As Tom and I traveled from Washington to Ohio, we saw many signs for the Oregon Trail. We also saw sugar beets in so many different forms that we ended up learning a lot about sugar beets. Before this particular sojourn out west, I had never thought about sugar beets at all. I like pickled …
From January 2018
Oregon Trail, a National Historic Trail
The Trail we hear about most often, and the one we ran across most in our time out west, is the Oregon Trail. People used the Oregon Trail to get to California (California Trail) and to Utah (Mormon Pioneer Trail). But we seem to use the Oregon Trail is our generic name for all the …
Scotts Bluff National Monument Nebraska
Scotts Bluff National Monument was our final National Park site in Nebraska. After the wind at Fort Laramie and the snow at Agate Fossil Beds, we were hoping for a warmer welcome at Scotts Bluff. Scotts Bluff towers 800 feet above the North Platte River Valley and can be seen for miles as you approach. …
Comfort the Afflicted and Afflict the Comfortable
During Advent, on a Sunday we attended the Lexington Church of the Cross with my parents, Pastor Hamilton preached a sermon on comfort. He talked about the four comforts in Isaiah 40: peace, presence, promise, and power. Although I’m not sure which verses correspond to which comfort, I’ve continued thinking about the sermon. Isaiah 40 …
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Nebraska
About 20 million years ago drought struck the western Nebraska plains. Deprived of food, hundreds of animals died around a few shallow water holes. Time buried their skeletons beneath layers of silt and sand. Today Agate Fossil Beds National Monument preserves one of these ancient waterholes with its hundreds of fossilized skeletons. The Agate Fossil …
Fort Laramie National Historic Site Wyoming
After leaving Idaho, Tom and I drove through the northeast corner of Utah and all the way across Wyoming. We parked the RV just across the Wyoming line in Nebraska and then spent several days exploring the National Park Sites in the area. We started with Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming. Fort Laramie began …
Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls Idaho
Before our departure from Idaho, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the loveliest spots we visited: Shoshone Falls. The city of Twin Falls Idaho is named after the Twin Falls, so Tom and I started our waterfall adventure by visiting them. Both waterfalls are located on the Snake River which runs …
Government Shutdown Week One
Because we work in National Parks, Tom and I are affected by the government shutdown which started Saturday. I am hoping by the time this post comes up, we will be back at work. But I have been known to be unrealistically optimistic. I always think those who are running the government should be able …
Oasis Contemporary Service at Wesley UMC
Tom and I work on Sundays here at Fort Frederica this year. We lead the Living History Program at the park and the program has expanded to Saturdays and Sundays. When we were at Fort Frederica last year, we had Sundays off and went to Sunday School as well as the very traditional service at …
Twin Falls / Jerome KOA in Idaho
While exploring the National Park sites in Idaho, Tom and I stayed at the centrally located Twin Falls / Jerome KOA. The Twin Falls KOA was really nice because it was far enough off I-84 that we didn’t have to deal with a lot of noise. It was also close enough that we only had …