End of the road

Hello All!  It's been 9 months, 10 countries, 23 states, 10,000 miles driven in the U.S., and finally we're done.

Today, after scooting through the ranches of Montana, over the imposing Rockies, and wheat fields of eastern Washington, we finally reached our final destination: Home. And it was fitting that our final night in the van was a bit of an adventure/ridiculous event. The choice was to backtrack a bit to Spokane (from the casino where we won $45!!) or keep heading west to the small town of Davenport where Sarah "knew" there was an RV park. So we headed west and found a motel/RV park that made the Bates Motel look inviting. Luckily there was a sign for a campground 20 miles away so off we went into the darkest of nights. Turns out, the campground was completely empty, eerily silent, and a raging wildfire was burning across the lake. Then Sarah "definitely heard" a bear so we jump back in the van and drive all the way back out - 20 more miles. Now it's late and dark and we have no destination.

New plan = drive all night. On and on, up and down, through the rolling hills, fields of blackness, and then like an oasis in the desert, like a beacon of light in a scary storm, we find Wilbur, Washington and the Bell RV Park. And here, on the side of the road, sandwiched between a couple of mobile homes for a whopping $15 we spend our very last night of our three month road trip and nine month travel experience. Perfect.

But what a trip we had! It has been an amazing experience. People often want to know about our favorite places. But really, every place was our favorite because in every place we learned and saw something new and met somebody new, too. We cannot stress how nice and helpful people have been to us as we moved around the country, and what a delight it was to chitchat with all of them. The scenery has been astounding with every state having something unique to offer. And living in the van...well...it was definitely memorable... check out the video we made below.

So THANK YOU to all of you for following us around the USA and the world. We hope you enjoyed our blatherings. We both feel we could not have completed the trip without so much love and support from home (thanks for the supportive/fun/funny comments on the blog, for loaning us clothes and books, for listening to us whine when things got tough, for letting us stay in your homes, for always being there when we needed you).

For the next month, we'll be living in Winthrop, Washington where we'll be stationary for a bit until we can move back home in July. We look forward to catching up with all of you when we return or seeing you up in the Methow Valley this June!

Love,
Sarah and Vanessa

SoDak!

Most of you know that I (V) was born in South Dakota and that my grandparents and extended family still live there.  I have not driven through the state in over a decade  so this seemed like great opportunity to not only visit my grandparents but also re-discover this part of the country so important in my family history.Our first stop was Vermillion in far southeast corner of the state.  Surrounded by farmland, it's a real all-American town where you can ride your bike to the pool and buy breakfast for $2.  

Each day we visited with various family members over an artery-clogging meal of broasted chicken, fried cheeseballs and/or mushrooms and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  The special treat to our visit was the time we spent in the Dakota Gardens senior living center where my grandparents now reside.  We went to coffee in the afternoon and visited with the other residents who were very much interested in our trip.  One evening, we played dominos in the tv lounge with

Blanche, Julie, Eileen, Leone, Joann and Minnie (desperately trying to catch some election results between plays).  But the most fun was the slideshow we created of pictures from our travels abroad.   

What fun it was!  We took them around the world showing them homes, clothes, towns and most importantly food (hot topic!) from around the globe.  Afterwards, everyone stayed and soon were sharing their own travel stories---men shared military stories, women told of their own Rosie the Riveter moments. And in the end we received thanks and smiles, but I think we were the lucky ones to have shared time with them.

Next we headed west to the Badlands National Park and then to the Black Hills and Rapid City

 where I was born.  This is a truly magical part of the country where fascinating landscapes and an abundance of activities lie all within such a small area, it's easy to do everything.  In Rapid City we headed to the local high school to see Bill Clinton.  

We stood only a few rows back and Sarah even shook his hand.  (Note the black-haired beauty close to Clinton) It was interesting to hear the locals talk politics.  Many commented how 'closeted' they were in this faithfully red state and how surprising it was to see so many Democrats (1500 showed up:). 

 

We enjoyed a wonderful drive through the barren, crumbling, conical shapes of pink and orange - or the Badlands.  Our favorite bit was stopping to watch birds, prairie dogs and

 pronghorn on the high prairie.  To spice it up, Sarah convinced one of the park workers that they were once called the 'Good' Lands!  In the Black Hills, we were pleasantly surprised by the beauty and the number of things to do.  We gambled in the saloons 0f Deadwood and then got snowed out. We saw bison and goats in our campground in Custer park.   The heads of Mt.Rushmore and Crazy Horse mesmerized us both in their beauty and scope.  

The scenic drives took us past the most amazing rock formations and beautiful pine forests and our hearts got pumping when driving the van through tunnels just big enough to fit. Finally at Devils Tower (actually in Wyoming but still part of the Black Hills Forest) we marveled at its mysticism camping in its shadow.   This is one area that we know we want to return.  Truly amazing and easy to enjoy.

