The question that may be asked is if we plan to return. The answer we have supplied to others this summer is the same we’ll supply here on the blog: “No.” The reason is that we can’t see other parts of the US or Canada if we return to the same location. After all, one of the reason for being full-timers in a motorhome is to travel extensively in the comfort of our own home.
During the last month our daily trips have diminished. We’ve made a couple of trips to Madison, returned to some of our preferred restaurants, and conducted other business which is a typical part of living. We’ve also taken time to sit around a campfire a bit more because there’s something mesmerizing and relaxing about watching a wood fire. Besides, we get to listen to the nighttime sounds or listen to each other.
Martha enjoyed an evening around a campfire. Byron enjoyed
taking the photo. By the way, the object in a vertical position
is the handle to the fire poker. We stick it in the
ground when we’re not using it.
One of the main attractions in town is the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show. Connected to the venue is the Paul Bunyan Shanty Cookhouse. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served “family style” in the cabin-like restaurant. Though the food is plentiful, it really is nothing to “write home about.” By the way, breakfasts start off with orange juice and cake doughnuts. It progresses on from there. While not particularly delicious (mass produced), it is a Wisconsin Dells experience as it draws in thousands of visitors per day during the summer months.
Breakfast includes scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy,
hash browns, pancakes, ham, and link sausage at the
Paul Bunyan Shanty Cookhouse.
Paul Bunyan Shanty Cookhouse.
Not far from Wisconsin Dells is the Mid-Continent Railway Museum which is a few miles west of Baraboo. Like other museums of this nature, they are attempting to obtain and restore cars and locomotives from the 1950s and earlier. In fact, the museum does have one steam engine that functions and another in the restoration process. However, for their daily rail trips (14 miles round trip) they use a small diesel-electric unit that was formerly used at a munitions depot. The diesel engine is Caterpillar and about the same displacement as ours. The model is a 3116 and ours is a later generation 3126. The museum has done a fine job of restoring several wooden cars. These cars were made before the move to steel or aluminum. They are displayed in a large building away from the harm of weather.
A refurbished but not operational locomotive sits outside the car barn
at Mid-Continent. Number 29 was originally built in 1907
by American Locomotive Company. It is considered as
a C2 Consolidation class since it is a 2-8-0 configuration.
Selfie time – aboard the train at Mid-Continent just before
leaving the station.
The day after Labor Day the time came for Sunny and Coco, the Chinese students, to leave for their journey back to China. We enjoyed their company and the opportunity to show them this part of the United States and talk about differences they see. Over the summer they had gotten acquainted with other students who also came to the Dells to work. We took them to Madison to catch the bus for Chicago. As we were getting ready to leave them Sunny gave us a card.
Sunny’s card: Two quotes. 1) I hope you two can continue your travel,
and bring more people kindness and courage. 2) Hope everyone can
live safe and sound, and appreciates the one moon together
even if we are far from each other.
Since we are officially registered as Work Kampers with Kampgrounds of America, we can take advantage of the opportunity to see openings for next summer. Though we have enjoyed Wisconsin Dells, we’d like to work in another part of the country next summer. We have our resumé posted and available for view to other owners and managers. The process of posting involves selecting some objective items such as states of interest as well as skills we possess and the levels of those skills. To date our resumé has been viewed by about a dozen campgrounds. We have also applied for about as many. We have had initial communication with about five or six but we’ve made no commitment and received no firm offers for next summer. We have, however, received a good offer from the KOA in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Finally, the time came for us to leave Wisconsin Dells since we had fulfilled our commitment at the KOA. September 19 was our last day. On the 20th we finished cleaning the exterior of the motorhome and completed the job of putting things into travel position (storage). On Monday morning we disconnected from the electric, water, cable, and sewer services and pulled away after our final visit in the office to say “good-bye.”
From here we’ll head to the northwestern corner of Illinois, and area in which neither of us has spent any time. We plan to visit Galena, the home of U.S. Grant, and the surrounding area. After a few days we’ll head to the east central part of Illinois for a visit with friends near Danville. Next will be some time with a brother near Paducah, KY before returning to Byron’s hometown for a 50th high school reunion. After ten or eleven days in Louisville we’ll go through northeast Georgia for some time with Martha’s family. After that we will go to a full-timers rally in Florida and then, finally, to the winter home in Kissimmee.
Now, to answer the question of “was it worth it.” To that we’ll say a definite “yes” as we have enjoyed the whole experience. We have been allowed to meet a lot of nice people and worked along some fine ones, too. The beautiful surroundings of the Dells area, the activities to enjoy, and the generally pleasant weather have also provided an enhancement to the opportunity. And, we were always able to be in worship each Sunday morning. We feel we have been blessed and happy we made the choice.
