2021-08-10: Geocaching Through Wyoming and Into Montana Reaching Our Destination

Well we woke up this morning at the Wyoming Welcome Center just south of Cheyenne. The goal for today is to reach our destination in Bridger, Montana. Hopefully along the way we'll have opportunities for some sightseeing and picking up new counties for our geocaching map. So click along and join us. What did we discover today?

So we set out from the Welcome Center and headed north up I-25. Just over an hour later, I exit into the Dyer Junction Rest Area located in Platte County. After finding the geocache (GC7FP6B) for the county, we read the many information boards and took some photos. To the east we got a distant view of Laramie Peak.

The next four paragraphs are from one of the Historical Information Boards:

    As you journey through Wyoming, you are one of the countless travelers who has looked out to the west and seen the granite rising of Laramie Peak. Near Scottsbluff, Nebraska, approximately 80 miles east of Dyer Junction, emigrants witnessed their first view of the western mountains with the hazy silhouette of Laramie Peak. Although the sight may have been awe-inspiring for the emigrants traveling on the Oregon and Mormon Trails, it also indicated the start of their journey into the mountains ~ a much more treacherous expedition than that across the plains.

    In their diaries, emigrants and other travelers usually noted seeing Laramie Peak. In Chapter IX of his 1891 Roughing It, Mark Twain wrote, "We passed Fort Laramie in the night, and on the seventh morning out we found ourselves in the Black Hills, with Laramie Peak at our elbow (apparently) looming vast and solitary ~ a deep, dark, rich indigo blue in hue, so portentously did the old colossus frown under his beetling brows of storm-cloud. He was thirty or forty miles away, in reality, but he only seemed removed a little beyond the low ridge to our right."

    Laramie Peak, which stands at 10,272 feet above sea level, is the highest Wyoming point in the Laramie Range. Part of the central Rocky Mountains, the Laramie Range, originally called the Black Hills, reaches for 125 miles from the Colorado-Wyoming border to the North Platte River near Casper.

    Visible from over 100 miles away, Laramie Peak is named for the early French trapper, Jacques La Ramie. While on a beaver trapping expedition, La Ramie vanished from what is now the Laramie River. Upon learning of his disappearance, other trappers in the region named the river after him. Soon the nearby mountains, plains, and many other areas also took the name.

Driving further up into Converse County, we stopped at the Orin Junction Rest Area for another geocache (GC33N3D).

Just east of Casper, Wyoming was a T/A Truck Stop. There we fueled up and found another geocache for Natrona County (GC5CHCQ).

Still headed north on I-25, we stop at the Kaycee Rest Area for a geocache in Johnson County (GC8BC7Z).

Now driving on I-90, we make one last stop at the Wyoming Information Rest Stop in Sheridan County for our final geocache of the day (GC97JGC).

We finally crossed over into Montana via I-90 up through Billings. We don't have much further to go, therefore I skip geocaching counties because it would be much easier in the GeoJeep vs the big motorhome. So it's I-90 to Laurel, then turn south on US-212. At Rockvale, turning south on US-310 a few more miles and arrive in the town of Bridger.

But just as we pull into town I noticed the RV's temperature gauge starting to climb. Luckily we're just 3 blocks from the City Park RV Park. I quickly pick a spot and park. Then I head to the bedroom and lift up the bed to get a good look at the top of the engine. Sure enough, another freeze plug on the side of the head has sprung a leak! That makes the third one!

OK, so there's only two auto repair shops in town. One is practically right across the street. I go there first. Nope, they only work on cars plus they're booked solid. So then I drive around the corner to Carbon Equipment Repair. Yes, they do work on diesel, big rigs, and farm equipment. But they too are booked out for a month. And we're only here for two weeks. I say we can't go anywhere and we're pretty much at their mercy. Nothing to do now but to wait and see.

