Belpre

The bad news: My old iPhone finally gave up the ghost, taking along with it many of the photos from this trip. The good news: Here's a picture of three good-looking and goofy Hawkinson cousins (Myrick, Joel, and Olivia) from the same weekend.

In Belpre (not pictured), we found a grain elevator, a beautiful brick church (St. Bernard Church and school), and some dirt roads. It's a fair-sized little town. It also had a Mexican restaurant/liquor store, an old jail in someone’s front yard, a nice little park, a post office, and some unused downtown buildings. As in many towns this size, some old houses were falling apart, while others were well-maintained.  A committee of turkey vultures was congregated on the town water tower, and the recent rain had left puddles of standing water in many yards.

The town's name is apparently a contraction of the French Belle Prairie, which is fitting: The open grasslands around here are certainly beautiful, especially after a much-needed summer rain.