On our way from Marceline Missouri to Jackson Center Ohio where we are going to get some warranty work done on the Airstream, we saw Indianapolis right on the drive path. Bonus! Another stamp in our State Capitol passport and a place to stretch our legs.
We found a few empty spaces on the street that fit our truck and trailer. Tim plugged some money into the parking meter and off we went, hoping we wouldn’t get a ticket.
Unfortunately they only had two guided tours today, and we missed them both. But, Tim once again acted as our tour guide, and he does a pretty good job 😂. They do have a nice self-guided tour brochure which describes the important places of interest.
Play video with sound on for the full effect. 🔉
This building is referred to as The Statehouse, and we never figured out why during the tour, so I did some research on good ol’ Google to learn more. This website was very helpful. Capitol buildings are categorized in three ways: statehouses, domed capitols, and executive towers. There is also one “roundhouse” that serves as a Capitol in New Mexico.
The shape of the building, when it was built, and architectural style all play a factor into which category it belongs. Indiana has a statehouse because it is has a flat front, square windows, and a federal front. The dome in the center was under construction while we were there, but you can see the rotunda from inside. This building is not the first statehouse. The original building still stands in another location, but we didn’t get to see that piece of history on this trip.
The chandelier in the Indiana Supreme Court is the heaviest in the Statehouse, weighing 1,500 pounds. This room has been largely unchanged since it was built in 1888.
Senate and House of Representatives.
We sat in those comfy blue leather chairs in the Senate Chambers. They are nicer than most in the Capitols we have seen.
The first Meditation Room in a State Capitol. It’s an interfaith chapel, in memory of those who have laid the foundation for this state.
Tim with his hand in the candy jar. 🤪😂
Walking around various floors held some unique finds. Busts of famous people including Benjamin Harrison, the only U.S. President from Indiana and the one who saw more states come into the union than any other president. I didn’t get his picture, but I did get Abe Lincoln.
Here’s a picture of another Abe, the Bison presented for Indiana’s bicentennial.
I enjoyed walking around the grounds under a beautiful autumn sky. There were several opportunities for great photos of the Capitol.
Our original plan was to boondock in a local parking lot, but after driving around downtown it didn’t feel like the safest place to stay overnight. It was still daylight so we went a little further down the road to get out of the city traffic and boondocked in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. In case you don’t know, boondocking is dry camping, without any hook-ups to electricity, water, or sewer. We used the water from our fresh water tank, and battery–operated lanterns to save our batteries (Batteries are one of the reasons we going to get warranty work done).
À la prochaine fois … hasta la próxima vez … Until next time!
October has been a complicated month of travel for the Wests. When Tim realized he had a work trip in Minnesota while we would be camping due south in a small town in Missouri without close access to an airport, he decided to drive it. He asked if I’d like to ride with him and spend time together rather than fly, and of course I said YES! It would be nice to sleep in a big king-sized bed for a few days.
He rented a car on his way home from the airport last week so we would take that rather than put extra miles on the truck. Plus, if we leave the truck parked with the Airstream it gives the appearance we are home. We left yesterday (Thursday) from Marceline, visited the Hoover Presidential Library and National Historic Site in West Bend Iowa (different passports), spent the night in Iowa City, then drove to the State Capitol this morning on our way up to Minnesota.
The Iowa Capitol is a pretty building. It has the “wow” factor. When I asked Tim what he liked about the building, he said he liked the domes amongst other things. I concurred. It has five domes on top. The center dome is covered in 23-karat gold leaf. The most recent re-gilding began in 1998 and was completed in 1999 at a cost of approximately $400,000. All I can say is WOW 🤯😳. The other four domes are copper with gold leaf stripes.
Construction of the Capitol began in 1871 and was completed in 1886. The building feels “original,” another thing Tim likes. Even though they have done some restoration, you get the sense an old, antique building. When you walk through the halls, it’s like you are transported to a time and place 150 years ago. It’s a timepiece from that era.
Ground Floor. We didn’t get to take the guided tour since we were pressed for time to get to Tim’s site visit, so Tim acted as our tour guide. He’s not quite as old as our last one, and a lot less eccentric 🤪 😂. He was actually really good! Their self-guided tour brochure is very well laid out, and highlights some important facts about the art and architecture we would see along the way. Some of the facts in this blog are borrowed from the brochure.
Visitors enter on the ground floor on the side of the building, where security checks your bags and asks you to walk through a metal detector. You are greeted by a series of tables and chairs and a cafeteria, which serve as a lunch room when legislature is in session. A school group gathered in these tables while we were there as well. The Iowa State Capitol Tour Guide desk and Gift Shop are located toward the center of the building near the rotunda. We stamped our passport, picked up our brochure, and listened to some tips on what to look for. There are a few facts on a plaque about the fire of 1904 near the stairs, but the main tour starts on the first floor.
