Day 7: The Great Sibling Trip 2017

About Us

            We are a brother (Detroit, MI) and sister (Houston, TX) who love to travel together to parts unknown. This year my sister flew into Detroit and we began our journey West. Stops include Davenport, IA, the Amana Colonies in Amana, IA, Marengo, IA, Des Moines, IA, Omaha, NE, Grand Island, NE, Rapid City, SD, Sioux Falls, SD, several cities in MN including Mankato, MN, Wisconsin Dells, WI, Marinette, WI, Mackinaw City, MI and back to Detroit.

            We are also stopping for selfies and pictures along the way at some very interesting and unusual out of the way places that you will see in the blog. Enjoy!

Fun Facts:

• Total Miles Driven so far: 2,240
• Average Miles Per Gallon today: 59.5 MPG
• Car being driven: 2016 Prius 4
• Miles Driven Today: Over 240 Miles
• Speed Limit in South Dakota on I-90: 80 MPH
• Speed Limit in Minnesota on I-90: 70 MPH

     We were busy today but not as much as the past few days so there won't be too much in the way of text to protect the innocent.

Geocaching
     We did some geocaching in South Dakota and Minnesota. We found several geocaches in both states.

Midwest geocache

Signing the log

Midwest geocache

Midwest geocache

Midwest geocache

What a clever geocache

Graves / Cemetery
     We visited the cemetery where our relatives are buried to pay our respects. It is out in the country in the middle of farmer's fields.

     There is also a grave stone that was discovered buried under a few feet of dirt of a veteran. They cleaned the stone off and placed it on top of the grave site.

     A few years ago we were here and the grave digger told us about a Fairy Circle that appeared in the cemetery. Legend has it that if a teepee had been standing for a long time in one spot, the oils from the hides would drip down on the ground causing the ground to be more fertile.  The result is a circle of darker grass and at certain times of the year, large mushrooms grow in the circle of dark grass.

Fairy Circle

Fairy Circle

Our summer town revisit
     When we were children, we used to visit this town all the time. We try to come back to it when we drive through the state and see how it has changed.

Relatives
     We visited with several relatives on the way to our next destination but to protect their privacy, I won't add pictures here.

Hystad Cabin
     On our drive through the Minnesota county, we ran across the Hystad Cabin. Here are some pictures of it.

Day 4: The Great Sibling Trip 2017

About Us

            We are a brother (Detroit, MI) and sister (Houston, TX) who love to travel together to parts unknown. This year my sister flew into Detroit and we began our journey West. Stops include Davenport, IA, the Amana Colonies in Amana, IA, Marengo, IA, Des Moines, IA, Omaha, NE, Grand Island, NE, Rapid City, SD, Sioux Falls, SD, several cities in MN including Mankato, MN, Wisconsin Dells, WI, Marinette, WI, Mackinaw City, MI and back to Detroit.
            We are also stopping for selfies and pictures along the way at some very interesting and unusual out of the way places that you will see in the blog. Enjoy!

      Today was a LONG drive; well over 440 miles from Grand Island, NE all the way to Rapid City, SD. Our route today took us along I-80 West to Ogallala, NE. From there we went Northeast along the Western Trails Scenic and Historic Byway route along Route 26 and Route 385 to South Dakota. Towns included Lewellen, Oshkosh, Bridgeport, Alliance, Hemingford.

     Total miles driven at the end of day 4 of our trip? 1,500
     Average miles per gallon today? 56.9 MPG

Cowboy Boot Fence Post Covers
     Along the way between Bridgeport and Alliance, we stopped to take pictures of a fence that had a cowboy boot on the top of every fence post.

 Wide Load
    After that stop, somehow we found ourselves following a HUGE wide load carried by an 18 wheeler flatbed (the load was maybe 16' wide on the 18 wheeler trailer) and the Wide Load safety truck was right behind us. This wide load was going 71 miles per hour on the back roads of Nebraska! Finally it slowed and stopped in the middle of the road. We cautiously began to pass it on the right when it all of a sudden began turning right in front of us. We stopped and the safety truck following us came up next to us with his window down and he was screaming at us for being where we were. Oh well...

Model A and old car convoy ahoy!
     After the wide load experience we were just getting back on track with our speed and up ahead we spotted a slow moving car. The speed limit was 65 and they were going 30. Even 18 wheelers were having to pass them on a two lane road. We must have passed at least 20 of them but failed to take a picture of them. Each one had a big door sticker on the driver's side with a number. I think they were following the Oregon Trail.

Courthouse and Jail Rocks
     Next we stopped at the Courthouse and Jail Rocks. They are out in the middle of nowhere and shown below. The actual location is South of Bridgeport, NE. You could see them for miles.

Carhenge
    After lunch at a great restaurant called Ken and Dales we drove to Carhenge. It is supposed to simulate Stonehenge and was created by Jim Reinders. It was pretty cool. A lot of pigeons have made the old cars their home.

 

     One welcome surprise was finding that 385 in South Dakota was for the most part an excellent divided highway with a 65 MPH speed limit. It was free sailing all the way to Rapid City, SD.

     One thing is for sure; the flying bugs are out in full force. We had bug smears all over the windshield so we were happy to see a car wash at the station we filled up in. Gas here is $2.38 per gallon right now.