Along the Way...

Prayers answered.... and more on personal Vaporizers....

2011-06-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Our prayers have been answered for now. YES! Jim is cancer free!!! He has to go back for another check in July for confirmation, but at least we're on the right road!!! Every 3 months, check for a year, then every 6 months for a year, and then annually. We made arrangements with the hospital for all those big bills and it won't be paid out until 2028, but at least we still have our Jimmy. :) Thanks for all the prayers from all of you out there! I don't think it would have happened without them.

Now let's move on to other things. I blogged last November about ecigs. And I'm gonna do so again today. I suppose you could even call this a review.

It wasn't long after I got that first one that I discovered I wanted a bigger better battery. I was having to charge my battery twice a day and it was driving me batty. (pun intended) I found a supplier that I absolutely love! LeCig electronic cigarette (personal vaporizer) store is in DeQueen, Arkansas. Mike is the guy there! His customer service leaves everyone behind (even Wal-mart - not the best comparison, I know) and his professionalism, knowledge, customer concern and product care is above and beyond what I ever expected. I bought a "PigCig" from him, and loved it. The battery lasted me all day - then came a bigger PigCig and that battery lasts me nearly two days. There's all kinds of different cartomizers to put on them, and I'm trying lots of new things. He helps me through the learning curve so I can refill and make the cartomizers last longer too.

Then, I joined a forum to learn even more. It's been great fun and the people there, for the most part, have become like family. I've learned so much and though I love the service and products at LeCig, there are lots more out there to try. There was a group of people that came to the forum spouting all about the GoGo ecig. They were saying how great it is, how the battery will last 3 days or more and how the cartomizers are easy to refill, clean and refill some more. Some said they were using the same cartomizer for more than a month. All this was making me wonder.... so in order to have something to compare to the PigCig, I decided to order a GoGo kit from cigeasy.com.

I have to tell you the cartomizers really are wonderful. They do hold a lot of juice and there are adapters (which I eventually got) to use them on my PigCig. And that, in my opinion is the only great thing about a GoGo ecig.

When my order arrived, I read every word of the instructions. Most of you know how anal I am about following directions. :) It said to go ahead and use the battery right out of the box until it needed charging. OK, great. So, I took the first one out and it was nice. The vapor was no more (as was spouted) than what I was already getting from my Pigcig. Ok, that's not a bad thing - but it's also not what I had anticipated from all the hype about it on the forum. At this point, I'm still ok with it. And I really do like the cartomisers. The first battery needs charging after about 2 days. So, I put it on the charger, and get out the second battery. First press of the switch and nothing. So, there's a newer battery that you can turn on and off by pressing the switch three times. That didn't work either. Ok, so I squeeze the switch really hard and finally it works. But it doesn't work everytime. So, ok - it'll work in. WRONG! I put it on the charger to make sure that wasn't the problem. It wasn't. Finally I'm fed up with it the next day and I write to customer service. Three or four days later I still haven't heard a word back from cigeasy. So, I ask a member of the forum about his GoGo which he's had no trouble with, and he suggests I write to another forum member that "seems" to have a connection to cigeasy.

I wrote to her and didn't really ask for anything other than can you please, if you do have a connection, get me some kind of answer? She did offer a few troubleshooting tips. Finally, I get a reply from customer service (CS) and a phone call a couple of days later. We tried troubleshooting over the phone but nothing worked. He suggested that sometimes a good charge will cure the problem and I should run it dead and then give it a full charge. I did. No change. I'm getting frustrated as hell about now. I write to CS and tell him that it's still the same. We are now 16 days after delivery when I finally get a return authorization. At my expense, I sent it back to be replaced. In the meantime, I am wiping the battery post of the one I've not had a problem with, with a paper towel to make sure the connection is clean. Paper towel is wrapped around my fingernail and I'm just wiping away the residue, when the battery terminal comes loose and bends over. UGH! I pushed it back on and all seemed fine. UNTIL I CHARGED IT! After charging it, it started doing all kinds of weird things. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not... sometimes it would blink as if I had just put it on the charger, and what scared me was that sometimes the battery would come on all by itself. I had Jim take a look at it, and he said it was toast and probably not safe to use. So, I wrote to CS again and told him I had another problem. Mind you, this Battery is less than 30 days old. (I had no idea their battery was only warranteed for 7 (yes SEVEN) days. (My PigCig is warranted for 60 days) The basics of what I got back in e-mail was sorry for your luck when you dropped it. (I didn't drop it) You can send it back and I'll try to fix it but no guarantee. I really don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect a cold response like that. My response to that was Fine, I'll just throw it in the trash.

My forum friend has in the meantime, offered to have a look at it, so I sent it to him, and we will see what happens there with the autopsy. AS far as the other goes.... I got the replacement battery back in about seven days, and it seems to be fine, but I'm giving it away because I don't want anything from cigeasy after this experience with their customer service.

I wish I'd never strayed away from LeCig. I guess I got so used to fabulous customer service that I won't be happy with most of the other suppliers out there. Mike is coming out with new stuff every day and he stands behind what he sells. His line of Vapriot juice is American sourced and made. I like that a LOT. I've sent him many customers since I started buying from him. One of them got her order in November. She never opened it until last month. One of her batteries was acting weird and when she explained to Mike that she had let it lay and not even opened the package, he happily had a replacement all the way out here in Oregon in two days with a return envelope for her to send back the defective one. She's a really happy camper about his customer service too and probably won't buy anywhere else either.

So, there's my current story about vapeing these days. Take what you like from it. But I won't buy from that particular company ever again. Mike Elias at LeCig is THE guy to go to as far as I'm concerned. There's been some other words written in the forum that haven't been very nice, (after I wrote about my experience) and there's no sense in going in to all that, but I guess that's just how some folks are. Have a great weekend out there and do something fun! Quit smoking and start Vapeing!!

Divine Intervention

2011-04-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Do you believe in Divine Intervention and miracles? I certainly do! I was given a miracle many years ago for my son, and I believe Jim and I have now experienced Divine Intervention.

The addage is "everything happens for a reason." Sometimes we never know that reason in this lifetime. In our case, for the most part, I believe that we do.

Where shall I begin? Where I left off last time, I suppose.

I went to the OB/GYN and he scheduled my surgery for as quickly as possible, so that I'd be able to help with Jim while he was having his BCG cancer treatments for the bladder cancer. I can't say enough good about Dr. Meinig in Klamath Falls. He is kind, thoughtful, caring and has a great bedside manner. He did my surgery and found polyps, lots of them, in the uterus. So, I had a polypectomy and a D&C procedure done on the 9th of Feb. There was NO cancer. I am well and good and intend to drive our children crazy for another 50 years!

Jim's BCG treatments began on the 16th of Feb. All was going well for the first two treatments. Three days after the second one,(Saturday) he woke up with major difficulties breathing through his nose. (nothing to do with his heart) His lower eyelids were swollen, but not severely. During the day hours the swelling went away so he put the thought aside. Sunday morning there was a bit more swelling, and again during the day hours it went down. However, Monday morning he woke up and both eyes were all puffed up and the left eye was both upper and lower lid. His cheeks were fire-engine red, so off to the local Dr we went. Again. He took one look at him and said that he had erysipelas. ::what the blazes is that?:: It's an infection he had not seen in many, many years, and said that he wished he had a camera that would take a picture of what was in there. At any rate, he gave him a course of very strong Levaquin, as well as a shot every day that week. There could be no treatments during this time, so he missed his 3rd treatment. We also found out that Jim can't take Levaquin again. He has the bone and joint weakness reaction to it that it's so infamous for.

In the meantime, as those of you who know me and how curious I am about stuff like that, I was looking for info about erysipelas on the Internet. What I found SHOCKED me and gave both of us big hopes. There was, at the turn of the century, (from 1899-1900) a Dr. named Bradley Coley who treated cancer patients. Some of them came down with this same infection and had to stop treatment for a time while they got well. When they would return to resume cancer treatments, their cancer was gone! He then began lots of research on this and you can read all about it in the Cancer Chronicles. I just loooked at him and told him that God had given him that nasty infection for a reason!

Jim got better, and we returned to his treatment schedule. However, the nurses could no longer get the catheter to his bladder. By now it is the 16th of March. The Dr. said let's just stop until Medicare begins on April 1. He said it surely wouldn't hurt anything.

We already owe just the hospital well over $70,000.00 (our share) - and that financial burden we didn't really want to increase, though it was Jim's choice. If the Dr. said it wouldn't hurt to wait, then he wanted to wait.

So, this past Monday the 4th of April, we returned to see Dr Chiura (love the guy) in Klamath Falls. This Dr has been more than compassionate and kind. He got a catheter in with no problem at all. On the end of that catheter was a camera. Inside Jim's bladder he saw scar tissue from the emergency surgery in January. He DID NOT see a tumor!!!!!!!!!!!!! The concern he now has is only that he wants to see UNDER that scar tissue. Next Wednesday the 13th of April, Jim will be having out patient surgery to scrape the bladder walls and confirm that the tumor (cancer) is gone. Surgery is scheduled for 8AM pacific time, so yes, we still need more prayer.

I believe in Divine Intervention - I believe that Jim had a heart attack and was put on plavix to cause the cancer to be found. (the Plavix made the clot in the bladder try to break up and come out.) I believe that God gave him that infection to relieve him of bladder cancer. We are talking about a man who has not had more than a common cold in his life and has never ever missed a day of work because of being sick. (until now)

As I said last post, all I could do was lay it in God's hands and pray that he cared for Jim. I did that. I put it in God's hands and stopped crying and stressing over all of this. I have faith and I believe!

That's the same thing I did for my son all those years ago when God gave us a miracle and saved his life, after the Drs. then saying he might well die and would surely need surgery on an eye that was in danger of loss from an accident we were involved in. And the very next day those same Drs. came to me and told me that suddenly my child was well, his vision perfect, and he could go home! They just didn't understand what had happened.

Please don't stop your prayers. We still have to get through next week, but I do believe that God will give us His grace.

Nightmares...

2011-01-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been a little while since I have written, but our lives have become what I consider to be a nightmare.

On the 16th of December Jim was taken from work to the hospital with what was confirmed as a heart attack. It had actually begun the night before and he said nothing. He went to work on the 16th. I hadn't gotten up with him that morning at 4am, so I wasn't aware of what was going on. He said he didn't feel that bad, though several of his co-workers had commented on how poorly he looked that morning. After they all had lunch together, his didn't stay down and he knew something was wrong. He was alone out in the field with no phone signal. Knowing that as everyone left the right-of-way they would have to drive past him, he made himself as comfortable as he could. Two and a half hours later, as everyone was headed home, they stopped to see if he was ok. When they discovered there was truly a problem, one of the workers was put in the truck with him and told to drive him home. About 20 minutes out, he called and asked me if I wanted to "go on an adventure." "Sure," I told him, "I'm up for anything new, why?" He proceeded to tell me I needed to look up the hospital address in Klamath Falls because he thought he needed to go there. Flushed, I hung up the phone without asking anymore questions, and looked up the address and directions for the hospital. Then it dawned on me that I had no idea what was wrong, so I called his phone. The man that was driving the truck answered on the sync and told me he was having chest pains, arm pains and was not very comfortable. I called the safety Inspector who we've become friends with, and he told me to call the ambulance and have them meet the truck when it got here. When I told him Jim would kill me if I did that, he told me to wait 5 minutes and he would call me back. In that 5 minutes, he got the local Dr to open up, called an ambulance, and called Jim to tell them to go straight to the Dr here in Bonanza. Someone came and got me and took me over there. They were getting him stabilized and ready to transport to the hospital. So, after a 2½ hour wait on the job site, a 2 hour trip to the nearest Dr, about an hour of getting stabilized, and a 45 minute ride in the ambulance, we thankfully arrived at the hospital. Indeed, he was having a heart attack and had been since about 11PM the night before. It didn't stop and on Friday, December 17th, first thing in the morning the cardiologist intervened. Two 92% blockages were found. One now has a stent, and the other was opened with the angioplasty they performed.

Needless to say, I was terrified of losing my whole world, my best friend, and the love of my life. Thankfully, I didn't.

On the 19th of December, he came home. Improvement was rapid, and the Dr allowed us to go to Medford and spend Christmas with my son there. We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed every minute with him and the three grandchildren there.

December 28th, Conrad became sick and we lost him the very next morning. It was difficult to deal with. He was fine on the 27th, and then in the afternoon the next day he stopped talking and started squeaking instead. We were going to head to the pet store to get him some medicine the next morning, but it was too late. The only thing we can figure, is that we brought home some germ that's harmless to humans but affected him fatally. The incubation time was about right. Then we became more sure, as we heard from a friend in Ohio who also lost a grey the week after she came home from the hospital about 2 years ago.

On Jan. 5th, we had a return visit to the cardiologist. Jim complained of having an episode of bloody urine 2 days before. He'd had this happen a few times at the hospital right after the angioplasty, and was told to have it looked at after the holidays. The Dr. said he should be looked at and Jim asked if he could wait until April when his Medicare would start. The Dr. said that would be ok unless he had it happen again at which time he should be checked immediately.

Well, the next morning he woke up bleeding instead of peeing. So, off to the Family practice center we went. They tried to get a sample, but it was useless as all they could get from him was blood. they took that anyway and started him on antibiotics for a bladder infection.

When we got home that afternoon, we also discovered that one of the stove burners had somehow been turned on and had leaked gas all through the motorhome for probably 2 days. We then knew why Jim had complained of a really bad headache the night before, and why I probably slept like a baby for the first time in a very long time. We opened things up and aired things out with fans, etc. in 26º temperatures.

The next morning Jim was still having troubles, and so back to the Dr we went. They took another sample and more blood work and sent us home. He made it fairly well through the weekend and as told by the cardiologist, he went back to work Monday. Tuesday, he went to work but didn't make more than a couple of hours before he was in grave pain. He got home and I took him back to that Family practice. They sent him to the Hospital for a CT Scan on his bladder, and he was to return to the Dr office afterwards for a catheter. The Dr he got this time there was rude. I was so upset, I put my head in my hands to try and keep from crying right there, and he said to me "Don't roll you eyes. I'm trying to help this man and I don't like the negative vibes I'm getting. The hospital is doing me a great favor by agreeing to do this CT scan this afternoon." He obviously couldn't tell when someone was very distressed. Noone read the CT scan after it was done, and we went back over to the Family practice. There, they took him to an exam room and catheterized him, and told him that he now had an appt. with a urologist on Thursday. (2 days away) Of course, he couldn't get his jeans on, so they put him in a hospital gown and sent him through the waiting room carrying a bloody catheter bag. I was by now, enraged. It was snowing, the roads were icy and we were given no instruction on what to do with the catheter bag. Jim was shown how to empty it, and told only to keep it below his bladder. Not a word was said to me about what to do or how to help him or anything.

We came home at about 8PM. By 10:30, the man was screaming in agony. It's still snowing and very icy out. I never learned how to drive in snow or on ice, but somehow got us to the hospital ER in one piece, with Jim screaming all the way. They rushed him in, got someone to read the CT scan that had been taken earlier that day, and called the urologist immediately. By 3AM he was in surgery.

The surgery revealed a large blood clot in his bladder. It was trying to break up and get out. That just doesn't work in a man. They got it all cleaned out and also saw a small tumor that they removed too. The Dr (a very good urologist) said that things were so inflamed in there, it was difficult to see if he'd gotten everything or not, but he sent what he did get off to pathology and we'd have the results in about a week. That was January 12. Jim was released from the hospital again on the 14th of Jan. The day before he was released a woman Dr came in and said that she was covering for the urologist who was now on vacation. She had preliminary results from pathology and told us that he did have cancer in the bladder but they believed they had gotten it all out.

Mind you, during his stay, many of the Drs from the "Family practice" came to apologize to him for what had been a mis-diagnosed bladder infection, as well they should have. It was that very family practice that had his records from the heart attack who had told him to get his bladder checked after the holidays!

The following Thursday (Jan 20) was his appointment with the urologist. When he came into the room and Jim asked him how his vacation had been, he seemed confused. When we told him that the Dr covering for him had been in to tell us the preliminary path report, he became enraged. He was not on vacation, and noone was covering for him. He was not a happy man. And I do intend to have a conversation (Jim's more important right now) with the administrator of that family practice.

Anyway, he told us that he did not get all the cancer, and that he'd need to operate again (cystoscopy) to scrape the bladder walls and get the rest of it. Now, that puts us in a very bad situation. The emergency surgery was dangerous because it was only just 3 weeks and a few days after the heart attack, and he is on Plavix. So the call to the cardiologist to find out when surgery can be done again is made. He says it's too soon yet and that if surgery is done now, it could well result in death. So, what is being done, is that Jim will be given BCG treatments first. They will start Feb 16th and be once a week for 6 weeks. After that we should be able to get the surgery done. The hope is that the treatments will kill what is there or hold it at bay. If cancer has not gotten into the bladder muscle, he will be fine. If it has gotten into the muscle, then he will lose his bladder.

In the interim, during all of this, I began having problems. Being post menopausal, there should be no periods for me, but guess what? So off to the town Dr. I went. He did an endometrial biopsy last week and it came back negative (thank you, God) but he still wants me to see a specialist to be certain, and find out just what is going on. So Monday, Jan 31, I have an appointment to see that specialist.

I have cried until there are no tears left. I'm scared out of my mind, but I know that the only answer lies in placing all of this in God's hands. That doesn't take the fear away - I am only human. Please, if you read this, even if you don't know us, pray for this stranger or friend. He is my world. He is the love of my life. He is my very best friend.

life, New Babies, and tobacco free!

