Pre Wedding Activities

June 9-11, Sunday-Tuesday 2019 Days 21-23

Sunday

My sleep cycle, as usual when I go to Europe is not adjusted yet. The grandson slept late. We ate a nice breakfast with the daughter and granddaughters and after he woke up walked out with the grandson and granddaughters to take an extended look at the cows.

We then went over to the residence complex in Nazelles-Negron where the immediate family members of the wedding couple will be, or are staying. It was not completely booked by the wedding people until Wednesday and people will be checking in intermittently until then. A very nice place with several courtyards, nicely landscaped and a view of the Loire Valley.

My son whose grandson we ferried over arrived and we met him, along with our youngest daughter whom he transported down from Paris at the complex. I also met for the first time my new daughter-in-laws family, her mother sister and family and her brother.


Our oldest daughter and her husband graciously opened their home and those who had arrived had dinner there. A nice meal with a lot of mingling and getting to know people. A very good place to have a large gathering buffet meal.

On Monday I picked up our youngest son at the local train station who had flown in from Buenos Aries for the wedding celebration. I then gathered up two of the granddaughters, a son and daughter and the oldest grandson for a trip to Blois to visit the Magic Museum. I had last been there in 2015 and enjoyed it. I thought that the kids would enjoy it too. The trip along the river was a pleasant 30 minute drive and I was surprised not only that I did not get lost, but at how well I recalled Blois and getting to the museum. We had some difficulty finding a parking space until I remembered that it was a religious holiday and there was no need for a parking permit. It was ultimately a very short walk to the museum.

The museum is on a large courtyard that also hosts the Palace/Museum. One of the highlights of the Magic Museum is the dragons that emerge from the front wall.

The Museum had lots of magic exhibits and a history of magic. The best was a live 30 minute magic show in a large theatre and then an in person card show. We got lunch in a café in the courtyard and then walked around the downtown including walking up the Mona Lisa stairs.

Blois

Blois

On the drive back all the passengers fell asleep. I felt like doing the same since I was tired and getting a cold. We again had a large dinner, larger as more people were arriving, at our daughter's house. It was beginning to rain. During the dinner we had a surprise birthday party for our youngest daughter who was turning 25. She was a bit sad because she was away from her friends, but she greatly appreciated the party.  
Tuesday
The cold is descending on me. Too little sleep. It was also overcast and intermittently raining. Clean-up brigade from the prior night's dinner and party. The spouse and son-in-law went shopping for the Wednesday night dinner when there would be four dozen people. That is a big deal in a small French town since they go to multiple stores to get specific foods, eg, the special store for duck. We hung out at the daughter's farmhouse with the younger daughter. The we went over to the residence complex and hung out with more people. Finally we went into Amboise for dinner at Chez Bruno, a restaurant owned by our oldest daughter's employer. He is a mini conglomerate with not only the restaurant, but a wine store, vineyard and winery. A very nice dinner with lots of the proprietor's wine, but it is harder to mingle in a restaurant as we were able to do during the prior two night's dinners. Last night staying at the daughter's place.

The Airline and car trip to Amboise France

June 7 and 8, 2019 Friday and Saturday Days 19-20

The big day. The grandson had been told that he was flying to France with us and not his parents, but I do not think it registered. After we got to the airport and parked the car he clung to his dad, but as his dad left he seemed to accept that he was going with us and he calmed down.

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 7:20 pm. We checked the stroller because we were given bags by the daughter-in-law with clothes, food, toys and games for the grandson. A full service pop up baby store, but as a result the grandson had to walk through the airport. However he moved well, albeit slowly. There was a playground near our gate and that amused him for a while. When we boarded we discovered that one of our seats was not with the other two. No one around us was willing to change seats and the flight attendants were not willing to assist with a seat exchange. We were finally able to get two passengers in the rear to change seats so we could all be together.

The grandson was a pretty good passenger. He watched videos, listened to music, ate (the airline provided free food only to children) both the food we brought on and airline food, and watched a movie on the seat back. We watched Bambi three times. However even though his bedtime is typically 8 pm and we flew for about 6 hours, he largely did not sleep until the end of the flight.

We landed in Reykjavik shortly after 6:00 am local time to change planes. As we were descending I was struck by the absence of trees. There was no jet finger, but as we descended from the airplane onto the tarmac and then into the terminal the grandson kept going. Moving slowly, but no whinning or complaining. Our layover was less than 2 hours so we quickly purchased some food and found a playground in the airport for the grandson. Due to the grounding of the airline's Boeing MAX 737 we were put on a flight operated by EUROAir for the flight to Paris. Each airline had their own flight crews in the cabin. Again for was served on the plane to the grandson, but not to us. He kept eating and did not sleep much. More Bambi, he seemed to enjoy that movie.

As we were in the descent to Paris airport the grandson had a big sneeze, a lot of snot came out of his nose and he ate it before we could wipe it off. He then got a weird look on his face and then suffered projectile vomiting.  He then seemed fine. Hard to clean up since we could not get out of out seats and landed. He asked my spouse if she was OK. We cleaned him up and changed his clothes in an airport bathroom. The incident did not seem to negatively affect him.

We landed in Paris after a 3 hour flight, By now the grandson was moving on fumes. By the time we got off the plane, walked through the terminal and picked up all our luggage it took over an hour, in part because the grandson was moving at a glacial pace. Then it took us several tries to get a car seat for the grandson that fit him and that we could secure into the car. So it  took us a few hours to get out of the airport and then 3 hours to drive to our daughter's farmhouse outside Amboise. As usual in France the tolls on the interstate are very high. The grandson promptly went to sleep in the car the minute we started driving.  

We arrived in the early evening and the grandson was swept up by the three granddaughters. He quickly integrated himself and engaged well with the group. We took a small walk and the grandson saw the cows and picked a flower for his mom. We were provided with a very nice dinner and quickly went to sleep in the bungalow for a much needed sleep.

Pre Trip Activities

June 4-7, 2019  Tuesday through Friday Days 16-19

This part of the trip reflected the foundation for our journey. Our oldest son was having a week long celebration of his wedding that took place the prior year. In deference to their friends around the world, the celebration was going to take place in France. Our second son and his wife, with two very young boys were understandably wary about taking their two youngsters on two trans Atlantic flights, so we volunteered to take one of the on the planes. Hence we wanted to spent some time with and reacquaint ourselves with the two and a half year old grandson before the long airplane trip to France.

