Author Archives: billNdiane selph

October 16, 2013 Bentonville, Arkansas

We awoke to the sound of rain, but luckily the rain stopped in time for us to pack up and head to Bentonville in northwest Arkansas to visit family. The over three hour drive took us over a mountain which included a tunnel

and some beautiful lake views. We stopped in Lowell, Arkansas at a Camping World to have our electric steps repaired and then headed to Bentonville, best known as the home of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart.

Our first day in Bentonville we went down on the square and toured the Sam Walton museum. This museum not only gives a biography of Sam Walton, but includes the story of the founding of Walmart.

Outside of the museum they had a replica of one of Sam Walton’s trucks. He was known to ride around Bentonville in his pick up truck.

Bill was happy to learn that Sam Walton was an Eagle Scout.

Later in the day we went to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art which was founded by Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton. It opened in November, 2011 and is a glass and wood design with pavilions around two creek fed ponds. The museum features American art from the Colonial period to contemporary art.

During our visit Aunt Shirley went geocaching with us for the first time. She was quite good at it and found several geocaches.

The next day we went to the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista, right outside of Bentonville. It is such a beautiful, spiritual place and weddings and funerals are held there, as well as people who come just to meditate.

October 14, 2013 Little Rock, Arkansas

One of our hopes is that we can visit as many Presidential libraries as possible on our journeys around the country. Our next stop was a short two day stay in Little Rock with the purpose of seeing the Clinton Presidential Library. We did not want to stay right in Little Rock so we had a little trouble finding a campground outside the city, but one not too far away. After finding the first campground not acceptable, we settled on a small private campground in Conway. We set up camp and settled in for the night. Imagine our surprise when later in the evening we discovered quite by accident that the Clinton library is closed due to the federal shutdown. Foiled by the government mess again! Because the library is a national archive, they are closed. Not seeing the St Louis Gateway Arch and Lewis and Clark Expedition museum was disappointing. This was just plain annoying!

Since our full day in LIttle Rock was one of a steady rain, we used the day to catch up on paperwork and chores around the RV.

October 10, 2013 Memphis, TN

We left Trail of Tears and drove towards Memphis. This time, instead of cornfields, we saw field after field of cotton. We crossed the huge bridge across the mighty Mississippi River into Memphis. We stayed at T.O. Fuller State Park, about 7 miles from Graceland. This park was about half full and we chose the first site which was an end site with plenty of green space. We were pleased to see no train tracks nearby, though we occasionally heard a train in the distance, but not close enough to shake the RV! We discovered our first night at the park that even though there was not a train track close by, we were over the nightly take off and landing path of the Memphis airport. Instead of train whistles, we went to sleep with the roar of planes taking off and landing. For some reason the worst of it appeared to be our first night there with less planes the second night and very little the last two nights of our stay.

Our first full day in Memphis we went to Graceland, which was our main reason for going to Memphis. I have loved Elvis for as long as I can remember.

I read reviews that Graceland is actually small compared to what one would expect, and they are right. Elvis bought Graceland when he was in his early twenties, and the house very much has a 60’s and 70’s feel to it. The kitchen was amazingly small. We were not allowed upstairs to the bedroom area.

Living room

Entertainment room…..when he read that President Johnson had 3 TVs so he could watch all three network news reports at one time, Elvis decided to do the same

The Jungle Room with a waterfall on the wall

They had exhibit rooms of his gold records and displays of the clothing he wore at his concerts, etc.

His music flowed everywhere from the minute we reached the parking lot. Across the street from Graceland was a large visitors center where you bought tickets and waited for a shuttle to take you across the street and up the hill to the house.

We were able to go onboard the Lisa Marie

At that same location were additional exhibits, his many cars, and his airplanes, as well as many, many gift shops. One of the biggest surprises to me was the area where he and his parents are buried. I was expecting something huge and grandiose. It was actually a small memorial area with a mediation fountain. It was nice to see something very simple and quiet. There were no huge displays of flowers and gifts left by fans that I expected.

A new fan!

