Sunday, August 15th

Yesterday started out cool and rainy. We were able to do a few housekeeping chores along with the laundry. The afternoon cleared and turned beautiful.

Last evening we went to Mt. Rushmore to view the night show. The cravings are awesome.

The evening show was extremely moving. Sure wish everyone in our country could hear the message. The lighting of the mountain after dark was truly awe inspiring.

This morning, Mass at the cathedral and then a wonderful brunch at the Elks lodge.

We are now preparing for our afternoon outing.

More later while I still have wifi.

Arrived in Rapid City this evening having driven due West from Sioux Falls. It was a beautiful drive with ever changing terrain. At times the views seemed endless. Stopped at the town of Wall that is known for the Wall drug store. It was very interesting and fun to see.

Our weather is wonderful. Tonight is suppose to be 50 and a high of 70 for tomorrow. Jack had to take his sandals off tonight because his feet were cold!!!

Tomorrow we hope to get out and start exploring the area.

Greetings from Sioux Falls, SD. Had a lovely drive through lots of corn fields today. Just had a horrendous storm come through and the temperatures are finally going to be below 100. We've already cooled down to 75 after the rain. Tomorrow we are off to Rapid City - Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, etc. for the next week. We are very excited to be finally reaching some cooler temperatures.

Wednesday, August 11

We arrived in Omaha, Ne yesterday and are staying in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Went to Rosenblatt stadium last night and Jack even got a tour of the inside even though a minor league baseball game was going on.

Downtown Omaha has been going through some major restoration for about 8 years and they are making tremendous progress. We saw the new stadium under construction for LSU to win the next championship!!! There are bronze sculptures, parks, walking and bike trails all around. We walked a pedistrin bridge from Nebraska to Iowa and back again. On both sides it connects to more walkways. The Missouri river was raging and quite high - downstream they are experiencing flooding.

Drove to the west side of town - lovely old homes, churches, schools and stopped at the birthplace of Gerald Ford. His family was living with his grandparents at that time in a lovely large home in a lovely area.

Onward further north tomorrow - still 100 here today, but this morning was delightful.

Hi Everyone-

We are now in Topeka, KS. Rode around the capital, but it is being refurbished. The downtown is clean and full of state buildings.

Our trip from Tulsa was uneventful except for the extreme temperatures. They had a high of 111 here today. We are spending the night at the Moose Lodge which provides us with 50 amp service.

Tomorrow we head to Omaha, NE to visit Rosenblatt stadium where LSU won several baseball championships. They are still predicting HOT weather there also.

Also forgot to mention while in Tulsa every morning we saw a mama deer and her 2 babies when we took our walk.

That's it for today folks

This will be our final day in Tulsa. Toured the downtown area yesterday. It is a very clean city. We also went to Oral Roberts University.

We went to church this morning at the cathedral and are now at Utica Square for maybe some shopping and of course, Starbucks.

Once again there are weather warnings for the next couple of days-heat of course.

Jack is thrilled because he was able to get the satellite working and we now have Direct TV. I must say it was nice being without Fox News for a week.

Heading off to Topeka, KS tomorrow and Omaha, NE on Tuesday.

It is now Thursday, August 5th and we are camping at Lake Skiatook outside of Tulsa. We have a beautiful campsite overlooking the water. Will be here until Monday.

We left on Monday and arrived in Greenville, MS. Had to change camping plans due to the excessive heat and definite need for as much a/c we could get. Stayed over in Lake Village, AR, but had dinner in the famous Doe's Eat Place. Steak was the best ever - atmosphere very colorful.

Tuesday we traveled to just north of Paris, TX - there again choosing a corp of engineers campground for the additional power to run a/cs. The temperatures have been ranging 103-107. Today is beautiful - cloudy with a nice breeze. A cold front came through last night and only suppose to reach low 90's, but back to 100+ by the w/e.

Traveling the backroads of Arkansas and Texas has been most enjoyable. We go from flat farmlands, to rolling treed hills - love avoiding the interstates.