Cyclones Westward Ho!

There's nothing like traveling the country with longtime friends. We met 40+ years ago at Iowa State University - during our formative teen/early twenties years. Thus, we know each other so well - meeting before we were fully formed adults with opinions on many topics beyond college majors, when the next party was, and who was dating whom. Longtime friendship is a blessing that takes cultivation and nurturing. It's worth the effort!  

Our recent trip west was hatched a year ago with Vicki & Fred Behr and Steve (Moose) & Kay Wilt. We've experienced two other great adventures with this group - Alaska in 2019 and Utah in 2021. It was time to go again - especially since we're now ALL retired. This trip was based around driving to two main Rocky Mountain destinations, Glacier National Park in Montana and Banff in Alberta, Canada. There were also many worthwhile stops on the way there and back.  

A BIG thank you to Kay Wilt, who does much of the planning and guiding during our adventures, and she also takes notes. It would have taken me a lot more time to compile this blog without her succinct trip notes. 😍

-We began the Cyclones West trip in Northfield, MN on September 11. Here are some of my fave memories and thoughts on the trip:

The guys packing Ruby in Bozeman

-We rented a giant red Jeep Wagoneer as our partner in travel. We named her Ruby. Moose enjoys driving and is as trustworthy as my dad (high praise) in that role. Fred was fab at filling in as needed. I mostly situated myself as a far-back seat rider. I appreciated Ruby's leg-room and large windows. Vicki tried to smash me flat adjusting the seat that first morning - so the trip started with howling laughter! 

That's a lot of corn!

Chamberlain, SD rest area - Dignity of Earth and Sky - very cool!

This is where I learned my lesson on proper footwear whilst hiking

This Bison posed for us by the sign. We didn't get out of Ruby - we're no Tourons (that's what park rangers call tourist/morons)

-My first job after college was in Sioux Falls, SD. Dad used to travel to parts of SD on his Lorraine Lingerie sales rep route. He hinted that I was conceived there. 😆 I enjoyed seeing some attractions in that state - the Corn Palace, the Dignity Sculpture, and a drive through the Badlands. Note to self: put your hiking shoes on when attempting to climb to a scenic overlook. Birkenstocks are not good for climbing. South Dakota is not that far from Iowa, but boasts so many cool geological formations. 

view of George from the trail

The presidents are looking at us

Needle Eye Tunnel on the Needles Highway

My fave part of Deadwood

 

Excitement on Deadwood Mainstreet

-We started Day 2 at the giant president head park. I'd seen Mt Rushmore twice before, but it never gets old. This time we walked the Presidential Trail which allowed different viewpoints - plus exercise. There were a couple of guys climbing on George W's head with ropes. Crazy! 

He licked the window - we carried his kiss with us until it rained 

-Later that day, the drive to Deadwood from Rapid City was beautiful and cool - on the Needles Highway and a wildlife loop where in his excitement, Paul put his window down. He nearly got smooched by a wild burrow! We got a peek at the Crazyhorse Monument - crazy big.  

- Our stay in Deadwood was enjoyable. So much Western history. Folk Hero Wild Bill Hickok was shot there in Saloon #10 - the result of a fight over cards. The town reminded me of all the Western movies and television shows I was raised on. We wandered the main street in search of a restaurant. They roll up the sidewalks early there - lots of closed places. I was delighted to find an establishment called the Bullock Hotel - named after the town's first sheriff Seth Bullock(not a relative). 

Devil's Tower - before hike around it

A closer look

- The next day we visited the Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Couldn't see it without getting the "Close Encounters" movie theme in my head. It was worth a bit of slow traffic into the park and sharing the trail around it with lots of other people. There were several climbers on the tower up high above us. I was glad to be viewing it from the ground. 

-There's not much between there and our overnight in the cool college town of Bozeman, Montana. We did manage to hunt down a nifty place - Powder River Lanes - for lunch in the tiny town of Broadus, MT. The cafe serves as a restaurant, the Senior Meal Site, a bowling alley, and a one-room casino. The owner was delighted to get a late lunch crowd of six. Local gems like are why the six of us love to drive off of the beaten path. 

