Saturday 30 June 2007

We got back on Wednesday night.


Our beautiful vacation was just long enough. I know it may seem short, but Lil'Bug really missed her Daddy and Moon Puppy. So we headed home through Wyoming and Nebraska. We drove straight through, with nap and runnin-playin' breaks.

I am glad to be home. Leaving for a bit reminds me of why I love Iowa so much. Here is my list for the week:
1) Iowa rest stops have free wi-fi.
2) Iowa rest stops are right off the road (in WY and NE often you had to pull off an exit and then drive a bit to a secluded area. They were nice, but for a couple of women folk on the road alone needing a midnight pee break, secluded is not a term to be taken lightly.
3) Iowa landscape is like a patchwork quilt of greens and yellows, like something right out of a Grant Wood landscape. WY and SD, mostly dirt and grass and sage- not to take sage for granted though, I just prefer the fertileness of greens.
4) Radio signal. There were places we drove that had nothing. Seriously nothing. I'm not saying there was nothing "worth listening to" or "nothing I liked," there was nothing. Dead air and static. It added to the vast feeling of being alone out in the big sky and wild.
5)Cell phone signal. Verizon? Can you hear me now? Not in Wyoming.
6) I did not see a single Wal-Mart our entire trip. Perhaps this is a good thing?
7) Gas prices. Lo, we are blessed in Iowa. The least I paid for gas once crossing the state line was $3.16 cents and the most was $3.99. We drove 2,560 miles. Long story short, we made it home only because we brought nothing back for our friends but stories and pictures.
8) Food. I love fresh milk, berries, and cheese. Farmer's Market here I come......ok, maybe next paycheck since the Sinclair gas station chain of Wyoming has my food money for the week.
9) This is the heart of the matter: Dear husband. I missed him more than Lil'Bug did.

And finally, this is a neat picture of a power plant in Nebraska. It looked like a space city to me.

Friday 29 June 2007

Beautiful View

"Mama? That moose....."

That moose. Let me tell you about that moose. We FINALLY see a moose. I pull over, get the camera out, and check the batteries. We get out and walk to the fence. I get excited and take a lot of pictures. This is one of them.

Lil'Bug stands there squinching her face, turning her head side to side, and then pulls on my shirt.
"Mama," she says, "Mama, that moose is not real."

"Yes, it is baby, it's just standing really still," I reply.

"No, Mama, that moose is fake," she insists.

Guess what. It was a fake moose. A stone or bronze life size sculpture at the entrance to a University. Blah.

Wednesday 27 June 2007

Heard of Bison?



Yellowstone Bison have not interbred with cattle so they are a bit different from Buffalo/Bison in other places. They are HUGE and everywhere in the park.