Dear family and friends, it has been a long time since I have posted and so much has happened. You would think that being retired and being free of housework and yard work, I would have plenty of time to write. However, we are just having too much fun! We have been to see friends in North Carolina. John was a classmate of Chris when we were at Virginia Theological Seminery. His wife Debbie became my best friend. The four of us and our children did everything together. John asked Chris to supply for him on the Sunday after Christmas. He loves doing it and I get a good sermon. Best of all, I don't have to wonder where we will go yo church. We have been to two very interesting churches in Virginia Beach. It is very different up here. We did attend a very simple Midnight Mass. Sure missed Holy Spirit.
We also spent time with a girlfriend that moved to Virginia from Gulf Shores. She is the one that turned me into a blonde. We had so much fun catching up and meeting her new husband. I ate my first fish taco and learned to play Mexican Train Dominoes. It has nothing to do with lining them up and knocking them down. Chris was so disappointed.
Of course the best part was spending time with family. My granddaughter and I made matching macrame key chains. I could not find my glasses to read the directions so they are not perfect but we laughed a lot. We went to see Night At The Museum. I cried a lot because Robin Williams was in it. I rode all over town with my college age grandson and learned about his ambitions and goals. I watched my daughter Amy bake every kind of Christmas treat and had to keep Chris out of the buckeyes until all gift bags were filled. (And he can't understand why his sugar levels are so high)
We had planned to meet our Ohio friends over New Years but had not set a destination. After examining several options we decided to just meet them in Ohio. Chris has no fear of anything! The first day of driving was not bad. By nightfall we had made it to the West Virginia border and stayed at the no frills Wal-mart. Nothing but the best for me. The next day of travel was harrowing. I had to
drive through the mountains in the rain. I don't think I ever went over 50 miles an hour. I was the slowest vehicle on the road. The curves were matched with 5% downhill grades. I just stayed in my lane and prayed for my shift to end. Of course when it was Chris' turn to drive, the sun came out.
It is very cold here but we are warm In our camper. I am amazed at how well we are doing. Tonight will be the real test with freezing temps. The current temp is 21 degrees and the low tonight is 18. If the pipes hold up tonight we will be ok.
Peace to all. Happy New Year
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina
We arrived n Charleston late today after two wonderful days in Savannah. I wish we could have stayed there a week but even though we are retired and free spirited, we still have deadlines that can't be moved....like Christmas.
On Monday we took the 'hop on,hop off ' trolley and had a great overview of the historic district. I learned that Spanish moss has nothing to do with Spain or moss. It is an air plant that does not attach to the tree. It is in the pineapple family. We saw an old house that Joe Namath purchased for $90,000. He wanted to turn it into a gentleman's club. The city would not allow this so he sold it for about $250,000. Today it is worth several million. We passed by the birthplace of Juliette Low. Did you know she was 52 when she started the Girl Scouts? Amazing what people can do regardless of their age. Do you know why they sell Girl Scout cookies? The girls made cookies to send to soldiers in WWI. However by the time the cookies arrived there were nothing but crumbs. So the girls started making candy for the soldiers. The sugar and butter for the candy were quite expensive so they sold cookies to get the money for the candy. That's their story.
For lunch we ate at Mrs. Wilkes. The tables are set for twelve guests and food is served family style. There were so many dishes: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, slaw, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice, turnips, stuffing, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, baked beans, bar-b-que, corn bread, rolls, and of course sweet tea. We spent the first 15 minutes passing food. There were people from Colorado, Savannah, and Iran. Interesting group.
The best site was the Cathedral of John The Baptist. It was beautiful. The stations of the cross were carved and exquisite. I took a picture of all 14 to keep for my prayer time.
I still can't believe we have been on the road since August and we are still married. Our 27 feet have not closed in on us. We have found more time for prayer together than we ever had before. I have found that I can have my quiet time when Chris walks the dogs each morning. I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Spirituality of Living. He suggests that you repeat 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' at least three times. This is a good Mantra for this Christmas season. I have been using it for my breath prayer. The truth is, I do not want for anything...the Lord has provided for all my needs. Of course, when the 42foot deluxe coach pulls in next to ours...I have to say the prayer over and over so I won't covet their storage.
Tonight we are in a county park that houses the Festival of Lights much like Calloway Gardens. We will take the tram tomorrow night. It is very cold here and I am hiding under my electric blanket.
Peace to all, Barbara
On Monday we took the 'hop on,hop off ' trolley and had a great overview of the historic district. I learned that Spanish moss has nothing to do with Spain or moss. It is an air plant that does not attach to the tree. It is in the pineapple family. We saw an old house that Joe Namath purchased for $90,000. He wanted to turn it into a gentleman's club. The city would not allow this so he sold it for about $250,000. Today it is worth several million. We passed by the birthplace of Juliette Low. Did you know she was 52 when she started the Girl Scouts? Amazing what people can do regardless of their age. Do you know why they sell Girl Scout cookies? The girls made cookies to send to soldiers in WWI. However by the time the cookies arrived there were nothing but crumbs. So the girls started making candy for the soldiers. The sugar and butter for the candy were quite expensive so they sold cookies to get the money for the candy. That's their story.
For lunch we ate at Mrs. Wilkes. The tables are set for twelve guests and food is served family style. There were so many dishes: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, greens, slaw, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice, turnips, stuffing, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, baked beans, bar-b-que, corn bread, rolls, and of course sweet tea. We spent the first 15 minutes passing food. There were people from Colorado, Savannah, and Iran. Interesting group.
The best site was the Cathedral of John The Baptist. It was beautiful. The stations of the cross were carved and exquisite. I took a picture of all 14 to keep for my prayer time.
I still can't believe we have been on the road since August and we are still married. Our 27 feet have not closed in on us. We have found more time for prayer together than we ever had before. I have found that I can have my quiet time when Chris walks the dogs each morning. I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Spirituality of Living. He suggests that you repeat 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want' at least three times. This is a good Mantra for this Christmas season. I have been using it for my breath prayer. The truth is, I do not want for anything...the Lord has provided for all my needs. Of course, when the 42foot deluxe coach pulls in next to ours...I have to say the prayer over and over so I won't covet their storage.
Tonight we are in a county park that houses the Festival of Lights much like Calloway Gardens. We will take the tram tomorrow night. It is very cold here and I am hiding under my electric blanket.
Peace to all, Barbara
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Greetings from Savannah Georgia
Saturday was beautiful after the fog lifted. We took the dogs, Millie and Miss C, to the ocean for time to run and play. Because of the fog, the beach was empty so we let the dogs off the leash and they had a great time as seen in the video. In the afternoon we went to Jacksonville Beach Pier with our friends to watch the surfers. At first sight I thought there were about 40 large black birds in the water but then I realized I was looking at wetsuits.
For dinner we went to a fish market nd had the best fresh blackened grouper. But the day is not over yet. Sharon was able to get two tickets to Jeanne Robertson, a nationally recognized humorist and former Miss North Carolina. At age 71, she entertained us for almost 2 hours in 4inch spiked heels. We laughed nonstop. The 'boys' went to see the movie Interstellar.
We were out way past our bed time but we made it to church today. We have found the best church! Father Tony even recognized us from when we attended a few months ago. The music is so uplifting. It is both traditional and contemporary. We were in church from 10:30 till 12:15. Can you imagine a service that long. There were many young children and people of many colors.
After church we headed to Savannah with no reservation. We found the military base campground but there was no camp host. We found out that this camp must have reservations...no drop-ins...contrary to what our research had stated. So, we are parked in what may or may not be a reserved spot. And we may or may not get a knock on the door and we may or may not have to move before morning.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the town of Savannah and hopefully have good pictures.
Peace and Joy, Barbara
Oh....the boat will close on Monday. Great news that will allow us to travel without the worry of the care and maintenance of our boat.
For dinner we went to a fish market nd had the best fresh blackened grouper. But the day is not over yet. Sharon was able to get two tickets to Jeanne Robertson, a nationally recognized humorist and former Miss North Carolina. At age 71, she entertained us for almost 2 hours in 4inch spiked heels. We laughed nonstop. The 'boys' went to see the movie Interstellar.
We were out way past our bed time but we made it to church today. We have found the best church! Father Tony even recognized us from when we attended a few months ago. The music is so uplifting. It is both traditional and contemporary. We were in church from 10:30 till 12:15. Can you imagine a service that long. There were many young children and people of many colors.
After church we headed to Savannah with no reservation. We found the military base campground but there was no camp host. We found out that this camp must have reservations...no drop-ins...contrary to what our research had stated. So, we are parked in what may or may not be a reserved spot. And we may or may not get a knock on the door and we may or may not have to move before morning.
Tomorrow we will enjoy the town of Savannah and hopefully have good pictures.
Peace and Joy, Barbara
Oh....the boat will close on Monday. Great news that will allow us to travel without the worry of the care and maintenance of our boat.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Greetings from Mayport
The weather was great on Thursday. The fog cleared and so we decided to drive up the coast to checkout Jekyll Island. We had lived a short drive from the island when we were newlyweds but never visited the island. When we finished crossing the bridge to the island, there was a toll booth and a charge of $6. I thought Chris was going to turn around. He did not want to pay just to see the island so he went into the visitor center to see if it was worth it. We had already driven about 100 miles so what is $6? Alas,he decided we would enter this little community. Most of the restaurants where closed for the season but the big, historical Jekyll Island Club Hotel was still serving. We ate in the Grand Dining Room. It was very beautifully decorated for Christmas and it was Grand! What a treat.
The island was covered with giant live oaks covered with Spanish moss. It is funny...I never miss it till I see it in Florida. The beach along the Atlantic was empty of tourists and quite relaxing. The best part was Driftwood Beach recommended on TripAdvisor. It was the number one recommendation for the island tour. We drove by the unmarked dirt road the first time but found it after turning around and stopping next to another pickup truck. After a very short hike, we were excited to see miles of beach covered by huge trees that had turned ash and clearly had been on the beach a very long time. It was amazing!
We also discovered a little church that housed three different congregations. I think the Methodist church owned the building because their sigh was the largest. Their service was at 11. The Episcopal Mission service was at 8:30. The Catholic service was 7pm Saturday night. What a good stewardship of a building.
Today, Friday, we are spending time at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. One appointment is a regular update with his doctor for diabetes. The other appointment is for issues he is having with his neck.
Luckily we have the time and the motorhome that allows us to come here for his bigger issues. I think we have at least one surgery in our future for corporal tunnel. That is just a little thing.
Well, no humor in today's blog. Maybe tomorrow.
Peace to all. Barbara
The island was covered with giant live oaks covered with Spanish moss. It is funny...I never miss it till I see it in Florida. The beach along the Atlantic was empty of tourists and quite relaxing. The best part was Driftwood Beach recommended on TripAdvisor. It was the number one recommendation for the island tour. We drove by the unmarked dirt road the first time but found it after turning around and stopping next to another pickup truck. After a very short hike, we were excited to see miles of beach covered by huge trees that had turned ash and clearly had been on the beach a very long time. It was amazing!
We also discovered a little church that housed three different congregations. I think the Methodist church owned the building because their sigh was the largest. Their service was at 11. The Episcopal Mission service was at 8:30. The Catholic service was 7pm Saturday night. What a good stewardship of a building.
Today, Friday, we are spending time at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. One appointment is a regular update with his doctor for diabetes. The other appointment is for issues he is having with his neck.
Luckily we have the time and the motorhome that allows us to come here for his bigger issues. I think we have at least one surgery in our future for corporal tunnel. That is just a little thing.
Well, no humor in today's blog. Maybe tomorrow.
Peace to all. Barbara
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Greetings from Mayport Naval Station (Jacksonville, Florida)
The RollinACE has hit the road again. We spent the month of November in Gulf Shores. This gave us time to visit friends and have walks on the beach. We also sent the ACE to camping world for repairs and a modification of the TV. We also took time to purchase a jeep so we would have a vehicle for our next trip. The boat is practically sold. If nothing goes wrong we will close this week. The buyers have not acquired insurance yet...the only holdup.
If the boat sells our worldly possessions will consist of the RV, one jeep, one power parachute, two dogs, and one 5x5 storage unit. It is so freeing. I guess you could say we also have a house but it stays rented so we try to forget that liability.
We stayed very busy in GS but one month was a long time in one place and I was ready to travel again. We first headed to Niceville, Fl. We visited the priest at St. Jude's Episcopal Church. We had a great visit with Father Greg and his lovely wife Cindy and had the best Cajun food ever. The bread pudding was deep fried and served with the best sauce. We spent the night in the church parking lot. (Boon docking--better than Walmart).
Now we are spending 5 nights at my favorite campground. We are right on the water but the fog is so thick that we can't see any of it. We hope to spend time with our good friends here and I look forward to Sunday Services at a wonderful church we found here. We are headed to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit my daughter and her family for Christmas. We plan to take our time and enjoy sights along the way.
Peace to all. Barbara
If the boat sells our worldly possessions will consist of the RV, one jeep, one power parachute, two dogs, and one 5x5 storage unit. It is so freeing. I guess you could say we also have a house but it stays rented so we try to forget that liability.
We stayed very busy in GS but one month was a long time in one place and I was ready to travel again. We first headed to Niceville, Fl. We visited the priest at St. Jude's Episcopal Church. We had a great visit with Father Greg and his lovely wife Cindy and had the best Cajun food ever. The bread pudding was deep fried and served with the best sauce. We spent the night in the church parking lot. (Boon docking--better than Walmart).
Now we are spending 5 nights at my favorite campground. We are right on the water but the fog is so thick that we can't see any of it. We hope to spend time with our good friends here and I look forward to Sunday Services at a wonderful church we found here. We are headed to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit my daughter and her family for Christmas. We plan to take our time and enjoy sights along the way.
Peace to all. Barbara
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Greetings from Lake City, Florida
Dear friends and family, I really thought I had come to the end of our exciting once in a life time trip. I was looking forward to a relaxing, nonevent full five days at the airfield. I should know by now that at no time is my life boring or nonevent full. How ever it is rich and full of blessings.
Our stay at the airfield started of rocky. The generator died on the first night about 2am. Now I was ready to rough it but not without AC. Chris managed to get a ride to town and get some oil which he hoped was the problem. Three hours later and 90 degrees hot---he arrived and we were back in AC. Our friends arrived on Thursday and the day was filled will watching flyers and swatting gnats. On Friday morning Chris took Jennifer for a ride and after landing the battery died so they had to push the plane along way in the 90 plus temperatures. When the door to the RV opened there was this very hot, sweaty, petite, woman that was very upset with her husband because she had been calling him to come help. Neither of us heard a phone ring. We decided to go to an afternoon movie to get out of the heat and to go get a new battery.
The Movie: we went to see the movie with Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey. No one knew the name so while I went to the bathroom they bought tickets to the wrong movie. We should have gone to the wrong movie. This movie is so trashy and over my threshold for comfort. Since none of you should see it...here is your spoiler alert: Jane Fonda gets a boob job and lets them show throughout the movie, everyone is cheating on their spouses, Jane is grieving the death of her husband but turns into a lesbian at the end. That dysfunctional family made mine look good. Need I say more? I laughed hard and shed a lot of tears but I would not recommend it. I felt bad that I had taken everyone to something just short of R rated movie. We got the new battery and came back to fly some more. Chris flew and I decided I would fly after he landed. So I walked down to end of the runway to meet him but found that the engine had quit again. Oops, he had to be towed in. He came back and cleaned the carburetor and got it going again but by now it was dark so too late to fly.
