Day 2(August 23, 2008):
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Early morning risers get the worm. Fortunately, someone got there before me and I was left with more traditional foodage. The typical Sanders' reused coffee grounds were thrown out in honor of the eldest sons visit and a whole fresh batch of "new" grounds scented the early mountain fresh air. It is a well known fact that the coffee beans keep better if not used, ergo the reason why they are so infrequently ground and used!
So with suitcases, equipment, food, snacks and fresh coffee in hand, we set off eastward toward the rising sun. Pictures were taken along the way to ensure we knew we were there, but some have been left out of the record to protect the shy.
After a short while (2.5 hours) we arrived in Fort Morgan. This stop was meant to locate grandpa Jake and grandma Mabel Smalley in the Fort Morgan cemetery. We were not able to find them, even after looking for nearly 45 minutes. I figured we could come back on the return and at that time, we would have a chance to locate the exact gravesite.
So, we got back into the car, meandered further east and north, toward Sterling. Prior to getting into Sterling, I had called the Riverside Cemetery to see if they were open. As it was a Saturday, it was likely that there was not going to be anyone there, but to my surprise, I got a hold of a person (the owner) and they said if we came over right away, we could catch them before they left. Luck was on our side, so we hustled over to the Riverside Cemetery, which was only 5 minutes away from where we were and stopped to talk with the attendants. As usual, we were able to get the information on locations of family in the cemetery, which was VERY helpful as this is a very large cemetery. It would have been near impossible to find some of the family interred if we had not been able to talk with the attendants of the cemetery. As usual, Dad was very helpful and in the process of looking up the names, we found out that one of the persons was a daughter of someone that Dad went to school with (small world). After this quick stop, we had maps and details of where to go, so we went onward to see Grandma at the home.
Grandma looked good and it was a pleasure to see her in good spirits at 87 years young. We visited for a while in her room, then went to a side area to talk and eat her favorite Taco John's food. Following the delicious "Taco John lunch", we took some pictures, said our goodbyes, and headed out to the Sunset Memorial Cemetery, where we paid our respects to Yahns.
From here we went back south into town to see if we could meet Dad's half sister, Becky. We didn't have any luck in meeting her, as no one was home. So we moved onto the next location, back to the Riverside Cemetery.
At Riverside, we paid our respects to the McKenzie's, Yahn's, Wood's, Kidwell's, Sanders', Cheairs, Giacommini and others. Several pictures later, we were off to visit with Larry and Tammy. The olympics, family, reunions, fish and ponds predominated the conversation. The house and back yard looked wonderful (as usual) and the wildlife seemed to be everywhere - toads, birds, crichets and more. Some drinks, appetizers, and an excellent Dinner completed the night and we all turned in for bed. For those of you who still speak "old Missourian, midwest english", Dinner (not Supper) is the proper name for the last meal of the day, which occurs in the evening, around 4-7pm. This is a much debated subject at tables around the world.
See Day 3...
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