EagleMoon.net Journals

Journals: Week 19 (August 20-26, 2007)

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DAY 127: Monday, August 20, 2007 (Interior, SD)

This morning we enjoyed a fine continental breakfast while we finished up some laundry (yay!). We love to eat breakfast, and we love clean clothes!! Even more than this, we love showers! So this was a very nice respite from some of the bad weather (and lack of laundry/showers) we've had recently while camping (especially in the Tetons). Also, we watched TV, which we have gone long stretches without on this trip. I have to say we really don't miss it at all! Jonathan and I both find ourselves laughing at how absurd most commercials now seem to us (especially the new one we saw with a bunch of men singing "Viva Viagra!"). But we did catch West Side Story, which is still a great movie, despite all the commercial interruptions.

We left the Super 8 motel this morning, heading to the Badlands. (Just wanted to mention that this was one of the best Super 8s we stayed at - the staff were exceedingly friendly and helpful. We highly recommend it if you're passing through Custer, SD!) Before arriving in Badlands National Park, we stopped at the infamous Wall Drug. For those of you who have never heard of it (we hadn't!), the town of Wall, SD has a strange little block of wacky, gold-mining, western-inspired touristy stuff. (They call it the South of the Border of the West!) There are a bunch of shops, restaurants, weird cartoon wood carvings, 6-foot tall rabbits, and humongous T-Rex machine monsters. It's the kind of place kids might like a lot because it has so many bizarre trinkets, but I am pretty sure it is going to give me nightmares (picture LOTS of stuffed, dead animals all over the place, some of them dressed up like people, wax statues, guns-a-plenty, and other western inspired kitsch).

When we got the heck out of Wall Drug, we set out for the Badlands. We decided to stay at the Cedar Pass Campground, inside the national park. This spot is great because it is set in the prairie, right in the middle of all the Badlands buttes (pronounced b'yoots), which gives us a nice, wide view. This is a beautiful spot for both sunrise and sunset, as the sun can cast its beautiful glow and create shadows over the rock formations around us. It is a pretty primitive campsite though, so no showers, laundry, pool or spa like at many of the KOAs. But that's okay- our laundry is done, and we are clean enough for at least three days!

After we dried out our seriously wet camping gear (from our Teton thunderstorm), we set up everything and took a walk around the nearby Cliff Overlook. This was a nice boardwalk trail leading through some amazing scenery: prairie grass, fragrant juniper trees and, of course, the large, crumbly, purple and white rock formations, which make this region so mysterious. We were lucky enough to see a female mule deer browsing on the grass before she got comfy and lay down for the night. Sounded good to us! We went back to the tent and settled in for the night too.

Since we only have one full day to explore the Badlands (tomorrow), we decided we will drive the scenic loop around the park, and stop to explore the short hiking trails and overlooks along the road. Hopefully we will see some big horned sheep (it would be my first time seeing them in the wild) and some more bison. I'm also looking forward to visiting the large prairie dog town. They are so cute! Until then, happy camping. ~E

DAY 128: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 (Interior, SD)

Today was a fine day at the Badlands National Park. (Just a note that this was the place where our camping neighbors, whom we never met, were a mother, father, and four boys aged 12-16, I would guess. The father spent much of the time yelling and cursing at the kids for one reason or another from the time they arrived last night to this morning before they left. This was not a pleasant experience to watch, as I'm sure it was even less so for the kids to be experiencing. Once we left to explore the Badlands, the rest of our day became much more pleasant.) After a morning jog around the campsite and a quick breakfast, we headed to the visitor center where we watched a short film on the Badlands. We then drove on the main loop road of the north unit of the park. (The park is separated into two major sections, the North and South).

We stopped first at the Fossil Exhibit Trail, a short boardwalk trail around an area with case-enclosed fossils, giving an idea of what some of the prehistoric life was in the area. We drove on the almost 90-mile loop around the North Unit (we decided to take the longer of two choices in the hopes of seeing more wildlife, which we did!). Along the way we saw bighorn sheep, bison, rabbits, deer, and a whole "town" of prairie dogs. The southern portion of the loop was much greener than the northern portion, where mostly rock formations and spires form the landscape. There was some color (mostly purple, yellow and white striations) to these rocky formations, but not as much as there was in Utah or New Mexico, or at least that's how it seemed to us. Plus, we were driving between 10am and 2pm when the sun is at its highest and the overdose of lighting seems to make the landscapes a little duller than they might appear otherwise. One of our books states that if you were just driving along Interstate 90 (running east-west just north of the Badlands, you'd probably miss these geological formations altogether, with which I would agree.

