Across North America in Five Weeks! (1 Viewer)

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It's a trip to see the full size tour busses in those tunnels....
 
And finally... to the Badlands... Badlands National Park, where we're sleeping tonight... this place looks Baaaddd... good bad. I mean, miles and miles of this type of landscape... wow...
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Spectacular...
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Miles and miles just tick and tick... another just about stunning place...
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And on we drove to a small town called Interior... South Dakota... where we stopped at the "wagon Wheel Bar & Grill"... cool place! For your local bison burger...
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A perfect ending to a perfect day!
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To be continued...
 
The first time I drove through Montana, I was astounded at how long you could drive without seeing another vehicle. Especially when getting off 90 on to Hwy 212 through the Cheyenne reservation. I thought Idaho was remote when I was living there, nothing compared to where you're headed.

I did 212 through the Cheyenne reservation a number of years ago... in a truck I bought off a guy in Portland and drove back to Indiana. Absolutely loved the drive. I found the reservation to be just as Hecrod found it... impoverished.

And on we drove to a small town called Interior... South Dakota... where we stopped at the "wagon Wheel Bar & Grill"... cool place! For your local bison burger...

Little places like that are what I love about road tripping in America. Nothing like it. Still avidly reading this thread...
 
Ahh,
The Black Hills
Sacred indigenous american land.
 
Woke up in Interior... South Dakota, and drove West (West!!! you're going the wrong way!!!:D) into Badlands National Park... not before stopping for a quick drink at... The Cowboy Corner...:rolleyes::rolleyes:
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I'm looking for ethanol-free gas now anywhere I can find it... it makes a difference!


And then we were off to The Badlands... a lunar landscape...
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I for one think this is a very much under-rated National Park... lots of hiking trails... the geological story is superb, as it is pretty much with the entire "West." We spent a few hours here...

This time we went straight East (for a change!) with this as our entire view for hours on end... remember, 50MPH tops...
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The mountains? Gone... The buffaloes??? Gone... The curves??? Gone... The hay??? It's everywhere!!!

To be continued...
 
And things are starting to get hot... 90+, and no A/C, and my 40 is insulated, but it's still hot inside!!! And to think I had the heater on just a couple of days ago!

My brother thought it was funny when I raised my legs for a while to escape the heat... this is where cruise control and no traffic helps!
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We also got to run in some "higher speed" dirt roads today!



Where did we end up??? Chamberlain South Dakota... by the Missouri River. Great change in landscape, absolutely awesome scenery... Small Town America...
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Where we had our usual fare at...
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And where the sun just settled down...
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The 40 is strong... good temperature all day, good power all day, smooth idle, quick starts... things are good.


Tomorrow? Let me check... in the direction of Orange City Iowa... or another couple of hundred miles... we may see a Corn Palace, stop by Sioux Falls, see a Danish Windmill! Or maybe not... we'll see...

Read and ride along!


Hector and Alex
 
Last edited:
Just a heads-up on the corn palace - It's basically a gymnasium with a corn mural on the outside. The mural is cool, not so much the gym. If I remember right, they had a few pictures of previous murals and that was about it. The nice thing is that it is (was) free and a good excuse to stretch your legs.

Welcome to the Heartland!
 
Great pics as usual, I put ethanol free in my 40 every chance I get!!!!
 
Just a heads-up on the corn palace - It's basically a gymnasium with a corn mural on the outside. The mural is cool, not so much the gym. If I remember right, they had a few pictures of previous murals and that was about it. The nice thing is that it is (was) free and a good excuse to stretch your legs.

Welcome to the Heartland!

@Kris would have to agree with you on all counts... although I enjoyed the introductory video a bit...
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Great pics as usual, I put ethanol free in my 40 every chance I get!!!!

@tls3601 thanks for the comment!




