Another Journey completed

The sun has set on another MacGregor Adventure (well, this photo is actually sunrise in Great Falls, but who would know?) We have returned safe and sound, except for some dints in the truck, and a big divot in the trailer, thanks to our "run in" with the deer.

Our amazing driver has taken us another 10, 273 km, through three provinces and eight states, six of which we had never been through.

We had a great time with family and friends, and once again, saw many wonderful and monumental sights.

It may be a while before we take on another adventure like this, maybe we will just try camping in one spot for a week or so....

If you have been following us along our journey, thanks for reading! Janie, as always, you are our number one follower!!!

We hope you have enjoyed our photos and stories, and remember to always stop along the way to see the sights and learn something new.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Augustine (354 - 430 BC)

The large and the small

Billings KOA in Montana was the very first Kampground of America, opening in 1962, trying to entice campers to stay on their way to the World's Fair, being held in Seattle. Most KOAs are a great place to stay; clean, safe and with lots of activities to do. We have seen many different types of campers, but this is a good example of the two extremes! These two were parked on either side of us in Billings.

Oreo's favourite spot

This is where Oreo chose to spend much of her travelling time! The console between the front seats of the truck is just the right size for a dog, or two!

Hershey prefers to sleep under the back seat, or to sit on my lap looking out the window.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

As the legend goes, seven native girls were picking berries in the forest when they came across a bear. As the bear chased them, the girls ran up onto a rock. They prayed to the spirits to save them, and their pleas were heard. The spirits made the rock grow higher and higher. The bear was angry at losing his prey and tried to climb up the rock, digging his claws into the sides and making grooves, but he could not reach the girls. The girls, now safe from the bear, had another problem, as they could not get down from the rock. The spirits took them into the sky where they became the cluster of stars known as the seven sisters.

As geologists tell it, this formation is all that remains of a volcano after millions of years of erosion.

Which explanation do you like better?

Or, you could just go with the movie version where it was the landing spot for the alien ship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

An amazing sight, regardless of your version of history!

Crazy Horse Memorial

The second American attempt to leave a lasting impression for eternity by carving a mountain, lies about 10 minutes from our campground, in the opposite direction of Mt. Rushmore. Crazy Horse will be a magnificent sculpture honouring the Native American warrior. In 1948 this sculpture was started by a single man, working on his own, with blasting powder and a jack hammer. Over time, he started to involve his wife, and his 10 children. The entire project is funded by private donations, and the park entrance fees. They do not accept any government support, mostly due to philosophical reasons.

The plan is to sculpt the entire mountain, and this will take many years to finish, probably generations. The sculptor’s family has taken on this project and are proceeding as fast as money and time will allow.

When it is finished, it will be truly amazing!

There was also a laser light show on the side of the mountain at night, with music, stories, coloured lights that lit up the whole mountain, and lasers to rival any rock concert or planetarium show!!

The bottom photo shows a model of the finished sculpture from inside the visitor centre, superimposed over the existing project.

Mt. Rushmore

Does Rianna look like she could fit in as the 5th President on the Mountain? Maybe not, but she is way cuter than those grumpy old men!!

It is quite an impressive sight, but at night, it is even more amazing. Unfortunately, the night photos did not work very well, too far up for my camera.During the evening presentation a ranger gave a great talk on why they chose these particular men and

how their contributions to US history were most significant.

It definitely makes us want to watch the 2nd National Treasure movie again!

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

"I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride, I’m wanted, wanted, dead or alive!”

This could be the theme song for Sturgis, South Dakota this week, during the 71^st Annual Motorcycle Rally. Every year, motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the world, ride or bring their bikes to the Sturgis area for a week of Hog Heaven! Approximately 650,000 bikers come to this event (the population of SD is only about 750,000 in total). Many of these bikers camp for the time they are here. We saw a ton of huge motor homes pulling utility trailers with their motorbikes inside. There are bikes on the highways everywhere: Harleys, crotch rockets, bikes with sidecars, with mini trailers, CanAm spyders, choppers, and custom made machines. We saw one that was a motorbike in the front and a Volkswagen beetle in the back.

This photo is the main street in Deadwood, famous hangout of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Every space on the street and parking lots were full of bikes, so we could not even stop to look around.

