With friends Bo & Joyce Bohanon on last day of trip in IL
Bo & Joyce with their restored 36 Ford
Bo & Joyce with their restored 36 Ford
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Photos Days 21-30 "G"
With friends Bo & Joyce Bohanon on last day of trip in IL Bo & Joyce with their restored 36 Ford Bo & Joyce with their restored 36 Ford
Photos Days 21-30 "F"
Grandson Ethan Bussell on left with a friend, Ft Collins, CO
Grandson Jerad Bussell fielding, Ft. Collins, CO
Hitting. Up three times - three hits
On basePhotos Days 21-30 "E"
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle SquarePhotos Days 21-30 "D"
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle SquarePhotos Days 21-30 "C"
Hill behind State Capital Bldg. Overlooking Salt Lake City
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle Square
Views at Tabernacle SquarePhotos Days 21-30 "B"
Vistor Center Salt Lake City
Church next to Vistors Center
State House grounds
State House groundsPhotos Days 21-30 "A"
Headed to Nev.
Jean at vistors center in Salt Lake City
Utah state capital building
Utah state capital buildingDay Thirty - Sunday, May 31, 2009
Time to go home. Bo and Joyce drove their car and we drove our car to a restaurant along the route to home for breakfast. We enjoyed more good food and more friendly conversation and then had to start the final lap of our thirty-day odyssey.
Illinois eventually faded into Indiana and the eastern time zone so we lost another hour but knew that meant we were soon to be home. We stopped on the west side of Richmond IN to get a few food provisions to get us through the next couple of days, and then Indiana faded into Ohio and we were home.
There's no place like home. :)
Illinois eventually faded into Indiana and the eastern time zone so we lost another hour but knew that meant we were soon to be home. We stopped on the west side of Richmond IN to get a few food provisions to get us through the next couple of days, and then Indiana faded into Ohio and we were home.
There's no place like home. :)
Day Twenty-Nine - Saturday, May 30, 2009
Joyce fixed a delicious, big breakfast for us and then we spent the morning and early afternoon just talking - we visited the garage where Bo keeps his antique cars and extolled the virtues of his work on an old jeep station wagon that they have had for years, traveled all over the country, and restored to immaculate condition. We wandered around the garden and observed the changes since our last visit. And we gathered on the deck for iced tea and beer and talked and talked some more. Eventually we realized that we had to do something so we started a game of Trivial Pursuit Classic edition.
Before long it was time to go to our favorite pizza parlor in a nearby town. After indulging in more pizza than any one human being needs to consume in one sitting, we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and back into the van to return home to finish the Trivial Pursuit game. We lost but we had a lot of fun in the process! Night time had arrived and that was the day.
Before long it was time to go to our favorite pizza parlor in a nearby town. After indulging in more pizza than any one human being needs to consume in one sitting, we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and back into the van to return home to finish the Trivial Pursuit game. We lost but we had a lot of fun in the process! Night time had arrived and that was the day.
Day Twenty-Eight - Friday, May 29, 2009
We leave Omaha and enter into Iowa where we discover that all the rest areas on the interstate have wireless Internet - how cool is that? And progressive, too. But then we are talking about Iowa! We also encounter lots of wind turbine installations. And we find Harlan County! Wouldn't you know? After we just had been lamenting the lack of Kentucky names along the way!
At the Altoona IA McDonald's (and you have no reason now to understand why McDonald's is holding its own in the current economy!), a white Baby Grand player piano serenades us with songs from Mary Poppins. There is a fireplace with rocking chairs for our comfort, and the wall leading to the restrooms features a long in-wall aquarium. I'm not sure what is happening to the McDonald's decorating guidelines because when we reached Davenport IA and stopped at McDonald's, we found a mountain cabin motif complete with pine paneling, big wooden beams, rustic rocking chairs and a low table in front of a huge stone fireplace. Very interesting!
OK - we turned to James Lee Burke again to read "Cadillac Jukebox" - the last story.
