Travel Pics from South Dakota

 Location: Left Tailrace Corps of Engineers Campground on the Missouri River at Big Bend Dam near Fort Thompson, South Dakota.

I've received some requests from readers saying I'm not posting as many travel pictures have I have in the past. Travel pictures are taken while traveling in Freedom, with or without, Liberty attached. They show the landscape of the area we are passing through. I like them too. When looking back on some of the travel pictures from years ago, I can still bring up the feelings I had when taking the picture. Some readers have commented that it is like they are "along for the ride". I used a phrase in a post many years ago that struck a chord in a fellow blogger and solo traveler, Malia Lane, may she rest in peace. I'm reminded of that phrase sometimes as I'm traveling down the road and seeing new places. That phrase was, ",,,,,,or the peaceful drive along empty highways with the smell of freedom hanging heavy in the air."

I used to include a travel picture or two in just about every post. That was back when I was using my Nokia cell phone for just about every picture. Since it quit (retired??) and was replaced with my new Pixel phone, I seem to have quit posting them. I've still been taking them but haven't posted them because they don't have the same quality as the ones with the Nokia. Well, good or bad, here are some travel pictures from yesterday. It is on the ride from Yankton, South Dakota to Fort Thompson, South Dakota.

This is the rolling hills north of the Missouri River valley. 

A neat old barn. I wish I could stop and ask about such places. I would like to know how old it is, who built it, etc.

This newer barn was about 5 miles away from the last one. That 5 miles seems to be about the distance between the homesteads. 

This very tall statue is located in the rest area along Interstate 90. It is clear that we are getting deeper into the Indian Lands.That is the Missouri River in the background as well as the town of Chamberlain, SD.

I haven't taken a picture of a "long lonesome highway" in a while. This is a two-lane state highway between I-90 and the campground. The distance was18 miles and I saw about 3 vehicles. There were a few combines working in one of the fields.

Another one of those old structures with a story to tell, but nobody around to tell it.

I was torn between this picture and the one about as to the long highway. Since I couldn't decide, I posted both.

Campsite, just downstream of Big Bend Dam

How about a nice baseball diamond. This is from upstream of the dam. That is the gates on the left which seemed to be all closed. I'll try to verify that today. 

A nice "thinking bench" located within the campground.

Today's exploration is to an Indian Museum that has received great reviews. It is about 20 miles away through the reservation. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Going Up The Missouri River

Location: Nebraska Tailwaters Campground (Corps of Engineers) just downstream of Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota.

I'm halfway breaking one of my rules about NOT camping downstream of a dam. It was my belief and still is, to never put 100% trust in anything built by man. I've passed up many great looking campgrounds over the years because they were located downstream of a dam. Anyway, this campground is alongside the Missouri River and my campsite is about 1/4 mile downstream of the Gavins Point Dam. That's why it is only halfway breaking the rule.

My campsite. I had to set up that far away from the bumper block because the pavement slopes up dramatically over that last part. I still had enough room for Freedom to park. The shade tree provides afternoon shade. If I was more familiar with the campground I would have chosen a different site.

A view of the Gavins Point Dam. That is the electric powerhouse on the left and the gates in the center. It's a really pretty lake in the background. This is a great place for boaters and fisher(wo)men.

 

Unlike some of the other dams I've been too around the country, this one still allows vehicles to drive on the crest of the dam. This picture of the red light is so only one lane of traffic drives over the powerhouse at a time. 

A good view of the gates. They seem to be passing a fair amount of water. 

This is the river in front of my campsite. It is a pretty stretch of the Missouri River. It reminds me of the St. Clair River between Lake Huron and Lake Erie.

This is from across the river looking at Liberty.

This shows the series of dams on this reach of the Missouri. I'm at the first one, Gavins Point. I'll skip the next one and camp at the third one, Big Bend. I'll be there tomorrow for 3 days. 

The dam is the first in a series of hydro-electric dams on the upper reaches of the Missouri River. There is good and bad information about these dams but I need to do some more research before giving my opinion. These dams do not includes locks so navigation is not possible. I think the commercial navigation ends at Sioux City, Iowa. The purpose of the dams are for flood control, recreation and water management. Plus they have some great campgrounds near the dams. This campground is $8.00 per night for electric only. Great deal. Technically, the campground is in Nebraska but Yankton is the largest nearby city and it's in South Dakota.