The towns in this area cater to the riders with tons of T-shirts and riding paraphenalia. There are beer gardens and pubs full of bikers everywhere. There was some fairly big name entertainment, too. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Toby, Keith, Ted Nugent, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Gregg Allman, Styx, Bachmann Turner, Poison, George Thorogood, Leon Russell, Edgar Winter…. I am sure some people just come for the entertainment. You could even get your bike washed by bikini babes in leather outfits! Sean was disappointed that he missed the midget bowling!

Hill City KOA

We have found one of our new favourite campgrounds, near Hill City in South Dakota. It is about half an hour from Rapid City, right between Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. It won the President's Award for the best KOA campground last year. It has 2 pools, hot tubs, spray pool, waterslide, basktball, bike trails, horseback riding, mini golf, horseshoes, nightly movies, live entertainment, pancake breakfasts, scavenger hunts, quad rentals, wine tasting from local wineries, restaurant, pub, ice cream, fudge, wings & pizza parlour. What else could you possibly need from a campground in the middle of the Black Hills?

Wall, South Dakota

The Wall Drug store is a famous tourist attraction around these here parts! It started in 1931 as a small town drug store struggling to stay in business. When they got the idea to provide free ice water to travellers driving through the badlands, and advertised on the highway, business started to pick up. The advertisement boards for Wall Drug start about 400 miles away from the town. They are just old fashioned signs, simple and to the point, but they sure get you interested!

The store covers a whole block in town, and has a "backyard" complete with Jack-a-lopes and a dinosaur. They sell knives, clothes, food, and every tourist trinket imaginable.

So if you happen to be driving through the Badlands of South Dakota, be sure to check out Wall Drug!

Sunflowers in South Dakota

There are not many sights as beautiful as a field of sunflowers. I guess I should have made David stop the car - would have made for a better photo.

Minnesota Twins vs. Boston Red Sox

We were unable to get tickets to the game in Chicago, probably because they were playing the Yankees. We did get tickets to the game here, though. We were way farther out and up than the Jays game, but with 40,000 people in attendance, I guess that is to be expected. It was a good game, but the Jays game was more fun!

Mall of America - Minnesota

Next stop on our list of “things we do for our kids” is a trip to the Mall of America, just outside of Minneapolis. This is the biggest mall in the US, not sure how it compares to West Edmonton Mall in size, but we think this one has more stores, and for sure is in much nicer shape simply because it is newer. There are three floors of stores, and then another floor with move theatres and bowling lanes. It has an amusement park in the middle, with some pretty cool rides. There is also an aquarium.

Interesting Fact for any Little House on the Prairie Fans out there – I am typing this while we are driving and we just past the sign for the homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder in De Smet, South Dakota.

Back to the Mall – It had most of the good stores that you would expect, as well as a number that we have never come across. We found a few good deals, but nothing over the top. We did manage to find out new favourite game, Sequence, which is a great family card game that the Gage’s played with us at the beginning of our trip.

Rianna had been looking forward to this little shopping trip for a long time, and I think it lived up to her expectations!

Corn for miles and miles and miles...

We have now figured out where America grows all the corn that it needs!! With high fructose corn syrup being in so many things they need it! Corn is also used for cattle feed, fuel, and good old-fashioned corn on the cob! There is sooooo much corn grown in this part of the country, it is truly amazing!

Chicago, a busy town!

We were amazed at how huge the Chicago area is! We were staying at a KOA Campground on the NW side of town, one of only a handful of campgrounds in the area. We ended up doing the same thing as when we visited New York City, we drove for about ½ an hour to the nearest commuter train station, and then rode the train for about an hour and a half into downtown Chicago. The commuter train was two stories high, and since we got on at the first stop, we had prime seats. The trip down the Hudson River to New York was quite beautiful, whereas the ride into Chicago was just village after village.

We figured the train would be a little busy as there was a Cubs MLB game that afternoon. David had actually been trying to get tickets to this game, but it was pretty much sold out, and we were not willing to sit in single seats. What we didn’t realize was that the Chicago Bears were having their first open practice and so tons of families were going to see that, and this weekend was also the Lollapalooza Festival in Grant Park. There were over 140 bands playing including Eminem, Coldplay, and Foster the People who happened to be playing as we drove by. There were thousands of people going to this festival and so parts of Grant and Millenium Park were not accessible at all. It also meant that the train was standing room only on the way into town, and the way back at 10:30!

