Home

After finishing some Christmas shopping in Kansas City we headed to Ankeny to Ryla and Nate's home. They had just arrived home the day before us, so we were all tired but what a wonderful stop. We began and ended our trip there.

Judson was excited about having their Christmas tree up although I don't think he quite understand the whole holiday theme yet. He and I put a few decorations on the tree. Ryla had the tree and lights up and ready to decorate. Look at how precious he is:

He was getting into the Christmas spirit when we left. Had his Santa hat on.

When we left Ankeny we did more shopping at Coralville Mall and then went to Roger's sister's in Cedar Rapids for coffee. We so enjoy getting together with Pat and Jim and the time flew. Stopped at Ryle's where we had supper. It was so good to see family.

Now the trip almost seems like a dream. We are home. Food in the cupboards, laundry caught up, mail gone through and correspondence done. Time to focus on getting ready for our Christmas with friends and family. The cold weather will help get us in the mood. It is hard to think Christmas with 80 degree weather when you have been raised in the Midwest and are use to snow and cold. It does seem colder as we were not able to get use to it gradually like other years.


Hope you have enjoyed the blog and sharing our trip with us. Happy Holidays to one and all.

Abilene, TX

 What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had with 53 friends and family. Food was plentiful and fellowship was great. We were able to stay in a home that the brides brother had bought and redid. No furniture but was a three bedroom. Ryla, Nate and Judson had one room, another family  from York, NE the third.

We were able to go to the Abilene Zoo with the Rowedders. Check out the fun we had.

These are just a few of the animals. It was a sunny day and we had fun.

 The wedding was the next big event. Don't the bride and groom look happy??

Check out the grooms cake!

The wedding was a Abilene Christian University Chapel. It was very lovely and a joyous occasion

The couple will be residing near Austin, Texas.

On our way back to Iowa we spent a night with Jerry and Marsha Hager in Enid, OK. What a great time we had with them. Also were able to spend an evening with my neice Christina and her family in Independence MO. That also was fun. Andrew their 4 year old son kept us very entertained.

We are in Ankeny now and will head back to Davenport in a couple of days.

Odessa, TX

When we left Carlsbad this morning we took some two lane roads across to Odessa. We saw acres of "ducks" some of which were pumping oil. If they were working the air smelled of oil. That part of New Mexico must be rich in oil. There also were herds of cattle grazing in this area but we only saw one ranch house as they are so far off the roads.

Upon arrival in Odessa we found out they had a place called Stonehenge. So we went to check it out. What you will see is just a small replica of the real Stonehenge. I think they said about a third the size. It was interesting to walk around it.

Roger is sitting about in the center of the Stonehenge to give you some idea the size. The walkway you see around it had interesting facts to read. There were also stones on the other side of the walk at different intervals.

From here we drove to see where the Odessa Greater Meteor landed. They did quite a bit of research from '39-'41 but then the war stopped the research. I am standing about in the middle of the crater hole to give you some idea. It is not as deep as originally because over the years it has had sand blow in to fill it up. There is also a Museum to learn alot. It is the second largest in the world. Largest being in Austraila. There is a piece of the meteorite in the Museum that was found on this site. Dee is standing somewhere to he right of the sign.

As you can see they have made a walkway around the crater, but they warn you to watch for snakes.

Carlsbad NM

We were able to spend the weekend with Bruce. Best Bed and Breakfast in town. So relaxing. We got to meet many of Bruce's friends and family. The time went so fast. Bruce took us to meet his mom and we had lunch in the Casino where there was a golf course. Look at the setting.

This was a picture from the inside looking out and then from the outdoors. The golf course was along the lake.

After leaving El Paso we went to Carlsbad Caverns for a self-guided tour. It was an amazing cave. We spent several hours there.

Today after doing laundry and catching up on things we went to the Living Desert Zoo here in Carlsbad. We saw not only many animals that are found in this area but also learned about the vegetation and making Cactus Jelly. One of our favorite animals was the bull elk. Look at the rack on this big boy. It was one similar to this that about brought our vacation to an end as he ate along the road and thankfully ran back to the forest instead of across the road and into our car.  It would have been much worse then the deer
 I've hit.

