Westward Ho 2020

Around the Baltimore beltway and on to I-70. Next stop...Denver!

Back to West Virginia, where Josh was born 34 years ago! We brought some wildflowers from home to keep Trena decorated! When we arrived, it was 92 degrees so we searched for the pool. There were some fun steps to climb, but it was very scenic and refreshing!

We visited Jamie’s brother, Stephen, and his wife Sarah and their beautiful 26 acre farm. They treated us to a fun lunch in their spacious kitchen full of antiques and country charm! Josh and Meghan, wish we could have blinked you there to meet their chickens!

We had an early start to head to Lake Haven in Indianapolis. No picture of this, but imagine Jamie wrestling with the runaway water hose at the dumping station at 7:30 am. No one there but us to have a good laugh...would have made a great scene for the RV movie with Robin Williams!

Not as terrified!

Our campsite right across from Stephen and Sarah.

There is a lot of corn in Missouri!

We took a 5 mile bike ride on a back country road and it was beautiful...just enough hills to make it scenic!

Hard to capture the welcome to Kansas sign in pouring rain. But there is a Wizard of Oz Museum!

Jamie does most of the driving! Chris prefers to navigate and take pictures!

A hidden gem...

Pictures do not do Wilson State Park justice! This park changed my Wizard of Oz vision of Kansas! Stephen and Sarah were in a different loop on the lake, but because of the geography we could see their campsite when we went to the highest point in our loop. We had fun waving to each other a half mile away!

We only had one night to spend here so we fit in a refreshing swim, a picnic dinner, and a hike to the highest point in the park for a beautiful sunset!

The last town in Kansas before Colorado. Wonder where they got the name???

The chickens and Lucy are part of the ambiance of the venue!

New blue paint for the house and even the chicken coop got painted for the wedding!

Clearwater Creek RV Park is only 10-15 minutes from Josh and Meghan and a very nice setting on the creek in Golden. On Friday morning we host a brunch for Jake, Jason, Rika, Josh, Stephen, and Sarah. The brunch special was 14 very fresh scrambled eggs (contribution from Josh and Meghan’s chickens)! We also had Maryland Beaten Biscuits, sent from Mommom and Granddad, which traveled across the country in Trena’s freezer!

Stephen and Sarah treated us to brunch at Buffalo Rose on the wedding morning. Delicious breakfast dishes were served by a fun waitress with streaks of blue and pink hair!

She was spunky and had words of wisdom for the groom!

Looking at these pictures you would not realize that there was a heavy rain storm two hours before the ceremony started! Josh and Meghan wrote their own vows and included some symbolism about a cherry tree that was a gift from Jay and Mer. Special memories for the day included: the chickens clucking sweetly during part of the ceremony, the decorations and beautiful flowers (notice my wrist corsage even matched!), and wonderful speeches by Meghan’s maid of honor, Jake and Jason, and Meghan’s Dad and Mom.

Meghan’s family included us for a delicious seafood (yes, more good seafood in Denver) dinner on the rooftop at Bernie’s Airbnb.

My favorite picture is that last one!

Wyoming is flat and stretched forever. Then we start to see Mountains.

So many beautiful lakes with the backdrop of the Teton Mountains! We stopped at String Lake, hiked around Taggart Lake, and saw the famous Moulton Barn! The water is so clear!

We also saw a moose and its cub on the aptly named Moose Wilson Road. This wildlife spotting will end up being a preview for much to come our next day in Yellowstone.

After giving my students a parabola problem about Old Faithful for the last two decades, how cool is it for Mrs. Mosberg to actually see Old Faithful erupt?!

In between Canyon Village and Fishing Bridge we were rewarded with seeing lots of Bison, one herd with several calves down in a valley.

These pictures were the view from the beach and lake a 3 minute walk from our campsite! The water was a bit cold... Chris braved it to her waist and Jamie took a complete plunge!

This was one of our favorite hikes. Jamie said, “We’ve seen a lot of wildlife, now we just need to see a bear!”

About a mile from our campsite is the Wildlife Loop and we had fun driving it three different times!

The 1880 Train Ride took us from Hill City to Keystone and back. This is the engine getting filled with water. Same train used in TV series, Gunsmoke ( for the over 60 readers!).

Iron Mountain Road is the spectacular way to approach Mt. Rushmore. There is a tunnel where after coming through, the monument is right there in a view! Of course we also visited the actual monument, and timed our visit early to avoid huge crowds.

Wow, 57 years (or so) later, I return to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota! My father, who would’ve turned 100 on August 22 ,brought us here and Rock City and every possible Indian burial mound and a million other sites across this great country! A station wagon, three in the front, three across the middle, two in the back facing backwards , two tarps on the roof rack, cream cheese and olive sandwiches, and miles and miles of asphalt.

After visiting those special parks in the West, we were wondering if the trip heading home would be anticlimactic. However, Griff’s Valley View RV Park in the outskirts of Des Moines was scenic, quiet, and tidy. A bike path right next to the park was added fun with a beautiful sunrise!

Almost home

One last sunset