And then we arrived in Marseilles IL at the home of our friends Richard and Joyce Bohannon. We met them on a train/bus tour of Mexico's Copper Canyon about five years ago. Since then we have visited them previously and they have visited us at the farm and we have met a third time in Springfield IL to tour the Lincoln Museum. We had a great visit with them! They are so conservative and we are so liberal and we respect each other's differences and have a great time together! We talked and talked, had a light and delicious dinner, and talked some more till we really had to sleep!
At the Altoona IA McDonald's (and you have no reason now to understand why McDonald's is holding its own in the current economy!), a white Baby Grand player piano serenades us with songs from Mary Poppins. There is a fireplace with rocking chairs for our comfort, and the wall leading to the restrooms features a long in-wall aquarium. I'm not sure what is happening to the McDonald's decorating guidelines because when we reached Davenport IA and stopped at McDonald's, we found a mountain cabin motif complete with pine paneling, big wooden beams, rustic rocking chairs and a low table in front of a huge stone fireplace. Very interesting!
OK - we turned to James Lee Burke again to read "Cadillac Jukebox" - the last story.
And then we arrived in Marseilles IL at the home of our friends Richard and Joyce Bohannon. We met them on a train/bus tour of Mexico's Copper Canyon about five years ago. Since then we have visited them previously and they have visited us at the farm and we have met a third time in Springfield IL to tour the Lincoln Museum. We had a great visit with them! They are so conservative and we are so liberal and we respect each other's differences and have a great time together! We talked and talked, had a light and delicious dinner, and talked some more till we really had to sleep!
Day Twenty-Seven - Thursday, May 28, 2009
Once again Mark is up first and not only gets himself ready for work but also gets pancakes and scrambled eggs (made from free range hens) ready for everyone for breakfast. Of course we eat serially as each of us is ready. It is the last two days of school for both grandsons and there are lots of festivities and graduation events scheduled. Of course we must get back on the road so we take a final photo and get out of the way! Departure is only a little bit sorrowful because we will be together again in Hilton Head in August.
I can't remember why, but this morning I am the first driver heading out and going north on I25 into Wyoming to about Cheyenne and then east on I80 where we definitely seem to be leaving the mountains behind us. Before long we are into Nebraska where the terrain is a bit more rolling with occasional bluffs as at Pine Bluff with pine trees and the occasional herd of cattle. The "State to State" story about Nebraska focuses on Omaha and is written by the writer of "About Schmidt" and "Sideways" who is a native and now owns a condo in Omaha.
Our first stop is in Sidney (my home town is Sidney, Ohio) where we both comment on the far greater number of "Sidney's" that we seem to find along the way compared to Harold's home town names of Harlan, Pineville, or Loyale (all in Kentucky). Before we reached Sidney, we crossed over Nebraska's highest point (5424 feet) at about the 71 mile marker.
Harold takes over the drive and we cross the South Platte River and see where it joins the North Platte River to form the Platte River. I80 seems to travel along the tree-lined river for about 200 miles. Together they create an interesting though long drive. Since our cell phone connection doesn't allow us to connect with the Organizing for America phone call when it tries to come into the cell, we turn one more time to James Lee Burke and his "Burning Angel" to entertain us along the way. The land here (as opposed to Louisiana where Burke obsesses over the latest crimes) is flat and green. Deep purple flocks line the roadside and break the monotony. At mile 149 we leave the mountain time zone and enter central time zone and lose an hour but that just brings us closer to our next destination - Omaha.
Lunch is at McDonald's in Gothenburg NB - we're trying to make time again. The community's claim to fame is that is still has the original cabin that was a stop on the Pony Express route. We enjoyed looking at a map of the Pony Express route and then moved along. We continued our book and our drive and arrived in Omaha with very bad directions but with Harold's natural sense of direction we eventually made the correction we needed - seeing some interesting sites probably not on the list provided by the convention and visitors' bureau in the process - and found the hotel.
