Our wandering path
Origins of Jeannine Tour (3): Republic, Kansas City
Mom at the gas station in Republic, Kansas, where her father told her she had a new baby brother.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
We stopped at the gas station in Republic, Kansas, where Mom remembers, when she was 4 years old, Grandpa sitting sideways in the car and telling her, “You have a new baby brother.” She was thrilled with the idea of a new playmate. But when they brought him home and set him on the library table in a basket, all she could see was his little fists waving as he cried, and she said, “You should take him back.”
Origins of Jeannine Tour (2): Wayne
Jane Maddy, the local historian, sharing her three-ring binders full of information with Mom.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
We knocked on a random door in Wayne, Kansas, population 68, where Grandpa Prichard was teaching when Mom was born, and found Jane Maddy, the local historian, who recognized Harley Prichard’s name and, in her many three-ring binders, had a picture of Harley with his 1927 basketball team, which included Jane’s father, “Champ” Campbell, far left. She told us the school had burned and was now a pig sty. I thought she meant it was a mess. Not!!!
Origins of Jeannine Tour (1): Concordia
Mom in front of St. Joseph's Hospital in Concordia, where it all began.
This summer we took Mom in The Epic Van on a tour of all her old Kansas haunts. We’re calling it the Origins of Jeannine Tour.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
The Origins of Jeannine Tour commenced with a family reunion in Marysville, a visit with her sister-in-law, Margie, in Riley, a doorbell reunion with college pals, and a stop at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Concordia, where it all began. The historic plaque must be in the shop for repair!
Yoga, Zen, biting flies and f-bombs
Tom preparing for yoga practice under some welcome shade.
It was really the fault of the flies, not me, that I lost my Zen state.
A Father’s Day nod to the past: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
On Father’s Day, instead of waffles and eggs, we opted for a hike through the tallgrass prairie preserve in Tom’s native Illinois, one of his longtime dreams.
On the road: Abandoned Manter school
The road to Manter, Kansas, is lined with wheat fields.
In Manter, Kansas, just over the Colorado border in the southwest corner of the Sunflower State, the only paved road is U.S. 150, which parallels railroad tracks and grain silos.
On the road: Bailing hay
Tyrel Reed, of Reed Farms, chats during a pause of working his hay fields near Lamar, Colorado.
In a hot hay field about 10 miles west of Lamar, Colorado, in the southeast corner of the state, Tyrel Reed, 28, was baling hay. Fast.
The Great Sand Dunes: A mirage come true in Colorado
The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in southern Colorado materializes like a mirage at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Driving toward the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, you start to see tan ripples at the base of towering, snow-covered mountains, like a mirage wavering on the edge of your consciousness. Are they really there?
They are.
Grand Canyon’s North Rim: A stunning surprise
Buffalo, including calves, graze on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
We have viewed the Grand Canyon from the South Rim, rafted through it on the Colorado River, but never seen it from the North Rim. What a stunning mistake.
The push-pull, stay-go life on wheels
Me, Nancy, Nate, Mom and Tom at Nate's graduation from Barrett, The Honors College, at Arizona State University.
On the road again, feeling that push-pull, bittersweet emotion of leaving after a month-long stop at “home” in Arizona that was filled with love, celebration, reconnection and inspiration.
Nomads and the civilised look at each other with disapproval and misunderstanding. Why would anyone want to wander the wilderness and live in a tent? Why would anyone want to live in a box and obey unnecessary masters?
Ali, Mostly we’ve found people think it’s really cool. Many tell us they dream of being able to wander the world. Are you a nomad?