The road home

We woke with the dawn and the mosquitoes…everyone packed up and pulled out between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. with the Schlatters and Commorfords in the lead. The truth about our teepee night became clearer with the anecdotes shared on the way home. Parker found a frog on his bed and scooped it up in his Croc. Tim went around growling and scratching outside some of the teepees causing several children to scream. Reports of dogs visiting inside the teepees came from several quarters.  Other dogs “protected” the camp by barking whenever someone went to the bathroom. Late in the night, the dogs sporadically barked off and on, maybe at the lifelike deer target still set up in the yard or maybe they were barking at coyotes we heard howling far off.  Some families found out after everyone had settled in for the night that the best sleep was probably better had if they slept in their vans.

As the teams took off, everyone was anxious to get home. Unfortunately, crews were working on the road south to I-90, so we were treated to about 30 minutes of waiting for the “Pilot Car” to lead us past the construction on this rural two-lane highway. We had to wait for the pilot car to lead us down the only open lane as the other opposing traffic waited for us. While we waited we listened to the birds, waved at the woman holding the stop sign, and waited, waited, waited…then GO!  We’re on our way straight home. We would meet up with one of the vans in Mitchell, SD, for gas and a late breakfast/early lunch. Then, it was a beeline to go from I-90 eastbound, to I-29 southbound, from South Dakota, to Iowa, past Omaha, Nebraska, before arriving in Missouri (and some to Kansas)-all safe and sound and full of stories to share with anyone that would listen.