Rules kept and broken

How strange that a late morning person like me should be waking up so early in the mornings these last couple of weeks. I'd like to think it is the result of this very relaxed lifestyle. We had our camp packed and were on the road by 8 AM.

If I remember anything about Western Montana it will be smoke. We had a gorgeous drive along a mountain steam for the first hour of our ride out of Yellowstone, but the skies became more and more grey with smoke and it wasn't long before the smell of burning timber was obvious even inside of the car. We think we drove in the area of at least five different forest fires along the way, and, if what we were hearing from the various people we talked to along our stops were correct with their information, we were within 2 miles of at least one of them.

We stopped and had a snack along the side of a Montana ranch. The rancher stopped by and because he saw me taking a picture of Jim looking over the land, we think he suspected we were land speculators. He went into a long dialogue about how Montana's best land is being destroyed by all the people who are sub-dividing it. We assured him we had no interest in dividing up his land and the conversation became much
more relaxed. I was sorry to see him in a baseball cap though because Jim is finally beginning to meld into the landscape with his cowboy hat. The rancher assured me he had left his cowboy hat at home. It was fun to talk to him.

The drive into Idaho brought landscape changes once again. The first thing we noticed was the increased variety of pines and the fact that there were many more deciduous trees than there were in Wyoming. We almost immediately started steeply climbing mountains. The range here reminds me more of Colorado mountains.

At one point we came upon an amazing valley that had a lookout spot but by the time I realized that it was a view of a huge silver mine, we had driven past it. We enforced rule number five and took the next exit. We ended up in the historic mining town of Wallace, Idaho and had lunch there. There were silver shops everywhere.

We decided to break rule number two and drove 7 hours so we could reach Spokane, WA. We gained an hour by moving into Pacific Standard Time so the clock said 6 hours and while that doesn't make for logical thinking, it worked for us.

Tonight we are staying in a hotel in Spokane. We found the best food festival I have ever been to in downtown Spokane. There were food booths from about every country I could think of and all the food was freshly prepared. There were thousands of people there. Jim is taking me on the best ride ever!

Tomorrow we head to the Seattle area and hope to see something of the Islands there.

Colors

Camping in Yellowstone. . Check. One thing after another comes off our bucket list. Thankfully, the list is long.

The last thing I heard last night was the pines soughing with the wind. We woke up to fresh cold air of 38 degrees. It was time to break out the sweatshirts although we switched to shorts as the day progressed.

We left camp quite early in the morning forgoing breakfast (which we ate later out of the trunk of the car) because we knew it would be feeding time for much of the wildlife. Almost immediately we had another huge bison in the road. We saw a variety of wildlife, but no bears (which I really had hoped to spot) as we traveled along, and gave the binoculars a good workout.

The majority of our day was spent walking miles of trails through the geysers. The colors of Yosemite are so beautiful! A visit to Yellowstone wouldn't be complete without watching Old Faithful blow. As we watched I thought of my Grandfather, my Dad and Jim and I with all our young children, all watching the same geyser at different times over the years. While it feels like these volcanic mountains will endure forever, it amazes me to know that all this pressure lies below the surface of these mountains, and they could all blow up. I am so grateful that our nation has not only protected this beautiful land but also made it accessible to everyone.

We think we heard languages from every continent today and have seen license plates from about every state in the Union. I found the people as fascinating as the landscape.

We finally broke down and did some laundry this evening. It is probably a good thing to have a few responsibilities again!

Tomorrow we are headed toward Idaho. It should be a lovely ride through the mountains. This is our last night of camping for a while. I will miss the fresh air and the sounds of the outdoors, but it will be good to enjoy the simplicity and convenience of a hotel again.

On top of the world

North Dakota. Check. One more State off our bucket list of being in all the contiguous US States before we leave this earth.

We had an interesting ride through eastern Montana. Almost immediately the landscape changed once again. I think children should not be told that the earth is a like a nice round ball. It is actually a very bumpy sphere!

