A wonderful evening

We spent one evening in Ohama, NE. The kind folks of NAMP(Nebraska Assoc. of Meat Processors) hosted the weeks schedule for the annual AAMP (American Assoc.) convention. We were all guided from the Hilton across the street, up a few flights of stairs in front of the Quest Center and walked across a small bridge and were greeted by a two-sided colum of NAMP folks dressed in red shirts. It was a warm welcome and a pleasant evening hanging out with other meat processors from across the nation.

The evening picnic was held at the Lewis & Clark Landing along the Missouri River.

The L&C landing includes the Eternal Steel Workers statue.

The long bridge behind the statue is the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, just completed in September 2008 and it curves around the two tall pillars. It's a 3000 foot bridge that spans the Missouri River with Omaha on one side and Council Bluffs, Iowa on the other. I was hoping to take a walk the next morning across the bridge simply to say that "I walked to Iowa" but time did not allow.

At 9:00 pm they 'kicked us out' of the Landing and it was obvious that many weren't ready to call it a night. Walking back across the short bridge to the Quest Center darkness now revealed a different scene. One of the small statues in front of the Center.

And across the street a long two sided fireplace was ablaze. The scene was more picturesque from across the street but I was too lazy to cross again just for a picture. sigh...

A few of us from PA hung out together all evening til well past midnight

at the other end of the outdoor seating area. The warm evening weather with no bugs or mosquitoes was just too hard to say good night to. I don't know when I laughed so much. It was a wonderful evening with new found friends.

The next morning while I waited for Jay to finish making some business connections I snapped a few pictures of the art in front of the Quest Center.

The clock held correct time.

It was a fun stay in Omaha. Hoping some day to possibly return and take in the many historical places of interest that were just with a few blocks from where we stayed. But this time we had too many miles ahead of us and family from the present will always come before history. Maybe next time.

Still have the touch

I kept Isaac and Elianna on Saturday while Mike & Maegan did some painting at their house. Having just arrived home late Friday evening it was a grand distraction and kept me from turning into an emotional puddle needing to get used to the miles and miles that separate us from Betz & Mr. Studly.




Isaac needed a nap desperately but fought it. A bottle (his choice) on the sofa only (my choice) did the trick.



Elianna took lots of little mini naps.


It's always a joy and a treat to have the little ones around.

Getting out and about

Our trip west had a lot of firsts for me. I've never driven on land farther then Holmes County, Ohio. I've flown to Chicago, IL and and spent one short evening downtown and I've flown to IN and have seen how flat their state is. Our family, minus one son who was on a missions trip, drove to Minnesota one year to help with a Bible school camp. The fog was so thick you could barely see past the guard rails the morning we drove across the Machinaw bridge..... I was so looking forward to that view but at least we were able to see the landscape of a few others states besides our own that trip.

So when plans were made for us to drive from PA to MT I was thrilled because of finally having the chance to see other states. Our goal was to travel the first day to the other side of Chicago and find a place to stay so as to miss the next morning rush hour traffic. After one wrong turn (my fault) through some major construction we found ourselves in a very congested downtown area where it seemed everyone was walking towards a large fair/carnival. We rolled our windows down to catch the sounds of a band blaring and the smells of fair food. Again the city seemed to be in the throes of construction. But we were able to get on the other side of Chicago for the night. The next morning we left early and headed toward Ohama, NE.

We saw windmill after windmill. At one point there was so many in view it was impossible to count. They were stretched across the landscape as far as the eye could see. I stopped counting at 50 and knew I had only scratched the surface.

We have a few of these windmills in PA and they hold a strange fascination for me. We also passed a few tractor trailers hauling the loooong blades headed somewhere to set up more.


But much of our sights that day looked like this....miles and miles of farmland.

This next photo is extremely poor. But it's the only one I have that isn't a complete blur. I want to know why many of the barns across the midwest seem to have a little shed sitting on top of them. Big barns had bigger sized sheds. Little barns had smaller sized sheds. (One theory - it's the doghouse the farmer gets sent to for not taking his boots off after the wife just finally got the floors looking clean again.)

Hotel accomodations for the meat convention where at the Ohama Hilton

right beside the Quest Center Omaha, a giant convention building.

The front desk at the Hilton told us we would need to park the trailblazer and UHaul across the way a little distance from the hotel but the head valet was kind enough to send us over to the Quest parking area where we were able to park the UHaul trailer inside a gated, guarded parking lot. We didn't ask for this kind gesture. It was another lesson from God telling me I simply need to trust His care for me. I tend to worry about things that I really don't need to. He had it all taken care of.

Last evenings sky

Last evenig I was yanking on weeds that had bought real estate from William Penn himself and I was way too preoccupied to look up. Deciding to take a little break I turned around and saw this.

Those weeds held residence for about 20 mintues longer while I watched the changes in the clouds. Delightfully amazing!

I wonder what the clouds looked like that Jesus left this earth on.......

"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Acts. 1:9

I told Him it'd be OK with me if He'd come back on this one.

"Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:27

No snakes!

Today I'm trying to accomplish 2 weeks of office work in one day. It's an unattainable goal but I'm making some serious progress. A short blog entry for today but one of huge thanks and praises to God for His watch care while visiting Betz and Mr. Studly.

