In her post yesterday, Charla had a photo and information about this controversial metal sculpture at Council Bluffs Iowa. As soon as I saw the photo, I said to hubs, “We were through there last fall and I have a photo of that sculpture too!”
Because my photo was shot through the tinted front window of our truck, the white balance was skewed. I corrected it in one move in Lightroom. Here’s a before and after:
Today’s post seemed the easiest way to share my photo with Charla and to introduce my readers to her informative, educational, and entertaining blog.
A week ago yesterday, when my morning power walk took me throughour city campgrounds, I saw a young couple, a small tent, and two bicyclesat one of the campsites.
I walked past but my mind kept nagging me to go back and say hi.
I finally gave in and am so happy I did.
I greeted them and then asked to take a few photos of them, their tent, their bikes, and their post-breakfast picnic table. I explained that I’d like their permission to share the photos on my blog.
They agreed without hesitation and, as I was taking the photos, we conversed about their trip.
They were from Quebec (a province in eastern Canada), and although they had French accents, their English was excellent.When I complimented them on their English, they explained that they had to not only study English in high school, but their courses required them to practice the language with fluent English-speaking Canadians. This approach was definitely far superior to my own requirement to study French in high school, where it was classroom only.Canada is a bilingual country, thus the “other official language” requirement for school students.
Marilou and Leo graciously gave me permission to use their first names in my post.
There had been rain in the morning, but they said they were dry and cozy in their tent
When I first arrived, Leo was doing breakfast dishes at their picnic table.
Basic meal gear when biking
My cover photo is of their bicycles.
They told me they had started their ride in Vancouver, Canada (our far west coast) and were cycling back home to Sherbrooke, Quebec (near Montreal). Depending on their route, this is a minimal distance of approximately 5069 km (3150 miles), and goes through the Canadian Rockies. Our city park isn’t even the half way point for them.
I wished this friendly young couple good weather, safety, and enjoyment for the rest of their trip.
This type of tenacity, commitment, and friendliness to complete strangers is found in rare and beautiful souls. My life is richer for having met them.
Our hotel in Bismarck, ND was near the state Capitol. Once again, we’ve been to and through Bismarck many times and have never stopped by the Capitol building.
It was a cold and windy day, but the stop was worthwhile.
I was quite surprised to see that the building is modern.
The main building To the left of the tall office building Statue of John Burke, 10th Governor of ND 1907-1913Plaque at base of statue I have a new bucket list idea Liberty Memorial Building and State Library Fire escape at back of Liberty Memorial building caught my eyeThe name plaques are underneath
As we drove farther north, the snow dissipated until it was completely gone! This was a new, unexpected, and most welcome experience for us.
Falkirk Coal Mine, Underwood, NDNear Gardiner Dam NDLewis and Clark Interprative Center Washburn ND. We didn’t stop this time. This is an old photo of a previous stopApproaching the land border at Portal NDNorth Portal, Canada BorderOur home province Southeast Sask is a part of the Bakken Play. Our area is home to the second largest oil field in CanadaWe made a quick stop to pick up my traditional Easter treat Estevan, Sk coal mining museumLignite Louie is Estevan’s coal mining mascotThe first drag line in the Estevan area – now retired and tiny compared to the massive lines that work nowThe old power plant, now a museum, welcomes us home to Weyburn, SK
It was a good road trip home. I hope you enjoyed traveling with us via these posts.
At 10 hours, yesterday was our longest day on the road.
We had a couple of short stops for fuel and walkabouts, but aside from that, hubs was determined to make miles.
As a result, we’ll complete the trip with a 4.5 hour drive today.
This was a good plan because arrival at home involves unpacking the truck, sorting and putting everything away, and doing laundry. Both hubs and I have ocd-ish personalities that wouldn’t allow us to leave those tasks for the next day.
The roads have been excellent so far, despite now seeing “that white stuff” in the fields that has been foreign to us all winter. Thank goodness the final melt isn’t far away and our summer is around the corner.
My feature photo is near Thedford, Nebraska.
North Platte, Nebraska is home to a revitalized downtown project called “The Canteen District”. We only drove by but after seeing this sign which resulted in researching, we’ll definitely stop for a walkabout here next time we’re through.
I wasn’t quick enough with my camera, so this is from Google Images
Our first stop was here.
Although luck wasn’t with us, it was a fun 30 minute stretch, and a Google search told us that Bob Barker, the long time host of the TV game show, “The Price is Right” was a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Nation here. His mother was apparently a school teacher on the reservation.
Our next stop was at Pierre, South Dakota. Pierre is the state capital. Although we’ve driven past the city many times, we’d never stopped to see the capitol building, so we decided to fix that.
Completed 116 Years AgoIt was a tad breezy but no snow yet! A little lake sits adjacent to the Capitol Statue of Joe Foss – WWII Marine Flying Ace and one-time governor of North Dakota stands at an arena across from the Capitol
A few miles down the road, we were greeted with this
At least the highway is dry … so far
We booked into a lovely big room at Bismarck ND La Quinta. Comfy beds, extremely clean room in new condition and a great price for a holiday weekend Saturday.
Much of Route 66 in Texas has been built over by interstate highway 40 (I-40). Hubs and I managed to find a few sections of the original Mother Road, and chose to drive on them as much as possible, just to be able to say we did. It had a wonderful stepping back in time feel to it. My feature photo is of one such segment.
Yesterday was full of fun and interesting stops to check out many well-known attractions along the Texas section of Historic Route 66.
Our first sighting on Good Friday was The Groom CrossA small town with a big spiritThe Leaning Tower of Britten has an interesting history No matter where you look along 66, you’re time travelingMcLean, TX Museum was an amazing findHubs checking farming implements from days gone byAnother iconic Rte 66 stopThe Devils Rope Museum is massive inside Cute mock up of a 40’s DinerThis guy had a long trip Juxtaposition in Shamrock, TXShamrock, TX is the first Texas town along Rte 66 when coming from the EastThe iconic Conoco Tower Station and U Drop In CafeA tribute garden to Bill Mack, who was born in Shamrock Outside the U Drop In CafeLook who I found inside the cafe! Memories One must keep a watchful eye because the roadside history is continuous
Hubs and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of our last day (for now) celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Route 66. The anniversary lasts all year (the actual 100th birthday is in November), so we have plans for exploration of other sections later this year.
Radically Retired 