50 States in 50 Years No. 1

Mom and Dad and Me

1940 - 2 years old

Where it all began

Shreveport, Louisiana

November, 1939

1942 - 4 years old

My Mom and Dad
and Me in my rabbit fur coat
My first trip to Arkansas
to see my Grandmother Grant
in Russellville

I grew up in the best of times. Doesn't everyone say that? World War II ended and I started the 1st grade at Creswell Elementary.

That's me, 1st row 2nd from the right,
by my forever friend, Carolyn on the end.

Me and my Daddy
on the farm.
(called him Dad when
I got too old for a Daddy:)

We had a farm and I took the bus to school. That lasted about six months. My Mom didn't like to put me on the school bus everyday. In 1946 the only children that rode the bus to school were those that lived on farms. 

1958 Photo

When we moved to town, Mom and Dad had bought a cafe, The Country Kitchen. I would eat breakfast there and then take the trolley to school all by myself.

After the 6th grade I went to Hamilton Terrace Jr. High. All of my friends were going to Broadmoor Jr. High, but our house was out of that district. I had a good time and met made new friends, but I missed by old friends. We were reunited in two years, when we left for the 9th grade at C.E. Byrd High School.

I went to Byrd
for the 9-12 Grades
1955-1958

Senior Picture

In 1958 I graduated from high school and headed to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I went home to Shreveport for breaks, but ended up staying in Arkansas after I graduated in 1962.

That is the beginning of my travel odyssey of going in and out and through all fifty United States. 

For "new to my blog" friends...on May 17, 2010, I visited Wisconsin.

I can now say that I have been in, to, or through all 50 United States.

I am committed to make an Artist Trading Card "ATC" for each of

the 50 States. 

Sarum, The Novel of England

Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just finished this book of 1000+ pages. I highly recommend it to you. It is a must read if you want to know how we humans got to this point.

Warning: It is a historical fiction. It is not a saga of the four families involved in the history. The families are included as a way to move the history along. They are co-stars with the evolution of how we got to where we are today. The story begins around 7500 BC somewhere south of the North Pole and includes the first of the families. They settle in southeastern Britain in Sarum.

It will continue through the centuries until the close of the story in 1985 AD. It is a long read, but you will not be bored. You will not have to wade through the information year by year. Several time periods are skipped before you get to the next part of the journey. The only thing I found disconcerting was his habit of venturing off to another story before he gets back to the original story. (You probably have a friend that does that. I do. By the time we get back to the original story I have forgotten what it was.)

Take the time to read it. You will be glad you did.

View all my reviews

50 States in 50 Years Nos. 2 - 3 - 4

Montana No. 4

Wyoming No. 3

Idaho No. 2

Idaho and Montana. Two of these last three states are what  I call 'through' states. I went through them on the way from or to somewhere else. There is not much to say about either of them: except, I can count them as part of the quest. 

Going through Montana I felt I was at the top of the world. The sky seemed endless to me. There was nothing along the horizon except the curve of the earth. 

In 1977 we were on the way to Yellowstone and swung through Billings, Montana, to say we had been there. 

We took a day to drive through Yellowstone. 

We did not see one animal, but were lucky enough to see Old Faithful let off steam.

and get a picture of the upper falls. From there we went to Jackson Hole along the Tetons on the way to Salt Lake City. 

Bear Lake Idaho 1977

The only landmark in Idaho that was memorable was the sight of  Bear Lake along State Highway 89 in the southeast corner of the state.

Wyoming counts as a 'been to' state.  On the 1977 trip we stopped in Jackson Hole for the night. In 2015 we had a full 'stay for a while' trip. Our starting place was Estes Park, Colorado. From there we went up through Cheyenne and Laramie on the way to Jackson Hole. What an adventure! The Tetons are always an awesome sight to see. We stayed downtown in a quaint period motel right off the square. We love that we can walk to sight-see, shop for souvenirs, and eat. We took a day trip to investigate the mountains. We did not go as far as Yellowstone this time. A photo blog of the highlights of our trip follows:

The Episcopal Chapel of Transfiguration

Window inside the church
looks out on the mountains.

Our Wyoming trip ended too soon and we were on our way back to Estes Park to say goodbye to our family and head back home to Arkansas. 

Good memories were made!

*For "new to my blog" friends...on May 17, 2010, I visited Wisconsin.

I can now say that I have been in, to, or through all 50 United States.

I am committed to make an Artist Trading Card "ATC" for each of

the 50 States.