Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart claims to be America’s RV capital. This is because of the concentration of RV and Motorhome manufactures within 50 miles of the city. So, what would be appropriate to have in such an area? Well, the RV/MH Museum, of course.

Let’s look at a few of the classics. Here’s a 1954 Holiday Rambler. The beds were canvas stretched over a pipe frame.





How about this 1964 Coachman Cadet, it was the very first production model. By the way, the Dalmatian’s name is Pete and he is the company’s mascot.

Look at this 1957 Serro Scotty 12 footer. It’s low silhouette allowed it to be stored in a standard garage. Probably also made for a backache if you spent a lot of time inside.

Here is my personal favorite. I can clearly remember trying to convince my father (a GM employee) to use his employee discount and buy one of these for his retirement. He didn’t, so I didn’t inherit it, and now I live in a fifth wheel instead. This is a 1974 GMC Motor Home and was considered to be of the most advanced design available at the time. It had front wheel drive and air bag suspension. General Motors only manufactured their motorhome from 1972 to 1977. Although there was nothing about it in the museum’s write up, I think these were called the Discovery Motor Home.

Auburn, Indiana

The Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg Museum is the historical heart of Auburn, Indiana. It is housed inside the original Auburn Automobile Company Administration Building. This art deco structure was finished in 1929 only 8 years before the company closed its doors. The company operated from 1900 to 1937, producing cars with some of the cutting edge technology of the day (superchargers, hydraulic brakes, front wheel drive, etc). But they were better known for building beautiful cars that appealed to the rich and famous. Many of the cars produced cost as much as 10 times more than the typical car of the day.

The cars were truly amazing to look at, like this recreation of the 1931 Cord which was built for the Paris Automobile Show. The car was bought, at the show, by actress Jean Harlow’s husband. 1931 also saw the completion of the Empire State Building and the Dick Tracy crime fighter cartoon first appeared in Chicago newspapers.

This 1930 Duesenberg had a 265 horsepower straight eight-cylinder engine. There were 5 Duesenbergs entered in the Indianapolis 500 in 1930, with the best finish being fifth.

This 1933 Auburn Cabriolet had a 100 horsepower straight eight engine and sold for $1,045 (these were the low end models). There were only 4,843 Auburn Cabriolets produced that year, down from the all time high for Auburn of 32,301 autos in 1931. This was the last year for this style. This was also the year that Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated and declared “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”.

And here is an out of focus picture of a hood ornament. I think this shows that occasionally even a mistake can turn out okay. I see grace, sleekness, and speed all at the same time. However, you may disagree and call it an out of focus screw-up, if you like.

Northern Indiana

We arrived in Northern Indiana on Saturday, April 28. The Northern part of Indiana is best known for rich farmlands, a large Amish and Mennonite population, and a substantial number of RV manufacturers (more about this in a later issue). The country side is near flat to gently rolling with a lot of streams and lakes.

There are many old and classic buildings, some that date back more than 150 years. The courthouse in LaGrange is a good example and most of the towns in the area have equal or better structures.

The most fascinating thing about the area to me are the Amish people. They live a life style much as their ancestors and resist change, shunning technology. They’ve been turning the ground much the same way as they did when the area was first settled in the early 1800’s.

They do their traveling either by bicycle or horse drawn buggy, sharing the roads with much bigger and scarier vehicles. The most fascinating view I had was of a horse drawn buggy coming toward me on the highway during a pounding rain. As it passed I saw that the buggy was pulling a small fishing boat on a trailer. Unfortunately between the rain and the utter surprise, I couldn’t get a picture.

Here’s a shot taken in the parking lot of the grocery store where we did our shopping.







The Amish are a unique people. They resist technology, but sometimes give in if they can justify it. They have very handsome homes, large and whitewashed. They do not use commercially available electricity, but they will use gasoline powered generators. They do not have telephones in their homes, but they will put them in their businesses (furniture making is a big here). They do not drive cars, but they may own them and can ride in them. They do not like to have their pictures taken, it has something to do with a passage in the bible about craven images.

