CapeBuild's Cross Country Travel Log

[Tom&Shelly]

Thought about you during the rain John. Hopefully it'll be better weather as you go.

Tom

[Onajourney]

[Capebuild]

Wednesday, Sept 14

Before we left Lake Erie State Park we went for a walk along one of the trails (although wasn't what I'd call a hiking trail, more like a manicured path thru a wooded area). We passed by a lot of free growing concord grape vines. Sampled some, really good. Lot of crab apples that also looked really good and tasted really sour. One cool thing was we noticed a monarch butterfly fluttering about some bushes. Then we saw another. The more we walked we came upon what must have been 3 dozen, flying all about. A monarch habitat. Made our way out to the street where there was a local down home fruit stand and bought some really sweet peaches. We then left the park and made our way first to a bike shop where I had a new inner tube installed on my bike. The roads we travelled on took us through tons of grape growing fields. They were all over the place (this was like miles and miles around the lake region). When we stopped and got out of the car the air was filled with this pungent intense sweet aroma of grapes. Really nice. Someone we spoke with told us Welches processing plant was in the next town over and they bought "all" the grapes grown in the area. Back on the highway (Interstate 90) we passed the world headquarters of Duck Tape. Went around Cleveland where the drivers were very creative with their speed; weaving in and out around us even though I was cruising at 70 MPH. Wound up at a private campground on Lake Erie. I still can't believe how large the "lake" is. Tomorrow on to Indiana where we'll stay for a couple of nights and be visiting the RV Hall of Fame and Museum.

John

[Capebuild]

Thursday, Sept 15

Driving from our site where we stayed last night in Sandusky, Ohio to our next campground outside Elkhart Indiana, was supposed to be 3.5 hours driving time. Due to a number of detours and distractions spent most of the day driving and stopping. We don’t have Menards in the Northeast but I had heard of them and wanted to visit one of their stores. There was one in Sandusky. What a great store. Really clean and quite the large variety of product. I wanted another 5 gallon Flame King propane tank (difficult to find) and they stocked them….so I now have a back up.

On a teardrop technical note….. we left Monday and my 100 Ah lithium battery was fully charged. There’s 2 —100 watt solar panels on the teardrop’s roof. I’ve not plugged into shore power once yet. It’s Thursday evening and the Victron monitor is showing 97% charge. Our Dometic fridge has been running 24/7, the fan is used for at least 9 hours a day, we use some lights for a couple of hours…. And we charge our phones and laptops. The site we’re at now has a shore power hook up and I may plug in tomorrow just to top off the battery but all in all….pretty happy with the solar panel set up and the way it’s kept our battery charged.

Traveling through Ohio the terrain got really flat when compared to the rolling up and down hills of upstate New York. We took Route 6 west pretty much all day. This is the local road as opposed to Interstate 90. Although we still were able to go 60 mph I think we got to see so much more than if we had taken the interstate. There are corn and soy bean fields for miles as far as can be seen. Also some dairy farms and pig farms. Farming seems to be the main commerce. There’s a mix of what looks like prosperous family farming compared with “agribusiness” farming. Many of the family farms looked as though maybe 50-75 years ago they thrived and are still doing well, but now a number of homesteads seem either abandoned or in need of repair. Lot’s of unused silos. A huge silo depot with access to train tracks totally quiet now, although I’m not sure now is harvest time. Saw many signs on the roadways honoring “the farmer”. “Each farmer feeds 106 people a day”. “Farming is Ohio’s biggest industry”. “Thank you Farmers!”. Some old barns had the family name and a year date (when it was established, I’m guessing) … one from 1850. Passed through some very small towns with maybe 15 houses next to each other along the roadway surrounded by corn fields in the background. Then again, through many more miles of corn fields.

I did like the gas prices. Much less than the east coast where I last paid $4.49 a gallon.

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Around 4:30 pm we arrived at Potato Creek State Park in Indiana, some 3000+ acres of wooded wilderness. Great campground/state park. We went for a bike ride around the camping areas before dinner, which was canned chicken with a masala sauce over cous-cous along with cucumber salad. Picked up the cucumbers from a farmer with a small stand in Bryan Ohio.

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Since Monday traveled almost 1100 miles. Really getting used to the trailer now. Towing it and living in it. Lot’s I’d change and tinker with. But that’s another story.

John

[tony.latham]

Lot’s I’d change and tinker with. But that’s another story.

I can't wait for that book.

Stay safe,

Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

I've been told a farmer can't live off of an old family plot anymore, and so those old farms are probably leased to a company that runs the big fast machinery. That seems to be how it is here in Upstate New York, anyway.

In the Air Force, I was stationed at Wright-Patt in Southwestern Ohio, followed by Scott in Illinois across from St Louis, and when I got out I spent a few years in Lawrence Kansas. Sure got sick of seeing those flat corn fields! Let us know how you feel about it in a few days John!

