Miracles along the Miraculous Mile

This likely is our last blog as we roll out of Chicago, Illinois, and toward McLean, Virginia, to get back into the school and work routine.

But there is lots to say about Chicago and the little miracles and blessings along the way. We continued to have great weather. The wind and rain that had caused such destruction in the Chicago area had blown out and we woke to a magnificent sunrise over Lake Michigan. And we did see the sun rise as the family was interviewed on NBC5 Chicago during the 6am morning show. We always enjoy the opportunity to get the word out about how Americans can thank military families with the gift of education.

Our next stop was the fascinating McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum located on North Michigan Avenue next to the Chicago Tribune. There we met with the museum's Executive Director, David Anderson, and learned more about the museum and about the McCormick Foundation's involvement in efforts to support the military. Thank you Lisa and Jeff from the USO for arranging the visit. For those of you with school-age children visiting Chicago, you should make the time to stop by the museum as the interactive exhibits make learning about American history and, in particular, issues related to the First Amendment, fun.

Speaking of the First Amendment, we were also delighted to wake up and see a ThanksUSA op ed penned by Bob appear in the Wall Street Journal. You can find a link to it on our homepage.

We also had serendipity. Walking down crowded Michigan Avenue (in the section known as "The Miraculous Mile"), we spotted our long-time friends from Arlington -- The Katz Family. We had no idea we were all in Chicago, so we took advantage of the chance encounter and had a nice lunch together. We also got to congratulate Bev Katz on completing the Chicago Triathlon -- her first! She was part of a Team N Training raising money to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Way to go, Bev!

We ended our day with a trip to the Navy Pier. We thought it appropriate that the last photo of our treasure hunt loving daughters is with some pirates!

Tomorrow, we turn the car for home, having enjoyed seeing more of America and meeting so many wonderful people along the way.

Thanks to all who read the blog and who supported scholarships with donations. We apologize to those who tried to leave comments unsuccessfully. We were never able to fix the technical glitch that was blocking the incoming comments.

Spirit of South Dakota

Had to add one more entry for South Dakota to tell you about the wonderful Clark family. We caught up with the Clarks over coffee in Rapid City, South Dakota. Karline Clark was a 2006 ThanksUSA scholarship recipient. Her husband, Mike, is active duty Air Force. We met two of their children, Acadia, just starting 3rd grade, and Zachary, just starting 5th grade.

Karline used her scholarship to go back to school to obtain her teaching degree as part of a program in South Dakota to train and recruit highly qualified individuals to teach. In a fifteen minute conversation, you know she is going to be an excellent teacher, both in how she related to her own children and to Rachel and Kelsi.

All the Clarks were interested in our trip and they related how they have used trips to help history come alive for their own children. We encouraged them to play the ThanksUSA American History Treasure Hunt game to test their knowledge.

Before leaving South Dakota we stopped at the Wild Horse Sanctuary outside Hot Springs. This 11,000 acre sanctuary has more than 550 wild horses. The sanctuary also has a rich past, and we enjoyed not only seeing the beautiful horses with many healthy foals at their side, but also learning more about the history of the Sioux Indians as well as the homesteaders who lived in a still existing cave while they built their cabins. We also saw the site of the Sioux Sundance Ceremony that takes place each year. (This land was also the set for the movie, "Crazy Horse" and for scenes from the movie, "Hidalgo.")

Next, we start heading east through Nebraska and Iowa en route to Chicago. It looks like all the storms have blown out ahead of us although we can see water along the side of the roads and in the fields.

SD scholars

We drove from Wyoming to South Dakota via Yellowstone Park. What an adventure! We had close up and personal encounters with buffalo, elk, and a momma Grizzly Bear and her two cubs. A visit to Cody, Wyoming and the Buffalo Bill Museum capped off an awesome day that reminded us how wonderful all our national parks are and that we have the privilege in this country to tour them freely.....

Next stop was the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is an enormous undertaking (all private, no government support spanning more than a half century) to create a vast monument to North America's Indians. The girls are standing beside one of the small models for the giant monument. Twenty miles down the road we toured Mount Rushmore and stood there for a long moment totally in awe of the likenesses of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. We think we should add more facts about all of these great presidents in Treasure Hunt III.

At the end of the day we met with two South Dakota scholars. The first one was Nadine Taylor (and her mom, Sandra) who successfully completed her academic work last year with a 4.0 gpa. She received a ThanksUSA scholarship this year, as well. Second, was a hometown friend of Nadine's named Autmn Stocking. Her dad is an active duty Air Force officer. She is studying to be a special education teacher. What two delightful young ladies who are already making a big difference in their own communities and beyond.

