THE MIDWEST…COWBOY COUNTRY!

We stayed in a wonderful state campgrounds in Nebraska, Pawnee Lake, and our camp was right on the lake.  We have been fortunate so far that the campgrounds we have stayed in have been nearly empty and most of them are so scenic.  And this one was noteworthy because the campsites were unmarked, so we could camp anywhere on the grounds.  We had rain, but, that made the evening so interesting because of the rainbows and great sunset!   

This is in stark contrast to the european campgrounds which are basically parking lots with one RV right next to the other.  I was quite put off by this until David told me to think about these camping experiences the same way I would think about staying in a hotel, except that we travelled with our hotel pulled by a car.  The Europeans are so comfortable with this way of camping that, once, we were camping in a very large field in france and were the only people there until another caravan pulled in and parked exactly next to us, leaving the rest of the field totally empty!  

We took a tour of the state capitol building, which is something we try to do in any state that it is convenient.  This tour, given by a blind guide, was less than good.  It always amazes me how poorly trained guides or speakers can be.  It makes the good ones stand out!

However, after the capitol, we went to visit the National Museum of Roller Skating, which, to David’s amazement, turned out to be quite interesting, especially the cabinet displaying various dolls and stuffed animals on roller skates.  Imagine a poster about a skating bear and the toy souvenir to accompany it!  No photos, however were possible.  The museum was housed in a large, one story building totally dedicated to the U.S. Roller Sport organization.

We also visited an amazing and huge building dedicated to the study of quilts.  The modern and spacious building was the gift of a single donor and had great thematic displays of quilts as well as study rooms that were temperature and humidity controlled where the quilts were handled with white gloves.  They had thousands of quilts in storage and were associated with the University of NE and granted a degree in quilt management!  No pictures were allowed.

Our next stop was Buffalo Bill Farm State park where we camped and took a tour of the  Buffalo Bill Ranch. The story of Buffalo Bill and the film associated with it was very interesting and the grounds, the original log cabin and barn were lovely.   

During the night we heard many, many train sounds and found out that we were right near the largest train switching yard in the country!  What a great place!  They have these two little hills, called humps, and each train car that comes into the yard (thousands) goes up the hump, coasts down in order to get sorted and directed (by gravity) to the correct track to join up with its mates and make a full train going to a specific destination.  Lots of activity, lots of train cars!!! 

Then it was on to a terrifically tacky souvenir shop which had a wonderful and intricate hand carved, wooden, animated wild west show which was animated every half hour.

We stayed in Merriman, Nebraska at a State Park where we were the only campers,   in order to visit the Bowring Ranch, the next day.  In the evening we met a wonderful old man who had been a rodeo rider when he was younger.  He showed us his arm that didn’t look like any arm that I had ever seen, all bent at crazy angles as a result of his many rodeo injuries.  

The ranch that we visited was the former home of the first Nebraska woman senator and her husband, truly a remarkable couple.  He died 40 years before she did and she kept the ranch going, all the while being appointed as Senator for a short while and then sitting on the Parole Board.  She had met many, many presidents, kings and celebrities and the house was one big vanity wall.  Interestingly enough, the house was kept exactly as she had left it so it was a wonderful slice of life.When she died she deeded the ranch to the state to preserve that way of life and it is run as a ranch today.  Again, our guide was not great, but she did tell us about a 4H rodeo that she was riding in and that we visited.   

The weather continued to be stupefying hot as we entered the Badlands  and camped at Badlands NP in a full and treeless campgrounds.  The good thing about it was how quiet everyone was.  We took a few interesting hikes, especially one at the full moon, when the moon was very close to the earth and appeared huge!  The hike at sunset was out into the buttes and bluffs of the badlands and really emphasized how easily we could have gotten lost.  Of course, a bit of reality intruded as we saw this site in the parking lot!  

Although we did not see bison in the campground, as we did two years ago, we took a long hike early one morning and came across a heard but beat a hasty retreat when the big male decided he had had enough of our gawking and starting towards us.

The National Park is near Wall, SD, a totally tourist town taken up by the many iterations of Wall Drug and we couldn’t wait to leave.  But we did return on Saturday for the Wall Day celebration parade, complete with lots and lots of candy.  

Just outside of the wall to wall tourist shops in Wall is the little town of Scenic!  


And then it was on to the 4H rodeo in the morning and a bar to watch the finals of the World Cup in the afternoon.  We were totally impressed with the way the 4H rodeo was run and by the amount of horses, young riders and fancy horse transports that were there.  Clearly, rodeoing is not a sport for the poor rancher!  

We really love the scenery of the badlands!

      

 

IOWA…NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED

We loved everything about Iowa.  The corn, the soy beans, the gently rolling hills…OK, the weather stunk but everything else was great, especially the people.

We visited the smallest licensed distillery in Iowa and got a personal tour which lasted for several hours, resulting in us buying two bottles of corn whiskey and some lemoncello which as delicious.

The State capitol held their 4th of July celebration on the 3rd, complete with a pops band and fireworks on the capitol grounds.  Great fun!    

 But the highlight of our 4th of July was the Pleasanton (pop. 100) 4th of July parade    and then the Leon rodeo that night.  The parade was complete with every old tractor around, old cars, and horses!  We sat next to a man who looked about 25 and had 4 kids.  He told us about his little farm and the Fenton goats which he had bought so that his kids could enter the 4H Baby Bottle contest (?) and then proceeded to tell us how the Fenton goat "fainted" one day when he started his truck engine and he ran it over.  Only then did I realize that they we not Fenton goats, but FAINTING Goats, (there is a slight southern accent here)designed to faint when agitated (so that they could run with sheep, faint when the coyotes came and get eaten rather than the sheep).  Hard to keep a straight face during that story!!!!

That night we went to one of the best rodeos we had ever been to.  It started with the 5 year olds, which in other rodeos was a joke.  In other rodeos they bring out these little kids, put them on a calf, lead then around and everyone applauds.  here, the little kids get loaded on a mini, full grown bull (just like the big ors but smaller, right down to the cinch on their gonads), let out of the shoot in perfect position; one hand strapped the other in the air and either stay on for the required time or fly through the air while the clown distracts the little bull. 

This was followed by the wild pony roping in which three 7 year olds get the rope attached to a very wild pony.  Two have to hold the pony while the third gets on and rides it  Well, one little kid ended up being snow plowed around the arena while the crowd cheered, and another was dragged upside down while he held onto the rope.  Not for the faint-ofheart…or fainting goats!  Then, of course, there were all the adult rodeo stuff….

 and intermission

The next day we went to Pella, the home of Pella windows and the tallest windmill in the US, which styled itself as a dutch city.

We also went to a living history farm museum which showed farms from the 1700, 1850 and 1900's.

 We saw how brooms were made, visited a blacksmith, pharmacy with leeches!

We also visited the Maytag yes…they also made washing machines) blue chess factory for some American blue cheese which was quite different from any other we tasted.