In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the other surveyor to show up. So that means a free week. Sounds to me like a geocaching road trip around Montana might be in the making. I hope to see you back again soon.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-06-30: Visiting Noah's Ark After Our First Day and Our First Breakdown in the Motorhome

On this date of our AwayWeGo's Geocaching and Traveling Adventures, we begin a new chapter. We took delivery of our RV, a 2000 American Eagle 40' diesel pusher motorhome, and begin our journey with our home on wheels yesterday. Now when we drive to a new jobsite we no longer have to stuff our Jeep with all our belongings. No longer do we have to look for a furnished place to rent for the duration of the project. We'll have everything with us and get to sleep in our own bed every night. So climb aboard the big rig RV, there's plenty of room. Today was our first day of driving from Indiana, to Florida, and then back to Texas for the next project.

Leaving from the north side of Decatur, Indiana yesterday, we headed south on US-27 a few miles to a truck stop to top off the 150 gallon diesel fuel tank. Then a few blocks past that to a Walmart to get some groceries, some basic cookware and utensils to start with, and some new linens and pillows for the queen bed as well as the foldout couch for my wife's granddaughter. The queen bed still had the original comforter and pillows which looked like they were brand new. But they didn't look very comfortable. So they'll stay looking new because we soon put them underneath the bed in the storage compartment.

Now if you have been following along reading about our travels, you'll notice that I usually like traveling the backroads. It's much easier to pickup new geocaching counties in the GeoJeep. But kinda hard pulling into rural cemeteries and outta the way ghost towns in a 40' motorhome. I'm gonna have to practice some serious route planning to accomplish that. But for now I take US-33 south over into Ohio to jump on I-75 south to Florida.

The first few hours driving the RV down the highway went really well. This diesel pusher motorhome drives, rides, and handles so much better than my gas motorhome I had back in 2005-07 when my AwayWeGo Adventures began. (Click here and scroll to the bottom to start from the beginning.)

But when you purchase a 20 year old motorhome and start driving it down the road, there's sure to be some little bugs pop up that didn't show up on a test drive or the dealer inspection. I also see others online buying brand NEW RV's with pages of items that need to get fixed too. 

So driving down I-75 south and approaching Cincinnati, the engine temperature gauge starts jumping from normal to hot and back. I don't get any warning lights saying that it's actually overheating. Plus the gauge is moving too fast. I pulled into a rest area just to check it out and make sure. Don't see any leaks. I Googled and found a Cummins dealer on the north side of Cincinnati just 10 miles further down the road and they could get me in first thing in the morning.

Waking up today we head straight down to Cummins to be there when they open up to drop off the RV. The three of us then piled into the GeoJeep and crossed over into Kentucky to the town of Williamstown. There we visited the massive Ark Encounter theme park and tourist attraction.

The Ark Encounter was opened on July 7, 2016 by the Answers in Genesis organization.  It is a full-sized replica of Noah's Ark built according to dimensions specified in the Bible. This massive structure is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. Approximately 3.3 Million board feet of wood was used in the construction of this project.

The Ark contains 132 bays that are eighteen feet high and arranged into three decks. Visitors enter through the lower deck and move up via a ramp in the center. There were mini cages for various birds, but mostly chickens for food. Another area held large liquid containers for drinking water and oil for lamps.

Just a few photos of various bays representing different animal types gathered upon the Ark. There were no live animals inside the Ark, but there was a petting zoo that you could walk through on the outside.

Located throughout are scenes of Noah's family as they would worship and work at various activities within the Ark.

After touring the Ark and the zoo, I did manage to grab one geocache (GC7NAPC) near the entrance out by Highway 36 for Grant County.

Arriving back at Cummins to pick up the motorhome, it turned out to be a loose wire behind the temperature gauge on the dash. So hooked up the GeoJeep and continued on home to Florida for a couple days before heading to Texas.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-06-26: Visiting the RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Indiana

So today was one of those "checked an item off the bucket list" kinda day! Since owning my first motorhome way back in 2005, I've always wanted to visit the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana. Now that I'm in the process of purchasing another motorhome I finally get the chance. It was a wonderful journey back through time. So come and step back in time with us as we look at RV's through history.

