Army Corps of Engineers C.G. – Missouri River
South Dakota is 380 miles from west to east. The Black Hills are on the west side, so our drive through the state would take more hours than we wanted to drive in one day. We decided to stop about half-way across the state and rest for a couple of days. I had found an Army Corps of Engineers campground right on the Missouri River, a little over half way across the state. Along the way, we took the scenic drive through The Badlands National Park. We knew this would take a couple of hours, so our plan would work out great. The Badlands is located in southwestern South Dakota and includes 242,756 acres of eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. It’s so odd to see extreme desert lands and lush grasslands side by side. The 42 mile Hwy 240 is The Badlands Loop Road and the best way to see The Badlands by vehicle. There were several lookouts and parking areas. These were great opportunities to take awesome pictures of the scenery. Kirby and Kody were able to get out of the truck at many of the stops. We even had lunch at one of the picnic areas. The weather was good that day, so we enjoyed the ride.
After driving about 150 more miles, we arrived at the
campground. This campground is at the dam on the Big Bend area of the Missouri
River and the nearest town is about 17 miles away. A large part of the area
north of the river is an Indian Reservation. The campground was very nice, as
has been our experience with ACOE facilities. It was right on the water, downstream
of the dam. The sites were spacious and very well designed. There was nice
grass around each site, which the dogs enjoyed, since many places we have stayed
were dirt or gravel. There was a concrete slab for the picnic table and a
wind-break on the windward side of the table. We stayed there two nights, to
relax and rest up a little. The second day we drove north along a scenic drive
that followed the Missouri River. It also went through the Indian Reservation.
We also both completed some maintenance chores and were ready to move on. Other than that, there was not much to do at this campground, unless you had a
fishing boat. Otherwise, we enjoyed our time there and were able to relax (even
Kurt).
Alton, Illinois
Pere Marquette State Park
We left the next morning to head toward my former home of
Alton, Illinois. It would be a long drive, so we decided to do a Walmart stop
over for one night to get us half way there. We stayed in the parking lot of a
Walmart in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It was a little noisy, as we have found at
24 hour Walmarts, but worth the price (free).
The next day we drove along the Missouri River and followed
a scenic drive. The road went through mostly farmlands, where there were enormous
fields of corn and soy beans. We later found out that these crops are grown
mostly for ethanol and bio-diesel fuels. We finally arrived at Pere Marquette
State Park in Grafton, Illinois. My family used to camp at this park, as it was
near the Army Missile Base where my father worked during our time there. The RV
campground was very nice and spacious. We were able to pick our site and got
setup quickly. It was later in the day, so we relaxed and prepared dinner.
The next morning we drove into Alton, first through the town
of Grafton along the Mississippi River. Grafton used to be a tiny town with
only some homes and a few restaurants/bars. It was a hangout for the soldiers
that worked at the Nike Hercules Missile Base on the State Park property. The
convergence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers is just at the south end of
Grafton. We noticed right away that this little town was now a riverside,
tourist resort area. We later found out that in 1994, there was a major flood
of the Mississippi River that destroyed the Grafton riverfront, pretty much
everything in the lower two roads was flooded. The town picked up, dried off
and reinvented itself. Grafton is now a riverfront getaway tourist community.
There are new restaurants, wineries, breweries, shops, antique stores, marinas,
vacation rentals and bed & breakfasts. It doesn’t look the same. Some of
the original buildings are still there (if there were brick or stone) and have
been remodeled. We went to a marina bar/restaurant on the last night we were
there for drinks and appetizers. It was quiet, but they told us that on the
weekends, the town is filled with mostly people from St.Louis there for the
weekend.
We continued our drive into Alton to see how the city had
changed and also to look at my out stomping grounds; where we went to school
and the house we lived in. We spent most of the day driving around Alton and
Godfrey. In Godfrey we went by what used to be North Junior High School (my former
junior high school), which is now North Elementary School. Also, Alton High
School (where I spent my sophomore year and part of my junior year) is now
Alton Middle School. Downtown Alton looks much the same, but the riverfront has
been revamped with a beautiful park, amphitheater and a casino boat. The old
bridge has been replaced with a modern suspension bridge. That part looks so
different. Next we drove north through Godfrey. There is a new major highway
crossing through town just south of where our neighborhood was. Our old
house looks the same, other than the trees are large and overgrown. The
whole neighborhood looks very nice; it seems that everyone has kept up their
property. There are several new neighborhoods nearby our old one, and also some
newer industrial areas. The Steiner family farm that was on the Godfrey road is now part of
the Lewis & Clark Community College. I remember I dated one of the Steiner
boys (Regan) that lived on the farm. It was wonderful to see one of the places
that I lived, as we moved around the country following my Father’s Army career.
My Father, Bruce, worked in the Nike Hercules Missile Systems during most of
his time in the Army. During the time we lived in Alton, he was part of the team
that was dismantling the bases, as the missile was being replaced by the
Patriot Missile anti-ballistic system. He was very proud of the work that he
did to help protect our country.
What a difference 45 years makes! This is the only former
home that I have ever visited, other than those that are in Florida. It was
worth the time to relive some old memories and share them with my sisters. The
last night there, we went into Grafton for drinks and some food. The nostalgia
tour of this area was over and it was wonderful to see it all.
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