Friday, Dec 1, 2017 to Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017

Friday, Dec 1, 2017 - Busy Day - Lots of Traveling

I slept in this morning after such an early start yesterday.  We still had plenty of time to walk though after our morning coffee before we make our way back to Joplin today.  

We headed to the park a little after 7:00 and we walked 2.18 mi. at an average pace of 17:11 min/mi.  

The skies were beautiful this morning as we were leaving the RV Park.

After breakfast and showers, we headed to Joplin so Dean could turn in his Holter monitor.  When we left his doctor's office, I asked him to stop at my lung doctor's office so I could check to see if the disc of my cat-scan had arrived from the hospital in Tahlequah, and was relieved to know it had. I called them yesterday but had not received a return call yet - since we were here it and it was just a few blocks away and now I know.

Dean wanted to go by Sam's to get some gas and I wanted to make a stop at Khol's where I bought a pair of black jeans and a black/white checked flannel shirt.  Our next stop is Pittsburg to pick up mail. Today we hit the jackpot with mail - Dean's prescriptions were there plus a stack of mail - about 20 pieces.  We knew we needed to update our driver's license with our new address but when we walked into the Pittsburg office and there was close to 20 people waiting, we just moved on.  We'll try to make it to Parsons one morning in the next week or so in order to take care of that chore.

Our next stop will be Altamont, KS where we need to take a few more things to storage.  On our way we decided to take a leisurely drive through McCune, Kansas.  It's been a number of years since either of us had been through this small community in Crawford County.  As we drove down a few of the side streets I took a couple of pictures.  

I love it when the business name is displayed on the building like this one.  There are quite a few lights on both the door and the motorcycle.  I'd like to see them with the lights on.

Dean and I got a kick out of Santa in the phone booth!

When we reached Parsons we took 32nd Street and headed south to Highway 59, then west to Altamont where we dropped off a few more things at the storage unit, before heading back to Oswego.  

I took a load of clothes to Misti's about 6:30.  While the clothes were washing, Dean and I decided to take a drive to Chetopa.  We wanted to see the Veteran's Memorial at night, and afterwards we drove around to look at Christmas decorations displayed on houses in town.  When we returned to Oswego I stopped and moved the clothes from the washer to the dryer and then we drove through the park to see if there were any new light displays since our last visit.  We noticed a few new displays.  Light displays should be done by December 8th, so we look forward to seeing the finished project.

After picking up the laundry at Misti's, we returned to Bentley for the evening.  I worked on the blog and posted it for Nov. 30.  We are leaving town tomorrow for a few days to visit Dean's family in/around the Garnett, KS area.  Stay tuned.




Saturday, December 2, 2017 - Oswego to Garnett, KS, Family Visit

After coffee, we took our morning walk - we are really happy the weather has been cooperative.  We walked 2.43 miles at an average pace of 17:01 min/mi and the weather was very mild this morning.  Great day for getting outside.

Sunrise this morning from the park!

Once we returned and had our breakfast I started storing things for our travel day to Garnett.  Dean emptied our gray and waste tanks while I put things away.  Our goal was to leave Oswego by 10:00 this morning to make the 2 hour drive to Garnett North Lake.  It was about 10:15 when we left the RV Park in Oswego.

Not too far south of Garnett you really begin to see some beautiful countryside.  Here are a few shots of this area.

I love the colors of the grasses - unfortunately this picture does not do justice to the beauty of the naked eye and capturing the large area outside a camera lens.

Our drive was uneventful and we pulled into the Garnett Clubhouse Bend Campsite in their City Park at noon.  We were parked, unhitched and set up by 12:30.  For lunch I made us another southwestern chicken salad from the leftovers we had from a few days ago.

Our site for the next 4 days

View from Bentley's rear window

Dean's brother Larry lives just a few blocks from the RV Park so it was convenient for visiting him and his wife Sandi today.  Even though Garnett is not that far from Oswego, we don't get to see Dean's family as often as we would like.  This is an opportunity to spend some time with each of them while we are here.  We spent the afternoon with Larry and Sandi catching up with the activities of each of our kids - they have 4 children, 10 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and another one on the way.  Dean is the youngest of his family of six sibilings - Larry is 10 years older.  

Near 5:00pm Larry suggested we go eat.  Garnett has a few restaurants in their downtown and they suggested the Bar & Grill, as they have excellent food.  Unfortunately it was packed - guess that says something for their food - so we chose the Mexican restaurant just down the street.  We made it in the door just in time as there was a LARGE group (approximately 35-40) that arrived shortly before us for a surprise birthday party and we were able to get our order in while they were still serving them drinks.  

I have to mention and show you some of the lights in downtown Garnett.  Most of the downtown buildings, including the Courthouse were lined in Christmas lights.  This is something I've always wished that Oswego would do.

