Chicago

We spent two days commuting into downtown Chicago to see the sights. Each morning started with a 30 minute drive from our KOA campground in Union to the train station in Woodstock. After a 90 minute train ride, we arrived in downtown Chicago. The first day had light rain and high humidity. We walked 10 blocks and had lunch at an Italian café. From there we caught a cab through Grant park out to the Shedd Aquarium. When we determined that the ticket price was $27 per person, we made an executive decision to invest in a water taxi ride to Navy Pier instead.

The breeze on lake Michigan was refreshing, and everyone enjoyed the view of the Chicago skyline from the water. We toured Navy Pier, where the kids had ice cream. Then we boarded the water taxi again for a quick trip up the Chicago River to Michigan Avenue. Laura and Teressa window shopped on the Magnificent Mile, and we all marveled at the pieces of old buildings that are built into the Chicago Tribune building (think of just about any famous building in the world, and they likely have a piece of it built into the wall). Check out the details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_Tower

Our timing in Chicago couldn’t have been any better, at least according to Brian. We arrived just in time for the start of the Chicago Jazz Festival! It is impressive that in a city this size the entire Festival is free of charge, and that we were able to get great seats for the opening act just by walking up an hour before it started. According to Brian, Sonny Rawlins is the best tenor sax player alive on the planet! He has to be in his 70s, given the stories that were shared when he was introduced about his early days with Miles Davis back in the 50s. He had difficulty walking out on the stage, but no problem at all playing his sax! It was impressive! We could only stay for an hour, as we had to catch the train back to the countryside. As we walked out of the pavilion, Brian made the comment that he could immediately play the melody for the first song that was performed, and that his fingers remembered what to do just by listening to it – I’m still wondering if I’m his real father! ;-)

After another 90 minute train ride, and 30 minute trip in the car, we arrived back at the trailer at 10:30. Rocky was asleep, but very excited to get out and empty his bladder. We kept him up for over an hour before we all crashed around midnight.

Our second day in Chicago started out like the movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray, where each day is exactly like the last. Teressa and I woke and showered early as always. The kids slept in as long as they possibly could and still allow us to catch the train, just like the day before. We drove the identical 15 miles to Woodstock and caught the same 9:45 train into Chicago. But that's where things started to go differently than the previous day. There was no rain, just bright blue skies. And unlike the previous day, the train was absolutely packed, due in large part to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field in the afternoon.

When we arrived in Chicago we kept with tradition and headed to a pizza restaurant for lunch. This time we took a cab over to Gino's East for some authentic deep dish pizza. Gino's was started by a couple of taxi drivers in the 60s, and their restaurants walls are covered with graffiti (see the picture of Teressa and me). One large pizza fed us all -- half Gino's supreme, and half bacon cheeseburger. You can guess which half the kids ordered (and it was actually the best).

After lunch we took a cab to the Click office in Chicago and visited with a number of my co-workers. It was fun to reconnect with everyone again, and for Teressa and the kids to see where I spent so much time the last five years. From there we went to Borders so Laura could buy a couple of books, and then back to the train station. When we got off at our stop at Woodstock, we drove through the quaint little downtown area. This is where the movie "Groundhog Day" was filmed, and we recognized the park and a number of the buildings. Since it is one of my favorite movies, we'll have to get the kids to watch it now. Here is hoping for six more weeks of summer! :-)

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

We checked out of the KOA in Wisconsin Dells at 11:00, and drove down into the town. Apparently Wisconsin Dells is the water park capital of the world. There were some amazing looking parks, reminding us a little of the pomp and glitter of Las Vegas with names like Mt. Olympus and Noah’s Ark. The KOA camping fee we paid came with complimentary tickets to one of the more modest looking facilities, Riverside Park. They had a huge parking area which worked great for the RV, so we parked for a couple of hours while Teressa took the kids into the park. I stayed in the trailer with Rocky to catch up on some email. We all enjoyed ourselves!

After a quick stop at Burger King (our first fast food hamburger since Oregon), we headed down the interstate towards Chicago. Traffic was heavy for a Wednesday afternoon. A twenty mile construction zone tested my skills in keeping the trailer in a lane with only one foot clearance on each side. They had trucks drive in the left lane, and cars in the right – not sure why. The kids also got to experience their first toll road – the concept was a foreign one. The toll booths had similar clearance challenges, but we made it through unscathed. We were glad when things opened up again.

