OK, so I did not manage to post yesterday after all.  We, Jared, Jen, Allie and Mike and I went to the state fair in Grand Island (2 hours away) yesterday afternoon and did not get back home till after 10pm.  Too late for Gran and Grandad who had to get back to Paradise for sleep before having to be here at the house to watch Allie this morning!

Anyway, Saturday Mike and I drove down to Homestead National Monument (NM) to check it out and get another stamp in our NP passport.  What a lovely day it was!  The NM is not a big place and we did not expect it to be, but it was more than we expected.

We got an education on the Homestead Act of 1862 that gave 160 acres to pioneers who were willing to move out here and work the land to make it produce.  They had to have a productive farm within 5 years or they would not receive the deed and would have to vacate the land.
A very tough life, one I am sure I could not handle!

The NM had a museum where you could learn how the white man kicked out the natives so he could give free land to white people.  Sounds blunt but it is really what happened.  At least now we acknowledge and seem to understand our actions. There were also a couple of miles of walking trails and we thoroughly enjoyed the walk as the weather was glorious!  The next 2 pics show the Museum and some of the grounds of the NM that have been restored to what the prairie looked like when the pioneers settled.

This next pic shows an original cabin home that was moved to the NM so all can see the size of the homes the pioneers lived in for the most part.  This cabin housed a family of 12!

Mike and I on the trail.....

Nature...

And, by gosh, on the way home we managed to stop at another winery.  But on the way we passed some interesting traffic.....

We actually saw a sign showing that horse drawn buggies might be on the road so it was fun to actually see a family pass by in one!

The winery was fun as usual.  This one also had a micro brewery so we tasted wines first, then beer!