Travels With Lucy...

Nesting

2011-09-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great summer. Probably one of the best ever. However, it is good to be back on our lot here in Indio. Lucy started waving her paws as we pulled up. I immediately started nesting. Covers came off the table, chairs, golf cart, then I realized Tim was waiting for me to guide him back in. Just kidding.

Nesting is a good thing. I'm still nesting...however, I did take time to go to Trader Joe's.

Lone Pine, CA

2011-09-27T16:23:00.001-07:00

Spending a couple of days in Lone Pine, CA. Lone Pine is half way between Reno and Indio on Hwy 395. Lone Pine has quite a history. Manzanar Relocation Camp is north of the town. The camp confined more than 10,000 Japanese Americans from 1942-1945. We went through the exhibit when we came through in May. http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/manz/index.html

The Alabama Hills are located to the west of Hwy 395 and driving through Lone Pine you can't see them. They're named after a Confederate warship. Apparently prospectors mining in the area during the Civil War were sympathetic to the South and they were the ones who provided the name and it stuck. http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bishop/scenic_byways/alabamas.html . The area is also famous for filming such films as Gunga Din, How The West Was Won, Hop-a-Long Cassidy, Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, etc... http://www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/.

And then there's the LA Aqueduct. Amazing to know LA owns most of the land here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Water_Wars

There's so much more to see and do in the area but we're ready to head south. We left Hart Ranch and 39 degree weather. Indio will be 100 tomorrow...but it's a dry heat. Here's a link to the latest pictures from Lone Pine: I think there probably is a "shorter" link but I haven't figured it out. https://picasaweb.google.com/115861928939426156753/AlabamaHillsAndCowboyFilmMuseum?authkey=Gv1sRgCOj6opaln4Gs9QE#

I also can't figure out how to remove Sidney, NE from Weatherbug on my Droid.

Lake Tahoe with my brother

2011-09-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Look who's the teacher now!

We had a super day at Lake Tahoe. Weather was perfect. Loaded up the family (two cars) and made a day of kayaking and picnicing. Brother was hilarious. He wanted to head for the wakes left by the speed boats. He wanted to ride those wakes. He doesn't get out much. Here's a link to the web album:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115861928939426156753/LakeTahoe?authkey=Gv1sRgCP_6sv-2gLibBg#

Long drive

2011-09-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

Rapid City to Reno is a long drive. Not much to see driving west on I80...except trucks and trains. I80 is not a scenic drive but it's the fastest route when you've got to be somewhere by a certain date. Yesterday's fiasco was trying to get fuel at Pilot west of Elko, NV. The car pumps DID NOT have diesel. Diesel was only available at the truck pumps and, unfortunately, the truck pumps nozzles don't work for us. The nozzle is too big. By the time we had pulled in, jockey'd for position, dodge trucks, realized no diesel at the pumps, etc., etc. we determined we had to go across the street to a Texaco where every pump had diesel and there was no traffic to contend with. Of course, the price probably had something to do with it...$4.21/gal vs Pilot at $3.99. Wasn't much we could do but pay the price...we needed fuel.

I won't have any internet for the next few days. My service provider has to replace my router...has to do with roaming and the service is suspended until I get the new one.

We have a short (40 mile) drive today to Reno. Lucy gets to meet my niece's two dogs. Should be interesting. She's not fond of other dogs.

Observations from the road

2011-09-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's a bad picture, but I took it at 6:30 this morning while we were leaving the campground. It's a truck, pulling a truck pulling a little camper. They were leaving the same time we were. Wonder what's the story? There's also a motorized scooter/wheelchair thingy in the bed of the first truck.

Our first night on the road was in Nebraska, last night was Wyoming, tonight is Utah and tomorrow night will be Nevada. We have had rain/wind almost all the way. Realllly nasty wind last night in Rawlins. At the moment, in North Salt Lake City, we have puffy clouds and sunshine. I80 was packed with traffic...mostly trucks...going both ways. Also, I've never seen so many trains. Again, going both ways. Some trains were coal cars and they were passing each other. One going East, one West. Why didn't they just leave the coal where it was in the first place? Seems to me they were needless trips. Wait. Maybe it's part of the new jobs plan. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

My niece (who we're visiting in Reno) decided at the last minute NOT to take her two kids to the air show yesterday. I'm not sure why she changed her mind...I'm just grateful she did.

On the road again...

2011-09-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's raining, wind's blowing, it's 39 degrees and my hands are freezing. Hooked up the truck and heading to warmer weather. We have had the best summer here in the Black Hills. We had a family reunion blending Minnesota and Korea for a week. We renamed one of the roads in Custer State Park - barf road - in honor of Audrey who like her mother can't do back seats in a car. There was Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Reptile World (I stayed home) and Bear Country. We also went to the Badlands stopping by a city (?) for sale - Scenic, SD - which has now been sold. Visited Wall Drug. (Not impressed.) Been to Sturgis, bought shirts, drove through Buffalo Chip, Spearfish and the fish hatchery, Belle Fourche (center of the nation), kayak'd (and wouldn't now be a proud SeaEagle Paddleski owner if wasn't for Tim and Crystal - http://www.inflatableboats4less.com/ showing me the ropes...I mean paddles, picnic'd, drank wine, and more wine, saw the B1 bomber and the museum at Ellsworth AFB. Been on roads that I have no clue how to get back to. Bought REAL tomatoes at a weekly farmer's market. Spent many days driving in and around Custer State Park. Love that park. But, now it's time to leave. We'll miss the Black Hills. It's such a beautiful place...in the summer. We don't do cold. Time to head west. Lucy's buried in the covers. She says she's not coming out until it gets warmer.

I thought it would fit...

2011-09-11T13:02:00.001-07:00

As Tim would say...you can't counsel dumb. Not sure what this guy was thinking. Height and width of these one lane tunnels are posted well in advance. This is one of the tunnels on the way to Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. He finally got through but crunched the top left of his cab over in the process. The crowd in front of him had exited their cars and were shaking their head in disbelief as he drove by.

We took the kayak out for one last spin around Center Lake in Custer State Park. Tim stayed on shore taking pictures of Lucy and I enjoying our time on the lake. There are no pictures however to post. Discovered after we got home that the memory card wasn't in the camera!! Oh well, at least I had my camera to take the stupid driver's picture.

Black Hills National Cemetery

2011-09-06T14:35:00.001-07:00

We stopped at the Black Hills National Cemetery today - http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/blackhills.asp. It was a last minute decision to take the exit to the Cemetery. We had passed it a number of times (right off Interstate 90 just east of Sturgis) and this time I wanted to stop. Just inside the entrance were 2 fire trucks from Sturgis. A few people were milling around and we determined there was a burial about to take place. We continued to drive through the Cemetery just reading some of the names on the headstones and which war they were in. Tim has had me in a lot of cemeteries looking up his descendents but this time it was my idea. Two names on headstones caught my eye: Last name on one was Low Dog and the other was Kills in Water. Can’t say I remember their first names…their last names were eye catchers.

Minutes after we left the Cemetery and were back on Interstate 90 heading back to Rapid City we passed a motorcycle, fire truck, car, truck procession that was a couple of miles long going west. We put 2 and 2 together and realized they were heading to the Cemetery. The two fire trucks already at the Cemetery made it pretty easy to figure out. I just did some google searching and the service being held at the Cemetery is for a 21 year old National Guardsman from Sioux Falls who died in a non-combat accident (he was working on a bridge project) in Afghanistan. The procession I mentioned earlier initiated in Sioux Falls with others joining in along the way.

Labor Day, Kids, Kids and more Kids

2011-09-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

Obviously, here at Hart Ranch in South Dakota, Labor Day weekend is the last hurrah for weekend warriors and their kids. The place has been over taken with kids (and bicycles). The speed limit for vehicles is 10 mph but it would be safer to walk anywhere. (Kids have no fear or shame when they ride out in front of you.) There are grills going, games being played, bicycle races, razor (scooters) races, strollers loaded with kids and dogs, tents up, tents blown down from a nasty wind storm, one little girl sitting in a big, tonka toy type truck, being pulled by her brother on his bike on a long rope weaving all over the road. Picnic tables are pushed together with Moms and Grandmas getting the food ready. There are games of hide and seek with lots of shrieks and laughter. Occasionally, there's a baby crying. The couple parked next to us had several car loads of family show up yesterday. Young, old, teenagers and a new baby. Lots of oohs and aahs. The watermelon was bought out after the chicken and corn had been devoured. Grandpa had what looked like a hacksaw to cut into the melon. It took him awhile but everyone eventually got their slice of watermelon.

Today, Monday, they'll start packing up to head home. Tomorrow all will once again be quiet. Too quiet. I like hearing the laughter of little kids. Lucy, however, will be glad to see a couple of dogs leave.

Wore myself out.

2011-09-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Spent almost 3 hours redesigning the blog. Don't have any energy left to post anything.

Not sure…

2011-05-15T13:22:00.001-07:00

Not sure I want to blog any more. Obviously, it hasn’t been high on my list the last few months. Few usually means more than two less than four. I guess it’s been three months…give or take a month. Not sure why I lost my desire to write. It’s not like I don’t have something to say. I definitely have opinions about stuff. I get fed up with the news. Everything is a “Fox News Alert”. I get fed up with politicians…they all lie. Who cares what Lindsey Lohan is up to now? God, what a shallow world we live in. I’ve become cynical over the last few years. I guess I need to just learn to tune it all out.

One thing hard to tune out is the wind. We have had so much wind the last few weeks. I thought Chicago was the windy city. We were suppose to leave today for the Northwest but with high wind warnings for today we decided to stay put. We are heading to La Pine, Or where I just found out they have flood warnings!! And, the temperature last night was 26! Next will be locusts. I’ve got to figure out how to get floaties on the motorhome. Which brings me to another topic we were discussing a few nights ago with fellow rv’ers. What do friends and family call your motorhome? We had a few chuckles on what others call our motorhomes. Campers or trailers is the most common. I usually refer to ours as the “rig” or “moho”. We’re not a bus and “coach” seems too ritzy. (However, sometime coach does slip out usually after we’ve been referred to as a camper.)

I think I had about a total of four people who read this blog. Will be interesting to see if anyone notices that I added a post. Don’t blame them for not checking or commenting on a new post. I know I get turned off when there’s nothing new on the blogs I follow. Maybe the difficulty I’ve had with blogging is who is it for? Me or them? Not sure.

Who are these people?

2011-01-04T17:36:00.001-07:00

Lucy and I went for a walk around the park last night. The park was pretty empty when we got here on New Year’s Eve. They’ve been coming in like flys the last couple of days. Where did they come from?

Tim has always accused me of being a voyeuer..don’t think I spelled that right but you know what I mean. I like to walk at night because I can look in the windows and see what’s going on. That’s what I did last night. There are RVs of all type. We have Class A’s…gas (engine’s in the front); diesel (engine’s in the back); there’s Class C’s, B’s, B+, 5th wheels, trailers and a few I don’t recognize. I see some people who are making dinner, watching TV, on the computer, by themselves, talking on the phone, reading or just puttering. I wonder who they are, where did they come from, are they snowbirds just here for the winter or are they fulltimers? Retired? Recovering from health issues? Dealing with health issues and not letting it stop them from travelling? Is this their last hurrah? Will we see any of them at our booth at the FMCA Rally next week? Where will they go from here? What are their stories? Are they famous? In disguise?

We finished our walk and headed back to our motorhome where the blinds are down and drapes pulled…buttoned down tighter than a drum. I know there’s people like me out there. I don’t want them watching while I dance the fandango!

