We had a nine-day window of time before Callie and I had to be back to Vegas to pick up the Nebraska Wheat Growers’ Mobile Baking Lab from the convention center.
In that time frame, we celebrated Taylor’s 23rd birthday and I made a brief trip to the corn field for an afternoon.
Callie and Taylor
Celebrating in style! Jenna, Callie & Taylor
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TATE, TEE TEE, DEET, TATOR BUG…TAYLOR!
Jim, Taylor and Colten
Me and Taylor
When we get back home, home, my time in the field is almost zilch. This particular day, however, I was asked to run to Syracuse to the KanEquip dealership and pick up a much-needed part. So, having a reason to head to the field was just okay by me. I had to run an afternoon bus route later in the day, so decided I’d just stick around and soak up the feels of being in the cab of The Beast once again.
The Beast attempting to pick up some of the wind-blown corn.
There were several days this fall the wind blew about 50 mph…no kidding! It knocked a lot of corn to the ground and caused a lot of loss. Jim estimated the fields he was in probably lost anywhere from 40-60 bpa due to the wind. And, think about how happy he was at the end of the day after skimming that corn head on the ground all day – attempting to pick it up. Many of the ears just fell off the stalk and were left laying in the fields. There was no way to get them picked off the ground…unless you carried a bucket and walked the field.
Fall harvest. It’s a Drago corn head – not John Deere.
Jamie and the kids were going to take me and Callie to the airport the afternoon of November 9. Before we went to the airport, though, we thought it would be a good idea to feed everyone. I don’t think we gave ourselves enough time to make it all happen. But it would have been better had the place we decided to eat wouldn’t have been so busy. Stress is always something that wants to ruin a good thing. Maybe we’re given stressful times just to test ourselves and see how we handle it. I kept telling myself it would be just fine…and it was. We made it to our gate in plenty of time and, soon after, we were headed for Vegas.
The sun was just beginning to set by the time we made it back to the pickup.
We arrived in Vegas late afternoon. And I thought I could lead us right to the pickup. HA! We wandered for about 45 minutes in the wrong parking garage before realizing we weren’t even in the same terminal that we left in. Good grief…I wouldn’t make a very good tour guide. Once we realized why we couldn’t find what we were looking for, we set out for the right terminal, arrived and found ‘er right away. But, as you can see, the sun was heading down fast.
After my navigator led us to the hotel, we checked in and decided we should take advantage of the evening and headed for the “old” strip – Fremont Street. Both Callie and I enjoyed our time there way more than on the “new” strip. We debated back and forth for too long about riding the Zip Line. By the time we decided “what the heck it’s just money”, it was too late. Go figure. Oh well, we still had a grand time and enjoyed an equally grand meal at the Golden Nugget.
Who could go to Vegas and NOT visit the famous Fremont Street?
We weren’t supposed to be to the convention center to pick up the trailer until after noon the next day. So, we slept in a little while and then headed for the World Famous Las Vegas Welcome sign. This area had been turned into a temporary memorial for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting that had taken place just a month earlier. I never expected the emotions that I would feel. When something that horrific happens and you watch it all unfold on TV, it doesn’t feel as real as when you’re actually standing in the spot where it happened. It became real and it hurt. And you wonder how and why and what if. And you wish things like this didn’t and wouldn’t happen but they do. Because there is evil in this world. But there is also light – the light that shines through the darkness.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6
The World Famous Welcome sign!
Temporary memorial for the shooting victims.
An emotional tribute to the victims of the concert shooting.
It’s just so darn pretty!
We made our way to the convention center and found the trailer. For the next two hours, we prepared the trailer for travel – strapping down the equipment, rounding up cords and making sure cupboard doors were locked. It was nearing 3:00 before we finally got out of the city limits of Las Vegas and headed east. We spent the first night on the road in Flagstaff. Callie really wanted to see the Grand Canyon but it was just too late by the time we were on the road. I had a thought, though. I told her, “If we can get up REALLY early in the morning, we could head north from here and watch the sun rise”. She was all for it. The alarm went off at 4:00 – way too early in my books but it was for a good reason.
Lake Mead from our point of view.
There wasn’t much traffic on the road at that time of day. Once we arrived to the gates of the Grand Canyon National Park, we were surprised to find a sign on the window that said, “Thank you, Veterans, for what you do and here’s a free day at the park on us”. Well, I don’t know if that’s exactly what it said, but both Callie and I thanked the Veterans and the Park Service for allowing us to see the Canyon for free as we were heading for the South Rim.
It was COLD! I was thankful for thinking about my hat and gloves before leaving home the day before. We were both determined to ignore the biting wind and enjoy the fact that we were going to witness the sun rising over the rim of the Grand Canyon!
Waiting for the sun to rise over the Canyon.
Early morning selfie. Let me tell ya…it was COLD!
Early morning view of the Grand Canyon,
Callie and those darn ledges.
We tried to make a brief stop at several of the pull-offs and anything that looked worthy of our time. Who knew when we’d be back. She may be back before I ever will be. We stopped at the Desert View Watchtower and watched jewelry being created by a Native American. He explained to us how the art of making his particular style of jewelry was becoming a lost art. I think I could have stood there all day and watched how it was done. I ended up buying myself some earrings and Callie a ring.
We headed north from the Canyon and made our way to Monument Valley. This was one other thing that Callie was really hoping we could make happen while we were in the area. So, we just did make it happen! This is a place that she holds dear to her heart and doesn’t even really understand why. I think it may have something to do with a John Mayer (the love of her life) video. And I remember it being part of the running scene in Forrest Gump. So, it was a good day!
One of the places that was high on Callie’s bucket list.
Monument Valley selfie.
I don’t think I could ever pull off such a good day ever again.
We made a complete circle. The road we were on led us right back through Moab, Utah and right past the Arches National Park (part one of this #vegasboundwheaties adventure) before dumping us back on the interstate heading east through Colorado. We spent night #2 on the road in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. This was Saturday, November 11.
Fueling up before leaving the mountains.
Copper Mountain, CO
The next day was a push day. We would get home that day, for sure, because Callie had school on Monday. It was a hard day but it was also a good day. We didn’t stop for much more than a bite to eat, gas and rest area. We got back to Lincoln about 10:30 pm. Dropped the pickup/trailer off, moved all our stuff to the “Nasty”, dropped the keys off and headed for Omaha. We said our goodbyes and I was home shortly after midnight. It was such a wonderful trip – mostly just because I got to spend the one-on-one time with Callie – listening to her stories, listening to her music, and enjoying our time together. I wish I had reasons to spend time like that with each one of the girls way more than I do! And I hope she enjoyed her time with me, as well.
Thank you, Nebraska Wheat Growers and Nebraska Wheat for allowing us to proudly drive your baking lab to Las Vegas and for giving us the time together that many don’t have the opportunity to have!