Family and Friends, Life at Bass Lake Lot 205, Pictures of the Adventure

September’s over already?

September 30, 2025 steph Leave a comment

I had started a post a couple of days ago in an attempt to wrap-up our summer travels, but between SOWER activities, getting ready for another adventure, and just plain old life, it is still in its early stages. So I’ve opted for a good ol’ “Real Time” update – Yikes, tomorrow is OCTOBER!!! It’s been almost six weeks since we’ve been back home (that still sounds a little weird to me), and they have been busy days indeed! And the days ahead promise to be just as full! Tomorrow we gather up a grandson and head to the beautiful Texas Hill Country to explore San Antonio, Fredericksburg, and other delights in the area. A couple days after we return from that we’re head cooks for a waffle breakfast here in the neighborhood.

So I suppose the main reason for this quick post is to say we are well, and busy, and have lots of stories to tell. But none of that storytelling will be happening in the next two weeks (very similar in content to the last two weeks!).

But as always, I thank you for stopping by!
And for the patience you have shown me over the last several months!

On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure

Filling in the hole

September 11, 2025 steph Leave a comment

During our 20 years traveling this continent, we’ve spent the night in 48 states and eight Canadian providences/territories. It’s been amazing. Really AMAZING! But one state we never even stepped our toe into was North Dakota. As we headed west on Our Sofa Surfing Summer trip it seemed like the perfect opportunity to rectify that oversight!

I knew we weren’t going to get to see the whole state (and I’m fully aware that there is some fabulous stuff over on the west side), but we were able to experience some of the eastern North Dakota treasures!
Like Fargo –

We did a walk-about of the downtown

and loved the quirky quaintness of it!

The next day we ventured a further west,

with our sights on Bismarck, the state capitol.

It’s a little late in our travels to start trying to get to each state capital, but I’m glad we stopped at this one! Instead of the more familiar (to us anyway!) dome style, this was built in 1931 in an Art Deco tower style. There was lots of symbolism in the interior of the building

and a pretty great view from the top floor, too!

I’ll be honest here – at this point of our Sofa Surfing Summer travels, we were both running out of tourist gas. So although we knew there was LOTS more to see in North Dakota, we settled for a capitol tour, a great lunch and a quick drive through town before we turned our truck south. Some final impressions of North Dakota?
The Great Plains are expansive!

There are oceans of sunflowers (ND is a leading producer of sunflowers!).

And when you least expect it, the field is populated with bison instead of cattle!

North Dakota – we didn’t do you justice, but at least we can say we’ve been there!
Just one state to go, and quite honestly, I’m not sure Hawaii is on the docket anytime soon.
But now to find that North Dakota sticker…

Thanks for coming along!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure

A two-fer

September 3, 2025 steph 5 Comments

September third is a good day in our family. Back in 2010, we welcomed this little guy into our family –

He was the first boy in that generation, and was instantly loved by his three older sisters.

Today he turned 15!

And while he is still adored by his sisters (most days, anyway!), he is quite the commanding presence these days!

(That’s his big sister he’s standing by!).
Happy birthday to one sweet, smart, kind (and pretty darn cute), guy!! We love you!
And in other news – Back in 1971, these two kids were getting ready to tie the knot!

And today we celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary with some shopping and a fine dinner out!

Hope September 3rd was a good day in your neighborhood, too!
Let’s PAARRTY!

On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure

Westward Ho!

September 1, 2025 steph Leave a comment

The journey continues – next up was Wilmar, Minnesota. We were stopping to see some long-time (and long-time since we’d seen them) SOWER friends, Bill & Carole. They graciously opened their guest cottage (aka their motor home) for us and we enjoyedÂ two nights of good conversation and rest! Those catch-our-breath days were so needed! In fact, there were very few pictures taken between a fuzzy picture of the Minnesota state sign when we crossed the border

and then a quick selfie as we bid a fond farewell!

But they did take us on a lovely drive through their corner of the world, which combined farmland and beautiful lakes, but you’ll just have to take my word on that.
There was this one sign that caught my eye when we were entering a busy limited access highway –

I’m used to seeing those buggy signs (and buggies) on two lane roads in many different areas of the country, but I must confess I was a bit alarmed that I’m being cautioned to watch for buggies on a four-lane highway!!
Oh my – wouldn’t that be a sight!

(picture courtesy of ChatGPT!)

Our Minnesota sojourn was quiet but quite lovely!! I do wish I’d taken more pictures, but my heart still remembers fondly our time there!

Next up – the missing hole in our travel map!
Till next time!

Family and Friends, On the Road, The Adventure

What’s Next? Wisconsin!

August 30, 2025 steph 1 Comment

After we checked all the Upper Peninsula boxes (or at least the ones we had made), we made a turn south. Wisconsin, here we come!

Our dear friends, Wendell and Diane, were waiting for us at their lovely lakeside cabin, and they did a great job of showing us around their corner of that beautiful state!
First up – a water ski show!

Wow – those kids (and adults!) worked really hard on these stunts!

We also did a bit of hiking

to a very beautiful waterfall (that was well worth the hike!).

After the hike, we hit the races!

It was great fun to watch – and we were very thankful for earplugs!! Vroooommmmmm…..

But aside from waterskiing and waterfalls and Whoa, that’s loud, the best part of the visit was, of course, the people!
Along with coffee and peaceful mornings

and enjoying God’s sunset handiwork,

we also got to enjoy time with other area SOWER friends.

It was a great visit! Gary got to work on some projects in Wendell’s great woodshop, and Diane and I got to talk grandkids, sewing, and even did a bit of thrifting!

(And yes, that sweet green pitcher made it all the way home in one piece! No small feat given the number of miles we’ve traveled!)
We’ve met some amazing folks during our years on the road, and connecting with some of them during this summer journey has been a true highlight!

Thank you, friends, for sharing your beautiful corner of Wisconsin with us! It was a delight!