And look at what we came across in Sioux Falls! A Demolition Derby car! I'm going to try to attend one of these events in the next two weeks if the schedules align... it would be a "once in a lifetime" type of thing for me... I wonder what's up with the name...:rolleyes:
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The drive today? Beautiful as usual, through Southern South Dakota into Iowa... where the landscape changed from hay 100% of the time, to corn just about 100% of the time...
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Now just because I don't have enough pictures to fill my 5 picture quota today... take a look at the picture below (from Google Maps) to get a sense of what we drove through today! The dirt road you see above, was taken while we were driving in one of the squares below... one after another, after another, after another. Every single line you see below was a dirt road... and public roads from what I could tell... amazing distances...
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As beautiful as all of this is, I am approaching the end of the third week... and I'm starting to feel tired. I was dragging a bit when leaving the truck at the end of the day just now. And to make matters worse, the cruise control stopped working... hopefully it's just a fuse. I'll look into it later today. This upgrade was the most beneficial so far (maybe together with the seats)... it would definitely hurt to lose it now.

One cool thing my brother and I did today (actually ever since Monday, just more of it today) was talk politics! We both trend Libertarian, so there were no fireworks ;), but it made for lively conversation! I'm sure it would not have been nearly as much fun had we been at different ends of the political spectrum!!!

Staying in Orange City tonight... will end up near Winterset Iowa tomorrow...


Oh, and before I forget, and you may laugh at me the City Slicker here, but man, there are some massive cow farms around here, and OMG!, you can smell them down wind AND upwind!!! WOW!!! My brother and I were going like... "ok, that one I KNOW was not you!" :D:D:D


Read and ride along!


Hector and Alex
 
@Kris

One cool thing my brother and I did today (actually ever since Monday, just more of it today) was talk politics! We both trend Libertarian, so there were no fireworks ;), but it made for lively conversation! I'm sure it would not have been nearly as much fun had we been at different ends of the political spectrum!!!

Read and ride along!


Hector and Alex

... and could actually hear everything that you said to each other... :cool:

I hope your cruise control is easily fixed... I rigged a hand throttle on a go cart a half century ago, by attaching piece of string to the bellcrank on the carb... I held the string over my shoulder (engine in rear) and pulled to go faster unfortunately, I had it wide open and the string broke and jammed the throttle wide open and I had to run into a telephone pole to stop it... a sore leg and a few bruises, especially my ego and a destroyed front end... but, I lived... I've digressed (yet again :rolleyes:)...

If you can't get your cruise control to work and you are driving long, empty roads, you could quickly and easily rig a hand throttle, using parts available at any bicycle shop... then, you could work the throttle, by hand and rest your weary feet in your brother's lap...

But, please don't use cheap string to rig a hand throttle on your 40!!

Drive safe, Hector!! Enjoy your brother, the smells and the wide open spaces... and don't let the tedium get to you... it'll get better once there's something on the horizon... :p

:popcorn::beer::cheers:
 
Subscribed! :popcorn:
Hector
Thank You for taking us along with you on this ride. Some Beautiful country out there. and very nice shots. Screen savers for sure.
That 40 is really nice! cant wait for the next update.
 
This is an awesome trip, thanks for sharing. You mentioned you are getting a little burned out. Maybe find a cool place and stay there a couple days to recharge your batteries. I'm enjoying your adventure, have safe travels.
 
I have no idea what possessed me to open the 40-forum, or this thread today, but it appears to be the will of a higher power...

@hecrod I don't know if you remember me, but I was driving the green 100 series that passed you and waved a couple of times on the interstate in WY or MT last Sunday. I was driving it back back to CO after purchasing in the PNW. As soon as I saw your rig from a distance the first time, I told my sister, "I'm pretty sure that's a land cruiser" and she rolled her eyes and called me a nerd - sure 'nuff it was you!

Beautiful rig you have - really enjoyed seeing you on the road! I did a similar cross country trip in my 62 last year - something about life in the slow lane just puts a smile on my face.
 
Your travelogue is absolutely thrilling to read. Lately it seems like I have only been able to read your thread about three times a week, so today there were three pages for me to read. Some of the places you went through in pages 9, 10, and 11 are places I finally got to see 15, or so, years ago. The Custer monument, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore , and Gillette.

