CHEYENNE, WYOMING

This is the capitol building in Cheyenne. Notice the statue of the woman in the front.

This is ESTHER HOBART MORRIS and the inscription reads: Proponent of the Legislative Act which in 1869 gave distinction to the territory of WYOMING as the 1st government in the world to give WOMEN EQUAL RIGHTS.

Did you know that? Hooray for Wyoming! Inside the building in the rotunda was a small statue of the first woman to vote, but I neglected to take a picture of that. The second thing that really impressed me was this:

Just as you step into the rotunda, turn right and there is the Governor's office! It's right there, accessible to all. And on the receptionist's desk were pumpkins and halloween candy!

This is the ceiling in the Senate room. Very beautiful in golds and greens.

Ernie and our friends, Dick and Bev, in front of the restored historic depot in downtown Cheyenne.

We went to the museum on the grounds of the famous Cheyenne Frontier Days, and I caught Ernie looking at this sheep herders wagon. I'm hoping he wasn't thinking of downsizing again!

SATURDAY ON THE ROAD

On Saturday we drove from Spearfish, South Dakota to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We had a very beautiful day to travel. As we started out through Spearfish Canyon, it was foggy and cloudy,

but soon the skies cleared and we had sunshine and blue skies. The drive, if you have never taken it, through Spearfish Canyon is awesome. The contrast in the fall between the dark green and the bright gold is so pretty. There is a creek that travels the canyon along the road for most of the way, and there are lovely spots where the sparkling clear stream tumbles over the rocks and pebbles to create beautiful music. I highly recommend this drive, and I also advise the driver to stop often to completely take in the beauty, in sight and sound.

Soon we arrived in cowboy country, Wyoming. What a contrast between the colorful canyon drive and the brown grasses and soils of the plaines and the hills of Wyoming. We stopped in a pull off for a sandwich at noon, and I snapped this beautiful view of an abandoned farm place. I think it looks like a painting I've seen at some point in my life.

We spent the next three nights in Cheyenne where we parked out at F.E. Warren Air Force Base camp ground, but where we actually spent all our time with our dear friends that we traveled with this summer. They have lived in Cheyenne since leaving us in Grand Forks way back in the 70's. Dick and Bev fed us and guided us on tours of several points of interest in Cheyenne, and we had a wonderful visit. We hope they will join us later this fall, maybe down in Vegas.

HOME ON THE RANGE

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam

Where the deer

and the antelope play.

Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.

BEST $2.50 WE EVER SPENT!

This campsite is in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Western North Dakota. The river runs right along the edge of the campground, and the cottonwood trees were a brilliant gold as the bright October sun shown through the remaining leaves. The strong wind had already taken care of many of the leaves, and they lay on the ground in a colorful carpet. The sites in a National Park are normally $10, but with a Golden Age Pass they are half that, at $5. However, they had turned off the water in this park so were charging half price. We camped for $2.50 a night, which would transulate into $75 for a month's rent! Bet you can't beat that!

THIS IS FOR JUDY

I think this guy is related to Chief Thunder Cloud, or whatever the name of your adopted buffalo is! Anyhow, we told this guy to say hi to your buffalo if he ever ran across him!

WHY NOT MINOT?

UNCOMMON GROUNDS COFFEE SHOP, SPEARFISH, SD:

I have a few days to catch up on as we were in National Parks with no services of any kind. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Why not Minot? We heard this saying a lot when we were stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base. No one wanted to go to Minot. But we went there on Monday after we left Grand Forks, and we found a friendly, clean, and cheap campsite, $5.00. That is music to Ernie's ears. We stayed for two nights, and picked up a few groceries and visited the library on base, and went into town to visit the Scandanavian Heritage site. It was really neat!

This first photo is Hans Christian Anderson. That brings back a lot of childhood memories as we loved the movie and the music, especially the songs "I'm Hans Christian Anderson, Anderson, that's me," and the "Ugly Duckling." The second is of Leif Eiriksson who landed at Lans aux Meadows, Newfoundland, 500 years before Columbus "discovered" the New World. The third is of Sondri Nordheim, of Telemark, Norway, who is considered the father of modern skiing. Our son, Chris, up in Alaska, is a Telemark skier, so is a follower of Nordheim.

These two buildings are a Stave Church and a Stabur, made in the authentic Norwegian style. Aren't they beautiful?

SAMMY LOVES HIS SHIRT ANYWAY!

