Winnemucca Is the Place to Be

Rather long drive today, 370 miles, which for us is not something that we do very often.  However driving through Nevada does not leave you too many places to stop.  And as luck would have it we had a tire develop  a fast leak, thank heavens for Pressure Pro.  It was a beeping as soon as the tire began loosing air, so we were able to pull off safely And with the tire intact, and no damage to the 5th wheel.  However road service was to be at least 2 hours, but in a little over an hour we were back on the road. And we had a nice lunch, Chuck got a fast 40 winks, all is well that ends well. 

Today as we were zipping along at 60+ miles an hour, couldn’t help but think of the pioneers, in their wagon trains. 

                               What they endured crossing this vast country I can’t even imagine.  

    

Art on the salt flats.

Bonneville salt flats under water.

                              

Salt being extracted from  the water.

Tomorrow  our destination is Reno, where we are meeting our son and DIL.  They are there for the week end on a bowling end-of-the-season league party.  Will be great to see them again, but our grandson is not coming as he has ball games.  And he does not know that we are here so it will be a big surprise when we do see him, just can’t wait to give him a big hug.  He is our only grandson that we lived close to so we spent a lot of time with him in his early years.  Missed him a lot, sure will be great to spend time with him again.

Life Is Good

Salt Lake City

Easy travel day, little rain when we first got on the road around 9 AM, but once that passed. super travel day. Chuck decided to leave Springs one day sooner than we had originally planned due to weather moving in. And this morning I had to congratulate him on his fore sight. That hurt, to have to tell him he was right……..once again. Darn.

Wow, RV parks are sure starting to hold their sites at a premium. Last night we paid 35 and tonight 39, both with a Good Sam discount. Tomorrow have us going into a Passport America, 17.50. That will be in Winnemucca. Thank goodness for audio books, traveling through these desolate states. Not too much to take your mind off of mile after mile. Listening to one now that has 12 discs so should take us all the way in.

Decided to eat in tonight, stopped at the store picked up a few things and will save more than a few dollars. Well, not exactly. bought gas, which was 4.10 a gallon, better than yesterday at 4.21.

Life is Good.

Moving On

We left Colorado Springs this morning, heading for California. Decided that we would take a different route and by pass Denver. This was 24 heading west out of Springs. Two lane road, and hilly and winding, but beautiful drive.

Mapped it out and it read that the highest elevation was just over 9000 feet, but when we were at the top, signs were saying well over 1100. So much for map-quest. And yes that is a lot snow, but as you can see the sky was ever so blue. We did see a huge herd of elk and another of antelope. There were also quite a few deer along with a huge big horn sheep. And NO, I do not have one picture to show, there was no stopping as we just plain flew past them. Bummer.

Once we got to I-70, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way into Grand Junction.

The roll is just too big for her little hand, but she figured it out just fine!

Think these two could wrap “Po” around their fingers pretty fast?

Roinn had his last track meet while we were there. Even in kindergarten they were running the 400. It was so inspiring as the kids were coming down the home stretch everyone would start cheering, and the coaches were there to run in with the last few. Very nice.

Tomorrow we are planning to make Salt Lake, not even 300 miles, so should be no problem, as long as we have no problems.

Life is Good.

We Have A Plan

Yes indeedy, we have a plan. While in the RGV we had planned to take our time getting to Springs, seeing some of the sights along the way, over a period of six weeks or so. Then we would have been here till the 1st of July and we would have headed toward Salt Lake and then made our way up to Idaho and Yellowstone. But that fell apart when I decided that my tumor problem should be taken care of here, although it turned out thankfully to be nothing, it did do in our plans. So we have decided that we would just make a run to California and see our son and his family. We did not get to spend too much time with him when we were there last year as he started work on a power plant and was working 12 hour days, 7 days a week, so it left little time for visiting. Feels good to have a plan.

Our time here in Springs has flown by, the weather has changed so many times, we could have been here for months. The last few days have been wonderful though. Spring has defiantly sprung. We did get to meet up with Jesse and Ginger, RV-ing in the Kram-a-lot-Inn for dinner the other night. Tried our favorite Chinese place, and we had not eaten there since last year, so little worried that it might not be what it used to be, but it was wonderful. Ever in Springs, The Coal Mine Dragon, well worth the trip. It was good to see these “youngsters” again. They are work camping not too far from here, till October.

Finally broke down and got a Kindle, although have not used it yet, it is being charged as I write. I’ve gotten a few new toys here, a bullet mixer, tiny camera, oh yes, then I stumbled onto Penezys Spices. Which caused me to take another trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond (darn) for the magnetic spice containers.

