Mt. Pleasant, Mich. - Tuesday - Aug.7, 2007

8:30 a.m. - We are just leaving Rock Island, Illinois KOA campground with a temperature already of 81 degrees and the humidity about the same! Because of the high humidity the heat index is suppose to be 110 degrees. Looks like that is about what we can expect all day today on I-80 East.

10:00 a.m. - We stopped at a Flying J Station to get gas at $2.87 gallon. The weather is still very humid and hot and sticky. We are about 2 hours west of Chicago . Our elevation is 581 ft. a big drop from where we have been one week ago.

11:00 a.m. - This is especially for Lyle and Elaine-----We just passed a "Ritchie Brothers Auctioneer site here in Iowa! Just as big if not bigger than the one in Dunnigan.

11:45 a.m. - Crossed the state line into Indiana and it is still hot, sunny skies and muggy. Looks like the gas prices here in this area are running about $2.l75 gallon.

1:45 p.m. - We have crossed into the state of Michigan and changed time zones again for the last time, we are now 3 hours ahead of California. We stopped and had lunch at the Welcome Center Park and it is too hot to sit, with a temperature of 88 degrees, outside in this beautiful shaded area, so we are eating inside the air conditioned motor home. We have had a good trip and thanks to God, a safe trip. Frank says it did not seem as long a trip this time. Probably because we had some nice breaks along the way. Thanks to Laurie and Dave Weldon in Oregon, Curt and Betty Carson in Montana, and Ron and Lorrie Gray in Iowa for opening their homes and being so kind to us on our trip. It sure made a big difference to us to be able to be so relaxed among good people. We gassed up for the last time in Remus, Michigan where gas is $2.85 gallon. Mount Pleasant gas is $2.88 gallon.

6:15 p.m. - Pulled into the Isabella Village Mobile Home Park with a temperature of 84 degrees and sunny skies.

We drove 429 miles today, the longest day we drove.

Our total mileage was 3,178 miles from Merced to Mt. Pleasant

I want to thank all of you for reading my little journal and being able to share some of the experiences with us. It has been a fun project and I also love all the comments. You are special to us and we both love each and every one of you. Looking forward to having a great stay here and enjoying the family and friends we have here also.

Take care and enjoy life!!

-----------This is Frank as we entered Michigan!!!--

Frank and Ann Tiahrt

Rock Island, Illinois - Mon. Aug. 6, 2007

9:00 a.m. - It is foggy, damp and overcast now with a temperature of 68 degrees and we are leaving the RV Park after a great weekend with Ron and Lorrie. In fact when we woke up this morning it looked like we were in Merced there was so much fog. This RV Park is close to the lake and we figure that is probably why the fog.
10:30 a.m. - We stopped for a break after driving through this country highway. We decided to take a different route and not go on the Interstate this time so we could see some of the countryside and small towns. Well, we are seeing miles and miles of corn and soybean fields. I don't know what they do with all this corn and soybeans! Frank is loving this drive, it brings out the country farm boy in him. It is still foggy and the temperature did not change, still 68 degrees. Frank loves this kind of weather and route because there is no sun in his or Abby's eyes while driving and no traffic, and the speed limit is only 55 m.p.h., so we are saving on gas.
11:00 a.m. - We are back on the road after stopping for a little lunch next to a corn field, naturally, Abby had a good run and we had a good lunch and break. Barbara called on her way to San Luis Obispo. they are having a good time and she is also on a vacation. We would have seen the Buddy Holly Memorial in Clear Lake, Iowa, but Frank decided to take a differend route. So we went south of the memorial in a corn field, naturally.
1:30 p.m. - Stopped to gas up at Waterloo, Iowa at a Sinclair Station where gas was only $2.83 gallon. Gas prices have been pretty consistent all across the country so far.
3:30 p.m. - We are at a rest area and this is the first rest area we have seen since we started driving this morning. It is still very humid and about 86 degrees. We did not turn the air on, but now we are going to start it up, we are both hot and we feel warm enough. Brenda G. called and all is well with her and her family. they are in the process of remodeling their home and their kitchen will be torn up starting the end of this week. That will give her a reason not to cook! Antonio will be starting school August 23. That is early, most kids don't start until after labor day. We are close to Davenport, Iowa and we plan on pulling into an RV Park just east of Davenport, but more across the state line in Illinois.
4:30 p.m. - Well, we pulled into the Rock Island KOA Park for the night and we are about 4 hours from Chicago. We had a good dinner and relaxed this evening. It is still very humid with an 86 degree temperature. Thunderstorms are predicted around midnight tonight and lasting all morning.


