July 22nd – Greeley, CO

We had a leisurely breakfast at Windmill State Park before continuing our travels along I-80. We stopped in at the Buffalo Bill Cody’s ranch in North Platte, NE. This was interesting and also a very good place to stretch our legs.


We crossed into the Mountain Time zone just before turning onto I-76. Our goal is to stop driving just before reaching Loveland, CO in Greeley. Again, the weather was so hot we decided to seek out 30-amp service so we could run the air conditioner rather than sweltering in a Walmart parking lot.

The Greeley RV Park and Campground fits our bill nicely. For $16.67 we have a site with electrical service. We’ll utilize the showers tomorrow morning before we head into Loveland to genealogical research into Mary’s father’s family.



The Odometer miles: 12197 GPS Miles: 12897
Miles remaining till Home: 1230

July 21th – Windmill State Park

After leaving Walmart in Ankeny, IA, we headed south on I-35 and connected to westbound I-80. I-80 is a fast road thru Iowa with a speed limit is excess of 70-MPH. I tend to keep the Roadtrek cruising at about 65.

We arrived at the Windmill State Park at Gibbon, NE thinking we would stretchy our legs a little before continuing down the road. But, with temperatures reaching into the mid 90’s and the humidity well above 80%, we decide to stay here where a nice campsite, showers, and 30-amp electrical service was available for our air conditioner. The camping fee was $15 plus $4 for out-of-state park entry fee; it sure was more comfortable than sweltering at a Walmart.

The plumbing in the shower was a bit strange but we have seen worse on this trip.

Two very interesting windmills are setup in the park. Their third windmill is being rebuilt offsite.

July 20th – Mall of America & Spam Museum

I wasn’t able to talk Mary into staying at the Grand Casino RV park a few days longer, so we started our travels south on I-35 toward Minneapolis and the Mall of America.

The Mall of America has something for everyone. First, it has a Cinnabon bakery. We started our morning with fresh cinnamon rolls and planned our attack on MofA. Mary wanted to spend time in Nordstrom’s and a few other like stores. I wanted to see what the rides at the indoor amusement were like.

I bought an all day ride wristband. Not that I was going to spend all day riding but know that the 24.95 cost is easily justified after only 5 or 6 rides. In two hours, I was able to do 9 rides including 2 on one roller coaster and 3 on the other.

Mary resisted all temptations that Nordstrom’s offered and we were again heading south on I-35.

The Spam museum is located near the Hormel headquarters in Austin, MN. Yes, there is a museum dedicated to Spam. We learned the history of Spam, various advertising campaigns thru the years, and other assorted Spam facts. A Spam hostess gave out samples of Bacon flavored Spam. Yum…

We continued south on I-35 till we reached the Wal-mart store in Ankeny, IA. It’s oil change time again. While shopping, we picked up wristbands so Mary will be assured a copy of the new Harry Potter book at 12:01 Saturday morning. Not that that will be a problem. This Walmart had enough books to give one copy to every citizen of Ankeny and still have books left over.

Today is the final day of our “official trip”. From the start, we said our priority was for places east of the Mississippi and today we crossed back to the west side. It will take us about one week to cover the remaining 1900 mile to reach home. The places we select to stop will be based upon how tired we are verses our desire to click off the remaining miles. Most future stops will be either at Walmart’s or FlyingJ’s.

Our best estimate is that we will arrive home in Redding sometime between the afternoon of Wednesday, July 25th and Friday, July27th. We are trying to decide if we will spend a day or two in the Reno area before driving that last 200-miles home.

July 18-19 – Grand Casino RV Park, Hinckley, MN

The Grand Casino RV Park lives up to its name… it definately is Grand. All sites are paved back-ins with grass areas between sites. Sites have all the amenities including cable TV and WiFi. The bathrooms are cleaned three times each day and are spacious. The showers are great. The water flows at a rate that rivals Niagara Falls. There is a swimming pool, game room, and all the other stuff that one would expect.

We feel safe and secure because the only entry has a staffed guard shack, a card key is required to drive into the park, and security patrols drive around all night.