-Bozeman is a university town and looks it. I'd like to go back to someday - when I have time to look around more. Kay booked a VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) for one night - huge price savings over three motel rooms. We had breakfast at a great place and then we were off to our first ultimate destination - Glacier National Park! 

Strawberry Rhubarb alamode. Not as good as the one Paul makes

I could have hung out for hours in this place - Seeley Lake

Paul is introducing himself to Gus the Larch

-The drive to our Glacier area lodging took us through some remote areas too. We discovered Pop's Place in Seeley, MT for lunch with pie! The waitress suggested we visit Gus the Giant Larch Tree on our way out of town. Okay, she didn't volunteer the information. Our favorite sleuth pal, Vicki, used her wily ways to ply all sorts of information out of her (and many other unwitting people) along our way. Challenge accepted! Google Maps wasn't great at finding Gus, but we eventually spied him. Worth a visit! I'm having a retirement romance with trees. I love and appreciate them so much. 💓

Arrival in the Glacier area is worth celebrating! 

Our VRBO - outside of the small town

-We stopped in Kalispell to stock up on food and beverages for our 4-night stay in the area. The VRBO, in Martin City, MT, was in a lovely location and was set up well for our group. Making picnic lunches daily and cooking a few basic evening meals works well for us - and saves $. Restaurant food gets tiring. We all share chores - great travel partners.

-The next day we entered Glacier National Park through the west entrance - on Going to the Sun Road. We're lucky that Moose worked here summers as an ISU Forestry student eons ago. So he knows stuff.

First glacier view

 

-Two of the people on the right side of Ruby the Jeep were very leery of looking out of the windows to the sheer drops way below on our way into the park. We were separated from plunging by low fences and Moose's driving skills. 

Horses are important in the park - this underpass allows passage for riders

Our usual picnic fare - with fab views

St Mary's Lake - gorgeous

-There are small parking and pullout areas to take in the fabulous vistas, and use portapotties. The weather gods were good! Nothing like a picnic lunch overlooking beautiful St. Mary's Lake. Bodies of water throughout this trip were gorgeous. I can't get over the various hues of blue and aquamarine blue/green. We snagged a parking place at Logan Pass in the afternoon. Vic and Kay made it to Hidden Lake and saw mountain goats. The stairs on that hike did me in. 

The boardwalk and steps are nice (and killer) Logan Pass

-The next day we drove two hours to another Glacier Entrance - Many Glaciers on the East side. We stopped at some cool lodges in the Park - they were closed or closing soon. Snow comes early in these altitudes. I'm glad we got to see these grand historical resorts, most built with huge native timbers. 

The Lodges at Glacier were worth a stop - such history

Hiked the Swiftcurrent Lake Trail by the Many Glaciers Hotel

Many Glaciers Hotel - closed for the season

-Glacier Day 3 took us back up Going to the Sun. Destination that day was St. Mary's Falls, which requires a hike with beautiful terrain. The falls are gorgeous. The leaves were just starting to turn. Seeing places like this fills me with awe. 

McDonalds Falls - awesome

McDonalds Falls hike

McDonalds Lodge

-Goodbye Glacier NP. Thanks for the views and memz!  Kay's notes include much more information on all of our stops throughout the days - food, groceries, lodging, tips. Reading back through them makes me smile. I'm a lucky gal to have friends like this who put up with me! 

The next day took us north through Customs. We each took our passports and it was a breeze. This is getting long dear reader, so I'll split the trip up. Canada and NoDak deserve their own blog. 

 

For All the Swings I've Loved Before

Being a grandparent comes with responsibilities. Supporting our grandkids' parents in their roles as Mommy and Daddy is foremost. Parenting is challenging! 

We don't get to see our grandchildren (and their parents) as often as we'd like. Nell (going on 3) and Reece (4 months) live in St. Louis some 5-plus hours from DSM. Since it's much easier for us to drive to their place than it is for them to haul 2 kids, 2 dogs, and their gear here. As Nell has reached the age where it's fun to take her places to experience new and fun things. Reece won't reach the active stage for a while yet, but it's coming! 