Another year bites the dust...

2011-01-01T17:47:00.001-07:00

I don't like looking back so this won't be a rehash of 2010. Those of you who know us know what 2010 was like...those of you who don't, you didn't miss anything I want to replay. I try to stay in the moment. Most are good...no, great moments. Some suck. We are blessed with great kids, grandkids and friends and, of course, one special dog...Lucy. Tim and I both think she's a compliation of our previous dogs, Tootsie and Buffy. She's a Yorkie, like Buffy. Buffy was a 5lb princess type of Yorkie. She wore a pink bow in her hair. Lucy pulls plow. No bows for her. She's a 12 pound, bring it on, pulls no punches (just plows), I'm not wearing that $28.00 sweater - I'll just stand here and hold it (piddle) until it's back in the 70's, type of Yorkie. She has the personality of Tootsie. Tootsie was the sweetist dog we ever had. Lucy has her heart. She loves everybody. As far as she's concerned, everyone is on the planet to pet her. She manages to get us to do exactly what she wants us to do when she wants it. She stares into your eyes. She can communicate with you with those eyes.

We're in Indio, CA for the next few months. New Year's Eve was quiet except for the machine gun being fired at Midnight. Did I say we were in CA? My New Year's resolution is to take my vitamins on a daily basis (maybe I'll do it this year) and to be the human Lucy expects me to be.

Tick Tock

2010-11-19T08:22:00.001-07:00

Tick tock, tick tock, it’s 2 o’clock, tick tock, tick tock, I’ve got blogger’s block, tick tock, tick tock. Now you know what I do at 2 o’clock (am). There are times where 2 am brings ideas (or weird dreams) to blog about…but there are other times where all I get is tick tock, tick tock. Maybe I should take the batteries out of the stupid clock.

Men are from Mars

2010-11-17T16:12:00.001-07:00

Just an observation on some of the differences between Tim and me. Tim opens up the refrig (mind you the one in the moho is NOT that big) and asks where the mustard is. “It’s on the shelf in front of you.” “No, it’s not.” “Yes, it is.” “Well, you come and find it then.” I get up, walk over to the refrig and move the mayo jar to the side and hand him the mustard. I’m afraid that if I took a trip back to the Midwest to see grandkids leaving him here…he would starve. He wouldn’t find anything in the refrigerator let alone the pantry. If he had to take anything out from the bottom bays…he wouldn’t be able to get it all back in. You see, I’m a packer. I should have worked for a moving company. Nobody packs like I can. I’ve moved 2 kids, an old English sheepdog, my grandmother’s rocking chair and an ironing board in a VW bug…all at the same time. One of my better packs.

Neon lights better be flashing for whatever he’s looking for. He’s not about to move things aside to look for something. He asked me where a certain book was the other day and I told him where. He said it wasn’t where I told him. I (once again) got up, went to where the book was, retrieved it and handed it to him. You see, there was a stack of books and the one he wanted was on the bottom…without neon lights. I rest my case.

I’m Not a Pancake Fan…but

2010-11-12T07:39:00.001-07:00

Coach’s Oats Pancake Mix is to die for. These are the BEST pancakes I’ve ever had. There’s every grain (including flaxseed) that you can think of in the mix. Full of fiber and high in protein. Mix, water and egg is all you need to mix up a batch. As far as I know Costco is the only place you can find Coach’s Oats. There’s also regular Coach’s Oats – steel cut oatmeal and is simple to make. You would think I’m a spoke person for Coach’s Oats (I’m not)…they’re just that good.

Lucy and I had a scary moment early this morning. It was about 5:30 am and pitch black. I give her more leash than normal so she can find just the “right” spot to do her business. All of a sudden (just as she had found the spot) she starts barking. Lucy is not a barker. I turned to look in the direction she was looking and two coyotes were passing in front of us. They looked at us and went the other way. Lucy’s version is her barking scared them away. Lesson(s) learned this morning…no more long leash to find her “spot”, carry flood light, position truck so head lights shine on us, turn motorhome headlights on and carry an AK47.

Chip off the “auld Grandma Susie block”

2010-11-10T17:41:00.001-07:00

There’s Donald, Daffy and Daisy Duck. However, the best duck of all is AUDREY DUCK!!! Of all my grandchildren Audrey most takes after me. You can see it in her eyes…she’s daring you to comment on her choice of Halloween costume. Personally, I think it brings out the blue in her eyes.

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on this blog. Not that I haven’t had anything to say…I have. But believe me, it would have been disjointed, unintelligible, and spacey (blame Prozac – lots of birds flying overhead…and not in formation…you had to be there to understand what I just wrote). For those of you who have known what the last 6+ months has been like for Tim and I…I’m sure you understand the lapse in posting. If you don’t know…sorry…I’m not going to relive the past. Prozac is history, Tim is doing great and Lucy has a new winter jacket. Life is good. The blog is back!

This and That

2010-05-18T17:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes – more often than not – I find it difficult to post anything. I’m not one who’s going to give you a run down on my day. My best posting (as I’ve mentioned before) is about 2am. I have all sort of ideas. Usually they are commentaries on ads on TV – especially the drug ones. Tim and I have determined we would rather have the condition the drug is prescribed for than face all the side effects. I also have these posts in my head (which I would send an email link for this blog to FOX NEWS) commenting on all the STUPID FOX NEWS ALERTS they do in any given 24 hour period. Excuse me, it’s a Fox News Alert because the President is in his car going to some conference??? Or, how about the Fox News Alert that an elevator is stuck? I don’t even pay attention to the alerts anymore. They cried “wolf” too many times and, unfortunately, there may be a real news alert we the public should know and we aren’t tuning in.

I’m afraid the older I become the more of a cynic I’ve turned into. I don’t trust the media, I don’t like politics…they should all be fired with a Fox News Alert, I can’t understand the stupid politician who hasn’t learned from the stupid politicians (and President) before him that you don’t mess around with the help. Yep, another Fox News Alert.

Now you know why I don’t post more often. I forget all I was going to write about when I wake up in the morning.

Lemons

2010-05-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

You know the saying..."When life gives you lemons...make lemonade." Well, these are reallllly big lemons, and we've got some really big lemons in our life right now. Anyone got a really good lemonade recipe? I could use one.

Anticipation

2010-04-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

When are they going to get here? I've been waiting for over an hour. I don't see anyone yet but I know someone is coming because the table is set for four (and you thought I couldn't count). Lots of chopping and dicing going on. I wish they would hurry up and get here...my legs are getting tired!

Last Waltz

2010-04-21T14:15:00.003-07:00

There’s a video on Yahoo about a 94 year old woman who has been told by her doctor she has congestive heart failure and maybe 6 months to live. She lives in a nursing home and one of the caregivers asked her what her final wish was. Here’s the link...

What would be on your bucket list? As for me, I’m still looking for the damn bucket.

Covered in Ash?

2010-04-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

One could think the picture had been taken somewhere in Europe depicting how bad the Iceland volcano eruption has been. However, this is not the case. I took this picture in Shanghai a number of years ago. The life size figures were on a corner across from the hotel where we were staying and were erie looking. Don't know the story behind the statues or the artist. Did, however, make a great picture.

Old #7 Flank Steak was more like a #3. Didn't really care for the marinade. Made lemon chicken in the crockpot yesterday using frozen lemonade and it turned out pretty good.

Giving Jack Daniels another try. Bread pudding is in the oven and I will be making JD Whiskey Sauce to go with it.

I'm not a baker

2010-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

I've probably ruined my cast iron dutch oven. It will have to soak for days. I wonder if Oxiclean would help?

This was my attempt at making "one pot bread".

Tim says I should have used Pam.

We're not talking.

What would you make?

2010-04-15T12:08:00.001-07:00

The Jack Daniel’s cookbook offers up these tasty morsels: Catfish Cocktail, Frisky Whiskey, Wash Day Casserole, Soused Onions, Dog Bread, Baked Dove, Possum and Sweet ‘Taters (will take 12 hours or more to soak your possum), Hen Fruit Casserole, Snockerdoodles and Tennessee Holler-Puff. I won’t be making any of the aforementioned. Just don’t have any doves or possum in my pantry. Dang! Had I had doves on hand I would have removed the wings, put them in a freezer bag and served them up in the crockpot with a little Jack Daniel’s sauce for appetizers next time we have a get together. Oh well.

I did find a recipe I will be making this weekend…Old No. 7 Flank Steak. Marinate (overnight) the flank steak in garlic, dry mustard, and Jack. Bread Pudding with Tennessee Whiskey Sauce looks promising, too. I know Tim’s going to hide his Jack from me. Anyone have a coupon for Jack Daniels? I’m going to need it.

I’m not Julia Child or Julie Powell

2010-04-14T07:54:00.001-07:00

Not even close. Not even somewhere in-between. I have no desire to make every recipe in Julia’s book – “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” - http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/authors/child/making.html

No de-boning a duck for me. I don’t like duck. The only good duck(s) are the ones I can keep in a straight line and lately there seems to be only bad ducks. And, I don’t care for lobster so I don’t have to worry about hearing its’ squeal as it’s plunged into boiling water. I found this site: http://juliachildrecipes.tumblr.com/ and there are a couple of recipes that have interested me...her “Boeuf Bourguignon” and “Mashed Potatoes”. Did you know meat (as in steaks, chops, etc) won’t brown (properly) unless they are dry of any moisture?

I’m not Julie Powell (who blogged her way into a book which became the movie “Julia/Julie”) either. Her tenacity to make all the recipes and blog about it every day for a year isn’t in my genes. I consider myself on a roll if I post on this blog 3 days in a row! But I can identify with her when she posted “Hello? Anybody out there? Does anyone read this? Hello??” I found her last post on her blog the day after Julia Child died -

http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/

I’m not sure what but watching Julie/Julia had an effect on me. In the meantime, while I’m figuring out what the effect is, Tim wants me to fix all the recipes in this book:

Red Pepper

2010-04-13T06:42:00.002-07:00

I bought this red pepper at the IGA in Snowflake, AZ. Red peppers were $1.99 each. They were piled on top of one another so I went digging toward the bottom to find the largest. I wanted my money's worth. The checkout gal was even shocked to see such a large pepper. The picture doesn't really do it justice. I thought by putting it on the dashboard of the truck one could see how large it was. You'll just have to take my word for it...this puppy was huge.

I've thought for some time I should include a recipe now and then in this blog since I do like to cook. I don't think I would call my cooking a hobby...rather it's a means to eat decent food rather than living on fast food, processed food or eating out. You can't go out to a restaurant for under $50 for 2 meals and wine (Jack for Tim) and I swear I could have made it better. Too many times it's just mediocre. I actually get giddy when I make something for us that ended up costing $5-10 including wine! I made my first trip to the 99 cent store last week. Do you know they have fresh produce as in organic packaged lettuces for 99 cents? It was fresher than what I paid $3.00 for at a local chain! I also got a package of romaine hearts for 99 cents. Yesterday, I bought a 5 lb bag of russet potatoes for 99 cents. We don't eat a lot of potatoes but I will bake 5 or 6 and then put them in the refer to take out later and make potato skins or fried potatoes for Sunday breakfast. I watched Julie and Julia yesterday and it must be the reason for this post. If you haven't seen the movie, rent the DVD. Tim even liked it. I like Sandra Bullock but Meryl Streep should have gotten the Academy Award for her portrayal of Julia Child. Forgot to add a recipe...maybe next time...something with a red pepper in it.

