Hanging out in Wyoming

We are in Star Valley Ranch at our friend Patti’s beautiful home. We’ll be here for a few days so I won’t be posting much. If I have time, I'll post a few pictures soon.

Hello Cowboy State!

We got up this morning to sunshine. It was actually 41 degrees when we left but the car was in the sun and registered a little warmer when we first started.

It was a great drive with very little traffic. We stopped at Fort Robinson, a military outpost in western Nebraska. It is now a state park and it would be fun to spend a few days there.

We arrive in Wyoming before mid-morning. I had to have a photo of this 1886 Redwood Water Tank in Lusk.

Did I happen to mention that we brought a Flat Me of each of  our grandchildren – all eight of them? They loved arriving in Wyoming.

Wyoming greeted us with many coal trains and lots of oil wells. We also saw many large ranches. We saw cowboys doing a roundup and later, near Crowheart, we were in the middle of a cattle drive coming down the highway! The cowboys – some on horseback and some on 4 wheelers were just nudging them along.

Cattle on the right side of the road

and on the left side of the road

One of the cowboys resting his horse

Today we saw many herds of antelope as well as sheep, llama, deer, cattle, horses, and an eagle.

We are in Dubois, WY tonight. Love this little town! We couldn’t check into our lodge because the check-in lady wasn’t available so the cleaning lady gave us the keys so we could move into our room! Later the owner spent at least an hour talking with us. So friendly! 

The Flat Mes got cowboy hats since we are in Wyoming. They looked like real cowboys!

We walked through the town and through a park. It was cool and windy but no real rain today just a few drops here and there. We had sun and clouds all day.

When it was time for dinner, our lodge owner suggested three places to eat and then said the Cowboy Café is consistently good and homemade. Our decision was made. The homemade tomato basil soup, the homemade chips and our sandwiches were all great. The peach caramel crunch pie warmed with a little ice cream was heavenly!

We shared...

 Some other photos from the day:

Nebraska scenery

Nebraska scenery

Wyoming scenery

Wyoming scenery

A stone couch in the Dubois park

The Flat Mes meeting a bronze cowboy and his horse.

Our room tonight with a handmade bed

Our lodge tonight

To make a great day even better, we just found out that our oldest Granddaughter Grace, who graduated from fifth grade tonight, received a number of certificates and a trophy (the Principal’s Award). We are so very proud of her. Way to go, Grace!

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States visited on this trip: 5

Nebraska

Tonight we are in Chadron, Nebraska. It has been a great day but the weather hasn’t been… It is very cool and rained most of the day.  We left Sioux City, IA and traveled Highway 20 all the way to Chadron, NE. It is almost all 2 lane except for a very few miles just west of Sioux City. There was NO TRAFFIC – many times you couldn’t see a vehicle in any direction!

We got an early start and the temperature only went down!

45 degrees at 7:56 AM

We kept seeing a bike path near the road and finally found it on the Internet – the Cowboy Trail. 

Cowboy Trail on Jeep's GPS

It is a rail trail – set on an old railroad bed that was called the Cowboy Line. When I found it on my phone, I saw a photo of a trestle bridge where the trail crossed the Niobrara River near Valentine, NE. We kept our eyes open and found the bridge. 

Trestle bridge that Cowboy Trail crosses

Then we circle around a few miles, parked and hiked part of the trail out to the bridge.

Cowboy Trail

Ray on the Cowboy Trail trestle bridge crossing the Niobrara River

After our hike, we went on to Valentine and stopped at the Ranger Station. After an interesting visit with the Ranger, we headed EAST to the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. The road was gravel and sand with a lot of moisture and some mud. So glad we had Jeep and that Jeep has 4-wheel drive! We finally got to Berry Bridge and saw the waterfall. We enjoyed a picnic there in the car. 

Waterfall at Berry Bridge on the Niobrara River near Valentine, NE

Throughout the day, we saw a herd of elk, a bison, two antelope, a turkey with his feathers out, a pheasant, and lots of birds.

Elk herd in Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge

Bison at overlook off of Outlaw Trail

We traveled the Outlaw Trail on our way back west to Valentine.

The Ranger was telling us that they had snow yesterday and last night but you really couldn’t tell until we got about 70 miles further down the road. There was snow in the fields and the buttes and mesas were covered! Chadron got 6” last night! 

Part of Highway 20 is known as the Bridges to Buttes Scenic Byway and their page pretty well sums up our travels after leaving Valentine: Traveling on the Bridges to Buttes Scenic Byway is like traveling on an old Western movie set: rolling prairie, cattle, pronghorns, cowboys and cowgirls... and a lot of Native American culture, history and tradition. In the western areas you'll also find buttes, mesas and fantastic geological formations, complete with prehistoric fossils. Also along the way are well-preserved frontier military posts, large working ranches and any number of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Tomorrow we will continue on the Byway as we head to Wyoming.

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States visited on this trip: 4

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And So It Begins...

Today we began our Great Adventure, technically called Grandma and Grandpa’s Great Adventure 2015.

We wondered just how much we could pack in the Jeep. And…everything fit! Of course we had thought about it quite a bit and didn’t try to pack things we didn’t think would fit. We have everything we need and more. 

We got an early for us start. It was 50 degrees at 8:10AM and it got even cooler before hitting a high around 54.

