MI Day 46 Saturday July 23, 2022, From North Utica IL,to Grand Raids MI

 (Sat evening...Gonna post in the morning.  Pretty tired  tonight. Highlights, --Big storm in Il,--- sewer hose  dragged along on I-80 in 5 lane traffic.  See ya!)

Story coming!

NEXT DAY -FEEL STRONGER

Here we go  on the last day of this 6 1/2 week trip to Montana and back. It ended up that the toughest driving of the entire trip was on this leg.

It started smooth enough, although we had a large rain over night in North Utica IL but by morning it had passed and the skies were clear again. We were on the road by 9:15 and headed east on I-80 all the way to Indiana where we would pick up I-94 to Michigan.

We made a few stops for gasoline and we had hoped for an Arby's for lunch but they were not available or present.  We did stop for gas and  had lunch at a Burger King where there was parking for cars and truck. That can be an issue if you start to pull in and there is not adequate room. We have parked on adjacent roads and streets many times.

The approaching storm  at Joliet IL

There was some wind but not severe.

The storm lingered for quite a while

 

We could see in the NE and  east, a storm building up as we approached Joliet, where there was also much construction on the highways. Just outside  Joliet the storm  hit and it was strong. Most vehicles had slowed to 50 mph or less,  but traffic still moving. I had my wipers on full speed. Then the road suddenly went really bad. This, we calculated, was the roughest , bumpiest, and chuck hole filled road we had ever traveled on with the trailer. No question!  It went on for about 20 miles before another  part of the road was smoother. All the time the rains were pummeling the road. We had hit some chuckholes along the way but none so extreme and for so long a stretch of road. One stretch of concrete highway  had those undulations that give you a workout, but nothing near this intensity  for so long.

We finally got onto good road  and the rain diminished, but lasted another hour or so. This led to many closed lanes on the interstates, both the 4 lane ,the 3 lane and the 2 lane all the way into Mchigan on I -196.

I think in total that day we had 15 different road stoppages or slow downs (0-5 mph) until we were well into Michigan. There was some work on I-196 but it did not slow us down much.

During that last stretch on I-80, a large truck ,who was next to us in one of those very slow. slow downs rolled his window down and  said  we were dragging a sewer hose.  UGH! I was  in the middle lane of five lanes, but after a few miles managed to pull over on an exit to look at what happened. The passenger side of the hose cap had dislodged  (Maybe there were some bumpy roads...HA!)  and the end 5 feet of hose had become useless after all that dragging. The hose (it is in two sections) at the other end was fine and can be used.  I put them in the bed of the truck and we continued on the way.

The storm begins to clear around Gary IN

Our last camping spot had many birds in Utica IL

That tall IL corn. Note mailbox at 4.5 feet height

 

At the junction of I-94 and I-196 there is a newly designed  exit where  I misread the signs, in spite of Ruth's warning, and ended up on I-94 headed for Detroit. UGH again! So it was a six mile drive to the exit and return to the I-196 ramp again. There were signs at the turn around, so I think the DOT knew that people would miss that exit as it moved differently than before.  ( I imagined there was a sign there that said "Hey ,Jim, this is for you !")

***We did have a winner in the Bird guessing contest. We saw 163 birds and on the last day saw two new for this trip. That changed the  standing on the last day,  as two others could have won had two birds not been added to the totals on the last day. So, (drum roll!)  Annie Buckel-Parrish was the winner with her guess of 167, which was one bird closer than Emil Jenson (168). Congratulations to Annie.

 But the rest of the ride was smooth and error less.  We arrived home at 4:30 PM, tired but safe.  Bed time for me was 9:00 PM which is a tad early. Thanks for reading and following along if you did. It was a great trip and we will catch you again when we travel, ...next time.

IL Day 45 Friday July 22, 2022, moved from Newton IA to Nature's Way RV in N. Utica, IL

 IL Day 45 Friday July 22, 2022, moved from Newton IA to Nature's Way RV  in N. Utica, IL

This will be the last night on the road .Any "wrap up" will come after we get home and settled in the house. --PHOTOS PENDING

 The weather had some black clouds in it today ,but as the day warmed up, one could see the long, drifting  dark streak of rain, trying to reach the ground but not ever doing so. At one point on the highway, there was a spray coming up, but there was no sign of rain before or after.?? After awhile the clouds disappearedand the sky was blue. Another great weather day. 77 F most of the day.

