On the Road.....Again.....and Again

Tess had a couple of days to get over jet lag, make a couple of doctor appointments, do laundry and pack the car before we headed out....on the road again.

Our first day on the road to Ohio we decided to make some detours.  This trek along I-70 goes right past Burlington Colorado, the home to the Kit Carsen County Carousel. 

This is one of less than 150 left in existence.  These wooden carousels were carved in the U.S. between 1885 and  the 1930's.  This is the 6th of 74 carousels made by the Philadelphia Toboggon Company between 1904 and 1933 and has the original paint on both the scenery and the animals.  We have always wanted to visit this and take a ride but it is quite a distance from our home so we never made the trip.  We pass by Burlington every year on our way to Ohio and since this is our last trip (quiet sobbing) Tess and I thought we'd pull off the interstate and check it out.

It was closed...but we peaked in all the windows and snapped some pictures....before hitting the road again.

Once in Kansas the view stretches for as far as the eye can see.  You begin seeing these 'cities' (grain elevators) looming up on the horizon, gleaming when the sun hits them just right.  I cannot help but think this must have been an influence of L. Frank Baum for his Emerald City.

Still in Kansas we saw striking fields of red and green as we laughed so hard we cried listening to David Sedaris on CD.

We pulled over and trudged through the weeds to get a closer look.  Any ideas?  Soybeans?  Sorghum?  No idea, really beautiful plants though.

More lovely fields of hay bales.  Because of these frequent stops....we did not pull into St Louis, the scheduled end of day 1 until late in the night...pretty well exhausted. 

Day 2 we just drove and drove and listened to Brother Odd, a strange book on CD by Dean Koontz.  We traveled through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and finally into Ohio.

Tess is settled in...starting her senior year at OU (more quiet sobbing) and I am on the road again on Friday.

It's a surprise little hop that you may enjoy!!!  Stay tuned!

Comments

[risa]

we listened to david sedaris during our drive here!
i love that carousel. my first time stringing together words as a child was about a carousel, "the horsies go up and down and round and round!!!!"

[rochambeaurochambeau]

Sounds like an ideal road trip with Tess. David Sedaris is SO FUNNY!! It makes me smile thinking of you two driving in Kansas with David's tales being read in the back round! What a great idea!

[Jungle Dream Pagoda]

Wah!!! Sorry you baby is gone again! Yeesh,I've got to get tougher skin,before mine grow up! That is sooo fun to do a traditional roadtrip! If you have time definitely break out a hotel phone book and take in some Midwestern thrifts!

[Jenny F.]

Hops, maybe? I've never seen it before. What a bittersweet road trip. Love the photographs. Snif, snif.

[Angela]

Wonderful photo's!
*HUGS*

[eb]

oh yes - for 5 + years I made the trek to Athens... from Omaha and then south from Vermont - still going there in my dreams... love the carousel images and all that mid-western scenery... your baby's senior year... oh my... and leaving sweet little cozy Athens...

so where ya hopping to next Ms. R.?

can't wait to hear...

xox - eb.

[Paris Parfait]

Lovely photos, especially of your daughter of and of the carousel!

[Felicia]

How beautiful :)

[elsa]

your tess is g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.!
car time is still time, i am sure you loved every minute of it.
and with david sedaris at that! it's wonderful and i love even more that you had so much fun with him!

[Cat]

Neat facts about the carousel! I'd like to see that someday.

You captured some beauty in the flatlands - good photos.

Hope Tess has a wonderful Senior year!

[Lea]

What a great trip for the two of you... and those carousels... I had no idea of their history and how precious they are. This period of our kids, coming and going, coming and going, is such a stretching of wings to fly... it is bittersweet, but oh so sweet to see them fly...

[Vicki in MIchigan]

My mom loves carousels, so we have stopped and visited several, over the years.

Your mystery plant is sorghum.

http://www.okfarmbureau.org/press_pass/galleries/grainSorghum/sorghum.jpg

(I didn't realize the plant looked so much like corn!)

Soybeans are just green. And low. And look like beans. They turn all yellow (plants and beans) when they are done growing and dry and ready for harvest, but they never are tall and red and green.

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/files/images/healthy-soybeans-FEEL.jpg

[AnnieElf]

Loved the first two Odd Thomas books. I have not read Brother Odd yet. Strange indeed but so compelling. His Christopher Snow stories are strange as well. In fact,all things Dean Koontz are strange, YES? But Odd and Chris are favorites of mine.

[A Fanciful Twist]

Oh that carousel!!!!!!! Your daughter is a sweetie pie!!!!!

[hrsj]

I live in Kansas and am happy you appreciate it's quiet beauty! Your photos are lovely.