Despite how tired we felt, we got directions to downtown Omaha and went off to find it easily. Omaha is undergoing quite a resurrection. It has enormous public facilities, parks, convention center, performance arenas, baseball park, and a restored historic downtown district which was alive with tourists and residents dining, shopping, and going to a concert. We found a wonderful place called Stokes Grill and Bar and enjoyed dinner followed by a short walk around the downtown and a driving tour of the area. We highly recommend a trip to Omaha - surprising but true - it's a lively place and did not disappoint us about the anticipation we felt while reading the "State to State" entry earlier in the day.
I can't remember why, but this morning I am the first driver heading out and going north on I25 into Wyoming to about Cheyenne and then east on I80 where we definitely seem to be leaving the mountains behind us. Before long we are into Nebraska where the terrain is a bit more rolling with occasional bluffs as at Pine Bluff with pine trees and the occasional herd of cattle. The "State to State" story about Nebraska focuses on Omaha and is written by the writer of "About Schmidt" and "Sideways" who is a native and now owns a condo in Omaha.
Our first stop is in Sidney (my home town is Sidney, Ohio) where we both comment on the far greater number of "Sidney's" that we seem to find along the way compared to Harold's home town names of Harlan, Pineville, or Loyale (all in Kentucky). Before we reached Sidney, we crossed over Nebraska's highest point (5424 feet) at about the 71 mile marker.
Harold takes over the drive and we cross the South Platte River and see where it joins the North Platte River to form the Platte River. I80 seems to travel along the tree-lined river for about 200 miles. Together they create an interesting though long drive. Since our cell phone connection doesn't allow us to connect with the Organizing for America phone call when it tries to come into the cell, we turn one more time to James Lee Burke and his "Burning Angel" to entertain us along the way. The land here (as opposed to Louisiana where Burke obsesses over the latest crimes) is flat and green. Deep purple flocks line the roadside and break the monotony. At mile 149 we leave the mountain time zone and enter central time zone and lose an hour but that just brings us closer to our next destination - Omaha.
Lunch is at McDonald's in Gothenburg NB - we're trying to make time again. The community's claim to fame is that is still has the original cabin that was a stop on the Pony Express route. We enjoyed looking at a map of the Pony Express route and then moved along. We continued our book and our drive and arrived in Omaha with very bad directions but with Harold's natural sense of direction we eventually made the correction we needed - seeing some interesting sites probably not on the list provided by the convention and visitors' bureau in the process - and found the hotel.
Despite how tired we felt, we got directions to downtown Omaha and went off to find it easily. Omaha is undergoing quite a resurrection. It has enormous public facilities, parks, convention center, performance arenas, baseball park, and a restored historic downtown district which was alive with tourists and residents dining, shopping, and going to a concert. We found a wonderful place called Stokes Grill and Bar and enjoyed dinner followed by a short walk around the downtown and a driving tour of the area. We highly recommend a trip to Omaha - surprising but true - it's a lively place and did not disappoint us about the anticipation we felt while reading the "State to State" entry earlier in the day.
Day Twenty-Six - Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Getting ready in a house with 2 1/2 bathrooms, 6 people, and staggered schedules requires a progressive schedule - which worked really well! Mark gets up early and makes coffee - and gets the reward for the morning's most valuable player! Ethan then Trisha then Jerad - showers and breakfast and conversations with DaddyDaddy and Grandma Jean - till all three of them are off to school and work. Mark is off work today so we have the great pleasure of hanging out with him all day!
We spend the first part of the morning touring the yard and gardens which Mark has created with his talent and his patience and his enthusiasm for nature. Coffee on the patio follows along with lots of great family and world conversation. We didn't quite solve the world's problems but we got close! But first we had to go shopping for the ingredients we need for Harold to create the magic trick he has promised he will create for Jerad. We cover all the usual suburban big box stores in search for the special ingredients we need and find them at last. Of course we can't record what they are or the trick might be stolen from one of our loyal readers! Not!