Gillette was a real trip for me. We arrived in the dark, and left early the next morning. But, we were scheduled to stay at a private parties house. Talking to the couple that lived there we found out that she was a cousin to somebody I grew up with, and had been in Oregon just a few weeks before. We traveled through four states and met somebody like that, totally unexpected. Kind of like what happened to you and colik in post 214.

Keep up the driving, the pictures, and the posts. I LOVE it!

Don
 
... and could actually hear everything that you said to each other... :cool:

I hope your cruise control is easily fixed... I rigged a hand throttle on a go cart a half century ago, by attaching piece of string to the bellcrank on the carb... I held the string over my shoulder (engine in rear) and pulled to go faster unfortunately, I had it wide open and the string broke and jammed the throttle wide open and I had to run into a telephone pole to stop it... a sore leg and a few bruises, especially my ego and a destroyed front end... but, I lived... I've digressed (yet again :rolleyes:)...

If you can't get your cruise control to work and you are driving long, empty roads, you could quickly and easily rig a hand throttle, using parts available at any bicycle shop... then, you could work the throttle, by hand and rest your weary feet in your brother's lap...

But, please don't use cheap string to rig a hand throttle on your 40!!

Drive safe, Hector!! Enjoy your brother, the smells and the wide open spaces... and don't let the tedium get to you... it'll get better once there's something on the horizon... :p

:popcorn::beer::cheers:

@pngunme I had to quote your entire message here... you have been actually a great counter-read every time YOU reply to my posts! Fun, engaging and insightful. Thank you!

On the Cruise Control... yep, it's gone. The magnets dropped off on one of the many dirt roads I'm sure. I'll have to find a way to fix it, but it will have to be when I get home I'm afraid. There has got to be a better way to secure those to the driveshaft. I smell a meaningful update on this at some point in the next few weeks!

Although having a cruise control makes a difference, I can live without it. I'll use my foot on the pedal from now on...:)
:)


Subscribed! :popcorn:
Hector
Thank You for taking us along with you on this ride. Some Beautiful country out there. and very nice shots. Screen savers for sure.
That 40 is really nice! cant wait for the next update.

@89fjlandcruiser :cheers:

This is an awesome trip, thanks for sharing. You mentioned you are getting a little burned out. Maybe find a cool place and stay there a couple days to recharge your batteries. I'm enjoying your adventure, have safe travels.

@Hogan You know I think I am going to take you up on your recommendation... I had planned for 1-2 days of "buffer" in case of breakdowns... I think I'm going to look for a "cool place" (Nashville???) to park myself for an extra day and recharge batteries that way...

I think I AM going to do that! Thanks again!

I have no idea what possessed me to open the 40-forum, or this thread today, but it appears to be the will of a higher power...

@hecrod I don't know if you remember me, but I was driving the green 100 series that passed you and waved a couple of times on the interstate in WY or MT last Sunday. I was driving it back back to CO after purchasing in the PNW. As soon as I saw your rig from a distance the first time, I told my sister, "I'm pretty sure that's a land cruiser" and she rolled her eyes and called me a nerd - sure 'nuff it was you!

Beautiful rig you have - really enjoyed seeing you on the road! I did a similar cross country trip in my 62 last year - something about life in the slow lane just puts a smile on my face.

@collk22 I do remember!!! I actually remember commenting to my daughter, who sort of rolled her eyes herself at someone SLOWING DOWN to give us a thumbs up... :)... I remember telling her something to the effect of, "now that's the way to travel..." The 100, that's the Beast! Thanks for the thumbs up!

You are now the 2nd MUDDER I come across on this trip... (@45Kevin )

Your travelogue is absolutely thrilling to read. Lately it seems like I have only been able to read your thread about three times a week, so today there were three pages for me to read. Some of the places you went through in pages 9, 10, and 11 are places I finally got to see 15, or so, years ago. The Custer monument, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore , and Gillette.