They do not believe in insurance (as it is a form of gambling and shows a lack of trust in God). Yet, they are the originators of group insurance. If they have a catastrophic accident or health problem, the Amish community chips in. I was told a tale of 200 men showing up for a barn raising following a fire, building a replacement in one day.

But, with their beliefs, resistive attitude toward technology and desire to avoid contamination from the “English” (what they call non-Amish) they are still a very friendly and kind group of people.

Branson, Missouri

Well, I freely admit, I was surprised at Branson. Yep, it was cool, although during their high season it must be a total zoo. We were out of season and it was still moderately busy.

The place is loaded with large hotels;










and a bizzillion timeshares and condos;











and there was unlimited shopping including an upscale area in the heart of downtown which was a stroll zone only, no cars.




But Branson’s claim to fame is the shows. I always thought this was a country town, but nay, there are all sorts of shows. Shows choices included not only country music, but magic, Broadway, rock and roll of several decades, bluegrass, comedy, variety shows, family shows, night clubs, Vegas style super shows and on and on. Of course there are two or more restaurants for each showplace, so food choices are nearly unlimited as well.

Branson isn’t cheap, with show prices seeming to run in $30’s per ticket. But, that’s one third the price of many Vegas shows. So if asked, I would say yes, I would return.

Mountain View, Arkansas

Arkansas was mostly a pass through, but we did say for 3 nights. Thanks to one of those “What’s Happening” brochures in the Welcome Center we did discover a sightseeing event going on while we were in the area. This happened to be the 45th Annual Arkansas Folk Festival.

The festival was in Mountain View, a little town in North central Arkansas. We drove the 70 miles from where we were staying over a classic Arkansas mountain rode. Really winding and narrow, with logging trucks posted as obstacles along its length. But the drive was scenic.

Mountain View boasts that it is the World’s center for folk music. They are home to Ozark Folk Center State Park with very nice living displays of mountain crafts. The park also regularly hosts folk music classes which draw people from all over the world (so says their brochure). Here’s a picture of pickers at the park.

The main festivities were advertised as being held around the town’s court house. So off to the court house it was, where we found that in fact the festivities covered the entire town. There were vendor booths everywhere. But the music was concentrated within a block of the court house. Here there’s music and dancers on a stage in front of the court house.

Across the street was Aunt Minnie’s Pickin’ Porch.









And kitty corner from the court house was a park just stuffed with small groups of players and their groupies. You could stand in the middle of the park and hear a dozen different groups all playing at the same time. This was not as horrendous as it sounds, since no one use electronic amplification for their instruments and generally folk music is not played loud.

Here’s a shot of one of those groups playing the in the park. Can you tell what the guy in the in the white t-shirt in the foreground does for a living? My guess is that he is a plumber (judging by the exposed butt-crack).

Oklahoma

Not much to report here as we passed through spending only three nights, never venturing very far North or South of Interstate 40. Sorry, no picutres, didn't see anything worthy of getting the camera out.

First night’s stop was at exit 1 in Texola. This seemed to be made up of a gas station, convenience mart, restaurant, and RV park. The RV park was called the Double D. Near as I could tell it was named for waistlines and not chest size.

Leaving Texola only moments ahead of a rain storm, we drove all day on the leading edge of the storm. We got set up near Checotah and then the skies emptied. I guess we must have had a credit built up somewhere that allowed us to stay dry until we could get inside.

We stayed two nights here, primarily to let the trailer dry before we pulled in the slides. So we had most of a day to kill. We started the day by trying to get to a wireless hot spot. Found one in the local library, but the network accepted a username/password, said you are now connected to the Internet, and then the connection died. The Librarian directed me to the only other location in town with wireless, it was the McDonald’s. I haven’t used a Mickey D’s before, but it was sweet, really fast. The only downside was that there was a $2.95 per two hour charge. I thought they were all free, but apparently I was allowing my belief in the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy to misguide me.

