Teambobcats

Last Night on the Road

Teambobcats — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: so we found this AWESOME campgroundhttp://www.hansonhillscampground.com/
a few Miles off the interstate. The people here are so nice, the campground is quiet, rugged, peaceful, and beautiful. The drive here was a bit scary but once we arrived, all of our worries disappeared. We got to our site, and the office provides fishing poles to fish with, so while I cooked dinner over on the grill *bbq Chicken and roasted potatos* Randy, Lynsie and Gunner went fishing.

Both kids caught fish and released them back into the pond. We then ate dinner and went swimming because it is still 90 degrees outside. The kids and I took jumping pictures into the pool. I think they turned out great . After a bit of a struggle, we finally got a fire burning and made a dessert, pecan pie, over the coals. Now were are just siting here enjoying the fire and listening to our neighbors set off fireworks. Besides the fireworks, the evening has been peaceful. You can hear the frogs croaking in the pond and the crickets in the trees. We can also see a lot of stars. What an awesome end to an awesome vacation. I am so very glad that we did this. So I guess we will jump back in the RV tomorrow to drive the approximately eight hours home to arrive in Columbus sometime in the evening. We will, of course, see some Roadside american attractions on the way home. Good Night.

Custer

Teambobcats — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: so we woke up this morning to...... SUN. It was the first time we saw sun in three days. It was wonderful. We finally had a chance to dry out the camper and us. We ate eggs in a hole, bacon and mini french toast for breakfast before we set out for the day to see our sites. We all crammed into Grandpa's truck and took off to see Crazy Horse monument. Chief Crazy horse
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/17585

You can actually see the monument from the road, but we paid our admission fee and went into the park/visitor's area. WOW this Indian's head is HUGE. You can put the entire Mt. Rushmore sculpture in the Indian's face. We saw a movie about the sculptor, did some shopping, took some photos, drank free coffee, got a rock and took off to the next stop, Mt. Rushmore.

The drive to Mt. Rushmore was breathtaking. There were a lot of pull off stops where you could see parts of the carvings but you really did not get the full effect until you arrived at the top of the drive. It is quite a site to see. We again took in the sights, took photos, ate ice cream, took a hike for a closer look, shopped and then headed back down the mountain. The gnome of course made the trip and had his photo's taken as well.
On the way down we stopped for a geocache located at the entrance sign to Mt. Rushmore. Here, Randy almost broke the camera, but it managed to survive with only a few scratches. Dad and I sat this geocache out so we did not get to see the actual event.

From here we headed to Hill City to see the Ornate Junk Metal Horse http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/23782 and got a few geoaches. While here we stumbled upon this Teddy Bear Town store that had the world's largest collection of teddy bears in the world in it, over 6500 different bears. It was really weird, fascinating and incredible to see, all at the same time. It is actually in the guiness book of world records. We then took some photos with the gnome and then headed back to camp for the evening. Randy and Lynsie took off awhile later to get a few more geocaches in Custer while G and G Utpadel, myself and Gunner relaxed by the fire, and planned the day for tomorrow. Sadly, G and G Utpadel will be heading a seperate way than us :( Fire was nice, smores, popcorn and taffy were enjoyed by all. Now off to bed to get ready to hit the road tomorrow to see Uncle Jim in Glendo Wyoming.

Glendo

Teambobcats — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: I sit here typing this entry as we travel across Wyoming, heading into a storm with lighting. It is so beautiful because Wyoming is so flat you can see for Miles and watch the storm approach. We just left Lost Springs, Wyoming - City With Population of 1
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/11197 which was pretty corny but cool.

