Hello from Mammoth Caves!!!

We are now settled in at a WiFi KOA campground in Bowling Green, Kentucky. We have not posted anything on our blog for a few days. What an adventure we have had so far. We have traveled through 11 states in 11 days ( Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky). The day we left the Black Hills we drove a few hours and then realized that our trailer brakes and lights were not working. We pulled off the road and checked the elecrical cord between the Toyota and the trailer and the cord had come off the SUV and we had been dragging it for some time. The cord was way beyond repair. We drove to the next "big" town called Mitchell, South Dakota. We made it into the town around 8 pm and a large storm was closing in above us. We rushed around the town looking for a new electrical cord, but no one sells that part. We were told by many of the stores to check with an RV dealer in town the next morning. We were not to excited about the idea of having to stay the night. That part of SD was becoming very, very humid. The trailer was roasting inside. There was no way we could sweat it out literally in the trailer over night without power. We headed over to the RV dealer and knowing that it was getting dark and it was 8:30 now, we probably had no chance of them being opened. The sign said they closed at 7pm, but we went around to the garage anyway hopeing to find someone. Well we found a man that worked at the Dealership, told him our problem and he had us up and running in about an hour. What a great guy (we tipped him well)! We then headed out of there and made it to our Wal-mart sleeping destination in Sioux City, Iowa. Before we set out yesterday morning we did our normal check around the trailer to make sure nothing was broke or out of place. We then realized that the spare tire cover had flown away some where between South Dakota and Iowa.....go figure! We packed the kids in the car and headed for Winter Quarters, Nebraska. For most of our friends and family, you know that this was one of the places that the Mormon pioneers stayed at on their way to Utah. We walked around the temple grounds and visited the visitor center. We watched a short movie about the area and its pioneer history and at the beginning of it they show one of our (Steve's)pioneer relatives picture. It brought the experience closer to home. (the kids will tell you that seeing a black squirel here was a major highlight! We've never seen a jet black squirel before)We headed off driving knowing now that our next destination was going to be Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We put alot of miles behind us yesterday and ended the day at a Wal-mart parking lot in Evansville, Kentucky. We left early this morning because the heat was too much in the trailer. We drove a few hours to Bowling Green, Kentucky. We found a nice KOA campground, which means electrical hookups, which means A/C!!! We went swimming at the pool and met a nice LDS homeschooling family with 4 boys from GA. Tonight we went to Mammoth Cave. Julie had seen on their website that they had an evening program, so we went and had dinner at Mammoth Cave Hotel. We then waited for a ranger to show up to do the program at the Visitor center, but it was a no-show. Bummer! We are having lots of fun, despite some of our little setbacks. We only wish you could join us on this adventure. We think we will see the Caves tomorrow sometime and stay one more night at the KOA (we still have not hit the miniature golf course). Julie and the kids are fast asleep now and I am pretty tired my self, so I will close this blog, please forgive my rambling. Julie will usually check what I have written and by time she's done going over it all, its not the same blog that I had typed. (Julie here... I only changed a few things ; ) Love from the Sloan Clan -Good night-