Stoner Malts!

Wayne dropped off his wife, Pam, at the airport and will catch up down the trail. We currently have 3 Eggs in the gaggle. Here, we take a moment to walk the furkids and stretch our legs before continuing. We reached camp, near Hamburg, IA, and hiked to an overlook from some loess hills on the east side of the river. Lewis & Clark camped on the west side of the river from here on July 18, 1804 and sent a team to these hills so they could overlook the distant scenery and make note of all they saw.

Folks in Hamburg, IA are busy preparing for rising waters, but not too busy to host three "Eggers" following L&C. We dropped in on Stoner Drug, which has been in the family and operating since 1891. We even met the grand daughter of the founder. Stoner Drug has an original, old-timey soda fountain bar where you can sit on a stool at the counter, enjoy a healthy home made chicken salad sandwich and wash it down with a chocolate shake made with real malt.
MMMMMMMMMMMM, Stoner Malt = GOOOOOOOOOOD!!


Our thoughts and prayers go out to this community as they suffer through the flood of 2011. Levies are being worked on 24/7 and shops sandbag in case the levies don't work as desired. Crops are devastated. This corn field irrigation line disappears into a newly formed lake.

To be continued . . .

Fast Water!

It was the earliest part of the 1800's. The Lewis & Clark expedition had been commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to traverse the newly purchased expanse of the Louisiana Purchase and seek a pathway for westward trading, making a thorough report on lay of the land and the indigenous population of Indians.


It was mid 2011 and the Wonder Egg was commissioned by Oscar the Wonder Dog, to seek out adventure with other Eggs and retrace the pathway of the original explorers. We have it quite a bit easier than L&C, who fought upstream with their keelboats . . .

Wayne, Judy, and Al stand at water's edge as a swollen Missouri River rushes past, creating turbulence and carrying debris downstream. L&C would have had significant difficulty under these conditions.

The scenery in this part of the nation is quite different from the brown, crispy grass of home. The land offers its fertile ground for crops of all sorts, feeding millions. Oscar snapped this picture out the window of a stylistic "red barn" and its rolls of hay for cattle.



He then leaned out the window to make sure all the Eggs are together as we head for our day's destination, Arrow Rock State Park, MO. We settle down at camp and prepare for the next leg...

Gateway Arch

Oscar and I are in St Loius, MO and have joined some other happy travelers. Our goal is to generally follow the pathway of the intrepid explorers, Lewis & Clark as they left St Louis and followed the waterways northwest, eventually winding up at the Pacific Ocean. Oscar hung back in the trailer as I went downtown to the Gateway Arch, which towers 630 feet above the ground.


The Arch is majestic and beautiful in its simplicity. Completed in 1965, it offers tourists a dizzying view of the countryside from its observation windows at the apex.


When I got back to the campsite, I told Oscar all about the huge, fierce grizzly bear that's part of the Lewis & Clark exhibition in the subterranean museum beneath the arch. The little foo-foo dog puffed out his chest and said "Don't worry, Pete. I ain't askeered a no grizzly bear! I'll protect you."

I feel better all ready . . . NOT!

In search of Cool Air & Green Grass

Being the wise travelers we are, and seeing as we were desperately in need of cooler air and green, non-crinkly grass, Oscar and I pointed north. First stop - Lake Whitney SP, TX. Not there yet . . .

Next stop Arrowhead SP, OK. Not there yet . . .

At a rest stop in Missouri, Oscar enjoyed a nicely decorated rest area with a Route 66 motif. We both had flashbacks to last year's summer adventure down the Mother road.

We kept pressing on and suddenly the air temp dropped and the world turned green. "Eureka!" Oscar said, "We found it!"

So we pulled into Babler SP, MO and set up camp for a few days.


This morning, Oscar grabbed the camera and snapped a picture out the window and said "Look Pete, a local cat has come to greet us!" I was able to grab him just before he lunged out the door to greet his new best friend and have a
"sniff-n-meet."

Yessirreee, we're havin' fun now!

2011 Summer Adventure

Well, grandbaby #5 and family are doing well, the summer heat cracks 100 degrees, the grass has turned tan in color and Oscar says it feels crinkly under his paws.
Time for a ROAD TRIP!

I vote for somewhere cooler and wetter. The Wonder Egg is packed and the kayak is loaded.
We're outta here . . .

Wecome to the world . . .

Presenting, Valentina!
G'baby #5
:)))))