So another grandparental responsibility is for me to BOLO (Be On The Lookout - thanks True Crime Blogs for the acronym) for kiddo activities. These days as I travel around the Des Moines Metro area, I take a mental inventory of which places I would like to take the kids to visit.  

Our yard in Atlantic

The first category is playgrounds. They're usually free and are everywhere! I learned this as a kid myself, and then as a parent. Our yard at my childhood home in Atlantic was my first play area. We had a solid swing set with 2 swings and a glider, a sandbox (no lid so a/k/a catbox), and a cute little playhouse that my grandfather, a contractor, had his crew built and hauled to our large backyard. Later I got a tetherball for my birthday - installed in concrete in our backyard. 

Slide from my era

Our grade school playground was pretty basic - big sling swings and monkey bars. The small blacktop outside of the two playground doors in the K-6th grade school. There were painted 4-Square games on the blacktop. There was a kickball field outside the older kid's wing. I'll never forget how far Joanie Troll kicked that oversized rubber ball every time she was up to "bat". 

Sunnyside Park was the only real non-school playground that I remember. It's a large park with various play areas. In the 1960s someone donated a bunch of cash to install new playground equipment - a big slide - the hot wavy steel kind. And various types of swings and riding toys. There was an update to the equipment near the pool when I was around 12. The city installed a "Barrel of Fun" - a giant barrel on its side that rolled like a hamster wheel. After someone decided it would be fun to roll over the top of the barrel - only to break an arm, the park people built a roof over it - preventing a repeat. All playground equipment today is safer than the stuff we recreated on - swinging gates, and merry-go-rounds. The spinning stuff (like the swinging gate) was popular and nausea-inducing. 

Jud on a "killer" merry go round

Taking children to playgrounds as an adult is fun. We lived in Creston for 26 years. Amy and Jud loved the big park there -McKinley Park, on the west side of town near the pool. The old north playground there was definitely in the "not so safe" category. Heavy glider animals on a swingset frame guaranteed one of the kids would run in front of one in use. Bam! The wooden swinging bridge was fun for Jud to run on, util it wasn't. No broken bones - just bumps and bruises. 

Amy and Jud loved the giant wooden structure built in neighboring Corning. Our dog Moki like going down slides like the one in tiny Ellston, Iowa.  Our children were great at spying playgrounds on road trips - like the one in Kearney, Nebraska - near the Cabela's Store and on the way to Colorado. When visiting Atlantic, a new play area at Washington School was a good place to take the children when they needed to expend some energy. 

Nell swinging

I had few reasons to visit playgrounds for 20 years or so. Welcoming a grandchild into our lives has changed that. Our granddaughter Nell loves to swing! And climb and slide. Infant grandson Reece will no doubt be a fan of play areas shortly. Our "hood", West Des Moines is adding so many recreation opportunities. The city built a huge RecPlex on West Grand - indoor hockey rinks, gyms, a track, and lots of outdoor fields. Dave and Busters is nearly complete. A huge indoor water park is now in the works just south of our place. There are playgrounds galore and splash parks.  

Iowa doesn't have mountains or many lakes. Let us be the state of excellent parks with playgrounds, bike trails, water trails, skate parks, and other outdoor recreation. Swinging is therapeutic! 

Self Care - Seeking the (Shade in the) Sun

Sister Cindy and I spent the month of April in our Happy Place the Gulfview in Marco Island, Florida. Paul was with us for 20 days. He headed home early for Turkey Season in Iowa. He has his priorities. 🦃 Nephew Colby visited for several days - to get his fishing fix. 

People ask me, "What did you do in Florida?". The answer is self-care, Florida style. We were ready for a break after a long cold winter! Vail, Colorado, where Cindy lives was especially snowy and icy this season. Our little big town in central Iowa wasn't particularly snowy but was plenty cold and dark, making our decision to expand Marco-time from ten days to a whole month a good one. 

