Ginny & Dean's Excellent Adventures:Trek to the Great NorthWest Fall 2007/07

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The Great North West--08&09/2007: Part 1 Part 2 >> Part 3 >> Part 4 >> Part 5 >> Part 6>>

Statue of a rescuer on the Mississppi River.

Elvis statue in Memphis

While Elvis is obviously still a big draw here, many celebrities have their stars on the sidewalks next to The Orpheus Theater.

Star for Peter, Pal & Mary. Others were for Mae West, The Smothers Brothers, and many more.

This local biker stopped as we were loading our bikes back on the van. He wanted to make sure we were aware of the River walk trail. Yes, his dog actually stood on two little platforms while the bike was in motion. >>

Our first major stop on our August/September cross-country trek was Memphis, Tennessee.

<< Ginny in front of B B King's place. We started along a river path on our bikes early on Sunday morning. This statue depicts the 1925 rescue of 32 people after a boat accident. Tom Lee, the rescuer, didn't know how to swim, but he used his boat "Zev" for the effort.

We then we toured the downtown area. The roads were still blocked off from the previous night's celebrations to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Elvis' supposed death. It was good that we could stay at a military base, because other venues were probably filled. From what we could gather the crowds were substantial for the whole week.

Ginny stops in front of BB King's place>>

All the lights on Beale Street in town create a party atmosphere, even in the morning.

The dog actually stood on the platforms while its owner rode the bike. Very cute..

We stopped for lunch at Mammoth Springs State Park on the border between Arkansas & Missouri. Its name derives not from ancient animal remains, but the volume of the spring--9.78 million gallons of water per hour! The dam was constructed in 1888 and a power plant was set up, but is not in operation now because it would not generate enough power. Anyway, it was a picturesque stop for lunch.

A monarch butterfly on some wild milkweed along the water's edge.

Two boys fish below the dam.

The dam was constructed in 1888 and was used to generate power.

Dean bends over the outflow from the upper spring lake.

Then we stayed at Truman Lake in Missouri at an Army Corps of Engineers' Campground. There were lots of wildflowers around--some harbored matching yellow bugs.

Turman Lake

The next night we stayed at at another lake--Lake Vermillion in South Dakota. At dawn we walked around the trail at the campground and were treated to some interesting effects as sunrise tried to break through a ground fog.

Our campsite at Lake Vermillion was right next to the shoreline.

These glass pieces look like Hersey kisses floating on the water.

As we headed west we retraced some of the same routes that we had taken four years ago when we traveled this way from Maryland.

Isn't this bug perfectly matched to this goldenrod??

Sunrise over Lake Vermillion's morning fog.

Millions of dew-covered spider webs glowed and sparkled in the morning light.

Millions of cobwebs adorn the field next the Lake Vermillion.

The "Toe Service" signs made us laugh four years ago. This time through, we stopped to take a photo of one.

The "Toe Service" signs made us laugh two years ago. This time through we took a photo.

This whimsical sculpture also made us laugh four years ago--this time we were prepared to stop for a better photo.
This whimsical sculpture of the skeleton of the man leading the skeleton of the dinosaur also made us laugh four years ago--this time we were prepared to stop for a better photo.

The whole appearance is festive with its banners and swirling patterns on the turets.

A gym, performance hall, and a corny art gallery all in one venue.

Cowboy boots of corn ears. We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. The last time through its theme was Louis and Clark; this time it was in celebration of The Rodeo. Inside and out this flexible venue is totally decorated with corn parts.

Paint-by-numbers corn painting. On the side of the building, they were in the process of decorating for the next theme. It's like paint-by-numbers with each area marked with a color.

The Corn Palace is a sports arena, but it is also a performance venue with a stage for performances. Laurence Welk and many other notables have performed here.


We loved the wild sunflowers along the roadsides at the edges of many fields. This is their native habitat, after all. Then some of the sunflowers were NOT the native types, but acres of highly cultivated beauties.

The rolling hillsides catch the light.
The trip through the plains was beautiful in its natural, native state with historical markers every so often. We were also impressed with the scale of the plains agriculture where acres upon acres of grain had been harvested. As my friend Helen Marshall noted when I told her about "the amber stubs of grain", it's good that Katherine Lee Bates didn't travel in the same season as we did when she was writing "America the Beautiful".

The Whoop-up Trail was used for supplies and trade goods from the Missouri River to the various forts.

Amber stubs of grain--the grain's been harvested for the season.

On to Glacier National Park >>

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