From One Place to Another. With a Little Fun in Between.

Our last night in Nappanee, Indiana, included a mixture of rain, temperature, and humidity. We were, of course, parked next to the paint building at Newmar, so the view wasn't spectacular, but just as the sun set a brief rain shower literally blew through, leaving us with a nice double rainbow! What a fitting end to a successful service visit at the factory where Nessie was born!

We left Nappanee on Wednesday, the 26th and traveled all of 61 miles to Crosspoint Cummins in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This Cummins engine dealer has a full service facility and runs two shifts maintaining Cummins diesel engines in everything from generators to school busses and heavy equipment. We've visited them in the past and needed some routine maintenance, so we stopped by. They have a handful of parking slots with electrical outlets for people like us who need to stay overnight in our motorhomes.

And on the other side, we had a view of the Kenworth truck dealer, who managed to keep three shifts of techs busy!

John, the Cummins motorhome tech, took our motorhome first thing on Thursday to service the engine, grease the chassis and running gear, and service the generator. I had mentioned to Crosspoint that I felt that the engine power was not quite right, so they plugged a specialized computer into the coach and John and I drove a few miles around the city checking various parameters. He indicated that the engine seemed to be operating well, but that the shift points in the Allison transmission were not quite right. Hmmm. OK.

While John was working on Nessie, Donna and Sasha and I took a drive around the local area. We soon found ourselves in the Amish community of Grabill where the hardware store, feed and grain store, and the post office were all in one building!

Just a mile or so out of town, an Amish gathering (wedding? birthday?) brought out all the horses and buggies a person could imagine, with men in pristine black trousers, starched white shirts with black vests, and woven hats. The ladies were crisp and clean and the children were scrubbed till their faces fairly shone in the sunlight!

Continuing our day trip, we happened into the town of Auburn, Indiana. In this little thought of town in mid state, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Company produced some of the finest automobiles of the golden age of vehicles. The factory was closed and shuttered years ago, but has been revived as a museum and tribute to these prestigious cars.

The first floor showroom has been refurbished to better than new condition while retaining all of the original flooring and decorations.

The mind boggles at the incredible display of automobiles:

1930 Duisenberg Model J convertible. 420 cubic inch straight eight cylinder engine. 265 horsepower at 4,200 rpm. Price when new: $14,750.

1932 Cord:

1937 Cord 812 Coupe: Only three hardtop coupes were made in 1936-1937, and only one was like this one. Commissioned by Robert Stranahan, Sr., president and co-founder of Champion Sparkplugs,  this vehicle had many unique features, including Auburn headlights, a padded leather top, an Auburn hood ornament, and Lasalle vent ports on the sides of the hood. It developed 175 horsepower from a supercharged Lycoming V-8 engine and cost $3,500 when new.

1936 Cord 810: Built to be exhibited at the 1936 automobile show, this car was designed, tested, and 100 vehicles were ready to go in just over 7 months. Shirley Temple starred in "Dimples and Stowaway" that year and 38% of American families had annual incomes under $1,000.

This restored 1934 Duisenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton was designed completely within Duesenbergs in house styling studio and contracted out to LaGrande Coachbuilders. Duesenberg Inc.'s in house stylist Gordon Buehrig was a leader in proportional styling. Notice the dual windshields, protecting passengers from the wind as well as the driver.

In 1927, the famous designer Henry Earl joined General Motors as their director of Art and Color Department. His first Cadillac, in 1928, added a number of dashboard and instrument panel changes as well as a larger V-8 engine to compete with Packard in the eight-cylinder sales race. This 341 cubic inch V-8 engine only developed 90 horsepower. When President Franklin Roosevelt needed a secure ride to Washington to make his speech following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Government used an armored 1928 Cadillac 341 confiscated from Al Capone.

The 1935 Auburn 851 Boattail came with a plaque certifying that it had been road tested to over 100 miles per hour. It was a beautiful social statement designed by Gordon Buehrig. Cost when new? $2,245.

This 1948 Tasco is the result of a group of investors wanting to build an American sports car for competition at Watkins Glen racetrack in New York. Gordon Buehrig was part of the group. This single prototype vehicle was the first in the world with a T-top roof, an idea that Buehrig patented. He later sued General Motors when the 1968 Corvette came out with a T-top roof. The name Tasco stands for The American Sports Car Company.

Cord was the first production automobile to have front wheel drive, a concept that architect Frank Lloyd Wright believed in. He owned several, including this 1930 Cord L-29.

Amelia Earhart was presented with this Cord 812 Phaeton by her husband in 1937. She was unable to enjoy the Cord as she was lost in the Pacific on July 2, 1937.

