Rounding Out Our Great Plains Adventure: OLA

a covered bridge from the 'Bridges of Madison County' in Winterset, Iowa

We were fearful for the next day when we had to cross the Midwest (the breadbasket of the US where the land is very fertile, ideal for oats, wheat, and corn. Central Luzon, the rice granary of the Philippines seems like a speck against these vast green and amber waves of grain, the graceful grain terraces, and the wind turbines that power them). There had been so much swelling of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers due to early melts, we didn’t know what to expect, and we had heard about the devastation.

grains terraces on the Great Plains

The Great Plains is that section of the Midwest that is the most flat, covering the states of North and South Dakota (except for the Black Hils), Nebraska, and Kansas. Often described as having the most homogeneous (and monotonous) topography of any part of the US, the region experiences the greatest extremes in temperature and climatic conditions. Winters are cold, with frequent snowy blizzards, while summers bring hot, dry winds. Before we left the eastern part of South Dakota, it was over 100 degrees!

wind turbines at dusk

The Great Plains also experience more tornadoes (remember Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz?) than any other region. Joplin, Missouri, close to the southeastern tip of Kansas was most recently devastated by a killer tornado. When the region was first being settled in the late 1800s, periods of good rainfall attracted a large numbers of settlers. Then several years of drought that turned fields into dry wastelands, discouraged them. The worst dust bowls occurred in the depression years of the 1930s.

the Corn Palace at Mitchell

It is only fitting that a proud testament to the hardworking people stands in Mitchell, South Dakota. The world’s only Corn Palace was started in 1882 and is rebuilt annually from 275,000 ears of corn at a cost of $130,000. Using 12 different colors of corn and trimmed by grass, rye, wheat, etc., an artist’s design is executed on a building shell. This year the design theme is called ‘American Pride.’ In Sioux Falls, the Missouri River is broken by pink granite rocks that create a pretty system of little waterfalls. 

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Sioux Falls in the city of the same name

Boys Town, a national landmark in Omaha

Just southeast of the Badlands are the Sand Hills of central Nebraska but we didn’t know so we missed them and the famous Chimney Rock. But it was a pleasant surprise to know that it was in Omaha, Nebraska where Boys Town was born. In 1917 Father Flannagan bought Overlook Farm and dedicated his ‘home’ to the care, treatment, and education of at-risk children. There are now 14 centers in America saving millions of children. Between Omaha and Council Bluffs is also the longest pedestrian bridge linking 2 states. 

the longest pedestrian bridge connecting Nebraska and Iowa

Bill's first home in Omaha, Nebraska

Bill started his family in Omaha, where, after working for a year at Caterpillar Tractors’ HQ in Illinois (where he met his late wife), he was reassigned. All three of his children were born there at the very first house he ever bought.  He had just graduated from Pittsburg State University in his hometown in Kansas when he joined the earth-moving equipment giant. And it was also in Omaha where he moved on to Burroughs which finally brought him to Seattle, where thirty-five years later we would eventually meet!

sections of I-29 that hugged the Missouri River
 between Nebraska and Iowa, submerged by the river's flood waters

Rosemary, Jack, Bill, Joe and Susan,
with Bill in Kansas City

So we also drove to Kansas City to meet his only sister, Rosemary, her husband Jack, and her children Joe and Bill, and Susan, Joe’s wife. Ordinarily the trip from Omaha to Kansas City would have taken 3 hours at most. It took us four hours and 15 minutes, each way! I could not believe it. Memories of Manila floods that leveled our tiny home beside an overflowing creek welled in my mind as I saw flood waters, being released from dams, submerge big sections of I-29, a huge American freeway!

John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, Iowa

But before we moved on, we stopped at Council Bluffs, Iowa where we had our RV checked out at Camping World. While they worked on the heating/airconditioning system, we discovered that the famous Bridges in Madison County was just 2 hours away in Winterset. That is where Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep denied each other the love of their life!  And the town is also John Wayne’s birthplace!!! His home is just the right size...if only it were yellow! How is that for rounding out our adventure in the Great Plains?

