From South Dakota to Milwaukee, WI

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, we rushed through several states on this trip because of the heat and smoke. Below is a picture I was able to capture as we rushed past the South Dakota sign at the state border.

We stayed at a South Dakota State Recreation area called Rocky Point. It was nice but everything has been so dry and windy. Rocky Point was no exception. You can see just how dry the land is in the picture below.

Our site (12E) was nice and had some shade, which we needed since it was still averaging around 100f (38c) each day. We backed up to the water but there was very little breeze so, sadly, we still had to run the air conditioner all night long.

We spent 2 nights here which gave us a chance to enjoy some of the more glamorous parts of RV living – laundry and groceries.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but if you are new to our blog let me just share this fun fact about Joel, anytime we get near water he needs to touch it to see if it is warm or cold. I like being near the water so I’m glad that Joel does too. Here is a picture of Joel checking out the water near Rocky Point.

Here is another picture of a sign as we rushed by trying to escape the heat. We did stop at Mount Rushmore a couple of years ago. If you are ever in the area make a point to visit Custer State Park. It was amazing! There are so many bison roaming around that you can’t help but see them as you drive by. They also have wild burros that are so friendly they will come right up to you. I’ve included a couple of pictures from our time there in 2019. And here is a link to my blog post from that trip.

On the eastern side of South Dakota is Lake Herman State Park. Another campsite we can recommend. We spent just one night here but would stay again if we are in the area.

A bit east of the South Dakota/Minnesota border is Pipestone National Monument. We stopped here for a stamp in our passport book. But, like most of the parks within the National Park system, we discovered more than we expected. We continue to say that we have learned so much more about our history and our country than we ever did in school.

“Sustaining the Sacred – American Indians have utilized the resources of the pipestone prairie for countless generations to sustain themselves during their stay at the quarries. The bison and elk that once roamed the area provided meat, clothing and tools. The prairie plants were important as food, as well as for medicinal and religious purposes.

Much of the tall grass prairie in the United States has been lost to development, and only one percent of the original parries remains today. Since 1937 Pipestone National Monument has protected a remnant of this threatened ecosystem, helping sustain a connection for American Indians with their sacred pipestone quarries.” – National Park Service

We met a couple of Indian artists who were working with pipestone. We spoke first to Travis Erickson, a fourth generation self-taught artist. He is currently working in the quarries and told us quite a bit about the pipes he makes and the stone itself. We learned that the stone is a relatively soft clay stone with can be carved into many different shapes and items. I bought a small piece of jewelry from Terry Rose Beek, a fourth generation artist who learned to carve pipestone from her mother, Rose Lightning. Getting the chance to speak to an artist is one of my favorite things to do. As an artist myself it is always so nice to learn about different techniques for creating art.

About 20 min. south of Pipestone National Monument is a tiny church on the side of the road. Joel found this on Roadside America, which is one of the places he finds the crazy roadside attractions we always make time to stop and see.

We continued on to the Flying Goose Campground. It was a few miles off the road but so worth it. This was a peaceful, quiet campground where we wish we could have spent more time. It was here that we started to realize we had made it past the dry western climate. Joel asked the owner how he waters all the grass. The owner, looking at Joel like he was crazy for asking such a question, said that they don’t water the grass – it just rains enough to keep it green.

The Flying Goose campground is located on a lake and has a small beach for campers to use.

It was in Minnesota that we began a week during which we did what I have been calling our “food tour”. Our first stop, Blue Earth, Minnesota, home of the Jolly Green Giant welcome center and museum. “The Giant has stood in Blue Earth since 1979 due to the efforts of radio station owner Paul Hedberg. He hosted a show in Blue Earth entitled “Welcome Travelers,” where he would interview people as they passed through town. He gave them Green Giant vegetables (canned in a local factory) at the end of each show, and the guests would sometimes ask, “Where’s the Green Giant?”” – RoadsideAmerica.com

The museum is free. And the gift shop has all things Jolly Green Giant.

After a visit to see the Giant museum we made a quick stop for gas and were surprised to see an actual demolition derby car parked in the lot (and, yes, that is a truck with a snow plow – because, of course, you need a snow plow in the middle of summer).

Our second stop on this “food tour” was to the Spam Museum in the cute town of Austin, Minnesota. “Deviled ham and Salisbury steak are lunchroom staples. But SPAM is the undisputed king of mystery meat. Made of pig parts and secret spices, cooked in its own cans right on the assembly line, SPAM rolls out of its far-flung factories at a rate of 44,000 cans an hour.” – RoadsideAmerica.com

This is another free museum. And worth a stop if you are in the area.

After the Spam Museum we left Minnesota (I mean, is there really anything that can top a visit to see SPAM?!?) and entered our 46th state – Wisconsin.

We spend a night at an ‘o.k.’ campground and moved on to the next stop of our food tour – a mustard museum (which was also free) in Middleton, Wisconsin.

“The National Mustard Museum (formerly the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum) is a museum near U.S. 14 in the heart of downtown Middleton, Wisconsin. It boasts a large display of prepared mustards. It is often featured in lists of unusual museums in the United States.” – Wikipedia

We ended our tour of the museum with a mustard tasting (we didn’t even know this was a thing).

After buying some mustard (I mean, how can you not?) we headed towards Milwaukee to see an old friend we lost touch with about 30 years ago. One of the good things about facebook is that it can help you find people you haven’t seen in awhile.

We met up with Donna and Paula, intending to only stay for a couple of nights. But they offered to move their trailer out of their driveway and let us park there for free. Then they talked us into staying longer than we expected, so we did. It was great! We had a chance to visit. And while we stayed there we were able to take care of a few things, like cleaning off all the bugs we hit when we drove through a few swarms back in Montana and South Dakota.

It is not often we get to play tourist with a local, so while in Milwaukee we decided to do a couple of touristy things that Donna and Paula had not done; the first, a bike ride through a downtown park.

After a grueling one hour ride we all agreed with Paula – it sucked! It was hot out and it was too hard to pedal. And everywhere we went it felt like we were pedaling uphill, ugh!!!!!

The other touristy thing we did was visit a cheese castle – I mean, c’mon, Wisconsin is full of cheeseheads! – and when you are in the dairyland state you need to try their dairy. This was the fourth, and final, stop on our ‘food tour’.

We bought all Wisconsin cheeses and meats to make a delicious charcuterie board for dinner. It was also the first time we tried cheese curds (in the bowl at the top right of the board). I’m not sure we are cheese curd fans but they were interesting to try.

One thing we found really fascinating is that Donna and Paula raise butterflies. We learned so much from them and had a chance to see these amazing critters up close.

Paula told us she spent several years living in Hawaii. And that she loves spam. So we ended our stay with a traditional Hawaiian dish of eggs, rice and spam (which we brought with us from the spam museum, of course).