Our day started in South Dakota where we eat our last breakfast with G and G Utpadel- blueberry pancakes YUMMMMMM!!!!. We then gave Dad his father day gifts which included a traveling gnome for him and some lights for their trailer. I then proceeded to brake the gnome before it even left the campground- Sorry DAD a new one is on the way!!1

We left and headed to the Jewel Cave National site to find out that we were going to have to wait two hours to take the next tour because the earlier tours were sold out. We decided not to take the tour but got two geocaches here. We loaded up and headed to Wyoming and to visit with Uncle Jim. On the way to Glendo, we passed the area of the national forest that was burned a few years ago. Sad but neat looking. We also finally got to see some buffalo!! We also saw a lot of antelope with babies on the plains. Way cool. We ate lunch on the road and we are now stopped at a gas stop about 1/2 hour from Uncle Jim's stop. More later

UPDATE: we just stopped at a wayside to watch the lightening from the storm. So cool. Lots of photos taken and even some video. Recorded lightening strikes over beautiful countryside. What a great way to watch a storm1!!

http://www.recreation.gov/recAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=1233&agencyCode=129

Keystone and Custer sites

Teambobcats — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's blog: Ok so it RAINED all night and now all day. We decided to forgo the Mt. Rushmore and Crazy horse stops for today because a forecast of sunny and warm is set for tomorrow. So we will go see those sites tomorrow. We did spend a leisurely morning eating breakfast and then set out on an awesome, hairaising drive through the black hills with corkscrew and hairpin turns, and also one lane narrow rock tunnels. Incredible views and sites. We went back to Keystone and did the Borglum museum (carver of the faces on Mt. Rushmore) which was neat and informative. Then we had buffalo burgers for lunch and then off to have a fudge shop, some shopping, and then to a taffy shop. Grandma U purchased two large bags of assorted taffy flavors (35 flavors in all I think). We then set off to the RV and headed to set up camp in Custer, SD at Beaver Lake Campground for 2 nights.
We arrived at the campground at a decent time of 3:30ish, set up camp in the break in rain, had snacks, waited out the rain and then actually had dinner over the campfire tonight!!! We then played "guess the taffy flavor" with Grandma Utpadel the taffy nazi at the helm!!! It was fun. We then made hobo popcorn and smores. The fire is nice and warm and guess what?? THE RAIN HAS STOPPED!!!! We are finally enjoying the camping experience again. Nice relaxing, non scheduled day finally!!!
Tomorrow, in the nice weather, we will hit Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, and maybe a few geocaches.

Plan on visiting tomorrow!!

Chief Crazy horse
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/17585

Mt. Rushmore-Both Day and night views

Possible trip up to Devils Tower

Alda NE heading East

Teambobcats — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: if you have not noticed yet, I am blogging as we travel and then Randy is adding photos at our stops for the night, thus keep checking back for updates to the blogs and pictures to accompany the blogs!!!

So we have just left the KOA in Doniphan NE and we are heading to Kansas City MO to get an old cache so that our team can complete a challange cache in Ohio. Long Story but I won't go into it here. We plan on making a few stops along the way to see some more roadside attractions so I will blog those then. We got a late start this morning (let the kids sleep in a bit and made pancakes for breakfast so we are a bit behind) so we are not sure where we will land tonight. We are going to try to make it to St. Louis MO with an ETA in Columbus sometime tomorrow, but we will see.

Just made a quick gas/photo stop in Milford NE to see the wooden teepee hotel-now defunct and largest covered wagon. Campground Wooden Teepees http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3773
World's Largest Covered Wagon http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/846 Gassed and on our way to Lincoln NE

UPDATE: So arrived in Nebraska City NE to see the Tombstone in Shape of Desk http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/10950 and John Brown's Cave and Secret Tunnels http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/14639 and on the way to get onto Interstate 29, we passed through the corner of Iowa and saw the Sapp Bros Giant Coffee Pot http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/9673 The secret tunnels were part of the underground railroad and was the only stop in NE. It was cool. The Tombstone was neat but as stated above everyone just wants to go home so the stops are shorter and not as much fun as before :( We are now in Missouri on our way to Kansas City.

UPDATE: So we stopped twice in Kansas City- once in Kansas City Kansas for a cache to claim Kansas, and once in Kansas City Missouri to get a cache for Randy's cache challange. Boy is it HOT outside. Yikes, the sign said 93 degrees!!! Now back in the RV to head to Kindgom City MO to camp for the night. We sure do cross the Missouri River a lot on this trip. The river is really flooded in spots. This will be our last night of camping, family time and vacation before we hit Columbus sometime tomorrow night. :( We are staying at the Hanson HIlls Campground. We hope to have a fire and cook outside tonight.

