Five Star Pancakes

   There has been a tradition here at Woodlane (The house where Carolyn and I make our abode), that breakfast on any Saturday morning consists of pancakes, breakfast meat and whatever else will go with that, pancakes being the prime ingredient.

   But this story begins in Nebraska, on a ranch 18 miles out from Gothenburg.

   How we happened to be here on the Saturday in question, can be explained easily.

   In making up the itinerary for our western adventure, I had booked a stay at the Buffalo Creek Valley Bunkhouse, Road 411, Gothenburg, Nebraska for a couple of nights toward the end of our first week on the road.

   Our directions gave us a turn off the main hwy north of town, onto Road 702 looking for a turn onto Road 411 leading to the ranch. WAZE (our driving App) and I messed up on our first set of directions on these dirt roads, and we drove an 8 mile square, ending up a few hundred yards from the main hwy where we had first turned in.

   After a call to our hosts, we found 411 and the ranch.

   "Is this what we booked?", we asked ourselves as we drove down the drive into the center of the homestead.

   The lock on the bunkhouse did not give us a lot of confidence.

   The main house was right across the driveway.

   And three friends awaited us as we drove in. Two did not look too good as they had gotten into some sticky weeds and still carried some of the plant life around with them.

   Our hosts, John and Mary Lou (yes, you read correctly), came down to meet us. ML's great grandfather had homesteaded this land back in the late 1800s, and they raised calves to sell besides finishing them,  so as to be able to advertise beef that was grass-fed with no hormones in their systems.

   In the course of the conversation, they asked what we planned to do for supper. We explained that we had not stopped at the store on the way out, but would find a grocery or a restaurant, and make do.

   "That might be a chore", they replied. "The nearest store is 18 miles back into town, and any eating place would be right there also, if they might still be open."

   "Uh, Oh"

   "Don't worry, we'll scare up something, just come up to the house about 6:30, and we'll eat together."

   We smiled and agreed to do just that. It was a lifesaver for two travelers who had only snacked for lunch.

   We learned about the ranch operation, and just their lives in general. They told us they were Christian and invited us to go to church with them on Sunday if our schedule permitted. We, in turn, told them of our recent marriage and about our blended families.

   Then they informed us that they could not eat breakfast with us on Saturday, as they had to get up early and take some things to market. This was in North Platte, 55 miles west of us, and they would not be home till late afternoon.

   But not to worry, Mary Lou had a solution. She gave us her fry pan, some of her ground wheat and eggs, so that Carolyn might fix pancakes for us. She had no syrup, but gave us local honey to heat and  put on them with butter. Those home ground wheat pancakes were fantastic.

   The Saturday morning tradition continues...

   After bumming around the ranch Saturday Morning, we decided to explore Gothenburg, and did so, stopping for lunch at the local place to meet and eat. It was a good day including talking to several folks in own who made us feel right at home. Also paid a visit to the store to get snacks for supper and cereal for breakfast.

   When John and ML came home from Market, they invited us to eat again, but we begged off, having eating a lot for lunch.

   "How about, after supper, we show you the ranch operation?"

   We did, riding all over in the pickup, watching the 3 dogs work the cows and getting an agronomy lesson as well on the grass fed beef operation.

   To finish off our day we walked to the end of the driveway, out to Road 411, watched the sunset in the west and the moon come up in the east. The end of a perfect day, in a place we had really questioned when we drove in on Friday.

               The aforementioned 5 Star Brown Wheat Pancake Mix.

   As we got ready to leave Sunday morning for Wyoming, two things happened. Mary Lou brought down another jar of the pancake mix for us to take on with us, and also asked if she might pray for us. Carolyn said yes indeed and we stood in a close circle in the drive and our hostess prayed for our trip and for our families back home.

   Our time at that ranch was a blessing to us, but what made it special was the warm hospitality that our hosts gave us. Those are memories we store away and won't forget.

   That, and the requisite "outstanding in her field" shot of a lady in amongst the corn stalks.




 

 

An Unplanned Adventure

 

   Our main objective for the day, a Monday, was to get to Evansville, IN, so we could make it home the next day. A secondary consideration was to detour over to Springfield, IL, the Capital of the state of Illinois, and check off the capitol building on our list of state capitals visited. Carolyn and I had already been to Jefferson City, MO, Cheyenne, WY and Pierre, SD on this adventure trip, and Springfield would give us 4 for the record.

   Driving into the city, following the directions on the phone app (more about that one day soon), we spotted the capitol of the state of Illinois from several blocks away. The distinctive dome shouted "important building" from afar.

   As we prepared to turn right toward the state seat of government, WAZE instructed us "in 1/4 of a mile, turn right on _____Street". We could see it, there was a street heading right toward it, but, like any unsuspecting tourist, we followed the phone app and proceeded to the indicated turn. Spotting an underground public parking area, we scooted down the ramp and into the garage.