Foreboding clouds with no rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made four stops on this 235 mile drive into west central Illinois.The main difference was in the heighth of the corn crop. It appers that Illinois corn is about 1-2 feet higher than the Iowa corn. Someone can dispute that but this photo might convince you . Certainly the Il corn is an constant feature of the landscape.,  We did not see any of the large elevators like we did in the west, and there are more "tree lots"  than before and of course as a friend already pointed out, it is greener the further east you go.

We drove by the many venues of this part ofthe country (Iowa and Illinois) as in the President Hoover Museum, Amana, Pioneer Village,  Grinell, and others.

some of the Iowa wind generators

good advice!

the tall Illinois corn

 Gasoline really varied  in price from the $3.69 in Iowa to the $4.89 in Illinois. But we filled up in Iowa so to avoid the higher price until we had to. 

Ruth and I had one really good lunch at a Cracker barrel in Springfield Iowa. Did you now that Cracker Barrel is now serving alcohol? Seems that it is not a big item but, they started that about a year ago (Father's Day). At that restaurant our server was a handsome lad , who had just finished his BS in physical therapy and was staying in school (while working) and going to get his DPT ("doctorate") in three years..Good Luck Isaac. 

 

Last campground at Utica IL

Worker and scenery near Iowa City Iowa

 The campground in North Utica was a former KOA and has some great features to it. One, for us, is that there is a great "margin" all around the park, and a stream running through it. It was said that an expert birder this spring, counted 109  species  ofbirds in a week of birding. It might be true, as I spent one hour in an area  near the creek and came up with 13 birds and three ("heard"), so it must be true. It is a lovely spot with  many trees and some open areas.

I finished my fish, applesauce and one corn bread , for supper ,as Ruth passed as i twas quite filling at lunch (the egg plate for her).  So that was day 45 with on more day to go. 

I hope you have enjoyed  being along and maybe learned a few new things as well as some old.  I'll let you know when the next edition  of "Stromboli's Rolling Log" is published.-Jim

IA Day 44 Thursday July 21, 2022 Moved from Gretna NE to Newton Iowa

 IA Day 44  Thursday July 21, 2022 Moved from Gretna NE to Newton Iowa

This is one of those..."not much happened today " days. When you travel 165 miles on one highway  and drive from point to point,  you can talk about the scenery (which I will) and the stops you made to stretch or  pottie breaks or filling the tank with gasoline, ($3.65)  and that's about all there is. Oh! Except the heavy traffic on I-80 especially the trucks. It was so entertaining that for awhile Ruth kept track of the colors of the trucks that we saw on both sides of the highway. Of course there are more white ones (by design) than any others so she went to the colors. Her research,  of a couple of hours, showed that red trucks outnumber blue by a small margin. But, when she started counting RV's it was a surprising result. The most often seen camping rig was the pull along trailer, followed by the Fifth heeel, then the motorhome an finally the Class 3  rig. Who would have thought it?  Of course who would have surveyed it? In the first place?

We ran across a type of planting here in hilly Iowa, that we saw only briefly in Nebraska and that was the terrace planting. And now that it is harvest time (for winter wheat and hay) we can see how effective that is. Research shows that they have modifed that over the years. Earlier  they would bank the dropline with sod and that would hold the moisture . Today they use grass on the dropline and that does the same thing, only added now, at times  are pipes that help move the water to a different level when needed.  This type of planting is used on slopes of 1-6% grade.

Some of the terracing of the corn crop.

A closer look at the way that terracing has been built

 

 Western Iowa is NOT flat. It is very hilly and has a number of small woodlots thrown in. The key crops are still beans, hay and corn with an emphasis on the latter.  Iowa produced 2 and one half million bushels in 2020 which is 16% of the US corn. Together with Nebraska, Illinois and Minnesota they produce 54% of the USA corn. Iowa also produces oats and hay, red clover, flaxseed, rye and wheat. The primary fruits produced in Iowa are apples.

 This state is very proud of its heritage and history, especially the farming aspect. One 'rest area' had a huge display of farmng since the beginning to indicte how much soil had been lost in 150 year of farming. The top soil had gone from 23 inches in 1850, to 5 inches today!!! Many antique stores,too.

One aspect of Iowa that surprised us was the amount of Wind Power generation that is present. More than 40% of ALL of Iowa's electric needs  come from wind generation. It produces over 10,000 megawatts from 5,590 wind generators,

A few of the 5, 590 wind generators in Iowa.

