Day 13 – Traveled from Chadron to Yankton, SD. This trip crossed off another state on our list and was also located near Springfield Township in South Dakota which is a location that Hudson Dexter Mead (my great-grandfather) appears on an 1880 census.

Day 14 and 15 – Traveled to Urbandale, Iowa and visited for two days with our niece Amy and her family. We had a great time visiting (except for the rain out of a baseball game), playing some games and going to church with them. Amy gave me a copy of a report she did on my father in which she interviews him about his life growing up. Learned a couple things and also need to verify a couple things, but that is for another day.

Day 16 – Traveled to Illinois for a day to see my brother David and his wife Julie, who is currently recovering from serious shoulder surgery. As always, we enjoyed our stay there and David and I always have some great conversations.

Day 17 – 19 – Traveled to Columbus and visited my daughter and her family. Lot of games, finished a jigsaw puzzle, soccer practices and good food and company.

Day 20 – After 4,728 miles, we make it back home. It is nice to sleep on your own mattress!

P.S. – Once home I received a package from my friend I made in North Dakota, which included copies of “The North Dakota Sheaf” (the “Official paper of the Bishop and District of North Dakota Protestant Episcopal Church”) from the years that my grandfather Frank was a minister in North Dakota (from 1922 to 1928). I will do more later on grandpa Frank as I put together a short biography of his life, as I know it anyhow.

One thing I did learn that I will share now, is that he went to St. John’s College (now a part of the University of Manitoba, go U of M!) for his theological studies. This college is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba which is where he married grandma Muriel. Since Muriel was from Halifax, Nova Scotia, I wonder now if she went to the same college and possible met grandpa Frank there.