live. work. dream.

You’ve seen The Movie, and like us, if you’ve never been there, you’ve probably always assumed that Fargo was this tiny, backwater place with a few strange people, dive bars, a barren landscape, and bad weather. Don’t believe it. The movie “Fargo” wasn’t even filmed here; it was filmed in Minnesota!

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I think one of the hardest things about this trip will be trying to remember everything about all of the interesting places and colorful characters we are meeting along the way. There’s simply not enough time nor photos to tell this whole story.

For instance, we had planned to stay at Cow Creek campground one evening along the banks of the Mighty MO on our way to Fargo, ND. When stopped by road construction, the flagger walked up to ask about our truck and we ended up chatting for a bit. That’s whatchya do in these parts donthchyaknow.

By the time he waved us on, good ol’ Henry Huft had told us that he will never where a hat – though it was 106 degrees out – because he was born without a hat, and he’ll stay that way. He also told us that we just had to go on to Hoven for a steak at Boone’s Bar and Grill, and that for vegetarians they had big shrimp and a salad bar. (more…)

One of the biggest fears I had about taking this trip, was that I wouldn’t find any good produce in small towns between coasts. Well, the good produce IS there, only it’s in people’s backyards. Otherwise, I was told by a local in South Dakota today, don’t count on organic produce or farmer’s markets unless we hit big cities. On the prairie, everyone grows their ow, you won’t find organic or super fresh produce in grocery stores. So, my solution; either get to know the locals, or make do when we aren’t around any.

Today we received this lovely farm fresh produce from a wonderful couple in Hoven, South Dakota. This is the best produce we’ve seen. Otherwise, we’ve been making do with so-so eats. The food we’ve been eating is good, and 95% of the time, we are cooking our own meals. I’ve always been a tightwad about going out to eat, and just as expert RV’ers predicted, our eating out habits are mostly the same as they were when we had a stick house. By seldom dining out, it helps our budget and makes our nights out truly special.

One of the best things about eating on the road, is that the view from the dinner table is always different. We also get to eat outside. And when it’s too hot, we have the AC vent right above our dining room table.

Some big lessons we’ve learned about meals on the road include:

• You never realize how much you depend on a toaster until you don’t have one.

• Loose tea is a hassle when you don’t have a garbage disposal
• Cast iron is the answer.
• Life on the road requires extreme flexibility—sometimes, boxed meals are the best solution.
• Use what you’ve got until it’s all gone, or else your produce will turn to mush and spoil in hot weather (as coastal people, we weren’t used to food spoiling due to heat).
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Mike’s comment on my recent post regarding campground etiquette for big rig RVers prompted me to finally compile the list of outrageous RV names that we’ve been jotting down since we embarked on this journey. Below is our top ten list of ironic RV names that we’ve come across. Please vote and let us know which names are the best. Or shall we say worst?

• Prowler
• Hitchhiker
• Wild Cat
• Challenger
• Conquest
• Ultimate Advantage
• Avenger
• Bounty Hunter

Note: I say these names are ironic because I think its funny how recreational vehicles are supposed to enable people to get out and enjoy the peace and quite of nature and commune closer with our mother earth, yet the names imply otherwise.

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Granted, many readers may be saying to themselves, “Thank God all those ads are gone!” But by the time others read this post, they may be thinking, “What on earth is this guy talking about?” If you’re the slightest bit interested in making little extra spending money by placing Google ads on your own website, or you wonder why we’ve stopped running ours, please read on. If not, rest assured the ads will be back. Hopefully soon.

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For the record, the trees all over the hills around Deadwood, SD have always been dead. One can only assume that’s how the town got it name.

But one thing I enjoy about this full-time RVing thing is how the view from our kitchen table is always different. and whenever I look up through the skylight in our shower – yeah, that’s cool too – I get a kick out of the different view depending on where we’ve stopped.

Granted, it’s a gamble. Sometimes the view is breathtaking like at Silver Lake in the Sierras, Seedhouse in the Rockies, or Crags Campground in Bridgeport. And other times, it’s a freeway or the side of someone else’s big rig. Today we happen to be looking out at the side of an Intruder, the driver of which it seems is intent on leaving the exterior lights on all night. It’s give and take though, a very brief walks puts us deep in the Black Hills complete with old abandoned mining equipment.

