Catalpas, Harvest Time, and Reconnecting With Family

Leaving North Platte we and made a series of short drives. Along the way the corn and soybean harvest were in full swing and we passed many trucks carrying the harvest to the elevators. Crossing into Iowa we spent a night at a beautiful campground in Waukee, Iowa.

The private camp ground was dominated by tall Catalpa Trees and while I had seen them before, I had never seen so many! The trees seemed to take on an almost human form and some seemed to show their personalities in the gnarled and bent branches.

There were also apple and crab apple trees, all laden with unpicked fuirt. Perhaps the owners were waiting for the first frost After frosting the apples are imparted with a special flavor and are used to make a special brewed cider.

Our next stop was in Waterloo and Cedar Falls.  There we drove to the house where Renita grew up and it brought back memories, so many memories.

We stopped to pray at our parents graves and I was surprised to see that my folks headstone had been placed on the website One Billion Graves. I really think its a good service, this website provides and encourage you all to consider registering your families graves. I have so many Aunts and Uncles and if I could easily find their graves, I would try to visit them.

We next stopped at our Alma Matter and bought sports wear for the upcoming basketball season, "Go Panthers, (the University of Northern Iowa)"! Another task was to find the best pork tenderloin and we ate three monster sandwiches in four days.

The rest of the time was spent visiting family and we didn't have time to visit them all, (My parents were both farm kids and between the two of them had seventeen brothers and sisters, producing about ninety three first cousins). Still we reconnected with several families on my Dads side and were able to learn and discover what had been important in their lives.

Too soon it was time to head south to spend a few days with Renita's sister Pam and her husband Roy. They live in Keosauqua, a place filled with peace and Iowa's quiet beauty. That story is for another entry and so its time to sign off in this one. Clear skies.