First Floor. The first thing you notice is the rotunda, with stairwells and wings leading to various suites. According to the brochure, the building’s interior is furnished with 29 types of marble and a variety of woods.
The Rotunda. Suspended across the dome is the emblem of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). The emblem, painted on canvas and suspended on wire, was placed there as a reminder of Iowa’s efforts to preserve the Union during the Civil War. A painted sky with clouds was added to the interior of the dome during recent Capitol renovations.
The reception room to the Governor’s Suite has high ceilings and a beautiful chandelier (which I would hate to have the task of cleaning). Visitors can’t go beyond the ropes, but it was fun to peek inside.
In the hallway outside the governor’s suite, there is an encased collection of “first lady” dolls dressed in their inaugural gowns. Currently they have a female governor (Kim Reynolds), the first female governor in Iowa, so there is one lonely male doll front and center representing her spouse. That was a unique display we haven’t seen in another Capitol to date.
There was a very large model of the USS Iowa battleship on loan from the U.S. Navy Department, in one of the first floor wings. It’s a World War II era battleship and frankly, pretty incredible. The model is 18 feet seven inches long and weighs approximately 1,350 pounds.
Lots to read in the first floor wings. I love the ceilings and columns shown here.
Underneath the rotunda is a block glass floor with the grand staircase in the background.
The Old Supreme Court Chamber is on this floor as well.
In the Secretary of State’s Office, a staffer unveiled Iowa’s original constitution where it is covered with a thick cloth, then she proceeded to tell a brief story about it. The original Iowa Constitution, signed in 1857, was restored in 1988 and is protected in a specifically designed case. Iowa has the second shortest constitution in the United States at 40 pages (Vermont has 20 pages). In perspective, Alabama has the longest state constitution at 300 pages! I loved reading the words written in the old script. It seems we have lost that art over the years. That was a unique and surprising find in the Capitol.
Second Floor. The marble and granite Grand Staircase leads to the second floor. There are some other interesting facts about this in the brochure which I won’t repeat here, but you can perhaps see by the pictures it is a beautiful staircase. I liked the six mosaics on the wall of the third floor, also seen from the first floor just above the mural. More on that later.
Above the staircase is a mural painting Westward, by Edwin H. Blashfield of New York. The mural symbolizes pioneers’ arrival in Iowa.
Iowa House of Representatives. Thisand the Iowa Senate chamber occupy most of the second floor.
From the second floor we got a better view of the paintings on the rotunda. Eight half-mooned shaped paintings and 12 statues. The paintings—called lunettes, tell the story of the “Progress of Civilization.”
We found the State Library of Iowa – the Law Library to be very appealing. It was probably my favorite part of the whole building. The library encompasses the entire west wing of the second floor. I loved the white iron spiral staircases and matching railing that framed the bookcases, filled with over 100,000 legal volumes. The staircase was a bit scary for me, but I climbed it anyway as it gave a different perspective on the library worth seeing.
This dumb water is older than us, but we can relate to the sign 😂.
Third Floor. This is where you can stand in front of the six mosaics and see the details of the tiny tiles. The craftsmanship takes my breath away.
I read a plaque that said it cost $10,000 to commission the artist. That was a long time ago, but I still thought that was an amazing deal. The mosaics symbolize Defense, Charities, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of Iowa, and Education. Pictured here is “education.”
The galleries for the House of Representatives and Senate are also accessible from this floor, on either end of the rotunda. They don’t include the third floor in the self-guided tour brochure for some reason, maybe because it’s just the galleries. It was a challenge to find the elevator to get up there, and the stairs were closed off, but we really enjoyed the close-up view of the chandelier overlooking the House once we found it. Those galleries are tight, with very narrow walkways between rows, again challenging for someone with acrophobia!
Chandelier in Iowa State SenateIowa State Senate, from the Gallery.
Tim and Cindy West at the Iowa State Capitol.
I hope you enjoyed our tour of the State of Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. Next time you are in Iowa, take an hour and go see it for yourself. If you know of anything additional about this Capitol, or have your own personal story to share, please comment below!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Oy vey. Getting packages on the road is challenging and interesting. It takes some research to figure out whether a campground receives packages, who will get it, and how they will get it to me. If we are in one location long enough, Amazon does a great job of delivering before we leave for our next destination. But this time I didn’t use Amazon.
We were in Sedalia for the International Airstream Rally and they received packages at the Rally site. I didn’t think it would be a problem. The manufacturer promised a delivery date before the rally ended, but they didn’t try to deliver it until Saturday after the rally had ended. The Fairground administrative offices are closed on the weekend. Monday was a holiday so they were closed, and we left on Tuesday to go to our next destination. Of course, Tuesday is when they delivered it.