 

The extreme heat of the previous week has weakened a bit as the high today was just 87 F.  Tonight will be the coolest in two weeks at 66 F by 6:00 AM.  It is still sunny all day  with a 50% chance of rain tomorrow.  I doubt that, but the last time I said that, we had a tornado warning. It rained amd the wind blew hard.

 I looked up eating places here in Newton, Iowa, and checked the local Pizza Hut. It seems that it has been closed since the first year of the pandemic, because of the bankruptcy of NPC, the mother company of some 300  Pizza Huts in this area. They are 1 Billion $ in dept due labor and food costs  especially brought to home by the pandemic. The unemploymentrate for  Iowa is 2.7% .

Tomorrow we head for Peru IL and another one night stand. We will be joining the Saturday traffic on the I-80 corridor to get to Michigan.

 

 NE Day 43 Wednesday July 20, 2022, Last day at Gretna, KOA (Omaha NE)

All good things eventually come to an end and this trip is no exception. Today is the last day when go out to look for birds so the last two days we can spend in the campgrounds pursuing the same. It's all on road from here on.

Today's vist.

The directions on the Detour sign to get to the Refuge

One portion of the "Chute"  that flows but not a river anymore.

 

Today was another beautiful day and not as hot as some. It started out at 70 F and creapt up to the mid 80's by afternoon. This evening it is comfortable (low humidity) at 90 F,  and a light breeze from the north. Ruth put on some chicken on the grill this evening, so we had our last grilled supper. Added to that a bit more of the potato salad and some Tillamook "Mudslide" ice cream, made for a perfect repast. I had taken a swim after we returned from the Boyer Chute NWR and that felt great. No one was in the pool, but as I was finishing three young boys (12,10 and 8) sat with me while I dried off.  They were very polite and inquisitive, of course at that age. It seems their Dad was a submariner stationed on the west coast and mom was staying here with them until they got a place in Omaha.  Then he would reassign and hopefully they would be together again. They had just come from Guam ( during two years of the covid time) and were happy to be back in the states. We talked about birding, travel, the latest in i- phones, and of course  our homes and where we were born. The three boys were born in Washington state, Delaware, and South Carolina. It was fun time talking with them.

 In the centuries before European settlement in this area, the Missouri River maintained multiple, braided channels. During times of flooding, the river would change course suddenly and unpredictably across its wide floodplain. Between 1820 and 1937, natural meandering of the river moved it 3 miles eastward from the Fort Calhoun bluffs (site of historic Fort Atkinson) to its present location. The area that is now Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was originally an island of sand and sediment deposited in the Missouri River by the Boyer River. Gradually, the Missouri River eroded channels (chutes) through the sediment. One of the major channels was Boyer Chute, named after the Boyer River, which in turn got its name from a settler who hunted and trapped in the watershed before the time of Lewis and Clark. The Refuge is a joint Federal and local conservation partnership designed to restore habitat along the 3-mile long chute. Riparian woodland, tallgrass prairie, and wetlands are the major habitats that are being restored and protected. These habitats benefit Missouri River fishes, migratory birds, endangered species, and resident wildlife.

 Our trip to the NWR was short and also tested our navigation  skills without a GPS or map. It seems the road into the NWR was closed but not until we were about 1/4 of a mile from the Refuge. We phoned the Refuge to find out an alternative route in. It seems the directions were printed on the "DETOUR sign.  We followed that and after a rather circuitous drive, we did get there.

There is no visitor's center and all directions and info are on the Kiosk, but I picked up a brochure with map yesterday at DeSoto so all was well.

How the river has changed (Missouri)

A look at the Refuge by diagram.

Yet to be named. It  is not a sunflower

 

 

 

 

It was not a good birding day as the birds are scattered quite a lot by now, with a few like the Red Headed Woodpecker still feeding their young. It seemed the Baltimore and Orchard  Orioles were doing the same. This did not seem to be a place where Lewis and Clark stayed, but is a river, originally that flowed into the Missouri.   The Boyer River.)It had later been blocked, and hence the beginning of "the chute'. The auto tour is just 2 miles one way and 1 1/2 miles the other . We ate lunch in the shade and then headed for home. There were a few flowers growing, but little else in animals or birds. It is July!

After returning  to the Trl,, I put on my swimsuit and headed for the pool where I had the pool to myself. It was refreshing to say the least.

Then it was time for photo downloading, email, and checking next accommodations.

Supper was that chicken and the ice cream, and then new neighbors to meet, One family is meeting their grandma in Omaha and then a wedding on the weekend.

