Tornado watch last night

So this is the first time I am putting another post virtually right after another; after posting last nights blog we were watching tv and warnings came across the screen about a tornado warning just North of us in Montana. We looked outside around 7PM and saw a cloud formation which was like no other we've seen before. Then an hour later we could see the lighting in the distance, it got more intense, then a first alert sounded on tv and they interrupted my US Open golf watch to warn people to get into sturdy safe surroundings; they warned that the storm coming could destroy mobile homes. Then it hit, we ARE in a mobile home. The news reported a tornado had hit the ground about 50 miles due North of us but was moving in an Easterly direction. But as this system was moving, the end (right side) just caught the area we were, in Rapid City SD. The wind picked up and it was certainly rocking the trailer! The tv warned about possibility of big hail stones, reports North had the size of baseballs!!
It started to rain hard (or so I thought) but realized it was hailing. I immediately pulled in the slides as we have roller awnings over the slides; I could picture baseballs ripping to shreds these awnings. We were going to bed as this was around 10:30 but realized it was way to loud. The lighting actually came closer and more intense; it was like a fireworks show, a rapid succession of lighting and thunder for about 20 minutes, but we could see it move easterly from us and eventually subsided. Man what a show but it also reminded us of the power God wields through His creation. We've been watching Bill move from Texas first North and now east; the devastation something like this can do is awe inspiring. And there's nothing one can do but be aware of ones surroundings and take precautions. This morning we awoke to a beautiful clear sky with no cloud in site; the forecast is for calmer weather; we hope so, it was very unnerving what we experienced last night.

 never seen this kind of formation before, later we knew why

 we were right along the edge of the system but did get hit wind winds and hail

 we are in Rapid City, the second wave on the left caught us; if this system had been 50 miles more South? we may had to hide in the RV parks office which has part of their building built into the hillside; hmmm, I wonder why!!

June 19 Mt Rushmore

This morning we had another long drive as well we would be gaining an hour as we would enter Mountain Standard time. But it started out with some concern; we've gone 3 months and over 20,000 KM's without any trailer problems; that is until we were just ready to leave this morning. Our rig has a 120volt fridge which works while we are driving with an inverter with extra deep cell batteries. After I disconnect all hoses and 50amp cord I turn on the inverter switch to keep the fridge going. Well it didn't come on. Went through the motions one more time but still didn't come on. With a 6 hour drive in front of us I was concerned if the freezer in particular could stay cold enough in this stretch. We arrived at our next RV park and as quickly as possible plugged in the heavy cord to turn the fridge back on. The ice cubes were just starting to melt but still ok. From here on in we decided to keep the day drives shorter; we've got lots of time to get home leisurely as we made good time from Ontario to here.
The spot we chose is actually a decent spot; when we pulled in we were concerned of the proximity to the freeway but as we set up noticed the sound from traffic was minimal. The very good part is that it is a Passport America park; we get 50% off, only $66 for 3 nights!! SCORE :) When we look back at the KOA for $90 for one night??
The drive today was again very boring, lots of very big farms with lots of corn fields and lots and lots of cattle. I could tell the terrain is more hilly, I didn't get that many miles out of my tank today :(. It is sunny and 87 degrees in the afternoon, it makes up a little for all the rain back East.

 so this was rather strange; we were driving a secondary highway which had a 65MPH speed limit. Then all of a sudden s stop ahead sign!! Now we're in the middle of cattle country with not a car in site!! I did slow to about 30MPH but BLEW through, felt rather strange but I hate stopping fast with this rig. I think i'll be replacing brakes on the truck when I get back

 here's something else you don't see to often, 80 MPH. I stick to at most 70 :)

 some early glimpses that the terrain is changing

 Mountains!! haven't seen them for quite some time

 we hired a pro for this one, check out www.selfieontopofemptydefcontainerontopoflawnchair.com

