When we embarked on this trip, I often imagined kicking back in my hammock with my Powerbook and enjoying my new office. Well, the first couple times that I have actually strung up the thing I ended up not spending any time in it at all. If my hammock time wasn’t called on account of rain, there was either too much on my RV honey do list or simply too much of the outdoors to go enjoy.

I am now happy to say that my vision has finally come true. The view from my new office is well worth the wait. The only thing missing is our internet connection.

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Good home cooking continues to be found as we put the Midwest behind us. To celebrate paying off our trailer at a US Bank branch in Sheboygan, WI and to put a couple persistent hangovers at ease after way too many with the Schwabenlanders, we stopped in Brillion, WI for fuel and decided to grab lunch somewhere.

There was Mom’s Place Family Restaurant in a plain building with laundromat next door. And there was an authentic looking roadside diner with Rudy’s written in neon and a sidewalk sign promoting the daily special of Roast Chicken. The choice was simple.

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We have now traveled more than halfway across the country. Some people say we’re going way too fast. But wait — hold on, there is a method to our madness. Not too long ago, we decided to haul butt through states that we knew that we probably wouldn’t end up living in, and hurry up to get to places that might better meet our relocation criteria. During the first visit, we’ll spend four or five days in an area. Then, if we feel it’s a contender, we’ll return for ideally at least a month, once we’ve traveled the U.S.

With this in mind, here are the top contenders for us, based on what we’ve seen so far. We plan on revisiting the following areas next year:

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In the book, The Complete Guide to Full-Time RVing: Life on the Open Road, by Bill and Jan Moeller, it is recommended that you stay away from any RV parks with the word “Resort” in the name. Should you see that word, rest assured, you will pay a lot more money than any nearby campground, just for some amenities.

But yesterday, my birthday, was a long driving day, full of wrong turns, close calls with construction barricades, backtracking, and hot sweaty weather. So after about 4.5 hours of driving, we caved in and parked for the night in Somerset, just inside the Wisconsin border across from the Twin Cities, where stripmalls meet farmland, and sports bars are the only entertainment.

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Yesterday, I forgot what day of the week it was. I honestly couldn’t remember if it was my birth DAY or not! Or maybe I was in denial. But once I realized that it was the 8th, and I was another year wiser, I committed to celebrating the big day.

So, we indulged on awesome grub. On my birthday, I was going to eat and drink whatever I wanted and enjoy it without guilt! We were in Wisconsin, so what else could we eat, but dairy! Lots of it!

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Before I forget, here’s a quick review of a watering hole to hit for any budget-minded drunkard. Grandma’s Sports Garden in Duluth has $4.00 pitchers of Long Island Iced Tea! I think this may be a Happy Hour special, though I’m not certain. I do know the hour we spent there was pretty happy. We got four decent sized drinks out of one pitcher, along with a decent buzz. They weren’t too sweet and not too strong. Just right. A long way from the Square Cow Fun Bar drinks of so many years ago.

Upon arriving at the Lake Head Boat Basin Marina, we drove by the Garden and didn’t think twice about hitting the sports bar scene. But after hearing about this bargain, we were more than happy to follow advice from a couple fun loving locals down on the docks. What we didn’t care so much for was the particular racial epitaph one of these very blonde guys used multiple times to describe certain people in parts of town we shouldn’t visit.

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I know what you’re thinking … This long on the road and you haven’t reviewed any ice cream joints! So that may not actually be what’s on your mind, but for the record, no parlour has yet been worthy. OK, the real truth is, we haven’t gone out for ice cream since we’ve been keeping some on hand in our RV fridge. After long days on the road the soft serve treatment is delicious!

There was that pretty good milk shake in Bridgeport at the roadside burger joint of which I can’t remember the name. And then there was the fast food “milkshake” we just had to get at a drive thru in Spearfish, ND because we were starving and it was nearly 100 degrees out. Then there was the cone we shared like two teenagers in love as we watched the drunks stumble around downtown Deadwood. But none can compare to the real thing directly from the source.

During our visit to the Crow Wing County Fair in Brainerd, MN we enjoyed one of the best chocolate milkshakes ever – sold by actual local farmers outside the cattle barn. But the farmers must have been busy milking because their kids were doing the serving. And yes they had a variety of flavors to choose from, but for the purpose of this review we chose the favorite old standby.

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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. Read the rest of this entry »

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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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.