We took a slight detour off the freeway to tour Madison, Wisconsin. It is one of the places I have always wanted to see, and it didn’t disappoint. The college and downtown are tucked right on the shore of a lake, surrounded by dense trees. We decided it would be ok if Brian decided to become a “Badger”! ;-)

It was just after 6:00 when we arrived in our RV park in Union, Illinois, approximately 60 miles outside Chicago. The KOA here is the closest RV park we could find to the city. We will take the Metra train into downtown so we don't have to deal with traffic and parking.

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

I got up early yesterday and took the truck in for an oil change. It was the first one since we left Portland, as the previous owner used synthetic oil which supposedly allows you to go 7500 miles between services. I had to pull the bikes off the top as the bay doors at Jiffy Lube weren't quite tall enough to make it in. After stops at the bank and gas station, I arrived back at the KOA around 10.

It took a couple of hours to get the RV ready to roll, tanks dumped and everyone through the shower at the KOA. We were on the road a little after noon. Steve, our GPS, recommended that we go slightly north through Minneapolis before turning east. We obliged and pointed the car north on highway 169. About three minutes later Steve changed his mind and said "A better route is available". Without thinking, Teressa blurted out "You told us to go this way, you Dick!" After an awkward pause, the car erupted with laughter. Brian said "I can't wait to tell my friends what my well mannered mom said!" Now Steve truly is a four letter word.

I promised myself I wasn't going to bore people with gas price stories on this trip, but I thought you might find the following summary interesting:
- Highest price paid for diesel: $4.99 in George, Washington
- Lowest price paid for diesel: $3.99 in Minneapolis, MN
- Average driving speed: 60 mph (any faster and the bumps on the interstate loosen your teeth fillings!)
- Average fuel economy while towing: 10 mpg
- Average number of cars that pass us on the interstate per day: ~1500
- Average number of cars we pass on the interstate per day: 1 (no kidding, and usually it is a piece of farm equipment!)

From Minneapolis we drove southeast to Rochester to visit the Mayo Clinic (see picture above). Mayo helped pioneer the heart/lung machine that is used widely now for major operations (like my niece Cece's lung transplant). The picture of Brian below is with one of the original machines in their history display. We stopped by to see some of the people I worked with, but they had moved buildings, and we didn't have time to track them down before we left.

We hit the road again and headed east towards Wisconsin. Crossing the Mississippi was impressive at La Crosse (thanks for the tip Dennis!). It was pushing 8:00 and starting to get dark when we arrived at the KOA in Wisconsin Dells. The "Dells" is a 5 mile long sandstone gorge on the Wisconsin river. We hope to see a portion of it as we drive down towards Chicago (so far all we have seen are the trees around the campground).

Mall of America, Minneapolis, MN

After touring some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States (Yellowstone, the Tetons, the Badlands, the Black Hills) the kids finally found something that really impressed them -- the Mall of America in Minneapolis! As Laura marveled "Can you believe an amusement park and 500 stores all in one building!" Seriously, while I know they enjoyed the national parks, it was fun for them to be "back in civilization" for a day.

We started the day in Iowa, at a nice little RV park by a lake in the north central part of the state. We weren't able to stay long, but enjoyed the surroundings. We drove north to Mankato, Minnesota in the morning. There we met Beth (Wendland) and Dennis Marzloff for lunch at their home. Beth manages a group at the bank, and Dennis is a music professor at Bethany Lutheran College. They provided a great lunch for us at their home, and then we walked a couple blocks for a tour of the college.

Back on the road, we headed north towards Minneapolis, arriving at our KOA park around 4:00. After a quick stop to drop off the trailer and the dog, we headed north again to the Mall of America. Our timing was excellent. Many schools have started classes here, so the mall was quiet on a Monday evening. They have a half price special for the amusement park -- all the rides you want for $16 from 5 to 9:30. The kids and I signed up for the special and proceeded to abuse ourselves for the next two hours. The roller coaster was the most intense, climbing straight up three floors before plunging straight down before sending you through a couple of inverted loops. It was a blast. We ate dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant in the Mall, then proceeded back to the RV park.

Spirit Lake, Iowa

We pushed ourselves and made it to Iowa (about 375 miles). We almost violated my number one guiding principle for the trip -- never drive after dark. Here is Teressa's journal entry for the day:

Pleasant discovery of the day: Although the concrete interstates are extremely bumpy in a 5th wheel, both Laura and I were able to read books in the car today. This is a first as we both tend to get carsick. Perhaps 10 days in the car have cured us much the way a sailer gets over his seasickness at sea.