June 18 Pella Iowa & South Dakota

We had the longest day from Holland Michigan to Pella Iowa, going through 4 states and just under 800 KM's. This is the most trucks we've seen on the road so far, one can see this is a major route from East to West. We also hit another torrential downpour just outside Chicago; apparently this area has been hit with tons of water. The roads in Iowa are very good for the most part, but it seems every State is doing road work.
I was just bagged when we got in to a most wonderful State park 10 minutes from Pella; its worked by the Army's Engineering Corps; veterans are given jobs, and they do a real nice job, we were most impressed. They gave us a real nice handicap spot which was all paved; the first paved site on the trip!
Most days we would get in early enough to explore the local town but not this time. It was time to BBQ the tenderloins we had picked up at the Coscto on route. And it was just simply yummy!
An early bedtime (we had gained an hour heading West) but the problem with that is my body says wake up after 8 hours, which I did at 6AM. It was too early for breaky so I hit the shower. After coffee and breakfast we headed into Pella. The pictures and captions will highlight most of what we did. We really enjoyed this Dutch town which was formed by about 200 immigrants who came here in 4 ships in 1864.
This would be the first time we would leave a town this late in the day. After finishing checking out Pella, we started for South Dakota at 1:30. Caroline went on her ipad while we drove to figure out where we would finish today; amazing technology we have that we can do this on the road! We chose a KOA as it had all the hookups (the State park in Pella only had electrical and we were running out of fresh water) we wanted and the reviews indicated excellent wifi (which it is). We were also reminded today of the dangers of the road; as we headed up I29 towards Sioux City, many red lights ahead brought us to a speed of about 30 MPH; we passed what appeared to be a pickup pulling what I first thought were two trailers back to back (in a number of states this is permissible) but realized the whole trailer part had been crumpled off its frame and was intertwined between the truck and frame, it was a real mess. Caroline thought she had seen two bodies laying in the grass but I said if they were dead they would probably had tarps over them (which they did not), so we don't don't if anybody was hurt or not. But it is a grim reminder that accident can happen. The other noticeable thing the last two drives were the number of deer killed on the side of the road, I counted 5! I haven't seen one yet walking along the side of the road so im guessing these kills are happening at night. I do keep my right hand ready most times to hit the trailer brake lever on my dash if I need to react to anything; stopping 10 tons quickly can be tricky; I have stopped from 60MPH quickly once for a stoplight, not nice!
So we made it through tornado alley with good weather.
A really good day, we're heading to Mt Rushmore area tomorrow and spending the weekend.

 first look at the Mississippi

 more construction :(

 one of the nicest spots on our trip

 the BBQ KING!!

 the final result; yummy!!

 the campsite was right beside a dam and river

 the tallest working windmill in the USA; yup seems every State has something biggest, longest, best :)

 some notes on the mill

 a very nice recreate of Holland

 Yes, Pella windows started right here; its privately owned by a local family

 AWWWWWW :)

 lots of Dutch business

 and more

 Mr Timmer was our private tour guide in the Dutch historical village and Windmill. This replica of Madurodam is apparently more well done than the one done in Holland according to Dutch historians

 some history on one of the first log cabins built by the Dutch immigrants of Pella

 rebuilt

 the history of the immigrants

 and yes, young Wyatt Earp grew up in Pella!!

 I was kinda shocked; Caroline said to ME: hey lets BOTH get in there. Moi, Heh?

 the drive from Iowa to South Dakota, flat flat flat; and I've never seen so much corn growing in the fields

 we scooted through Nebraska as well

June 16 Holland day 2

We could retire here; what a nice place! We slept in this morning, for the first time in a long time after our long drive yesterday.
We started the day by taking the bikes off the rack and headed for the great lake, water, sand dunes, AND SUUUUUNNN. We're really hoping we get lots more from here on in, the time in Canada was unfortunately quite dreary. The lakeshore here is really gorgeous. After our long bike ride we headed into Holland; we first checked out a klompen factory; no one was working but we saw the machinery and finished products. At this plant they even had plastic and cloth klompen (for those who don't want to wear 6 pairs of socks :). next we checked out a Dutch village; after buying some speculaas and got our souvenirs we had a light lunch of croquettes and coffee, not as good as the ones we buy from ladies aid :)
From there we drove to Windmill Island a preserved area donated by an early pioneer; the Dutch were here a lot earlier than our typical pioneers in Canada. I tried to speak some Dutch to workers in these different tourist traps; they looked at me funny. After I asked if they were Dutch, they said yes but it was their great grand parents who immigrated in the early 1900's.
From here we drove to Saugatuk, a quaint little village 20 minutes south of Holland. here we found a cute little pub/restaurant right on the water for our dinner. A very nice day, of course sunshine always help.
Since entering Michigan we've encountered a lot of road construction, both on the freeways and in Holland. At least they're trying hard here to fix their crappy roads, unlike other areas where nothing is being done.
PS lots of pictures this time; must've been the good weather and the fact we're in our "home country"