All went well and by the end of the week we were able to embark on the airplane trip with minimum fuss. But leading up to that there were many activities, but one enduring theme, construction equipment. The small, residential street outside my son's house was being torn up to install new gas lines. Hence it was being swarmed by small construction vehicles: front loader, bulldozer, dump truck, grader and back hoe. Most days after his parents left we started the day with our grandson  watching the equipment operate either by watching from the front stoop or walking down the block to observe whatever was operating. In the late afternoon on several occasions when the employees had left we climbed onto the parked equipment. Endless fascination with the equipment which replicated the behavior of his dad and uncles when they were young children.

Driving

Tuesday
By mid morning I pulled the grandson away from construction viewing and we walked down to Lake Nokomis Triangle Park, a .4 mile journey that proceeded very slowly. We have been to this park with the grandson several times during prior trips and it has been interesting watching him get bigger and moving up on the hierarchy of playground equipment. His first stop was a back hoe that he could not operate the last time we visited. Then he did a tour of the swings, climbing equipment and slides. He also liked the zip line but could not hold on by himself. he weather was nice, but there were not many people there. Virtually all of the adults there seemed to be moms, few dads or nannies. We forgot to bring any snacks, so after about two hours we had to leave. The grandson was pretty tired so we had to wheel him back. Lunch and then a nap that was way later than his normal schedule and took a long time to go down.

Working

Spouse took her ring, purchased in India, into the repair shop to insure that the stone, which had popped out in Cheyenne remained in the setting.

In the late afternoon we went on the equipment that was parked on the street. Dinner with the parents (son and wife) and then an early evening.

Wednesday

Following the construction equipment viewing habit, we left in mid morning for the Lake Harriet neighborhood to visit the Wild Rumpus bookstore, in part to get some relief from the heat but also because the store was strongly recommended. It was in a small neighborhood commercial zone and lived up to expectations. It had a large collection of children's books, as well as those for adults, but also had a large fish tank, other animals and a very creatively decorated bathroom. We purchased a book for the grandson for the trip and after about 2 hours we walked a short distance to the Great Harvest Bread Company for lunch. This is a chain, it has outlets in SLC and we also saw some in Wyoming, but it is very good. Fresh delicious bread samples and good sandwiches. The grandson is a good eater and he consumed a full grilled cheese sandwich and drink. Then we walked back across the street to Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream Shop. Very good, but expensive ice cream that we ate out on the covered patio. It had a turtle themed playground. We then drove home and frantically tried to keep the grandson awake so he would take a nap at home. Only partially successful.

Post ice cream turtle ride

After the nap in the late afternoon we went with the grandson, his mom and the younger grandson to McRea Park and recreation center for some time in the wading pool.

In the early evening we went on the equipment that was parked on the street. Dinner with the parents (son and wife), her mother and other daughter and then an early evening.

Thursday

Another morning construction equipment day, but this time we had to walk a bit since most of the equipment had moved down the block. About 9:30 we drove to Lake Nokomis beach. It is only a mile and a half away but I still got lost going there. The grandson went in the water and I took a swim. Nice temperature and uncrowded beach. We left after 2 hours to avoid the mid day sun and had lunch at home. Followed by grandson's nap and wife's trip to retrieve her ring.

After dinner we took a walk through Minnehaha Creek Park and bumped into my son's mother-in-law who lives nearby. She gave us a tour of her new and newly remodeled house. When we got back home about 9:30 all were asleep.

Friday

Packing day. The grandson and we were leaving on a 7:20 flight to Paris on Icelandic Air via Reykjavik. We packed in the morning, repositioned the cars, took a walk in the park and left for the airport about 4. Our daughter-in-law packed two bags for us with all we could need: diapers, extra clothes, food, toys, videos and books. The grandson seemed to understand that he was going on the plane with his grandparents and that his parents would meet him the following day in France. However after we had checked in and checked our luggage and it was time to go through Security and leave his dad, he grabbed on to his dad's leg and cried for him to not leave. The dad left and he promptly recovered. We passed through security without incident and found a playground in the airport which helped to pass some of the time. We boarded and took off on time.

Ready to travel

Total Eclipse, August 2017

The Eclipse Trip August 20-22, 2017
Airplane vs. automobile? Time saver vs. flexibility. I opted for the former since I had just come off two long driving trips to the Pacific northwest.

A mid-morning Southwest flight to Salt Lake City via Oakland (Southwest had very few non-stops LAX to SLC. In prior winters, they had 7 or 8 a day.) Parked the car at the airport in Park One which I used to do regularly, but have not done in years. It now has a dozen electric charging stations, but they appear to all be in the valet parking area.) The flights were full and on-time. Even handed out peanuts and on the first flight they appeared to be handed out by a father and son volunteer team. They were not wearing airline uniforms.

A problem arose when I went to pick up my car from the off-airport, Fox Rent a Car, via Priceline. There were no cars. The Manager explained that about 25 renters had not returned their cars per their reservations. I wondered if some people decided at the last minute to stay for the eclipse, or more devious, always intending to view the eclipse, attempted to avoid the awesomely inflated car rental rates by stating that they intended to return the car before the eclipse. The manager promised to honor the reservation by renting from another company and absorbing the difference. So, we got back on the shuttle bus and headed back to the Budget counter at the airport. The clerk there claimed to have no record of our reservation, but said that she had a car available for $350. I could not reach the Fox people, nor anyone at Budget since none of their phone numbers get you to a live person. So back on the bus back to Fox. They checked and verified the reservation, but could also not reach Budget by phone. So, this time the Fox clerk (who was on temporary assignment form Las Vegas) came back with us to the airport. The Budget clerk claimed that she had not received the reservation and that reservations normally take 50 minutes to appear in the system (this had now taken more than 1.5hrs). The Fox clerk took us back to his office and gave us a big black Jeep SUV. I suspect that someone else did not get a car.