In all, we spent about 5 hours at Graceland and the exhibits.

The next day we ran errands in the morning and then later in the afternoon we rode downtown to Beale Street where we walked around and had dinner. Bill had some gator gumbo with his meal…..I declined. There are no words to describe Beale Street except colorful, old, and a sensory overload of music blaring from the various restaurants and bars. On the street they had gold musical notes with the names of famous musicians who had played on Beale Street. This was very much like the stars on the streets in Hollywood. Some of the musical notes were so old and worn it was hard to read the names, but after much looking, Bill spotted Elvis Presley.

While downtown we also walked through the lobby of the Peabody Hotel where they have ducks parade down from the rooftop in the morning where they stay in the fountain until 5:00 PM and then they are paraded back upstairs to the rooftop. We arrived shortly before 6:00 and therefore missed the parade. Bill asked one of the employees about the Orlando Peabody and he said that hotel is no longer a Peabody.

We enjoyed our time in Memphis.

October 6, 2013 Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Our next stop was supposed to be St Louis. With the government shutdown, the Gateway Arch and Lewis and Clark museums were closed. Since those were our two main reasons for going to St Louis, we decided to skip the city and continue south. Disappointing! We had planned to go to Trail of Tears State Park after St Louis, so we continued there. Once again the park was almost deserted. The campground at this park was much smaller, but had full hookup sites which is always a treat! The sites were closer together than those in most state parks, but ours overlooked the Mississippi River which was nice. We enjoyed watching barges going up and down the river while we were there. The only drawback to this campground is it was located right next to a train track, which was not at all surprising since this has happened more often than not through our travels in Wisconsin and Illinois. What is it with this area of the country? We had not encountered this many campgrounds near train tracks during our previous travels in the south, especially not in state parks. I am still trying to find a way to sleep through trains, but I don’t think it is going to happen!

This park is a memorial to Cherokee Indians that lost their lives in the forced relocation during the winter of 1838-1839. The park is located where nine of the 13 groups of Cherokee Indians crossed the Mississippi River. As they traveled 800 miles west to Indian Territory, of the more than 16,000 forced to leave their lands against their will, it is estimated that over 4,000 Cherokees lost their lives on the trail, including dozens in or near the park’s grounds. Trail of Tears State Park is a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

Our first full day here we rode into Cape Girardeau to run some errands. We noticed what appeared to be trucks and equipment set up for some kind of filming. We found out that they are filming part of the movie, “Gone Girl”, starring Ben Affleck, in this little Missouri town! On the way back out of town we happened to notice a series of murals along a flood wall on the Mississippi River and decided to take a look. We were so surprised at the beautiful murals depicting the history of the area, followed by a Missouri Hall of Fame wall. The wall of murals, called “Mississippi River Tales”, covers almost 18,000 square feet and is 1,100 feet long.

First of the murals on history of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Hawthorne plant with brilliant blossoms and bright red berries became the Missouri state flower. The Carolina parakeet, once prevalent in the river valley, vanished by 1900. The last member of this species died in 1918 at the Cincinnati zoo.

Between 900 and 1200 AD many Native Americans lived in the Mississippi Valley. They lived in harmony with nature and trained red tailed hawks to hunt. In this mural they greet the morning sun as it rises over the great river.

De Soto on the left was the first explorer to encounter Native Americans. Marquette and Joliet led the first French expedition down the Mississippi. Near the mouth of the Arkansas River, the Native Americans warned them if they went farther south they would encounter heat, fierce people, and great beasts. They turned back to the safety of the French settlements on the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence.

Lewis and Clark introducing themselves to the people of Missouri.

The Louisiana Purchase. Napoleon renounces Louisiana in his bath, causing his servant to faint into the arms of his brother. At 1803 in New Orleans the French colors were lowered and the U.S. flag was raised. A French soldier sheds a tear. In March, 1804, Upper Louisiana was formally transferred to the United States at St. Louis.