 not too often you see a wooden lighthouse

 good place for a photo opp

 I hired a guy to take this one. check out his website at www.selfieinfrontofthebikewithprecisionbythemaster.com

 this is called Tunnel Park. I wonder why! the dunes on the other side were very nice

 the other side

 a Dutch farm with a Klompen factory

 THE machinery; still making them in America

 big shoes to fill

 there was no way I was going to not include this one. Thanks sweety for being a trooper

 yes I was wearing the right shirt for today :) no I did not buy the hootje

 the Dutch village, a nice recreation

 as well

 the windmill was purchased from the Netherlands in 1964 and brought to Holland Michigan; it was THE last one purchased before preservation measures were put into place in the Netherlands

 before our tour of the windmill, we were presented with a traditional klompen dance. the ironic thing was they were all 4 girls; I guess the boys have run off

 very nice reproduction

 this merry go around is over 100 years old, we took a ride (aaawwww :)) check out our hired photographers website www.selfiebythemasterontheferrygoroundtakingahotpicgtureoftheawesomecouple.com

 lots of construction in Michigan

 this ones for Kevin, my son in law

 nice shirt Bill!!

June 15 Netherlands

Ok so we're in Holland Michigan :). This morning we left Dunnville, home of the "Mudcats"; we got on the road by 8:30, the earliest start on this trip since our target was Grand Rapids, a 5 hour 45 minute MapQuest drive. The weather started out somewhat foggy as we made our way over to the 401. As we shifted over to the 402 the sun poked through a couple times; the 402 is the route to Port Huron, the best route to Grand Rapids. As we got close to the border we all of a sudden saw the long line up of trucks. We figured at least 300-400 long!! First we came up to a long lineup for a toll; I guess the Ontario government was gonna get us one more time!! Then as we got through the toll a nice six lane bridge with construction that brought it down to 2!! We got to the US border, the female "guard" asked us the normal questions, but then got to the food. Fruit, veggies; yah ok. Then a strange one: do you have any eggs? I said yes I think I had a couple. She asked how long before we got back into Canada; I said about a month. She looked into the skies and thought for a moment and said i'll need to take them due to the avian flu. Really?? You're gonna take tomorrows breakfast away from me?? I smiled and led her into the rig and opened the fridge to retrieve my breaky. And then she asked me if I wanted the carton back? I smiled before I turned around and said politely no. I mean are you kidding me? No questions on any purchases, booze, just eggs??
The roads were hit and miss, some good stretches, some bad. I sure hope it gets better the further west we go :(
As we got closer to Grand Rapids, I was still feeling good for already being on the road for 7 hours so we decided to load up at the Costco. Just before we got off he expressway though I hit a rainstorm I had never witnessed before; I literally had to slow to 30 MPH and put my 4 way flashers on. I couldn't believe how hard it was raining. We had booked a place in Holland right before this so we thought a nice break was needed as well. This Costco had lots of organic stuff, a good score :)
We got to our spot with always some trepidation as we never get to see the parks we reserve in advance. Well were we pleasantly surprised. Not only are we in Dutch country, but the park is one of the best. Its also the first park we have been to with a concrete pad! AND the owners are Dutch!! Nothing like being at home :)
Some tidbits:
This is the longest stretch ive driven in one day; just over 700 km's and over 8.5 hours
We just crossed over 20,000 KM's since we left Palm Springs March 23rd
369 hours od driving so far since Palm Springs (which includes day trips from our spots)

 a very nice spot. it is owned by the Vandenberg's. I haven't met them yet but the staff was very helpful. we arrive at 5:20, 20 minutes after the office was supposed to close. The lady was just turning off the lights when I showed up and promptly said c'mon in and checked us in.

 We're in Holland and Zeeland is next door!

 the sign says it all

 on #402 toward the border tons off windmills

 I have never seen such a long lineup of trucks ready to cross the border. Im sure many were really ticked off. I asked the attendant at the toll, she gave the classic answer "I have no idea whats happening at the border" (10 minutes after the toll)