Rocking down the highway

The long awaited, extended road trip began on Tuesday, September 13th heading East towards South Dakota. Our plan was to arrive at our first Harvest Host destination in Montrose, SD. We passed a familiar landmark in Wall, SD which you might recognize from the movie, Nomadland.

The mascot of Sinclair Oil Corporation in full view of the interstate and just up the street from Wall Drug.

Kinda buggy traveling through South Dakota which required a couple of trips through the car wash to hose off the debris and remove all of those unwelcome hitchhikers. Wax on, wax off.......bugs on, bugs off.

Our first Harvest Host overnight stop was most unusual. Porter Sculpture Park in Montrose, SD, otherwise known as Burning Man Lite. Poor Lenny didn't know what to make of this experience and frankly neither did I, as it sure was out of the ordinary. Wayne Porter is the creator and caretaker of this field of metal sculpture and a most interesting individual to talk with.

My brother wanted this one for his front yard, stating....."the neighbors will never mess with me once they see this". True, however, I am sure the homeowners association would have something to say about his choice of lawn ornaments.

Lenny and I woke up the first morning in the middle of a open field surrounded by unique and at times, somewhat creepy metal shapes, had breakfast and continued our journey to Sioux Falls where we would meet up with some friends for lunch.

Delightful lunch get together with Mona and Cindy from Sioux Falls. A wonderful visit and yet, Lenny and I had to keep moving in order to arrive at our next Harvest Host location in Waterloo, Iowa at Roaming Hansen's Farm.

Sunrise in Iowa along the interstate en route to our next location.......here's a hint....."if you build it....." You know the rest.

KUDOS to the town of Dyersville Iowa for holding onto such a special movie location for over 30 years. The town itself is one of the nicest small communities I have ever seen with some of the warmest, most welcoming folks anywhere. Is this heaven?? Pretty damn close.

No trip to Iowa is complete without a stop in Sac City, home of the largest popcorn ball in the WORLD. Who knew??? 2300lbs of popcorn?? how much butter and salt do you need to flavor this monstrosity???

Lenny is my velcro companion. Never ventures far away from me and always stays very close when food is involved.....especially breakfast. He has a special fondness for scrambled eggs and for dinner....loves Chinese food. And so, on our 3rd travel day, we head for Waynetown Indiana, home of Leaning Locust Woodcraft and met up with Lee, the owner. Parked right next to his shop and had the best sleep of the entire trip. Check out his webpage for further information.

Traveling through Corbin Kentucky, we passed by the original location of the Colonel's restaurant, home of the original recipe. However, I think Colonel would be disappointed today with the size of those drumsticks and biscuits. Talk about downsizing and overpricing.

Lenny and I spent our last night parked behind a Cracker Barrel in Morganton NC. Felt very safe and believe it or not, quiet and secure. Lots of ample lighting for security and we only had a short distance to go before arriving in Raleigh NC the next day. And so, the first leg of our road trip went without a hitch. Spending 7-10 days in Raleigh visiting with family and friends before continuing our travels back through Asheville and points South. Stay tuned, our journey is just underway with MANY more miles to explore.