Our Trip East and Back: Day 16- August 15,2011: Laramie to Home!!

Today was our last day on the road.  Some people were really looking forward to getting home.  I for one was not.  I like to travel.

We were up early.  We packed up our stuff and put in the trailer.  The hotel served breakfast, so ate there this morning.  It was good food!!

When Bobbie went and out the camera in the van just before breakfast, she saw our cowboy friend!!!

Our Inn.

We left Comfort Inn at 7:40 am.

At 7:46 am we passed this billboard that said 'Butch Cassideys Big House Wyoming Territory Prison.  It would have been awesome to stop and see it.  Great historical place!!!

Stopped for gas at 7:50 am.

Saw lots of antelope in the fields a long the side interstate.

Stop in Rawlins for gas and restrooms.  We also had to stop at the dealership to drop off something they had left in our van.

Some awesome scenery!!!

Another one!!!!

This was really cool looking!!

Stopped at noon in Rock Springs for gas and restrooms again!!

Back on the road.  We are going to have lunch on the road again.  I was really hoping we could stop at a park to eat, but we weren't able to.  We are 5 hours from home now!

12:40 pm.  Passed through the Green River tunnel again.

Just after 1:00 pm we got off the interstate onto the hwy that we needed to take to home.  Passed Little America just before we got off.  Didn't stop.

Little America as we whizzed by!!!

2:38 pm we crossed the Wyoming border.  Now we are back into our home state!!!!

3:21 pm Stopped for restrooms again.  Cool place that we stopped at!!

4:29 pm.  Stopped at our local gas station for gas again!!!!

4:54 pm.  HOME!!!!

We unloaded the van and trailer, as the trailer had to go back early the next morning (it was a U-Haul trailer)!

I was sad the journey was over.  I did have a great time.  Wish we could have had more time and been able to see more people!!

I hope you have enjoyed my journey with me!!!

Peacock Girl.

Our Trip East and Back: Day 15- August 14, 2011: Omaha NE to Laramie WY.

We woke up fairly early.  We helped the kids dress, then we packed up or stuff in the rooms and got it put back in the trailer.

We were on the road by 9: 41 am.  We stopped at Burger King for breakfast.

10: 21 am.  Passed Lincoln the capital of Nebraska.  Wish we had, had more time.  I would like to have stop.  Some day I am going to visit all the capital's of the states!!!

12:09 pm.  Stopped near Grand Island for gas and restrooms.  Then we headed to Wal-Mart in Grand Island.  The parents went into buy some food.

1:00 pm.  Leaving Wal-Mart.  Headed back on to the interstate.  I made lunch while we were drove.  It was a little hard, but we were just having sandwiches.  By the end of the trip I was Pretty good at making sandwiches while we were driving!!!!

Passed under The Great Platte River Archway Monument.  It was really awesome!!!

At 2:53 pm we stopped for restrooms again.  This time it was at a really cool rest area.  They had a lot of historical information there.  We made it a long stop!!!

This was one of the signs at the rest area.

And another one

This was cool.

A sculpture.

The sign for the sculptures.

3:54 pm. Been back on the road for 15 minutes.  Saw this barn or building with this giraffe head sticking out!!!  Don't know if it was real or fake!!!  It was really cool!!!

Stopped at North Platte for gas.  It was interesting.  The town is North Platte, but it was by the South Platte River!!!

Saw this cottenwood growing out of a juniper tree!!!!

4:30/3:30 pm.  Crossed back into mountain time!!!!!

4:39 pm.  Started to get back into the foothills again!!  It is nice to be back in the mountains, but I really wish I was back in Wisconsin.

A hill in Nebraska.

An oil rig.

Nice barn.

4:56 pm.  Passed Cabela's World Headquarters!!  Now I have never been to Cabela's, but I have heard a lot about it!!!  Some day I will go there.

5:51pm.  Crossed back into Wyoming!!!  Stopped in Pine Bluffs, a small town just and I mean JUST over the border.  Gas and restrooms again!!!!



A while before we reached Cheyenne, we saw this white and turquoise adobe/teepee house!!!  It was cool looking!!!

Passed by Cheyenne.  A few of us wished we could have been a couple of weeks earlier and had more time!!!  Then we could have stopped and seen the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo!!!