2010-11-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

We had a new great-grandson born yesterday! 6lbs. 11oz and no one has told me how long he is. :( His name is Brandon Noah Ryan ______ (leaving off last name for privacy) This is our 4th. He looks pretty darned angry! But I guess he had a right to be, don't you? I surely wish I could have been there. And, we have another due probably next week sometime. Both are in NE Ohio. Since we are way out in Oregon and Jim is working, makes it kind of difficult to be there. Now, I can't wait for this job to end so we can go and see the babies in person!

It's been pretty cold here at night. I woke up to 22º this morning and as I write it is only 42º. We had snow off and on for 3 days over the weekend and into Tuesday. Not much stuck to the ground and by yesterday afternoon it was allllllllll gone. We put styrofoam on a frame all around the bottom of the motorhome, inside the engine compartment door, and around the outer edges of the slides. (I put pictures on Jim's facebook page) We also hooked up the electric water hose and closed in the sewer hose to keep it from freezing.

Jim is working his buns off and loving every minute of it except when it's so muddy that it takes hours with a pressure washer to get all the mud out of the wheel wells and out from under the bumpers. It's so dusty when it's dry that all the dust clogged up the tailgate latch and he had to really work at cleaning all that mess out to stop the latch from sticking shut.

We are really loving it here. It's a small town. The people are very friendly and take you in like you've lived here all your life. It's only about 20-25 miles to Klamath Falls and the much loved Super Walmart. There is also a Safeway, Albertsons, and a wonderful local discount grocery called Thunderbird. There's a lot of other stores too, like Ross, Petco, Office Depot and a few other large chains. But if you REALLY want shopping, then you have to drive the nearly 100 miles to Medford. I'm hoping that if Jim gets a weather day on a Saturday, maybe we can make the 45 minute drive to Chiloquin and stay the night there visiting the casinos. :)

My eSmoke ecig

I have been tobacco free for 17 days!!!! I bought what they call an eSmoke ecig. Nothing burns, there's no tobacco, you get NONE of the carcinogens, none of the stink, no ashes - none of all that. You get only the nicotine. Since I can't chew the gum, this seems like the way to go for me. I just wish I could convince Jim. I am already breathing better. I was having some pretty good chest pain, and even that is gone. The congestion in the back of my throat has even disappeared already. Using my esmoke seems to be actually making me feel better. I would compare it to those brathing things they make you do after surgery at the hospital, but if I did that I know someone would raise Holy H with me. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel after a few months. I can "vape" in restaurants, and in the motorhome. There is no odor, no anything related to tobacco. You breathe vapor and you exhale nothing more than steam. I've discovered that they make some wonderful flavors to put in these and wonder if I might be able to use those flavors to lay off the sweets. :::giggle::: Especially after I work my way down to 0 nicotine. If you use the link above to get one, you should be able to use code Fresh10 to save 10% when you checkout.

Ok enough from me for now. The sun is out and the temp is still the same, but I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air anyway.

Trucks, Small town life, 60 mile walks...

2010-09-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

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The new truck sitting on top of a mountain

So, we got the truck. The rocks are so big, and the roads so rough up there where Jim is working that he's going to have a lift kit put on it. UGH! I'm the one who has to drive it following the RV whenever we move. Oh well, Redneck city, Here I come!

I'm loving Bonanza. We have two restaurants, (one with a tiny casino), post office, library, 2 gas stations and a medical clinic all within less than a three block walk. I can deal with that.

The weather here has been gorgeous so far. Though we are starting to have some 30º nights, the temperature swing can be some 60º. It was 34º when I got out of bed this morning and the predicted high is 79º!!! I'm wondering just how cold it's really going to get here come January. The average January low is listed as being 16.7º. Brrrrrrrrrr............... However, they do only average 39.9 inches of snow per year. And, The Farmers Almanac is predicting a mild winter for this area. I hope it's right! We're planning to wrap Styrofoam around the slide walls to keep the warmth in. Not the face of the slides - just the ends, top and bottom where the seals are to try and keep out some of the cold. We had an external 120 gallon propane tank set because the propane companies here will not fill directly to a motorhome, even though we have a 69 gallon tank. Beats me what their reason might be, other than dollars and cents! We've had direct fill from the propane people in both Georgia and Florida before. Jim was just determined that he did not want to pull out and go across the street to have our tank filled. He didn't like the idea of probably having to unhook to do that in temperatures in the teens. OK, so I'll go along with him on that.

Klamath Falls is a 20 minute drive and there's a good amount of shopping there, including the much loved Super-Walmart! There are a lot of stores they don't have - like Bed Bath and Beyond, A Chevy dealer, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and most of the things you see in the big malls. But there is a Denny's, and a restaurant that I love called The Black Bear Diner. We first discovered them when we were in California for Jim's job in 2008, and we were thrilled to see one here. The Longhorn Saloon here in Bonanza is good too, and the owner is a sweetheart and extremely accommodating for the guys that are here working on the pipeline. She stays open later (til everyone that wants is fed), and started opening at 5AM so they could have breakfast too. I'll stop in sometimes when I have to walk down to the Post Office, and they always have coffee on, and lots of good chit chat.

We have yet to find the Ponderosa ranch. ☺ The ranches here (not farms) are huge. Many working ranches are more than 100,000 acres! They raise hay, cattle, and the big crop is potatoes!! Good potatoes too. When the Right-of-Way was going through a potato farm the farmer told the guys to come pick all they wanted for free!! The teens next to us went and dug probably 200 pounds of them. I have about 30 pounds in the basement hoping they'll stay cool enough to last until I can use them all up. Since Jim loves scalloped potatoes, guess what we're having a lot of? ☺

Sean, Jim's boss's son-in-law just got in last week. He's going to work on the line too, but he is a registered hunting guide (big game) and his Black Lab just had a litter of eight beautiful pups! Her mama was a chocolate lab and her papa was a black lab. The pups papa is a yellow lab (BIG one). There are four yellows, three blacks, and one absolutely GORGEOUS chocolate. When they get a little bigger, I'll put up a picture of the litter.

Now, on to something else. My daughter-in-law is doing the 3-day 60 mile walk in Atlanta next month. Did you know that in order to walk in that, the participants have to meet a fund raising goal? they spend an entire year raising funds and she's not quite there yet. You can donate in a couple of different ways. You can donate directly by going here and clicking on the button at the almost top left that says "Click to donate to Jennifer in 2010!" (her name is Jennifer Wright) or you can shop online at WomanAWeekShopping and she gets ALL the proceeds from your online shopping for the months of September and October. Shopping there will get her half of all the proceeds the remainder of the year. (And yes, direct donations are tax-deductible) So donate, or at least shop online!

Working!!!! Yes!!!

2010-08-13T21:06:00.009-07:00

Jim is finally working. Well, if you can call it that. They haven't got the go ahead and we've been here in Oregon since June 18th. They just drive around all day on the right-of-way getting to know their way around until the go ahead comes in, which should be tomorrow. They are still being paid and that is a BIG plus.

I know I know...... too long between posting. Well let's see - I'm starting this on Friday night but I don't expect to finish it until sometime Saturday.

We left Florida and headed to Bass Lake in North Carolina. Spent only a few days there and got to see both of my brothers. For us both it was a pleasure, I hope it was for them too.

From there we headed out for Ohio and Jim's family. We were going to spend six weeks at the Kenisee Lake TT park, but Jim got the call to go to work and it was shortened by a week.

We headed out on the 12th of June for Lakeview, Oregon. It was 6 long days of traveling. The only real problem we had was going across the Salt Flats in Utah. What a site that is. However, it was extremely windy. The wind got up under our slide toppers and rattled them like crazy. It kept lifting them up and out. Finally, we came upon a rest area where you can look far across the flats and there was a big semi next to us. He was kind enough to pull forward and block the wind so we could run the slides in and out to try and tighten up the toppers. We made it to Elko Nevada and found an RV place there. Gateway RV. It was very tight and difficult to pull in. Well, we didn't exactly pull in..... we parked on the side street. There was a fella there named Jerry. He looked at it and right away knew that the new toppers we'd had installed after the hail storm in Georgia the year before hadn't been properly installed. The anti-billow brake was never put on. He put a screw on the ends to hold them in place for us and we were off and gone in less than 30 minutes. We have "stupid insurance" with Camping World on those toppers until 2012, so we'll be seeing them as soon as we can to get them replaced. Besides which, they have a lifetime installation warranty and since it wasn't done right to start with, they'll be re-doing them for us.

We finally got to Lakeview on Friday the 18th of June. We had a reservation at Junipers Reservoir RV resort. What a gorgeous place! No pool, no scheduled activities - but it sits in the middle of an 8,000 (YES, EIGHT THOUSAND) acre working cattle ranch. From under your awning you can sit and watch deer, pronghorn antelope, cattle (of course) coyotes, eagles, hawks and more. There's a 6.5 mile ranch loop with waterfalls that you can walk to, or you can drive the loop. During our time there, we were able to watch a nest of Robins and nest of Western Kingbirds hatch.

The Sunday after arrival, Jim had to leave to drive right back to Elko for four days of meetings, training and testing. With just the car he was able to take a MUCH shorter route than we had to take with the RV. I'm ever so thankful we didn't take that route with the RV. Thank goodness for my truck atlas!

We left there last week and moved to Bonanza because the company Jim is working for decided to move their office to the Bonanza area. since that was nearly 80 miles, we decided to find a place in the area. I like it here better for conveniences. And now, instead of driving 90 miles to the nearest Walmart or decent grocery store, it's only 25 miles. Jim can finally buy ice cream and get it home before it's soup. ;) So here we are in the Center (east to west wise) of Oregon about 10 miles north of the California border.

I did buy a Kindle because I read so much and without a car while he's working, I can still get new books. Most of what I've been reading lately are their Free books. It's amazing how many books you can get for free. And they're good too!!! If you check weekly, there are always new ones that are free for a short time as promotions. I think one of the better free books I've read so far was "Forevermore." I've also become a Huge Greg Iles fan, devouring all his books in less than a month. The only one I've yet to read until his newest comes out in January is "The Footprints of God." (Maybe I should start a book discussion here.) Of course they didn't come out with the graphite color Kindle until after I got mine, and it looks like I only missed it by a week or so. Oh well.......if I can get Jim to enjoy the free games that you can download for it, I'll get another one for myself. I got the 6inch display instead of the almost 10 inch display. I don't think I'd want the bigger one because I wanted something that wasn't too awkward to carry around in my handbag. They also have free WiFi access, and I thought that was pretty cool. I still download my books to the computer and store them on my extra hard drive so I'll always have them. Of course, if I want one and download it straight to the Kindle I can always copy it to the computer. Kindle will hold more than 1500 books (the new ones hold over 3500). Now I have a cabinet that's going to be free because I don't have to have a place to keep all my books anymore. That gives me one more place to put other stuff that I didn't have before. And yes, if you aren't an RV'er, that means a LOT!

Monday, we should be taking delivery on a new F-150 Lariat. We traded the Hummer. Jim just wasn't comfortable in the Hummer seats. I'll facebook a picture of it whenever they get all the stuff done on it that he wants done, and we finally can take delivery. I'm thinking maybe a 4 wheel drive Escape for me on down the road. Do any of you RV'ers out there tow an Escape? Tell me how you like it, please!

OK, Donna this was for you - but for everyone that reads this, I'll do my best to keep up better than I have been. I promise! In the meantime, go shopping!

OOPS! Been a long time

2010-03-30T12:35:00.004-07:00

WOW! I haven't posted since September. ::sorry::
Some things have happened (like fall, winter, Thanksgiving and Christmas to name a few) So let me tell you what's been going on with us. Guess we got caught up with our new Facebook account.

Anyway, we left Red River Ranch and went to the Thousand Trails park on Lake Conroe in Willis, Texas. Nothing exciting in September, or even October for that matter.

Then came November...... Sometimes my legs go to sleep, I suspect because of something in my back. I foolishly stood up and took a step while one was asleep and went down like a rock. I stepped on it wrong, was standing on my ankle instead and wham! Wow - the pain was so incredible, I blacked out. Jim was outside and came tearing in - All I could do after getting (crawling) to the couch was beg for ice for it. Once I got more or less situated, and insisted the with no insurance, I was not going to the Dr., Jim ran to the store to get me an ankle brace. By the time he came home, my foot and ankle were about double the normal size. Talk about painful! Anyway, I gave in after 2 days and he took me to Sadler clinic in Conroe where they did the routine x-ray thing. I didn't break it, but they told me I was going to wish I had. I tore all the tendons and ligaments - no weight on it for at least a week or ten days, get crutches - use ice and heat alternating -I'd feel better in about 12 weeks - they could even see the swelling on the x-ray. They said that was unusual. Thank goodness Jim's sister-in-law had one of those hard boots. It fit me perfectly and I used that until the end of January for a shoe. I was pleased as punch to finally be able to put a real shoe on. It still even now has a little swelling, and I have to be careful, but it's improved immensely.

We did our usual thing of turkey legs instead of a whole turkey for Thanksgiving. It was a good day.

Christmas came and went with still no job for Jim and for the first time for either of us, not a single gift to open. That was kind of sad - but then that's not really what Christmas is all about, is it? We were just thankful to have each other and a roof over our heads, and the chance to spend time with family in Humble, TX. The job market is not good and No, even now he's still not working. His company is now saying the end of April or beginning of May. We finally had to sell the truck. ;( Didn't want to take any chances, and we did have some equity in it, so it was gone the end of February.

Months have passed without anything big or exciting happening, and we decided to leave Texas and get me to the routine "see the Docs once a year" in Florida so that when work does come we won't have to worry about it. We left Lake Conroe on March 16, and made it to the Flying J in Gulfport, Mississippi the first day, then arrived on St. Patrick's Day at Styx River RV resort for a 2 night stopover. That night at almost midnight, the phone rang and it was Jim's brother telling us that his Dad had died suddenly after a really bad spill just the week before. Not a good day...
We weighed out all of our options for getting there as quickly as possible. The manager at the TT park up there was going to let us come in and stay there. Then we started thinking about it and decided we really wanted to get there ASAP. The motorhome would be slower going, so now there were more options to explore. We had the thought of leaving it at a friend's house that's 30 miles from where we're staying - then decided that would take too much time too and wondered if we could just leave it here and find someone to watch Sassy and Conrad if the park here would let us stay. Let me tell you - the people here at Styx River couldn't have possbly been any nicer. The manager went ahead and put us in for two weeks. The head of maintenance came to care for the pets daily while we were gone for 6 days, and it made us able to throw what we needed into the car and arrive at Jim's Ma's house by Friday afternoon. We are very grateful to all the staff here at Styx River, and will never forget the kindness they showed us.

We will be leaving here on Friday, arriving at Camping World/Lazy Days on Saturday, and then expect to go to the Thousand Trails park in Orlando on Sunday for one week before we head to the Peace River park for 2 weeks while I see the doctors in Sarasota. I think we will head back towards Ohio after that to make sure Ma is OK while Jim waits for that job call.

We still need your patronage at Taylor Shopping and/or WomanAWeekShopping, so please remember us when you do any online shopping. I'll try to post again sooner. Facebook has just been making us crazy, but I will find time to keep things up over here too. Pray for a job for Jim to come quickly!

Texoma = Texas/Oklahoma Border

2009-09-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Gordonville, TX (on the Texas-Oklahoma border)the 31st of August. It was a really quick trip. We left SC on Sunday the 30th and drove as far as Pearl (Jackson MS) the first day. At the Flying J there, we fueled, ate and spent the night and then drove the rest of the way in to Gordonville on Monday.

Lake Texoma TT park is really pretty and well maintained. The only thing we don't like here is the phone service. Verizon needs to send their "can you hear me now" guy out here. I have to make 2 or 3 attempts to send a text message to get it to finally go, I drop calls like crazy and Internet service is non-existent. People that come here often have switched to AT&T service. However, if we drive to the marina around the corner on the lake, full Verizon service is available. As the crow flies, that's less than a mile. By the way of roads, it's more.

We'll be leaving here Tuesday, the 15th and going about 40 miles to Thackerville, OK. We've already taken a drive over there to see about phone service and we should have a full signal while we're there.

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened lately.... Jim still hasn't found work, though not for a lack of calling all the contacts he has available. We are being as frugal as possible and hoping we can make it until he does get work. It's tight, tight, tight, but we're hanging in there. It's also boring, boring, boring to sit day after day unable to do anything because you don't want to expend the gas to go somewhere, or even the extra dollar it might cost to do anything. I'm also going to be shutting off the phone to the car and knocking back our phone service as much as possible without shutting it completely off. After all, that's a necessity to get a job.

The web sites aren't making a lot of money - just barely enough to keep my service and cover costs for hosting, so will y'all please get out there and shop with us? It would be helpful. And don't go thinking that your one little online purchase wouldn't matter. All those one little online purchases add up and so do the revenues from the ads on the sites. So get over there to any of our sites and shop til your fingers hurt. Links to our sites are on the upper left of this page.

A few trials and tribulations of RV'ing...

2009-08-27T13:17:00.004-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN!!!!!

We've arrived at the TT Carolina Landing park in Fair Play, SC. Trust me, there's NOTHING here that looks anything like the picture on their site. We spent two weeks in Lynchburg,VA, and a couple of weeks in Salisbury, NC.

The trip from Ohio south was interesting. As we were about to get on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I saw something blow up in the air on the top of the motorhome. Slowing down, I watched as one of the solar panels on the roof blew off and onto the side of the road. Once I knew I was safe from being hit by it, I pulled over, got out of the truck and retrieved it. Jim climbed up the ladder and looked at the top of the motorhome and told me they were both gone. I'd only seen one so we figured that the other one must have been lost on our trip from the Byron, GA Camping World to Cochran in May, when he thought he'd heard something hit the roof. That, so far, is the only time since all of our hail damage that I've traveled in front of him. When we arrived in a rest area about 60 miles from the Lynchburg Park, he went all the way up on the roof. Lo and behold, there was the other solar panel wedged under one of the vent covers. So now we have two solar panels that have ripped away from their wiring and we're hoping that we don't get into a situation where we may need them. We haven't needed them since we started RV'ing, but you just never know.

