Going, going, gone!

Written on 7/10/2017

And we’re off! We left this morning for a few days of vacation time. The plan is to go to the Badlands of South Dakota then visit my sister.  If we still have a bit of gas (in the truck and in our own tanks), we’ll head toward Yellowstone, but that won’t be determined until we are almost done with North Dakota.  We may even throw Canada in for fun.

I absolutely want to add at least Nebraska, (Lincoln and Quilt Study Museum prepare yourselves) and the Dakotas to Across America, the button map. The quilt on which I sew a white button to each state as we visit. There are still many states that need buttons, but here out West the states are freakishly far apart! So if I add these three plus Montana (I need only a little piece of the big sky) and Wyoming that will be a huge, really huge, accomplishment.

But we haven’t even gotten to Nebraska. We left at 9:00 (our time) and drove until 3:00 (still our time) and I feel like someone beat me. We’re in Mississippi. Big whoo! I could have residency in this-here state, I’ve been here so often. (Side note: I added my own hyphen to this-here. I like it, so leave it alone.)

The problem is that the new truck is rough. Richard assured me that it would have a smoother ride with the camper holding on to our tail, thanks to the added weight. Well, I’m not so certain that’s working as planned. It’s possible that he hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about. Generally he does, I’ll admit that, but this farm equipment is rough as an old tractor breaking new ground. And yes, the camper is behind us. And yes, it’s got some weight on it. (I had a little more time to pack up some “stuff.”) And yes, I’m keeping myself busy to while away the hours.

I have a book; a quilt I’m hand quilting; my rosary; a morning nap and an afternoon nap; and Cotton needs grooming. Plus, there’s eating, entertaining the driver so he stays awake, and just general annoying everyone around me. Too bad for them they are only two—driver and puppy. Not much of a challenge. However, you’d think I could blink away six hours with all those activities. No, not quite. The achy butt and hot body are reasons for ticking away every second of those six hours. Here's to making good, smooth time tomorrow.  

Written on 7/11/2017

First thing this morning, after we got on the road, I discovered that I'd started us off in the wrong direction. Now understand that lots of things changed in the last 24 hours before our escape. Richard invited the grandies, but then we discovered they would need to be back in a few weeks and decided we could not take our planned vacation. So in a rush to beat the clock, I planned another, completely different, vacation so that Lane and Jolie would have the chance to see mountains--Appalachians rather than Rockies. Not the same, but doable. 

Then all that fell through. And we were back on the path to the Rockies. I guess my brain didn't keep up with the changes because we definitely were not in the right place this morning. We made good time today, but I got to pee only once the entire day...not my favorite way to travel. 

We're back on track--heading northwest anyway. Tomorrow we'll stop at Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, MO, because why not? It's only 20 minutes out of the way. For that I'm giving up the Laura Ingalls Wilder homes in DeSmet, SD. Maybe I'll find some of the Little House fabrics at MSQ. 

The following day we hope to be in Lincoln, NE, for a tour of the National Quilt Study Museum. My family accuses me of planning our trips around quilt places. I do not. If I did, I would have gone to Marshall Dry Goods in Batesville, AR. It was only an hour out of the way. I do admit that it's a rare occasion when a quilt place along the route slides by. 

We stopped at a little RV park in Cabool, MO. We prefer state and national parks but when it's time to shut down the engine, we take what's available.  It's a bit too crowded with RVs for pictures of tonight's romantic little getaway, but Richard noticed a robin and a pasture full of cows.