I called the Fairground and they had returned to sender, as they did with all rally packages. The company said we would have to pay for shipping even if we cancel the order. I’m going to fight that one because we were given a specific date and they didn’t fulfill that promise.
It’s only a month before we get back to Conroe, so we’ll likely not order anything else to be delivered between now any then. Just one more of the fun things we encounter while living life on the road!
If you are a full-timer in an RV, how do you get your packages? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Sedalia, Missouri. We were snug as aluminum sardines in our tin cans at the Missouri State Fairgrounds. We came in with the Greater Houston Airstream Club, about 35 of us, and there are around 1,400 units total. It’s truly impressive to see! The Rally lasted from October 5 -10.
Sick. I probably caught it on the plane back from Houston. I started feeling sick the day before we left Kansas City, and it hit me pretty hard by Friday the day we were traveling to the Rally site, the night before the Opening Ceremony. To get ahead of it, I called a teledoc and he prescribed me some penicillin. He said to wait a few days and see if it gets better before I started taking it. Cough, congestion, and 102 degree fever put me in bed for the first few days so I started the antibiotic and noticed improvement from there.
FOMO. I hated missing out. I tried avoiding people, sat alone and away from people when I did go out; but once I started feeling better I ventured out a little more each day. First in the evening, then the afternoon and evening, and then all day.
By Wednesday I was able to attend a few more events, and by the last day I participated all day and evening. We put a lot of time, energy, and money into preparing for this rally. I made ornaments and handed them out as “flamingos” while everyone was watching a movie. I feel like I was able to grab the highlights, and I caught a second wind often enough to justify being out of bed.
The Moral. There’s no ideal time for sickness to strike.
Rally Highlights. It was fantastic to see our friends from the Greater Houston Area Club (GHAC) and others we’ve met on our journey. We had the pleasure of dining at one couple’s Airstream, which gave us a chance to connect more personally.
These are some of the memorable moments from the Rally.
VAC sponsored Halloween Dance. VAC is the Vintage Airstream Club, and their party was in the Swine Hall, where the pigs are kept during the big agricultural fairs. Our GHAC group dressed up like characters from M*A*S*H* and gathered together in a pig stall. We wore some custom-printed dog tags and army colored clothes. I was tickled by all the creative costumes dancing around. No food or drinks were served or expected, although they had a cash bar at $8/bottle. We passed on that.
Vendors. We had a great time visiting the various vendors. The solar company came and did a free test on our batteries and solar. They found some issues which we will address in Jackson Center. We also appreciated getting our tanks cleaned by the team from Kleen Tank. Tim went golfing and I stayed behind to watch the process. I learned quite a bit! I will post a video of the process to our YouTube Channel if you want to see how it’s done. It’s quite interesting what they do! I highly recommend it if you have an RV of any kind. In essence, they pressure wash the inside of your tanks and show you how to prevent buildup and mold. (We had both.) In addition, they will give your tanks a “grade,” to let you know how well you are doing. This goes beyond simply dumping your tanks. It’s a maintenance issue.
Bridgerton Tea Party. The Bridgerton tea party on Wednesday was a highfalutin affair. I thought there would be more of a formal “program,” but the atmosphere was lively, and it was a blast seeing all the ladies dressed up while I enjoyed wearing my own Bridgerton-inspired outfit! Our table exchanged stories about the teacup we brought, and it was delightful to hear about the wonderful adventures tied to its purchase. All my teacups are packed away, so I bought one from an antique shop in Sedalia. This made sense because I have been known to collect them whenever we travel.
This cup will always have a memory of the Rally attached to it!GHAC ladies at the Bridgerton Tea Party.
Hot Air Balloons. Two tethered balloons gracefully floated in front of the sunset, and I was delighted to see them. We had been chosen for the Albuquerque Balloon Festival but turned it down since it was the same week as this rally.
Photography Contest. I was thrilled to discover that two of my photos earned ribbons—first place for flowers and second place for graffiti! I didn’t get to see all the photos on display, but a staff member kindly shared a picture she took of all the boards. With over 400 entries, I felt really proud to have two winners!
Presentations. There were a number of presentations to choose from, and while I had several selected and carefully planned in my schedule, I didn’t attend any until the last day. I did learn about possible volunteering opportunities across America, which provide free camping and other adventures, as well as some organization and design ideas for the inside of our Airstream. I am constantly doing this: organizing, purging, simplifying, collecting, then starting the cycle again.
