Our 48th Anniversary Trip

June 3, 2013 -June 19,2013

Married June 5, 1965

Trip Summary

Linda

Our 48th Anniversary trip was a little different than some of our other trips as we went to see Nikki at the beginning.  Although we cut our trip short we did so many things that were really nice.  I enjoyed seeing St. Louis from the top of the Arch which we had not done in a long time, being really close to the ball field in Cincinnati, seeing Nikki, meeting John’s baseball buddies, the Bad Lands and I really enjoyed being able to buy  “Universal Dancer’’ at Wall Drug.  It had been many years since we had seen Mount Rushmore and Devil’s Tower.  Unfortunately John had one of his really bad stomach aches and ended up being sick during the night. We made our way to one of my favorite places in the United States, and that is Yellowstone and the Tetons.  A couple of special moments were when we were able to give a young family a set of binoculars (which we did not need as we had others) and when someone saw John’s Vernor’s and he gave them a few cans.  It does not take much to make people smile and it made us feel good.  We saw so many different animals; buffalo, antelope ,grizzly bears, black bear, mountain goats, big horn sheep, eagles, osprey, elk, deer and a bunch of small creatures.  Although I had a hard time walking I truly enjoyed being able to go to the places that I like so much.  John got down on his knees to propose to me which is always a highlight for me.  We had some of the best meals that we have had on any of our trips and got to see a couple of movies in Denver.  This trip was shorter and had a few more problems, health wise, but I had a wonderful time just being with John.  We never need to turn on the radio or listen to music or books as we are very comfortable just talking to each other, something our children and grand-children probably would not understand.  I hope that they grow to be as comfortable and close with the person that they love as I feel with John, my husband of 48 years.  The only way to be ‘’comfortable’’ is  to stay in love. Linda

John

Love is as the song said what everything is all about. After 48 years Linda is living proof that I made one good decision in my life and I am always aware that our lives are very fragile. Linda had a terrible time with her knees and I was so aware of this that there can be no doubt we were affected by this awareness. As Linda points out we managed to share wonderful moments at the walk in the Dells, even surviving the traffic in Chicago, and for me buying her the Indian Painting in Wall Drug of all places. Dinner at that  great restaurant in Saratoga was another highlight.  Yellowstone and all the goodness it brings out in one is always a highlight.  the nice people we met along the way and the super nice way in which so many people shared in the joy of our anniversary trip - these memories overwhelm the memory of worry and concern. the best part of this trip as seems to be in all our travels is easily being alone with the "air I breathe" my wife. John

June 3rd -Day One

We left Wichita and headed for St. Louis. We stopped at the Rib crib in KC and had a very nice BBQ dinner and went on our way. We took "moving" pictures of a swollen Missouri River and also I took a wrong turn after dark and went about 5 miles on a terifying two lane road. We made our way back to the interstate and found a Motel 6 just shy of St. Louis. Was an interesting first day!

 

June 4th - Day 2 - St. Louis Arch and a Ballgame in Cincinnati

We got up early and went to the Arch where we took an exit which almost ran us into the flooding Miss. River. We made our way to the Arch and went in a cramped car up to the top. The views were awesome and we enjoyed ourselves and too many pictures.

We drove on to Cincy where we got from scalpers -2 seats 2nd row right behind 1st base and watched a good ballgame with nice people.  One of those nice people actually insisted on buying me a 3D souvineer cup. really nice and then yes we got lost going back to our hotel. We ended up driving through a real interesting part of the city at 11:30 PM and being loudly accosted by ladies selling their wares and others selling who knows what. At the ballgame the staff gave us a special parking place, a certificate of marriage and we got it autographed by Branden Phillips. Really nice night.

June 5th, Our 48th Anniversary, and June 6th at Nikki's

We drove through medium traffic and had a less than satisfactory anniversary lunch. We were so v ery pleased to see Nikki,Andy and Andrew. We took many pictures and had a very nice visit. Andy grilled for us on our anniversary and Nikki and Andy bought us Chinese Dinner the next day.

 

June 7th to The Dells

Actually today was not an easy drive as it took us 3.5 hours to drive around 75 miles through Chicago at 2 in the afternoon. took a few "moving" pictures and basically survived an unexpectedly long driving day. We saw gas for $5.19 a gallon but did NOT buy any!

 

June 8th -The Dells and laCrosse

 

We got up and took a morning boat tour of the upper Dells and they were beautiful and it was very relaxing. We saw a dog jumping across from one rock to another and got pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went to LaCrosse where we were warmly greeted by three of my STRAT baseball friend who took us to the laCrosse Loggers game. One of my friends is the GM of the team and he got us seats and a game ball which we all autographed. I bought a Logger championship hat and it was a great and enjoyable evening.

June 9th - On to Chamberlain after breakfast with the Thier's

We woke up and had a very nice breakfast at Jim's where we met his wife and two daughters. We also met two young ballplayers who were staying at his home. We then drove to Chamberlain SD where we took a very few  pictures and went to bed.

