Road_Schoolin

There are very few Amish people in Oregon, if any.  Yet, in Ohio and Pennsylvania, there are over 75,000 Amish people in each!  Understanding the Amish culture was something we were all interested in and wanted to learn more about. While in South Dakota the kids had spotted an Amish family at Wall Drug and later asked us if they were dressed up in "character" for some sort of play or show.  We took this as a sign that we all needed a bit of education on this unique culture in America. While passing through Ohio, we made an effort to head a bit south into Central Ohio to explore the Holmes County area, where the largest Ohio Amish populations live.  We were fortunate enough to spend the night on the Yoder Amish Family Farm outside of Walnut Creek.  It's a working farm and dates back to late 1885.  Eli and Gloria Yoder purchased the farm in 1972 with the hopes of sharing the Amish culture and people with visitors.   Everything the Amish do is to mai...

The Badlands in South Dakota are a unique place.   It’s a relatively small area of the state marked by beautiful wind and water erosion.   Think Zion meets Salt Flats, where light colored deposits have built upwards over millions of years like a layer of cake and are now being eroded down at the rate of one inch per year to create beautiful landscapes, exposing fossils, and colorful rocks. Our plan was to spend 2-3 nights boondocking on a ledge overlooking the Badlands, just outside the National Park .   It was another spot we found on Campendium that many reviewers ranked as one of the best boondocking locations in the US and we were blown away, figuratively and literally.   After visiting the iconic and kitschy WallDrug , in Wall, SD, we drove about six miles south on Highway 240 and turned east on a gravel road through a rolling grass pasture.   As we climbed up the road, we spotted RV’s perched up on a ledge higher up.   Coming around a corner, we wer...