Aurora Borealis. The last night of the Rally brought us a clear sky and stunning view of the northern lights. I was ecstatic, as it was my first time experiencing them! I saw the pink hues, but unfortunately, the light pollution obscured much of the green hues present in the other photos I saw. It was a Kodak moment to see our Airstream under the northern lights, and I think I captured a shooting star in the photo as well—what a bonus!
A brief review of pros and cons. This is only our second Airstream Club International Rally, so we don’t have a lot to compare it to. A few things were better in Sedalia MO than they were last year in Rock Springs Wyoming, while some things were better last year. This is just our opinion, of course. Rock Springs is in the mountains of Wyoming and it was our first rally, so that may contribute to our fondness associated with it. Their campground had deep gravel everywhere, but the RV slots were separated by small fences giving you a sense of a “small yard.” In Sedalia we were parked on the grass. I liked the grass better (especially since it didn’t rain), but it would have been nice to have a bit more wiggle room between the rigs. Last year we had a few more community meals, or at least it seems like we did. During the farewell party we had a chili cook-off, and that provided an opportunity to sit and eat a meal with our friends. I recall a few other meals as well, including one lunch and some ice cream sandwiches. This year seemed to be lacking in the food area. Not as many food trucks. There were a few good restaurants in town, but I heard some stories about the food trucks that made me want to avoid them. Lastly, they decided to change the time of year to fall this year, which meant fewer opportunities for future streamers to attend. At least one of our group members had a teenager, and he was unable to find the other three teens who were listed as present at the rally. Last year was in the summer, so there were many more young people around the grounds, including teenagers and school aged children. I didn’t bother to bring out my books as I only saw one child and one teenager the whole time we were there.
All in all it was a memorable rally and I’m glad we went. Next year’s Airstream Club International Rally is in York, Pennsylvania. It is in August during the week of our 40th Wedding Anniversary, so we likely won’t go to that one. We are still deciding how to celebrate our special day, so if you have any ideas please leave a comment below! We are thinking about an Alaskan cruise.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
When we arrived in Sedalia for the Airstream Club International Rally, we had a free day before the rally started. We drove from Sedalia to Jefferson City on Highway 50, which we have been down on the motorcycle a couple of times according to my map photos. It was a beautiful day, and after my fever broke I felt better. We both wanted to get out for a little bit before the Rally kicks off. We knew if we didn’t go to the Capitol that day, we might not get another opportunity. It’s a good thing we went when we did, because it wasn’t long after that before I was back in bed with a fever and a bad cough. The Rally will be another whole blog, as it was a week of fun and adventure, but here’s our Capitol experience.
State Capitol of Missouri. This is their third capitol building. The first two were destroyed in a fire and it looks like this one was constructed well enough to take on the lightning strikes. Standing atop the Missouri State Capitol is the historic bronze statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. (That was interesting after hearing about the controversy of Ceres in the Kansas Capitol.) The ten-feet tall copper and bronze statue was installed on Oct. 29, 1924 and has remained there ever since, with the exception of a 13 month period from 2018-2019 when she was carefully transported to Chicago for restoration. While the dome topper was on the ground at eye level, someone counted where it had been struck by lightning 800 times.
We pulled up to the Missouri State Capitol at 1:50 PM, found an easy parking spot in the shade, and got there just in time to join the 2:00 tour. It’s interesting how some people feel the need to correct you when they think you did something wrong, rather than just welcome you in. The tour desk clerk informed us with a stern look that we were supposed to reserve our spot in the tour 24 hours ahead of time. Did we do that?
Ummm no.
Well we do happen to have space available so you can join the 2:00 tour.
Okay, thanks!
🤔 She could have just said, “you’re in luck! We have space available in the 2:00 tour.” 🤦♀️ 🤨
It’s unfortunate for this “Show Me State.” I kind of wanted them to show me something! That was not the best of introductions. This Capitol building was pretty but it was missing a bit of the “wow” factor. Maybe the Saturday tour guide had something to do with our experience, or the desk clerk’s reprimand, or the fact that I was coming down with a bug. So don’t take my word for it; go see for yourself!
The first floor contains a museum dedicated to the resources for living. Agriculture, petrol, mining, wind, the carriage and other modes of transportation, and more. We browsed through there for a few minutes before the tour began.
Modes of transportation and how they are powered. Tim was a minute late to the tour as he didn’t know she was there yet. The tour guide was a little put out by that, asking multiple times if we had checked in and registered with the front desk 🤦♀️.Des Moines-Palmyra Mail Coach, This Concord-style coach was built in Palmyra, Missouri, in 1840 at a cost of $600. It carried mail and passengers between Palmyra and Des Moines, lowa. The route was jokingly called the “tri-weekly mail” because it tried to offer weekly service but didn’t always succeed.