When we finished at the Living Desert, Roger wanted to play 9 holes of golf where I walked along. It was right along the Pecos River. They are getting ready for a big celebration for the holidays here. They do their festival of trees along the river. Here is just a brief look.

Not quite like our trees but it was a nice walk and they decorate all the houses along the river and take a boat ride on the Pecos River to see them all. (Only Nov. 26-27, so we missed it)

One of the beautiful things to see in the desert southwest are the sunsets. Check this one out. Pictures can't capture them as well as real life.

On to Midland, Texas where we will meet up with Ryla, Nate and Judson. One of our friends is sharing a house with us for the weekend. Our Thanksgiving will be spent with them along with many, many friends who are here for the wedding. Looking forward to a great family reunion but will miss the rest of our physical family and friends back home.

Flagstaff to Benson AZ

As we left Flagstaff this morning we came over a small hill and thought we were seeing fog but as it turned out there was a fire in the Kaibab Forrest. Definitely a unique smell.

We don't know if it was a controled burn or not.

We stopped in Phoenix and spent a couple of hours with our friend Jerry Selvage. It was a most blessed visit. God is definitely working in his life and we were blessed by having him share how God is working. I am just sorry we didn't get a picture of Jerry. We hadn't seen Jerry since 1978.

Along the drive to Benson we saw a lot of cactus. Thought you might enjoy seeing some of them.

As you can see they are huge. Roger is 5'9" so that gives you some idea of the height. They also have other varieties.

We also saw some cotton fields that needed to be picked and several bales of cotton to be taken from the fields. So far Arizona has been forest, desert, mountians and one HUGE canyon. Seems to be a little short on water though.  Another wonder of God's creation that we are able to enjoy and share.

Nevada to Arizona

We were able to tour Hoover Dam yesterday. What a major feat during the depression. They worked around the clock for $4.00 a day. They had to create their own city while they worked. There were alot of similarities to the Shasta Dam.

This is one of the original tunnels they made to divert the Colorado River while they built the dam.

This is the new bridge they built looking from the dam.

This is us walking across the bridge with the dam in the background. From this height the Hoove Dam looks very small. It really was an interesting day and challenging day.


Today we spent the day at the Grand Canyon. This was our first view. We took so many pictures but none of them can begin to capture the unbelieveable magnatude of this canyon.

When you get to the visitors center there are three different tours you can take. The red, blue or green route on a bus similar to city busses. They don't allow you to drive your care except on the blue route. We were able to do all three. They drop you off at any number of sights and you just catch the next bus so there was no pressure. Just a very relaxed, enjoyable day.

Roger tried to catch a view looking down but again you can't capture the depth. If you look close you will see a square a little left of center in the picture and that was a mining sight.

Roger would have enjoyed a more adventurous partner. We did hike some of the trails but they went to near the edge for me and I was not as supportive as I should have been. You can hike clear to the bottom of the canyon in some areas. I thought maybe this would be the last time I saw him with his adventurous spirit.

This is the last place we stopped on the south ridge, as far east as we could. What was amazing about this is that way off in the distance (where is it white), it looked just like a cross.Not a man made cross but one formed from natural sources. Our camera was not strong enough to pick it up but wanted to share it with you as best we could. Once again you have to be humbled at the awesomeness of God when you see the overwhelming canyon.

Las Vagas

From Paris

To Italy

To New York

You can see it all here in Las Vagas but the best thing we saw were the dancing fountains. Hope you can enjoy this brief video look at them.

This has been quite the adventure. Walked the strip from one end to the other. It is very different at night then during the day but I truly understand why it is called "Sin City".

One of the interesting things is the entertainment along the streets. People either in costume to get your pictures with or painted and standing as still as a statue but then do movements to get the crowds attention.

This is for Will and Colton

This guy was really good. Can't imagine standing so still for so long.

See Elvis is not dead!! Atleast not in Las Vagas.