Our two weeks in Lynchburg were a great time. We spent lots of days at Smith Mountain Lake visiting a friend that is more family to us than friend. In a pouring rain the front A/C leaked all over the place. Jim discovered that the leak was because of the torn solar panel wire. When Camping World put the A/C units back on after replacing the roof, they put the wire to the solar panel under the A/C seal which allowed water to leak down the wire into the coach. Luckily, we're always aware of what's going on in that respect and don't have any damage because of it. However, it was 10:00 at night when we found the leak, so Jim was fixing things in the dark of night amidst lots of thunder and lightning. Thankfully he was able to just snip the wire, then pull it into the A/C area to store it until we decide if we're going to put the solar panels back on again. Meantime, it left a dent in the seal and we had to keep a close eye on it for a day or two until the seal restored itself to the proper shape. We've had some pretty big rains since, and all has stayed dry! I feel blessed, and very thankful.

After that time was up we went on to Salisbury, NC and spent some time with some other RV'ing friends, that we'd also been with in Lynchburg.

OK, so up to date ---- we are in Carolina Landing. We've been to this park only once before, and that was several years ago. We stayed then only one night, because the condition of the park was pretty bad. We had heard from someone while we were in Ohio that this park had been fixed up and was being maintained pretty well. WRONG!

This park is in the most deplorable condition of any of the 30 some TT parks we've ever visited. Asphalt has been put on the sites for you to park on.... it isn't level! Now why would any contractor do something that stupid? I have two 2-inch blocks under the drivers side of the coach on an aspahlt surface and we still can't get level. The grass appears to not have been mowed in several weeks. It's taller than the seats on the picnic tables. You can't use the picnic tables here because it's so uphill outside your door. If I was to set a dish of baked beans on the picnic table they'd slide out of the dish because of the tilt. So, you can forget sitting at one of them. The roads beyond the A section of camping are in such a state of decay that they aren't fit to drive your car through, let alone an RV. The campsites to the rear area of the park aren't even accessible, don't appear as though they've been maintained in years, and wouldn't even be suitable for a tent. The adult pool has a layer of green slime on the bottom, and a "ring around the tub" appearance at the top. All in all, I am thoroughly disappointed in this campground, and that's a major understatement.

I'm hoping we can leave Saturday instead of the scheduled Sunday. We are going to head towards Sherman, Texas in hopes of work for Jim. No, he's still not working and we're hanging by a thread at this point. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, light a candle, or whatever it is you do that he gets work within the next 7 weeks or we are going to be in dire straits.

Til then - go shop with us - every little bit helps!

We're where?

2009-07-11T13:43:00.004-07:00

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Wow! I never made a single posting last month. I'll keep on trying to keep up. We left Cochran and went to Wilmington, OH on June 8th. We were sitting in Cochran on the 6th having afternoon coffee and Jim just looked at me and said "what's fuel going to cost for us to go see my dad?" (He’d just had a quadruple bypass) I did the calculations real quick and discovered that we could get to his dad for what it was costing us to stay in Cochran, so we left the next morning headed for Thousand Trails in Wilmington, Ohio. There were so many people in that park that we hadn't seen in at least 2 years; it was hectic for those 2 weeks. We got our 75 cent humongous soft ice cream cones in Morrow while we were there, and just spent time seeing all the people we'd been out of touch with since Jim went back to work.

When our free weeks were done there, we intended to head to the TT that's close to his dad. However, that would have really messed things up because it's so difficult to be moving between parks anytime close to the holidays. So, we decided to stop at an RPI park for a week in South Charleston, OH. Tomorrows Stars is a really nice little park between Springfield and Columbus. It's clean, green, and friendly. We'll make it a point to go there again.

Anyway, the first day we were there, we set up the satellite using the bedroom television. Quick easy and had a great signal. That night, I went to crawl in the bed and the TV wouldn't turn on. After going round and round with Samsung on a TV that's only 5 months old, I had to ship it off to them. Here's the problem - they will not accept it without an advance return address. I was really nervous giving them the address of the park where we were headed since I didn't know how long it was going to take to get it back from them. I don't understand why they couldn't just telephone us when they finished the repair/replacement and then gotten an address where to send it back. It makes no sense whatsoever why some of these places have the policies they do. Anyway, we got it back a week after arriving in Kenissee Lake TT. However, we were still unable to watch television because they had told me (against my better judgment) to send the remote and the power cord. THEY DIDN'T RETURN THEM! So I had to call, then wait and hope, that they would arrive before we left Kenissee Lake TT. They got there about an hour before we left there this past Wednesday. WHEW! We did our 2 weeks close to Jim's dad at the Thousand Trails in Jefferson. So now we are in Conneaut, Ohio, only about 25 miles from Thousand Trails for a week. On Wednesday we will return to Thousand Trails - Kenissee Lake (Jefferson) until the 28th of July, and then we are scheduled to go to Lynchburg, Va. That will keep us close to his Dad for a couple of more weeks. Cross your fingers for us that Jim gets a job call long before our two weeks in Jefferson are done. With the economy the way it is, he's still having great difficulty finding a job because a good portion of them have been delayed. I don't know how much longer we can hold out.

Yesterday, we took a ride over to Pennsylvania. After all, we are right on the state line. We just kind of drove around looking to see what's what and where. We ended up driving through Meadville. Pennsylvania is a pretty state with all its rolling hills. We saw lots of horse and buggy signs, but no buggies. I love seeing the Amish buggies. They make your mind wander thinking of a simpler time and way of life and wondering what it might have been like if those things had never changed for the rest of us.

Driving through Meadville, we saw a PDOT (Pennsylvania Dept. Of Transportation) office, and what the fence was made from was stunning. I'm going to leave you with those images, all of which are quite cleverly made from street signs and the creative work of some wonderful artist.

Finally Road Worthy

2009-05-21T10:29:00.003-07:00

OK, it's been awhile - but I guess I need to post something here about what's going on with us. :)

Gene Evans Team Ford in Union City, Georgia replaced our car. Jim says we paid a fair price for the difference. I don't agree, but that's neither here nor there since it's a done deal. We no longer have our 2006 H3. We now have a 2007 H3. It has ½ the miles, a sunroof, and leather interior instead of cloth. Other than that, it's exactly like the one we had to give up. I don't like taking a used car. They scare the blazes out of me. I go through all the whys and what was wrong that someone traded in a vehicle. I know that's crazy, and yes, I have the car fax report on it, but it still scares me. Those of you that are brave enough to buy a used car, I envy you. Anyway, Rusty Huddleston at the dealership couldn't have been nicer, and I thank him for his time handling this along with General Manager Bill Miller.

The coach is done, the roof is on, the new windshields are installed, and we wait patiently for a call from Jim's Inspection company with a job for him. We moved to our favorite little park in Cochran, Georgia for now. I sure hope we aren't here for very long. I'd be happy to stay here a year if there was work here.

There's just not a whole lot else happening with us right now. Jim gets bent out of shape every time the President makes another speech. We're both so tired of speeches we could scream. What was that song .... "A little less talk and a lot more action"? I'd like to see more action and a whole lot less talk. Seems like there's a new speech every day. He seems to talk a good talk, but doesn't seem to really be DOING anything. I'd sit down and write the man a letter if I really thought he'd ever read it. I don't believe it would do a lick of good to waste my time doing so, so why bother? Enough already from me. I'm not that into politics, so I'd best just shutup.

That's it for now - until next post - please go shopping!!!! We've put a list of stores on one page so you don't need to go hunting them down.... You'll find them all in one convenient location and can go (or hunt an item) from there. Later!

Satisfaction.... to a point

2009-04-25T09:12:00.006-07:00

Well, American Reliable/American Security Insurance agreed to take care of the roof on the coach. After sitting in one dealership in Jackson, Georgia for 2 weeks with nothing accomplished other than estimates flying back and forth, we had to come down to Byron because the dealership in Jackson went out of business while we were there and closed their doors. Thank goodness we weren't inside with the roof already torn off. We dropped the coach off this past Tuesday to have the new roof put on, and we are in a hotel until it's done. It's close, and should be done by Monday. However, the service people shattered our windshields yesterday and now we have to wait for new windshields to be installed sometime this week coming up.

This whole process has been a nightmare. The truck is well and they did a beautiful job repairing it. The Hummer on the other hand... well, let me just say that they messed up ROYALLY on that. We got a call a week and a half ago that it was ready, and we drove to Union city to get it. There was a minor glitch with the truck that had to be taken care of, so we left it while we took the Hummer to go get something to eat. We never made it off the parking lot when the dash warning came on for the four-wheel drive module. I opened the glove box to get the owners manual and see what the warning light meant. The owners' manual and everything else in the glove box was soaked through and through. We went on to eat, and got the manager when we returned. He took it to the GM dealer and they found a module in the dash that was wet and needed to be replaced.

While we sat - waiting and thinking - it occurred to me that there might be a lot more wet than just that area. It was not wet when we took it to them. There was hail damage on it, but no glass had been broken and the hail had not penetrated to the interior of the car. I decided to go out and double check the inside of the car for anything else that might be wet. When I put my hand under the mud mats, the floor was soaked through. Jim began tearing things apart to get under the carpet right there on the lot. It was soaked through to the floorboards. I got the manager again. He was sure that we needed to leave it and let them get things dried out. We did. Now, mind you, that gave us another week to think on the situation. It has for certain been decided that when the roof was cut off, someone for whatever reason, pulled the car outside, and apparently another rainstorm came along and flooded the whole car. If it hadn't the inside of the dash area wouldn't have been wet. That, at least has been agreed upon by all.

We got a call to come and get it this past Thursday. Things are still not working and they've had to order new modules for the OnStar system, telephone and a new rear view mirror assembly. Whenever Jim got a car in the shop that had gotten that wet, it was totalled. We are very concerned that now we will have module after module going bad and the car should be totalled and the dealer where it is should either pay us for the car or replace it with comparable. I'd be OK with either, though I'd prefer they just pay for the car. And I don't mean trade value, I mean retail value. We'll go and talk seriously with them on Monday and see what they want to do about this mess.

It's just been a crappy year so far - it's got to start improving soon....
The loss of 2 family members, a good friend, and the dog, Jim being out of work, the hail situation and all the repair errors trying to get things back to normal. I'm about cried out and ready to just say the heck with it all.

Anyway, that's where we stand as of right now, and we sit in a hotel in Byron, Georgia and wait. It's all we can do for the moment. Light a candle, say a prayer - keep us in your thoughts - we need it. It's got to get better!

American Security RV Insurance... the saga goes on...

2009-03-28T06:09:00.010-07:00

If you read my last post, then you know what's already going on, more or less.
We now sit, and have been sitting at Sagon RV in Jackson, Georgia waiting for the insurance appraiser and the insurance company to work things out on who's paying what for the roof. Yes, I said ROOF. When all of the parts came and the roof was 'de-tarped' to put everything on, we found cracks in the fiberglass up there and hail damage that caused the fiberglass to break free of the roof frame. We need a new roof... American Security RV Insurance (American Security Insurance, Assurant Group aka Assurant Solutions) has been great up to this point, and we're hoping they will continue to do the right thing. However, at this point, they are saying that they do not pay for any delamination. It's not really delamination - it's fiberglass damage from baseball and softball sized hail. They've been told that by the repair shop here. It doesn't seem to be getting through some one's thick head. And then they tell us we will have to pay "betterment." I understand about paying betterment on the awnings that were shredded. I DO NOT understand it on a roof. I'm not being assessed betterment on the roof of the car. What the heck is the difference? We've done everything, maintenance wise that is supposed to be done, and Jim has cared for the outside of this coach as if it were a most precious of classic vehicles. We've followed maintenance schedules, and waxed this thing 4-6 times a year. There's just no reason for American Security to treat us this way. We pay extra for full-timers insurance too. I guess we'll know more Monday. If anything changes, I'll edit this post rather than write a whole new one.

So, as it stands right now - we have the truck back, and Gene Evans Ford in Union City did a BEAUTIFUL job on it. We are very pleased with them. The Hummer is in the shop and has to also have a new roof. It was beat up so badly, they weren't able to repair it. Hopefully it will be finished sometime this coming week.

Sagon RV has treated us much better than we anticipated. They've been more than accommodating to our needs. With the death in Lynchburg, VA of a very near and dear friend (more like family) this past week, and having to run there on Monday, the lady at the front desk here took care of Sassy and Conrad until we got back on Wednesday night. How good is that? They just couldn't have been kinder to us.

It has rained, rained, and rained some more while we've been here. I'm very glad that we aren't parked in a dirt or even a grassy site. We surely would have sunk in by now if we were. That would not have been fun at all.

As I already noted, we lost what seemed like a family member this week in Lynchburg, Va. (Bobby Ray Campbell) We left Monday afternoon and got there just in time to go to the Funeral home on Monday evening. Tuesday, the funeral was officiated by his brother who is the Pastor at Jordan Baptist Church there. It was early evening by the time we got back to the hotel, and so we waited until Wednesday morning to head back. The trip was pretty uneventful, and I do wish we had had the opportunity to stop and see some folks along the way, but we were already imposing upon the dealership to watch over the animals and just didn't want to impose further.

Well, that's about it for now - Until next post, please go shopping!!

The Fury of Mother Nature

2009-02-22T08:22:00.004-08:00

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Here we sit in Palmetto, Georgia (Coweta County) where Mother Nature showed her violent anger last Wednesday, February 18. Storms were coming. We were fervently watching the weather on TV. A report came across telling us that hail and angry winds that were likely to be tornadoes were headed in our direction. At that moment the severe weather was about 40 miles from us. The weather radio began sounding off with warnings, yet the sky was clear and blue. Jim went outside to close the patio awning while I grabbed our "emergency bag" that contains all of our important papers, and threw the computer into its case.

He stepped in the front door as I set the bag on the front seat. I turned to put on a pair of shoes. Comfortable ones, I thought just in case they end up being the only pair I have. We never made it back out the front door. Hail began raining furiously down on us. It began as small pellets, and quickly became quarter, fifty-cent and silver dollar sized. In the background, the TV is telling us to get out, and the weather radio is sounding more alarms. There was no place for us to go. There are no solid buildings in this RV park. Even the office is a mobile home. A little more than 5 minutes and it was done. I stepped outside with my trusty camera, and got a picture of the yard with all the hail. We took a quick look and breathed a sigh of relief. There was no damage to the coach or the car and truck. WHEW!

And then, THEN... out of nowhere, Mother Nature suddenly began to rage. It was rage like I'd never seen or heard in my entire life. The hail was there again, and it looked like golf balls, growing quickly to baseballs, then softballs and larger. The sky had turned black, blue, even a little green and we couldn't even hear one another speak without shouting at the top of our lungs. I was terrified that a tornado was going to whisk us away, yet neither of us knew where to turn. The pouring of these huge ice rocks down upon us lasted about 15 minutes, and we watched in horror as the car and truck began getting dented, and smashed. Horror turned to outright fear for life as the hail broke through the cover on the shower skylight. The vent on the roof over the bathroom sink began to pour water into the bathroom. Hail had broken through the cover and then with its rage, right on through the vent lid. I stood in the middle of the kitchen in a screaming panic that we needed to go, but Jim kept telling me we couldn't because there was just nowhere to get to quickly enough. As I stood there, water began to pour into the kitchen through the Fan-tastic vent. It had also been shattered and was allowing the hail/rain to come in. Desperate to do something, anything to keep my mind from going to fatal thoughts, I began grabbing pots and pans to put under the leaks.

The ice pellets began to grow smaller, and then slow their descent upon us. Then it stopped nearly as quickly as it had begun. Once again we could hear the television. Tornado reports from Coweta County and Spalding County were beginning to come in to the news station. We hadn't seen the violent whirling wind, but we had seen that huge hail come down so hard that it bounced off the pavement high enough to land on the roof of the coach.

Jim went outside to take a quick survey of damage. EVERYTHING on the roof was shattered. Hail had broken even through the shrouds that covered the air conditioners. The next morning with the Insurance people, we would discover that the units below the covers, had also been smashed to a state beyond repair. Wasting no time, anxious to do something, anything to make things feel better, I called the insurance company. 24/7 for claims, so why not get our claim in fast, fast, fast, before others began calling. While I was doing that, Jim in the same state of mind as me I believe, dragged out the one small tarp that we had in case of an emergency and tried to cover what he could on the roof. There was a thud up there and I tore out the front door only to see that he had fallen on the icy surface. My heart struck my throat until I saw him rise back up and say he was OK, but would be a little bruised later. (and he was - but not badly) The tarp wasn't enough and we began dragging out vinyl picnic table covers and anything else we could find that would repel water. He used step stools and pieces of lumber to hold them down. Even the refrigerator vent was torn to pieces. We were told that had we had a rubber roof instead of fiberglass, that the entire roof would have been unrepairable.

Next look was at the window awnings - We had left them open deliberately to protect the windows, and it's a very good thing we did. Had we put them away, windows would have been shattered. The awnings are shredded, and the slide toppers join them in their status of shred, but not one single window is broken.

The Insurance appraiser for the coach was here the very next morning and the appraiser for the cars was in touch before noon, and arrived to look at the truck and car first thing Friday morning.

We are OK. The coach is going to take about $10,000 to repair, though we don't have final prices. Work has begun on the coach and the truck is already in the shop for its $3500 in repairs. When the truck is done, we will hand over the car for its $2500 in repairs that we expect to go much higher. After giving the car a bath and looking a little closer, it appears as though they may have to replace the roof too.

