The Heartland of America

As we left South Dakota and started our long trek south and east, we decided to go off the beaten path a bit and travel down through Nebraska and Kansas.  The fields had been harvested, and there was a peaceful quiet as we rolled along by many beautiful farmlands.  I began to think about the plight of the American farmer and was filled with a profound feeling of gratitude for our farmers.  We are so very blessed in this country to have fertile lands.  I thought back to where we had begun our trip with Laura Ingalls Wilder and how her family struggled through many years of failed crops.....both her Pa and also when she was married to Almanzo.  The early pioneers and today's farmers have a spirit about them which is unsurpassed.  Where would we be without them?  Could we do what they have done?  Do we have their strength of spirit, their courage, their fortitude?

We arrived in Kansas City, MO and were at a wonderful Courtyard Marriott called the Country Club Plaza.  Just across the street were 14 blocks of restaurants and wonderful shops.  The Plaza was built in 1922 by JC Nichols.  He based the Plaza on his travel experiences in both Europe and the Southwest.  Now these were mostly your usual shops in a beautiful and unusual setting.  It seemed as if we were in Italy or Spain with the beautiful tile murals, fountains and statues everywhere.

As much as we had loved all of the National Parks, I must admit to very much enjoying being back to civilization!  I really think during our trip, I've had somewhat of a case of culture shock and felt quite a bit out of my element!  To be back in a city with familiar stores and restaurants felt great!

The next day we headed for St. Louis, MO and again stayed at an absolutely beautiful Marriott called the St. Louis Union Station Marriott.  The hotel is built in the original railroad station in downtown St. Louis and is probably one of the most stunning ones I've ever been in.  The grand hallway was all set up for a wedding reception which was to take place that evening.  It all was so very perfect!

What an incredible place to have your wedding!  The tile work all around was the most detailed I've ever seen:

We found a beautiful church to go to on Saturday night called St. John the Apostle and Evangelist.  What we loved about it was the Celtic Cross outside with the inscription about the Irish.  Since Mike is Irish, this felt very special to us.

The outside of the train station was incredible.  I loved the history of the area and felt right at home in Missouri for some reason.  I felt a strong connection to the people of the past here.

There was a unique shopping area both inside and outside of the hotel and train station.  It was fun walking around in the covered section outside where there was a man-made pond filled with koi that were greedily eating everything the tourists threw to them.
Although we did not go up in it, no trip to St. Louis would be complete without a glimpse of the famous arch:

As we began to head east and start to make our way toward home, on several occasions we had the distinct feeling that we had come full circle.  We had seen the Redwood Forest on the California coast, and at the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado, we saw petrified stumps of an ancient redwood forest.

We had been to see where Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family had lived in both Minnesota and South Dakota, and when we were in Keystone, SD, near Mt. Rushmore, we encountered several plaques talking about Carrie Ingalls Swanzey.  I had forgotten she lived in Keystone with her husband, David, for over 35 years.  Again, we came full circle.

At the beginning of our journey, we had stopped at the Buffalo Trace Distillery, and today we stopped at the Wild Turkey Distillery, where Mike had a close encounter with a turkey:

We seem to have come full circle once again as we did another part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.  

Soon we will be back in Ogunquit for our final week before going home.  We started our trip with a week there in August and will end with a week in October.  Full circle once again.

Traveling through the heartland of America felt more like home than the West did.  I'm not sure why that is, but that's what it feels like.  Our adventures will come to an end very soon, and like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz", it's almost time for me to close my eyes, click my heels three times, and say "There's No Place Like Home".

~Karen

From Mike:

      Both the Country Club plaza in Kansas City, and Union Station in St. Louis were surprise finds for us.   We were really impressed with both.  The other surprise find we had was Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota at the beginning of our trip.   There is something extra special about finding someplace amazing that you really hadn't counted on.  

Mike

Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands of South Dakota

Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore, as my daughter will tell you, is best viewed in the morning as the rising sun shines forth upon those grand faces of four of our most beloved and respected presidents.  The story of how it took more than 17 years to finish Mt. Rushmore is amazing! 

"The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt." Gutzon Borglum, sculptor.

Walking through the Avenue of the Flags as you approach Mt. Rushmore is stunning!  How fitting that those are the four presidents chosen to be there for all posterity.

We were able to go down to Gutzon Borglum's original studio and saw what the sculpture was originally supposed to look like:
The ranger there told us that contrary to popular belief, there will NEVER be another person portrayed alongside these four great men........Mt. Rushmore will stay exactly as it is!
We took the trail of 250 steps up to get a closer view, and were lucky enough to watch as the rangers worked getting down some trees from way up above!

One even consented to having his picture taken with Mike.....no, not Ranger Rick, but a wonderful man by the name of Ed Menard.
It was interesting to see the different views as we walked along:

We even happened upon a cave as we strolled along and looked up to catch this sneak peak of George Washington with a bit of Abraham Lincoln, too:

I had been to Mt. Rushmore last year for the first time, and as we were leaving I felt once again so very grateful that these were the presidents that were in place for such monumental moments in our country's history.  I can think of no better men to have shaped us in those earlier years during the many trials they encountered.

The Badlands 

The Badlands of South Dakota are similar yet different than the ones we drove through in North Dakota.  The colors and layering of the stone are so beautiful.....and as the sand washes away, more and more pinnacles are being uncovered.  What starkly beautiful terrain the badlands are!

We drove through in late afternoon and the lighting was spectacular!  We have been blessed with perfect weather in all of the parks we have been to.

I was again educated when I read about Wounded Knee.  I'm sure I learned this in US History in school, but didn't remember the story.  As I read it again, I realized it was so awful I probably put it out of my mind.  How devastating for the Native Americans that winter they were losing their chief, Sitting Bull.  They had made winter camp near the Badlands on December 24th, 1890.  Sitting Bull was very ill, near death, when five days later, on December 29th, 1890, the entire tribe was massacred......nearly 300 men, women and children.  The US 7th Calvary had escorted them to Wounded Knee and due to a tragic accident, chaotic firing all around led to the killing of not only the tribe members, but 25 soldiers.  When, oh when, will mankind ever learn?  Has there ever been a time on this earth when there wasn't war of some kind happening somewhere?

When you stand in a place where much killing has gone on, there is a feeling; a sense that is hard to describe......it really is as if you can feel the souls of those who died there.  I've felt the same feeling in Gettysburg and in the Shenandoah Valley where Stonewall Jackson died.  A sadness comes over you and it is almost as if you can feel what went on there.  You come away from it changed somehow and more appreciative of the sacrifice of those who came before.  Never forget and always honor those who gave their lives.  Our country wouldn't be what it is today without the history of what happened so very many years ago.

On a final, lighter note:  you've heard of Where's Waldo?  Well, where's Karen?

We're now heading east for the long ride home.  We'll see Kansas City, MO and St. Louis before spending some time with our son and his family and my brother and his family, too.  As much as I've loved all the places we've been to thus far, I must admit, I'm starting to miss home........soon enough, we'll be back!

~Karen

From Mike,

   Be sure to click on the older posts below to see the blog on Little Bighorn and Devils Tower if it isn't below.  These two posts go together.  We have learned of the sacrifices of many who lived in South Dakota.  Our earlier entries talked of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the plight of the earlier pioneer settlers. Together with the Native American stories, I many times found myself awestruck and very moved thinking of the often tragic history of this rugged but beautiful land and its people.   I was drawn to South Dakota in a way I can not put into words.   I would certainly like to visit again.

--Mike