Indianapolis IN

An early morning sunrise in Wyoming

On the way to Danny Lanning's ranch we just had to stop and see Devils Tower even though we've seen if before. A nice lady offered to take our picture.

Me and my bride at the base of Devils tower

 Danny has been ranching here since he was a boy and knows this area like the back of his hand. He and his wife Linda recently built a beautiful home on a bluff overlooking the hills and pastures to the west.

Unfortunately there was a lot of haze due to fires in Montana. Nevertheless the scene presented was stunning when seen with the eyes. Cameras don't do the job when it comes to visualizing vast areas. They don't have depth perception which preserves the vastness of a scene.

Sunrise on the ranch

 Danny took us on a tour of the ranch which spans several thousands of acres. One area includes some oil wells which are still quite productive using CO2 injection.

Danny and Marilyn

Danny, Marilyn and Linda

After visiting Danny we went back to Sundance to say our goodbyes to Beulah Lanning. She took us to dinner at the Longhorn restaurant for a feast and the next morning we left for Belle Fourche SD to visit another of Marilyn's cousins.

Marilyn, Sherry and Danny Lanning's daugher Libby

Sherry Zimmershied lives on 20 acres and when we arrived her son Brian was doing some haying on the land.

Sherry's home in Belle Fourche. You can see our camper in the background

While we were there we drove to Rose Hill Cemetery and paid a visit to Mellie McCaulley-Lanning gravesite. Mellie (Grammy) Marilyn's mother passed away unexpectedly in 1985. It was a beautiful setting for her final resting place. We bought some flowers to set on the gravestone.

On the right are Grammy's parents

We spent a day at Brian's ranch and he took us around the ranch showing us the range and the livestock. There is an area which has some very interesting geology due the erosion and rainfall cutting deep into the limestone.

Sherry came with us to the ranch

Paul and Brian with his son Brodie

Some interesting geology on the ranch

Brian knows every nook and cranny of his property

A view of the hay bales early in the morning on Brian's ranch. Our camper is that little red spot right center

Sherry keeps a double wide on the ranch and we parked there

Brian's wife Barbara, Brooklyn and Brodie

From the ranch we drove up to Dickinson N. Dakota to visit Sherry's daughter Chandi who works at a cement factory as a dispatcher. This area is very busy with oil exploitation so there is a lot going on. Along the freeway leading to the city we could see oil wells and drilling rigs all over the place.


Wednesday Aug 20 we drove across ND to Hunter and visited my uncle Walter and aunt Elizabeth. Walter is the last surviving member of the WWII generation on my Dad's side. He is 95 and this is probably the last time I'd get to see him.

We spent the night in a local park which Walter had arranged for us with a phone call to the mayor. Hunter is a very small town and everyone knows Walter. He has lived there all his life. The population is 261 (2010 census)

There was no name anywhere so I dubbed it Hunter municipal park

The lake next to the park

Friday we traveled to Le Sueur MN and while driving through the state we saw, not surprisingly a lot of Lutheran churches.

The next day we drove to Amano Colonies Iowa and spent the night at Amana Colonies RV park. Amana Colonies has an interesting history in this area. Originally a 16th century religious movement, it migrated to this area in the mid 1800's and established their independent community. You can read more here. Amana Colonies history

Pretty humid in the morning

No Starbucks here!

Lots of variety in coffee beans

Early the next morning we left Le Sueur for Quincy Illinois where we had arranged to meet up with Rex and Joyce Barnes. We had met them last winter in Arizona and they said come up to Illinois and visit us. So we did! We had dinner while cruising the Mississippi river aboard a Mark Twain riverboat replica.

Rex on the top deck

The required selfie

While in the area they took us to Lover's Leap, a high cliff above the river where two Indian lovers leapt to their death rather than be parted.

The two forlorn lovers

We decided to stay behind the fence

On Sunday Aug 24 we took a side trip in the car to Beardstown IL and met up with Jim and Mary Lanning, the son and daughter in law of Richard and Joan Lanning. Jim and Mary just recently were wed and we shared a meal together at a Mexican restaurant. They make a nice pair and seem well suited to each other.

On the way back we saw this funny sign in the town of Camp Point pop 1200

Nine cross streets?

Monday the 25th we got up early, said our goodbyes to Rex and Joyce and traveled to Indianapolis IN to visit and old friend from our time in Saudi Arabia, Connie Heneghan. What a joy to see her again after so many years. Our kids were the same age and we lived next door to each other in the compound. Those were great days in the mideast and we all have fond memories of the times and friends we made there.