We then toured, looking for an Okkie from Muskogee. I mean literally, because we drove to Muskogee. But all the folks looked like most any other town, except maybe for a moderately higher percentage of overalls and Carharts.

We did a little tour of the town closest as well, that was Checotah. It turns out it was the site of a Civil War battle, the steer wrestling capital of Oklahoma, and home to Carrie Underwood. Yep, I know, if it wasn’t for the big sign at the edge of town I wouldn’t have know she was the winner of the 2005 American Idol either.

Really though, this is pleasant country. Most of the ground is flat to gently rolling, with lots of green and plenty of lakes. My guess is that it is a bass fisherman’s paradise. It also looks like rich farm land with room for prize winning cattle.

Albuquerque, NM

What do you think of when you think of Albequerque, New Mexico? Probably the Balloon Festival, or Southwestern cuisine, or Indian art, or….. I bet you don’t think of Atom Bombs!!!!


So here we go, Albuquerque’s own >>>>









Little Boy: first atom bomb; dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945; immediately killed 100,000 people (+/- 30,000); length 10 feet; 28 inch diameter; weighed 8,900 pounds; yield 13 kilotons; Uranium 235

Fat Man: second atom bomb; dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945; immediately killed more than 45,000 people; length 10 feet and 8 inches; 60 inch diameter; weighed 10,800 pounds; yield 20 kilotons; Plutonium 239


While in the area we also had…….yes, that is snow, about 4 inches after it was all down. The city didn’t get anything but rain, but we were staying at nearly 7,000 feet, some 2,000 feet higher than the city.

Next stop…….Oklahoma…..bet y’all can’t wait for that.

Just Travelin’

We are still on the move, slowly working our way to Indiana for a visit with family and friends. Our route has carried us to Pahrump, Nevada, then onto Bullhead City on the Arizona side of the Colorado River and then on to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Pahrump means wet rock or water rock in the local Indian language and was probably so called because there are many springs, although this is a very dry area. There are 3 or 4 casinos, several Gentlemen’s Clubs and rumors of other “clubs” for men as well (I have no first hand knowledge about these). The best thing about Pahrump is going away from it to see the sights.

Our sightseeing away from Pahrump took us on a drive along the scenic byway through Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. You can probably see from the picture how it got its name. This is a very popular drive for folks from Las Vegas, since it is only 30 minutes from mid-city.

Do you ever think of snow skiing while you are in Vegas? Well you could at the Las Vega Ski and Snowboard Resort on Charleston Peak. Probably not for the avid skier as there is only an 800 foot vertical drop in the longest run. But, it is less than an hour from Casino Row.

Bullhead City is only a bridge crossing away from Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin is a mini version of Las Vegas, but with none of the traffic problems. We did our thing there, which included seeing all the free shows and lounge acts and eating at the buffets while not spending a penny at the gaming tables or slots. Daytime temperatures hovered just short of 100 degrees and the dust and pollen gave me an allergy attack. Yep, I suffer more out here in the Southwest than I did back in Indiana (home of a thousand molds).

The only pictures I took while in BHC where of an ocotillo in bloom. These desert bushes spend almost the entire year looking as if they were dead, devoid of leaves and looking like a bunch sticks stuck in the ground. They green up after a rain and then loose the leaves, often with days of the rain. This leaf out, leaf off cycle can repeat up to 5 or 6 times a year.

These plants blossom only in the spring and I think they are the best of the Spring flowers.

The next issue will contain pics from Albuquerque, if the opportunity to sightsee makes itself available. However, we are finding ourselves with other concerns at the moment, as a result of an argument the trailer had with a concrete abutment in a gas station. The next day we had a flat while on the road and then on our first night in Albuquerque the wind blew down and broke the satellite dish. I think it is an old wives tail about bad things coming in threes, but if it is true then maybe we are done for awhile.