Yankton is a small city with a population of about 14,000 people. It is a typical northern city with a vibrant and active downtown located in the historical area. It has the big box stores like Walmart, etc., but they are on the north edge of the city in what is clearly a more modern location. I've been very surprised and happy with the liveliness of the downtown areas of not only Yankton, but also two of the last cities where I explored (Onawa, Iowa and Ottawa, Illinois). All three places had music playing through speakers along the downtown streets. Not blaring music, but low volume, easy listening type of songs. Mostly oldies. It is low enough in volume that you can easily talk without needing to raise your voice. It is nice. Good job to all three towns.

I hadn't seen a Rexall Drug store in decades and decades. This one is still open in Yankton.

One picture of downtown Yankton.

Last picture of downtown Yankton. This is just a couple of the blocks that are still very active. 

Liberty's tires will be aging out in about a year or so, so I started looking for tire shops that could replace them while Freedom and Liberty are hitched. I found one in Yankton and paid them a visit. I was looking for a specific Goodyear tire and the salesman told me they may have some in the warehouse but if not they could order them. He took my telephone number and said he would give me a call once he knew for sure. That all sounded good, but I could feel a bad vib coming on as I left. While waiting for his call-back, I went to Menards to pick up some stuff for a future project. While wandering around that store, I kept getting a nagging vib about the tire shop. After finishing my shopping, I called the tire shop and told them never-mind about the tires. The guy on the phone wasn't the guy I talked to in person, but he said OK.  About 30 minutes later, the guy I talked to in person called me. Before he could say anything, I told him I just called the shop and told them "nevermind". Before hanging up, I asked him, out of curiosity, if they had the tires in stock. He said No, but they were getting some brought to them and they would be there in an hour of so. Well, that made me feel a little bad, but they are popular tires for RV's and with the number of RV parks around here, they won't have any trouble selling them. I figured I dodged a bullet and thanked whoever was looking out for me.

As Paul Harvey would say, "now for the rest of the story". While visiting with some campers next door, they brought up the subject about tires on RV's. I thought that was odd after what happened at the tire shop. I told them my story and they agreed I may have dodged a bullet if I had used that tire shop. They then mentioned a tire shop in Sioux City, where they are from, that does excellent work on RV's while hitched up to the tow vehicle. It is a family owned tire shop that has been in business for 100 years and they treat customers right. If I was betting, they probably took care of their workers during the pandemic and have a well experienced work force with many family members working in the business. Although I just passed through Sioux City on my way here and don't have the time to double back, it is on one of my proposed routes back home. I've been trying to figure out my route back south after visiting the National Park. So,,,,,,that was the reason for the bad vibs at the tire shop,,,,, they were leading me to the shop in Sioux City, as well as defining part of my route back to Louisiana. 

Everything happens for a reason.

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll break my rule again by camping downstream of a dam, this time even closer to it. The campground is near Fort Thompson, South Dakota. I'll be there for 3 days. There is supposed to be a great museum about 20 miles away. We will see. I haven't been happy with museums lately. I think I've just gotten burned out on them or maybe just jaded. We will see.

Good morning Sunshine. Sipping coffee and looking out Liberty's door. Nothing better than waking up to this in the mornings, even on a foggy, hazy day. 

 Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road. 

From The Mississippi to The Missouri

Location: Lewis & Clark State Park; Onawa, Iowa (on the Iowa/Nebraska border, half way between Omaha and Sioux City)

I've crossed the width of Iowa and am now along her western border, which is the Missouri River. I've seen lots of corn. From here I'll follow the Missouri River through South Dakota and into North Dakota. I have campground reservations all the way to my final destination of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Today is moving day. My next stops are a COE near Yankton, SD, then another COE near Fort Thompson, SD, then an Indian Casino Campground near Mobridge, SD, then a State Park in Bismarck, ND, then a City owned campground near Dickerson, ND. I'll stay 4 days in Dickerson so I can see both the North and South parts of the National Park. There is also an "enchanted highway" that sounds interesting. 

I really need to start thinking about which direction I go after seeing the National Park in the last week of August. 