In finishing the final unpacking of boxes that have been setting outside in a trailer for the last 2 months I secretly was praying that we wouldn't find any snakes. I knew if we'd find one Betz would never step foot in the trailer again. And I wasn't real keen on the idea either.

Much of life's smallest details are fascinating to me but things that slither and especially those with venom hold no interest for me whatsoever. The closest thing we found to a snake were these dried tails found in a little jar in one of the kitchen drawers. I wanted Betz to hold the jar - she refused. I thought about laying them in my hand for size reference....but you know you always need 2 hands for a camera so this was the best I could do.

A seemingly small answer to prayer but an answer received with enormous gratitude and thanksgiving.

Home again

It seems like the past 6 months, or 5 years for that matter, have been spent working toward a calendar date or goal and now we've passed that. We knew when Mr. Studly and Betz got married that this day would happen sometime. And sometime is here and gone - and so are they. Jay & I left PA Wednesday, July 15 with their Trailblazer pulling a U-Haul packed with their remaining possessions. We made a stop at Omaha, NE to attend the annual AAMP convention (American Assoc. of Meat Processors).

Some of the processors from PA.

Then we headed across South Dakota towards Montana. We traveled through miles and miles of construction. I declare they are replacing every single bridge from the east coast to the west coast.

Mr. Studly and Betz seem to enjoy taking pictures of each other driving so we thought we'd join the tradition on this trip.

We got within an hour of our destination late Friday night and the car died. It's midnight and it's blacker then the inside of a cow but there are a few little lights up ahead and the car coasts towards them. Plans were originally made for Mr. Studly and Betz to meet us along this two lane road (this one is still paved) but 20 minutes down the road further. A phone call had them on their way. We hunkered in and waited. Occasionally a teeny, tiny light would appear waaaaaay down the road. It never turned or swerved, rose or fell - it only slowly grew bigger the closer it got. Jay timed it from from the time he first caught a glimpse of a light until the car/truck would pass and it was 3 minutes (75 mph speed limit). Don't think we have any roads in PA that are that straight. A little more then an hour later the kids found us both fast asleep. Hooked the trailer up to the truck and headed for the ranch. The paved road lasted about 20 minutes and the remaining ride back was on gravel road that turned, twisted, and wound around and was anything but smooth. There were no lights, no neat little reflectors in the middle of the road to show you where you are on the road and nothing to see except what the headlights allowed. We spooked some deer a few times and oodles of birds that were sleeping on the ground. Finally some lights from the ranch appeared in the distance and we crawled into bed at 3:00 am.

Awoke the next morning and finally got to see what a very different way of life looks like.

Montana

Jay & I have realized in our visit here with Betz & Mr. Studly on the O'Connor ranch that this is exactly where Mr. Studly belongs. He wears this life like it's the skin he was born with. Betz is making me extremely proud. She is learning quickly how to travel the lonely, dusty roads to get from the ranch to town (basically anywhere, for that matter). We've spent hours on the rough, rut-filled, unpaved, bouncy roads and much of it laughing.

This photo is not 'normal'..... it includes houses. The remaining portion is how things look out here.

Saturday and Sunday were spent mostly away from the ranch helping the ranch owner and his wife with some lunch preparations for a football camp that they run in a nearby town (1 1/2 hour drive...population 436).

We did some sight-seeing along the way and more blogging info will follow in the days/weeks ahead. My camera card doesn't fit in Betz's printer so I'm using some of her pictures.

Hiked to the Medicine Rocks.

Drove to Camp Needmore to see the views from up top.

The sky IS big out here and very different then PA.

Nothing happens fast out here. I started this blog Monday afternoon and have been too busy to finish it. Uploading pictures takes loooooong. And the delivery of concrete that was scheduled for 6:00 this morning drove in the lane at 8:00.

Me and Him and the Tumbleweeds

Betz and Mr. Studly are together again. They enjoyed 2 days of rest and relaxation at a nice hotel in Billings before heading out to the ranch. I've received an email with words in it like....snakes......rattlers.......pistol......bullets. Jeepers - at least I know how to pray. This is going to be some ride. You can join me in following their experiences through a blog that Betz started just before she left.

www.meandhimandthetumbleweeds.blogspot.com

A nice evening for a drive

My camera is usually setting around somewhere and occasionally after our family is together I find pictures on my camera that I didn't take. I enjoy finding these. Here's my commentary on what may have been occuring......

Isaac says to Rachel:

Hey, Rachel, last weekend Pappy showed me how to drive his truck.

Pappy left his hat in the truck. I like to wear it backwards.

Whadda ya think?

Pappy puts his coffee mug in this holder. Just the right size for my cup.

OK...you can have some too.

Now, you put the keys in here.

Pappy turns on the radio here. I like Pappy's music.

It's music you can dance to.

OK, I think we're all set.

Need to make sure the kids are out of the street before we leave.

Coast is clear - put it in gear.

Oh dear, Here comes Mom. Hi, Mom.

Mom says we can't leave. I guess we'll have to wait for another time to go for a drive.

And it was such a nice evening.....

When Mom say it's OK we'll drive out to see Aunt Jess and Uncle Jamie.