Very beautiful Courthouse in Anderson County.

We returned to Larry and Sandi's and visited another hour or so before heading back to Bentley.  


December 3, 2017 - Garnett, KS, Another Family Visit

We both slept well last night and after having our morning coffee we decided we would walk.  Dean stuck his head out the door and said it was fairly cool, so we bundled up and took out - it wasn't that cool!  Soon we were shedding our jackets.  It was actually one of the nicest mornings we have walked for awhile.  There was little to no wind, and nearing 50 degrees.

We enjoyed our 2.03 mi walk (18.02 min/mi) before returning to Bentley.

There is a lake through the middle of this park.  We saw two people fishing while we were walking - one from the bank and another from his small fishing boat.  After we arrived yesterday there were several groups of people in the park - and a few were playing disc golf.  There is a golf course on the east side of the park along with soccer fields, go gart track, shooting range, recreation building, swimming pool, etc.  It is really a treasure for this community.

As we returned from our walk I snapped these pictures of the RV park.

Bentley on the left.

I included this poster to share an interesting tidbit about Garnett and this park.  

Dean has mentioned the Grand Prix races they used to have around Lake Garnett back when he was growing up here and the large crowds that turned out to watch them.  I wanted to share this website with you about the event which was a huge draw for Garnett from 1959-1972.  

A few years ago they begin holding an annual event "Lake Garnett Grand Prix Revival"  You can read about about both of these events here.

Today we plan to visit with Dean's oldest sister Marie and her husband Jerry.  They live in the country north of Garnett.  Dean wanted to take a drive around town and the countryside where he grew up.  

South of Garnett - you can see various city landmarks on the horizon.

A beautiful pasture adjacent to a single wide mobile home.  I told Dean I could live here!  What a beautiful view this property had.

South of Garnett on a high ridge where you could see off to the west for a great distance.  

It was nearing 11:30.  Dean called Marie to see if they would like to go to lunch and then we would come back to their house and visit.  She thought that sounded great so we headed north.  Along the way I took a few more pictures.

Beautiful country road - notice the rock fence alongside the road on the right.

Catholic Church Dean attended during his youth.

 

Downtown park area.  

Earlier this year Dean asked Marie if she had any pictures of the house they grew up in.  Marie found this picture and I added it to my phone.  It made me wish I had taken pictures of all of the houses I have lived in over the  years - both before and after pictures.  

Dean's family home.

Earlier this year Dean's brother Larry was in the hospital.  Jerry and Marie, Dean and I, Dean's sister Joyce and sister-in-law Connie drove to Olathe to see him and afterwards we had lunch at "Smoked Creations BBQ" in Ottawa, KS.  It was delicious.  When we discussed where to have lunch today we suggested going back to Smoke Creations and we are so glad we did.  If you are in the Ottawa area I would highly recommend this restaurant.  The first time I had a pork burrito that was amazing and today was no different, except I picked a sandwich (can't remember the name of it but it was loaded with brisket, cheese, and bacon).  If you enjoy smoked meats and BBQ, I think you will be pleased with your selections here.

Smoked Creations BBQ

We had a great visit with Jerry and Marie once we returned to their home where we spent the next several hours catching up on our kids and grandkids, talking about our travels and of course hearing stories Dean and Marie had about their growing up years.  We always enjoy our visits with them.

We left a little after 5 and decided to take a drive by Keith and Tracy's houses - a short distance from Jerry & Marie's (Keith (their youngest son) and Tracy (their oldest daughter).  We knew Tracy and husband Aaron had recently put up their Christmas decorations and since we were in no big hurry, we decided to check them out.  Tracy's and Keith's families live adjacent to each other, but when we found it - no lights were on - and it looked like no one was there, but we still enjoyed the drive.  As we continued to drive in the area the sun began to really show off as it began its descent, God's Christmas decorations for us!

What a beautiful sunset we enjoyed watching as we drove back to Garnett.  

One of the major downfalls of Garnett for both Dean and I is we love their Dairy Queen and rarely can we pass it up - and tonight was no different.  Since we have really been watching our diet, we haven't enjoyed this treat for awhile and our resolve broke.  As we returned to the campground the moon decided it wanted to compete with the sunset and we enjoyed this beautiful sight.

Moonrise.

Dean took the time to get our satellite dish out and hooked up when we returned so we could watch the Hallmark Channel for another Christmas movie.  He's so good to me!  I warmed up the other half of our sandwiches from lunch in the oven while we ate our DQ blizzards.  Nothing like having dessert before dinner - right?

We settled in to watch the movie and finally gave up at 9:00 and headed to bed.  I told Dean I didn't think I could go to sleep that early so I was going to check read a few emails as I laid there.  I think I might have read a one or two before I was drifting off - so much for knowing how tired I really was.

We have another visit planned for tomorrow - check back to see what we will be up to.