2009 Summertime Travels . . .

Can’t believe it’s already July! How did THAT happen? The days go on, even when you are not paying all that much attention to them.

We arrived home on April 5^th in time to visit with family and friends before going to the Great Plains Renaissance Faire, a yearly event in Wichita, on the 19th. With doctor’s appts and general household catching up we delayed our trip to visit with Dad Moser to coincide with the trek to the Beltane Festival. We had a great visit with him, finding him looking as well and happy as I’ve ever seen him. What a great guy! I guess this is when I started being careless in taking pictures as I’ve just realized that I didn’t get any new pictures of Dad Moser on this visit.

I couldn’t leave the Russell area without a side trip out to the creek bed to look for prehistoric Black Sharks Teeth. As per usual, Les found a couple of REALLY nice ones and I found a couple of chunks of rocks with partial teeth embedded in them. Leaving Russell, we went to the Beltane festival in Cedar Bluffs. We arrived at the campground at the festival in plenty of time to kick back and relax before the games began. Luckily the weather cooperated throughout the games and that evening the Beltane fires were lit, celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Mid May, I went to Portland for my spring visit with family and friends. Since our summer travel plans are spilling into autumn, I stayed almost a whole month. After I was there a week, Becca, Les’ eldest child, came to Portland to meet her step-siblings. She was there four days and we ran her ragged! In a nut shell, we took her to Sandy, OR, Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, my favorite gathering place - Who Songs & Larry’s, in Vancouver, WA, Skyler’s baseball game, Colton - to meet the family and visit the RV “Parks” we stay at while in Oregon, we had a Karaoke night, went to Portland Saturday Market, Seaside, and Cannon Beach. Then on Monday, Becca went back home.

Things seemed pretty tame after Becca left, but I managed to keep myself busy with seeing family and friends, going into “work”, going to Sky’s baseball games and just getting to see my family and breathing their air. All my grandkids are growing more beautiful (and handsome) every day, and oh, my goodness! They are getting so big! Next time I see Skyler, he’ll be as tall as me! Thanks Patrick and Tracie for lending me your new truck! It was awesome!

Left Portland for home and was there for a whole week before we packed up and headed out for our summer travels. Well, we had to! We’d turned our air conditioner on and ran it for three or four days in a row! I did have time to help the neighbors, Sylvia and Bart with a yard sale. Not quite sure I even made minimum wage for the effort, but sure got rid of a lot of crap, I mean, treasures!

On June 17^th, we headed out to Parsons – in eastern Kansas, where my cousins, Clyde and Jacquetta, live. Clyde’s brother, Danny, was there visiting with Clyde and had brought another one of our cousins, Clara, with him. Clyde and Danny’s mother, was my father’s sister and Clara’s father was my father’s brother. One big happy family! We had a wonderful time just sitting around and visiting. It was sort of like a country song, sitting on the back porch, drinking ice tea, telling old family stories, watching the hummingbirds dive bomb their feeders and seeing the lightening bugs come out in the early evening. Seriously, so much of my father’s family has come alive for me with the retelling of stories from these fantastic people. An added bonus is that they also knew my mother’s father, who was a colorful figure and merited many stories on his own. We stayed two nights and then reluctantly left the loving family unit, we crossed over on into Missouri.

So, now, Missouri, is a terribly beautiful state - beautiful rolling hills, green trees. We drove over to Warsaw, where our friends, Chuck and Louise, live. These are the wonderful people we met on the beach in Texas, this year. They showed us around Warsaw, we went out to the dam and came home to their delightful wooded home. Louise makes the most wonderful seafood dinner. Catfish and shrimp to die for! We played Mexican Trains and visited the evening away. After breakfasting with the retired group at the local hangout the next morning we were on our way again, knowing we will be back to enjoy more of that warm Missourian hospitality soon.

Left a hot and humid Missouri and entered Iowa. Lots of corn in Iowa. We headed to the Cedar Rapids area where Les’ cousins, Clifford and Helen, live. We camped at a local campground and Les took me to the Amana Colonies. Very interesting place, the Amana Colonies. It was a settlement made up of German immigrants looking for religious freedom. They settled there by Cedar Rapids and started a communal settlement. Everything was provided for the settlers and in return the settlers worked the fields, took care of the children, made clothes – you get the picture. What I found the most interesting is that the houses built for them had no kitchens, because all of the food was cooked in the communal kitchens. In the 1930’s several things happened that caused the society to disband. Everyone who lived there then had to go out into the world and start over. Och! That was during the great depression! You can imagine how much fun that was for them. We also had a great visit with Helen and Clifford before we left Cedar Rapids, went out to dinner and visited into the late evening. The next morning we left Iowa and were several miles out of town before we realized we hadn’t taken any pictures of Clifford and Helen!

