Pictures - Kentucky and North Carolina

Confederate Monument Perryville Battlefield

Main street - Pleasant Hill Shaker Village

At Pleasant Hill

Mountain Lake  - Blue Ridge Parkway

Mt, Mitchell State Park

On the Parkway

On the Parkway

Almost to the Summit!

Thomas Wolfe Memorial - Asheville, NC

MN, Iowa, Illinois Pictures

Czech/Slav Museum- Cedar Rapids, IA

Native Costumes - Czech/Slaav Museum

Dubuque River Museum - Riverboat paddle wheel

Why I go to Amana, iA - Amana Pancakes!

Breakfast at Desoto House, Galena, IL

Cobblestone Street in Galena, IL

The Trolley Tour - Galena

Pres. Grant's home in Galena, IL

Second Oldest Contiunous Use Post Office in the US

Asheville, NC and HOME

We arrived in Swannanoa, NC KOA about 3:30 Tuesday afternoon.   It was a beautiful sunny day and we planned our day for Wednesday.  

On Wednesday morning we headed into Asheville to have breakfast and then to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in downtown Asheville.   The visitor's center had a 20 minute film on the author and also an exhibit area with information about his early life and the boarding house his mother ran.   At 11 we joined several others for a guided tour of the boarding house.   Our guide was excellent!   She kept up a lively narrative about the family and the area and the hour flew.  Best tour I've taken in awhile.

Since the day was so beautiful, we decided to drive awhile on the Blue Ridge Parkway.   While visitor's centers and restaurants on the parkway were closed because of the government shutdown, the road itself is open.   The leaves were turning at the higher elevations, and we were able to see for miles, the air was so clear.   God's paint brush has given us a beautiful treasure!

Thursday was also a beautiful sunny day.........until about Statesville when it clouded up.   By Winston Salem we were in rain and drove through have downpours off and on until we arrived home.......then it was a constant heavy rain until early evening!   We pulled into our driveway about 3:00 p.m.   Glad to be home!

Harrodsburg, KY October 5 - 7, 2013

We left Galena, IL on October 4 and spent the day driving to Crawfordsville, IL where we stayed overnight before continuing on to Harrodsburg, KY on Saturday, the 5th.   Our campground was 7.5 miles outside of Harrodsburg on beautiful Herrington lake.   Most of the units in the Cedar Creek Campground are permanent, but they have a few sites for travelers.  

Found a Catholic Church in Harrodsburg, St. Andrews and went to their 5:00 p.m. Mass and then to supper at a DQ in town.  

Sunday morning we had breakfast at McD's, and while we were there the sky opened up and we had torrential rains.   We had planned to visit Pleasant Hill Shaker Village, but since the rain was coming so hard and fast, we opted to drive 40 miles north to Frankfort, KY, the capital, as the website indicated many museums we could visit.   Unfortunately due to the Sequester of earlier this year, hours at these facilities were drastically cut, and most would not be open until Tuesday or Wednesday through Saturday.   Back to Harrodsburg!   When we got there, the pavement was dry, and while still overcast,  not raining so off we went to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.  

The village was inhabited by the Shakers until 1910.   The Shakers played an important role in American Religious history, developing the longest lasting communal society (there are still 3 active Shakers in a village in Main).   This was a revisit, as we had been to Pleasant Hill about three years ago.   We revisited many of the old buildings, and were walking toward the barn when without any warning the sky opened up and dumped more rain.   Thankfully we had umbrellas and waterproof shoes, but by the time I reached the barn my jeans were wet to my knees.   We took refuge in the barn, and for company had some goats and chickens, and two ladies who were prepared to give a talk about the farm livestock.   Whether we wanted to hear it or not was immaterial -- we heard all about the chickens, the goats, the horses, and the cows!   When the rain let up we started back toward the gift shop and entry.

Monday the sun came out bright and clear, and we went into Harrodsburg to see what we could tour.   At the top of our list was Fort Harrod, which according to the website was open daily.   WRONG!   The fort was locked up tight, with a note indicating closed on Sunday and Monday.   We drove to Perryville, 15 miles away, to visit the Perryville Battlefield and Museum since the weather was so nice, and the Sunday paper indicated it was open daily.    Well, the battlefield was open, but not the museum....opens on Tuesday thru Saturday.    WE spent several hours at the battlefield using a map to find the various areas of interest.  