Exercise: swimming and walking

Before heading to Florida, Cindy and I made a plan to get back to our swimming roots this year. In past years at the Gulfview, we watched others doing morning laps in the lovely pool, but we stuck to brief dips to refresh on hot days. Bullock sisters are water people - thanks to our Atlantic roots with a Red Cross Swimming instructor, Momma Pat Bullock. We took and taught swim lessons, were lifeguards, and participated in the swim team in the summer months. 

Evening view Gulfview, looking south

Getting back to swimming was a great idea. We both loved it! We were the early bird swimmers, two to three days a week - arriving a half hour before the 8:00 a.m. group. Bob, the Pool Man was there scrubbing the pool sides and checking chemicals each morning. The pool temp was around 85 degrees, as we watched the sun come up when heading east. 

It's a great shelling beach - I resisted picking many up due to my collection at home

Most other days were beach walk mornings. We strolled eighty beach miles that month. The Gulfview is located nearly in the middle of Marco Beach. We like to alternate going North and South. It's 3.5-4 miles round trip either way. Beach walking is therapeutic. Soft sand, hard-packed sand, and surf sand lapping at our feet. The roar of the Gulf, slapping against the sand is therapeutic "white noise". 

Besides exercise, finding the perfect poolside site with an umbrella was an important activity. The Gulfview is under new management and the grounds look awesome. They've lost several trees around the pool in recent years. Our mom's memorial tree is gone - damaged 2 hurricanes ago. With fewer trees, there are more pool deck umbrellas for folks like me who can't do sun. We had our favorite spots, so we had to get out there fairly early to get the best lounge spots. Reading (and people-watching) by the pool is an excellent way to spend an afternoon. 

Cap'n EPott yachting

A couple of years ago Cindy's longtime Vail friends Eric and Bonnie retired and purchased a condo in Marco Island. We're so pleased that they love it as much as we do. They have a darling place on a canal on the south end of the island. Eric loves to fish so of course he's got a boat. On Easter Sunday - a gorgeous day - we were invited to "yacht" (that's what Cindy calls it) with Eric and Bonnie. We ended up touring around the whole island. I'd never seen my Happy Place from that viewpoint. Very cool! 

Paul, Eric, and our nephew Colby (who arrived the second week for a few days) fished up a storm. Bonnie, Cindy, and I ventured to Naples for a bit of shopping and a lunch of Blackened Grouper. On Friday nights we went to Bonnie and Eric's for "Date Night". We took the wine, and they cooked. They're really good at it. It makes me wish I enjoyed/could cook. 😋 Not enough to actually do it though...

Speaking of food. When we vacationed in Marco in past years - staying a week to ten days, we dined out every night. Not one who loves to cook, even I get tired of restaurant food. This year we actually cooked. The Gulfview helped by making two gas grills available on the grounds. Tacos and chicken were popular on our kitchen menu. 

Outdoor dining - Capri

There are lots of restaurant choices on the island these days. We enjoy going to old favorites that Mom and Dad introduced us to - the Crazy Flamingo for peel and eat shrimp, and The Little Bar for Scallops and Grouper. Don't forget Peanut Butter Pie! Nephew Colby, who has a Detroit-style pizza joint, Alpine Pizza in Lionshead/Vail, enjoys Joey's NY-style pies on Collier Blvd. Just north of Marco is The Isle of Capri - home of the Island Gypsy Cafe and rum drinks.   

Thanks to Bonnie and Eric for suggesting new places to try. There's an Italian Deli, Tony's N.Y. Pizza, and Cocomo's - where they prepared the fish the guys caught. It was delicious! Don't forget breakfast. Doreen's is a bit fancier - the cappuccino doesn't come from a powder-based machine there. Hoot's is a regular kind of place - with lots of old guys gathering to shoot the crap and eat eggs.

Activities: (not many)

The guys fished several times with Eric. They had a great time and didn't get fried by the sun. Colby had a day with a guide all to himself. I think visioning that activity helped him get through a busy winter running a restaurant. 