Chicago, bigger and better

Since we only had one day to dedicate to our tour of Chicago, we decided to do a Hop on – Hop off tour that a lot of big cities have. You travel around on a double-decker bus with a tour guide explaining all the history and sights. There are a number of designated stops on the tour where you can get off and explore, and then just get back on when you are ready to continue. This is a very good introduction to a big city, and then you can use extra days to see museums, or whatever else you might be interested in.

I did not realize that Chicago had so many beautiful buildings. Four of the six tallest buildings in the US are in Chicago. The top two are the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, and Trump Towers. It was very interesting to see so many architectural styles, and see the development of skyrise buildings, all in one place! There is also beautiful art and sculpture throughout the downtown area. A hit with David was the huge fountain from the opening scene of Marriend with Children. Being such a movie buff, David also got a big kick out of recognizing scenes from where they filmed movies like Adventures in Babysitting and Blue Brothers. We just saw the new Transformers movie in Ottawa, and it was filmed here. It was really cool to drive by places and recognize them from the movies they were in.

Chicago, an architectural marvel

These are two of our favourite buildings. The Corncob towers were built in the 60”s when the infrastructure of the downtown area was very spread out. The architect was trying to make more of a self-contained ‘village’. The top of the round building is all apartments; the bottom section is the garage where you need to drive very slowly in reverse! At the base of the towers were restaurants, shops and a movie theatre.

This wavy looking building was my favourite. The award-winning apartment building was designed by a female architect in 2009. It is called Aqua. The changing shape of the balconies on the apartments give it the flowing , liquid shape. It looks super cool in real life!

Chicago, Navy Pier

The Navy Pier in Chicago has shops, bars, museums, exhibits and carnival rides. It juts out into the bottom of Lake Michigan, where the water is a beautiful turquoise green.

Chicago, fantastic food!

We saved the best for last! For dinner we went to Gino’s East for Deep Dish Pizza. This place was featured on the show Man vs. Food for its authentic Chicago food. There was a huge line up to get in, but it was worth the wait! They make it about three inches deep, with cheese on the bottom, toppings, and then the sauce on top. I don’t think it would be possible to pick it up and eat it with your hands because it is so thick and juicy; it was definitely a knife and fork type of pizza. Sean could barely eat two pieces because it was so big, and that never happens. It was absolutely delicious!

Point Pelee Wetlands

I had to do one more entry about the Wetlands at Point Pelee as marshes are one of my favourite places in the world!! This one is actually designated a United Nations Wetland of International Significance because of it's importance to migration routes. It is also a Dark Sky Preserve which is an area of reduced light pollution (simplified definition).

As the kids and I were standing on the edge of this boardwalk, we could here this loud noise, sort of like a croaking and slurping put together. If you know me, you understand that I had to investigate! (Sean often scathingly tells me that I have to turn every experience into a science or a history lesson!) Anyway, our short investigation showed us that the huge carp, like you would see in a Chinese restaurant display pool, were swimming between the reeds, and slurping up the plants and bugs growing at the surface. It was such a cool sound that I actually had to video tape it!! We later confirmed this hypothesis with the ranger at the visitor station.

If you look closely between the lily pads in the bottom photo you can see another exciting reptilian science lesson! I have not had a chance to research what kind it is, but it's not a friendly little garter snake for sure! We saw him during a hike through the marsh on a boardwalk that was about one kilometre long - it was awesome! At times the reeds were at least 8 feet tall, and even David could not see anything over them. I have a great photo of a tern flying right at my head as she thought we were getting too close to her nest which was at least 10 yards out in the marsh.

Point Pelee National Park was a great experience to add to our list of amazing things we have seen in Canada!

What a Day!

I am choosing this picture because it calm and serene, everything that our day today was not! We left Point Pelee today, driving through Windsor, Detroit, across the top of Indianna, and through the Chicago area. The highway from Detroit to Chicago was like six hours on the Deerfoot in rush hour, with a semi trailer convention in every city along the way. It was probably our toughest driving experience with the trailer, ever! David did a great job, as always, but we are sure glad this day is done!