URBAN STAMPEDE, GRAND FORKS, MINNESOTA:

This is our youngest grandson, Samuel, wearing his Viking shirt, sitting next to his mom who has on a Packer sweatshirt. Sammy also has a Packer jersey in his closet, he said. Guess he picked the wrong one to wear yesterday!

We picked our son and family up for church and had a wonderful time visiting with folks we knew from our Air Force days at GFAFB. There were sure a lot of strangers in the little church that we helped build when we were stationed here! I guess things change in 25 years, don't they. After church we went out for brunch, then came back to the RV and watched part of the game, went for a walk, and had supper and a nice fire. Now this morning we are packed up and ready to head west. Our visit with Lenny, Connie and Sammy was a lot of fun, and we will look forward to returning soon.

Now, as to our heading west. Those of you who have followed our travels know that Ernie changes his mind rather often. This is the case again. We had planned to head straight west, through North Dakota with a stop at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and into Montana to Glacier National Park, before spending the next few weeks in Washington, then turning south. Well, he decided he needed more time in Washington and Oregon, so he changed our travel itinerary. Instead of going west then south, he decided to go south, then west. We will still go to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but will turn south there and head for Cheyenne where our friends, Dick and Bev, who we traveled with this summer, live. We'll then travel through eastern Colorado before turning west to Vegas. We need to be in Vegas a month from now so we can catch a flight back to Minneapolis for our nephew's wedding on November 9th. Ernie didn't want to be rushed in Washington and Oregon, so decided this route would be better. We'll spend time in Vegas, Tucson and San Diego, then will follow the spring north to Oregon and Washington before going back to Minnesota for graduations and weddings in May.

And he talks about women changing their minds!

LOOKING OUT MY BACK WINDOW

(Coming to you from the Urban Stampede in East Grand Forks, MN - a coffee shop with wireless)

This was the view last night out the back window of the RV. I could have spent a couple of weeks here, just sitting in the sun on the banks of the Mississippi, watching the clouds and birds, and occasionally reading my book. What a beautiful spot we found!

Then this morning there was heavy fog, and I found a couple of pretty shots by the calm, peaceful water.

Now we are in East Grand Forks, patiently waiting for tomorrow morning when we will pick up our youngest grandson, Sammy, and our son Lenny and his wife Connie, and go to breakfast and to a parade. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can spend the day outside with them and end with a cookout and campfire. Sunday we will attend the church where we were members for the seven plus years that we were stationed at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. I look forward to seeing many of our old friends.

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

The following information is from the Ask Marilyn column in the Sunday Parade magazine on September 23, 2007:

If you are over 26 years old, you are older than half of the people on earth!

And if you are more than 37 years old, you are older than half of all Americans!

I must be ancient.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Yesterday was my mother's 85th birthday. My four siblings and I had a party for her at our church social hall after services yesterday. This picture is of my mom and my youngest sister. Isn't mom beautiful at age 85! What a wonderful day we had, full of family and memories and love. My siblings and spouses were all there, and quite a few of the grandkids, and 14 great grandkids! We gave mom a memory book filled with pages from each one of us, and I think she was thrilled with the gift. I imagine when she got home she read the loving tributes and looked at all of the pictures that were included, and I'm guessing she will reread and review the book over and over in the days to come.

This is her cake with the names she is known by. To this list we could add the title of faithful pastor's wife to our dad who has been living in Heaven with Jesus for 25 years now. She is also a loving mother-in-law, a wonderful friend to scores of people, and the finest example of a Christian that I know.

Mom, we love you and honor you. Hope your day was wonderful in every way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KARI!

Today is our daughter Kari's birthday and I want to publicly wish her a happy birthday and tell her how proud her dad and I are of her. Forty two years ago today, (oh my, is it that long?), when we were living in Maine, Kari was born and we were filled with such pride and joy we could hardly contain ourselves. She has given us no reason in these forty two years to change our minds, in fact we grow prouder and prouder of her each year. Kari picked a wonderful son-in-law for us in Mike, and they have given us 6 super grand kids. The profession Kari has chosen has also made us proud. She is so passionate about getting FASD out there and in people's faces and showing the world that FASD can be cured by just refraining from alcohol during pregnancy. Kari has a huge heart and shares her love with everyone, and she is loved in return by everyone. And on her special day, I just want to tell her that her parents love her dearly. Happy birthday, daughter!

