Behold, Behemoth!

Well, moving day came and went, and we were finally able to head out on this adventure-of-a-lifetime.  We headed north and east to Michigan, where our son and his family live.  Our grandson, John, was home from school during Covid, and watched a YouTube video series about national parks.  When he realized that there was one IN HIS VERY OWN STATE, he asked his parents if "we can please go to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore."  We jumped on that bandwagon, and took him north last summer.  We toured the lakeshore, and his Grandpa John's hometown of Grand Marais, MI.  It was lots of fun, until Grandpa John's heart decided it was time to cause a little drama, something it does periodically.  It resulted in Grandpa John taking a ride in the flashy car across the Mackinac Bridge, with Grandma, Dad, and John following behind.  We had to skip a few stops on our tour, so we worked those in, this summer. (Here we take a stop to clarify that no, the Peterman...

 I thought it might interest some people to see where we've been.  Although this trip started at the end of June, I didn't start this record until this month, October.  So, below, behold where Behemoth spent June/July. We started  from our home of the last year, Madison, Alabama.  (OK, technically, we started from a nearby Cabela's parking lot)  Madison taught us alot about life; bloom where you're planted, don't be judging, have fun when fun is available, and not all post offices are at all competent.  Being planted in Alabama helped us immensely in starting this trip.  We found a well kept and well priced RV and tow vehicle: had we been in another, more comfortable state, we would have had to travel to find them.  But, here they were, almost next door. And yet, at the end of our lease, it was time for other lessons, other fun, and other places.  It was time to roam. Our first adventure was simple.  We headed north to our son's, ne...

 Well, hello, dear reader.  So glad you stopped by.  I'm sorry I was gone so long. In the age of dinosaurs, 1980, I was in Rapid City, working on my geology degree.  Geology students have to do Field Camp; ours was 6 weeks long, and was mostly held in the Black Hills.  We stayed at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.  We also spent way too many evenings at this place. It's an elegant place.  It's missing the pool tables, these days. It was fun to check in.  The bartender looked a lot like Grubby, the School of Mines mascot, whose image I am too cheap to buy.  But you can look him up. We spent a week in Rapid City, camping at a "camping resort" nearby.  The name is laughable.  I mean, who wants to spend much time at the kind of resort that would put the sewer connections this close to a firepit and picnic table?   Needless to say, we did not spend much time near the fire, and we won't go back to that campground...

 Never fear, I am here. It’s just that I’m learning how to strike a balance between doing fun things to talk about, and taking the time to talk about them!  I will post something meaty, soon!

 This weekend was a busy one, but we managed to sneak in some fun. We were invited to have dinner with friends on Friday night.  We were having too much fun to take pictures, but, suffice it to say, she is an amazing cook, and they have an amazing liquor cabinet. On Saturday, we headed west for a couple of weeks.  We drove from Sioux Falls to Chamberlain, South Dakota.  The view of the Missouri right near sunset was breathtaking, and this picture, of course, does not do it justice.   Note to fellow travelers; do not try to eat dinner in Chamberlain.  Four restaurants, three of which turned us away.  The fourth never brought the food we ordered, and tried to make us pay for it. Saturday night was spent at a Harvest Host.  Harvest Hosts is an organization which lists wineries, farms, breweries, museums, etc, which offer free night stays to people like us, self-contained RVers.  We usually find one on a Friday or Saturday night, since campg...

 Bwahaha!  Hang on, I'll tell you. One of the things I like most in my housewife-life is cooking.  I especially like to fill the pantry and freezer so that we don't have to worry (as much) about where the next meal is coming from.  I really, especially, like to cook beef and chicken bones into lovely broths that can be used for soups, meals, or even just a hot cup of yumminess on a chilly afternoon. I also like to buy locally from small providers.  If you, dear reader, are buying your hamburger from WalMart, you are not getting the nutrition found in a toothpick.  When we lived in Illinois, it was my goal to grow most of our meats.  I couldn't do much about fish, but we grew pork, poultry, lamb and goat.  Our freezer was always full, and we felt RICH.  Now that we're on the road, I like to find local meat markets, farm markets, and even family farms from which to buy our supper ingredients. Do the same.  You will never have better food, ...

We have a rhythm for this life.  We usually drive about 300 miles, then stop for a week.  This gives us time to see the country, not just drive through it.  It also gives John time to work, which, he often complains, gets in the way of living.  But he soldiers on, because somebody  has to pay for campsites and gasoline! We usually drive on Saturdays.  This, also, can get in the way of living, because we might want to stop and see something, but still have to make some mileage.  So we try to include "something" in the Saturday drive, so that we can see it. Fridays are spent preparing for the road.  This may mean hunting and gathering (it didn't, this past week) making some small adjustments or repairs, and always means battening down the dishes.  Without some padding, the cupboards bang and clank while we go down the road, and, like Gollum, one of us will whine too much. Our prep for this week also included a trip to an ER.  ER's and auto...