The long trip home
March 27 2023
Monday
Another cloudy day in upstate New York. Having lived here now for almost 4 months I might be getting used to it NOT!! It has been along travail to help Rajni get her mother moved to a retirement community and get all of her affairs straightened out, house clear and on the market. She has been her almost 6 months!! This morning I took my last walk down Limestone creek and the Llwybr New York the path I forged to get to Fayetteville. I also ran the last time on my favorite trail in the Manlius wildlife area. We have made some good friends and even went for a 2 week sabbatical to Hawaii with my old friend Glen and his girlfriend. I am ready however to go home along with the animals and all the things Rajni has decided to take! It will be — hopefully a 4 day journey with no breakdowns camping in the Cassita along the way. Enough said about this endeavor, I have persevered.
March 28
Tuesday
Took Kiowa for our last pooper walk on the trail across the hi way and the path I made to come back under the via duct along limestone creek. I made a stone sculpture by the stream a gift to New York for as long as it will stand. Then it was off. The goal is Painesville Ohio the last place I camped at the legion there on my route out. Along the way we detoured to meet Neil (Rajni’s cousin and his wife Dawn for lunch. They are good people and have recently purchased a RV Van and hope to come visit us. We made it to our goal right at dinner time. I had ordered plates from Post 71 to deliver to all the posts that helped me along the way coming out. They remembered me and gave me a plate to take home. over 300 miles today.
March 29
Wednesday
Rajni wants fo visit her friend in Illinois which is not far from our route. We made big plans to get up early and get thru Cleveland before rush hour at 7. Up at 5 we made preparations only to find that the running lights, blinkers and brake lights were not working. The tools were packed away and working on such a thing in the cold by flashlight seemed toooooo much so we resigned ourselves to wait for light and have some coffee. By 8 I had the electrical problem remedied. We made two stops, one in Sturgis Michigan at the legion where they also remembered me. It was lunchtime and it had started snowing hard so we found a restaurant to eat and catch up on the internet. By the time we came out the sun was out and roads dry! The next stop was Chesterton Indiana for the other Legion post where I found refuge when the driveshaft broke. They not only gave me a plug in and parking but asked me to be a judge in the Chili cook off they were having! They also warmly remembered me and we traded plates. This is the Legion family I have come to know and love. We stopped at DQ for a blizzard to celebrate getting that mission done. The next obstacle was Chicago where we encountered stop and go traffic for almost an hour due to an accident. Still we made it to Laura’s house in the country north of Peoria just at dark.
over 11 hours of driving and I think 512 miles. She had her hot tub waiting for us!
March 30
Thursday
Illinois is called the Prairie State. When the Europeans arrived over 61% was prairie complete with buffalo. The remainder is very rugged drainages with deciduous forrest. Laura owns 40 acres of one such drainage complete with running stream. It is a hunting paradise as well as Merrell mushrooms! In the Morning she drove Rajni around the property in her Mule while Kiowa and I ran behind. A bright sunny day and good after so much driving. Her property is connected to a large public reserve to the south which was Jubilee College, one of the first colleges in the west started in 1840. It is now a historical landmark. Rajni and Laura had a good time catching up and it was time to go. Early on I had noticed a state park in Iowa called “Preparation Canyon” As tends to be my way I decided we must visit so Rajni plugged in the name on her map App and we made it just after dark to find ourselves the only ones there. It was incredibly warm around 70 degrees and no wind and very pleasant to walk in this strange place on the border with Nebraska near the Missouri river. In route we had passed thru a small town called Pisgah. It had a great feeling to it but we did not have time to tarry. Like so many towns across america the pioneers who founded and settled them were not just christians but had been educated to read with one book that the family owned, the Bible. Hence so many biblical names used for towns like this.
March 31
Friday
During the nite it thundered and rained but the morning broke clear but with lots of fog in low areas. We are in the Loess Mountains of Iowa. This is a very rare geologic feature found in a strip along the Western edge of Iowa on the East side of the Missouri River. It is found no where else on the earth except in A place in China. They are formed by Glacial grinding and pulverizing stone to a silt consistence at which time it blew into massive sand dunes 4-5 hundred feet high and stabilized with forest. They contain no rocks and are some of the richest soils for farming. This little known or visited State park is the result of the Mormons who established a commune here but have since donated it to the State. There is little infrastructure but many trails to back country campsites in almost pristine natural shape. I decided to run some of the trails with Kiowa and find the cemetery which is the only thing left of the community. The scenery is stunning and at one point I ended up on a road where I encountered a farmer who stopped and we talked for over an hour. He told me the story. It was verified by a park sign I took a picture of.
In 1852 a large group of Mormons under the leadership of One, Charles Thompson who called himself Father Ephraim. He was tutored by Joseph Smith. En route to Salt Lake Utah they like every one had to wait for the Missouri River to freeze to cross. While waiting Falther Ephraim sent out scouts to look at the country. They returned with a good report on the strange hills to the north. He decided and convinced his group to break away and settle this area and prepare for the life to come. They called it Preparation Canyon. After steaking out their properties Father Ephraim claimed to have a dream in which an Angel by the name of “Beneemy” came to him and told him to truly be a commune everyone needed to sign over all their land and worldly wealth to him to manage. Amazingly they did. Over time some became suspicious and asked for an accounting. Long story short it did not go well and the plan was to hang him. He escaped never to return leaving all his possessions including several wives. The Supreme Court of Iowa eventually re allocated the land to the various families. A Community did flourish but a couple of generations later many left and by 1900 it was over. All that is left is the cemetery. A true Gem of a place and story of America. By noon we were back on the road crossing the mighty MO and heading for Valentine. By 6 we were encountering heavy wind snow and very cold temps making driving dangerous. We found our way to the Valentine City park were we have camped before and hunkered down for a very cold night on the last day of March.
April 1
Saturday
We awoke to bitter cold in the teens but thanks to buying propane last nite we remained warm and safe, and coffee always helps! The question is will the diesel start up?? The weather forecast is warm and sunny but the road conditions are questionable. Home is only 200 miles away. 4WD and we made it up the hill to a cafe for breakfast. The sun is out and the roads okay so we head out arriving home early afternoon. There was 6 inch of snow that was melting fast. 10 more inches expected on Monday! Its good to be home.
sdasdona 