And onto Week 2...

We've been on the road for more than a week...but it seems much longer.

We left Dodge City and headed to Wichita where we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Grace and Jim!!! They used to invite us to their lake house, Mildew Manor, when they lived in Corrales. They just never thought we've get there.

This is Mildew Manor:

And this is me at Mildew Manor:

I made a very special new friend when we went for a boat ride. This is Jackson:

He was very curious about our travels, and he asked lots of interesting questions. He told me about his pet cats, that he plans to play for the Magic, and that he's really good at math.

I had so much fun talking with Jackson!!!

These are Jackson's brothers, Darren and Brady and Jackson with his mom and dad and grandma and grandpa, Grace and Jim.

Right now we are in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We stopped at the Truman birth home in Lamar, Missouri on our way to this location. We are in the beauty of the Ozarks, and this is one busy little town! There's a blues festival here this weekend and about a million motorcycles. Our campsite is in an RV park within the city limits. It's all wooded and feels like we're a thousand miles away. There's a large field beside the park where we can unleash Finnegan and let him run. It's good training ground for him, and we all know a tired puppy is a good puppy. We took him for a walk in town where he garnered a whole bunch of attention. "Is that a Schnauzer?" was the most common question.

We've tasted wine, cruised galleries, visited Thorncrown chapel, listened to music and been blown away by our visit to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. They rescue and house mostly big cats that have been abandoned, abused, used for commercial purposes, or taken in as pets by people who should have known better. They are given loving care for the rest of their lives as none can be put into the wild.

The big guy on the right came down to the bottom of his habitat just to pose for me. I was warned to be careful because he has sprayed some of the visitors. He was a complete gentleman while I took his picture. The two girls with Ed spent the whole afternoon together smiling for the cameras even though they have seperate areas. We watched some of the tigers playing in their bath tubs and rolling huge balls around, and we listened to the lions caroling at dinnertime. Contentment seems to be the mood. And the individual personalities are so evident. They do very good work here - and survive on donations.

We will be here for a couple more days. Then we'll pack up and head out to Little Rock and then on to Hot Springs before we begin heading North. We'll keep you up on our every changing plans.