We scored a nice campsite and feel lucky in do so since the campground is completed full for the weekend. The tree have provided shade for most of the day and the lake is about 100 yards away.

This Lewis & Clark campground is a state park that fills up entirely every weekend for the entire summer. It's a nice campground with 50 amp electric campsites. You get fresh water from spigots scattered out around the campground. I stayed here a few years ago and came back this time because the museum was closed when I was here last. The museum is small and not worth the visit. The best thing they have is Keel Boat built to the dimensions of the original boat used by Lewis & Clark. But even that isn't worth the stay. So, I just took it easy for the three days I was here and did a little maintenance work on Liberty. I also found a nice laundromat and a nice family owned, local restaurant since the town didn't have a Taco Bell.

I'm only a couple hours away from my next campground, so I won't be pulling out until around noon. By then, a lot of the campground will be empty as the "weekenders" head by home in preparation for work tomorrow. 

I took this picture as a trial. One of the best things about my old cell phone/camera was its ability and ease of taking pictures through Freedom's windshield. Some of those pictures over the years have been my favorites. This new cell phone/camera is not as easy to take these type of travel pictures, but maybe I just need more practice.

I took this picture on a lark while crossing the narrow bridge between Iowa and Nebraska. I was holding the cell phone in hopes of getting a shot of the bridge but instead just too a random shot out the side window. I didn't expect it to turn out so good. I guess the cell phone was trying to prove to me it could do the job. Anyway, that is the Missouri River down there. 

I included this picture, not for the bridge, but for the corn. One thing I have notice while being in Iowa is that every available piece of land is planted in a crop. Mostly corn but a couple other crops. I've seen corn being raised so close to houses you could almost reach out a window to pick an ear of corn. This is not common down south. There are a lot of acres in Louisiana that are just sitting there with no crop growing and no animals grazing. Puzzling. 

 

This the keel boat in the museum. The one in the middle is built to the dimensions of the original boat use by Lewis & Clark

This is the keel boat I saw the time I was here. I thought this was the replica. But nope, this one is much larger than the original and is used to give rides on the lake during the middle of the summer. 

Looking at the "commercial enterprise" replica from off the starboard bow.

One of the few shots I took of the lake which is surprising since it is a pretty lake. There is no springs feeding it and relies solely on rainfall to keep it full.

Dirty 2 Pretty Laundromat, or "wastateria" for some southern folks. 

This is the second post with a picture of food. I have to stop doing that but couldn't resist this one. This is from a family owned, local restaurant just a couple doors down from the laundromat. I had already ate half of the dish before taking hte picture. The roast beef was tender and the mashed taters just right. All for $7.00. Really good meal, almost worth the 3 day stop here.  

Since there wasn't anything else to do and the weather had cooled off one of the days, I decided to clean the coils on one of Liberty's air conditioners. I bought this product from Home Depot when I was in Davenport a century year week ago. I didn't take the shroud off the unit and just sprayed the foam through the slots. I was able to foam up all the coils. After waiting about 10 minutes I used a spray bottle to squirt water on the coils. The bottle says "no rinse" is needed on evaporator coils but I wasn't 100% sure which coil I was cleaning, condenser or evaporator, so I just gently sprayed it down anyhow. I guess I could have researched it, but it would have seemed strange not rinsing it. After about 15 minutes of time, the coil was spotless. The product worked great.  

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Strange Statues and Liberty Showing Her Age

Location: Prairie Flower Campground (COE); near Des Moines, Iowa 

Another Corps of Engineers campground. If I could, I would stay in them all the time while on the road. This campsite is electric only with a view of Saylorville Lake for $11.00 per night with the Senior Pass. When making reservations, I decided to change changes up and camp here for four day instead the usual three. I figured I may need the rest and to let time catch up. Thinking back to the first campground near Little Rock seems a very long time ago, but it's only been a little over two weeks. I've experienced this phenomenon every since I first started RV traveling. I think it is associated with me changing campground so often. I do that intentionally so I'll always be seeing new things. For example, I camped at this campground a few years ago but have seen all new things this time. When I'm stationary in a campground like I was last year, the days blur into weeks then months. Next thing you know, it's been a year. Some people call that being in a rut I guess. I was lucky when I was working that my job was never the same from day to day. Now, I have to create my own "new-ness" to each day. 