Lunch at home includes Trisha who is training for some new responsibilities at work and is glad for the break away from work - not to mention the opportunity for lunch with her in laws :). Leftover fajitas hit the spot, but far too soon it is time for Trisha to return to work.
Early afternoon is filled with tomato plant planting and creation of the magic trick. Jerad arrives home just in time to give the trick its final touches and to master the delivery. Ethan arrives home with his yearbook so we have lots of fun going through it and talking about his friends as we find their photos throughout the book. I'll just say that yearbooks have come a long way, baby, since the Class of 1965!
Off we go to Jerad's baseball scrimmage (see the photos as soon as Harold gets them uploaded) where he wows us with his hitting and fielding. Our team wins and gains valuable practice for the season ahead.
Back home we enjoy adult beverages and get ready for the most gigantic slabs of ribs I've ever seen. Of course we are up to the challenge and the six of us make quick work of devouring them along with salad and corn on the cob - Yum!
It's a beautiful evening and we enjoy everything about our family and their home and dogs and being. Life is good.
We spend the first part of the morning touring the yard and gardens which Mark has created with his talent and his patience and his enthusiasm for nature. Coffee on the patio follows along with lots of great family and world conversation. We didn't quite solve the world's problems but we got close! But first we had to go shopping for the ingredients we need for Harold to create the magic trick he has promised he will create for Jerad. We cover all the usual suburban big box stores in search for the special ingredients we need and find them at last. Of course we can't record what they are or the trick might be stolen from one of our loyal readers! Not!
Lunch at home includes Trisha who is training for some new responsibilities at work and is glad for the break away from work - not to mention the opportunity for lunch with her in laws :). Leftover fajitas hit the spot, but far too soon it is time for Trisha to return to work.
Early afternoon is filled with tomato plant planting and creation of the magic trick. Jerad arrives home just in time to give the trick its final touches and to master the delivery. Ethan arrives home with his yearbook so we have lots of fun going through it and talking about his friends as we find their photos throughout the book. I'll just say that yearbooks have come a long way, baby, since the Class of 1965!
Off we go to Jerad's baseball scrimmage (see the photos as soon as Harold gets them uploaded) where he wows us with his hitting and fielding. Our team wins and gains valuable practice for the season ahead.
Back home we enjoy adult beverages and get ready for the most gigantic slabs of ribs I've ever seen. Of course we are up to the challenge and the six of us make quick work of devouring them along with salad and corn on the cob - Yum!
It's a beautiful evening and we enjoy everything about our family and their home and dogs and being. Life is good.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Day Twenty-Five - Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Well, I'm back to finish the blog - I hope! Lots has happened since last I recorded the activities of the trip. We're home and I've spent three days in Delaware OH at Ohio Wesleyan University, and then Harold and I went to Louisville KY to find an apartment for Jennifer for her post-doc the the Center for Asian Democracy, and then I went to Naples FL for four days with 12 high school girlfriends from Sidney OH Class of 1965 , and then I went to Sidney with one of the friends. So the past week has been about catching up and enjoying the summer at the farm!
So ... back to Salt Lake City and whatever sense I can make of my blog notes to re-create the scene! We left SLC in morning traffic and soon found ourselves in the green mountains heading east and enjoying the flecks of yellow flowers along the way. Lambs Canyon was especially peaceful and green. Then the clouds came down to meet us (as Harold described the phenomenon) before we reached Park City where both sides of the road were covered with ski condos, businesses, and ski slopes for miles. The bridge underpass was adorned with the Olympic logo and visions of time share trade opportunities and the Sundance Film Festival filled our heads. All along the road were permanent snow fences - not those lightweight ones like we have in Ohio - real fully constructed and installed for the long haul - very interesting to us. ORV lanes filled the median of the highway - another first!
In the Rockport Utah area we found mountain plateaus that were broad and green and filled with horses, cattle, irrigation, ranches and farms. Further along the way the path through the mountains is wider and greener and the mountains themselves have turned to red sandstone and the railroad is back!