Since I had no metal in the kitchen I attached two cookie sheets to the end of the cupboard and they make a great storage area for the spices, plus they are very visible. Notice that the labels are extra large print, lol.

Roinn and Kylee. He is a wonderful big brother, where as she is a total princess. Pink is her color, wonderful kids, but they are growing up way too fast.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mothers Day.

Life is Good.

OH MY!!!

I finally figured it out.. As I was conditioning my hair in the shower this morning, I took time to read my shampoo bottle.  I am in shock!  The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my entire body says "for extra volume and body"!

Seriously, why have I not noticed this before?  Tomorrow I am going to start using "Dawn" dish soap! It says right on the bottle, "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove".  
It pays to read the warning labels my friends!

Playing Tour Guide

Our friends, Bob & Barb Williams, stopped for a brief visit on their way to Livingston.  They are doing a month of volunteering at the care center in the Escapees Park.  They were game to seeing a few of the points of interest here in Colorado Springs, so we were off.  Our first stop was the Air Force Academy to view the chapel. 

It is really spectacular, I marvel every time we visit.

The inside looking to wards the entrance,  a huge pipe organ in the loft.

The front view. Pictures do not do it justice by any means.

The pictures are of the Protestant chapel, below this is also Catholic,

Jewish,

Buddha chapels.

From there we went to visitor center and lunch at Subway, and then it was on to the Garden of the Gods.  Our grandson was married at the base of this rock formation, called “kissing camels”.

My all time favorite view on the drive through the garden, years ago, the first time that I seen these rock formations I was totally blown away.  But after our years of travel although they still remain impressive, there are other places that dwarf them.

Bob, on the Top of the World!

Balancing Rock

Same rock, other side

And that ended our tour, after a brief rest, we went out to dinner, and once back at the RV, the guys had to have another game of hand and foot, but they came up losers once again. 

Score: Girls 2, Guys 0. 

This morning they were off, hopefully the wind died down some as it was blowing early.  It is their third day of being full-timers, and we are so glad that we will get to see them once again in Cody come August.

Life is Good.

White Easter, NOOOOOOOO

It happens every spring when we are tempted to arrive a few weeks earlier than we should.  Just call us slow learners.  Snow!

Okay, so it wasn’t like we had to shovel or anything, but considering we don’t do winter in any form  it was shocking. 

We have been enjoying our down time here, spending time with the kids, although their time is limited as their daily life of work goes on.  Our little great grand babies are still a little leary of these strangers that have come into their lives, although Roinn is comfortable with us.  Klyee, not so much.  Visiting only once a year is not quite enough.

                               

We spent Easter with them and it was fun to watch them go through their baskets,

and then outside to hunt eggs.  Sure brought back a lot of memories.

                              

Had a great dinner of ham with all the trimmings, and after the golf tournament was over we had a few games of pegs and jokers.  Girls were losers both times….

Wednesday we went to the Country Club for “chicken and bingo”.  Lovely club, and the food was wonderful.  The kids have a trail membership and are considering joining, but probably won’t at this time.  The manager invited Chuck out for a round of golf, and that made his night.  He also won at bingo. They only played about 10 games and for me that was just about the right amount. Watching paint dry and playing bingo have about the same appeal to me.  Could be because don’t think that I have ever won.

My week was ruined when the Cowboys got eliminated off the Amazing Race.  Feel that the other teams all cheated and  were rewarded, when the Cowboys played fair and were penalized for it. Think that is the last time I watch it, Yeah….sure!

 

The deer in our daughters front yard, they can grow nothing outside, unless if is hanging 10 feet in the air, it is unbelievable the way the deer invade the neighborhood.  And they truly do eat everything.  And they are not the least bit afraid of humans, I took these right next to them and they just continued to eating the lilac bush. 

We have two more weeks here and still have not made a decision on our next destination.  Sure that it will come to us, “ain’t no way” we can just wonder, not with these gas prices. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Life is Great.

TEXAS to COLORADO SPRINGS

Due to a medical miscue we made the decision to arrive in Springs earlier than we had originally planned. Thankfully all was a false alarm, so we will enjoy the snow when and if it comes, and it probably will. So nice to see our daughter and SIL. Also, our grandsons family, especially those two babies. Roinn who is 6 and Kylie 3, they are so sweet, never sitting still. Sure would be nice if we could buy that energy in a store. What you can buy in a store here is marijuana, and there are stores all over, on the main street that runs through Old Colorado City, there must be 15 of them. 1/8 for $25.00. They soon will be having a price war between the legal and illegal pot.