We drove 350 miles today.

Spirit Lake, Iowa--Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007

Frank left and went to Ron's to go fishing for Walleye. The weather is 68 degrees and very, very humid with overcast skies. It is not suppose to rain today, so hopefully they will have a good time fishing.

Lorrie called, and her and Mattie are on their way to the RV Park to pick me up and we are going to go to Arnold Park where there is an amusement park for kids. Mattie and Lorrie went on a few rides while I watched. It is a small amusement park mostly for the younger kids. We then went and had some lunch and called the guys and we are going to meet back at the house and go for a boat ride. By the time we got back to the house they were already there fishing from the dock.

We all got on the boat and Ron took us all around the different lakes in the area. They live in the city of Spirit Lake, but their home is on Okoboji Lake. (Ok-o-bo-ji) We had a great time and saw all the beautiful homes on the lakes. We pulled into a restaurant on the lake and docked the boat and had a great dinner. We rode around some more and then went back to the house and sat on the terrace watching the the ski boats go by. We said our good-byes and left to go back to the RV and start getting things together for leaving tomorrow morning. We had a good relaxing weekend and they are excellent host and hostesses, so glad we came here.

Spirt Lake, Iowa - Sat. Aug. 4, 2007

7:30 a.m. - Thunder, lightening and a solid rain is what we had all night long. Frank and Ron did not go fishing as planned at 8:00 a.m. It was raining so hard and the wind was blowing and rocking our motor home, we did not go to Ron's until 10:00 a.m. By that time the rain had stopped a little, but it was still too windy to go on the boat. The car smelled a little when we first got in this morning, but by the time we got to Ron's I thought it was ok, Frank says he was ready to choke. We told Ron we had some good news and some bad news, the good news was that we did not hit a deer, the bad news was we hit a skunk. He just laughed and did not seem to concerned. The guys, Ron, Dennis and Frank all went fishing from the banks and the different piers along the lake and Frank caught some fish, and Dennis caught one and Ron did not catch anything. Us girls, Lorrie, Mattie and me all went down towards town to the small shops and looked around. Because it was a weekend and a touristy town, cars were bumper to bumper, so we did not go right downtown, we decided to come back to the house. Beside would you believe, that this town was having a "Pre-Sturgis Ralley". I guess we just can't get away from this motorcycle group this weekend. We played a few games with Mattie and then the guys came home, we had some dinner and then played monopoly. Frank made everyone go bankrupt and won the game! It was getting late again, so we left to go home. About 10 minutes down the road, we get stopped by the POLICE! This time they said that Frank was driving over the center line twice and they wanted to check out whether he had been drinking or not!! We could not believe it, he was driving like a farmer, like he always does, using the middle of the road (we are out in the country a little bit). He walked back to the officer and they asked whose car it was, because it still had a Minnesota plates on it with Frank's Michigan license, he told them it was his nephews and we were staying at the RV Park and on our way back to Michigan. They let him go, saying that he did not appear to have been drinking! duh----------------must have been that Iowa water we had!

That is the second time in two nights something has happened to us in this Taurus, I do not think that we will be looking to by a Taurus in the future, does not seem to be a lucky car for us. We drove on to the RV park and went to bed. The guys are going to try and go out in the boat tomorrow morning fishing. The weather is suppose to be only cloudy, with a temperature of 86 degrees. Another good night and good day.

Spirit Lake, Iowa - Friday, Aug. 3, 2007

9:00 a.m. - Getting a later start today. The time change really through us off today. It is 69 degrees and raining. Thunderstorms are predicted for this area today. Those bikers are not going to like it here today. We are on our way to Ron and Lorrie Gray's home in Iowa.

