A Report from the Road

We left Erica & Allen's about 10:00 yesterday morning (we planned to be on the road at 9:00, but that's when we waked up!). We headed north on I-35, got pictures of two county courthouses, and ended up at Turner Falls in OK around 2:00 p.m. We had a picnic at the base of the BEAUTIFUL falls and then headed for Oklahoma City. We spent about an hour reflecting and mourning at the Oklahoma City Memorial (we'll post pictures later -- we're a little out of sync with blog posting and camera downloading). On to Stillwater for a visit with our niece, Bekki. We had a delightful dinner and evening visiting with her.

We left Bekki's at 7:45 this morning, still driving north on I-35. I was amazed at the neatness of the properties: no junk, no dilapidated buildings, etc. Beautiful country. Our first real stop was in Nebraska City whose claim to fame is that one of its prominent citizens established Arbor Day by the ceremonious planting of a tree on April 10, 1872. His philosophy: "There is no aristocracy about trees; a tree planted by a poor person will grow to be as spendid as one planted by an opulent person."

We toured the park which comprises the largest variety of trees I've ever seen in one location. We also toured the cider pressing operation, wine store, as well as the tree farm. We picnicked on the grounds with approximately a million billion lady bugs (give or take).

Arrived in Omaha about 6:00 this evening. We're spending the evening in preparing for a full day tomorrow of touring Offutt AFB and visiting Carl's favorite haunts during the four years he was stationed here.