Saturday we met the kids for breakfast as the little ones have karate, and our daughter and SIL have made it into a time they set aside to spend time with the kids, which is great. From there we went to the arcade and ditzed around for a bit with them. In the afternoon we attended a performance of The Thorn. It was amazing. Put on by the New Life Church in there mega building, which holds 5000 people. It is a round building with the stage in the center, so there is not a bad seat, although ours were some of the best. They have over 500 people in the cast, truly truly amazing. Then we all went back to the house for dinner and a few games of pegs & jokers. Guys lost, not once but twice.

Today Chuck is out on the golf course, and I’m going to walk over and get my nails done. The campground that we stay in here is nothing to speak of, the price is good, 500 a month includes cable, electric and there is wi-fi if you want it. Plus it is in walking distance of shops and restaurants. And our daughters house is but 6 blocks away, which is the main reason we stay here. Choices are rather limited in this area. The campground at the Air Force Academy is nice, but out of the way.

Glad to be back on the blog, even thought there probably will not be to much to write about for awhile. Just thankful that all is well and

Life is Good.

MIDNIGHT TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!

Yes it is, staying up till midnight so I can make reservations for Defeated Creek for “the gathering”.  And wouldn’t you know it, but I have a doctors appointment for 8 AM.  Have not had to be any where that early for months! 

We have been doing the mundane, getting things ready to move on down the road.  Jacks are fixed.  Had the carpet shampooed today, and they were so fast, but did an excellent job.  The best part they were right on time, so we didn’t have to worry that they might not show, after we had moved everything out side. So there are still businesses that try to please the customer. 

The past few days the weather has been so hot, yesterday broke records when it hit 103.  Now it does not matter that the humidity was only 14%, it was HOT.  But about seven last night the cold front came in and it was wonderful, and today just heaven. 

Jack and the Beanstock comes to mind.  Hope that it blooms before we leave.

That’s all for now, Life is Good.

Onion Festival, Rambling On

Last week seen us making the run to San Antonio, and once again we were lucky to get an apartment for the night on the base. We really thought we were in the lap of luxury with all the room, very nice. Other than getting Chucks hearing aids we did not do anything. Getting to know that road, from here and back again, though. At the last minute we decided that it would be fun to spend the month of May working at CARE at the Escapees park with Barb and Bob/Chuck, but they had filled the month out. So our plans as of now are leaving here the 16th of April, going to Fredericksburg for a few days, then over to the Lost Alaskan RV park, in Alpine. Spend some time there before starting north to Colorado Springs. Can’t go too soon, we have done that before and ended up in snow. Have not been to that area of Texas, and it sounds different, and about now, looking forward to something different. Sure don’t know if we will ever be able to come off the road, seems like, especially me, wants new and different scenery every few months at least. Even after Chuck retired from the Air Force, and we were in one place, hitch itch, or what ever, would hit me, and the only thing I could do then was change the furniture, and the rooms around. Chuck was afraid one day he would find the dining room in the master bath! And did I ever have fun when we remodeled! Now he is the one who watches HGTV, and all those home buying shows….lol. We did have a houseboat for 12 years, but we were locked to one lake as it was too big to be towable. But loved the summers on it. Guess we sat too long here, one of our front landing jacks seems to have given up the ship, had a mobile RV tech out and he is working on getting it fixed. Carpets will be cleaned, rig washed and waxed, and that should be about all that we need to taken care of before pulling out. Getting a little lonely here, lots of people gone already. But our site is among the park models and mobiles so it doesn’t seem so empty compared to the RV section. Although a lot of the people are gone.

Was it the Little Shop of Horrors that had that huge plant? Well this is behind our RV, can almost seem it grow. Once it blooms it will die, but lots of little new plants will be there to claim the space. Planning on keeping a running picture log till it blooms or we leave, what ever some first.

Chuck and I were up and out early to play bridge, then we went to the Onion Festival. Starting to becoming friends with my droid phone. Did get a stylist so that really helps in getting it set up, I was spending more time deleting my mistakes than making head way, also really like the voice search. Which, got us there, pretty neat. Sure eats the battery though.

There were 3 booths selling blooming onions, those lines were very long, but all the others seemed to be really wanting for customers. Sort of felt sorry for them, and the one next to our line was sponsored by a Lions club, and Lion Chuck, had to support them by buying a polish sausage while waiting in the blooming onion line. I was looking forward to the arts and crafts booths, but that disappointed, there were very few. Will say the blooming onion we had was absolutely wonderful. Lots of good music, fun time.

So there you have it, nothing new, but loving it, hope it goes on forever….Life is Good.

'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that matter - don't mind... and those that mind - don't matter.'

Erin Go Bragh!

Erin Go Bragh: Ireland Forever!

