Vacation Videos

Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park.

Geo-thermal feature in Yellowstone. Click once to see video.


Mud pot in Yellowstone.


Redwood in Redwood National Park.


Another Redwood to view.


A video of Crater Lake in Oregon.


A view of Bryce Canyon National Park.


A parting shot of The Teton, Wyoming.

Hannibal, MO to Cumberland, MD

Downtown Hannibal, MO from Lovers Leap.

The mighty Mississippi River from Lovers Leap.

A dredging barge being moved up river.

A tug boat pushing nine barges of grain.

The muddy Mississippi River. Each day thousands of
tons of silt is deposited at the Mississippi Delta.

In the back waters of the Mississippi River
you can find acres of water lilies.

Detours can be a constant problem when
traveling. This dirt road was part of a ten mile
adventure. You should have seen the car afterward!

Get a load of this home made John Deere mail box!

I called my daughter while we were still in Indiana
to find out where the Louisville Slugger factory was.
She was able to look up the information and call
me back to tell us where to find it.

Paul Bunyan and the Jolly Green Giant would
have a hard time swinging this bat.
It is the largest bat in the world.

I loved this advertisement for the plate glass company.

Made in Kentucky, USA.
This is the label from the bat.

We found this pink elephant in Huntington, WV.
A father had this made a few years ago as
as birthday gift to his little girl.

Our last night out here in Cumberland, MD.
This is the last posting for our trip through
Middle America. We thank those of you
who have been following our travels.
Soon it will be time to think about
the next trip out to the west.
I close this segment with my new
favorite quote from John Muir:
"The mountains are calling -
and I must go"

Hannibal, MO

The changing landscape of Missouri.

We found a John Deere mailbox...

...on John Deere Road!

We stopped at a local winery for a few samples
and we made some final decisions and bought
a couple of bottles. I am standing next to
the outdoor wine tree.

Months after the flooding began, the Missouri River
has not returned to its banks.

This is the swollen Missouri River.

Tens of thousands of acres of crops have been
destroyed by the flood waters.

A corn field under water.
Water fowl now hunt where corn and
soy beans once grew.

On higher ground, corn grows and
people hide among the stalks!

Topeka, KS

The road leading to the middle of America - Lebanon, KS.

I am standing at the geographical center
of the 48 contiguous states.

This little chapel seats only eight people.

It was built to remind people to pray for America.

The pride of Cawker City is its ball of twine.

Bill decided to do his Alfred Hitchcock impression in
front of the ball of twine. It is 40' 3" around and
weighs 14,687 pounds. Bill is a little smaller!

Sadly Cawker City is faced with the same problem
as many small western towns. The only building
occupied in this block was the bank.

Stockton, KS

A view west along Route 186.

A view to the right.

A view further to the right gives you a
180 degree panoramic view of the vast
Kansas farm land.

A baler in operation.

The baler "gives birth" to a 500 pound
bale of hay. I was so pleased the farmers
came over to speak with Bill and me.
They truly are salt of the earth type people.

Dorothy! I found the tin man in Kansas!!

Upon entering the town of Lacrosse, the sign
said it was the barbed wire capital of the world.

We were going to go to the Barbed Wire Museum,
but it was closed. We did see this barbed wire ball instead.

We went to the Rooks County Fair in Stockton, KS.
This is part of the entries in the wheat judging contest.
Each entry supplied a sheath of wheat and bag
of processed wheat grain.

Here are about a dozen entries to be judged
in the milo grain family. Beneath the milo
are ears of field corn to be judged as well.

Many types of fruits and vegetables were
being evaluated.

Just a small sampling of the huge amounts of
baked goods that were entered.

We found these in the 4H pavilion.
All the contestants were high school age.

These quilters meet regularly in groups or guilds.
It reminds me of the old quilting bees.
One display's message was to recycle your
fabrics and learn how to quilt.
One group of boys won prizes for making
shirts and jeans.

Garden City, KS

120' blade from a GE wind turbine, Lamar, CO. See Bill?

Rows of hay drying in the fields, eastern CO.

I was captivated watching this farmer dig up
his field of white onions. I had never seen this
done before and I could have stayed here for hours
watching him do his harvesting.

He has turned around and is making another
path away from us while we watch.

Can you seen the white onions lying on the ground?

Another machine has bagged the onions. I wish
I could have seen how this was done.

My "baby bales"!
Most times we see the larger bales,
but some farmers choose to bale
in smaller amounts.

Does anyone know what
"ad astra per aspera" means? (above Kansas).
"To the stars through difficulties"
is the Kansas slogan.
I had to look that one up on Wikipedia.
My mantra is "The Mountains Are
Calling and I Must Go" - John Muir

I was surprised to find an oil pumper in Kansas.
These farmers in the west use all the resources
available to them in order to make a living.
God Bless them, I could not survive!
The next stop is Stockton, KS, where they
will be hosting the state fair this week.
It ought to be interesting, but I don't know
if we will have internet, so check the blog
a couple of days from now.