Go West Young Man

Our best life awaits us in California. Getting there feels like the pioneers felt on their journey West...okay, we have have things a bit easier. We are in the middle of Kansas at an RV Park and the weather is taking its toll on us. These storms keep coming at us and seem to get worse as we head further West. Our days have have been filled with long drives and stops at interesting places to break up the monotony of the long, straight roads through agricultural fields. Our nights have been somewhat sleepless as the rain pitter-patters on the roof and the twenty mile an hour wind gusts shake our wagon.  Our RV, Kitty, as we call her has been performing perfectly so far and we count on this to continue to be the case.  Yesterday we stopped at the Archway Memorial to Westward Expansion museum over I-80 in Kearney, Nebraska. It was here that I began to relate to what the folks in the 1800's must have went through to make it West. The museum was really well done as it took you on a guided tour of how the West was settled.  First, by covered wagons on the Oregon Trail.  Next, by train with the great rail race and finally by automobile on the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. We too are on a family journey West and at times our modern covered wagon feels vulnerable to the weather. A decision to go West for those pioneer families was a matter of life, free to be as they wished, or death due to the harsh journey. It makes me appreciate so much more what the pioneers went through to develop all that I get to appreciate about the Western United States.  As the rain pours and the temperature in May drops into the 30's here, a tent at night and covered wagon by day would feel so scary. 

This journey has given me a new perspective on what America truly is to me. Traveling to every state that we have been through, I believe it is up to thirty-five now, I have begun to realize that traveling has given me so much to understand my place in the world.  When you meet people in their home surroundings you understand their perspective more clearly. Someone you meet while living in Southern California who says that they are from small towns in middle america become a whole lot better understood by the person who has traveled to or lived in that area of the country.  There is a connectedness that happens instantly when you tell someone, "I have been where you are from". I live for this kind of connectedness.  If i'd never travel i'd miss this opportunity.

The kids are doing well despite having very little opportunity to get outside and explore their surroundings due to the rain.  One RV park in Iowa left us no way to exit our RV without stepping into two inches of water. Boyd has taken some liberty to just get out and splash in the mud or walk in the hail.  Blythe enjoys watching from inside the warm wagon only stepping out briefly to play in the rain.  I have endured my most stressful driving in the plains states.  Erica is following in our car and she is also feeling the stress that the rain and wind gusts bring to our journey.  Every time we stop we converse about how the "toaster on wheels" is handling then she tells stories about almost getting swiped by semi-trucks or blown over by the gusts of wind they create when they pass. In the Great Plains States, it is dangerous to drive any stretch of road that runs North and South as the wind blasts you from both the East and West.

Other highlights of this leg of the journey begin with a stop in Springfield, IL at Abraham Lincoln's homesite. A modest house with a three seat outhouse!

Getting to spend a day with my Mom in our campground in Amboy, IL was fun.  She drove down with her good friend Betsy to play games and spend a few hours with us.  She brought us our collection of memorabilia that we left at her house in August and we replaced it by giving her a donation bag to take to Goodwill.   

We then headed to Bettendorf, IA where we stopped briefly to see my old home and first elementary school.  I lived here for about four years as a kid from age 1-5.  I hadn't been back here since I was a teenager so it has changed a bit. 

We then headed a few hours southwest to Mt. Pleasant, IA to park the RV at our site before heading out to Ollie, IA where I lived from age 5-8. It was a farm town of 300 people that I still look back on as one of my favorite places I lived growing up. The town looks so much as I remember it even though I hadn't seen it in over thirty years. I have told Erica for twenty years that one day I will show her this place and I finally got the chance to. 

Next, we visited Amana Colonies, the German and Amish community which is a national landmark. We ate lunch at a German Restaurant before doing some shopping at the quaint shops of the community. The kids enjoyed the rock shop and Erica and I purchased some art pieces to add to our collection of memories. 

We look forward to getting to Colorado soon to spend a few weeks exploring the beauty of the state.

Peace and Love