Point Pelee

Point Pelee is the southernmost tip of mainland Canada (there is a Point Pelee Island that is further south). It lies at the 42 parallel, which is the same as Rome, and Northern California. This allows it to have a unique ecosystem, and many different types of animals and plants. It is an Internationally recognized area of importance for bird migration, as well as for monarch butterflies travelling to Mexico.

The Last of Our Great Lakes

This has officially become the MacGregor Family Great Lakes Tour! Here is everyone, even Oreo, touching Lake Erie, which is the last of the lakes for us to touch! When you drive through, around, and under them, you get a really good appreciation for how huge they are!

Niagara Falls at Night

If we thought it seemed like Las Vegas before, it is even more similar at night! We went down on Sunday night to see the fireworks over the falls. At night, the falls are lit up with huge spotlights that change colour. There are tons of vendors who sell bubble machines as well, so there are lots of little kids making bubbles everywhere, which is also pretty cool. We went to the very top level of the falls where the stone wall, which is about chest high, is three feet away from where the water pours down over the top of the falls. It is a really, really freaky feeling being that close to so much power, even though you know there is no way you could possibly fall in! The only drawback was that it was hugely busy being the Sunday of a long weekend. We were quite surprised at what a draw this area seems to be for Middle Eastern and Indian tourists. We often felt like we were not in Canada anymore.

Rianna's idea of Bliss!

Here was a happy surprise, a Hershey store! We visited the original store in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and did not even know that there was one in Niagara Falls. This very large Peanut Butter Cup was first on Rianna’s list of things to buy. She figured that she would have absolutely no problem eating it all herself!!

If you happen to be talking to Cale, ask him if he enjoyed his version of the Hershey Drop Scramble!

Farewell from the Falls

We're all still smiling, so it must have been a good two weeks!

Go Karts go Great!

Would you trust driving on the roads with any of these characters?

Sean had a few spin outs trying to take those corners at 100 kmph ( well, maybe not quite that fast) but everyone had great fun!

Last Day with the Boys

We had a good last day with the boys! We were staying at the KOA and they always have lots to do.Taylor and Rianna went swimming in the pool, while the boys played football. They opened the jumping pillow so they went for a bit of a bounce! Poor Sean had to watch.

For our last fun activity we went and did Go Karts. Taylor was tall enough that he could drive his own, and was very excited about this!! When we were done, Laura and Gloria picked them up and whisked them away to Toronto and the flight home. It was only a matter of hours until we heard the first "I wish Cale and Taylor were still here...."

More Maid of the Mist photos

The photo with David and Gloria shows the American Falls in the background, very beautiful, but not the classic picture of Niagara Falls. The boat goes forward, right into the misty part at the bottom - I guess that's why they call it Maid of the Mist, right?

Maid of the Mist

Most of us have heard about the Maid of the Mist Boat Tours at Niagara Falls, and I must admit it lives up to the hype!!! The boat goes past the American Falls and then heads on to the Canadian Falls, which are the classic horseshoe shaped falls. The boat gets quite close and you can feel the force of the wind, see the raging currents in the water, and get drenched by the mist. To be underneath as the water crashed down is pretty awe inspiring! There was a display that talked about a seven year old boy who was boating with his family above the falls. They had an accident and he went over the falls in just a life jacket and survived. It is incredible to think that anyone could survive that sort of a “fall” !

Niagara Falls Clifton Hill

We all agree that Niagara Falls is the Las Vegas of Canada! Between the Casinos, the neon lights, and all the tourists, it all seems pretty much the same! This was the last full day for Gloria, Laura and the boys before they headed home, so we planned an early start to see the sights! We started with a hearty breakfast at the Flying Saucer Restaurant, and headed downtown to Clifton Hill, which is the main tourist street in town, with all the attractions (other than the falls, of course). We had a fair bit of time to explore as Laura and Gloria did not meet up with us until 1:30, early morning starts being not really their thing! The kids played lots of arcade games, and I beat David at air hockey, again, so they would say it was time well spent!