~~Adventure Tour Express~~

Ghost Town Adventures

Buick Electra, circa 1968

Adventures were the norm when Ron and I were dating.  Ron drove a 1963 Buick Electra and a date on a Sunday would be a trip to the mountains to explore old mining towns or ghost towns.   These were places definitely off road.  This Buick had miner's soul.  As big as this car was, it never got stuck and he never let us down.  Ron said he didn't need a Jeep as long as he had "The Tank."

 Gold Dust, Colorado

May, 1968

Thickening Tank

Monarch Mill

And so we arrive at the Monarch Mill.  A mill that processed the gold mined in the hills around it.
A process of leaching the gold our of the ore was done with cyanide and so the thickening tank was used to ultimately separate the gold from the slurry.  It was nasty job.  What man will not do for gold and riches.

It is incredibly exhilarating  to walk through and around a place that was once the center of activity and innovation.  To walk where others have walked and toiled hoping that the riches of the earth would make them RICH.  Wondering about the tales these empty places could tell if only they could talk."


It has been such a genuinely thrilling journey I began on those ghost town dates so many years ago.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Now it's your turn. Please post an adventure we can all share and then link it here for all to see.

~Adventure Tour Express~

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Adventures take different turns sometimes.  We were returning from a family reunion in Colorado and a visit to my mothers in Montana when we decided to take a side trip.  We were certainly pleasantly surprised by what we saw in Mitchell, South Dakota.  The Corn Palace truly is a palace decorated with corn...It is amazing and very lovely!  It would never have occurred to me to embellish a building in this way, but it really works!

It's corn, every bit of it.

Please share with us any surprise or exciting unexpected side trips you have had.  No adventure is to mundane...Life is an adventure!!!  Link your adventure below so we can all enjoy!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

~~Adventure Tour Express~~

Journey Back In Time

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints” ~Wilfred Peterson

Spring Mill State Park

The Wonderful Grist Mill

It still grinds meal,  the BEST corn meal!

No journey is complete without a visit to the village hotel.

And just maybe a romantic walk in the trees 

and over the bridge into the village.

Ron and I did this on our 34th Wedding Anniversary in 2003.  Yes, it was the first time we made this trip without a gaggle of kids.  And though this probably doesn't sound the least bit exciting I think that's one of the times we realized how good it was that we are together.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Now it's your turn.  Please post an adventure we can all share and then link it here for all to see.

~~Adventure Tour Express~~

This photo collage created with Smilebox

You often don't know when you are traveling and your itinerary is not set just what you'll come across in your adventures.  That's what happened when we stopped at the The Edelweiss Bed and Breakfast and Restaurant.  It is a delightful place in the heart of Missouri's Wine Country.  We had visited Daniel Boone's home and stopped to sample wine at one of the wineries on the way back to St. Louis.  On the way home we found this wonderful restaurant with the best BLT I had had in a long time.  It was delightful way to spend the day with family.

If you look closely you will see the skeletons of very early aircraft.  The restaurant was  full of memorabilia of the early days of flight.  If ever offered the opportunity to do so, give Missouri a try.  There is a lot more to be seen outside St. Louis.

Wishing you all a grand adventure.  Hoping you will share one of yours.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Hope you will join us with an adventure of your own. It is grand to share in one another's fortunes. Just link your tour below.

~~Adventure Tour Express~~

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Do you remember your very first trip?  My first memory of a trip was to visit my great grandparents in Manzanola, Colorado.  Grandpa and Grandma Elliott lived on a small farm with chickens, cows, and a donkey.  There was no running water.  Water was pumped from outside.  I do remember though that Grandma had a pump by the kitchen sink.

There was no indoor plumbing.  I remember making sure that I had used the outhouse before I went to sleep because it was dark with no lights and I was frightened of critters that roamed the night.

Breakfast at the farm was so good.  Grandma made fresh lard biscuits with bacon and fresh eggs.  The oatmeal was a little stiff though.  The milk was always warm.  I always thought that the ice box must not work until one day when Mom told me that the milk had just come straight from the cow.  I often wondered how they "cleaned" the milk before I drank it.


I will not romanticize life on the farm because as much as I loved to visit, I was glad to go home.  It is hard work living and working on a farm.  I had it made at home.  We had TV, running water, TV, indoor plumbing, TV, and ice cold milk.  And don't forget we had just gotten our TV.  This was in 1953.


To all farmers and their families, I would like to say thank you for all the hard work you do to keep our tables covered with wondrous foods provided by you and our Creator!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

I look forward to your adventure tales.   Just link below to share your story.  As always your words of wisdom are also welcome.

~Adventure Tour Express~

When I was considering an adventure to share I thought I might share what I think has become my first real adventure and it entailed a lot of moving. I had never lived very far from home. And even though I was not living has home when I was in nursing school, I went home nearly every weekend.   Ron and I married after graduation and then along came wee child, Laura.  Adventures are like that you know.  Then in January, 1970 Ron received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers.  And so this adventure begins!

Ron's Commissioning Ceremony
Originally uploaded by MeteoriteMan2010

Ron's first orders were to Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. So our journey began with a trek from Englewood, Colorado to Alexandria,Virginia. This was when I first realized what being homesick was all about. We lived in a furnished apartment. Ron was gone all day and it was just Laura and me. We'd go for walks and play, she'd nap and I'd read. No phone. One day I walked with Laura to the supermarket and make a phone call to Mom just to say hi! Silly I guess but I'd not gone weeks without talking to her.

