Davenport, Iowa.....13th to 15th October 2017....

We arrived yesterday and had a great reunion with our friends, Bill, Myra, Janis & Jimmy....
Today in a torrential thunder storm we all head over the Mississippi River into Illinois and a visit to the John Deere Museum....

The John Deere Museum....
Fascinating collection of early and modern equipment of the iconic John Deere brand...

Yorkieman getting to grips with the controls...
I did try to get a good photo of the big combine harvester but failed miserably !!!
An interesting couple of hours and thank goodness it's inside !!!!

This evening we all head back across the river for a dinner cruise aboard The Celebration Belle...

Due to the storms it's getting dark earlier but hey ho we still have a fun time eating, drinking and entertained by the resident cabaret and the prime rib was delicious....

Storm clouds gathering and will soon be a mass of lightening...
The captain announces that he will have to return to dock earlier than planned due to another storm front but we are fed and watered and ok with getting back to the hotel for a nightcap or two....

Sunday 15th October..
Sad farewells to our friends, they are headed back to Georgia and us to Kellogg on back roads visiting the Amana Colonies on route...

The Amana Colonies were originally a group of Germans escaping persecution who founded  6 villages, living off of the land and self contained....
As ever with coming of the railroad and paved roads their life changed and the outside world caught up with them....the area is now mostly a tourist attraction although the outlying villages are still farming communities...

Autumn is upon us....

Yorkieman being spontaneous :) Amazing as it is really cold !!

Interesting visit and a good stop over on our journey home...

We love traveling the back roads and finding buildings like this in a very small community and quirky things like the locals playing Kubb....this turns out to be a game similar to horseshoes but played with "batons" and a lot more complicated !!

By the time we get to Grinnell, a college town (surprisingly to us the college was founded in 1840) the sun is shinning.....

We just love these traditional small town buildings....

Opps....
We arrived back home and all is well...we had a fabulous weekend of fun, food and fellowship... tomorrow is a rest day just stocking up on supplies and fueling up ready to move on to St Joseph, Missouri on Tuesday...
Until the next time it's bye for now from
The Happy Campers....

Henderson and Kellogg, Iowa.....10th to 12th October 2017...

Cold overnight and warning light on truck this morning "add coolant" !!
Luckily we could buy some from the truck stop just the other side of the interstate from our RV Park and after a nice chat with fellow campers we are "On The Road Again" listening to our American Road Trip CD and heading east once more on the I-80...it's a longer drive today at just under 300 miles but plenty of very good rest areas on route for quick comfort stops...
It's mainly a wet, dull and dreary day so good to see some cheerful water-towers !!!!
Most of today's journey is again corn fields but it is what it is and fascinating...

We cross The Missouri River just after midday and enter Iowa....
There has been an incredible amount of "oversize load" 18 wheelers going in the opposite direction mainly hauling wind turbine blades...

Another cheery face as the rain gets heavier...

Field corn....most of the corn grown in these parts is not sweetcorn but field corn used for oil, feed and ethanol to name a few...
We arrive at Kellogg RV Park a bit weary and ready for a couple of bevies,  fridge stew and a good night's sleep...

Thursday 12th October...
From our base at Kellogg it's a pleasant hour drive through small communities to Madison County where the book Bridges of Madison County was based...
We did call in on route at a Chevrolet garage for two new wiper blades and hey it worked later on today the sun comes out !!
The first stop is at the Holliwell Bridge via an unpaved road...

After some wrong turns and thinking we are lost we find the Imes Bridge in St Charles... a very nice small town with a lovely welcome centre and staff....
Sorry for naff photo as it looks like the bridge is leaning but just camera angle...I did notice later on the publicity info of the bridges that several of the photos are the same as mine !!!

And onto Winterset the main tourist town for the bridges and we discover also home town of John Wayne...
This is the house where he was born...

The John Wayne Museum...
I'm not a fan at all so sorry didn't visit the museum...

Love this old fire truck....

The old fire station....and opps could that be a water-tower...well last blog there wasn't one at all so making up for it !!!!

Main street, Winterset...

The Roseman Bridge....it is here that they did a lot of the filming for the film....
A good day out and thinking we must read the book again....
Back home via testing out a route around Des Moines for when we tow back this way next Tuesday to start heading south...
Tomorrow we will leave our home on wheels at the RV Park and head for Davenport for the weekend to meet up with good friends....
I did try to upload a video of the blackbirds "swarming" but it wouldn't work...for anyone who is also a Facebook friend it is on my time line...
Until the next post...
Yorkieman and Mrs Blogger....