We hung out at our campsite for a while in the afternoon, then drove to another short boardwalk trail leading to another overlook. We splurged for dinner that the Cedar Pass Lodge, then watched the sunset back at our tent as we got ready for bed. A good day at the Badlands. We have a long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow, perhaps our longest single-day trek yet, from Interior, SD to West Des Moines, IA. Until then... ~J

DAY 129: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 (Clive/West Des Moines, IA)

Gee, I keep getting to write about all of our long travel days! Lucky me. This morning Jonathan and I started with our two mile jog around the campground. Then we once again packed up all our stuff and began the long journey to West Des Moines, IA. We have been planning to stay with the Nichols family, who we met while working in Gallup, NM repairing homes for the Navajo Indians. We are definitely looking forward to reconnecting with Ed, Mary, Jess, Lindsay and Josh, as well as the rest of the Lutheran Church of Hope mission group we met in New Mexico (way back in weeks 10 and 11 of our trip). It is going to be so much fun to catch up with everyone! And the Nichols have very kindly offered to host us at their home (as did many other Hope folks, but since we only spent a short time with the Nichols while in Gallup, we thought it would be nice to spend some extra time with them in Iowa).

So we drove the 561.3 miles (the longest travel day so far) to West Des Moines, Iowa (actually, they live in Clive, but very close to West Des Moines). Before arriving at the Nichols' home, however, we made a quick stop at the famous Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. (It's famous, right?) I originally heard about the Corn Palace from my former Wheeler Clinic co-worker, Jacqui. She sent me an email which described the palace made out of corn. I have to say, I thought this place was about as weird as Wall Drug, but Jonathan seemed a bit more impressed than I was. We went inside to take a look around and discovered that the Corn Palace is reconstructed once a year and has been since the late 1800s, and it has changed considerably over the years. There is an indoor auditorium which has hosted music performers for a century. Weird Al and Night Ranger are scheduled to play this month!

We left the Corn Palace and made our way to the Nichols' house just in time for a delicious veggie lasagna dinner and a wonderful mini-reunion. We were welcomed most hospitably, and very sweetly- the kids even gave up their rooms so that Jonathan and I could sleep in their beds! We have been so fortunate to have such wonderful friends all over the country who have housed and fed us!!

We hung out after dinner and caught up on our respective summer experiences since we last saw each other in New Mexico. The kids had their first day of school today- in fact, it was Josh's very first day of Kindergarten! He had a blast, and was especially impressed with his lunch (chicken tenders, which were "out of this world!!"). The girls also seemed to enjoy their first day of junior high school and high school (lots of firsts for these Nichols kids!). Although Lindsay, the younger of the two girls, is patiently coping with some lunch room renovations and having to share a locker with a "locker buddy" this year, she handled it in stride. (I want to mention how struck I was by the Nichols kids, and their kind, outgoing, and extremely friendly, hospitable personalities! They are so welcoming to Jonathan and me, and it is so obvious that they are really very good and loving kids.)

Jonathan and I were pretty exhausted after a long day of traveling, so we headed to bed. The girls gave up their room for me, and Josh gave up his room for Jonathan. It was a really fun and delightful experience sleeping in the girls room, surrounded by all their "girl stuff" (pink walls, and lots of dance paraphernalia). It really reminded me of my teenage days. I even started reading their copy of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret". Judy Blume really takes me back!

Tomorrow we are planning to do a little exploring in downtown Des Moines with Mary, and update the website. It sure will be nice to rest and relax a little bit! And we sure are glad to be reconnected with these wonderful friends! ~E

DAY 130: Thursday, August 23, 2007 (Clive/West Des Moines, IA)

Today was a nice leisurely day in beautiful Iowa. Jess headed out to dance waaaay early in the morning (like, before 6am!), and Lindsay left for school an hour or so later. Josh was actually still asleep when Elena and I got up, which, we were told, was quite unusual for him. Mary, Ed, Elena, and I hung out until Josh got up. After breakfast, Mary took Josh to his bus stop for his second day of kindergarten.

