WE LOVE AMERICA -KENTUCKY

After a night in Louisville, we headed into Kentucky and to Lexington. We stopped at a visitor's center just over the border and were given a map for a scenic road that took us past the renowned blue grass horse farms. As we left the freeway and entered this magical country we were astounded at the beauty. In Bob's words, "Be still my beating heart!" The farms stretched for acres and acres with neat white or brown fences defining expansive, manicured fields of green grass. On hills overlooking the fields were large barns and homes built of limestone blocks with cupolas on top. Often the barns were larger than the homes and reflected the deep interest and concern the people have for their prize horses . In the fields were beautiful horses of all imaginable colors, peacefully grazing. We saw sorrels, bays, greys, blacks, dappled, pinto and they all looked healthy, vigorous and magnificent. The grassy fields had the appearance of having been maintained and carefully tended by major league baseball groundskeepers. For the horses, it seemed as if God had spread his choicest part of the earth at their hooves.



Notice this beautiful, large barn/stable and the expensive, large training racetrack. Even the barn is better landscaped than many homes I have seen.



Our pictures do not do justice to the majesty of what we were viewing.



Along we drove, exclaiming on the beauty and wonder of what we were seeing. We came to the Kentucky Horse Park, a place where visitors can see prize-winning horses, an entertaining show of different breeds of horses and learn about the history of horses in Kentucky, how they are cared for and their impact on our society. Even today, they play a significant role in our country, for both pleasure, racing, etc. We spent a couple of wonderful hours in the park.



This picture confirms that we have been horsing around on this trip! This was taken at the Kentucky Horse Farm. It was developed on a significant part of one of the large horse farms in the area. It is very well done with displays, a museum and gift shop, dressage field, race track, etc. We gained a much better appreciation for this part of the country and the marvelous horse history it has.



As we concluded our visit to the KHP, we sat in a hexagonal arena and were treated to videos of famous horse races. The races were exciting and the horses awesome. After each video, a groom led into the arena the actual horse that raced, now retired and living comfortably at the park. These beautiful animals have performed as the animal athletes they really are and have earned their retirement.
After that show, we went to another arena and were treated to the "Parade of Breeds". They brought out five different horses and told us of their history and importance. The Morgan Horse is the first true American breed and is not a large horse, but very strong and fast. Today they are used by the National Forest Service and many police departments. We were shown a miniature horse then a Chincoteague pony, an Andalusian or pure bred Arabian and finally a special breed called a Spanish Norman horse, seen above.
We loved the Kentucky Horse Park and loved the horse country of Kentucky and the Lexington area. It would be so easy to live in this area just to be in such beautiful country. This whole nation is too wonderful to describe adequately and we are impressed with the gift God has given to this people. I hope we can continue to demonstrate our gratitude to our Father in Heaven.

WE LOVE AMERICA - INDIANA

Our gentle drive into Indiana rewarded us with a changing landscape as farmland metamorphed into terrain that is more hilly and much more wooded. Indeed, we began to enter thick deciduous forests, green and inviting. The undergrowth was not excessive and you could see deep into the rich woods and ramrod straight trees. We left the freeway to visit the National Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Monument. It was in this location where he grew up, living here for 14 years. We learned more about Lincoln and watched a film depicting his family history, activities and the events that shaped his growth into manhood. Lincoln's father moved his family here from Kentucky when young Lincoln was about age 7, and this is where his beloved mother died and is buried. When he was 9, she died of "milk sickness" or "the trembles", a poisoning from eating the meat of an animal that had fed on the white snakeroot plant. Abraham and his father were devastated, but Mr. Lincoln returned to Kentucky and was remarried to a widow, who marvelously filled the empty places in the hearts of both Lincoln's. Both mothers were very influential in his life and Lincoln gave them the credit for all that he became in life. At a young age he became very proficient with an ax and learned to work hard, splitting rails, chopping trees and farming. Tutored by both mothers he also learned to read and developed a love for books and knowledge. However, his favorite activities were telling stories, jokes and speaking. His sense of humor was renowned and served him well in later years.



This is a view of the Memorial taken from near where Nancy Hanks Lincoln lies buried.