11:00 a.m. - We stopped at a rest area for a smal break and it happens to be a memorial to the Lewis and Clark Expidition. We saw the bridge they named after them, because this is supposedily the spot where they camped and ate buffalo meat and magpie birds and plums. yum yum. We took a walk down the trail towards the lake and it was nice. The weather is very pleasant, not raining now.

11:45 a.m. - Well there just happens to be a Cabela's Store (fishing and hunting store that Frank loves) here off this interstate and we just could not pass it by. So we spent a couple of hours here shopping.

1:30 p.m. - We are back on the road again after buying something for Frank and me. It didn't even cost us anything because we had already accumulated enough points on the credit card to pay for it all.Sweet!! The skies are still overast and it seems to be more humid. We talked to Ron Gra and it does not look like we can park by his place because the street is too narrow and his is on a hill facing the lake. Not a good combination for a 38 ft. motorhome and trailer!. He gave us the name of an RV Park across the lake from him and we made the reservations there for the weekend.

2:00 p.m. - We stopped for gas when we saw the sign for $2.82 gal. at a "Fuel Stop" gas station. Costs us another $100.00 but we have enough now to get us through the weekend and on the road to hopefully Illinois before we have to fill us again. We are about 30 miles from the Minnisota State Line and we have high clouds with a temperature of 78 degrees.

4:30 p.m. - Crossed into Iowa and there are fields and fields of corn and soybeans here. We can't believe the number of motorcycles we have seen on the road today all going to Sturgis. The temperature here is not 82 degrees but still overcast.

5:00 p.m. - We are going through the town of Okoboji and it is very much a resort town, very much like Charlovoix, Michigan area. Ron met us in town and we followed him to the RV Park which is called Fieldstone RV Park. A nice place and not on the lake, but we could walk to the lake if we wanted. We hooked up and then went with Ron to his place. He has a nice 3 story new home and a beautiful view from his living room. They have their niece, Matti - 5 and nephew. Dennis - 13 from Michigan staying with them for awhile. We all went for a ride on his boat around the lake and stopped at a place called Barefoot Restaurant to have dinner. It is a very laid back restaurant and people go barefooted if they want and they did not care if we had Abby. It was all outside and looked like we were in Cancun, with straw roofs over the tables, etc. Right off the water and very different. Had a great dinner and then took another ride around the lake. It was a beautiful night, on the humid side and it looks like maybe sometime later we might get some rain. We went back to the house and then Ron gave us his Taurus to drive back and forth from the RV Park. Frank and Ron and Dennis are all going fishing tomorrow a.m. while us girls, Lorrie, Matti and I go shopping at all the small shops in town. On our way back to the RV Park we hit a SKUNK with the Taurus! We couldn't believe it, that skunk was all of a sudden right smack in the middle of the road with oncoming cars! We did not get as much of the spray as we thought we would, I think the car behind us might have gotten the worse. Frank did not even have time to put the breaks on!. There is an odor, but not reallllllllll bad. We did not want to take a chance on it stinking up the park where we were parked, so we left it at the front office parking lot for the night, hoping it would air out by tomorrow.

We walked to our campsite and then went to bed.

Murdo, S.D. Thurs. August 2, 2007

8:00 a.m. - This was a nice park and very quiet, a good place to stay and we would stay here again. Our destination today is Murdo, S.D. South Dakota's state jewelry is the Black Hills Gold and it is called Mt. Rushmore State. The Lewis and Clark Trail is here and you can actually walk and see what they supposedly saw. There a lots of Indian Reservations here as you probably know. There is also no helmet law here, but it is strongly recommended, but it is mandatory to wear eye protection. There is glacial lakes on the east and Black Hills on the west. The temperature here now is 69 degrees. We stopped at a super Wal-Mart before we took off on the Interstate to stock up on fruits and veggies. Just outside of Buffalo, WY there is rolling hills and lots of space and alfalfa fields.l Not any buildings, just the road between two sets of hills. We are staying pretty much at the 4,500-4,800 ft. elevation.

11:00 a.m. - We are stopping in the small town of Gillette, WY to have a bite to eat and stretch our legs and let Abby out. The skies are kinda overcast and it feels kinda humid with the temperature around 83 degrees. There is a huge coal mine right off the road and the train loaded with many, many cars of coal is chugging down the track.