Malcolm X's birthplace on the same street at Bll's Omaha home

Next Stops: Minnesota and Wisconsin

Visiting Family and Friends in Colorado, Part 1

Colorado is such a beautiful state.  Fifty-five fourteeners make for its dramatic landscape. We are fortunate that family and friends live there so we can visit often. This year, Gretchen Bunnell (and hubby Don) invited her high school buddies known as the DUs (of which Bill is a member) from Pittsburg High School to have their off-year reunion at their lovely mountain home in Crested Butte.   Every two years they hold one; last year was Sunriver, Oregon (where I first met most of them), two years before was Tuscany, Italy.

The first to arrive were the Mackies, Jack and Joy, followed very quickly by us, the Colborns,  in the late afternoon of July 17.  Noon of the following day the Millers, Doug and Audrey, arrived. They were followed soon after by Kathy who drove with late husband Kenny Boone’s dog Luke from Colorado Springs.   Kenny passed away two months ago and he is the first loss to the cohesive bunch. Finally, later in the afternoon, Jim Thiesing appeared with his dashing Corvette driving all the way from Knoxville, Tennessee. Wife Carol had to go to their Flagstaff home to care for their son.

Expectedly, Day 1 was spent in getting updated with each other’s happenings, getting acquainted with the historical CB downtown, marveling at the mountains that enveloped the town, and gazing at the enchanting Aspen Glow from the Bunnell’s deck. The Millers and Kathy were ‘assigned’ to the Bunnell’s home because there they had two big dogs, Sam and Noah, and a cat. The not-so-used-to-pets Colborns, Mackies, and Jim shared the cozy Columbine Cottage, a 3-BR rental four blocks away.  And the day was capped by a tasteful dinner of Gretchen’s special lasagna and Caesar’s salad.  Yummmm!

CB is a former coal mining town which has transitioned into a mountain resort. It now has a population of approximately 1,500.  Mt. Crested Butte, a sister town, is nestled on the mountain slopes and has a population of 700.  Both are famous skiing destinations.  It is one of the locations where mountain biking is claimed to have started. The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame is located there. Other popular summer activities in Crested Butte include hiking, backpacking, whitewater rafting, and fishing.

So Day 2 was a hike to the summit of dramatic Mt. Crested Butte which stands more than 12,000 ft. above sea level (the town’s elevation is about 8, 800 ft.). Unashamedly, I did not make it to the top.  We rode the Silver Queen chair lift to an elevation of about 11,000. Then we slowly trekked to the top. It was no surprise that I often lagged behind (despite supposedly being the youngest in the group). At about every hundred steps, I took ‘breath-taking’ stops.  Just before the last haul at the timberline close to the alpine tundra, I chose to stay at the rest area to feed the chipmunks and to be fed to the mosquitoes, along with the Mackies. The rest bravely climbed to the top and briefly claimed the landscape for all of us to see later in pictures. 

The rest of the day was spent on a walking tour courtesy of Glo, the very popular bard in town, from the town’s museum where Don sits as director.  After the tour and a brief rest, we went to the grounds of the Center of the Performing Arts where every Monday, a free concert was buzzing.  The whole town must have been there! I dragged Bill to the great grass floor and we danced to our favorite Texas two-step and rock and roll.  And, as expected fair food was available for all of us to feast on!

Day 3 was a tour of the adjoining hills and mountains to see the blazing colors of the wildflowers (Crested Butte is known as the wildflower capital of Colorado), the gushing waters of the falls and cascades, and the rolling terrain of meadows gently punctuated by rivers, streams, and lakes. Our van was loaned to us by the Christian School and, though neither a 4-wheeler nor an ATV, it successfully crossed bridgeless streams strewn with rocks.  Lunch was a nice picnic of sandwiches and cold sodas close to the top of Gothic Mountain.