We decided to leave on Tuesday and head for Swannanoa, NC KOA where we'll stay for a few days before heading to Raleigh.

Galena, IL and Dubuque, IA Sept. 30 - October 4, 2013

My nephew, Steve Klaseus and his wife Corine told us about Galena, IL when we visited them Sept. 10.   We thought it sounded interesting, so instead of heading east or south, we drove NORTH!   We camped at the Palace Campground in Galena and our first stop was the Visitor's Center in downtown Galena.    The Visitor's Center had many displays of items that either belonged to U.S. Grant or celebrated his presidency and his time in the Civil War.   Very interesting and FREE!   We also walked through the historic downtown which was very busy with tourists.

On Monday we visited the Galena History Museum and were welcomed by Gen. Grant and his wife!   The town celebrated 9 generals from Galena who served in the Civil War, and had an extensive Civil War display.   Galena was a boom town in the 1800's, as it had a deposit of lead that was mined using the pocket mine to extract the lead.   In the 1850's the mines petered out and the miners headed west to the gold mines.   The town was a bustling shipping hub, and at it's zenith had 12,000 residents.   Grant's two brothers were running a leather store in Galena, and U. S. Grant was asked to move to Galena to help with the business.    When the Civil War started Grant re-enlisted in the army.  When the war was over the grateful people of Galena presented Grant with a two-story brick home.   He lived there until he was elected president and the family went to Washington.   They left their furniture in Galena, so the home boasts of having over 90% of Grant's furnishings.   He returned to Galena occasionally until ill health no longer made it possible to come.

Tuesday we took the trolley tour of Galena and received a good overview of the city and various points of interest were explained.  After lunch we drove 12 miles west to Dubuque, Ia.   We intended to stop at their Visitor's Center but took a wrong turn and ended up at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium where we spent the afternoon viewing the salt water aquarium and history of the area.    The J. M. Block, a river dredger, was docked at the Museum and a self-guided tour was available, so we walked over to see it.   We still had one more building to tour, so returned on Wednesday to visit the second building and enjoyed seeing the otters and beavers and many aquariums and terrariums on the first floor, and then went to the second floor to view the turtle exhibit.  

October 4 we hitched the trailer and headed to Crawfordsville, IN, on our way to Harrodsburg, KY.

Box Car Days and Clay County Fair

Classic tractors - Box Car Days, Tracy, MN

I had one of these when I was little!

That's one BIG Combine - Clay Co. Fair

Pink tractors at Clay Co. Fair!

Bales of corn stocks to make a tractor - Clay Co. Fair

Amana and Cedar Rapids, IA; Rock Island, IL

On Monday, September 23 we left Sioux Falls and headed east and south to the Amana Colonies.    It    
was a long day on the road and we were glad to arrive at the Amana RV Campground at 4:45 that afternoon.    Tuesday we enjoyed the famous Amana pancakes at the Ronnenburg restaurant before setting out on a shopping spree!    We stopped at the Lehm book store, the Amana Woolen Mill, the meat shop, the furniture store and an antique store.....oh yes and the leather store and wine store :-)   We were dragging by the time we headed back to the RV park.  

Tuesday was granddaughter Tracie's birthday so hope she got our card!   We ate breakfast at the Amana bakery (I had a slice of apple streudle) and we were treated to a slice of sauerkraut bread.    It was really good, and I could see it on a Reuben sandwich.  After breakfast we drove to Cedar Rapids and toured the Czech/Slovak Museum.    We'd seen signs about it along the highway for years, but had never stopped.   What an impressive museum!    It was totally destroyed in a flood in Cedar Rapids in2008 but was not only restored, but an annex was added increasing it's size AND raised 12 feet in the air and moved onto a new parking deck underneath it.    It just reopened this spring.   The theater had a short movie on the repair and move and a 25 minute movie showing the Russian invasion in 1968.

Thursday we had a short drive to Rock Island, IL.   After set up and lunch we drove into Moline to pick up information on Galena, IL and then over to the John Deere Pavilion and Plaza.   It was a beautiful day, so enjoyed sitting outside for a few hours.

Friday we crossed the river and drove into Davenport, iA to visit the German American Heritage Center.   The building was erected in 1861 as a hotel for immigrants.   Now it's a museum outlining the history of Germany, the reasons Germans immigrated to the Quad Cities area, and their treatment during the First World War.   It also highlighted the contributions the Germans have made to the area.

Sunday we left Rock Island and drove to Galena, IL.