12:30 p.m. - All of a sudden it got very windy, so windy that we stopped to put duct tape on our awning. The awning looked ok, but Frank wanted to make sure that the wind did not grab it and flip it over our motorhome while we are driving. That happened with the other motorhome and it cost us big bucks to have it replaced. We noticed a few others had pulled over to do the same and on the road, there were others that had already taped their awnings. We are leaving the Wyoming mountains and headed for Black Hills Country.

1:00 p.m. - We are 40 miles from Rapid City,S.D. and we are under a big rain cloud and it is pouring down very hard, but it smells good!!! It's been a long time since we saw rain. The bikers are all pulling off under the overpasses to try and keep dry or to put on their jackets. The temperature has dropped down to 66 degrees.

There is a big motorcycle rally going on in the town of Sturgis, S.D. this weekend and there are thousands of bikers coming in from all over for this event.

2:15 p.m. - We got through Sturgis and the bikers are still coming in a steady stream. It was not as bad as we thought it would be. the Rally does not start until Saturday, and from we have heard, it is suppose to draw 1/2 million bikers!! We stopped for gas at a Pilot station and gas is $3.04 a gallon. We just had that rain in Rapid City and here there are signs posted to not throw cigarettes out the window because of serious hazard conditions because it is so dry.

4:30 p.m. - We just changed to Central Time and now we have to put our clocks and watches ahead one hour. so now it is really 5:30. ugh!! How time flies! It's a bummer to keep losing an hour, much better to be gaining an hour, life passes to quickly as it is. We are about 15 miles from the RV Park we will be staying for the night. This part of the country is know as the Badlands.

6:00 p.m. - Pulled into the American RV Park in Murdo, S.D. with a warm 92 degrees. It was a nice drive most of the day. It also was very interesting to see so many bikers going to the rally, both watching them ride and also hauling their bikes with trucks, cars, etc.

7:00 p.m. - After hooking up and getting the motorhome set, Frank suggested we go out to eat since it was so late because we lost that hour. Naturally, I said yes! There is a restaurant right on the RV Park property called "The Rusty Spur" and we went there and had a good dinner. Had a conversation with a guy that was on his way to Sturgis, and he had just come from Spirit Lake, where we are headed for tomorrow and where Ronnie and Lorrie live!! Small world. Did some laundry and then enjoyed the beautiful night.

Drove 378 miles today

Sheridan, WY - Wed. Aug. 1,2007

8:00 a.m. - Had a nice breakfast with Curt and Betty and took a picture of the four of us before we left to go on our way. They are getting ready to go to Butte, MT to a pulmonary doctor to see the results of the tests that Curt has had done on his lungs. the doctor thinks he might have "Valley Fever".

9:00 a.m. - We are on the road to Boseman with the temperature at 67 degrees with smoky skies. Fires from the inland valley because of the heat have blown over the skies and you can smell the smoke. You can't even see the mountain that is directly in front of their home.

10:00 a.m. - We are on Hwy. 84 going towards Boseman and in this area there are many Pelicans sitting on the rocks and gathered together all along the Madison River. The skies are still very hazy and smoky, but the ride through the mountains is very pleasant.

11:00 a.m.- We have just left Boseman and at Boseman Pass the elevation was 5760 ft. It has gotten very windy all of a sudden and we are a rockin and rollin again. Heard on the radio that this area is going to get a cold front coming through todayl. It has been close to 100 degrees in this part of the country the last few days.

3:00 p.m. - Stopped for a break in Hardin, MT.which is 83 miles from Sheridan, WY which is our destination tonight. This area has lots of Casino's run by the Crow Indian Tribe. This is also where Custer made his last stand. Except for the tourist things to do here, this area is pretty flat and boring, there are just a few hills here and there.

5:00 p.m. - Pulled into Peter D's RV Park here in Sheridan, WY with the temperature about 89 degrees and sunny, we are at the 3800 ft. level.

