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I can't believe I haven't written since IA. We are now in the sweet sunny south at a malifluously named place called Tupelo, Mississippi. We have had a few adventures but mostly just getting into the swing of things. Our day at the Mississippi River museum was terrific. Lots of great exhibits and very well laid out. We left Iowa and continued on inland away from the river so Mark could go to the National Motorcycle Museum (real shocker there!). We enjoyed that museum also. Lots of beautifully restored bikes from early 1900's and upwards. We stopped in Hannibal MO to see the home of Mark Twain and picked up a mandolin which the only good thing about that town. Very unfriendly for America's Home town. Our next big adventure can only be summed up with "Are you lost?". Yes folks sometimes a 60' rig can get you into situations of which you are not sure of the outcome. We were in backwoods Missouri looking for a place to camp when we saw a sign for Dillards Mill State Historic Site. Well, we had just spent the last hour cowering under a car wash garage because the NWS put out a Severe Thunderstorm Warning with tornadoes possible - you know the yellow box on The Weather Channel - well we were in it! Once we felt it safe to venture forth all we wanted to do was find a place to spend the night. We were driving and found the road to Dillards mill but I was a little concerned when it started to go downhill. To make a long story short we were in Missouri for the first day of deer hunting season and got invited to stay a deer hunting camp. Nice people. We spent 2 days with them. The weather improved enough we could empty out the Airstream and put in the fridge we got in Minneapolis in and put all the stuff back that had been scattered around. Since then our adventures have been mild. The day we left we went by a trout farm/resort recommended to us by one the the deer hunters. Mark brought his fly fishing equipment along and he taught the girls how to fish with it. Our next big fun was going to Cape Giradeau where we found a nice bookstore for Mariah to work on her homework. We parked across the street and met a man who was remodeling his house for sale. He invited us in and we got to talking then his wife came home and they invited us to dinner. We had grand time - making friends on the road. We told them about our home and how we have people over lots and it was fun to be their guest. The next morning I made them breakfast. We were sorry to leave them nice folks. Notice the southern accent starting to creep into my dialect. I have been reading Mark Twain's Huck Finn to the family everyday and it is hard not to stay in the Twain twang. The state park's in Missourri and Arkansas are beautiful. We went to Memphis to try to see Graceland (yeah yeah but it is an american icon, especially if you are in the neighborhood). We got their in the evening and found the TO Fuller State Park which was beautiful and closeby. We dropped off the trailer and took the truck into Memphis and hung out on Beale Street - Jumping off place for BB King and other blues greats. Lots of neon,blues/jazz and barbeque. We ate some ribs (Mariah's favorite) and saw a blues band in a bar. Felt like we were in high cotton! The next day we headed for Graceland but when they wanted $6 to park and would n't post their entrance fee we thought we better call. $100 folks to see where the King lived. Mark is now calling it disGraceland for exorbitant greed. That wasn't in our budget so we settled for seeing Elvis's parking lot as we turned around and left. We went back to the campsite and toured a 1000 year old indian village instead. Olivia rode her bike the whole way there. That about brings everyone up to date. We are in Tupelo, enjoying their very modern library with 20 computer stations available for public use with all new computers supplied by the Gates Foundation. Unfortunatley I just found out I cannot attach my pictures so y'all might get an email of just pictures when I can get on ag'in.

Okay I am pushing it for rhyming but it is the effort that counts today. We are in Dubuque IA where the temperatures are a bit higher than farther north. As you can see we don't get very far but we are enjoying where we are. The attached pictures are from Wyalusing State park which is where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi. There is a lovely state park with beautiful facilities which were all closed ( we can't figure it out - it is still warm relatively.) We met some really interesting people from Chicago. In the morning we went hiking down off the bluff to the Wisconsin River and then back up. Olivia has learned to ride her bike and now we can ride to the trailheads as a family which is great fun. The night before last we stayed at a small town on the Zumbro river called Theilman (pronounced tileman). The night we were there someone had gone around and stolen all the republican county commisioners candidates signs. We got to hear all the intrigue of a small WI town. You all will be happy to know, things aren't that different in other parts of the country. If you ever get to travel we really recommend the Great River Road. Time for us to go to the National Mississipi River Museum.

Hello to all from Minnesota, Since we last wrote we have been experiencing a dramatic change in the weather. It got bitterly cold here (Mitch, stop laughing) and we have been dealing with the issues frozen campers deal with. To top it all off our furnace decided it didn't like cold weather either. We are now heading south as quickly as taking back roads will allow. We have had some adventures which are worth noting. Mark's dream of having his child or wife shoot his dinner has not been fufilled this year but it gives us all a goal for the future. We did get to fufill his dream of scaring plenty of pheasants which was quite an experience. South Dakota is beautiful in a windswept, artic tundra sort of way. We had a lovely dinner with some successful hunters who were friends of Mark's friend up here. We got to sample pheasant, walleye and blue gill (fish) plus eat the best pie the country makes. You probably are asking if it is so cold why are you in MN? Good question. We had an appointment in Minneapolis to replace the refrigerator. We had an appointment with Camping World to purchase and install one. We ended up doing the work and they were very helpful. Mark's cousins live in Minneapolis so we stayed with them last night and are re-grouping for our trek down the Mississippi River. We plan to spend some time in Hannibal MO, childhood place of Mark Twain. I am attaching a couple of photo's of our life and warm garage where we replaced the refrigerator. Will send much more interesting photos' when my camera defrosts.....
Hugs to all from where the chilly winds blow

So sorry to forward these but I am on someone else's computer and I wanted to share some of our last great adventure with you. We spent the night at Niobrara Wildlife refuge in NE and it was beautiful. We rode to a trailhead on our bikes then hiked to the waterfall and then went up above the river valley. Nice weather so far. We are in South Dakota on Mark's farm and hunting pheasants and enjoying fall weather in the Dakota's. It is a grand adventure so far.