I’m too tired to write about the day, so I will post a photograph of the Mission mountains.
We are at the lake and all is well.
Pie
MorePie
Fourth of July
Banjo Man
Glen the Banjo Man
ruts
Before I explain what this guy is doing, let me shout to the heavens that we are in Billings, Montana tonight. It was a long day, almost 500 miles, driving from Scottsbluff.
Yesterday’s journey from Lincoln had a wonderful stop in North Platte. Lunch with the Macks!!! What could be better!!!
I loved driving today. I started out at 9:00 and took the first shift. Three hours later I was still going strong. Adrenalin had kicked in.
Yesterday we took a different route, along Highway 26. This meant we could stop at Ash Hollow Park and see a prehistoric cave, along with wagon ruts from the Oregon Trail.The park was closed and the ruts hard to see, so we continued on to Scottsbluff.
Today:
While driving towards Buffalo and I-25 I saw a sign indicating wagon ruts, so I followed the signs to this:
Banjo Man can’t understand the decision to travel this particular rocky terrain. How did the wagons traverse this?
He needs to Google it.
Tomorrow is our last day on the road. I celebrated with a tequila cocktail and a steak.
This blog post is so disjointed and I apologize but typing on my Kindle tablet while using a new version of WordPress is really frustrating. Very hard to edit and impossible to move text so it makes sense.
Good night!
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weekend in nebraska
We are about leave Scottsbluff, Nebraska this morning as we head to an overnight stop in Sheridan, Wyoming. Now that I can eat real food again, the Wyoming Rib and Chop House is calling my name.
A very good time was had in Lincoln. Friends and family bring such joy and fun.
More tonight…Banjo Man is loading up the bags….
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special delivery
Behold my mother-in-law’s Marigold Carnival glass bowl. It was also known as “Mother’s potato salad bowl”.
Banjo Man inherited it, much to my dismay and fear. I did not want to be the in-law who broke this treasured artifact, so it has sat unused on a very high shelf for twenty or so years.
Every year, when it came time to pack the car to head west, I would suggest we take the bowl with us and drop it off in Nebraska. This year the bowl, tucked carefully between quilt layers, finally made the trip.
We were finally able to pass it on to the next generation, to a niece who will hopefully appreciate owning it.
My work here is done.
Tomorrow we are back on the road after three nights in Lincoln. A prehistoric cave is one of our stops and I am ready for some ancient history and a little hike.
See you soon, Idaho.
Posted in family, road trip, secondhand stuff, travel
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take a wild guess
Yes, we are in Nebraska.
I am pretty tired, so will give you more details tomorrow. All is well and we’ve had a lovely day.
Good night.
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we are no longer in illinois
Thank God.
Between the Chicago traffic and endless miles of road construction the day was a long one.
Banjo Man slept in a bit, so we weren’t on the road until after 9. We’d planned a 400+ mile day and we were ready to hit the road.
Here is a sign at an I-80 rest stop. I am still perplexed over Christopher Columbus’ involvement in the Midwest. If you know the answer, please share.
Crossing into Iowa never felt so good.
Tonight’s restaurant:
I did not drink one of these, but now I’m wondering why not.
I drove two hours today and was quite proud of myself. I can’t believe the hole where my molar was is taking so long to heal. I am heartily sick of it.
Tomorrow? Nebraska!
Good night.
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amish shopping
We are tucked into bed in Shipshewana, Indiana, our favorite Amish town. Our travel time was under three hours, so we slept late and eventually returned to I-80.
Last fall I bought a cloth dish scrubbie thing here, so first stop was a store called Country Elegance. And they were 1/2 price so I bought all 10 of them.
A triumph!
We ate lunch, then Banjo Man bought popcorn, almond butter and canned beef (for a future feast at the cabin, he told me).
I bought sewing machine oil.
He bought a new souvenir coffee mug. And a new pair of overalls.
There was a bit of a panic when Bank Man couldn’t find the bag with his clean underwear. I had no sympathy. If you could see that car you’d understand.
Time for pictures:
Our hotel.
He is cheerfully waiting in the car while I buy my dish scrubbers.
And he did not question why I bought so many.
So I said nothing about the five pound bag of popcorn kernels.
Good night.
safe at 270
Facing thunderstorm and tornado threats this afternoon, we planned to drive the 270 miles to Fremont, Ohio this morning.
That was a good decision. The rains came at 3:00, while we were touring the home and museum of Rutherford B. Hayes. Banjo Man enjoyed himself thoroughly, but I confess to skipping some of the house tour, finding a non-historically significant chair and closing my eyes.
I may have drifted off.
In my defense, the massive home was lit by original gas lamps, meaning on a stormy day it made me want to take a nap.
The docent actually used a flashlight to show us the highlights.
Tomorrow morning we will head to Shipshewana, where I will buy dish cloths and beans. Banjo Man will replace his broken Shipshewana coffee mug with a new one.
And we will eat pie.
Good night.
441 miles on day one
At last, we are in Clearfield, PA. It is 8:30 pm and we can’t believe we did so well. I had my doubts when I woke up this morning. My mouth hurt and I was tired. I looked at all the stuff crammed into the car and I cried. Banjo Man asked if I wanted to wait another day to leave.
My increasingly minimalist psyche crumbled. You should have seen the back.
But the sun was shining, the sky blue, and we were heading west.
Lunch was a quick stop at Wendy’s. My diet of pudding, potatoes and custard had grown old, so here was the answer to my prayers.
How perfect was Wendy’s chili!!!!!! Real food, soft food, warm food!
We spent an hour in Scranton due to Banjo Man’s Zoom meeting with his surgeon of 2022. Every six months they have a chat.
And then we kept going. I contributed a couple of hours to the drive and the miles flew by. We ended the day with Famous Bowls at KFC.
I’m in charge of food stops for a few more days and Banjo Man was happy with today’s selections. Tomorrow I will be on the lookout for baked fish and mashed potatoes.
Tomorrow we are heading to Fremont, Ohio to see the Rutherford B. Hayes museum and library.
I know you are practically squirming with envy, but don’t despair. I will blog about every fascinating detail. The plan is to avoid afternoon storms and stay off I-80.
President Hayes is just a bonus.
Good night.
Posted in food, road trip, travel
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and we’re off!
Today’s the day we hit the road.
To my great dismay, Banjo Man has packed 9/10 of the car with his own “stuff” and we will, once again, look as if we are (a) homeless, (b) hoarders or (c) moving across the country in a reenactment of the Dust Bowl.
All we need is a pair of oxen hooked up to the back bumper.
Banjo Man was able to pack unsupervised because I’ve been semi-conscious on Ibuprofen and Tylenol since Friday’s tooth extraction. I’ve learned that Ibuprofen turns me into a zombie-like lump, so now that the pain has eased I will not be taking it every six hours as instructed.
I don’t really know what clothes I’ve packed, but through the fog I’ve done my best to remember how I organized “life on the road” previously. Some of you will see us along the way–and we’re so looking forward to it!–but if my clothes don’t match and I look like I dressed out of a dumpster, just smile sympathetically and give me a cup of tea.
So…we are leaving in exactly twelve minutes. We have to return a library book and, in Mystic, pick up Banjo Man’s latest batch of photo prints.
See you soon!
Posted in family, rhode island, road trip
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is there any more pie? 