June 1996

<<< Saturday, 1 June 1996

A lazy day. A short walk followed by an enjoyable talk with a couple from New Hampshire. He retired at 55, sold his house and has lived full-time in a motor home for the past two years.

Sunday, 2 June 1996

Decided to go to Roanoke which is the largest town within a reasonable distance. We happened upon a large art festival in the marketplace where about 200 artists were displaying their work; some were lovely and some beyond belief that anybody would buy it. Also in the park was a summer festival of music and more stalls displaying crafts - quilts, jewellery and handmade clothes. Although Roanoke is a large sprawling town it is surrounded by mountains and has lots of trees lining the streets the whole State is covered in deciduous trees producing spectacular scenery in the fall - so we must come back in the fall.

Monday, 3 June 1996

Travelled along the I77 to a little place in the mountains called Romance? which is in West Virginia. The campsite is named Rippling Waters, Church of God (which we did not realise until later) campground so we expected something different and we were not disappointed! A very picturesque site and also very quiet. On reading the local hunting and fishing newspaper we were very surprised to learn that in 1995, in West Virginia alone, which is a relatively small state, over 650 bears were killed together with some 17,000 turkeys and 200,000 deer, all by private hunters. To shoot a turkey is quite an elaborate and skilful process as it involves some weeks of preparation to find the location and courting habits of the male, then normally very early in the morning, going to the location and calling the bird within range using a whole collection of gadgets that imitate a females mating call. Hopefully, the male is fooled and comes within shooting range. The turkey shooting season only lasts five weeks but hunters spend most of the winter stalking and practising the various calls, they even have calling competitions!

Tuesday, 4 June 1996

George washed the car which certainly gets dirty when being towed behind the RV in the rain. We then drove west towards 0hio to visit a glass factory which specialises in Cranberry pink glass - this is the most difficult and expensive colour to achieve as they have to mix gold in with the lead crystal. We were able to watch the men blowing the glass and making various shape vases etc. 0f course there was a gift shop and Valerie purchased a small jug. Had it been in England there would also have been a tea shop but they don't go in for them over here. Had the car serviced for a total of $21 - very good value.

Wednesday, 5 June 1996

As we would like to visit the Newmar factory before the Kountry Klub rally in mid-June, we moved into Ohio and plan to spend a few days visiting Columbus the state capital, saw some wild deer along the roadside on the way.

Thursday, 6 June 1996

Spent the morning at the COSI in Columbus, which is a science centre with lots of hands-on demonstrations, great for children and the not-so-young (grin). The German village was a disappointment so we spent the afternoon at a large art fair - until the rain arrived.

Friday, 7 June 1996

Ohio is having its wettest spring for more than 100 years - just our luck. Visited several Ohio museums which depict American history through typical old houses and artefacts of the day. Mark you in American terms, old is about 250 years! During the eighteenth century, thousands of Irish and German labourers built vast canals and feeder lakes which were used to move goods to lake Michigan and then on to Europe. Today the canals are largely disused. Ohio is mainly industrialised in the north with vast wheat plains to the south.

During the slavery period of American history, Ohio had a large underground network which supported the escape of slaves from states on its southern borders, helping them gain freedom in Canada. This aggressive underground support for the slaves took place even though the law of the day required slaves to be returned to their masters.

The Olympic flame left Los Angeles in April and will be carried by some 5,500 bearers before it arrives in Atlanta, Georgia. We watched the flame as it arrived in Columbus, Ohio. The strange thing is the flame spends most nights in a room at the local Holiday Inn!

Saturday, 8 June 1996

St. Mary’s State camping park is on the banks of a vast 13,500-acre reservoir built in 1845 by German labourers who were paid thirty cents and a jigger of whisky a day. We plan to visit the Neil Armstrong Space Centre tomorrow.

Sunday, 9 June 1996

The Space Centre has a display of man's first attempts at flight through to the space race with the Russians, current space achievements and a futuristic film about colonising Mars and other planets. Interesting but small compared to Cape Canaveral.