Thursday and Friday, the National Weather Service was busy confirming tornado damages and assessing the severity of each area. Within 5 miles of where we are, an F4 had come down and many have lost everything, and are without homes right now. We are considering ourselves very lucky, feeling that staying put ended up being the best thing we could have done. Had we tried to get to a place of safety we would have had to travel right through the tornado stricken area. God's angels must have been looking after us, and we are very blessed that we didn't lose everything. Financially, it's going to hurt because we have three deductibles to cover. But, you know, I've always heard "everything comes in threes." Seems to me that we got all three at one time.

A Major Loss and Catching up time...

2009-01-24T05:58:00.002-08:00

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OK OK I've been properly berated for failing to update things here, so here goes nothing!

By the time we left Fort Collins, it still had not yet snowed there this season. I'd say we were incedibly lucky! We made it the first night to Salina, Kansas Flying J, motorhome, H3 in tow and me behind him in the truck. We had dinner and slept there, then coffee the next morning, discovered we had a dead battery in the toad and headed on out.

Jim didn't want to stop in a campground because we might not be able to get a pull-through site and with a dead battery in the toad that just wouldn't work out very well. So, we drove all the way to Hot Springs, Arkansas and pulled into the campground there just after dark. A pull through (sort of) was available and since we were staying until the day after Thanksgiving, we pulled on in and hooked up the battery charger. When we finally arrived in Florida we did get a new battery.

short note: I started this blog on January 15 but circumstances distracted me (end of blog) and now I'm back to finish.

Christmas was wonderful, spent with friends and it was also quiet. New Year's holiday was just as quiet for us, as we began to struggle with problems Tasha was having.

We spent a few weeks at the Thousand Trails Orlando park and then went to Peace River TT park, back to Orlando and back to Peace River. We sit now (today) back at the Orlando TT park, and close to Tasha's Vet.

We did spend some time at Rally Park in Seffner at Lazy Days getting some service work done on the coach. (more on that next blog in a few days) Jim found a chair there by Lane furniture that he loves and so that's on order for him now. When we left Rally Park this past Tuesday morning we went to Classic Coach in Lakeland to get the ceiling lights they installed a few years ago fixed. A good portion of the embedded rope lights have burned out. When we walked in, there was a beautiful sofa sitting in the showroom that I fell in love with. It was time for us to replace the one we have, and at half price, neither of us could pass it up. So, that's been installed already, and the old one has been sent off to charity.

We spent Tuesday night on the lot at Classic, and went to dinner with some friends that live in Lakeland. When we got home and opened the door, we found Tasha stuck there at the bottom of the steps and wedged between the door and the step. She wasn't moving, and we both feared the worst. We lifted her out and she was OK but I think pretty sore and really not doing well at all.

We arrived Orlando TT park on Wednesday morning and headed off to pay the Vet's office a visit. The choice was not good. Tasha has been having great difficulty negotiating the steps whether it be up or down. We've been having to lift her. She hasn't been able to get her back legs under her well enough to get up for a month or so, and now her front legs were beginning to give her the same problem.

Yesterday, with great sorrow, lots of tears, and even more pain to our hearts, she went to heaven. We haven't yet stopped crying and I don't think we will ever stop missing her. Nearly 18 years with her have finally ended. I stayed with her. We took her pillow and she went to sleep with the style, class, and dignity that she always had. While I hugged her and held her, she gently laid her head on my arm and we said goodbye. Jim couldn't handle that part of it, but she was with her "mommy" when she went to sleep.

The Fast and Easy way to Winterize the RV

2008-11-20T06:30:00.001-08:00

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That's right! I'm going to tell you the easiest way to winterize your RV. Do what we are going to do this Sunday and you'll be done with it. In two simple words and one action, you can be done.

DRIVE SOUTH!

On Sunday, the 23rd of November, that's just what we are going to do. We are leaving Colorado and heading South. We plan to be in Florida sometime the week after Thanksgiving. We are making a stop along the way to spend the holiday with a dear friend that we have not seen in almost three years.

What's happened since my last post? Not much - but a few things.

The last time we were able to go up into the mountains was after the very first snow up there. I got a gorgeous shot of the snow on the fall foliage. I really liked it and thought it captured a lot, so when we got home that afternoon, I sent it to the local TV station. Lo and behold, they put it on the news that night. Then I got an e-mail asking if they could use it on the front page of their web site. Well, of course I gave them permission to do that, and it was there for 4 or 5 days.

If you want the printable of this you can always just e-mail me and I'll send you the full size image. It printed really well.

Jim should be done today or tomorrow with the job here in Colorado. I really hate to go, but I'm excited to leave too. There are some very mixed emotions about leaving such a beautiful place. He's going to be out of work until about the end of January or the beginning of February. He really deserves the break. He's been working 7 days a week, 12 hour shifts, for the past six weeks. And, we're both excited about the next job. It's going to be in Atlanta!!! they tell him we should be there for a year or just over a year.

So, Not much else really going on. Tasha is slowing down quickly and we keep expecting the worst, but she just hangs in there and keeps on keepin' on. It's going to tear me to pieces when her time comes. I love that dog so very much and she has been responsible for a lot of joy in my life these past 17+ years.

It's time for you to get your shopping done for Christmas. With Jim out of work, it would really be nice if you'd use our shopping sites for all your online purchases this year. (look in the left pane of this page for links) Like I did with my Mom every opportunity, make sure you send someone flowers this year! It says a LOT! We have several florists to choose from.

Friends in Florida - We will see you soon!!! I've really missed all of you - but it won't be long and we will have a couple of months (including the Holidays) together!

It's been awhile...

2008-10-08T16:03:00.002-07:00

I know - I haven't posted in awhile. So here I am - quitcher' complainin'. :::smile:::

There hasn't really been much going on with us lately. Though we did have our 3rd grandbaby born in August. Hoping we can get that way when this job is done. It looks as though we will be here in Colorado anywhere from 2 to 6 more weeks. After that, it's anybody's guess where we'll be going. If Jim has another job that he can go to directly, well that will be great. If not, we think we're going to head for Florida until we know what comes next.

We did take a drive this past weekend up to RMNP. It's 'rut season' for the elk and we were actually a week too late for the peak of the fall colors. I did get a couple of halfway decent shots of the colors. Not what I was actually looking for but at least it's something to post here. We should have gone last week for the color, but we opted to go to Black Hawk and visit the casinos instead. Jim did quite well winning more than enough to make up for what I lost. I was really bummed out that I didn't win. I guess you can't win every time and I was the one that won on the last trip up there. At least we are still ahead of the game and not on the losing side.

We may get some snow this weekend. I'm hoping that the high country gets a LOT! I need a really good picture for my wall collage of snow! And I'd like to shoot some of the Churches while they're covered with snow too.

I've begun gathering supplies for making this year's Christmas cards. Not an easy process. I'd like to be ahead of the game this year and have them ready to go by the day after Thanksgiving. Having to make just over a hundred of them is going to really take some time. Next year, you can all plan on getting a very simple card from us. (unless my brain goes crazy with ideas again) This handcrafted card stuff is starting to get more and more expensive. As much as I love doing it, it is a little nuts. But, at least this year I know EXACTLY what I want to do. I usually think I know what I want to do and end up with something totally different. Not this time - too late to change my mind now.....

OK - now, if you are an online shopper, it's time to get started NOW for Christmas. Please visit our sites to shop. (links on the left side of this page) We would appreciate every single sale, no matter how small or how large. Every penny counts these days. If you need help with something in particular just get in touch with me and I'll see if I can help you out finding something in particular.

I guess that's it for now. Just not a whole lot going on around here. Work, work, work - that's about all Jim does these days. Sunday off, of course!

One more thing..... I have been tagged by my darling DIL, Jenn. In return I must follow the rules and then tag someone else:
Here are the rules.....
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along!!

6 random things about me? Hmmmmm.......

I want to write a book about church buildings
I've been on the road now nonstop for 7½ years and I've loved every minute of it.
Here's a shocker - I may be ready to stop and build a house sometime in the next 2-5 years.
I've been with Jim (can you believe it) 18 years this coming December and I love him more every day than I did the day before. <~~that's two things
I don't know why I'm doing this!

Ok, so now I have to tag someone so I tag Eddy, Joe, Love, Donna, Janice and Marie. Guys - if you've got a site or a blog, send me a link so I can link to you. :)

Heavenly tricks? - The loss of a brother...

2008-07-29T07:28:00.008-07:00

It's been a very sad, hectic, wild, crazy couple of weeks for us.

On Friday, the 18th of July, as Jim pulled into the office parking lot, his phone rang. He just knew when he saw the caller ID that something was up. His brother never calls that early in the morning (5am) unless there's something wrong. Jim was expecting to hear that his father needed him. Instead, he was shocked to learn that his youngest brother Gary, had died a few hours before. He'd been going through the necessary testing to have a second heart bypass, but the Drs. didn't seem worried and neither did he. It was time for us to take a fast trip without the coach.

Jim finished out the day at work waiting to hear what arrangements were being made. In the meantime, I was to begin getting things ready to go, and arranging for someone to care for all the animals. While I was about to blog here that we were off to Ohio in the car, not the coach, the screen on my system died. I could do nothing - I couldn't even print out our Streets & Trips maps for the trip. I shut things down from memory of keyboard shortcuts and snapped up the machine and ran it to the store. This thing is only 10 months old and the geek person at the store was amazed that the screen had gone out on it. She took it in and told me it would be back in a couple of weeks. Jim's brother! Had he done this? We think so... he wasn't real fond of computers, and I think he wanted our total time and attention.

So by Saturday evening we were off and running. We arrived Monday. About 2 hours away, we called the people we were to stay with, Jim's dad, his other brother, and his sister-in-law to let them all know that we were close. We told the sister-in-law (Sheila) that we'd come straight there, first stop. When we turned onto her street, Jim's less than one month old, supposedly indestructible, phone went blank. It was not plugged in to anything, and had been charged just the night before. That was the first phone we'd ever had do that. We went on and visited with family.

The next morning we found a Verizon company store and took the phone in. Tech support and Jim thought that the battery had shorted out. WRONG! Even they didn't know what was wrong with the phone..... they gave us a new one. Was this Jim's brother again? Heavenly tricks? He always told him that he'd get him back for all the jokes, even if he had to do it from beyond. I believe that was what was happening to us and laughed as I thought about it. Nothing that cost us any money, just stuff to let us know he was still there, not dead - just on another journey that we all have to take someday.

Gary was an absolute sweetheart. He was madly in love with his wife, daughters, and grandchildren. You could just see it in his eyes. I called him the "peacemaker" in the family. He was gentle, kind, compassionate, and you always knew that he cared deeply. I'm really going to miss him.

Services were held right where he wanted them, (well, almost) in the front yard. There just wasn't enough room on the back porch for all the people that came together to honor him. There had to be in the neighborhood of 200 people there. The man was truly loved, and now soars like the eagles he so loved. We miss you, Gary - keep on letting us know you're there! And, save us a place up there - someday we'll be coming to join you.

I cannot say, and I will not say That he is dead-- He is just away!
With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand
He has wandered into an unknown land,
And left us dreaming how very fair
It must be, since he lingers there.
And you-- O you, who the wildest yearn
For the old-time step and the glad return--,
Think of him as faring on,
as dear In the love of There as the love of Here;
And loyal still, as he gave the blows
Of his warrior-strength to his country's foes--.
Mild and gentle, as he was brave--,
When the sweetest love of his life he gave To simple things--:
Where the violets grew Blue as the eyes they were likened to,
The touches of his hands have strayed As reverently as his lips have prayed:
When the little brown thrush that harshly chirred
Was dear to him as the mocking-bird;
And he pitied as much as a man in pain
A writhing honey-bee wet with rain--.
Think of him still as the same, I say:
He is not dead-- he is just away!

--James Whitcomb Riley

Unfortunately, we had to leave the very next morning because Jim had to be back to work on Saturday. We would like to have been able to stay for a few weeks. We are hoping with all our hearts that when this job is done, there will be something in that area so that we can be close to family for awhile. Sadly, on Friday while we were on our way home, we lost another 'like family' member. She had wished no services, and that is being honored. But we will miss her so very much - she was a lady that we loved greatly. We love you bunches, Jean! Smack Gary for us, and tell him we love him, will you?

Reflecting on the past and the big 'D' word

2008-07-07T15:14:00.004-07:00

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WOW! It's only been a week and here I am posting again. I hope I can keep up with doing this at least that often.

We had an afternoon that was really overcast and cloudy. As the sun began to break through, I took this picture. Just thought it was pretty, and it reminded me how the hand of God reaches out to us in odd ways sometimes.

Mostly, it was just another week for us. Although Jim finally did get some time off because of the Holiday. Friday we took a drive to Black Hawk. (yes, I won) On our way home, it was just starting to grow dark. Driving up the freeway, you could see fireworks in every direction. Denver has so many suburbs that are considered separate cities, that from I-25 you could see fireworks in all directions. The High Plains are also so open that we could see fireworks that were probably 30 or so miles in the distance. It was really quite a site. I think that's the most fireworks we've seen in years. We "oooo'd and ahhhhh'd" all the way home.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. We both worked on the 'honey-do' list and got a lot done. Sometime this week, I need to take the car and have the seats cleaned and a good coat of wax put on it. Jim just doesn't have time right now to do things like that with all the long hours he's working.

This past week, I was accused of not knowing what it's like to grow up with just one parent. Yea, I know - those of you that know me are wondering who on earth would say something like that. Doesn't matter - we all know I lost my Dad at a young age. And, I was extremely lucky to have a very wise woman for a mother.

Time for a sermon of sorts:

If you are someone out there considering the prospect of divorce and how it might affect your children, I can only tell you what was told to me 30 something years ago when my children were small and I was in the throes of a divorce. I heeded the wisdom that my Mother gave me and as a result, I believe that I have raised some rather well-adjusted children. (now with their own chldren/teens to raise) I'm no child-rearing professional - but since my kids told me they think I did a good job, that's what I have to go on. And, that's all I care about too.

Living in an unhappy marriage can do children more harm than good. (in most cases) We grow up believing marriage SHOULD be the way we see it between our own parents. If their marriage isn't happy, then the children of that marriage are likely to also find themselves in an unhappy marriage. Better to be raised happily with one parent than unhappily by two.

It is prudent that you never ever say anything negative to your children about their other parent. It doesn't matter if you are their Mother or their Father. It is important that you keep negative feelings between only you and the other parent, or just keep them to yourself. Someday, those little babies will grow up to become adults. They will make their own decisions about their other parent. A Mother and Father are still a Mother and Father, no matter how they feel about one another, and those children should love them both, if for no other reason than that. It is very hurtful to them to degrade or belittle their other parent in their presence.

That 30 something years ago when I divorced, I listened to those words. I am very glad that I did. My boys grew up without the presence of their Father to take them to the local amusement park, boating (we lived on the water), to a ball game, a playground, to a BBQ, out to dinner, or just over to his house to visit.

There was no support from their Father of any kind because he gave up all parental rights in order to avoid just that. Even so, and even struggling to make ends meet most of the time, we were happy. I knew the day would come that they would search him out. They did, and they found him. They questioned him, tried to get to know him, and they thanked me for allowing them to grow up and make their own decisions about their feelings. As adults they have asked a few questions about the whys. I'm sure they just needed to get things straight in their own minds about their personal feelings on it all. Whatever their feelings might be for him, it is not up to me to judge or decide if they are right or wrong. I bear no ill will towards their Father. I am not God and cannot/will not judge him. My job was to raise my children to be able to make their own decisions, to teach them to make those decisions, to know right from wrong, and to love God. I am so very proud of them, and I think they know that I am proud of them. If not - Hey Guys! Your Mama is so proud of the adults you have become that I could just burst! I could also go on forever about the lessons you guys have learned, and even taught me over the years, the tough times and the trying times, but I won't.

Enough sermon. If you happened upon this because you are thinking about divorce - and if you have minor children, I hope this can/will help you in some small way.

An IRL Meeting

2008-06-30T09:46:00.004-07:00

IT was a crazy, fun, weekend here. Jim and I have been e-mailing with another couple for nearly a year now. I had run across Rick Hammersley's blog last summer when I was looking around the Internet for Southern Cross info. Jim wanted to go to Virginia or Ohio to work for them and so I was sort of poking around with Google when I came upon Rick's blog at Rick Walks America. Both guys worked for Southern Cross at the time, so I fired off an e-mail to them because at the moment they were working in Roanoke, Va. We really wanted to go there. (we didn't get to) We had a very ill, very dear friend that lived in that area and we really wanted to get closer to them so we could help if they needed us.

Anyway, Rick was getting things together for a walk he was going to start this past April 1st. He was planning to walk from Bodega Bay, Ca. to Coney Island, NY. He was due to arrive in California while we were there, but we got sent off to Colorado before they got there.

Rick started his walk as scheduled, and this past Friday he and wife Valda, arrived in Fort Collins. The Lakeside KOA here gave them a couple of nights of camping and parked them right behind us. We were thrilled to finally have an IRL meeting with them. They're good folks and I hope you'll all visit his site and make a donation or sign up to match the money he finds on the ground as he walks. Keep an eye on him as he walks - I just KNOW he's going to make it all the way! All donations are going to Gateway for Cancer Research. It's a very worthy cause. You can read more and get more details on all of that, and the walk at RickWalksAmerica.com.

We also got to meet two of Rick's brothers that are following their trail. (no, they aren't walking too) Ron and Don are still on their way west, but considering they're driving the route, we expect them to stop in again in about a week or ten days. Great guys - we really enjoyed them. And, between the four of them, we feel like we've really added to our "traveling family."

