The past 34 years have had us living in Battle Mountain, NV; Yuma, AZ; Oroville, WA; La Paz, Bolivia; Cajamarca, Peru; Safford, AZ; Silver City, NM; Thatcher, AZ; Calama, Chile and finally...Carefree, AZ.
I'm so thankful Larry came into my life!!
(l-r: 4/17/1982) brother Jim, sister Jackie, best friend EVER Virginia and after us, best man Brad Munson and groomsman Brad Chase and Larry's brother Wayne. The two little ones in front are niece Karyl and friend Virginia's son Michael.
We woke to snow on April 17, and headed for Harrison driving through Wind Cave Park hoping to see a buffalo or two.
This is a picture taken west of Ft. Robinson (mentioned later in the post) on our way to Harrison. The snow melted within a couple of days.
We stayed a few days in Harrison and took one day to be tourists. We drove 80 plus miles to Alliance to finally see...Carhenge!
Carhenge is described by some as perhaps the strangest attraction in Nebraska! It is a full-scale replica of England's Stonehenge but is built entirely from old cars. Carhenge came about after both Larry and I had left life in northwest Nebraska. Evidently, a local resident, in the late 1980s, decided to build a tribute to his father. It is built from 38 cars, painted gray and mimics the configuration of Stonehenge. Needless to say, we can cross that off any bucket list!
From Alliance, we then headed north to Chadron State Park and enjoyed the view drive through the Park. I have such memories of Chadron State Park. We went there often when we were small children for picnics and stays at the rustic cabins and swimming at the pool there. As young teenagers, friend Sue, and I road our buzz bikes the 9 miles from Chadron to the Park. I bet our parents didn't know. Good memories. Chadron State Park was founded in 1921 and is Nebraska's oldest state park. A trip isn't a trip back to Chadron without visit the Park! This view is looking northwest towards Ft. Robinson, mentioned later in the post.
We headed for Chadron but not without a stop for a picture at the City Dam. I remember coming here to fish as a young child and it had the reputation as a place to swim for older teens. I never did that - serious...no way would I have gotten into that water! Too scary for whatever reason. I remember going to the City Dam for my first ice skating experience with friend, Jean, and members of her family. Do believe I might have broke my tailbone on that experience. I've never attempted ice skating again!
We then headed to Chadron and drove by the home we grew up in as well as Grandma White's home. This was a picture from the alley of our home. The yard had a pear, apple and crabapple tree when we were growing up as well as a clothes line. Check out the rhubarb plant in the alley! That was a three bedroom/one bath home. Grandma's home was much smaller - maybe two bedroom/one bath?
I found this yard in bloom with Grape Hyacinths and Dandelions as we were driving through alleys looking for blooming Lilac bushes, which we found by the way!
The picture below is the view of Chadron looking east. Chadron was a good small town to grow up in. Population count has remained stable since I left in 1976 or was that 1977? Anyway, population remains at around 6,000.
We headed west out of Chadron heading for Ft. Robinson but stopped for a picture of this natural landmark that seems as much a part of Chadron as Chadron does!
Upon arrival at Ft. Robinson, we took the Old Soldier Creek road - neither of us had been on this road before. It was very scenic and allowed for great pictures of both buffalo and horse herds and pretty Pine Ridge scenery. Ft. Robinson began in 1874 as a military camp. Lakota warrior Crazy Horse surrendered here in 1877. The Fort was also home to African American "Buffalo Soldiers" in the segregated military arriving in 1885 as the Ninth Cavalry. The Buffalo Soldiers helped build the new post during the Fort's 1887 expansion.
Next stop was a drive through Smiley Canyon. This view is looking southeast towards the State Park. The picture isn't the best quality but I like it...it almost looks painted?
And then, it was time to quit playing tourists and we headed back to Rapid City for the reason we had come - business. But, we were able to meet up with Rapid City friends and family as well.
Happy Hour with friends Barb and Buster and Dwayne (the photographer).
Friends Brad and Ann hosted a gathering one evening of Larry's college buddies and their wives.
(l-r: Judy, Sparky, Brett, Miss, Larry, Ann, Brad, Diane and Dan)
We were also able to visit with Larry's father's sister, Aunt Co and his brother, Uncle Richard and wife Aunt Marj.
And then it was time to return home. May has given us exceptionally mild temperatures allowing us to enjoy life in Carefree outdoors rather than inside with the air conditioner running! We were sitting on the back porch one evening and noticed the birds were making an odd noise - noise we hadn't heard from them before. And then, Larry heard a rattle so we slowly moved over towards the 4 ft. block fence separating our yard from the desert, and there was a rattlesnake coiled and rattling because the Curved Bill Thrashers were harassing him/her. They had a nest nearby. Soon, Larry was attacking the rattler with a high pressure hose and the Thrashers were joined by a Cactus Wren and a male and a female Cardinal in a team effort to keep the snake from getting into the Thrasher's nest. Larry's high pressure water assault allowed time for the baby Thrasher in the nest to escape. The snake, which had crawled up into the cactus, gave up and crawled away. One of our more bizarre desert critter experiences!!
May takes us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for a two night visit and nephew Jimmy's high school graduation!!
Larry continues to work hard and I continue to be doing well on the health front! Yay - Life is Good!!
