July 15 - 27, 2015 - Friends and Rellies

From Dyersville we traveled into MN and our first stop was a visit with our friend Helen who worked with Jack at CenTel and again with him at Nortel.   We enjoyed dinner at the Channel Inn, a bar/grill right on the beach of one of Fairmont's 5 lakes.   Had a great visit and then moved on west to Jack's family in Worthington, MN.   We camped at the Olson Park Campground and were "treated" to a windstorm that night.   The trailer was definitely being shaken, and I was thinking of jumping in the car and going to his brother's house to sleep in their basement.   However, it subsided after about an hour.   Whew!   The next evening we were coming back from dinner and visit and here a huge cottonwood tree had come down about 9:15 Saturday night.   People sitting at a picnic table had to run to avoid it, and it tore the awning off a trailer parked at the next site as it came down.  

On Monday, 20th, we came to the Good Counsel Motherhouse to visit my sister, Sr. Dominic.   We have had a great visit, and we enjoy seeing the sisters who live there.  We are also enjoying visiting old friends, as we lived in Mankato for several years, as well as Fairmont and Belle Plaine.

For football fans, the Minnesota Vikings are coming to Mankto today to start their training camp at Mankato State University.   The town will be buzzing with fans hoping to get autographs and selfies with their favorite stars.  

My next blog will be on the road to Canada.   Stay tuned!

Second Day in Dyersville, IA

A change of scene -- breakfast at Hardees!   The cinnamon raisin biscuits were great!   Stopped at the Chamber office to get the scoop on the various tourist locations and then walked next door to the National Farm Toy Museum.   We were amazed to learn that the ERTL toys are made in Dyersville, as were two others.   They were instrumental in helping raise the money for this modern museum that tells the story of farming and how farming has changed over the years.   The various toy collectors throughout the nation loaned their collections and you can easily spend hours roaming the two floors of exhibits.  

From the museum we went about a block to the Plaza Antique Mall which houses 200+ dealers offering a wide variety of antiques, collectibles and farm toys for sale.   Oh for more money and space to haul home the nifty things I found!    P. Buckley Moss pictures, Precious Moments, Longerberger baskets, and beautiful hand painted glassware.  

After lunch we headed for the Dyer-Botsford Historical House and Doll Museum.   The house was the home of Dyersville's founder, which has been restored with Victorian furnishings.   One of its beautiful features is a rare revolving German Feather Christmas tree and ornaments.    On the second floor and sprinkled throughout the first floor are dolls!   Over 2000 of them!  

We headed back to camp and enjoyed a walk through the park before supper.

We had to leave a few items for perhaps another visit:   The Becker Woodcarving Museum where you can view the woodworks of the famous Northeast Iowa carver, Jack Becker and the Heritage Trail as well as an Agriculture center.    The New Wine River campground is a wonderful location for a quiet retreat.....weekdays.   We heard the weekends are very popular.

Next two weeks we'll be visiting relatives and friends in MN and South Dakota.  

First day in Dyersville, IA

This morning we left Amana, IA and drove to Dyersville.   A friend in Belle Plaine, MN told us about this little town, and it sounded like something we'd enjoy.   We are camped in a county park called New Wine Park about 6 miles from Dyersville.   Our first stop was the movie set of Field of Dreams which was filmed in 1988 and released in 1989 and starred Kevin Costner.    The baseball field and the lights are still here; believe it or not, there's no charge to visit the set!    The location was chosen because the studio wanted corn fields around it; an older white farm house, and a long lane.    They estimate that 65,000 people visit per year.   While we were there, there were cars from Indiana, Illinois, California, and North Carolina (us)!   The visitors from the longest distance were from Australia and Japan.

From Field of Dreams we went into Dyersville and visited the beautiful St. Francis Xavier Basilica.   The church was built in 1887/88.   The new church was dedicated on Decembr 3, 1889.  An estimated 6000 people were in attendance, many coming on special excursion trains.   It was  the 12th church in the US honored to be named basilicas.  Pope Pius XII declared it a Minor Basilica on May 11, 1956.   It is one of only 77 basilicas in the US.  Some stats:   The height of each spire is 212 feet.   The crosses on top of the spires are 6'8 in wide and 14 feet high.   The original construction cost was about $100,000.    The church is beautiful!   You can search St. Francis Xavier Basilica on the web and see info and exterior pictures if  you are interested in seeing it.   Both places were well worth our trip, and we have some museums to see tomorrow!

Amana Colonies

We awoke this morning to the sound of rain on the roof of the trailer.    Nuts!    Headed to the bakery in Amana and had giant apple turnovers!   from there we headed to the Lehm Bookstore where I got a new jigsaw puzzle and Jack found a round baler for his train layout.   Our favorite stop when we're here is the Amana meat market.   It didn't disappoint.

After lunch we went to Homestead to visit the church museum and then to South Amana to see a barn filled with miniatures that one man made over several years.   Very detailed and interesting.   For supper we wentto a new (to us) pizza restaurant called Phat Daddy's.   Fantastic wood fired pizza.   A must stop if you are in the area!

2015 - Back on the Road

Our summer trip was delayed a bit this year, so we didn't start out until Tuesday, July 7.   We spent our first night at a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Kodak, TN.   It was a hot day, and when we arrived about 4 p.m. the temp was 94 degrees.   During the night we had a heavy rain, and the wind rocked the trailer, but we were grateful for no hail.   Wednesday we traveled from Kodak to Columbus, IN.   The day was cloudy and spitting rain occasionally.   If you're traveling this summer, avoid I-64W in Louisville from exit 8 to the bridge.   I-65N in Indiana isn't much better.   Heavy construction which delayed us about half an hour.   We awoke on Thursday morning to 60 degree temps.   BRRR!   It was rainy again until we neared Peoria, IL where the sun peeked out, and by the time we reached the Quad Cities KOA in Rock Island, IL it was getting quite warm.   Very pleasant - low humidity and in the 70's.   Our campsite was beautiful.  

Today we arrived in the Amana Colonies for 3 nights.   We were told there's a good chance of rain and possibly hail.  Hope it misses us!