Our Wild West Adventure: South Dakota

I have to tell you that after our drive through Iowa, I was expecting South Dakota to be more of the same-old-same-old.   I was greatly mistaken.  South Dakota is beautiful, and the scenery  is constantly changing around you.  My home schoolers were having a hard time getting school done that day, as there was so much to see and enjoy!






We city people just fell in love with golden hay fields!

Miles and miles of beautiful rolling hay fields. 

We were also excited to see herds of buffalo for he first time. But the kids were not excited about seeing buffalo on the menu! They weren't brave enough to try the buffalo burgers!

 

The terrain changed from farms to prairie to beautiful white hills!  It was just breathtaking to see these against the yellow prairie and blue sky!

And then we started seeing mountains!  REAL mountains! 

 

 

 

We stopped in to see Mt. Rushmore!  I must admit it was a little smaller than I thought it would be, but it was still amazing to be there.  I just wanted to burst into song, and sing "God Bless America" at the top of my lungs....but my husband said he'd go wait in the car till I finished if I did!  LOL   It was really a blessing to be able to share this with my children, and we loved seeing it!

Just a few minutes down the road from Rushmore is the Crazy -Horse Memorial.  Now that is HUGE!!!  But at $30 a person to get in, we deemed it not be a worthwhile investment.

 

We began to see ads for the "Corn Palace, only palace in the world made of corn".  So when we first saw the ad, we thought, "How Corn-y"  haha!  We didn't really want to stop, as we still had several hours to drive to make it to our destination.   But we kept seeing the signs, mile after mile after mile...  So we stopped!

The ads REALLY should say, "only palace in the world DECORATED with corn"! 
There was definitely more than just corn holding this place up!  But it was neat.  The pictures they were able to make out of Indian Corn was actually pretty amazing!  We walked around stretched our legs, saw something we mostly likely would never see anywhere else in the world, so it was a good pit-stop.  And hey - we saw "THE CORN PALACE".  Have you seen the Corn Palace?  LOL

 

Oh, yes we had to photograph the wrestling picture!

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As we approached Wyoming the terrain started to change again, and mountains began to turn red! 

 

 



South Dakota is amazing.  The landscaping, terrain and foliage are constantly changing.  It really is just beautiful.  It is hard not to be in awe of God's handiwork here. What amazes me most of all is that years ago pioneers traveled this land by covered wagon!  Can't wait to travel this beautiful land again,

        
 

Our Wild West Adventure! IOWA

As a little kid I loved reading about the west!  The horses, the Indians, Prairies, Mountains, etc.  I just knew there were adventures to be had in the wild west!  Our family was so excited to embark on a journey from Chicago to California. The journey was long, but definitely worth it.  I took over a thousand pictures on our journey, and though I'm certain you WANT to see every one of them, I will restrain myself and just give you the highlights!


IOWA

 Shortly after we left Chicago, we were in Iowa.  We thought it was beautiful, farms all around, and a wonderful brilliant blue sky against the yellow corn fields.  And the occasional barn and silo.  I loved it.  But after a few hours of the same thing, I was less impressed.

We did however find the windmill farms VERY impressive.  There were thousands of windmills, that went on for as far as the eye could see.  It was a little foggy when I took this picture, so it's hard to convey in this picture, the awesome sight we saw!

 


Oh, and I can't forget to mention that Iowa has claims to the "Largest Truck Stop in the World!"  Complete with Chiropractor, Masseuse, store, playground and rides for the kids!  We didn't stop we resisted the urge when we saw the gas prices!

 

 All in all, we did enjoy our drive through Iowa.  After all, to a city-family, farmland is intriguing.  The wide openness of Iowa is far beyond our comprehension after spending our entire (city) lives hearing about the over-population of America!

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

My RV Kitchen

The kitchen was always the heart of my home.  It was where I spent most of time, cooking, baking, cleaning, doing crafts, hosting friends, having tea parties with the kids, and studying spelling words!

Then we moved into the RV... I still wanted to love my kitchen! It is, afterall in the very center of our RV, and the first thing you see when you come through the door.  Adjusting to an RV kitchen was difficult at first.  I did learn the hard way, that I can't make elaborate meals.  I also learned that the refrigerator latches shut for a reason, and to be VERY careful opening cabinets after/during driving. 

Over the last year, I've made some adjustments to our kitchen that has made life go a little smoother for us, hope you find some of these things helpful! Not all of these are orignal to me, Pintrest proved very helpful!

                                                                                                                                                                                             In an RV, cabinet and drawer space are VERY limited.  This utensil holder is perfect.  I made a small hole in the bottom, and put a screw in the countertop.  The Screw holds it in place, and I can quickly move it if I need to.  Nothing to put away for driving!

We did the same thing with our fruit basket, nothing to move when we drive.  Everything stays put.

Small mug hooks keep these measuring cups always at hand, no digging through the drawer!

An antique metal tray from the thrift store and  Bed, Bath & Beyond's magnetic tins and Voila - Super cute spice rack!!

Large mug hooks for our coffee mugs.  6 inches int between hooks will keep them from clanging together when driving.  They have never fallen - even when we (accidently) jumped a curb!