Reading along in the State by State book we get an interesting commentary on the Church of the Latter Day Saints and Promontory Point but today - nearly a month later - I cannot remember the point (!).
Our arrival in Wyoming is heralded at the 26 mile marker by miles and miles of wind turbines on the high plains. It feels as though we are next to the clouds - as though we can reach out and touch them as we roll through the hilly high terrain. On the Wyoming map we retrace our route from our trip in 2007 (see travelwithbussell.blogspot.com) and appreciate the memories of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks as well as the Theodore Roosevelt Parkway coming out of the east side of Yellowstone.
In Rock Springs we see what it's all about from an economic perspective - a huge mining town with a huge chemical plant that seems to go on for miles and miles and miles. Further along the way Rawlins WY presents a very similar picture. Of course what we appreciate is the rock, the altitude (6930 and 7000 feet in places), the colors of the rock as they change along the way. Just past Sinclair WY we cross the North Platte River, an historic river that figured distinctly in the area's settlement.
At mile 235 scenic roadway I80 starts and extends to Laramie for 75 miles with Medicine Bow National Forest to the south. Lots of cattle along the way with 11,156 foot snow capped Elk Mountain in the distance - beautiful and majestic - with clouds all day in layers of solid and fluffy marsh mellow designs and only hints of blue sky.
We're passing time by listening to another James Lee Burke novel "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead." We think we'll be finished with JLB long before we we're finished with JLB!
We are high enough that we see lots of snow on the mountains with splashes of green grass. At mile 270 we see another huge installation of wind turbines. It seems to be the perfect place.
At Laramie we decide to take US287 south to Ft. Collins CO (our destination for today) because it is a shorter and purportedly more scenic route. We are not disappointed. Broad mountain meadows with outcroppings of red rock (you know how I love red rock!) and pine trees and gorgeous houses. We are greeted by the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign and it really is. Red Mountain Granite Canyon is especially beautiful - breath-taking, actually - and followed by spring displays of white wildflowers and blooming lilacs and a gas gauge that says we only have about 30 miles left on this tank of gas! Fortunately we are on the outskirts of Ft. Collins and a service station appears miraculously on the horizon to save us!
Ft. Collins is a city of 118,652 population and and elevation of 5,000 feet. It is home to our son Mark and our daughter-in-law Trisha and our grandsons Ethan (14) and Jerad (almost 12). We find our way through Ft. Collins and arrive at their home just after the boys get home from school to greet us. As always, it is amazing to see how much they both have grown in the ten months since we last saw them. It is also amazing how much they have matured and much more interesting the conversations are. Of course, Harold has had a long day of driving despite my taking my usual turn, so he naps and entertains the boys with his snoring. Jerad especially is amazed and hopes that he'll be able to sleep tonight since our room is next to his! I play video games and talk with Ethan while Jerad awaits his turn to show Harold (aka Daddy Daddy - for Daddy's Daddy) his latest magic tricks. And of course the dogs Rosie and Jessie entertain all of us.
Trisha arrives home and off we go to Jerad's baseball practice. Fortunately it is just down the street but unfortunately Jerad takes a bouncing ball right in the knee cap and our practice is done for the day. Lots of ice and rest and he's back to full strength by morning.
Mark arrives home and the toasts begin! It is so good to be together. It is rare that we have the opportunity to see three of the four children in such a short period of time. We're lovin' it! Yummy fajitas and lots of great conversation ends our day together.
So ... back to Salt Lake City and whatever sense I can make of my blog notes to re-create the scene! We left SLC in morning traffic and soon found ourselves in the green mountains heading east and enjoying the flecks of yellow flowers along the way. Lambs Canyon was especially peaceful and green. Then the clouds came down to meet us (as Harold described the phenomenon) before we reached Park City where both sides of the road were covered with ski condos, businesses, and ski slopes for miles. The bridge underpass was adorned with the Olympic logo and visions of time share trade opportunities and the Sundance Film Festival filled our heads. All along the road were permanent snow fences - not those lightweight ones like we have in Ohio - real fully constructed and installed for the long haul - very interesting to us. ORV lanes filled the median of the highway - another first!