It is quite a difference from the hills here in New York, or the Appalachian mountains in Pennsylvania. Lots of US history based on that geography, but Shelly (who had to hear it recited to her while she drove last month) tells me it's a little dry, so I'll spare you and the forum!

Glad you're doing well John! Like Tony, we too will be interested in hearing about the tweeks you'll make to the tear, with your experience.

Tom & Shelly

[Onajourney]

I got totally sucked into your build journal and was a teensy little bit bummed when you got done. But here we go again!

[Capebuild]

Saturday, Sept 17

Yesterday we visited the RV Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. The surrounding area is the proclaimed RV Capital of the World. We passed by numerous well known branded RV manufacturers and related industry suppliers. Went right by the Dometic Office. There were numerous parking lots with literally hundreds of large RVs/campers parked. I’m guessing they were part of inventory waiting to be sold by dealers or newly manufactured product waiting for distribution. Either way seemed like an inventory nightmare from a business sense, to me…. Or maybe this is the way it always is and demand is high.

The museum itself was amazing. If you find yourself in the area I’d highly suggest making a visit. It exhibited the history of the travel trailer with many sample trailers from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s…. Up to recent. On exhibit were Shastas, Scottys, airstreams, pop-ups and the like. Many motor homes and futuristic campers from the 50’s. Some you could go inside and view the interiors, which were really cool. Teardrops were not a main focus although there were 2 on display. One was a 1957 Serro Scotty 12’ Travel Trailer and another was a 1946 KIT Teardrop Trailer. This was a company started by a guy named Dan Pocapalia and it was marketed as a kit assembled by the purchaser. I took many pictures of the exhibits which I’ll post when able.
There was also a library you could go into. There were magazines and trade journals from the 40’s to present, many many books on trailers and trade catalogs from industry suppliers. The organization that oversees the museum seems to be some sort of lobbying support group for the trailer manufacturing industry and related suppliers. One large exhibit was composed of a scale model that showed the different assembly stations in building large travel trailers, assembly line style. Not that different from the procedures and techniques used by us teardrop builders. There was also another section in the museum dedicated to "manufactured housing". Makes sense in that these type of houses are basically very large trailers minus the wheels.

The outdoor culture here is really centered around the big type travel trailers, as you can imagine; with all this manufacturing in everyone’s back yard. Our neighbor in the spot next to us said with the price of gas the way it is a lot of the people in the campground were locals and just loved using their campers. He lived only 20 miles away and loved taking his trailer out to the park when he could. Our tiny trailer was dwarfed by the many huge Jayco type rigs. Made me really appreciated our teardrop


The rest of the day we visited the town of Napponee where the Yearly Apple Festival was in full swing. Many neighbors out with yard sales on their front lawns and huge boxes on street corners filled with apples (50 cents each). There were carnival rides and booth vendors hawking all kinds of stuff. Sadly we missed the Miss Apple Blossom Pageant but we did manage to sample the Largest Apple Pie in the world (7 feet in diameter which takes 17 hours to bake).

Today on to our next stop near Chicago.
John

[Tom&Shelly]

Can't help but notice that the first picture shows a stainless teardrop gallery, except for the modern grounded ivory colored outlet. No doubt the original didn't have a ground. If anyone happens to be restoring a camper like that, I can sell them an authentic non-grounded outlet for a fair price--say, oh, how about $50 per unit?



Tom

[rjgimp]

I got totally sucked into your build journal and was a teensy little bit bummed when you got done. But here we go again!

Same here. John, I await your periodic updates with great eagerness! What an epic adventure! As you were asking about travel options across southern MN I was hoping for an opportunity to meet up with you somewhere down there and get the nickel tour of your rig but it sounds like you are going to be with the group next weekend in Mauston WI and on that Saturday I will be heading on a fishing adventure well north of Duluth with some friends. I will just have to look forward to crossing paths with you some other time. It appears there will be around 150 getting together in Mauston. Should be a fun gathering!

Looking ahead to your travels between WI and SD, US14 is also known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Highway. You may recall Wilder is the author of the Little House on the Prairie series of books which inspired the 1970s tv series. There are a few towns along and near US14 in WI, IA, MN, and SD with Ingalls and Wilder family significance. From east to west- Burr Oak IA, Pepin WI, Spring Valley MN, Walnut Grove MN, and De Smet SD. Pepin, Walnut Grove, and De Smet have all have significant museums (I have been to each) dedicated almost exclusively to the family as well as festivals of different sorts throughout the year. I believe Laura Ingalls Days in Pepin just occurred last weekend. Incidentally, Lake Pepin (a natural widening of the Mississippi River) is the birthplace of waterskiing.

You also might be interested in the SPAM museum in Austin MN. I've never been, but I'm told it is fascinating.