Still, muggy, still hot. Entered Wisconsin. Beautiful state, Wisconsin. Lots of trees. “Little House in the Big Woods” trees. Wondered where it was that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Grandma and Grandpa lived. I wonder if they had as much trouble with the mosquitoes as we were beginning to have. I swear, I thought that the mosquito problem was mainly in Minnesota. W-R-O-N-G! Our visit with Bob and Maria last year in Minnesota proved that theory wrong! Found a couple of beautiful, yet primitive campgrounds to stay at. The scenery was gorgeous! Here’s a picture of our “Little Casita in the Big Woods”.

Did I mention the hitchhikers that we picked up along the way? No, not talking about mosquitoes here! Real hitchhikers! Bug hitchhikers. Isn’t the frog cute? Anyone know what kind of bug that is? The frog appeared on our window while we were stopped at a road construction site in Missouri and a day or so later when we were stopped in a little town in Wisconsin, the bug landed on our window.

Left Wisconsin, but not the mosquitoes. Found a beautiful little park just outside of Rapid City, Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula, where we spent the night. Les decided it was time to buy me a new camera, because my “old” one was giving me some problems. Found this sweet little Nikon Coolpix L100 that seems to do everything! It takes wonderful flower pictures, has a setting where it won’t take a picture until the subject smiles, and asks if someone blinked when the picture was taken. Now every time we stop I’m out taking more pictures!

We traveled up the coast of Lake Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula. It’s a beautiful drive, with lots of sea views. (Tee Hee) We stopped at a little viewpoint, on the northern side of the Mackinaw Bridge and got our picture taken. If you look close, you can see the bridge in the background.

We arrived in Mackinaw City on June 28^th and headed for the Mackinaw City Campground, where we camped last year. On the 29^th we went into the city and walked the main street where there are all of these shops. Never seen so many tee shirts in my life (except for here, last year). Lunched at an Irish Pub, ate and drank too much, almost had to call for someone to come and take us home (just joking!). On the 30^th it was off to a fun day at Mackinaw Island.

Now just in case you don’t have a clue about Mackinaw Island, let me tell you. I’m sure some people can go on and on about the settling of the island, the importance of the island in American history and the war of 1812, but the main draw for me is that it was the venue for the movie, “Somewhere In Time”, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. The Grand Hotel is where Christopher Reeve’s character goes to find the mysterious woman who called to him through time. In reality as well as in the movie it is an elegant hotel that catered to the rich and famous. And you and I can meander through the hotel for a small fee. J

You reach Mackinaw Island on a ferry as visitors have throughout the years. There are no ”horseless carriages” allowed on Mackinaw Island. You get around on bikes, horses, carriages, etc. After we walked up and down the main street, took pictures of the beautiful flowers and houses, we had lunch. Then we went on a carriage ride tour, which stopped at a butterfly exhibit. I’ve only been to one butterfly house before, this was awesome! I wouldn’t say that there were a massive amount of butterflies, but there were lots of different kinds. I was so glad that I had my new camera! I got quite a few wonderful pictures of the butterflies. The butterflies liked me too! This one is pretty enough with its wings together, but when it spreads its wings to fly, the other side of the wings are a luminous blue! After the Butterfly House we went on the second half of the carriage ride through the State Park. We spent a long day at Mackinaw Island, had a nice little ride back to the city on the boat, and then back to the campground.

We are headed up to Canada on Sunday, so we won’t be on the computer or even the phone for the next few weeks. Take care of yourselves!

‘Til next time!

Joy

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Les’ Readers Digest Version:

- Returned from wintering in Texas on April 5.

- Went to the Beltane/Scottish Highland games at Cedar Bluffs Res. Kansas, over the first weekend in May.

- While Joy was on hiatus in the PNW I went to a mid Winfield unofficial music event, over Memorial weekend. I also went to a Graduation party for Kirstin. Great party. Great people.

-Left Ks June 17, headed east to go northeast. ( you go figure)

-Visited Joys cousins in Parsons, Ks. Friends in Warsaw. Mo. My cousins in Cedar Rapids, Ia.

-Route included: East Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Upper penninsula Michigan, We’re now in Mackinaw City, Mi.

-Will cross into Canada at Sault St. Marie on July 5. Then it’s Salmon fishing in Lake Huron.