Soon one day Ron came home and told me he had orders to Ft. Carson, Colorado!  We were going home!!!!  Even more exciting we were expecting again and so we had terrific news to share with family and friends!

So in June we packed up again and moved to Ft. Carson.  We were able to visit his family that lived there in Colorado Springs and travel north to Denver to visit my family there.  It was an adventure in itself just being a military wife.  The day our furniture arrived Ron was on maneuvers for a week...Thank God for Sis, who helped manage Laura while I was checking all the boxes.

Again in October Ron came home and announced that the entire battalion was being moved to Ft. Ord, California.  The trip to Ft. Ord took us through Salt Lake City and then across the Salt Flats of Utah.  There is no place to stop between Salt Lake City and Wendover, Nevada...I was eight months pregnant.  (One learns to appreciate rest stops, especially when there are none. )

We lived in temporary quarters on post for a short time until we could rent an apartment and be placed on the post housing list.  We found a small apartment in Seaside and were there when David arrived on my 24th birthday and just 10 days before Christmas.  Just 3 months later we moved in to housing on post where we stayed for 3  years.

I will tell you honestly, that I learned more in that one year about who I was and what strengths I had then at any other time in my life.  We only moved 5 times that year.  And we had moved from coast to coast!

Ron and I were only in the Army for 3 1/2 years.    And I will also tell you that I admire families that must endure the rigors of military life as a career and do it with courage and strength.

For those who serve this country and that means the husband or wife who must stay home as well as the military personnel who serve abroad, I say, "God bless you every one!!!"

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!

Please join in the fun! Share your adventure. I can hardly wait. Just link your post with Mr. Linky. I'll visit soon!

~Adventure Tour Express~

Madam Butterfly
By
Giacomo Puccini

I was invited to my first opera when I was 16 years old. My cousin, Pat, took me to the performance of Don Giovanni by Mozart at the Central City Opera. The opera was performed then as it is today in this lovely, rustic opera house "built in 1877, [by] citizens of Central City [who] organized a fund raising drive for a grand new opera house befitting the gold mining town's reputation as 'the richest square mile on earth.'" (Wikipedia) The opera that I really love the most of the ones I've been privileged to see over the years was here in Central City. It was so lovely and the costumes so beautiful. Yes, Madam Butterfly. The music will bring you to tears in its beauty if not in the love story it tells.

Much to my delight, when we visited Central City this summer and though we had no plans to go the opera, I found that once again Madam Butterfly was being performed. It brought back a flood of memories. As a young lady, I remember sitting in the dark wondering what it was like to live in the late 19th century and attend the opera here. I remember pictures of ladies in their finery and the gents in their frock coats. It must have been grand, oh so grand!

Take some time today and journey back to those times that drew you close to family and friends. The time when you were younger and that day you have filed away in your memory. Go to that place, sit quietly, and ponder your day on the Adventure Tour Express.

~~^j^~~
Thanks be to God!

If you wish to join in the adventure today and share one of your memories simply copy and paste the button into your post and allow us to travel with you on your Adventure Tour Express then link to your journey through Mr. Linky. Thank you for visiting and join me again any time.

~Adventure Tour Express~



Picture slideshow created with Smilebox

No family reunion is complete without a baseball game. We were lucky to be in a city for our reunion where baseball is the name of the game. These pictures were taken by Ron. I personally enjoy the pictures of the St. Louis skyline. The pictures are all pre-game. That's because on an adventure like this one, if you are to enjoy it, you watch the game, cheer, have a beer, and heckle...ya don't take pictures. So what you see is what you get. You get the referees, the grounds crew (they don't get enough praise!), Fredbird, and a few celebs...OH! St. Louis was playing the Oakland A's and St. Louis won 11-3.

It's apparent that a good time was had by all!!!

~~^j^~~
Thanks be to God!

To join in the adventure simply copy and past the button into your post and sign in with Mr Linky! So All Aboard!!! Share your adventure. We're looking forward to joining you!

~Adventure Tour Express~

This is such a wonderful summer. We have done so much traveling and revisiting places dear to our hearts.

When I first met Ron he was a student at Colorado School of Mines. He was studying metallurgy and minoring in "gold panning." Often dates were spent up on Clear Creek panning. In the Spring when the thaw began you could be sure that he would be up their early in the morning until late at night. He should have been a "49er" but he was born too late.

After we married, Ron would take my brothers and their friends up on the river to work the tailings. Tom, Phil, and friends have probably got tales of their own to tell, but not today.

It had been probably 20 years since he'd been up on river, but this summer we decided we would do it again. Here are the pictures of this adventure.

The boulders that need to be moved to get the dirt to pan.

Tools of the trade.
(Only a small part as we didn't bring the sluice.)

Panning it down.

Checking the results.

And the earth gave up ONE flake of gold.

But when all is said and done it wasn't all for the gold. It was for the thrill of being on the river again and playing in the dirt. There of memories of the past and the one newly made. And Clear Creek still flows on.

~~^j^~~
Thanks be to God!

To join in the adventure simply copy and past the button into your post and sign in with Mr Linky! So All Aboard!!!

On the Road Again...

I credit Willie Nelson for our theme song, cuz this evening we leave to visit Jimmy and Kelly in Alpharetta, GA. We will meet Kelly's parents and discuss what they have planned for the wedding in December. If you don't hear from me for a few day, just know I'm having a wonderful time!!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God