Cross Country Drive to Canada/Alaska

Several years ago we flew from Florida to Vancouver in order to embark on a cruise to Alaska.  Traveling to the State was something we had both dreamed about for decades and the 7-day cruise confirmed our desire to explore Alaska further.  Purchasing a used 19’ Roadtrek a few months after our retirement enabled us to make the trip and enjoy most of the comforts of home—in miniature.  

Departing home in late June 2009, we planned to be on the road for three months.  Since we have both traveled extensively throughout the U.S. in the past, our focus was to travel relatively quickly across the country and devote most of our time to Canada and Alaska.  Making a couple of family stops initially, we visited my sister, Mary and her husband Brad in north Florida, and then stopped for a few days in Atlanta to visit with daughter, Nicole and her fiancé, Robert.  

Though we didn’t want to dally too much, we also wanted to enjoy the trip, so we typically drove no more than 4-5 hours a day.  In our previous travels, we had not made it to Nashville, so once we landed there we wanted to spend a few days checking things out.  Staying in a  campground just outside the city was convenient and the short length of our RV made it easy to park when we ventured into the city.  Lots of mature elms, poplar and oak trees at our campsite, kept the early summer days cooler.  Visiting the Grand Ole Opry is pretty much mandatory when visiting the area if time allows, so that was at the top of our list.  Though we weren’t familiar with any of the entertainers, that didn’t affect our enjoyment of the show.  All the musicians were talented and it was knee slappin', hand-clappin' music that was thoroughly entertaining.  Staying in town one more night, we were able to take advantage of another Nashville institution, The Bluebird Cafe.  The talent here ranges from just coming to Nashville and looking for a break to well-established groups.  Many big names have been “discovered” at the Cafe, like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift.  We didn’t have reservations, but we arrived early and waited in line outside and lucked into getting seats not too far from the stage.  It wound up being another fun evening.  

Next, we headed to Kansas City for a couple of days to visit an old friend, Larry Kirkwood.   Providing a tour, he took us to a number of the city’s parks, fountains and to buildings which showed off the art deco architecture the city is known for.  And he didn't leave out the world-renowned Kansas City barbecue.  Prolific and talented, his house is full from the basement to attic with artistic body casts and a new line of regenerative art images, and we purchased one to ship back home.

We saw the 4th of July fireworks from Honeycreek, IA, looking over cornfields for a display from a town a few miles away.  We meandered across, Iowa, Wyoming and South Dakota. Badlands Natl. Park is stark and a strong contrast to the seemingly endless plains that proceed it. Known since the 1840s as one of the richest fossil sources in the world, paleontologist have discovered dozens of species in the White River Badlands and research continues today.  But with temperatures in the mid to high 90’s, we were not enticed to walk on any of the trails offered in the Park.  We decided to move into the Custer State Park located in the Black Hills.  At 4700 feet, the increased elevation and the serene, heavily pine-forested area provided more pleasant weather.  Numerous white-tailed deer wandered around in the park.

Since the trout were not cooperating with Alan's efforts, we decided to move on to Mount Rushmore.   An impressive entrance and visitor center has been added to the Park since my last visit over 30 years ago.  Marble columns with flags for the 50 states lead up to the viewing area. The 60-foot sculpted heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, took 14 years to complete.  The project was created to lure tourists to the Black Hills, and over 2 million people a year now visit the monument.

Our next stop, Deadwood, SD, formerly a wild west town, is now a tourist area with slot machines in just about every restaurant in town.  Wanting to contribute to the economy of the area, we left some of our money behind in the slots. But before departing town we discovered our generator was no longer working so we made a beeline to Billings, MT, where we tracked down a business that will work on our unit.