Because I delayed searching for them, and when I did late in the week all locations were sold out, we did not have the special glasses needed to view the partial eclipse (You could view the total eclipse without glasses without harming your eyes). Making one last chance we stopped at two 7-11s outside the car rental site. The first was sold out, but at the second we got the last two pairs of glasses, albeit at an exorbitant price. Dynamic pricing, but it made the experience much more enjoyable!
We drove up to Layton toward our reservation at the Comfort Inn. I feared that it too would be a problem, but there were no issues, other than John Oliver’s show came on at 9:15pm.
We got up at 5:30 the following morning to make sure that we got up to southern Idaho in time for the “Great American Eclipse”. By now radio, TV and the newspapers were filled with eclipse information. At least it drove Trump off the news, at least temporarily. Ate a quick breakfast and got on the road, I-15 by 6:45. To my surprise, the drive did not present much congestion. There were a few occasions when traffic slowed, but that appeared to be caused primarily by the presence of a police car in the median.

As we approached Idaho Falls after 9 we began to see groups of people hanging out in parks and open spaces. We decided to go to Rigby, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Idaho Falls since it was squarely in the middle of the path of totality. After driving through town and not seeing an obvious public restroom, we parked at South Rigby Park by about 9:45. There were a few thousand people there, but it was next to the Rigby Rodeo Grounds, and not crowded. There were lots of dogs, mountains of food, and more photography equipment than is probably in the Kodak Museum.
At about 10:05 the moon began to move over the sun. At first it looked like a small bite had been taken out of the sun but the dark spot steadily grew large. I was surprised that there was no noticeable decrease in light until near the end of the process, although the color of the light began to be whiter and wintry. By about 11:20 the sun was just a crescent and the air was very noticeably colder. Right on time, at 11:33 there was a flash of white light and then darkness. The sun was completely obliterated by the moon. Surrounding the sun was the corona, a very white, almost cloudy protrusions of varying shapes and sizes from the sun. We could now take our special glasses off. It was cool, but not life altering or he most momentous event in one’s life as some speakers on radio had said. The crowd oohed and awed, but no wild shouting or emotional outbursts. The dogs did not seem perturbed.

It was over quickly, 2 minutes and 17 seconds, but it seemed quicker. The sun’s partial reappearance was marked by a flash of white light, that was a signal to put the glasses back on, and quickly the sun appeared as a small crescent. It took almost 1.5 hrs. for the sun to fully reappear.
The crowd quickly thinned out, and the highway adjoining the park, which had almost been deserted, quickly became a slow-moving parking lot.

Hoping to wait out the heavy traffic before starting our drive back to Salt Lake City we ate a picnic lunch at the Park. That probably was a mistake since when we did get on the road at 1:30, we quickly encountered heavy traffic, to the point of gridlock. I got off the main road to circumvent downtown Idaho Falls and the highway intersections. I took some back roads and encountered some traffic, but once south of Idaho Falls the only alternative to I-15 was state route 97 which was a single lane gridlocked mess. I-15 quickly got very crowded to the point that there were several 5-10-minute stretches when traffic did not move at all. It took 3 hours to go 30 miles. Traffic lightened up after Pocatello, but after the I-15 84 interchange there again was heavy traffic. The trip took 7 hours (twice as long as going up there) and we did not get back to Salt Lake until 8:30 and as a result my plans to have a night in Salt Lake City were dashed. We walked around the Mormon complex before it closed at 10 and then had difficulty finding a restaurant open at that hour. Fast food again. 
The Salt Lake Plaza Hotel was very nice and we used its shuttle to return to the airport in the morning. Uneventful flight home. A lot of time and effort to see the total solar eclipse, but it was worth seeing, once. I do not understand those people who chase these events all over the world.

Bryce Canyon National Park

August 5-6, 2017 Hoodoos to Home
This is the second half of my trip back from Glacier National Park after dropping y spouse off last night at the SLC airport.

Got up early, about 7, after a good night’s sleep. Started the day with an OK, typical Hampton's Inn breakfast. Nothing wonderful, but filling.  I got there early so there were still grapefruit slices in the fruit bowl. By the time I left there were lots of people down for breakfast, but contrary to my prior Hampton’s Inn experiences, the staff came out with lots of refills.

I had thought about going on the Mormon Temple tour, there was room on the 9:00 tour, but I decided that I would rather get to Bryce National Park. So, after leaving a thank you note from the Volt to the Prius, I left the hotel by 9 and headed down I-15 with a fully charged battery. Drove about 3 hours on the highway and then turned off on to route 20 and the route 89. Climbing most of the way. The route seemed vaguely familiar, but while we visited Bryce in the mid-90s, I think that we came from the south after visiting Zion, so I do not think I had previously driven on these roads. Stopped in Panguitch, a small town at the rest area and for gasoline.  Gas was expensive. As I continued to the park it began to rain, initially lightly and then heavily. I did not think that it rained here in the summer, let alone much at all, but for a while it was really coming down. I imagined walking around the park in my poncho. The last road was route 12 and it took about 4 hours to get there.

Before I got to the Park I entered Dixie National Forest. I stopped in Red Canyon. The rock formations were striking. There were lots of tall, colorful, spires and other fantastic forms of rocks that are called Hoodoos. These are part of the Claron Limestone Formation and are created by the repeated freezing and thawing. I learned that the red, yellow and brown colors came from iron oxides while manganese oxides create a lavender tone. I parked and took a short hike. Up, around and through the rocks. Also saw some bristlecone pines, but not as many as I had seen in the CA. forest. I ended up at the Visitors Center. It had some beautiful, but expensive paintings of the area. There are some hardy plants out there, including the bristlecone pines.

As I turned into what I thought would be the Park, I first entered Bryce Canyon City. A large collection of hotels and restaurants that were surprising to be found inside the Park, but convenient. I saw a sign warning that parking was limited in the Park and advised taking the shuttle. So, I parked in the satellite lot and after showing my senior pass and getting my map, I hurriedly boarded the shuttle. To my dismay the shuttle began a circuit of the hotels in the city before entering the park. I ate lunch on the shuttle from my accumulated collection of fruit and leftovers.

Studying the map while on the shuttle I realized that it only went about a quarter of the way into the Park.  Turned out not to be a problem since by now it was about 2:30 and there was a lot to see and do in what turned out to be the northern quarter of the Park.

