Our Adventures to Teton Springs - From Roff to Grand Island, Nebraska

Mel and I along with Joe, Margaret and Jerry had a great opportunity to spend a week at a cabin outside Jackson, Wyoming, thanks to Donny.   He had won an auction for  a week at this cabin which is at the base of the Teton Mountains at Teton Springs in Victor, Idaho.  It is 4 bedroom and 4 1/2 bath  - quite a beautiful place according to the picture e-mailed to us.
We decided to make it a sight-seeing opportunity along the way.  Mel and I planned out the itinerary.  Our car had more seating space so we were taking it.
Sunday afternoon we picked up luggage so that could already be packed before we headed out early Monday morning.

Loading the car

Our First Passenger - Jerry

Picking up Joe and Margaret

All loaded up!  I am in the back.

We "hit the road".  Braum's at Pauls Valley sounded like a good place for breakfast.

On the road again - our destination was Abilene, Kansas.  We wanted to see  Eisenhower's boyhood home, museum, library and burial place.
After driving on interstate for several miles, we took Highway 15 to see the country side.  Along the way Gossel, Kansas had a Mennonite Museum which looked interesting.  It would have been; however, it was closed on Mondays.

Outside of Mennonite Museum

The old Mennonite church next to the museum.

We decided to take advantage of the facilities at the "all in one store" there.  It was a gas station, feed store,  and plant nursery.

On to Abilene - we stopped at the tourist center there for information.  The lady was very kind and helpful.  We enjoyed Mamie Eisenhower's recipe for sugar cookies.  The cookies were delicious!  They gave us the recipe for them.  The recipe is below.

Mamie Eisenhower's Sugar Cookie Recipe

                                        1/2 cup butter                               1 tsp. vanilla        

                                        1 cup sugar                                   1/2 tsp. salt

                                        2 egg yolks                                   1 tsp. baking powder

                                        1 T. cream                                     1 1/2 cups flour

Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Cream butter, add sugar slowly and cream until fluffy.  Stir in well-beaten egg yolks and vanilla.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with cream.  Chill for one hour, roll and cut in any desired shape.  Sprinkle with sugar before baking.  Bake in 350 degree oven 10 - 12 min.  (Courtesy of : Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau and West's Country Mart)

Our intentions were to eat at the Kirby House Restaurant.  It was an old mansion converted to a restaurant.  It was closed on Mondays, not mentioned  on the website.  Mr. K's Farmhouse Restaurant was closed on Mondays.  Our joke for the day became, "It's closed on Mondays!"  since we had encountered the museum and the 2 restaurants.  Later the train depot would be added to this list.
The lady recommended the Hitching Post Restaurant in historical part of town.  The special of the day was chicken fried steak.  It was delicious!

An old town replica was there. 

The train depot but guess what - it was closed on Mondays!

Our Tickets and Brochure for The Eisenhower Presidential Center

Eisenhower Meditation Building where The Eisenhowers are buried

Boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower

Jerry, myself, Margaret and Joe

Inside the home with the tour guide

After our tour there we headed to Grand Island, Nebraska which was our destination for our first night's stay.
Along the way we saw acres and acres of corn.  We were curious about how the ears of the corn looked since the stalks were so brown.  Well, Mel pulled over and Jerry hopped out and grabbed this ear of corn.  Now we know!

A Funny Story:

We had used Onstar a number of times for places and routes.  On the radio display area it would list how far to our next turn when we would get close.  If we still had a ways to go, the mileage amount left would not show up - just the radio station's call number.  Donny called to check on our progress (we were not sure if he had doubts about our capability or not).  Jerry was talking to him and Donny asked how far away we were from our hotel.  Jerry looked at the radio display and told him 97.3.  We started laughing as this was the radio station's number instead of the mileage.  Could this have confirmed Donny's doubts???  Haha!

Unloading our luggage at the Holiday Inn Express

Our chauffeur checking the atlas for tomorrow's route from Nebraska to Rapid City, South Dakota .