Trip to Alta NE

Teambobcats — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's blog: so we spent the night in Glendo Res. State park ( http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=6 ) with Uncle Jim. The storm that we took pictures of passed us by and we ended up having an incredible evening. We went into Glendo to have dinner with Uncle Jim at the only restaurant in town that was open (population of Glendo is 224). Dinner was actually pretty good- I had Chicken fried steak. After dinner we headed back to the campsite to sit by the campfire with Uncle Jim and swap stories and learn about the Lambert history. The campsite was beautiful and sat on a bluff overlooking the lake. It was extremely enjoyable. We partook in a few margaritas and then headed to bed.

We woke up this morning to heavy winds. We invited Jim over for breakfast in the camper b/c the winds were to heavy to eat outside. After breakfast, we got ready to start our trip home, but not before Jim gave us some fish he had caught earlier in the week. Yumm!!! We then drove a bit more through the state park and then headed on our way to Julesburg CO to get a cache. The winds are so strong that we just passed a semi truck on its side in the middle of the interstate. We think this is due to the strong winds. This should be an interesting trip to NE if the winds don't calm down. Our ultimate destination for today is Alda NE. We will lose a hour today so who knows how far we will get. We do have a few stops planned, such as one in Julesburg CO to get a geocache and claim another state, and of course a few roadside america attractions such as Monument: Where Brothers Were Pinned Together By An Arrow http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16183 Great Platte River Road Archway http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9790 We may also make a few stops along the Oregon Trail to take a few historical pictures.
Later.

UPDATE: So we stopped in Geurnsey WY to see some history regarding the Oregon Trail. We saw the ruts and the signature wall. Way cool. Got two caches as well. Now on our way again and just crossed into Nebraska!!

Oregon Trail Ruts http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=29
Register Cliff http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=33

UPDATE 2: We continued our journey to get to interstate 80 and made a stop in Julesburg CO to claim a geocache and see a museum. http://www.townofjulesburg.com/
Also got to walk from Colorado to Nebraska to claim a cache and then had to walk back to Colorado to get a pen to sign the cache and had to walk back again to Nebraska to put the cache back into the hiding place. Whew, I was tired after all of that walking. Got back into the RV and headed to Interstate 80 to try to get as far as the KOA campground in Doniphan NE (near Grand Island NE) because the kids "want to go home"!! :( Along the way we passed the The Great Platte River Road Archway Monumenthttp://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9790
and landed at the KOA around 8:30 pm. It was such a long day we ordered Pizza which was delivered to our campsite-pretty cool. After Gunner took a dip in the pool and hottub we headed to bed. We are going to head to Kansas City MO tomorrow and then see what happens from there. I guess we will arrive home by Saturday!!!

Rapid City leading us into the black hills

Teambobcats — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's blog: so we drove right through Rapid City, SD and did not stop to visit the dinosaurs or the men made from tires becauseof the rain and how late it was. Everyone was tired and wanted to get to the campground as soon as possible to eat. It rained the entire from Wall to Keystone. Once we were in Keystone, we also bypassed the scheduled stops and started to head to the campground. WELL we got lost!!! We did drive through a very pretty part of the state and saw a lot of deer and wild turkeys. We finally found the campsite and set up camp. We ate dinner in our RV again and then because it was so late, everyone headed to bed. We will get up in the morning and see what the day brings. IF there is rain, we may do all of the sites we missed and hold off on Rushmore until the next day.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10514

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/14120

If time allows we may stop and pan for gold at Prospector Johnny One Feather.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/1191v

That is a big drug store

Teambobcats — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's blog: We made it to Wall South Dakota and the infamous Wall Drug, the entire drive in the rain. We are WAY behind schedule but who cares we are on vacation. Randy seemed to be the only one not looking forward to this stop but everyone else was excited. G and G Utpadel and Gunner got fresh made donuts and all of the adults had a cup of 5 cent coffee, which was actully good and hit the spot on this cold rainy day. We shopped, Gunner found some bobble heads for his collection and Lynsie purchased a beautiful indian ceramic bowl.