I exited the shuttle after about 10 minutes in the park at stop #4, Bryce Point.  After short walk out to the point, I gazed out in amazement into a wild topography of shapes, forms and colors. Bryce is misnamed as a canyon. It really is a series of horseshoe shaped amphitheaters that have been carved into the edges of the Paunsaugunt Plateau by the tributaries of the Paria River. I thought that a comment I saw on a plaque by Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce that was “a hell of a place to lose a cow”. The Native Americans’ name for the area translated to “red rocks standing like men in a bowl-shaped canyon.”

There are hiking trails that descent to the floor, but I opted for the Rim Trail. It was a relatively flat trail that wound its way along the amphitheater affording spectacular views of the rock formations. Even though the trail was largely at or above 8000 ft. I had not difficulty with it, but I did walk through some light rain. I took too many pictures and by the time I reached Inspiration Point my phone/camera was almost out of power, so I had to forgo many pictures.  Parts of this trail marked a water shed boundary between water that flowed ultimately into the Colorado River and water that flowed into the Great Basin. The latter has no outlet to the sea so all that water either is absorbed into the ground or evaporates. I walked about 2.3miles until Sunset Point.

I needed power in my phone to make a hotel reservation so, missing Sunrise Point and trails down to the floor, I left the trail at Sunset Point and caught a shuttle to the Bryce Canyon Lodge.  There, as I charged my phone I learned that the Lodge was built in the 1920s by the Union Pacific Railroad which was interested in stimulating tourism and competing with its competitors who were building Lodges in Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Canyon Parks. The UP-tourist Park loop encompassed Bryce, Zion and the North rim of Grand Canyon Parks. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood who designed the Lodges in the parks mentioned above. Its lobby was smaller than those I saw in the other lodges, but it had a huge stone fireplace and it had a large brick porch that was equipped with lots of chairs and benches that I used while my phone charged. I purchased a long sleeve tee shirt on sale in the gift shop. By now it was after 5 and I decided that I did not want to drive too far, so I made a reservation at the Virgin River Hotel and Casino where I had stayed before, just across the state line in Mosquito, Nevada. The usual $27 hotel room on Booking.

I got back on the shuttle before some more rain and headed out of the Park at about 6:15. I decided to take what I thought was a scenic short cut to get back to I-15 on the road to Nevada so I took route 14 into the mountains. The road was scenic, but it was windy and many ups and downs. I got as high as 9900 ft. at Midway Summit and passed Duck Creek and stopped at Navajo Lake. By the time I emerged at Cedar City I had a scenic, but slower experience.

Driving on I-15 through Arizona I passed through Virgin River Gorge. This is a beautiful, spectacular stretch of road, but even at that late hour it was over 100 degrees. I got to the Virgin River casino hotel at what was 8:15 due to the time zone change, so I thought that I had some time to use the buffet that closed at 10. I got a first-floor room and after waiting for a lady to move her car from the front of my room, I tried to plug in my car, but came up about 1 ft. short.
After I was seated at the buffet I was told that I had only 20 minutes to eat because they were closing. Apparently, the buffet stayed on Mountain Time. Probably a blessing in disguise since it limited my eating, but I felt robbed of the benefit of the buffet.

November 6
Got up early and swam in the hotel outdoor pool. Even then it was in the80s. After the swim, I checked out the breakfast buffet. No one stooped me so I just sampled some eggs and ice cream, which I did to get to eat the prior night. I got out by 9:15 and stopped for gasoline at the same station we had stopped on the way up 8 days earlier. The tank read 416 miles and it was only 366 miles to LA so I tried to drive straight through. I had to stop to go to the bathroom in Barstow, CA. and while there I refilled my water bottles with ice. It was over 100 degrees all the way home until I got near to LA. When I got home I parked at a charging station and immediately headed to the ocean to immerse myself in the cool waters.  

To Minneapolois

June 3, 2019 Monday Day 16

My son went off to work and we belatedly left for Minneapolis at about 10 am. That required us to retrace our route back to Des Monies, windmills and rolling farmland, then 4 more hours to Minneapolis. We left with a full battery, 52 miles.

The trip up I-35 after Des Monies and to Minneapolis was pretty boring. Lots of flat farmland and no cites of any size.

We visited a friend for a barbecue dinner. Nice and tasty food. They have a beautiful house on a lake in a near west suburb. The house is very large. Nice and I am a bit envious, but I did my large house phase.

After the visit we descended upon our son for visit and bonding with 2.5 year old grandson whom we will take to Europe for family wedding celebration. Also checked in on the 6 month old grandson.

Back to Omaha, or Really Bellevue NE

June 1 and 2, 2019 Saturday and Sunday  Days 14 and 15

Saturday

We packed up in the morning and finally met our Airbnb host. Complimented her on her guest quarters and thanked her for the electricity that filled up the battery. So we took off for a return trip to Omaha/Bellevue with 53 miles. Driving westward on I-80 we gain saw the forest of very big windmills in the fame lands along the highway. A rest stop in Iowa had a big exhibit on renewable energy. There was a windmill blade there and it was very large. We had learned that these and the towers are now manufactured in Newton in a former Maytag facility. Iowa is the second largest producer of wind energy in the country. Yet there was no electric charging station at the rest stop.

We arrived in Omaha in the early afternoon. Lewis and Clark passed through this area in 1804. The Kansas Nebraska Act (which repealed the Missouri Compromise and set the country on an inevitable path to a civil war) spurred development and the city was founded in that same year by land speculators from across the river in Council Bluffs, IA. In 1859 it was the eastern terminus of the Pony Express and in 1862 it was designated as the eastern terminus of the trans-continental railroad. Construction by the Union Pacific began in 1863. There is a terrific railroad museum by the Union Pacific in Council Bluffs which tells the story of the westward expansion of the railroads in the US. It became a transportation hub and in the 20 century it had the largest stockyards and slaughter houses in the world. By the 1950s over half the workforce in Omaha was engaged in meat slaughtering, packing and processing.

The city has a stories history of labor and racial strife. As early as the 1890s there were several instances when the state militia or federal troops were called out to protect either striking workers or struck company's replacement workers. In 1891 a black railroad porter was lynched because he allegedly raped a white girl. And in 1919 while in the middle of that summer's Red riots, a mob burnt down the county courthouse to get at and lynch a Black man for allegedly having sex with a white woman. The mayor attempted to stop these proceedings, but he too was lynched, although he was saved for death.