After dinner we went to see the entertainment. There was a DJ and it was Karaoke night. The problem is the audience was the four of us plus the DJ's husband and one other person. We felt so bad for the DJ that we stayed. BIG MISTAKE. She harassed us until Chris and Bud finally went up and sang Barbara Ann by the beach boys. I tried to get Jennifer to sing My Guy but she wouldn't. However, the DJ's husband told her our names, plus another girl whose name was Cathy. Cathy and I finally got up to sing but Jennifer would not go. SO the DJ made a big deal calling her name and coming after her so Jen finally gave in. When we got ready to sing, Nancy did not know My Guy, so we sang Red Neck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. Jen had never heard of it. I wish we had been drinking so we could explain why we were so bad...but we were embarrassingly sober.
Saturday morning Chris got up to fly early. Asked me to go with him. I said you take a spin and be sure the plane is fixed. He did. By the time he had landed, our friends had arrived and I told Bud to go for another ride. All was well. by the time they landed the wind had picked up so we headed to town for the day to stay out of the heat.
Here is where it all went bad. It was early evening, the wind was calm and it was time to fly again. Bud went first and had a great flight. Jennifer and I sat by the runway taking pictures. At anyone time there were no less than 4 and at times 6-8 planes setting up on the runway at the same time. They just take there machine out, lay out their parachutes and look for an opening to take off. There is an Air Boss but the PPG (the guys that put their engines on their backs) don't use radios. THey are free spirits. Jennifer and I had been amazed that there had been no accidents. We spoke that out loud several times. But I looked around at all the flyers having so much fun and realized how silly I was to be afraid. All week, hundreds of flights, no problems. What was there to be afraid of. I decided it was time to fly and walked down to the end of the runway to where Chris would be landing.
He landed fine and was so excited to see me there. I hopped in, he straightened the parachute, Bud took our picture and Chris waited for the Air Boss to clear him. I could not believe all the stuff in front of us. I have only flown when we were the only ones on the runway. So we get cleared for takeoff and the rest happened in a matter of no more than a minute. he gave it power, the chute lifted and immediately a vehicle cut in front of us. Chris shifted to avoid it but then we were leaning too far so he corrected by shifting opposite and then right in front of us was a man sitting in his machine waiting to take off. When I saw him he was just a few feet in front of us. Chris pulled way back, we leaned way back and I thought we flew over him and landed just about 5 feet past him. I also saw a boy about 12 years old standing beside the machine, he looked in my eyes and finally dove out of the way. When I got out of the plane I saw the man in his machine, the whole machine lying on its back and he was laying there all strapped in. It was a miracle. Everyone seemed ok. Lots of people came out to help. Jennifer and Bud ran out to us. After Chris got his airplane together and packed up he went to the family to apologize. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English. He had a pacemaker so everyone was worried but no one took him to the hospital. They shook hands and all was good. we helped get everything back to the camp. We were all shook up but Chris started packing up the trailer and packing up our campground. He was just staying busy. Then the man, his interpreter, and two other pilots, drunk, came to our site and were cussing and hollering at Chris and saying all sorts of mean things. It was horrible and scary because I thought they came to beat him up. Jennifer put me in the RV and that little lady put those big cussing fellows in their place and they even apologized
After it was all over we have been told that the parachute got caught on a surveyor stick and that is what caused the parachute to go up wrong. We have liability insurance but right now it is listed as an accident but not Chris at fault. Everyone on the property signed a waiver that released anyone from any responsibility. Everyone that signed the release had an armband, all spectators and pilots, and if you did not have an armband you were asked to leave.
In the end I feel that Chris did an incredible job of not hitting the man directly and showed great skill. He wishes he had waited until he had a clear path to take off and I wish I had said lets wait when I saw all that was in front of me. I will not ever fly at a flyin. I know God lifted that plane over the man and we were given grace.
Powered parachutes are very safe....as long as you don't get hit by one. Love to all
Our stay at the airfield started of rocky. The generator died on the first night about 2am. Now I was ready to rough it but not without AC. Chris managed to get a ride to town and get some oil which he hoped was the problem. Three hours later and 90 degrees hot---he arrived and we were back in AC. Our friends arrived on Thursday and the day was filled will watching flyers and swatting gnats. On Friday morning Chris took Jennifer for a ride and after landing the battery died so they had to push the plane along way in the 90 plus temperatures. When the door to the RV opened there was this very hot, sweaty, petite, woman that was very upset with her husband because she had been calling him to come help. Neither of us heard a phone ring. We decided to go to an afternoon movie to get out of the heat and to go get a new battery.
The Movie: we went to see the movie with Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey. No one knew the name so while I went to the bathroom they bought tickets to the wrong movie. We should have gone to the wrong movie. This movie is so trashy and over my threshold for comfort. Since none of you should see it...here is your spoiler alert: Jane Fonda gets a boob job and lets them show throughout the movie, everyone is cheating on their spouses, Jane is grieving the death of her husband but turns into a lesbian at the end. That dysfunctional family made mine look good. Need I say more? I laughed hard and shed a lot of tears but I would not recommend it. I felt bad that I had taken everyone to something just short of R rated movie. We got the new battery and came back to fly some more. Chris flew and I decided I would fly after he landed. So I walked down to end of the runway to meet him but found that the engine had quit again. Oops, he had to be towed in. He came back and cleaned the carburetor and got it going again but by now it was dark so too late to fly.
After dinner we went to see the entertainment. There was a DJ and it was Karaoke night. The problem is the audience was the four of us plus the DJ's husband and one other person. We felt so bad for the DJ that we stayed. BIG MISTAKE. She harassed us until Chris and Bud finally went up and sang Barbara Ann by the beach boys. I tried to get Jennifer to sing My Guy but she wouldn't. However, the DJ's husband told her our names, plus another girl whose name was Cathy. Cathy and I finally got up to sing but Jennifer would not go. SO the DJ made a big deal calling her name and coming after her so Jen finally gave in. When we got ready to sing, Nancy did not know My Guy, so we sang Red Neck Woman by Gretchen Wilson. Jen had never heard of it. I wish we had been drinking so we could explain why we were so bad...but we were embarrassingly sober.
Saturday morning Chris got up to fly early. Asked me to go with him. I said you take a spin and be sure the plane is fixed. He did. By the time he had landed, our friends had arrived and I told Bud to go for another ride. All was well. by the time they landed the wind had picked up so we headed to town for the day to stay out of the heat.
Here is where it all went bad. It was early evening, the wind was calm and it was time to fly again. Bud went first and had a great flight. Jennifer and I sat by the runway taking pictures. At anyone time there were no less than 4 and at times 6-8 planes setting up on the runway at the same time. They just take there machine out, lay out their parachutes and look for an opening to take off. There is an Air Boss but the PPG (the guys that put their engines on their backs) don't use radios. THey are free spirits. Jennifer and I had been amazed that there had been no accidents. We spoke that out loud several times. But I looked around at all the flyers having so much fun and realized how silly I was to be afraid. All week, hundreds of flights, no problems. What was there to be afraid of. I decided it was time to fly and walked down to the end of the runway to where Chris would be landing.
He landed fine and was so excited to see me there. I hopped in, he straightened the parachute, Bud took our picture and Chris waited for the Air Boss to clear him. I could not believe all the stuff in front of us. I have only flown when we were the only ones on the runway. So we get cleared for takeoff and the rest happened in a matter of no more than a minute. he gave it power, the chute lifted and immediately a vehicle cut in front of us. Chris shifted to avoid it but then we were leaning too far so he corrected by shifting opposite and then right in front of us was a man sitting in his machine waiting to take off. When I saw him he was just a few feet in front of us. Chris pulled way back, we leaned way back and I thought we flew over him and landed just about 5 feet past him. I also saw a boy about 12 years old standing beside the machine, he looked in my eyes and finally dove out of the way. When I got out of the plane I saw the man in his machine, the whole machine lying on its back and he was laying there all strapped in. It was a miracle. Everyone seemed ok. Lots of people came out to help. Jennifer and Bud ran out to us. After Chris got his airplane together and packed up he went to the family to apologize. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English. He had a pacemaker so everyone was worried but no one took him to the hospital. They shook hands and all was good. we helped get everything back to the camp. We were all shook up but Chris started packing up the trailer and packing up our campground. He was just staying busy. Then the man, his interpreter, and two other pilots, drunk, came to our site and were cussing and hollering at Chris and saying all sorts of mean things. It was horrible and scary because I thought they came to beat him up. Jennifer put me in the RV and that little lady put those big cussing fellows in their place and they even apologized
After it was all over we have been told that the parachute got caught on a surveyor stick and that is what caused the parachute to go up wrong. We have liability insurance but right now it is listed as an accident but not Chris at fault. Everyone on the property signed a waiver that released anyone from any responsibility. Everyone that signed the release had an armband, all spectators and pilots, and if you did not have an armband you were asked to leave.
In the end I feel that Chris did an incredible job of not hitting the man directly and showed great skill. He wishes he had waited until he had a clear path to take off and I wish I had said lets wait when I saw all that was in front of me. I will not ever fly at a flyin. I know God lifted that plane over the man and we were given grace.
Powered parachutes are very safe....as long as you don't get hit by one. Love to all
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Greetings from Coldwater, Alabama
Dear friends, the tour of National parks is over and now it is time for a different kind of journey. We will be in Fort Valley, Georgia tonight. For the next five days we will be parked on the edge of an airfield. We will not have hookups for water, sewer, or electricity. Thank goodness for the generator. I know people live like this or worse but I am calling it "roughing it" and a step below Walmart. At least at Walmart I can go shopping for fresh fruit and water. The one silver lining is that Jennifer and Bud Currens will be joining us on Thursday. NO they are not staying with us and they are not even staying in Fort Valley. They will stay in a lovely motel in a real town and join us each morning. Bud will fly with Chris in the competition on Saturday. I get a few days to relax and read as I have not done that this whole trip. I am looking forward to being in one place for more than two days in a row even if it is rustic. Maybe Jennifer will take me to town one day.
We are now driving with a large trailer behind us. We have a combined length of 45 feet. It makes things interesting. This morning we pulled into a tire place to have the air checked. Without proper planning we found ourselves in a very tight and difficult to get out of situation. This is not a place where he can just back up a mile or do a three point turn as he has done throughout the trip. He was also tying to drive speed limits as he had done before. After passing by a bad accident were the tow of a motorcoach had ripped off and flipped, I managed to convey my concerns in the gentlest of voice, and he agreed ever so willingly to drive a little bit slower. He is such a wonderful husband.
Speaking of wonderful....I had decided to give up my morning coffee with caffeine and threw it away. For days I have only had decaf. This morning I really needed real coffe so I asked him to go to the office and get me cup. The office person asked, "awe, newly weds?" Yes, he replied, 43 years. She was amazed. Her marriages never lasted more than 6 years and she was on her 4th husband...wasn't sure if she would make it in this one.
Peace and love to all. Barbara
We are now driving with a large trailer behind us. We have a combined length of 45 feet. It makes things interesting. This morning we pulled into a tire place to have the air checked. Without proper planning we found ourselves in a very tight and difficult to get out of situation. This is not a place where he can just back up a mile or do a three point turn as he has done throughout the trip. He was also tying to drive speed limits as he had done before. After passing by a bad accident were the tow of a motorcoach had ripped off and flipped, I managed to convey my concerns in the gentlest of voice, and he agreed ever so willingly to drive a little bit slower. He is such a wonderful husband.
Speaking of wonderful....I had decided to give up my morning coffee with caffeine and threw it away. For days I have only had decaf. This morning I really needed real coffe so I asked him to go to the office and get me cup. The office person asked, "awe, newly weds?" Yes, he replied, 43 years. She was amazed. Her marriages never lasted more than 6 years and she was on her 4th husband...wasn't sure if she would make it in this one.
Peace and love to all. Barbara
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Greetings from St. Luke's parking lot.
It is Sunday morning and we are at St. Luke's in North Little Rock. Deacon Joanna asked Chris to celebrate today as her priest I'd out of town. They are doing the 8:00 service and I am enjoying a very quiet morning. We have had a great time in Little Rock.
After surviving the tornado we walked around town and enjoyed some awesome ice cream. We had a special tour of the Clinton Libray with Robert's and Joanna's son who is an archivist for the library. Then we went for a nice walk and somehow I was stung on the face. I never heard a buzz or saw anything but I have a painful red bump on my face.
That evening we went to dinner at a fabulous steak house and celebrated Robert and Joanna's 45th anniversary. Saturday we had a tour of the older sections of tow before stoping at their house for lunch on their beautiful terrace. After a short afternoon break to do laundry and naps, we headed to St. marks for a fantastic shrimp boil. It was quite a big deal and raises a lot of money for outreach.
After dinner we went to LePops for desert. Thais is a unique ice cream shop. The frozen cream pops come in 5 flavored but you can have them rolled or dipped in different toppings. Mine was salt caramel dipped in dark chocolate. Chris...chocolate dipped in chocolate.
We stayed at a lovely rv park on the river...next to a pedestrian bridge that took us over to town. The bridges are lit up at night with colored, programmed , lights. The last two nights were all pink for the breast cancer run Saturday morning.
Today we head towards Georgia. We have to pick up the airplane in Birmingham and head to Fort Valley, Georgia for a power parachute fly-in. Should be interesting. We hope to mee Jennifer and Bud Currens there. He is supposed to be Chris' flying partner.
Headed to church soon and looking forward to a good service.
Hope everyone in our church we left enjoy the first sermon of their new priest.
Peace to all, Batbara
After surviving the tornado we walked around town and enjoyed some awesome ice cream. We had a special tour of the Clinton Libray with Robert's and Joanna's son who is an archivist for the library. Then we went for a nice walk and somehow I was stung on the face. I never heard a buzz or saw anything but I have a painful red bump on my face.
That evening we went to dinner at a fabulous steak house and celebrated Robert and Joanna's 45th anniversary. Saturday we had a tour of the older sections of tow before stoping at their house for lunch on their beautiful terrace. After a short afternoon break to do laundry and naps, we headed to St. marks for a fantastic shrimp boil. It was quite a big deal and raises a lot of money for outreach.
After dinner we went to LePops for desert. Thais is a unique ice cream shop. The frozen cream pops come in 5 flavored but you can have them rolled or dipped in different toppings. Mine was salt caramel dipped in dark chocolate. Chris...chocolate dipped in chocolate.
We stayed at a lovely rv park on the river...next to a pedestrian bridge that took us over to town. The bridges are lit up at night with colored, programmed , lights. The last two nights were all pink for the breast cancer run Saturday morning.
Today we head towards Georgia. We have to pick up the airplane in Birmingham and head to Fort Valley, Georgia for a power parachute fly-in. Should be interesting. We hope to mee Jennifer and Bud Currens there. He is supposed to be Chris' flying partner.
