Blue Laws and insanity

 When you do the same thing over and expect a different outcome...... Insanity

 

 One of the most perplexing things we, as westerners, encounter on our American wander are blue laws.

 Quite simply, we didn't get that there are any real benefits to them. 

  Seems, by talking to folks and reading the local publications, there are just as many drinkers in "dry" areas as there are in "wet" areas.

 The difference being the cost and availability of booze.

 Here is a real example of the silliness that some of these laws spawn.

 Four of us (My folks and Gwen and I) went to eat at a new fancy steak-house in Arkansas on a Sunday.

 We order drinks, three margaritas and a gin and tonic, the waitress asked us "are you in the drink club?" 

 "Uh, well- no, what's that?" said I, forgetting for a moment my position on the globe and the day of the week ( A common meandering symptom )

 She brings us some credit card sized cards and asks us to fill them out.

 Innocuous enough questions, name, age, signature.... OK

 We fill them all out and then she comes back with a tray and our drinks, we all hold up our dutifully recorded admission to alcohol use when she says;

 "Oh no, you keep those in your wallet, just sign our book and put your card number right next to it"

 OHH KAYY!  My mind at this time was reeling, In order to comply with a local ordinance concerning the consumption of adult beverages. The seller has to get the name in writing from someone that they don't know and that information must be corroborated by a card they will never read.

 I asked if I could sign everybody's name, what the heck? give it a try.

 "Sure" she hands me the book.

 Serves the drinks and says "be right back"

 This is too much, I always wanted to be Mickey Mouse

 M. Mouse #2235

 And so on, I named my mom Daffy Duck

 The meal was unremarkable, far below the fare we tasted at Fred's Fish House or the Blu Pig

 I have never come across any information that indicates that a blue law has been voted into existence since the repeal of prohibition.

 They just seem damn hard to vote OUT of existence.

 

Aspenglow

              The Mountains above Santa Fe

Aspenglow

 

 After surviving the Kansas transit we stop at the Eastern edge of the Rockies for a quick rest.

 then straight south to New Mexico following the Rio Grande to Taos and Santa Fe where we visit my uncle Pat for a few days.

 Pat is a natural historian with a nonstop narration of the areas history and shows us great places to eat and takes us on nature treks to see the aspens which are in full glory.

 Santa Fe is just plain wonderful, the architecture of the area is apparently mandated to the "Santa Fe" style, so the whole area has a cohesiveness that other areas could certainly benefit from.

 Wouldn't L.A. look better if it had to adhere to a Disneyland motif?

 

 New Mexico has a lot going for it, mountains, deserts, lonely roads pass mesas, desserts, a long interesting history chock full of Spanish conquests, American conquests, deserts. and the last economic conquest, Indian casinos.

 

 And as far as we could tell, no blue laws (more on that later) 

   

 

Kansas Blowin in the wind

                        Two hands at all times! 40 mph crosswind!

Kansas, what the heck was Dorothy thinking!

 

 I had been across Kansas before on a motorcycle trip, so I was somewhat prepared.

 

 Flat lands and wind.

 Kansas served up her best for us with shrieking side winds, see the pic above and look at the steering wheel, it's pitched over at forty five degrees on a straight road! the wind is so strong and gusty that at the end of the day I'm soaked in sweat.

 

 We passed the time making up Kansas jokes:

 Why did the wizard land in Oz?

 No balloon could land in Kansas unless it was one foot from the ground in Oklahoma.

 Why are there no litter patrols in Kansas?

 There are, but the signs are in Nebraska.

 

 We did find a safe, but seedy haven in Hays.

 There is a brewpub. Proof that despite the overabundance of "Jesus saves" signs every ten miles God does love Kansas, and at least wants some of them to be happy. 

 Made it through in two days, whew!!! 

 

The Gems of Arkansas

                            Big caterpillar
                   Gwen gets Diamond Fever!

Southern Arkansas Diamond Mine!

 After a very relaxing stay in Mountain Home, where Ron and I battled fiercely on the golf course (I finally beat him on the last round, and refused to play any more, he he) we headed south to seek our fortunes in the diamond mines of Arkansas

 

 The Crater of Diamonds in southern Arkansas is a diamond producing (sort-of) area where for six fifty a day per miner, you can dig up mud to your heart's content and screen the results in the hope you will find a diamond.

 

 Some people (we were told) have struck it rich here, we, on the other hand ended up with priceless memories.

 It's a trip well worth it.

