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Published: August 29th 2018
The drive from Alton RV Park in Columbus OH to Clark's Ferry Recreation Area in Montpelier IA (from where the journey to Alaska would begin) was too far for Uncle Larry, so I decided to make a stop at Kamp Komfort RV Park in Bloomington IL to visit one family member and a childhood neighbor. I departed Columbus on Wednesday, June 26, 2018 and took I-70 to Indianapolis IN, connected with I-74 through Champaign IL and on to Bloomington. The trip was long by Uncle Larry’s standards but was uneventful. Unfortunately, I had learned a few weeks before my visit that my nephew, the women’s gymnastics coach at Illinois State University in Bloomington, would be out of state during my visit. That was not a problem as I had last-minute details to address before heading out for Alaska.
Carla had gone through her early childhood across the street from my parents while I was a mere twinkle in the ‘ole eye and was about six years my senior, but I had known her family since forever. Indeed, I had visited her younger brother (two years my senior) last fall in Durango CO. Carla met her husband, Dick, while attending college,
An Amusement Park Is Located Just Over the Left Field Fence
Quad Cities River Bandits Ball Game & Fireworks - Davenport IAthey settled in the Bloomington area and the rest is history. Her cousin married my brother so I have managed to keep abreast of their lives in a very general way over the years, but we hadn’t seen each other outside funerals, etc. for many years. That made for a lot of catching up to do. I drove to their home where we chatted for a couple of hours and then went to dinner. It was a very nice day.
On Monday, July 2, 2018, I drove to Clark's Ferry Recreation Area where Marilyn, my cousin and Alaska travelling companion, would meet me in a few days. Her brother, Wayne, lives in nearby Blue Grass IA, but he and his wife, Rhonda, were away at their condo in Wisconsin when I arrived. That was okay as I had lots of housekeeping duties to perform before heading north – driver’s license and license plates renewals, new tires, miscellaneous shopping, etc., etc., etc. Wednesday, July 4, 2018, I decided to attend the
Quad Cities River Bandits baseball game. The team is a Class A minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros and had a fireworks exhibition on tabs for post-game entertainment. Baseball and fireworks
– that seemed like a good way to spend Independence Day. During a fan participation, inter-inning promotion, I managed to procure a team tee shirt. Pretty cool.
Marilyn arrived on Tuesday July 10, 2018, and the half dozen or so days we had before departure day were spent figuring out where she would stow her toothbrush, etc. for our shared time in the Bighorn. The day after Wayne and Rhonda’s return to Iowa, Marilyn and I went to a
Truckers Jamboree at the
Iowa 80 Truckstop with Rhonda and two of her grandkids, Ella and Luke, who had been at the condo with grandma and grandpa. Iowa 80 Truckstop was established in 1964 and is now the “World's Largest Truckstop.” There were trucking companies looking for drivers, tire manufacturers looking for rims and toys looking for children (or trucking parents trying to make amends for their periods of absence). It was interesting and unlike anything I have ever attended. Meanwhile, the kids had a ball, and the adults walked away with some nice promotional gifts – many of which were well-suited for the traveler, whether trucker or RVer!
Before we knew it, our time in Iowa was over, and it was
time to set out for Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Alberta before embarking on a guided tour of the Canadian Rockies, a cruise to Alaska and over four weeks of free-lance travel throughout Alaska – from Seward (the cruise ship port-of-call) to Denali to Fairbanks to Valdez to the Kenai Peninsula to Anchorage. After flying back to Calgary to retrieve the Ram and the Bighorn, we plan to visit
Glacier National Park,
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument,
Badlands National Park,
Mount Rushmore National Memorial and
Crazy Horse Memorial. We went to Wayne and Rhonda’s for a send-off supper the evening before our departure and got home early for a good night’s sleep.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Refrigerated bar rail
We were on a cruise ship that had an iced bar rail at the Martini Bar to keep them cold. It was pretty cool.