Windmills.

A cool pile of rocks.

7:40 pm.  Passed Lincoln Museum.  It was up on a hill.  There was also an iron statue of Lincoln's head above a red rock faced hill.  It was cool.  Going up  that big hill (it was a mountain pass I believe) and going down the other side was awesome!!!  When we were going down we could see Laramie in the distant.

The Lincoln Museum.

We stopped at 7:50 pm in Laramie for the night.  Once again we stayed at a motel.  This one was a Comfort Inn.

We had a grand time there!!!!  We parked near the door to unload what we needed for the night.  While we were unloading, Bobbie went off to take some awesome pictures of the sunset.  Giraffe was standing by the trailer waiting for us to give him things to take in.  He shouted across the parking lot to Bobbie  'There is a cowboy'!!!!   Now the cowboy was standing about 6 ft. from Bobbie!!!  He just smiled and waved!!!

One of the pictures Bobbie went to take.

We unloaded and took the elevator up!!  It was cool!!!  Billie, Bobbie and I had to go back down to the van and get some things we forgot.  We had to wait as Mom's husband was parking the van.  It so happened that the van was parked next to the cowboys truck!!!  He had a dog, so Billie and Bobbie stopped to pet the the dog while I went and got the stuff.  I came back and the three of us stood there talking to him for a few minutes.

Then when I was going into the parents room (it was we six and then the parents and little ones) to help put the little ones to bed!  The cowboys come up to his room!!!  He was a few doors down from us!!  It was kinda funny how that all worked out!!!

The moon looked like this out our window.

This was across the street from us.

Peacock Girl

Our Trip East and Back: Day 14- August 13, 2011: Letts IA to Omaha NE.

Yesterday started our journey home, even though we were going south and our home was west!!!!

We were up early and got to help with breakfast.  After breakfast we spent the morning folding our laundry and packing it.  Packing the van and trailer again too!!!  It seemed at each stop we made we added more to the trailer!!!  I know for a fact that we came home with more than we took!!!!

We took some group pictures. Used the restrooms and said Goodbye :(

We left my Aunt's house at 11:58 pm.  We didn't want to go.  We were joking around with our cousin about pulling the spark plug!!!!

We were now on our loooong trek home!!!

The first stop we made at 2:45 pm was just east of Des Moines IA at the rest area.  We had something to eat and the kids ran around.  We were there for about 45 minutes.  It was a really cool rest stop!!!!!

At the rest stop near Des Moines.

The other side.

One of the picnic areas.

Back on the road!!! There were lots of things to see.  I found it hard to concentrate on my book!!!  It seemed to us that Iowa had a lot of 'electric' windmills. 

5:35 pm.  Brief stop just east of council Bluffs to find a place to eat.  Found this cool pizza place.  It had license plates all over this one wall.  And the pizza was good!!  There was this yummy taco pizza!!

Back on the road by 7:12 pm.  Now we are headed to a motel for the night.  Oh the motel is in Omaha NE!!!!

7:37 pm.  Crossed the Missouri River!!!  Now we are in Nebraska.

We got a little lost while we were looking for our motel.  Omaha is a BIG city!!!!  Found the road.  We had gone past it!!!   We turned around in the Oriental Trading Center head quarters parking lot!!!!!

OTC sign!!!!

Our motel sign.

The front of our motel!!!

Got what we needed out of the van and trailer.  Once again we six older ones were in one room and the parents and little ones were in another one.

Peacock Girl.

Our Trip East and Back: Day 13- August 12,2011: Nippersink to Letts IA.

We were up fairly early to finish packing.  Then Bobbie and I packed the van and trailer.  Our start was delayed a little.

We left the resort at 12:15 pm.

We drove back roads for most of the early afternoon.  Went through some towns and saw lots of farm land.  Saw some pretty interesting stuff too!!!

At 2:00 pm we stopped at a park outside  of Marengo IL.  We ate lunch then played for about an hour.  Left the park at 3:17 pm. 

The park sign.

Some pretty wildflowers.

At 6:43 pm we crossed the Mississippi River by the Quad City's.  We were now in Iowa.   Saw some pig farms so we knew we were in Iowa!!!!  It was good to be back!!!

