Going To The West July 17-19

Sorry for being late to update--we have not had access to wifi.

July 17, 2015
The Jordans and The Graves gathered at the Freers Friday morning, bid Bibi goodbye, and we all headed west. We look forward to Bibi joining us in Montana. For the meanwhile Wishbone has Austin to keep him company. It was a beautiful day for a drive, we were glad to see the Cumberland plateau again.

Lisa and Casey went up the day before and were there to greet us when we got the Cedars of Lebanon State Park, maybe 30 miles east of Nashville. It was 95 deg when we arrived, and humid. Cedars of Lebanon is nice enough, but if I ever go there again, it is not likely to be in July.

Lisa and Casey had a very nice dinner for us: potato soup, pork loin, and coconut cream pie—it was great—thanks Siglers! A special treat was Leslie Sigler joining us for supper.

The heat pretty much drained everyone’s energy and all went to bed pretty early.

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July 18, 2015
All were up early, and Billie and I pulled out at 6:30. Nashville is a breeze to get around at 7 am on a Saturday morning. I24 to St Louis is a pleasant drive and we got around St. Louis without any problem. Lisa and Casey caught up with us at a rest stop above St Louis and we had lunch together.

We a had a beautiful ride through Missouri this afternoon—love that Missouri farmland! We traveled from St. Louis to Columbia to Kirksville Mo, where we camped at Thousand Hills Campground. We managed to get spots at the end of the Campground 2 all to ourselves—wish they were all like this. We checked out the Petroglyphs at the campground, and Austin and I had a nice dip in Forest Lake.

Claude and Elaine provided a nice Mexican dinner – enchiladas, rice, and beans—it really hit the spot! After dinner Russ, Austin, Claude, and Elaine had our first jam of the trip.

Next stop—Nebraska!





July 19
It was storming this morning, so when there was a break between storms, Billie and I dressed quickly and headed out around 5:30. We traveled north from Kirksville Mo and headed west on Hwy 2 in Iowa. The farmland was beautiful but the road was bumpy as heck so we bid Hwy 2 goodbye and headed north on I35. Great to see all the windpower in Iowa!!! Iowa has some of the most beautiful farmland and it continued when we got into Nebraska. In Nebraska we headed toward Niobrara State Park on Hiway 12, the Outlaw Highway. I would love to see these hills get plowed--would have to be a whole different technique than in the flatlands where I grew up. Niobrara State Park in beautiful, with scenic overlooks over the Missouri River.

Wishbone outdid himself with supper: grilled flank steak-asparagus-corn, german potato salad, and dutch oven biscuits.

Our trip is getting off to a great start. With each stop so far, the weather is cooler and that is a good thing!!

Hey there, Betty Jo--thanks for checking in on us. Casey is behaving. Lisa, on the other hand...........

Next stop--Custer State Park, South Dakota