We had the Saturday tour guide, an eccentric old lady who took us into the hallway on the second floor and showed us some unique aspects of the murals found there. One of the paintings looks like the direction of the bridge changes as you move from one side to the other. That was cool. When she started up the stairs Tim asked if I was ok. I replied, “If she can do it, I can do it. ” 🥴 We were right behind her making sure she didn’t pass out on the way up 😳.
Her favorite phrases were, “Is everybody ok?” and “Thoughts, questions or observations?” She reminded us of an old schoolmarm. She had some specific “dos and don’ts” along the way. In her defense, it was a large group and she probably deals with naughty school children every day 🙄🤪.
Next she took us down the hall of fame where busts of famous people are on display. Fun fact: Bob Barker graduated high school in Missouri, and his bust says he went to Drury College in Springfield Missouri on a basketball scholarship. I never knew that! There are many facts about him including advocacy for animals, seventeen-time Emmy Award-Winning American Television Game Show Host, and Lifetime Achievement Award for Daytime Television in 1999, amongst other things. Here are a few more Hall of Famers I found intriguing.
Top Left: Ginger Rogers (1911-1995). Born in Independence, Missouri. Legendary actress and dancer. Academy Award winning best actress for film Kitty Foyle (1940). Famous for her dance partnership with Fred Astaire in ten films.
Top Right: SACAJAWEA (1788-1812), born in Lemhi Valley, Idaho. Shoshone interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition which explored Missouri and other Louisiana Purchase territories. She seems to show up everywhere we go!
Bottom Left: Emmett Kelly, Sr. (1898-1979) born in Sedan Kansas. Grew up near Houston Missouri. Created the World-Famous Hobo Clown character “Weary Willie,” and became a major star of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily Circus.
Bottom Right: Anna “Annie” White Baxter (1864-1944) was the first woman elected to public office in Missouri in 1890 and the first female county clerk in the U.S. She defeated her opponent by over 400 votes and earned a reputation as one of the state’s best county clerks, overseeing elections for which she could not vote due to her gender.
Next we went into the “lounge room” on the third floor, which has a very vibrant mural with life-size people depicting various good and bad aspects of Missouri. The artist spent time in Missouri people-watching, and each face in the mural represents someone he actually saw, but he used his imagination to put them all in the mural. The mural is painted to look like there are people leaning on the trim (which is also part of the mural).
The baby who is painted on his mother’s lap in the center grew up here. He came to the building as an adult on occasion to see the painting of himself and his mother. That one piece of the mural was quite controversial in the community, but the artist insisted on keeping it because it represents moms and real-life stuff that happens daily.
Our guide kept us in this room for quite a while as we unveiled many different aspects of the bright mural. Perhaps she was tired from all those stairs. 😅 🤪 I know we were! We all sat down and were not in a hurry to keep moving.
They no longer use this room as a lounge, and the public cannot go inside without a tour guide.
Over each of the three doors is a “legend” depicting, Jesse James, Tom Sawyer, and Frankie and Johnny. There is an Elvis song written about them. And a movie. It’s the legend of a woman who killed her husband after he cheated on her. Word to the wise.
Anyway, of interest is also this tidbit. Jesse James was known to “rob from the rich and give to the poor,” and now there is actual proof that he did so. He gave a lot of money to the local school, which was quite poor. Our tour guide did some research in this area and found this to be a true fact.
She unlocked the door to the House of Representatives gallery, which has a beautiful stained glass window front and center. This is where our tour ended with the guide checking in one last time to make sure everyone was okay.
Beautiful ceiling and stained glass window in the House of Representatives.
We were unable to go into the Senate Gallery. There was a lot of scaffolding in the interior, as they are working on the stained glass windows. They should be finished with this restoration project in about a month.
The Capitol was built on the Missouri River. There are cool pictures of it from the other side of the river. In fact, lots of people seem to like this picture spot. We saw two different wedding parties gathering on the Capitol steps for their pictures.
Missouri State Capitol from the Riverside. It has a bit more “wow” factor on this side of the building.
All in all, we had a good time at the Missouri State Capitol. I hope you don’t mind my musings about our tour guide 😅. She was an interesting character, which added to the overall experience at the State Capitol.
Now, pick up your Passport and start collecting those stamps!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I had treatment on September 30th, in addition to bloodwork for genetic testing. Since these were the only appointments I had, I flew in and out the same day to save money on hotel and car rental. It was dark in Kansas City when I drove to the airport in the early morning hour, and it was dark when I got back from Houston. Tim flew in a few hours before me, and he picked up the truck from the parking spot. He was also exhausted from all of his recent trips, and when my flight was delayed he ended up getting a hotel in Kansas City, where I shuttled from the airport. It sure was good to be back together again!
