Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn....

First Indiana, then Illinois, now Iowa, and tomorrow Nebraska. Herb and Barnabas are tired of corn! It's everywhere!

We've made a lot of miles since leaving Elkhart yesterday afternoon. We're about 40 miles from Nebraska. It's a loooong way across that state!

We're in Avoca at Parkway Campground, a well kept, pleasant spot about 2 miles from I-80. It's a little difficult finding low-priced camping during Labor Day weekend, but we did!

Barnabas, by the way, makes a great guardeagle!

Like a River Glorious...

Yesterday we walked over to see the Pigeon River at Howe. The water barely moving, it was a tranquil sight (except maybe for the plastic chairs!). I was reminded of God's perfect peace.

Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace;

Over all victorious, in its bright increase;

Perfect yet it floweth, fuller every day;

Perfect yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Camping Amid the Soybeans

Camping in the Elkhart area is not cheap. The one big campground in town charges 32 bucks a night! The county fairground in Goshen is $27. We've been grateful to Charger Enterprises, a place we trust for RV service--they return your RV to you each evening and allow you to park in the gravel next to the building with 30 amp electrical service and water. Not a picturesque campsite, but free is good at this point. Our experience in Jones, Michigan, using a discount card and finding we had far less than the advertised 30 amps, made us appreciate it all the more.

We'll be back at Charger on Monday; in the meantime, we decided to try Grand Bend Community Association campground in Howe, Indiana, 25 miles (we thought) from Elkhart. Well...there's a long detour which increased the mileage to nearly 35 and took us through Shipshewana. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing. Shipshewana is definitely Amish and directed toward tourists. We encountered any number of horse-drawn conveyances of various descriptions. Passing them wasn't an issue; they drive on the far right of the road and traffic was fairly light. Huge farms with clothes drying in the sun and beautiful horses in the paddocks were everywhere, as were produce stands.

The campground was a most pleasant surprise. We have 50 amp service for the first time since leaving Black Rock in April. We're parked on grass with soybean fields on both sides of the road.

We're grateful for 50 amps; the air conditioning is optomized with that service. A very nice lady came by on a golf cart and charged us $17.12 for two nights with our Passport America card; that card is by far the best bargain in camping. Everyone has been most friendly.

We're due in Elkhart at 7 a.m. tomorrow. Today we're going to explore a shorter route. There's the Indiana turnpike, but no telling what that would cost with a 38-foot motorhome towing a 3/4 ton pickup carrying an ATV!

Up the Road a Piece

We left Gallatin County, Kentucky yesterday...eventually. We're usually late getting started, but I do believe we set a new record yesterday. Herb and Donnie loaded up the ATV.

Barnabas is joining us again, after oiling and a coat of wax to protect him from the dry Arizona climate. According to the Kaisers, he sat around the house and complained about the cold weather and being stuck in Verona. We sat him down where he can watch Herb's driving! We've decided he's a golden eagle, according to the bird book. I showed him the picture, and he agrees!

There was a lot to do, clearing out stuff we'd stored in the brooder house, stowing things in the coach so they won't fall over while we're underway, putting in the slides, unhooking connections, etc. The biggest issue turned out to be hooking up the pickup. We hadn't towed it before so had to be sure we had the transfer case and gearshift in the correct positions. We put on the lights and towbar with Brandon Finn's help--he and Tonya Webster had stopped by to see us off. It's good to be on the road again! Michigan, here we come! At 11:30 in the morning!

A Fourth to Remember

The Fourth of July at the Kaiser Farm is always memorable. This year's threatening weather dampened (pardon the pun) things only slightly thanks to umbrellas and portable shelters. Weather didn't reduce the crowd, either. Lots of family and friends continued to arrive through the afternoon and early evening.

Linda had a screened-in tent for the food with several tables overflowing with all kinds of goodies. It looked like a Baptist potluck. Herb and I stayed close by to keep an eye on the food. My hash brown casserole was quite popular. Donnie and Linda were at the grill producing hot dogs and burgers at an amazing rate, trying to keep up with the salivating crowd. Beverages of all sorts were in high demand.

Parties at the farm are always well-mannered but exuberant. No troublemaking is permitted--Donnie is adamant on that. Lots of families, and children are everywhere. There's Logan (the Bood) in the front, getting a supply of poppers from Susie, his mom. It's always great to see Charlie, Susie and Logan. Unfortunately Harley, their rottweiler, has bone cancer and was staying at Susie's mom's house. They have a wonderful photo of Logan and Harley, with Logan sitting on his back. They returned to Florida not many days after the party.

Everyone was eager to see the fireworks. I studied instructions in my camera book for photographing fireworks. My reflexes are really slow, so I wasn't sure how it would work. I held the camera on top of a fence to keep it from shaking. Some of my photos were surprisingly good for a first try...and some of them were purely awful. A huge downpour put an end to the fireworks with everyone scrambling for a dry place.

The best way to spend the Fourth of July at the Kaiser farm!