Anything else happening with us? Well sure, but it was a baaaaad week last week and I spent 4 out of 5 days not feeling too well, and wishing like crazy that stress would just stop affecting me the way it does. I've learned to deal with it pretty well, but every now and then it just really gets the better of me, and this time my guard was down. Won't let it happen again...

I spent the first week after getting the truck having the tonneau cover put on.... had to first order it - and then it came in wrong when I went to have it installed. That was two wasted days, and the third time they said it was there, it was finally right. We also had a bed and tailgate mat put in. That was another day shot. I got the Hummer back from Jim and finally got it all cleaned up, other than having the upholstery cleaned, by last Friday. I'll do that probably sometime next week after the July 4th Holiday.

Not much else going on right now. Colorado has finally run into their hot time of the summer, so we're hot but not as hot as a lot of you in the south. Have a great 4th everyone, and remember to visit The RickWalksAmerica.com web site.

HAPPY JULY 4TH EVERYONE!

No more stranded all day.....

2008-06-19T14:34:00.004-07:00

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WOW! Has it been almost a month already since that last post? Sorry....

Well, for Father's Day, I bought Jim a new truck. I got him a Ford F150 King Ranch. I like it so much - I don't want to give it up. I will though. Does this make me a Redneck? At least I'll get the Hummer back and have a vehicle while he's at work all day. He's been working 12 hours a day and he has an hour drive each way. Figure it out - he gets home just in time to shower, and go to bed. Sure gets lonely all day. With him working 6 days a week and having only Sunday for us to get a week's worth of errands done, it was just getting crazy and wearing him out. So, new truck he got. He needed something more comfy for him anyway. The seats in the H3 really seem to bother his legs. The seats in the truck are a lot bigger and a lot more comfy for him - more adjustable too. Even I like them better! Tomorrow I'm having a bed mat, hard tonneau cover and molded mud mats put it in it for him. Then it will be all set for him to drive out to the job site.

The job is good! Jim likes it - and he already got a very tidy raise because of the fuel prices. This is a very nice company to work for, and I hope there's lots more work to do after this line gets put in. The other Inspectors tell Jim that there is lots of work for the next 5 years or more. That would be wonderful!

Now, one more thing - we have friends that we have not seen in a few years and the phone number we have for them is no longer (it was their cell). If you read this, and you know a Berkman and Mary Fruge from Lake Charles, Louisiana - Tell them to get online here and contact us! They were/are full-time RV'ers also and they have or had, a Gulfstream coach that had a mural of an 18-wheeler on the back. We'd sure like to talk to them. We've tried everything to find them and they just seem to be lost out there somewhere. Lend us a hand, will you please?

Tornadoes in Windsor, Co. a hop skip and jump...

2008-05-23T08:14:00.005-07:00

Yesterday was a very scary day for us. We are only about 8 miles out of Windsor, Colorado. We woke up to a dreary morning, and after sending Jim off to work, I sat down for the normal "another cup of java and take the dog out."

At about 10AM or so the skies got really black. It rained and it hailed. Now, after being in Kansas the last 2 summers and learning that tornadoes almost always travel from west to east and occasionally North or Northeast, I wasn’t really concerned for myself when the tornado watches came on the weather radio that there was a tornado in Greeley. That is, until they said it was traveling to the Northwest!! WHAT!? Tornadoes aren’t supposed to do that! The direction the storms were headed was directly for where Jim is working. I phoned him immediately and told him that he was in the warning area, and that I was in the watch area. He said it was sunny there and appeared OK but he put the whole crew on alert to keep their eyes on the sky. Within an hour things had deteriorated so badly that the job was shut down for the day and everyone was sent off to find shelter.

I had no sooner hung up the phone, when the Weather Radiosounded off again. Now I was in the warning area. I grabbed the laptop, tossed it into the case, threw some shoes on without tying them, grabbed the always ready to go important papers bag, my purse and headed out the door towards the Office area in the park with Stephanie, whose hubby and Jim work together.

A group of us stood in the lounge area watching the sky get ever darker. Black in fact, with a little tinge of pinkish-green to it; then rain; then more hail. As we looked toward the direction of Windsor, we could see something very unusual. All we could see was the top of whatever it was because there is a tree line blocking good view. What we saw looked like the top of what you see in the movies and news films of an atomic cloud. It was a huge, wide, white plume. We couldn’t tell for sure how it was moving. We weren’t even sure what we were seeing. Later, we would believe that we had seen the top of the devastating tornado that struck there.

About that time the power went out, and the wind began blowing really hard. We headed for the public restrooms. I was dying of thirst so headed for the little store in the office to get a soda first. I grabbed a drink out of the cooler, gave my change to the manager, and tried to open the door to go over to the ladies room with Stephanie. I couldn’t budge that door. I thought they had locked us in. A man that was sheltering in the office/store area tried opening it for me. With great difficulty, he got it open and I bolted to the ladies room. We had decided on the Ladies room rather than the lounge or office, because there are no windows. It was a big blow, a few small trees went down and then it was gone.

Very shortly, Jim pulled in, the warnings were dropped to watches, and we headed back to the coach. We spent the night without power, watching the sky turn dark black and then clear again several times. We had no power until about an hour ago.

All in all, it was a most frightening afternoon, huddling in a room with no windows and not being able to see what was going on around you. However, we are safe, without damage and a whale of a site better off than the folks in Windsor. My heart and prayers go out to them. We have not traveled over there as the public has been asked to stay away unless you have business there. (I would feel like a bad person going over there to sightsee anyway) There are still roads closed into Windsor (as it should be). The people there will be quite some time recovering and rebuilding. This tornado did not appear to have done the damage that was done in Greensburg, KS. But, nonetheless it has done millions of dollars of damage to a small town of only 16,000 people, and a few other towns too – just mostly to Windsor.

Where it struck an RV Park in Greeley was the only fatality counted so far, of a man who stayed too long before trying to escape his motorhome. I will NEVER ever try to ride out a tornado warning in the coach! I haven’t heard anything about damage to the RV Park yet where we stayed in Greeley. There were also touchdowns in Platteville, Gilcrest, Milliken, Longmont, Loveland, and the closest to us, Wellington. Jim just missed it as he came through there on his way home. Then it moved off to Laramie, Wyoming. We haven’t heard yet about the damage that it might have caused there.

Yes, there are other things going on in our lives right now….. discussion in a week or so…. We just received so many phone calls from people yesterday evening to see if we were OK that I thought I’d post on just this for now. We are OK – we had NO damage – and all is well. Thank you bunches to those of you who phoned to check on us! It’s nice to know y’all think about us.

The Stinging Bite of Discrimination...

2008-04-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today I felt the nasty sting of discrimination. I felt like a 3rd class citizen, and was basically told that my government has branded me a terrorist because I am a full-time RV’er.

Jim and I decided that since we are all over the country with his job that we should open another bank account at a bank with a large national footprint to make it easier for us to do our banking. So after his day was done at work, we headed out to a bank that has branches all over our country. I won’t name names here.

We were told that our address is not residential. (We use Postnet for all of our mail and have a regular street address) Because we did not have a residential address, we were denied a bank account because of the Patriot Act. Now, I could give them my son's or daughter's address for a physical address, and that would work. But, to both Jim and I, that is wrong! It also makes us feel as if we have to have someone vouch for us, when that is totally unnecessary.

Jim and I were both born in this country. We are both fiercely loyal to our country, and Jim is a Veteran of the Vietnam Era. Jim’s job (starting Monday) is inspecting the natural gas pipelines to make sure they are safe and properly built. That is to protect you- the American citizen. Because of this job we travel nationwide and live full-time in a 40 foot motor coach. Until today he inspected residential natural gas lines, distribution lines, and meters to make sure the residents and users of that natural gas were not exposed to leaks, and that those residents are safe in their homes when it comes to the subject of their natural gas service.

Because he does this, and because we live on the road, we do not have what is classified as a physical address. Without this physical address, we cannot open another bank account. I resent this greatly. It makes me angry that my government to whom I pay taxes has allowed this to happen. There must be some sort of amendment that can be added to the Patriot Act to help people like us. There are over 2,000,000 (not a typo - that IS TWO million) full-time RV’ers out there on our nation’s roads. Have we no rights? It’s not like I was asking the bank to give us a loan. I was asking them to take my money!

I would like everyone that reads this blog to write to your Senators and your Congressman, maybe even your local TV station. Jim is out there doing a job to keep YOU safe, and we are denied a simple thing like a bank account!

It’s very easy to drop your government officials a note. You can do it online. And if you don’t know who your Senators are, or who your Congressman is, then you can find that out too with just a few keystrokes. It will only take a few minutes of your time, and maybe it will get some action. Go here to find your Congressperson and write to him/her. You only need to choose your state and enter your zip to find your Congressperson. Go here to find your Senators and write to them. You need only enter your state and the information for your Senators will be given to you along with a contact link.

Here’s the note I just sent to both of my Senators, and to my Congressman. Please feel free to copy and paste making a few adjustments for yourself, particularly if you are not a full-time RV’er:

Dear Sir,
We have been discriminated against because we are full-time RV'ers. The reason for this is the Patriot Act.
Today we went to a bank to open a new checking account at a nationwide banking institution. Because we have only a mailing address and no residential address, we could not open an account. It was explained to us that this is because of the Patriot Act, and to keep terrorists and other undesirables out.

Jim is employed traveling this country inspecting natural gas pipelines to assist in keeping the citizens of this country safe.

We travel in a 40 foot motor coach. We both have good reputations that we work hard to maintain. Neither of us even have a passport. We have no desire to go outside the USA. We were born here, raised here, went to school here, worked here, raised our children here, went to war for this country in the Vietnam era, and now we are told that we cannot have a bank account here?

There are more than two MILLION full-time RV'ers on the roads in this country. A good portion of us are on the road working at jobs that require heavy travel, and so we live in motor coaches, fifth wheels, travel trailers and the like. As a result, it appears that full-time RV'ers have been branded as "domestic terrorists." It is very unfair to us that we should be discriminated against in this manner. Can there be some sort of amendment to the Patriot Act to counteract this situation? Can you possibly introduce such legislation?

After you finish writing your Elected Government Officials, please go shopping!

Baby, it's cold outside...

2008-04-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we woke up to snow. Monday morning we woke up to snow. Monday afternoon it snowed some more and this time heavily! It seems like just as it melts away, it replenishes itself. Our furnaces are running full tilt to keep us warm. The dog shivers all over when we take her outside, even with a coat on. Jim and I shiver too. We just aren’t used to weather like this. After 30 years in Florida and the past almost seven years of following the sun, my old body really feels the cold. I feel really badly for Jim. He’s out there working in this frigid weather.
It is beautiful, though. I could just sit and watch out the window all day while it snows. I do long for a fireplace. That would make it just perfect.

We are expecting more snow today or this evening, but just flurries. For now, it's sunny, sunny, sunny and frigid cold outside. We woke up today to a reported 13 degrees. BRRRRRrrrrrr….. It’s no wonder the furnace ran all night. We haven’t had an opportunity to go up to Estes yet. I can’t wait. They got 13 inches of snow just yesterday, and they are only about 30 minutes up through the canyon from here. They are 3500 feet higher though.

We had to order a new awning at Camping World. The patio awning is beginning to rip away a little and leaks like a sieve. We have our fingers crossed that they can get it this week and installed on Saturday. If not, we’re going to have to figure out how to get the installation done because of a six-day work week for Jim. We may have to spend a night in their parking lot, let Jim go to work from there, then come home and pick it up. I suppose I could drive it down there, but I’d really rather not because he’d be worried all day long about things.

Big news! Jim is leaving Southern Cross Corp. His last day will be this Friday. He starts a new job next Monday. The pay increase is enough to make us financially comfortable, not having to worry if he has a rain day and the loss of that income because he can’t work when it’s raining. I know that his burden will be lightened. That really ought to lower his blood pressure a little. I’ve been a little worried about him. He gets fired up about something and you can just look at his face and watch his blood pressure rise! He never yells, or even raises his voice about anything. He’s a very passive guy. It’s just one of the many reasons I love him so very much. I still say I married Peter Pan and Chatty Cathy all rolled into one person. And, Health Insurance! Finally – we can get regular checkups once that kicks in.

We don’t have anything to report on the issue with Ohio right now. A termination of payment order came in the mail last week. I suspect that’s because they have to balance their books against the books in Florida. Once that’s done, this should all be over with finally. I sure hope that the attorney can make them pay his fees. It would be nice to not have to pay out a lot of money for something you shouldn’t have had to deal with anyway. Of course we haven’t gotten to that part of this issue just yet.

Not much else to write right now. I promise to try to post again within a week or so instead of a month.

The arrival....Rocky Mountain High...

2008-03-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

OK, so we've left the Salt Lake City area and we're still on the road to Loveland, Colorado. (although in reality, we have now arrived)

It was dark as we climbed out of Salt Lake City, and as I said, there just was no way to see the beauty around us. Our next fuel stop was Evanston, Wyoming at Exit 3 on I-80. We got there and it was still a bit dark. The signs from the west bound direction don't give any indication of which way off the freeway the Flying J can be found. We took our chances at the end of the exit ramp and thankfully, we chose the right direction. God really does watch over us. Had we gone the other way, there was no way we could have turned around without unhooking the car. There was no RV Island at this station, so we had to use the trucker’s side. Lo and behold, the cards worked in those pumps as they should have! We were happy. Not hungry yet, and seeing the condition of the inside of this Flying J, we decided to just fuel and go. That had to be the dirtiest Flying J that I have ever seen.

As dawn began to break and the skies began to lighten, we could see where we were and what was around us. If you've ever driven across I-80 in Wyoming, you know there isn't much to see unless you simply keep your eyes on the lookout for deer, antelope, wolves, and the like. We only saw a small herd of mule eared deer and a few pronghorn antelope. A couple of hundred miles later, we arrived in Rawlins. Again, we stopped at the Flying J at exit 209. We were getting pretty hungry, but we didn't need fuel yet, so we just parked and headed inside for some breakfast.

Our original plan was to stop in Rawlins for the night. When we stepped out of the restaurant, we knew we wouldn't be sticking with the plan. It had turned bitterly cold and the wind was so strong that it was really difficult just to walk in it. The skies to the west of us looked ominous with their puffy black clouds, and Jim, having grown up in NE Ohio, knew that it was a snow sky. We decided to try and get to Laramie before ending our day.

We trekked happily on towards our final destination. As we approached Laramie, it began to snow. OK, so we aren't stopping in Laramie either. If we do we're liable to get snowed in. The next logical choice was if we could just make it to Cheyenne, we could get fuel and stop for the night. Going into a campground after dark is never a good choice, and we had enough daylight left to get there for sure.

As we drove on, we began to see lots of antelope. Small herds, large herds, and individuals were out there alone. We didn't see any wolves this trip across. The snow stopped and the sun peeked out from the clouds, eventually becoming a very sunny afternoon.

We arrived in Cheyenne (yes, once again at the Flying J) and stepped out of the coach to get the final fuel before our arrival in Loveland. Only about 60 miles to go, but dark was approaching. Stepping out of the coach, we were greeted with freezing cold temps and howling wind. Once again, the card readers on the fuel pumps failed and I had to go inside. I thought why not just ask the clerks what the weather report is for the night. She said it was supposed to snow. I handed her the cards, got things taken care of, and headed back out to Jim. There aren't really any designated RV spots at this stop, so I quickly told him what the weather indication was, and he said we were liable to get snowed in and only 60 miles away would be crazy. We opted to drive the additional 60 miles on in to Loveland.

Our arrival was uneventful. We checked in, talked with the new management and found out that the site we had reserved won't be opened until about the tenth of April. In the meantime, we have been put in a 30 AMP site to wait. The park has been cleaned up a lot since we left last August. The trees have been trimmed, the office remodeled, and there is new staff. And of course, to go hand-in-hand with that, the rates have been increased. We pulled into our temporary site, got setup, and here we are.

Jim is off to work as I write. He's still not really happy with the company, but I expect that will all get worked out. We're expecting to hear something within the next week or two on the job he's been working on for awhile now.

As I noted yesterday, we woke up to snow. That snow is now gone, but it’s still bitterly cold to us.

We took Tasha and had her groomed. Poor old thing – it’s amazing that at 17, she’s still with us. She loves her grooming day. It’s like a day at the spa for people. When we pick her up from the groomer, she has been rejuvenated and until we get home, she behaves as if she’s half her age. Once home, she is so relaxed that she crawls up on her pillow and sleeps really hard until the next morning.

So, Jim and I are on a Rocky Mountain High! We've gone from as low as 69 feet below sea level to where we will be for some time to come at a little over 5000 feet! We both had little headaches for a day or two, but I believe we have adjusted to the elevation again. I plan to post again probably on Tuesday and we might have some great news to post then too. :)

I'm ready to hit the site and do some shopping! Come join me...

Travel time..

2008-03-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

This post needs to be viewed with at least a full screen resolution of 1024X768. Otherwise, images will float over top of text! Please adjust if necessary. Written on 3-27-08 Posted on 3-28-08

Snowing! I'm sitting here looking out the window and it's snowing to beat the band. I have to go out about every hour or so and wipe off the satellite dish to keep from losing the signal. Who would have ever thought that we'd need one of those snow cover thingies for the dish?

We left Santa Rosa on Sunday and got as far as Winnemucca, Nevada. California roads, I swear, are worse than the roads in Ohio. It was almost as bad as I-10 through the western half of Louisiana. We took I-80 out of the San Francisco area and just stayed on it until we got to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The road through the Donner Pass area into Truckee was like knobby white concrete. The doorbell has never vibrated off the wall before. It did this time, and the front stereo speaker on the driver's side broke off too. Things that were glued down vibrated so hard; they came loose and went flying into the floor. I don't think I ever want to go back to California again. We overheated climbing Donner Pass and had to stop and cool off for just a few minutes before we could head on to the summit. Jim has got to do something about getting those radiator fins cleaned out completely. He fixed the problem last summer by installing a new "blow by tube" to keep the engine from exhausting directly into the radiator and clogging it. We thought we had gotten all the gummy stuff cleaned out of the radiator fins, but it looks like we'll need to find a place where we can pressure wash the radiator one more time.

