2021 Year-end Travel Summary

We didn’t get to go on an adventure per se to see many new sites. We did move from Arizona to Washington in January/February and we made a point to stop at a couple National Park Service locations in California on our drive north. We then made a trip to the Midwest in April and May and made a point to make a couple stops on that drive as well. That gave us a total of four new NPS sites for the year.

We don’t know yet what 2022 will bring for travel plans but we are hoping we can see at least a few new awesome places. After all these years of RVing we’re starting to run low on new places on our list. However, we’ve learned that some of our most memorable places weren’t planned so you just never know what we’ll discover when we get out on the road.

 Happy travels!

Here is the latest travel map:

2021 Travel is green line

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located along I-90 in remote South Dakota near Philip. The visitor center is right on I-90 and there are two remote locations that have tours (when allowed). The two remote locations are the launch control facility and a missile silo. We only went to the visitor center as the other locations were closed due to COVID-19. The visitor center had great information about the Cold War and all of the drama related to missiles. It is worth a stop along the long, isolated drive across South Dakota.

Visitor Center

Dignity Sculpture - Chamberlain, SD

We discovered the Dignity of Earth and Sky statue/sculpture by chance by stopping at the rest area near Chamberlain, South Dakota. It is so wonderful I just had to make a post for it. 

So, yes, it is at a rest area overlooking the Missouri River so the view is great also. And, that's not all. There is a nice exhibit (for a rest area) about the Corp of Discovery expedition (you know, Lewis & Clark) inspired by their stop in the area. So, if you are cruising across I-90 in South Dakota be sure to put this rest area on your agenda.

View - Missouri River

Pipestone National Monument

 On our return trip we went a little out of our way to visit Pipestone National Monument in very southwestern Minnesota. This National Park Service location protects ancient stone quarries that have been used for centuries. The short story is that Indigenous people from across the country have been visiting and quarrying a unique stone from these quarries to make special smoking pipes that are an important part of their traditions and beliefs. This national monument protects these quarries and issues permits to tribal nations so that they may keep quarrying traditions alive.

These pictures do not show active sites as they are protected from visitors. There is a nice 3/4 mile paved path that shows the natural landscape and some history.

Exhibit hole to show rock layers

Old quarry with rubble falling back in

Waterfall on trail

1838 chiseling by explorers

The World's Only Corn Palace

 We took a cross country trip to visit our new granddaughter and stopped at The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was a beautiful morning so the clear blue sky really accented the art work.

In case you were wondering, the building is not made of corn but there is really nice artwork on both the inside and outside of the building using corn, grains and natural grasses.

It is worth a stop to see if you are driving.

Front of building

Southside

Closer look to see materials

Some of the inside work

Pinnacles National Park

We decided to go out of our way to visit Pinnacles National Park on our trip north through California. This park is exhausting to get to because, coming from the south, you have to take narrow roads that are 85 miles with a million slow twists and curves. In a car it is work but it is even more so with a RV. In summary, going from south (Coalinga) to north it is a pretty drive that becomes less enjoyable after you get tired of all of the slow curves.

Anyway, about the park. There are two sides to the park, we went to the east side. There is one road that goes in a few miles and dead ends. The attractions are hiking and camping and hoping to see California Condors. We did one hike to get a feel for the park and just saw one Condor circling a long way off but we were only there a couple of hours. It is a pretty park with typical mountain hiking. Nothing against the park but since we did not enjoy the roads getting to it we will not return to this one.

Woodpecker nut storage

Condor Gulch Trail view

Condor Gulch Trail view

Condor Gulch Trail view

Cesar E Chavez National Monument

We stopped by the Cesar E Chavez National Monument on our drive from Arizona to Washington. This is a small monument, 30 miles southeast of Bakersfield CA, honoring the work of a man who, along with others, worked to bring justice and hope to farmworkers and their families. 

Cesar Chavez lived and was buried here. They also moved the United Farm Workers union to this location in 1971 to focus on building a nonviolent movement. There is a Memorial Garden and visitor center (which was closed due to COVID-19). There wasn’t much to see but since we were driving right by, we decided to stop.

Memorial Garden