May 30, 2018

Today in the morning we brought our motorhome to one of the big RV Centers here in Tucson. They worked the whole day on our motorhome. During this time we sat in the customer lounge and worked on our computers. They even have a customer restaurant where we got lunch. In the evening all the repairs except one were done. The windshield has a crack since about two days and should, therefore, be replaced. But until now they couldn't find a new one. We are very pleased with the work of the RV Center and are now ready for the next lap of our travel.

May 29, 2018

Today we traveled from San Carlos to Tucson (180 km). The drive went through a desertlike mountainous region. And we saw the first cacti. The picture shows all this together. We came to Tucson not only to see Stefan and Edith again. We knew of some large RV Service Companies here. We want to checkup our motorhome and maybe do some repairs and upgrades. We have already an appointment for tomorrow morning.

May 28, 2018

Today we traveled from Gallup in New Mexico to San Carlos in Arizona (367 km). After some days along Route 66, we left it at Sanders and headed south on a scenic route. The best part of this route was in the Salt River Valley. After some weeks in flat land, we saw mountains again. The picture shows a side valley of the Salt River Valley.

May 27, 2018

Today we traveled from Santa Rosa to Gallup (418 km). On the way, we visited the Old Town of Albuquerque. This place means a lot to me. Three years ago I received here my TAGA Award which was the highlight of my professional carrier. I am very thankful for this. And in total, I spent about 18 months in the USA. I was in no other country outside Switzerland as long as here. Therefore I could consider the USA as my second home. The picture shows the church of the Old Town Albuquerque.

May 26, 2018

Today we traveled from Amarillo in Texas to Santa Rosa in New Mexico (277 km). This means we traveled another day on or along Route 66. There was no interesting place to visit. The picture shows how we traveled. There is traffic everywhere!

May 25, 2018

Today we traveled from Elk City in Oklahoma to Amarillo in Texas (349 km). In Amarillo, we visited the Cadillac Ranch, the Jack Sisemore RV Museum, and the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The Cadillac Ranch was an art project which was established in 1974. 10 Cadillacs were half-buried in the ground on a field. The angle was taken from the Great Pyramid of Giza. The fins of the Cadillacs made a nice picture. But over time people riped off pieces of the cars. Then they started to spray paint them. Everyone brings spray paints with them and sprays their name onto the cars. If they come back the other day, I think another name stands at the same place.

May 24, 2018

Today we traveled westwards from Oklahoma City to Elk City (187 km). Here is Route 66 again. We traveled some miles on Route 66 and some others on Highway 40. We visited some spots which some guides said are interesting. We found most not this interesting. Near Hydro we visited Lucille's Service Station. The building was erected in 1929. Lucille and Carl Hamons purchased the station in 1941. Lucille lived in the house and run the business until her death in 2000 (see picture). Some miles further at an exit of Highway 40 exits now a new Lucille's Roadhouse.

May 23, 2018

Today we traveled from Wichita in Kansas to Oklahoma City in Oklahoma (356 km). On the way, we visited the Standing Bear Monument in Ponca City, Pops (they sell hundreds of different soft drinks in bottles) and the Round Barn at Arcadia, the Brickcity, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma City. Here on April 19, 1995, the Oklahoma City Bombing destroyed a 9-floor building and killed 196 people. The picture shows a part of the memorial site. It stands at the place of the bombed building. Each chair in the foreground stands for one of the killed people.

May 22, 2018

Today we traveled from Greenwood (Omaha) in Nebraska to Wichita in Kansas (497 km). On the way, we visited the Nebraska Capitol in Lincoln and the Keeper of the Plains Plaza in Wichita. The landscape changed in Kansas. It became more hilly and greener. The crops are here already about 15 cm high and make the fields look green. And it became warmer. The picture shows the statue of the Keeper of the Plains in Wichita at sunset time. 

May 21, 2018

Today we traveled from Brandon (Sioux Falls) in South Dakota to Greenwood (Omaha) in Nebraska. We came through 4 States. We started in South Dakota, went east through Minnesota, then south through Iowa and finally west into Nebraska. Everywhere the landscape looked about the same. It was very rural. A lot of crop fields and some dairy farms. In Omaha, we visited the Joslyn Castle. Mr. Joslyn made a fortune as a publisher and printer. The picture shows the Joslyn Castle.

