Dangerous Road

Not sure if you've noticed as you've read my blog, but we have two married sons, formerly referred to as the Minneapolis kids (son and wife in Mpls.) and the Atlanta kids (son and wife in Atlanta).

Now, with a leap to another continent, we have Bolivian kids and Atlanta kids. Yes that's Bolivia the country, in case there is a city somewhere in the US named Bolivia. Did not want any confusion.

The Bolivian son (sounds strange even to me, will I ever get used to it?) just got certification in ESL and wanted to go somewhere to be immersed in another language. He had church contacts in La Paz, so they chose Bolivia. I remember being thankful when they discarded Juarez, Mexico from their consideration. Adventurous, they are.  And living their dream.

Just a few days ago, they traveled by bus to a remote town to attend a language school and hopefully volunteer at an orphanage. They went by the only route available, via the MOST dangerous road in the world.

Really. Google "most dangerous road" and this is the response you get.

And it's the rainy season. So the road is muddy. Not a good road in good weather. Rainy season.

This is totally beyond my comprehension. Ask my husband about driving with me as a passenger in the Black Hills. Not even mountains. There are guardrails and plenty of room for two lanes and pavement with lines painted on them. Still I freaked out a few times and asked him to slow down.

Just thought I'd share. Your prayers are coveted.

Road Trip

Just back from a trip west. A large portion of Nebraska and South Dakota looks like this:

We combined a sightseeing expedition to the Black Hills with a family reunion in Valentine, Nebraska.

Absolutely gorgeous animals. Pretty sure we saw about 1,000 buffalo. And I did not need to zoom for this shot. They are very close to our vehicle.

Made a new friend at Wall Drug.

Food out of the cooler tastes great when you are taking a break from driving.

Visited a very nice quilt shop in Custer, South Dakota. It's fun to chat with the local folks. Bought a couple of cute panels there. They had a very nice selection.

Restaurant recommendation: Firehouse Brewing Co. in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Door County Weekend

Oooh, this week has been busy. 

Here it is Thursday and I am just getting around to telling you about last weekend! 

That was some kind of fancy-schmancy carbonated pink lemonade that was out of this world delicious.  I wish I could remember the name, it was soooo good.

I seem to be incapable of taking one of those hold-the-camera-at-arms-length type shots. 

How do those kids take those pics anyway? They're all over Facebook, you'd think I could figure it out.

Girls' weekend in Door County, that's what last weekend was all about. We had such a good time. 

Food, shopping, sightseeing, it was perfect. 

If you want to visit a popular tourist destination, time it right. In the case of Door County, May and September are perfect. You get beautiful weather without the crowds. 

Oh, oh, stop the car! I need to take a picture of this sunset! 

We visited a winery, spent 3 hours in a huge antique store, shopped at a market where we bought fudge and enjoyed free samples of cherry strudel and cherry doughnuts (yum!). 

And roamed through a bunch of other fun, touristy shops.