After a busy couple of days in Boulder seeing friends and getting the van stocked for our next few days on the road, we headed out early Wednesday morning for our first Harvest Host destination of the trip: Shepherd’s Rest Goat and Sheep Rescue in the Village of Pickrell, Nebraska—Population 199.
When we arrived at the beautiful 100 year old farm, we were warmly greeted by Jen; the owner of the property and hero goat rescuer. We have been listening to the book “Running with Sherman” by Christoper McDougall in the van and there were a couple of chapters about the wonderful qualities of goats so we were primed and excited for our visit.
Jen has over sixty goats with cute names like Oreo, Bam-Bam, Inigo Montoya, Lovey, Eleanor, and Sven on her property and she knows each one, their back-story, and calls them by name. She also has a miniature cow –Moose, a mini horse — Minnie Winnie, four baby red foxes, some deer, sheep, and nightly tree frogs. Jen runs only one of three goat rescues in the United States. The other two are in the East and West Coast so she rescues goats mostly from the middle part of the country. She told us when she turned 50, she decided she could either take it easy and drink margaritas on a cruise ship or she could pursue her passion and rescue goats. She chose the latter!
Jen calling to her goats!She has over 60 goats on her property that she has rescued right now.We seemed to have a staring contest going on with these guys.Sophie meeting Moose, the mini cow and a very large sheep!Wanted to take this little one into the Van with us!! Why not add a goat to our menagerie?
Jen rescues goats that have been neglected or abused and rehabilitates them while providing a goat sanctuary in her beautiful setting. She also educates the public about goats and sheep as therapy animals and provides animal assisted therapy to nursing homes and assisted living facilities nearby. She said she felt her animals truly helped many people get through covid lockdowns who were alone and without family. Jen also has monthly goat yoga classes here on the farm complete with meditation paths around the farm. What a peaceful oasis!
We were all by ourselves in a forest setting for the evening. I will take a Harvest Host setting over a crowded RV Park any day of the week! So glad we found out about them. We ate dinner while watching the sunset and the fireflies put on a fireworks show for us. As we went to bed, the sound of the tree fogs serenaded us to sleep.
Our traditional “We Made It” Beer!Sophie and Ralphie back posing for sunset picturesSunset in Nebraska
All in all, Shepherd’s Goat Rescue was one of our favorite stops yet. If you ever find yourself in Pickrell, NE or even Lincoln or Omaha make sure to make the trip to visit Jen’s Goat Rescue Sanctuary. On weekends, you can play with the goats and even do some goat yoga!
Here is Jen’s website in case you are interested in finding out more. We made a donation so she could rescue a few more cute little critters. Now we are off to a winery in Marenga, Iowa for our next adventure!
We bought our 24-foot Airstream Interstate motor home almost exactly one year ago. It was the middle of COVID lockdowns and we were desperate to get to Winona Lake, Indiana to see Lisa’s 91-year old father. We named it the Winona Rider, watched a bunch of You Tube how-to videos, and set off on an adventure that was memorable, but, in our minds would last only until the pandemic ended. I figured we could sell our motor home and recoup most of the money we spent to buy it.
Well, the pandemic is largely over for those of us who are vaccinated and here we are driving across country on a month-long trip to Winona Lake and back again with scheduled adventures along the way. Today is day four of this trek. We’ve already experienced reunions and, uh, misadventures. Let’s rewind to last Friday.
Ready to leave (we thought).
Lisa and I had spent the previous three days preparing for our 9:00am Friday departure. We were pros. We had this down. Fill the fresh water tank — check. Empty the black and gray water tanks — check. Groceries loaded into the van — check. Engine fluids filled — check. Packing cubes efficiently assembled — check. Dog food — check. Reservations at every stop along the way — check. I even bought tire pressure monitors to ensure we knew immediately when we had a flat tire!
Lisa gave me the new insurance card and I opened the glove box to put it in the folder with the vehicle registration. Hmm. I know the folder was in here. I clearly remember placing it there. But, the registration was nowhere to be found. We started to search everywhere. Did I really ever have it there? If we can’t find it, how quickly can we get a copy? Lisa went into the house to search and I started looking through the van. The Winona Rider has a lot of drawers and cabinets and cubby holes so this took some time. Finally, I looked under the passenger seat and, on a ledge below the seat sat the little folder we keep the registration and insurance in. How it got there we’ll never know. But, whew. We found it.
OK, well, that only took 20 minutes. Our first night was to be with Mike and Mary Frandsen at their home at Lake Tahoe. Mike and Chris Dittmore had scheduled a 2:00 tee time for nine holes of golf and wanted me to join them. No problem. We still have plenty of time to get there. Except . . .
We opened the back gate where we park the van and were ready to pull out. I leaned over, gave Lisa a big kiss and said, let’s go on an adventure!. I inserted the key, turned the ignition and — nothing.
The battery was dead.
Now, fortunately, the Boy Scout in me was ready. I jumped into action like the father in a “A Christmas Story “ when he got a flat tire. (Note: Lisa never hollered “Fuuuudge” during this process.) It was fortunate that I had purchased a new lithium battery jump starter and I opened the back door to the van, pulled it out, and attached it to the battery. Unfortunately, this process was not quite as easy as advertised and the charger needed to be hooked up for a while until it transferred enough power to the battery to start the van.
While we were waiting, our friend Susan Reckers strolled by. “Are you guys leaving? Have a great trip!” We had to embarrassingly explain that there was a slight delay. She said she hoped she wouldn’t see us here when she came back from getting her coffee.
OK. I got the van started. My Amazon purchase paid off! Here we go! We pulled out of the driveway and started on our way. Lisa drafted a text to Susan that we were on our way when an alarm interrupted our elation. It was the new tire pressure monitor telling me that we had a very low tire on the right rear inside tire (we have dual tires on the rear). We had made it exactly 1/2 mile and we had experienced our third mishap. I pulled over in front of St. Isidore School and went to work again.
Since I didn’t trust the new monitors, I pulled out my trustee old-school tire pressure gauge and learned that yes, in fact our tire was very low. But, Mr. Boy Scout was ready. I went into the back of the van and unpacked the tire inflator. I plugged it in and put another 10 pounds of pressure in the tire. Ready to go. Only 40 minutes late now. I am certain we can make that tee time in Tahoe.
Onto the highway and we’re off. Except the tire pressure monitor is telling me that the same tire is getting low again. At this point, I can’t definitively say that Lisa didn’t say Fudge.
I removed the brand new tire pressure monitor from the inner right rear tire and we took off for Tahoe. I was certain this was the issue because this tire had always held pressure and the only thing that had changed was this stupid gadget I just had to have.
