Back home

Thank you for joining us on our journey 'Out West and Back'.  It was a fun time as a family.  We are already looking ahead to our next journey.   ...California, Oregon, Alaska? :)

Last on road meal

..was a success!  Macaroni & cheese with bacon cooked in the crockpot.  It actually worked! :)

The picture before bacon was added.  Still surprised it worked!

Ready to eat!

Got the stamp of approval.  Still smiling after 4,000+ miles on the road.  :)

Pennsylvania!!!

Almost home!

Interestingly, Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth, so perhaps the sign should read "Commonwealth of Independence."

West Virginia

Short ride through the northern part of West Virginia.

Huffman Prairie Flying Field

The first stop of the day(and final sight seeing stop of the trip) was in Dayton, Ohio where the Wright Brothers worked and flew their planes.

Patent and patent drawings.

There was a flight simulator to try your hand at flying the Wright B Flyer.  A successful flight lasted 3 minutes.  All of the boys were able to earn their flying certificates.

We were the only visitors so the park ranger was our personal tour guide.

Michael had the first successful flight of the day.

Out standing in the field where the flights took place.

The track and catapult they used(reproduction) to get the plane going.

Hello, Ohio

Entering Ohio...

Crossing the State line..

The welcome to Ohio sign...

Dinner at sunset

With the sun setting in the mirror, we ate tonight's dinner.

We had pulled pork BBQ, fresh vegetables and potato chips.  The van smelled really good from the BBQ sauce.

Brazil

....we take detours to go to neat places.  This one is a bit farther than usual. :) Brazil...

...ok, the town, not the country.

Indiana

And, here we are in Indiana.

Other interesting signs along the way...

Sorry, no amenities available at this exit. Ha-ha.

Naptime perhaps?

Illinois

Travels today started a bit rough.  Hotel breakfast doesn't always sit well.

Headed in to St Louis toward the Arch and the Illinois border.

The Mississippi River.

Welcome to Illinois.

Springfield, MO

Swimming in the hotel pool.....

The water was a bit cold!

Cooking on the road in a crockpot

Tonight's dinner was Spanish Rice, travel style.  I used precooked and seasoned ground beef, a can of black beans, a pouch of precooked ready rice, an onion/pepper blend, the remaining vegetable broth from yesterday's stew, and salsa. I added the seasoning to the onion mix so it was ready to go on the road.

. 

 A few things I have learned about cooking on the road...

• Bring salt. We had to stop for a salt shaker.
• Pack a serving spoon.  It is hard to scoop out with a small plastic eating spoon.
• Bring a zipper baggie for dirty dishes and utensils to wash later.  Or, use disposable bowls and utensils.
• Bring a roll of cheap paper towels that are like felt.  It doesn't unroll, and can be used for napkins and a variety of other things.
• Take into account any stops for sightseeing when calculating cooking time.  You will eat late if you don't start the crockpot until later because the stops are long.
• Along those lines, eat before the sun goes down.  It is hard on the driver to drive with the dome lights on inside your vehicle. :) (also, take time changes into account too)
  
  

Missouri and Kansas

Shortly after we drove into Missouri, we took a short detour so we could step foot in Kansas. Four states in one day.

It is hard to take pictures in the dark. :)

We're not in Kansas any more.

Cowboy Museum, Oklahoma City, OK

Next stop was the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City, OK.

It was rather difficult to get into the museum.  It was a bit like getting into Narnia through the wardrobe...

 

LOL!

The museum featured works by artists like Remington and Fraser.  This one was the plaster model for The End Of The Trail by James Earl Fraser, a sculpture displayed at a World's Fair.

There was a special children's building too.

They had a full size Chuck wagon and dinner bell.

 

 

Fake barbed wire...that looked so real!

Dress up like a cowboy!

Cowtown at dusk.  Here there was a life size town with all the different shops, stores, church and schoolhouse.

 

Nathaniel comes by his 'cowboy' naturally. :)

 

~Nathaniel~

At the cowboy museum I felt like a real cowboy. I hope I can have my own ranch when I grow up. One of the things that I liked about the museum was the rodeo arena.

Learning to ride rodeo.

 

In the rodeo area there were videos of the different rodeo competitions and the layout of the rodeo area was almost like a real one.  And there were cases with different belt buckles and trophies from the different rodeos.  I watched a rodeo competition on the screen.   

We dressed up like cowboys.  I am the furthest on the left.  The hat and boots are mine.  In the children’s section of the museum you could dress up like cowboys.  I chose cool chaps and a leather vest.  The costumes were in chests and you could choose what you wanted to wear. 

They had a life size wagon in the children’s area.  I wanted to sit up on the seat of the wagon, but I couldn’t find a way up.