Sept. 4, 2007 thru Nov. 11, 2007
Well, it is time to catch up on our time back in Kansas. We had a great time visiting with friends, family and doctors. The doctors tell us we are in excellent condition despite being somewhat overweight. We were able to visit with most of our good friends in Manhattan and of course celebrated the occasions with food at the local restaurants besides having some great food and companionship with some of them in their homes and in ours. Gene spent a couple of days visiting with the guys at his old place of work and catching up on what is happening in their lives. It is great to go back to Manhattan to visit but only to visit. We love our lifestyle as nomads. As most of you already know or think you know there is not a lot of tourist attractions or gorgeous scenery in Kansas but while in Manhattan at Tuttle Creek State Park Campground we were able to take a few pictures that are picturesque and “comfy feeling”

We left Manhattan mid October and traveled to the Emporia/Wichita, Ks area where Sue’s brothers and sisters and their families live. John has a spot for us to plug in our home. We enjoyed helping John and Neva with some “maintenance work” they needed done. We also had such fun several evening playing Mexican Train Dominoes with them. We each took our turn at winning and losing. While there John accepted a temporary job as a Consultant for a Nuclear plant in Florida. We spent time with them searching for a 5th wheel to live in while in Florida, getting it ready to travel and admiring their “new home on wheels”. Neva will stay in Lebo and continue working but plans to travel often to Florida on her long weekends. While there we spent an evening with Sue’s family at a restaurant in Emporia. We had a good time catching up on each other’s past year’s happenings and what our families are up to now. We are all growing older but that is just part of life, right? We also enjoyed an evening with a couple of Gene’s school friends in nearby Melvern and then went to breakfast with them just before we left Kansas for a warmer climate. We enjoyed our time in Kansas but the weather is getting way too cool for us so on Monday, Nov. 12 we pulled out on our way to Springfield, Mo.

Monday September 3 and Tuesday Sept. 4, 2007. On the road to Manhattan, KS
We have a little more than 600 miles to Manhattan, all on I 70. It is a nice sunny day but will probably be pretty warm this afternoon. The traffic is not too bad this morning but since this is a holiday it will no doubt be heavier this afternoon. It is now afternoon and it is hot, 90 degrees. That is not what we hoped for but about what we expected. After all it is only the first part of Sept. We will spend the night at Boonville which is west of Columbia about 30 miles. Why are we complaining….shame on us. Life could not be better for us, every day is a vacation and a little discomfort never hurt anyone. We are finishing up a great summer and God has been so good to us. We praise and thank Him for our safety, our continued good health, for one another and for our family and friends, those who we got to see this summer and those who were in prayer for us. God is good and He does answer prayers. We spent the night at Wal-Mart’s in Boonville, MO which is about 220 miles from Manhattan. We should be there by around noon. It was very hot here in Boonville but we survived. Today is a beautiful day and we arrived back in Manhattan about noon. We are settled in and anxious to see some of our dear friends and relatives while here.

Sunday, Sept 2
We drove south today to see some covered bridges and Cataract Falls. The bridges are highly advertised but very few directions are given to get to them. We had to stop and ask a couple of times and just found some by accident. We found them to all look pretty much alike, all painted red. So we will not bore you with pictures of them all. The Cataract Falls was just kind of ho hum after all the beautiful falls we have seen across our beautiful country.

Saturday Sept. 1 Cloverdale RV Park, Cloverdale, IN
We drove north to Turkey Run State Park where they have about 10 or 12 hiking trails through some rugged hilly country. We hiked on a couple of trails but the most beautiful and fun went through a deep canyon. It was lots of fun and a nice cool day for this activity. To get to the trails, we had to cross a swinging foot bridge and it was really swinging when we went across. We walked on stepping stones to cross the shallow stream that meandered through this gorgeous high-walled canyon. At one point the walls came down to a V where there was not room to walk through. Some people were straddling the walls to get across. The only other option was a path carved along the wall about 5 to 6 feet up and not very wide. Oh, man…what a stretch for Sue!!! It was a great hike and so very beautiful.