Cabin Fever

2010-04-01T15:43:00.001-07:00

Cabin fever in a 2200 square foot house is one thing. Cabin fever in less than 300 square feet is quite different. The weather has kept all three of us inside. It’s either raining, snowing or blowing. Feels like it’s been this way for months. I can only read so much, surf so much, cook so much, clean, dust and vacuum, had my fill of Wal-Mart and Tim’s never had so much clean laundry at one time. Tim can be buried in a book for days without looking up. Lucy goes from her bed, to our bed to the sofa to her food bowl and then starts over. I, on the other hand, am starting to climb the walls. The weather needs to shape up. Anybody seen Al Gore? I could use some global warming right now.

Who you lookin' at?

2010-03-31T19:00:00.001-07:00

We had a breakout this morning. Cattle found a hole in the BLM fence and made a run for it...well, more like a slow walk. They ended up behind a tree behind us and this one decided he was going to stare me down. It was more like a dare. He wanted to see how brave I was. How close would I get to take his picture? Well, I fooled him. I opened the screen on the motorhome and stuck my head out and took his picture with the zoom lense.

Beautiful sunrise before the cattle stampede.

Oh, by the way, once again we're having 60 mph wind gusts. And, it's suppose to snow tonight...couple of inches. And, still windy tomorrow.

What a difference...

2010-03-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

If you scroll down a couple of posts you'll see we were sitting in snow a week ago in Albuquerque. Now we are on our lot in Show Low, AZ. Blue skies, no WIND, and it's suppose to be 74 today. Yea! Plus, it's real quiet since most of the people aren't here yet. We have had crazy weather the last 10 days. I don't think we've ever been in such cold weather...let alone snow! At one point during the FMCA Rally in Albuquerque it looked like a blizzard.

We will leave here on Easter Sunday and head back down to Goodyear for a couple doctor appointments. We then are off to Pahrump, NV for a Winnebago Rally. However, right now it's nice being parked for a week and get the laundry done. I've even had time to make shortcakes for the strawberries I bought a couple of days ago. We took Lucy to the dog park and let her run. I feel guilty at times because she doesn't have the freedom to roam and run like she did when we still were in the house.

We haven't been in Show Low for almost 3 years. Doesn't look like much has changed. Going to Taylor to the local IGA where they sold Snowflake tomatoes. Hope they still have them...they were the best.

Holy Moly…

2010-03-26T14:10:00.001-07:00

It’s windy. I mean reallly windy…63 MPH wind gusts. We left Albuquerque this morning about 9 am heading west. Yesterday was the last day of the FMCA International Rally. We pulled out this morning heading to Sky City Casino RV Park which is 60 miles west of Albuquerque. We were meeting up with Tim’s cousin and his wife, Dick and Rosemary, spending the night, dumping the tanks and taking on fresh water. We both pulled into the RV Park at the same time, got our sites, and here came the wind. Got hooked up, dumped the tanks, filled the water tank. Neither one of us have put our slides out. The casino/truck stop parking lot is filled with trucks, RV’s and trailers. Took Lucy out to piddle in the gale force winds and she just looked up at me and I could actually read her mind…”Are you trying to kill me? First it was the snow and now I’m going to end up in Kansas!” At the moment, she and Tim are buried under blankets asleep. I’m standing guard making sure we don’t blow over.

Are we having fun yet????

2010-03-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

First thing Tim said this morning..."I thought we left this stuff behind 17 years ago when we moved to AZ." Yep, the picture shows what we woke up to this morning in Albuquerque. This is a first for us. For Lucy, too. She sniffed the snow, did a fast piddle and poo and headed back to the door. She's definitely a desert dog. Give her 100 degrees and she's a happy dog!!
Today was the day to move over to the live-in electric area for the vendors at the FMCA rally. Came real close staying another day at American RV Park. There were 2 pre-rallies (about 60 rigs) being held here and as we watched them pull out in the midst of this ugly weather we decided we would pull up our big-boy/girl panties and head out too.
However, we needed to still dump the grey and black tanks and fill the fresh water tank. We have electric in the vendor area but no water or sewer. Fortunately, we had unhooked the fresh water line to the rig the night before since the temperature was going to be in the 20's but it was still a challenge since the fresh water hose that was still attached to the faucet was frozen. Took awhile to get the water running. Thought I was going to have to get my hair dryer to thaw it out. All of the dumping, filling, flushing, cleaning and putting away was done in COLD weather. Our hands were freezing!

We are now parked in the live-in electric vendor lot with the sun shining and snow gone. The electric heater is running, however. I'm still cold and Lucy only came out from under her blanket for her cookie. She took it back to her bed and pulled the cover over before she ate it!

RAMBLINGS

2010-03-17T07:14:00.001-07:00

Spent 12 days at 2 rallies in Yuma. Love the sound of freedom but after 12 days of Harrier’s flying overhead – so low I could see nose hair – had enough and was glad to be out of there.

Checked into Cotton Lane RV park in Goodyear for a couple of days so we could meet with CPA and SkyMed Corporate. Got a knock on the door on Sunday at 2pm and said we had only paid until Sunday noon, there was a rally coming in (and a few showed up a day early) and one of the rigs was assigned to our site. Now, the park was 1/2 full with empty sites beside us, in front of us…everywhere. BUT, WE HAD TO MOVE…ONE ROW OVER…RIGHT IN FRONT OF WHERE WE WERE. Some people just lack common sense and are stupid. The guy who was taking our spot wasn’t any better. So, we moved at 2:30pm Sunday afternoon only to be checking out at 7:30 the next morning. Morons.

Dropped motorhome off Monday morning for oil change and new slide toppers. Lucy went to Camp Cooper for a couple of nights and we stayed at Camp Marriott since the motorhome was at Camp $$. Met with CPA and SkyMed. LONG DAY.

We stopped for lunch at a busy (and popular) restaurant and I guess I’m a little on the old fashion side but if you’re going to nurse your baby in public – and I have no issue with that – but could you at least show a little modesty and throw a blanket or diaper or shirt or something to cover yourself…especially in a restaurant when everyone is packed in? I really don’t need to have two, huge boobs in my salad. Besides, the dressing would upset the baby’s stomach.

Civility is gone. People don’t think twice (or even once) about talking on their cell phones anywhere and everywhere. I guess they think we all want to hear what they have to say. There was a guy yesterday dressed to look like Richard Petty (NASCAR) except this guy was grungier looking and his hat was ugly. He had a belt buckle that was the size of a small watermelon and he packed a gun. He was constantly on his cell phone. Moron.

Wish Facebook had Audio

2010-03-12T17:01:00.001-07:00

Our granddaughter JeeSoo had her first piano recital. They live in Seoul, Korea so we couldn’t be there. Our daughter-in-law posted pictures on Facebook and I just wish there was audio.

It’s so hard not being close to our kids and grandkids. The grandkids are growing up so fast and they all live so far away. Most of the time Tim and I are so busy with our lives, going to the next SkyMed presentation or the next rally to set up our booth for SkyMed and RV Quick Shades, parking the rig, setting up, getting level, jacks down, propane on, electric hooked up, slides out, satellite turned on, and figuring out what’s for dinner, etc., etc. Sometimes I think we keep busy so we don’t have time to think about how far we are from our families. Web cams help. At best we see them once a year…for a week. But, it’s not the same knowing they are just down the street and we can see them anytime we want. It’s really hard sometimes.

I have a cold

2010-03-10T16:54:00.001-07:00

I hate colds. I haven’t had a cold for a couple of years. My sinuses are plugged. I have a raspy voice. My taste buds are shot. My eyeballs hurt. Wine doesn’t help. I hate colds.

WHAT DID YOU SAY????

2010-03-04T15:50:00.002-07:00

We’re at the Good Sam Rally in Yuma, AZ which is being held at the Yuma County Fairgrounds (across the street from the Marine Corp Air Station). Lots of planes fly overhead since we’re located on their landing path. Everything from transport planes, fuelers, F-8-15-32-48 – whatever they’re called (they go really, really, fast) and the loudest of them all – Harriers. I’m use to jet noise after living near Luke Air Force Base for 12 years BUT…these Harriers are the noisest planes I’ve ever heard. When they go over the building we’re in I duck. There’s no talking when they fly over. You can’t hear a thing except the roar of their engines. Here’s a YouTube video on how they land – it’s really cool.

Yuma AZ and Hockey Gold

2010-02-28T18:17:00.001-07:00

Pulled into a park in Yuma, AZ today after leaving Casa Grande in pouring rain this morning. I’m beginning to think there is no one left in Canada after all the whooping and hollering after the Canadian Hockey win today. People on bikes ringing their ding, dings while balancing their cocktail with the other hand. People standing in the street daring oncoming vehicles to move them out of the way. People covered with tatoos toasting and clinking bottles on the motorcycles. I became a Canadian today to save my family.

Old Geezer??

2010-02-23T17:39:00.001-07:00

Does this look like an old geezer to you???

Well, I guess I am now. Went to McDonald’s today and WITHOUT EVEN ASKING FOR IT I was given the “senior” discount for the coke I was buying. I thought I was being an “honest” person and letting the clerk know she wasn’t charging me correctly…she informed me she gave me the “senior” discount. Crap. Double Crap.

Blogging

2010-02-06T06:48:00.001-07:00

I don’t know how people can write on their blog on a daily basis. I follow a few blogs and am amazed how they have something to write about every day, post blogs featuring recipes (with pictures detailing the procedures on how to make the recipe)…the time it takes! If I had to make my living by writing I would be in deep doo-doo. Writing on this blog usually takes place in my head about 2am. I’m really prolific then. I have all sort of ideas, titles, things to write about. Stuff you’d really like to read. Pictures that you would ooh and ahh over. Recipes that would make your mouth water. You would be hooked on this blog. I could even add “Google Ad Sense” because there would be so many followers of this blog I’d make a fortune from all the “clicks” made on the ads. My blog would be nominated for Best Blog of the World. There would be a cookbook released from all the recipes I posted and it would make the NY Times bestseller list. Not to mention the coffee table book of my pictures (which, of course, is also on the NY Times bestseller list). However, when I wake up in the morning…I don’t remember a thing. I’m not sure if I was really awake at 2am or had been dreaming about blogging. Too bad you can’t get in my dreams…there’s some really good stuff there.

Grandma...!

2010-01-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

We were driving back from Tombstone passing through St. David when I saw this building. I made Tim turn around so I could take pictures. In case you can't tell from the picture...that's a coffin in the window. Maybe this is a memorial to Grandma Goodman!!

Quartzsite Weather

2010-01-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a happy camper at Happy Hour last night. It was windy and chilly. Fortunately Russ had a tie on his hat so he could keep his hat and hoodie on. Don't think he had enough wine to ward off the chills!

We're parked with the RVForum.net group on BLM (Bureau of Land Management for those who don't know) land a few miles south of the town of Quartzsite. In the summer there are 5 people here. In the winter there are a million. The big draw is the RV Show which is held 1/16-24. You can see any and every type of rv that has ever been made. There's also a rock, craft and car show that happens before and after the RV show.
You can see how thrilled Lucy is with her new "Snuggie". Needs to be altered. However, I don't think it will make a difference. She doesn't move with it on. Just stands there and looks at me. Tim had the same look with his on, too. They just don't appreciate what I do for them to keep them warm on these blustery, raining (pouring and blowing at the moment) days.