So please be considerate to your RVing neighbors and turn off your exterior lights. They may shine directly into someone else’s bedroom window. And if you don’t like the view, draw your shades and rest assured that it will probably be better the next place you stop.

One of the reasons why I wanted to leave Humboldt County was because in the nearly 10 years that we lived there, many of the great ideas that people have about improving the area, never get off the ground. With the exception of the Redwood Technology Consortium who won the fight to connect Humboldt to the real world with fiber optic cable a few years ago, it seems that most great ideas never go anywhere.

Every improvement from the badly needed pedestrian / bike trail connecting Eureka and Arcata, to the fabulous Bay Trail, to the Marina Center Project, requires 10 consultants and 100 studies, and 10 years later, guess what? Nothing. Now, that definitely isn’t the fault of great residents like my friend Jen Rice who are so dedicated and try to get things like the Bay Trail to happen. No, not at all. It’s just that there are so many darn factions and infighting in Humboldt, that nobody can agree on anything. Every great idea that comes up will have a fight on its hands by some group claiming to know what’s best, guaranteed.

So as we head out into the rest of Small Town U.S.A., we are taking note of which towns have leaders and citizens that can work together and get things done.

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Worked most of the day yesterday, finally developing our long-awaited road trip soundtrack page – complete with lyrics to classic travel tunes we’ve deemed appropriate for our trip, local radio stations that have stuck on our dial, and interesting internet radio streams.

But I couldn’t leave Devil’s Tower without a report of this awesome place I’ve always wanted to visit. OK, technically, I did leave since I’m writing this from our new home for the week at Whistler Gulch Campground in Deadwood South Dakota. But I digress…

Traveling across Wyoming, we saw numerous signs stressing that we were in cattle country. As if all the herds weren’t enough to indicate such. As a vegetarian, René was especially amused by the billboards boldy telling us to “Eat Beef!” Personally, I took it as a sign to seek out and grill a great big Wyoming steak. And of course, I would just have to do my best Richard Dreyfus impression by sculpting a replica of the Bear’s Lodge from my mashed potatoes.

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Longest drive yet yesterday, from Laramie to Keyhole State Park just outside Devil’s Tower Wyoming. No wonder we made our first kill. Good thing René wasn’t looking when the little bird hit the grille, she would’ve cried for sure. And thank goodness it wasn’t anything bigger, like the open range cattle, free roaming horses, Pronghorn sheep or numerous Jackalopes we’ve seen littering the Wyoming byways.

A word to the wise for anyone towing anything: as much as it may hurt deep down inside, and no matter how much your wife or children may scream and cry, never swerve or slam on the brakes to protect a little animal. Protect yourself first.

After a long day of driving, the last thing you want to hear is that the only campground in a small town is booked. But of course, that’s exactly what we were told when we called the KOA in Devils Tower, WY at 4;30 pm on a Monday. We were only about 50 miles from the KOA, and they are the only game in town. Not wanting to boondock at a rest area on I-90, we pulled out our Woodall’s Directory and found a small listing for Keyhole State Park, about 35 miles away.

The Eastern Wyoming countryside approaching Keyhole is dry, scrubby and blazing hot. Keyhole State Park is a reservoir (really, really low right now), in the middle of dry high country. We weren’t expecting much, just a spot for the night that would be better than the dumpy “RV Park” we saw in Moorcroft, the nearest town to Devils Tower.

We pulled up, tired and hungry and expecting a low quality experience. But what we are learning most on this trip is, don’t assume before you get somewhere, and open your eyes before drawing any conclusions on a place. We were relieved when we arrived at Keyhole.

For just $12 a night, you get:

• huge, shady, level RV spots
• no hookups, but there’s drinking water (you pump it )
• clean, new restrooms
• walking distance to the lakeshore
• big new picnic tables
• walking / bike paths
• a gorgeous prairie and waterfront view

Keyhole is well worth the 9 mile detour off I-90. If all of Wyoming’s state parks are this nice, we are impressed. In comparison to the California State Park System (sorry Ranger Mike and Cindi), Wyoming’s parks rank high above the $20-something a night, no-hookup spots we had in CA, where you have to make reservations six months ahead of time and solitude is impossible because campers are crammed right next to each other.

If you’re in a tight spot on the way to Devils Tower or the Dakotas, be sure to make Keyhole State Park a stop. You won’t regret it.