It's Catch-Up Time

It’s a cool, rainy Sunday afternoon here on the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country of Central Texas. Leo is taking a nap and I’ve got The Pizza Tapes with David Grisman, Jerry Garcia and Tony Rice playing.  Such a mellow afternoon seems like a good time to do an update to our Wanderings. I see my last post was way back in September of last year, so I’ve got some catching up to do.

The end of our Long Run, which I reported on last. was my hometown, Du Quoin, Illinois. Here I met up with friends from my high school days for our 50 year class reunion. It was amazing how quickly the years pass and how quickly they seem to drop away when you are with old friends.

From Du Quoin we headed south to Rosine, Kentucky, the birthplace and final resting place of the Father of Bluegrass Music,  Bill Monroe. 

We caught the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration, a festival on the grounds of Bill Monroe’s grandfather’s farm. On Sunday we also attended a graveside service at the Rosine  Cemetery, with bluegrass gospel music by Bill grave.

Service at Bill Monroe's graveside

 As an avid bluegrass fan, this is a pilgrimage I have looked forward to for several years.

Pappy at the end of the Pilgrimage.

Our next stop was a National Recreation Area campground at the north end of Land Between the Lakes. As the Cumberland River and Tennessee River flow north toward the Ohio River they form Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake respectively.

The Leos' hangout at LBL

Over 170,000 acres of forest, wetlands and open land between these two bodies of water forms the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation area, now managed by the National Forest service.  I really enjoyed the scenic drives and hikes around our camp site.



But, even in October the days in Kentucky and Tennessee were warm and humid. After about 10 days here we decided if we were going to be hot we would rather be so in Texas. So we pushed southwest to arrive at the Texas White House in Midlothian, Texas by mid-October, about a month ahead of schedule. But it was good to be back in the Lone Star and to have time to spend with Doug and his family. My...how those boys have grown!!!

The White Boys...Andy and Austin at Threadgill's in Austin for Gospel Brunch

We made a weekend trip to Austin for Maggie's 25th birthday on October 24. It was a cool surprise party complete with belly dancer.

At the beginning of November, we made the last leg of our 2014 travels to land at our winter base in New Braunfels, Texas on the banks of the Guadalupe River. We've (by "we" I mean the Trusty Companion and I) spent the holidays and several weekends in Austin. While I love our time in the mountains and forest land, it's nice to get back to civilization for awhile and to catch time with family and friends.

Christmas Girls

• I got to see my grandsons Austin and Cole play tennis and wrestle.

  

  Austin on the court

Cole Waters starts his career as a wrestler.

Signing Day! Austin White signs with Hardin Simmons University Tennis Team.

• Maggie and I took a Friday afternoon for lunch at the Texas Chili Parlor, complete with Mad Dog Margaritas and a Bowl of Red, then a tour of the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History

Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History

• Doug's family and I caught a Gospel Brunch at Threadgill's, with Maggie and Jonas.

Winter Texans' Potluck at Rio Raft and Resort RV Park

• Wednesday night is potluck at the campground on the Guadalupe.

• I've been hanging out in San Antonio more this season. I'm taking a class on painting with acrylics (which I'll talk about in another post) and catching concerts there and in New Braunfels.

Sarah McLaughlin in concert at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio.

 Whew.... I've crammed five month into one post. I know I've left some highlights out. But I'll try to do better next time. I confess that the months here in Texas seem to be flying by and soon we'll be on the road again, like a couple of Wandering Leos!

The Long Run Highlights

Our campsite in Greek Creek Campground

On September 5, we hit the road for what I have called The Long Run. This segment of our 2014 travels took us from southwestern Montana to southern Illinois, where The Du Quoin Township High School Class of 1964 is holding our 50 year reunion. I haven't been back to Du Quoin since 1966. It should be interesting  to see my classmates and the town I grew up in.

Leo keeping the Rockies in their place.

Since we had plenty of time to get to Illinois, we took a leisurely pace and hit some sites along the way. One of the highlights actually occurred the evening before we left Greek Creek campground. While Leo was doing his watch-keeping out the window of our trailer near sundown, he notified me of an intruder in our yard. Usually this is a squirrel. When I took a look, I found he had hit the mother-load.

I case the video isn't clear enough for you to tell, that is a cow moose with her calf in our campsite.

Our first stop was in Red Lodge, Montana where we spent a couple of days in a campground in the Bear Tooth Mountains.  From this base we made a run up the Bear Tooth Scenic Byway. And when I say "up" that is exactly what I mean. The traveling CBS journalist Charles Kuralt once called it “the most beautiful drive in America.” The Road itself is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet), and is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies. Here is what we saw from the top.

While we were in the area, I also visited the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument.

Monument at the top of Last Stand Hill

 The monument at the top of Last Stand Hill lists the names of the fallen soldiers. Their remains lie beneath the monument. Throughout the battlefield, white stones mark the locations where soldiers were killed.

View from the top of Last Stand Hill looking toward the Little Big Horn River

While many of the stones are on Last Stand Hill, they are also found scattered across the landscape of the Little Big Horn Valley, showing the extent of the battle.

From Red Lodge we moved on east to Rapid City, South Dakota. Part of my planning was to stay north as long as possible before turning south toward Texas, with the hope of enjoying some nice fall weather. Well...

Snow in Rapid City, SD

Fortunately the snow in Rapid City melted away in a day and I visited Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mountain.

 There is still a little work to do to get Crazy Horse Mountain to look like the model.

 I also hit a great steakhouse.

From Rapid City we continued east on Interstate 90 to Sioux Falls, then on into Minnesota. We spent a night in Blue Earth, MN for two reasons. First, the fairgrounds in Blue Earth provides RV sites with full hook-ups, with the first 24 hours free. Sure beats staying in a Walmart parking lot. Second, the fairgrounds is protected by this guy...

Ya' Just Gotta Stop, Right???

From Blue Earth we pushed on along I90 into Wisconsin. It was here that we began our turn to the south. We stopped off in Wisconsin Dells, only to find that the summer season is now over and finding an open restaruant in downtown was a challenge. My choices were a Mac'n'Cheese place or the Dells Distillery.  I choose the Dells Distillery. Imagine my joy when I found that their specialty (and only thing on the menu) was tator tots. Ever being the adventurous traveler, I ordered the special of the day with a local brew.

Yep, that's a bed of tator tots covered with cheese, sloppy joe and sauerkraut. I don't recall what they called it. Must be a Wisconsin thing. From the Dells I headed to Edgerton, WI to spend an evening with my sister-in-law Karen and her husband Dave. Their kids, Rob, Colleen and Susan joined us for dinner along with Susan's husband and Colleen's husband and some of Karen and Dave's grand kids. I haven't seen Rob, Colleen and Susan since they were kids themselves. It was a treat.

To cap off The Long Run we continued due south through the center of Illinois to arrive at my hometown of Du Quoin.  The Long Run has lived up to its title. We have traveled 1,686 miles since leaving Greek Creek on September 5. Today I marked the end of The Long Run by driving by our old home place. It's still there and looks like home.

The Du Quoin White House