19 years

2010-01-11T07:34:00.004-07:00

Hard to believe it's been 19 years since we have seen John and Vickie. Tim and John worked together at Nestle-Beich (a life time ago). And, other than email contact, we haven't seen them until a couple of days ago. They came for a visit (we're in Desert Hot Springs, CA and they live in Santa Clarita, CA). They were both born in Greece and have a home there in a small town where Vickie was born. I think they said the population is around 2000 but grows to 4000 in the summer. We have a standing invitation to visit...just have to get some pontoons for the motorhome so we can take Lucy!! Vickie brought homemade Greek goodies - baklava and the lightest, butteriest, powdered sugered covered cookies with chopped almonds that I have ever tasted. Tim latched on to the baklava and I gravitated to the cookies. I've had to hide them to save us from ourselves. It was wonderful catching up on kids, work, travel. I just hope it isn't another 19 years before we see them again. We'd love to visit them in Greece...I wonder if Ebay would have any pontoons? But, for now, I have to go and find where I hid the goodies....

On the road again...

2010-01-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sean and Yeon came to visit for a week. Why I waited until 15 minutes before they left to take any pictures...I have no clue...except while they were here I was busy getting everything done that needed to be done to get the house ready for the renters and the last of the "stuff" moved back into the moho. They were a great help carrying stuff from the house to the moho (now referred to as my "crate". Lucy has her crate where she escapes to and I have mine).

We left on Jan 1 and are now, finally, settled in one place - with wheels. And, a new washer/dryer combo! Do you remember the motels that had the machine you put a quarter in and the bed vibrated??? Well, that's sort of what it's like in the moho when the machine is in the spin cycle. Lucy and Tim both stopped what they were doing and looked at me for assurance all was OK. It's really not that bad...just a new experience for them.

I also had to remember how the remotes for the TV/Direct TV and DVD work. There should be just one remote for all TV's, etc no matter where you are or what brand you have. Same buttons. Same channels. Just one remote. Now for the Wii. I wonder where I put the directions??

What's important

2009-12-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

The two smiles are what's important. Audrey and her grandma smiling...nothing else matters. Not even peppermint ice cream with an oreo cookie crust and special dark chocolate hot fudge warmed to just the exact temperature. Close...but not quite. I had brain sludge the last couple of days (maybe because of the peppermint ice cream with an oreo cookie crust and special dark chocolate hot fudge warmed to just the exact temperature) but then I looked at this picture and the brain sludge was not revelant. Who cares about health care? The twillon kagillon budget deficit? Nebraska gets something forever? Not sure exactly what...but who cares? AZ has closed rest stops? (I don't care...but Lucy does need a piddle stop here and there.) Tiger and the ho's? His wife may only get 1/2 of his estimated worth...$300 mil? I care? We went to a RV resort today to confirm our SkyMed seminars in February and as I was taking Lucy out of the truck and placing her on the ground...a worker bee came up to tell me no dogs were allowed in the area we were parked...the check-in area. The worker bee was friendly enough and said she, personally, didn't have an issue with dogs but rules were rules. This RV "resort" has a pet area and a non-pet area where people park their RV's. She said in the non-pet area people get hostile if you even drive your vehicle through the area with the pet inside. Obviously, they need to get a life. I just have to look at Audrey and her grandma Susie smiling. That's all that's important. Maybe I should show it to Lucy, too, so she doesn't feel bad about the jerks out there who don't want her in their space. Jerks. I think it's time for some peppermint ice cream with an oreo cookie crust, etc. etc. (Certainly can't hurt.)

Grandma's little helper

2009-12-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm going to have some help cleaning house tomorrow. I can hardly wait.

A Few Memories

2009-11-21T19:12:00.001-07:00

Click on the link below:

Alabama -http://picasaweb.google.com/psdaugherty/Alabama?feat=directlink

Audrey’s now 2-1/2. New pictures to come in a couple of weeks. She’s coming to visit Dec 4

Buffy was a sweetheart. I miss her.

Lucy – 6 weeks old. She’s not a “pink bow” dog.

Loved Scotland

So did Tim.

Tootise – She was the best.

7 Dwarfs

2009-11-19T12:57:00.001-07:00

Can you name the 7 Dwarfs? My brain was on overload a couple of nights ago. Woke up at 11:30pm with my brain going in a million directions. I’m mentally cleaning closets, sorting clothes, what piles go to Goodwill, Salvation Army, dumpster, what to sell, what to store, where to store, need locks, need palm trees trimmed, do I get a washer/dryer for the motorhome, what do I do with the stuff where the washer/dryer would go?, I need to go to sleep, nope…still awake, Lucy has to go piddle, put clothes on to take her outside, it’s 2:00am, hope coyotes are asleep, I wonder where that plane is going at 2:00am?, back in bed, what are the 7 Dwarfs’ names? Sleepy (wish I was), Dopey, Happy, Sneezy (been doing that since we got back to AZ), Frisky, nope, don’t think that’s right, start over again…Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Sneezy, Bashful…ok, got 5…just two more, Wacky, Horney (that’s the porn Dwarf that got kicked out – use to be 8 of the little fellas), Grumpy – ok – so there’s Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy. I’m going to be grumpy tomorrow with this lack of sleep. I’m missing one dwarf. And, that’s the last I remember until I woke up at 5:30. First thing I did was Google the 7 Dwarfs. Doc. I forgot Doc.

Just a brief glimpse into my brain in the middle of the night. Scarey, huh?

Before and After

2009-11-12T15:40:00.001-07:00

Lucy a few weeks ago.

Lucy (today) after a visit to her groomer.

10,355 and Overwhelmed

2009-11-05T06:09:00.001-07:00

That’s how many miles we put on the motorhome the last 6 months .

Overwhelmed is the only word that’s even close to describing how it felt to walk back into the house. Of course, opening up the garage door, seeing what’s there and realizing we have to start getting rid of stuff was only a prelude to walking back into the house. It was definitely mixed feelings. After living in less than 300 sq feet of space for the last 6 months the house is ENORMOUS. For those of you who don’t know we have rented the house (furnished) starting in January and we have to remove all our personal stuff. I immediately started taking inventory (Tim hadn’t even made it into the house yet…he was getting the water turned on). As he walked in I looked at him and said “Is it too early to drink?” (It was only noon.) Lucy, however, remembered every nook and crannie of the house. She was like a cut cat running everywhere. Guilt. She’s already laying guilt on us for confining her to 300 sq ft. As for getting rid of, sorting through, giving away, shipping to kids, taking to Ebay store, I have to unload the motorhome first. Oh my.

Lost my Ka-thunker

2009-10-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has known me for awhile knows I have been a kathunker. I was a planner. A serious planner. I would have the seat assignments on an overseas flight 6 months in advance. I would find the plane configuration (seat) we were flying (there’s a web site out there that has the info) and figure out where I wanted to be. I knew the day (and time) I could select the seats. I started calling 5 minutes before the phone center opened. I have to admit it was a challenge with Asiana Airlines. She didn’t speak good English and I didn’t speak Korean. However, I got the seats I wanted.

Now, I have lost my ka-thunker. It started disappearing at times about 1-1/2 years ago (when I quit my job)…but now it’s totally gone. My family is having a hard time accepting the loss. They have always counted on me to ka-thunk. They don’t know how to react when I tell them “I don’t know where we will be or when”. My ducks which were totally in a row are now all scattered. Hell, they’re gone. Flew the coop. I’m trying to reassure the family (and friends) that I’m OK. Not to worry…Tim’s driving…not me…he’s never been a ka-thunker.

Warm, dry and sneezing!

2009-10-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Yea! We're just about dried out from our 3 week venture in the south. (I10 from Daphne, AL all the way west to AZ hoping Tim would take the right exit through El Paso...didn't want to go to Juarez, Mexico.) Haven't been in AZ for 6 months and did that sign look good...real good. Of course, I started sneezing about 5 miles into AZ. Allergies. But, I can handle sneezing. Plus, the snakes here at least give you a warning with their rattle. Cotton Mouths, copperheads and water moccasins are sneaky. They don't give you any warning. And, there are no alligators in AZ that I know of. Zoos don't count.

Catching Up

2009-10-19T13:48:00.001-07:00

Lucy's had her fill of humidity. She can't do a thing with her hair. We spent 9 days in Daphne, AL visiting with my brother and sister-in-law. Daphne is across from Mobile. As we were driving across the Bay Bridge I looked at Lucy and said "Lucy, we're not in Kansas anymore". Elevation was 37 feet. We parked in the driveway at the bro's house - worked out great.

I ate a lot of fish - especially catfish as the picture shows. Also, bought a ton of shrimp and loaded up my freezer. This is US shrimp. Not the farmed stuff from Thailand or wherever. I don't trust their farming methods. I paid 7.99/lb for super jumbo shrimp. I'm trying to figure out how my brother can ship it to me.

Spent a day with my nephew-in-law on his boat trolling the bay and took several pictures of alligators. As one might expect, they're everywhere.

We left Daphne and headed to San Antonio for a RVing Women Rally. We had rain almost all the way.

Spent the last week in San Antonio and I've had my fill of hot and humid. The park where we stayed for the rally had signs posted everywhere to watch out for water moccasins, cottonmouths, scorpians and fire ants. The temperature the first couple of days was 95 and 292% humidity. The nearest restroom had signs posted on the door of a snake and to "Beware and watch out".

We are now in Las Cruces, NM and will be in Benson, AZ tomorrow. First time back in AZ in almost 6 months. Hot and dry sounds wonderful.

It was really hard saying goodbye to my brother. He'll have to come west and bring shrimp with him. I'm just now starting to dry out!

Where are we????

2009-09-29T14:47:00.006-07:00

If you ask Tim I've asked him that question a hundred times since we left Oklahoma City. I'm discovering I wasn't very good in geography. I'm much better in the West. I know Arizona from California.

After leaving OKC, we headed south to Dallas, hung a left and headed east. We stayed the night in Tyler, TX (across from the Tyler Rodeo Arena). From Tyler we drove East on I 20 to Vicksburg, LA - no wait - MS. We had to drive through LA - I was looking for alligators and swamp creatures and we were going to stay in West Monroe, LA but then decided to go further. I kept looking at the route we were taking to get to Daphne, AL and Tim kept changing his mind which way we wanted to go so you can see why I kept getting confused with the states of MS and LA.

Well, we pulled into Vicksburg, MS and guess what??? Dead truck battery. Some dead battery angels are messing with us. What did we do to them? I'm sure the people who answer the phone for Dodge Roadside Service say "Guess who? It's them again!" Left Vicksburg this morning and, once again, I'm driving the truck.

We are now in Slidell, LA - wait a minute - weren't we in MS? How did we get back in LA? We will be pulling into my brother's driveway in Daphne, AL tomorrow. I hope he hasn't moved...I'll never find him especially if I have to go through LA and MS again. He say's his driveway is long enough with no over-hanging tree limbs. Stay tuned...I'll let you know.

Oklahoma City

2009-09-29T14:28:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. This is the Field of Empty chairs. There are 168 chairs symbolizing a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed.

If you're every in OK City. This is a must see. It will evoke every emotion you have.

I just figured out how to make a collage using Picassa. I took a bunch of pictures, cropped them and used the "create a collage" feature, added background color...don't really like the color that much but can't go back and change once it's "created" and, voila! My first collage!

We met up with our friends, Tim and Crystal who once again played tour guide for us. They took us to the "stockyards" to show us some pigs - in particular a real ugly pig - but all the piggys were gone. So we went to lunch at Cattlemen's (will be featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) and ate beef.

Cars and horses

2009-09-24T06:23:00.003-07:00

We were at the Colorado State Fairgrounds for the Discovery Rally the last few days and there was also a "low rider" show and a rodeo going on at the same time.