At the end of the day the ‘boys’ were treated to a game of hometown mixed softball where Don played.  Although they did not win, Don’s team did not heavily lose, as expected, and every one claimed it was because of the imported, though elderly, cheering squad.  Afterwards, everyone was hungry and hurried home to a wonderful Asian dinner from Audrey…a Japanese noodle salad with sweet-sour sesame sauce and grilled chicken! Another yummmm.

Day 4 was a whitewater adventure.  And, the coward in water that I am (even if I was born in a 7,100 island archipelago), I did not join the group and stayed home to write this post.  When they told me the stories later, I was so glad I did not go!  They told me it could have been an class 2 or even class 3 river rafting run. They went on the Upper Taylor (instead of Lower Taylor) tour plus an extended tour (for me it meant rugged). As for pictures, I didn’t expect any because I did think anyone would want his camera wet. But the tour operator had it all planned and provided a CD of the adventure.

Day 5 was supposed to be a rest day but we still got together at end of day for a fine dining meal at Le Bosquet, the best restaurant in Crested Butte.  Most of us feasted on the Day’s Special: garlic and olive oil-infused halibut with watercress/crab meat salad.  Others braved the ‘peppered elk and scallop/ specialty of the house. The evening featured the discussion on where the next reunion will be (2011) and the following places were nominated: Nova Scotia, Scotland, Austria, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. At the end of the meal we split into 3 groups: one went to a Chamber of Music concert, another to another of Don’s ball games, and I went back to the Columbine Cottage to finish the post.

Jim left on the morning of Day 6, so 4 couples were left for a nice wildflower tour in the morning near Kebler Pass.  The wildflowers were still ablaze in various hues of lavender, yellow, white, and orange. We also found out from Arlene, our guide and Gretchen's dear friend, that the area around Lake Irwin was where the movie Swiss Family Robinson was filmed.  The cabin there is still called the Hollywood Cabin. Then we had a scrumptious lunch at Last Steep Bar and Grill before heading on to an open rehearsal of La Boheme at the Center of Performing Arts. Then I got busy preparing the dinner for the night ( beef salpicado, green beans, carrots, and mushroom stir-fry) and Joy made her delicious blueberry buckle.

Then Day 7 was, of course spent shopping for souvenirs, idly chit-chatting and reminiscing some more, and just hanging out for more memories to be made.  In the evening Joy served her special chicken spaghetti and I helped with the garlic bread and buko pandan dessert for our last dinner together.

On our last morning (Day 8) we had a bountiful farewell breakfast before leaving for home. (Ours is at an RV storage in Denver near Bill’s daughter Suzanne’s home. The Mackies are driving to Houston, Texas and the Millers are driving to Denver and then flying to Concord, Massachusetts).  The thought of another reunion (the venue for which will be decided electronically by Labor Day 2010) gave us the courage of going our separate ways...for the meantime!

Next Stop: Visiting Family and Friends in Colorado, Part 2

Keeping Fit While Cruising

When we were in Pittsburg, Kansas, Bill and I had to see doctors.  A continuous tingling on my left arm had me alarmed while Bill developed a cold that wouldn’t go away.  Increasingly, we had been feeling out of shape, both literally and figuratively.  And so the topic of keeping fit within a cruising lifestyle has come up.  And this includes both the matter of food intake and exercise.

We used to go to Bally’s (a chain of gyms) three times a week.  Some nights we even walked to the supermarket or deli, roundtrip 2-3 miles. When we started our cruising lifestyle, through Boise, Denver, and Calgary (homes of our children), we invariably found a Bally’s or a community center with excellent workout facilities.  When we started to navigate the Alaska Highway, however, our routines changed.

We realized that the convenience of a nearby exercise facility is crucial. At first we thought hiking would take the place of a gym.  When we tried that, hordes of mosquitoes rejoiced! And then it got either too cold or too hot. So the habit refused to take hold. Then the thrill of Phase I, the sight-seeing phase, took over.  New routines were formed, not resembling exercise except for leisurely strolling.