Cowboy Country

Our western swing from Utah to Wyoming signals our initial turn back towards home. Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a taste of the old, wild west. The wagon trains crossed the Plains over Teton Pass into Jackson Hole. We rode in a covered wagon, witnessed a good 'ol frontier gun battle right on main street in Jackson Hole, all followed by a hearty chuck wagon dinner. Our covered wagon taking us to dinner came under attack from Indians on horseback though we all survived. In the center of Jackson's town center is the antler arch and the veterans' war memorial.

We all are looking forward to seeing Mount Rushmore up close and personal.

Utah's Awesome Beauty

The drive from Las Vegas to the majesty of Utah's Zion and Bryce National Parks dropped our temperature by 40 degrees. Just the day before we were incredulous about how Las Vegas emerged from the Nevada desert decades ago, but we were even more amazed by the natural rock formations in Utah's national parks. We slept, hiked and ate among the buffalo, deer, antelope, hawks and rock formations, which have stood as sentries....for many centuries.

A visit further north in Utah to Park City with GE's Tom Cooper and his lovely wife Helen included a hike around Mirror Lake, an out of this world hamburger and shake at Dick's in Camus, and a visit to the trout filled streams below the dam. Then a brief hello to early on ThanksUSA supporter, Sen Orrin Hatch, the senior Senator from Utah. The Coopers prepared a lovely dinner with friends and neighbors and we had a chance to spread the ThanksUSA mission to others who want to help thank the troops.

Next stop, a taste of the wild west in Jackson Hole, Wyoming....

USO Goes Mobile

Finally had a chance to download the photos of the impressive Mobile USO Center we visited in Las Vegas, Nevada. This mobile center, with its enthusiastic director, Pam Fairbanks, takes the services of the USO directly to the troops and their families in the western states.

Thanks for letting us take a tour and for the bumper sticker which we proudly display on our car.

When we stop in Chicago next week, senior executive Lynly Boor of USO's worldwide office in Washington, DC, has arranged for us to visit the Chicago USO Center. We are excited to share the ThanksUSA story in the great state of Illinois.

Sedona Magic

August 13th: We left Truth or Consequences via a lovely blue highway that took us by several sites not seen from the interstate:

The Very Large Array (VLA) -- one of the world's premier radio observatories. As the girls observed, it looks like a scene from Star Wars to see these Very Large satellite dishes popping out of the landscape.

Pie Town -- A very small town, but great pie and hospitality greets all travelers. They encourage you to write in their log, which has been kept for 20 years.

Route 66 -- You travel along a small portion of the classic highway, including passing by a site the girls recognized from the movie, "Cars" -- the wigwam motel.

Then it was the scenic drive down Oak Creek Canyon that opens up to the magical red rocks of Sedona.

We hiked on two beautiful trails just moments from Grandma's condo in Sedona. Another highlight was going to Slide Rock, in Oak Creek Canyon, where you go down natural "slides" in the creek. There are also fun places to cliff jump into the refreshing creek.

Then it was time to pack our bags again and head toward Las Vegas. We stopped to marvel at the Hoover Dam, but not for long as the temperature was 111 degrees!

Air Force Warriors in Nevada

What an inspiring visit to Nellis Airforce Base in Las Vegas, NV. Many thanks to our tireless board member Gen. Norm Lezy (USAF,ret.) for making the arrangements. We braved 108 degree heat with our terrific guide, Lt. Col Tony Millicamp. U R the best, Tony. We began our visit with ThanksUSA scholarship winner Derek Sterling who is a military spouse taking care of his young son while his wife Sara completes her tour of duty. Derek is completing his undergraduate degree in social work. We hope Derek and Sara can attend our ThanksUSA gala in Washington DC this fall once they are settled in their new lives. We also enjoyed meeting Col Greg Dodson who just returned to Nellis from a tour at the Pentagon.

Our day continued with a fascinating tour of the strategic warfare command center where we viewed Soviet and other military aircraft and anti-aircraft weaponry. The highlight of the tour was a visit with the Thunderbirds, the elite Air Force demonstration team. Sgt. Dan Lawson who is about to join the Thunderbird team gave us a firsthand look at their jets and hanger while giving us a real sense of the espirit de corps that permits this group to represent so admirably the world's finest air force, the United States Air Force. You rock, Dan.