Paul, Cindy, and I visited the Marco Island Museum one windy afternoon. It's full of archeological, Native American, and island commercial development information. Our Mom - who loved to regale us with Marco history and development information, would have loved it. 

We shopped a bit and went back north to Naples with Bonnie and Eric. I was on the hunt for a big shell for granddaughter Nell - so she could hear the ocean in it. I didn't want to take a smaller one from the beach - visions of baby bro Reece putting it in his mouth. We stopped at a cute area with food trucks and a bar on the bay. Mexican for me, and a margarita! 

So not many activities. We love it that way. We're planning another month there next year. It's hard to wait until April to go, but the crowds and lodging prices are lower then. I hope our sisters and our kids can work in a visit. We have a couple of family weddings coming up this summer - we'll need to start plotting! 

Meanwhile it's onto summer in Iowa! I love this time of the year - bikes and kayaks. Stay safe all! 

With my guy! 

Bullock Tradition Continues

I walked down to the beach one evening to join those partaking in this spectacle

The Bullock family now has a three-generation tradition of spending winters in sunny Florida. Okay, we were only there for the month of April - technically not winter. 😆 But we did miss wintery April Iowa weather while basking in the sun. 

Momo and Bubba 

My dad's parents Wally and Zora Bullock spent winters in the St. Petersburg area for as far back as I can remember. They summered in our town, Atlantic - in Cass County, Iowa. Five generations of Bullocks called that place home. Momo and Bubba (as we called our grandparents) gathered with old friends and met new friends at their Florida hotel on the beach. They looked forward to going back annually to hang out with fellow retirees who enjoyed fishing, sunning, playing cards, and socializing over food and drink. 

A pic from a summer visit to Pops and Grandma in Dunedin, Florida

In the late sixties, my mother's parents, Bert and Nellie Morehead retired to Dunedin, Florida, just north of Clearwater. During two summers - 1967 and 1968, Mom bravely drove her four daughters to Florida in the family station wagon. Dad was busy in Iowa, marketing ladies' lingerie across the state. He flew in each year for a short stay with us.  

Those years are my first memories of the Sunshine State. We stayed at the Castaways on Redington Beach for two weeks after taking a week to travel south. I have great memories of those trips. Mom planned visits to Civil War sites, Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. We mostly stayed at Howard Johnson hotels - swimming pools were a necessity after all of those miles (not buckled) in the back seat. We had a stack of comic books and coloring materials. My love of car travel and the Florida Gulf Coast was born! The trip home wasn't nearly as exciting, but reuniting with our standard-size wiener dog Jud was sweet. 

Marco Museum Island map

Tan Mom and Dad at a Gulfview party

Fast forward to my parent's retirement. They checked out Arizona - a popular winter place for Iowa folks. But our Mom was always a water person, as are her daughters. Mom and Dad visited Marco Island, Florida in the late 1980s and fell in love with it. Marco was mostly a swamp until the 1960s when developers saw the potential. Our parents purchased a unit in the Gulfview, a highrise on the beach. Great view, lovely grounds, next to a public green/beach space. 

View from parking ramp - pickleball has taken over tennis courts

Mom and Dad loved Marco Life at the Gulfview. They invited us to share their sunny beach happy place many times through the years. We took both kids for the first time when Amy was five and Jud was turning two - introducing yet another generation to the beauty of Florida. My sisters and their children also visited the place often. 

After Dad passed away, we sold their unit in the Gulfview. We love the place but didn't want to be landlords from afar. Since then, except for the Covid shutdown year, at least two (Cindy and I) of us have rented a place in the building. Susi and Betsy have also vacationed there. 

Jud with cousin Colby and pal Connor

 

Amy and Jud with Kohan boys

Cindy, Paul, and I visited the Marco Island Museum this year. It's small, like the island, but filled with archeology, Native American information, and information on how the swampy place became a fabulous destination. We enjoyed a relaxing time on the island. Now...how to get the kids back down there - and the nextgen - grandkids?