Overall I'd say our trip to SoDak was a hit.  In a place where so many think there is nothing, there is truly so much.  From farmland to badland, to prairie to mountains, from history to gambling, from wild west to wildlife - South Dakota is a spectacular state - even if I'm a little biased.  But best of all - as with so many places - were the friendly people we met.  

Frank Lloyd Wright

Architects may come and 

Architects may go and 

Never change your point of view.  ----Simon & Garfunkel

How much do you know about Frank Lloyd Wright?  If you're like me (Sarah), you know he was the topic of this Simon and Garfunkel tune, you think he designed the Guggenheim Museum, and your 90% sure he was American - (apologies to our dearest architect friend Leann for my ignorance).  Turns out he's even more interesting than all that as we learned during our visit to Cedar Rock - a home he designed and built for a weathy Iowan, Lowell Walter and his wife.

To put it simply - Frankie was a bit of a weirdo - a real control freak, and frankly (ha ha), a poor builder.  Wright only signed the homes he built when everything about the building, and I mean ever

ything right down to the silverware, was according to his standards.  For the poor Lowells, that also meant sleeping in separate beds which he claimed would lead to better sleep (Mrs. Lowell wanted a double bed but he nixed that), having no storage space (no garage!) to prevent clutter of the mind, choosing all the interior decorations - even building all of the furniture, and oking the dishware.  He even had to approve items brought into the home years after completion.  And he would "drop by" over the years to make sure things were up to snuff!  

But apparently he wasn't too anal about functionality.  The roof, which was sort of upturned and 'unique' in various ways, leaked like a sieve, and they've now covered it with modern roofing material.  And the fireplaces, purposely sunken for better fire viewing, filled the house up with so much smoke that old Lowell could never use them.  So there you go - that's what you get 

for $1500,00 in 1950.

You might think the design was so cool that maybe it outweighed Wright's eternal presence and the damp, smokey carpets.  Well, Vanessa thought it looked like an old community center - dark brick, low roof, no windows (on the driveway side anyway) - very institutional.  But to me, the light-filled living room made up for almost all flaws.  Completely encased in window walls, it was like living outside.  Plus, he's got a point about the clutter and good sleep.  I give Frank a B+ (A+ for creativity, C- for practicality, B for use of horizontal lines).  It's amazing what you can learn in the middle of nowhere in Iowa.  

America's Heartland

As you can see from the map, we have travelled a great distance in just a few days thanks to the existence of America's Heartland.  The breadbasket of our nation provides very straight, flat roads.  Now some books suggest there is nothing to see in this part of the country and maybe that is partly true in that there are no grand national parks or areas normally considered "scenic", but compared to the rest of the country, isn't the midwest unique?

We've been up and down the peaks and valleys, traversed through deserts, forests, and swamps, but where else is it flat to the horizon day after day, and if you really think about it - aren't all those farms kind of amazing?  Miles and miles of farms in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois - think of the work to create and maintain all of that land for all of these years.  And what about all that food? So much of what we eat, what the world eats, comes right from this very land.  Although now many corn fields market ethanol rather than corn on the cob.

And the towns, too, are different from what we have seen thus far.  You hear about those tired towns where industry has come and gone, the places where people might be "bitter".  And then you actually see those towns on the Ohio River - where the houses aren't remodeled and sold for $1 million, where the brick buildings are crumbling in empty downtowns, and factories block all the views. You can't help but realize how lucky you are to live in a vibrant place.  

So much of our nation's history runs through these fields and townships.  On the Historic National Road -  the first federally funded highway built in 1806 - we saw lots of smaller farms with farmhouses intact, and the weathered brick storefronts of middle America type towns complete with lamppost and billowing flag lined mainstreets.  It's like Leave it to Beaver - oozing with goodness and simplicity.  You really could feel the making of America in these little towns, even if we were eating fried mushrooms at a Frosty Boy.

And this is the Land of Lincoln for pete's sake!  Where else are you going to find the world's largest Lincoln statue or "finger Lincoln good" chicken wings?

Proud Sister

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to post a 30-second video of my brother Mike. He just got a new job at the museum, and I think he's really talented. Take a look. More from the road soon...

Buster's Twin!

While camping at the KOA in Richmond, Indiana, we met Shelby, Buster's long lost cousin.  Can you see the resemblance?  

We've added a few more photos to our Flickr site---the link is on the right side of this page.

 

Headin' Home

As you can see gas prices are increasing, and living in a van is getting a little cramped, so we've decided to cut short the mileage and head for home.  We would have loved to continue sightseeing east coast attractions and will sorely miss not meeting up with friends Sue & Dan in Ottawa and Bob & Loretta in New Jersey.  Asheville was our turnaround spot and now we're in a KOA in Richmond, Indiana conveniently located right beside the freeway.  And I mean RIGHT BESIDE the freeway!

We'll keep blogging until we get home.  Thanks for all the love and support along the way!

S, V & B