summer's best

 a couple of years ago, in Holland, we made it to the tulip festival. it was one of my fondest memories, being a lover of tulips. these cute little bud vases were hanging up around all the shops at the festival and i just loved the idea. so this the first time i've brought them outside here at our new house. i think i would have like to hang them horizontally but this is what i had to work with on short notice. plus it brings me cheer each time i come in the front door!

On the road: Interesting things we saw along the way!

here is a list we started making when we were driving and encountering  things we had never seen or experienced before.

on the road: from a pennsylvanian perspective!

• windmill blades
• circus rides ( on the highway)
• a tractor driving on the highway
• world's largest mcdonalds (former)
• sign that says "don't drive into the smoke"
• being in the  exact middle of america in oklahoma
• a couch in the middle of the highway
• a stage coach in new mexico
• tumbleweeds (interesting at first)
• long horn
• Jesus "blessed" texan watermelons
• yellow bellied marmots
• rain coming down on only one side of the car
• a guy in a tutu, running a race in death valley
• swimming cows
• next to a prison, a sign saying: " do not pick up hitchhikers"

a few last images from our trip

  utah

 utah

 bryce canyon national park : utah

 southern california

 mariposa grove: yosemite national park, california

 california

 death valley national park: california

 

yosemite valley

 yellowstone national park: wyoming

 grand prismatic springs: yellowstone

badlands national park: south dakota

desert!

most of these shots were at monument valley! we really enjoyed it there. there are so many other great scenery shots that we have as well. the west is astounding in beauty!

we also stopped at the four corners monument.

the corners of utah, colorado, new mexico and arizona!

highlights from new mexico and arizona

 meteor crater in winslow, arizona

 best breakfast of the trip so far. burrios, huevos rancheros, fresh squeezed oj, sweet roll.

at a place called frontier in albuquerque!

 near acoma pueblo in new mexico

 old town, albuquerque

 amazing sunset in new mexico

 tumbleweed and windmill. two most common sites here.

 so much so that a man had a giant yard collection of them.

 petroglyphs. ancient indian carvings and drawings

 badlands in the petrified forest

 rocks. somewhere :)

petrified wood!

friends in oklahoma... and texas

friend #1 : prairie dog 

we went to prairie dog town in oklahoma in the nature preserve. they were quite the sight to see. even saw some prairie dog kisses.

friend #2 : buffalo

they were pretty scarce with how hot it happened to be in oklahoma. hoping to see more in yellowstone

friend #3 : longhorns

these guys were all over.

p.s. we had longhorn burger for lunch.

staying with family in oklahoma was awesome! the picture is from mt. scott.

texas was more of a passing through state. we did however stop at slugbug ranch to tag a few beatles. and cadillac ranch to marvel at how many other people had tagged. ate some big steaks at the big texan and drove through parts of rt. 66 before heading to new mexico!

 

Springfield

we travel onto springfield, missouri via arkansas. here i am at mammoth springs a little park we stopped at on our way. it was nice to stretch our legs and take in a bit of the beauty around us

downtown springfield. we spent the day walking around the cute little shops and antique stores there. a most wonderful, relaxing anniversary day we had! 4 years with my man! time has truly flown by! we celebrated by going to red velvet and getting a sweet cupcake! salted caramel chocolate! amazing. it was fun going to a shop from a fellow blogger.

one thing i was looking forward to was visiting the home of laura ingalls wilder. the home where she lived with almanzo as a married couple! it was a treat to hear all about my favorite childhood character.

Memphis

 we had a great time in Memphis!

riverboats on the mississippi river

 outside graceland.

 beale st. a dream come true for jason! he loves his blues! we had the pleasure of hearing some great local music at a bar one night, called the juke joint.

 we visited  the rock n soul museum! a great history on the beginning of blues and rock and roll. it was interesting to see how music brought people together, when the racial divide was very strong. 

overall it was a great little stay we had in memphis, minus a silly little parking ticket.