We met Mary for lunch at a place called Lucca's in downtown Des Moines in the East Village. This restaurant is in between a long rectangular-shaped old alley. It seems to me the kind of place you might find in New York City; 50% posh, 50% new age-y, and 50% class (my math skills ain't what they used to be!). They even had a piano player for our entertainment. Very nice touch! We left and went back to the Nichols house and one by one, all of the kids came home from school. Josh had a friend come over to play and Elena and Jess helped Lindsay wrap her schoolbooks in paper grocery bags (remember those?!). After a vegetarian Mexican dinner (did we mention how accommodating these guys are?!), we just hung out for a bit while the kids, one by one, teetered off to bed, preparing for another fun day of school tomorrow.

As for Elena and me, we'll be hanging out tomorrow with Wayne, the guy we met at the Four Corners Monument in Colorado (and New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah!). You remember, he's the guy who dragged us, kicking and screaming, forcing us into hard manual labor with the rest of the Mission Navajo folks (from Des Moines and Phoenix). Okay, so he wasn't as forceful as all that, but if you know Wayne the way we know Wayne, then you know you just can't so no to the guy! And it's a good thing, because it was one of the major highlights of our entire trip. Anyway, he's planning on taking us to the now-infamous Lutheran Church of Hope, meet up with Lynn (another Mission Navajo groupie!) for lunch, and some other fun stuff, I'm sure. Until then... ~J

DAY 131: Friday, August 24, 2007 (Clive/West Des Moines, IA)

Today we spent the majority of the day catching up with our good buddy Wayne. It was SO wonderful to see him again. He has a personality that just glows from the inside out. What an incredible guy he is!

We met Wayne around 11am, and took a drive over to the Lutheran Church of Hope. After all the amazing things we've heard about this church, it felt like we were visiting a place that is practically famous! At least it is to us, anyway. We met a few very nice folks as Wayne showed us around. Then Wayne introduced us to Pastor Pat, who gave us the "hard hat tour" of the renovations that are being done.

The church itself is already much larger than any church I've ever been inside, with multiple programs for children and adults, and a variety of classrooms, and two sanctuaries. This church is so large in membership that they have to have several worship services throughout the week to accommodate everyone. The new renovations are just incredible. They are building a new sanctuary that will hold over 2,000 people with stadium style seating, much like an amphitheater. They are also building many new classrooms, a library, and even a cafe!

We thanked Pastor Pat for the tour and headed out to see Lynn at "Freedom For Youth", a non-profit organization which helps young adults who are homeless, and teenagers who are "at risk". Lynn gave us a tour of the buildings which will offer computer classes, engineering classes, woodworking classes, and more! He also showed us the brand new kitchen and community room. This is a really great new organization that seems to have unlimited potential. It recently opened a small donated clothing and food pantry for clients. There's no telling how large and productive this agency is going to be in the community.

Afterwards, the four of us went to lunch at Palmer's, a most unusual and delicious deli! Lunch was a most delicious treat, thanks to Wayne! We dropped Lynn back at Freedom For Youth, and then Wayne, Jonathan, and I headed to the Iowa Capitol for a leisurely tour after lunch. We even had the good fortune of meeting a new Senator- Staci Appel.

Staci welcomed us into the Senate chambers, took our picture, and even gave us a great recommendation for what to order at the tea cafe Wayne was planning to take us to later. She told us the Budding Jasmine was really wonderful. It is a tea made out of a chrysanthemum, which blossoms as it steeps. Staci informed us that this is her first term as a Senator, and that she has already passed all the legislation which she ran on, and which subsequently got her elected. She introduced a bill that would provide free preschool for all 4 year olds, as well as same day voter registration. Now that she's accomplished both of these goals she plans to focus on education. What a Senator!! Did I mention she has a five month baby at home?