There is a reason Montana is known as Big Sky country. The vistas are so vast that it seems like the sky is a huge blue dome. I kept thinking it seemed like we were riding on top of the world. It was a very relaxing ride.

We arrived in Yellowstone mid afternoon. We came in the North Entrance which worked out nicely because we were able to drive through a large portion of the park to get to the West entrance where we are camping for the next two nights. It was hard not to take a picture at every bend because we saw one beautiful scene after another. We hiked along some of the hot springs and geysers. I was amazed at the amount of heat I felt on my body just standing near them.

Jim spotted more wild bison but I was thrilled to find the first elk. Jim usually spots wildlife and birds way before I do, so I was very excited.

The beauty of this national park is awesome. The lyrics of a song ran through my head "Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the world Your hands have made..." .
Tonight we are camping in a place which is surrounded with mountains. It has become sharply cooler and I expect we will be grateful for our down comforter. It will be warm and sunny tomorrow. We are so thankful for the really great weather we have been enjoying on this trip.

The Internet connection we have available here is very poor so I am not sure this will post or not today so I will notate that it is Wednesday, August 29.

New Landscapes

It was so nice to wake up in the cool of the day this morning. We broke camp rather quickly and were on our way before 9 AM.

The trip through northwest South Dakota was mind boggling. We rode on a perfectly straight road for at least an hour through the most barren land and without sight of any town. When we finally found a rather dilapidated building which sold gas (and I imagine a few groceries and sundries) I was grateful to have an outhouse available. It was another 40 miles before we saw any other commercial enterprises and then it was just a conglomeration of odd buildings. We can't imagine how anyone lives there with any degree of comfort.

Not long after we drove into North Dakota the landscape changed abruptly. At the recommendation of our Iowa cousins we are staying in the little western tourist town of Medora. It lays at the gate of the Theodore Roosevelt National Badlands Park. Our trip through the park was the best part of this day. The land is rugged and uncompromising but beautiful in its own way. We saw many wild bison, and were a bit startled and uneasy when we had a 2000 plus pound bison standing in the road directly in our path. He had no intention of moving, and with another bison laying at the edge of the other side of the road we had little room for passage. Jim eventually did go around him, and if I had stuck my hand out of the window I could have petted him. But since we were warned at the gate not to mess with the bison, we thought better of it and drove on. We also saw Elk and at least a thousand prairie dogs.

We went to a large outdoor buffet in the evening and had steak that was grilled on pitchforks. Shortly after the meal we were treated with a cowboy musical that was presented in a large 3000 seat outdoor amphitheater. It was a good show, but we were both ready to get some rest. We are staying in a motel tonight because our day was already so full and because it's a hundred degrees outside. Here's hoping that Montana will be a little cooler tomorrow!

I don't have many options for arranging this blog using an app so I am unable to label pictures. I will have to sort it all out when we get home. At least this will help us remember the blessing of this trip.

Tenting Tonite

We left Randy and Linda in the morning, and started on Phase Two of our Victory Lap. All morning I had the old Civil War song "Tenting Tonight" running through my head. I still can't quite believe that we are doing this. Somehow I just can't picture my
Mom tenting at this age. The concept makes me laugh.

Our first stop was in De Smet where we found this sweet little church from the Laura Ingalls Wilder era. We stayed off the Interstate highway as much as we could and drove through miles of wheat and sunflower fields. I thought I would find the drive boring, but instead it was very peaceful and relaxing.

After several stops along the way we arrived at Mt Rushmore around supper time and set up camp in a little over 15 minutes so we could take in the lighting ceremony at the monument. It was a really good program and at the end of it all the attending veterans were acknowledged and introduced on stage. Standing at the base of the monument and having just watched a presentation of how America's freedoms came to be made it a very moving experience for Jim and all the veterans standing alongside him.

We had a late dinner in a saloon in Keystone. I feel a bit like the Unsinkable Molly Brown tonight.

Sunday blessings

"I was glad when they said to me, Let us go up to the house of the Lord". Psalm 122:1

We started our day with Randy and Linda's church. It felt so good to be back in congregational worship. It is a very small church with only 17 people in the pews, but the singing was like a choir of angels. I couldn't help but think that whether it was a large congregation or small, there were people all over the world praising God this morning. It is a good feeling knowing that in our troubled world there are people everywhere lifting their hearts in prayer to our God.

