Lincoln Nebraska..............

First stop on "The Cousin Fest!"

Camp Away RV Park in Lincoln is one of the best parks we have been in. Lots of trees, grass and the sites on are on different levels with lots of space between most of them....would definitely recommend this park for a visit. They also have lots of activities for kids.



We've had 2 great visits with my cousin Julie Byers Smith and will stop one more time today before we leave tomorrow and head for Omaha/Waterloo. We talk all the time via Facebook but it's so nice to visit in person.

Of course I had to stop by Husker Nation while I was in town.....you can take the girl out of Nebraska but you can't stop her from watching the Huskers and cheering from afar!

We've also had fun trying out different restaurants while we were here and best of all got to have dinner with Teresa and Jim Vetter. Teresa's mom and dad, Irene and Kenny Nelson, were good friends with my folks, Patty and Kenny Barada, and Teresa and I were besties in school. We picked up right where we left off 60+ years ago and had such a great visit and so much fun catching up.

First grade picture of Teresa and I in Rosalie, NE.....I'm the second from the right first row and Teresa was third from the left first row......Cheryl Barada (married to my cousin Mike) is the young lady right in front of the teacher.

Cheyenne, WY

Terry Bison Ranch.....
We first stopped for 2 nights at the Bison Ranch on I25 just south of Cheyenne proper and right on the Colorado border. The camp site was average, pull through with full hook ups, but the activities were great!

The first night we went to their famous steak house, The Senaor's Steakhouse, and had bison burgers...Alan had a chili one and I had a bacon cheese rendition...both were very good. Our waitress was a kick..she had 3 degrees but choose to work at and be close to where she grew up.

The next morning we took ATV's all over the ranch. Our main tour guide was a young woman who by all standards was "A Real Cowgirl".....she first arrived wearing jeans, boots, and spurs and had just taken a group on a morning horse/breakfast ride around the ranch. She removed her spurs and hopped on an ATV and away we went. Alan did great and I, on the other hand, did so so. I was managing to keep up until the last downhill run.....I got to the top, looked down the steep grade and put the brakes on stating "OHHHH wait a minute, not sure I can go down that one!" The rear guide came up, coached me on how to use all the breaks and gave me the courage to try it. I went pretty slow on the first part but managed to make it down and back to the barn.

After a shower we gathered up the furry kids and drove down into Colorado and had lunch in Ft. Collins. What a pretty little town....they have a lovely older downtown area with lots of fun shops and restaurants. Since we had the kids, we picked a pub where we could eat outside and had a very nice lunch......it kind of looks like we are eating our way across the US.....

The next day we took their famous train ride where they stop and let you feed the bison. The ranch is in Wyoming and Colorado and is 27,000 acres and has the 2nd largest herd of bison, somewhere around 3,000. It is somewhat "Touristy" but we had fun feeding the bison and seeing them up close. They also have camels, horses of course, ostrich, and goats.

The next 2 nights we stayed at AB Camping in Cheyenne and enjoyed their nightly BBQ and explored downtown Cheyenne. We were just a week ahead of the famous Cheyenne Days so we could get around and see things without the massive crowds.....would have been fun, however, do see the rodeo events......there's always next year!

Sparks to Wendover to Coalville to Rawlins

Stopped in Sparks Marina RV Park on July 5th to have a visit with our niece Faith. Bad fires in the area and Hwy 80 was closed for awhile on the 5th. The next morning were able to get through on hwy 80 and made it all the way to Wendover, Nevada...........LONG DAY!!!!!!!!! The next morning it was on to the salt flats and Utah....our first view of the salt flats:

July 7th....short drive from Wendover across the salt flats and through Salt Lake City...pretty mountain range and easy drive through the city. Stayed at a GREAT RV Park, Holiday Hills, in Coalville, Utah. We were parked right along the river (stream) and we had a birds eye view of an Osprey nest, even got a quick glance at one of the babies popping his head out.




Took a day drive up through Wahsatch forest. So many beautiful lakes, one was Mirror Lake, lots of trees and we stopped at a wonderful waterfall.




Stopped in Evanstan, WY on the loop back and had dinner a a fun little family steak house.

July 9th left Utah and made it into Wyoming......Rawlins.....stayed at a KOA right off the highway....nothing special but convenient.