May 20, 2018

Today we traveled from Casselton (Fargo) in North Dakota to Brandon (Sioux Falls) in South Dakota (407 km). It was a peaceful drive over flatlands. There was almost no traffic. We saw a lot of agriculture. The weather was nice. At Sioux Falls we visited the waterfalls which gave the city its name. My picture shows these waterfalls.

May 19, 2018

Today we traveled from St. Cloud in Minnesota to Fargo in North Dakota (311 km). Today we celebrated three events. First, we live now for two years full time in our motorhome. Second, our motorhome reached today a mileage of 100'000 km (62'137 miles). We bought it preowned with 20'000 km (12427 miles). This means we did 80'000 km (49710 miles) in the last two years. And third, we reached here at Fargo the northernmost point of our USA roundtrip. We celebrated with a fine dinner. The picture shows the tourist information building at Fargo. It is a new building but formed as a grain elevator.

May 18, 2018

Today we traveled from Jordan to St. Cloud (166 km). On the way, we visited the Mall of America, IKEA and the downtown of Minneapolis. The Mall of America was once the biggest mall in the world. Today it is still the one with the most visitors. Then we went to experience the Skyway of Minneapolis. Here you can walk from one building to the next over pedestrian bridges. Like this people can visit downtown comfortable even in bad weather conditions. The picture shows the amusement park of the Mall of America.

May 17, 2018

Today we traveled from Holmen (La Crosse) in Wisconsin to Jordan (Minneapolis) in Minnesota (288 km). We drove along the Mississippi River. Here we saw some locks and dams, Alma another town which was founded by Swiss settlers and the confluence of the Saint Croix River with the Mississippi River at Prescott. The picture shows the place where the Saint Croix River enters the Mississippi River just under the railroad drawbridge. And here is the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota too.

May 16, 2018

Today we traveled from De Forest to Holmen (246 km). On the way, we visited the Grandad Bluff Overview and the Riverside Park in La Crosse. With this, we are back to the Mississippi River. Our original idea was to follow the Mississippi River up north. But in St Louis, we decided to travel to Rochester NY. This detour brought us to nice and interesting places. Now we continue with our initial idea. The picture shows the Mississippi River at La Crosse.

May 15, 2018

Today we traveled from Brodhead to De Forest (Madison) (112 km). On the way, we visited New Glarus and the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. New Glarus was founded by Swiss settlers in 1845. There are people here which speak still the Swiss language but we didn't meet anybody like this. But we had a real Swiss lunch (Rösti and Bratwurst, Appenzeller Rösti) at one of the restaurants. The picture shows some buildings in the center of New Glarus.

May 14, 2018

Today we traveled from Joliet (Chicago) in Illinois to Brodhead in Wisconsin (232 km). When we arrived at the campground the lady in the office asked us if we already had some Wisconsin cheese. Since we didn't have some she told us that there is a cheese dairy just about a mile away. We went there and found out that the cheesemaker is of Swiss origin with the name Stettler. We bought some good cheese for a good price directly from the maker and found a good bread which was imported from Canada and had a delicious cheese dinner. The picture shows our motorhome in front of the cheese dairy.

May 13, 2018

Today we traveled from Elkhart in Indiana to Joliet in Illinois (266 km). On the way, we visited Chicago. Since I was here many times I knew where to park and where to go. Like this, I was able to show Käthi the most important places in Chicago in about 3 hours. The picture shows the sculpture «Cloud Gate» which is maybe the most visited point in Chicago.

May 12, 2018

Today we traveled from Monroe in Michigan to Elkhart in Indiana (362 km). The weather was worse than yesterday. It was cold, misty and raining. We decided to visit the Motown Museum in Detroit. The picture shows the buildings where the first songs were recorded. The company was very successful and therefore moved away soon. Today the company is located in Los Angeles CA. I have many albums of Stevie Wonder and other Motown artists. Therefore we went here instead of visiting an automobile museum.