We did the photo ops (this time the jackalope had Antlers), saw a piano playing giant ape, and watched T rex scare the bejesus out of some kids. All and all it was a good stop. We spent way too much time here and at the badland, thus the schedule is capute!!! but no big deal. Now on our way to Rapid City, Keystone and the campground.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/4011

Day 3-almost there

Teambobcats — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's log: the third stop of the day brings us to the Minute Man Missile site which was closed because it was Sunday. We did read the info sign and became aware that a missile launched from this site would reach Russia in 30 minutes. It is still raining. We ate lunch in the missile site parkin glot and then headed to the giant statue of a Prairie Dog and Prairie Dog town. The giant Prairie dog was a picture op and the gnome made his appearance as well. We purchased food to feed the real Prairie dogs, however because of the rain, they did not want to come out and play or eat the food offered. We tried. Now back into the RV to head to the badlands state scenic byway.

So after a quick stop at the Badlands National Park entrance sign, we paid our $15.00 entrance fee and started our incredible, although rainy, trip through the badlands. They are so beautiful. The rain did not stop us from taking one, short, hike and getting a few geocaches and lots of pictures. It was a loop that I am glad we did not miss. Now onto the tourist trap of Wall Drug.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3865

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/5590

Ridem Cowboy

Teambobcats — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's blog: the the next stop was actually 15 Miles past the town of Murdo South Dakota with a visit to The Original 1880 town with real cowboy feel. It was a blast. It was still raining a bit, but we did manage to get a break in the rain for about 1/2 hour to do our thing. We got all dressed up in period clothes and ran amok around the town, shooting pictures everywhere we went. We robbed a bank, got sent to jail, hung out in the saloon, robbed a train, sat at the Mayor's desk and much much more. It was more fun than one can expect to have in one day. We also saw the the items that were used to film Dances with Wolves, which was also filmed in this town. After seeing all of these items, the kids now want to rent the movie. Rain has returned and we are back on the road, a bit behind schedule, off to see the Prairie dogs, missiles and the badlands. Oops, we forgot another time change, so I guess not too far behind schedule.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/7105

Wow, thats a big Buffalo

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: so this is actually the start of day three. We ended up spending too much time at the Corn Palace thus we did not do the Al's Oasis-Big Buffalo until the morning of June 13, 2010. We spent a cold, rainy, muddy night at the Cedar Shore Campground, which is right on the edge of the Missouri River(we didn't stay at Happy Camper's b/c we couldn't get them to answer the reservations telephone line). Nice place, but as stated above, cold, wet and muddy.

We pulled in and ate dinner with the fellow travelors in our trailer, when we discovered that the sinks in our RV are leaking, and we had a major flood. So after trying to clean that up and fix as best we could, we went to bed with no fire or smores. However Gunner did get a chance to test out the indoor heated pool at the campground and we also did manage to plan out our next day. We also got to see a few wild turkeys across the road roosting in the trees for the night and gobbling all evening long until dark.

The morning came with more rain and cold. We were out by 9 am and made our first geocache stop of the day and then onto the huge Buffalo, with two baby buffalos next to it. As we were there, another travel gnome (gNorman the gNome from MN) stopped to take his picture with the buffalo. So our gnome and gNorman had their photos taken together, swapped a few stories and headed on their respective ways. gNorman was heading the opposite direction as us. We then gassed up and are now on our way to the 1880's wild west town to do some dress up and photos- hopefully the rain will stop. Forcast says in the 30s tonight-yikes!!!

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/6556

Corn Palace

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: so we arrived at the famous Jackalope who no longer is a Jackalope. What do you call a Jackalope with no Antlers? A Rabbit? A Jackaless? Who knows. Anyway photo op taken, gnome got his too, and off to the corn palace. We arrived at the famous corn Palace a few minutes later and what a neat place. I had never been there before. Again photos taken, food eaten (corn on the cob, popcorn and Carmel corn of course) souveniers purchases (popcorn) and off to the next stop, camping and dinner. Oops, forgot, need to grab a geocache on the way out of town and take another photo op at a covered wagon. I will prepare dinner on the way so that the "starving" family can eat as soon as we arrive at the campsite. I think we are about 1/2 hour behind schedule but oh well, we are on vacation .

