Recently Jan and I made another trip out west for a few days of R and R. We enjoyed the company of her mom and dad as we traveled to some of our nation's most beautiful and historically significant sites. We visited the Pony Express Museum and the house where Jesse James was killed in St. Joseph, MO. Along the way we visited some Lewis and Clark sites. We enjoyed viewing the waterfalls in Sioux Falls, SD. We were fascinated by the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. We then spent a few days in western South Dakota where we visited the site of the Wounded Knee massacre, the Badlands, Deadwood, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We also enjoyed shopping at the world famous Wall Drug Store.
Upon leaving South Dakota we traveled through a small part of Wyoming where we visited Fort Laramie, a key fort during the second half of the 19th century. On the way we were able to view wagon wheel ruts from the Oregon Trail. We enjoyed Estes Park, Colorado and drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park. Pikes Peak was calling, so we headed south and made the spectacular (and frightening) drive up to the peak. Before leaving Colorado we visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It may be the most surprising thing that we saw. In the midst of the Rocky Mountains is an amazing accumulation of sand dunes. It was the beach without the ocean. On our way home we stopped off for a very short visit at the Oklahoma City Memorial.
As you can tell, it was a whirlwind trip covering about 3800 miles. I have posted pictures on my Facebook page, for those who may be interested. I am so grateful for the opportunity that we had to get away for a few days. But it is really good to be home. If you have never made it out west, try to work it into your schedule some day. There is much to see and do. It will open your eyes to the size and beauty of this great country of ours. But as Jan said after the trip, "Dorthy was right . . . there is no place like home."
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