This path led through the woods, past oak and walnut trees and patches of white snakeroot (seen on each side) to a farm replicating those of the early 1800's.


The pumpkins on the fence posts make a nice seasonal Halloween touch! If only faces had been carved into them. This small cabin is representative of those built during the time Lincoln lived here.

We loved the rich greens of the forest, the tall, straight trees and the solid human timber created by this challenging life in the Indiana woods. Our nation has been blessed by the greatness of men touched by nature and the hand of God.

WE LOVE AMERICA - ILLINOIS

On another beautiful morning, we left St.Louis, and drove across the Mississippi River, barely catching a glimpse of the huge Gateway Arch between buildings and freeway supports and the wide brown waterway that plays such a role in the country's history. We traveled across the southern part of the state, still mostly flat, rich farmland. We again left the freeway and noted a field that was being harvested and we decided to take a closer look and learn more about the process. They were harvesting soybeans which were completely dry, and the beans yellow and rock hard. The harvester cut off the plants close to the ground, leaving the field looking like it had been given a close crew cut. The combine separated out the yellow beans and when the hopper was full they were unloaded into waiting trucks to be taken to a nearby storage granary. The process raised huge clouds of dust, often obscuring the combine and the field. We are convinced the farmers are happy and relieved to have enclosed cabs on their tractors. Back on the road, we found ourselves behind one of the trucks and until we were able to pass, we were pelted with small, hard, yellow soybeans bouncing out of the load like agricultural BB's. By the way, before the beans become dry, yellow and hard, they are a glistening green, in a fuzzy pod and have a faint oily taste when eaten, as determined by personal experience at field side. We only transited a short portion of the lower tip of the state and fields, soybeans and corn sums up our experience. Nevertheless, it is a great and lovely state.

WE LOVE AMERICA - MISSOURI

When we crossed into Missouri from Kansas, we noticed on the map that we were near Joplin, the city that was so devastated by a tornado this last March. We decided to check it out. We were absolutely amazed and saddened as we could see how much was lost by so many people. We could easily see the path torn by the tornado. We were happy, however, to note that much of the debris had been cleaned up and there were a few men out working to restore the area. It was in the early evening when we were there.




This is just one example of the devastation.

After driving around this area of destruction, we were awestruck with how powerful that storm really was. Whole neighborhoods were just wiped off the map, as if a giant broom had swept indiscriminately across the land. A high school was in ruins with only the auditorium portion still standing. The local hospital was like an empty shell, with broken, vacant windows and a few curtains fluttering forlornly in the breeze. Trees had been stripped clean and were just showing a valiant effort at growing again with leaves on the few remaining branches. Objects, metal and plastic were still lodged and crushed into the tree branches. Sobered, we drove on to Springfield for the night.

The next morning, we decided to cross Missouri and see the Lake of the Ozarks. It is a large man-made lake created when private investors built a dam over the Osage River. It was probably the last privately constructed dam in the country. The lake is similar to our Lake Powell, with many little inlets, bays and arms where people have built vacation homes, docks and marinas. There are public areas for fishing and picnicking. There was a grand old lodge on the lake that is now an information center. It was built in Oregon, taken apart and numbered and rebuilt on a bluff overlooking the lake. It is a beautiful structure, now preserved. This picture was taken from the lodge looking out on the expansive and beautiful lake.




After this gorgeous sight, we headed for St. Louis. We noticed on the map a little town called Hermann, about 30 miles off the freeway and wondered if it might have been settled by German immigrants. Curiosity aroused, we took a side trip to find out. We were delighted to find that it was a very picturesque town, right on the banks of the Missouri River, and, indeed, it had German roots. The immigrants who settled here thought the area reminded them of the Rhine River Valley with the large Missouri River flowing between lush hills. They planted vineyards and started a wine industry. However, Prohibition put an end to this flourishing and successful endeavor and they went out of business and the town withered.

In 1969 the winery was begun anew and there are lovely vineyards again and the people take great pride in making their little town neat and beautiful and once again are producing award winning wine. (We did not taste test it, although they offered us the chance.) We were also excited to find they had a German restaurant with authentic dishes where we ate that evening. It was one of the best German meals we've ever had, complete with sauerkraut, red cabbage, schnitzel and wurst.