The stockyards are now all gone along with the historic district along the riverfront, demolished at the insistence of ConAgra which wanted the land to build a new campus.

Fontenelle's Post was established in 1823 as a fur trading post in what became Bellevue. That city is now home to Offutt Air Force Base which was created during WWII. The Enola Gay was built at Offutt. It is now the largest employer in the metropolitan area. Fontenelle was a Chief of the Omaha tribe who signed treaties which ceded much of the land that eventually became Omaha to the federal government.

After meeting my son we went to Fontenelle Forest. That is essentially a private park, we got in via a military discount, which has preserved a large forested area along the Missouri River and also treats injured raptors. It keeps and displays the raptors who cannot recover sufficiently to return to the wild. We spent a few hours viewing the raptors and walking the trails through the Forest.

View from the Forest across the flooded Missouri River

The view across the Missouri River showed much flooded farmland.

We ate dinner at a burger joint, Stellas, and then watched a movie

Sunday

Walked around my son's neighborhood and then went out shopping. First we went looking for an electric lawn mower for my son. He has a large back yard and has been borrowing a neighbor's riding mower. We looked at several models in several warehouse stores, but realized that they would be on sale over the July 4th weekend, so the purchase was delayed (It was subsequently made.) Then we went to a T-Mobile store at my son's insistence to replace my 4.5 year old cellphone. My current one is still working but has very limited storage and the battery has degraded to the point that it does not hold a charge for a full day. Presto, problems solved with a new Google Pixel 3a.

We purchased some salmon and food for dinner and cooked at my son's home.

Des Moines 2

May 31, 2019 Friday Day 12

We a woke early and had breakfast in our  lodging from our store of food. Yogurt, fruit and muffins. The memorial service we had come to Des Moines to attend was scheduled for 10:00 at St. Augustine Church. a large building on the west side close to our Airbnb that we easily found. Dressed in our finery it was hot, but the cathedral offered shelter from the sun. the service was nice, but it was clear that the priest did not know the deceased, who while married in that church, had long ago moved away.n The service ended about 11:30 and we did not go to the graveside service. The reception began about noon. During the reception I spoke with several people who knew the deceased at various stages during her varied life including a stint living in Japan as a trailing spouse for an IBM executive. The very limited sample of people I spoke with had a mixed view of Trump. Many disliked his style, but supported what they perceived to be his policies on improving the economy, lowering taxes (they felt that businesses needed a tax break to create jobs) and eliminating regulations. They believed that he would win the trade war and that American agriculture would ultimately benefit, acknowledging that it was now being hurt by his actions.

We then took off for the Des Moines Art Center, an art museum that has won acclaim for its architecture. It is housed in builds partially designed by I M Pei that form a quadrangle around a reflecting pool. It has a lot of modern art and featured an exhibit of anti-fascist art by Lea Grundig. A Communist and a Jew, she created art in the 1930s in defiance of the Nazi's bans and ultimately ended up in a concentration camp. Surviving that and WWII she ultimately immigrated to Palestine.

Modern Art at the Center

We then headed to downtown Des Moines for a tour. It was surprisingly quiet there for Friday afternoon. The city's European history dates to the 17th century when initially French priests, explores and fur trappers ventured into the upper Midwest for French Canada, to be followed by a few colonial settlers. They largely left after the British conquered Canada and ownership of this area (I doubt that the Native Americans were consulted) was successively transferred to Spain, then back to France and finally sold to the US as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The city was originally named Fort Raccoon.for the river that joins the Des Moines River, but the War Department vetoed that and the new name was drawn from the French colonialists who referred to the area as Des Moines, from the Monks. It grew rapidly as a railroad hub in the late 19th century and as a manufacturing center in the 20th century as well as being the capital city of Iowa. It declined in the 1970s and 80s but has rebounded as an insurance center.

We parked downtown and walked down to the river. Like the Missouri, it too was flooded beyond its banks covering the balustrades, walkways and embankments built by the CCC.

The Civic Center Historic District has many government buildings that are over 100 years old and are imposing large stone structures. The sate Capital and City Hall were impressive and we took a quick tour of the State Historical Building. The downtown was getting ready for a Pride celebration and we stopped into a local store and purchased some hot sauce for our two Midwestern sons who enjoy that.

We then visited the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden. Many unusual shapes.

On the way back to our residence we food shopped and cooked dinner and ate on patio. A very pleasant experience.

Des Moines

May 30, 2019 Thursday -Saturday Day 12
My son is working the swing shift so he did not have to leave for work at the AF base until about 2:45. We went out for lunch at Chipolte. I could not eat an entire serving when I  used to be able to gobble it all up.There were many service members there. We then drove around Bellveue and down to the swollen Missouri River. The fields and parks on both sides of the river were flooded and showed no prospect of drying out soon. If this is representative there will be many Midwest farmers who will not be able to plant on time and probably will suffer serious financial harm.

Flooded Missouri River

About 2:45 pm we set out for Des Monies, along I-80 about a 2 hour trip. After we passed Council Bluffs, IA. on the east side of the river the land began to flatten out and was more agricultural. Very few trees, but lots of very large windmills. Before reaching Des Monies our only stop was for gasoline. We arrived in Des Monies about 4:45 and without any problem found our Airbnb, Forestdale Guest House, on the west side of town. I picked this place in part due to its proximity to the memorial services we would be attending tomorrow. It is a guest house attached to the rear of the main house with a large screened porch. It is in a very nice wooded residential neighborhood. Our host left an extension cord that I immediately used to begin to recharge the car's battery.

Des Monies Airbnb

After changing we drove out to Newton, former home of Maytag, for a barbecue. It was about a 45 minute drive east, so Newton is really not a bedroom suburb. The barbecue was at the home of our friend's brother, whose mother recently died. Nice residential neighborhood with well maintained medium to larger sized homes and well tended yards. The part of Newton which we drove through did not seem to be economically depressed.

Maytag was founded in Newton and had not only its corporate offices there, but also its primary production facility which had 3000 manufacturing jobs. In speaking with people at the barbecue, they felt that the last CEO of Maytag was brought in by the family owners to sell the business. He did that and it was sold to Whirlpool, which promised to retain the Maytag operations in Newton. That promise was not kept and when the entire operation was moved and all the Maytag facilities closed, these people felt that it had a devastating impact on the town. Some people left, others got retrained for mostly non-existent jobs, many went on welfare. The consensus of these people was that Newton had not fully recovered. I wonder if this is Trump country?