Featuring cars of jewel-like precision, the Indianapolis based Stutz became best know for it's Bearcat, but the Stutz Speedway Four was innovative in its own right in the years after WW1. This 1923 model features a huge 365 cubic inch, four cylinder engine that developed 88 horsepower, which propelled the 4,130 pound car to speeds over 80 miles-per-hour.

The designs of the day, long hoods and short back ends allowed Cord to perfect it's front wheel design. The engine was placed at the back of the front-drive gearbox.

In the so-called Classic Era, 1925 to 1948, one-of-a-kind custom passenger compartments were all the rage among the elite of the country. Coach builders had evolved from the extravagant carriage builders of the 19th century, and were expert at forming custom bodies out of 14 gauge aluminum. Using hand tools and wood frames, the bodies were meticulously created by highly skilled workers, most often for a Cord chassis.

I did not see any identifying signage for this spectacular vehicle, but it fairly shouts "Elegance".

Wow! How do you follow that? With another museum, of course! In the same town, eight other museums display and educate. The National Auto and Truck Museum, the Hoosier Air Museum, Military Interactive Exhibits, the Historical Railroad Museum, and the Early Ford V-8 Museum are just a few. I wish we had more time!

Newmar Week Two

Last Sunday found us on the road to Merrillville, Indiana, for a bit of shopping at a large mall. Merrillville is about 75 miles from our location in Nappanee and just a few miles south of Gary, Indiana, but it was the closest location for a particular store we were looking for. You see, a good friend turned me on to Sketchers shoes a few years ago, and now it's my go-to brand. It was time to get re-shod, so off we went. A very nice lady helped us and after an hour we were back on the road home. A long way to go? Absolutely. Comfortable shoes? Absolutely.

On the way home we stopped for lunch in the town of Valparaiso, IN, at the Industrial Revolution. This restaurant is themed in a period when industrial expansion and invention was at its height. This view adapts the iconic photo of workmen having lunch sitting on an I-Beam during the construction of a skyscraper in New York.

Of course it was cloudy and raining most of the day, but some breaks gradually appeared.

On Monday, our coach was scheduled for a windshield replacement, which required that we spend the night out of the motorhome so that the adhesive/sealant could bond properly. Newmar kindly comped us a room at the Oakwood Resort in Syracuse, IN, about a half hour east of Nappanee along the shore of Lake Wawasee. The lake is huge, over four square miles in area, but is roughly twenty one feet deep, so it is an extraordinarily nice place for boater, water skiers, and swimmers. It is the largest natural lake in Indiana. Oakwood Resort has a private dock, providing access to the hotel restaurant from the water.

The sprawling resort can accommodate hundreds of guests and hotel property spreads over several acres, with event building, outdoor performance sections, and playgrounds. We stayed in room 103, on the ground floor on the lakeside with a nice view of the lake.

The clouds rolled in and the clouds rolled out! Almost every day this week we experienced a midwest storm.

Wednesday and Thursday nights were spent back at Oakwood Resort. We were able to stay in Nessie2 on Tuesday night, and it felt really good! While the hotel room we occupied on Monday night was very nice, the smaller queen bed just wasn't comfortable for all of us....you know...it's all about the dog.

This time we had a room on the third floor with a king-size bed. Sasha approved!

It's Springtime in the Midwest! We've seen dozens of new colts just learning how to navigate on those long, long legs!

This young lady was feeling a bit frisky!

Until she got tired!

Mr. Farmer walked around the corner of his barn and another family joined the party!

We checked out of Oakwood on Friday, a bright, shiny day on Lake Wawasee.

We arrived at the Newmar Service building Friday afternoon to rescue the motorhome. While that went well, we found that the technicians had found a couple of additional issues that needed to be addressed. One thing involved the system that uses diesel fuel to heat the coach....there was a small fuel leak. Not a good thing to have a few inches away from a flame! Another repair changed the nuts and bolts that attach the awnings to a method that is more secure. Evidently an awning came off a coach.....another not so good thing to happen!

So, we were scheduled to be done this week, but need to wait for the part for the heating system, so we will be here a couple of more days. The techs are not all Amish, but they all seem to have a dedication to the performance of a good job. We've gotten to know several over the years, and particularly this long visit, and have never had a distasteful experience. The new facility is first rate and we notice that Newmar is constructing new buildings at other locations on their campus. It's good to know that our dollars are being used wisely!