BEEN BUSY

Yes, I know. It's been a week since I have blogged. However, I do have an excuse. I've been busy! I've seen a lot of my old friends, or I guess I should say long time friends, because I'm not old so they sure aren't old! On Tuesday I went to the home of a high school friend. Her father was also a pastor so she was raised in a parsonage, as I was, so we have a lot in common. In addition, we had kids who were dear friends in college, and she and her husband also have an RV and enjoy traveling. So we gabbed for hours while enjoying a Dunn Bros. latte and a slice of key lime pie. What a fun afternoon that was!

On Wednesday I had my yearly physical, and that also was a lot of fun. Ha-Ha. I have already received the results of my blood work and everything looks good, so it was good to get that out of the way. Then at noon on Wednesday I met my dear friend from the college where I worked. She is the gal I traveled to Italy with in 2005, and I miss her so much. We had coffee and lunch and much talk. Then we went to Barnes and Nobel and each found some treasures we had to buy. We were meeting two other friends from the college at five at Olive Garden, but we went there at 4:15 to get a head start on more gabbing. When the other two arrived, we upped the level of chatter and laughter in the restaurant by several decibels! It was so much fun, and I loved catching up with everyone. Only thing is, after all the fun and conversation I couldn't sleep that night!

Then Thursday I took another friend to lunch for her birthday. We went to the local Food Coop and had a healthy lunch and more fun conversation. Last night we met two of Ernie's brothers and their wives for dinner at a cafe in a small town near here, and then visited our son and his wife and two girls who live in that town. So my life has been full of friends and family and lots of conversation.

And the trend continues! This afternoon one of my sisters and her husband will join us for the weekend at the campground so finally Ernie will have someone to talk to! Tomorrow we have a wedding shower for my brother's son and bride-to-be, and on Sunday we have the big party for my mom's 85th birthday. I have a few things to do for that party yet, including buying the fruit and getting that all cut up for the fruit tray, so I guess I'll have to forgo the coffee and conversation and get to work.

AWESOME CLOUDS

We saw the most interesting cloud formations from our campsite last night. The stripes of clouds went from west to east, across the whole sky. This view is towards the west.

This one I took facing the north.

This one is taken to the east.

And I walked down to the lake and took this one about a half an hour later. You can still see the remnants of the stripes in the sunset sky.

WINDING DOWN

Our time back home, just like the summer weather, is winding down, and it makes me sad. We will be gone two weeks from today, and again I will go through grandkid withdrawal. We do have quite a few activities coming up in these last two weeks, so we will keep busy. Tomorrow night I will help daughter Kari with the Pregnant Pause down at a local bar. This is the fun event where women are encouraged to avoid alcohol for the nine months of pregnancy and I've been in on the first two, so can't break my record now! There is a shower for my nephew (my godson) and his bride-to-be on Saturday next weekend and that will be a lot of fun. Then on Sunday we are having a big family birthday party for my mom on her 85th birthday and I have a few details to attend to before that day comes. I will have my camera so I can post some pictures of my beautiful mom. We have some stock up type of shopping to do, we both need haircuts, and next week is my annual physical (shucks, I meant to take off 35 pounds before then!) and we both have dentist appointments. I haven't seen my best friends from the college where I worked yet, so we need to make a date for dinner and girl talk soon! And I have two friends from back in college days who go to our home church here in town, and I want to get together with both of them for coffee and a gab fest. We need to see some family yet, including a grand daughter and Ernie's brothers and their families.

When we leave here, probably on September 27, we are again heading to Grand Forks to see our son and his wife and our youngest grandson, Sammy. From there it's west, across North Dakota to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, then into Montana with a stop at one of our favorite spots in the world, Glacier National Park. From there we will continue west to Washington, and then turn south, heading along highway 101 along the coast, ending in San Diego. We plan to spend the winter between San Diego, Las Vegas, and Tucson. We will be staying at military bases again, making use of their family campgrounds, one of our benefits from Ernie's 20 years in the Air Force. If anyone would like to get out of the cold weather this winter, we have room on the floor and the couch. Just don't come the second weekend in November or during Christmas when we will be back here in Minnesota, celebrating a wedding and Christmas with our family. If I can get home every couple of months, I can handle the grandkid withdrawal. It's the time between Christmas and May that gets really, really long for this grandma.