Headed to church soon and looking forward to a good service.
Hope everyone in our church we left enjoy the first sermon of their new priest.
Peace to all, Batbara
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas
Dear friends, we have had quite a night. We arrived in Little Rock in time for dinner and a chance to meet a few new people. We have a great spot right on the river. After dinner we joined two other couples to walk over the presidential bridge to the Clinton Library. There was a very pleasant breeze and we enjoyed our walk. About 5 minutes after our return the tornado alarm sounded. We all went to our rv to turn on the news. The news had the area on tornado warning. People in the rv park were headed to the rest room. We chose to stay with our dogs and watched the news. It got very close and I was sure we were going to see the tornado. I sent a text to my children, pulled in the slide to make us more stream lined, grabbed a bag of m&ms, and the four of us climbed into bed to watch the news. I don't know if any of you have seen the Rv that turns into a boat but I imagined our rv sliding off the bank into the Arkansas River, and floating away. Bob and Johanna, the friends we came to see, were kind enough to call to check on us. The worst part was that they kept saying if you are in a mobile home you need to go to a safe place. We had no where to go. Thank goodness we were not on the bridge when it happened.
When it was over my DH....that is rv language for dear husband...said,"that is one more thing to cross off my bucket list." He had initially thought we should wait outside so we could see what was happening.
We were blessed that it missed us and went three miles south of us. Like I said, what a night.
We will be here for three nights and I am very excited to not be on the road for awhile
Peace to my wonderful family and many friends, Barbara
When it was over my DH....that is rv language for dear husband...said,"that is one more thing to cross off my bucket list." He had initially thought we should wait outside so we could see what was happening.
We were blessed that it missed us and went three miles south of us. Like I said, what a night.
We will be here for three nights and I am very excited to not be on the road for awhile
Peace to my wonderful family and many friends, Barbara
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Greetings from Elk City, Oklahoma
What a long 3 days. We have been driving until late in the day so I have been ready to turn in as soon as we have settled. It has been an interesting 3 days.
Sunday: We woke up early to pack up and head to an Episcopal church in Moab. We arrived very early for the 8:00 service. Really about 2 hours early. There was no 8:00 services. Churches would be better off without a website if they are not going to keep it current. Oh well...all dressed up and no place to go. We decided to head on to Mesa Verde. We were so excited about seeing the cliff dwellings and since it was about 20 miles into Colorado we could add another sticker to our state map. When we arrived we purchased two tickets for the easier tour. We arrived at the overlook and waited for the ranger. This would be a tour group of about 25. I was very excited until the ranger started describing the tour. "If you are afraid of heights you should not go on this tour", he said. "You will have to go up 3 ten foot ladders", he said. "There is no turning back once you start", he said. And finally he pointed to the ladder across the way and said we would not have to worry about falling because you would be between two sides of the rocks. That was enough! I turned to Chris as everyone was lining up to start the tour and begged him to go without me. I am so glad I did not go. I am afraid of heights and I am very claustrophobic. Sunday we drove until 9:00pm and pulled into a very iffy campground. We were only there to sleep so it was not a problem. However, we had now moved into a string of iffy campgrounds for the next two nights.
Monday: We woke up early to go to a volcano site in Blue Spruce, New Mexico. Chris has been wanting to see a volcano and I read that New Mexico had lots of them. We found the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. It is privately owned. We walked a lava bed about 1/2 mile to the overlook. It was not what I expected because it was 10,000 years since it had erupted so the inside of the cone was smooth and had trees growing in in. There was plenty of lava rocks, tubes, and you could see where the volcano blew out the side of the mountain. Then we took a second short hike to an ice cave. That was also formed when the volcano erupted. After the morning visit we headed to Tucumcari, New Mexico. This was a big town during the days of route 66. It sounded like a good stopping place with things to see. Well, it is a dying town. When interstate 40 by passed the town, it took their life blood. You can see the remnants of the old hotels and the broken neon signs. Most of the old gas stations are shut down but the old tyme pumps remain. The campground we planned to stay at was worse than the night before but the one next to it was ok. It was surround by a very old, run down, wood/brick motel. The campground was a giant gravel parking lot with a few trees and a few patches of grass. The owners were very nice. The wife was American Indian and the husband was Hindu Indian. Quite the combination. They were trying to fix the place up but have a long way to go. The waitress at dinner said the town was slowly dying. They are trying to get a casino to help the town come back. It was pretty depressing.
Tuesday: A few days ago I mentioned to Chris that our vacation was over. There are no more colored rocks or unusual rock formations to see. It was going to be 5 days of boring driving until we reach Little Rock and visit Deacon Johana and Robert. So...we have decided to make it a road trip and see the quirky things on the way. Today we saw Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, where about 10 cars are half buried in the ground. People come with spray paint in hand to do their art work. It was not as impressive as we had seen on TV. After that adventure we headed to Big Texas Steak Ranch, home of the 72 ounce free steak. In the movie Road Trip, Barbara Streisand goes uninvited on a trip with her single son. They stop at a steak place and she takes the challenge of eating a whole 72 ounce steak dinner. It is free if you can eat all of it. We saw the signs on the road for this place and had to stop. It is another Route 66 original establishment. It started out as a cowboy restaurant and the real cowboys would show off how much they could eat. It got into a real competition. When we were seated we asked where Barbara Streisand sat during the movie. She did not film the movie there. It was really a good meal anyway. We had a hard time finding a good campground for tonight have found a pretty good place in Elk City, Oklahoma. It is just different out west.
Peace and love to all, Barbara
Sunday: We woke up early to pack up and head to an Episcopal church in Moab. We arrived very early for the 8:00 service. Really about 2 hours early. There was no 8:00 services. Churches would be better off without a website if they are not going to keep it current. Oh well...all dressed up and no place to go. We decided to head on to Mesa Verde. We were so excited about seeing the cliff dwellings and since it was about 20 miles into Colorado we could add another sticker to our state map. When we arrived we purchased two tickets for the easier tour. We arrived at the overlook and waited for the ranger. This would be a tour group of about 25. I was very excited until the ranger started describing the tour. "If you are afraid of heights you should not go on this tour", he said. "You will have to go up 3 ten foot ladders", he said. "There is no turning back once you start", he said. And finally he pointed to the ladder across the way and said we would not have to worry about falling because you would be between two sides of the rocks. That was enough! I turned to Chris as everyone was lining up to start the tour and begged him to go without me. I am so glad I did not go. I am afraid of heights and I am very claustrophobic. Sunday we drove until 9:00pm and pulled into a very iffy campground. We were only there to sleep so it was not a problem. However, we had now moved into a string of iffy campgrounds for the next two nights.
Monday: We woke up early to go to a volcano site in Blue Spruce, New Mexico. Chris has been wanting to see a volcano and I read that New Mexico had lots of them. We found the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. It is privately owned. We walked a lava bed about 1/2 mile to the overlook. It was not what I expected because it was 10,000 years since it had erupted so the inside of the cone was smooth and had trees growing in in. There was plenty of lava rocks, tubes, and you could see where the volcano blew out the side of the mountain. Then we took a second short hike to an ice cave. That was also formed when the volcano erupted. After the morning visit we headed to Tucumcari, New Mexico. This was a big town during the days of route 66. It sounded like a good stopping place with things to see. Well, it is a dying town. When interstate 40 by passed the town, it took their life blood. You can see the remnants of the old hotels and the broken neon signs. Most of the old gas stations are shut down but the old tyme pumps remain. The campground we planned to stay at was worse than the night before but the one next to it was ok. It was surround by a very old, run down, wood/brick motel. The campground was a giant gravel parking lot with a few trees and a few patches of grass. The owners were very nice. The wife was American Indian and the husband was Hindu Indian. Quite the combination. They were trying to fix the place up but have a long way to go. The waitress at dinner said the town was slowly dying. They are trying to get a casino to help the town come back. It was pretty depressing.
Tuesday: A few days ago I mentioned to Chris that our vacation was over. There are no more colored rocks or unusual rock formations to see. It was going to be 5 days of boring driving until we reach Little Rock and visit Deacon Johana and Robert. So...we have decided to make it a road trip and see the quirky things on the way. Today we saw Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, where about 10 cars are half buried in the ground. People come with spray paint in hand to do their art work. It was not as impressive as we had seen on TV. After that adventure we headed to Big Texas Steak Ranch, home of the 72 ounce free steak. In the movie Road Trip, Barbara Streisand goes uninvited on a trip with her single son. They stop at a steak place and she takes the challenge of eating a whole 72 ounce steak dinner. It is free if you can eat all of it. We saw the signs on the road for this place and had to stop. It is another Route 66 original establishment. It started out as a cowboy restaurant and the real cowboys would show off how much they could eat. It got into a real competition. When we were seated we asked where Barbara Streisand sat during the movie. She did not film the movie there. It was really a good meal anyway. We had a hard time finding a good campground for tonight have found a pretty good place in Elk City, Oklahoma. It is just different out west.
Peace and love to all, Barbara
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Greetings from Arches National Park
Yesterday was a day of laundry and resting. We had dinner out and walked around downtown Moab. Everything went well till we drove home and saw the blue lights in the side mirror. Oh no....what did we do now. We had no tail lights! Chris tried all evening to find the fuse that was blown with no success. This morning we got up early to drive to the Ford dealer. A wonderful young man took care of us right away. He checked all the fuses but they were all good. He was perplexed! Then he started looking for a second fuse box. The night before I researched the problem on the internet. So I told them there were two fuse boxes under the hood...not one. It was hard to find but they kept looking till they found it and found the fuse. We asked for the bill but George did not charge us. Unbelievable! What a nice young man.
We left the dealer and headed to Arches National Park. The weather prediction was for rain but since this was our last day we took a chance. The park was packed because today was free entry. We could not find parking at any of the view points. We headed to the very end of the park in hopes of hiking a trail there. We were lucky. We started the hike with dark clouds overhead. I said to Chris, "if we hear thunder we need to head back" . He agreed. Two minutes later we heard thunder. But we trekked on because there was no lightning. Glad we did. The trail was almost empty and we had a wonderful hike. We saw landscape arch which is over 300 ft span. We alo saw double arches but my favorite was pine tree arch. It is the one were chris and I had our picture taken without the backpacks. This arch was on a side path. We walked into this tiny cove that opened into the arch. There was a log that provided us a place to sit and rest. No one was there. It was beautiful and so quiet. I just wanted to stay forever. A couple our age came along and Chris offered to take their picture. Then there were two young men that came along and I offered to take their picture. However by now the sky was darkening and the arch would not show up. One of them showed me some tricks on the iPhone to lighten the picture. I got a great shot and they took a picture of us. The rain had stopped so more people came to my sacred spot and before you knew it we were taking everyone's pictures in front of the arch. I thought we would be there all day. Finally we saw a break so we headed out. You may see in the pictures a rock climber and a man repelling. The pictures did not upload in order this time so it is a bit confusing,
Tomorrow we head to 8:00 church and then to MesaVerde to view Indian Cliff Dwellers.
Peace to all my family and friends, Barbara
We left the dealer and headed to Arches National Park. The weather prediction was for rain but since this was our last day we took a chance. The park was packed because today was free entry. We could not find parking at any of the view points. We headed to the very end of the park in hopes of hiking a trail there. We were lucky. We started the hike with dark clouds overhead. I said to Chris, "if we hear thunder we need to head back" . He agreed. Two minutes later we heard thunder. But we trekked on because there was no lightning. Glad we did. The trail was almost empty and we had a wonderful hike. We saw landscape arch which is over 300 ft span. We alo saw double arches but my favorite was pine tree arch. It is the one were chris and I had our picture taken without the backpacks. This arch was on a side path. We walked into this tiny cove that opened into the arch. There was a log that provided us a place to sit and rest. No one was there. It was beautiful and so quiet. I just wanted to stay forever. A couple our age came along and Chris offered to take their picture. Then there were two young men that came along and I offered to take their picture. However by now the sky was darkening and the arch would not show up. One of them showed me some tricks on the iPhone to lighten the picture. I got a great shot and they took a picture of us. The rain had stopped so more people came to my sacred spot and before you knew it we were taking everyone's pictures in front of the arch. I thought we would be there all day. Finally we saw a break so we headed out. You may see in the pictures a rock climber and a man repelling. The pictures did not upload in order this time so it is a bit confusing,
Tomorrow we head to 8:00 church and then to MesaVerde to view Indian Cliff Dwellers.
Peace to all my family and friends, Barbara
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Greetings from Moab, Utah
It has been two days since I posted. On Tuesay we had no internet and last night we were just plain tired from having so much fun. My granddaughter called when we got home and needed some math help. We skyped the whole lesson. This was a first for me.
On Tuesday we explored Canyonlands. It was just a day of driving and stopping at view points. When we arrived at our campsite in Dead horse state park we took forever to level. After about the seventh try, and three boards, we were as close as we were going to get. We decided we would find a new campground for Wednesday. I really liked the state park because it was so quiet. The park got its name a long time ago. Some cowboys rounded up some wild horses and corralled them at the point. It was a large area with a small opening so they only had to fence off a small amount. Something delayed the cowboys from returning. When the arrived, the horses had died of thirst within 2000 feet of water below them in the Colorado River.
Wednesday we drove with our new friends through the La Sal Mountains. I posted those pictures yesterday. The Aspens were bright yellow and covered the mountain side. We hiked a little and stopped a lot for pictures and geo-caching. We found a great restaurant for dinner and then Chris found us an ice cream shop.
Today we met up with friends from Gulf Shores. Sue had been reading our blog and thought we were ready for a hike to Fishers Tower. Now it was only about a mile long and we had certainly hiked more than that so it should have been no problem. Well....we never hiked a trail like this! It was a rock trail through, around, and up. We were use to parks that had maintained trails. This was more like some one found a way to get from point A to point B and left some rocks to mark the path for the next person. They stack three rocks, called carrins, to mark the way. I did it but I have never done such a difficult trail in 95 degrees. Of course I needed lots of help but we made it. After lunch some of the group wanted to go further, some rested, and Chris and I headed down so we could take our time. At one point we lost the trail. We could not find anymore carrins and it was hot and I knew we were going the wrong way. I was sure that we were going to cook ourselves in the heat and perish in this desolate place. However, we backtracked a little and waited till some of the rest of our group came and we found our next carrin and got back on track. I saw how easy it is to get lost in this environment. Glad I did it--glad I am done.
After our hike we were invited to a cookout with Sue, Mark, and her family. We had a great time and had lots of laughs about our hike. I guess we are still novice hikers. Miss C is spending the night with them so I guess we will get to sleep in.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring. Maybe we will see Arches National Park. Maybe we will do laundry.
Peace to all of my family and to my friends who have followed us on this journey. Barbara
On Tuesday we explored Canyonlands. It was just a day of driving and stopping at view points. When we arrived at our campsite in Dead horse state park we took forever to level. After about the seventh try, and three boards, we were as close as we were going to get. We decided we would find a new campground for Wednesday. I really liked the state park because it was so quiet. The park got its name a long time ago. Some cowboys rounded up some wild horses and corralled them at the point. It was a large area with a small opening so they only had to fence off a small amount. Something delayed the cowboys from returning. When the arrived, the horses had died of thirst within 2000 feet of water below them in the Colorado River.