Monday 10 & Tuesday 11 June 1996

Now in Nappanee, Indiana which is one of the largest Amish communities. It is fascinating to see the Amish going about in their traditional costumes, ladies in one-piece plain coloured dresses with white or black caps and men mainly in black or plain sober colours. Women only wear white twice in their life, once when they get married, and the next time when they die. All men grow beards once they get married.

The Amish originated in France and Germany but were persecuted for their religious belief in adult baptism and interpretation of the Bible, which lead them to emigrate to the States in the early ninetieth century. The lifestyle follows the belief of maintaining traditional farming and lifestyle methods which would have been normal in the eighteenth century. It is unacceptable to have any connections with the outside world unless it is a real necessity. So for example, they do not use electricity or phones because there is a direct connection, but it's all right to use bottled gas for essential needs like milk sterilisation. They do not believe in powered mechanisation unless it is water or wind-driven, which is part of the reason why they do not have cars etc. It is quite a sight to see them travelling around in their horse-drawn buggies which are still to the traditional design.

Farming continues to be a major part of Amish life but many have two jobs, often starting at 6.00 AM in a factory and then going to work on the farm in the afternoon. Every second Sunday groups of about 25 families go in their buggies to meet at one of the houses. They pray together for four hours, have lunch and then return home to do their chores. Their farming methods and lifestyle have a lot going for them since it seems very environmentally friendly compared to today’s intensive farming and throw-away approach.

Wednesday, 12 June 1996

While the motor home was being serviced we had a very interesting tour of the Newmar factory, where they make both motor homes and trailers all on the same vast production line. Production is 13 units a day throughout the year, all to dealer or customer orders. It is a very flexible line as they make about 75 different models in any order, with a lot of customisation on each model. It is fascinating to watch even the heaviest units (around 25,000 lb.) being moved by just two people to the next assembly station, the wheels of the unit are positioned on-air platforms. Many of the workforces are Amish and work at a very high pace, normally in teams of two and it appeared to be of very high quality as there was very little rework or scrap in evidence. When finished each unit is weighed and then placed in a shed for twenty minutes where water is sprayed all over to simulate a storm to check for leaks. The factory will soon start to make the 1997 models which will go to trade in the next couple of months.

Thursday, 13 & Friday, 14 June 1996

As the factory workers wanted our motor home at 6 am we joined several others at the factory camping area where they provide electric hookups.
		Got talking to Pat and Dick from Sonoma California and the two men were called upon to help when a motor home and trailer bearing a TV Golf channel logo appeared. The driver, Dennis Walters, is a well-known disabled golfer who goes to tournaments playing golf and giving demonstrations of trick shots from his wheelchair. His Sister travels with him together with a little dog that he has taught to fetch his golf balls for him. He was a junior champion at golf until l974 when he had an accident and lost both his legs.
Our motor home was finished by 2 pm and we left for a night's stop in Illinois which is halfway to the Rally. We are meeting Pat and Dick there.

Saturday 15 to Saturday 22 June 1996

The Newmar International Rally at Amana Colonies, Iowa

On the way to the rally we stopped at a rest area about 50 miles from the rally location and another Newmar motor home pulled in. Ron and Sandy from Pittsburgh were also going to the rally and they turned out to be great company throughout the following week. Both of them were in their late fifties and had married about a year earlier following the death of both their partners, at almost the same time. Our arrival day was the first day of the pre-rally but we found that there were about 250 rigs already there. A total of 410 rigs and over 1000 people attended the main rally, some from Canada and we learnt later there were several ex-English. We also made very good friends with Roy and Jill. Roy 63, was born in London and had worked in several counties before emigrating to Canada, where he met Jill aged 38 and her brilliantly coloured Conyer parrot, which sat on her head as she cycled around the campground.

The main rally included breakfasts, several dinners and excellent entertainment most nights where the "couple from England" were presented to the whole gathering! We attended several very good seminars ranging from maintenance to aftermarket products and crafts. We took a four-hour course in CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and we were both awarded the basic competency certificate.