Scott's Bluff to Henderson, Nebraska...6th to 8th October...

Our first stop today is an appointment at Nebraskaland Tire & Service to have our home on wheels re-shod....after the tyre blow out we had investigated replacing the other 3 which is now accomplished...
Just 173 miles today taking us south east through small communities following the North Platte River and the railroad !!!
This turkey must be getting a bit worried with Thanksgiving next month !!  

It's a grey and drizzly day but hey here we are at the railroad...

Getting very autumnal....
This was our lunch sandwich spot at an Historic Marker pullout, we are still on the early settlers trail....
By the time we got close to our stay for the next couple of nights in North Platte the rain is torrential....but can't always have sunny skies....

But the next morning it's bright and sunny and perfect for a look-see of the area...
This is the best we can do for a cowboy for you Alan S....

A fun spot near our campsite...

And the very best part of the day is a visit to the Golden Spike Tower and a panoramic view of the Bailey Yard....
These photos do not do it justice at all...It's in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest rail yard, covering 2,850 acres handling 14,000 rail cars every 24 hours !!!

The white railcar in background is on the east "hump" one of two at the yard..
I have lifted a description from their website which explains the "humps" better than I can !!

about 3,000 cars are sorted daily in the yard’s eastward and westward yards, nicknamed "hump" yards. Using a mound cresting 34 feet for eastbound trains and 20 feet for those heading west, the hump yards allow four cars a minute to roll gently into any of 114 "bowl" tracks. Here they become part of trains headed for destinations in the East, West and Gulf Coasts of America, as well as the Canadian and Mexican borders. An average of 139 trains per day, comprised of raw and finished goods, such as automobiles, coal, grain, corn, sugar, chemicals, steel and consumer goods, including electronics, apparel and other retail products, are handled at Bailey Yard.

The locomotive maintenance sheds...

Fascinating to watch (especially to a lover of the railroad !!) 
We had been aware of this yard pre this road trip we think from the excellent Michael Portillo Railroad series on BBC...

Sunday 8th October and back on the I-80 east....
Just 170 miles today mainly corn fields and small communities...The road basically following the North Platte River....
Coming up to Kearney and Monument Archway...
We love the camper in front, it is actually a VW Camper towing a half camper/trailer !!

The Bridge and Museum is a monument to Nebraska and The Platte River Valley's role in westward expansion with the Mormon, Oregon & California Trails converging at nearby Fort Kearney....

And so to Henderson and The Prairie Oasis Campground and our home for the next 2 nights...this is another fabulous park with the most delightful owners, Todd and Patty and not just because Patty gave us home baked cookies on arrival !!!
This 1966 Chevrolet Impala was bought by Todd's grandmother in May 1966 and is immaculate with only 60,000 on the clock...one careful lady owner !!!
This site is so peaceful the only sound being the American blackbirds swarming to gorge on the field corn before flying south...I'm hoping I have a photo for the next blog entry but for now it's Tiffin time...
Cheers for now from Yorkieman and Mrs Blogger....

Scott's Bluff Hike and Carhenge, Nebraska....3rd & 4th October.....

After the heavy rain then overnight frost it's a beautiful blue sky morning and is a lovely warm day...
The view from our  RV Park of The Five Rocks....

And our exercise today is the hike to the the top of Scott's Bluff...
1.6 miles and 400 ft elevation change to the top....

Yorkieman enjoying the view across the valley at the entrance to the tunnel....

Through the tunnel and across the saddle...

The stunning view back down the trail.....

The summit road and one of the road tunnels taken from the top...

Dave...not bad for a lunch sandwich spot !!....
Then the hike back down....

With the ox wagon this view brings to life why these marker bluffs and fertile valley were so important to the early settlers...
We have so enjoyed being out and getting exercise and fresh air in this beautiful and peaceful area....
And the day is not over....delicious slow cooked pulled pork for dinner (Yorkieman's secret recipe)...

Wednesday 4th October...and now as they say for something completely different !!!
Today we drive north east to Alliance and Carhenge...
Built by Jim Reinders who was inspired to create a replica Stonehenge after spending 7 years as a petroleum engineer in England...

It's a bit chilly !!!!!

Built in 1987 on his family land ready for the summer solstice....

Quirky and good fun...another find from Yorkieman's Roadside America website...

Today's lunch sandwich is at a rest stop by the railroad...yay....mostly coal railcars in this area...
Then home via a different route but again quiet and good rural roads, mainly just us and the trucks hauling sugar-beet...there is a big sugar refinery on the edge of the town of Scott's Bluff....
Another very good day for Yorkieman and Mrs Blogger....
Until the next time...