Beautiful Sunday Drive

Every year in the fall I like to take one last ride on a nice day and get some pictures of the Harlan County Reservoir and the Republican River Valley. Yesterday was a beautiful day. I fear they are numbered now, and things are only going to go downhill weather wise.It is a stark contrast to last year when we were already dealing with cold wet weather.
We drove to all of the familiar places, stopping off at a bridge over the Republican River. Plenty of water running this year. It's been an exceptionally good year for the river. The sun always gives the trees such a dramatic look.
The Methodist Corp of Engineers Campground is very empty now, but one boat was just leaving the dock to take advantage of one of the last days on the water.
The Rotary Club has taken the time to adopt an area by the campground and make an Arbortorium.
One lonely dandelion peaked through the leaves and I spotted one of the prettiest Maple Trees ever. It looked as if it was on fire!
We carried on across the dam, and up to the Patterson Point Shelter House, where we had a picnic lunch in the sun! Where does the spoiled brat KayCee sit?
Anywhere she wants to, obviously! She is getting very excited now to be outside and she loves to run and hunt, but there's always time to stop and share mom's lunch! There's still lots of leaves on the trees, and crops in the fields.

A cold front is sweeping across the state today and tonight, so this week will start to feel more like fall. I'm beginning to prepare for a weekend full of company, and the next month will be extremely busy for us. Yesterday was just a nice way to commemorate another beautiful day in Harlan County!

Fall in the Sticks... n Bricks

We're having an absolutely great fall season here in South Central Nebraska! The leaves are falling and that's lots better than ice and snow!
That will all come soon enough. We could in fact use some precipitation here now. Corn harvest is in full swing and ahead of schedule, if the weather holds for the rest of the week, they will be farther ahead than ever!
Sunday we spent the afternoon with our twin grandbabies, walking around a lake, feeding ducks and playing at the playground.
They are about 18 months and growing like weeds. You can't tell they were premies. Here at home I have been busy cleaning up and cleaning out.
I can't believe how much junk I have. DH has been busy with all kinds of small projects around here, plus a few rounds of golf and preparations for the Pheasant Season. Last weekend he helped our chapter of Pheasants Forever with their Youth Mentor Hunt. It's nice that they take time out with kids that don't know about hunting to keep the sport alive.
Our son in Colorado called just now, and he is just returning to Colorado Springs from Elk Hunting in the mountains above Glenwood Springs....finally successful after 4 seasons. Way to go Kyle!
It's another beautiful day, our house looks good on the outside from the new paint job, I took a walk this morning and got some pictures. Yesterday I didn't have the camera ready and had a herd of 17 turkeys walk next to the house. Gotta love small town America!