June 10th - To Gillette , Wy. via Badlands, Wall Drug, Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, and Devils Tower

 

This was a very nice vacation day that ended with me being really sick with a terrible stomach issue. We began by going through the Badlands where we took many pictures including several of Big Horn Sheep. We then went to Wall Drug where we got our free ice water and spent about $500 on an anniversary gift for my wife. We bought a beautiful print by Anna Rainbird - Universal Dancer.

We went on to Mt. Rushmore where I got down on my knees and re proposed and almost could not get up. then we drove on past Devil's Tower and I began to be sick so went to a motel where I promptly threw up and still it was a very nice day.

 

June 11 -We drove to Yellowstone NP

 

We drove through Sheridan and Greybull on to West Yellowstone where we got a tent site and camped. We drove over one of our favorate senic highways, the Chief Joseph Highway and it was very pretty. When we got into Yellowstone from Cooke City, there was no camping or lodging available so we went on to West Yellowstone where we got a very nice camp site for $8. We saw a grizzley  in the Lamar Valley and more and it was a long nice day.

June 12th -Yellowstone

We got a room at Canyon Lodge and toured all day. When we got back to our room we were surprised by the staff of the lodge with a beautiful blanket and a box of goodies and a nice note.

June13th

We woke up to rain but decided to go to Roosevelt Lodge because they had a room for us. We went over as very muddy Tower Road and really got our caqr dirty. We went out into Lamar Valley where we saw big horn sheep, mountain goats and an osprey among other beautiful annimals. We sontaneously gave a young family a pair of our good binoculars as they had forgotten theirs and we had two sets. We shared some Vernors with a lady who saw them in our car. We returned to roosevelt to find out we did not have a room for the night but then the manager at Canyon, Julie, found us a room back at Canyon and gave it to us for free because of the mix up. It was really nice of her and a very lovely room. We rested and then went back out and saw a beautiful grizzley bear near fishing bridge. A very interesting and nice  vacation day.

June 14 - The Tetons

 

We  drove  out of  Yellowstone and made our way to the Tetons where we got a campsite for the next two nights. Lake Yellowstone had large white caps and the wind was intense. The wildflowers are the most incredible we have ever seen here in the Teton Valley. The wild life is few and far between. After looking all day  and driving over a hundred miles and seeing no animals of note, we returned to our campsite and less than a mile from where our tent is pitched, yes, we found 4 moose including a big bull with a wonderful rack. We took at least a 100 pictures. It is clear and very cold getting down to 35 degrees or so tonight  and we are worried but going to try and stay warm - may have to resort to the car.  Hope not!

June 15 - Saratoga, Wy

It was bitterly cold in the tent -28 degrees- so we slept in the mustang and not only was  warm but cozy. While we  were breaking camp, we met and talked for a while with 2 nice teachers from Georgia. We then proceeded to find another bull moose in the same place as the night before.  Again we stopped and of course took many more pictures. On the way out of Moran Junction we stopped and took even more pictures of a beautiful osprey. We drove through Dubois where a pack horse race was going on. We saw some very scruffy wild horses.  I began to get just a little cranky so we got a motel early in this small quaint town of Saratoga, Wyoming. In this town of 1600, we had a real 48th anniversary dinner. We ate at Bella's and we sat outside and watched deer walking by and had a fabulous meal which cost $110....WOW!!!! The most we have ever spent on a meal for the two of us and it was well worth it.

June 16th - To Denver through the Poudre Canyon and Rocky MT NP

We drove from the strange quaint town of Saratoga to Denver. We went first through the tiny town of Encampment which was having it's "encampment" and was not real impressed but still they seemed very nice people. We saw no moose today although we really went looking both in the Poudre Area and in the NP. We saw a few elk and no other animals of real note. Gigi got us a room for three nights at the Fairfield Marriot and it is just fine. We are planning our next few days. We also got an email picture of the black bear that was photographed on the porch of the cabin we stayed in at Canyon. Kind of a tiring day but Linda surived my crankiness. Was a good day

 

June 17 - Day Drive and Botanical Gardens

Today we slept in and  had breakfast in the motel. We drove to Mt. Evans where half way up the mountain, in a snow sleet mixture, once again I turned around and came back down. Don't think I can do that drive anymore. We drove back to Denver stopping to get a Baskin Robbins ice cream in the touristy town of Evergreen. We then went to the Denver Botanical Gardens where we used our Wichita membership to get in free and proceeded to take a multitude of pictures. We took a picture of Emmy Lou Harris who was preparing to perform this night. Of course she was sold out. We had a great dinner at le Central and called it a day.

June 18 - Last Denver Day

We got up slowly had a nice motel breakfast and went to Macy's to just look around. We went to see the new Superman movie and it was at the infamous Aurora theatre where the gunman killed so many people. The theatre itself was beautifully redone and the movie was great. We went back to the motel and went swimming and then we went to the Esquire theatre and saw "The East" an art movie and it was a provocative and challenging movie. We are just relaxing tonight after a very nice day.