We prefer to only be in the car 6 hours or less a day but we will push that a little for a few days. 

It was cool and very windy today but at least the drizzle stopped and we even saw a little sun. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in our car at Oleson Park in Fort Dodge, Iowa. 

After we left Illinois, we drove in Wisconsin, back in Illinois, and most of the day on Highway 20 in Iowa. Early on, I commented that we had gone 52 miles and Ray replied, "Only 5948 to go!" It will be interesting to see how many miles we end up traveling.

Most of the Iowa miles were flat - we saw many corn fields. As we got closer to the west side, the terrain became more hilly, similar to northwest Illinois. It was interesting to see the terrace farming something we don't see much of at home.

Tonight we are in Sioux City, Iowa. We had dinner and a nice visit with our niece Carli, her children, and her dad, Ray’s brother, Ron. 

Our great nephew, niece, and great niece.

Carli's family is moving in a few days – her husband works a couple of hours away and they bought a house closer to his job. Ron is moving in a few weeks. We are delighted that they took time from very busy lives to spend with us. And we are both sporting beautiful new rubber band bracelets that our great niece made for us.

Tomorrow we plan to drive the backroads of Nebraska. That is so much nicer than traveling Interstate 80.

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States visited on this trip: 3

Still celebrating!

A year ago today was the day of Ray's cancer surgery. We are delighted that he is still cancer-free a year later! We are so very blessed. Thank you for all of your prayers and positive thoughts. 

We got our new Bluetooth selfie stick today so we had to try it out - thought I'd share our first photo.

Our Big Adventure is fast approaching and we are ready. We continue to celebrate life on a daily basis.

A quilt finish and a little catching up...

I'm managing to stay quite busy! 

Last week, we had a HUGE garage sale with Brent and Emily. So glad to have a LOT of stuff gone from our house and garage! It was time to do some cleaning out and now it is done! Nothing came back to our house - yay! And I have money!!!

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I did get this tablecloth quilt done. 

It will be used on our screen porch table this summer. I love the colors - they just say summer!

The fabric is Moda Folklore by Lily Ashbury - I used a jelly roll and pieced this at a retreat a few weeks ago.

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Of course the dehydrator is still running.

• I tried a new crazy fruit - banana strawberry - very good!
• We found that pears are wonderful - they rate right up there with apple slices (my favorite)!
• Raspberries are good - I had to try them because Grandson Mack asked me if I had. He thought they would be good! They didn't overtake pineapple as his absolute favorite though. 

My 'canned good' drawer

• After cooking some Acorn Squash, I mashed it with a fork and rolled it thin. I did not add anything. It dehydrated fine and I hope to use it as mashed squash.
• I partially cooked and cubed Butternut Squash and hope to use it in soups.

Overflow of 'canned goods' sit on the counter

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Ray has his 1-year checkup next week. We know he is still  cancer-free. He is doing great and exercises as much or more than before his surgery. We continue to eat a healthy whole food diet. He feels wonderful and is enjoying life.

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We leave soon on our next Big Adventure - this time we are touring most of the northwestern states and also crossing into Canada. Only two more weeks until we leave! Lodging is in place. A number of dehydrated meals are ready to go. We have maps and travel guides. My to-do list is very short!

Ray attended a photography workshop on Saturday so I think he has now figured out his latest gadget. He'll be taking LOTS of photos.

I have my knitting set to go. I do hope to 'finish' a sweater for Ray before we go. I'd like the knitting all done; I can sew it together when we get home. I have just a little more than one sleeve to go.

The hardest part of any trip is deciding what to take. Since we'll be driving the jeep, our space is a little more limited. If we do run into snow, we'll be really happy that we have the jeep though! We have washers and dryers at almost every stop so we'll be fine with just a few clothes. 

The next two weeks will fly by as most weeks do anymore. We plan to enjoy each day, however and we are still Loving Retirement!

Some really good cookies!

I am constantly hunting for healthy recipes - mostly whole foods. Once in a while, I run across a cookie or dessert that I just have to try. This is the latest cookie recipe that I found over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I made minor changes to the recipe which I noted in blue.

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Granola Cookies

Yield: Makes 3-4 dozen cookies
Cool the quinoa or the chocolate chips melt!
When measuring the cooked and cooled quinoa, don't mash and compress it into the measuring cup. Spoon it into the cup and lightly press so it stays fluffy.
Also, keep in mind these cookies freeze amazingly well after being baked and cooled. 

Ingredients
1 cup solid coconut oil, melted 
3/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa (cooked only in water, not broth) - see note above 
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (I skipped because I didn't have any - they would be good!)
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries (I skipped because DH doesn't care for either of these - they would be good though!)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips and they melted quickly with the not cool quinoa.)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat together the oil and honey with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Stir in the flour, salt and baking soda until just combined and a few streaks of dry flour remain. Add the oats, quinoa, flax, chia seeds, almonds, cherries or cranberries and chocolate chips and mix by hand gently (so the dough stays nice and fluffy) until the ingredients are pretty evenly mixed.
   
3. Use a spoon or cookie scoop to scoop the dough into 2-3 tablespoon-sized portions. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the bottoms are browned but the insides are still nice and soft. If you want a thinner cookie (instead of puffy), flatten slightly before baking. 
   
   
   
   http://www.melskitchencafe.com/quinoa-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-granola-cookies/