View of Houston from the plane.
It was a long day, but I accomplished a lot while I was there. MD Anderson, mail, storage, and check on the house development were priorities on my list.
Genetic testing was completed about ten years ago, and everything came back negative at that time. However, they only checked a few things, and recently some of my family members have gotten positive results on some genetic mutations, so my genetic counselor decided to do it again. I’m still waiting on those results.
Chemo went quickly. My nurse got me in and out in record time. I was so glad because I still had several errands I wanted to run. We had a few packages to pick up, and I was excited about getting those because I ordered some fun stuff for the upcoming Airstream Rally.
I always check the mail and visit the storage unit when I’m in town. Whatever fits in my carry-on roller bag can get transported back and forth as needed. Since the weather has been changing, we have switched out our blankets, clothes, and a few other things to accommodate the cooler temperatures. To save baggage, I decided to put my wallet and consolidate my purse items into my computer bag. Of course I forgot to include my keys to the shed and mailbox! At first I panicked, but then I looked at the time.
Fortunately our mailbox is in a facility where staff can get my mail, and they were still open. I was not able to go to the shed. We have the only keys, and I can visualize them in my purse, which was still in Kansas City. My son and his wife graciously agreed to keep a box of our stuff at their place until the next time I come home. I was glad I had a little extra time to work all that out. I hope I don’t make that mistake again!
And now for that house update! I drove to New Waverly to see what progress, if any, has taken place on the property. I was pleasantly surprised! We are still a long way from having a building, but the development is shaping up. Last time we were there, the dirt roads were still barely drivable, and it was hard to find the road to our lot. I not only found the road, but I was able to easily drive on the hard-packed, grated roads. And the Apple map program can identify our road as well.
Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite. Hopefully the next time we drive out there we will see even more happening to the development and to our lot specifically. This is the entrance to the acreage subdivision where we are building. There are two entrances, and this is the first time I’ve been able to drive in the first entrance. Progress!
Lots of heavy machinery were there working on various parts of the development. Our lot is the only one that has been cleared, as far as I could tell. It didn’t have any trees to clear, but they have leveled it, brought in fill dirt, and clear markers designate where our lot lines and culvert are located.
Sound on – this is our lot and the surrounding lots.Turning left onto our roadOur street Our lotCulvert in front of our lotStanding at the back of the cleared portion, looking at the trees behind Standing in the same location as before, facing the street
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
We were pulling our Roam Home from Lincoln NE to Kansas City MO, and it made the most sense to stop at the Capitol on our way. The only challenge was finding a place to park. There are metered parking spots in front of the Capitol, and no one was around, so we parked there. We couldn’t figure out how to pay for ten spots on the meter, but fortunately no tickets were left on our window. It turned out to be a great photo opp!
We arrived late enough to barely catch the final tour. No one else showed up, so we got another private tour! Our tour guide wasn’t feeling well, but she was happy to oblige. I am still amazed by the knowledge of these tour guides. You can ask them about practically any artifact or picture in the building and there will surely be a story to share.
The artwork in the main hall to the rotunda is incredible. The artist completed all of the pieces in a matter of months. Done in the pointillism style, the artist paints little dots close together which look like an image when viewed from a distance. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.
This antique Otis elevator is still in excellent working condition. In 1995 it was seen in the movie Truman, after they looked all over to find one. (Not The Truman Show with Jim Carrey.) Truman is a biography of President Truman, who was Vice President when FDR died, and was suddenly promoted to the presidency. The movie stars Gary Sinise. We visited the Truman Presidential Library and Museum down the road earlier in the day, so now we want to watch the movie and look for the elevator as well.
Kansas State Senate. After the House did a renovation project the Senate decided they needed a bigger and more beautiful room as well. When they did their makeover they set a budget of $70,000, then doubled it. That’s white onyx from Africa and Mexico. The stained glass windows on the side were imported from France, said to represent the sun, but later noted to also look like the sunflowers.
There is evidence of the Kansas prairie all through the decor.
The State Library of Kansas moved to the Statehouse in September 1900. Annie LePorte Diggs, First Woman State Librarian (1898 to 1902), reported to the Governor.
The State Library of Kansas was also presented as part of the tour. We walked up a tiny staircase and across a block glass floor through rows of books as our guide explained fun facts about the library. My fear of heights kicked in for a moment, but I was okay to continue. They installed lots of contraptions to make the librarians’ work easier. The librarians used the book elevator to transport books up and down.
