Three weekends!

 Recently we were able to see our Arkansas kids 3 weekends in a row!!  It is a 5 1/2 hour drive to their home, so this is quite unusual.  Well, it has never happened before.  

The first weekend we drove out there, it was because our granddaughter was in a school play and of course we wanted to see that!

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On the way to Arkansas, we were driving by a cemetary and I had to have a double look.

I have never seen people hand dig a grave before.  Usually there is some sort big backhoe that digs them.

When we got to our son's home, Eli showed me some deer in their back yard.

Josh showed us a zoom-type alumni worship team he was a part of for John Brown University.

Pretty neat!  We unloaded our overnight bags at our "hotel" next door.  Because Staci's parents want to keep social distant, we entered through the back deck into the guest room.  

A nuthatch at Dan's feeder.  I don't have these in our back yard so am delighted to see them here!

I  brought some dahlia's from my backyard for them.  They were dinner plate size! 

Grammi helped Emeri get ready for the play since Staci was still at work.

After supper, we went to Emeri's school to see the musical she was in called "How to Eat Like a Child".

It was so fun! Emeri is in the green plaid skirt in this picture.

and in the yellow pjs here.  A mom made all the costumes! I'm impressed!

You can barely see the plastic shields covering their faces.

The songs were from our era so Al and I loved this!!

Emeri on the phone asking someone "Is your refrigerator running?.....You better go catch it!"  I had to laugh because I had pulled the exact same stunt on my algebra teacher in Japan, Mr. Inouye.

We were so proud of her!  

The next morning, Josh and Al prepared breakfast.

Eli was busy with his carving hobby.

After breakfast, Eli needed to sword fight with Papa.

It was time for us to head back to Kansas as Al had to work the next day.   We took pictures with the "star" of the show 

and with her brother too.

The following weekend, Josh's family went to Colorado so they stopped in to say hi and to grab a bite to eat.  They stretched their muscles because they had another 8 hour trip ahead of them!  It was good to see them for a little any way.

We would see them the following week when we would be driving back to Arkansas for Emeri and Elijah's birthdays!  To be continued....

A new way home from Colorado

 We said our byes to the kids and Bear.

Instead of going on I-70, we headed south on 25, then to 83 and onto 86 West.  Denver continues to grow and grow.   Denver is the 5th fastest growing city in the US among cities with more than 300,000 population.

Lots of sage brush.

We also saw deer and antelope.

When 86 got close to I-70, we took this dirt road.

It took us past a friend's home, but being it was Sunday morning, they wouldn't have been home.

Several years ago, our son asked Al if he should invest in Tesla.  Al didn't think it would be too wise.  Oh goodness.  Al usually is right on the money when it comes to investments, but not that time! You win some, you lose some, I guess. We saw this station set up in Limon, CO.  

At Limon, we took 71 south.  This was a new road for us!

We made a little pit stop!  Ha! 

We came to Punkin Center (love that name!), which is an unincorporated town, population about 4!  Evidently, a man named John Stevens built each new building in the 1920's a pumpkin color, inspiring the name.  In the 1950s  everything burned.  

We went east from there on 94 to 40/287.  These were all new roads for us.  This took us into Kit Carson, named after the frontiersman and a federal Indian agent in the 1850s who later served in the Union Army in the Civil War.

We saw the Sand Creek Massacre site on our atlas (yes, we still use a big paper map! Of course we use google maps too!)  We decided to go check it out!  We turned north on a dirt road off 96.

There was a ranger's station and a ranger came to speak to us.  There were about 3 other cars there, which surprised us with this being so out of the way, in the boonies.  

33 stars on the flag

 We walked to the place that overlooks the site, about 1/3rd mile walk.  Felt good to stretch our legs after being in the car so many miles.

Beware of rattle snakes!!

This is the saddest story.  Breaks my heart how these people, mostly the elderly, women and children, were killed!  Just awful how some people are so hateful!

As we continued on, we came upon Scott City where my friend, Debbie F. grew up.  Here is the high school she went to.

There is a certain aroma in western Kansas.

Near Beeler, Kansas, is a 160 acre site where George Washington Carver built a sod house, broke ground and planted crops and trees!

We drove through Sylvia and stopped to see this place.  My friend from California, Carolyn D., told me that her friend bought this church to renovate!  I visited this place later with friends.  That post here.

Taking these different roads did add some time, but it was so worth it!  We probably turned the 8 hour trip into 11.