We arrived in Winnemucca at about 5PM, stopped at the Flying J and fueled. The card reader on their machine, once again, was not working. After pressing the clear button half a dozen or so times, I took the cards and walked in. I did not find a friendly clerk. She told me it wouldn't clear because someone was outside "messing with it." I told her to look out the window and she would see that there was no one anywhere in the vicinity. Then I was told I'd have to go out and press the clear button. When I informed her that I had already done that, I was told that I'd have to go do it again, in what I considered a rude manner. At any rate, I went out and did it again, then had to walk back in to tell her it still wasn't working. She finally sent someone out to try to get it going and the master key type card wouldn't unstick it either. He was really nice and finally got the pump cleared for us to fuel and pay inside. Finally fueled, we went over to the Model T RV Park/Hotel/Restaurant/Casino to get an RV space. We hooked up, got some dinner, tossed $20 into a slot machine hoping for some good luck (no such thing), then laid down and slept like there was no tomorrow. We were so exhausted from all the bouncing around we knew we'd need some good sleep for Monday travel.

Monday came and we managed to get on the road by 8AM. The drive through Nevada on I-80 is such a waste land. A few small towns pepper the landscape, but they have nothing to offer a traveler. The ride was pretty good. Nevada highways are pretty darned smooth. We came through a mountain pass and used the Pac Brake on the down side. After reaching the bottom and looking at the gauges, all was fine. About 5 minutes later, Jim looked at the gauges again and the Transmission Temperature was about to hit the RED ZONE. He stopped to let it cool off, but the needle on the gauge never moved. So we used the computer system that's within the console shifting mechanism to check the transmission fluid, and all said OK. Sure that the gauge had simply broken we traveled on without incident.

We crested a hill near Wendover on the border of Utah, and all you could see was White everywhere. It was the Great Salt Flats. I never realized what a massive amount of land is encompassed by the Great Salt Desert and Flats. We did stop at a rest area and try to get a picture that would show what it's like, but pictures, just don't do it justice. The Bonneville Speedway is out there. That's where they set all the land speed records. Jim was interested in all of that, and the signs at the rest area gave a wealth of information. Traveling on, we saw a lot of writing in the salt. People bring black rocks out there, write phrases and draw pictures on the salt. It’s pretty neat to read them as you go along. We arrived about 4:30 local time at the Flying J on the west side of Salt Lake City in Lake Point, and got something to eat. While we were sitting there, we saw a motel next door that had an RV sign under the Motel sign and then the name Oqqrrh. (O-ker) After we ate we went over there to get a site for the night. What a ratty nasty place it was. They walked me out back to see the "RV sites." They were nothing less than cruddy with falling down power boxes. Once you pulled into a site, you'd have to back out to get out the next morning. That's ok for someone not towing a car behind a 40 foot Class A home. People just don't seem to understand that when you're towing a car, you cannot backup like you can with a travel trailer or a fifth wheel. Try backing up a little red wagon some time and watch what the wheels do. It just doesn't work. You can go only straight backwards for a few feet and that's it. So anyway, we drove back over to Flying J and spent most of the night in their parking lot. We didn't sleep very well, and we were up and on the road again a little before 5AM. The transmission needle on the gauge was still up high. Now we were positive that we had a broken gauge or possibly a broken sensor. The trip (climb) out of Salt Lake City looked as though it is probably nothing less than spectacular, but in the dark I couldn't be really sure.

That's enough for now. I'm sure you're getting tired of reading and trying to take it all in. I'll post the rest of the trip tomorrow or Saturday sometime. For now, just go shopping until I write again!

It DOES rain in California

2008-03-22T09:31:00.004-07:00

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Well, you don't travel around here when it's raining. The roads can be treacherous because, like Florida, many people don't seem to know how to drive on even a slightly wet road. So, on the rainy days, we've stayed in.

Yesterday, we got orders to head for Colorado. We will be leaving in the morning. For those of you that track us, we are going to take Interstate 80 all the way into Cheyenne, Wyoming. And then, I25 south to US34 in Loveland, Colorado where we will be staying only 1 mile off the freeway.

Sadly, Jim has had to work 6 days a week, 10 hours a day, and so we haven't been able to go back to Occidental. In retrospect, I'm thinking I should have rented a car for a day so that I could get the photos of the churches in Sebastopol and Occidental that I wanted. all we've had time for is the drive on Sundays to the Super Wal-Mart in American Canyon, back home again, and weekly chores. By the time those things are done on Sunday, it's time to fix dinner and settle down for the evening. However, there is this old barn that we pass on the way to the grocery on Sunday mornings that I was able to get Jim to stop and let me get a picture of.

So, what else has been going on? To be honest - it "ain't fun."

Jim's company was pressured by the union out here to pay these guys Union wages. They paid retroactively to when the guys started. That was a very good thing. It really helped out with the high cost of living out here. The bad thing is that they took back what they paid them and they took back the per Diem money twice! Now it seems to be a major battle to get the people in payroll to understand that they already took that money away from the fellas for their RV sites, and then they took it back again, so that they've taken it twice. More simply put: The company credited themselves for what they paid the guys so that they could reissue the difference. They failed to credit the employee for what was paid to the company. You can't take something back until you give it first. Some D.A. in Georgia can't seem to grasp the debit/credit concept. We may never see that money unless we take it to court.

On the upside, we're going to be able to get away from all the politics and gossip of a large group working together. I've managed to keep myself distanced from all that stuff, and I'll sure be glad to put some geographical distance on it. The drop back to the old pay won't be very fun, but that's OK. Jim will hopefully have a new job that pays appropriately in the not too distant future.

We had to hire an attorney in Florida because we are suddenly having difficulties with the state of Ohio from a support order when Jim got divorced in 1973. He paid all of his support there, and then moved to Florida in 1981. In 1982 his wife (ex-wife) had the order transferred to Florida. (I'm so glad we still had that original order) and he began paying there instead. Never had anymore contact with Ohio after that. Now, keep in mind that this case is 25 years old, and the children involved are now going to be 37 and 40 this year.

About 8 or 9 years ago, after 18 years of no contact at all, we got a support statement from Ohio for a different Jim Taylor, with different case/order number from the year 1982. It was sent to the wrong address. He sent them back a letter telling them that they had the wrong person and that the statement was not his. Next, we got a phone call from someone up there telling us there had been a mixup and that he didn't owe them anything. Several months later, we began getting statements from Ohio again in the mail saying that he owed this money. It was the exact same dollar amount as it had been for the wrong Jim Taylor. He wrote and wrote and wrote with no resolution or response. Finally, after an Ohio threat to take an income tax refund about 2 years ago, we hired an attorney named Michael Burns in Sarasota. We sent him retainer money and he assured Jim that he would take care of it. By that time there had been lots of letters flying to and from with Ohio, and an audit from the state of Florida had been received. (which Ohio sent to us) The amounts did not come even close to matching. Jim's ex-wife failed to tell the support people that one of the children had come to Florida to live with him in 1983. When that didn't work out and she went home, her mother also failed to tell the appropriate people that because this child was incorrigible, that she'd had her declared an emancipated minor in that same year. She also failed to tell Florida that the other child had then married when she was 17. So, calculating those differences, ( and I'm sure Florida will do that with our attorney's urgings) he is overpaid on his support by many thousands of dollars.

Attorney Burns did nothing in that two years. He did not respond to phone calls, letters, and failed to return our retainer fee. With a new flurry of correspondence flying to and fro, we've had to retain another attorney, Ralph Friedland. He's already accomplished much and we are pleased with the communication from him. We just hope all this gets worked out quickly. I wonder.... when all this is done, if we can make Ohio pay for our attorney fees and refund the overpayments... just a thought.

As most of you know, stress is not good for me, and it has begun to take a toll on me physically. I've had to drag out the cane, and I've had a few anxiety attacks. All in all, when I can put all that's going on out of my mind, I feel a lot better.

So as you can see, we aren't presently having a lot of fun, and it looks like we are about to deplete any small savings that we have managed to put together, to pay attorney fees. We'll be leaving in the morning, and heading to Colorado. I'll tell you all about that when we get there later in the week. In the meantime, please visit Taylor Shopping or Woman A Week Shopping for all of your online purchases!

Rain, Rain, Go away!

2008-02-21T15:46:00.001-08:00

I know I know - it's been a month. I'm just trying to get settled in a little bit here. I'm not very fond of Santa Rosa (California). It just seems like another larger town to me.

Well, Jim had off 2 weeks because of rain, and then it was back to work for 60-70 hour weeks. Boy, is he tired when he gets home. However, he had off yesterday and today because of rain. Looks like he'll be off tomorrow and Saturday too. The weather for the weekend is predicted to be very nasty. Oddly enough, though we've had lots (make that tons) of rain and wind, we have yet to see lightning or hear thunder, something quite common in our 30 years of life in Florida.

Yesterday, we went looking for a "Mom and Pop" type pet store. That's about the only place I can usually find the food I like for Conrad. Neither Petco or PetSmart carry the Sunseed brand that he prefers. Anyway, before we left the pet shop, who by the way did not have what we were looking for, we asked the young lady there about a restaurant in town for breakfast. The one we inquired about, she said wasn't so great, but if we wanted the best breakfast on the California coast, and if we had time, we should go to a place called Howard's.

Well, of course we had all the time in the world. What do you do with yourself on a rainy day when you can't work, and you have nothing else to do at the moment? Where pray tell, we asked, is Howard's? She instructed us to drive just a few miles more towards the coast, and make a left turn onto Graton Rd. She said that it would take us into a little town called Occidental, where we would find Howard's.

What a CHARMING little town we found!! It's more like a village, on a road very appropriately named, Bohemian Highway. And yes, dagnabit! I forgot my camera. But then, we were only off to go to a pet shop and then to Michael's craft store. It's a beautiful little town hidden away in the woods. There are two gorgeous old churches there. WE WILL BE GOING BACK AGAIN! It looks to be a small village of about 400-500 people and it claims to be famous for its THREE Italian restaurants. Howards is not an Italian restaurant. It's a little cafè and bakery. the town couldn't be more than maybe a half mile long and that's it. They also have two hotels. I can't imagine how crowded it must be there in the summer months.

At any rate, we parked in front of Howard's and in we went. "HI! Have a seat anyplace you like!" was the first thing we heard. So we sat. Coffee was in front of us in a heartbeat and we ordered breakfast. Fresh herbed potatoes with onions and peppers, eggs, and rye for me. The potatoes were outstanding. I could have just sat there for the day eating them. Jim opted for French Toast with scrambled eggs and organic syrup. Gee, I thought all syrup was organic. Shows you how much I know about that stuff. I just like food, organic or not! The French toast was delicious. (yes, of course I had a taste)

While we sat waiting for our breakfast to arrive, we began reading a newspaper article that hung on the wall from 1969. The building where we were sitting was built by W.F. Taylor in 1879. It also said that he was a descendant of General Zachary Taylor. (yes, also 12th President of this country). Well, that got Jim excited enough to say that we HAVE to go back. He is also a descendant of Zachary Taylor! We must have pictures of the town to share with Jim's family.

After breakfast, we wandered through the little shops in the town, that are mostly transcendental, metaphysical type stuff and locally made crafts. It was so nice to look at something that didn't say "local crafts" with a "made in China" sticker on it. The people that make the items were right there, for the most part. Their items truly were locally created. How refreshing!

We headed on back to the coach after that with one short stop at the craft store. I'm getting into scrapping, stamping, and such - keeps me busy while Jim is at work. I've also discovered a fantastic online store too - Scrapbook Pal. Their prices on things are pretty darned good compared to the brick and mortar where I go. There is not a single Hobby Lobby in the state of California! The people out here don't have a clue what a great store they're missing out on!

Maybe since it looks like Jim isn't going to be able to work again tomorrow, we'll be able to take the camera and go back out to Occidental and get some pictures for me to post. And, yes, I'll do my best to post a little more often.

While you wait for the next post - if there is something you need to get online, won't you check out our alphabetical list of stores and shop through us, pretty please?

STICKER SHOCK and Corporate America

2008-01-21T10:14:00.002-08:00

Yesterday, we took a drive up the California coastline. Well, at least part of it anyway. We took highway 12 out to Bodega Bay where my favorite Hitchcock movie, "The Birds" was filmed. People said it was a spectacular view when you came into the area. NOT! It was pretty, yes, but I think coming North on US-41 in Sarasota as you round the curve towards Sarasota Bay there is 100 times prettier! The seals should be migrating north right now, but we didn't see any. Maybe another time. I did see a gorgeous church in Sebastopol, which isn't very far from here on the way out there, that I'd like to go back and shoot. I didn't take my camera with me on this drive. I surely will in the future.

We continued North on Highway 1 along the coast. It was very pretty. You could see the waves of the Pacific hitting the boulders and spraying their water 50-75 feet into the air. I'd like to set the video camera for about an hour to make a DVD that you could play for going to sleep, if you're one of those people that love listening to the ocean washes and find it as soothing as we do. However, it got to be kind of monotonous driving after awhile. We decided to cut back over to highway 101 when we reached the little town of Point Arena. I saw a little road in the atlas that went towards Boonville. When we saw the sign to Boonville, we whipped over and took the road. WOW! What a wild, exciting ride that was. Twenty-seven miles of windy, up, down, narrow, shoulder less road. In a car, it can be exciting. In the Motor Coach, I would surely have been in tears again and probably reached the point of "just let me out, I'm not going anywhere on this road." Nevertheless, as I said, in the car, it was exciting. I love those kinds of roads, and so does Jim. I think we both might have just a little daredevil in our blood. Jim more than me, much more than me! After the ride here in the Coach, I realized I wasn't nearly as daring as I always thought. There is a road in the Chattanooga, TN area that goes up to Signal Mountain called the "W" road. It has V shaped turns, but it's a full two lanes wide, with shoulders and guardrails. (For the most part) The road we were on yesterday makes the W road look like an Interstate. There were V turns, U turns, S turns, other shaped turns, and most of them in triplicate. Jim just loves running the car through those kinds of roads. I only had to fuss at him once or twice to slow down. 25 MPH feels like about 75 but it was fun (in the car). Oh, if you're wondering, the GPS said we were on Mountain View Road. We came to 8%, 12% and even 16% grades! Along with all the tight curves and the narrowness of the road, it would have been a dream for a road course driver.

On the way back we stopped to get groceries. Talk about Sticker Shock!! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Though, after going out the other day for just a few things, I should have expected it. Jim loves those boxed meals made by Betty Crocker. His two favorites are the beef Stroganoff and the Chicken Alfredo. I've always paid $2.98 for those - cheap meal - and it's pretty good for a quickie, but here, it was $6.25! Eggs were $2.99 a dozen, the bucket of Kitty litter that I pay $8.00 for was $11.99. Cottage cheese is the same price here for the small container as we're used to paying for the big container. Jim's Crystal Light drink mix was $5.29 for a 3 pack as compared to $3.29 for a 5 pack. I like Lloyd's pork BBQ and it was $6.99 for the container that should be $4.48. Frozen French Fries were only $1.00 more than we're used to paying. It wasn't a week that I needed a WHOLE lot at the store, and the only meat I bought was turkey which is 40¢ more per pound. I don't know how people out here can afford to feed an entire family. I did find a Super Wal-Mart 55 miles away. If they stay consistent with all their other stores nationwide, (I'm hoping) then the drive there to buy groceries would be well worth the extra gas. We're going to try that next week.

Now, to the Fairgrounds RV Park where we are being required to stay. (A first for us) Gee, I really dislike being told I have to stay somewhere that I don't want to stay. The company is not very cooperative on this job when it comes to lodging. Only 10 miles from here is a park with all the amenities that would have been a lot more suitable at the same or less cost, probably less since they advertise group rates. They offer activities, a clubhouse, bus trips and more. It would have been a more acceptable park for all of us to be there. As it stands now, I feel like I'm in a women's prison camp during the day. All the techs have to take their cars in the morning. They are each dispatched to different areas, so there's no car pooling, thus leaving the women stuck at home with no transportation. I'm used to that, however, I'm not used to being told not to go outside the park fence because I am in a dangerous neighborhood.

It makes me very unhappy to know that this company just doesn't seem to care about their people. I guess that's just Corporate America. Who cares about the employee? Get the job done - it doesn't matter how the employee feels, or where we put them in their coaches. A morale breaker? You betcha! Keeping the techs and their families happy would make for probably double the production level, would get the job done faster, more efficiently, and quell considerably the moaning and groaning. Do they think about that? NOPE! They obviously don't give a hoot about these poor guys. I see these techs come home in the evening so exhausted that they have no time for their wives, or any relaxation. I see lights going out as early as 8-9PM. They're dead on their feet. They spend 10-12 hours a day walking, walking, and walking. They're tired, cranky, don't want to even think anymore, their feet hurt, their backs ache, their arms and shoulders are in spasms, and yet many of them say nothing and try to do whatever their wives want with no complaints. Do you think this company cares? NOT A CHANCE! I have so had it with the lack of compassion and caring shown by this company.... and I hope that Jim finds a different job very, very soon!

That is quite enough of my ranting and raving. I believe I'll just stop for now and go have a wonderful day!! In the meantime, until the next posting, take some time to shop with us so that we can buy those expensive California groceries!