Wednesday we drove with our new friends through the La Sal Mountains. I posted those pictures yesterday. The Aspens were bright yellow and covered the mountain side. We hiked a little and stopped a lot for pictures and geo-caching. We found a great restaurant for dinner and then Chris found us an ice cream shop.
Today we met up with friends from Gulf Shores. Sue had been reading our blog and thought we were ready for a hike to Fishers Tower. Now it was only about a mile long and we had certainly hiked more than that so it should have been no problem. Well....we never hiked a trail like this! It was a rock trail through, around, and up. We were use to parks that had maintained trails. This was more like some one found a way to get from point A to point B and left some rocks to mark the path for the next person. They stack three rocks, called carrins, to mark the way. I did it but I have never done such a difficult trail in 95 degrees. Of course I needed lots of help but we made it. After lunch some of the group wanted to go further, some rested, and Chris and I headed down so we could take our time. At one point we lost the trail. We could not find anymore carrins and it was hot and I knew we were going the wrong way. I was sure that we were going to cook ourselves in the heat and perish in this desolate place. However, we backtracked a little and waited till some of the rest of our group came and we found our next carrin and got back on track. I saw how easy it is to get lost in this environment. Glad I did it--glad I am done.
After our hike we were invited to a cookout with Sue, Mark, and her family. We had a great time and had lots of laughs about our hike. I guess we are still novice hikers. Miss C is spending the night with them so I guess we will get to sleep in.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring. Maybe we will see Arches National Park. Maybe we will do laundry.
Peace to all of my family and to my friends who have followed us on this journey. Barbara
Monday, September 22, 2014
Greetings form Dead Horse State Park, Utah
On Sunday we had two options for church in Torrey: Church of Latter Day Saints or Baptist. So we looked to the next closest town which just had one option--Church of Latter Day Saints. I guess we are in Utah so that is to be expected. So we did not go to church but we have the next two Sundays planned. It rained all day so I just vacuumed the whole place and 15 minutes later I organized all the baskets and then made soup for dinner. My wonderful husband listened to the Dolphin football game on the radio while watching some other game on the tv screen. It was quite confusing at times when I would forget that the sound did not match what I was seeing.
Today we headed to Moab, Utah. There were two routes. One was shorter on two lanes most of the time and the other was longer but we would get to the interstate quicker. We chose the longer because I could help out with the driving. Our drive could not have been more beautiful. What a surprise. It is hard to explain how different rock formations can look but they do keep changing. I would have taken pictures but I was driving and Chris was sleeping. I went up and down the steepest grades ever. It was like driving in the grand canyon, with canyon walls reaching to the sky.
It is amazing what erosion can do. In the gulf coast we consider erosion as a negative thing. It is destructive to our beaches and our dunes. But here in Utah, erosion has created magnificent sites. Wind, water, and ice have created masterpieces. We are now in a state park that overlooks Canyonland National Park. We can't wait to start hiking tomorrow.
Tonight I saw my first shooting star. The stars are plentiful and the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye. It is very quiet here. Hope we don't get kicked out because of the dogs. We will be here three nights and then move to another campsite closer to Moab. We have electric here but no other hookups. The campground looks like a movie set for a John Wayne movie. The cactus and all desert brush are new to the dogs. I keep trying to keep them away from the cacti. I will take better pictures tomorrow. We arrived here late and took about an hour to level. It was only 158 miles from Torrey but somehow it took us about seven hours by the time we had lunch, grocery shopping, rv dump and fill with water, and maybe a few amazing pullouts.
Many of you had said that reading the blog is like being on the trip with us. Well, I feel that writing the blog and reading your comments is like sharing my adventure while it happens instead of waiting till we return and bore you to death with hundreds of pictures. I think it is easier this way. Thanks for coming with us. So far we have just over 10,000 miles on our new Rollin Ace.
Peace to all my family and all my friends, Barbara
Today we headed to Moab, Utah. There were two routes. One was shorter on two lanes most of the time and the other was longer but we would get to the interstate quicker. We chose the longer because I could help out with the driving. Our drive could not have been more beautiful. What a surprise. It is hard to explain how different rock formations can look but they do keep changing. I would have taken pictures but I was driving and Chris was sleeping. I went up and down the steepest grades ever. It was like driving in the grand canyon, with canyon walls reaching to the sky.
It is amazing what erosion can do. In the gulf coast we consider erosion as a negative thing. It is destructive to our beaches and our dunes. But here in Utah, erosion has created magnificent sites. Wind, water, and ice have created masterpieces. We are now in a state park that overlooks Canyonland National Park. We can't wait to start hiking tomorrow.
Tonight I saw my first shooting star. The stars are plentiful and the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye. It is very quiet here. Hope we don't get kicked out because of the dogs. We will be here three nights and then move to another campsite closer to Moab. We have electric here but no other hookups. The campground looks like a movie set for a John Wayne movie. The cactus and all desert brush are new to the dogs. I keep trying to keep them away from the cacti. I will take better pictures tomorrow. We arrived here late and took about an hour to level. It was only 158 miles from Torrey but somehow it took us about seven hours by the time we had lunch, grocery shopping, rv dump and fill with water, and maybe a few amazing pullouts.
Many of you had said that reading the blog is like being on the trip with us. Well, I feel that writing the blog and reading your comments is like sharing my adventure while it happens instead of waiting till we return and bore you to death with hundreds of pictures. I think it is easier this way. Thanks for coming with us. So far we have just over 10,000 miles on our new Rollin Ace.
Peace to all my family and all my friends, Barbara
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Greetings from Torrey, Utah #3
Did you miss me? Thursday was a day of rest so I should have had time to write but we met a very nice couple and went to a stargazing program and did not get home till very late. Chris had a chance to look through the telescope and the stars were incredible.
On Friday we took our jeep rental and our new friends to Gobblin State Park. It is a very interesting place with thousands of rock formations that look like toadstools or gobblins. We took lots of picture and had a great time roaming through the formations. Children were allowed and encouraged to run and climb through the rocks. Then we went out to dinner and again got home very late. I never thought I would enjoy meeting people in the campgrounds but it was really nice to spend the day with other people. It turns out they are going to be in Moab while we are there and we plan to get together then.
We were busted again--this time for the barking dogs. We had left the windows open so the dogs were barking all day. We were called while at dinner. Seems like the dogs take after our children only instead of the principal calling it is the camp host.
Today we went real 4wheel driving on a trip through Cathedral Valley. This 60 mile loop is 4 wheel drive only. There are so many warnings that I was afraid to go--take food and water for two days, no cell service, and no way to get help if you break down. But everyone at the camp ground said the view is incredible and they were right. The trail was dirt, sand, and boulders. We only saw three cars the whole time. Chris had a blast but the dogs and I held on for dear life. The trip was awesome, I am glad we did it, I do not want to do it again.
By the way...when we returned the jeep we got busted for the dog hair. We took the dogs so they would not bark but we could not get all of the dog hair up so they wanted to charge $40. Can't win!
Tomorrow is another off day.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Greetings from Torrey, Utah #2
Just a short note to let you know we survived our back road adventure. Our 3 hour drive turned into an 8 hour journey going 20 miles an hour at times. We found a slot canyon where there was just enough light to let a few trees grow. I will post that picture and others. I am getting tired of sight-seeing so tomorrow we with take a day off from vacation. The lady in the RV next to me said she didn't think she could look at another rock. I am beginning to feel the same way. Tonight we went for a walk to see the stars and they are quite majestic. It looks like twinkling Christmad lights when looking through the trees.
We will be in Torrey until Monday. We have several hikes and two more jeep days ahead of us.
Peace to our family and to all of our wonderful friends. Barbara
We will be in Torrey until Monday. We have several hikes and two more jeep days ahead of us.
Peace to our family and to all of our wonderful friends. Barbara
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Greetings from Torrey, Utah
We are in a small town just 6 miles from Capital Reef. The view here is beautiful. Guess who we ran into as we checked in? Our German friends, Theio and Susan, they left Bryce the night before us and went somewhere south of us before coming to Capital Reef. We have asked them to join us tomorrow on our jeep ride. I don't know why they keep crossing our path but it has been nice company. The night we went to dinner Chris asked how long they had been married. They weren't married. Awkward moment. Well through the night Chris would say more things about marriage and they would laugh. Chris offered many times to marry them. They have been together 14 years and are in their 50's. Tonight when we ran into them the first thing they asked was had he married anyone since we had seen them.
The driving is so slow here even when going fast. We left Bryce at 12:30 for the 95 mile trip. Even with no turn outs, no overlooks, no photo ops, we did not arrive till 5:00. The only pictures I took were out the window. I am sure I will lose my cell phone out the window one day. I just hold it out as far as I can and snap as many pics as possible hoping one will be good. Boy do I wish I had a good camera for this trip.
There was this one moment when my life flashed before my eyes. We were driving along at a reasonable speed when we saw a car pulled over on the opposite side of the two lane highway and people taking pictures. This always means there is something interesting to see. Well Mr. ADHD decides to pull over. The only problem is there was no pull out and I am looking down a cliff as he is pulling onto the gravel shoulder. I screamed so loud that I got his attention and he was good the rest of the trip. I really could have used a drink after that but since we are 'alcohol free' I just waited till we parked at our campsite and took a long nap before dinner....my way of relaxing.
Other than the cow that decided to run across the road at the last minute we had a pretty bland day.
Hope you enjoyed the sunset pictures.
Peace to all of my family and all of my friends. Barbara
The driving is so slow here even when going fast. We left Bryce at 12:30 for the 95 mile trip. Even with no turn outs, no overlooks, no photo ops, we did not arrive till 5:00. The only pictures I took were out the window. I am sure I will lose my cell phone out the window one day. I just hold it out as far as I can and snap as many pics as possible hoping one will be good. Boy do I wish I had a good camera for this trip.
There was this one moment when my life flashed before my eyes. We were driving along at a reasonable speed when we saw a car pulled over on the opposite side of the two lane highway and people taking pictures. This always means there is something interesting to see. Well Mr. ADHD decides to pull over. The only problem is there was no pull out and I am looking down a cliff as he is pulling onto the gravel shoulder. I screamed so loud that I got his attention and he was good the rest of the trip. I really could have used a drink after that but since we are 'alcohol free' I just waited till we parked at our campsite and took a long nap before dinner....my way of relaxing.
Other than the cow that decided to run across the road at the last minute we had a pretty bland day.
Hope you enjoyed the sunset pictures.
Peace to all of my family and all of my friends. Barbara
Monday, September 15, 2014
Greetings from inside of Bryce Canyon National Park
I only have one thing to say about Bryce Canyon...Awesome. It is the most incredible place I have ever seen. We spent 5 hours hiking the most strenuous trail ever. We down to the bottom of the canyon floor and then back up again many times. Thank goodness for the walking sticks. Near the end...when we were out of water...and going straight up...I wondered who we thought we were to take on such a journey. We did a combination of three trails marked STRENUOUS. There were several easy and moderate but we thought we were advanced enough to go to the bottom because we now had trekking poles. We could not have gone 10 feet without the poles. It was steep up and down, very primitive and we still managed two slips. Chris went down pretty hard in an area with loose gravel. There was a nice couple that stopped to help and wouldn't leave till he was able to stand. We still had about 2 miles to go. He is pretty sore. I just had a slip-slide. No injury but my trekking pole took a little damage saving me from the fall.
I think Chris and I have a misconception about many things. One--we think we are young and athletic and two--he thinks the RV is a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Actually it is 4 wheels in the rear ...that is his explanation. We will never grow up. Even with the aches and pains, we are having the best time of our life. An older than us lady was complaining to us about her husband. She wanted us to take him on our hike because she won't go with him and he has a bad heart. He was moving faster than us. I thought about how we protect our loved ones as we age and came up with this: I would rather die living than to live dying. Let's have fun as long as the heart is beating.
We got busted by the ranger for leaving our generator on all afternoon. We specifically parked in the loop that said generators from 8am to 8pm. It was hot today and we could not leave the dogs without AC. He said someone had complained. You are supposed to turn it on for short amounts of time. I think we are going out late tonight to let the air out of our neighbors tires.
I give thanks for my family, my friends, and Aleve.
Barbara
I think Chris and I have a misconception about many things. One--we think we are young and athletic and two--he thinks the RV is a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Actually it is 4 wheels in the rear ...that is his explanation. We will never grow up. Even with the aches and pains, we are having the best time of our life. An older than us lady was complaining to us about her husband. She wanted us to take him on our hike because she won't go with him and he has a bad heart. He was moving faster than us. I thought about how we protect our loved ones as we age and came up with this: I would rather die living than to live dying. Let's have fun as long as the heart is beating.
We got busted by the ranger for leaving our generator on all afternoon. We specifically parked in the loop that said generators from 8am to 8pm. It was hot today and we could not leave the dogs without AC. He said someone had complained. You are supposed to turn it on for short amounts of time. I think we are going out late tonight to let the air out of our neighbors tires.
I give thanks for my family, my friends, and Aleve.
Barbara
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Greetings from Bryce Canyon National Park
What a day!! It is late but I really wanted to post so forgive any typos. We started out at 8:30 going 40 miles in the opposite direction from Zion to go to church. Grace Episcopal was a beautiful new church with the design greatly influenced by Native American Culture. The church is in transition with their priest leaving last week. They have a retired priest in the church and Russian Orthodox deacon that was in the process of becoming an Episcopal Priest. The service was the most un-energetic church service and it was hard to stay focused. Church is supposed to be a praise party for God but this was dry and monotone. The priest preached way too long and he told too many stories. Glad we had communion. As Chris always said, "even if you get a bad sermon you can always get good communion."
After church we headed back to Zion. You are supposed to park outside of the park and take the shuttle to the park. There was no place to park. People everywhere. It was like Gulf Shores during the Hangout Festival. We had hoped to camp in the park but all campgrounds were full by the time we showed up. We decided to drive through the park as we traveled to Bryce. It was a beautiful drive but we had no time to stop because the tunnel closed at 7:00pm and we needed to get through the tunnel to get out of the park. Vehicles our size had to have the tunnel closed to other traffic in order to pass through the tunnel going in the center. There was a 15 dollar charge for this. But it was worth it to get a chance to see Zion for a little while.
The views in Zion were incredible. The walls go straight up hundreds of feet and the boulders are bigger than our RV. I snapped a few pictures as we drove but mostly I had to watch Chris to be sure he was not doing too much looking. I have this rule that he can only look 30 degrees left or right of center. I caught him doing 90 degrees and we were going around a curve with a sharp drop off. It was a beautiful drive but harrowing. One lady looked at us as we passed the pull out and her mouth hung open as she stared at us like we were crazy to be up there in an RV. Maybe we are.