We continued our road trip journey from yesterday finishing a few stops in Ohio. Two quick geocaches were found in Williams County at the Fountain Grove Cemetery (GC60CNV, GC358WN). There are over 7500 internments but I didn't spend anytime looking around.

From there we drove up to the NW corner of the county. That corner also happens to be the intersection of three states: Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. We found the virtual geocache at that location (GC2018). Even though the geocaching website has it located in Michigan, in reality it is located in Indiana. There's also a traditional geocache (GC3499B) there but we didn't have any luck finding it.

One more quick geocache (GCM8N1) at a cemetery in LaGrange County. The Riverside Cemetery in the town of Howe, Indiana has over 2300 internments dating back to 1816. The one grave to point out was the one detailed by the geocache hider. Christina Irene Hahn D' Sullivan was more commonly known as "Crissy the Skunk Woman." She was born in 1845 and died in 1925. She had many pets throughout her life. By the time she reached her 70's, she had many skunks as pets living inside her house. For the full story, click on the GC# link at the beginning of this paragraph.

 

And finally we arrived at my bucket list item, and there's a geocache there too (GC33Y84). The RV Hall of Fame and Museum first opened in 1991. The current 100,000 square foot facility opened in 2007. The museum is located right off of I-80/I-90 between Elkhart and Bristol, Indiana. There are about 50 vintage and antique RV's on display dating back to a 1913 Earl Trailer and Model T Ford. It is believed to be the oldest non-tent travel trailer in existence.

I'll highlight a few others in coming photos. The information I'm providing comes from the display boards at each RV.

This one is a 1916 Telescoping Apartment built on a 1915 Model T Ford. Selling for $100, these Telescoping Apartments were built in San Francisco as aftermarket camping accessories for early trucks. To travel, both side-cabinets slide in and the rear section telescopes into the main compartment and is secure for travel. Warm water for the shower is produced by radiator heat from the engine.

This is a 1931 Chevrolet based custom made "Housecar" was one of the enticements offered by Paramount Studios to get Mae West to leave the Vaudeville circuit and begin to make movies for them. It is designed as a chauffer driven lounge and not as a "camper" unit.

It features a small hot plate stove, an icebox, and a small table to enjoy lunch or a spot of tea. It was used for several years to transport Miss West from her home or hotel to the shooting locations. The story indicates she had a rocking chair on the back porch where she could enjoy the breeze when appropriate.

I could see myself owning and driving this one down the road! The Star Streak II is the second of two custom, all aluminum motorhomes built by Paul Jones. Built in 1988 using a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado chassis and a 1976 Oldsmobile Toronado 455 cu. in. engine. It was designed and built specifically to fit in a standard residential garage door. Length is 270 inches, weight 5400 pounds, and height 83 inches.

Made in upstate New York, a 1929 Wiedman Housecar built on a 1928 Stuart Truck chassis. These camper bodies were available either as accessories, shipped directly to a purchaser for installation, or mounted by the factory on a chassis of the buyer's choice. The large panel on the driver side was the platform for a fold-down bed with a canvas cover on the more deluxe models. It is bolted in place on this model.

This is one of two scale model displays of various RV's. They go back to the early days of diecast models and RV toys.

So that's it for today. Another bucket list item checked off. Tomorrow we explore my father's hometown of Gary, Indiana. And while there we stop by a worldwide celebrity's childhood home a few blocks away from my fathers. Until then...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-06-20: Road Trip on the Historic Lincoln Highway US-30 East Through Ohio

Today is Day #1 of our road trip from Indiana to Connecticut and back to Indiana. We followed along the historical Lincoln Highway / US-30. We spent today driving across Ohio. There were plenty of geocaches to find, history to discover, cemeteries and old churches, and the original red brick road. So hop on board the GeoJeep and let's go for a ride.

