Where is Jack, Day 153?

We thought a lot about this day. Nancy remembers exactly where she and Rich were when the planes hit the towers. She also remembers exactly what they said to one another.

We heard, today, that the nut in Florida did burn the Koran even after being told that he could be endangering the lives of our troops (Later to find out that Susan was incorrect). Had this been during WII, he would have been charged with treason, and hopefully shot by a firing squad. Why has this country gone so soft?

We did a lot of walking, today, all over the fort. Nancy also played ball with me. Rails to trails runs through here. At least that’s what Nancy thinks though we saw no signs.

The old cottonwood trees are beautiful. We know they are old by the size of their trunks.

The park is very historical. Nancy new Geronimo was killed here, but didn’t realize that Crazy Horse was, as well. She had always thought that he was a symbolic character that represented all Indians. We walked a long time reading the signs that are all over the park. Nancy got sunburned while she was reading her book, and I think from walking in the sun, too. 

Tomorrow, we’ll be on our way. We’ll be sad to say goodbye to Miss Judy, Tucker, and Tillie, but it’s time. Miss Judy says they are all coming east-maybe in March, and Miss Judy is anxious to meet the WACs. We’ll arrange something.

We'll finish loading pictures when we get wifi. This Verizon is so slow that Nancy gets impatient.

Where is Jack, Day 152?

Another restful day. The weather was a little cooler, so it was nice just to enjoy the campground. Nancy took me in the truck so I could wait outside while she showered, and then we walked around. Nancy was very tired all day, and tried to take a nap, but couldn’t go to sleep. Instead, she watched a movie called “Paying it forward”. I took the nap.

Miss Judy, Tilly, and Tucker, are great company. Miss Judy put together her propane campfire, tonight, and we sat out for a while after dark, but it was getting cold, so we all went to bed.

We went into town to the same restaurant, again, and Nancy said she ate too much. She hates when she does that. When we were walking, she said,  “We’re going to get back into our routine on the way back, kiddo. I think we’ve both put on a few pounds." Nancy hates that because she felt in such good shape. She was eating small portions, no sweets, and we were really doing a lot of walking. Once Susie, Michael, and the girls came, though, it was back to restaurants for her, and that’s not good. Then, after that was the Tillamook ice cream, which really did her in.

The little town of Crawford, while seemingly full of friendly happy people, is a sad little town. She and Miss Judy were talking about it. Some small towns have fallen to the wayside because of “Big Box Stores”. Others, because people are so much more mobile that they can go a distance to have the shopping variety that is missing in the small towns.

Farming is a hard life. We were talking to a man last night who raises sunflowers. It’s actually a dangerous job. Did you know that? They don't grow as many as they used to because of little moths that come. If they come when the sunflowers have already turned their heads down, they can't be sprayed and they turn into mush, he said. A farmer can actually drown because the flax is so slippery, it turns into sludge and a tractor can be swallowed up. It’s also very inflammable and fields and tractors are always at risk.

We aren’t sure whether we’re leaving, tomorrow, or not. I like it here because there is so much space and Nancy can throw the ball to me. She’s vowed not to drink any more of Miss Judy’s coffee--it is SO delicious, she said. Miss Judy seems to know about so many things. Do you know that her Dad was a welder and she said they moved nine, and maybe sometimes ten times a year? That’s probably why she’s so friendly and knows so much.

It’s supposed to get cold, tonight, and be a nice day, tomorrow. We’ll see what comes. Sorry, no pictures, today.

Where is Jack, Day 151

Well, we thought today was going to be very exciting. However, it was too HOT to do too much. Nancy went over and had three cups of Judy's delicious coffee. As much as she enjoys it, it makes her feel kind of jittery afterward so she asked Judy to tell her she couldn't have any more if she has a weak moment and wants more, tomorrow.