So in a place where wall space is virtually non-existent, who wants an ugly old calendar taking up precious space???  So I hung it inside our cabinet door.  Always at hand when I need it, but out of sight when I don't  :-)

I love a window in the kitchen, but for some reason people see nothing worng with looking in your RV windows!!!  Yet I hate to sacrifice light for privacy.  This is the perfect fix.  I cut frosted contact paper into this awesome shape, and WOW - PRIVACY and LIGHT! Stencil: http://7thhouseontheleft.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/7hl_windowstencil.pdf

Maine Adventure

Thus far, I have to say that Maine is absolutly my FAVORITE state!  Why?  Because I love lighthouses, and the Maine coast not only is full of lighthouses, but has a spectacular coast. 

PEMAQUID LIGHTHOUSE

This is the famous Pemaquid Lighthouse, its the lighthouse that is printed on the back of Maines' quarter.  Wonderful spot for a picnic lunch on the rocks.  It is a beautiful sight.  We were able to tour the inside of the Lighthouse, and visit a small museum that gives the history of the lighthouse.

It was too cold to dip our feet, but climbing the rocks and feeding the seagulls made for a memorable aternoon!



Portland Beach Lighthouse

This has to be my favorite lighthouse.  It's just beautiful. The kids didn't like this one as much because they couldn't walk down to the water or climb on the rocks.  This was definitely a "Mommy photographic field trip"!







Lots to do in Maine's wide open spaces!
We looked and looked for Moose, but to no avail.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed the woods!!

Maine has the most amazing rivers and lakes, and the sunsets were just breath-taking.  It's hard not to fall in love with the beauty of nature all around you in Maine!  There's alot to love!







My husband sampled the Maine-Lobsta'

He was NOT impressed, said it doesn't even compare to

Maryland Blue Crabs

 

Massachusetts Adventure

I love Masaschusettes!  We've visited Massachusetts more than any other state.  There is sooo much to see and do and learn, we haven't even scratched the tip of the iceburg!  We are looking forward to many more trips up north (except ,of course, that the roads and toll booths aren't exactly RV friendly).

One of the vey first places we visited was Plymouth Rock. So, I have to tell you that we were a little dissappointed in the rock...because that's all it is, is a little rock.  We were expecting a cliff, or mountain side, but his was a litle rock...

We read the history how in years past they used to drag the rocl through the streets to commerate the occassion and afer yers and yars of this tradition they decided this was not a good idea since the rock was wearing way.

Nonetheless, being there was incredible.  The quaint town is adorable and history is all around you!.  They kids were very impressed with the Mayflower replica!

                                                              

My favorite part of Massachusetts was Cape Cod.  The beaches were beautiful and no one was there!!!  We went in May, so the water was FREEZING, but that didn't deter my kids from having a good time.  We also stopped to see the Chatam Lighthouse. 

One of the things my daughter really wanted to see was the Boston Common.  After reading, "The Trumpet of the Swan" and "Make Way for Ducklings", she just had to see the swan boats. 

The Common was beautiful, and we loved seeing the swans.  The day proved extremely affordable, with only $2 for the boat ride, $5 for parking, and a free picnic lunch with a violin duet playing in the park!



New Bedford





Patriots Stadium







Higgins Armory Museum
Very cool, somewhat pricey museum

Adventures of RV-Living

We are a family of six, and have been full-RVers for the last year and half!  What a crazy-fun ride it has been!  What an adjustment to move from a 7-bedroom house to a 32ft RV, but our adventures hold more memories than our "stuff" ever did!

For my first blog, I'd like to share some things that we've learned about living in a "driving-house":

1.  Duck for cover when opening anything!

        Everythings shifts and moves during driving, though it was organized when you left, those cans will give you a concussion when you get to your destination.

2.  The refrigerator latches shut for a reason!
       Though the refridgerator "seems" shut, the real test comes when you go around that first turn.  You'll be hard pressed to find something more dramatic than milk and all your groceries flying out of the fridge and exploding on the floor....

3.  Long, Hot Showers are a thing of the past.
       You'll burn or freeze, the happy-medium is hard to find, and only last for 5 min.  

4. The sink in the bathroom is for decorative purposes ONLY!!!

      The bathroom sink goes directly to the sewer tank - let 6 people brush their teeth and wash their hands and you've got a serious problem.    

5.  Although you see your RV as your HOME, others see it as your CAR and therefore see no problem with looking in your windows or cutting you off.

6.  Waterproof does not really mean WATER-PROOF. 
       It means you will have proof of where the water came in

7.  You will constantly be asked, "How can you live in there?"

8.    Don't Shop at RV stores!

        Regardless of what they say, you can usually find it at Wal-mart for half the price    

9.  Save your quarters
        For laundry and tolls.  Laundry will cost the equivalent of a phone bill, and tolls are 2 to 3 times as much for an RV

10.  You CANNOT do anything fast.
         No, 6 people cannot get ready for church at the same time... and the shoe-troll always shows up Sat. night to hide shoes

11. You might THINK that because the RV is small, you will never lose anything ever again
       HA HA

12.  PLEASE remember to bring in your grey-water hose BEFORE you drive away.

13.  Disconnect BEFORE driving

14.  4 yr. olds are still fascinated by watching toilets flush.
        At $40 a pump out, this is an expensive "toy"

15.  Routine maintenance means "Daily Maintence"

16.  Get good deordorizer for your tank

        You get what you pay for

17.  All the Etiquette you've taught your kids goes out the window

         Don't stand on the couch!...Then how will I get up to my bed?

18.  Music lessons seemed like a good idea at the time

19. Go south for the winter

20.  There's no place like home!

          Nothing beats always being home, HAVE FUN