June trip up north, part 1

I am writing this on Dad's new computer here in Rhinelander. His old one, purchased for him as a gift quite a few years ago, was just not up to the tasks he needed. It was so bogged down that it was virtually unusable. We've replaced it with a much faster and more powerful system, and we're now trying to get it fully functional (moving his old files to it, installing the software he needs, etc.).

Anyhow, this is one of many highlights so far on our trip to Wisconsin. Since we were planning on first visiting my sister Lisa in western Wisconsin, we figured we'd take a more westerly route. So, we headed north through central Arkansas first, and then drove to Kansas City, Missouri to pick up I-35, which we followed into Iowa. We then angled across Iowa, passing through some flooded areas and a lot of wet cornfields. In extreme northeastern Iowa (just across the Mississippi River from Prairie du Chien), we made a brief stop on our second day of travel at Effigy Mounds National Monument.

Stephen and Hope examine some small mounds (above). We decided not to stay long--it was hot, muggy, threatening rain, and a 2 mile round-trip hike. Not good when towing 3 kids, one in a stroller. We were later than we planned for our intended arrival at Lisa's Colfax, Wisconsin home. So, we hopped in the car, and drove up the Great River Road between Prairie du Chien and La Crosse, Wisconsin. Even through the rain, this is a pretty road, with its steep, rocky, timbered slopes on one side and the Mississippi River on the other. The kids were also fascinated by all the rail traffic that follows this route.

The trip rolled smoothly up until La Crosse, which would have been okay to drive through except for the intense thunderstorm that rolled into town just as we arrived. Hope took a number of pictures as I drove through town, but the did little justice to the severity of this storm--gusty winds, heavy rain, brief hail, many lightning strikes. We managed to get out of town without major difficulties, but as we pulled away to the north, we heard a radio weather alert about a Doppler-indicated tornado just down I-94 from where we had been a few minutes earlier. I don't know if a tornado really happened, but given the nasty nature of this storm, it wouldn't have surprised me:

Aside from driving through some light to moderate rain, we made it to Lisa's without further incident. The kids were excited to play with their cousins (Michael and Emma):

and this was their introduction to their newest cousin (on the Bragg side), Leila:

Leila was all smiles and wanted to be part of the action, judging from her willingness to forgo naps to be with the rest of us. Stephen seemed fascinated by the new little person, and he played a lot with his other cousins, too:

The next day, the kids played some more, and had a snack in their fort:

Michael and Kenny also played a lot of board games, including chess:

We had to leave that evening, though, because the kids were signed up for swim lessons in Rhinelander, starting the next day (Monday). So, after a tearful goodbye (our tired kids didn't want to leave yet, even with the promise of seeing their cousins the following weekend in Rhinelander) we made a rainy drive to Rhinelander, arriving just before dark. When we got to town, we found Mom at home alone--Dad had actually gone in to the emergency room as he didn't feel well, and they kept him overnight for observation. We called him at his hospital room, and determined that this was a minor event, with him being released the next afternoon, we thought it best to stop by Monday morning rather than visiting him that night.

We had a nice visit at the hospital the next morning. Dad's heart condition is getting monitored with a small device that attaches to his chest and checks his heartbeat. Otherwise, he was not told to take any new medications or to change his activities. Hope took the kids to their swim lessons, and Mom, Stephen, and I remained with Dad for a while before returning home for lunch. Dad was released by early that afternoon, and was out mowing and splitting wood later that day. Here's Beth being coaxed into the water by her instructor:

The next day, Dad and I drove to Wausau to purchase a new computer, and to pick up some other necessities (y'all can see this at your next visit to the house). We also had a bonfire, and the kids got to watch a painted turtle that came up from the creek area to lay her eggs alongside their driveway:

Today (Friday) we're going to hang around the house for a while, finish getting Dad's computer loaded with software, and try to enjoy what looks to be a nice, sunny day. This has been a rarity for Wisconsin over the last few weeks. Mom and Dad's place has been wet, but not excessively so, but the southern and eastern parts of the state have been pounded by rain, flooding neighborhoods, closing roads, and causing a lot of people misery. Let's hope the rain will stay a way for a while--especially Sunday evening, when we're scheduled to take an anniversary cruise with Mom and Dad.

More soon to come!