May 11, 2018

Today we traveled from Grafton (Cleveland) in Ohio to Monroe (Detroit) in Michigan (209 km). It was a gray and cold day. I had to change the shorts with long leg jeans. We didn't visit anything. But we did some shopping on the way. I took the attached picture at the campground this morning. Just behind our motorhome was this little lake with a sandy beach like in the Caribbean.

May 10, 2018

Today we traveled from Fairview in Pennsylvania to Grafton (Cleveland) in Ohio (196 km). In Cleveland, we visited the monument of the 20th US President James A Garfield. He started the presidency in March 1881, was shot on June 1881 and died September 1881. Before this, he was a general in the Civil War and a member of the House of Representatives. This is the first time I see such a big and nice monument for a US President.

May 9, 2018

Today we traveled from Grand Island (Niagara) in New York to Fairview (Erie) in Pennsylvania (229 km). At Erie, we visited the Presque Isle State Park. As the name says its almost an island or a peninsula. Here we were in nature for some time. Besides other things, we saw a lot of Canadian gooses like the family with nine chicks on my picture.

May 8, 2018

Today we traveled from Farmington to Grand Island (209 km). We drove along the Ontario Lake and had very nice and sunny weather. It is still a bit cool here in the north. Then we visited the American side of the Niagara Falls. About 11 months ago we stood on the Canadian side. My picture shows the American Fall and the Rainbow Bridge to Canada.

May 7, 2018

Today we visited Rochester (40 km). I was here at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) 27 years ago for a three months sabbatical. Bob Chung was one of my professors then. We kept contact over all these years and became friends. We met every year at TAGA and IARIGAI conferences and ISO meetings. Today Bob showed us around at RIT and the city of Rochester and his wife Loyi even cooked dinner for us. Many thanks for this great hospitality. The picture shows Bob and me at RIT.

May 6, 2018

Today we traveled from Covington in Pennsylvania to Farmington in New York (200 km). We made only one visiting stop. This was in Geneva NY. We walked along the shore of the Seneca Lake. There I found the NY logo at a new visitor center which is still under construction.

May 5, 2018

Today we traveled from Duncansville to Covington (266 km). On the way, we did two stops. The first was at the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark near Altoona. On this 220 degrees curve, the trains climb 37 meters. It was nice to experience it but too difficult to get nice pictures. Then we stopped in Bellefonte a city with Victorian architecture. The picture shows a scene from this town. But this is not the fountain which gave the town its name.

May 4, 2018

Today we traveled from Somerset to Falling Water and then to Duncansville (209 km). We wanted to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright building Falling Water. But the admission fee was $ 33.- per person. This was too much for us and therefore we drove further on. Next stop was at the Flight 93 National Memorial. At the 9/11 terrorist attack, a fourth plane was involved. This one crashed at this site in Shanksville. The 40 passengers had a fight with the hijackers and enforced them to crash the plane. The names of the 40 passengers are engraved in the white marble wall to the left of the picture. The direction of the way in the picture shows the way the plane took to the crash site which is about 100 meters behind from where I took the picture. That is the closest spot you can go there in order to honor the deads of this crash.

May 3, 2018

Today we traveled from Zanesville in Ohio to Somerset in Pennsylvania (317 km). On the way, we crossed the panhandle of West Virginia. And we made a detour to Pittsburgh. I was here at least two times for conferences. Therefore I knew where a good view of the downtown is. We drove directly to Mount Washington and the Grandview Overlook. Here is the picture from there.

May 2, 2018

Today we traveled from Richmond in Indiana to Zanesville in Ohio. On the way, we stopped in Dayton and in Springfield. In Springfield, we visited a house which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. In Dayton, the Wright Brothers developed the first planes. The picture shows the original Wright Flyer III of 1905. By the way, before the Wright Brothers were successful with planes they were printers and publishers. Then they produced bicycles. And lastly, they developed and produced planes.

May 1, 2018

Today we had our laundry and office day. The weather was very nice and the campground is away from big roads in nature. Therefore it is silent. Although we had to work we had a nice day. The picture is from our visit to Indianapolis of yesterday. It shows the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument.