Leaving Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania I headed west to Ohio. I love being on the road, in my head I review all that I did this summer from Maine to North Carolina, Connecticut to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s beautiful farm land starts me singing. “This Land is your land, this land is my land, From California to the New York Island.” Thank you Woodie Guthrie for writing this song in 1944.
372 miles on my speedmeter to a KOA at Buckeye Lake in Ohio. It starts to rain just as I am registering. I grab my umbrella, bathing suit and head for the swimming pool. Umbrella and swimming pool, no wonder I am the only one there. I look across the pool and see cows. Are they real? No they are cow sculptures.
Early the next morning and full of energy the next landmark is Columbus, Ohio and then to Indianapolis, Indiana. I stop at the Illinois Welcome Center. They are preparing for the Solar Eclipse on Aug. 21. The woman tells me there will be an Ozzie Osborne concert. I’m glad to miss that one.
399 miles to Mulberry Grove, Illinois. The campground is next to the pavilion. No events right now so I have my own bathroom, refrigerator, stove and roof.
Mulberry Grove, Illinois
Pavilion at Campground
Morning comes and I’m on my way to St. Louis, Missouri, a coyote crosses Highway 70 as the fog was lifting.
Endless skyway through Missouri to Kansas. There was a lot going on in Missouri. Signs on the highway posted Solar Eclipse, August 21, Expect Delays, Heavy Traffic. Highway 70 was also closed at one point. I started making a list of all the unusual church names.
Element Church, Faith Church Family Church, FCFC, Liberty Church, Reach Church, Victory Baptist Church and Praise Assembly of God.
398 miles landing in Paxco Kansas!
The man that checked me in at the campground in Paxico, Kansas said he didn’t like any people from California. I said, “There are all kinds of people in California.” He had no use for any of them. BUT, he took my $25. and gave me a nice campsite. He told me about the storm shelter in case of ??
I’m still trying to figure out what it would be like to live in Kansas.
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, ,This land was made for you and me.
“Don’t I get tired?” people ask. I did driving through Kansas!! I had finished my book on tape “little House in the Big Woods” by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Kansas seemed so big. I kept driving. I pulled into a rest area and listened to my power nap app on my phone. Drinking lots of water, coffee and tea and stopping often. I started a new book.
429 miles from Paxico, Kansas to Limon, Colorado. I wan’t sure what my next step was but I was still in flat eastern Colorado. I went for a swim at the KOA and decided to head the next morning for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
When the sun came shining and I was strolling.
253 miles from Limon, Colorado to the KOA in the town of Gunnison, Colorado. I stopped at a Safeway to load up on groceries. I had a space in the campground all to myself with a pavilion right beside it. It had tables, a stove, sink and roof over my head.
79 miles to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Kansas was straight and flat and now Colorado was curvy and high. Be careful what you wish for, my sister often says to me. It was a challenge for Vanna and me around and around the mountain curves.
Mountain sketch
Campground in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I went to a Ranger Program that night and learned more about the dark skies. This Park and the Grand Canyon are dark skies National Parks.
Me sketching
Black Canyon
The canyon was dark and deep. One picture shows the empire state building at the bottom of the canyon.
208 miles to Mesa Verde National Park. I find a nice campsite. 4 drives around the campground to pick just the right spot. Many spots were available. Why weren’t more people camping here. I had a tour for Cliff Palace Dwelling at 3 p.m. More curvy winding roads to the Cliff Palace. It was a great tour. The Park Ranger was full of information and interesting stories.
I’m currently working on paintings of the Cliff Dwellings. The ancestral Pueblo people is the term used now. Anasazi name is no longer correct.
Polishing off the best burrito breakfast at 9a.m. sent me on my way to the East entrance of the Grand Canyon past the 4 Corners.
I found a campsite and took a trail to the canyon. I was happy to return here. It felt like a good place. I loved the dark sky at night. It was wonderful looking up at the milky way.
I love the Grand Canyon
This Land is your land, this land is my land
Have Van Will Travel 