Six months later, when we entered Phase II, the relaxing/seeing phase, and bought M’A’turn, we bought yoga mats so we can exercise right there on our new and spacious floor.  We did, for a month. But that habit did not take hold either.  We tried playing table tennis, billiards, mini-golf, and pickleball when we got to the North Carolina campgrounds. Sadly, those did not become habits either!  

But we thought there must be a way of keeping fit through exercise while cruising! I dreaded the thought that we may be slipping to the sedentary habits of sexagenarians. But I bravely reasoned that we have not yet formed good exercise habits simply because we are still in transition from our old lifestyle.  Discussing the matter with Bill, we now resolve to do the following every day:

1.       Exercise for 15 minutes immediately after waking up.

2.       Walk for 15 minutes before nightfall.

3.       Find the time to play at least 30 minutes of one sport (table tennis, billiards, mini-golf, badminton, pickleball or dance).

Now let us shift to the matter of food intake.  In Phase I when we were doing a lot of driving in the RV, we would cut up a lot of veggies (celery, jicama, and carrots), bring a lot of fruits (apples, bananas, cantaloupes, and grapes), and always have nuts for snacking on. We also opted for lots of water.  In Phase II when we settled at campgrounds longer, nesting in our ‘home’, we started to cook more meals.

 So, combined with minimal exercise and more food, would you like to guess what happened? Yes, we packed the pounds. So, now we also resolve to:

1.       Eat only one big meal a day, preferably dinner.

2.       Graze throughout the day with a small breakfast, a light morning snack, a light lunch, and/or a light afternoon snack.  

3.       Eat out infrequently, preferably only during an occasion or celebration.

Examples of a light breakfast are: a pancake, a toast, or a bowl of oatmeal or cereal. A light snack would mean a bowl of popcorn or chips, a cookie, a banana, or an apple. A hot dog, BLT or deli sandwich could make for a light lunch (in fact, maybe it should be half). And then we reward ourselves with a big meal (but not too big) at the close of day, like meat and potatoes and salad or pasta, garlic bread, and greens!

Wish us luck!

Next Thought: Nourishing the Soul While Cruising    

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Coming Home to Kansas, Part 2

The next town we visited was Joplin, Missouri.  It was a surprise to both Rosemary and Jack that the biggest continuing flowing waterfall in Missouri is right there, just about 30-45 minutes away from their home. Grand Falls is fondly called ‘Little Niagara’ because, although it is not tall at 25 feet, it spans a wide area, thereby looking just like its big brother. We had so much fun taking many photos and marveling at the marble-like rocks, carved by the waters that run through them, all around it. We wondered more at the many residential homes that surrounded the largely unprotected mini-wonder.

Just a few miles beyond the falls in Carthage, Missouri stands a man-made wonder, the Precious Moments Chapel and Garden.  Inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel in Rome, Precious Moments artist and creator, Samuel J. Butcher, designed and constructed the Precious Moments Chapel as his way of sharing the joy of his faith with the world. He used his beautiful and innocent Precious Moments messengers to bring well known and loved stories from the Bible to life in dozens of murals – all hand-painted by Sam himself, covering nearly 5,000 sq. ft.. And, leading to the Chapel is the Avenue of Angels. It was especially interesting for me to find out that Sam makes the Philippines his home now and there built a wood works and a doll factory! 

After being inspired by a wonder of nature and a man-made wonder, we were led next to the wonder of a man.  The George Washington Carver National Monument in Joplin is a tribute to George Washington Carver (1864–1943), an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. Much of Carver's fame is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts (more than 300 uses) and sweet potatoes (more than 100 uses). He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life.

In addition to his work on agricultural extension education, Carver's important accomplishments also included improvement of racial relations, mentoring children, poetry, painting, and religion. He served as an example of the importance of hard work, a positive attitude, and a good education.  He is also remembered for his humility, humanitarianism, good nature, frugality, and rejection of economic materialism. Thus his life undermined the widespread stereotype of the time that the black race was intellectually inferior to the white race. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed him a "Black Leonardo".