Nancy took the big box fan out, today, to keep any bugs that might be around, away (don't think there were too many, anyway). Judy came over and the ladies sat and gabbed while I slept most of the day except for a few walks here and there. It's a very quiet park with several camping areas. Because the facilities for horses are already here, the state has made the park available to people who wish to bring their own horses to ride. They have stables and places to park horse trailers. There's a large group here, now. Last night we saw them coming away from some sort of ride. The new "cowboy getup" is to tuck jeans in their boots with a modified version of the cowboy hat--it's kind of flat. The park has quite a history . I was mistaken when I said they had POW camps for the Japanese, they were for the Germans-I never knew that we had German POWs here in the U.S.

The heat just wipes Nancy and me out. We're just not used to it. While we were sitting outside about 20 wild turkeys came walking by. They weren't much interested in us. After a day of sittin' aroun' doin' nuttin', Nancy, Miss Judy, and I went into the town of Crawford. There isn't much going on. The restaurant Miss Judy remembered had been closed. We found another one and learned that the owner of this one was actually in the midst of purchasing the restaurant that was closed. They were due to close, yesterday, but the original owner died on Sunday so everything is on hold.

On the way home we took a short scenic loop, and found the local herd of bison. The bulls are very active collecting their harems at this time of year. One very big bull was trying to play with a cow, but she ran away. Nancy said she probably had a headache and didn't want to play. Nancy was so engrossed in the activity, she forgot to take pictures. Hopefully, we'll see them, again. She did take a few pictures, today.

This is Miss Judy's motorhome. Her refrigerator is not working (it started to work after we filled it with ice and she leveled the it). Fortunately, she bought a full warranty when she bought it, but it is an inconvenience. We had plenty of room in our fridge so we just put her stuff in ours. Ms. Judy is planning to drive down to Texas for the winter because it gets so cold in Casper. She said they don't get a lot of snow, but the wind is really bad. The Platte River literally runs right through her back yard and it's pretty fast moving and still freezes solid in the winter. We got a little taste of the wind, late, today.

We are parked right across from Miss Judy. It's three a.m. Nancy and I couldn't sleep. We're listening to the owls and coyotes. It's nice sleeping with the windows open. Nancy said she's going to look into storm windows and screens when she gets home. (pipe dreaming, again) This picture was taken pretty early. As the day went on, we had to move around to the back of the trailer to get away from the sun.

Where is Jack, Day 150

We woke up early this morning. It was a beautiful day for walking. Cool and breezy, well, windy, really. Nancy read, did some things on her computer, and then she hitched up, checked the lights, and the right tail light was out. She had to take the caulking off from the last time, and fortunately she carries extra bulbs. Judy pulled up just as she was changing the light. It only took a few minutes. They re-caulked it and Nancy put some duct tape on just to make sure it stayed. We took off about 1:30.

We had a very pleasant ride. Judy thought it was only about an hours drive, but it was 2-1/2 hours. Hilly, not mountainous, with buttes here and there and grasslands. We stopped to eat in Lusk about an hour away from the park. Judy is a very interesting person. She knows a lot on a lot of subjects. She knows a lot about western history. 

We passed a train that had what seemed like 50 cars brimming with coal.

Once we set up, we sat outside until well after dark. The park is beautiful. We signed up until Saturday, and maybe will stay until Sunday. We only have electric so we filled our fresh water tanks on the way into the campground.

Nancy snapped a couple of pictures, but she's charging the batteries because we think tomorrow will be a big photo day. There’s so much to do right in the park. We also found out there’s a place in Crawford, the nearest town, that has rare animals; one being the famous fainting goats (You can see them on you tube.)

I don’t believe Nancy and Rich camped in Nebraska. They may have driven through, but it seems like a very pleasant state. Judy says it gets better the further east you go.

Nancy is using her Verizon Broad band and it’s slow as molasses. So, she said she'll see if she can’t just post few pictures and get off.  We'll find  a place, tomorrow, to upload what we see during the day. There are two bars on the phone so Nancy doesn't know what the problem is. What a waste of money unless you’re in a city where you can get Internet connection almost anywhere.

As it was, we couldn't get Verizon to work for the blog so we waited until this morning. Nancy and I were up before 6 a.m. It works outside the camper so Nancy can at least check email and type the blog.

We left our shades up, and woke up to a nice breeze and beautiful yellow flowers. Judy is still asleep, but she's going to make coffee.