This afternoon Linda and I walked all through Volga and I took pictures of our first apartment here and the old house we lived in during most of our South Dakota years. We also saw the church we attended here and once again remembered all the blessings that church brought into our lives.

Randy and Linda's daughters and son-in-law and grandson were here for a wonderful dinner at noon. What a lovely family they have!

Tomorrow we embark on a new phase of this Victory Lap. We are headed west and will see where we land after our no-more-than-six hour drive.

Past and Present

Jim and Randy were up at the crack of dawn today and drove out to a lake they had fished together years ago. They fished the entire morning and came home grinning like little boys with their big catch of Bass and Walleye. I think they would both have loved to spend the entire day out there.

Linda and I spent the morning connecting on that special level of soul sister-ness that is our treasure. We all had a late lunch/dinner at a great Italian restaurant and then drove onto the campus of SDSU where Jim once again stood under the shadow of the campanile. The campus was filled with students and parents and it brought back so many memories of the day Jim first matriculated into that University. I felt the energy of the students as they start their school experience and remember well the excitement we felt as we embarked on that journey. We remember those years as such happy years.

Memories of Blessings

We left Rock Valley around 10:00 AM and once again I wondered if and when I would ever return. What we are taking away are wonderful memories.

We met up in Sioux Falls with Randy and Linda. It is so good to be with this youngest of my Soul Sisters! After lunch we went to the Falls Park of Sioux Falls. It seems odd that I don't remember this beautiful park because I know I was in Sioux Falls many times when I was a child. The river is so low this year because of the drought, but there is still enough water for some of the Falls to be flowing.

It is good to be back in Volga. This is the town with the church which blessed us beyond comprehension during the three and a half years we lived here while Jim earned his Bachelor's degree. A part of our hearts will always be attached to this place.

Childhood Memories

I have been back to Rock Valley several times since my childhood and every time I feel like my memories are brought back to life. My cousin Jo spent the morning driving me all over town while Jim went golfing with Roger and Dick.

We found an open door in the church of my young years and I was delighted to find so little had changed in the structure even though it now houses a different denomination. I could clearly see in my minds eye my Dad sitting in a front row with the other Elders in the church.

We saw the house I grew up in, many of the places I played and the river where I would wade and get leeches on my legs. Ugh. We spent quite a while at the cemetery and found my grandparents graves as well as those of most of my Uncles and Aunts.

And once again, we saw cousins. Some of them, like Erwin and Alma, I hadn't seen in years. But again, conversation was never an issue. Clearly my talking ability was genetically transfered to me through the Kempema clan!

Rock Valley is a very prosperous little town with housing starts all over the surrounding area. It is good to see economic growth.

We met with several cousins and their spouses for pizza tonight. It has been a busy, full day! Tomorrow we head into South Dakota and look back at the college years.

Cousins

If I have counted correctly I have 62 first cousins. When I remember my childhood I think of cousins. Often, especially on Sunday evenings, my parents would visit at one set of Uncle and Aunts or another and most of them lived on farms. Tonight we are sleeping in a home on one of those farms.

We left Fred and Glenda's house around noon and arrived in Rock Valley in the early afternoon. We visited with Harlyn for a while and then drove out in the country to Roger and Hilaine's farm where we were joined for dinner by Dick and Jo. How easily I fall into a feeling of familiarity with cousins. There is a connection that roots back to our parents. I am grateful that Jim feels so comfortable with my great extended family.

Tomorrow is exploration day in the old hometown of my childhood.

Lessons

Jim was a happy boy this morning. Fred is a Master Woodworker, and spent the morning teaching Jim how to do lathe work. Jim had so much fun learning this craft and I think if we had just left the guys hang out in the workshop for the duration of the day they would have been totally content. I suspect there will be additional wood working tools in our house when we return.

