Trip out West, July, 2016: First Leg

Our trip out west this summer commenced in early July, and was our first extended trip pulling our Casita travel trailer. The first stop was in Wichita, where we spent the night with my second cousin Cody, his wife Jodie, and their son Clayton. They are such good hosts and it's nice to have such nice kin. They prepared a dinner that would rival any. The reside in a neighborhood lined with canals linked to a lake - with their own private dock - made for a very enjoyable evening cruise on their boat. Ahh, this is the good life!

Cody's unbelievable ribs!

Sunset Cruise with Clayton, Cody, and Jodie



Enjoying the evening cruise

 

 

Our next stop was in Saratoga, where we spent a wonderful week with some of our favorite folks in the world:  My cousin Everett, his wife Renie, along with their sons Rory, and Lance, and Lance's wife Carly, and sweet kids Sophia, Hailey, and Matt.  We stayed in our little Casita on the edge of town, next to the North Platte River.  We got to spend a lot of quality time with the families - they treated us to many fine meals and fellowship and we are truly grateful to them.  Oh, and I got to enjoy a guided trip on the North Platte River, an iconic fly-fishing destination, with guide Steve Heinitz. Among our activities included the classic Saratoga rodeo out in the desert, at the base of the Rockies - among the truest examples of Americana. 

 

Climbing on the bull

What a setting!  The weather was great, the rodeo exciting, and the Rockies magnificent.

Lance had offered for us to stay in a cabin in a remote location right on the banks of the North Platte River, that he is the caretaker for.  He was kind to offer, and took off a day to take us out to the site - miles of essentially two-track road across the desert for several miles.  Although it was a fantastic offer, we decided it was actually too remote for this trip.  We would have spent so much time enroute between the cabin and Saratoga, that it would cut down on our time to enjoy the families, among other luxuries, such as dining out, etc.  But we did enjoy the day and our time with Lance.
 

The river and cabin are out there somewhere!

Marker recognizing the Overland Trail crossing of the North Platte.  High on an overlook near the cabin.

Lance taking in the spectacular view.  He is actually too close to the edge of a very high cliff. 

A very cool lady at the very cool cabin

The inside of the very cool cabin.  It's been there a while