This is where we signed in to camp. We're getting a lot for our $17.00. The lady who signed us in couldn't have been more cordial or pleasant. Nancy saw a hoody and bought it. She'll be decked out for winter that's for sure.  I don't think she can wear REI to Lauren's wedding, though, so she's going to have to break the dry spell and go to the mall.

This is the first building we saw. It's right across the street from the office where we signed in. We have no idea what it is, but it will be fun exploring. 

The road to the campground.

This was another house on the way to the campground. Except that it's not near the ocean, it reminds me of Jekyll Island, here. The weather was beautiful on our walk earlier this morning. The air is so fresh and clean.

There is a POW camp, here. We wondered as we passed this building whether it was part of the camp or whether it was a jail when when this was a fort. We're inclined to think the latter because Nancy doesn't think they had bars on the windows of the Japanese POWs.

And this last picture is a quick one Nancy snapped of just one part of the campground. Campsites are huge.

We're looking forward to an exciting day. 

Where is Jack, Day 148?

Today was a work day. Nancy got a lot accomplished, including laundry. She HATES laundry on the road. Tomorrow, she has to go to the RV store to see if they can tell her how to put the antenna handle up so that it will stay. Michael couldn't do it and Nancy can't look up long enough to do it because of her neck. She also wants to look for that waterless RV cleaner so she can work on the outside of the trailer. It's a good thing she did it in Arkansas, but it really needs it, again, and a coat of wax. She cleaned all the cabinets out, today, washed the cabinets and countertops, and rearranged clothing. She put new sheets on our beds and took me for several walks, but she wants me to stay quiet because my stomach was upset, yesterday. She just worries herself to death about me.

The news for the day is that Miss Judy called and asked Nancy if she'd like to go camping at Fort Robinson State Park in Nebraska for a few days. She needs to do a shake down trip with her new to her Class C, and thought it would be fun if we all camped, together. Ms. Judy says it's a really nice park. We are looking forward to our adventure. Nancy is very happy to get to spend some time with her friend. She's a good judge of character, I must say. Well, just look at all her WAC friends and her other friends-that will tell you everything you need to know.

I keep forgetting to tell you. There are grasshoppers everywhere, here. We first noticed them in a rest stop coming down to Casper. They are ALL OVER the place. They don't bother us, but they make a kind of clicking noise. Then, there's one kind that's brown, looks just like a grasshopper until it flies, then it looks like a beautiful butterfly.

After that, Nancy and I won't be too far from Centennial, WY. That's the very first place that she and Rich stood in awe of the vast space in the west. It was a tiny little place back in 1999. The library was probably no bigger than this trailer. There was a little restaurant with a very friendly man who made  them a sandwich, and they talked for a long time.

Nancy and Miss Judy will have dinner together tomorrow night to plan. Miss Judy can't leave until Wednesday afternoon. Nancy spoke to the manager of this campground and she said it's fine if Nancy stays a few hours after the check out time--she said she wouldn't charge her even though Nancy offered to pay.

Susan called, today. She's excited about getting her kitchen done. She refinanced her house which was a smart move on her part. She's going over to see Amanda's new townhouse, today. John called. Lisa was very surprised with her party. They really got her good, I guess.

Well, nothing more to say except that it cooled off here. Nancy is happy. It's very windy, though. Last night reminded me of Amarillo. Nancy got to laughing about her friend, Deb, when the "sort of tornado" came through the campground. She thought she was going to land in Kansas!

The latest plan, now, is after Centennial we'll head down to Colorado to try to catch some of the leaves changing color. Then, we'll take the back roads down through New Mexico to I40 or I20 (haven't decided, yet), and then dead head it across to home. It will feel so strange stepping in our big house. Nancy will be happy to have her shower right upstairs and the laundry right in the house.

When John called, today, they were talking about how it would be wise just to keep the truck. Nancy keeps it in very good shape, mechanically, and she really hopes he and Lisa will do some traveling. It's hard to imagine when you tow it the first couple of times that after a while, it's like second nature--even in wind. Nancy says she forgets it's back there.