I was fascinated with the low rider show. The work these young people put into these cars. The detail was unbelievable. Mirrors were a big factor to show off tires and the underneath carriage. Chrome was a factor. Lots of chrome. Sprinkle dust, rope lights. Crosses, skeletons, polish cloths. Hydraulics - stuff that makes the car bounce up and down.
I expected the the car in the second picture to rise, hover and fly. All of the cars at the show had to be cars that would start and run. We talked to one young couple who had an absolutely beautiful car. He had gutted the car, put 1800 hours in rebuilding it to show quality (can't imagine the $$ involved) and no additional insurance coverage other than basic car insurance. He drives it on the street and if it were totaled in an accident he would get whatever an insurance company would pay for an old car...in this case a '62 chevrolet. They can't afford any additional insurance.

Then there was the rodeo. Cowboys, horses and ropes. Lucy wasn't crazy about the horses. Didn't smell like any dogs she knew. There's a link to my web album (below the cowboy picture) where you can see all the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/psdaugherty

20 Minute Shower!!!

2009-09-16T15:39:00.002-07:00

Yea! I'm camping! I took a 20 minute shower!

If you all read a previous post, you know my idea of camping is Marriott. Well, we are at the Pueblo Marriott: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pubdt-pueblo-marriott/ for the next two nights. The motorhome is at the Caterpillar dealer here in Pueblo having maintenance work done (something to do with the diesel engine) ($$ kaching $$) and we needed a place to stay. And, guess what? Pueblo has a real, live Marriott! And, Lucy gets to camp, too! She gets her own bed. We pick the moho up Friday and head to the Pueblo fairgrounds for the Discovery Rally. But, for now, I'm living in the moment...the Marriott moment. (Can you tell it's been awhile since I've been in civilization???)

Tim and I were trying to figure out the last time we were in a Marriott. We think it was our last trip to Ireland (about 4 years ago). I really like Marriott. I like the Marriott burger. I've missed Marriott. I've missed 20 minute showers. I've missed flushing a real toliet. I think I've flushed it 20 times already...just because I can. (Hopefully, we won't get an added water bill charge!) Hark...there's a knock on the door...it's room service! Later.

Lucy & The Air Force Academy

2009-09-11T05:21:00.001-07:00

Updating this blog is more work than I thought it would be. Actually, not work in the sense of punching a clock...more along the lines of getting the brain and creative cells working together. They don't always jive. And, when they do I don't always have good internet available. At the moment, I seem to have it all. So, I need to type fast before something fails.

We are in Monument, CO (which is about 12 miles north of Colorado Springs). Tim asked me what Monument is known for and I'm not sure it's known for anything except it is the highest elevation between Denver (40 miles to the north) and Colorado Springs. We left Gunnison, CO a few days ago driving east on US 50. I drove the truck instead of towing. We had to go over Monarch Pass (a kagillion feet high) and didn't want to take a chance of the moho overheating. We stopped in Pueblo to stretch our legs and Tim said it was one of the most scenic roads he's been on. I wouldn't know. I didn't take my eyes off the center lane. It's a curvey with no guard rails road. I haven't driven on such a road for 25+ years. Last time I did was when the kids and I drove through Rocky Mountain National Park. That trip ended with a migraine.
We went to the Air Force Academy on Thursday. Lucy had her Therapy Dog vest on hoping it would get her in the Visitor's Center. The receptionist was ready to attack (she could see us coming up the walk) until Lucy started waving to her. The ice was broken, Lucy was allowed to enter and she called her boss to come down and see the "military's smallest working dog". I'm not sure where she got that idea...maybe the "blue" Air Force vest? I wasn't going to contradict her. Lucy won everyone over and was even presented with an "Air Force" coin.

I lived in Colorado Springs in the mid-80's for a couple of years. I haven't been back for 20 years. I recognized the Air Force Academy, the bank where I worked, The Broadmoor Hotel where Lorie worked as a dishwasher in their international building, the Jr. High where Shane and I had a meeting with the principal since it appeared Shane was trying to "shake down a kid's lunch money"...Shane's side of the story was he was just fooling around and the kid was a wimp. and, after spending a tank of gas looking for it, the townhouse where we lived. Didn't recognize much else.

We have played tourist the last few days and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The weather has been great but at the moment it's raining with a few thunder claps. At least it's not snow. The aspens were just starting to change over Monarch Pass (when I could sneak a peak without fear of going over the side). We leave for Pueblo next week (working a Discovery Rally) and I get to go camping...my idea of camping. Stay tuned.

Ramblings...

2009-09-04T06:27:00.002-07:00

It's the beginning of Labor Day weekend and we are staying at Blue Mesa in Gunnison, CO. This "resort" is part of Western Horizons and is about 12 miles west of the town of Gunnison. We have a nice site facing west (great sunsets) and no one in front of us (and, so far, pretty kid free). The downside is we have no cell phone service. We have to drive 8 miles before we get any blips. They do have good wi-fi but are limited on usage. No downloading of music, movies, etc. We are here until Sept 8 and then move onto Monument, CO.

After leaving Junction City, OR we headed to Reno with the hopes of meeting up with my niece. Unfortunately, they were off on a camping trip. We stayed at the rv park at Grand Sierra Casino and signed up for the Player's Card in the Casino. We got our $5.00 coupon to play, won $40.00 on their $5.00 which paid for dinner. We are not gamblers. It was pretty funny watching both of us trying to figure out how to play the slot machine. You've got to put your Player Card in the slot, then find the slot for the "coupon" and then play. I just kept hitting the play 1 credit button. When I hit the double jackpot and it kept adding credits I had no idea what I won. I "printed coupon" which cashed me out. We took the money and went and stood in the buffet line.

Leaving Reno we drove to Elko where we overnighted and once again had a dead battery on the truck! I think we have battery gremlins who are messing with us. Got the truck running again but decided I would drive the truck the next day instead of hooking up in order to get a good charge on it. We spent the night at the Elk's Club in Provo and the next morning left for Grand Junction CO. I'm still driving the truck since Tim has been concerned about the motorhome overheating while climbing some pretty steep grades towing a weighty truck. We're currently at 7200 feet and when we leave here we go over Monarch Pass which is 10,000+ feet.

Weather is great - mid 70's during the day - 40's at night. Lucy wants an exra blanket.

It's September already...what happened to summer?

Junction City OR

2009-08-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

We left Albany this afternoon after the Country Coach Rally. The worst Rally we have had so far as far as sales goes. Different group of people. Oh well.

We are now in the parking - storage lot of school buses and Amazing Creations where we are having some cabinetry work done.

There is also a train track behind us. Amtrak came through about an hour ago doing 257 MPG. I do like trains; however, let's hope they don't jump the tracks.
Does this mean a whole lot of drivers show up tomorrow morning to take the kiddies to their first day of school????
If we wake up tomorrow morning with tattoos it will be their fault.
We are locked in for the night. I think I may check to see if Eugene has a Marriott.

Ate too much & Campers

2009-08-16T08:12:00.005-07:00

I shouldn’t watch Giada (Everyday Italian). But I did. And, because of her, I had to make lasagna. I haven’t made lasagna for a year (or two or three). Christmas Eve use to be when I would make lasagna…a family tradition. I make a pretty good lasagna…sweet Italian sausage, spinach, lots of cheese and no boil noodles. Of course, I make enough for 20 people. However, I also had a sweet tooth and made cheesecake bars which didn’t look like the picture on the recipe But, tasted great since I made a blueberry compote But, I ate too much. Tim ate too much…even Lucy ate too much of her kibble. We tried to go for a walk after dinner…but have you ever seen beached whales try to walk? It’s all Giada’s fault.

This park is full of Campers. There is a difference between RVer’s and Campers. Campers are here for their yearly vacation. RVer’s may still work and be weekenders (we were for 3 years) but many are retired and may be fulltimer’s (we now are). They live in their RVs. Campers show up with 3.9 kids (one under the age of two), 2 yappy dogs (RVers have dogs…Lucy, however, is not a yappy dog), 4 bicycles (one with training wheels), tents, sleeping bags, coolers, porta cribs, strollers, bouncy thingys, squeeky toys, expandable wooden clothes hangers, grills (RVers have those) basketballs (2) and wood…lots of wood. They kids forage the area and bring back branches to add to the fire. I think they are closet pyromaniacs. They love to have a campfire going – early morning, afternoon, and always at night. They have brought every folding chair they own because everyone they know within a 50 miles radius comes to see them and they all sit around the campfire (sometimes two deep) and drink beer and wine (RVers drink beer, Jack Daniels and boxed wine – Campers bring bottles…RVers travel with boxes – better storage).

Campers have to pack up, return to civilization and the daily grind for another year before they get to do it again. RVers have to pull the slides in and decide where they want to go next. Many RVers were first campers. Not me. I skipped the camper part and went straight for RVer. My idea of camping was JW Marriott. Still is.

I know I said…

2009-08-11T14:51:00.002-07:00

being exposed to diversity among people, different age groups, etc… rather than living in a community where all were alike was a good thing…that was BEFORE spending a week in a campground with thousands of kids, strollers, loud screaming, bouncing basketballs non-stop, squeaky toys, crying kids, kamikazee kids on training bicycles, kamikazee kids on regular bikes, obnoxious parents talking goo-goo ga-ga to their crying kids, kids fighting, did I mention those x0!x?!X squeaky toys??????? And, did I mention they were parked next to us???? On both sides of us??? And, we’re here for another week?? Get the picture??

Live Writer

2009-08-06T12:17:00.001-07:00

The previous post (I’m Not Wired) was written off-line using Windows Live Writer. I save as a draft, editing and/or adding pictures. I then make the trek to the clubhouse (free wifi), open Live Writer and “publish” the post. Pretty cool.

Not Wired!

2009-08-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

I’m using Windows Live Writer to write this post. I’m currently not “on-line”. This is a first for me. We are at a ROD property south of Newport, OR and it is a Thousand Trails resort…Whaler’s Rest Resort. Fortunately for us, we were able to get a huge site. Most of the sites are very narrow and shallow. If we had been here 30 minutes later the site we’re on would have been taken by someone else. This is the first park we’ve been in that “you go find your site and come back and let the office know which one you took”. We have very spotty Verizon cell phone service ( 1 to 0 blips) and zip on Internet. I have to go to the clubhouse where there is Wi-Fi.

Talk about a change in weather. Just a couple of days ago it was 192 and rising. Today, Tim wants the heat on. Barely 60. Lucy’s looking at me asking for her blankets. I have found WalMart, Fred Meyer’s and Dutch Brothers Coffee. Life is good.

This picture was taken at Boardman RV Park and Marina in Boardman, OR (next to the Columbia River). The park is run by the Parks and Recreation Dept and is very well maintained. It is also a Good Sam park.

I have to go turn the heat on…they are both looking at me shivering.

Early morning reading...

2009-07-31T07:39:00.001-07:00

I took this picture a number of years ago while in Edinburgh, Scotland. I even had notecards made using the picture as the cover!

I've been doing a lot of early morning reading. Tim's still in bed and Lucy is curled up by me on the sofa. I've got my tea, window open with a slight breeze coming in. It's quiet...no diesels running yet and the sun is just beginning to rise. The book I'm reading is Wayne Dyer's Excuses Begone! Tim and I watched his PBS special a few days ago which prompted me to go out and buy the book. It's one of these books I'm glad I saw the special first because it's a thought provoking one and since it's about "thoughts" I'm afraid my thoughts would be lost on the book if I hadn't seen the special first. Follow me on that one???