Our first geocaching county stop was one of my favorites. A quick find at the Glenn Presbyterian Cemetery (GCRYA9) to fill in the map for Van Wert County, Ohio. I didn't spend any time walking through it and nothing caught my attention so a quick park and grab and on our way.

Passing through the southwest corner of Putnam County, I run up to the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Fort Jennings. There I find another quick geocache (GC7PTFR) to fill in that blank spot on the map. I noted a couple of graves there of veterans who were killed in combat during WWI and another in WWII. Just up the road was this historical marker at the location of the original Fort Jennings constructed in 1812.

Returning to the original Lincoln Highway / US30 alignment heading east through Allen County, I stop at this historical marker for my next geocache (GC28P2K) near the town of Gomer. Crossing the Ottawa River was this bridge built in 1927 by the Allen County Engineer's Office. It served locals and travelers alike for 75 years until it was removed and replaced in 2002.

I dropped south a couple of miles into Hardin County and the town of Dunkirk, Ohio. There wasn't much to see there other than the signs signifying the earliest alignment route for the Lincoln Highway from 1915-1918. It was also the location of my geocache (GC3D6BM).

Over into Wyandot County and the town of Upper Sandusky are my next two geocaches. The first was next to the Wyandot County Museum. The 1895 one-room schoolhouse (GC4MR4Z) was donated and relocated to here in the 1960's. Early in the 1970's it was restored, electric lighting and heat was installed. Looks like it was getting a new paint job when we had stopped by for a visit.

On the other side of town we made another quick stop for a geocache along an old section of the Lincoln Highway that still had the original red brick road surface (GC87GCE).

Driving further down the highway, before leaving the county, I spotted this old church with a historical marker out front and wanted to stop for a closer look. Traveling preachers began visiting this area of German settlers in the 1830's. The first log meeting house was built in 1845. This church building was constructed in 1861 and was known as the Salem Congregational Church. The bell and tower were added in 1906. While I was here I looked up and discovered there was a geocache here too. (GC1DP9D) Found it!

Oh, I haven't mentioned this in a while, but do you know what the difference is between a cemetery (below) and a graveyard (above)? A graveyard is a burial place outside of a church.

The next stop was in Crawford County for two geocaches at the Oceola Cemeteries #2 (GC2R99C) and #3 (GC1BHWR). Nothing caught my attention so just a quick photo and finding the caches.

We passed through Richland County because I already had that one completed. The next county needed along the Lincoln Highway was Ashland County. It was a quick stop for a geocache at the Zehner Cemetery (GC4GGKC). Then I skipped Wayne County and moved on into Stark County.

The Massillon Cemetery has over 15,000 burials dating back to the early 1800's, including several Civil War Medal of Honor Veterans. The Massillon Cemetery superintendent’s residence was constructed in 1879 of locally quarried stone. It served for a century as both the sexton’s family residence and the cemetery office; now only the office.

Near the entrance to the cemetery is this memorial statue honoring those who have served in the Civil War. Erected in the 1870's to centralize the location of the veterans. Many of those already buried and scattered throughout the cemetery were relocated around the statue.

Of course while I was here I found three of the numerous traditional geocaches (GC5YCV0, GC6V59K, GC7QGX4) that were hidden as well as completed the 5-stop Adventure Lab. There was a lot of history located at this cemetery. And many of these mausoleums built into the side of this hill made it look like a Hobbit community.

Before exiting the east side of the county near the town of Robertsville, I veered off of US-30 onto the old original Lincoln Highway alignment to grab another geocache (GC1WPE4) along a section of the old red-brick pavers which formed the roadway.

A few miles further down and another geocache (GC2388C) later, the original 1928 narrow bridge was replaced in 2002 with a wider modern bridge. The old red brick was reused to form the barrier walls of the new bridge.