We stopped in Murdo, SD and checked out the car and antique museum there. Little towns in this area seem to need a gimmick to pull in the tourists. Gary and I recognized some of the cars, toys, lunchboxes, etc. Do you remember The General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard? If so our kids will think you are old too. At Mitchell, SD, we drove by the Corn Palace and snapped a photo. That was enough of that.

As we left South Dakota, we veered south into Iowa. We have found the back roads of each state to be amazing. The landscape quickly turned to golden fields of corn, deep green leafy soybean, and meticulously manicured farmland which looked like oasis amidst the fields of gold. The little
towns along the way were spotless and manicured as well. What a beautiful state it is! As we drove further east, we noticed an abundance of 3-armed white wind mills and wondered how they fared with tornadoes. We have disagreement over these giants: the other 3 liked them while I missed theunspoiled farmland. Our destination was the campground at Spirit Lake.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

We succumbed to the time honored South Dakota tourist tradition by making a pilgrimage to Wall Drug yesterday. The morning was spent washing sheets and catching up on projects, so we didn't hit the road till after noon. We cut through a corner of Badlands National Park, arriving in Wall around 2:00. I was hoping to get the oil changed in the pickup, but the only auto lube facility closed at noon on Saturday (life in a small town). We had a late lunch at the cafe in Wall Drug, which offers seating for over 550 people. It didn't take long to tour the facility, and we were back on the road by 3:30.

We made the scenic loop through the park on the way back to our campground. As we entered the park we took a gravel road along the rim and then stopped to walk out and look over the edge. We were very lucky as we encountered seven bighorn sheep winding their way along the ridges below. The scenery is beautiful, but the colors in the pictures don't do it justice. There are layers of pink separated by layers of grey, and even areas with layers of green and yellow. We were surprised by the differences in the Badlands of Makoshika (Montana), Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota), and Badlands National Park (South Dakota). Each is spectacular in its own way.

It was just after 5:00 when we arrived back at camp. Teressa and I took Rocky for a long walk while the kids went swimming. The campground offers Indian Tacos for dinner in the evenings, so we all sampled the local cuisine. They are made with Indian fry bread and resemble a tostada. Not diet food, but they sure tasted great!

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

For those in our generation, the words "Pine Ridge Indian Reservation" typically trigger some type of emotional reaction. The Wounded Knee Massacre and book "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee", the 1973 Wounded Knee Incident between the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the FBI, and the realization that this is the poorest reservation in the nation leave one searching for answers. Here is Teressa's description of the day:

Our journey today took us back into South Dakota through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Having done our homework, we stopped at the visitor center in Chadron, Nebraska to be sure this was an area open to tourists and, literally, safe for us to travel. Although Pine Ridge is the eighth largest reservation in the United States, it is one of te poorest places in the country. Unemployment on the Reservation hovers around 20% and 49% live below the federal poverty level. Adolescent suicide is four times the national average. Many of the families have no electricity, telephone, running water, or sewer. The population on Pine Ridge has among the shortest life expectancies of any group in the Western Hemisphere: approximately 47 years for males and in the low 50s for females. We are driving a new RV and truck, laden with 10-speed bikes, through their land. You get the picture.

We decided to go through the reservation en route to the South Dakota Bad Lands and Wall Drug. We were pleasantly surprised. We stopped at Wounded Knee to get a feel for the area where one of the worst Indian massacres occurred. There we met a Lakota (Sioux) family who were selling their beautiful beadwork by the roadside. They told us that the road marker was wrong. According to US military history, a gunshot went off which led the cavalry to believe the Indians were attacking. They proceeded to shoot every Indian they saw at point blank range and to launch their two pound artillary shells into the teepee area which was where the women and children waited. The result was that they killed many women and children while the men (Indians) fought the cavalry. There were a total of around 300 Indians at Wounded Knee. Only 53 were men; around 250 were women and kids. US history tells us that the Indians had guns hidden in their bedding. The Lakota tell us that the Indians surrendered about 5 miles from Wounded Knee and at the point of surrender all of their weapons were confiscated, per military policy. What really happened?, I shudder because I do know that those who are victorious write the history books. It was an ugly yet inevitable time in our history, and very sad.

The beauty of the story is that the woman and her child were people with the most respectable values. He sat near the Wounded Knee roadside sign and talked to tourists about the Sioux point of view. She created beautiful jewelry to support her family. She told of the high levels of alcoholism on the reservation. Yet, she and her husband have chosen a life without alcohol and have taken in many (9 or 10) children of other Lakota people where the parents have fallen into the pits of alcoholism and poverty. We feel humbled to have met these people who are doing more for humanity than most of us will do in a lifetime.