The Rally was held in the middle of the Amana Colonies. In l855 the Colonies became the second New World home of the Society of True Inspirationists - about 800 people who quit the old world persecution and ventured west seeking to worship in their way. In Iowa on 25,000 acres purchased from the government, they farmed and the members of German and Swiss ancestry handed down skills from father to son and mother to daughter. They operated farms, woollen mills, meat shops, cabinet shops, wineries and community kitchens. Until 1932 none of the houses had a kitchen since all the food was cooked in communal kitchens and then carried home for eating. In 1932 by a vote of the people the Amana Colonies dropped the communal way of life and took a great step into the system of free enterprise. Today the different villages are a tourist attraction for the purchase of smoked meats, cheeses and preserves plus handicrafts. We went on a conducted tour which included all of the above and a visit inside their place of worship. All the ladies when attending have to wear long black dresses and bonnets and sit on the left-hand side of the hall whilst the men can wear what they like and all sit together on the right-hand side having entered by separate doors. Unlike the Amish, they normally wear modern clothes and own cars.

It was an excellent rally where we made several very good friends and in some ways, it was almost like having a holiday within a holiday!

Sunday, 23 & Monday, 24 June 1996

The House on the Rock at Spring Green, Wisconsin was the life's work of Alex Jordan who died in the late eighties and I am sorry for our readers, since the house is so strange it is indescribable. It is built in a gorge on the top of a pinnacle of rock some 150 feet above the valley floor. The house is huge and contains a wide and excellent collection of working mechanical musical instruments, organs, cars, trains, dolls and doll houses, olden-day shops, breweries, planes, balloons, jewellery, ceramics etc. The house also contains the largest fairground carousel in the world which is magnificent as it goes around with its 20,000 lights ablaze and lively music. The infinity room is some 120 feet long, shaped like a glass ice cream cone on its side but it extends horizontally over the valley some 150 feet above the ground!! The layout of the house does not appear to have any logic and even though the huge rooms contain odd mixtures of all of the above, the design is done so well that everything blends together in a weird sort of way. At the end of the visit, we were still unsure if Alex Jordan was mad or a genius.

Tuesday, 25 June 1996

Wisconsin Dells are like a small version of Pigeon Forge, in that the economy of the whole town appears to depend on tourism. One of the major attractions is a ride on an ex-World War II amphibious craft, locally called ducks. We travelled over land and water for 8.5 miles through forests, and strange rock formations and along the Wisconsin River and Lake Delton. The ducks look a little out of place as they drive part the way along the main road. In the afternoon we took a horse and cart ride into the Lost Canyon which in parts was only just wide enough to get through.

Wednesday, 26 June 1996

Decided to visit the International Crane Foundation at Baraboo. This foundation has been protecting cranes, their wetland and grassland homes since l973. Part of their mission is to educate people about these magnificent birds. 0f the 15 species, 11 are considered endangered or vulnerable. We joined a guided tour which included seeing the most complete collection of cranes including the Whooping crane and Crowned crane. One of the principal threats to cranes is the loss of habitat and the ICF teach foreign biologists restoration and management techniques that have proven successful.

Thursday, 27 & Friday, 28 June 1996

We are now in Hastings, Minnesota (10,000 Lakes) where we visited the Mall of America which is the largest fully enclosed retail shopping and entertainment complex in the United States. It is a combination of a shopping centre larger than Lakeside together with a large theme park which includes big dippers, water plumes, magic carpet rides, a big wheel etc. It is possible to eat any cuisine and there are cinemas and theatres open until 9.30 pm. It appears that most visitors spend the whole day there, but we found the shop prices on the expensive side.

Saturday, 29 & Sunday, 30 June 1996

The English have a reputation for always talking about the weather but in the states, barely a day goes by without a news report concerning extreme weather. While we were out getting some bits and pieces at George's favourite store, Camping World, a severe 60 MPH straight-line wind hit the town and our campground. It blew down several trees on top of tents and a pick-up truck, ruined the awning on the motor home opposite us and the electricity was off for about 5 hours, as the power lines had been brought down on top of a giant field watering machine. Many houses were damaged, the whole of the local Walmart garden centre was destroyed and some 13 people were injured.

Throughout the US many of the towns have European names. In the local area, we have Hastings, Dover and Rochester so it makes us feel home is nearby. >>>