From Lincoln to the Land of Lincoln

We were on the road by 7:30 this morning.  We decided to go back to Decatur a different way.  We took I-80 into Omaha and all the way across Iowa.  We discovered that it was 481 miles to take US36   to Lincoln but it was 550 miles to Lincoln taking I-80.

We saw some farmers were busy getting in their crops.  We had also seen some fields of corn in Missouri.  Iowa farmers use terracing in their fields.  We had not noticed it before, probably because other times we were through this way, the crops hadn't been harvested.  

Around the Des Moines area, we saw snow.  

We ate lunch at the Machine Shed in Davenport, Iowa.  We highly recommend it.  The food was plentiful and very good.

We started the day with a sunrise in Lincoln and we are finishing the day with a picture of the sun going down over the Land of Lincoln.

Our trip is over.  It was a great trip and we were glad to be able to be with John, Linda, Katie, and Aidan.

All about Lincoln (Nebraska, that is)

After breakfast at the motel, Carol and I found a couple of antique malls in which to shop.  They were both located downtown so we also got a closer look at the Capitol building.

Lincoln is a neat city.  There seems to be a large population of Vietnamese because we saw several Vietnamese shops and restaurants.

We spent a couple of hours with John and family at the children's museum.  We had trouble finding a parking spot.  The parking meters take only debit or credit cards so we found a parking garage which still takes good old cash! It was very nice.  The kids had a lot of fun and grandpa and grandma had fun watching them.

This picture was taken at the very end and Aidan was in no mood for a picture.  He was tired and hungry but wasn't ready to leave.

One area of the museum was set up like with a stage and costumes.  The kids really enjoyed dressing up and having a pretend show.

The girls were able to measure themselves.  

After we returned to the motel, we rested and then gathered in John's room for Chinese take-in followed by a gab session about our next trip together.  All 10 of us will be going to Disney World to celebrate Carol and my 50th wedding anniversary.

It was a busy day.  Carol managed to grab a few winks between activities.

Thanksgiving Followed by Christmas

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!  We decided to eat at 1:00 p.m. So we relaxed around our rooms until time to go.  Our family, along with lots of other families, choose to eat Thanksgiving Dinner at the Cracker Barrel.  As we put our names on the waiting list, we were told it would be an hour wait.  Thankfully, we only waited 15 minutes.  We all had their special Thanksgiving dinner...turkey and ham, sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, cranberry relish, green beans, rolls, cornbread muffins, and pumpkin/pecan pie.  It was very good but just too much food.  Everyone but Carol took their pie back to our rooms.

We all had a "rocking good time" at the Cracker Barrel.

When we got back to our room, we had Christmas.  Katie and Aidan couldn't wait to tear into those packages and made quick work of finding out what was inside of the boxes.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing with new toys.

It is hard to believe, but about 5:30 Carol was ready to find something to eat so we drove around, finding very few places open.  He had to settle for an Arby's.  Now we are all settled in, tummies full and wore out from celebrating two holidays in one day.

Getting to Know Lewis and Clark

This morning we decided to drive back to Nebraska City to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitor's Center.  Besides watching a 30-minute video, we saw other items which helped us understand what Lewis and Clark did in 1803-1806 to open up the Louisiana Purchase.  Their mission was to follow the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and journal what they saw and experienced.  Besides the crew (mostly soldiers) there was also a Newfoundland dog.

The Visitor's Center.  There are some walking trails but it is very blustery and cold so the trails will have to wait for another visit

A view of the Missouri River from the Center.

Back in Lincoln we drove by the football stadium of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Sports is a very, very big deal in Nebraska.  A man we were talking to about it said it is because Nebraska doesn't have a pro team to cheer on so all their support goes to their college teams.  They have a brand new basketball arena in which to play the Illini.

John and family made it here about 4:30.  Their room is just down the hall.  I visited with John and the kids while Carol and Linda went to the Walmart and picked up McDonalds for supper.  After visiting awhile, we went back to our room and fought to stay awake.  Even though it is only 9:00, we are giving in to the desire to sleep.  Good night!!

Lincoln, Nebraska...Here We Come!

We climbed into our rental car about 7:30 and headed west for the Microtel Motel in Lincoln, NE.  Since our 2002 Buick LeSabre had 190,000 miles on it, we decided to rent a car.  We picked up a Black Mazda hatchback at the airport.  It is smaller than we have had in years so we will see if we would want to buy one that small when the Buick finally dies.  It was hard to get all the Christmas presents and our luggage into it, but we did.  It has averaged 30 MPG which is what the Buick averages and the Buick is much larger!  It was 481 miles here and we drove 8 1/2 hours.

It was overcast as we drove west but the clouds began to break up and it turned out to a beautiful day.

Every time we drive on I-72 we see this sign.  I have always wondered who Free Frank McWorter was.  Thanks to access to the Internet, I was able to find the answer.  He was a slave who was treated well and managed to earn and save enough money to purchase not only his freedom but also the freedom of his wife, four children, and 10  other relatives.  He came to Illinois in 1836 and brought 80 acres for $100 and founded the town of New Philadelphia near Exit 30 off I-72.  It was a thriving, integrated town until the railroad came through north of the town and eventually, the city declined.  The area where the town was is a National Historical Site.  

