Kansas 2009

Clint's parents live on a farm in Kansas... seriously, I can't make this stuff up! Because they live so far away, we only see them a couple of times a year on average and it has become kind of a tradition to spend Memorial Day weekend with them. Probably because it is the first long weekend of nice weather and after almost dying on the crazy 800 mile cross-country drive to visit at Christmas a few years back, we decided it is not something we should do unless it is nice weather for driving. Why not fly, you say? Because they are literally hours away from any one of the closest airports. 4 hours from Denver, 3 hours from Omaha, 4 hours from Wichita. So, why not save the airfare money and drive our own car... I have told them that if they ever move they WILL be required to live in a city with a major airport! Of course, neither of them would think of it since they like the quiet, slow, country life.



Erin (and Sasha) were troopers on the long drive.

First view of their place from the bend in the road. All the wheat below the house and barn is theirs!

Close-up of the house and one of the outbuildings with wheat in the foreground. I don't know why, but being able to see the straight lines of the growing wheat is beautiful to me.

We took a drive to the hills behind the property and snapped a shot of all the buildings of their place with the white roofs.

Erin had a blast running wild and playing with Xavier (Clint's niece's son) who was also visiting.



Clint took us to one of his old fishing holes outside of the town they used to live in (Mom and Dad bought the farm after he'd left home for college). We hiked about half a mile from the road and over a little hill and had the place all to ourselves. I don't do worms, so I stayed on the shore and worked on my novel while the two fishermen headed off to do their best.








That didn't take long, Daddy! And look at the size of that fish... OK, let's put it back now!

Erin, did you catch anything? (No!)

At one point, I look up from my writing and noticed I had some company. I think this is the closest I've ever been to a farm animal without some kind of fence or car window separating us. Notice the chair next to me in the foreground, that's how close this guy was to me and he didn't seem happy that I was in the way...


After the fishing trip, we headed to Clint's step-sister's house for a BBQ where we learned that Mom and Dad had lost their dog while traveling the countryside visiting graves. The last two days of the trip were spent focused on finding Oprah - a little black toy poodle. Luckily, it ended well with the safe return of the beloved dog and everyone resting easy again. Before we knew it, we were headed back home!



Rest stop antics...


We had a great time - my favorite was running in the quiet evenings on the country roads. And it also marked the first time Clint and I ran together. Of course with his ruptured disk in his back and new ACL in his knee, it is also the only way I could ever keep up with him which is probably why we had never done it before.


Can't wait for next year!