All of a sudden the canyons disappear and you are driving through flat lands. We drove about 50 miles when all of a sudden these strange red hodoos appeared. It is amazing how each area is so different in just a matter of a few miles. As we entered Dixie National Forest all I could do is squeal like a little child going to Disney. I could not believe what I was seeing. There was a campground in the middle of this incredible beauty and it was about 5:30 but Chris wanted to get to Bryce because it would be so much better. WELL...when we go to Bryce all of the campgrounds were filled so we had to turn around and leave the park. We stopped just outside of the park and found a public campground but it was full. All they had was dry camping for $30. That means no electricity, sewer or water. They were telling all of us late comers to go to the tent area and grab any site. It took us about an hour to get leveled. By then I was hungry and tired so we walked to the nearest restaurant. As we waited in line, our German friends from yesterday walked into the restaurant. Chris recognized them right away and started up a conversation and before I knew it he had invited them to eat with us and they accepted. Now they speak a little English but to have a conversation is a little extra work. However, we had a delightful meal together and it was nice to have someone to eat with. I am still amazed that we ran into them again.
Well the night stars are waiting for me to look at through the binoculars and Chris is ready to tell me all the names of the constellations.
Peace to our family and to all our friends, Barbara
After church we headed back to Zion. You are supposed to park outside of the park and take the shuttle to the park. There was no place to park. People everywhere. It was like Gulf Shores during the Hangout Festival. We had hoped to camp in the park but all campgrounds were full by the time we showed up. We decided to drive through the park as we traveled to Bryce. It was a beautiful drive but we had no time to stop because the tunnel closed at 7:00pm and we needed to get through the tunnel to get out of the park. Vehicles our size had to have the tunnel closed to other traffic in order to pass through the tunnel going in the center. There was a 15 dollar charge for this. But it was worth it to get a chance to see Zion for a little while.
The views in Zion were incredible. The walls go straight up hundreds of feet and the boulders are bigger than our RV. I snapped a few pictures as we drove but mostly I had to watch Chris to be sure he was not doing too much looking. I have this rule that he can only look 30 degrees left or right of center. I caught him doing 90 degrees and we were going around a curve with a sharp drop off. It was a beautiful drive but harrowing. One lady looked at us as we passed the pull out and her mouth hung open as she stared at us like we were crazy to be up there in an RV. Maybe we are.
All of a sudden the canyons disappear and you are driving through flat lands. We drove about 50 miles when all of a sudden these strange red hodoos appeared. It is amazing how each area is so different in just a matter of a few miles. As we entered Dixie National Forest all I could do is squeal like a little child going to Disney. I could not believe what I was seeing. There was a campground in the middle of this incredible beauty and it was about 5:30 but Chris wanted to get to Bryce because it would be so much better. WELL...when we go to Bryce all of the campgrounds were filled so we had to turn around and leave the park. We stopped just outside of the park and found a public campground but it was full. All they had was dry camping for $30. That means no electricity, sewer or water. They were telling all of us late comers to go to the tent area and grab any site. It took us about an hour to get leveled. By then I was hungry and tired so we walked to the nearest restaurant. As we waited in line, our German friends from yesterday walked into the restaurant. Chris recognized them right away and started up a conversation and before I knew it he had invited them to eat with us and they accepted. Now they speak a little English but to have a conversation is a little extra work. However, we had a delightful meal together and it was nice to have someone to eat with. I am still amazed that we ran into them again.
Well the night stars are waiting for me to look at through the binoculars and Chris is ready to tell me all the names of the constellations.
Peace to our family and to all our friends, Barbara
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Greetings from Virgin, Utah
Yes I did type that correctly. This is a small town just 12 miles from Zion National Park. On Friday we drove way too many miles. We arrived at our campground by 7pm but had been driving since 9 that morning. Though we went to bed early, we woke up today, Saturday, too worn out to do anything. So even though we were just 12 miles from Zion, we chose to take a day off from having fun and just stayed in our campround. We did use this time to do some much needed cooking, French toast for breakfast and homemade spaghetti for dinner. Chris used the time to install two 12 volt sockets so that we could run our sleep machines without electricity. This will allow us camping opportunities in the parks with great views and will save us lots of money.
We did take a dip in the pool which is something we have never taken the time to do in other campgrounds. The pool was very cold even though today was extremely hot. We have had such changes in temperature. One day we wear long pants, sweatshirts, and socks and the next day we are wearing shorts, bathing suits, and staying inside the AC.
We met our camping neighbors. They are from Germany and he is an FBI equivalent. We met a lovely woman from Japan that fell in love with the dogs. She and her family are doing some kind of exchange with a family in Salt Lake City. It was hard to follow the conversation because her English was weak and our Japanese was nonexistent. While we were at the pool we observed two Italian couples. It is interesting to see so many foreigners traveling to our national parks.
Chris found an Episcopal church about 35 miles away so we will be getting up early and heading to the town of St. George. There we will get supplies and then come back to Zion. I am not sure if this will happen but we hope to hike a riverbed that goes to the "narrows".
I love all of the comments. It makes writing this blog worthwhile. At first I thought it would be a great way to let my children know where we are each day. Now I feel that the blog keeps us connected to our family and our church families--Holy Spirit, St. Georges, St. Stephens. I don't feel so alone out here. Thanks for sharing this trip with us.
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
We did take a dip in the pool which is something we have never taken the time to do in other campgrounds. The pool was very cold even though today was extremely hot. We have had such changes in temperature. One day we wear long pants, sweatshirts, and socks and the next day we are wearing shorts, bathing suits, and staying inside the AC.
We met our camping neighbors. They are from Germany and he is an FBI equivalent. We met a lovely woman from Japan that fell in love with the dogs. She and her family are doing some kind of exchange with a family in Salt Lake City. It was hard to follow the conversation because her English was weak and our Japanese was nonexistent. While we were at the pool we observed two Italian couples. It is interesting to see so many foreigners traveling to our national parks.
Chris found an Episcopal church about 35 miles away so we will be getting up early and heading to the town of St. George. There we will get supplies and then come back to Zion. I am not sure if this will happen but we hope to hike a riverbed that goes to the "narrows".
I love all of the comments. It makes writing this blog worthwhile. At first I thought it would be a great way to let my children know where we are each day. Now I feel that the blog keeps us connected to our family and our church families--Holy Spirit, St. Georges, St. Stephens. I don't feel so alone out here. Thanks for sharing this trip with us.
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Greetings from Duchesne, Utah
What a day of exploration! We left our campground to tour the Dinosaur National Monument which is more of a park than a Monument. It extends from the upper east corner of Utah into Colorado. We only explored the Utah side. Our early morning drive took us about 14 miles to look at some petroglyphs. The carvings are at least one thousand years old. I cant imagine people living in this environment for any length of time. It was very hot during the day and very cool in the evening. How did people survive? I complain about not having cell service but they lived here in these extreme conditions. We took many pictures which I will post after I finish typing. I know we said no more gravel roads but we had to go 2 miles on a gravel road to see the petroglyphs and it was worth it. I started worrying when we crossed over a dirt road bridge but we made it. When we were finished we headed back to the visitor center but as I was reading the pamphlet, I realized we missed one of the stops. So...Chris turned around and we went back over the gravel road a second time. Well worth it since the first site only had lizards and the second one had very different symbols.
After the tour we went to the quarry to see the dinosaur fossils. It was an amazing exhibit. The excavation was finished so they built a huge building into the side of the mountain covering almost 200 feet in length and over two stories high of dinosaur fossils. The bones were exposed coming straight out of the mountain. There were thousands of bones. The area was once a lake during the time of the dinosaurs. Later there was a drought that dried up the lake and many dinosaurs just died in the area. In time, the water came back and the lake filled up again burying the remains. Sediment was layered on and through time all was under layers of rock and sediment. The bones became fossilized and are now preserved like rocks. Then came modern day erosion and one day a mountaineer was hiking and saw a large skeleton showing on the side of the mountain. The dig is done now and preserved for everyone to see in an air-conditioned facility.
We were very hot and tired so for a time of relaxing we found a Laundromat and had lunch while the clothes were washing. The laundry's in Yellowstone and Glacier all had signs "do not wash pet blankets". This one had a sign, "do not wash horse blankets". When we were done it was 3pm and we had not driven any distance for the day. We thought we could go about 150 miles before stopping but after 10 minutes it was clear we would not make it very far. We drove about 50 miles and stopped early enough for me to make a pot of potato soup for supper. We ate out side with the wind howling and blowing at about 20 mph. It was wonderful.
Tomorrow we need to stay focused as we have to get as close to Zion as we can. It is hard not to stop and take in the beautiful vistas and there is a turnout every few miles. When we stop at the pullouts we always meet people and we stop and talk too long. It is interesting that almost everyone we talk to has just recently retired. I guess this is what you do. We are doing at least 10 years of vacations in just two months. I feel blessed everyday.
Tomorrow should be just a travel day so I may not post unless something interesting happens. Oh, the RV started right up with us using only one sleep machine through the night.
Peace to my family and all of my friends, Barbara
After the tour we went to the quarry to see the dinosaur fossils. It was an amazing exhibit. The excavation was finished so they built a huge building into the side of the mountain covering almost 200 feet in length and over two stories high of dinosaur fossils. The bones were exposed coming straight out of the mountain. There were thousands of bones. The area was once a lake during the time of the dinosaurs. Later there was a drought that dried up the lake and many dinosaurs just died in the area. In time, the water came back and the lake filled up again burying the remains. Sediment was layered on and through time all was under layers of rock and sediment. The bones became fossilized and are now preserved like rocks. Then came modern day erosion and one day a mountaineer was hiking and saw a large skeleton showing on the side of the mountain. The dig is done now and preserved for everyone to see in an air-conditioned facility.
We were very hot and tired so for a time of relaxing we found a Laundromat and had lunch while the clothes were washing. The laundry's in Yellowstone and Glacier all had signs "do not wash pet blankets". This one had a sign, "do not wash horse blankets". When we were done it was 3pm and we had not driven any distance for the day. We thought we could go about 150 miles before stopping but after 10 minutes it was clear we would not make it very far. We drove about 50 miles and stopped early enough for me to make a pot of potato soup for supper. We ate out side with the wind howling and blowing at about 20 mph. It was wonderful.
Tomorrow we need to stay focused as we have to get as close to Zion as we can. It is hard not to stop and take in the beautiful vistas and there is a turnout every few miles. When we stop at the pullouts we always meet people and we stop and talk too long. It is interesting that almost everyone we talk to has just recently retired. I guess this is what you do. We are doing at least 10 years of vacations in just two months. I feel blessed everyday.
Tomorrow should be just a travel day so I may not post unless something interesting happens. Oh, the RV started right up with us using only one sleep machine through the night.
Peace to my family and all of my friends, Barbara
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Greetings from Jensen, Utah
Jensen is just outside of Vernal, Utah which is just outside of nowhere. We were in search of Dinosaurland. It was supposed to be 90 miles from last nights campground. We left at 9:30 and arrived at dinosaur national monument at 3:30. It was the longest 90 miles and it was probably my fault because I made us stop at every pullout. Each one was better than the next. We did not know that the road from Ft. Bridger to Vernal was a scenic highway but we were plesantly surprised. Just like in life, sometimes the unplanned is better than the planned. We drove the whole way through red rock gorges and followed the Green River. All of the water we have seen is clear green and looks like the Caribbean. The best part of the drive was the 9 miles with nine switchbacks and 8% grade. I had to look that up...it drops 8 feet for every 100 feet traveled...steep! I was on the phone with my daughter when we started the decent or I would have screamed the whole way. We made it but not before my phone call was cut off several times. I am glad to say that Chris did an awesome job and we did not use any of the runaway ramps.
When we arrived in Vernal we went to the post office to pick up mail that was forwarded to us by Ci and Ashby. So lucky to have them taking care of it for us. Then we headed to find a campground. The first one was a giant gravel parking lot for forty dollars. There was no grass and no trees except in the playground. Chris did not want to cookout our tube steaks on gravel. So we followed signs to a KOA that took us to the dinosaur park. The ranger said those signs are misleading and the road we should have turned onto was under water. There was a campground at the park so that is where we are staying. No electricity and no generators after 9pm but for $6 we will rough it. The only problem is that we both have sleep apnea so we are going to try going through the cigarette lighter. Hope the engine starts in the morning.
We hope to see beautiful stars tonight and dinosaur fossils tomorrow. Maybe good pictures of the night sky.
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
When we arrived in Vernal we went to the post office to pick up mail that was forwarded to us by Ci and Ashby. So lucky to have them taking care of it for us. Then we headed to find a campground. The first one was a giant gravel parking lot for forty dollars. There was no grass and no trees except in the playground. Chris did not want to cookout our tube steaks on gravel. So we followed signs to a KOA that took us to the dinosaur park. The ranger said those signs are misleading and the road we should have turned onto was under water. There was a campground at the park so that is where we are staying. No electricity and no generators after 9pm but for $6 we will rough it. The only problem is that we both have sleep apnea so we are going to try going through the cigarette lighter. Hope the engine starts in the morning.
We hope to see beautiful stars tonight and dinosaur fossils tomorrow. Maybe good pictures of the night sky.
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Greetings from Fort Bridger, Wy
Today was another long travel day...the kind that will test a 43 year old marriage. We saw more beautiful countryside as we traveled through Idaho. The people out west are real health nuts when it comes to food and Chris is having to adjust. Two times we have gone out to lunch and did not recognize anything on the menu. The first time I ordered the only thing I thought he would eat...a roast beef sandwich. The appetizers included edaname (really don't know howto spell it) and other non-gulf shores food items. Today we went to a real modern soup/salad/sandwich restaurant. They had great panni's and very different salads. Chris could not find a basic ham & cheese sandwich and did not recognize any of the salads. As we walked out he noted that we were the oldest people in the place. I think he is too old to experience new things. He did however recognize all of the desserts and had no trouble making a selection.
One interesting thing about the west is the speed limits. I was shocked to see 80 miles an hour. I noticed a sign along the highway that said: If you have a fender bender move the cars to the shoulder. I ask you...who is going to have a fender bender while driving 80 miles an hour? It should say move all car parts to the shoulder. There is no way that we will ever get a speeding ticket . Besides, I have not seen any highway patrol out west.
I have been driving about 1/3 of the time now. Chris has even promoted me to driving in the mountains but only if it is 4 lanes. I enjoy it most of the time except when the winds are strong. I only go about 60 mph and I get passed a lot. My philosophy: would they rather I drive slow and keep the traffic moving or drive fast and have a major back up when I have an accident. Easy choice.
Tomorrow we get to see dinosaur bones in Vernal, Utah
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
P
One interesting thing about the west is the speed limits. I was shocked to see 80 miles an hour. I noticed a sign along the highway that said: If you have a fender bender move the cars to the shoulder. I ask you...who is going to have a fender bender while driving 80 miles an hour? It should say move all car parts to the shoulder. There is no way that we will ever get a speeding ticket . Besides, I have not seen any highway patrol out west.
I have been driving about 1/3 of the time now. Chris has even promoted me to driving in the mountains but only if it is 4 lanes. I enjoy it most of the time except when the winds are strong. I only go about 60 mph and I get passed a lot. My philosophy: would they rather I drive slow and keep the traffic moving or drive fast and have a major back up when I have an accident. Easy choice.