We spent the afternoon in the Lewis and Clark museum in Sioux City. It was interesting and I was made aware once again that I should have listened better when I was in school! Why is history so fascinating now when it was so boring when I was a kid?

Harlyn and Diane came for dinner and once again our conversation was punctuated with so much laughter. This visit has been pure joy.

Up on a rooftop

Even though I have lived in Michigan for decades, I still tend to impulsively answer "Iowa" when people ask me where I am from. This State of my birth and home of my youth draws me in to a place of contentment and a feeling of belonging every time I return.

My memories of my life here are happy ones, and Glenda is inextricably tied to most of them. She was nearly always willing to participate in the mischievousness that I generally authored. One of my favorite forbidden places to frequent was the roof of the shed at Glenda's house. The feeling of being on top of the world still fills me when I am in Iowa.

Even though we can go years without seeing each other, this first cousin and Soul Sister of mine and I fall right back into that comfortable groove of connectedness. Our husbands just kind of shake their heads as we chatter and laugh the hours away.

Jim and Fred started the day with a bike ride. We both need to get more exercise! We are eating far more calories than we are burning. But it isn't a visit to Le Mars without a visit to the Well's Blue Bunny Ice Cream shop, so we ended our day on a happy note!

Forward and Backward

We crossed the Missouri River headed west on Friday afternoon. This afternoon we crossed it again heading east. I think that is a good representation of this meandering journey.

We had a relaxing, delicious morning breakfast with Rick and Kristi and then drove just a short distance to spend a few hours with my cousin Marion and her husband Terry. We were so glad we could spend time with them. Marion is a beautiful woman inside and out, and we enjoyed getting to know Terry. I was disappointed when I realized I forgot to take a picture of them.

We arrived at Glenda and Fred's house in the late afternoon. Glenda is one of the people in my life that can make me laugh until I cry, and I did just that! It is after midnight and we only stopped talking because we knew we needed sleep so we can start up again tomorrow.

Jim finally filled up the car with gas this afternoon. He burned up 18.3 gallons of gas to travel 850 miles. Mr. Competitive is very happy!

I knew there would be bears!

So now we know more about Omaha NE. It is a beautiful city and Rick and Kristi have been wonderful hosts and guides.

We enjoyed seeing some of the many wonderful Pioneer sculptures through out the downtown area. In spite of a morning rain we enjoyed the tour. The city of Omaha is very clean and it seems prosperous. It was good to see so much construction going on in the housing areas.

Made a stop at Cabelas which made Jim very happy. Ok, so the bear wasn't alive, but it was good practice for when we are in the Northern Rockies!

Learning and Meeting

We stayed off the Interstate for most of our driving time today. It made the drive more interesting and definitely more relaxing.

As we drove through the countryside we were shocked at the evidence of drought in the corn fields. There were acres and acres of dried up corn fields across the entire state and we couldn't help but wonder how the farmers were coping with so much loss. It was disheartening to see.

We also learned that Holland, MI is not the only city with an imported windmill and the Dutch people are not the only people who used windmills. We discovered in Elkhorn, Iowa a charming windmill imported from Denmark, and realized that the American Danes celebrate it as much as the American Dutch celebrate theirs.

We went into the gift shop near the windmill and the first thing I noticed was that the person who signed the guest book just before me was named Marlys. Of course I immediately went on the prowl to find that mystery person! I never did find her, but we did meet a very friendly couple who were traveling from Denmark (although she was raised in the Netherlands). They are also on a two month trip and their itinerary is almost identical to ours. They are also tent camping along the way, but that is where the similarity ends. They had a tiny tent and a couple of backpacks. We have... well, let's just say that we have a lot more than that with us!

I also learned that Marlys is a Dutch name, but it is spelled Marlyes and is pronounced with a rolling "r" and a very sophisticated sounding second syllable. I must remember to tell all of my friends to use this new, much more beautiful pronunciation! I am having Jim practice this frequently. I am quite sure he is very excited to learn this new way of addressing me!

We are happy to have safely arrived at Rick & Kristie's tonight and look forward to a great day with them tomorrow.