In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which led to the forced removal of eastern tribes to Indian territory west of the Mississippi, which later became the state of Oklahoma. Residents of Cape Girardeau were reported to have provided baskets of food for the Cherokees.

View of the Mississippi River from one of the forts that encircled Cape Girardeau during the Civil War.

During the Battle of Cape Girardeau, Confederate forces attacked the town. A Confederate cannon ball pierced the roof of a residence and Ike, the family slave, extinguished the flames and saved the house.

Coming of the Railroad

The Big Freeze. In the early 20th century the Mississippi River was a wider and slower river than today. Because it was slower, it was more inclined to freeze.

For most of the 19th century and first third of the 20th, steamboats were vital to the economic livelihood of the area.

The Big Flood of 1927…remains the flood by which all Mississippi floods are measured. The devastation resulted in a coordinated system of levees and walls from Cape Girardeau to the Gulf of Mexico. This changed the nature of the Mississippi Rive and the course of history.

Famous people from Missouri, starting with Mark Twain

Calamity Jane, Frank and Jesse James, Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, Jean Harlow, Vincent Price, Redd Foxx, John Huston

Joe Garagiola, Walter Cronkite, George Washington Carver

Dale Carnegie, Joseph Pulitzer

Harry Truman, of course!

While we were there we took a stroll along the Mississippi River, enjoying the river views.

The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. He was an eight-term congressman.

When we returned to the park we decided to explore a little before returning to our campsite. We traveled paved roads over extremely tall ridges to suddenly reach an overlook with the most amazing view of the Mississippi River.

Historical plaque at the overlook

Historical plaque at the overlook……Lewis and Clark and their group explored and camped in this area….so much history!

View of the Mississippi River from the overlook 200 feet above

From this overlook, our campground is about half a mile down river on the right

When we were at the Mississippi River earlier in the day at Cape Girardeau, Bill had really hoped to see a barge on the river but we didn’t see one. To our joy, at the overlook, we saw a barge chugging down the river, filled with coal. The filming of a movie, interesting murals, and then the overlook with the view. All totally unexpected. One of the things that makes this lifestyle so much fun!

We learned the visitor’s center at the park is closed Sunday thru Wednesday during October. Another disappointment since we arrived on a Sunday and would be leaving early Thursday morning. The visitors center had some Indian census, exhibits on the Cherokee Indians and Trail of Tears that we really wanted to see. Our wonderful campground hosts made arrangements for the visitors center to be opened just for us and we were able to spend over an hour touring the exhibits. The campground hosts, a husband and wife, have been full time RVers for 7 years and have spent those 7 years traveling around the country volunteering at different national and state parks. They were so nice and it was such a joy to meet and talk with them!

Within the park boundaries is the Bushyhead Memorial which is a tribute to Nancy Bushyhead Walker HIldebrand (Princess Otahki), and all the other Cherokees who died on the Trail of Tears. Legend has that Nancy died and was buried within the park’s boundaries during the western relocation. Her husband, brother, and two children made it to the Indian Territory.

Bill standing at Princess Otahki’s monument

October 3, 2013 Carlyle Lake, Illinois

Our plans to camp at an Army Corps of Engineers campground at Carlyle Lake were derailed with the shutdown of the federal government. Instead we went to an Illinois state park, Eldon Hazlett State Recreation Area at Carlyle Lake. This campground, illini, is one of the largest in Illinois, and is located on the largest manmade lake in Illinois. The campground was almost deserted this time of year in the middle of the week. We had a choice of a site, which was an electric only site.

We hiked on the Cherokee Trail and really enjoyed the nice trails, which included several bridges and steps. The views were beautiful and they had benches at overlooks along the way. At times we felt that squirrels were throwing walnuts and acorns at us from the trees overhead, and we saw many empty walnut shells along the paths.

September 30, 2013 Springfield, Illinois

We have been looking forward to visiting Springfield for quite awhile because of the opportunity to see all the exhibits they have on Abraham Lincoln. It has been obvious since we entered Illinois that they are proud of their association with our 16th President.

