Home in Appleton at last!

Saturday - August 10 -- Bangor to Appleton!

Saturday was a day to sleep in for everyone but Jess who had to go to work at the salon.  Joyce and Grandma met Jess at the salon later in the morning where Jess gave her a perm.  Looking nice, Grandma!

Dave enjoyed the chance to help Tim do a little fix-up project on their deck. He also had a chance to putter around town in a Mazda Miata sports car that the president of the congregation is letting Tim and Jess borrow for the weekend.  Fun!

 

In the afternoon, everyone went to the theatre in LaCrosse to see the newly released Planes movie. It was good fun.

After a stop for ice cream - we packed up, took a family photo or two and headed back to Appleton.

Joyce couldn't resist one last rock photo on the way back home.

The sun set before we made it home.

 Here is the odometer reading when we arrived at Hanson Drive! 5704.2 miles

 A little unpacking - some laundry and phone calls.

Nice to be home!  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for a wonderful vacation.

Signing off!
D

Friday - August 9 -- West Des Moines to Bangor, WI

We had planned to be visiting Matt, Sarah, and Brynn today, but plans changed.  Seems Brynn came down strep throat. Others been battling viruses and no sleep, so we thought it would be easier for them if we let them recover instead of entertain weary visitors.  Sad not to be able to stop... especially since our visit at the beginning of the trip was so short.  Hope everyone is feeling better soon.

We enjoyed the Iowa scenery that reminded us of Minnesota and Wisconsin

We enjoyed beautiful weather again -- the Lord was so good to us on our travels.

We reveled in seeing familiar sights -- Menards, Fleet Farm... Ate at Pizza Ranch in Austin or Albert Lea for lunch.

Here we are crossing the Mississippi into Wisconsin - that felt good.

We couldn't resist stopping at the Good Shepherd Thrift Store in La Crosse. We got off the highway in Bangor driving past the spot where Tim & Jess used to live.

Here is Joshua welcoming us to Bangor...

It was very nice knowing that we didn't have any more hotel stays to "look forward" to.  Tim grilled out for dinner and we enjoyed the choice of brats, hot dogs, or burgers!

Love to all!

D

Thursday - August 8 - Sidney, NE - West Des Moines, IA

Another big driving day.  All the way across Nebraska and about halfway into Iowa.  Nice straight roads.
Here is the western decor that adorned our hotel...

 

Check out this bear attacking a mountain goat in the entry way - it was the Wild West here in Nebraska!

Who knew that Sidney was the world headquarters of Cabela's?  (ANSWER: Uncle Wayne)

Also a nice memorial to the Pony Expess...

 

We liked this sign...

Happened to run across this famous spot in Omaha...

Also drove past Bob Feller Museum, birthplace of John Wayne, and town where Coca-Cola was supposed invented. Here's another landmark we passed...

 

We stopped for E85 fuel here - with a name like that, this has to be the ultimate gas station.  Notice it is ORV approved.

We arrived in West Des Moines about 7:30.  Here's our hotel.  Rooms were scarce - it's the state fair, a racing weekend, and another major event.

Grandma and I walked around the pond in back of the hotel before night fell.

Nice accommodations, but the whole room shook when people above us were stomping around and the "free" internet service was a nightmare.

 

We missed Iowa/Minnesota Pirate Festival by one day... : (   Maybe next year...

Blessings to all!

D

Wednesday - August 7 - Salt Lake City to Sidney, Nebraska

Today was a long driving day.  We had hoped to get going early. but that didn't happen.  Woke up to a text message from Christi. Then got news about big storm in Appleton.  Tried to get in touch with relatives and friends - sounds like it was a really bad storm that hit overnight between 1-3 am.  Photos on web were pretty horrific.  Praise the Lord there were no major injuries to people. 

Above is by old FVL (now St. Joseph Middle School) - house in photo is Sackenheims

Looking down the street to Greenfield and old FVL back entrance. Pressbox took a beating, too!

Sounds like it will be days for power to be restored.

 We had a pretty smooth ride of it.  Definitely enjoyed the I-80 route. 

 Still lots of scenic mountains.

Saw lots of train activity - you really understand how important trains are out here when you see the amount of supplies they are pulling through the mountains.  Sadly, though, train photos are hard to take because they are so tiny compared to the terrain,

Wyoming had some really pretty stretches.

Perspective shot...

Passed the time with a Joyce-led hymn sing, listening to satellite radio Old Time Radio station, and Focus on the Family radio theatre rendition of "The Legend of Squanto"

Wyoming still had some pretty high altitudes areas.  We made stops in Evanston for brunch at Subway and at Cheyenne for supper.  Sit-down meal at Shari's Restaurant for a change.

 

Noticed the greenery and livestock lots more in Wyoming.

We saw lots of fences - many on slant and perpendicular to the road - wondering what the purpose of those was? 

Sinclair, Wyoming - maybe home of Sinclair oil?  Don't know...

This statue welcomes visitors into Nebraska on I-80

We also snuck in a visit to the Cheyenne Goodwill for something to do. We are now in Mountain time zone and have surpassed 4700 miles.

Joyce shot some nice sunset pics...

 

Arrived at hotel about 8:30 pm

Love to all -- aiming for West Des Moines, IA tonite and our beloved Central Time Zone.  Another long drive today.

Blessings!
D