Here, There & Everywhere

Time to go home. I didn’t want to. I would have kicked and screamed but that would have done no good. Better just to suck it up and get in the truck. Bubba, on the other hand had no problems leaving. As soon as he was in the backseat in his bed and the truck started moving he fell asleep. He is such a great traveler!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we headed home we decided to go down through southern Nebraska and northern Kansas again to see if we could see some more harvesting. I think Tommy was hoping for a ride in a combine.

Travel on the two lanes is much slower than on the Interstates because you get behind one of these and can’t get around them. Notice that one side is completely off the road yet the other side almost reaches the far side of the road. No passing this guy on a hill.

Or maybe not this guy either. :)

It apparently was a very good year for corn. In many places we saw, the grain elevators were full so they were dumping the corn in these rounds. Almost looks like gold, doesn’t it?

 

As we travel we are always on the lookout for old barns. I am fascinated by the old and/or abandoned barns. I loved the shape on this one and it looks like they had started to reside this one and stopped.

I also love the old abandoned houses. It really makes me wonder who had lived there, what their lives must have been like and where they went. This particular house we had seen a couple of years ago in the middle of summer and I did like the picture I got. But, this time the sky was perfect!

As the sun started going down Tommy saw the sure sign of harvesting–dust. So he drove to it and found this guy still working in his field. We sat and watched for a little bit but when no offer to ride in the combine came, we left. Had to make St. Joe for the night.

 

 

 

 

The second day of the “Railroads of Albany County” tour found us heading north out of Laramie towards Medicine Bow. I will have to say that some of this tour could have been quite boring as we were supposed to following the grade of the original railroad track. However, along the way we found many different things that made the trip interesting including cows in the road who really weren’t interested in moving out of our way:

This is the entry into the Virginian Hotel (named for the book The Virginian) in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. I never read this book but do remember watching the TV series made from the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to Laramie from Medicine Bow we came to an almost screeching halt as we saw a cattle drive. Actually these cowboys and cowgirls were moving the cows from one pasture to another. As the cows came out of the one field, some of them walked out onto the road and the cowboys had to herd them back. It was really fun watching as most of the cows seemed to know exactly where they were going. The men, women and horses made everything look so easy!

From afar, these haystacks looked like giant cupcakes or maybe muffins! The pasture the cows were headed to had 5 or 6 of these haystacks.

This was the first train (and only one of two) that we saw on the whole train tour. We had stopped in Bosler because I had seen some old abandoned cars and wanted to take some pictures. As I was getting ready to shoot, I heard the train coming and turned at just the right time. Bosler had a lot of abandoned buildings, cars and trucks and looked like a ghost town.

And, of course we had to stop when we saw the sheep! Tommy and Bubba sat in the truck as I walked over to the fence where the sheep were. All of them watched me walk up and just stared. This guy, however, walked over to the fence and put his face about 18″ from mine. His face was actually so close that I couldn’t get a focus on him. I had to back up a bit. It was too funny!

After that we headed back to town and picked up Amanda from school. We needed to get home, rest up and get ready for dinner at The Cavalryman. I love that place even though my steak wasn’t the best. I have such good memories of all the times we’ve eaten there.

We got a copy of the Albany County Tourism Board’s publication, “Railroads of Albany County” before we headed to Wyoming. So when Amanda and Evan had to work on Monday we decided to take the first part of the tour. As I was getting ready to go Tommy told me to hurry up and get my camera. The trees reflecting in Huck Finn Pond needed to be photographed. He was absolutely right!

So many photos of a beautiful place. And then there are the funny bassets and the beagle, all of whom had a wonderful time running around.

As we headed out of town, Tommy and I stopped to fill up the truck. I looked across the street from the gas station and saw this really cool tree. Love the color!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Snowy Range Road:

On the way to the cabin we saw a car stopped on the side of the road. That is usually a good indication that there is a moose sighting. So we stopped and sure enough there he was. When we got there he was in the bush behind him in this picture. He was kind enough to come out a bit.

Our home away from home. It’s called a rustic cabin. However, Tommy said it should be called a primitive. No power, no water, no inside plumbing. But it did have a good wood-burning stove. If nothing else, we were warm.

After the parade we ran home and got our things together so we could head up to the Snowy Range after the game. We walked over to the game–Amanda and Evan live about a mile to the stadium. What a beautiful day it was!

Granted, I’ve not been to a lot of college football stadiums, but War Memorial Stadium has got to have one of the most gorgeous views. If sitting in the right place (we were just a bit too far over) you can see the Snowy Range. Just beautiful!

That’s Cowboy Joe leading the way with Pistol Pete carrying the flag.

Yes, the Cowboys scored right after this. They also went on to win the game!

Amanda and I left the game at halftime so we could get everything ready to head up to the cabin. All in all, a great day!

The Homecoming Parade was lots of fun and a good time was (evidently) had by all. Here are some of my favorite shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After having lunch at the World’s Largest Porch Swing in Hebron, Kansas, we headed west again. We were going to try to find someone harvesting in a field. We had to turn off of Hwy. 36 and go up a dirt road for just a bit, but I was sure glad we did!

Somewhere in Kansas Nebraska they’re “picking corn”. At least that’s what they call it in the northeastern southeastern part of Kansas Nebraska. (I stand corrected–we were in Nebraska and not Kansas. It all looked pretty much the same to me: corn, corn, corn.)

While I had walked away to take pictures, Tommy talked to this man for quite a while. The man wanted to know if I’d like a ride in the combine. Heck yeah!

The Gleaner Combine. Awesome, huh?

 

I know it’s probably silly to a lot of people, but going to the University of Wyoming’s Homecoming makes me feel good. So when Amanda asked us to come out, we jumped on the invitation!

Our first day on the road is always the toughest as a lot of it is through traffic in cities of Chattanooga (morning rush hour), Nashville (traffic is always a bear), St. Louis (not too bad this year in spite of construction) and Kansas City (usually during rush hour-but we took the loop this year so not as bad). Our usual destination for the first day of travel is St. Joseph, MO. This is typically a 14 hour or so drive depending on how many bathroom and gas stops we have to make.

Some photos from the first day:

 

 

We always see the coolest skies when we head west. These two were shot as we were traveling about 70 mph on Hwy. 70 through a dirty windshield. But you can certainly get the idea. Unfortunately, Tommy won’t stop for me every 15 minutes to jump out and take sunset photos. :)