A diverse week; that is what we enjoyed over the past several days. 4th of July, Elma Trail Days, visits from relatives, and a plug for a new project all are covered in this post.
First, a plug for the proposed project, something rare for this blog. The old I-80 bridge over the Mississippi River from Iowa to Illinois near the Quad Cities (actually 5 cities, including Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline, Illinois, Davenport, and Bettendorf, Iowa) is going to be replaced with a new bridge. A proposal to retain the old bridge and turn it into a wildlife land bridge crossing – housing a small yard of bison – has been proposed. We think this is a neat idea! Here is a link to the Bison Project: https://bisonbridge.org. The site loads a video which takes a bit of time so have patience; the video is worth the view.
The 4th of July was quiet here in Elma because the town’s annual summer event, Elma Trail Days, was this weekend and not on the 4th. Trail Days is so named due to the bicycle trail that is built on the old railroad line. The trail begins in downtown Elma and passes the old railroad roundhouse (only the foundation remains) and will eventually connect to a wider series of trails in the area. The town sponsors a series of events that include fireworks, live music in the park, pancake breakfasts, a small car show, a parade, and other activities from Friday night through Sunday afternoon.
Friday, it rained heavily and continuously. The fireworks were supposed to be held on Friday night but were rain delay rescheduled for Saturday evening. Still, the Saturday a.m. parade went on as scheduled under overcast skies. We watched the Saturday parade [down Main Street] from our front porch and enjoyed the turn out. I’ve never seen so many people in this small town!
I did film video of the parade but it will take me some time to edit it down to a final product ready to post. Maybe next time I’ll have it done. It was not exciting by any means but it was nice to see a few familiar faces (contractors mostly) and watch the entries go by.
The biggest event of the week was the arrival of Pam’s sister, Becky, and the older of her two brothers, Larry. They arrived Thursday with plans to stay a few days. Larry rode down from Onalaska, Wisconsin, with Becky who drove down from Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Becky will stay with us for awhile into July, but we took Larry back to Onalaska on Saturday after the afore-mentioned parade.
We had reasons for making this arrangement as Pam wanted to see a friend from childhood who lives south of Larry in LaCrosse, Janean, and meet her husband, Mike. We also [finally] stopped for a photo of Onalaska’s signature entry sign – a sunfish – as the town bills itself the Sunfish Capitol of the World. (Note: Pam graduated from Onalaska High School.)
Pam and Janean have been friends since Pam was about 4 years old. Later Janean moved away from Onalaska but the two kept in touch over the years and remained friends. COVID-19 prevented us from visiting them last year so this year we arranged to take Larry back to Onalaska, then visit Janean’s and Mike’s home south of LaCrosse. Later we would continue down the river road, along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River, to Prairie du Chien and then back to Elma.
We had a very enjoyable visit with Janean and Mike and received a tour of their custom-built house. It is quite the place, built into one of the many small coulees that are common in the LaCrosse area. A doe was feeding near the edge of the back yard, a common occurrence according to the couple. Mike is a carpenter and gave us a tour of his shop, which I enjoyed. We hope to have more visits with them in the coming years.
One of the reasons Becky had come down to visit us was to go have Pam and Larry go through some family history items, including photos, cards, and a couple old newspapers that had been part of Pam’s mother’s estate. That provided us with several hours of reminiscing and story telling as well as keeping a few items for our own files. One such item was an April, 1965 issue of a local newspaper that had published one of Pam’s 6th-grade poems.
The same paper had this add, aimed at the young ladies in town.
Having visitors and traveling was a good way to end the week. This type of activity is what we expected when we were planning the relocation to the Midwest, and after a year of COVID it has finally started to happen. It feels good to be able to resume activities this year.
As part of the preparations for Becky and Larry’s visit we re-arranged the storage room to create space for a roll-a-way bed. Elmo the cat had to help us out.
Out in the yard, the hostas and phlox are beginning their blooming season so we have some new color around the house.
It was a good week. Family, friends, some much-needed rain, and cooler weather made the week an outstanding one. Fireworks and a parade helped provide entertainment as well. Hopefully there will be similar weeks in the months to come.
Photo Archive
Only one photo this week. It is of the Boreas Pass roadhouse and cabin before both structures were rebuilt by the Forest Service. Photo dates from the late 1970s when we first moved to Colorado.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Family, friends, memories. Quite a weekend. Activities were pretty much mask free, as my sister and brother are vaccinated and we only observed outdoor events (avoiding crowds) during the Elma celebrations.
Happy Trails.
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