A Season of Family and Friends – Midwest Style

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We’re back out on the road with the RV and the dogs and we’ve got six months of travel ahead of us. We hope you’ll follow along and keep in touch. Hey, if you are going to be in our area, let’s connect! 

Our itinerary will take us to the Midwest to spend time with family in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas City. Then we’ll head south to Fayetteville, AR for a trail running event. From there we’ll hit Vickburg and Natchez on the Great River Road before settling down for awhile in Gulf Shores, AL and Pensacola, FL. After another marathon on Florida’s Space Coast we’ll hang out in the Keys for the months of December and January. Eventually we’ll head north with stops in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, and St. Augustine before finishing our trip with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah. After that, who knows?

Steve left home with the dogs and the trailer at the end of September, spending a few days in Colorado with Sam and Russ. When these three guys get together it’s always fun!

  • Standing on a corner…
  • Russ and Sam

From there Steve headed to Nebraska and moochdocked for two weeks at his brother Brian’s house in Elkhorn, NE. In what’s become an annual event, Steve helped around the house, attended Lydia and Nathan’s games and practices, and attended two Cornhusker football games.

  • Nathan and Uncle Steve
  • Go Big Red!
  • Lydia in action!

By the time I got there, Bob was a full-fledged Husker, well taken care of by our niece Lydia!

  • Bob loves Lydia
  • Lydia didn’t put Bob down
  • Nathan took good care of Bob too!
  • Lydia, the expert pet-sitter

While we love hanging out with the Greens, it was time to move along, eastward to Des Moines. The Des Moines marathon was Steve’s 21st state and 30th marathon. What made it even more special was that he was joined by high school buddy Kent Ferris. These guys ran cross country together in high school, so it was like old times. I ran the 5K and then took care of the pups while the boys covered their 26.2 miles on a beautiful fall day.

  • Steve and Kent
  • Ready to run!
  • In the corrals at the Des Moines Marathon
  • Finishers!

Also while in the Des Moines area we connected with our friends and Prescott neighbors, Jackie and Dan (and Smeagol). They live in nearby Polk City and showed us the beauty of their midwest home.  We explored the Saylorville Lake area, had yummy Mexican food, and finished up with pie back at their house. Thanks, Jack and Diane, for a fun day!

  • The boys
  • Jackie and the yummy pie
  • Hanging out on J&D’s beautiful deck

On an extra day in the Des Moines area we drove to the town of Winterset to check out the famed Bridges of Madison County. You probably know about these covered bridges from the 1995 movie of the same name starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. At one time this area had the largest collection of covered bridges west of the Mississippi. Now, the six bridges that are still standing are a draw to this pretty area, made even more beautiful in its fall colors. 

From there we headed south to Maryville, MO to pay a visit to our niece Elise. She is a busy sophomore at Northwest Missouri State but found a little time to hang out with her aunt and uncle and introduce us to a few of her fun friends. Thanks Elise!

  • Elizabeth, Elise, and Marnie
  • Elise and Aunt Marnie
  • And some margaritas in Maryville

Our next stop was Kansas City for a few days with Gary, Kristy, Hudson, and Brynn (and the dogs Ruby and Nellie). We always enjoy our time with these guys and especially love the home-cooking offered by Kristy. Mia and Bob barely hit the ground and Brynn and Hudson took extra special care of them. We even got to help celebrate Hudson’s 11th birthday while there. Happy Birthday big guy!

  • Uncle Steve, Brynn, and the dogs
  • Brynn and Bob
  • The birthday boy, Hudson
  • Happy Birthday Hudson!

Our final midwestern stop was for Steve’s aunt Sandy and uncle Jerry’s Celebration of Life in Prescott, IA. Sandy and Jerry passed just five days apart last month after 65 years of marriage. Their five girls and the large Freshour family are a testament to their love and commitment.

  • Lori, Linda, Lisa, Terri, and
    Traci
  • The Freshour Family

Attending the service was an honor and the celebration that followed would have made them proud. Steve’s entire family, including Mom, Dad, and brothers Brian and Gary were in attendance, along with Brynn, who was a great dog sitter. Connecting with the cousins from near and far was a great bonus. Thanks to cousin Linda for hosting us in our trailer on her property.

  • Uncle Brian and Brynn
  • Brynn and Gary
  • Steve and Larry
  • Steve with Mom and Dad
  • Crazy cousins! Traci, Gary & Steve
  • The cousins with a celebratory shot!
  • All eight cousins together!
  • The Green men: Gary, Steve, Brian, and Larry

We’re heading south now, away from the impending winter and towards warmer weather (we hope)! We’ll have another update in a week or so. As always, we love reading your comments.