Summing up the Summer

It was a blast! We had a very good travel season. On the way out of Arizona this year, we took time to stop at the Grand Canyon and tour the top part of the state. We still have things that we need to see, but there's always next year.
We experienced our first Earthquake that was a 7.3 at Mexicali Mexico, and felt it south of Phoenix. DH got to drive race cars in a Vintage Car Rally down the Baja Penninsula, and we both used our passports to go into British Columbia north of Kalispell Mt. this summer.
Stopped over in Kansas for DH to have a 40th high school reunion and stopped in Colorado to have a small family reunion and get our Aqua Hot heating system it's annual service. We have done a lot of maintenance and updating to the coach this year. All new tires, all new shocks, 4 chairs recovered and new windshield drape. All fluids and filters changed before putting Betsy in the shed this year, and carpets and tile steam cleaned. The outside polished and sparkling. She's ready to go down the road the end of December. Lets see, we stopped in the northern part of Wyoming for a month. Loved the Deer Park in Buffalo and the Chris LeDoux Dedication in KayCee. Traveled across the southern part of Montana, looking for wildlife and tried our hands at a wet process mining for sapphires around Philipsburg. Just found small ones. We made our way to the Northern Part of Montana, and of the whole season, Kalispell, Big Foot and Glacier is my favorite location. I love the weather and sights in Glacier National Park and the surrounding area.
Cruising on Flathead Lake and meeting up with a musician friend of ours for a visit. We pressed down and back to the east across North Dakota where about mid way through the state, DH caught the biggest Walleye he's ever hooked into! Continuing on East, we traveled into Minnesota where we stopped at a couple of casino rv parks and made a nice donation, helping with the fact that they didn't build those places on winners! The trek from east back to the west into South Dakota occured right before some severe storms and flooding. We barely escaped! Then on through Iowa to attend a freedom Rally/tea party event in Onawa Iowa with a good friend from home.
It was very good to see him and the rally was pretty interesting and entertaining. It was a good reminder for all of us to vote no matter what or who for, and I have already got my absentee ballots filled out ready to go in the mail.
On our way back across Nebraska we got caught in a nasty storm by Omaha, and the angels must be looking over us, because we escaped that with no damage, and several other rigs in the area sustained damage. We touched base with kids on the way across the state, dropped into Kansas and slid into McBs along Interstate 70 for the annual service work...on down the road into Colorado and hung out in Colorado Springs for a couple of weeks before tucking Betsy in the Shed.
It's been a full and active summer. My stint as "Julie the Tour Guide" is over for now. Here at the Sticks and Bricks, we are doing maintenance, cleaning and repairing little things to get ready for the upcoming hunting season. My title has morphed into "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer." Flathead Lake and Nothern Montana is on my favorite's list. I could go back there in a heartbeat. I have learned a lot about my Native American Heritage and much about history and geography of our beautiful land. We are looking forward to the next wave of adventures and great experiences in this grand country of ours. We are extremely fortunate and counting our blessing to have experienced so many awesome things this year.

Last Day in Colorado

Our last full day in Colorado yesterday was spent in Denver, Lakewood and Red Rocks.
It was an absolutely glorious fall day! It started as a second trip to my Interiors lady who made the new windshield day for our coach.
After installing them I decided we needed to have a couple of alterations so we headed back to her shop. RV Interiors by Donna does an absolute great job with every aspect of the interior of the coach.
While she was working on the drape, we had some free time, so I decided to take DH to one of my favorite teen age haunts. Not a bad childhood when you grew up with a perfect view of the mountains every day and the backdrop of Red Rocks Ampitheater as a teen hide out!
We decided that the exercise walking from the back parking lot would be good since we are conditioning KayCee for hunting.
She did fine, but after 40 years OMG! I forgot how many stairs it is to the top and today my legs are definitely reminding me!Oh the memories! You haven't lived until you've attended a concert in this place!
A lady was singing from the rock ledge at the back of the stage and many were running the stairs.
One guy was jumping down the bleachers side to side, aparently conditioning for skiing. Such fantastic views, but disappointed that the city was overcast with a thick smog...:( No matter how many years go by, I still miss the Mile High City! We stopped at the Red Rocks Trading Post and Visitors Center, then followed up with a lunch at an outdoor cafe in Morrison.
I had to take some pics at Bandimere Speedway, even though no dragsters were present! All locked up? :( I definitely want to catch a national event there.

We took KayCee to a dog park on Alameda Parkway and stopped to get her a treat at a new pet store.
Then it was time to head back to the shop and pick up the drape, head back down C470 just in time for rush hour! I don't miss that. I 25 moved more swiftly than the day before, just as we headed into Colorado Springs, there was a bad accident that caused us to barely move along for over an hour. YUK. Our son and his family grabbed a bucket of Chicken and headed down for a nice sunset supper on the patio. We were just beginning to pack the vehicles. We said our goodbyes and we won't see them again til the end of the month when they will visit us for the opening weekend of Pheasant Season...a wild weekend! This morning I woke at 5 a.m. here..stepped outside and heard the bugles of revoli at Fort Carson. Another great fall day and I am finishing last minute details and getting ready to move out, dumping tanks and cleaning up for the last time for a while. At noon we will be NEBRASKA bound!