While reaching for this geocache in the guardrail, I twisted in just the wrong way that it pinched a nerve in my back. Now it is hard to even get in and out of the Jeep. So the last cache planned for the day in the last county needed along the Lincoln Highway will just have to go unfound. Time for dinner and a hotel to rest my back.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2021-06-18: Summer Road Trip to Buy Our "New-to-Us" Home and Geocaching Through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana

So here we are on this Day 3 of our 5300+ mile summer road trip from West Texas to Indiana to Connecticut, back to Indiana to Florida and ending in NE Texas. The main reason for this roadtrip is to look at and hopefully purchase our "new-to-us" home-on-wheels. Along the way, we'll be picking up as many new geocaching counties as we can and seeing some of the sites along the way. So hop on board the GeoJeep and let's go see what we can find.

Well we didn't quite make it out of Missouri yesterday. We stayed the night in the town of Sikeston in Scott County. We were going to have dinner at the famous Lambert's, where they throw the fresh rolls out to you. But we weren't up for the long lines and over an hour wait! So we came back this morning to grab the geocache (GC2JC3X) for the county and take some photos.

Driving east on US-60, we crossed over into Mississippi County. We stopped for a quick geocache (GC4KW34) in Bertrand for the county and kept moving.

Further down the road I spotted this roadside historical marker and had to stop for a photo. "Rev. Owen Whitfield with the support of local landowner, Mr. Thad Snow, and 1500 black and white sharecroppers camped here in harsh January weather several days in 1939 to protest the plight of Boot Heel sharecroppers. The event received national attention. Owen and Zella Whitfield met with Pres. Roosevelt and ultimately received his support for the cause. This community has dedicated January 10 as Thad Snow - Owen Whitfield Day."

My next three geocaches were all in one corner of a park. There was a virtual geocache (GC710E) and two earthcaches (GC1A369, GC1A36F). Fort Defiance State Park is right at the corner of Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky as well as the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Ohio River. It is also the lowest elevation point in Illinois.

On November 14, 1803, Lewis and Clark landed here with their Corps of Discovery party. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and survey the recently purchased Louisiana Territory, their six days here was one of the longest stops made by the expedition. Their stay allowed Captain Meriwether Lewis to teach Captain William Clark how to navigate using a compass and a sextant. Because the 3rd Principal Meridian begins at the mouth of the Ohio River, astronomical observations at this point were crucial.

Above: nearly 175 million tons of goods are shipped via the Mighty Mississippi River each year. Below: Candy and her grand-daughter down at the southernmost point of Illinois and the convergence of the two rivers. The Ohio River is entering from the left. The Mississippi River enters from the right-rear and continues down to the far right.

Our last stop for today was just a few miles away in a town called Cache, Illinois (GCR01C). I can't find out much info on the community of Cache, IL other than it was laid out in January 1904. Found a newspaper article in April 1927 suggesting the town was flooded out. Then a few decades later the Cache River was rerouted to empty into the Mississippi River instead of the Ohio River. Whatever happened to the town, this bridge isn't singing anymore.

While researching the town for this blog, I came across some articles for a cemetery called "Seven Mile Graveyard" located between Cache and Cairo. The Find-A-Grave website had 7 memorials listed, but no photos. I came across another 8 newspaper articles of people that were buried there and added those memorials. Then I came across a more recent article of the cemeteries demise:

Excerpt from the Southern Illinoisan, April 30, 1999:

"The cemetery was incorporated in 1853. In 1878, many people who died in a yellow fever epidemic were buried there. By 1921, the cemetery was overgrown and unkempt. In 1955, the land was purchased and the cemetery was bulldozed and turned into a pasture, a piece of history turned to dust and memory."

So sad. Perhaps one day someone can further research local records and discover the location of the cemetery. Maybe even more names of those long forgotten souls can be discovered and added to the Find-A-Grave website. And if just one descendent can make that genealogical connection, even better!

Well we still had about 430 miles of driving to get to Decatur, Indiana by tonight. So the rest of my planned geocaches had to be bypassed. That's NOT something I like doing either. Tomorrow morning we go check out our potential new-to-us home-on-wheels!

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.