As we departed Las Vegas we visited the mobile USO center managed so capably by Pam Fairbanks. The new USO now brings its brand of service to military personnel directly to the troops through one stop shopping mobile vans. We plan another USO visit in Chicago, thanks to Lynly Boor with USO's worldwide headquarters in DC. Thx, Lynly.

Off to the west with visits to awe inspiring national parks in Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota.
We will also see Utah's senior Senator, Orrin Hatch, a strong and early supporter of ThanksUSA's scholarship program for the kids and spouses of the troops.

Enchanting New Mexico

!Hola! from New Mexico, land of true enchantment! We rumbled up to our Aunt Lisa's house on Saturday, August 11th on a dirt road; an everyday-sort-of-magical telltale of the forget-me-not weekend to come.

The town of Truth or Consequences is the true meaning of America to me. You have people of all shapes, sizes, personalities grappling with their own lives and yet still leaving their doors wide open to those who need their neighbors whatever situation it might be. Whether it's more hot chocolate, an extra floaty for swimming, or just a needed "hello!", I was in awe of how close and friendly EVERYONE was in this small town. And to delve into more of the warmth of this town, we visited the town museum.

I guess being a treasure hunter comes in handy at these museums with the ability of plucking facts off their vines of knowledge! Devour these fun facts:

• The town of TorC was originally called Hot Springs


• Hot Springs changed its name to Truth or Consequences after a winning a contest sponsored by Ralph Edwards, star of the hit television and radio show of the same name
  

The great Apache chief, Geronimo, dipped his face into a hot spring well years ago and gave the water a special blessing received by all who relax there.
Just like our trip, this is just a sampler taste of the history of New Mexico and the background of the hidden gem of a town strung on America's jeweled necklace. Learn more about TorC and send it to us! You just might see your fact in Treasure Hunt III!

The next day, we set out for Elephant Butte, a spectacular lake of elegant blue that surrounded an enormous rock formation that looked like a wise old elephant with the rock's texture seeming like his weathered wrinkles. We were once again swept off our feet by the waves of generosity the flowed from my aunt's neighbors, John, Marilyn and Jessie, who provided floaties, laughter, an aborable lab named Bo and most of all their open arms and company. We tried seadoos for the first time -- such a blast!

John grilled a great dinner lakeside and then entertained us with his guitar and country tunes. Both John and Jess are veterans (Jess of Iraqi Freedom and John from Viet Nam), so we enjoyed sharing with them the mission of ThanksUSA.

We are off to Arizona tomorrow after a fun-filled weekend.

More photos from San Antonio

Finally . . . photos are up from second set of San Antonio meetings. Here are Rachel and Kelsi with scholarship recipient James Johnson and our new friend from the USO, and with Sonia Medina from the AT&T Foundation, and with scholarship recipients Robin Butcher, Candice Corte and Courtney Banayad along with Robin's kids and Candice's mom.

Saying good-bye to Texas

August 10: We said good-bye to the Hill Country this morning to return to the USO in San Antonio to meet with another group of awesome scholarship recipients. This group included Robin Butcher who is close to achieving her life long dream to be a RN. She described how both the ThanksUSA scholarship and her two darling kids have helped her go back and complete her education with an active duty spouse.

We also met with Candice Corte and her mom. Candice is attending the University of North Texas and is active ROTC. She has a sister who starts college next fall, and the ThanksUSA scholarship is helping her family achieve their educational goals.

Finally, we met with Courtney Banayad -- a world traveler already -- who is finishing at the University of Texas at Austin. She was so appreciative of having financial assistance to help her make ends meet while finishing her education.

Before walking out of the USO we were approached by one of the volunteers who helps keep the USO looking clean and inviting for visiting military personnel. This volunteer had listened to the girls talk about why we started ThanksUSA. He described his own background and said he did not put an emphasis on education when he was younger, and learned the hard way about its importance. But rather than feeling discouraged, he is now back taking classes and tests to better himself. We wish him every success and than him for all he does to take care of the troops.

We then went to the famous San AntonioRiver Walk and had a TexMex lunch with Sonia Medina of the AT&T Foundation. The AT&T Foundation has been a generous supporter of ThanksUSA and we thanked Sonia for her instrumental role in helping military families everywhere.

Remember the Alamo? Well, now we know a little more about the imporant role played by the Mission in the Texas Revolution. The knarly trees and fortified walls of the Mission gave us an appreciation of how the battle might have gone for those freedom fighters who lost this battle, but not the war for independence.