Since we need to stay a little longer, another trip to Shipshewanna was in order. Along with the purchase of more meat and cheese at our favorite store, we stopped for lunch at the Blue Gate Restaurant and Bakery. As you probably know, they have an Amish themed theater production most nights, at which you can combine an all you can eat dinner. Let's see....all you can eat, then sit in a comfortable chair in the dark......I'm thinking ZZZZZZZ/

We didn't see the theater production, but it has received rave reviews. We settled for their famous Fried Chicken dinner (not all you can eat!). Four pieces of chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing with gravy, hush puppies and green beans.....gulp. We brought home more than we ate!

Some construction in the town of Goshen sent us off into the countryside on a road we've never traveled before. Reminded us of Oak Avenue Plantation in Louisiana!

The next step at Camp Newmar is to wrap up the last few things on Monday. A move to the less desirable "overflow" area on Tuesday will free up a site in the full hookup area for someone whose coach is in Service, and then we're outta here on Wednesday! Still have a couple of maintenance things to address: a stop at the Cummins engine dealer in Ft Wayne, IN, will get the oil changed, and then it's north into Michigan next week.

Have a good week!

Newmar Week One

We were met on Monday morning by our lead technician Lynn at just after six am (yeah, that's EDT). Lynn went over our list with us and we deleted a few items that are no longer problems and added a few that have popped up recently. Then it was off to the "hospital".

The service building is quite astounding, with room for over fifty coaches inside. The space is conditioned, well lit, and provides total security for both workers, clients, and their possessions. The facility has been expanded since our last visit and now includes a well appointed customer lounge with puzzles, a fireplace, comfortable furniture, and a computer/office area. Conversation areas allow for socialization with other customers without disturbing those who need a bit of quiet time. A variety of states and localities are represented, with some of us coming from the west coast, and consequently struggling with the time change. Getting up at 4:30 am Eastern time is a real shock to those of us who are accustomed to sleeping in until 9 or 10 am, Pacific time! This time of year, the sun rises about 6 am and sets at somewhere around nine thirty, so we rise when it's dark and go to bed when it's still light! By the time we reached Friday of this last week we were really feeling the effects of the lack of sleep and today, Saturday, we slept soundly from 10 last night until 8 this morning!

Since Lynn is not able to drive our motorhome from the company provided "campsites", we chose to drive across town ourselves and meet him at the Service Center at six am, and then meet him again at 2:30 pm to drive home. Lynn and his crew have a well defined work ethic and were working on the coach within minutes of arrival. Generally, between one and three techs are working on any given coach, and float around as needed to help where they can if they don't have a coach to work on. That doesn't happen very often, because they are scheduling work out about six months currently.

We arrived with a list of almost 90 items that required attention. That sounds ridiculous but most of those were simply cosmetic things. Lynn told us that we had been scheduled to be in service for three weeks when we first talked on Monday, but he was optimistic that we would be out sooner when we last talked on Friday. This next week will be a bit different because we'll be out of the coach for at least three days. A windshield replacement will require two days and several paint corrections will require another two, so Newmar is comping a hotel room in a very nice hotel a few miles away. All we'll have to pay is a small fee for our canine companion. Beyond that, a few days of final touchup and we'll be out of here!

After spending our first night in what's lovingly called "the overflow area", we were able to score a nice nice in the full-hookup section. Nice, since we have sewer and water facilities as well as electricity. It's not the Ritz, but it's perfectly fine!

On Friday we took a short drive north to Shipshewanna for a Dutch Apple pie from the Blue Gate Bakery and some meat and cheese from Yoders Meat and Cheese (!). Along the way we saw this iconic picture of Indiana farmland.

This field is rare in that it has been successfully planted with a crop during what has become a record setting rain season. Only 18% of available farmland has been planted in Indiana, and the window of opportunity for planting is rapidly closing. Crops require a specific amount of sun and time to mature before cool winter weather sets in. Many fields will remain unplanted this year, they say, and that will have an effect on grocery prices.

Today, Saturday the 15th, it's raining again. We've received over an inch of rain since 1 am and it shows no sign of stopping. It's been a good day for laundry and movies. Right next door to the Newmar facility is Amish Acres, a themed location that caters to those who want a taste of farm life and a good meal. They also have theater productions on weekends that showcase the Amish culture. Today was supposed to be a long-planned day of celebration and adventure, with hot-air balloon rides, a truck and tractor pull competition, and vendors scattered about the site. Unfortunately, after all the planning, Mother Nature has had other plans.

We're hoping for a semi-nice day tomorrow but the weather forecast is for at least a 40% chance of rain all of next week. Ouch!

