Wednesday, August 30, 2017


Wednesday, August 30, 2017 – Mt Pleasant to Chamberlain, SD

We were awake soon after 7:00 this morning with all kinds of things on our minds as final preparation for our trip.  Rachel had to go to the hospital to draw blood for her annual blood test, and Cal carried some of the last items to the Acadia.  We went through our check list to make sure we closed everything down as we wanted.  By 8:30 we were on the road to Iowa City to have breakfast with Cal’s brother, Wilbur and his wife, Mary at the Village Inn.  They wanted to see what the Acadia looked like when it was loaded and ready to go. When the seats are down and a mattress over the top, there is not much storage.  Our packing is very minimalist.     

We were on the road at 10:30, leaving Iowa City on Interstate 80, heading west.  The rest of the day was uneventful, as we drove toward South Dakota.  By 6:30pm we made it to Chamberlain, SD and an AmericInn hotel for the night.  Before moving into the hotel, we found a nice local restaurant.  Chamberlain is on the Missouri river, so when we were finished with dinner we drove across the river to see the area. The Missouri river is surprisingly wide at Chamberlain.

The summer landscape in Iowa this year is lush green corn and soybean fields. Western Iowa has a huge amount of terraces in the fields.  Here in South Dakota we have seen fields of sunflowers.  At this time of the season, their stalks are brown and their heads are hanging down.  There is not a hint of yellow.

As you look at the S Dakota landscape of rolling hills, you can imagine bison/buffalo roaming the area in herds. 
South Dakota countryside

I-90 approaching the Missouri River
Missouri River Bridge

Missouri River

Alaska

August 30, 2017 to October


Preparation for our trip


Rachel began preparing for this trip several weeks before the date of departure.  Our plans are to leave Mt Pleasant around August 30, 2017 after our daughter, Cherie, returns to UAE.  We plan to be gone for around five weeks, returning the first part of October.
We do not have specific plans as to where we will be on a specific date but we do have some specific things we want to do while in Alaska.  We are planning on using the Acadia as a backup for a hotel in case we find ourselves in locations that do not have accommodations.  For this reason, we found a foam mattress that fit in the back of the SUV, after a few moderations.  Secondly, since we are planning to drive the Dempster Highway in the Yukon Territory of Canada north to Inuvik, we have decided that we will follow suggested recommendations, taking two spare tires.  The spare tire on the Acadia is just a little doughnut tire, not something for roads in Alaska.  Cal checked several sources and finally located a place on the internet that had two wheels for our newer 2017 model of Acadia.  Next was finding two tires for the wheels, and a cargo carrier that will carry the wheels.  Cal located each of these items and now we have two spares in case we need them on the Dempster or any other location while we are in Alaska. 
When we were in Alaska in 1999, we had not followed the spare tire recommendations for traveling on their gravel roads.  We found out first-hand what it is like to have two flat tires at the same time!! We were fortunate that time, but why try our luck a second time! Of course, now that we are prepared, we will be not need them!
Loaded ready to go