On the way to Springfield, as we traveled down historic Route 66, we continued to see farmers busy in the miles and miles of cornfields, preparing the fields for winter. It is amazing to see all the cornfields in Illinois! It certainly reinforces our knowledge that a farmer’s work is not easy, and is never done! We love seeing all the windmills.

The windmill pictures were taken from the window of the RV.

These are all windmills. not power lines. It was hard to get a really good picture from the window going down the highway. It was not unusual for us to see fields of windmills as far as the eye can see, other fields have none.

In our journey so far, many windmills were not spinning, which we didn’t expect. It was really cool to see them, especially if they were spinning.

On our first night in Springfield we met an old friend of Bill’s for dinner. Bill had not seen this friend in 32 years since the days when Bill lived in Los Angeles. He gave Bill a CD of pictures taken from the early 80’s when a group went on backpacking adventures to several mountain peaks. It certainly was fun seeing pictures of Bill from the early 1980’s!

The next day was mail day…..we picked up our mail at the Springfield post office. It is always fun to get mail, now that we only get it about every 2 weeks! Then we took a nice bike ride along the Interurban Bike Trail in Springfield, a great paved bike trail that wound through cornfields and pastures.

People in Springfield named our bike trail after Route 66 even though the official name is Interurban Bike Trail.

The beautiful Springfield bike trail through pastures and cornfields. It was a joy to ride on….level and shady in places. We were joined by grasshoppers and butterfly moths.

Wednesday was our day to visit all the Lincoln sites in Springfield. Our first stop was the Lincoln Presidential Museum, which was open this day of federal government closures because it is owned by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. This well done museum took us on a journey through Lincoln’s life beginning with a replica of the rustic log cabin in Indiana where he spent his boyhood years, (he was born in Kentucky), to his early adult years working as a storekeeper and his beginnings as a lawyer and young politician. The journey continued through the 1860 election and his years in the White House, the horror of the Civil War and ending with his assassination at Ford Theater. We saw two films in the museum theaters that told us some well known, and lesser known facts about Lincoln and his family. There was also an exhibit on the Civil War. The only thing we didn’t like about the museum is they restricted the use of photography except for the main exhibit hall where these pictures came from. We saw many many things we wished we could have taken pictures of to share on the blog!

The Lincoln family greeted us in the atrium of the museum…the only area of the museum we were allowed to take pictures.

Replica of the White House in the museum….through those doors were rooms detailing Lincoln’s presidency…everything in the museum was very well done.

Replica of Indiana log home where Lincoln spent his young years…through the door of the cabin were rooms detailing his early years, pre presidency

We briefly stopped by the Lincoln Presidential Library which is a “working” research library. Historical documents there are kept under lock and key except when they are taken out and displayed at the museum.

Next we proceeded to the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, which since it is maintained by the federal government, was closed today. The area is a 4 block historic area that has been returned to its mid 19th century appearance. In this area is the only house Lincoln owned, built in 1839 and bought by Lincoln in 1844. It has been restored to look the way it did in the 1860’s. The Lincoln family lived here for 17 years, and it was in the parlor of this house that representatives of the Republican National Convention in May, 1860, asked Lincoln to be the party’s presidential nominee. Under normal circumstances there is a ranger available to give tours of the house, but not this day! There is a self guided walking tour of the area, so we were still able to get into the area and take pictures. The visitor’s center was closed and no ranger tour.

The only home Lincoln and his family owned. We were not able to go inside because of the government shutdown. The home was located in a historic 4 block area.

In another area of the city was Lincoln’s Tomb which was also open because it is a state historic site. It is the location where Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their four children are buried. The granite tomb was dedicated in1874 and is 117 feet tall. Around the top of the tomb are statues portraying the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy. The names of the 37 states were inscribed on shields with other state’s names added as they were created. Metal from civil war cannons were used for the statues on the tomb.

Lincoln tomb

It appears many people have been rubbing his nose

Lincoln’s buried beneath this marker about 10 feet below the concrete

Mrs. Lincoln is entombed behind this wall.

On the grounds of the historic site are memorials also to Illinois veterans of the World War II, Korean and Vietnam wars.

Finally we also drove by the Illinois state capitol, built from 1868-1888 and at 405 feet at the top of the flagpole is one of the tallest building in central Illinois, and is taller than the U.S. Capitol in D.C.

Illinois state capitol

Lincoln in front of the capitol building

Stephen Douglas in front of the capitol building

Our next stop was supposed to be a campground owned by the Army Corps of Engineers at Carlyle Lake, Illinois. Due to the government shutdown the campground has been closed. We are now re-planning our next stop.

September 28, 2013 East Peoria, IL

This was planned as a short 2 night stay on our way to Springfield. We also chose this area because of the promise of some bike trails. We found our camping choices somewhat limited here, but chose the Spindler Marina and Campground. Unlike the state and county parks we have become accustomed to, this park was crowded with tight campsites. Also unlike previous parks, there appears to be many campers who live here on a permanent or semi-permanent basis.

We found a bike trail on Sunday and went for a nice ride. The weather was perfect. Peoria did not have any of the interesting and unexpected surprises that we found in Ottoawa. They may have been there, but we were not there long enough to uncover them.

September 25, 2013 Oglesby, IL

After a great time visiting Chicago, we traveled to Starved Rock State Park, Illinois. It is a lovely park and we were happy with our level site. Since Labor Day, the campgrounds have been pretty deserted Monday thru Thursday, and this park was no exception. The park lies along the Illinois River and is known for its fascinating sandstone rock formations. There are 18 canyons in the park formed by glacial meltwater and stream erosion. The waterfalls in the canyons are dry this time of year with the best time to see the waterfalls being in the spring during the end of winter thaw. The area has been home to numerous Native American tribes. The Park gets its name, Starved Rock, from a Native American legend. In the 1760’s, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa tribe was killed by a member of the Illiniwek tribe. During the ensuing battles to avenge the killing, a band of Illiniwek under siege, sought refuge on the top of a 125 foot sandstone bluff. The Ottawas surrounded the bluff and stayed there until the Illiniweks died of starvation, thus the name “Starving Rock”. In 1673 French explorers Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette passed through here on their way to Illinois from Mississippi. When the French claimed the region, including most of the Mississippi Valley, they built Fort Louis on top of Starved Rock during the winter of 1682-1683.

Chief Pontiac

Model of French Fort Louis in the Visitors Center

When we decided to come to this park we had no idea of the variety of fascinating things we would discover. When driving to the park we noticed a sign for a Scout Museum. Of course Eagle Scout Bill had to tour this museum. It gave a fascinating history of the Boy and Girl Scouts, and also housed a Civil War exhibit and an exhibit on the history of Ottawa County. The Scout Museum had a special geocache

We found these statues of Lincoln and Douglas while geocaching in an Ottawa city park.

and of course we had to hunt that down. We loved all the places the multi cache took us in the area.

Inside of the Scout Museum, Ottawa, Illinois

This man created the boy and girl scout movements that we know today.

William Dickson Boyce, who brought the Boy Scout movement to the United States.

Ernest Thompson Seton

Bill wore this a uniform like this in the 1960’s.

Badges honoring Boyce, founder of the Boy Scouts.

A memorial to William Dickson Boyce. We found this strange because it was in a cemetery but appeared to be more like a memorial than a grave marker, even though his daughters and sons are buried nearby.

The second day we hiked up to Starved Rock and did some more geocaches of the area. Starved Rock State Park has a lodge, and while geocaching in that area we discovered many trees that had been carved with eagles, Indians, and even a Boy Scout sign.

View of the dam on the Illinois River from the top of Starved Rock

Starved Rock

PLEASE don’t take my picture!

We had to climb MANY steps to get to the top of Starved Rock!

More eagles winter in Starved Rock than anywhere else in the lower 48 states.

This carving was dedicated to the Native American Indians. It was done by Peter “Wolf” Toth who carved and donated statues in every state. This donation is his 62nd carving.

