1. Tuesday we drove across the eastern half of Nebraska, all of Iowa and Illinois, and a third of the way across Indiana on Interstate 80. We collapsed into bed in a campground near Elkhart, Indiana. No ambition to write the Triple-T. Wednesday we finished up Indiana, drove across Ohio, thru Erie, Pennsylvania, and into a campground in Farmington, New York. Well, excuses abound, but the fact of the matter is, this is the first real opportunity to actually sit for a few minutes at my computer since we left Pocatello on Sunday.
2. Rain seems to be our constant companion. It had been raining for about ten days in Pocatello prior to our leaving on Sunday afternoon. Since then we’ve had only a few hours without any rain. I think we’ve been moving east with the same storm! On Thursday Nina and I decided that we’d had enough of rain dominating our life. While we couldn’t stop the rain, we could change our attitude about it. It isn’t cold rain, it’s not really stopping us from doing anything. That was a significant change in my outlook for sure.
3. We spent Sunday evening camped in my favorite brother’s driveway. We left home at 2:06 p.m. and arrived in Green River about 6:30 p.m. They were waiting for us and we had a great visit and a nice dinner. We toured their new house (a very nice place, it’s going to be!), and talked and visited some more. We always have a fun time with my brother and his wife Chris. Hopefully it’ll work out for us to stop there on the way back home. We haven’t settled on the route back home yet as there are still too many unknowns about what we’ll be doing in Connecticut and where. Our goal is to be home by Saturday, July 4th.
4. With all the rain, the countryside through Wyoming, Nebraska, and on eastward was very green and lush. By this time of the year Wyoming is usually pretty barren. It was nice to see all the green as we drove across the state. I’m sure that means a possibly bad fire season later on when all the lush grown turns into dry tinder. It’s interesting to me how when things get out of balance that bad things are the usual consequence. Too much rain … bad fire season. Not enough rain … bad growing season.
5. We spent much of Thursday in the area around Palmyra, New York. We met our daughter Dawnmarie and her husband Kirk  on Wednesday night when we arrived and spent the next day with them. We started the day at the Palmyra Temple on the 9 a.m. endowment session. What a beautiful temple! The windows and motif all remind us of the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith learned from our Heavenly Father and the Savior what course his life was to take. His life was changed and ours has been as well.
6. After the Temple we visited a couple of the Church historical sites in the area, ending up at the restored E. B. Grandin press and book store in Palmyra where the Book of Mormon was first printed. The Church always does a first-class restoration job and the Grandin store is no exception. They built a big visitor’s center enclosing three sides of the building, keeping the street front of the building unchanged from its original. That was an impressing tour and very informative.
7. From Palmyra we followed Dawnmarie and Kirk back to their home in New Wilmington, PA. We’re parked in their driveway. Three grandchildren will probably be sleeping with us in the motor home tonight. Kirk’s parents are here also. Boyd and Jo are really fun people and we enjoy spending time with them. They’ve been down to see us in Pocatello and we’ve been up to their place in Montana. They’ll be here until Tuesday, so Dawnmarie’s house is rather busy.
8. Tomorrow is the Big Reason for the Big Trip East. Dawnmarie and Kirk’s daughter Kate is being baptized tomorrow afternoon. She was born on Dawnmarie’s birthday. The day she was born was Father’s Day eight years ago. The day that Dawnmarie was born (in Tachikawa, Japan)  was Father’s Day. Our oldest two daughters were “made in Japan”.
9. Gasoline prices have been generally in the mid-upper $2 range. That’s a dollar less on the average than the gas prices when we went out for Daryl’s wedding last October. The most expensive gasoline is still ahead of us. The prices in Connecticut are rumored to be outrageous.
10. When we stopped at the campground in Elkhart, Indiana, it turned out to be the same campground we stayed in a few years ago … and probably in the exact same spot (or else next to the exact same spot). The last time we were there a huge thunderstorm came through and we were worried about tornadoes. While it rained the entire night we were at that campground this time, there was no worry about thunderstorms.
11. Driving Interstate 80 through the southern part of Chicago in a massive rain storm is a very nerve wracking. The visibility seemed to be about 10 feet. So much spray was coming up off the road that the rear view mirrors were almost unusable. I’m sure the locals were cursing the out-of-state motor home driving under the speed limit!
12. As we were entering the Indiana Turnpike to get the toll ticket, the car ahead of us had a couple of women who were completely clueless and very confused. One of them kept trying to feed money into the place where the ticket comes out. They stopped far enough away from the machine that dispensed the ticket that the ticket came out the high output point (the one for tall trucks) rather than the lower output port. It turned out they were going to Michigan and were certainly going the wrong direction. Eventually Nina convinced them to take the ticket, go to the next exit where there would be a person, and ask for directions. A couple of minutes later we passed them … driving about 30 miles an hour on the turnpike, still confused about what to do and where to go.
13. Palmyra has the distinction of having a main intersection with a different denomination church on each corner. Those same denominations were in the same location in the 1820’s when Joseph Smith was there. I’m not sure if the big steepled church buildings that now grace this intersection were there back then. Unfortunately, without being in an airborne vehicle, there’s no way to get a picture that takes in the entire intersection.
14. I think it’s been thirty years or so since we were last in Palmyra and at the Sacred Grove. Nothing was recognizable, and understandably so since the Church has moved the road! I’m thinking that’s not particularly an inexpensive proposition to move a road as part of a restoration project.
15. The Palmyra Temple has the unique distinction of being the only Temple with a clear glass picture window inside the building. The window was put in at the request of President Hinckley to overlook the Sacred Grove. The Church negotiated with the city to cut down some nearby trees to provide a better view. Now from the pathway into the Sacred Grove there is a place where you can see the Temple.
16. I’ve really enjoyed having a “down” day today. I slept in late and have not had to do much today. It’s a nice interlude as the next couple of days will be very busy, once again.
17. From here we’re headed further east to a campground near Hammonasset State Park in Connecticut. The big question is whether or not the weather will allow for swimming!

And I’m finished.