Another book I read quite awhile ago - How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life by Mark Victor Hansen and Art Linkletter brings to mind our neighbors here. You'll need to hang with me here...there is a tie in coming. In one of the chapters Art Linkletter was talking about where one lives. He said, of course in his opinion, that living in one of those 55+ gated communities would suck the life out of you (my words, not his...I can't remember his...but it was similar). He said when you live with like people - same age, mind set, same activities - you don't grow...you remain stagnet maybe even regress. Your conversations have to do with "Did you hear so and so died last night? Had a stroke? Cancer? What's your (golf) Handicap? Those grandkids were in the pool when they shouldn't be...they were suppose to be out 5 minutes ago. And, so on and so on. Of course, I read the book while living in one of "those" communities. And, it was sucking the life out of me.

So, back to our current neighbors and the book tie in. They are a young family with 2 children ages 5 (boy) and 7 (girl) and 2 beagles. Did you know beagles howl? They have been parked beside us for the last 10 days. They are here from the Seattle area on vacation. When they first backed their 5th wheel in and piled out of the truck I cringed...especially the howling dogs. Campground sites are relatively small. You are close to your neighbors. If you sneeze, your neighbors will say "God Bless You". My first thought was this is going to be a long 2 weeks. How wrong I was. Tim and I have enjoyed every minute they have been here (including the howlers). First off, they are great parents. It's so nice to know there are still (young people) out there who are parenting well behaved and respectful children. Unfortunately, we have seen the opposite too many times. This vacation has really been for the kids because Mom and Dad have taken them to the pool, playground, pool, playground, playground, pool, lake, and playground and board games. It has been a hoot listening to their conversations. I couldn't even begin to tell you about the conversations we had with them. They are leaving today and we are sorry to see them go. However, it does reinforce for us we would rather live (and travel) where there is diversity and in this case, youth, rather than "sameness". You don't get the life sucked out of you. Lucy, however, didn't care for the howlers.

Ancestors

2009-07-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

I have spent many hours in cemetaries looking for Tim's ancestors. He owes me BIG TIME for this trip to the boneyard...actually, 2 boneyards. We took a day trip to Farmington, WA where Tim's grandfather was born. His great grandfather - Jessie Quarles - settled there in 1873 as the plaque on the left reads. They travelled with the Wooddy wagon train with 2 wagons. We had stopped at this cemetary and Tim said this wasn't the place where the plaque had been erected. He didn't really know where it had be erected...just said it wasn't there. We were just in an old cemetary. Didn't even have a name. He backed up, turned the truck around and started back to the road. I told him to stop. Reluctantly he did still saying it was the wrong place. Something had caught my eye and I wanted to check it out. Welllll, it was the right place and the plaque he had been looking for.
Farmington is in the middle of a kagillion acres of wheat. I've never seen so much wheat in my life. It goes on forever. I thought there was a lot of corn in Illinois...but the wheat fields have it beat.
We were in another cemetary down a gravel road from Farmington. Tim wanted to check to see if he could find any relatives. We pulled in and he took one look at it and said "let's go...we'd be here for hours searching for tombstones and I'm not even sure they are buried here". Well, once again, I said I just going to take a walk toward the back and I would meet him at the back road.
Bingo! Found the mother-lode! He knows he owes me big time. I wonder how many more ancestors he still has to find? I don't mind traipsing through cemetaries...but Lucy's not too thrilled about it.

Welcome to McDonald's

2009-07-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

Actually, this guy looks friendlier than the counter help at Mickey D's this morning in Bozeman, MT. All I asked was if they had a Dollar Menu. She looked at me, turned around, pointed up to the menu, turned back to me with a look that said "Are you blind?" and said "What do you want?" Once I was able to figure out where on the menu board the Dollar Menu was I made the mistake and asked: "Is the sausage biscuit on the Dollar Menu?" Wrongo bongo. Now I got the look: "Are you stupid and blind?" Needless to say, Tim did not get his sausage biscuit this morning.

We're Buzzed!!

2009-07-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Give me Wahl shears and watch me work. I got my hair buzzed today so I came home and did Tim's. You can tell us apart...I'm the one with lipstick! What one will do to save money! Watch out Lucy...the clippers are coming your way.

Been busy

2009-07-13T07:49:00.006-07:00

Been sidetracked and therefore remiss on my blogging. Let's see...where do I begin? After we left Gillette, WY and the Fleetwood Rally we drove to Rapid City, SD to meet up with our friends, Tim and Crystal. He is the Shady Boat Dealer and she is the Shady Lady - http://www.inflatableboats4less.com/ - (he also has a "thing" for Lucy). They were wonderful tour directors taking us places I'm sure Tim and I would have never seen otherwise. They have a knowledge of the area, back roads, State Parks, small towns and great places to launch a boat.
The picture above shows us toasting July 4th. Crystal had packed a lunch and a couple bottles of wine. We really, really liked Rapid City and the area. We had such a great time with them. We hated to leave.

Our first official picture as new South Dakota residents. Yep, we are now fulltimers and have changed our residency from Arizona to South Dakota. Who would have thought Tim as a fulltimer????? Just a few years ago three weeks was the max he wanted to be in the motorhome.
Click here for pictures on the web album since there are way too many for a blog.

We are now in Cody, WY. The road from Sheridan, WY (Hwy 14) to Cody was a little nerve racking (at least for me). It's a climb and it's a two lane road. About 20 miles of it is under construction with delays due to dynamite blasting. There's about a 5 mile section where the "pavement ends" and it is then like pea gravel with cones dividing the road for two way traffic and no shoulder. A 6 inch driving error would put you over the side. The road from Cloverdale, CA to the CA coast we took a couple of years ago was a primer for this road.

A couple of days ago we drove the Chief Joseph Highway then Bear Tooth Highway to Cooke City, MT. This is the north eastern entrance to Yellowstone. Too many people heading to Yellowstone ..I'll just buy a post card. Yesterday we went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum. It is definitely a must see. To see and read everything would take you days. Lots of motorcyles here. There was a police escort of about 50 bikes through town on Saturday. Probably won't go to the Rodeo. I can't stay up that late. It is fun, tho, seeing the cowboys with their spurs on in town.

I've updated "Where's Lucy Now". Figured out how to do it without deploying the satellite (it's on vacation status). Between campground wi-fi and tethering the phone using Verizon's Mobile Connect we haven't needed the satellite. We'll be in Cody until Friday and then head to Cheney, WA via Montana and Idaho.

The indians on horseback almost look real.

Wyoming...Home, home on the range

2009-06-22T15:27:00.003-07:00

Where the deer and the antelope play. Didn't see any deer but saw plenty of antelope.

We are in a park between Boulder and Pinedale, WY. Population of Pinedale is around 1400. What's making this economy work is oil and gas production. However, it is my understanding it is slowing waaaay down. Housing is ridiculous. There is lots of real estate for sale. People are trying to get their prices (and equity) before the boom goes bust. Large hotel chains have built here to accommodate the oil/field workers but I've been told they are sitting with empty rooms. I'm betting it won't be a pretty site when the bust does happen.

Lucy's best friend came and visited for a couple of days. Cooper and Lucy went to therapy dog training school together. Lucy's usually not to friendly with strange dogs so having Cooper to hang with was super.

Kathleen and Dan brought Cooper to visit with Lucy. It was lucky for us they were in the area and came to visit since Dan (being the handy Dan he is) changed out our shower head to a hand held unit. We should probably just follow them wherever they go...so anytime I need something done (or fixed) I have Dan to the rescue!

Meet a new American citizen

2009-06-19T06:32:00.010-07:00

This is HeeYun, our daughter-in-law. The following "cut and pasted" email is from Tom, Tim's oldest son. They are in the states for 6 weeks and then will go back to Seoul, Korea where Tom is a teacher (DOD Schools)at Seoul Middle School on Yongsan Army base. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongsan_Army_Garrison#Department_of_Defense_Dependent_Schools

"We're back in the states. Hee Yun's naturalization interview is this morning and although she was cool breeze back in Korea, she is now a bit nervous. Did you know there are 27 ammendments to the constitution? She has done a wonderful job preparing for the interview, but keep us in your thoughts this morning. "

"Proving that births matched deaths, there is one more American today and her name is Hee Yun Kim Daugherty. She aced her tests and interview, although she sweated through the entire experience (she does that when she is nervous). We will be shopping around for social security numbers and passports now."

Way to go Hee Yun. Congratulations!

As a side note...she's also a top notch pool player and a member of the winning "Bless U Black Weirdos" in the Itaewon Pool League in Seoul.

Travel to Boulder WY

2009-06-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

We dodge some and ran into thunderstorms on our way to Boulder, WY. Boulder is 88 miles south on Hwy 191 from Jackson, WY. The first and the third pic were taken from the moho while driving. Lucy had to piddle so we found a place to pull over to get the deed accomplished. It takes awhile...she is picky about her spots. And, for those of you who might question if I always wear a baseball cap...the answer is yes and no. If it's a bad hair day then Route 66 goes on.

OMG, what beautiful country even with all the rainy weather. And, we're not even close to the Tetons or Yellowstone NP.

We are parked at a campground (one of our ROD, AOR, DOD, DOA, DPS, DNS campgrounds available to us through our Western Horizons Membership) at Wind River View Campground in Boulder, WY. It's about 6 miles south of Pinedale, WY for those of you who want to look it up. I don't have the Datastorm Satellite deployed because I have been spoiled by faster internet connection through my Verizon cell phone. I use my cell phone as a modem to connect. We are here until June 24th.

Once again....

2009-06-09T16:07:00.003-07:00

We will get it right. Not sure what we are doing wrong...but we've had our share of dead batteries on this trip. Truck is being towed to Twin Falls, ID to the Chrylser (I hope who is still there) dealer. This is the second time we've been towed. (First time was out of the Les Schwab Tire Dealer parking lot in Salem, OR.) It's a sinking feeling when you unhook, get in the truck to put it back into the "drive" position and everything is dead...no lights, beeps, whistles, nada. Plus, this time we had the entrance blocked to the RV park we had just checked into with 2 rigs behind us wanting to pull in. We hooked back up and pulled it around to our site. It's at this point I just wanted to go home, sit in my grandmother's rocking chair and suck my thumb.

Lucy didn't have a good night (or morning) either. We overnighted at the WalMart in Ontario, OR last night which butts up to the Snake River. In the middle of the night there was some feral type animal making horrible noises coming from the river area. Brought Lucy up out of a sound (making noises kind) sleep who then leaped over me and up on her hind legs looking out the window to see what it was. She was on point for over an hour. I'm not sure if she wanted to join in or if she was making sure it wasn't going to get her. I've never seen her like that. This morning I thought I would check her for fleas since I had a dream last night that she had them...yes, I do have some strange dreams...however, in checking her I found no fleas but a tick! Yuk! I googled what to do about removing a tick, made Tim read it while I prepared for surgery. Got the tweezers out, sterilized them with rubbing alcohol, got the rubber gloves out, got the neosporine, the super duper magnifying glass that lights up, a towel and a covered jar to put the tick in. And then I gave everything to Tim to do the deed. He looked at me as if he thought "I" was going to remove it. Are you nuts? I'll hold her. Anyway, he was able to get it out in tack...nothing left behind and it's now in a covered jar under the sink. You're suppose to keep it until you're sure the dog doesn't get sick...about a 48 hour period. Then that sucker is out of here.

Lucy made me promise that we will never ever go back to that WalMart.

Happy Dog!

2009-05-28T16:51:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the quality of the video and noise (wind) but you get a brief glimpse of Lucy running on the beach. She ran and ran and ran. I think she could get use to being a beach dog!