   As we exited the car, the first of several helpful citizens asked if we knew where to go. He indicated  an elevator and told us it would take us up to street level where the capitol building was located. Thanking this kind man, we rode up and, when the door slid open, there it was right in front of us.

   We had arrived at the "old capitol building", built in 1837-1840, serving as the seat of state government from 1840-1876, and the site of Lincoln's time in state government and run for the Presidency in 1860.

   Carolyn and I did not know there was "an old capitol building", but were glad to visit the historic spot.

   Besides, the new capitol that we had spotted, was not in sight.

   After taking a couple of shots, we ascended the steps and entered the quiet old structure. Looking around the first floor lobby area, we heard a voice from the bench on the right. A distinguished looking man, working a crossword puzzle, asked us if we needed help. He mentioned that a tour party had just left that area and could be found in the next room on the left. We could hear voices from that direction and so wandered in and attached ourselves to the back of the group.

   The guide, obviously a man familiar with Lincoln and his association with this building, was speaking to about 15 folks and moving from room to room on the first and second floors.

   Now, we had not planned on staying long, in fact our reason for opening the front door at all was to see if there were public restrooms in the building after being in the car for 4 hours.

   But we continued with the tour, which was very good, and found the "facilities" at the end of the guide's presentation.

   But now it was time for lunch. As we turned to leave the building, a familiar voice again spoke to us from the bench. "Thinking about a place to eat lunch around here?", the puzzle man asked.

   An affirmative answer brought him up from his spot, and as he indicated the front door, we all went in that direction. Standing on the front steps, he gestured to the area around the capitol.

   "I know there are several spots around the square", he said, "but I would take the Feed Store straight in front of you, or Long Nines Junction over to your right side. Long Nines may look like a bar, but the food is very good, and the place is not really a bar at all."

   The food was excellent, and there was no bar, just a bunch of people enjoying a lunch break.

   I know none of my readers asked, but this does not cost any extra.

   The Long Nines Junction took its name from the group of 9 legislators who lobbied for the state capital to be moved to Springfield. They were all over 6 feet tall, hence the "Long" Nines, and one of those 9 was Mr. Lincoln himself.

   So, we started out toward one particular building, found another that was much more interesting, had a friend in the garage point us toward it, were directed to a tour that was already in progress, had a very informative tour, found the restrooms, again was directed to a good eatery, had a great meal, got a history lesson in the bargain, and all of it unplanned.

   All we wanted was a picture for the record.

   And I managed to spot the working capitol building between the other buildings.

   Sometimes unplanned adventures are the best, and it pays to be flexible in your traveling schedule.

   They were, and we were.

   The incidents above seemed to characterize our trip West. Even though this happened near the end, looking back, it seemed just one more in a long list of wrong turns, helpful people, and what seemed to be "incidental encounters".

   But, just perhaps, the truth is that we did not know God's plan for our day.

   And His Plans are always the best for us in the long run.

 

 

 

 

One Thing for Sure Toto, We are Not in Kansas

   This is our 6th night, and we are in Wyoming just west of Cheyenne at an Airbnb, a 500 acre ranch at 6,000 feet in elevation.

   Sorry for the blackout the last few days, but there was no internet service at our place in Nebraska.

   So a quick catchup.

   We stayed 1 night in Waterville, Kansas at a B&B which was great.

   We spent two nights at an Airbnb 18 miles north of Gothenburg Nebraska where we had a great time (more later on that).

   We are resting from our drive to Wyoming but I will give you a couple of shots to let you know kinda what we have been doing.

   Baseball in Blue Rapids, Kansas

   Too many courthouses to show, but an example in Kansas (Republic Co.)

   Bunkhouse in Gothenburg, NE

 
   Evening in Gothenburg, NE

   Capitol in Cheyenne, WY

   Granite Canyon Airbnb where we are sitting right now.

   Stories go with all the above and more, but they will have to wait.

   Enjoy.

 

Independence, Marysville, and beyond

   Day 3 (has it only been 3 days on the road? Seems like a lot more) follows us as we finish up this morning in Independence, travel north and cross the Missouri again (I think this makes 4 times so far), stop in several towns along the way to Marysville and then on down to our B&B in Waterville.

   First an aside from St. Louis, the one place Carolyn wanted to visit was the Arch, and I wanted to see it also, but thought it might just be a tourist trap. It was everything Carolyn wanted, and I enjoyed it immensely. The views and the way the whole park was situated made it an enjoyable time, and I'm glad my wife insisted on going there.

   Today we finished up in Independence.

   Taking in the Truman Courthouse and Independence Square. We bombed out on the Truman Library as it was under renovation and will not reopen till 2020.