Here we go again, off on our adventure. I must say, however, I was a bit nervous about the rest of the tires and Lisa kept reminding me that the tires were a really important part of the van and we should be mindful of the pressure.
About halfway to Tahoe, I noticed the inner left rear tire was gradually losing pressure. “Fudge,” I said (Only I didn’t say Fudge). It was a slow leak so we soldiered on since I didn’t want to miss that tee time. As we got closer with my attention divided between the road and that stupid tire pressure monitor, I felt a sense of relief. The tire would hold enough pressure to make it.
We arrived at the Frandsens. Mike met us in the driveway, grabbed my clubs, told me Mary had made one of her signature peanut butter sandwiches for me and we needed to leave. You see, he had a new driver and needed to try it out before we teed off. I explained our entire harrowing experience. Mike didn’t care. He wanted to get to the driving range before 2:00. We all have our priorities.
The trip has been a total pleasure since. Golf was fun despite my time spent looking for lost balls. We drove to Salt Lake City the next day where I got to hug my sister Vicki for the first time since the pandemic began. She took us on a beautiful hike and we had quality time to catch up. And, here we are now in Boulder, Colorado, our home away from home.
Our hike with Vicki above Salt Lake CityVicki and I toasting our reunion. Sophie eying the food.
Our travels will take us to goat farms in Nebraska and wineries in Iowa (?!?) before our two-week stay at Winona Lake, Indiana. We return through Wisconsin, Minnesota and then to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. We’ll even visit my old high school near Rapid City.
After our travels last year, Lisa and I didn’t think we would write a blog on this year’s trip. After all, we are experts now and nothing exciting will be worth writing about. The first hour of our trip humbled us and we decided writing about the trip will be fun and may give you something worth reading. So, join us along the way as we have adventures, misadventures, and, hopefully, experiences worth remembering.
Now that we are home from our maiden voyage on the Winona Rider, I thought I would share some lessons learned about traveling around the country. Brad and I traveled 5600 miles in four weeks and went to 13 different states racking up over 150 hours in our Sprinter Van. Although we spent some time in our Boulder condo and at the Winona Lake cottage, we did have enough time on our own in the Winona Rider to learn a thing or two.
Simplicity is freeing. It was unbelievably freeing to live life simply while in the Winona Rider. Brief showers, no makeup, hair in a ponytail and a hat, and rotating between three or four outfits. Our dinners were simple with very minimal clean up. Even though we had some really good wine, we used plastic wine glasses so Brad didn’t spend hours shining up his wine glasses like at home. Yes, you heard me right….plastic wine glasses!
Conservation is necessary and important. We had to conserve everything because we were not going to RV Parks and were not plugging in anywhere that we camped. Conserving fresh water was key so we didn’t have to keep stopping to find water. We did the shower routine we learned on The Andiamo in our sailing days. Turn on water. Get wet. Turn off water. Lather up. Turn on water. Rinse off. Minimal water used….minimal time! Our tiny bathroom converted into a wet shower so you didn’t want to spend that much time in there anyway.
Our biggest issue was battery power. We didn’t have enough to feel comfortable each night plugging in devices and using power around the van so we were very careful. One night we left the refrigerator door slightly ajar and woke up with Zero Percent Battery Power with warning lights flashing at us. Never a good thing. We patiently waited for the sun to come up to get some solar to help power up the RV. It was a race between the refrigerator running and the sun shining that morning. I really got into all of the solar power vs. battery numbers after that day!
Routines are Good. We figured out our roles and routines early on and then refined them along the way. We had a morning routine where Brad got up and took the dogs out and made me coffee and then I slowly got up! Everyone who knows me knows of that truth. We figured out the timing of cleaning up breakfast and dinners, making and un-making the beds, when to take showers, and when to charge our devices. Our best new routine that we developed was having a beer together when we first got to our new camping spot. We started doing this after the harrowing drive in Kansas with the wicked thunderstorm and decided it was a worthy routine after that!
One of Lisa’s birthday presents. And, it’s true.
Dogs are great traveling companions….most of the time! Sophie and Ralphie really did well on this trip. They assumed their positions in the RV and were very patient on the days we had long drives. They slept like champs and loved the wide open spaces wherever we camped. We did have a few issues, however. For one thing, Ralphie is a wanderer and we frequently had to go searching for him as he slowly wandered off to check out a venue that looked more interesting. We nickname Sophie the Velcro Dog so we never had a problem with her wandering off. Unfortunately, Sophie got a little case of diarrhea when we were in Boulder the first time and poor Brad had to take her down three flights of steps to the nearby park every two hours for two nights in a row. Luckily, after some rice and pumpkin added to her diet, all was well. Our only other issue with the dogs was when my Dad announced he didn’t allow dogs in the Lake Cottage upon our arrival. We did our best to do a dance where the dogs went out to play or on a walk when my Dad was in motion. Ralphie and my Dad ended up being fast friends so it was almost a win!
Sophie got tired of posing after her many photo sessions.
You meet really interesting people even during a Pandemic. Although our main goal was to go to places without people because of Covid, we did encounter some really interesting people and their stories at the Alpaca Ranch. We met one woman who is the founder of the African Library Project and has started over 1900 libraries in sub-Saharan Africa. She lives in the Bay Area and, of course, we connected to see how we can participate in the future. We also met a few other couples who had sold their homes and were living in their RV’s for the foreseeable future and traveling the country. We met a few novices like us who bought their vehicles during the pandemic and were on their own maiden voyages. People were from all over the country and were trying to travel the safest way they could figure out during this troubling time. We also re-connected with some good friends and family along the journey. We appreciated them all for welcoming us into their backyards with our two crazy dogs and a van that scraped up their driveways. We book-ended our trip with the Frandsens and Dittmores in Tahoe and can’t thank them enough for their hospitality and we are thankful that their neighborhood bears didn’t want to have a midnight snack in our RV.
A nice visit with Gracie and Arthur FormanWe stayed with Chris and Brenda Dittmore (and new puppy Rimy) on our last night of the trip.
We Loved Our Wide Open Spaces. Wow, this country really is beautiful. We loved waking up every day to a new place for a sunrise and sometimes a different place for a beautiful sunset. Almost every place we stayed at had Wide Open Spaces and we felt so fortunate to just sit outside by our van in the mornings and evenings and look at the beauty around us. The beauty wasn’t only in Montana but we also enjoyed our stays in Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. There is a lot of beauty to see everywhere in the United States. It felt good to appreciate it and not be in a hurry or fly over those places.