Tomorrow we get to see dinosaur bones in Vernal, Utah
Peace to my family and my friends, Barbara
P
Monday, September 8, 2014
Greetings from Dillon, Montana
Today was to be a travel day with no sightseeing. However, when we checked out the wonderful reservation person suggested we go to a place called Many Glacier. It is pronounced man--ee. We had planned to drive to the other side of the park and take a scenic route to Missoula but between the approaching snow and Chris being tired of driving the narrow roads, we chose to go by Many before leaving the park. I am so glad we did. It was just the most beautiful setting imaginable. About 110 years ago the park opened the lodge and promoted it as the American Alps. The lodge was built to look like a lodge from Switzerland. The bell hops dress in the little shorts and native Swiss attire. What a gift to see such beautiful countryside. I can't help but hum the song America the Beautiful.
By the time we finished that little side trip it was 12:00 and time to really hit the road. We drove till 8:00pm. Boy are we tired. However it was a glorious day. The drive today was beautiful the whole way. The mountains have two faces and look different as we travel south on the same roads. You would think that you have seen one mountain--you have seen them all. That is how we felt at Yellowstone after seeing 30 geysers. But it is not true with mountains. They have so many different shapes and landscapes. The amazing thing about the Glacier Mts. was that you are driving along looking at amber colored fields and you see rolling hills (Florida mountains) in front of you. You have no clue what awesomeness hidden behind those rolling hills. Then these simple hills open up to an unimaginable landscape. Each time I take a picture I know that I cannot capture what I am seeing.
One thing that surprised me is that we had not seen any sunsets. We waited each evening but the sun just went down with no fanfare. That is until today. We saw an awesome sunset...even though the pictures could not actually capture it going at 65 miles an hour.
Long day of driving tomorrow so I will sign
By the time we finished that little side trip it was 12:00 and time to really hit the road. We drove till 8:00pm. Boy are we tired. However it was a glorious day. The drive today was beautiful the whole way. The mountains have two faces and look different as we travel south on the same roads. You would think that you have seen one mountain--you have seen them all. That is how we felt at Yellowstone after seeing 30 geysers. But it is not true with mountains. They have so many different shapes and landscapes. The amazing thing about the Glacier Mts. was that you are driving along looking at amber colored fields and you see rolling hills (Florida mountains) in front of you. You have no clue what awesomeness hidden behind those rolling hills. Then these simple hills open up to an unimaginable landscape. Each time I take a picture I know that I cannot capture what I am seeing.
One thing that surprised me is that we had not seen any sunsets. We waited each evening but the sun just went down with no fanfare. That is until today. We saw an awesome sunset...even though the pictures could not actually capture it going at 65 miles an hour.
Long day of driving tomorrow so I will sign
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Greetings from St. Marys night 2
Today we woke up early and caught the 9:00 bus to road to the sun. After an hour ride through some beautiful vistas we hopped off at Logan's Pass. I want to thank Melissa for suggesting the hike there. It is only 1.5 miles but it is straight up. It is quite a hike. At one point I asked Chris "whose idea was this?" I told him Melissa. He said to tell her thanks but we were on the uphill climb and I am pretty sure his thank you was not sincere. However at the top...it was glorious. I met a Christian lady on the walk and she asked how anyone could see all of this and not think there was a God/
We were not able to go to church again today. I had found an Episcopal Church in town on the internet but when we got here could not find any listing for it. I think I might have found St. Mary's in Colorado. So we found a quite spot on the walk to stop and listen to an audio lectio divina podcast that I had recorded earlier. It was a beautiful place to worship.
We had two opportunities for ministry today. The first was when we came along a couple that was resting on the way up the path. They both looked weak. I had packed several packs of peanut butter crackers and two pieces of fruit. We asked them if they needed something to eat and they gladly accepted our crackers.
Now on the way back to the visitor center we sat across from 4 girl from Poland. They were being silly and we laughed with them. They had two very large rolling suitcases and 4 large and overfilled backpacks. We saw them get off and sit by the bus stop and we each went our way. We got back to the Rollin Ace, walked the dogs, and headed out. The four girls were dragging their luggage in the grass hiking to the highway. We stopped and asked if they wanted a ride and they came running. With very poor English they said gas station. So we went to the nearest one. Now what. They showed us the road were they were headed and prepared to get out. The road was straight up hill. So of course we said we would take them up the hill. At one point I could tell they did not know where the place was that they were going. They were all talking at the same time, some English, but we understood enough to know they wanted to go to the employee housing for the park and they were meeting a friend to stay with but he was at work. So Chris stopped a fellow walking up the hill and asked him directions. He pointed to the gravel road. The girls again said that we had done enough and they did not want us to have to go on that road. Chris had promised no more gravel roads. But what could we do. Those suitcases had to way 100 pounds each. So we headed up hill on the one lane gravel road, found the housing and dropped them at the door. They could not believe how nice Americans are and thanked us profusely. We saved them quite and walk and climb. It was fun but NO MORE GRAVEL ROADS.
We did have a chipmunk run across my shoe, we saw mountain goats, a pine martin(we thought it was a wolverine), and a marmaduke(I think that is how you say it...he yelled at us the whole way).
This is so quiet and so beautiful. I could stay here for quite a long time but the snow is headed here tomorrow night so we have to leave in the morning. We are headed south and our next objective is Vernal, Utah to see the dinosaurs. It should take us a few days.
Peace to all my friends, Barbara
We were not able to go to church again today. I had found an Episcopal Church in town on the internet but when we got here could not find any listing for it. I think I might have found St. Mary's in Colorado. So we found a quite spot on the walk to stop and listen to an audio lectio divina podcast that I had recorded earlier. It was a beautiful place to worship.
We had two opportunities for ministry today. The first was when we came along a couple that was resting on the way up the path. They both looked weak. I had packed several packs of peanut butter crackers and two pieces of fruit. We asked them if they needed something to eat and they gladly accepted our crackers.
Now on the way back to the visitor center we sat across from 4 girl from Poland. They were being silly and we laughed with them. They had two very large rolling suitcases and 4 large and overfilled backpacks. We saw them get off and sit by the bus stop and we each went our way. We got back to the Rollin Ace, walked the dogs, and headed out. The four girls were dragging their luggage in the grass hiking to the highway. We stopped and asked if they wanted a ride and they came running. With very poor English they said gas station. So we went to the nearest one. Now what. They showed us the road were they were headed and prepared to get out. The road was straight up hill. So of course we said we would take them up the hill. At one point I could tell they did not know where the place was that they were going. They were all talking at the same time, some English, but we understood enough to know they wanted to go to the employee housing for the park and they were meeting a friend to stay with but he was at work. So Chris stopped a fellow walking up the hill and asked him directions. He pointed to the gravel road. The girls again said that we had done enough and they did not want us to have to go on that road. Chris had promised no more gravel roads. But what could we do. Those suitcases had to way 100 pounds each. So we headed up hill on the one lane gravel road, found the housing and dropped them at the door. They could not believe how nice Americans are and thanked us profusely. We saved them quite and walk and climb. It was fun but NO MORE GRAVEL ROADS.
We did have a chipmunk run across my shoe, we saw mountain goats, a pine martin(we thought it was a wolverine), and a marmaduke(I think that is how you say it...he yelled at us the whole way).
This is so quiet and so beautiful. I could stay here for quite a long time but the snow is headed here tomorrow night so we have to leave in the morning. We are headed south and our next objective is Vernal, Utah to see the dinosaurs. It should take us a few days.
Peace to all my friends, Barbara
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Greetings from St. Marys, Montana
We made it to the entrance to Glacier National Park. We have cooked out and gone for a long walk. There is no cell service but there is internet if we go to the office. Tomorrow we will do the Road To The Sun. We have to walk about a mile to catch the tour bus.
I love all the comments and hope I can remember to do everything. We will definitely try to do the Logan pass trail. We planned to stay two nights but might stay extra for the trail. We are at the east entrance for two nights. Hope to move to the west entrance on Monday. They expect their first snowfall on Tuesday so we want to be gone before that happens. Chris wants to go to Canada because we are only 10 miles away. Then he wants to go to Calgary. I think that won't happen unless the weather changes.
The mountains here are so different. Everywhere we go the mountains have their own personalities. They are all beautiful. We watched for the sunset but it just goes down. No bright colors across the sky. We have not seen one real sunset since we left the gulf coast.
The best way to comment is through FB. I get those. Thanks for taking the time to write. Chris and I look forward to reading them each night....when we have service.
It is time now to walk up the hill to our campsite....and the temperature is dropping so I will sign off.
Peace to all my friends. Barbara
I love all the comments and hope I can remember to do everything. We will definitely try to do the Logan pass trail. We planned to stay two nights but might stay extra for the trail. We are at the east entrance for two nights. Hope to move to the west entrance on Monday. They expect their first snowfall on Tuesday so we want to be gone before that happens. Chris wants to go to Canada because we are only 10 miles away. Then he wants to go to Calgary. I think that won't happen unless the weather changes.
The mountains here are so different. Everywhere we go the mountains have their own personalities. They are all beautiful. We watched for the sunset but it just goes down. No bright colors across the sky. We have not seen one real sunset since we left the gulf coast.
The best way to comment is through FB. I get those. Thanks for taking the time to write. Chris and I look forward to reading them each night....when we have service.
It is time now to walk up the hill to our campsite....and the temperature is dropping so I will sign off.
Peace to all my friends. Barbara
Friday, September 5, 2014
Greetings from Helena, Montana
I has been a week since I have written in my blog. It has been an incredible week filled with many exciting moments but no internet or cell service most of the time. I have missed writing and have missed the contact from friends through email or FB replies. However did we survive with the internet?
We left Mt. Rushmore headed to Yellowstone with a stop over at Buffalo, Wyoming. Stayed in a lovely campground that had an ice cream social every evening. We met a very nice couple and shared stories. They gave us lots of advice. We were debating the route to Yellowstone. There were two options. The first was to travel the interstate and come in from the north. The second was to take the scenic route through the mountains and a 10,000 ft pass. The couple had just come from the scenic route and the man loved it while the woman said she would not do it again. The scenic route is full of switchbacks and steep inclines and down grades. Some people lose their breaks before it is over. Which way do you think we went?
We had a beautiful drive through the mountains and I loved every minute of it. Chris has become a very good driver and I did not have to tell him to slow down. He took his time and we enjoyed the journey. We pulled into our reserved campsite in Yellowstone very late and went right to bed.
The campground was supposed to have Sunday services but they were cancelled because it was the end of the season---poor excuse. Chris and I planned our Sunday worship together. He chose that we would do morning prayer and I choose to do lectio divina from my recorded readings. We had a great worship time sharing our time together.
Later in the morning we realized that we had no cell service or internet and the nearest hotspot was at a lodge that was supposed to be 2 miles away. It had been raining, a slow drizzle, all morning so we decided to take a chance with the weather and walk to the lodge, hoping to have lunch before returning. The trip about killed us. I kept saying that this was the longest 2 miles I had ever walked. To make it worse, the rain never stopped, just got worse. We did arrive, had a great lunch, and FB all our friends so they would not worry. Then it stopped raining and we headed back--exhausted. The next day we clocked it in our RV. It was not 2 miles but was really 3.5 miles or 7 miles round trip. No wonder we could not get back up after we sat down for dinner. We now keep the Aleve in the silverware drawer because we need it so frequently.
Yellowstone was great with Old Faithful, plenty of geysers, and even a bison only 40 feet from our path. We hiked everyday and really enjoyed it. Chris finally saw a herd (15) of bison and a bull elk.
Mr. ADHA got tired of Yellowstone...saw it all...so we checked out 3 days early and headed to the Tetons on Wednesday morning. It was only 90 miles away.
The drive through the Tetons was magnificent. We turned on our praise music by Lynn DeShazo as we experienced the beauty of God's work through our eyes and through our ears. Lynn sings the psalms and praises God for all He has made. It was like being on a retreat. The mountains open up to this river/lake area and it is breathtaking. I never expected to see a marina with at least 50 boats on morings. What a great day. We both felt so fortunate to have such an experience.
Now we are in Helena, Montana. There is a Mexican restaurant on every corner and Casinos on the other corners. We took a boat ride called Gates of the Wilderness. Pretty awesome! We had dinner with friends we met through Ci and Ashby when they were in Gulf Shores. It was fun and lots of laughs since they all RV and had stories to tell.
Tomorrow we head to Glacier National Park. We should be there two nights. We hope to travel the road to the sun of the weather holds out for us.
Peace to all my friends, Barbara
We left Mt. Rushmore headed to Yellowstone with a stop over at Buffalo, Wyoming. Stayed in a lovely campground that had an ice cream social every evening. We met a very nice couple and shared stories. They gave us lots of advice. We were debating the route to Yellowstone. There were two options. The first was to travel the interstate and come in from the north. The second was to take the scenic route through the mountains and a 10,000 ft pass. The couple had just come from the scenic route and the man loved it while the woman said she would not do it again. The scenic route is full of switchbacks and steep inclines and down grades. Some people lose their breaks before it is over. Which way do you think we went?
We had a beautiful drive through the mountains and I loved every minute of it. Chris has become a very good driver and I did not have to tell him to slow down. He took his time and we enjoyed the journey. We pulled into our reserved campsite in Yellowstone very late and went right to bed.
The campground was supposed to have Sunday services but they were cancelled because it was the end of the season---poor excuse. Chris and I planned our Sunday worship together. He chose that we would do morning prayer and I choose to do lectio divina from my recorded readings. We had a great worship time sharing our time together.
Later in the morning we realized that we had no cell service or internet and the nearest hotspot was at a lodge that was supposed to be 2 miles away. It had been raining, a slow drizzle, all morning so we decided to take a chance with the weather and walk to the lodge, hoping to have lunch before returning. The trip about killed us. I kept saying that this was the longest 2 miles I had ever walked. To make it worse, the rain never stopped, just got worse. We did arrive, had a great lunch, and FB all our friends so they would not worry. Then it stopped raining and we headed back--exhausted. The next day we clocked it in our RV. It was not 2 miles but was really 3.5 miles or 7 miles round trip. No wonder we could not get back up after we sat down for dinner. We now keep the Aleve in the silverware drawer because we need it so frequently.
Yellowstone was great with Old Faithful, plenty of geysers, and even a bison only 40 feet from our path. We hiked everyday and really enjoyed it. Chris finally saw a herd (15) of bison and a bull elk.
Mr. ADHA got tired of Yellowstone...saw it all...so we checked out 3 days early and headed to the Tetons on Wednesday morning. It was only 90 miles away.
The drive through the Tetons was magnificent. We turned on our praise music by Lynn DeShazo as we experienced the beauty of God's work through our eyes and through our ears. Lynn sings the psalms and praises God for all He has made. It was like being on a retreat. The mountains open up to this river/lake area and it is breathtaking. I never expected to see a marina with at least 50 boats on morings. What a great day. We both felt so fortunate to have such an experience.