Gillette was a real trip for me. We arrived in the dark, and left early the next morning. But, we were scheduled to stay at a private parties house. Talking to the couple that lived there we found out that she was a cousin to somebody I grew up with, and had been in Oregon just a few weeks before. We traveled through four states and met somebody like that, totally unexpected. Kind of like what happened to you and colik in post 214.

Keep up the driving, the pictures, and the posts. I LOVE it!

Don

@handcannon
:cheers:


Orange City Iowa is a neat town! For those of who have watched the movie Fargo... remember how a number of people kept saying "ya" in a "funny sort of way"? We heard it there last night!!! Now, please know that I am not making fun of anyone here... NOT AT ALL!!! It's just that I heard it, and had "Fargo Flashbacks" right away! Could be a regional slang? I thought that was sooo cool...

Orange City used to be called Holland before... renamed Orange City later on... and those that know about Holland know how much they love the color orange, so it made sense to me!


A nice Dutch Mill in Orange City Iowa...
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And although you will of course notice the second Dutch Wind Mill below, please take a look at all of the American Flags on the lower right... a small monument paying honor to all of those Orange City "Region" residents who had lost their lives serving our Country since the Civil War. Many De Jong's, Van ____, Vander ______. Its Dutch background is VERY present...
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This was our route today... we visited Templeton Rye Whiskey in Templeton (do you think we sampled their product :grinpimp:), a Danish Town, with its own original Danish Wind Mill, and the ACTUAL Bridges of Madison County! Fun day, but long day... Today marked the 22nd day on the road... 4000+ miles. I need that day off...
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I should name today "The Windmill Chapter"... they are EVERYWHERE in this part of the country. Can you see them far in the distance? We saw a lot of this today... New windmills, old windmills, reaaaally old windmills...
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And we did make it to Templeton Iowa, and Templeton Rye Whiskey, where we DID get to sample their product... just a tasting... that was Good Stuff! It actually says that in their logo...;)
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To be continued...
 
And we made it then to the Danish Villages of Iowa... where we saw some more windmills, sampled some Danish deserts, bought some Danish souvenirs, and where I sent some nice pictures to some Danish friends! Go Hillerød!
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And we got to visit 5 of the 6 covered bridges in Madison County that are still in existence! You may remember seeing them in the movie The Bridges of Madison County with Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood... that was so cool... (blue skies were back!)
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We even got to drive into one of them!
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And one last gratuitous 40 picture... taken from the Observation Tower in Winterset's (where the bridges are located) City Park... what a nice park!
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Long fruitful day... lots more planned for tomorrow...

Please continue to read and ride along!


Hector and Alex...
 
@pngunme I had to quote your entire message here... you have been actually a great counter-read every time YOU reply to my posts! Fun, engaging and insightful. Thank you!

On the Cruise Control... yep, it's gone. The magnets dropped off on one of the many dirt roads I'm sure. I'll have to find a way to fix it, but it will have to be when I get home I'm afraid. There has got to be a better way to secure those to the driveshaft. I smell a meaningful update on this at some point in the next few weeks!

Although having a cruise control makes a difference, I can live without it. I'll use my foot on the pedal from now on...:).

Kind words Hector!! Thanks!!

My main strength appears to be an uncanny ability to talk too much... Generally about nothing... But, every so often, I get lucky and actually stay on topic. :D

Remember, two feet, one gas pedal... Ice one, roast one... Repeat often. :steer:

Safe travels!!

:cheers:
 
You most likely saw a few of my wife's relatives there (very distant ) she is a VanAlstyne the first family was in the mid 1600's to the Dutch North American colonies ... They started moving about claiming there stake ... Some went south ... Some went west

Love seeing history intact... Just recently an 1820's VanBuren house came down ... Upsetting to see

How many mines on now?

Tires wearing ok? Did I read you had vibration ... Is that resolved?
 
Love reading this blog, did a similar trip recently but in my FJC and more west coast orientated..I can't imagine taking my 42! That is too bad about the cruise control. My knee gets sore after about 60 miles of driving my land cruiser. The go pedal is a little too close to the tranny tunnel for me.
 

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