Sophie in MontanaRalphie in Kansas
Masks should be federally mandated everywhere. We were very aware of the mask issue in each state we visited. Places like Colorado who have one of the lowest infection rates in the nation had 99% mask compliance. People even wear masks while cycling and hiking in Colorado. Other states seemed to have very optional mask-wearing ordinances. Sadly, most of the states with the worst mask compliance were also those who were seeing surges in cases. We saw large weddings, a large party, and people in stores without masks. Hard to believe that wearing masks has become a political issue and not one about health… but I digress.
Lisa and Joan hiking in the mountains near Boulder
We slept like babies. We both haven’t slept this well since before Trump became President. Our bed was very comfortable but there was something about the fresh air and lack of distractions that made us both have the best sleeps of our lives. The dogs slept amazingly as well. Ralphie slept with us and Sophie was right by our feet and would only get up and start pawing us when the sun rose.
A sense of humor with your spouse is helpful. Things went wrong. We both made mistakes. I kept leaving the light on in the bathroom draining our much-needed battery. Brad mistakenly left the water running in the sink somehow filling up the grey tank and over-flowing the shower. We went up some harrowing roads with hairpin turns and we backed out of a few driveways and made our mark in the streets. Sometimes it got hot and buggy inside the van and we wished for air-conditioning. And yet, we enjoyed figuring it all out and laughing about it. We laughed and sang and talked a lot. My phone never seemed to work so there were no outside distractions or negative news about the world. It was nice to take a break from it all for once. (Although we did make sure to catch the Democratic Convention whenever we could find it on one of our devices. Some things are worth the exception!)
A month is a long time to be away from home and the grandkids. We loved our time away but couldn’t wait to get back to see Max, Maile, and Noa. (Oh, and their parents, too)
A lot changes in a month. California has had record heat and lightning strikes and now fires, smoke, and unhealthy air. Kamala Harris became the Vice Presidential Nominee. Steph moved into a new apartment in New York. I announced my retirement from the Town Council. A rat decided to take up residence in our home while we were gone. Sophie has doubled in size. Noa has changed dramatically with his moving and smiling and cooing. Maile is in the process of starting remote pre-school and learned how to swim across our pool and jump off the diving board while we were gone. Max turned three and has become even more curious about the world. His favorite word is “Why?” We FaceTimed almost daily but as everyone now knows, FaceTime or Zoom is not the same as being there in person. It felt great to arrive in smoky Danville this afternoon. I was filled with gratitude about being able to go on this journey with Brad.
A smoky Lake Tahoe. Normally you would see mountains and crystal blue water.
The first thing we did after unpacking was to take a really long shower and start planning our next (shorter) trip! We may not blog in the future now that we are thinking we are pros but we will post some more sunset pictures along the way this fall.
We spent the past week in Boulder. On Sunday we started the final leg of our journey by heading north to Montana.
I went to Kindergarten in Great Falls and did a family vacation to Yellowstone as a kid. But, I haven’t been to Montana as an adult. Lisa has never been here. So, we have been looking forward to our quick tour of the state as we work our way home.
It took us about eight hours to get to Billings in Central Montana, our first stop. On the way we found a spot by the North Platt River in Casper Wyoming for lunch. Most lunches involve almond butter and jelly. Since the food isn’t much to speak of, we go for atmosphere.
Amoco Park in Casper Wyoming
Billings became a town because it was a convenient railroad stop in the late 1800s. It has grown because it sits upon a rich reserve of coal, oil, and gas. It is situated among long cliffs called rims. We had a pleasant evening, staying overnight at a golf course. We dined on cheese and prociutto, had a nice bottle of wine, and got another beautiful sunset. Our friends Neil and Dave will be disappointed to hear we had no RV disasters to deal with.
Sunset over Eagle Rock Golf Club in Billings
The next morning we got up, and, since we only had a three-hour drive to our next destination, we went for a hike. It was an easy 2-mile hike but we got up high enough to see Billings. Max and Brodie called as we arrived at the trailhead, so we took them along. The place was teeming with grasshoppers and, upon seeing all the action, Sophie started catching and eating them. Max thought this was very funny (we didn’t).
A selfie with Max on FaceTimeA view of the cliffs
After our hike we hopped back in the Winona Rider and drove to Sentinel Ranch near Bozeman. This unique Harvest Host stop is an alpaca ranch. Yes, hundreds of alpacas. And, we are parked overnight in what they call the back 20. That’s 20 acres at the back of the ranch with lots and lots of alpacas. Alpacas are much friendlier than llamas, although we understand they will spit if in distress. But, then, I have a few friends that will do that too.
Lisa is fascinated by the fact that alpacas use a communal dung pile. She insisted we include this fact in this blog entry. Now I need to get up and walk over to take a picture of a dung pile so you can see it. Be right back.
An alpaca communal dung pile. Apparently the males are far tidier than the females. We guys have that going for us.
We took a tour of the ranch and had the chance to feed the mothers with their new babies. The ranch family keeps the new mothers all together close to the house so coyotes don’t get the babies. Speaking of coyotes, there is a ranch sheepdog that protects the herd. His name is Falcor after the dog in The Neverending Story. Nathaniel, one of the owners, told us it is because this face looks just like the dog in that movie. I couldn’t tell. We couldn’t really see his face.
Falcor, the ranch guardianFalcor meets Sophie and Ralphie
The babies are cria. We saw one that had just been born that morning. He was a little wobbly but otherwise looked a lot like the other babies. Our guide reminded us that prey animals are essentially able to run away from predators at birth — an important survival characteristic. Lisa, who is endlessly fascinated with these animals, reminded me that alpacas have two sets of eyelashes. I hadn’t noticed. But, they’re very cute.
The newest baby alpaca, born that morning
Lisa feeding a mother
A Harvest Host guest met this one and bought her. I hope she has room at home.
Alpacas only have bottom teeth. This gal needs hers straightened
Lisa examining the double eyelashes
It was 96 degrees during the tour so we quickly retreated to the gift shop (that was their sinister plan all along). Alpaca wool is much softer and more breathable than sheep’s wool. We’re suckers for soft and breathable.
After dinner we walked through the back twenty and watched the sunset. We have been having the dogs pose at sunset each night. They’ve done really well. But, tonight Sophie was not having it. She wouldn’t stay long enough for me to get a good photo. I scolded her not realizing that Sophie is a very sensitive girl. She decided she would stay, but, she moped about it the whole time. Photo shoot ruined.