Our street float was based on this saying….well, sort of…..Erin Go Braless. Tacky you say, well that would be us! That is what the trip to the ropa’s main purpose was for…bras…..lol.

The entire park went out for the festivities. There were games, the dangerous wheel chair races,

where the pusher is blindfolded, makes “your other left” to come in play more than a wee bit. Water balloon toss, bean bag throw, spelling contest, and much more, think if our kids could see us they might be concerned, but hey, it is our turn to be a kid again.

First place float

Walker was wonderful about the green wig, what a sweetie.

The streets in the park were lined for the parade, think some people camped out the night before, but then maybe not.

And YES, we bought new hats!

Tomorrow we are making the run to San Antonio, hopefully this is the last one.

Life is Good.

Busy Doing Nothing

We have been on the constant go, but seems as though we have one foot nailed to the floor, going in one big circle.  We signed up for an additional month here, just seemed easier to sit and get all the final loose ends tried up.  Which means a few more trips across the border I’m sure.  Last week we found the nicest place for pedi’s.  And the best part, they had a margarita machine going full blast.  By the time we got out of there and had lunch, which had 2fer’s, getting back across that bridge was………..eventful.  Sure glad we have a designated driver, dear sweet Chuck. 

Seen a really great movie the other night.  The Next Three Days, with Russell Crowe.  Kept you on the edge of your seat, or at least it did me.  And last night we had Melissa & Larry of “One Last Time” here at the park.  They had been putting on shows for the past 36 days straight, ours being the 36th, so they were ready for some down time I’m sure.  We are going to try and see the other show they have before we leave.

I’ve been doing a little more home cooking lately, have to make up for the rising gas prices some where, and that would be the easiest way.  Actually eating out here is not that much fun.  Have to eat so early or wait an hour for a table it is so crowded, so eating at home is okay.  And the drinks are cheaper. 

Wednesday we are decorating our float for the St. Patrick's Day parade.  Should be a fun day, lots of games and food.

THIS DAY IS YOURS
DON'T THROW IT A W A Y 

May God Bless You,
'To the world you might be one person,
But to one person you just might be the world'
'May the Lord Bless you and keep you,
May the Lord Make his face shine upon you,
And give you Peace......Forever'
'Good friends are like stars...
You don't always see them, But you know they are always there.

That’s all folks……..Life is Good.

Out With the Old In With the New

Travel plans for the summer that is. We were totally undecided, and finally pulled the trigger and made a decision. We are going to the Escapees Rally. That being said everything else will be based on being in Gillette, Wyoming the end of August. We have a little over a month here yet, then the wheels will be turning. Of course it will be a slow crawl to Wyoming, lots of stops along the way.

The time seems to fly faster every week, here it is Wednesday, could it be my new Saturday? We have been busy finishing up with dentist and doctors appointments, LOL, we have managed to cram enough of them in to last the rest of the year. So far everything has checked out okay, but not because they haven’t tried their best to find something that needed fixing. We are in “rust belt era” of the golden age, you know.

Last week our park had casino night and we were all asked to dress western, for us it meant buying a cowboy hat.

We had a great time, playing with faux money is still fun. Then at the end they had a auction where you could spend it. Had some very nice items, but people had pooled their money so the bids were out of our reach. For the last item, they had 3 small decorative bags, one of which contained 50 dollars, one, 25 dollars (real money) and one with zip. But they had to sell all 3 before you could look. Our group pooled our money and got one of the bags, and it contained ……………….NOTHING. Which was what our money was worth after the event was over so didn't feel bad. We had a fun time, and big thanks go to all the people who helped put it on, know that it took a lot of work.

Couple of the dancehall hussies, Pat & Laverne

The big new is I got a Droid! Not sure when I will reach the stage of saying that I love it, but have a feeling that it is in the far distant future, cause right now it is all I can do to make a call, talk about being lost. Found someone who is willing to help me, just have to find the time that works for both of us to get together. Mean while I’ll dink away with it. I can do this, yes, I can!

The farewell potluck was the other day, but people are not in that big of hurry to leave, although there are a few who have left. There is a large St. Patrick's doings here, and after that the exodus will begin. I went with some of the girls to a few ropa’s looking for things to use in the parade, and it was not too bad. Take that back, had fun, would even do it again. One of the girls found a huge bunch of beautiful silk scarves, must have been over 100, probably cost her 20 cents for all. Different time, but guess you can get lucky.

Next week another trip to San Antonio, the final one to pick up Chucks hearing aids. He has a 30 days trail period with them, which is the main reason we are staying in the area an extra month. Well, that brings me to the end of this update, all is well, life is good, thanks for looking in on us.