Drove 336 miles today

Tuesday July 31, 2007

8:00 a.m. - We are on our way for a ride with Curt and Betty to the mountains. We drove up through the Gravelly Range of mountains and on the way we saw a lot of wild flowers that Frank loved taking pictures of and also a real cowboy. A young man lives and works on the mountain taking care of the cattle and has food brought up to him once a week. We also saw a "sheep herder;s camp. He lives in a small trailer and has some horses to ride and takes care of a herd of sheep grazing on the mountain. It was so interesting to learn that on top of this mountain with an elevation of 9572 ft. there would be so much activity. We went on to the Black Butte Mountain on the Green Horn Range. Seem all of these different "ranges" are within the Rocky Mountain Range. It was a beautiful drive and very interesting. We even saw a Grizzly Bear!!! It was a long way off, but there was no mistaking it was a bear! Seems they have been seen quite often in the last few weeks especially, probably because it is so dry and they are looking for food. It was dry up in that elevation also, which we thought was unusual. Curt was hoping we would be seeing some Elk or Deer, but we did not see any. On our way down we stopped at a cute little restaurant for lunch right off the Madison River, what a Kodak moment that was!! It was the most interesting tip, Curt sure does know his way around those mountain trails. Frank and I would never have been able to see any of those things because we don't know the terrain.Coming down the mountain, we felt the weather change. It was 72 degrees up there and a warm 94 degrees at the restaurant.

1:00 p.m. - Just got back to the house and we chatted some more and looked at old pictures and Frank and Aunt Betty remembered the good times. They have cute little rabbits that run all over the yard and so we have to keep Abby on a leash, because she takes off after them and Curt does not like that.

5:00 p.m. - Curt BBQ some good steaks and we sat around the table and shared more stories with lots of laughs until 9:30 p.m. We went back to the motorhome and we will be leaving here tomorrow morning after a wonderful stay with Curt and Betty who are very thankful and happy that we stopped to visit and spend some time with them. Curt is 80 years old and Betty is 78.

10:00 p.m. - Bedtime and looking forward to tomorrow's journey after a great stay here. Abby is doing much better and the ointment that we have to put in her eyes have cleared them up, she is back to her ole' self again.

Montana-July 30, 2007

7:00a.m. - What a beautiful morning with clear skies and a cool temperature of 65 degrees, just lovely. We are at 4730 ft. high, but it doesn't seem like it.

8:00 a.m. - On the road towards Ennis, MT. We had our motorhome weighed and it came to 22,900 lbs. Driving at this elevation a lot of the time the roads are straight and it seems like your just driving in the valley. Until we look at the GPS, we are usually guessing the wrong elevation.

9:30 a.m. - We are climbing higher now on our way to Yellowstone National Park. We are having beautiful roads with tall Pine Trees on both sides. We are 47miles from Yellowstone and the temperature is a pleasant 74 degrees.

10:30a.m. - We are just now entering Yellowstone, took us this long going through the mountains. The elevation here is 6766 ft. and the temp is 73 degrees, sunny blue skies. We walked around the city and looked at all the little shops. A lot of the shops have colorful Bison in the front of their stores to take your picture by. It was not as crowded as we thought it would be. This is a picture of what the Bison Models look like. We came back to the motorhome and had some lunch.

12:00p.m. - We are now back on the road to Ennis. We have a 2:30 p.m. appointment with a vet that Uncle Curt knows to treat Abby. She has gotten something in her left eye, we think. She has not been able to keep it open and she seems to be very listless and the eye keeps watering. Driving through these canyons sure make us feel small.

1:30 p.m. - We got to the Vet in Ennis. We made good time through the mountains. Curt and Betty met us there. We left Abby with the vet because she cannot look at her right now she has another dog she is taking care of. We went with Curt and Betty into town for awhile.

3:30 p.m. - We went and picked Abby up and she has conjunctivitis in her eye. They put some antibiotics in her eye and we have to put it in her eye 3 times a day until 2 days after her eye clears up. We noticed a difference right away. We are so glad that's all it was. Went to Curt and Betty's and sat around and talked until 7:00 p.m. We then had dinner and chatted and visited until 9:45 p.m. What a great evening and we are looking forward to tomorrow to spend the whole day with them. I guess Curt is going to take us up in the mountains for a ride. Looking out their living room picture window we see the Madison Range of mountains and directly in front of their property is a huge mountain called the Sphinx Mtn.