July, a really busy month!

The first of July began with a wonderful gathering of my Ya-Ya's group.  We met at Loveknot, a fun coffee shop/cafe in Lincoln.

There were about a dozen of us who enjoyed lunch and good chat time.  All of these ladies worked on second floor at Irving Middle School sometime during their career.

On July 5, we attended a solo recital of French double bassist François Rabbath.  Rusty is very familiar with his works, but had never heard or seen a live performance.  Rabbath played works by J. S. Bach and also some of his own compositions.  It was a delightful evening!

Francois Rabbath is known as the ‘Paganini of the Double Bass’.

Three days later we drove to Alcova, WY to spend time with Jeff and Karen.  The weather was sunny and very, very warm while we were at the lake.

View from the cabin porch. The break in the rocks was carved by the Upper North Platte as it continued east.

The one-bedroom log cabin has an outdoor shower and an electric shit-burner in the outhouse.

Jeff and his fishing buddy, Jonathan, each caught their limit of rainbow trout for 12 straight days.  We ate LOTS of fish while we were at Alcova.

Rusty, Karen, Jeff and Jonathan sharing a meal.  We had fresh strawberries with Cabernet chocolate sauce for dessert!

Jeff shares with Rusty the finer points of making a fish taco.

Rusty gave me some good lessons on how to navigate rocks, turns and eddies on the fast-moving waters of the Upper North Platte.  Here the waters were more placid.

Some places of the Upper North Platte have high rock walls.

It was a beautiful, sunny, nearly-calm day.

We saw several pronghorn families along the way.  (Daddy Buck is hiding behind the tree.)

It was surprising the pronghorns were willing to let us get so close to them.

Our paddle ended a half day later after crossing under Government Bridge. It was easily 100º and the surface of the van was even hotter.

Jeff's and Karen's good friends, Charlie and Jean live in a big, modern home on top of a mountain that overlooks Alcova Lake.  They have huge windows, heated floors and indoor plumbing.  We enjoyed a lovely evening with them, including a dinner of grilled rainbow trout.

Karen and Jeff relax after dinner.

Rusty and I decided to travel the NE sandhills on our way home, so we entered NE up on HWY 20.  We drove more than halfway across Cherry County before turning south at Valentine, NE.

Cherry County is just shy of 6,000 square acres and just over 6,000 people.  Of its 10 towns, 3 are unincorporated.  It is larger than Connecticut, Delaware or Rhode Island.

HWY 97 goes past Meritt Reservoir.  From the reservoir south, we saw very, very few cars.

This is the recently improved HWY 97, which we drove.

This is the old HWY 97, which was mostly driven by local ranchers.

The sandhills would look like the Mojave Desert were it not for the Ogallala Aquifer.  Water bubbles to the surface in many places and is captured for livestock by old-fashioned windmills.  If the Keystone Pipeline is not stopped, there will be no way to repair this water source once oil leaks into it.

The week home from WY was filled with lawn care, paddle carving, garden watering, and laundry.

High heat and strong winds for several weeks have made the spring rains a distant memory.

My St. Francis Garden delivers food for the hungry a couple of times each week.

We celebrated Rusty's birthday a day early, since we would be on our way to RAGBRAI the next day.

We had a nice dinner at the Green Gateau.

Rusty tries out his new harmonica.  Could this be his next instrument?

Enjoying the deck after a nice meal.

The next part of the evening was a little less wonderful.  In the few years we've been together, Rusty has replaced a total of 7 toilet seats!

RAGBRAI began in Council Bluffs this year, but our homestay was in Omaha.

Bus driver, Dean, and Rusty relaxing before dinner.

 We went to Omaha's newly developed Mid Town for a lovely dinner out on the patio.

Matt and Cheryl Fergeson were our hosts.

Carl (left of Rusty) is our leader.

Dean and Curt. Curt is wearing the NE shirt just for me!

Ready to ride!

We crossed into Iowa via the Bob Kerrey Bridge.

Along the way we had our picture taken with Sasquatch.

It was a fabulous ride from Council Bluffs to Harlan, IA.  We had some nice hills and it was only 95º.  We were told that the heat index got up to 104º.

The evening weather cooled, and it threatened some rain.  We got to enjoy this gorgeous rainbow from our tent!

The week after RAGBRAI was filled with daily rehearsals for Rusty.  I enjoyed discussing Defending Jacob with my Irving Reads friends and also had a lovely luncheon with my good friend Linda Nelson.

On Friday we packed our bags again and drove to Cambridge, NE, where Rusty gave his very last performance.