Now we're on to Interstate 10 across Texas and into New Mexico to start our swing northwest.

Sorry, no photos today. Deanna has tried unsuccessfully to find a wireless network that would let her upload photos. Perhaps we'll have better luck at our next stop.

FInding Heart and Soul in Texas

August 9, San Antonio. It was hard to leave Jackaroo Ranch, in the heart of the Hill Country (Thanks, D'Anna, for the great digs!), where we were surrounded by Texas Longhorns, the beautiful Blanco river, and herds of deer, but we had a busy day ahead.

The day provoked powerful emotions for the entire family. We began with a tour of the Brooke Army Medical Hospital at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. We were thrilled to meet our former neigbor, Lt. Col. Lanier Ward, who had recovered at this very hospital from severe wounds that he received in Baghdad in '03. The picture is of Lanier with two of the Physical Therapists (Amy and Heather) who helped him recover (he can now jokingly refer to this as the "House of Pain"). Amy and Heather are still helping wounded soldiers today. Lanier was one of our primary inspirations when we launched ThanksUSA nearly two years ago, and he remains an inspiration today. We were delighted that he would come all the way from Kentucky to show us around and we hope he can make a return appearance at the ThanksUSA gala in Washington, D.C. on October 3, 2007. Last year he made wonderful remarks and provided a terrific introduction of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Meyers.

We toured both the hospital and the recently opened Intrepid Center. Wow, if you ever though you were strong or tough, think again. These wounded warriors are courageous heroes. Seeing this center truly made us appreciate how much these warriors, and all those in uniform, love our nation to risk life and limb so that we can live the life we want in this country. To see so many who had lost legs or arms or suffered severe burns and other injuries, but whose spirits were strong and still fighting touched us deeply. Although it was only a small token, the girls delivered some beautifully decorated letters to many of the wounded.

With a stengthened commitment to do whatever we can to help thank the troops with the gift of education to their families, we went to the USO in downtown San Antonio. Thank you, San Antonio USO for your hospitality! We met with four wonderful ThanksUSA scholars today, and as Rachel said, "They blew us away like a tumbleweed in the Texas wind."

Johana Dowell, with two small children and an active duty husband getting ready to deploy to Iraq, was in a car accident last year with the children and all hope of college seemed to disappear at that time . . . until a ThanksUSA scholarship letter arrived in the mail and gave her the funds to rekindle her dreams to pursue her education at UT. She told us how important our small idea was to her and her family. WOW. It was a double bonus to hear that she is playing the ThanksUSA American History Treasure Hunt with her kids and finds it a terrific family project. We will be thinking of her and sending our prayers for her husband's safe return.

We also met James Johnson and his parents (His Dad is active duty Air Force -- 25 years -- Thank you, Sir, for all you do and God bless!!). James's smile and ideas are bright enough to light up the San Antonio sky. Keep an eye on this Baylor University scholar. He is going places, big time!

Joshua Heaney is an army "brat" now attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in part with a ThanksUSA scholarship. He plans to go to flight school and we are sure that when he gets his wings he will rule the sky!

We are so grateful to Ashley Neves who lives and works in San Antonio. She drove all the way to Austin to see us yesterday, and came back to the San Antonio USO today. Ashley, you rock!

Back to the Hill Country to recharge for tomorrow.

Everything is Bigger in Texas - Even our Blog

Bigger blog, but slower, as we have been chasing wi fi connections at various coffee shops without much success. Hope this one stays with us long enough to post blogs from the past few eventful days.

August 8: We awoke in a place called Hope . . . Hope, Arkansas that is. Birthplace of former President Bill Clinton and home of the 150 lb watermelon seen in the photo. Our long drive southward, to Texarkana, took us to Austin, capitol of the Lone Star State.

We met with 2 outstanding young ladies, both ThanksUSA scholarship recipients, at the Austin Recreation Center. We desperately wanted to dive into the Center's big swimming pool to cool off from the 100+ degree heat, but instead we sat down inside with Ashley Neves and Jasmine Jones. We captured their remarkable and heartwarming stories on video, fortunately, and will be putting together a video. They really hit it off with Kelsi and Rachel, who have two new big "sisters" to add to the ThanksUSA family. Ashley, who drove over an hour with her friend Krystal just to meet us, promised to drop by the San Antonio USO tomorrow where we will meet some more scholars from around Texas.