Sapp Brothers is a chain of gas stations located around Omaha.  There aren't as many as 50 years ago when we first saw them but a few remain.  You can always recognize the station by the "coffee pot."

We went to Golden Corral for supper and are now feeling too full to do anything but lay around and watch television. John and his family will be here tomorrow.

It's a Wrap!

As I am writing this, we have been home several days.  The camper needed to be cleaned and put to bed for the season.  Now that that is done, I wanted to write a few comments on this trip.  This was the wettest two weeks we have ever had while camping in Turkey Run in October.  Fortunately, it rained the hardest when we were sleeping.  We did have a lot of overcast days, but we were able to do the things we had planned.  It was cool but, again, that makes for good camping weather (in my opinion!).  I am sure it must have affected the vendors at the Festival.  When at Mansfield, we always camp in Jim's parking.  It was very muddy and the workers had to push out several cars that were stuck in the muddy field.

It is amazing how spotty phone service is in this area.  There is no cell phone service in Bridgeton.  Carol took some things to the car and we planned to contact each other by cell phone to reconnect.  Bad idea!  No cell phone service!  Fortunately, we ran into each other.

Every year it is interesting to see what the "hot item" the vendors are selling.  This year it was bamboo pillows.  People were buying them like crazy.   I don't know how much they were but a lot of people thought the price was a bargain from the number I saw being carried out of the festival.  Another item I saw was sky lanterns.  I am not sure how the lanterns are lit and propelled but I saw some being sent skyward over the campground (on a rare clear night) and it was a beautiful sight.  I also found some packets of chemicals?? That makes the flames of a campfire change colors.  On our last night we enjoyed a campfire and added the packet to the fire.  It was beautiful watching the flames turn bright blue and green.

A man enjoying the fire before the chemical packet.

Once the packet was added, the flames turned blue and green.  We will have to buy more of this stuff next year.

This walking stick investigated Carol's fire poker.   This trip we saw several wild turkeys and some deer.  Even though we are sure there are deer in the area, we have never seen any.

It's a Rewrap!

It must be because I am feeling my age because I noticed more old things this year.  We love to drive the rural roads in this part of Indiana.  We saw several old houses and barns that have seen better days.  I always wonder what stories these places have to tell.  Why are they abandoned and left to slowly crumble?  What happened to the families these houses sheltered?  

We saw lots of these old concrete property markers.  They seemed to be concentrated in the Parke County area.

This house was lived in but we loved the old fence that surrounded it.

It's a Rewrap! Rewrap!

Some ramdom thoughts.  We were pleasantly surprised to experience lower gas prices this year.  Gas finally fell below $3.00 a gallon.  As of this writing, gas is even lower at $2.67.  It probably won't last long so we are enjoying it while we can.

In the distance is Bridgeton.  This is the line of cars heading that way.  We were in this line a couple of times.

Marshall is a small town known as the town with the Arch.  There is a little restaurant  after you pass under the Arch at which we ate supper.  The building is the old hardware store and has the original floors and brick walls.  The food was good as well!

I took the picture above when we first arrived at the campground.  The picture below was taken on the last morning.    You can see how the leaves turned and the empty campground the last day.

One final word about patriotism.  This part of the country is very appreciative of the military.  Carol wears an Air Force ball cap when we are out and about.  It was not unusual for people to come up to him and thank him for his service even though that service was 45 years ago.   All in all, it was another great two weeks in Turkey Run.

Indianapolis Children's Museum

Today we went to the Children's Museum in Indy.  It is a neat place.  My favorite area was the Terra Cotta Warriors that were on display.  It cost extra to see them so we didn't do that but there were interactive things to do and information about them.  This is the only place in the US that the warriors will be displayed. Hunter liked the science area of the museum and Papaw liked the benches!

It hasn't rained so we plan to have a fire tonight and roast hot days.  You can't camp without a fire, roasting hot days and eating s'mores.  Tomorrow, Jason and family are driving back to Turkey Run to pick up Hunter.  The boys' camping days are over for this year but we are staying until October 22.

Kids Day in Indiana

Friday Hunter came to Turkey Run to spend the rest of the weekend so we had both boys.  It was fun but for sure God knew what He was doing when He planned for kids to be born to younger people.  Our knees and legs don't work as well as they used to.  We took a hike at Shades State Park in the morning.  It was a neat trail with what seemed like a zillion steps down and up, in and out of a canyon.  Only Sandy hiked without complaining!   I did manage to take some interesting pictures.

Taking a rest at one of the few benches on the stairs.

Is there something interesting to look at in the woods or is this a more serious event?

Do you see Sandy?  Papaw is trying to hide behind the tree so he can scare the boys but unfortunately, Sandy spoiled the surprise.

In the afternoon we went to Hobson Farms.  It has a corn maze which Hunter and Papaw enjoyed while Keegan and I took part in other activities.  Keegan especially liked riding the corn train.  He rode it five times!  Around six o'clock Jason came to pick up Keegan and Hunter will be staying until Monday.  Hunter has made friends with some boys his age and they are having fun playing army in the canyon at the end of the campground.