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November 9 and10, 2011 - Iowa / Illinois / Colorado

Well we’re finally out of the cornfields tonite. Now we’re seeing cattle and big, huge, mega ranches. Much of our destinations are chosen by the RV campsites we can find. We’ve found 3 State Parks, last night was a paid RV Park and we’ve also stayed at 3 or 4 WalMarts. Guess lots of people don’t know that WalMarts allow RV’s to set up in their parking lots. It creates an extra layer of security apparently that works well for them and is good for the public.

Last night was the Holiday RV Park and we loved it. Showers, laundry, wi-fi, vintage metal swings and lawn tables painted in bright colors all made for 2 happy campers. Back on the road this morning, $35.00 lighter we stopped to get gas at Sinclair. Sterling didn’t realize Sinclair Oil and Sinclair Lane in South Wolfeboro, NH were one in the same at one time. He liked the dinosaur.

So after we got yet another tank of gas, we were sucked in to the Gift Shop disguised as a free museum. But surprisingly it was a lot of bang for our buck. I loved the giant Buffalo Bill Cody statue and the story at his feet. Again, the LeClaire Iowa connection rears it’s head. Apparently, he is the king out here. Everyone wants to lay claim to him, and this town of North Platte, Nebraska was no different claiming it as his “home town”. LeClaire was his birthplace, and I suspect there will be shrines to him in Denver too as the place he peed or died or something.

Anyway, back to the free Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. Son Sterling and I enjoyed looking at the honest to goodness antique artifacts and fortunately for me they weren’t for sale because they truly were impressive. All sorts of taxidermy, cowboy chaps, Indian dress, 1950‘s kitch Buffalo Bill BB guns, and so much more. The real deal which was nice after all those crappy antique malls we’ve had to endure.

The most amazing part here was the hand carved and painted miniature circus made by Ernie and Virginia Palmquist. Made up of a whopping 20,000 hand carved pieces, all painstakingly hand painted this minature reproduction circus of the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show is simply astounding. It took more then 12 years for this couple to make it and then they toured throughout the US in the 1960‘s and 1970‘s finally making Fort Cody it’s permanant home. Check out the picture montage we put together on YouTube - it was very cool and a nice start to our day.

More gas, more miles today. Seems like we’re filling up often but we only have a 15 gallon tank and a short fuse for sitting too long so it’s ok. Between changing time zones and day-light savings we both are fighting to be the passenger so we can catch some extra zzzz’s. I won today. Sterling drove after we had a little mishap. Not sure if I hit a orange cone or if my holding tank nozzle got caught on something or what but BANG, the holding tank was gone and at 60 miles per hour it cleaned out quite nicely and we got to see a orange cone in flight.

Sterl got me out of the rolling hills of Iowa and the flat flat flat lands of Nebraska and right on into Colorado this afternoon. He found another Sterling on the map, this one in Colorado so our afternoon was spent in this town which was fun. Our first stop was a really terrific Antique Shop by the name of Eastmans. It was an old warehouse with tons of space all on one level. It was huge and filled with good quality Victorian era and newer antiques. Loads of Oak, glass, an extraordinary number of small decorative items. The dealer definately loved the period from the 1860‘s through the 1920‘s and had a wicked extensive inventory all clean, priced and for the most part pretty reasonable prices. I pointed out 3 or 4 things I would have bought, if I was in a buying mode but am starting to wonder if it might be worth it to be a picker out here where people don’t know me. Might be a good competitive edge. It’s refreshing to be myself and enjoy Son Sterling.

The draw in the Town of Sterling was a carver by the name of Bradford Rhea. They bill this town as the City of Living Trees and Sculptures. They have raised up their local son and embraced his work. The two sculptures we saw were the Skygazers which was located in a beautiful Town Park with a Veterans Memorial and a nice walking path with benchs and play areas. The Skygazers was a bronze of his original Tree Sculpture of 5 giraffes looking towards the heavens. It was beautiful so we sought out another of his works at the Welcome Center and found one called Metamorphosis which was also interesting, albeit a reproduction. Reading his marketing brochure and map the local prison prints for him, I found it wonderful that the Department of State commissioned a staff for President Clinton to present to Pope John Paul II in 1993. I wonder if that guarantees him a place in carvers heaven. It sure should.

We’re finding Colorado hospitable tonite. Cheap Chinese Buffet and free hook ups in a state park right at the road side in Fort Morgan. Everything is beautiful but it smells like, what else, manure. My allergies cleared up just in time for this evenings smells. Can you just imagine when we’re able to transfer smell over the internet?

The next few days we’ll be slowing down in Denver and then heading out into the Colorado mountains to see a friend and spend a few days while we wait for our new license plates.