Lucy at Bandon Beach

2009-05-28T15:27:00.002-07:00

We went to Bandon, OR today. It's about 40 miles down the coast from where we are staying. It's a tourist's haven in the summer. Still early in the season so it was pretty quiet. They use to have the best cheese factory until Tillamook came in, bought it and closed it.

This is the same beach we went to last year. Last year she wouldn't let me put her down. The wind was so strong and the noise from the ocean scared her. This year was a different story. Wind was not as strong, she's a year older and there were so many smells she couldn't resist plus people she knew were there just to see her!
She had a bead on this fisherman. She knew he wanted to pet her if I would only move closer to him.
Hey, buddy, catch anything?
I don't want to go home!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T18:46:00.004-07:00

The following link will tell you about the mission my Dad was in. He never talked to about it. There was an article in our local newspaper about the mission. He was in the group that was captured. I have his dog tags, his POW tags (Stalag VIIA) and his two Purple Hearts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_Force_Baum

Thisa and Thata

2009-05-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

We're in Lakeside, OR at an RV Resort that sits on TenMile Lake. We took a drive today which took us to Winchester Bay where the Umpqua River Lighthouse is located. Probably hard to read the sign, but this lighthouse was the first on in the Oregon Territory built in 1857. It sits way back from the beach...hard to believe its' location being a lighthouse as well as being amongst the trees!

We are in the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. What Sturgis is to motorcycles...the Dunes have ATV's and dune buggys. There are a kagillion of them. And, it's only Memorial Day. Any campground, public or private was crammed full of trailors, toy haulers, campers on pickups, rv's of all kinds.

We had a camper pickup pull in next to us. Mom, Dad (late 20's) 5 yr old and tw0 yippy dogs. I was doing ok with everything until I saw he was going to start a fire in the metal tire ring next to us (about 6 feet away with the wind blowing our way). I went over to question if he really was going to have a fire with 25-
30 mph winds and he said he was. Well, to make a long story short we ended up in the office and I was shocked to discover the owners didn't seem to see what the problem was. Apparently, they've never had a fire situation here. I made my point and went on record that if we had any fire problems the punk kid would be liable. The punk kid moved his pickup 2 rows away from us. I was disappointed in the attitude not only of the owners but more of the young man. I hate to think this is typical of the younger generation. And, they are raising children.

Boat slips where we are staying.
Local color.

Mt Hood and Mario Andretti

2009-05-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

Picture of Mt. Hood taken out the front window of the motorhome while driving down the highway. Pretty impressive, huh?

Now, for recap of the last couple of days. Short version.

Arrived Moses Lake, WA, engine light on "NEW" truck, Dodge dealer in Moses Lake, battery check failed, gave us new battery, had great rally at fairgrounds, left Moses Lake, WA, spent night in Boardman, OR, took pics on left while driving to Salem, WA. Pulled into Les Schwab Tires in Salem, unhooked truck in middle of their parking lot, truck wouldn't start, dead battery, called for tow to local Dodge dealer, parked moho and Lucy and I waited for Tim to call from dealer with news. He called. Dead battery. Duh. Determined it was operator (as in Tim) error. Left key in ignition in "on" position instead of "off" position. I walked over to Dairy Queen and got Oreo Mint Blizzard to sooth nerves. Got indigestion. Rained (as in poured) all night, 3 trucks also pulled in and parked in lot. They started up their engines about 3am and starting leaving...the last one to leave about 4am. Moved moho over to "truck" area to get new tires installed. Checked date on tires. Not acceptable. Talked to manager who made special trip to Sisters. OR to get tires with recent date on them. Didn't feel bad he had to make the trip since we had made several calls telling him this was a non negotiable item. However, he had a 200 mile roundtrip drive to make and we had to cool our heals in the meantime.

Got tires and left Salem, OR about 4pm and drove down the road to Eugene where we parked for the night in another Elks parking lot. $10/night. Dinner at Elks $25. Oh well.

Here's where Mario Andretti shows up. We left Eugene, OR this morning taking RT 126 which is a 2 lane road heading west to Florence, OR where we make a left hand turn and head down the OR coast on Rt 101 to Lakeside, OR where we are currently parked. Tim becomes this other persona...as in Mario Andretti...when he's driving twisty, winding 2 lane roads in Oregon. Never noticed it anywhere else but Oregon. He starts telling me stories of his times on different twisty, winding roads as he takes the curves at 50 mph with me sucking air. He loves these roads. He dodges the log trucks on the curves. He tells me what kind of truck (called a bobtail) just passed us. He forgets he told me what it was about 52 times last year. He loves Oregon. He loves the coast. He's got web feet and gills. We're here until June 2nd. Maybe I'll get gills.

Tongue Communication

2009-05-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

It may be hard to see but if you look closely Lucy and the horse (with the sleezy on - sleezies are the latest in keeping your mane down) appear to be communicating via tongues. I wonder what they are saying??? I've got big loves for you??? Actually, in Lucy's world, she thought the horses were just big dogs and didn't pay much attention to them.
Now, the cows were something different. Besides bellowing outside our rig all night (they're in a pen behind us) she was curious about them. Wasn't too sure she wanted to get too close but she did watch as the young cowboy attempted to bring the calf down. I watched for awhile and then had to leave. I felt for the calf. They kept doing it over and over. How would you like someone wringing your neck just for sport (and points)? And, we volunteered for the National HighSchool Rodeo next summer???
The Junior Rodeo is being held here on the Moses Lake Grant County Fairgrounds. Lots of cowgirls and cowboys. This young lady lost her hat on her first barrel and then lost her horse at the next barrel. The horse stumbled and down she went. She wasn't hurt, but upset since she was disqualified for this event. Her grandma and grandpa were sitting in front of me and did much sucking of air when she went down.

Where are they?

2009-05-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Lucy's not a real happy camper when we leave her in the motorhome. Unfortunately, there are times when she just has to suck it up and cope. Today was one of those days.

We are at the Winnebago Rally in Moses Lake, WA as a vendor for RV Quick Shades. Remember my challenges on an earlier post with the new cash register? Well, according to the sales totals at the end of today, I rang up $2,556,926.00 is sales!!! I like this cash register.

Tim's got Popeye Arms

2009-05-11T17:58:00.002-07:00

Tim says after driving in the wind today (about 300 miles) he feels like he has Popeye arms. Is there anywhere in the country that is wind free???? We are in Moses Lake, WA and glad to be here. We're parked for 2 days until we check into the fairgrounds for the Winnebago Rally. We're here until Sunday and then head over to Salem for new tires on the motorhome.

Side note. My dishwashing soap tipped over under the sink and I lost 1/2 a bottle...in carpet. Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean up? What a major pain in the you know what.

Mother

2009-05-10T18:41:00.005-07:00

Mother's Day. Read a number of blogs today talking about mothers. What I remember..., they passed so long ago I didn't have a chance to say..., if only..., mine wasn't like that, my mother....

The pictures on the left are of Lorie and me when she was about 3 and family picture of Lorie, Shane and me when we were all a few years younger.

My mother had dreams which somehow got lost. She became bitter. She was negative on life. However, she had a great sense of humor at times. She was an oxymoron. She did the best she knew how to do...even if I only discovered that years too late to tell her.

My grandmother, Mom, was a pistol.
The picture below (somehwere in the collage) is 4 generations. Mother, Mom, Me, and Lorie. Mom didn't take anything from anyone. She would chase you around the house with a broom handle if you didn't mind. She also was a great cook who had no written recipes. Earlier post is about my trying to make her coffee cake. She also didn't finish school (grade school). She had a Children's Bible which she read and you would find her on her knees behind a rocking chair (which I have) when the tornado sirens went off.

Various pictures of me with Lorie (as a baby) .

Last picture is me (Farah Fawcett hair) with my Mother.

Happy Mother's Day, Mother.

Exalted Ruler of Provo Elkdom

2009-05-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

After a long day of driving in high winds (I really, really don't like the wind) we pulled into the Elks Lodge in Provo, Utah. What a gem! It appears we are going to be the only RV here this evening unless someone comes in late. I have absolutely no problem being on pavement after being in red clay in St. George.
We had dinner at the club and Mike, the Exalted Ruler, (long beard in pic) bought us drinks being travelling Elks. He's just a newbee (only a 4 year member) of the Elks while Tim is a 44 year member. Tim's wondering where he went wrong...44 years and still no exalted position!

Temperature is in the 60's. Lucy's already started shivering.

On the road again...

2009-05-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Kingman, AZ. Blake Ranch RV Park. Tim's hoping he can meet up with the owner of the park since she has expressed interest in SkyMed. We've stayed here before. Short day driving. First day is always the hardest. It's sooooooooo good to be on the road again. It takes Lucy a couple of days to adjust. She doesn't like to piddle or poop if it's not her own back yard. After a day or so...she gets with the program! The moho is packed, the truck is packed...probably heavier than we've ever been before. Maybe the Jack Daniels has something to do with it???? Tim bought quite a few bottles before we left AZ. It's about $20/bottle more once we leave AZ.

Chihuly

2009-05-04T16:54:00.002-07:00

I started to name this post...Sue's brain. I decided it was too organized for my brain status. Mine's a little more scattered at the moment. I took this picture at the Chihuly Museum last year. I used my palm sized Canon PowerShot SD1000 looking up at the Chiuly glass displays. I just pointed, zoomed a little and shot. This little camera works wonders. I like it better than my mega cost Canon Rebel. The Rebel is just too cumbersome plus it doesn't shoot video. Anyway, back to my brain. I'm way past overload. We bought the moho over to the house this morning in preparation to load and be on our merry way on Wednesday. Of course, it's akagillon degrees outside. Interesting side note. We bought a Western Horizons membership which came with Resorts of Distinction (ROD) and AOR (don't remember what that stands for). By having the Western Horizon Resorts membership, et al means that basically we've paid for our stays at campgrounds up front. More complicated than that but not necessary to tell my story. Last Friday, I booked (through ROD) 1 night at a park in Bullhead City, AZ and 1 night in Moses Lake, WA. I got a call today from ROD saying they received calls from both parks (which are actually Sunrise Resort parks) and since we were given a membership by the dealer who sold us our motorhome 5 years ago (called a freebe) and cancelled after the first year (still working and weren't spending oodles of time on the road) we didn't renew the membership, we couldn't stay at these parks!!!! I was flabbergasted. I made a few phone calls (including one to "memberhsip services" for Sunrise Resorts) explained how we had the Sunrise membership in the first place, were working fulltime at the time and it's now 5 years later. Didn't make a hill of beans difference to them. The "owners" say if you had a membership and then cancel your SOL. You can't stay at their park(s) for any reason...even if they are empty and are willing to pay full price! My comment back was "They really hold a grudge!" Definitely don't care about PR and/or customer service. I was told I could contact "management" which I did. Her name is Joan or Judy or something with a J. Didn't matter. I guess they have all the business they want.
I guess one of the reasons we didn't stay with Sunrise Resorts way back when, if I can remember correctly, was simply the fact they didn't have a lot of parks where we wanted to go anyway. Bullhead City was simply a overnight and Moses Lake had dump facilities. Too bad, their lost of any revenue from us. OK. Got it off my chest and out of my brain.

Cow and Bear

2009-05-02T19:15:00.001-07:00

I need cow and bear. Cow and bear is what makes Audrey's world safe. Lose cow and bear and your're screwed. Cow and bear represents order, safety, security. Just look at the smirk on her face. She's got cow and bear. She's cool. Of course, she's got a death grip on them...but can't blame her. After hours of trying to figure out how to work the new cash register...I need cow and bear.