Theodore Roosevelt and the Maah Daah Hey

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It’s a little out of the way compared to other western national parks, but we highly recommend a trip to Medora, North Dakota to explore the town, its history, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). We spent six days in Medora and loved every minute. The Maah Daah Hey Trail Runs brought us here to begin with but the scenery, the park, and Teddy Roosevelt’s story kept us enthralled.

To continue Steve’s pursuit of running a marathon in all 50 states, we made the Maah Daah Hey (MDH) Trail marathon our first priority.  The MDH trail runs a total of 144 miles from the north unit through the south unit of TRNP. The trail markers for the MDH is a turtle, which symbolizes patience, determination, and steadfastness, all of which are required when you run on this trail.

Steve ran the 27 mile race fast enough to win his age group. Yep, he beat all the other guys aged 50-59! I ran the 10K, which was closer to seven miles, through the beautiful and rugged Badlands. The race itself was enough of a draw but there was so much more!

TRNP, the only national park named after a U.S. president, was established to honor his contribution to conservation, having preserved and protected an estimated 230 million acres of land including 18 national monuments, five national parks, 150 national forests, and dozens of federal reserves. As national park geeks, we really like Teddy!

The park itself includes three units covering over 70 miles. Roosevelt ranched in this area in the 1880s and artifacts from his time are on display at the visitor center, including rifles and ranch clothing. We immersed ourselves in all things Teddy while we were here and enjoyed seeing his original cabin and the land he loved. 

In the park itself we drove the South Unit’s 36-mile scenic drive and took in the park’s numerous prairie dog towns, numerous bison, and the park’s herd of wild horses. In the North Unit, we took the 14-mile scenic drive and learned about the unique rock formations called cannonball concretions, created by erosional forces. The badlands are rugged, desolate, and yet, beautiful in many ways. 

The town of Medora is a living tribute to our 26th president. In fact, much of the neat town and its attractions are run by the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. We attended two afternoon shows that paid tribute to T.R. and taught us about his impact on Medora. He came here to find solace after the death of his first wife and his mother on the same day. His ranching days here were short-lived, but his love of North Dakota endured. 

The Medora Gospel Brunch is also worth checking out when you visit Medora. In fact, all of the entertainment in town was top-notch. High quality singers and musicians, polished re-enacters, and New York-level productions. We were really impressed.

The star of the Medora entertainment scene is the Medora Musical which has been running since 1965. Set in a striking outdoor amphitheater with sweeping views of the badlands, the musical pays tribute to Medora’s history and the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt.

With a mix of classic country music and original tunes, the company sings, dances, and rides with high energy for a full two hours. In our second row seats, we had a great view of the action.  The Medora Musical is a not-to-miss event in Medora.

Of course we went back out on the Maah Daah Hey trail a bit on our bikes and just enjoyed being in this unique place. Beautiful views, a well-groomed trail, and sunshine always make for a good day.

We hope to return in 2025 once the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is opened. 

The Black Hills with Cousins

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Steve’s cousin Traci often talks about her annual horseback riding trips to South Dakota’s Black Hills.

We decided to join them for a few days while passing through the area. They rode horses and we stuck to the bikes.

Basing ourselves in the beautiful Spokane Valley, just south of Keystone, we explored a few areas that we’d not visited on a previous trip. First stop: the Mickelson Trail. We took on a scenic ten mile section of this beautiful 109 mile rail trail.

The trail, its trestle bridges and tunnels, was a relatively smooth and flat path which we explored with the dogs in tow. It got a little warm towards the end and Mia was done riding in the back. So Steve carried her. Probably not the safest but…

Each evening we joined Traci and Randy for either dinner cooked outside or at a local restaurant. We did a little putt putt too! It was fun to hang out and catch up with them.

While we were in the Black Hills, the summer’s heat wave continued. That was a good excuse to hit one of the many local lakes. We took the kayaks out onto Custer State Park’s Legion Lake and enjoyed a relaxing paddle. And, we continue to receive comments and questions about our fun Bōte inflatable kayaks.

We’d explored Mt Rushmore on our last visit but missed the Crazy Horse memorial. This time we made sure to explore Crazy Horse and the accompanying museum. While they have decades of work before the memorial is finished, the site has plenty to see.

Finally, you can’t miss Custer State Park when you are in the Black Hills. We traversed the park several times and usually found ourselves in a bison jam. The large herd owns the park and when they are in the road, they have the right-of-way. We didn’t mind at all!

Now that we’ve been to South Dakota’s Black Hills several times, our list of things to do and see has grown. We’ll definitely be back for more hiking, biking, and sightseeing. Thanks to Traci and Randy for luring us this way again!