Through the “I” States Once More

We departed the Thousand Trails park in Batesville questioning whether we will ever return here again. I expect we will, but we can also choose from two other Thousand Trails parks not a far distance away on either side of this one. We'll see. We continued our trek across the dreaded “I” states: Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. We have nothing against any of these states, but the topography is rather bland and boring, and we have passed this way many times before. The most interesting features are the wind mill farms: hundreds of them sprouting across the plains.

To break up the day we had a lunch date planned in Champaign IL with a high school classmate of mine. I have only seen Bill a few times since we graduated from high school in Morganton NC; the last time about three years ago when we were passing through the area. We met bill at the Cracker Barrel just off I-74 in Champaign and had a very nice visit, talking mainly about his family and our travels. After lunch we continued westward across Illinois and into Iowa. We stopped for the night at the Walmart Supercenter in Mason City Iowa, where bought groceries and fuel. We pumped 104 gallons of diesel at $3.599 per gal, perhaps the cheapest fuel we will find on this trip.
 

The next morning we drove about 30 miles to Forest City Iowa, the home of Winnebago for a factory tour. Winnebago Industries has a long history in the RV business. They began producing travel trailers in 1958 and produced their first motor home in 1966. Their products initially were very inexpensive compared to their competitors and the company thrived. Today “Winnebago” and “motor home” are synonymous for many people. Currently Winnebago manufactures motor homes, with about a dozen models ranging from about $100,000-$400,000.

The tour was very fun and interesting. Our tour guide was a long-time former employee and knew most of the folks on the production lines. The factory building were rather old, but the production techniques were modern and innovative. The most impressive part for me was the automated system that delivered components to different parts of the production lines. Various components, such as air conditioners, furnaces, water heater, roof vents, etc. are transported via an elaborate automated system of overhead conveyors and elevators to the point on the production line where they would be installed in the unit. Very cool. Winnebago also manufactures many of their parts including metal framing, cabinets, body and wall panels and upholstered parts, keeping quality control up and costs down. They also produce a number of these products for other customers. After the tour we spent a while in their museum which documents describes the history of the company and its founder. There is a campground on site that has electrical hook ups where guests can spend the night at no charge, whether or not they own Winnebago products. They also had about a half dozen display models there for viewing. 

 

After the tour we zigged north into Minnesota where we picked up I-90. We continued westbound on I-90 until we entered South Dakota at Sioux Falls. We went into town at Mitchell SD to visit the famous Mitchell Corn Palace. The Mitchell Corn Palace is a city auditorium that is decorated inside and out with murals made of different colored corn, depicting historical themes. The original Corn Palace was built in 1892 as a tourist attraction and to highlight the rich soils and to encourage farmers to the relocate to the area. In 1905 the Corn Palace was rebuilt with a larger version as part of the town's bid to become the State capitol (they lost). In 1921 the palace was rebuilt for a final time with a larger structure. There are lots of puns associated with the Corn Palace. I signed the guest register with the comment “Shucks!” There is a “Corncession” stand and the mascot is named “Cornelius”.

We are parked for the night at the Cabela's store in Mitchell. Cabela's is the most RV-friendly store I have every visited. This particular store had a dedicated RV parking area on the far side from the main parking area. It had ~50 long, wide painted RV parking spaces. There was a dump station, kennel and corral for visitors' use. They really do want you to spend the night there. We shopped for an hour or so before hitting the sack.

We are finding it hard to sleep late in the mornings. The sun is setting after 9:00, but rising before 5:30.  With summer solstice almost 2 weeks away, it will only get worse ... but we'll adjust.