So we headed over to Gong Fu, the tea cafe I mentioned earlier, and ordered not only the Budding Jasmine (which was beautiful, though not very sweet) and two soy chai lattes (DELICIOUS!!!! Ooh, so creamy, Mmmmm.....). "And what could possibly follow such a terrific day?", you might ask. Well, we drove around and ran some errands with Wayne. We took a short trip to Sam's Club and Bed, Bath and Beyond. What a fun day! We are most grateful to our terrific tour guide!!

For dinner, we met up with Jonathan's friend and former co-worker, Dina. Dina is super fun, and very nice. She made us three travel CD's with a music mix to keep up happy for hours on the road. She also took us to a most wonderful Thai restaurant. This was her first Thai food experience ever, and she loved it as much as we did. It was curry heaven!

Afterward, we hung out at Dina's place, catching up, telling stories and basically having a really fun time. Dina, thank you so much for your hospitality, and for taking the time to meet up with us. And thanks for treating us to dinner- it was so awesome!

We were pretty pooped from our fun filled day, so we headed back to the Nichols' place to rest our tired (and very full!) selves. Tomorrow we are going to Wayne's home town to the Dallas Center Fall Festival. It sounds a lot like a tiny festival that my town has every year called the Apple Harvest Festival. We're really looking forward to it!

Before heading to bed, I really want to thank all of our wonderful hosts again for taking such good care of us- for the Nichols family, Wayne and Lynn, and Dina too! You have made our time here in Iowa so special, and have added some beautiful and very fun memories to our trip. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything! ~E

DAY 132: Saturday, August 25, 2007 (Clive/West Des Moines, IA)

Ahhh, small town USA. Nothing like it. Picture pie eating contests, tractor pulls, face painting, dodge-ball contests, and the real crowd pleaser: the cow-pie throwing contest! This was the scene at the annual Dallas Center Fall Festival in bustling Dallas Center, Iowa (about 20 miles northwest from our home base in Clive). This is Wayne's hometown, the place where he grew up and eventually returned. We happened to be in town on the very weekend that this festival occurs, which is basically one day a year! We got there a little after 10am as we prepared for the opening parade, a cavalcade of happy kids and proud adults showing off their stuff (e.g., tractors, cars, bikes, reunion classes, candy-throwing arms, etc.). One thing you might not know about the Dallas Center Fall Festival parade (as opposed to all of the things you DO know about the Dallas Center Fall Festival parade!) is that most everyone who is in the parade has the all-important task of distributing (i.e., throwing wildly) various types of candy to the parade onlookers. As you might imagine, this creates quite the hysteria among the crowd: picture the loudest, most raucous concert you've ever been to, multiply it by 10, and add a pony for good measure, and this was the scene. I had to hold Wayne down several times to prevent him from trampling some of the children in front of us as he attempted repeatedly to lunge for Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls (I managed to wrestle a few away from him, but that Wayne is awfully strong, so I didn't get many!).

After the marching band, baton twirlers, and classic cars finished their tour of the parade route, Wayne guided us to the Dallas Center library where the carnage of the upcoming chess tournament would be endured. I'm no expert in the game (as my good friend, Kevin, can attest), but I thought I'd see what this small town had to offer in the way of chess connoisseurs. Turns out I overestimated my chess prowess and underestimated these small-town chess wizards; I made it past the first round, but after two crucial errors in game two (like losing my queen after about four moves!) from which I could not recover, I humbly tucked in my tail and conceded the game to my opponent. After wiping the tears from my face, we headed to the food concession area, where we feasted on some of the local, small-town cuisine: pad-Thai noodles and crab rangoons! We also met up with some of the other Mission Navajo folks who stopped by to join in the festivities. We passed the dunking booth (no small-town festival would be complete without one), walked by the dodge-ball contest (where kids enjoyed a calm and dainty game of beaming rubber balls at each other!) and found our way to the ever-popular tractor pull. The melodious sounds of the tractors (picture 100 chainsaws revving three inches from your ear!) gave way to scores of people (i.e., 7) cheering on the tractor-pulling drivers. It was a beautifully sunny day as we stood on the sidelines under a shady tree. When asked what the appeal was of this "sport," Wayne answered without much adieu: "Testosterone."