In the Rockport Utah area we found mountain plateaus that were broad and green and filled with horses, cattle, irrigation, ranches and farms. Further along the way the path through the mountains is wider and greener and the mountains themselves have turned to red sandstone and the railroad is back!
Reading along in the State by State book we get an interesting commentary on the Church of the Latter Day Saints and Promontory Point but today - nearly a month later - I cannot remember the point (!).
Our arrival in Wyoming is heralded at the 26 mile marker by miles and miles of wind turbines on the high plains. It feels as though we are next to the clouds - as though we can reach out and touch them as we roll through the hilly high terrain. On the Wyoming map we retrace our route from our trip in 2007 (see travelwithbussell.blogspot.com) and appreciate the memories of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks as well as the Theodore Roosevelt Parkway coming out of the east side of Yellowstone.
In Rock Springs we see what it's all about from an economic perspective - a huge mining town with a huge chemical plant that seems to go on for miles and miles and miles. Further along the way Rawlins WY presents a very similar picture. Of course what we appreciate is the rock, the altitude (6930 and 7000 feet in places), the colors of the rock as they change along the way. Just past Sinclair WY we cross the North Platte River, an historic river that figured distinctly in the area's settlement.
At mile 235 scenic roadway I80 starts and extends to Laramie for 75 miles with Medicine Bow National Forest to the south. Lots of cattle along the way with 11,156 foot snow capped Elk Mountain in the distance - beautiful and majestic - with clouds all day in layers of solid and fluffy marsh mellow designs and only hints of blue sky.
We're passing time by listening to another James Lee Burke novel "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead." We think we'll be finished with JLB long before we we're finished with JLB!
We are high enough that we see lots of snow on the mountains with splashes of green grass. At mile 270 we see another huge installation of wind turbines. It seems to be the perfect place.
At Laramie we decide to take US287 south to Ft. Collins CO (our destination for today) because it is a shorter and purportedly more scenic route. We are not disappointed. Broad mountain meadows with outcroppings of red rock (you know how I love red rock!) and pine trees and gorgeous houses. We are greeted by the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign and it really is. Red Mountain Granite Canyon is especially beautiful - breath-taking, actually - and followed by spring displays of white wildflowers and blooming lilacs and a gas gauge that says we only have about 30 miles left on this tank of gas! Fortunately we are on the outskirts of Ft. Collins and a service station appears miraculously on the horizon to save us!
Ft. Collins is a city of 118,652 population and and elevation of 5,000 feet. It is home to our son Mark and our daughter-in-law Trisha and our grandsons Ethan (14) and Jerad (almost 12). We find our way through Ft. Collins and arrive at their home just after the boys get home from school to greet us. As always, it is amazing to see how much they both have grown in the ten months since we last saw them. It is also amazing how much they have matured and much more interesting the conversations are. Of course, Harold has had a long day of driving despite my taking my usual turn, so he naps and entertains the boys with his snoring. Jerad especially is amazed and hopes that he'll be able to sleep tonight since our room is next to his! I play video games and talk with Ethan while Jerad awaits his turn to show Harold (aka Daddy Daddy - for Daddy's Daddy) his latest magic tricks. And of course the dogs Rosie and Jessie entertain all of us.
Trisha arrives home and off we go to Jerad's baseball practice. Fortunately it is just down the street but unfortunately Jerad takes a bouncing ball right in the knee cap and our practice is done for the day. Lots of ice and rest and he's back to full strength by morning.
Mark arrives home and the toasts begin! It is so good to be together. It is rare that we have the opportunity to see three of the four children in such a short period of time. We're lovin' it! Yummy fajitas and lots of great conversation ends our day together.
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