kelleygirl

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: 2009 GREAT WESTERN ADVENTURE WEEK NINE: NORTHBROOK, IL TO SARASOTA, FL : THE LAST LEG Tuesday, July 21 There were fond farewells to Ellie and Lou as we took off mid morning for the table top flat land around the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. I had a delightful reunion when Dena, Mandy’s nursery school teacher, met us near I-74 to give us a tour of the campus. The Illini Union was as beautiful as ever but I stopped at the university building most memorable to me, the Krannert Center for Performing Arts where, under the direction of Dr. Harold Decker I had joined the University of Illinois Oratorio Society in singing Daphnis and Chloe, The Creation and Beethoven’s 9th among many other wonderful pieces. Champaign-Urbana is the home of John Phillip Sousa ... read more

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: 2009 GREAT WESTERN ADVENTURE WEEK SEVEN: CUSTER , SD TO BARABOO , WI Tuesday, July 07 Custer is a cute Western town on the edge of Custer State Park. After checking out of President Harrison’s Cabin we drove into Custer to a little bistro for an egg burrito (I also had a great chai) before heading out to the park. We then drove along the edge of the park for some time before seeing anything. Suddenly as we rounded a bend a herd of buffalo were on the crest of a hill munching on yellow sweet clover. It was a beautiful site!  The smell of the buffalo announces their presence long before you see them and if you are lucky to get close enough you can hear them snorting and chewing the ... read more

WEEK FIVE: HELENA , MT, GLACIER NP, CHOTEAU , MT Tuesday, June 23 We have been on the road now for four weeks and it has been too rainy, cold and buggy to drag out our tent and camping gear. But no matter, our next destination is Jen’s house in Choteau. Before descending on Jen we took the Gates of the Mountains boat excursion from Holter Dam up the Missouri River and into the towering white Madison limestone canyon to retrace a small piece of the journey of Lewis and Clark. The boat stopped near Meriwether’s chosen campsite on one of the only areas on the river that wasn’t solid rock.  Sweet scented wild roses filled the air along with raucous cawing from many loud ravens at the water’s edge. This combined with the heady scent ... read more

WEEK THREE: WALSENBURG , CO TO TELLURIDE, CO Tuesday, June 9 The drive to Le Veta brought us through the wide open spaces of the Front Range giving us a dramatic view of the snow covered Spanish Peaks and the Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness Area. To the north and west were the Sangre de Cristo Mountains . The snow still clung to these mountain peaks surrounding this lovely valley giving us a wonderful taste of what’s to come.   We followed the precise directions up to Valley Winds, Marta and Dave’s llama ranch in the mountains outside the charming little town of Le Veta . As we approached the ranch we saw amazing “dikes”, natural volcanic outcroppings rising from the mountains’ edge looking from a distance like an enormous rock wall snaking its way down the mountain. ... read more

KELLEY AND DAVE’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE The Big Trip West…Notes From the road: WEEK EIGHT. Thursday, July 10. All was quiet on the Eastern front until the plumbers started drilling and banging on the pipes at 7am installing the Fire Department Connections. But the sun was shining and a cool breeze made it a very pleasant morning. Dave and I had our breakfast then joined the kids at the town Bakery Shoppe for a morning treat. I had a ginger and apricot scone while Dave had a chocolate glazed donut. We needed to walk off those calories so Dave and I walked the route of the house tour I had taken yesterday which gave him the opportunity to see another side of Rehoboth. By 11am it was too hot for town so we packed up and headed ... read more