After coming down from our testosterone high, Wayne, Elena, and I walked back to the local Methodist church where we parked ourselves at the picnic tables and enjoyed watching the local candy-striped-dressed tap dancers. Despite much protest (ahem) from me, we partook in the free homemade pie and ice cream while a local church rock group sang spiritual songs for our enjoyment. After this, Elena and I decided to call it a day, knowing we'd be leaving before the cow-pie throwing contest and the cow-pie bingo game (anyone want to guess how this one is played?!). Maybe we'll catch it next year. We said goodbye to Wayne and his family and headed back to Clive. Ed and Mary were planning to attend one of their every-other-week groups (this week at Al and Barb's home) where they meet with other couples, have dinner, and talk about spiritual interests of the moment. Elena and I were invited and we had a very nice time with everyone. We all had a delicious pizza dinner, after which we were asked to share our story about our trip, its background, reasons and purposes, lessons learned, etc. The quest to know ourselves better, answering spiritual questions (and accepting that many will continue to be unanswered and possibly unanswerable!), and appreciating being still (from the busyness of an often hectic schedule) were some of the discussions that followed as everyone seemed to relate some of their own story and quest to our own. It was nice to be involved in a discussion group like this and we appreciated being invited and allowed to participate. Thanks to everyone there for the opportunity to do so.

Tomorrow is the big (for us) Lutheran Church of Hope 11am service (they have like five or six services between Friday and Sunday, not to mention other various specialized services throughout the week). Then, in the evening, the planned Mission Navajo reunion at Steve and Suzanne's home where a pot-luck barbeque awaits. Until then... ~J

DAY 133: Sunday, August 26, 2007 (Clive/West Des Moines, IA)

Today was our last full day in Iowa. We started it off right with a trip to the Lutheran Church of Hope for the 11am service with Pastor Mike. The topic of today's sermon was part of a continuing series about the seven deadly sins- ENVY. What I learned today is that envy is actually quite different from coveting or jealousy. Coveting is when you want something that someone else has. For example, if I like your shoes and I want them for myself, I am coveting your shoes. Jealousy is a bit different. Jealousy is when you covet something that you fear losing, that you don't want someone else to have. For example, I am jealous of my friend who I see buying the last pair of shoes in my size. I really wanted those shoes, and now I fear that she is going to buy them before me, and now I won't get to have them. Envy is the grand-daddy of this category of sin because it adds a dash of malice to the mix. Not only do I covet what you have, and not only am I jealous of the fact that you have it and I can't/don't/won't have it, but I also don't want you to have it. And not only do I not want you to have it, I actually want you to lose it and I would be happy and satisfied if I saw you lose it. For example, let's say you buy those tasty little shoes that I wanted, but when you got home, your dog chewed them up. Inside I feel a rush of smug gladness that your shoes are ruined!

This sermon was given by a very passionate and exuberant (as well as very humorous) Pastor Mike. I appreciated his comedic timing as well as his flair for the dramatic. After church, Ed, Mary, Josh, Jonathan, and I had a delicious vegetarian lunch complete with our first ears of "sweet corn." Sweet corn is a summer staple in Iowa, which we'd heard many good things about. Let's just say we were not disappointed. It definitely lived up to the hype.

We hung out for a bit at the Nichols' pool club after lunch, watching Josh do various styles of jumps off the diving board. We then headed out, along with Lindsay and Jess, to a Mission Navajo reunion BBQ at Steve and Suzanne's home (two more folks we met on the Mission Navajo trip in New Mexico). We had a great time meeting back up with all our friends from the middle of our journey. It was so wonderful catching up with everyone, enjoying a tasty pot luck, and roasting marshmallows in the back yard fire pit (I was covetous of the fire pit, not envious!). Although we didn't take any pictures (WHAT?!?!?) to prove what a fantastic time we had, we will have the memories and the experience of the evening to take with us of this really amazing and loving group of folks. Leaving them at the end of the evening, I felt a surge of sadness that our time together had once again come to an end. I am going to really miss all of our new friends, but I know we have made some great new friends for life!

Tonight we said our goodbyes to the girls (Jess and Lindsay), who would be leaving for school tomorrow morning long before I wake up, that's for sure!! We plan to walk Josh to the bus stop in the morning, and will have more time tomorrow to say goodbye to Ed and Mary. It has been a really wonderful visit to Iowa- definitely a trip we will never forget! We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow, so good night for now. ~E

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