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2215

and, the famous Jackalope without any Antlers

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4379

Scultures galore

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

gunners blog-It was sooooooo cool to see all of those diffrent kinds of scuptures and there was this one sulpture that was made of railroad plates that was a HUGE bull head and had real (and metal) bats on the outside and alot of scary stuff inside (like the devil, snakes, eyes, and spiders). the bull it was the best stop on the whole trip and i would definately go back there again.

Debbie's Blog- so we arrived here by on schedule and what a cool unusual place. We saw the sculptures from the freeway with this huge metal Bull head on the horizon. After a scary drive down a long muddy road we arrived at the park and were greated by the artist himself. The park is self guided and beautiful. He has sculptures ranging from little fish to naked dancing women to a frog autopsy. Some extremely weird items but fascinating as well. I loved the signs along the way explaining things. It was well worth the stop and time spent here. The was the first roadside attraction the we paid an entrance fee to however with what we saw it was well worth it. Of course stopped to get a geocache on the way out, and saw a white moon over the sculpture at the entrace to the park. Had a bit of a misshap with an almost lost, and now somewhat wet phone, but finaly back on the road now by 4:30, as planned, and off to the Corn Palace and Jackalope. Here comes the rain again!!!

Watching Randy jam to Gwen Stefani!! JOY!!

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14418

Departure time 4:30 PM

Drawing the battle lines

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: Our next stop brings us to Sioux Falls, SD to see the concrete outline of the USS South Dakota. The couldn't bring to entire ship into land locked SD so the only brought some parts and then laid a concrete outline of the ship to create a memorial to the ship. We geocached, of course and I found it!! Yah for me. It was a tiny magnet on a huge radar dish. We then took a walk through the gift shop/info center. There were a lot of nice items in here. My favorite was a letter to a mom from the ships chaplain regarding her sons death and burial at sea. It really made me realize how difficult WWII times were. We are still on schedule, even with a gas stop, and now heading onto Montrose SD for a stop at the sculpture park.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10849

Third stop, day 2

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Log: Our third stop of the day brings us to Garretson, SD around 12:30 for a visit to Devils Gulch to see where Jesse James jumped to escape capture. The rain has stopped and the sun is out. WOW what a cool site. We walked the bridge across the site Jesse James jumped on his horse to escape capture. When I saw this site in real time, I thought no way- however there was a 100 year old photo in the gift shop that showed the gulch back then- still flat and no trees- and I changed my mind to maybe/probably a true Story. The rain helped the rapids run and we were treated to a waterfall, which we were told sometimes doesn't run in the summer. Beautiful scenery and nice, but muddy trail. Found a geocache of course, thanks to Grandpa!!! Now back to the camper to clean up and off to our next stop. Still on schedule for the day, amazingly!!!

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/10645

Smallest Church

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Log: so our Second Stop of day two brings us to Luverne, Mn to visit the Tiny Church. The rain kept falling and the longest drive of the day was entirely in the rain. I checked the radar on line and was glad to see that we were heading into the front so that by the time we reached the camp site for the evening, the rains should be gone. We ate on the road and arrived at the Tiny Church about 11:45 am. The rain was now only a mist and we were all able to sit in the church, which we filled to capacity-total capacity of 6. Gunner "officiated" G and G Utpadel's "renewal of vows" and dad "officiated" the Mandt "vows". Good stop, tiny church. Still on schedule and off to our next stop- Jesse James site

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4456

Start of Day 2

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Log: After a good nights sleep in Albert Lee, we took off in the RAIN with Grandma and Grandpa Utpadel and headed to Blue Earth, MN for a stop at the Jolly Green Giant Statue. We arrived around 10:00AM. WOW this guy is tall. We took some great shots and toured the gift shop. It was a lot of fun. We detoured for a few minutes to take in the Wal Mart which was right next door to pick up a few missing items and then we were on our way to the tiny church to renew our vows!! Oops forgot my veil.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2127