We slept well since, at 10% humidity, it cools down nicely. We have developed a very nice habit of taking our time to get ready in the morning. Coffee, breakfast and relaxation. We then headed off for a hike in the nearby mountains. It was a beautiful 5-mile journey along the Cottonwood Creek as it wound down a valley in the mountains.
As I was writing this entry the alpaca herd came over to take a look at us. It underscored our experience — itty bitty living space, great big backyard. And, sometimes, with unusual neighbors.
We awoke this morning to chirping birds and cool crisp air. Feeling like we had conquered the challenge of RV life, we gathered the dogs and walked around the lake at the idyllic winery in central Missouri. We were heading west and planned to leave at about 9am after our walk and a leisurely breakfast.
Our view of the lake at Serenity Vineyards
An RV has a lot of moving parts. Water, electricity, HVAC, gas, plumbing, solar, etc. Learning all the systems takes a bit of study. I guess we were bound to make a mistake or two. We just didn’t think we’d make them all on the same morning.
There are three water tanks on the Airstream Interstate motor home we’re driving:
— a fresh water tank that holds 27 gallons of water for drinking, washing, showering, and , uh, the toilet.
— a gray water tank for all the water that goes down the sink and shower drain. It holds 17 gallons if this water.
— and, finally a black water tank. We’ll let you guess what that one holds.
Well, a design flaw on this RV is that when you close the cover on the sink while after using the hot water, the water will turn back on. If you don’t discover your error quickly, you use up fresh water while filling your gray tank. Yeah, we did that this morning. Then Lisa discovered that the bathroom floor was filled with soapy water that should have already gone down the drain. Well, my error with the sink filled the gray tank, emptied the fresh tank and caused the bathroom floor drain to back up. Thank goodness we didn’t make a mistake with the black tank!
As we prepared to leave with empty tanks that were supposed to be full and full tanks that were supposed to be empty, our propane generator suddenly stopped and all the lights went out. Total power failure. Oh, no.
Lisa and I immediately went to the ultimate authority — Google in order to solve this mystery. Nothing.
We did, however, find a service that offered an expert to help us solve the problem. For $1 (using our credit card number, of course) we could subscribe to their service and have a friendly technician magically give us the answers. After about 15 minutes, Randall, our friendly expert texted to say he was ready to help. After describing the problem he gave a couple of generic suggestions that made absolutely no sense to us,
Lisa and I walked around looking for something called genset, wondered why we didn’t have a digital multimeter to diagnose the issue, but mostly we just wandered aimlessly hoping for a miracle. Well, a miracle came along. As we were searching for a solution, I noticed that a switch, called the main disconnect switch, was in the off position. Hmm. I flipped it on and presto! the lights came on and everything worked. I let Randall know he solved the problem, embarrassed to tell him what really happened, and we breathed a sigh of relief.
You see, it turns out one of us had accidentally bumped the switch and turned it off. Lisa and I continue to be in disagreement as to who it actually was. To keep the peace, we’ve blamed Sophie.
The culprit — Main Disconnect Switch
After this near crisis we headed out to the freeway to find a dump station where we could empty our tanks so the bathroom would drain. Thirty miles down the road we found one and I dutifully did the deed — draining the tanks into a septic tank through a hole in the ground.
Draining our tanks at the dumps station
Lunch with Old Friends
Our route back to Boulder took us through Kansas City, conveniently close to our dear friends Steve and Stacey Physioc. They graciously offered to serve us lunch, and after our morning fiasco, we arrived an hour-and-a-half late. It was great seeing them. They have a beautiful home on 2 1/2 acres in the country. Stacey served us a healthy (of course) lunch and we bid them farewell. A significant benefit of this trip has been our ability to visit friends and relatives (all socially distanced, of course). We are thrilled.
Steve guided me out of their driveway as I backed into the street. He rushed to move solar lights along the edge of the pavement as I backed up, telegraphing to me that he really didn’t like the way I was handling the rig. Another rookie mistake. Fortunately I made it to the street with no damage and we were on our way.
Steve and Stacey
A Race with Mother Nature
As we headed west through Kansas the skies began to darken. Lisa, ever the vigilant one, opened up the Weather Channel app to see what was up. She said, “Severe thunderstorms in Hays, Kansas with golf ball-sized hail. It’s heading north.
Well, from looking out the windshield it was clear that a massive storm was now south of I-70 and was heading into our path. We needed to get 20 miles down the road before the storm reached the highway. Big rigs clearly had the information as they were “putting their hammer down in their rush to get in the clear.
A screenshot of the weather radar. You can see I-70 at the top of the screen.
We felt the wind before the rain hit. I don’t know how strong it was, but, it was all I could do to keep us on the road. Should we pull over and find shelter or can we make it?
We decided to make a run for it. I couldn’t go too fast because of the high winds. The northern-most part of the storm hit us. It was dark, windy, rainy, and then the hail hit. We don’t have video of the worst part because our white knuckles had us paralyzed. I would have felt better if Lisa wouldn’t have kept singing the Wicked Witch of the West song.
The Winona Rider, although battered, did pretty well through the storm. As we came through to the other side we both looked at each other and exhaled loudly. Incredibly, the skies cleared and as we set up camp at a little nine-hole golf course in Wakeeney, Kansas, we opened a nice bottle of wine (of course) had pesto tortellini and were treated to a beautiful sunset. Life is good.
We left Winona Lake today and got back on the road. It felt good to climb into the Winona Rider, it’s primary mission complete — that of getting us to Indiana to visit Lisa’s dad. It was a transformative visit that drew the three of us — Lisa’s Dad, Lisa, and me — closer.
John Robert Stauffer was born in 1929 in North Manchester Indiana. He was a high school and college basketball star, married a girl from Indianapolis, and settled in Northern Indiana where he taught high school math and coached basketball. His father purchased the land the family lake cottage sits on in 1937 and John has been tied to that spot ever since.
Daughter number one was Lisa, born in Warsaw, Indiana in 1958. She came home from the hospital to a house on Winona Lake and the place has been in her blood ever since. I didn’t come onto the scene until 1983 when, after about six weeks of dating, Lisa brought me to the spot she loves more than any place in the world. As an Air Force brat I had never lived anywhere for more than three years. It didn’t take me long to adopt Winona Lake as my own (even through 37 years later some still refer to me not as a laker but and an “other”).
As Lisa mentioned in our last blog, we have been coming every year since, with the exception being 1985, the year we got married. As time has passed our family has grown and our visits to the lake have become full with energy, laughter, and love. I am happiest standing over the barbecue grill overseeing the preparation of hamburgers or pork chops or corn on the cob, a glass of red wine always in one hand. I often have multiple assistants and I love every minute of the chaos that ensues as we ready the evening meal. My other happy place is behind the wheel of our speed boat as I punish one of the kids on skis, a tube, or a knee board.
