About Family and Friends (October 28 - November 3 )

Dear Family and Friends,

I left out a few pics from our drive into Oklahoma (previous blog) and our stay at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Oklahoma. You may recall from last week that we stayed overnight at this fascinating place (because of the horse racing), along our way to Parsons, Kansas.

Sunrise drive into Oklahoma (from Texas)

"where the wind comes whipping down the plains"

Early morning work out at Will Rogers Downs 

Starting gate practice

We arrived in Parsons, Kansas, on Wednesday afternoon. Avid blog readers may remember that this is the home of Roger's much loved Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jud. Unfortunately Aunt Ruth is in an assisted care facility and we wanted to visit with her again. Uncle Jud let us park the Tour in his driveway while we stayed in Parson.

Roger and Uncle Jud

 Roger's cousin Kathryn (Jud and Ruth's daughter) lives about two hours away in Stockton, Missouri. Though Kathryn spends much of her time in Parsons, caring for her parents, she invited us to visit Stockton. Roger, Bear and I spend a night there during the week. It is always so much fun to see Kathryn, her partner Mary and their friends in this beautiful place.

Myrtle and Bear are waiting to be fed by Mary. She makes mealtime so much fun.

Kathryn and Mary 

Mary, Roger, Jan and Marcia about to dig into pumpkin soup.

Mary made breakfast for Bear before our hike.

After breakfast, Roger, Kathryn, Bear and I took off for a hike on Cranapple Cove. This new trail parallels Lake Stockton and is a wonderful addition to outdoor life.

Bear, Suzanne and Kathryn

Bear, Roger and Kathryn

Though it was a quick trip, we returned to Parsons to spend some more time with Jud and Ruth.

Bear loved playing with his Boomerang in Jud's backyard.

On Tuesday, Suzanne, Roger and I drove to Miami, Oklahoma, where we toured the Newell Motorhome Plant. These RVs start at $1,700,000 for a new one. With the dedicated craftsmen working on the RVs, we understand why they are so expensive.

Dave is showing Suzanne a dashboard that is about to be installed.

The cabinetry is exquisite.

Several preowned Newells are for sell.

On Wednesday we went back to the Good Samaritan Assisted Care facility to spend Halloween with Ruth. Kathryn drove in from Stockton to prepare a Halloween Feast. Aunt Ruth had fun giving out candy to the trick or treaters.

 Roger with his favorite and much loved Aunt Ruth.

 Kathryn and Roger

We left Parsons, early on Thursday morning, driving west to Wichita, where we will stay for a week. It was very hard to say goodbye!

 Along the way we got to see several roads under repair.

Our trip was uneventful and we are happy to be in Roger's childhood home, Wichita. The first thing Roger did was get in touch with his friends. We met Buzz and his wife, Katie, for drinks at Wichita Country Club. It was great to see them. I cannot believe that I forgot to take a picture.


On Saturday afternoon, we toured parts of Wichita. The two pictures below show "Keeper of the Plains." This was erected in honor of the Plains Indians that had strong ties to the Wichita area. This statue stands at the conflux of two rivers.

On Saturday night, we went to dinner at John and Peggy's home. They were at our wedding, forty one years ago. We had so much fun catching up.

John and Roger looking very fit.

What a great week to see family and friends. We are staying in the Wichita area until Thursday, when we move to Sulphur, Oklahoma. Thank you for checking in with us.