August 31

This is a picture I took yesterday near The Arch in St Louis. This is the Mississippi River. I think it's probably the most famous river in the United States and it was nice to actually see it. There are two bridges here, an old one and a new one, along with the statue in the left corner of the photo. The statue is of Lewis and Clark. It was a very pretty place!

August 30

We made it home about 10:30 tonight. We took a different route home and were able to stop and see the arch in St. Louis. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's size can't be captured on film - at least not mine! We didn't stay long, as we knew there were many miles to drive but it was nice to see it.

August 29

What a long day we have had today. We have just checked into a hotel and it is 10:30 pm. We made it to Kansas City, almost into Missouri.

This is a picture of Bob and Andy at the cabin, shortly before we left. We had to talk and enjoy that view one more time! Then came the teary good bye's. I hate saying good bye. Andy told me it was just "see you later". That does sound better!

We are taking a different way home. We drove through Colorado and Kansas. A lot of Kansas was empty and flat! We drove for miles without seeing any other people or towns. We did see some pretty sights, but it's hard to take a picture out of the car window. This is the best I got!
After another day of driving, we should make it home again tomorrow.

August 28

Today is our last day here, so we decided to spend the day together, relaxing and enjoying the beauty. This cabin is on 35 acres of land, which we are free to walk and explore as we desire. This is one of the views I saw as I walked today.
Tomorrow we begin the 19 hour drive home. It's always good to go home again, but it's also hard to see a wonderful vacation come to an end. It's even harder when you are leaving your son, not knowing when you will see him in person again.
God provided us a wonderful place to stay, such beauty to take in and such good times together. We are thankful!

August 27

Today we went to Canon City, Colorado to see the Royal Gorge Bridge. In the morning we rode the train through the gorge, next to the Arkansas River. It was a beautiful ride. We then went to the bridge. It is the highest suspension bridge in the world at 1,053 feet. You can walk across it or drive across. I don't like heights, so walking across it was bad enough. I didn't drive it! This is one of the pictures I took as I walked across. Can you see the river at the bottom of the canyon?



Iona asked for a picture of the bridge, so here it is. In answer to your question, Iona, this bridge was build because of a bet. Two engineers were riding the train below and one bet the other one that he couldn't build a suspension bridge across the gorge. He drew up plans and the city agreed to pay for it. The bridge doesn't go anywhere, just across where there are more things to do. If you cross it one way, you will have to go back. That's why there is a bridge here and another one below. Hope this answers your questions!

August 26

Today we visited an abandoned gold mine and a ghost town. We walked 2 miles just to take the trail through the gold mine. This was one of the most prosperous gold mines in Colorado and over 3000 people lived here. Today we were the only ones walking around and all the buildings are falling apart. It was an interesting thing to see.

August 25

We've had such a quiet peaceful day today. We didn't get in the vehicle all day, but stayed here at the cabin. It was cool in the morning so we had a fire going in the wood stove. We took several walks and did lots of reading.
This is one of the spots near the cabin that is available to sit and enjoy the beautiful world God created!

August 24

Today we drove the Pikes Peak highway and made it to the summit! It was frightening at times as I am not a lover of heights and the road has steep cliffs on the side of it. However the views really were spectacular. It was snowing when we got near the top and our lungs could feel the thin air at 14,110 feet!
This is a lake that was along the highway just a short way up.

August 23

We have had another lovely day here. We started out by going to church with a blogging friend. The service was wonderful and it was so nice to meet Renee and family in person.
We then went to the United States Air Force Academy and were able to walk around their beautiful grounds.

This is their chapel. We were able to go inside also. Each section you see on the outside, has a strip of stained glass running on either side when you go inside. It is truly beautiful.

After we finished at the Air Force Academy, we went to the US Olympic training Center. This statue is at the front of the building. It was fun walking around there, seeing the flags of all the countries along with the torches for three recent Olympics.

August 22

We have had a wonderful day today! The weather was beautiful, warm temps and not a cloud in the sky.
We went to the garden of the gods today. The stone formations are just beautiful and reminded me of what a great God we have, to create such beauty!

We had just started our drive in the park when we saw people pointing up to the top of one of the formations. We were thrilled to look up and see big horn sheep. I was using my telephoto lens to take this and was happy to see a few more sheep in the picture. There are 7 in all; one at the top, one at the right looking away from us and 5 more climbing the rocks on the bottom left.

Did you find them all?

August 21

We made it to Colorado! We had called Andy and his was waiting for us in the hotel parking lot. Here is Bob greeting him after not seeing him for about 6 months. Colorado is beautiful, but seeing Andy is better!