HALF WAY MOVED

We are half way moved. We left the state park and are having a coffee at Dunn Bros. Soon we will drive the rest of the way to our new home at the campground by the lake. There, Ernie assures me, we will have a wonderful line to the satellite 23,000 miles up in the sky, and we won't have to come to Dunn Bros every day to check email. I'll believe that when I see it. And just so you know, he bet me $100 way back in June that he would get the satellite internet working. I say his time is up and that he should pay up. He claims it's an on going bet and that he still has time to connect. What do you guys think? Pay up, right? There has to be a time limit and he's had too many do overs already, and I could buy lots of quilt fabric or books with that $100.

TOMORROW IS MOVING DAY

Ernie has decided that tomorrow we will move from the state park west of town to a campground on a lake east of town. It will be cheaper, $16 versus $19, so of course he likes that part of it, but his main reason for moving is that the trees at the state park are blocking his satellite signals. He has had no TV channels other than the one local one and we still don't have a satellite signal for the internet. He believes both will be available in full strength from the other park. Stay tuned....I'll let you know the results tomorrow.

The only thing I was worried about was my coffee addiction, and he has measured the distances for me. It is the same distance from the state park to Dunn Bros as it is from the lake spot to Dunn Bros! Guess I won't have to go cold turkey yet!

FUN LICENSE PLATES

I like to try to figure out the personalized license plates that we see on so many vehicles. Some are impossible to decipher, known only to the creator of the plate, and some are not fit for publication, but some are fun. Here are some I saw during our travels in the past couple of months.

On a sporty red car driven by a cute blond: APRLUV

On a big van full of kids driven by a mom: MIBLESNGS

On a yellow Hummer: of course, HMMMR

On a little Toyota: NOT A LXS

On a beat up pickup: JUNKYRD

Another beat up pickup: HAN D MAN

Obviously a reporter: MR NEWS

A senior citizen: 4 GOT IT

Two dog plates: K 9 LVR and K9K8

And the plates of a huge black pickup truck read: TEXASLEXUS

BACK TO JULY 23 & 24 - CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS

On a dreary, rainy, foggy day in July, we headed out on one of the world's most famous drives, the Cabot Trail on the Cape Breton Highlands. It deserves it's reputation, even on such a day. The vistas were awesome, even in the fog, so I can imagine what it must look like on a sunny day. The hills were so green and lush, and the trees so dense, and the ups and downs and curves so breathtaking, that we were exclaiming "oooh," "ahhhh," and "wheeeeee" constantly. At times the fog was so thick that we could see no end of the road at the bottom of a hill, and my knuckles where white and I wasn't even driving!

This was a pit stop at the side of the road after we reached the flatland again, and the sun had come out. It was beautiful.

FOUR GENERATION PICNIC

Now who doesn't even take out her camera for a Labor Day picnic with 4 generations present? ME! I am so upset with myself as we had 7 of our 15 grandkids available for photos yesterday, and I neglected to take a single shot.

It was a very pleasant day. My mom, a sister, daughter Kari and family, son Chuck and family, and our second daughter's two boys were out for a picnic lunch. The little kids went for a walk with their dads, Adam and Caleb went exploring, and the rest of us visited in the shade of the awning on the RV. I think everyone ate their fill of hot dogs, salads, fruit, veggies, beans, cake and cookies. At least I know I had plenty! We had a very relaxing afternoon, and I hope we can do it again soon, and hopefully get a few more kids and grandkids there. And I will remember to take pictures the next time!

With the temps in the 90's, it is hard to believe that fall, my favorite season of the year, is just on the horizon, but a Labor Day picnic seems to bring the summer to a screeching halt. The grandkids either have already returned, or will return to school this week, and life will again become hectic with all the activities involved when the kids are in school. So I am happy and thankful that we took the time to get together and just enjoy each other before the fall activities begin.

SATURDAY WITH 4 GRANDKIDS

On Saturday morning we picked up our second daughter's two boys, Jacob and Caleb, so they could spend the weekend with us. A bit later, Kari , our oldest daughter, called and asked if we wanted Anna and Ben for a few hours so she could clean and go grocery shopping. Of course we wanted them! So we picked them up and headed back to our home in the state park.

I know where the wild plums grow, so we decided to see if there were any left. Ben outfitted himself with an awesome hiking stick, and Anna picked up a dead branch so she would have one too. Caleb found himself a nice rock wall to climb. And his older brother, Jacob, took a rest in the middle of the trail, plugged into his brother's iPod.