When we were shopping for a motor home four years ago, we were specifically looking for a 33-36 foot diesel model with a good reputation for being durable enough for full-timing. Newmar was definitely on our short list of finalists, as they make a fine product. We really enjoyed the tour we took here, and it was our favorite because we got to see work actually being done in the manufacturing plant. Taking the 10:00 tour meant that all the workers were busy. No pictures were allowed inside the plant, but we got to see them actually install two slide units, add a fiberglass wall to a 45-foot motor home and then cut out the holes for the windows and slide, move motor homes side-ways to the next work station with air cushions . . . It was a very educational tour that we would highly recommend. At the end of the tour we were free to look through some of the latest and greatest of the Newmar motor homes.
We also made an appointment to take the motor home tour at Thor Industries, so we headed a few miles up the road to Wakarusa, Indiana. Since we were a little early, we stopped in at the Wakarusa Dime Store. They are famous for their giant jelly beans. They are made from their special recipe just for this little dime store.
Unlike the other two RV tours, Thor allowed us to take as many pictures as we wanted. We started with the Freightliner frame at the very beginning of the process. The bad news is that our 3:00 tour meant that all the workers were gone for the day, so we didn't get to see any work being done. The good news is that we were free to walk right next to the line and look at things closely.
We were led by two salesmen, who explained what we were seeing. They were quick to point out how Thor's processes made a better motor home than others. We continued walking down the manufacturing line until those bare frames were beginning to look like motor homes with walls.
These drawers are stacked beside the line, ready for the motor homes that will roll by this station tomorrow.
This motor home is labeled with an orange sign that reads "last unit out." That means that no one goes home tomorrow until this home (and all the ones in front of it) are completely finished.
We didn't get to walk through any Thor motor homes, but these shiny models only lacked the final inspections and cleaning before they are ready to be shipped to their new owners.
We had a great time touring RV manufacturing plants here in Northern Indiana. We discovered that Nappanee is in the middle of another pocket of Amish farms. We enjoy driving these little roads where a stop sign might mean waiting for a horse and buggy to pass.
Just down the street from our camping spot is Amish Acres, known for its good restaurant. It also includes this big round barn, which has been turned into a musical theatre.
A couple peacocks were patrolling the brick pathway in front of the barn. We don't know if peacocks molt, but this fellow's beautiful tail feathers seemed to be missing.
We haven't had many flower pictures lately, so perhaps one picture of a very big flower at Amish Acres will make up for that.
We haven't been getting as much exercise as we usually do, so we went in search of a hiking trail. We found this heavily-wooded trail right in our new home town of Nappanee.
It must be fall, because more bright yellow sunflowers greeted us here.
Since we've been on the main RV tours that we wanted to see, it's now time to head on down the road. The clouds were stacking up to make a beautiful sunset on the last evening we were in Nappanee. We walked away from our camp site to get a clear view of the sky to watch the sunset.
That's when we heard that familiar clippity-clop of hooves and saw this horse and buggy flash in front of us. Have we mentioned that Denisa is really going to miss the unexpected pleasure of these buggies? We also must mention that Mark is really going to miss the expected goodness of the Amish bakeries!
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