On the last day of April I left with Ruth Anne and Shelly to take Shelly back to her field in western Nebraska.
Our first stop was in Rockford Illinois for lunch at Karen P. There were 12 of us around the table...all women who Shelly knew from when she was in that part. We had tomato basil soup (home made) and then a salad bar that was provided by all but us. Our dessert was teramusui.
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| Dubuque Iowa |
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Crossing the Mississippi at Dubuque Iowa
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We then continued our trip on Highway 20 unto Iowa. We spent
the night with Ruth Anne's sister in Iowa not too far from Fort Dodge. Her husband has had strokes so he is not well and has to be in a wheelchair. Shelly and I slept upstairs.....when Shelly got up in the morning to shower she pulled the shower curtain back and there was a dead BAT in the tub!!! So no shower for Shelly..instead she had to take care of the bat.
We left after breakfast to head west.
This is just a few miles from where I grew up.
From cloudy skies in Iowa to blue skies in Nebraska.
We took highway 20 across Nebraska to Valentine where we spent two nights with Ken and Darla. It was nice to spend some time with them. On out first day there we did some sightseeing around the town and also Shelly arranged for some of the ladies around there to have lunch together...was nice to meet so many.
The view from Kenny's is pretty and we enjoyed watching the birds on the feeder he has hanging over the canyon.
Some other sites are the river and railroad bridges used for walking trails.
Niobrara River
We got the chance to stop at the cemetery to see Lance's stone. His great- grandmother is buried close there so I took a picture of it too.
When we left Valentine we went to Mission South Dakota to visit Darla's uncle and aunt Con and Becky Smith. They had company and it was nice to met them too.
Con and Becky
Heidi, Ruth, Ruth Anne, Beth Arlene, Shelly
Ruth, Ruth Anne, Shelly
We went by where Alice P. lived when she taught school out here.
Horse and cattle out in the ranch country.
Leaving South Dakota and back to Nebraska
Snow fences that you see along the roads to keep snow away from the road in the ever blowing wind on the prairie.
One of the site seeing sights before we got to Alliance Nebraska.
Our next stop was in Alliance to meet up with Virginia..we spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Ben and Fern Weeda. It was nice to see Fern..she was from Iowa and so was Ben. We were at their house for meeting and then there was a pot luck at Trent and Sandra Nelson's. We met a lot of people...some of heard of when I lived in Scottbluffs. In the afternoon I went with Fern to Sidney NE for her grandchildren's piano recital. We had a nice visit there and back...catch up on out families and old times.
Fern and I
Ruth and Ruth Anne
Ruth Anne and Shelly
The bedroom that I stayed in is where Fern's Dad was his last days when she was taking care of him...he was over 100 years old. I remember him when I was young and some of his family who lived northwest Iowa.
Some pictures she had on the dresser for him.
Andrew and Mildred Lyzen
This is Andy's family.
This is the fence in front of Weeda's house and the picture below is a wall in their dining room, and they also have a garden shed in the back yard which are all from a farm in Missouri. This was where her Dad lived after he remarried.