August 20

It's been a long day! We left our house at 5 am and arrived in Kearney, Nebraska about 6:30 pm. Most of that time was spent driving, with a short stop for lunch and a few bathroom breaks along the way. We went through quite a few rain storms, which always seemed to happen as we were driving through or around a big city.
Much of the drive was really beautiful, which was very frustrating for me, as I wanted to take pictures! However, you can't take pictures while driving down the highway.
I took this picture through the windshield as we entered Kearney. It's called the Archway Monument and it stretches across both lanes of the highway. Each of the pillars has a huge bird sculpture on the top of it. It made an impressive entrance to the city.
We have another 9 hours to drive tomorrow to reach Colorado Springs.

August 19

This is a picture I took last month when I was at the beach. The water and beach always remind me of vacation, and that's why I posted it today.
We are leaving early tomorrow morning on our vacation. We have a 19 hour drive ahead of us. We're going to Colorado, where our son, who is in the army, is stationed. He will have next week off and can spend it with us.
I probably won't have time to visit you and may not get any pictures posted, but I know I'll be taking some and will be posting them at some time.
See you in September!

August 18

I took my walk early this morning to avoid the heat and humidity we've been having. The horses on the farm down the road had just been let out, and I noticed these two standing together, just nuzzling each other. They did this for about 5 minutes, seemingly oblivious to the woman who was trying to take their picture! After I took this shot, they ran off and began grazing.

August 17

We have a lot of trees in our yard which is great, but it prevents us from seeing sunrises or sunsets. Last night I noticed the everything had an orange look, so I hopped in my car and drove down the road so I could see what the sky looked like.
This is the color the sky was, straight out of the camera with no edits. Isn't it beautiful?

August 16

It is hot and humid here today, probably the warmest weekend we have had all year. This is a little church I drive by frequently. It's an old country church that is very small. I like the old steeple and it's quaint look.

August 15

Some of the farmers around here have some pretty impressive irrigation systems. I guess they have to be big to water a whole field, but I was still surprised by the size of it when I passed near it.

August 14

Is this the face of a happy cat? Not so much!
Oliver had a bath last night and although he wasn't too bad during the bath, his expression afterward showed how much he appreciated it!

August 13

I had a long day at work today, along with places to go afterwards. That means no time for a new photo. So, I'm pulling out one I took last week. This was taken at the old school house I showed you. There was a section of it that had this old vine growing on it and I liked the look of it against the brick.

August 12

After several days of rain, followed by some hot, humid days, it cooled off last night. When I left the house this morning it was 59 degrees. The sun was just coming up and there were areas that had this mist hanging over the fields.
This field is right around the corner from my house. It was a beautiful way to start the day!

August 11

This door is on the side of the old school house I posted last week. I love the peeling paint on it. It looks like it hasn't been opened for some time.

August 10

This is an old drill press that my husband has out in his wood shop. It's special to us because it used to belong to my Grandpa. He was a farmer and had it in his barn. It is turned manually by turning this big wheel. Bob doesn't use it, as you can tell by the dust on it, but it hangs on his back wall as a reminder of family and simple times.

August 9

This is what our home looked like tonight. We had a huge storm go through a little after 6pm. There were 60 mph winds, torrential rain and hail. It left us with no power, so the candles came out and we sat around reading by candle light, until 10:45 when the lights went on. It makes for a peaceful night, but I'm relieved to have power again. I was worried getting ready for work in the morning!

August 8

As I was driving in to work this morning, it was sprinkling. Soon after that we had the pouring rain, and thunder and lightning to go with it. It rained much of the day which we really needed.
Here are some of our Hosta, showing the effects of the rain.

August 7

This is a purple Allium. We have several of these growing in our flower beds in the back yard. They grow about 3 feet tall and open up to look like a fuzzy ball. We think they are a fun addition to the flower bed.

August 6

This is another photo taken at the old schoolhouse I was at yesterday. I love the wild flowers growing next to the old window and bricks.

August 5

This is an old building I often drive by. At one time it was a schoolhouse, then was used as the Grange building. This was an agricultural association that was popular when much of the area was farmed. I don't think this building is being used anymore.

August 4

I love trees! When I am out walking I often study the trees. I realize that I like the older trees best. Their bark isn't smooth like a young tree but it has a lot of character. It reminds me of older people; those who no longer have smooth skin, but are wrinkled. God has given older people and trees a beauty all their own!

August 3

We have had weird weather here lately. It gets dark and cloudy, like we are going to have an all day rain, then it rains for about 15 minutes and it blows over and the sun comes out. Today was another day like that. This morning it rained, this afternoon the sun is shining, although the clouds try to cover it at times as you can see in the photo above.
This field is not too far from my house. I thought the flowers in the field, combined with the fence and the tree made a nice picture.

August 2

I walked back to the state property near our home and found a whole patch of these purple weeds growing near the path. From a distance, it looked like purple flowers. I was surprised to see what an unusual petal these had when I looked closely.

August 1

This is the post office in a neighboring town. The town is very small, with this being one of only two buildings that aren't homes.
I think this little building is quite cute. It reminds me of Andy Griffith and Mayberry.