Ad Astra is the name of the statue on top of the dome. He’s a Kansa warrior, the tribe from which Kansas got its name. This honors the Native American heritage as well as the motto of Kansas, “to the stars through difficulty.” Another Interesting story about that. There was a plan to put Ceres, goddess of agriculture, on the top but there was controversy over honoring a pagan goddess so the dome sat without a statue for decades. Ad Astra was finally installed in 2002. There is a cast of Ceres in the museum at the bottom of the Capitol.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
This is the first state to radically depart from the design of the U.S. Capitol and build a 400-foot tower. Built out of Indiana limestone, it is the second-tallest state capitol (only because Louisiana’s governor insisted theirs be taller).
They paid for the building as it was going up. Nebraska was not permitted to go into debt for the building of the Capitol, so much of the artwork had to be added later. The building cost just under $10 million when it was built in 1922-1932. If it were destroyed and needed to be rebuilt as it stands, it would cost into the billions.
The influences of Spain, France, and USA are noted in the artwork, representing some of the nations that made Nebraska great.
When we entered this state capitol, it felt a little weird at first. Like a catacomb. There was no grand entrance or visitor’s desk to greet us. We couldn’t see the dome, which we thought was strange as well. We didn’t realize we had entered through a back door.
We finally found the main entrance. It felt a bit overwhelming at first, as there are many mosaics on the ground and paintings in the main hallways; a tour guide noticed our confusion and asked if she could show us around. She had just finished with a group tour and had some time (I think she was feeling a little bored), so she gave us our own personal tour!
The Nebraska Capitol is one of the most unique buildings we have seen to date. We are still trying to decide whether we like the architectural decisions, which combines Egyptian style with Nebraskan landscape and history.
Fun Fact. Nebraska is the only unicameral state, meaning they don’t have a separate House and Senate. They haven’t always been that way. The bicameral, two-group system was based on British Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords), which Senator George Norris believed should no longer apply to us. He believed the two-group allowed for too much blame, whereas one body would have to take full responsibility for decisions made. He proposed a new form of government, and Nebraska voted to move to a unicameral, one legislative chamber, in 1937. They meet in the old House of Representatives chamber pictured here. Notice the gold leaf painted on walnut wood, representing Spain (lions), France (flour de lis), and U.S. history (eagles).
I also found it interesting that a couple of young students created a ten-minute documentary on the history of Nebraska unicameral system, which is featured in their state website.
Brief video looking down on the floor of the rotunda. The tour guide explained this to us, but I can’t recall the detail. Wikipedia comes in handy at times. The Capitol has a number of these spectacular mosaics on the floor of the halls and rotunda.
“The Procession of Life continues in the Rotunda’s floor…At the Rotunda’s center, four tondi mosaics representing the Genius of Water, the Genius of Fire, the Genius of Air, and the Genius of Earth surround a larger tondo mosaic of Earth as the Life-giver.” (Wikipedia)
Surrounding each Genius are the animals found in Nebraska during archeological digs, or known to have lived in the water, air, earth, or died by fire.
Earth, as the life-giver (Mother Nature)Genius of Fire. Zoom in to see the tiny tiles in the mosaic.
Supreme Court. The very large tapestries on the Supreme Court walls are over 100 years old. Unfortunately they are faded by the Nebraska sun.
8,000 pieces of wood are used in the ceiling of this room, designed for acoustical purposes. Seven seats of justice are in front of a hidden door, where they enter and leave to their secret chambers.
Our tour guide walked us to the antique elevator, which took us up 14 floors to the four observation decks with views of the city. She stamped or passport and encouraged us to browse on our own from there.
The dome on top is octagonal shaped, and has large murals dedicated to various service personnel.
According to Wikipedia, “The capitol and its grounds are a frequent site of political demonstrations, rallies, and news conferences.” We walked by this group and it appeared they were rallying around feeding the hungry. View from the observation deck..
Our tour couldn’t be complete without a nod to The Lincoln Monument, built in 1912. This predates the current statehouse. The commission for the State Capitol stated, “Solutions should consider this monument and suggest for it a proper part in the ensemble, preferably but not imperatively on the building site proper.” Architects had to incorporate the Monument into their design proposals to be accepted.
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. was built a few years later (1914-1922).
It is also interesting to note, in 1976 the National Park Service designated the capitol a National Historic Landmark, and in 1997, the Park Service extended the designation to include the capitol grounds. We should have gotten a stamp in our NPS passport (darn).
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
We toured two State Capitols so close together, I was going to combine them into one blog. We have done so much these past weeks; it’s getting hard to keep it all straight! But then it was getting too long, so you’ll see my Nebraska blog soon.
September 16, 2024 – Cheyenne Wyoming.
This capitol building recently went through a four-year restoration and renovation project, and was closed during that period of time. It reopened to the public in July 2019.