Our time here went by too quickly and soon it was time to move on. We certainly did enjoy our time at Starved Rock State Park!

September 18, 2013 Zion, Illinois

We moved to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois. We have a nice level site with electricity but no water or sewer on site. From our windows we have a nice view of Lake Michigan. There are very few campers here so we practically have the campground to ourselves. We heard they will fill up again on the weekend. Our first night here we had two pretty severe thunderstorms that lasted all night and into the morning hours. At one point we saw a big flash of light and we lost power. The next morning Bill went out to inspect the electrical box and found the fuse had blown but the surge protector had protected the RV from electrical damage. With a flip of the switch he was able to get the power back on. We spent the day pretty much inside doing paperwork and chores since the weather was still threatening rain. Later in the day the skies cleared enough that we rode our bikes on a bike trail along the lakeshore. The wind had been gusty all through the night and day, and Lake Michigan looked angry with waves that made it appear to be more ocean than lake.

On Friday we drove to Waukegan and had lunch with Bill’s Aunt Emily. Friday evening we had a lovely dinner and visit with Aunt Emily’s son, Gary and his family. It was so good to see Gary and Carla and their son and grandsons. Thanks Gary for preparing a delicious meal!

Saturday we rode the Metra into Chicago.

Bill had been there before, but it was my first visit. We were able to purchase a weekend pass for unlimited riding on the Metra for only $7.00. There was so much to choose from and we had only planned on spending two days in the city. We also purchased a 2 day pass for the Chicago Trolly and Double Decker bus which turned out to be a great decision since it was a great way to see all the city sites and got us to our chosen destinations without a lot of walking. Most of the time we rode on top of the double decker open bus, and Chicago lived up to its name as a cold and windy city! Among the many sites we saw while riding around the city included Millennium Park with “The Bean”, the Art Institute of Chicago, Buckingham Fountain, Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile, and Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.

33 foot artwork in Millennium Park, locally called “The Bean”, made of mirrored material so it reflects

The reflections from The Bean were fascinating!

Self portrait of Bill reflected in The Bean

Famous for fabulous shopping

Our first stop was The Field Museum which was established in 1893 and ranks among the world’s foremost museums in natural science. It houses over 25 million artifacts and specimens. We saw the Hall of Gems, a fabulous exhibit on Ancient Egypt which was one of my favorite things there, a wonderful exhibit on Native American cultures, especially those of the Pacific, Northwest Coast and Arctic regions; a Hall of the Ancient Americas which included 13,000 years of human history focusing on the Incas and Aztecs. There was also a Hall of Conservation called “Restoring Earth” and a DNA Discovery Center. Bill’s favorite by far was the dinosaur exhibit, featuring Sue, the largest and most comprehensive T Rex ever discovered. That evening we caught the Metra back to the station closest to our campground. We were pretty exhausted but looking forward to returning the next day to Chicago.

The Field Museum

Real mummies

From the Conservation exhibit hall

A dinosaur named Sue….found in South Dakota….actually the age and sex is unknown, she is named Sue after the person who found her

Hello, Sue!

Sunday morning we once again caught the Metra in to Chicago with our first stop being Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower with its famous SkyDeck. After going through security and waiting in line, we took the elevator up to the 103rd floor where we had a 180 degree view of 4 states and 50 miles. The highlight of our visit was walking out on The Ledge, a 1.5 inch thick glass enclosed cube extending more than 4 feet, where you could look straight down. It was like standing on air. We are not afraid of heights, but we agreed it was a little hard to take that first step out into what appeared to be nothing but air 103 floors up. A part of our brain told us it was safe and okay, we our eyes also was sending messages to our brain not to do it. It was amazing!

Gorgeous 180 degree views of Chicago…we were fortunate to have such a clear day

Bill’s foot on the glass ledge, where you could look straight down 103 floors to the sidewalk

Took more nerve than we expected

A side view of the cube, or ledge

We caught the trolley outside the tower to head to the next destination. On the way the tour bus took us on the south side of Chicago through the Hyde Park and Kenwood areas. President Obama’s home is in Kenwood. We also went by the home of Muhammed Ali.