Another Red Headed Woodpecker.

 

Tomorrow we head for Iowa (one stop) and then on Friday to Peru, IL,  before we head for home.

Tomorrow will be a  short  blog, but we will check in.

NE Day 42, Tuesday July 19, 2022 At Gretna NE

 NE Day 42, Tuesday July 19, 2022  At Gretna NE 

As I mentioned yesterday , there are two National Wildlife Refuges near Omaha, both on the Missouri River. The first one that we visited , today, was called De Soto NWR. The name comes from the nearby town on the bend of the river (at that time) De Soto.

Baby Kingbird waiting for Mom and some food.

Missouri River looking across -(flow  R to L)

Missouri River looking downstream. (Near Lewis and Clark camping site.)

 

The Missouri River has had in it's history, many bends which have turned into many "ox bows". The Ox Bows determined properties over the centuries. One of these Oxbows is a feature in the NWR here at DeSoto. In the 1860's, right after the Civil War,  a ship named the "Bertrand" was loaded in St Louis and headed up the Missouri River toward Fort Benton, Montana. It was taking supplies mainly to the mining camps on the upper Missouri. At one point  (in the NWR now)it hit a large overturned tree in the river, and in one hour was sunk in the soft sand of the river. Everyone was saved but  all goods were lost.

Location of one stop.

The notes tell much about their stays here.

Short version of the Bertrand story.

 

Fast forward some some 120 years.  (1968) A young 'salvor' got permission to resurrect the ship's  cargo  of which there was 120 tons of it still intact. The sand had protected the cargo including dresses, shoes, miner's pick and shovels, some glassware,and personal belongings  among the salvage. Today that "loot" is in a museum in the basement of the Visitor's Center at DeSoto NWR . It is an amazing display.  The Oxbow today is completely cut off from the River which is still flowing nearby. The Refuge makes up most of the Oxbow.

The flip side of "IOWA"

The flip side of"Nebraska"

One of the Refuge Roads.Yes we crossed the state lines 4 times.

 

Ruth and I took the auto tour of the  refuge, and being in the middle of summer, the number of birds seen was fewer than the last time we were here in the spring. The main difference being  that the female were with their young and we did get to see both the Red Headed Woodpecker and the Eastern Kingbird feeding their young.  It is  13 miles around the auto tour and the water levels, as in much of the west, were down considerably. We stopped from time to time to listen to the songs to get our listening skills up a notch. We certainly now know the difference between the Dickcissel and the Yellow Warbler by song. Another bird that was common today was the Orchard Oriole. Its dark black colors and orange wing marking stood out consistently.

We saw no Eagles, and only the Turkey Vulture from the bird of prey and large bird

A baby Kingbird being fed by Mom.

A Red Headed Woodpecker feeding its young.

a Willow Flycatcher

 

We ate lunch while Ruth attempted to get some photos of a nesting Red headed Woodpecker and ts young.  She did!

It was a thrill to step on the ground that Lewis and Clark camped  at one point along the Missouri River. They had made 4 stops here along this point while trading with the 'Otoes' band of Indians (Sioux and Ho Chunk)). See photos for some of Clark's notes along this bank of  the Missouri.

The trip to the Refuge was a 40 minute one and rather ironic to take the freeway to get there. Considering Lewis and Clark rowed their  'pirogue' that moved at zero miles per hour. It was a cultural contrast for us to be in that historical, isolated area and then on the freeway on the way back to the trailer.

It was a good, hot, (93F) day and we ended it with Ruth's marinated Pork Loin chops on the grill with a side of potato salad, and that marmalade sauce.

Tomorrow we take  a look at the other NWR called 'Boyer Chute'. It got its name  from... Let's wait til tomorrow to answer that one.

NE Day 41, Monday July 18, 2022, MovEd from Grand Island NE to near Omaha NE

 Day 41, Monday July 18, 2022, Moved from Grand Island NE to near Omaha NE.

When I say that it is"near" Omaha, that is an exaggeration as we are 26 miles from downtown. Actually it is a great campsite out in the rural  area, so to speak. Omaha is really growing. Some pundits claim that it has grown in the last 10 years as much as 20%. Some expect it to be 1 million people by 2054 (it is at 800,000 in the metro area now.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Our campsite near Gretna NE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A round barn that Ruth's keen eye spotted today.

