Americana

Nashville hole in the wall music venue

Explore the American West on a train

American towns have water towers for pressure.

a chair on the porch to watch the world go by

The sculpting of Mt. Rushmore was an amazing feat.

The animals at the county fair are my favorite part.

(left to right Americana: Watering hole in Nashville, train, water tank, front porch, Mt. Rushmore, cows at Wisconsin county fair)

I have 3 best friends from my childhood, they are family to me and together I refer to us as the Greenfield girls. To celebrate our sixtieth birthdays, my friends and I took a trip out West; we each chose a state we wanted to visit and we saw 11 western states along the way in two weeks. We took turns driving about 10 hours a day, we each contributed a playlist geared toward 80's music (the soundtrack of our high school and university years). We experienced Americana in person, we saw things we'd never seen before and things we'd always wished to see and ate foods that were new to us and we ate our favorite foods that we hadn't eaten in years. We sang, laughed, discussed, joked, feasted, marveled and reminisced; we were tourists but also Americans marveling at our country.

The Greenfield Girls 2024 (l to r: Peggy, Cindy, Storm and Laura)

We learned a lot during our western adventures such as

• huckleberry is a delicious flavor

• prairie dogs squeak

• there is a chain of convenience stores out West called Stinker; their mascot is a skunk!

• A Touron is a tourist that's a moron (for example a tourist that drives fast through a national park)

• Chipmunks have fleas that can carry the plague!

• Aspen and Burch trees are almost indistinguishable from each other

Visiting the Corn Palace in South Dakota

We left Indiana and the rumpus of life for the two weeks to experience the shattering beauty of America and to make a life-long, cherished memory. During our road-trip we stopped at rest stops and picnic areas to eat our pogybait (snacks) where we were warned by different signs to beware of snakes, hitchhikers may be escaped prisoners and Bison may seem slow but they can turn in an instant and surprise you with speed. With a flick of a horn they can toss you in the air. Bison are unpredictable; they are powerful, wild and dangerous! We were livin' on the wild side and we were armed with bear spray!

Glacier Park Lodge in Montana is a sight to behold because its built with massive logs.

As American as pie. My favorites are cherry and strawberry.

Roller skating is a beloved American past time.

Mama and baby goat at the county fair.

I bought my first Stetson cowboy hat in Nashville Tennessee.

The Depot in Greenfield, Indiana; a grain silo turned into a restaurant.

Big Horn Steer in Oklahoma were on the menu.

Birds and Bison have a symbiotic relationship.

The skies out West are the most amazing I've ever seen!

(left to right Americana: Montana lodge, pie, roller skating, goats at a county fair, cowboy hats, The Depot, a renovated grain silo in Greenfield, Indiana, long-horn steer, buffalo, Big Sky Country).

A dash of familiarity now and then can heal your soul in many cases, it can also be the source of great inspiration and painting subject matter. I hope to get back to the Wild West very soon!

Everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask about potatoes and the industry.