This is the campsite. Nice, concrete pads. Luckily the weather cooled off tremendously or Liberty would have baked on that concrete. 

View out the door. When I chose this site, I chose poorly. The afternoon sun hits Liberty broadside. There were other campsites available, but I forgot to check the sun directions. Oh well.

The intake structure at Saylorville Dam. It is typical of the dams built in late 50's and early 60's.

A bench with a view and shade at the Lake Visitor Center. There was a bus load of school kids visiting today. They were mostly well behaved. They were the second field trip group I saw today. 

I saw this as I was wandering around the lake. Instead of an RV park, it is a Houseboat Park. 

I went exploring downtown Des Moines today. I had heard about a park full of statues. I have seen places like this twice in my travels. The first time was in Wausau, Wisconsin and the largest and best so far was in Loveland, Colorado. The first one I stumbled upon, the second one I searched for and found it. This one in Des Moines I found during research. It is not as good as the others, but it was still nice. The weather was perfect for the walking among the statues. I don't have any information about each one. The statue garden in Loveland had plaques that gave information about the statues which was good. So, not every picture will have captions. 

I didn't like this statue. It appeared evil to me. Bad vibs

This one seemed to loom over all the others. I guess it helped with the "space-age" office building in the background.

This is the second field trip group. This group was well behaved as well.

A fig?

Judging by the path worn in the grass leading to this statue, it is the most popular one of the bunch.

How about a stone conference table and chairs?

Freedom is parked in the background.

I was hungry after walking around the statues so I found this real deli. It is owned and operated by a Rabbi and he said it is the only Kosher Deli in Iowa.

I was wanted a Rueben but couldn't get one because eating meat and cheese at the same time isn't Kosher. The Rabbi quoted the Old Testament text but I wasn't familiar with it. So instead I got a corned beef on Rye with a "half-sour" pickle and a Buckwheat Knish. The knish was surprisingly good but the pickle was so hard I had to slice it into bite-size pieces to eat it. The corned beef was good, but I should have gotten sour kraut on it. The meal wasn't super great, but trying new things is what it's all about, except when a Taco Bell is near. 

Liberty is coming up on her eighth birthday this year. I think she has held up pretty good considering she has been towed nearly 50,000 miles on some very rough roads. But, things are going to happen when traveling and you have to adapt and overcome. Something happened after filling up her fresh water tanks at this campground. I filled up her tank at the potable water station near the campground entrance. After setting up in the campsite, I notice fresh water dripping from her underbelly. There isn't anything in that area and that has never happened before. There are four connections to the fresh water tank. They are, the gravity fill, the vent, the drain and the outlet to the water pump. Today is day three and it is down to a drip every several minutes. I think the water is still coming from the initial source that ponded on the coraplast underbelly covering. The fresh water tank isn't leaking or else it would have drained out by now and the amount of water dripping from under Liberty would be a constant flow. It hasn't. The flow rate has steadily decrease since day one. I bought a scope and tried to see under the coraplast covering but couldn't see anything useful. I thought maybe her water heater had a leak but she is still creating hot water. If it had a leak, the water level would have dropped enough to expose the heating element which would have burned out once exposed. So the water heater is good. It shouldn't be a leak from a water line because the lines were not under pressure at the time the leaking started because the pump had not been turned on which would have pressurized the lines.

My best guess is my gravity fill line or vent line has a leak. This would explain why the rate of flow has reduced over the three day. After using water, the level in the tank has dropped below the point where those two line enter the tank. The only way to confirm this and replace the lines is to cut into sections of the coraplast underbelly. This can be done without a problem but I don't want to do it unless absolutely necessary. So, I'll wait and see if the problem repeats itself at the next campground. Traveling down the road should get rid of any residual water in the underbelly. We will see how it all works out. 

It's a small price to pay for the freedom of traveling.

Thursday is moving day and I'll be going to a state park on the Iowa/Nebraska border. It will be another campground that I'll be revisiting. Before I leave Des Moines, I'll pick up a few steaks to take with me. There is a grocery store here named, HyVee that has the greatest steaks I've tasted in a very, very long time. The store is similar to H.E.B.'s in Texas.  

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.