Lincoln Museum, home and tomb

We had a guided tour of the Lincoln home in Springfield, IL. We were given strict instructions not to touch anything, lean on the walls or chew gum. Preservation was of the upmost importance. Some of the furniture was original, but all furnishings were of the time.

This was the parlor. The children were not allowed in this part of the house. This is where Lincoln accepted the nomination to run for president.

The family room, was just that. Not as formal and the children played. Abe often would lie by the fireplace and read to the family.

This was Lincoln's desk and he loved it. Once, it is said, that Mary threw it out and he retrieved it.

This was Lincoln's shaving table. As you can see, the mirror was much higher than Bob's head. Lincoln was 6'4".

Mary's kitchen. She loved the cast iron stove. She wanted to take it with her to Washington, DC, but Lincoln reminded her that she wouldn't be doing the cooking.

These are pictures of young Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.

Next, we visited the Lincoln Memorial Tomb.

Here lies Mr. Lincoln, Mary and 3 of their 4 sons.

We also visited the Lincoln Museum. Here we stood with the whole Lincoln family except for the son that died as an infant.

 

Here I am standing by the infamous John Wilkes Booth. He was a handsome bad boy. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the rest of the museum, but we really enjoyed it.

Springfield, Illinois

Our first day in Springfield, Illinois, Bob and I ventured out to the Arabian Horse Show. There were some beautiful horses.

Here is part of the line-up.

This was my pick and it won the blue ribbon.

We also went to the dog competitions. They were all bulldogs. This little guy was very proud of his dog.

Here is a handsome brute.

The SPAM Museum in Austin, MN

While in Minnesota, we couldn't pass up visiting the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN.

 

Just inside, we were urged to have our picture taken with their mascot, SPAM.

Here you see Shin canning her own SPAM. See how fast you can grab a can, stuff it with SPAM, cover it, place it in the oven and then slip a label on it. I did all 6 in 1 minute 36 seconds. Joe beat me by 9 seconds, but I'm sure he cheated.

This section of the museum displayed all the fresh, canned and frozen foods that Hormel has on the market.

Here's Bob shopping in the souvenir shop. We bought several cans of different kinds of SPAM. We could get "Hot & Spicy", Garlic, Roasted Turkey, Black Pepper, Jalepeno, Lite, Bacon, Cheese and the Classic recipe.

 

Bob decided to get a tattoo of a SPAM can. He can't wait to show off his tattoo.

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, S. Dakota

You can't pass through S. Dakota without visiting the World's Only Corn Palace. First built in 1892. Each year the outside of the Palace is stripped and redecorated with different colored corn cobs and  grains such as rye, oats and barley bundles.

Inside the palace is the local school gym. The walls are decorated with corncob murals.

Over 275,000 ears of colored corncobs are used to make these Folk Art pictures.

One of many, this is Mt Rushmore.

Although there were several informative exhibits inside, I discovered Bob playing on the tractor.

Wall Drug Store, South Dakota

Our next adventure was a visit to the famous Wall Drug Store. We checked out several souvenir shops with interesting items to look at or purchase. I enjoyed the 5 cent coffee, and Bob shared the free donut that was served to all veterans.

In the back of the store was an open area. I mounted the giant jack rabbit, but I chose not to show you that picture.

Bob and I befriended this stuffed buffalo. Isn't he cute?

Joe and Bob wanted to sit in on the poker game, but it didn't look too friendly. The guy in the brown suit had a six-shooter aimed at the guy with the ace up his sleeve.

Bob tried on a few hats.

Sissy Cowboy?

This roaring T Rex came to life every 10 minutes. Loud and scarry. I'm glad he was barricaded.

Bob sat next to this "huzzy". I think they was getting a little too cozy.

The Badlands of South Dakota

Our next stop was the Badlands National Park

Rocks, mountains of rock. Many of the formations resembled castles.

Pointed structures.

Some looked like teepees.

Peaks, valleys, buttes and wide prairies with prairie dogs. The Lakota Indians named this mako sica, meaning "bad lands". Hot, dry, almost flowerless and lacking of animals. A lonely land.

Here's Joe, Shin and Jack with the bad, Badlands behind them.

After we saw this sign, we didn't wander off the beaten path.

We stopped at the visitor center. We learned that this area was once under an ocean. Many prehistoric fossils have been found. This critter used to live in the Badlands many years ago.

Pioneer Homestead in the Badlands

Before we went into the Badlands, we came across the Prairie Homestead Visitor Center.

This was the original Homestead of Mr. and Mrs.  Ed Brown, built in 1909. The structures on the homestead were log buildings with grass-sod roofs and dirt floors.

This is the kitchen/dining area. There were 2 bedrooms. Actually seemed livable, maybe.

The root cellar was built in the ground with the grass-sod roof. The room was cool in the summer to store milk and vegetables and warm in the winter to keep same from freezing.

Yes, this is the outhouse. I had to use the facilities, but this hayseed wouldn't leave. It was a 2-seater????

This is the chicken coop. I was held prisoner for a few minutes, but I felt safe against any fox attacks. Ha Ha. There was a barn also that had chickens and horses for us to pet.

Joe was able to get a bucket of water from the outside pump.

The fields were occupied by these adorable white prairie dogs.

The goats were really friendly. Joe fed them and the horses with greens that he picked. They loved him. I shelled a corncob and fed the chickens. They loved me.