We met a retired couple (they did not look that old) at the barbecue who lived in Florida during the cold months and traveled around the west in an RV the rest of the year. They park the RV in various western cities when not using it, it is currently in Portland, and are convinced that is the best way to travel.

We drove back in the fading light of late evening, the daylight is getting much longer, and got back to our residence about 10:30.

Drive to Omaha Day 11

May 29, 2019 Wednesday Day 11

We a woke early and made our own big breakfast at the lodging. Packed up the car and got out by 9:30. After driving through Cheyenne directly to I-80, contrary to Google Maps directions to go out of the way west and south on I-25 to get to I-80, we headed east for the longest drive of the trip.

We had a 350 mile trip ahead of us to Omaha and a one hour time zone change so we did not have the opportunity to make stops in Nebraska if we were to get to my son's house before bedtime. The terrain  leaving Cheyenne continued to be wide open spaces with lots of bluffs and rolling hills. I-80 follows the Outlaw Trail scenic Byway through Nebraska. Initially not much farming, it seemed to be lots of ranches. I guess I was so engrossed in the landscape that I missed the welcome to Nebraska sign. We passed under the Archway spanning I-80 near Kearney. There were several Electrify America fast charging stations strategically located along the freeway, usually in Walmart parking lots, but the Volt is not equipped for that. This network is a product of Deasilgate and Volkswagen's penalty for its fraud.

We stopped in Gothenburg and toured a restored Pony Express station that was set in a pretty and very green park. These stations were set up every 12-15 miles and were basically just horse changing stations. The larger stations were about 90 miles apart and the riders changed at those sites. The riders made $25/week.

The volunteer was very knowledgeable and spent 30 minutes explaining its history. He claimed that for a long time Congress had been deadlocked over a charter for such a service between the north and south, each of whom wanted a route that began in its area. A similar dispute held up the authorization for a transcontinental telegraph line and railroad. All these projects were authorized and moved forward only after the southern representatives left Congress. The service sought , young, light weight and preferably orphans as riders. They wanted speed and riders whose deaths would not cause a stir. In fact only one rider died in service and that was in a snow storm in the Sierra Nevada Mts. The youngest rider was 11 and he lived to be 105 when he died in 1955 in NYC. Buffalo Bill also rode for the service. The service was never profitable. It was started by a group that was already losing money on a stage coach service and thought that it could get financially healthy with US mail contracts. It did not work out even thought the Express received those contracts and others from the government and delivered on its promise to deliver the mail within 10 days. $5 for a letter. It was purchased by Wells Fargo who shut it down after 19 months in operation, 2 days after the telegraph line became operational.

Pony Express station

The town seemed to be a picture postcard version of prosperous, small town, middle America. Mature trees lined its streets and covered nice sized and well maintained homes that were set back from the streets by large front yards. It had a two block commercial center that had no bordered up shops.

We ate dinner at the Nebraska Bar and Grill, in Gothenburg, a large barn like building. Terrific steaks, but way too much food. It had a single level 2 charging station that provided us with 16 miles of charge, as well as a multi port Tesla charging station.

We exited the interstate before Omaha and took some back roads through farm country to get to my son's house in Bellevue, which is south of Omaha. Those 30 minutes at the end of the drive were very dark. So we got to visit with son number 3 and  I got to charge up the car in his garage.

Cheyanne Rain Day 10

May 28, 2019 Tuesday Day 10

I had to get up early (for me now) at 7:00 to move our car out of the driveway so our host could exit the garage. We prepared and ate a large breakfast in the unit. Best breakfast on the trip so far.

Cheyenne is a few miles north f the Colorado border. The Indians used it as a trading site and it was named by the Sioux for one of their trading partners, the Cheyenne. It lies at the eastern foot of Sherman Hill where the Union Pacific's route for the first transcontinental railroad raise from 6,062 to 8,282 ft. in only 30 miles. Not good for rail transport, but it caused the Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific, General Grenville Dodge to create a maintenance and supply station and establish the town of Cheyenne on July 4th. Several months later as the rail line advanced to Cheyenne the town had grown to 4,000 inhabitants and the eastern press began to refer to Cheyenne as the "Magic City of the Plains" because it had sprung up like magic. The town suffered what could have been a devastating blow when near-by Laramie was selected for the Union Pacific's maintenance yards, but the yards were shortly moved to Cheyenne.  The city then became a major rail head for cattle drives and became the second home for English and European cattle barons. By 1885 it became the richest city, per capita, in the world.

The sky was gray and the clouds forecast a wet and rainy day. I had planned out a walking tour, but in deference to the rain we drove downtown, a 10 minute drive, with a new plan to explore Cheyenne's indoor exhibits. Not much vehicular or pedestrian traffic. We parked near the Capital only to discover that it is nearing the end of a 2 year renovation on the 1913 golden domed building and so it is closed to the public. We then walked a short distance in the rain to the Wyoming State Museum. T his documents the state's history including prehistoric Wyoming and its dinosaurs. Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote when it was a territory.

Yellowstone Stage

We then drove through the rain to the Union Pacific Railroad Depot. On the way there we passed a synagogue advertising a Yiddish food festival. The depot was built in 1886 and was once considered the finest depot between Omaha and San Francisco. It was renovated and reopened in 2004 and now includes a Depot Museum and restaurant. The museum's exhibits focused on the impact that the railroad played in the development of Cheyenne and west. There were fantastic old photographs and model train exhibits.

We ate dinner in the Assent Restaurant in the Depot. It had 14 draft beers that were sold by the ounce. The food was good, but they failed to bring our second food order.

We drove to the Civic Center auditorium and saw The Lighting Thief based on the Percy Jackson books. Lots of teens there who wildly cheered. I was not so well entertained. Then back to our lodging.

