Indiana to Iowa to South Dakota...

We had one mishap during our travels. My debit card was compromised. :( Not sure where it occurred, though I think it was at a truck stop in NC, but I didn't discover it until we reached Shipshewana. The reason being that it wasn't used until then...I found two charges, dated May 29th, for $75 each in the Raleigh area...we left NC May 19th. I immediately had the card canceled. Then my worry was how to get my new card while we are on the road. Surprisingly, there is a Wells Fargo branch in the small town of Shipshewana and a very nice banker there was able to get a rush replacement over-nighted to me at our campground on a Saturday. Thank you, Wells Fargo.


Despite the debit card drama, we left Shipshewana, having had a thoroughly good time, and headed west. Our first stop was Geneseo, Illinois. It was just supposed to be a one day stop for a rest and to replenish groceries as there were no convenient grocery stores in Shipshewana. We checked in at Geneseo Campground late Saturday afternoon and mentioned needing some groceries, only to be told the only grocery store in town was closing in a few minutes and wouldn't open again until Monday! I can't remember the last time I was anywhere where grocery stores were closed on Sunday. Geneseo looked like a nice campground, level sites, grass and trees and just a peaceful feeling, so we decided to stay an extra day and relax while we waited for the grocery store to open.  

Geneseo Campground

We had a restful time and headed to the store Monday. Fareway Grocery was small by my standards but adequate. Got what we needed and were pleasantly surprised to find they take your groceries out to your car, load them, and return the cart. There are no cart returns in the parking lot. It was, however, a bit pricey compared to the larger grocery stores to which I'm accustomed. 

Amana

Tuesday we traveled just a hundred miles or so to Amana, Iowa to visit the Amana Colonies...a grouping of seven small colonies settled in the nineteenth century by the Inspirationists, a religious group from Germany, fleeing persecution in Europe. The colonies are Amana, Middle Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana,High Amana and Homestead. There are historical homes, shops, museums, German restaurants, breweries, wineries, and bakeries to visit. While we didn't see them all, we did see a good sampling. We enjoyed some German food at Ronnenburg Restaurant, named after a castle in Germany, and at the Ox Yoke Inn, where I enjoyed potato pancakes and applesauce, a favorite of mine. We also bought a bottle of Red Raspberry wine at Ackerman Winery, as well as some jams and jellies.   


We stayed at the Amana Colonies RV Park. Big, level sites, lots of grass, almost no trees, and lots of wind...it's a Passport America park, which helped the budget. There was a rally of deaf people camping near us and it was interesting to watch them having silent, animated conversations. I felt a bit of a kinship towards them due to my impaired hearing, but we did not get to meet any of them.

View from our door - Lewis & Clark State Park

After several days it was time to move on and finish crossing Iowa. We went to Lewis and Clark State Park in Onawa, Iowa, about five miles from the Nebraska border. Lewis and Clark is a beautiful park, right on a large lake, with some full hook-ups. Unfortunately, after a rough storm the first day, the temps stayed up in the nineties, so we spent much of our time indoors. Onawa is a very small town, population about 3000. One McDonalds, a Subway, a Burger King, a pub and a very small, expensive grocery store, Fiesta Foods, no carry-out service there.

As we traveled I-80 through Iowa, I noticed fields of windmills along the Interstate and in the distance. I think they are awesome and wish we would see them all over. Such a beautiful, clean source of energy, I don't know why so many fight against them. Iowa really has some beautiful countryside...and it's not all corn!

Iowa countryside

The severe storm that hit the area when we first arrived caused flooding that closed Interstate 29 N. When we left, four days later, it was still closed, which we didn't find out until we got to to the closed exit...about twenty miles out. We had to double back about ten miles and take a detour into Nebraska. We lost about an hour of drive time but still made our next stop before 5 PM, the R & R Campground, a very comfortable campground with level sites, a pool, a laundry and Passport America rates, located in Mitchell, SD. After we checked in the host handed us each a bottle of ice water...very nice!  Mitchell is the home of the famed Corn Palace. We had considered going to see it, but when we arrived we discovered that the hanging rod in the closet had pulled lose and my clothes were falling to the floor. Jack was able to fix it, but after that we decided we were too tired to see the Corn Palace...maybe next time.

The next morning we got on the road again headed to Wall, SD, home to the famous Wall Drug.