 

 Ruth and I both remarked how  noticeable the rolling land is now as opposed to the gentler long hills  further west. We took a ride into "town" (never got into town) to get the truck a lub and oil change. All went well  there with three bays busy and people lined up for service at the "QUICK  LUBE". Garrett and his crew took good care of us, and we were out of there in 45 minutes and headed for the nearest Farefoods Market.  A few items were needed, especially Ruth's water. She has to stay on the Spring water for digestion and cannot switch  types of water. We accomplished that and headed back to the trailer. There was still time to do some "stuff" as it was just 1:00 PM when we arrived in the campground. (Early fees for arriving too early. --$15.00). 

The site was a good gravel site and we were under two large shade trees that really helped in the 93 F temps today. I noticed later that the A/C didn't stay on as long with the trailer parked in the shade.

 

The Cathedral of Christ church, New Brunswick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This campground is very full, and being just  off I-80, we would assume that access is quick, but it is not. It is  about an 11 mile trip off the Interstate to get  to it. I actually missed the entrance at the top of a hill and fortunately there was a crossroad about 1/4 mile past it where I could turn around.

Humpback Whale  in Ruth Bay Alaska

Antelope Canyon in N.Arizona

 

This park (KOA) is one of two KOA's near Omaha, one near the east side and one on the west.  When I choose the park, I was looking at the best access to the two NW refuges here . There were no parks along the river (Missouri) where there were sewer access issues that was because of the flood plain there along the river. Here there was a good drainage. So I elected for the one a bit further away but with sewer .

 There are not many photos today as the trip was just 3 hours enroute. I will try  to resurrect some of the old ones that might be from previous trips. How would you like that?

 NE Day 40,  Sunday July 17,2022, Last day at Grand Island NE

 

Bull Buffalo at the Crane Trust wild Prairie.

 

"Let's go see some Buffalo!" said Ruth to noone, today. But I got the message as the Buffalo did not cooperate with the posing yesterday for the photos. So that is where we started today

OH<!!! ALMOST FORGOT!!! WE WERE UNDER A TORNADO WARNING LAST NIGHT (9PM) AND SOUGHT SHELTER IN THE OFFICE BUILDING MADE OF CINDER BLOCKS.

All went well, it rained hard and blew hard but no injuries or damage here. There was a Tornado  about 10 miles away. A lady from California (never experienced a tornado) asked what do we do? She said..." I know about fires and heat, but not this. 

So we headed for the Buffalo and found tgat there were now over 50 head from theoriginalherd of 42 that wasut here over a year ago. Themain herd was off n the distance mosly lieing down an resting. The big bull was closer to te fence than yesterdayso Ruth did get some shots of value.  Mine came out quite clear as well. Taking photos throug the windshield does not always work as it either darkens the image or puts a glare on the photo tat you often donot see in the lens.

One of the homes in that rural"subdivision"

Looking across the lawn and lake to the other side of the subdivision

The Platte River near the original trail along side it.

 

I had looked up the area  beyond the Buffalo and it showed a "suburban "development apart from any town or infrastructure. It seems there was a develoment  calles "Atrim Acres" of about 200 homes with a well platted design surrounding private "lakes' for each house or group of the them. We drove through that, but did not see any birds of consequence,  excepet Canadian Geese on the "lakes".  (Small, with 6-8 houses on a "lake"). We did pick up some 32 birds in that drive along Platte River Road.  We did not  realize that we were on the original trail called the "Old Nebraska Trail".  It followed the Platte River from the  1840's to the 1860's. All these trails led to the Rocky Mountains  and beyond.

Blood root or Sweet potato Vine  (single blooms)

The old road along Platte River

Those were gruesome days.

 

That ended the day as we headed for the trailer and wrapping up our time here in central Nebraska.  In the afternoon we downloaded the photos, I drained the sewer in prep for tomorrow when I will do it one more time.And I began to identify Ruth's photos that needed names and places  and dates (Dates are automatic, but it is good to match them up with the place at that time.) Better to do it sooner than after the memory forgets where that place was!

 

Burning slash after clearing

The campground after we came back this PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we came back tothe campground (at 1:30 ) today the campground was about empty. The one nighters were gone added to the weekenders who headed back on Monday .There were virtually no  RV's in the park at one end. That will change this evening as more stop  and continue their journey. What a wonderful country we have in which we can move about so freely.

One of the roads where the birding was good.

 

Tomorrow  we head for Omaha NE on the state line (Iowa) where we will try to visit two NWR's, one of which we had been to before. But I will save the info on that one unti we visit and tell you about it. Think Riverboats and the Missouri River.