone at home. Once baby was bigger and C & M got to tell everyone I still wasn't really comfortable announcing it on the blog. Now of course, everyone knows and the doctor has pronounced him a healthy BOY! So, our little Lentil is expected on May 19th and we can't wait!

Oh my gosh!

Sept 7- My mom just emailed me this photo. I didn't even know I'd been to Rushmore before! This was taken in 1955, so I'm three years old.

Black Hills, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park

Sept 7-This area is so beautiful that we decided to stay a day (we're in SD). Drove down to explore Wind Cave NP-spent an hour underground (as deep as 200 feet) looking at rock formations called "boxwork". Wind Cave has 125 miles of known tunnels which they say is about 10 percent of the possible total. Our photos don't do it justice. Drove around the park too, and also through Custer State Park. The area is amazing. Rolling prairie, hills covered with pine trees, pronghorn, bison, prairie dogs, a few mountain goats, and then beautiful rock outcroppings. We drove on up to see Mt. Rushmore again using a different highway and you could see the sculpture from farther away (and through tunnels aimed right at it). Walked up closer to it today--look close at the picture and you can see a Park Ranger working filling small cracks in George's face! Elsie's mad because we keep leaving her home, but she isn't allowed in the parks.

Sept 6-Mt. Rushmore

We are camped outside Custer, SD. It poured rain (thunder, lightning, and hail) just after we got the rig set up so we puttered on our computers. Didn't get up to see Mt. Rushmore until dusk. We watched the evening presentation and the lighting of the monument. Met up with friends we met at Devil's Tower (Wayne and Donna)!

Sept 5-Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower National Monument-the afternoon of September 5th-Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed Devil's Tower the nation's first National Monument in 1906. It is beautiful, sticking up in the middle of rolling plains and pine forests. We walked around the base of the tower--about a mile and a half. I thought it was columnar basalt, but it's columns are MUCH larger--and now I forget the type of rock, but not basalt. The theory is that molten rock was forced up into sedimentary rock about 60 million years ago-never reaching the surface of the earth. It cooled underground. Millions of years of erosion exposed the tower.

Sept 5-Little Bighorn Natl Monument

September 5-We stopped to see Custer's Battlefield at Little Bighorn National Monument last night and again this morning. Did you know that of the men that died with Custer, most were not American but Irish? The battle itself took place on June 25th and 26th, 1876. In 1876, Ireland was enduring the potato famine so many of the men emigrated to the United States to make a new life. In the US they were shunned and discriminated against and couldn't get jobs, so they enlisted in the army. When Custer was ordered to push the Indians back onto the reservation he underestimated the size of the Indian encampment. There were about 7,000 Indians with about 2,000 of them warriors. Custer divided his troops and tried to attack from several different sides, but the Indians fought back, pushing Custer and his men back up what we now call "Last Stand Hill". There are white markers that mark where the soldiers fell. The remains were recovered from shallow graves and placed under the large stone marker. The fallen natives are marked by red granite markers.

Sept 4-Pompey's Pillar

September 4-Stopped at Pompey's Pillar in Montana. Pompey was the son of Sacajawea, who was traveling with the Lewis and Clark expedition as a guide. William Clark named the large rock formation after him when they passed by on their trip west, July 25, 1806. Clark did a bit of graffiti and carved his name in the rock!

September 2, 2006-Leaving the farm!

My husband and I left our farm in Woodinville, Washington on September 2, 2006. We have been planning this trip since before we were married, thirty-three years ago. We have no real itinerary except to travel the country and enjoy an extended vacation. Elsie, our miniature Rat Terrier is traveling with us, barking at every cow and antelope along the way!