Tears, Tears and more tears... Along with the big tow

2008-01-16T20:12:00.002-08:00

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It has been an extremely stressful past 10 days!
Jim got sent off to Santa Rosa, California for a really big job. We finally made it into town yesterday. We left the Atlanta area on January 4th. I have got to tell you that no matter what all of you tell me, I do not think of California as a pretty state. It might have pretty areas, but overall, it's close to the bottom of my list. I also dislike greatly the crowds of people here.

We left on Friday (January 4) early, made it as far as extreme eastern Texas, and spent a night in an RV park in Gladewater. What a nice clean park it was. All concrete, and if it had rained, would have still been clean because of the way things were setup there. We got the laundry done and some relaxing. I made a pot of evening coffee and when it was done the pot shut off. UH OH! That coffeemaker had done its duty and died. It had given us one last complete pot. I had to drag out the stove top percolator for the next morning. Jim threw the old coffeemaker in the trash can.

The route was I-20 to I-10 in Texas and then across to California and up I-5, to SR-99 to SR-12 and across to Santa Rosa. Things were going pretty smoothly. We decided to go on and drive on Saturday and Sunday so we could have the non-weekend days to take care of getting groceries and such. Thought it was a great idea for avoiding overly crowded Wal-Marts. We spotted an outlet center with a huge parking area, so we pulled in to get another coffeemaker. I wanted the same kind as I'd had. It lasted better than any we'd ever had before. Little did I know that Cuisinart puts a three year warranty on their product. While telling our woes to the clerk in Kitchen Collection and that the pot had done so well and lasted almost a whole three years for us, (we make 2-3 pots a day) she asked if we still had it out in the coach. Jim said no that he'd given it a proper funeral in the dumpster 85 miles back at the RV Park. Then she informed us that it was still under warranty and she COULD have replaced if for us at no cost. ARGHHHHH!!! I will not forget that! She did give us a discount though, since the one we wanted was only available if we took the display model. That made us a little happier, and we got back on the road.

While we were on the road Saturday, Jim had me look to see if we were going to pass a Camping World along our way. YES! There is one in Anthony, Texas and so he had me call ahead to make an appointment for Monday Morning for our regular service of Oil change and generator service and a new air filter too. (Those air filters alone are over $200.00) I cringed at the thought of the cost, but knowing that it had to be done, I called and got us an appointment for Monday morning at 10AM.

Saturday we headed out and got as far as a rest area just east of Big Spring, Texas. Still, things were going quite smoothly. Stops at Flying J's for food and fuel were pleasant. The rest area we stayed in had free Texas DOT Wi-Fi. You know that made me very happy. We fired up the generator watched a little TV, I did e-mail, and we had a bite to eat before settling in for the better part of the night.

We headed out Sunday morning around 5AM or so. It was pretty dark and we noticed some flashes on the backup camera. Watching closely, it looked like sparks and I got really panicky and insisted on stopping immediately. Jim pulled in to a gas stop area at the next exit. He checked things with a flashlight and couldn't see anything wrong at all. We figured it might be the safety chains dragging the asphalt and so he changed the way they were hooked up between the car and the coach so that there was no way for them to possibly drag. We grabbed a hot chocolate in the convenience store and got back on the road. It was still dark, and we didn't see any more flashes in the camera. We breathed a sigh of relief after about 30 minutes and relaxed, travelling on. We arrived at Exit 37 I-10 Flying J around noon and as we pulled up to the fuel pumps, heard a loud squeal. I opened the door and just cringed. IT WAS US! Jim said it would probably be fine. Let's just get some fuel, park, have something to eat and see how things go. So, he hopped out and fueled us up. When he hopped back in and started the engine, everything was nice and quiet. He checked all the gauges and the alternator wasn't charging. OH NO! Shut her down and go look. There on the ground under the engine compartment laid the belt for the A/C compressor. It had locked up and broken the belt! It’s Sunday - noon - Now what do we do?

Thank Heaven for Coach Net and Good Sam continued Service Plan. We pulled the coach over into an RV parking spot and gave them a call. We told them what had happened and what Jim had diagnosed. (After all, he is a retired mechanic) They couldn't get anyone to come and take care of us because it was Sunday. Guess where we spent the night? You got it! Flying J parking lot. That was OK, because thankfully, we didn't break down in the middle of nowhere on I-10 or 20 in Texas. El Paso is a really big trucker's town so there are lots of service places there. Coach Net had to wait until Monday, but they made arrangements for us to be taken care of at Cummins Rocky Mountain and for the tow to them. They neglected to tell us that the service center (they are an official service center for Monaco Coaches) was on the same frontage road as the Flying J and less than half a mile away. We honestly could have safely driven it there after all the traffic slowed down in the night if we had known. So much for our service appointment at Camping World!

About 1PM Monday the tow truck finally appeared. The driver didn't speak a word of English and called his office three or four times to have someone translate what he wanted us to do or the answer to what we were asking him. I cried my eyes out the whole time he was hooking us up to the tow truck. I was terrified that when he lifted the front of the coach off the ground that the rear end would drag and rip off the cap, destroying the whole backend of the coach. 2 boxes of Kleenex and a few pictures later we were on our way following him to the service center. He did a great job, and since it was just down the service road, I didn't go through a third box of Kleenex.

Sure enough - the A/C compressor had locked and the evaporator was no good. The coach has a serpentine belt on it that also runs the water pump, alternator and all that stuff. The entire system needed to be replaced. The coach ran out of warranty on December 6th. We broke down on January 6th. I called Caterpillar. They told me if we had been towed to a Caterpillar dealer there would be no question, but that they would do what they could to get the local CAT rep to go ahead and authorize the repair. And the Cummins service center had made arrangements with Coach net to fix us even though as they said, we had a "yellow engine." The phone calls between them and CAT began flying. CAT was all set to pay for the entire repair, when it was discovered that it was not their part. All they did was put the brackets on for a custom system installed by National RV. Well, guess what? National RV declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 30th. Now the problem became ours and finding the parts became difficult. A nightmare was beginning.

Finally, late on Thursday our parts arrived. Things were already torn apart and ready to be replaced. They’d been using a tow motor every day to move the coach back and forth so that we could stay in it. Sassy was not happy about having to be locked in the bathroom on a daily basis, and we weren't really thrilled about having to drag poor old Tasha around when it's so difficult for her at her ripe old age of almost 17 years. Conrad, on the other hand was quite happy just doing his thing - no problems there.

Friday things got put back together. The generator had been serviced, but the oil change had not been done and so we had to stay one more night. Saturday morning the oil change was completed. We met a friend of ours who drives a big rig and happened to be passing through El Paso at the Flying J. The service Guy at Cummins said no problem - when they got done they would put the coach out front in our spot for us and we could just get it and go. They closed at 1PM and we got back about 1:30. The bill was on the dash for the oil change and I tucked it away and Jim started the engine. When we pulled away a big red light that says STOP! Came on and an alarm started sounding. He backed it back into the spot and shut it down. If he didn't, it would shut itself down. Again, I am ever so thankful that he's a mechanic. He went straight to the radiator and discovered that when they had drained it to work on the broken down part of the coach, they had failed to refill it completely. There was NO fluid in the site glass. We had a gallon of coolant and he put that in and another ½ gallon of water. We started it up and pulled out into the driveway to get the car hooked up while the engine warmed up. Then we decided to check the A/C. Obviously, no one had confirmed after the repair that it was really working. It was blowing warm air. Once again Jim traced that down to nothing more than a blown fuse, and the A/C then began blowing strong and cold. Off we went with lots of miles to make up for all the down time. We didn't get very far! About 4 miles down the road the STOP! Light came on again and the alarm started sounding. Jim pulled over and shut her down. He assured me it was probably just because when things got circulating that there was probably a small air bubble in the line and that a little more water would take care of it. He got the water jug, turned on the fresh water pump and got about ½ a gallon of water when we RAN OUT OF FRESH WATER! He put that in and it was enough to get us the remaining 30 miles to Camping World. He bought more coolant there and signed us into the campground for the night. It was nearly 5PM and getting dark by now. The radiator took another almost full gallon of coolant. We stayed the night there, filled up our tanks with fresh water, dumped the black water and got a little laundry done.

Off and running the next morning, we drove like crazy to catch up on where we should be. The coach now running beautifully, we made great time and drove extra time. We made it all the way to the California border. Thinking we could use an RV parking spot at the Flying J there, we pulled in to fuel up and get something to eat. They have no RV spots there. We had to go out back in a dirt lot and spend the night. Not really that bad, we got some good rest and got on our way into California. We drove all the way to Madera on Monday and spent the night in a tiny little MH and RV park. There was no room for the awning if we had wanted to put it out. It was ok for overnight, but surely not a place I'd ever want to stay.

Tuesday morning we headed up SR-99 to Rte 12. We'd decided to go over to Santa Rosa on 12 to avoid all the nasty heavy traffic through San Francisco. We made our last fuel stop at the Flying J in Lodi at I-5 and Rt 12. From there all the way to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds (where the company insists that we stay for this job) I cried. I cried like a baby - I was terrified! The road was rough, bumpy, without a shoulder, often with dividers down the center lane, and very narrow. My heart was in my throat, and I think it is now time for me to buy stock in the Kleenex Company.

I tried digging my heels in and not coming out here for him to do this job. I had a knot the whole time in the pit of my stomach, and a dreadful feeling of doom. I am angry at Jim's boss, and he is currently the first, middle, last, and only person on my sh*t list!

At any rate, we have finally arrived in Santa Rosa, California, where it is crowded, and not very pretty. We are stuck staying at the fairgrounds, and though we have full hookups, there is no view of any kind, nothing to do while all the guys are off with the cars working 13 hour days - 6 days a week, and we are on gravel with no grass. The dog is not happy. I am not very happy about this place either. There are some pretty places in California, but this is far from being one of them.

So now, help us out and consider doing some shopping with us until the next post:

Quiet Christmas and a driving New Year...

2008-01-02T10:50:00.002-08:00

Well, Jim took vacation time for two weeks so we could go to Florida, see the Doctors, and visit with some friends.

We didn't get to see anywhere near all the people we wanted to see, and we can't seem to locate the youngest son. He moved last year and his phone doesn't work. He never gave us his new address and hasn't called to tell us his new phone number. What a bummer! That means we missed out on seeing those two grandchildren. Kids! Why is it they don't keep you updated on addresses and phone numbers!?

Christmas turned out to be fairly quiet. I got Jim the 3 music CDs he wanted and he got me the "merry glo round" light box I wanted. It's positively awesome! I can lock it down or I can unlock it and spin my work as I do it. It's also bright enough to shine through even Stampin' Up card stock! Now I can really make some nifty greeting cards - different from the ones I've made in past years.

While we were in FL. we had to replace the four coach batteries. Thankfully, we're able to get them at cost. I don't think I would have wanted to pay retail after seeing what cost is these days. The old ones were starting to bulge, so it was only a matter of time, and since we were where we could get the best possible price, why not go on and do it?

I made a big ham, sweet potatoes, fresh bread, and all the fixin's for Christmas dinner, topped off by my freshly made cream puffs, apple pie, and fudge. Some friends we hadn't seen in more than 2 years had dinner with us at the Peace River Thousand Trails Park, and then the next day we threw everyone's leftovers from 4 or 5 of us together and had another big dinner. Marc and Sharon are from Louisiana, he loves to cook, and so you can imagine the setup he has! Men and their toys, you know. :::smile::: Women aren't quite as into the toys for whatever they enjoy doing as men seem to be.

Two days after Christmas, we headed off to the Orlando Thousand Trails Park and New Year's day. We brought it in as quietly as we could. Neither of us are party people. We did get to see another (non rv'ing) friend while we were there that we haven't seen since the first summer we started RV'ing. We went out to dinner, and then they came to visit and see our "home" that they'd not yet seen. Jim was, of course, more than pleased to show off his home. He always is more than willing to show the world all the changes we've made with all of our remodeling antics, or should I say HIS remodeling of the coach.

New Years' morning and we were off and running to get to the main office in Norcross for Jim's job. Norcross, Georgia isn't that far, but we wound up getting waylaid for 2 hours at the Flying J in Lake Park, Georgia. the fuel lines were very long and we were starving. I've never seen so many RV's headed to Florida at one time. I'm sure they were all shouting at us across the freeway that we were going in the wrong direction!

We finally arrived in Norcross after much fighting of wind and "dropping as we drove," temperatures. By dark, we had the necessities hooked up and the satellite set up. What a BONE CHILLING night it turned out to be! This morning, the water line is frozen, and so is the black and gray water drain hose! I had to run hot water through the washer to get the drain line for gray water flowing again. Thank the heavens above that the furnace has a vent that drops into the bays where the holding tanks are located to keep them from freezing. We awoke to 18°, it is nearly 2PM now and still only up to 30°. It's not supposed to get this cold here! There was even snow in the Atlanta metropolitan area overnight! It's getting cold in Fl. too. I don't suppose I can really complain about this since it will only last a few days, and to me it's a lot better than 100°. I can put on enough clothes to keep warm, but there are times that you just can't get cooled off no matter how much you disrobe.

We don't know yet where Jim's next assignment will be. He's at the main office doing some training on the PDA. We're hoping they'll send him someplace where the gas company isn't AGL. (Atlanta Gas Light) I suppose we'll know for sure by Friday and then be on our way. I'll post an update here (not a new post) when we do know.

UPDATE! January 4th
We are now in Gladewater, Texas. We got sent out of Norcross yesterday about 3PM. We made it to just south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and spent the night in a rest area, waking to a ccccold 22° this morning and headed out. We have settled in for tonight in an RV park. Gotta get that laundry caught up and be able to see some television. We are headed for Santa Roas, California!!!! OH NO! Have you seen the weather reports out there? Horrendous, record-breaking storms! We may have to stop in Arizona and hang out for a little while til things settle down and we can get up the coast. I refuse to endanger myself, Jim or our home and belongings for a stupid job. If the company doesn't like that, that's just going to be too bad! I'll post a new posting in a few days.

I guess that's about it for now. So, until next post, let's take some of that Christmas money you got and go shopping!!!

Kind of quiet here....

2007-11-28T11:24:00.001-08:00

Well, we are in Cochran, Ga. What a GREAT little park we found here! We've been here since Halloween, but there wasn't a lot to write, other than the fact that we're here.

We are at the Woods Golf Course and RV park. The people here are wonderful and the owner is so reasonable on his prices that I almost don't want to leave when Jim gets done with this job. The sites are level, spacious and grassy. There is free FAST WiFi, and I can look out the front window and watch the golfers. (wish I could go play - but that's a no no for me) If you're looking for a pool, and organized activities, this isn't the place for you. But if you're looking for golf, a clean, small, quiet park - where you can see shooting stars at night, have good WiFi, and all at a really reasonable rate, then this is the park for you! I love it here.

Jim is working in Dublin again, but there was no way we were going back to that Pinetucky park there again. It's dirty, the ground feels funny when you walk on it, there are absolutely no amenities whatsoever, and the prices are a major ripoff.

So, anyway - onward - Jim should be done here on about the 14th of December and then we are going to Peace River Thousand Trails Park in Wauchula, FL for 2 weeks so that I can get all my Dr. appointments for the year taken care of. We're hoping he can get assigned on a job that's close by down there somewhere. If he can do that then we won't have to dig to pay for the trip. (y'all go Christmas shopping at Taylor Shopping, willya?)

Thanksgiving was quiet. We had Turkey legs and all the fixins' - neither one of us like white meat so there's no sense in cooking a whole bird. Then Saturday, we went to see our son up in Kennesaw. We didn't go up for Thursday because he does the "Black Friday' thing. This year he camped out at Best Buy at 9AM Thanksgiving morning until they opened on Friday. I know he gets great pleasure out of doing that and getting the outrageously good deals, but I personally wouldn't want to go deal with all those people...... I don't do crowds very well anyway.

Not much else is going on with us - our health is good, we're happy and that's about all that matters! So, until I post again - please do your online shopping with us! And, feel free to e-mail us if you need help finding a particular item.

Gettin' Outta' Dodge!

2007-10-23T09:07:00.001-07:00

We're finally going to get out of Dodge! The job here will be done this Friday and we expect to leave Saturday. As of this moment, we'll be headed to Dublin, Georgia. However, we'll be staying in Cochran, Georgia. We aren't going back to the same place as last year in Dublin because the owner of the RV park there is just way too pricey on his monthly rate. We can stay in Cochran and have WiFi for $200 less per month. We expect to be there for only a month to 6 weeks.

A few things have happened while we've been in Kansas. Labor Day, I got a new computer system. The old one finally died a slow death from old age. And, although I got it fixed and working again, I just didn't feel comfy with it, and was afraid of it crashing again. (though I don't think it will) After 4 years, it was time for a new system for me anyway. And, of course I got another Toshiba Satellite Laptop with a 17" screen.

Our granddaughter Jordan sent "Flat Stanley" to take around and visit Kansas. Her 2nd grade class is studying maps and how to read them. Flat Stanley is a character in a book - a man that got flattened without getting hurt and so he is able to travel through the mail and see the world. We had to take him to places we went and then send him back with a note about where he'd been. We took him to Boot Hill, The Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts, Liberal (to see Dorothy and Toto), a wind farm, Greensburg, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as out to dinner with us. We had Stanley e-mail her every day with pictures, and then after a week, we put him in a priority envelope with a Kansas map and sent him home to Georgia. Of a possible 200 points for her project, she got the full 200! We were so proud of her!

A few weeks later, her older brother, Joshua, who is in his first year of Middle School, got his report card and it was all A's and B's! Another reason to be proud of a grandchild!

Last week, the windshield on the car caught a stone chip from a cattle truck and we had to have it replaced. It wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. We also had to have 2 tires put on the front of the coach. The old tires were badly "checked" on the sidewalls, and neither Jim or I felt comfortable knowing that we were getting ready to put more than 1,000 miles on them. That was a LOT more than I thought it would be. WOW! RV tires are really pricey! (so now, we need all of you to shop with us for the holidays!)