Dinner at the Rio Grande authentic TexMex restaurant, a walk by the waterfront awaiting the flight of the bats under the Bat Bridge at sunset and then a drive to rural Wimberly, located in Hill Country, concluded another marathon day . . . but it was all worth it just to meet Jasmine and Ashley. We all will sleep like babies.

Finding Grace and Hope

This one's for our beagle, Miles: "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, crying all the time..." Who sang that timeless tune? (We have to have trivia wherever we go right? :) ) Why, none other than Elvis Presley!! Checking out all things Elvis at Graceland, TN was lots of fun, though it was over 100 degrees once again. As our Treasure Hunt clue book last year noted, The King, was born in Mississippi but lived and died in Tennessee.

Now THANKS already covered Elvis, but in the universal game of life, a little more info never hurts! Did you know......

• Elvis's favorite food was fried peanut butter and jelly

• Even though he was famous beyond measure, he will always be remembered for using his talent for good by using his profits to quietly pay off struggling neighbors' debts

Then we left the land of country music and gooey pies and headed west on Interstate 40 and into Arkansas.

We wished we had time to stop and join the thousands who were pouring into the ENORMOUS Little Rock Pentacostal church because we're sure it would have been a great experience, but we were just too hungry for real, rather than spiritual, food so we opted for the turn into downtown Little Rock instead.

This beautiful sculpture, titled Carpe Diem, can be found outside one of Little Rock's newest and finest eating establishments, The Copper Grill. We interviewed lots of nice Arkansans who sent along their warmest wishes for the troops and their families. In fact the owner of the Grill lobbies in Washington, DC with the National Restaurant Association. Now that is grassroots lobbying at its finest.

We ended our day in Hope, Arkansas; birthplace of former President Clinton. We thought it fitting that our motel is right across the street from a WalMart as Sam Walton was from Arkansas. Our distinguished board member Gen Norm Lezy would be proud of us...he used to be an executive with WalMart. Too bad we will miss the Watermelon Festival this weekend in Hope. We did get to see a 150 lb melon displayed at our motel, though.

Back on the road to meet in Austin, TX with several of our Texas scholarship winners. How exciting!

Feeling the Music in Tennessee

Meeting Nashville singer and songwriter David Ball (composer of the Ballad of ThanksUSA), Andy Leftwich, awesome fiddler with Ricky Skaggs and the Kentucky Thunder and his beautiful wife, Rachel, in Nashville, Tennessee really brought "Music City" to life for us as we journey across the United States. We predict that Andy will have a great solo career one day, and we can say we knew him on his way up the charts.

We hope that our home video captured our sing along with David Ball as we all belted out The Ballad of ThanksUSA. A tour of Opryland in 100 degree humid heat followed by a visit to the awesome Nashville aquarium kicked off our first full day on our drive for dollars for military scholars. One of the hostesses at the Aquarium restaurant had a family member in the National Guard so we gave her a ThanksUSA treasure hunt clue book, with the website so she could visit it and check out the scholarship opportunities. We've also met lots of nice folks from all over the country who are visiting Nashville, like members of the Knights of Columbus who are attending their convention.

We really hope that Andy and Rachel Leftwich and David Ball (and his wife and daughter) attend our second annual ThanksUSA gala on Oct 3 in Washington, DC to raise funds for the next round of military family scholarships. We even managed a call-in radio chat with Tara , hostess of Army Wives Talk Radio. What a great service her radio program each day is providing to the families of the troops across America. Sorry for the noisy background, Tara.
We've gotten to know the fine folks at Army Wives Talk Radio through America Supports You, a wonderful organization that acts as a clearinghouse for the many varied military support organizations around the country spearheaded by Allison Barber and her team in Washington, DC.

Next stop, Memphis, Tennessee...."We're going Graceland" (to quote Paul Simon's famous song) to help celebrate the King's birthday!

Our next entry will be from Texas....Austin and San Antonio (we hope to visit Brook Army Hospital) and meet our former neighbor and one of our inspiring heroes, Army Lt Col Lanier Ward. How is your summer Allie? We will meet several of our Texas scholarship recipients in those two cities. We can't wait. That's it for now.

ThanksUSA Hits the Road

This August, Kelsi and Rachel will be traveling through the United States to raise "Scholar Dollars" for scholarships aiding the needs of kids and spouses of active duty troops.

You can help fund these scholarships by sponsoring portions of the trip starting with as little as $5.00 a mile.

Wondering how to help or how much they have raised so far?

Visit ThanksUSA.org.