Now we are in Helena, Montana. There is a Mexican restaurant on every corner and Casinos on the other corners. We took a boat ride called Gates of the Wilderness. Pretty awesome! We had dinner with friends we met through Ci and Ashby when they were in Gulf Shores. It was fun and lots of laughs since they all RV and had stories to tell.
Tomorrow we head to Glacier National Park. We should be there two nights. We hope to travel the road to the sun of the weather holds out for us.
Peace to all my friends, Barbara
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Greetings from Mount Rushmore
Thursday
I just wrote a long post about today's adventures. My lovely new computer ate it. I also realize that I posted my blog on FB four times last night. I never would say it had posted so I kept asking Chris if it was on. He kept saying no. I finally gave up and when I went of FB it was there four times. Technology...can't control it.
It has been another fun day. We went to Mount Rushmore and then had lunch in the small town of Hill City. After returning home, and a short nap, Chris cooked us steaks on the grill. We ate outside since the weather is so nice here.
Tomorrow we head towards Yellowstone, a bucket list request. We want to make several stops on the way so it will be a long day. I probably won't post tomorrow night if we stop late but I will post pictures on the stream and on FB.
Peace my friends, Barbara
I just wrote a long post about today's adventures. My lovely new computer ate it. I also realize that I posted my blog on FB four times last night. I never would say it had posted so I kept asking Chris if it was on. He kept saying no. I finally gave up and when I went of FB it was there four times. Technology...can't control it.
It has been another fun day. We went to Mount Rushmore and then had lunch in the small town of Hill City. After returning home, and a short nap, Chris cooked us steaks on the grill. We ate outside since the weather is so nice here.
Tomorrow we head towards Yellowstone, a bucket list request. We want to make several stops on the way so it will be a long day. I probably won't post tomorrow night if we stop late but I will post pictures on the stream and on FB.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Greetings from the Black Hills
Tuesday and Wednesday
We have had two awesome days. I did not post on Monday because we had no cell service in the state park. First, I have to apologize for the spelling of Custer's State Park. I woke up about 2 in the morning and realized I had written Custards State Park. Please know that I do know the difference. We are experiencing fall and it is wonderful. Had to go under the bed and pull out our sweatshirts and long pants.
Tuesday was a beautiful day driving to the Black Hills and to Mammoth Site. The Black Hills are not as impressive as the Badlands. The Indians called them the Black Hills because the rich tree coverage makes them look black from a distance. This is a very sacred space for many Indians died here. We first went to Mammoth Site. In 1972 a mammoth bone was discovered while bulldozers were working to prepare for the building of a subdivision. It turned out that many years ago there was a sink hole in the area now called Hot Springs. The sink hole filled in with water from an underground spring. The Woolly Mammoth would come to the site for water and if they fell in they would be unable to get out due to the steep sides and the slick shale that lined the sides. It is estimated that about 100 of these became victims to the sink hole over a period of about 10 years. Later the spring became dry and over time the sink hole was filled in. Amazingly, the mammoths were perfectly preserved in this sink hole. Over time the importance of this discovery was very clear and they built a building over the site to continue their excavation. The building is at least as big as any SAM'S store but much taller. I will post pictures on FB and have already posted many to the photo stream.
After the Mammoth site we headed to Wind Cave to spend the night. The camp site was too primitive for us so we decided to head onto Custer's State Park. Along the way we saw several buffalo, lots of prairie dogs, deer, and antelope. We made it to our campsite about 5:00 but could not get level due to the steepness of the site. After 4 tries of moving forward and backward the ranger suggested that we go to another campground. Nice guy, he radioed ahead so the ranger there would be ready for us. We were finally settled in by 7:00. With no internet or TV we found ourselves headed to bed by 9:00.
This morning, Wednesday, we continued to explore Custer's State Park looking for all the buffalo. We only saw 5 more but expected to see more of the herd. We did see these mules that were eating out of the hands of visitors. We had read about them and were told that you could feed them. We chose to stay in our MH and take pictures through the windows. The dogs were going crazy.
We then drove through the black hills to the Crazy Horse Memorial. I don't know how to explain what I felt but it was such a spiritual feeling there. I am not a great history buff....who am I kidding...I hated history and learned absolutely nothing...so this was a real eye opener for me. Crazy Horse was once asked where was his land. He pointed at the black hills and said, "my land is where my people are buried". That is why the memorial has him pointing to the black hills. The black hills were given in a treaty to the Indians and is considered sacred space. Now the very large state park in the middle of the black hills is named after Custer.
We are staying in a very nice park for $10 thanks to our time share. This was our first night to cookout on our new grill. We even watched TV outside in the rain. This is the live. My grandson has been following our blog and pictures and said he wants to retire right now.
I think this last week has been such a gift. I never had a dream of seeing any of South Dakota but I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity. I don't know what the rest of the journey will be like but I think this will be my favorite part.
Peace my friends, Barbara
We have had two awesome days. I did not post on Monday because we had no cell service in the state park. First, I have to apologize for the spelling of Custer's State Park. I woke up about 2 in the morning and realized I had written Custards State Park. Please know that I do know the difference. We are experiencing fall and it is wonderful. Had to go under the bed and pull out our sweatshirts and long pants.
Tuesday was a beautiful day driving to the Black Hills and to Mammoth Site. The Black Hills are not as impressive as the Badlands. The Indians called them the Black Hills because the rich tree coverage makes them look black from a distance. This is a very sacred space for many Indians died here. We first went to Mammoth Site. In 1972 a mammoth bone was discovered while bulldozers were working to prepare for the building of a subdivision. It turned out that many years ago there was a sink hole in the area now called Hot Springs. The sink hole filled in with water from an underground spring. The Woolly Mammoth would come to the site for water and if they fell in they would be unable to get out due to the steep sides and the slick shale that lined the sides. It is estimated that about 100 of these became victims to the sink hole over a period of about 10 years. Later the spring became dry and over time the sink hole was filled in. Amazingly, the mammoths were perfectly preserved in this sink hole. Over time the importance of this discovery was very clear and they built a building over the site to continue their excavation. The building is at least as big as any SAM'S store but much taller. I will post pictures on FB and have already posted many to the photo stream.
After the Mammoth site we headed to Wind Cave to spend the night. The camp site was too primitive for us so we decided to head onto Custer's State Park. Along the way we saw several buffalo, lots of prairie dogs, deer, and antelope. We made it to our campsite about 5:00 but could not get level due to the steepness of the site. After 4 tries of moving forward and backward the ranger suggested that we go to another campground. Nice guy, he radioed ahead so the ranger there would be ready for us. We were finally settled in by 7:00. With no internet or TV we found ourselves headed to bed by 9:00.
This morning, Wednesday, we continued to explore Custer's State Park looking for all the buffalo. We only saw 5 more but expected to see more of the herd. We did see these mules that were eating out of the hands of visitors. We had read about them and were told that you could feed them. We chose to stay in our MH and take pictures through the windows. The dogs were going crazy.
We then drove through the black hills to the Crazy Horse Memorial. I don't know how to explain what I felt but it was such a spiritual feeling there. I am not a great history buff....who am I kidding...I hated history and learned absolutely nothing...so this was a real eye opener for me. Crazy Horse was once asked where was his land. He pointed at the black hills and said, "my land is where my people are buried". That is why the memorial has him pointing to the black hills. The black hills were given in a treaty to the Indians and is considered sacred space. Now the very large state park in the middle of the black hills is named after Custer.
We are staying in a very nice park for $10 thanks to our time share. This was our first night to cookout on our new grill. We even watched TV outside in the rain. This is the live. My grandson has been following our blog and pictures and said he wants to retire right now.
I think this last week has been such a gift. I never had a dream of seeing any of South Dakota but I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity. I don't know what the rest of the journey will be like but I think this will be my favorite part.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Monday, August 25, 2014
Monday Wall, South Dakota
Today was my kind of day. NO DRIVING. We had a late breakfast and then walked to Wall Drug Store. This is just a tourist trap. It is very famous and the signs advertising this place litter the highways for hundreds of miles. Glad we went but could have done without it. After walking through the shops we went to the Wounded Knee Museum. It was a very powerful and sobering experience. I cannot believe the ability of mankind to do such horrible things and yet we see genocide going on today. I left the exhibit feeling much like crying.
The last few days have given me much time for reflection. When we left the trashy campsite in Sioux Falls, I was going to take a picture of how bad it was so I could post it. But then I thought how lucky I was to be leaving and how unfortunate the others were to stay. They wake up each morning to the same grey gravel and dust. They get up, go to work, and come back to this depressing place. The man in the trailer two spaces from ours came out as we left. He wanted to warn us that our TV antennae was still up. From his language I could tell that he was a little intellectually challenged. I had left a vase on the picnic table hoping someone there would like to have it. But when our neighbor came out to warn us I asked him if he would like to have it. He was very excited because his wife's birthday was coming up and he would give it to her. Something I wanted to toss aside was something he said his wife would love to have.
Then we went to that small church with 8 people. I forget how fortunate I have been. We have always belonged to successful churches. I can't imagine having so few choices as these small towns. I can't help but compare problems from our former churches to the problems of this little church. This little church just needs a priest to give them communion and visit them in the hospital.
Well this helps me to remember what is important and how very, very fortunate I am.
Ok...enough serious thoughts. We were supposed to stay here one more night but we have seen all that we can see here and Mr. ADHD needs some more stimulation so we will head out early in the morning. Big day with many stops: Crazy Horse Memorial, Custards State Park, and Hot Springs.
Peace to all my friends, Barbara
Today was my kind of day. NO DRIVING. We had a late breakfast and then walked to Wall Drug Store. This is just a tourist trap. It is very famous and the signs advertising this place litter the highways for hundreds of miles. Glad we went but could have done without it. After walking through the shops we went to the Wounded Knee Museum. It was a very powerful and sobering experience. I cannot believe the ability of mankind to do such horrible things and yet we see genocide going on today. I left the exhibit feeling much like crying.
The last few days have given me much time for reflection. When we left the trashy campsite in Sioux Falls, I was going to take a picture of how bad it was so I could post it. But then I thought how lucky I was to be leaving and how unfortunate the others were to stay. They wake up each morning to the same grey gravel and dust. They get up, go to work, and come back to this depressing place. The man in the trailer two spaces from ours came out as we left. He wanted to warn us that our TV antennae was still up. From his language I could tell that he was a little intellectually challenged. I had left a vase on the picnic table hoping someone there would like to have it. But when our neighbor came out to warn us I asked him if he would like to have it. He was very excited because his wife's birthday was coming up and he would give it to her. Something I wanted to toss aside was something he said his wife would love to have.
Then we went to that small church with 8 people. I forget how fortunate I have been. We have always belonged to successful churches. I can't imagine having so few choices as these small towns. I can't help but compare problems from our former churches to the problems of this little church. This little church just needs a priest to give them communion and visit them in the hospital.
Well this helps me to remember what is important and how very, very fortunate I am.
Ok...enough serious thoughts. We were supposed to stay here one more night but we have seen all that we can see here and Mr. ADHD needs some more stimulation so we will head out early in the morning. Big day with many stops: Crazy Horse Memorial, Custards State Park, and Hot Springs.
Peace to all my friends, Barbara
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Saturday and Sunday
Saturday was a fun day. We woke up early to get out of the horrible campground and headed to the corn palace. They are renovating this year so the palace was not it's usual beautiful showcase. There was also a carnival going on with food vendors and art tents so the town was not easily accessible. We did however get to see several large pieces of art work done with the corn. It was very lovely and interesting. One of the pictures I will post is the chalk drawing of where the different colors of corn are to be placed.
After the corn palace we headed to Chamberlain, SD. WE saw they had an Episcopal church there that we could attend. They did not have Sunday services but had a 5:30 Saturday night service. When we arrived in this small town, we could not find the church using the GPS. We went up and down the block with no luck so finally Chris called the priest. We were looking on N. Main instead of South Main. You can' trust the GPS. Anyway, when Father Kim called Chris they got to talking and....well...Kim asked Chris to preach at the service. This was about 2:00pm. We checked into our campsite which was right on the Missouri river and Chris worked on his sermon. Finally we headed to the little church and arrived about 30 minutes early. The church was very old and in much need of repair. There were a total of 8 people for the service, Father Kim, his granddaughter,4 parishioners, and the two of us. One lady was the organist, altar guild, chalice bearer, and reader. Her husband was the other reader. The other couple were celebrating their 63rd anniversary. Someone asked Father Kim if he could say a special prayer for them. It took him by surprise and he was trying to find one in the prayer book so Chris volunteered to say one. Fr. Kim had all of us come forward and lay hands on the couple while Chris prayed. It was very special. The couple had been married in that church 63 years ago. Fr. Kim never went to seminary. He was raised up within the church and made a non-stipendiary priest. He serves 7 congregations in a 100 mile radius. Before we left he offered Chris a job. They are looking for a retired priest to live in the rectory and serve the parish. I am sure that God is not calling us to South Dakota. I have not been that bad.
Saturday
Today we experienced the Badlands. I had no idea what to expect. One minute you are driving along grasslands and the next minute you are looking at peaks, gullies, and buttes. The only way to really describe it is that it is like being in the bottom of the grand canyon looking up but without the beautiful colors. Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 wrote "I've been about the world a lot and pretty much over our own country but I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands...What I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere...an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it." That is better than I could say it.
It was so beautiful and then...Chris just had to push the envelope. The ranger told us that if we continued past the paved road at the end of the park, we would see bison and mountain sheep. I asked if it was ok to take a motorhome. He told us it was up to how we felt about driving on gravel. So we went on the last gravel road I will ever go on. We traveled at 7-9 miles an hour and the poor RollinACE rattled and rattled till I was sure every screw would come out. We did see two bison about a half mile away visible only through our binoculars. We saw several of the mountain sheep but the best view was the prairie dogs. They were everywhere popping their heads out of the holes. There were hundreds of them and Millie was about to go crazy watching them through the windows.
We are now in Wall, SD. We will stay here two nights. I cannot post photos on this blog but I can add anyone to my photostream list if you are not on Facebook.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Saturday was a fun day. We woke up early to get out of the horrible campground and headed to the corn palace. They are renovating this year so the palace was not it's usual beautiful showcase. There was also a carnival going on with food vendors and art tents so the town was not easily accessible. We did however get to see several large pieces of art work done with the corn. It was very lovely and interesting. One of the pictures I will post is the chalk drawing of where the different colors of corn are to be placed.
After the corn palace we headed to Chamberlain, SD. WE saw they had an Episcopal church there that we could attend. They did not have Sunday services but had a 5:30 Saturday night service. When we arrived in this small town, we could not find the church using the GPS. We went up and down the block with no luck so finally Chris called the priest. We were looking on N. Main instead of South Main. You can' trust the GPS. Anyway, when Father Kim called Chris they got to talking and....well...Kim asked Chris to preach at the service. This was about 2:00pm. We checked into our campsite which was right on the Missouri river and Chris worked on his sermon. Finally we headed to the little church and arrived about 30 minutes early. The church was very old and in much need of repair. There were a total of 8 people for the service, Father Kim, his granddaughter,4 parishioners, and the two of us. One lady was the organist, altar guild, chalice bearer, and reader. Her husband was the other reader. The other couple were celebrating their 63rd anniversary. Someone asked Father Kim if he could say a special prayer for them. It took him by surprise and he was trying to find one in the prayer book so Chris volunteered to say one. Fr. Kim had all of us come forward and lay hands on the couple while Chris prayed. It was very special. The couple had been married in that church 63 years ago. Fr. Kim never went to seminary. He was raised up within the church and made a non-stipendiary priest. He serves 7 congregations in a 100 mile radius. Before we left he offered Chris a job. They are looking for a retired priest to live in the rectory and serve the parish. I am sure that God is not calling us to South Dakota. I have not been that bad.