Hail Storm Day 9

May 27, 2019 Monday Memorial Day, Day 9

Ate a very mediocre breakfast at the Days Inn, but it was filling. While we were eating we listened to warnings of sever storms on the Weather Channel, but they seemed to be further east. The car was charged up to 80%

As we drove east out of Casper on I-25 we saw glimpses of the "new" Casper, malls megaplexes and the same chain stores that are present throughout America. They came to an abrupt end and then we commenced a long drive through lots of seemingly empty land. I suspect that based on the exhibits we have seen that the land is not really empty, but rather there are lots of small mammals, snakes and birds hidden in the brush, along with the cattle that seem to dominate the ranching. However we did periodically see deer and buffalo I fenced in areas which I assumed were ranches.

About 50 miles east of Casper we turned off to see the Ayers Natural Bridge. This is a 100 ft long  50 ft high natural arch spanning the LaPrele Creek which over the many years carved out a canyon and the arch. The Native Americans of the region thought the bridge was a sinister place because a brave was struck by lighting in the canyon. The Mormon Trail passes two miles north of the site and travelers would flee to the site if they felt threatened by the Native Americans.

As we were hiking around the park, which had lots of well maintained picnic areas and trails we encountered a heavy-set woman. She was turning around as the trail to the top of the Bridge was too much for her. She had driven down with her three grandkids (she didn't look old enough) from Montana and had not planned to come to this site. Actually she said, that she had not planned anything and was just driving around and stopping at seemingly interesting sites during the three day holiday weekend.  She said that she was largely raising the grandkids and had some not so nice things to say about her daughter. But she was very fond of Trump!

As we approached Cheyanne and passing the Warren AFB and golf club (I was told by a Navy veteran that the Air Force has more golf courses than any other service.), suddenly, without warning we experienced a ferocious hailstorm while on I-25. Within seconds we were being pelted by hailstones 1/2 inches in diameter that were pounding on the car and quickly covered the roadway in an inch of ice balls. It was noisier than being in the NYC subway and I was certain that the car would be pock marked. Surprisingly, it was unharmed. I pulled under an overpass, along with other cars and waited about 10 minutes for the hailstorm to pass. Most of the ice balls quickly melted. I was later told that this was not an uncommon occurrence in Wyoming.

In the excitement I missed the exit for our Airbnb so we entered Cheyanne closer to downtown. Another hailstorm arrived and I pulled into a gasoline station, both to purchase gasoline, but also to park under the awning to get out of the hail barrage. As I got out of the car the pelting from the hailstones was painful. I notice that the well between the windshield and the hood was filled with lots of the ice balls..

As the storm turned to rain we headed downtown. The place was a complete ghost town. I saw less than a handful of cars and only one pedestrian. Not one business or cultural attraction was open. After one more hail attack which we weathered under a pedestrian bridge, we headed out of downtown to check into our Airbnb. Although it is the largest city in Wyoming and the state capital, the town is pretty small and it was easy to navigate. We passed the airport and then found an open supermarket where we purchased some items for dinner and breakfast. No ice cream.

Our  Airbnb was only a few minutes away from the market. We have the upper floor of a townhouse with a full kitchen and living room. Our host is an older, but vibrant woman. A kindergarten teacher. She said that she doesn't understand computers or how Airbnb works, her daughter-in-law who is the face of the lodging and lives in Gilette, set it up. We spoke at length about our lives and children and she facilitated an arrangement to charge up the car from an outlet in the garage.

After unpacking we took a walk through the residential neighborhood. It seemed solidly middle class with lots of small developments. We came upon a large pasture with a heard of cattle that seemed to mark an abrupt edge between residential and agriculture.

Made dinner and watched a bit of TV. Very slow news day with Trump out of the country and it being Memorial Day. 

Casper

May 26, 2019 Sunday Day 8

After another mediocre breakfast at the hotel, but enlivened by a conversation with a couple of women who were traveling west, we opted to skip the Legend Rock Petroglyph site because it would have required us to backtrack and continuing south we left Thermopolis we quickly entered the Wind River Gorge. That was a speculator 45 minute ride. The canyon walls rise over 2500 ft. and have beautiful colors. We spotted some wildlife scampering around the canyon walls.The Wind and Big Horn Rivers surged along us and would have made for a great river run. Perhaps next trip.

Wind River Canyon

The remainder of the 2 hour trip to Casper was uneventful. We passed by Boysen State Park which has a large reservoir and through Shoshoni, but we did not stop as we were on our way to the  National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. This is a wonderful museum that is operated by the BLM and tells the story of Manifest Destiny and westward expansion over the four pioneer trails, Oregon, California, Mormon and Bozeman, in the mid 19th century. Over 400,000 pioneers trekked west in what was the largest voluntary mass migration in history. There were lots of interactive exhibits, a very helpful staff and an interesting multi-media show.
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The exhibits highlighted the hardships of the early pioneer travels. The first group of 69 pioneers, the Bidwell-Bartleson Party left Independence Missouri with no road to follow, no guide, a wildly inaccurate map, no experience with overland long distance travel and no guide.  They subsequently were joined by a mountain man, Thomas "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick, who lead them over the plains and into the mountains in present day Idaho. There he abandoned them and by themselves they finally made their way to Oregon after blazing a trail that in part was later used for the trans-continental railroad.  Subsequent groups created the Hastings Cutoff Trail, but that went through the Great Salt Desert and killed off many of the livestock. Salt Lake City became the half way house on the California Trail in 1849 and afforded the Mormons the opportunity to profit, many said to a larcenous degree, off the gold rushers.

The Pony Express arose indirectly out of the Utah War. Russell, Majors &Waddell contracted with the War Department to haul military freight to Utah. That firm lost scores of wagons and hundreds of livestock to the Mormons who "liberated" them. Seeking a government mail contract to ward off bankruptcy they organized a horse and rider relay to carry mail between St. Joseph Missouri and San Francisco.  The service worked well, deliveries were regularly made within 10 days, but it was not sufficient to rescue the firm and it had to sell the service to Wells Fargo. Two days after the telegraph line across the continent opened, the Pony Express shut down. We spent most of the afternoon there.

Pony Express Recruiting Poster seeking young, light weight, orphans

Pioneer covered wagon

Birds eye view of Casper

We the drove into town to check in at the Days Inn. Easy to find off the freeway and they permitted me to use an outside outlet to charge up the car. We were given a large room and the bed was good. Hot cookies and lemonade at check-in was a nice touch.