Sidewalk in front of the residence of President Obama, barricaded off and protected at all times by Secret Service

Not possible to get a clear view of the house

Home of Muhammed Ali

The tour bus let us out at our next stop, The Museum of Science and Technology, the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere, which includes more than 35,000 artifacts over 14 acres of displays and exhibits. We saw 80 at 80, which showcased 80 amazing artifacts from the museum’s 80 years of existence. The highlight of the museum for us was taking an onboard tour of a real U-505 submarine, the only German submarine captured in World War 2. Unfortunately the museum closes early on Sundays so our visit was shorter than we had hoped and expected.

My favorite astronaut

Bill operated a telephone switchboard like this in the main office of his high school

The specially made room to house the submarine which was floated here and lowered into this room….sub is on the right of the picture….impossible to grasp how big it really is. They had a time lapse movie showing the sub’s move from Lake Michigan into the museum.

Forward torpedo room and also served as sleeping quarters. We were told that each bunk was rotated among three men as each got off duty, so they shared their dirt, fleas and sweat. Bunks were located throughout the ship

Galley that prepared food for 59 men

Radio room

Twin diesel engines

Rear cabin

Enigma machine

Front of the submarine showing a launched torpedo

September 15, 2013 Baraboo, Wisconsin

We awoke to the sound of rain, never a good thing to hear on moving day! Luckily we were in no hurry since we had a short distance to travel that day. By the time we were ready to leave, the rain had eased up. We arrived at Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This is supposed to be one of the most beautiful, biggest and most popular parks in the upper Midwest. It has 500 foot bluffs that look out over a 360 acre lake. The hiking ranges from easy trails to those that are very difficult.

We were somewhat disappointed in our campsite. The majority of the sites in the park are hilly and it was difficult to level the RV. We changed sites and still did not have a site in which we could completely level the coach. That rarely happens to us. We had heard about the flies in Michigan before we left Florida in June. We had been pleasantly surprised not to find the flies or mosquitoes to be much of a problem. That changed once we arrived here. The flies are horrible for some reason and we have to race in and out of the door to avoid them dashing inside.

One day we took a scenic drive through the park with 15 stops and a written commentary to follow.

It wasn’t the most scenic drive we have found in our travels so far, but we did find some ancient native mounds dating back over 1,000 years. These were done by a group of Native Americans called the Effigy Mound Builders. Not much is known about this group of Native Americans but it is thought they used the mounds for burial grounds, festivals and special rites. The name Devil’s Lake originally came from Native American names which translated to Spirit Lake, Holy Lake, Mystery Lake, or Sacred Lake. It was the Winnebago tribe that gave it the name which when translated means Devil’s Lake.

One mound is in the distance. Not as tall as we expected and easy to miss without the signs.

The majority of the parks we enjoy were built many years ago by a wonderful group called the CCCs…Civilian Conservation Corps. Devil’s Lake is no exception. From 1934 to 1941, during the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps operated a work camp for 200 young men at Devil’s Lake. Many of the trails, roads, picnic tables, signs, etc were thanks to them.

In honor of the young men who helped build the park

Interesting tidbits about Devil’s Lake include the fact that the Ringling Brothers once owned a lakehouse here and elephants bathed in Devil’s Lake. Ulysses S Grant and Abraham Lincoln’s wife also visited Devil’s Lake.

Tuesday we drove 15 miles to Reedsburg to ride our bikes on the 400 Wisconsin Trail, a former railroad track that has been converted to a beautiful bike trail. The trail opened in 1993 and was named after the Chicago-Northwestern passenger train that at one time traveled the 400 miles between Chicago and Minneapolis/St Paul in 400 minutes. As we rode along the trail we had pastures with farmland and cattle on one side and the Baraboo River on the other. We pretty much had the trail to ourselves and found 28 geocaches.

A view of the bike path

A very pretty mural on the side of a building near the entrance to the bike trail which commemorates the bike trail

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures