June 1-8, 2011
There has been no time for rest. It seems we haven't stopped having guests or traveling ourselves for the last few weeks. After my dad's 14 day visit, I had three days to prepare for my road trip west to Kansas City, where I will meet my mom who is flying from California. I packed up the car and drove west for 8 hours to collect mom from the Kansas City Airport. Once I had collected the mother ship, we continued west to the town of Atchison, Kansas. My mom was born and raised in a tiny town just outside of Atchison called Farmington. I am bringing her here to attend her 60 year high school reunion. It is crazy how I am related to almost everyone in this small farming community. Good thing my mom came west when she was young and met my dad in California as the gene pool in this tiny community had to be getting a little too close for comfort. :o)
Here is my little photo essay on our trip....
Beautiful downtown Lancaster, Kansas. The town has a population of roughly 250. Farming is what people here do. Town consists of a cafe, a bank and a bar. You can see the large grain elevators in the background.
One of our first stops was to see mom's old friend Lucille. She was the center on their high school basketball team. A real gem. Now runs a black angus beef ranch with the help of her sons. Here is her house:
......some of the yummy black angus :o)
Lucille and mom
It didn't take me long to go poking around the barnyard. I have always loved exploring farms. You can take the girl out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl.
It took me no time at all to find the litter of black kittens out by one of the barns. Could have brought them all home with me.
And then there was that cute, adorable Annie, the angus twin calf. The mother only accepted one of the twins, so Lucille is bottle feeding Annie and she will be raised by people. I had a great time playing with her in the barn. Could have brought her home with me too!
We stopped to get gas in another tiny town called Effingham, population about 500. This is where my mom went to high school and where her class reunion will take place. I just had to take a photo of the gas pump as I was filling the car. I haven't seen one like this in years. Hearing the click, click, click of the numbers was so retro.
It was really great to see many of my cousins around the area. Here are Mike & Penny and their daughter Gentry. I have spent many visits on their farm since I was just a kid and have many fond memories of their place.
Here is their farm
This is Mike's dad Bud, who raised his family on the farm before Mike took it over.
More cousins, Dutch and Tommy with mom and I. We stopped to visit them at a 19th century house they are restoring.
We also stopped and had lunch with Roy and Selma. Here is Dutch, Mom, Selma and me. I obviously got the giant genes from my dad's side of the family.
My mom and her brother, my uncle Bill
Here is my mom, Shirley, with her friend Laverne. Yes, it WAS the Laverne and Shirley show. The three of us stayed in a hotel in Atchison. Something I will never forget :o)
The little baptist church in Farmington where my great-great grandparents were charter members.
I had a chance to drive around Atchison while my mom was out partying with her old classmates. The town sits right on the west bank of the Missouri River. The Kansas/Missouri state line runs up the middle of the Missouri River, pictured here.
The big old victorian houses in Atchison are just fantastic. A great place for someone like me who really appreciates what it takes to build and maintain one of these beauties. The history of the town includes being the birthplace of Amelia Earhart and being a major stop along the Louis & Clark Trail.
I thought these gargoyles were just fantastic!
We spent four days in the Atchison/Farmington area. We had a wonderful time despite the 100 degree temperatures. One really does have to appreciate what it takes to be a farmer in this rural part of the country, especially when it is so hot outside and the planting and tending to cattle still has to be done. I brought mom back to B-town with me for a couple of days so she could have a look at our home improvements before she went back to California. We had a great week!
Next stop, Washington DC..........