After unpacking we walked to the Platte River. The neighborhood that we walked through was pretty run down. A large trailer park and the free standing homes were not well cared for. This belied what we had read about Casper as a prosperous town built on energy. The river view was nice, but it appeared that the river walk was on the other side of the river. So we turned back and picked up the car for a drive through town. We drove south toward Casper College and this tour revealed a more prosperous looking Casper. Tree lined streets with medium sized, well maintained older homes. The two renowned museums on and near the campus were closed and the campus looked deserted.

Platte River

We then drove into downtown. It was easy to park as there was very little activity and most of the businesses were closed. Memorial day weekend. Most of the buildings were old, built in the early 1900s, the tallest being the 10 story Petroleum Building, but there were no boarded up storefronts, the place was clean and we saw no homeless. I was struck by the presence of three active movie theatres downtown. There were very few restaurants open, but we soon found the Branding Iron that had been recommended to us during our walk to the river. Primarily a brew and burger place, but they also served pork belly mac and cheese. The first two were good.

Casper got its start as a hub of the four major pioneer overland trails in the mid 1800s. Independence Rock which is where the trails start to diverge is about an hour west of the city. An oil boom beginning in 1910 sparked development of the town and notoriety followed in the wake of the Teapot Dome scandal that lead to the imprisonment of two Cabinet Secretaries for bribery. It was a military hub during WWII and now it is a center for a coal mining industry which produces 24% of the nation's coal.

We drove back to the hotel through the east part of town and charged up the car.

Hot Springs Day 7

May 25, 2019 Day 7

Thermopolis is located at the southern end of the Big Horn Basin. It is not much of a town with a population of slightly over 3,000, but it has significant mineral resources in the area and a surprising number of fantastic attractions. Teddy Roosevelt and Butch Cassidy and his gang have been among its visitors.

We ate breakfast at the motel. Cold items only, but adequate to get going.

I was very confused about the locations, costs and amenities at the various hot springs. The travel books and the hotel clerk offered differing information. So as we drove out to the hot springs area I stopped at the town information office. It was shocking that it was very hard to park in this little town, but there was a 3 on 3 basketball tournament was going on at the high school across the street. As we learned people from all over the region had come to attend that event.

The information clerk sent us off to Hot Springs State Park. Originally part of the Wind River Reservation, the hot springs were believed by the Shoshone to be a gift from the Great Spirit. The US Government purchased the Big Springs and surrounding territory from the Arapaho and Shoshone tribes (They have shared the reservation since 1877 after a shotgun marriage arranged by the US Government. It was not until the 1930s that the Government compensated the Shoshone for this arrangement.) in 1896.
 
Chief Washakie negotiated on behalf of the Indians. He was born to a Flathead father and Shoshone mother. He grew up with the Shoshone in the Wind River Valley and in his twenties he met and befriended Jim Bridger, who became a legendary trapper and mountain man. Their friendship was so great that one of Washakie's daughters became Bridger's third wife. Washakie became the leader, chief, of the Shoshone at an early age. The skills Washakie acquired through his association with Bridger and other trappers and traders took him in a different direction from other Indian leaders in advocating for the rights and needs of his people. The Shoshone were one of the few tribes which never fought a war against the US Government and indeed fought alongside the US Calvary against other tribes. He made several trips to Washington DC and became convinced that the Indians could not stop the tide of white immigrants into the plains. Instead in 1863 at Fort Bridger he negotiated a treaty that created the Wind River Reservation. He was baptized twice, first as a Mormon by Brigham Young and shortly before his death in 1900as an Episcopalian. He was buried with full military honors and we saw many public places in Wyoming that were named for him.

In negotiating the sale of the Big Springs Chief Washakie stipulated that the hot springs should be freely available to all so that anyone could receive the great health and healing benefits from the waters. That is one of the few Indian treaty promises that the US has honored. As a result, Wyoming's first state park was created along with the Bath House.      

The State Bath House

The outdoor hot springs

They remain free and open to the public, although there are several commercial establishments that also draw upon the hot waters. Several are essentially water parks and others are park of RV parks.

The springs are the largest hot springs in the world and the waters coming out of them are 135 degrees and discharge about 8000 gallons per day. In the park's hot springs the temperature is kept at about 104 degrees. The bathhouse was clean and had an indoor pool. We opted for the outdoor pool. It was wonderful. Very calm and relaxing and made your body feel very clean. No kids, whom I assumed go to the commercial pools. You are supposed to stay in up to 20 minutes, but it was not crowded and we stayed in30 minutes. I spoke with an older fellow bather who said that he had retired to Thermopolis a few years ago from Montana and said he came to the baths daily. He said that the hunting was very good in the area, but that quotas and hunters from all over the country had cut down on his meat gathering. He recounted that Thermopolis did not get too cold, but that like most places the temperature goes down to zero a few times each winter.

After a good soak and shower we drove over to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center and Dig Site. It was less than two miles away on the outskirts of town on a ranch where dinosaur fossils have been found, housed in 12,000 sq. ft. in what appears to be an old warehouse. (It is moving to larger and presumably more appropriate quarters in the near future 6 miles out of town.) It bills itself as the 6th best dinosaur museum in the world. It had over 20 full sized dinosaur skeletons and casts from around the world, as well as lots of exhibits about geology. We spent most of the afternoon there.

We then returned to the hot springs for a second soak. It was very pleasant soaking in the hot waters as the late afternoon sun was descending behind the mountains. After the soak we walked around the State Park. The terrain had unique rock formations and brilliant hues of red, orange, green and brown from the minerals and various life forms that are deposited on the rocks. The park was well maintained, very green and almost empty. We walked on a suspension bridge that crosses the Bighorn River. It appears to go nowhere, but when it was built in the early 1900s it permitted patients at a now gone hospital and sanitarium to access the springs.

Bridge to Nowhere

Bighorn River and hot springs run-off

   
We then took a drive a drive outside of town to view the Buffalo herds. These are the largest collections of buffaloes outside of Yellowstone. There were a lot of buffalo

We ate dinner at Bangkok Thai restaurant in town on the recommendation of a fellow bather. Other than a cook, the owner was the only one working. It was busy, he said busier than ever due to the basketball tournament. The meal was very good. We walked around town after dinner and purchased some ice cream which we ate while watching the Kill Bill movie in our hotel room as the car slowly charged up.