Son-in-law Kai taking flight on the tube in 2019Lisa showing she can still slalom ski in 2019
This year was different. It was just the three of us. The rhythm was different, the energy level much lower. But, it was a chance to reconnect with John Stauffer. He’s 91 now and a bit slower than the man who regularly schooled me on the tennis court. But, he has the same twinkle in his eyes and same easy way with the world. One thing hasn’t changed. He still loves his Dairy Queen Buster Bars. I couldn’t, of course, let him eat alone. I’ll need a few extra workouts when I get home.
Buster Bars!
We grilled dinner every night and lingered after dinner to reminisce about days gone by, catch John up on the kids’ activities, and talk about current events. Days were spent reading, watching golf, and doing puzzles. And, while John wasn’t ready to ride the tube, we did take him on a boat ride every day. We even caught some fish. I threw the line in but, it was John, ever the coach, making sure I did it all properly. August 8th was Lisa’s birthday. We gave her a Dairy Queen ice cream cake and as we presented it to her John and I sang to her at the top of our lungs. John harmonized (I didn’t know he could do that) and had on a smile bigger than his face.
They say a father is the first man a little girl falls in love with. It’s certainly true of Lisa. This trip to Winona Lake took months of planning, the purchase of an RV, and 2500 miles of driving. Seeing the look on Lisa’s face as she spent this time with her father was worth all of that and much more. As we drove away this morning she had tears in her eyes. Some were tears of sadness because we were leaving and she didn’t know when she’d see him again. Some were tears of joy with the love she felt for him and the greater connectedness she had gained over the past ten days. The rest were tears of concern, hoping he would be OK until the next time we see him. They say you never stop worrying about your kids no matter how old they get. That’s true. But, they never warned us that you also begin to worry about your parents. I guess that’s why we’re called the sandwich generation.
Central Missouri
Our first stop after leaving Winona Lake is the Serenity Valley Winery in Fulton, Missouri. They brag that their grapes do not come from Missouri (which is a very good thing). And, their wines are pretty good.
Fulton is not too far from Columbia, home of the University of Missouri. Our nephew Jordan Stauffer is doing his medical residency there. He had the night off so he drove out to see us. We grilled some chicken apple sausages and watched a beautiful sunset by the small lake in front of the winery. It was a delightful evening.
Lisa and Jordan
Sophie at sunset
The nice thing about RV travel is that we can be very spontaneous in our travel plans. For example, we made a quick detour today and visited DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. John graduated from DePauw and set basketball scoring records. Lisa went there her Freshman year before transferring to Notre Dame. We stopped in the middle of campus and ate our lunch before heading back out on the road.
Lisa in front of the East College building at DePauw University. It dates back to the 1870’s
Lisa in front of John’s Phi Psi fraternity house
For those who paid attention to our initial itinerary, you may have noticed we did not intend to go through Missouri. We’ve also axed Yellowstone from our plan (too crowded) and will, instead, visit Billings and Bozeman. We’ll keep you updated as our adventure continues.
So far our blogs about our trip have been written by Brad with editing/suggestions by me. However, I bet many of you are wondering how I really am adjusting to this mode of travel. Do I love it or do I LOVE IT as in one of our favorite SNL skits?
Here’s the reality. I am adaptable. I used to love camping and then on one camping trip each daughter threw up successively in our tent and I swore off camping. We traded up to rustic cabins at Graeagle and I was in heaven. I also loved our sailing trips with Jim and Jayne Taylor on Andiamo in the BVI. I still consider those the best vacations of our lives even though we lived in tiny quarters and barely showered and never wore makeup or used a blow dryer. I knew I could do this but some questioned whether I would “Love It.”
So far…and let’s remember we are really new at this…I am honestly loving it. I love the fact that we are seeing new places. I love the fact that we are self-contained during a pandemic and have our own bathroom and cook our own food. I love that on our road trip we don’t have to stop at fast food places but instead seek out serene parks where the dogs can play and we can eat at a picnic bench. I am enjoying being disconnected to the internet and Twitter and Nextdoor and the news. I love spending time with Brad without distractions.
We ate lunch today at Anita Lake State Park. It was beautiful.
Sophie likes our lunch stops too.
We are learning how to do the dance that we learned from Jim and Jayne Taylor on the Andiamo as we cook and move in a small space. We planned our simple menus in detail and we packed our small pantry and cabinets with precision. We are getting better every day as we figure out more efficient ways to do the dishes or make the bed and manage our water and power. We may not be making the gourmet meals that Jayne Taylor made but we make up for it with a really good bottle of wine!
When packing for this trip, it was clear that we needed to be organized and be minimalists. Something that Brad and I are not known for when we travel — especially me. I have a closet in the RV that is three square feet, so packing cubes (thank you Mary Frandsen), are saving me. I usually show up for a weekend trip with a large suitcase and an extra toiletries bag. So far, we are proud of ourselves with our organization and minimalism. We seem to have brought the right stuff and not too much. (True Confessions: I did ship a box of cute clothes, sundresses, and swimsuits to the lake)
Some of you have asked about the interior of our RV. Here are a few pictures of the couch and bed complete with Tommy Bahama bedding, cute pillows and an adorable dog. The cabinet to the left is my three square foot closet!
Our living area including kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.
Ralphie gracing the sitting area in the back. The two small cabinets on the left are my closet.
The sitting area converts to a king-sized bed at night.
We really like being part of the RV network “Harvest Hosts’. Harvest Host is a collection of wineries, breweries, golf courses, and farms where members can stay for a small annual fee. They allow a limited number of RV owners to park overnight on their properties. So far, we have been the only ones at each site and that is exactly what we are looking for on this trip.
Last night, we arrived at our destination — Thornridge Golf Course in Milford, Nebraska. Milford is a town of 2000 people outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. The Winona Rider looked out at a beautiful golf course and a community swimming pool. There was a gorgeous little park down the street that we let the dogs run around. It was all quite delightful actually.
Our home for the night in Nebraska overlooked a beautiful golf course.
The idyllic park right next door.
The park had nostalgic old-time playground equipment.