First Stop

Teambobcats — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

First stop on our journey is in Iowa City, IA to visit the worlds largest wooden nickel. Approximate arrival time, 1:30 PM CST

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/18697

Departure time 2:00PM CST

Just to send an update, we arrived an hour ahead of schedule, we think it was because we didn't take into account of the time change. That's a good thing. We were driving down the road to the nickel and didn't have a place to park on a really busy road. Drove past and tried to find an easy place to turn around a 25ft RV with traffic lined up behind us. Dad had a little melt down as his nerves were frayed from just driving 9 hours after only 4 hours of sleep. A nearby church gave us the room we needed so everyone said a prayer for dad and on we went to the wooden nickel. Good place to park heading the other way and the sign was much closer than we had imagined. Picture posted.
Debbie's Take on the visit- to the wooden nickel was way cool, however was a little leary of the active electric fence that was surrounding the nickel, and the fact that my 12 y/o kept throwing sticks at the fence to prove to me that it "was not active"- whatever!!! No find on the geocache at this sight so Randy was a bit put out since this was the "only" Iowa cache he had input into his gps!!! Luckily, we all have our laptops with us and he was able to locate a few more before we left the state. I took the wheel of the RV from this point and away we went to our next stop!!!

Keystone SD

Teambobcats — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog: so our journey has taken us to Keystone SD and we are currently at the Spokane Creek campgrounds. It is a nice campground. It RAINED ALL NIGHT!!! We found out the the skylight over the shower in the bathroom and over the bed above the driver's seat all leak!! It also got very COLD last night- I think the weather page said it was only suppose to be in the 30s over night. I heard the RV furnace running a few times during the night. Slept fairly well, but up at 6am, I think due to the time change. RV is cold so I am going to turn the furnace up a bit more. The rain actually stopped for a bit but now has started again. Randy has checked the forcast and it is suppose to be high in the 50s with light rain all day. Hmmm, what shall we do today. Maybe we will try to see the sites in Keyston, listed here OR maybe still try to do Mt. Rushmore. Tomorrow is suppose to be Sunny and warmer so I am thinking Rushmore may wait one more day :( More to come later. G and G are taking us to breakfast here at the campground (cinnamon rolls and biscuits and gravy- YUM) and I am sure we will discuss our day at breakfast. Later!!!
While in Keystone we thought we would visit Cosmos Mystery Area
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11605 but TOO expensive: National Presidential Wax museum -http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11603- too expensive : and Big Thunder Gold Mine
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/16439 but maybe not

UPDATE: so we did not try to do the monuments in the rain but instead decided to go to the Boglum museum and tour. It was excellent and a great introduction to Mt. Rushmore which we plan on doing tomorrow

End of Day 1

Teambobcats — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Debbie's Blog- so Randy is falling down on the job and I not only had to finish driving for the day but now have to write this log!! :) Anyway, we arrive [[United-States/Albert-Lea]] early at 4:45pm- (darn timezone change we forgot about - had I remembered I could've gotten one more hour of sleep this morning) and we went to visitg Farmer Pitchfork Pete
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/19562. He is a tall dude standing in front of a fleet and farm store in the middle of the town. We got some really weird stares from passerbys and customers of the store due to the fact that Randy had to put up a tripod to take a family photo in front of this attraction. The Gnome also made an appearance, and I think he needs to start his own blog. The kids were not too impressed with Pete and I am not sure if this was due to the fact that we had been in the RV for almost 12 hours at this point or if it was because he was not that thrilling.
Back on the road by 5:15pm and headed to the campground. Randy decided to inform us at this point that there were 4 geocaches in [[United-States/Albert-Lea]] that he wanted to find- he was unanimously told NO but we did relent and let him find one that was on the way to the campground. Arrived at the campgound at 5:30 to be pleasantly Surprised by G and G Utpadel, who we were not suppose to meet until tomorrow. They had come down early and set up camp and Surprise us. The campground, Hickory Hills was very nice. Off to bed to start day two of our trip. Tomorrow is packed with some more neat things to see.