We posed on the display outside the winery and also examined the vineyards nearby, tasting a couple of gently purloined grapes (only two of them so as not to be guilty of harming the crop.)



Lovely looking but the flavor wasn't anything special, but reportedly they make a good wine!

This is the broad and beautiful Missouri River near Hermann. Indeed it looks like the Rhine.

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After the wonderful and tasty supper, we drove on to St.Louis for the night and stayed there for the weekend to watch General Conference. We were able to watch it on our little laptop, right in our room, and rest and enjoy this wonderful opportunity. We marvel that the technology is so readily available to us to enjoy the words of the prophets and leaders just as well as sitting in our family room at home. Truly we are blessed.

WE LOVE AMERICA - KANSAS

After spending the night in Salina we drove south to a little town called Lindsborg. This town was settled by Swedish immigrants, and we discovered a Swedish restaurant, where we had a tasty lunch of ethnic food. We browsed through a gift shop with Swedish crafts, clothes and such and enjoyed visiting with the lady working there who knew everything about the town, and its Swedish roots. One charming aspect of the town were these little horses called Dala horses, all decorated differently by the various owners of the establishments in the town. Lindsborg was a real find for us and a hidden jewel.



We then headed east on very rural roads where we were able to examine, up close, fields of soybeans, sorghum and cotton. Driving along we weren't sure what the plants were so we stopped to investigate. We had never seen a cotton plant before, so this was interesting.



Notice here the cotton boll, which explodes open to reveal the cotton inside.



Here is the "cotton pickin' tour driver". We picked some cotton and a cotton boll to take home.

The soybean fields were yellow, ready to harvest. The farms were neat and many of them had oil wells in their fields. Look closely below and you can see the oil pump with the red head and counter weights sitting in the harvested field.



Kansas is flat and a farmer's paradise. We loved the farms and neat fields and thought of Grandpa Wray. Farming is still an honorable and needed profession and our country is blessed with an abundance, truly a land of milk and honey.

WE LOVE AMERICA - COLORADO

Leaving Utah, we continued traveling Hwy 40 and entered the picturesque ski communities and beautiful mountain passes of the Colorado Rockies. Here we noticed the foliage beginning the transition to the gorgeous fall colors with the aspen turning gold as we crossed Rabbit Ears Pass at almost 10,000 foot elevation. With height and vista it was a magnificent view.



Rabbit Ears Pass



Emerging from the mountains we connected to I-70 and traveled on to Denver where we spent the next night. The next morning we explored the Denver Botanical Gardens, where Bob was excited to find a live cocoa tree with real pods growing on it. Unfortunately, they were not ripe yet and we did not get our morning cocoa.



From the Gardens we headed east, along I-70 to see how far we could get. From the towering mountains we slipped onto the high plains flat land, with more oil wells, antelope and endless views. We made it across all of Colorado and at night drove into Kansas. Smooth driving.

WE LOVE AMERICA - UTAH

Armed with maps, cameras, and computer, we embarked on our trip across America. After a short freeway drive we began the official journey on Hwy 40, traveling through Daniels Canyon and on to Vernal. By leaving the freeway, we found the beauty and variety of rural Utah. We found a turnoff that was supposed to take us to Nine Mile Canyon. However, it became a dirt road and began to wind about among the oil wells and fields of Eastern Utah. After driving a while, the road was labeled a detour and got worse. Eventually we found it was washed out and virtually impassable unless we had an 18 wheeler, so we turned back to Route 40. We did find ourselves among many oil and gas wells, busily producing energy and could imagine the potential energy this country could produce if the shackles were removed and industry given a chance.







We stayed the night in Vernal,and the next morning drove into Dinosaur National Monument along the Green River. We saw wonderful and interesting rock formations and petroglyphs.



This is Turtle Rock



This formation is called Elephant Toes and one can easily imagine the foot of massive pachyderm.

These are some of the fascinating Indian petroglyphs we saw.



Utah is a beautiful and wonderful state and it would take almost a lifetime to see it all. We truly love this magnificent country and are excited to be on our way, along Highway 40, into Colorado.