When we arrived and set up camp, I was struck by the sound of children laughing and playing at the community pool. There were dozens of kids swimming going down the water slide. Before I knew it, I realized I had tears in my eyes. I haven’t heard groups of children laughing in six months. We live by an elementary school and one of the happy sounds in our home is the sound of children laughing and playing at recess during the school days and families cheering during softball and soccer season. It was a feeling of normalcy that I have taken for granted every other year of my life and might have even been annoyed by. These kids’ sounds brought me to tears. I guess when you live in a very small town in the middle of Nebraska, Covid-19 is not something that kids and parents are as worried about as in the Bay Area.
The community pool across the street.
We are currently staying at the Living History Farm in Des Moines, Iowa. Early in the evening, we connected with our good friends Jenny and Steve Clark for a lovely socially-distanced glass of Walt Wine. They were great sports as we showed up looking a little like the Griswalds with our RV, two unruly dogs and our very casual appearance! Luckily, we were able to back out of their driveway more easily than at Vicki’s!
Jenny and Steve Clark
Brad was in heaven grilling out dinner at the farm. Of course, he bought a small Weber grill and modified it to operate off of the RV’s propane system. We ate Beyond Burgers, drank a nice Chianti, and were joined by some deer and a few geese. All socially distanced, of course.
Beyond burgers with Swiss cheese grilled on a mini-Weber grill.
Tomorrow evening our destination is Winona Lake. We hope to get there in time for a Winona Sunset and a boat ride. It’s been a six day journey instead of a six hour one like past years but this time it really is all about the journey and not just the destination!
If we went back to January 2020 to warn ourselves about what was to come there would be many things that we might not believe. It’s been a year of suffering and frustration for many in this country. We have been fortunate. Our caution since the pandemic hit has spared our family from getting sick. We have, however, had to adjust in ways we couldn’t have anticipated in January. Sheltering in place, wearing a face mask, social distancing — all things that seem so normal today. But, the one that might have surprised us the most? Lisa and I bought a motor home and are getting ready to embark on a socially-distanced cross-country adventure.
Let’s go back to the beginning to see how this out-of-character behavior began.
Lisa was talking with her girlfriends on a Zoom happy hour (another COVID-19 invention) when she started to lament her inability to take our annual trip to Winona Lake, Indiana. Her father had just turned 91 and seeing him whenever possible is of utmost importance. And, we haven’t missed a year since we got married. But, flying is not safe yet; driving requires a lot of risk with hotels, bathroom, and food stops. Seemed undoable. Then she (or someone on the call) brought up the idea of an RV trip. Sounded like an option. So, after the call was over, Lisa came to me with the idea. “Sounds promising,” I said. “I’ll look into it.”
Lisa’s Dad looking through his tree at Winona Lake
I began to research RV rentals. Now, going to Winona was going to be a month-long excursion with a stop in Boulder and a possible national park visit. The rental costs were sky high, especially since it would be parked unused for a much of the time while we were in Boulder and Winona Lake. Since we love to travel and this might be our only means to do so for a while, and given we want to visit my parents, see our place in Boulder periodically, and head off on other adventures, I wondered if buying a motor home might not be a bad idea. So, the research began.
We ended up buying a used 2017 Airstream Interstate Grand Tour motor home. And, we were fortunate. There have been a number of COVID crazes and, I think we’ve done them all. First it was sourdough bread and banana bread, then it was a puppy (Sophie), then a hot tub, then a backyard playground for the grandkids. And, finally, a motor home. All of these crazes drove up demand for the products and we were fortunate to put a deposit on our RV before the masses came rushing in. One news report we saw said that RV sales are up 170% from the pre-COVID period. We feel lucky to have gotten such a nice unit for the price we did.
Lisa and I picking up our new mode of transportation
Lisa says I became obsessed with the idea of becoming an RV owner. I guess I did. It would be six weeks before we could take delivery once we pulled the trigger because the Airstream dealership was so slammed with demand. So, it was YouTube videos to learn what to do; blogs to learn about this strange new hobby; Amazon to buy all the needed accessories the videos and blogs said I must have. I also started planning our trip (Yes, Gracie, you heard that right. I am doing the planning).
You can imagine how excited we were to take delivery on our new toy! Lisa thought it should have a name. Katie suggested The Winona Rider. It stuck.
First up: a test run up to Sonoma Valley. We joined a network called Harvest Hosts which allows members to park their RV overnight for free at wineries, breweries, farms, and golf courses around the country. We chose Mayo Vineyards in Glen Ellen as our maiden voyage destination. If you know us, going to a winery would not be a surprise. Driving is easy since it is a relatively small RV so the trip up was a breeze. We arrived and the woman running the winery welcomed us and had us back in to a spot among the grape vines. Maybe this will be a better way to travel than we expected! She then offered us a socially-distanced wine tasting and told us we could set up in their outdoor tasing area after they closed if we wanted to eat dinner and allow the dogs to roam around in the enclosed space. Yes!
Camping in the vineyardOur wine and cheese dinner at Mayo VineyardsLisa and I hanging in the tasting area after closing time.
We both slept like babies. It was like camping, only more luxurious. And, since we haven’t left Danville since March it felt even more special. Yes, there were a few hiccups. For example, when your rig isn’t plugged into an outlet it is important to be economical with power usage so you don’t drain your batteries. I woke up at 4 am and noticed I had forgotten to turn off the outside lights. Lisa said she heard me mutter, “You idiot.” (to myself) as I got up to turn them off. Our batteries were fine, but, it was a warning to have a checklist of things to pay attention to. I am guessing this won’t be our last rookie mistake.
Tomorrow we begin the main event. A month-long RV trip with stops in Lake Tahoe, Salt Lake City, Boulder, Lincoln, Des Moines before we reach Winona Lake. On the way home we will retrace our steps to Boulder before going north to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We are looking forward to the adventure (misadventure?) of a lifetime. All without setting foot on an airplane or pulling out our passports. Our marriage has survived 35 years. It’s survived sheltering in place in our relatively spacious home. Why not test it in a space the size of your master bath for one month?
Our four week route.
We plan on being extremely cautious as we don’t want to get sick or infect anyone else. Of course, we’ll be sporting our masks and keeping our distance as we go. It will be interesting to see how the cultural differences around the country impact the seriousness that people handle the risks. Join us on this road trip as we blog all of our experiences.
When we bought the RV, Lisa said we would be selling it on the day a vaccine is released. Now we’re thinking, perhaps, we will keep The Winona Rider well past the pandemic. Who knows?
When we first told friends and family that we were going to Africa this year, they all said the same thing. Africa will forever change you and it will help put life’s priorities in perspective. We weren’t exactly sure how we would be changed but we went into this trip with an open mind and a curious attitude.