   Then the National Frontier Trails Museum.

   Then the car was our resting spot as we travelled up to St. Joseph and then west on US 36.

   Several County Seats were calling to us as we drove along, so we stopped..

   In Hiawatha, Kansas for the Brown County seat of government

   In Seneca where unfortunately the old courthouse from the mid 1800s had been destroyed by a tornado in the 1970s.

   In Marysville where we received a double blessing:

   A great older courthouse from 1891, which now houses the Marshall County Museum. This was full of Oregon Trail artifacts and records. The picture shows how they had to get the wagons across a river (in this case the Big Blue). They unhitched the team, caulked up the wagon and then floated it across by means of a line attached on each shore. The cattle or oxen or mules swam. If the river was low enough they forded it, but as they had to leave in the late spring so as to get across the mountains before winter, a lot of the time it was too high to ford.

   Then on to our overnight spot in Waterville at the B&B. A 100 year old house which we had all to ourselves.

   Goodnight Day 3...You were good.

Arch-Capitol-Truman

Day 2 of Don and Carolyn's Great Adventure

   Spent the first night in motel a short 5 minute walk from the Arch.

   After a free breakfast, we partially loaded our car for the trip out of the city, then walked to the Arch for our previously purchased tram ride to the top.

   This was a pretty cool operation: A tram ran to the top every 10 minutes from the museum level of the main building. The capacity of one tram was 40 persons (8 tram cars each seating 5 persons).

   Carolyn and I had a car all to ourselves. Several other cars carried less than 5 on this run.

   A 4 minute ride to the top, "as long as you wanted to" time at the observation windows there, then a 3 minute ride back down, where they loaded up again and rose back up, all of this from 9:10 in the morning till 4:30 in the afternoon.

   We had a great view back toward St. Louis with the Old Courthouse right in front as we faced west, and the Mississippi River and country to the east in our sights.

   As we stood in the top of the Arch, someone called the group's attention to an event that had just happened. A proposal had been made by a young man to his intended, and she had said "Yes". Much laughter and congratulations followed and everyone, including the prospective bride, I'm sure will remember that unique day..(Young man in blue shirt and girl with long brown hair, both smiling)

   Coming back to earth, we walked up to the Old Courthouse. A quick history: Original built in 1828,  another newer courthouse was built in 1850 but used the eastern wing of the 1828 one, then later the eastern portion was replaced by a new part and the present day building served until 1930. It is run by the National Park Service along with the Arch Gateway grounds.

   The famous Supreme Court case in the 1850s began its legal journey here in this spot, known to us as the Dred Scott case. A sculpture of Dred and Harriett Scott stands in front.

   We had to check out of the hotel by noon and retrieve our car for Wednesday's road portion of our adventure.

   Our next stop, Jefferson City, to see the capitol of Missouri, which was unfortunately being renovated as you can tell. Earlier pictures of this magnificent structure show it in a better light, but when out on the road, you take what you can get.

   On to Independence, where we will visit with President Harry Truman, and chart the beginnings of the Oregon Trail tomorrow.

   Stay tuned.

Seniors Scoot Safely

   Up at 6:30 and out the door by 8:20, over to I-24 and heading north and west.

   Lunch in Kentucky at a picnic table (build by inmates at a KY prison) in a rest area near the TN and KY line.

   Got to St. Louis around 4PM and walked down from the motel to the Arch area. Beautiful Day but hot.

   Arch is impressive and the whole park around it opens up in all directions so that pics are easy to see and shoot.

   Looking back to the west away from the Arch is the Old Courthouse, another impressive building.

   After a long day in the car, It was good to stretch our legs a bit, only a 5 minute walk, and we plan to go back in the morning and ride to the top. Might even take a picture or two. Or even take my better lens and camera.

   Bedtime for old people

   An aside: 1-24 may be the only interstate highway route that we have ridden from end to end. Beginning at the split by Eastgate and ending in Illinois at the junction of I-24 and I-57.

Heads Up.....Adventure Ahead

   This is an official notification that the Carolyn-Don Senior Adventure is set to begin sometime soon.

   Now most of you may know that since we were married on 1/19/19, we have been on an extended honeymoon Adventure, sharing our lives together.

   We have spent time at our kids, all of them, and over the last couple of weeks we leased our condo in St. Simons and cleaned it out, bringing all the stuff to Chattanooga.

   Now that we have at least two of everything in our house, we are planning a driving adventure into the West.

   Chattanooga to Wyoming and then return through South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

   Around 2 1/2 weeks we figure. Plenty of time to talk, listen to good music, and see new scenery.

   Perhaps even take a few pictures, preferably in small towns or rural areas.

   Scenery and Courthouses, a good combination.