It's almost time to kick the leg (not too high) and begin the first leg of my journey to the genealogy mecca in the west ... the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
I am leaving in the morning for the first leg of the journey which is a drive of about 2 1/2 hours to the panhandle of Nebraska. I will stay with YGGG #2 and for a few days we'll gabber genealogy, get our research materials in order and decorate graves in pre-Memorial Day homage to our relatives. The bed in the family room has been moved to an appropriate bedroom so now I will be sleeping in private. That means I can read, snore and be myself.
On Friday, May 21st YGGG #2 and I will load up Lil' Red and head to Cheyenne, WY, making a stop along the way to decorate more graves. We will stay in Cheyenne with her son and do research in the Wyoming State Archives and at the wonderful genealogy section in the Laramie County Library.
Finally, on Tuesday, May 25th, we will take off in Lil' Red heading west across Wyoming to Salt Lake City. The glorious moment will be when we unload our belongings and walk in the front door of the Family History Library. Nobody will say "ah, they made it" or "look who's here." But we don't care ... just let us at the books and microfilm. I have one large notebook full of research notes and material, plus items on my laptop computer. We will be there almost two weeks, so there is a chance I'll get through a good deal of it.
As for YGGG #2 she is going through her usual What-If-I-Don't-Find-Anything syndrome. For me even negative results are a "find." You just keep looking and keep the hopes running high. Research involves imagination and a lot of what-ifs. Our ancestors never seem to have done the normal or what we would consider to be normal. I recently read a journal account of a relative who was pregnant. She did not want to leave Indiana with her husband and family to cross the plains in a covered wagon. She parked herself in a rocking chair in the front yard and refused to budge. Finally her husband and his father picked her up in the rocker and plunked her in the wagon. I would have hoped my husband would have taken pity upon my condition and called the trip off or at least said we would wait until after the birth of the baby. Don't let pregnancies or deaths interfere with the mental process you use in understanding ancestors!
Keep tuned to You Go Genealogy Girls as we blog about our adventures. You can be sure they will be real-time adventures. We won't be going by covered wagon, but Lil' Red is ready to get us there in record time.
YGGG #1 - Ruby
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