We stayed in lovely resorts and all had excellent service. The African people we met were friendly and courteous wherever we went. I told Brad that I think the people in Africa smile when they talk and always have a sparkle in their eyes and a heart-felt greeting.
But it was our guides and their personal stories that we will always remember when we look back at our trip.
We will remember Charles and Junior in Zambia who talked about their country with pride and concern. They had pride in their culture and the beauty of their country but concern about their economy and the future. Zambia’s economy has a 60 percent unemployment rate and the majority of Zambians live below the international definition of poverty with an average life expectancy of 41 years.They were experiencing daily power outages while we there due to lack of infrastructure during the drought periods (most of the power is hydroelectric) and both of them talked about the high levels of corruption in their government. They both talked about their concerns with how global warming would affect their families in the future.
Junior
We will remember our guide at the Nakatindi Village. He had great pride in the accomplishments of his humble village and the fact that he had been selected to be a tour guide. He talked about how grateful he was that Abercrombie and Kent and our resort at Sussi and Chuma had provided funds and training for the people of his village. The village now has a commerce center where people are trained to run their own business. The Bike Shop was especially impressive and the shop was exploding with bicycles that had been delivered from overseas. The community has a neighborhood watch program and each community area has their own form of democratic leadership to make sure the villagers needs are met. The adults were all friendly to us and the children were out playing games and soccer with each other. The village really doesn’t have crime and are mostly concerned about the destruction that the elephants could bring to their homes. The biggest threat to the village continues to be the spread of AIDS and health care issues. He has already seen how the new clinic has helped the community. He is frustrated that the government ignores their village and they must rely on private donations to improve their standard of living.
We will never forget Mo in Kliptown in Soweto who is running an educational program for the youth of the township. He also has to rely on private funds and donations as the township receives very little help from the government. He is very proud of the program’s accomplishments and more young people are getting skills to have jobs as a result of his group’s hard work. I still can’t get the image of the port-a- potties that ten-twelve families have to share (they only get cleaned twice a week). The lack of power and water is also a huge issue for the township.
Monwabisi Baleni — AKA Mo
Our guide, Thulani, stunned us with his accounts of daily life in Robben Island. When he slammed a prison door to let us know how it feels to be locked in, it was very powerful. Being allowed to go in Nelson Mandela’s cell was also very powerful and sobering. The memories of Apartheid are still painful and emotional for Thulani.
Thulani Mabaso
Our mountain man guide, Ross, who took us up Table Mountain was right out of the movies. At one point, he stopped and let us take a much-needed break from our vertical hike and had us look around at the view. He has been climbing Table Mountain since he was five years old and said that as far he was concerned this place was his heaven. How could he want any more out of life?
Ross, our Table Mountain hike guide, right of of central casting.
Our encounters with the African children in the villages will be our favorite memory of all. If I had the resources (and youth) of Angelina Jolie, I would have adopted them all as well! The heartbreak of watching the kids play in the filth of Kliptown, the joy of the 4th graders in the rural area of Sabi Sabi as they showed us their new robotics kits that Exclusive Resorts had donated, the hugs of all of the five and six year olds at the pre-school are memories forever. I struck up a conversation with one of the fourth graders while she was doing the robotics demonstration. She seemed exceptionally bright and told me she plans to be a doctor. I hope she will achieve her dreams. We will also remember the little girl in Zambia who looked to be about Maile’s age. She came running towards Brad and leaped into his arms as if he was her own Grandpa and gave him a long, big hug.
Speaking of grandparents, we will also remember the role of the grandparent in the family unit in the villages in Africa. The extended family is all important in Africa and grandparents are held in high esteem. They take over much of the child-rearing while the parents go to work and apparently at the age of nine or ten they are responsible for all of the sex education conversations. The children stay in the same room with their parents until that age and then the parents need to build a new room on their house. If they can’t do that, the kids have to go spend every night with their grandparents. We love spending time with Max and Maile but I am not sure if we would want to be in charge of child-rearing once they approach puberty! Families all live close to one another with brothers and sisters and cousins all in the same area if not house. We were told that even if younger people get educated and get jobs and are able to move up and leave the villages and townships, their parents and grandparents would never consider leaving their homes no matter how humble.
No one will probably let us forget some of the crazy, daring things we did willingly and maybe a little unwillingly. At home, I am a reasonably risk-averse person. Brad maybe not as much. But on vacation in an exotic place, it’s fun to try new things. Shark-diving, swimming in waterfalls; having leopards approach our Jeep; taking a bush walk with guides with armed rifles wondering if a lion might be just around the corner; going on a river boat trip down the Zambezi hoping that the rocks we were getting close to were not hippos; and hiking up Table Mountain worried that I rubbed into a Blister Bush (look it up!) that would cause horrible blisters and scars for life. . . These were all things that we don’t encounter back in Danville. Of course, nothing was more concerning than living without WiFi in Zambia and not being able to keep up with the political world back home or play Words with Friends! (Just kidding of course…..mostly it was a wonderful break from reality)
Devil’s Pool
Our guide Ruth at Sabi Sabi stole our hearts and captivated us on every safari ride. Ruth really brought the Savannah to life for us with her her excitement for each and every creature from dung beetles and millipedes to magnificent leopards and giraffes. I mean how many guides have you had in your life that will pick up elephant dung and passionately describe everything in it? That’s a special skill! Her animal and bird mating stories will stick with us and make us laugh for years to come. Ruth is only in her early 20’s and we are curious where this love of the natural world will take her. Whatever she does, she will be successful. And, yes, there were tears when we all said goodbye.
Ruth, our safari guide examining elephant dung
And lastly, we’ll remember Cameron. He was our group leader for the entire trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town. His attention to detail and love of his country showed in all of his actions. It’s a hard job being in charge of thirteen different couples in multiple foreign lands with security and weather issues out of your control. Luckily, like most of our Exclusive Resorts group, this group got along famously, all joined with our love of travel and learning about other cultures. We all commented about how great our karma was on this trip but we all know that it was Cameron’s planning and good nature that made the great things happen.
Cameron in the front,left seat. Photo by Dave Stevens
Our Table Mountain hiking group
The bush walk group
So as we end our blog and have left South Africa, we would agree that we are changed for the better, equipped with a new perspective of the importance of family and ancestors and a different viewpoint on happiness and priorities. We also are challenged to understand the poverty and racial issues that still exist in parts of Africa and the lack of basic necessities in the villages and townships. Their governments all need to find the resources to do more for their people so they don’t need to rely solely on private donations for basic needs.