It was a very inspirational day for us and soon we went home to beef mechado that was slowly cooking in Rosemary’s wonderful crockpot.  The next day, Bill and I went to the thrift store to buy our own small one for M’A’turn. After the rest day, we headed for Kansas City. Rosemary has three children from a previous marriage to the godfather of Frontenac, Kansas, which adjoins Pitstburg. Dick Palucca owns and operates Palucca and Sons, a well patronized deli and store.  Becky, the youngest, a Pittsnurg law enforcement officer lives in Frontenac and helps his father.  Joe and Bill live in Kansas City. 

Before meeting them, we went on 2 tours: the Harley-Davidson plant tour and the Hall Mark Visitors’ Center, both of which were in the Missouri side of the city. Harley’s headquarters is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but it operates four vehicle and powertrain operations centers where they also conduct tours for the public. The Kansas Center is the only place where they build motorcycles end-to-end.  The Dyna, Sportster, and V-Rod models are built there. It takes only about 45 minutes for the final assembly of a unit.  Harley-Davidson is the undisputed largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

The national headquarters of Hallmark is in Kansas City.  Its Visitors’ Center had many interesting things on display:  the history of the company, its keepsakes, its longest most popular line of cards, Pansy, the Presidential card line, the 17 different themed Christmas trees gifted to Joyce Hall, the founder, by the employees each year and the hundreds of crowns, each one creatively crafted by volunteer employees for their 100^th anniversary this year. There were also stations where the process of card-making was explained.  Finally, we all got souvenir Hallmark cards that sang 'Stand by Me' when you opened them.

Then we proceeded to Bill’s home. Bill graduated summa cum laude from Pittsburg State University where there is a plaque in his honor and currently works for a big textbook publishing firm.  His partner, Kevin, is a gifted artist so their home is well-appointed with nice works of art, paintings and prints.  We even got a special tour of the lovely garden that he tends. Actually, they had just come back from Paris where they had a private tour of the Louvre!!!  Soon Joe called to tell us that his meeting was over (he works for Accenture) so we all had dinner at Hereford House, a famous steak house in Kansas city.

We got home close to midnight so the next day was another rest day before we moved on to Colorado. Even good things must come to an end so we bid Rosemary and Jack goodbye for 2 of the best weeks we have had. Our trip out was going to be or 12 hours so we stopped at Salina, Kansas for the night.  We camped at the largest chain of camps in the country…Walmart.  Bill and I had a kick out of setting out our lawn chairs on the grassy portion of the parking lot, talking to our fellow RVers who were also parked there for the night, getting updated with our emails, and simply chillaxin with beer and iced tea.  

And before we touched the Colorado hills, we bid more goodbyes to the great Kansas plains…the herds of cattle, the lone small oil rig on vast fields of wheat, the low-flying crop dusters, and the dwarfed motorcycles on the wide, empty highways below the blue and white tapestry of skies.

Next Stop: Denver, Crested Butte, and the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

Coming Home to Kansas, Part 1

Bill was born in Kansas but left the state right after college.  His only sister, Rosemary, and brother-in-law, Jack, still live in Pittsburg (without the h). M’A ‘turn, our 37-foot motorhome, fit perfectly in their long driveway and Jack let out a long 50-amp outlet from his garage for us to hook on to.  For two nice weeks we were happy neighbors, sharing meals, reminiscing childhood tales, and revisiting many favorite places. After all, this is the first time they have been able to spend this much time together since Bill left town.  It is good that both have finally retired.

We alternated preparing meals.  I made beef salpicado, chicken arroz caldo, beef mechado, Hainanese chicken, and pancit bihon, Filipino meals with either Chinese or Spanish influence and Bill contributed his specialty, wine-infused Italian sausage spaghetti, and grilled some burgers.  Rosemary made old-fashioned beef stew, chicken noodle soup, breaded pork steaks, and deli sandwiches, great all-American meals.  As expected several nights became renewed left-over nights.