Error 02

2009-04-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

I don't know what happened to Error 01 - but E02 is getting on my nerves. I have spent the last 4 hours getting this puppy set up. Tim is giving me a wide berth. I got the programming for the Departments and PLUs (that's cash register talk) set up on the computer only to hit the wrong button and lost it all. I had to call tech support because the computer and the cash register weren't talking to each other. It was about at this point that Lucy decided to give me a wide berth, too. Still not sure where she's hiding out. There's been lots of under my breath mubbling going on. Maybe I'll just take it back to Costco, exchange it for a new one and start over.

I've unplugged everything so nothing is flashing or beeping now. Guess I should go get Tim out of the garage.

Row, row, row your boat....

2009-04-29T18:45:00.001-07:00

I have told my daughter many times over the years just to pull her oars in and go with the flow. You need to turn your canoe around, pull in the oars and just go with the flow...gently down the stream. Sometimes, tho, there just isn't any flow or a stream. It's not the destination...it's the journey.

Cousin Dick

2009-04-24T19:13:00.001-07:00

About 12 years ago was the last time Tim saw his cousin, Dick. Tim met Dick and his wife, Rosemary, at a local Cracker Barrel for breakfast one morning many years ago when they came through town. Somehow, the last Christmas card we sent them was returned to us for the wrong address and we lost touch with them. Behold! ...The Rally in Albuquerque!! Tim had taken Lucy for a walk while I was taking a shower. He came back in and said "You won't believe who I just ran in to!" Talk about a small world...and one we are now a part of. Dick and Rosemary have a window chip repair business and were parked about 4 rigs down from us in the vendor lot at The Rally. It was great seeing them. Tim and Dick relived tales from their childhood...all I can say is I don't want to play darts with Tim. His aim leaves something to be desired. We now have phone #'s, (his, hers, Tim's, mine), email addresses, mailing addresses, license plates, social security #'s, and GPS coordinates - so, hopefully, we don't lose touch again!!

And then he was gone...

2009-04-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Lucy has a thing for her new best friend - Tim. I think Tim has a thing for Lucy, too. My Tim, Crystal and I would do in a pinch...but just barely. Look at the look on Lucy's face. She's got big love for her new BFF.
My new BFF has left...I think I'll just lay here and pout. Maybe I'll get an extra cookie if I pout long enough.

Lucy's Rally

2009-04-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

The Rally is really Lucy's Rally. Everyone here thought they were coming to Good Sam's Rally until today...when they met Lucy. Lucy was a show stopper. She even managed to sell a SkyMed membership! (Her commission was a cookie.) We tried to get a picture of her with all of her fans...but they kept getting in the way so we had to settle for one in her portfolio. This picture is on her business cards. As far as she is concerned everyone here came to see her. She put on quite a show waving to all her fans.

Opening Day

2009-04-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

Opening day. The Rally. Albuquerque. 3000 rigs. 6000 people. Snow.
Concrete floors. Long lines. Sore feet. Back aches. First day closes at 5pm.
Limp back to rig. Take Lucy for piddle walk. Tim pours wine. Prone on floor with feet up on couch. Flexible straw in wine glass. Dinner - pretzels.
The "infamous" Nick Russell (GypsyJournal.Net) and his lovely bride Miss Terri.

Wal-Mart

2009-04-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

We've been initiated into the club. We stayed at our first Wal-Mart (Albuquerque) last night. We got here a day early (and so did 2700 other rigs attending The Rally). The local rv parks were full and we were lucky to find an open spot at Wal-Mart.

The weather had forecasts of wind gusts of 50-60 mph on Wednesday (today) and we really didn't want to drive in that weather so we got here yesterday. The only available location I could find was a rv park behind a local motel. We missed the turn into their place and ended up next door at The Comfort Inn. We got out, walked over to the fence and looked at the park where we had reservations. Tim and I looked at each other and said no way - their banjos had strings missing. I tried to convince the Comfort Inn Manager to let us stay in his parking lot but he said he'd be full that evening and he needed every parking space.

So off we go to find a Wal-Mart. Fortunately, we didn't have to go far. It was even a Super Wal-Mart.

We also had a view of Staples. Payless Shoes was next to them. Behind us was Chili's and StarBucks was across from them. Tim walked over to the store this morning for donuts. I went later and got ice. Really worked out well since what I forgot at home I picked up at Wally World.

Fair and Balanced!

2009-04-02T14:19:00.001-07:00

Audrey

2009-04-01T12:28:00.003-07:00

She just nailed the walk down the catwalk modelling the latest spring fairy gown!

Land of Wild Turkeys

2009-04-01T09:53:00.001-07:00

That’s what the Apaches called this part of southeastern Arizona. The official name is Chiricahua National Monument. We probably never would have visited this land of turkeys if we hadn’t done so with our RV Club. We didn’t even know it existed! What a gem. Most people think of Arizona being the desert but the diversity of the land is incredible.

Faraway Ranch – The original cabin was purchased around 1887 by a couple of Swedish immigrants. The cabin had been the headquarters of the white officers of the 10th Calvary of the Buffalo Soldiers (African-American enlisted unit). They were part of the last campaign to capture the Apache rebel Geronimo.

Faraway Ranch was turned into a guest ranch around 1917 and continued with guest services until the mid-60’s. Here are some pics – a few I made black and white

I bet there are turkeys hiding in those rocks!

The middle picture was taken at 6000 feet on a path of a extremely windy day. I had to hang onto a tree branch at one point…otherwise I was going to be down there with the turkeys!!

Lucy's got friends.

2009-03-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Lucy was a big hit in Tombstone. Don't know who these people are but when they saw her they stopped and he picked her up before I knew what was happening. However, I think he was just a little lonely...he left 3 yorkies at home wherever home is. I think Lucy was a little overwhelmed. She kept looking at me to make sure I wasn't leaving her with them!

Lots of tourists and motorcyles in Tombstone. They do a good job of re-enacting the old west but now I can say...been there - done that - don't need to go back.

Where we are today

2009-03-26T07:40:00.003-07:00

If you look to the left you will see "Where's Lucy today? I just figured out this morning how to add the link to the map that shows our location (via satellite). We'll see if it works the way I think it should when we are in Benson. Each time we move I update the map to our new location.

Amost a year...

2009-03-23T15:23:00.007-07:00

Hard to believe but it's only a week shy of being 1 year since I quit my job. March 31, 2007 I took the pictures off the wall, packed my name plate and took my froggy crystal ball and went home. I had been in the mortgage business for 24 years and with the same employer for 14. But, I had had enough. I wasn't having fun anymore and had lost my passion for the business a number of years ago. It was time to move on. I knew I didn't want to "retire". I just wanted a year off to get my yen and yang working again. They had gotten out of whack.

So. Here I am 12 months later. Amazing how things work out. Shortly after we left in the motorhome (moho) last June I signed up as a representative for SkyMed - www.skymed.com/daugherty - Didn't really do anything until after the certification training last October. We have been busy making presentations about SkyMed at rallies and rv parks. Business could be better...but it's not bad. And, for those of you who may be reading this and think SkyMed is only for RV'ers...it's not. It's for any and all. The economy and investments may be in the toilet but if you have a critical injury or illness the bills are still going to come in and they aren't going to give you a discount. Sorry. Got carried away. (Guess where my passion is now??)

We are now also the latest dealers for RV Quick Shades. Here's the company's website (not ours - we don't have one yet) and you can see what we're selling - http://www.rvquickshades.com/. Tim and Crystal (also dealers) hooked us up with Pat and Dave who are the owners of RV Quick Shades. Tim and Crystal also are dealers for Eagle boats - http://www.inflatableboats4less.com/. Here's a picture (taken at close range - I've got short arms) taken recently.
Pretty soon we will be on the road in the moho selling our wares. I just remember when we first got the motorhome (5 years this coming July) 4 days was about the maximum Tim wanted to be in it...then a couple of years ago he managed 3 weeks...then last year it was 3 months. Now, we're looking at 6 months. Hmmm. Did somebody say fulltime?

Crane Lake Merlot or Cabernet

2009-03-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

OK. I tried and tried to get this on the RVForum.Net...but I've only been back on hormones for a week and the mental clarity still isn't all there. This is the best I could do...for now. However, Bernie has to take some responsiblity here as well. Afterall, it does appear to me he's having some challenges with mental clarity too. Do I drink from the left hand...or right? Crane Lake Cabernet or Merlot??? Big glass...little glass?

Bunny Killer?

2009-03-06T19:39:00.002-07:00

How could this adorable, sweet, registered therapy dog be labeled a bunny killer??? There must be some mistake. Must I take her out of the country to protect her now from PETA? GreenPeace? Nancy Pelosi? Just look at that innocent face. There must be more to the story. Lucy's version is the bunny came around the corner, saw her, jumped into her mouth and had a heart attack. Lucy, being the caring therapy dog she is did what a caring therapy dog would do in such a situation. She was moving it to a place under the shade of a palm tree where the bunny would be more comfortable. Hmmmm.

Happy New Year 9 days later!

2009-01-09T18:13:00.012-07:00

We are currently in Indio at Shadow Hills RV Resort. We will be giving our 3rd SkyMed presentation tomorrow morning (on this trip). We left Aguanga, CA this morning. Aguanga is 18 miles east of Temecula, CA. We were staying at Rancho California for a couple of days and had a wine and cheese event along with our SkyMed presentation. For those of you who have read this blog for awhile (or not) you may be asking - what's SkyMed? Well, click on the link to the left and it will take you to our website. You can get all the info you want from that website. HOWEVER, DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THE WEBSITE...YOU WILL PAY RETAIL...YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT (UNLESS IT'S SHORT TERM AND WE CAN'T DICKER THERE.) Call (or email) if you want more info.

How we got to SkyMed is a long story and I'm not going to bore you...but suffice it to say we totally, 139%, completely, passionately. can't think of any more adjectives (or is it adverbs?) - I never did like English - but you get the idea - believe in what we are now selling. And, we get to do it from the MOHO - AND write it off - (it's up to you Mikey, our wonderful CPA, to figure it all out for us). I was so done with the mortgage world. 24 years was enough.

We left almost a week ago on our junket and will be back home around the 20th. We leave Indio on Sunday heading for Lake Havasu City to do a presentation there but also meet up with rv friends for a rally. We then leave Lake Havasu City and head to Quartzsite to meet up with more friends out in the desert on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land to boondock (boondock means no hookups - we're totally self-contained and can last about 5 days without having to dump the tanks and you take lots of blankets, wine and Jack Daniels). We're talking minimalist living. Quartzsite is an experience. One of everything and then some. Old rigs with numerous antennas trying to contact space. I'm sure some do connect. Then there's the guy who owns the bookstore in town that doesn't wear anything but a little (really little) piece of cloth covering his obviously really little whatever he calls it. We'll head back home for a week or so and then down to Casa Grande for another big rally (Gypsy Journal Rally - http://gypsyjournal.net/blog/) where we will have a booth and meet up with more friends.

Lorie and Audrey were here for Christmas leaving Christmas Day. Let's just say it will be a lonnng time before I fly Northwest. They are the absolute worst on customer service. Lorie was weighted down worst than a pack mule and Northwest would not give me a pass to help her get to the gate. I don't even want to start in on the TSA...these people are suppose to protect us?????

I'm really going to try to blog more often. I follow so many other blogs...I don't know why I don't update this one more often. I'm never sure if anyone would want to read it. If you do...leave a comment once in awhile. It will inspire me. Maybe. Potatoes are done. Got to go. Need more wine. The following couple of posts were over Christmas. Check out the video in the post after the coffeecake. Coffeecake is another story.