A neighborhood in Soweto
On my brother Bob’s recommendation, Brad and I read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” during this trip. It made our visits to Mandela’s home in Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum, and his prison cell on Robben Island even more powerful. We can learn a lot from Nelson Mandela during our present time. I think any blog about South Africa should end with his words so I will leave you with these. They are still meaningful in today’s world.
“I never lost hope that this great transformation would occur. I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Goodbye Africa. We can’t wait to come back and visit again.
We took off from Cape Town in a small Kenya Air aircraft, landing in Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, sits right on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. As we landed we saw bush country for as far as we could see. Lisa and I are now on our own. We said farewell to the rest of the group in South Africa.
Our guide and driver for the week was named Charles. Charles is native to Zambia and was eager to tell us about his country. Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa. It was a British colony that gained its independence in 1964. The primary industry is agriculture, but, it has an abundance of copper so mining is also a major source of revenue and employment to the country. Finally, with Victoria Falls on its southern border, tourism is the primary industry where we stayed.
Our first impression upon landing as we crossed the border from Zimbabwe to Zambia was the large number of people walking and riding bicycles laden with goods. Charles explained that there are significant price differentials between the two countries. So, with the high unemployment rate in traditional industry, many residents of both countries will cross the border each day to buy goods that are more expensive in one country than the other, effectively arbitraging the difference in order to generate a profit.
For example, Coca-Cola costs 80 cents a bottle in Zambia but $2 a bottle in Zimbabwe. So, Zimbabweans will cross the border (which is quite the process) to buy Coke and carry it back home to sell. Flour, rice, corn meal, sugar, and many other products are more or less expensive in each country so this process occurs with a plethora of goods. Imagine supporting your family by carrying heavy loads for miles each day.
Interestingly, the men rode bicycles while the women walked. I’m not sure why that is but I’m afraid to raise the topic with Lisa.
The tourism industry in the area seems to provide much good employment both directly and through ancillary businesses. Being a guide is one of the most sought-after jobs. It requires a good command of the English language (the primary language spoken here), strong knowledge of the history, flora and fauna, and geography of the region.
Our trip consisted of a mixture of activities to learn about the culture and history of the region and partake in fun tourist activities. We’ll give you a sampling of both.
Victoria Falls is fed by the Zambezi River. Our resort sat right on the Zambezi looking west into Zimbabwe. Called Sanctuary Sussi and Chuma (Dr. Livingstone “discovered” Victoria Falls on his explorations. Sussi and Chuma were his guides), the resort consisted of 12 elevated huts that they called treehouses. We got around by walkways that were 8 to 10 feet off the ground. With the wild animals in the area, we had to be escorted to our rooms at night just like we did on safari in South Africa. The place is beautiful and we highly recommend it should you come to Zambia.
Not only is this a stunning resort with amazing service, they are also tremendously supportive of their local community. We had a chance to visit the nearby village of Nakatindi. Sussi and Chuma along with Abercrombie and Kent have provided assistance to the education, health and economic well-being of this 3000-person village.
Our first stop in the village was the commerce section. There they had a barbershop, fruit and vegetable stands, a bike shop, jewelry store and other miscellaneous stands. Having good friends who are in to cycling (that’s you Mike and Chris), we decided to walk in to the bike shop. This shop gets used bicycles donated to them from the US, Australia, and Great Britain. They fix them up and sell them to locals. They also donate a bike to each child in the village who graduates eighth grade. The high school is several miles away so the bikes help them to further their education.
We went next to the jewelry store. The artisans here crush up empty glass bottles , melt the glass and form it into beads, hearts, and other beautiful pieces of jewelry. Lisa, of course, decided to support a local business and will be coming home with a few nice pieces.
Sussi and Chuma resort helped both of these stores with training on how to run a business, financial support to get started, and, they even sell the jewelry in their own store.
The village seems to do a great job of self-governing. They have elected village leaders, a neighborhood watch program, and they regularly work with the federal government for support even though they don’t seem to get much help from that source. Crime isn’t a major problem in the village. They have worse issues with elephants trampling through town, eating vegetables and making a mess.
Their most recent addition has been a health clinic, again supported by Abercrombie and Kent and our resort. HIV is a serious problem in Zambia, orphaning millions of children and driving the country’s average life expectancy down below the age of 50. The clinic as staffed by nurses with an on-call doctor who visits periodically. The clinic allows people who are sick to get immediate treatment; it provides health education, including sex education for teens; and, dispenses needed medication. The HIV problem is improving meaningfully because the clinic is here. And, people are getting better health care overall.
The children were delightful with several following on our tour asking for their picture to be taken, looking for high fives, or jumping into our arms to be hugged. The last major area of support from Sussi and Chuma was the school. They provide support to give free lunches to all the children so they can focus on learning, not their empty stomachs.
As we left the village and drove back up the road to our resort, a herd of elephants came charging through the bush, running straight at up and across the road both in front of and behind our car. It was quite a sight.
Victoria Falls flows from the Zambezi river into a deep gorge. Unlike Niagara Falls, it flows at varying strengths depending on the time of year. During the rainy season in January, for example, it is roaring across its full length of 1.25 miles. We were here in the dry season so the flow is far less with much of the cliff dry and exposed. Nevertheless, it is an incredible sight. We looked at it from both the Zimbabwean side, which flows all year, and the Zambian side that is dry this time of year.
This section of the falls runs fast and furious during the rainy season. It is dry right now as the Zambezi River is low.
After visiting the falls from the, um, general viewing area, we decided to get up close and personal with the falls. We went for a swim in the Devil’s Pool which is a natural pool at the top of the falls. One can only visit Devil’s Pool when the water is low as it is today. Otherwise the volume of water would sweep one over the falls. Getting there required a boat trip out to Livingstone Island, a short hike to the falls, and a swim out to the pool. While the height certainly got our attention, we were more concerned for our guides who had no problem walking out to the edge and leaning out so they could get just the right angle on a photo for us. Oh, and Lisa really didn’t care for the small fish in the pool that nibbled on our feet (see our Vietnam blog on her fish pedicure). All-in-all it was a fun, exhilarating experience.
Here we are before swimming out to the pool on the edge of the cliff where the falls are dry today.
And, here we are at the edge of the roaring falls.
And, finally, here we are hamming it up in the pool.
On our final evening we took a river cruise with our resort guide, Junior. The boat ride was essentially a safari on the water. We saw an elephant crossing the river, hippos both in and out of the water, monkeys, a herd of elephants on the bank, and many exotic birds. It was one of our favorite activities.
Zambia is an exotic, friendly, beautiful place to visit. We are so glad we visited. We’ll be back someday.
Lisa and Brad's Travels 