Dinner was preceded by drinks on the patio.

Multi-levels of patio overlook the pool and the Republican River Valley.

Behind this grassy setting is the very long wall and driveway that lead to Hilltop 1, the site of the concert.

Kind patrons try to chat up the nervous Rusty right before the performance.

Ed and Loretta are ready to begin serving dinner.

Concert goers find their seats.

Becky, Rusty and Joe get ready to play.

The program was quilt-like in that it included traditional pieces from Claude Bolling, Frank Proto and Jacques Ibert; Rusty's duo for Marimba and Double Bass; some Chick Corea; and a final jazz set with some fantastic improvisation!

Becky Van de Bogart, founder of Nebraska Chamber Players, was honored to have Rusty give his final performance in her home.

Dick Shoemaker, host and homeowner, served more wine.

Clark Potter was glad to have the performance behind him.

It is with a bittersweet sadness that we say goodbye to Rusty's fantastic career on double bass.

Tomorrow we pack again and drive north to Ely, MN, where Rusty will have a 4-day solo trip into the Boundary Waters.  I will reside in the Ely Lodge, entertaining myself with local specialties.

Tour de NE and other celebrations

Tour de NE is such a special ride for Rusty and me.  We met there 7 years ago.  It is a fabulous way to see the small towns and back roads of Nebraska.
This year's tour started in Doniphan, NE, just south of Grand Island.

Off we go!

Rich tries to stay ahead of us, marking the route.

Some of the things one finds along the way are truly amazing.  Not far from the start, we found the Martin Brothers' historical marker.
"The general Indian uprising of 1864 centering in the Platte Valley caused great loss of life and property among the early settlers. The area of one of the most dramatic events associated with this outbreak is marked with this stone monument.  On a day in August, 1864, George Martin, an ex-English jockey who had come to Hall County in 1862, and his two young sons, Nat and Robert, were loading hay in a field near their homestead. Suddenly they were attacked by a small band of Sioux Indians. While the father attempted to ward off the attackers from the wagon with his repeating rifle, the boys jumped on their mare and, riding double, started for home. Pursued by the Sioux, the fleeing pony and her riders became targets for numerous arrows, one of which passed through Nat's body and lodged in Robert's back. Thus pinned together by a single arrow, the boys tumbled from their horse. The Indians, evidently believing that the boys were nearly dead, rode away without scalping them. Robert never recovered fully from his back injury, and although Nat nearly died of his wounds he lived to tell this story to his grandchildren."

Sometimes the locals really get into catering to the cyclists.

Here's a creative entrepreneur.

Musicians entertain us in Callaway

Dar and Susan, this picture is for you!

We spent a little time wetting our whistle at The Dam Bar in Rockville.  Who ever heard of Rockville, NE?

We had deep-fried gizzards with our beer.

An X-rated bumper sticker at The Dam Bar.

Most of the small towns are VERY proud of who they are.

Rusty and I were self-sagged, so we avoided the bag search each afternoon.

 Have you ever heard of Oconto, NE?  I had not.  An Oconto farmer enjoys up-cycling old pieces of iron.  Here are just a few of his pieces displayed at the entrance to town.

We enjoy seeing some of our friends who do the ride each year.

Clayton is a retired LPS teacher who subbed for me many times during my last 4 years as a teacher.

Bruce and Alyssa are two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet; they are awesome riders!

Some of the hills were pretty big, especially on the way to Callaway.

The hills on either side of Callaway were tons of fun!

The best part about pumping up those big hills is giving yourself permission to eat pie.

Dar, I had some fabulous sour-cherry pie!

Many thanks to our hosts, Susan and Rich Rodenburg.

This year's route was Doniphan to Loup City to Callaway to Holdredge to Blue Hill and back to Doniphan.

As much as we love Tour de NE, we shortened our trip this year so we could attend the 25th Anniversary of our two, very dear friends, Becky and Mary.

It was a beautiful evening with beautiful people.  We were honored to be invited.

Becky and Mary delivered a tear-jerking speech that celebrated each of their guests.

Our party hosts, Emily and Ross Faubel (daughter and son-in-law to Kate Mason).

Rusty and I ended the month with our own fifth-anniversary celebration.  We went to dinner at Dish, where we had our very first date.

Rusty surprised me with some beautiful new bling!!!!!

Becky said, "...over the years, watching Rusty tenderly provide DiAnn with new roofs from which to fly her kite, and watching my friend sail her kite higher and farther in new directions, I am so very glad that DiAnn grabbed both the kite strings and the heart of this good music man."

ME TOO!