Breakfasts were also superb: biscuits and sausage gravy, Belgian waffles, banana pancakes, Spanish omelet, egg cups and bacon, blueberry oatmeal, hot browns, scrambled eggs with cheese and spam, blueberry pancakes, and SOS (please don’t ask me for the meaning)..  It was a pity I had not seen a Filipino/Asian store for a long time in our trips or I would have prepared tocilog, red eggs or tinapa.  For dessert we only allowed ourselves my favorite bread pudding and Rosemary’s strawberry shortcake.  One night, however, Jack introduced us to the Tropical Sno-man and his 400 flavors! 

On the Fourth of July Jack grilled orange roughy fillets and Rosemary made hashbrown casserole, green salad, and sweet corn for sides.  Then Bill and I visited his frat brod Ron and his wife Susan to watch the city-sponsored fireworks from the deck overlooking the swimming pool outside his 5,000 square feet home at Deer’s Run.  Three days later, Jack and Rosemary celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary so  we took them out to dinner at Chili’s. 

Jack is a RC planes flying enthusiast and had more than 30 planes stored in his home. Their home is a good-sized rambler sitting on an acre of the great Kansas plains with shade trees, flowering plants and green grass all around. Suzy, a golden brown itty-bitty Yorkshire terrier, keeps them great company, along with tree frogs that frequent their windows and red, yellow, and blue birds that flock to their bird-feeders. Red and pink dinner-plate hibiscus and a weeping mulberry tree adorn their entryway.

Pittsburg was a busy mining town in the old days.  Big Brutus, the second largest steam shovel in the world, is sitting idle but proud on the banks of its mine pits.  And to cater to hungry miners, two chicken restaurants were founded by two miners’ wives.  Sitting next to each other on their original locations, they are still competing fiercely to this day, giving Pittsburg fame for the best fried chicken in the country.  Chicken Mary's and Chicken Annie's were recently featured in a duel at the Travel channel.

The last time we were in town Bill showed me the houses he lived in, the schools where he studied, the places he loved, and the people he missed.  The picture on the left is of the 'Galloping Horse', a gift from the Chinese friends of Pittsburg State University. Story goes that the horse lived between 25-100 AD.

This time around, since we had more time, Rosemary and Jack showed us the sights around the adjoining towns and cities:  Tulsa, Oklahoma, two hours away, Joplin, Missouri, forty-five minutes away, and Kansas City, two hours away. On the way to Colorado, we will pass through Salina. So this part will cover Tulsa and Part 2, Joplin, Kansas City and Salina.

It was raining when we went to Tulsa. On the way there, we could not find the sign that says ‘First Cow Town in Kansas’ in Baxter Springs.  Soon after, however, the largest MacDonald store in the world rose above the Will Rogers Turnpike (I-44). It covers almost 30,000 square feet of space that includes a wonderful gift shop.  Vehicles with all sorts of plates, Indiana, Maine, Washington, etc., are parked and a statue of Will Rogers stands in front of each doorway on either side of the highway.

And then we were inspired by the giant prayerful hands that stretched out to Heaven at the grounds of the Oral Roberts University.  Later on, we had a great time at the Will Rogers National Museum in nearby Claremont, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa.  There I learned about the life of the well-loved man who was the voice of America from 1879-1926.  He starred in 71 films, was always invited to grace an important national event, and died only too soon in an unfortunate plane crash.

On the way home, we again tried to look for the ‘cow town’ sign in Baxter Springs but, alas, we were disappointed…again. But we saw the cattle grazing on the vast plains of Kansas...the black Angus, the white Charolais, and even the buffalo or bison.  And the rolls of hay seem to gracefully hug every corner of the lovely fields.

Next Stops: Joplin, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri, and Salina, Kansas