 

 No, we didn't find any REAL diamonds, but we had a lot of good laughs with the other miners and got excited over pieces of glass ( YOO HOO! crap.) and got muddy, and had an incredible motorcycle ride to and from the park through winding forrest roads in southern Arkansas (One of my votes for most beautiful states)

 

 At the Tool rental shed we met some ranger/docents that had captured a huge caterpillar and were asking anyone if they knew what it was, I didn't know, but I knew how to find out.

 It was an Imperial Moth caterpillar, I looked it up on "What's that bug"

 A website I love,  bookmark the link.

 

Sister city to Los Osos

                         Spotless!!!!!

There are some things you just can't let by.

 I give you the weirdest, by far, official display by a large visitor center.

 The CLEAN toilet of the Great lakes Visitor Center.

  The visitor center is a huge building with interpretive trails and an observation tower overlooking Lake Superior.

 But if you look closely inside it harbors a darker side.

 Evidently, the construction of the center was a hotly debated subject by the local population, tucked away on side walls is a chronicle of misdeeds of vandals chopping down the poles to the "Coming soon the Great lakes visitor center" sign.

 Nasty letters to the editor calling it a monumental waste of money.. etc.

 Well it didn't work, the center stands as a monument to the forward thinking of local folks proud of their home, and proud of their housekeeping skills.

Either that, or the toilet is a poke in the eye to the doubters and naysayers.

 We, being just tourists, had to just stare in wonderment.

 This for you Los Osos,   You are not alone!

Pleasure Cruise part two

                Mississippi River Valley, Illinois.   Fall Color

Pleasure cruise part two.

 After Minnesota we travel down through Missouri to Arkansas to pick up passengers for another pleasure cruise.

 My mother Clara and her hubby Ron embark for a cruise up to Wisconsin and the northern woods to visit family and see the leaves change.

 We follow the Mississippi though forgotten towns and 

cornfields, stopping in places like Clarksville and dipping into Illinois to camp at deserted state parks.

 Vacationland this is not, RV parks are few and far between.

 The welcome in Wisconsin makes up for all, with Ron's son Shannon and lovely wife Cathy and his other son Eric showing us the great places to eat (all you can eat fried walleye.. yum!) Then Cathy proceeds to feed us to death with incredible meals of lamb (local farmer's) and the bounty of a rich farming community.

 Ron and I played a round of golf at Teal Lake, a course that would easily get hundreds of dollars a round  and a wait for a tee time in California, is walk-on here.  We had the course to ourselves (which was good, we nearly ran out of balls!)

 Very long, very narrow, BIG trees, lotsa water.   Fun.

 We then meandered across the top of Wisconsin touching Michigan and the great lakes, visiting the Great lakes visitor center and the Maritime museum before completing the circle back though Illinois and Missouri.

 The Fall is just happening, some of the trees are insanely colorful, mesmerizing us for mile upon mile.

 We will rest for a few days in Mountain Home, Arkansas and then...  

 Maybe we'll go see if Toto made it back to Kansas.

 It's a big country, with a big middle, the south is still reeling from hurricanes, the north is getting cold and the west coast beckons like a siren.

 And from there it's straight down to Mexico.

   

 

  

Minnesota nice

        Us at the falls,  what a great place!

Minnesota Nice

 

 After North Dakota we reentered civilization as we know it, staying at the Detroit Lakes RV camp. 

 Very nice, (especially after N.D.) It had a small lake with paddle-boats, lots of frogs and a cornfield that you could pick all you wanted.

 We were invited by our dear friends Joan and Dean Elwell to come to the Minneapolis area for a visit, so south we headed.

 We are so lucky to have such great friends, Joan and Dean and their (above average, of course) kids, Aiden and Katie made us right at home with a super-cool parking spot in their backyard.

 Once settled in with a heartfelt welcome, they toured us around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area for four days.

 What a GREAT place, there are museums, The Minnesota Institute of the Arts, The St Paul Landmark building to name two that we visited (along with others)

 Huge theaters like the Guthrie, where we sipped drinks in the ubermodern bar on the seventh floor.

 Wonderful restaurants like Nye's all oozing tons-o-history

 We literally ate and drank ourselves silly

 Joan is the manager of the Lakeshore Players theater so she treated us to a performance there, "Axel and his dog". We loved it.

 Then there were farmer's markets, apple farms, and more sightseeing.

 And we enjoyed killer martinis made with Prairie Vodka, a local distilled organic corn juice that when chilled is ambrosia.

 We LOVED Minnesota!

 Except for the roads, worst we have encountered yet, maybe it was our route, but very rough.

 Never did meet Al Franken, oh well, can't have everything, even in Minnesota.