A pretty fall day in Lake View, Iowa, September 29, 2013

The dock across from John's Aunt Mary's house on Black Hawk Lake.  

 Looking east from the dock.  (Yes, it was breezy, which seems to be almost a permanent condition at the lake...)

 Aunt Mary's house (from the dock).

 Our daughter (Sam) and her hubby (Marty) joined us for the afternoon, which turned into completing a few things on Mary and Grandma's 'work lists'.  (thanks again, Marty!!!)

Mary and Grandma Walker (Jean) after a great supper at Boulders in Lake View (THANKS MARY!!!).

Grandad Bluff, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 9/2013

 Grandad Bluff from the highway.

The view from the top of the Bluff. 

 The marker on the way to the scenic overlook.

 Flags at half-mast due to the recent shooting at the D.C. navy yard.

 A view of the University of Wisconsin campus, La Crosse (Wisconsin).

Another view from the top of the bluff.

Scenes from the boat ride in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 9/2013

 Turtles sunning themselves on a fallen branch in the Mississipppi.

 A view of a bluff from the river.

 John watching the paddle wheels work.

Interesting house on the shore.

                                 

Two dogs were ready to jump off the boat onto the beach (below).

The dogs have obviously been on this boat adventure before.

Scenes from La Crosse, Wisconsin, September, 2013

 It was a hazy day when I took most of these pictures, but it cleared off when we went for a short cruise on the Mighty Mississippi later in the day.

 Of course, we had to have a picture of the train in the park...

La Crosse seems to have a fairly lively downtown area.

 A statue of Hiawatha near the river.

 A very tall steeple in downtown La Crosse (not sure what kind of church is behind it).

La Crosse is a 'college town', too, and we went by this on the way out of town (the wrong way...).

Lock and Dam tour on the Mississippi, September, 2013

 We found the detour to the public parking lot at the Lock and dam in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and didn't have to wait too long to see a small barge coming into the lock.

 It was sand for the construction site a little farther north of the lock.  The interstate 90 bridge is being redone (which connects Wisconsin to Minnesota) and it's a big project.

 This poor houseboat was just resting against the shore between the lock and the I-90 bridge.  I wondered how it got there.

 One of the locks we visited on our trip down the Great River Road.

Another of the locks we stopped to peruse.

The Enterprise???

Yes, I'm a Star Trek fan.  I'm old, so I was watching the original series when it was on in the late 60's as an impressionable pre-teen.  (I also LOVE the new Star Trek movie "Into the Darkness", too!)

In our recent travels, we stopped at this rest area in southern Minnesota, and this was the name!  (I don't think we name the rest areas in Iowa, do we?)

This was the view from the side of the rest area looking down into the valley (Rush Creek, we think).

This is John trying to do his impression of smiling tourist for a picture!

September, 2013 pictures around Camp Stanhope!

I planted some gladiola bulbs and split some hostas and planted here early in the summer, and they just now decided to bloom (I haven't watered them very faithfully, though, either....).

 John relaxing with his computer and his 'girls'...  Gracie is at the bottom of the picture, and old Queen is in the middle of the picture.

Some of the sunsets lately have been spectacular, but this one looks like the Starship Enterprise is streaking through the sun!

Stanhope Parish Block Party 09 08 2013!

Dale and Dave (with John 'supervising' on the left) brought their grills and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for the party-goers last Sunday.  Delicious!   

 There were crafts to construct, paint, decorate and take home.

 The tables were ready for the visitors and parish members in our new parking space on the south side of the church.

There were good conversations and fun, even though the crowd wasn't as big as everyone had hoped!  (The whole town had been invited!)

More September 'amber' views from our windows!

 Well, it was a prettier sunset last night, but I was throwing toys in the yard for Stig to chase and didn't have my camera with me.

 From one of our upstairs bedroom windows, this is the view to the southwest.  (That's the roof of our garage in the bottom of that picture above, and the electric pole near the road has a little lean to it...)

Looking across the road from the upstairs window (above AND below).

September, 2013 has arrived! (along with Stig....)

 We have a pair of "wealthy" apple trees in our yard.  This is the first crop we've had in 3 years now, even with the cold, wet spring and now the drought!  (there are some tomatoes in the picture, too.)

 Stig's 'parents' (Sam & Marty) are away for the weekend, visiting Alex and Allison in Wisconsin, so Stig is at our house. He's trying to be patient waiting for me to throw a toy into the yard, but it' hard for him to sit still for more than a few seconds!

 When I think of 'amber waves of grain', I usually think of wheat fields.  Corn is a scenic crop this time of year, too, though!