The bridge.

The Mississippi River.

We were all really anxious to reach our destination!!!  After not having to sit all day in the van for the last five days it was a little hard for some people to be back in the van and we just wanted to reach our Aunt's house (my dad's younger sister)!!!!

7:10 pm.  Muscatine.  Only 13 miles to go!!!

7:20 pm.  Reached Letts.  Only a few streets and we will be there!!! 

My Aunt, her husband and two children and another cousin were all there to greet us!!

It has been way toooo long since we last saw them!!!  After saying hello we ate supper.

For supper we had hamburgers, potato chips, corn (which was really yummy!!) and I think some other things for supper, but I can't think what they were!!!!!

The fire.

By the fire.

Playing basketball.

After supper we got out of the trailer what we needed for the night.  Then we got beds figured out.  Before showering and going to bed, we older ones sat outside by the fire and talked!!!!  Got a little caught up!!!  We then showered and said Goodnight!!

We also had to some laundry!!!  Bobbie was up past 1:00 am doing it!!!

Our Trip East and Back: Day 12- August 11,2011: Nippersink.

Well this morning we didn't sit around the resort.  Mom dropped her husband and the little ones off to play mini golf while we six older ones went to Lake Geneva to met some old friends.

It was good to see them again!!  We walked around the farmer's market, then down to the lake.  We talk and some played in the lake.

Taken at the lake.

Another one!!!

Cute duck!!!

River boat!!!

After a while they had to go, so we said Goodbye.  We then went and picked up the rest from a park where they had walked when they were done golfing.

After picking them up, we went grocery shopping.  Billie, Bobbie and I did the shopping.  We went to Wal-Mart.  It was a Wal-Mart we had gone to all the time when we had lived in the area!!!!

We went back to the resort for the afternoon.  We put the food away.  Then our Aunt stopped by with her youngest daughter.  They had came by to bring some stuff and say Goodbye again!!!!

In the evening we went back to Lake Geneva to have supper with friends (the parents and sisters of my girlfriend that was married).  We went to a park (the park we picked up the rest of the family from earlier!!!!).  Before supper we kids played on the play ground.

Double swinging!!!!  FUN!!!

WEEEEEEE!!!!!

For supper we had sandwich's.  They were good!!!!  After supper, we went for a walk on the board walk that goes around the lake.  We didn't go far (the entire board walk in over 20 miles long!!!)

Wonderful scenery!!!

Part of the board walk

One of the houses.

Anther one!!!

When we got back, we played some more then we finished packing up all the stuff, got some group pictures.  Then we said Goodbye.  Goodbyes are always hard when they are to people you love and care about.

We started packing when we got back as we were leaving in the morning.

(I could post more pictures!!!!  Maybe I will come and post more tomorrow as I am running out of time today!!!!)

Peacock Girl.

Our Trip East and Back: Day 11- August 10, 2011: Nippersink.

One again we spent the morning and most of the afternoon at the resort.  Mom's husband took the van to the mechanics again and picked up a few things from the store. 

Late in the afternoon went over to my Aunt's house for supper.  Got to see another cousin (the brother of the two sisters), his wife and daughter who we met for the first time.  The middle child with her husband (who we saw a couple days before) were not able to make it.  It was a bummer that we were not able to see them again.

Playing some games!!

All told it was a wonderful evening.  Played some games and did a lot of talking.

Peacock Girl.

Our Trip East and Back: Day 10- August 9, 2011: Nippersink.

Lets see what happened today.......

In the morning we were just around the resort again.  My Aunt came by again and brought her boyfriend for us all to meet.

In the afternoon we lids played at a park ( on that we 6 older ones played at all the time when we lived in the neighborhood years ago.  It had changed a little!!), while our van was at the mechanic's

Playing at the park!!!

Swinging!!!  WEE!!!

More swings!!!

Lets dig!!!!

I need to dig too!!!!

Me three!!!!

After they looked at our van (don't remember if they worked on it) we went to our friends (the family of my girlfriend that was married) for supper.  for supper we had pizza!!!  YUM!!!!! YUM!!!!!  Then we visited for a while.  We had a great evening.   It was a good time.

This pictures was taken at our friends house.

Peacock Girl.