Adele, Iowa, Sheffield, Illinois, Nappanee, Indiana

Here we go......we managed to get up a bit early and left Kearney, NE, just after daybreak. It's 291 miles from Kearney to the park we're staying in tonight in the little burg of Adele. This is a KOA that we've used as an overnight stop in the past, and is just 30 miles or so west of Des Moines, Iowa. The sites are spacious, and while the roads and sites are gravel, there isn't much dust. The utilities are fine; we're in site 07, adjacent to a wifi antenna, and the ATT cell signal is 4 bars out of 5. We like it!

Here's an Iowa sky for you!

We're leaving tomorrow because this KOA is filling up with munchkins for the weekend! The pool is more skin than water, the bicycles and dogs are running crazy and the Iowa Hawkeye flags are flying proudly! No, really we need go put another few hundred miles on Nessie2 before she goes into the hospital on Monday.

So now we're in Sheffield, Illinois, about 251 miles east of Adele, Iowa, except that we put 291 miles on the motorhome getting here! You see, the fuel gauge on the motorhome is not quite as accurate as we would like it to be, and we found that after it reaches the half mark the needle drops like a rock! Of course we didn't anticipate this, so we were in a great long empty space between Davenport, Iowa and La Salle, Illinois. We had to do a bit of sideways and backwards driving to find a station that we could fit into. Well, all is well that ends well, and we're settled into Hickory Grove RV Park just a couple of miles north of I 80, and maybe five miles north of the burg of Sheffield.

But first things first: We crossed the Mississippi River as we passed the Quad Cities...Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline in Illinois. We've been hearing about flooding and damage from flooding, but this was the first we have seen.

The river water was literally within inches of the interstate highway. There were houses, ranches, and businesses off to the side of the road that obviously had flood damage. Incredible!

We finally made it to Hickory Grove. This park is owned by a young couple that are working tirelessly to return it to it's glory from years past. We have one of two sites suitable for a larger motorhome, number 3, and it is quite nice. The utilities are fine, and while it's a bit of a struggle navigating through the trees with a car in tow, it is completely do-able. The price is a bit high, but the park is very quiet. We'll like it here!

After threading a couple of tree-type needles to get out of Hickory Grove, we once again jumped on I 80 headed east. Sundays route took us across the south side of Chicago, using the 80/90 Indiana Tollroad. Well, we've been there and done that, so we decided to try a different route by transitioning from I80 to I94 and skirting the east side of Lake Michigan toward Benton Harbor. At exit 40 we turned east on US20, eventually passing to the south of South Bend, and then on to Nappanee, Indiana, where the Newmar factory is located, 2,268 miles from our home in California.

Newmar has built a huge new service facility and started construction on a huge service-supported rv park across the street. Unfortunately, heavy rain this spring has thwarted plans for an early completion of the rv park, so we are in an overflow area. The service facility can accommodate over 50 motorhomes under cover, but parking is only available for a couple of dozen in the factory campground. Oops! Where do we put all these people?

As I write this (9 pm, Sunday) another steady rain storm has moved in, with prospects of rain until tomorrow midday. We will be deep in the "motorhome hospital" mode for the next week or so, so posting may be sporadic until something exciting happens!

The Reason for Kearney

Salutations and heartfelt thanks to the military veterans that were in service this D-Day, June 6, 1945.

We have allowed ourselves a day in Kearney for a couple of reasons. One is the reason I talked about in yesterdays blog post about a past memorable trip through this part of the world.

Secondly, we wanted to visit the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, Nebraska.

This 95 foot high tower overlooks Union Pacific's Bailey Yard....the world's largest rail yard. A photo in the entryway gave us a sense of the size of this thing!

The Bailey Yard covers 2,850 acres just west of North Platte. As you might notice, we're not staying in North Platte, so we had to drive back west a hundred miles to visit the yard. Nebraska is pretty flat agricultural land out here!

This view west shows the repair and service buildings on the left. Locomotives can be serviced in a NASCAR-like pit stop facility called a Run-Thru. Locomotives are serviced in 45 minutes without detaching them from their trains!

The enormity of this yard is mind boggling: An average of 140 trains a day pass through here and over 14,000 cars daily!

This is a closer look at the service facility. Refueling racks are on the right, with pipelines running underground directly to storage tanks that are filled from midwest refineries. Each locomotive holds between 1,000 and 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel depending on the type, size, and purpose of the locomotive. Car wheels are changed in this area as well, using new equipment that allows a crew of four to change the "trucks" in 8-12 minutes instead of the previously required time period of up to 12 days.

This panoramic is difficult to comprehend, but know that the area is huuuggge!

