Photo by The Joneses It's a beautiful view, isn't it? This is what we see when we look out our front window at Hart Ranch. — — — E-mail Gisela! Got a comment for Gisela about their trip? Sent her an e-mail, giselaontheroad@yahoo.com — — — View Larger Map
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

Hart Ranch is truly an RV Resort. Our friends Ray and Clara from Walkersville were here two years ago and couldn’t tell us often enough how beautiful this resort is. And they were right; this is by far the nicest place we have ever stayed in.

All sites have concrete slabs for the RV (great for leveling), a patio and parking for the car. There is a beautiful lodge, heated pool, hot tubs and some kind of activity every day. The view from our front window is gorgeous, looking at green hills that are the foothills of the famous Black Hills of South Dakota. Hart Ranch (13,000 acres) is named after a pioneer John Harrison Hart who settled here in 1880 with only $15 in his pocket.

It looks like we left Missouri and Iowa just at the right time. Some of the areas we stayed in are now totally flooded. I just saw on the news that the governor of Missouri is visiting the town of Louisiana. That is where we did our grocery shopping and went to church. The little town of Clarksville where the Tivoli Resort is also flooded and I saw pictures of flooded streets we drove through just a few weeks ago.

Before we left Omaha we visited Boys Town, what an inspiring place!

Boys Town was officially founded in 1917 by Father Flanagan, who was born 1886 in Ireland and immigrated to the US in 1909. It was a home for troubled boys, living in dormitories.

After several different locations Boys Town moved to Overlook Farm, the present location. It is still a home for troubled children (girls are included now) and the residents now live in regular houses; about 7 or 8 with one married couple as house parents and counselors. The children attend school through 12th grade, some of the children go back home before they graduate, others stay until they are old enough to be on their own. There are now several other Boys Towns throughout the U.S.

Some of the readers may have seen the 1938 movie (Boys Town) with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for portraying Father Flanagan; Mickey Rooney played one of the very troubled boys.

Later, Spencer Tracy gave the Oscar statue to Boys Town and it is now displayed in the museum we visited. The museum was awesome, and it would take pages to describe all the information we saw there. Father Flanagan had many hurdles and hardships to overcome to fulfill his mission. He strongly believed that there are no ‘bad’ children, only children in ‘bad’ situations and those he wanted to help to become useful citizens.

His ministry influenced the care of troubled youths throughout the world. In fact he was in Berlin on a mission for President Truman to establish care for children orphaned by World War II when he died of a heart attack in 1947.

We also were fortunate to visit Father Flanagan’s home on the premises. It was closed, but when we expressed our disappointment at the visitor’s center, one young man offered to give us the tour. He was a resident there going to high school and working part-time in the visitors center. With everything he told us about Father Flanagan and the house and how he said it, Ralph and I could feel the pride and happiness of this young man to be living at Boys Town. It was truly a very special tour.

We did take a picture of him, however for privacy reasons I cannot put it on the web. Our guide pointed out a desk the boys made for Father Flanagan for Christmas many years ago. It took the boy several years (can’t remember how many he told us) to finish it and it still wasn’t done for Christmas.

We took our time to drive from Omaha to Rapid City, S.D., Driving through the Badlands of South Dakota was interesting, miles and miles of grassy land, no towns or houses. We stopped on the way in Mitchell, S.D. at the Corn Palace, and also have been to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial this week. But I think I better leave that for next week.