Coffee and A Drive Through the Countryside

Started our morning with coffee. Over the years, we have tried a variety of travel mugs. One of our boondocker welcome hosts had the 20 oz contigo mugs. They said they purchased them at Walmart, so we looked for them on our next visit. The contigo mug is leak proof, keeps things hot 7 hours, or cold 18 hours. They have a snapseal and thermalock. They have a lifetime guarantee and we love them. Besides the above, they are easy to hold and fit very well in our drink holders.

It is mid afternoon and the temperature is 83 degrees and sunny where we are. This is the first night of a two-night stay at another boondockers welcome location at another farm. We are sitting in their backyard full of shade trees and overlooking corn fields. In fact, this morning the farmer applied a spray mixture to his crops in the fields

Reminiscing while driving through the countryside 

In this post, I am sharing some photos taken prior to Memorial Day in May. These were taken on a drive through the countyside after visiting the cemeteries to put flowers on the graves of my parents and grandparents.

This old building is a bank in Foraker, Indiana. It is less than four miles from where I grew up. For all practical purposes, the business looks like it should open for business tomorrow, but in reality, it has been closed for as long as I can remember. The outside looks the same as it did when I was a kid. It looks like they closed, locked the door, and just walked away. I do not know the history of this bank, but I remember hearing family members talk about it when it was open for business. My guess is that it may have been affected by the Great Depression.

Bank in Foraker, Indiana that has been closed more than 70 years.

This farm is around the corner and adjacent to the farm where my sister and I grew up. Our great grandparents lived here long before either of us were born. I should add it to a site I found where people add photos of old barns.

Farm where my great grandparents lived.

This used to be the old Good School, one of many one-room township school houses. It was sold, remodeled, and is now a residence. This is where I started to school. I attended the first semester of first grade here.

Good School where I started school after it was remodeled into a house.

This photo taken in Nappanee, Indiana, is along U.S. 6. This is a parking lot where Amish patrons  park and secure their horse and buggy while shopping at the local modern-day grocery and pharmacy store.

Parking area for Amish horses and buggies while shopping at modern-day grocery store.

Birdwatching

The red bird on the left bird feeder is a Cardinal, the State Bird of the State of Indiana.

Beautiful Cardinal, State Bird of the State of Indiana

Chicago Skyline

The Sears Tower is a familiar site in the Chicago Skyline. The busy freeways are quite a contrast to the drive through the countryside in the photos above.

Chicago Skyline and view of Sears Tower heading east out of Chicago

Click on any photo to enlarge it, and escape to return.

Feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for visiting.

Sharon

Farms, Rivers, and More...

There are so many things to see as we travel America! The beauty around is hard to imagine until we see it face to face. As I write, I'm sitting in a shady spot in a grassy campground overlooking a lake that has been partially drained for the purpose of making improvements. A sandy beach is being added, and rocks line the shores and the fingers that dip into the lake. The setting is pure relaxation and gorgeous.

The park in Florida that we called home for thirteen months is now behind us. We left it as planned on May 1, and continued our journey north. One of the first places we visited was a farm with a wide variety of animals. To name a few, we saw chickens, roosters, goats, mules, pigs, large and small,  birds, including a Cockatoo, and even a very large turtle.

When Angel saw the turtle, Angel was on a leash standing side of me. As the turtle on the other side of the fence moved slowly toward us, Angel began to back up. He had never seen such a big turtle.

FARM SCENES

SUWANEE RIVER

Little River Springs on the Suwanee River in Florida is a place well known to people all over the world. People go there with diving gear to dive in underwater caves. As they enter the caves, they tie off a line so they can find their way back out of the caves when they are ready to leave the cave.

Entrance to underwater caves is the opening at left

Blue waters of the Suwanee River near the Little River Springs underwater caves entrance area.

Blue waters of Suwanee River beyond entrance to underwater caves

PECAN GROVE

Pecan trees and markets selling pecans in season were a common site. This picturesque scene is a grove of pecan trees.

Grove of Pecan trees taken from the road

BOONDOCKING 

While we still had real estate, we learned about Boondockers Welcome. In fact, we had hosted people traveling through our area at the time for several nights up to a week. It was a good way to meet new people and offer them a free place to park so they could sightsee and do things in our local area.

While traveling through Alabama, we were welcomed to park for a night in the driveway of a Boondockers Welcome Host. It was a nice secluded shady spot. A small creek was located off to the right.

One night while traveling through Mississippi we were welcome camping (boondocking) guests at a 150-acre farm where they specialized in farm-raised catfish. That evening our gracious hosts invited us to join them on their back porch where we enjoyed visiting until bedtime. As we visited, we discovered they were familiar with the area where I grew up, and also knew some of the people. It is amazing how many times we meet someone who knows someone we know. The next morning heavy rains were predicted. We woke up just in time and with their permission, were able to get moved under a huge roof area outside their barn where we could pack up and not get wet.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGE

West Helena was where we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas. The big, old, stately bridge that took us across was a sight to behold.

Big, tall bridge crossing Mississippi River at West Helena, AR

OVERNIGHT CAMPING SPOTS

We continued to boondock at a variety of sites. Here is a photo of the road leading to one of the sites where we found a scenic spot overlooking a river.

Shady lane leading to overnight camping sites

Typically, I do not take photos when we boondock at private residences to protect the privacy of our hosts. One of our hosts where we stayed several nights had a cookout and I took a fruit salad to pass. They also invited us to join them on a boat ride around the lake. We have met a lot of really nice people in our travels.

One night we stayed in an Illinois State Park and had the area mostly to ourselves. A couple pick-up trucks and a boat were the only other campers.

Illinois State Park Camping Area

Sometimes along our route it is possible to visit with people and new friends we have made since we started full-timing. It is always fun to catch up.

Thank you for visiting. Your comments are welcome.

Sharon