The tour desk lady stamped our passport and gave us some information to get us started, but they only offer a self-guided tour from thereon. There is a video, which we didn’t take time to watch; it probably would have helped us to uncover some of the finer details. They also have a cell phone tour, where you can click on the QR Code at each location to learn more. We were a bit pressed for time, so we walked the floors, talked to a few staffers, looked at the architecture, took some pictures, and read some of the plaques. We did find a few interesting facts that peaked our curiosity, and you will find those in this blog.
This room has two titles on the double entry doors. There was some debate over saving this room, but there is a lot of history here.
Beautiful furniture and fresh flowers on all floors.
The domes in the buildings that have one always catch my eye. In this case there are four bronze statues on the four corners of the third floor worthy of attention. They were added during the restoration project, but were made to look like they have been here since the beginning.
Hope. Sound on to hear Tim reading the description of Hope. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol.Courage. Sound on to hear Tim read the description of Courage. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol.Justice. Sound on to hear Tim read the description of Justice. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol. Truth. Sound on to hear Tim read the description of Truth. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol.
What state holds the title for “first female governor in the United States”? Wyoming, of course. In the governor’s office behind the receptionist is a large portrait of Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was governor from 1925-1927, and remains the only female governor of Wyoming. She was also the first female to be appointed as the Director of the United States Mint. There is a statue of Her Honor in front of the historic governor’s mansion as well.
I’m so grateful I have enough energy to do the things we do. God has given me the gift of more time. Time to live. Time to minister. Time to worship Him, and see His great creation. Time to see some inspiring things made by man. I know not everyone who has cancer is so lucky, but I will continue to live life to the fullest as long as I have enough energy and breath left in my lungs.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Life on the road is quite unpredictable. One has to be flexible. Travel can be full of ups and downs. Currently, we have several ongoing issues with our Airstream. Mostly small, but a couple are potentially bigger ticket items. We have scheduled an appointment with the Mothership in Jackson Center, Ohio. It will be late October when we get the warranty work done. I wrote about that in another blog.
This blog is about my most recent medical issue. For a few days I had been noticing symptoms. I developed a UTI (IYKYK), and while AZO was providing temporary symptom relief, it had been long enough that I knew I needed an antibiotic. It was a challenge to travel all day, stopping at every rest area along the way only to experience the thrill of “I have to go NOW” to … “oh, maybe I didn’t have to go after all” to … “oops.”
As you know we are far from home. My primary care doctor can’t send a prescription across state lines, so I needed to find a walk-in clinic. Because we were just passing through when Tim had an important Zoom meeting, he had providentially booked us into a hotel in Sidney Nebraska. He needed to ensure his Internet would be working, and he didn’t want to be stressed out with Roamy.
We got to Sidney fairly early in the day, just before lunch in fact. We had traveled a bit further the day before to make this a shorter day. The timing and location could not have been more perfectly aligned. As it turned out, there was a walk-in clinic just a mile or two from the hotel. The staff were wonderful! Very warm and supportive. I had no paperwork to complete (imagine that!), as they are on the EPIC online medical system. MD Anderson also uses EPIC. The Nurse Practitioner who saw me had my medical history in front of her as we talked. That really helped speed up the process, and I felt like they knew what they were doing.
Only one person was in front of me in line. They got me in, out, and I had in my hand a prescription from Walmart–also a mile away–all within less than an hour. I do believe this was a God-thing, because my prayer partners were in their closets petitioning Him to rescue me from this ailment. Within 24-hours I felt much relief, and was definitely on the road to recovery. They sent me a survey via text after the visit, and I gave them very high marks. I would definitely recommend this clinic if anyone is passing through Sidney Nebraska and needs medical attention.
I wasn’t going to let a UTI stop me from my plans.
After Tim’s meeting, I surprised him with a (very small but albeit memorable) birthday party and card shower in the hotel lobby. This is his BIG 60, so I wanted to do something special. I had been secretly asking for birthday cards from our Facebook friends. We have been traveling so much it was hard to connect to everyone we know, but Facebook is a pretty good sweep. I picked them up at the mailbox the last time I went home for treatment, and had the rest mailed to the hotel.
The cards were so clever, hilarious, heartwarming, reminiscent, and just plain fun. I have never seen any of these great cards in all the times I have looked for his birthday cards (I also gave him a card every day this month leading up to his birthday, which I have been buying in various places over the past year). We laughed and continue to laugh as we think back on each card from our family and friends.
In addition to all the cards, he also got a t-shirt from me with an RV and tow vehicle that says, “I’m sexy and I tow it,” as well as a Louis L’Amour book that he can add to his very large collection.
It’s good to be on the mend, and seeing life returning to “normal” as we know it on the road.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