[Capebuild]

Sunday Sept 18

Too bad we'll miss each other, Rob, but enjoy your fishing expedition. We are looking forward to the Camp-out event and seeing a bunch of other teardrops. It's surprising we haven't seen many on our travels..... yet. We did see a nice wooden one when we both checked into the Lake Erie State Park at the same time. We also saw a small red one from Rhode Island as they whipped past us on the highway.... the advantages of being able to travel faster with a lighter trailer (although I was doing 70 MPH). I need to brush up on my high speed driving skills. And also, Rob, thanks for the museum tips. I just looked at our travel map and seems we go right through Austin MN so maybe a stop at the Spam Museum will be on the menu. Sounds like fun.

Here's another shot of the KIT trailer. Good eyes, Tom, on the updated outlet. I hadn't noticed that. I did ponder the location of the wheels. I don't think the designer was necessarily following the 60/40 rule for the axle location.

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I also would be remiss if I didn't post a photo of the world's largest apple pie. Although at this point half of it is gone so I can't be sure it still qualifies as the world's largest.

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I had mentioned at the Potato Creek Park we were but a speck in a sea of larger trailers on our sites. You'll probably be able to pick us out

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Taking the train today to visit downtown Chicago.

John

[tony.latham]

John:

Since you two are obviously interested in geology, you might want to run 45 minutes north of Arco, Idaho, and see the Borah earthquake scarp.



It's a heck of a lot more impressive than that top photo.



The quake rumbled through in 1983 and hit 6.9 on the Richter. The valley sunk by 5' and the Lost River Range grew a foot. (I was a hundred miles north and it was so violent that the thought that went through my head was someone just died. I was right.)



Just a thought...

Holler if you need the coordinates of the interpretive site.

Tony

[Mikel46516]

Greetings from beautiful Elkhart, Indiana, John. Unfortunately I'm not on here often enough to know you would be passing through. We would have loved to meet up and see that camper of yours in person. Hope you have a wonderful adventure.

[TimC]

Have a great trip John.

I have been informed by "She who must be obeyed" that we are going to see our grand daughter this weekend in Chicago. Wish I could have taken in the Camp Inn Camp Outt and seen you and your awesome camper. If you are ever traveling in NE Wisconsin or through the UP let me know and I'll give you some touring advice! And steer you to the best Pasties.

That's a soft "a" there in the plural version of Pasty. Not suggesting anything to get you in trouble

Edit... after a small amount of whining on my part we have rescheduled our granddaughter trip to Oct 1st weekend so I hope to attend the Camp Inn Camp Outt after all. Hope to see you there.

[Capebuild]

Thanks, Tim, for the update. Hope to see you!! We are certainly looking forward to it.... and sorry to have missed you, MikeL. We did enjoy poking around Elkhart. The area definitely lives up the camper reputation it has. And Tony, thanks for the tip on

you might want to run 45 minutes north of Arco, Idaho, and see the Borah earthquake scarp.

. Looks pretty cool. Will try and get there. Need to get better internet where we are located now to take time to watch the video you attached. The internet connectivity here is minimal.


Tuesday, September 20

Sunday we rode the train from Mundelene to downtown Chicago. Starting off the day we visited the Art Institute of Chicago where we saw the David Hockney exhibit. He had spent a year in Normandy and produced a body of “paintings” done on an IPad. They had a similar character to his familiar colorful work but the iPad method created an unusual kind of texture and light. Also toured the American art galleries. Seeing paintings by Grant Wood (American Gothic) and Thomas Hart Benton were really great having just traveled through similar landscapes and subject matter of Indiana and Ohio. We also just walked around the city. Went to Millennium Park where there was this gigantic sculpture (evidently one of worlds largest). A seamless ellipse composed of highly polished stainless steel plates. It was 66 feet in length, 30 feet high and weighs 110 tons. It’s called Cloud Gate. Its reflective surface produced a mirrored view of the sky, clouds and cityscape… blending in with the surroundings in a seamless way….. along with the crowds that gathered alongside it to take photos and selfies. It was very impressive. Later, around sunset, we went to the “Signature Lounge” on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Building. The view overlooking the entire city and Lake Michigan was quite a sight and the sunset was pretty incredible being able to view it from that vantage point of being on the 96th floor.

Monday morning we left Mundelene and traveled to Sheboygan Wisconsin where Kohler-Andrae State Park is located. I’ll say this park is one of the nicest we’ve been to. Large wooded sites, not too close to your neighbors, and nice facilities…. Good bike trails with Lake Michigan just a short bike ride away. The lake is really, really huge. The water where we are is fresh and clean with nice sandy beaches …. Almost like being at the Cape’s bay. Went swimming…. Beautiful!

Last night around 1AM we got up to visit the facilities and bumped into 2 very large and somewhat friendly raccoons rummaging around in our privacy tent. We decided to let them be and we used the campsite’s rest rooms. This morning there’s a massive thunderstorm with lightning . With the bed transformed up into couch mode we’ll ride it out. Noticed a small leak in the large front window’s gasket which I’ll tend to when back to dry.

John