Named for former UP president Edd H. Bailey. The statistics are incomprehensible: Between 1900 and 2500 employees; 315 miles of track; 985 switches; 766 turnouts and two "humps". When cars need to be sorted, they are run up on "humps", the eastbound being 34-foot high and the westbound 20 feet high. Decoupled from their train, each car rolls down the backside of the hump, and through computer-aided switching and braking, is directed onto a "bowl" track which is used to form trains headed for destinations across North America. Locomotives appear as if by magic, hook up to the newly formed train and disappear into the distance!

OK, a hundred miles from Kearney to North Platte, and a hundred miles back. Since it doesn't get dark in these parts until 9:30pm during the summer, we just had to find something else to do! So off to the east of Kearney to visit the Great Platte River Arch.

Spanning Interstate 80, the first of the cross-country highways built as a result of a vision by President Eisenhower, who had personal experience with the need to move people and material in a quick and efficient manner, the Arch commemorates the Pioneer Spirit that uprooted thousands of families and sent them on the largest voluntary migration in history.

Outside, the story of two brothers is told in bronze. In August of 1864, Robert and Nathaniel Martin, 12 and 15 respectively, were putting up hay with their father George when they were attacked by Indians. the brothers fled by horseback but were hit with four arrows, one of which pinned them together. That arrow can be seen at their hips. The boys tumbled to the ground, where they were left for dead, but remarkably were found alive the next day. They both survived and raised families. What a story!

The hardships faced by pioneers are narrated from their own written records. This Mom struggling to push her family's wagon through the mud later wrote that "each step is more than I can bear."

Castle Rock was the well known landmark that guided pioneers through the Platte River Valley. From  St Joseph MO, to just west of Ft Laramie, the trail followed the Platte River. Then the trail split into three distinct paths: Salt Lake City, UT, Sacramento, CA, and Oregon City, OR.

Not all the families made the journey successfully. One out of ten died, and the death of overworked draft animals was the primary reason. Oxen couldn't pull the heavy loads over high mountain passes that didn't have enough water and grass to provide strength. Pianos,  furniture, and wood stoves were abandoned along the way...somehow those things aren't so important when you're cold, hungry, and tired.

This mural represents the entry into the Rocky Mountains from the flat Plains.

Of course, the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in California increased traffic by tens of thousands. The unfortunate beneficiary of this was the man who owned the mill, John Sutter.

The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 made western expansion a no-brainer. For a ticket costing $50, the West coast was only three weeks away!

With the invention of the automobile, an alternate method of transportation was needed: The Lincoln Highway, which was the first paved road from Coast to Coast, led to traveling, camping, and sightseeing in this beautiful country.

Check out the fancy windshield wiper on the "24 Ford!

We followed the Archway across Interstate 80 and back, and passed through the Great Platte River Valley and from the 1830's to modern times along the way. What a journey!

Our last stop was at an observation window looking out onto I 80. What a contrast in traveling methods! Interestingly enough, a radar detector is mounted in the window and noted that more than half of the vehicles were traveling at more than the 75 mph speed limit!

So there you have it! 200 plus miles on the car, eight and a half hours for the dog to be cooped up in the motorhome, and a nice soup and sandwich lunch at The Espresso Shop by Caravan in North Platte. Throw in tornado sirens, sudden rain, and gusty wind, and you have the makings of an exciting day!

Our next few days are going to be simply an endurance contest. 291 miles to Des Moines, 249 miles to Sheffield, IL, and then into the motorhome factory in Nappanee, IN, another 210 miles through Chicago. We'll be there for a week or so and will take pics as we can.

Back when we can!

Kearney, Nebraska

Kearney, NE, is three hundred twenty one miles east of Cheyenne. That's more mileage than we typically like to drive in a day, but we had a motive. You see, thirty-five years ago, almost to the day, we were on a family vacation that had us in a pickup camper with two teenagers, heading to visit family in Minnesota when about twenty miles east of Kearney we had engine trouble that required us to be towed back to Kearney. Turned out to be a minor fix, and after a trip to a local record shop, Dusty's, for kid stuff, we were back on the road. We've stopped here to see if Kearney looks the same as it did in the last century. Ha.

Our second motivation for staying here is to visit the Golden Spike. More on that later.

We are in the Kearney RV Park, overlooking the Walker Channel of the Platte River. A small lake has formed here and we're fortunate to have been assigned a site with a water view. The park is very nice, with good utilities and concrete parking pads. the interior roads are gravel but are well groomed.

We have one day here, and it looks like it will be a busy one. Check back, ok?

Remember the Greatest Generation and their sacrifices on D-Day tomorrow.