Little Brown Church

Stopped at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, IA.

Sioux Center, IA

We left Watertown Friday afternoon after eating lunch with my aunt. It was very windy and seemed to get worse when we got on the interstate. It was only a 4 hour drive to Sioux Center, IA but felt much longer because of the head and side wind.

The Pencil Box is an office supply store owned by Scott's brother and his wife in Sioux Center.

The bird is a Yellow Rump Warbler, I've seen it several times on the deck, but it didn't hang around long. It found a dead moth and was snacking on it while I took a few pics.

Watertown, SD

The pics are of Pelican lake looking east toward Watertown and an old house that was a part of a farm that my Grandpa and his brother owned before Grandpa married Grandma.

The lake used to be the pasture behind the house before it was developed into a nice recreation park by the state after being sold a few times.

It was wonderful to see my family up here. Grandma is looking beautiful as always. The husband debut went very well.

After having 80s while in the Black Hills, it cooled off and Watertown stayed in the high 50s-60s with a lot of wind.

Headed toward Sioux Center, IA now to see Scott's brother, should be there between 4-5 this evening.

South Dakota Prairie

Vivian, SD. Not much to see out here but my inner Laura Ingalls is very happy.

Porta potty

Toured Big Thunder gold mine in Keystone. Then saw a stamping mill where the gold was processed out of the rock. And among the equipment was a porta potty. Anyone who volunteered to clean it out more than a couple of days in a row was suspected of swallowing nuggets to steal.

Mt. Rushmore

Saw Mt Rushmore, and Crazy Horse. The weather is in the mid 70s and the crowds were very light. Most of the touristy things don't open until May 1-15.

Then we stopped at Prairie Berry Winery for a tasting.

Still a lot to do and see so we'll be staying another day.

Montana morning

A bit of fog here and there this morning.

Drummond, MT

'Cause used cows are cheaper than new.

Idaho

We cross the state line and diesel drops 50 cents a gallon.

Eastern WA

Got a lot to live up to, Montana, cause the sky in Eastern WA is pretty big.

Keechlus Lake

Road trip prep

We're about ready to pull out with 5th wheel for our trip. Since we live full time in it, it wasn't so much packing as it was unpacking stuff we won't need to lighten the load.

We will be on the road between now and noon. I hope to post at least one pic a day from the road. More than likely it'll be a cell phone pic so if the quality isn't there, that's why.

We're excited about the sights, adventures, family and friends we'll be seeing.

Tulip Festival

Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, WA. The weather was beautiful yesterday so we beat the weekend crowds and saw tulips. Tulip gardens were amazing with the variety of colors, sizes and textures of tulips. The fields were mindboggling with the rows and rows tulips and daffodils. Tulips planted in every square inch and when they ran out of room, they planeted them in the trees.

Rufous Hummingbird

Male Rufous hummingbird taken with my camera phone, about 24" away.

This morning I brought the feeder in for cleaning and fresh food. Several of them came at the same time looking for it, hovering, chirping, wondering where it went. A few minutes later I took it back out and they followed me, chirping in my face and when I stopped, the bolder female perched for a drink as I held the feeder. Two males started fighting and they would only hover as they drank.

Deception Pass State Park, WA

Rhodies and Shrooms

Daffodils

Skagit county, WA