Elk Falls is a 3-hour trip from Kansas City so we decided to
make sure we left by 2pm and had several things for the kids to do. This
actually worked until we got really close to Howard and then the kids were all
anxious about seeing Grandma Mo. We were also using a GPS unit and it got
unhappy when we decided NOT to follow the river road from Howard into Elk
Falls. It did follow a second route, but it took a few hundred feet to do that.
The problem was that the river road is just past the West Elk High School and I
remember turning to Elk Falls WAY after the high school. So, we called mom and
she reminded me that the turn is just past the airport. That was when I
remembered I always see an orange windsock right next to the road and
remembered where it was. So, we actually didn't do too badly with getting there
around 5pm. The Sherman House is a BEAUTIFUL bed and breakfast owned by Steve
and Jane Fry. Steve makes all the pottery in the house. He owns a pottery shop
in Elk Falls but that was a trip on Monday and we had to leave on Sunday.
When we got there, we spent the first little while
conversing and unpacking. Then we all squeezed into my van ... well only one
A person had to squeeze in and that was poor Jeremy, who had to sit between two
car seats. Had we not had car seats, it wouldn't have been an issue. We drove
over to Moline to eat at a cafe that was in a renovated nursing home. The rest
If the building is now a hotel, but my favorite part was the waiting room.
When we got back to the Sherman House, the bed &
breakfast, we walked off dinner by going to the falls. One of the pictures I
took is of my grandmother's and my uncle's name etched into the boards of the footbridge.
That bridge is NOT a sturdy bridge, but my mother remembers being in the bus
driving across and being scared they wouldn't make it across. I am just glad it
is now a footbridge only! I was minorly disappointed that we were unable to
walk on down to the bank of the Elk River but it was dark that night and then
it rained both Saturday morning and Sunday morning, making the trek a little
hairy.
The first night was not a great one for the kids. They
didn't go to sleep very well and kept everyone awake. They did much better the
second night; they were at least quiet and stayed in their beds!
After the rain on Saturday morning, we decided to change our
plans a little, but not too much. We went to Howard to get some flowers and
then drove to the cemetery to visit the family plot. We (as in my family) visit
Grandma's grave every summer, but this was the first time in a while that I
visited my grandfather's grave. It isn't as close as my grandmother's is. We
Laid flowers by the family headstone (well, I didn't, Uncle Bill, Aunt Merry and
mom did) and a couple by my great-grandparents grave. I took pictures of the
Kids by the headstone, but they weren't very cooperative. Peanut was more than
happy to have a picture taken by grandpa's grave though.
Next, we headed to my great-grandparent's old home that is
now owned by Verlon & Connie Saxton. They are always so gracious and let us traipse through their house and go through the memories. I remember visiting a few
times but it is hard to remember whether I remember one visit or several. My
mother informed me recently that my grandmother actually never lived there but
did own it so we had family gatherings there. I just love visiting because of
the few memories I do have and some of the stories that it brings.
Since it had rained, we decided to come back to the bed and
breakfast to have our packed lunch instead of having a picnic. That plan
actually turned out to be a very GOOD idea. When we headed out
great-granddad's farm I didn't think it would be too bad, but then started to
get concerned as we got closer to the river because the road was getting
exceedingly worse. Sure enough, the drive into the farm was undrivable. I
nearly was stuck pulling INTO the drive. So instead of saying, let's turn
around and go back, it was let's get out and walk. HA HA HA. We made it all the
way to the field and everyone had a good inch or more of mud on their shoes and
poor BULLFROG kept getting stuck! That was even walking in mostly grassy areas.
When we saw the condition of the field, it was THEN we decided to turn back.
Everyone took shoes off and put them in paper or plastic bags until we got back
to the B&B. I am not comfortable driving without shoes, but didn't really
have much of a choice!
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