Saturday
Today we experienced the Badlands. I had no idea what to expect. One minute you are driving along grasslands and the next minute you are looking at peaks, gullies, and buttes. The only way to really describe it is that it is like being in the bottom of the grand canyon looking up but without the beautiful colors. Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 wrote "I've been about the world a lot and pretty much over our own country but I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands...What I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere...an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it." That is better than I could say it.
It was so beautiful and then...Chris just had to push the envelope. The ranger told us that if we continued past the paved road at the end of the park, we would see bison and mountain sheep. I asked if it was ok to take a motorhome. He told us it was up to how we felt about driving on gravel. So we went on the last gravel road I will ever go on. We traveled at 7-9 miles an hour and the poor RollinACE rattled and rattled till I was sure every screw would come out. We did see two bison about a half mile away visible only through our binoculars. We saw several of the mountain sheep but the best view was the prairie dogs. They were everywhere popping their heads out of the holes. There were hundreds of them and Millie was about to go crazy watching them through the windows.
We are now in Wall, SD. We will stay here two nights. I cannot post photos on this blog but I can add anyone to my photostream list if you are not on Facebook.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Friday, August 22, 2014
I did not post yesterday because it was very long day. After traveling over 300 miles, my sweet husband pulled into the worst camp site in the world. If you think Walmart camping is roughing it...then this would be 10 times worse. After paying $28.88...we went out to the FIELD to search for a site. Actually site is a generous term. There were dirt/grass/mud half circles along the road with a post for electricity and water. There were only two other campers at the campground. The first site we tried we were unable to stay at because we could not level. The second site we were able to level but when Chris tried to hook up the electricity he found bare wires coming out of the box. Chris went back and got his money and we left. Thank goodness...I could not believe that we were going to stay there. Tonight? Almost as bad but we are paying more for it. We are in a giant dirt parking lot. You might ask why we are getting into these terrible sites. Well, I gave Chris the chance to plan a few nights so he could have ownership in our trip. WELL, no more. I will be selecting and researching all campsites. Tonight's camp is a parking lot of old broken down RV's that have been here forever and beautiful mega buck RV's that, like us, came for the night without looking at the reviews.
That said, today was a really fun day. We stopped at the Lewis and Clark exhibit in Sioux City. The exhibit was good and the staff was so friendly. They were talking to us and when they heard that Chris was a priest they gave him a tee-shirt that was designed by an Episcopal priest who was an American Indian. It was such a great time.
After the exhibit we had a great lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Missouri River. The days ahead will be so much fun. Tomorrow we head to the corn palace. After that the real journey begins and all camping will be in national parks or well reviewed campgrounds.
Peace my friends, Barbara
That said, today was a really fun day. We stopped at the Lewis and Clark exhibit in Sioux City. The exhibit was good and the staff was so friendly. They were talking to us and when they heard that Chris was a priest they gave him a tee-shirt that was designed by an Episcopal priest who was an American Indian. It was such a great time.
After the exhibit we had a great lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Missouri River. The days ahead will be so much fun. Tomorrow we head to the corn palace. After that the real journey begins and all camping will be in national parks or well reviewed campgrounds.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
What a day! It started with a 10:00 am show. We purchased tickets to The Irish Tenors and Celtic Women. What we saw was Tenors singing a few Irish pub songs, women singing a few Celtic songs and the rest were songs from Tom Jones, Elton John, ect. Great show but not what we expected. I still want to see the real show.
After the show we managed to park the rig at olive garden and we had a great meal. Following our meal we went in search of a Laundromat so we could wash our comforter. The GPS lead us on Mr. Toads Wild Ride. I should have known we were in trouble when we were waiting on the train to pass. But we went forward on a very narrow road which turned to gravel, but the GPS said we were still on track. Then we came to a very difficult turn. The rig could not make the turn so there was a lot of backing up and inching forward. We continued with the GPS guiding us up a hill, one lane, and then she said "you have arrived at your destination." What? We were outside of a lovely log cabin in the middle of nowhere and no place to turn around. I have to say Chris is no longer a beginner...he has advanced to expert in a single day. Somehow, without killing us, he managed to get us back down the hillside and as soon as we turned onto the highway we found wonderful laundry facility to get our comforter cleaned. Quite a journey. We met lovely people while doing our laundry.
Next we went to the Veteran's Museum. Well, Chris went and I stayed in the MH with the dogs. After two more stops...Walmart and Best Buy...we finally headed home. The MH is a great vehicle and has proved that we can go anywhere without a car. And Chris has proven that he can get us out of anything we get into.
Branson appears to be dying. We have been here many times and it looks like they have over built. Many empty theatres and we did not see any big names.
We have two days of driving with no sightseeing. We will be at the Corn Palace on Saturday. Until then we will just go with the flow.
Peace to all our friends, Barbara
After the show we managed to park the rig at olive garden and we had a great meal. Following our meal we went in search of a Laundromat so we could wash our comforter. The GPS lead us on Mr. Toads Wild Ride. I should have known we were in trouble when we were waiting on the train to pass. But we went forward on a very narrow road which turned to gravel, but the GPS said we were still on track. Then we came to a very difficult turn. The rig could not make the turn so there was a lot of backing up and inching forward. We continued with the GPS guiding us up a hill, one lane, and then she said "you have arrived at your destination." What? We were outside of a lovely log cabin in the middle of nowhere and no place to turn around. I have to say Chris is no longer a beginner...he has advanced to expert in a single day. Somehow, without killing us, he managed to get us back down the hillside and as soon as we turned onto the highway we found wonderful laundry facility to get our comforter cleaned. Quite a journey. We met lovely people while doing our laundry.
Next we went to the Veteran's Museum. Well, Chris went and I stayed in the MH with the dogs. After two more stops...Walmart and Best Buy...we finally headed home. The MH is a great vehicle and has proved that we can go anywhere without a car. And Chris has proven that he can get us out of anything we get into.
Branson appears to be dying. We have been here many times and it looks like they have over built. Many empty theatres and we did not see any big names.
We have two days of driving with no sightseeing. We will be at the Corn Palace on Saturday. Until then we will just go with the flow.
Peace to all our friends, Barbara
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Today has been very, very, hot. Our outdoor temperature gauge read 104 degrees. The day started very nice with a three mile round trip walk to the IHOP. That is 1.5 miles uphill and 1.5 miles downhill. We had a wonderful breakfast with more calories than we burned up. The area is on the outskirts of Brandon so we avoided all the glitz and crowds---saving that for tomorrow. We stopped by a little shop looking for postcards. The lady was very nice, complimented the blouse I was wearing, asked us where we were from. I thought 'what a friendly person'. We noticed a sign for tickets and we joking asked "can we buy tickets from you without having to buy a time share". She told us that people always ask that and that is why they started selling tickets. She went on and on about how terrible the timeshares were and how frustrated people get. So we tried to buy two tickets for a show. She started looking up the show and then...by the way....there is a short presentation about a new concept....how long will you be here....Chris walked out the door leaving me behind with the woman that would not let me go. She went from southern sweet to a feeding frenzy in less than a minute. I just kept easing my way to the door with her offering me $150 and discount tickets. This place is were we got started in our timeshare, on though we use it, I am done purchasing. We did escape this time.
We were not able to sit outside at all the rest of the day due to the heat. I have been working on setting up our computer. The new windows 8 or 8.1 on a touch screen is driving me crazy. nothing works the same as a normal computer.
We went for a walk after dinner and were going to take some pictures but I stepped on a rock the wrong way and fell to the ground. I was lucky enough to catch all of my weight on my knees and my hands. Going down all I could think of was my friend Mille who fell while walking. I kept my head up and only my nose touched the ground. My knee is in pain but no permanent damage. Of course, I fell on the path next to some people standing outside off there MH. I acted like everything was ok and continued our walk. Cut it short at one mile.
We have big plans for tomorrow. We will go to a show at 10:00 am. Yes, you read that correctly. We will see the Celtic Men and Women. They are only here for two weeks. They are not listed on any show advertisements but we saw a sign on the way to breakfast. We both want to see them so that is good. Then we will go to lunch at the Olive Garden, compliments of Ruth who gave us a gift card at Chris' retirement lunch. After lunch I will do laundry while Chris goes to the military museum. Busy Day! Hopefully we will get some pictures. I asked Chris why he did not take a picture of me on the trail when I fell?
BTY we have found the cheapest gas ever....$3.05 unbelievable.
Peace to my friends, Barbara
We were not able to sit outside at all the rest of the day due to the heat. I have been working on setting up our computer. The new windows 8 or 8.1 on a touch screen is driving me crazy. nothing works the same as a normal computer.
We went for a walk after dinner and were going to take some pictures but I stepped on a rock the wrong way and fell to the ground. I was lucky enough to catch all of my weight on my knees and my hands. Going down all I could think of was my friend Mille who fell while walking. I kept my head up and only my nose touched the ground. My knee is in pain but no permanent damage. Of course, I fell on the path next to some people standing outside off there MH. I acted like everything was ok and continued our walk. Cut it short at one mile.
We have big plans for tomorrow. We will go to a show at 10:00 am. Yes, you read that correctly. We will see the Celtic Men and Women. They are only here for two weeks. They are not listed on any show advertisements but we saw a sign on the way to breakfast. We both want to see them so that is good. Then we will go to lunch at the Olive Garden, compliments of Ruth who gave us a gift card at Chris' retirement lunch. After lunch I will do laundry while Chris goes to the military museum. Busy Day! Hopefully we will get some pictures. I asked Chris why he did not take a picture of me on the trail when I fell?
BTY we have found the cheapest gas ever....$3.05 unbelievable.
Peace to my friends, Barbara
Monday, August 18, 2014
Monday
Today's journey was only 220 miles. We are in Branson, Missouri. Why Branson? We have a timeshare perk that allows us to camp for ten dollars a night with sewer and electric. Quite a bargain! It said it was one mile from restaurants and shows, and since we travel without a car, being close enough to walk was a real plus. However, we are parked about a mile from the entrance to the park. We went for an hour walk tonight with the dogs, just to prepare for the walk to IHOP tomorrow morning.
It is beautiful here. Lots of hills and bigger hills. I had my first experience driving steep grades. I guess we are in training for the real thing next week. I talked chris into staying here three nights so that we could have some "vacation" activities. I think he is beginning to enjoy the journey. Tonight he forgot his phone when we went on our walk. That use to be a big deal.
No pictures today...we have not seen anything interesting until it was too late to stop the big rig. I saw a tiny house built in a round tree trunk. We should have stopped. Maybe tomorrow we will get some good pics.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Today's journey was only 220 miles. We are in Branson, Missouri. Why Branson? We have a timeshare perk that allows us to camp for ten dollars a night with sewer and electric. Quite a bargain! It said it was one mile from restaurants and shows, and since we travel without a car, being close enough to walk was a real plus. However, we are parked about a mile from the entrance to the park. We went for an hour walk tonight with the dogs, just to prepare for the walk to IHOP tomorrow morning.
It is beautiful here. Lots of hills and bigger hills. I had my first experience driving steep grades. I guess we are in training for the real thing next week. I talked chris into staying here three nights so that we could have some "vacation" activities. I think he is beginning to enjoy the journey. Tonight he forgot his phone when we went on our walk. That use to be a big deal.
No pictures today...we have not seen anything interesting until it was too late to stop the big rig. I saw a tiny house built in a round tree trunk. We should have stopped. Maybe tomorrow we will get some good pics.
Peace my friends, Barbara
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Sunday
Today is Sunday and a travel day. It has been a struggle to go to church each Sunday. First you have to find a church nearby and then you have to find a church with enough parking for the Rollin ACE. It is much easier to tap the snooze, roll over, and say it is too complicated. But we didn't. We got up, walked the dog, showered, got beautiful (me not Chris), unhooked the utilities and headed to a 9:30 service in Tupelo. It was in a residential neighborhood, lined with trees, and not much parking. We did find a library a block away that had room.
The service was good but the sermon was great and hit home. It was about keeping the Sabbath. He talked about God creating the world in 6 days and resting on the 7th, then the commandment--keep the sabbath. He reminded us of the days when nothing was open on a Sunday. But now our children have sporting events even practices on Sundays. The message to us was clear...we need to plan Sundays into our travels.
After church we headed to our next stop. We were starving and we were in the middle of nowhere. I got on my trusty trip-advisor to find a great place for lunch. There was a #1 restaurant just a few miles off the highway. Best southern food ever! We drove tree-lined roads (trees are not friendly to motorhomes) to a very small town square. Amazingly we found a place to park. Walked up to the restaurant to find it was closed. They were keeping the Sabbath. Ok God...I got the message.
Lunch was a ham sandwich in the Walmart parking lot. Then we headed to Pohattan, Arkansas to Lake Charles State Park. It s a beautiful park and we have a pad on the lake. The road here was narrow, winding, and no shoulder. Guess who happened to be driving. Chris asked if I wanted to trade drivers when we turned off the major highway but it was only a mile away and how hard could it be? Well, it was the longest mile I have ever driven. Next time we will trade.
It is very hard to post pictures on the blog. I have to work on that.
Peace my friends. Barbara
The service was good but the sermon was great and hit home. It was about keeping the Sabbath. He talked about God creating the world in 6 days and resting on the 7th, then the commandment--keep the sabbath. He reminded us of the days when nothing was open on a Sunday. But now our children have sporting events even practices on Sundays. The message to us was clear...we need to plan Sundays into our travels.
After church we headed to our next stop. We were starving and we were in the middle of nowhere. I got on my trusty trip-advisor to find a great place for lunch. There was a #1 restaurant just a few miles off the highway. Best southern food ever! We drove tree-lined roads (trees are not friendly to motorhomes) to a very small town square. Amazingly we found a place to park. Walked up to the restaurant to find it was closed. They were keeping the Sabbath. Ok God...I got the message.
Lunch was a ham sandwich in the Walmart parking lot. Then we headed to Pohattan, Arkansas to Lake Charles State Park. It s a beautiful park and we have a pad on the lake. The road here was narrow, winding, and no shoulder. Guess who happened to be driving. Chris asked if I wanted to trade drivers when we turned off the major highway but it was only a mile away and how hard could it be? Well, it was the longest mile I have ever driven. Next time we will trade.
It is very hard to post pictures on the blog. I have to work on that.
Peace my friends. Barbara
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Then I vacuumed and made dinner and did the dishes. I am beginning to rethink this retirement. I have cooked more in the last two weeks than in the last two years. Don't call me Suzy Homemaker...just call me Cinderella.
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