Karen and Lee Duquette
took a car trip that ended in a major disaster
June 21, 2025 - July 13, 2025
You may view these sites in the order of your choice. (Only the underlined ones are completed at this time as this is a work-in-progress) There will always be multiple links at the bottom of each page for continued exploration.
GEORGIA
June 21, 2025 - Georgia welcome sign, 2 water towers, Quality Inn Hotel, and a Mexican Restaurant in Athens, Georgia
June 21, 2025 - Around town in Georgia and the Georgia Bulldog
June 21, 2025 - State Botanical Garden of Georgia and Alice Hand Calloway Conservatory
June 22, 2025 - Athens, GA Monster Jam at Akins Ford Arena - Lee and Karen Duquette become celebrities for a day.
June 22, 2025 - Blind Pig Tavern Restaurant in Athens, Georgia
KENTUCKY
June 23, 2025 - entering Kentucky - Ramination and Raminator travel vans, KY welcome center, water towers and more.
June 23, 2025 - Rafferty's Restaurant and Comfort Inn Suites Hotel in Paducah, Kentucky
June 23, 2025 - Oddities in Pudacah - Giant Needle and Thread, Wacinton Carved Giant Indian Head, and "On The Trail of Discovery" Indians in front of the National Quilt Museum
June 24, 2025 - Port of Paducah and The Wall in Paducah, KY - right and left side of the wall
June 24, 2025 - Discovery Center Museum in Paducah, KY - learn about Sternwheelers, cargo boats and more.
June 24, 2025 - Whitehaven (part of Paducah), Calvert City bridge, Red Bull, flowers and other travel photos
June 24, 2025 - Patti's 1880's Settlement in Grand Rivers, Kentucky
June 24, 2025 - Kentucky Dam in Gilbertsville, Livingston County, Kentucky
June 25, 2025 - DRIVING THROUGH ILLINOIS AND INTO MISSOURI past water towers and the Missouri Arch
MISSOURI
June 25-26, 2025 La Quinta Inn and Suites in Kansas City, Missouri - a fancy 2 room hotel
June 26, 2025 - The Segway tour with a stop at Ewing and Muriel Kaufman Memorial Garden
June 26, 2025 - Art outside and inside of The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City Missouri
NEBRASKA - use this full menu OR the individual sites listed below
June 27, 2025 - Days Inn Hotel in Paxton (Keith County) NEBRASKA
Below: June 28, 2025 - multiple places in North Platte, Nebraska
Golden Spike Tower - a panoramic
view of the world's longest rail yard in North Platte, Nebraska plus
the history of 23 USA states that represented The Union Pacific Railroad-
2 pages
Biker and car show, then an ice
cream break
20th Century
Veterans Memorial and Lincoln County Law Enforcement Memorial in North
Platte
North Platte sculpture walk at
Prairie Arts Center, and Raising Cane's Chicken Finger dog
The area was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020 and is named after The North Platte Canteen which served over 6 million service men and women passing through during World War II. Also, in 2022 the Canteen District became a Certified Creative District through the Nebraska Arts Council. The Canteen District in North Platte is a place where history meets modern, and fun mixes with practical. This recently revitalized downtown area is a hub for different types of dining and diverse cuisine, boutique shopping, all things entertainment, and more.
Cody Park, monuments and statues
Maxwell Veterans Memorial, "All
Gave Some - Some Gave All" and the Maxwell Water Tower
June 28, 2025 - 101
degrees in Wallace Nebraska - American Legion Post, The Wall and more
June 29 - Scotts Bluff National
Monument and wagons in Nebraska
WYOMING
June 29, 2025 - Pine Bluffs,
WY - rest stop and the Purple Heart trail sign before driving on to
Cheyenne.
Sure Stay Hotel in Cheyenne WY
June 30, 2025 - Welcome to Cheyenne,
The Spirit of Wyoming monument, Cheyenne Depot Plaza, lots of PAINTED
BOOTS, U.S.
Air Force Rockets and more. (But there is lots more Cheyenne further
down this page)
June 30, 2025 - Lee and Karen Duquette explored the inside of the Wyoming
State Capitol Building.
July
1, 2025 - Lee Duquette ended
up in serious condition in the hospital, which ended their vacation
July 2, 2025,
Lee's daughter,
Renee, flew up to Wyoming to see how her father was doing. Both Lee and
Karen were glad that Renee came. They spent most of each day and into
the evenings in Lee's private hospital room, listening to the nurses and
doctors, and just being with Lee. Each evening, they went back to their
hotel rooms.
July 3 - 5, 2025 - Renee and Karen Duquette took a few short breaks for food, walked around Cheyenne outside of the hospital, explored inside the Wyoming Historic Governor's Mansion, saw some of the painted boots in the area, and learned a bit of history. Then they returned to Lee's hospital room as soon as possible to see how he was doing.
After Renee's Dad had some surgery to put five stints in his chest, and
was doing ok, Renee had to fly home for work. But on July 10th, after
Lee Duquette finally got released from the hospital, Renee's husband flew
up to Wyoming to help Karen pack up stuff from the hotel room into the
car. Then John drove Lee and Karen Duquette home to South Carolina.
The end of the trip did not go as planned, but it was good until it wasn't. Thank you John. Everyone, especially Karen, is very thankful that Lee survived this horrible, extremely scary time.
July 10 - 13, 2025 - A few travel photos that Karen Duquette took from the back seat of the car on the drive home, mostly for entertainment purposes. John drove the car and Lee Duquette rode up front so he could have more leg room and an easier time getting in and out of the car. Of course, several stops were made along the way. Karen mostly photographed water towers, but her favorite photo was the one she snapped of a small church in Nashville, Tennessee. Then it was on home into the Carolinas.
NOTE: LEE and KAREN MISSED THE WORLD'S FINAL MONSTER JAM IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH which they had previously paid for, plus other places they had planned to visit during this trip. Thank goodness Lee bought insurance, so eventually, after providing the Insurance company with the hospital dates and proof, the insurance reimbursed them for the Monster Jam costs. While Lee was in the hospital, they were also able to cancel hotels and got that money back too.
Although Lee Duquette was still not feeling that well, they had previously
paid for