A shuttle bus to and from the casino passes our site at least every 30-minutes. There is a small flag on each site's post that you extend to signal the van to stop.

One of the best parts is that all this is only $19.12 per night.

We had planned to stay only two nights but decided a third would give me a better chance to shake this cold. And as the saying goes, “Feed a Cold… “. The Grand Casino has a nice buffet. I stuffed myself … but only for medicinal purposes, of course. Mary practiced a little proactive medicine by feeding her cold before she caught it.

We’ve had a restful and enjoyable stay. Tomorrow, we are on the road again.

July 17th - Superior, WI & Duluth, MN

We left our Flying J camp spot early in the morning and drove north on Highway 53 toward Superior, WI. We stopped at Mom’s Restaurant in Eau Claire, WI for a quick breakfast. Nothing fancy.

We arrived at the SS Meteor museum. It’s advertised as the “The World’s Last Whaleback Ship”. I don’t know if that statement is true or not, but the tour was interesting and we now understand that a Whaleback ship is one with a shallow draft and rounded hull.

Lake Superior is the last of the five Great Lakes that we had to touch. The friendly staff at the museum recommended that we go to Point Park in Duluth.

We were able to find a great parking space at Point Park and walked down to the beach. We did not want to repeat the problems we had in Lake Michigan so we asked a lady to took our picture while we were kneeling at the waters edge.

To get to and from Point Park, we had to cross the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. Built in 1905 and modified in 1929, this bridge opens by lifting the span on accommodate water traffic. We spent the afternoon walking around the area surrounding the bridge. Two lighthouses flank the harbor entry and numerous shops and restaurants occupy the refurbished buildings in the area.

I’ve been recovering from a cold for the past few days and decided not to walk too much.

We took the carriage tour of the lakeshore. The driver, a lifelong resident of Duluth, told us a little of the history of the area and the changes she’d seen.

We drove to Grand Casino RV Resort in Hinckley, MN and will enjoy a couple days to rest while I recuperate from this cold.

July 16th -- Green Bay, WI

I’m not sure why we drove all the way to Green Bay, WI. It wasn’t because we are Green Bay Packer fans. One place we planned to see was the National Railroad Museum but before going there, we decided to drive down to the lakeshore for lunch.

We found Bay Beach Amusement Park. This is a small park family oriented park suitable for young kids thru pre-teen and just about perfect for Mary and myself.

We spend the entire day walking around the park, watching families having fun. We even road the Merry Go Round (twice), the Bumper Cars (twice), the Scrambles (once) and the Ferris Wheel (once).

We never got back to the railroad museum and our lunch was yogurts in the Roadtrek. Somehow the day just slipped away.

We drive to the Flying J in Black River Falls, WI. We were a little concerned because 4-hour parking limit signs were posted throughout the parking area. The clerk said that was just for people who park their car and go elsewhere. It was ok for us to spend the night. As the night progressed, many other joined the overnight camping group.

July 15th – Oshkosh

We said our Goodbye’s to Craig and Lynea over a cup of coffee and were on our way. Sunday’s traffic was light in the Chicago area and we crossed Illinois and into Wisconsin without encountering any traffic problems.

Oshkosh, WI is the home to the EAA, an advocacy organization for General and Recreational Aviation in the United States. Their museum is packed with original and replica aircraft ranging from the Wright flyer, many stunt, and a few military planes.

There newest exhibit a replica of Burt Rutan’s SpaceshipOne: the first private sub orbital spacecraft and winner of the X prize.

Just outside the museum is the EAA grass runway. Several airplanes and an helicopter were giving introductory flights. The hangers on the other side of the airstrip were open for tours. We spend a couple hours looking at some very nice old flyable airplanes and assorted inventory of aircraft parts, instruments, and engines.

We spent the night at the Circle R private campground just south of the EAA facility. The campground has nicely spaces grass sites with a strange selection of facilities. Some had cable TV. Some were without electricity while other had either 15 or 30 amp service. Free WiFi was available but it didn’t reach to the far end of the campground. We moved our site during the evening hours so we would have access to WiFi. The showers were clean and functional but were constructd with a strange assortment of plumbing fittings and valves.