There's not a whole lot going on otherwise, so until we get to Georgia and get settled in -Let's go shopping!

FIND:in

An Unhappy Move

2007-08-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, I won't be doing my planned nine part series on Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. We were excited about going there, and had hoped to get a little respite from the over 100 degree temps that Jim had been working in in Greeley.

We made it to Dodge City on Monday, but not without some excitement. To start with, I had a dreadful nightmare on Saturday night. I was looking in my closet, and it was in a shambles, completely destroyed. And, I do not mean ransacked. It was in shreds. I couldn't quite figure out why I was lying on the ground looking in at the destruction. Then I woke up, and that's all I remember. Was it an accident, a tornado, -- I just don't know. I only know that I woke up saying "I can't go to Kansas, I just can't go - it's going to be dangerous." I've had a few spells of tears over the last couple of days, but I have to stop doing that - it really bothers Jim.

We decided to start traveling on Sunday. (even though Jim's company does NOT pay us for Sunday moves) We just thought it might be a little less hectic if we took the extra day, and not put too much stress on Jim.

So, Sunday morning we had our coffee and began breaking things down to go. By 8:30(MT) we were ready to start the engine, get propane and be on our way. Jim told me to go ahead and "fire her up." I've never heard an explosion quite like that! It scared me so badly, I not only turned the key off immediately, I pulled it out of the ignition and tore out the front door in fear the whole thing was about to blow. A crowd of other RV'ers came running to see what was the problem and were we OK. We were fine, a bit shaken, but OK. Jim looked first toward the engine and it appeared to be fine. His next thought was the battery compartment. When he opened the bay, smoke POURED out in one huge rush, and the problem was discovered.

One of the engine batteries had exploded. And I don't mean just the top popped off of it. The entire side and top of it had blown completely out. There was battery acid and little pieces of the top and sidewall everywhere. Thankfully, we were still in the campground and still had access to the water to begin washing everything down. I rinsed things for a good 30 minutes or so while Jim made a safe place for the batteries in the car. He went to the nearest NAPA and got new engine batteries, installed them, and we were on our way only 2 hours later than we'd anticipated. I'm sure glad that we had decided to start out a day early.

We drove as far as Oakley before we stopped for the night. The campground advertised WiFi, but it didn't work. They put us on a 50AMP site and about 2 hours later we lost power. When we looked in the power box, the socket was broken. Part of the spot where you plug in had been broken away from the socket itself, so we weren't making good contact. We got it going again, and headed off to bed for the night. About 2 hours later we both woke up sweating in the heat. The temperature inside the Coach had climbed to almost 90. No power again-same problem. This time when Jim fixed it, it lasted all night.

Monday morning we sort of hung around and didn't leave too early. Along the way, we stopped for breakfast, and then moseyed on in to Gunsmoke Trav-L-Park.

Jim talked with his contact here, went and found their office so he'd know right where to go, and today he is already off to work.

I don't know how long we'll be here, but I am saying my prayers that they will send someone else in, and transfer us out as quickly as possible. We have strong family concerns in Virginia (having really major surgery next month after just having a triple bypass last month), and Jim's dad in Ohio, who has also been having some health issues since Memorial Day, not to mention the 18 year old granddaughter there who has a very rare liver disease which normally strikes only men. Though for those of you who had already added her to your prayer list, you'll be happy to know that, all things considered, she's doing a lot better than anticipated! (what a plus)
Yes, in case you're wondering, I STILL HATE KANSAS!

If I find anything at all in Kansas worth Blogging about, I'll be sure to do just that. In the meantime, please go shopping! (those big batteries were pricey)

Bye Bye Colorado...

2007-07-31T07:13:00.001-07:00

UPDATE 8-3-07 -- ORDERS HAVE BEEN CHANGED!
We are going to Dodge City, Kansas.
I HATE IT IN KANSAS!

Well, Jim will be completing the job here in Colorado this week. I love it here, but yes, it's time to go. I've had itchy feet for a month or so anyway.

We got new orders yesterday to go to West Bend, Iowa. Now remember, that could change, though this time it's not likely. It's only a one week job, so having to stay in a campground there that is electric hookup only won't be too terribly awful. We'll just have to go and use a public laundry. (UGH!) Dragging laundry around is not my idea of fun. I guess we will also be taking "three gallon" showers. Since Jim isn't very good at that, he may be using the public shower house there.

We're going to stay at the Grotto of the Redemption Campground. They honor CampClubUSA half price camping – that will be a blessing in itself. I hope to be able to blog daily about each section of the Grotto since there are currently nine different sections. If I don't have a connection, I'll still blog and just do the postings when we get where I do have a connection.

It looks like quite a place to tour. It was begun in 1912 after many years of rock and precious stone collecting by Rev (Father) Paul Dobberstein. He built on the Grotto for 42 years and then passed on the "trowel" to another priest who continued building until 1959. I'm sure work continues today, though I'll learn more when we get there. I hope I'll be able (permitted) to take some pictures for you.

We will be leaving here either Saturday or Sunday. We aren't sure which just yet because it depends upon the completion of the job here. So, wish us safety and good weather while we travel the almost 800 miles, and until then - as always, LET'S GO SHOPPING!

We're melting......it's so hot....

2007-07-17T11:13:00.001-07:00

My, it's been too long and I've gotten behind!

Our trip to Walden was totally fruitless. No moose, no anything to be seen.
We did take another trip to Grand Lake and decided to come home the "long way." It was an extra almost 2 hours that way but it sure was a pretty drive. Coming across I-70 we decided to take US Rt 6. Bad choice on my part. Jim saw the sign for Black Hawk. OH BOY! Gambling - casinos! So up there we went. We won - but not a lot.

We went back - worse move! We lost. However, they are having a drawing this Sunday coming for a new car or $1,000.00, so we'll go back for the drawing and keep our fingers crossed.

You know, I surely would have thought that at an elevation of 5,000 feet, and being on the front range of the Rockies, that we would have a nice cool summer. Was I ever wrong! We've had mostly upper 90's and an occasional hundred degree day. I never would have thought it could get that hot here. It's hotter than it gets in Florida - The nice part? Well, it does cool down to right around 60 and occasionally in the 50's at night, and then takes til about noon to start getting extreme on the temperatures. Even the Appalachian Mountain regions stay cool high up in the summer (at least it doesn't get this hot there).

The up side is that in a few more weeks, it should (hopefully) start cooling at least a little. That according to the weather guy on the local TV.

There isn't much else to tell that's been going on. Things have been fairly routine, and not much in the way of new pictures either.

Cross your fingers for us in the Casino drawing this Sunday and in the interim, let's go shopping!

Big Thompson Canyon has over 50 sharp curves...

2007-06-18T11:09:00.001-07:00

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...but that might be different depending on your own definition of a 'sharp curve.' As you come to the Canyon on US Highway 34, there are great sloping hills on either side of you that give a dune type of effect. But they aren't dunes, and the back sides of them are straight up hard red rock, very reminiscent of Sedona, Arizona.

As you go down into the canyon, it's not very steep, but more like a slightly rolling hill, and as you enter the mouth of the Canyon, you see the Big Thompson River running alongside the road. There's a sign on the roadside that says "In case of Flood, climb to safety." Yea, right! Straight up the sheer granite walls through the beginning of the Canyon reaching heights at times of approx 1000-1500 feet. (maybe more) They are sharp, barren and craggy, impressive like you wouldn't believe, with groupings of brightly colored flowers and some trees growing up out of them.

The river flows swiftly (but not very deep) along the side of the two lane road over rocks, and big boulders, and is dotted all the way with fly fishermen every 500 yards or so. Even though the high rock walls are brown, gray, red, yellow and more, they seem to change everytime you look at them. The drive is never the same twice. On this occasion there is a lot of green and color along the riverbanks.

The roadway itself is dotted with bicyclists, and doesn't seem as steep as you would expect, but feels more like a gentle climb through its just over 18 miles to Estes Park, though you still want to drive it in 3rd gear. Every now and then the river crosses under the road, and you'll occasionally see some swift falls and drops.

Coming into Cedar Cove you break into a wide opening, and it no longer feels like you're in a canyon. You're more likely between the mountains. Through the openness, you can see the snow capped mountains that are still many, many miles ahead of you.

I wonder everytime we go through there, how in the world people ever found these places to settle into and build their homes. There are short narrow bridges that cross the river to small groups of homes and cabins that are set into the spaces large enough to accomodate them against the rocks, and you wonder how often a boulder might slide down the side of the mountain landing atop one of them.

At Drake there is an old Stage Stop on one of the curves, now converted into a restaurant, small lodge, and campground combination. We stopped there to have breakfast and thought we'd still be there waiting when lunch time came. The owner was ill and her parents were filling in doing the cooking and serving. It was slow, but it was a lot of fun. You'd think that you had known these people for years.

Going further up you get back into another area of high granite walls along either side of the road, and the road gets just a little steeper, though still not steep like the roads that go round and round the Appalachian mountains in the East. Your eyes are constantly searching the rocks and the distant areas looking for bears, Bighorn Sheep, elk and more that might be there.

The break into Estes Park finds you coming around a "sharp curve" (almost 180 degree curve) into the town and the difference in the view is breathtaking because it's not at all what you were expecting.

I know I'm not very good at describing things like this, but I do try, and I hope you've been able to picture this in your mind.

Saturday we went on to Grand Lake again. Neither of us know why - but finally - AT LAST! A mama moose and her baby! His/Her little legs still wobbly. Jim spotted them in the water along side the roadway about 4 miles before we got into Grand Lake. We were the only ones there, but in a matter of minutes, it was a major "moose jam," with probably 30 or so cars parked helter skelter all along the sides of the roadway.

And of course, I must leave you with the newest Elk picture. They were playing at about 11,000 feet elevation. They have really fattened up a lot the last few weeks!!!

Next week we plan on taking a drive to Walden. Until then-Let's go Shopping!

A Grand Day at Grand Lake

2007-06-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

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Well, I know it's been two weeks. Sorry about that. Last week was a holiday weekend, ya' know. And, I think I'm going to try and make this one kind of short.

The National Park Service finally opened Trail Ridge Road all the way across the mountain through the park on Memorial Day weekend. It's the highest continually paved road in the country, topping out on our GPS at 12, 228 feet. And let me tell you, at that elevation, it's difficult to stay for very long without getting symptoms of altitude sickness when you are a flat-lander like me. I suppose if we were hikers with the right equipment, it wouldn't bother us. We do have good hiking shoes, but of course, I can't go hiking anymore. I have them just because they're good support for my feet.

It amazes me that there's still several feet of snow above about the 11,000 foot mark. Here's a shot that I took out the car window. There are spots along the road where that snow is more than twice as high as the car on both sides. The snow plows up there aren't really what you'd call a snow plow. Looks more like a snow "cutter." You can see in the picture that the snow has not been plowed off to the side, but rather it's been sliced away. I'd love to see one of those machines in action.

We drove all the way over the mountains to Grand Lake. It's a really neat little town that's very reminiscent of an old time Western gold mining town. Saloons, Trading Post, restaurants, hotels galore, and there was a lot of activity since things had just opened.

We saw moose on that side of the park too. Even a mother and calf, but not close enough for me to photograph. I guess I need a stronger zoom lens for the digital camera. What I'd really like is to find a new digital camera with professional resolution that's affordable. Those are usually well over the $300 mark. Too pricey for me these days.

Of course, I got the "every trip picture" of an elk. Those guys are all over the place. This one was along the river and looked fairly young.

I'm sorry for all the elk pics, but I just think any picture of any animal is beautiful. I probably need to take a class in nature and wildlife photography, my two favorite things to shoot.

Another thing I've begun getting pics of are the wildflowers. I don't know what kind of flowers they are. Maybe someone can clue me in on these. I saw the orange flowers growing wild in a ditch in Big Thompson Canyon. I'm going to use some of the shots I took to make backgrounds and stationary.

The other flower was just growing out of the rocky sides of the canyon walls.

Ok, so that's it for now. Next week, I'm going to try and paint a word picture of the drive through Big Thompson Canyon.

Until then, please spend some time shopping!

Mother's Day weekend

2007-05-16T09:18:00.001-07:00

Well, we didn't really go anywhere on Mother's Day - However, I did go and get my every other week manicure, and Jim took me out to dinner at the Black-eyed Pea. We'd never been to one before and it was really good. Even their cornbread is good and I am really picky about cornbread. I only heard from 2 out of the six kids - bummer. At least two of them remembered me.

We didn't do a drive of any kind on Saturday because Jim decided it was a good day to get up on the roof and redo the skylight in the shower and remove the vent covers in the bathroom and potty - clean it all up and re-caulk it all. Well, of course we ran into trouble..... He got everything torn apart and we headed for Camping World. There's one only about 12 miles from us. Our coach maker (National RV) had recommended that we use Eternabond Tape instead of regular caulk. So, off we went to get some. They were sold out of it in white. ARGH! The clerk there called the next closest store - and thankfully, they are just down in Denver, to see if they had any. Luckily for us, they had plenty. Back in the car and off to the other store. I punched it into the GPS as the store name and not the address. BAD MOVE - we wound up at the collision center instead. It was only 5 miles from the store, though. Of course, this time I punched in the actual address. The Denver store is not in our GPS system - I suppose because it's a fairly new store. Anyway, we were able to get the Eternabond there. Jim also wanted some putty tape, and I needed potty cleaner, (it was on sale too!) and a few other things. We thought about also getting a cover for Fan-Tastic Ceiling fan, but decided against it. I'm glad we did. (read on)

By the time we got home, to our west, the sky was turning black, and looking overly ominous. The wind was beginning to blow at 15-20mph. Jim was in a tizzy to hurry and get things done if he could, before the rain started. The most important was the shower skylight. He got that done with only about 3 drops of rain falling on him and the cover. I stayed on the ground (as always) and picked up the things that were blowing off the roof as he went along. DONE! And at just about the same time, the wind that had nearly blown Jim off the roof, subsided. the black clouds remained - though they split away and went around us instead of over us. We got nary a drop of rain.

Now, the vent covers were off of the vents and we thought about just putting them back on and he could take them apart on another day. We opted to leave them off until another day - I think that was the wisest choice. I don't really like those things other than that they do keep out the rain and you can leave them open even in bad weather. It's just that the vents open a LOT further and allow a lot more air without the covers. So, now we're debating if we want them on at all, or if we want the ones that are now out and open for ventilation on all three sides. They're called Ramble Vent Covers.

So, our week and weekend were a little boring other than having our son-in-law here for the first three days of the week. We didn't do any of those wonderful drives on the weekend, and didn't take any pictures. Though, now that I think about it, I should have snapped a few of Jim up on the roof in all the wind. Oh well, too late now.

Until next week! Let's go shopping! You can search through millions of items (nope- not Camping World) using the form below...

Harold has left us for another journey...

2007-05-10T10:01:00.001-07:00

It is with great sadness that I make this post.
On Tuesday morning we lost a truly dear, dear friend in Florida. Harold Hattaway was a friend for more than twenty years. He and his wife, Susie, were for many years inseparable from us. We did everything together.

Harold was often my friend, my enemy, my confidant, my mentor, my emotional counselor, my buddy. He saw me through good times, bad times, sick times, troubled times, and just times in general.

He laughed with us, cried with us, rejoiced with us, and was just there with us.

We fished together, had Holidays together, meals together, raised children together, and all that those things encompass.

When Jim and I sold the house and hit the road, we lost a lot of companionship leaving Harold and Susie behind. We missed them terribly, but we stayed in touch, though not as much as we should have. Every year on our return visit to Florida, we've made sure to visit, and we will be forever grateful for those visits.

Harold had a way of endearing himself to you, of making you smile, and making a lot of worries go out the window when you were around him. No matter what you might be thinking, how occupied your mind might be with stress, worry, sadness, or anger, you smiled when you were near him.

I cannot tell you what Harold meant to us. Our tears have been many, and they flow as I type. I will consider that he is not dead, but on another leg of his long journey through this world:

I cannot say, and I will not say That he is dead-- He is just away!

With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand

He has wandered into an unknown land,

And left us dreaming how very far it must be,

since he lingers there.

And you-- O you, who the wildest yearn

For the old-time step and the glad return--,

Think of him faring on,

as dear In the love of There as the love of Here;

And loyal still, as he gave the blows

Of his warrior-strength to his country's foes--.

Mild and gentle, as he was brave--,

When the sweetest love of his life he gave

To simple things--: Where the violets grew

Blue as the eyes they were likened to,

The touches of his hands have strayed

As reverently as his lips have prayed:

When the little brown thrush that harshly chirred

Was dear to him as the mocking-bird;

And he pitied as much as a man in pain

A writhing honey-bee wet with rain--.

Think of him still as the same, I say:

He is not dead-- he is just away!

-James Whitcomb Riley

We love you Harold. Wait for us - We'll see you again someday when we begin the leg of the journey through life that you have begun before us.

Canyons, Walden, and moose

2007-05-09T10:53:00.003-07:00

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Last Saturday was a gorgeous day and we thought we'd take a ride to Walden. It's a little over 100 miles one way to get there. Walden calls themselves the Moose viewing capital of the world. We didn't see any moose there.

Early, we began the route through Buckhorn Canyon which runs west out of Masonville. Part of the area rises to 7300 feet and there was a huge herd of mule eared deer scattered along a snowy meadow area. We stopped to just watch them gather and graze for a short time. The rest of the route through the canyon was fairly uneventful.

We came to highway 14 in the Canyon not far above Poudre Park. As we began to wind through Poudre Canyon the day was sunny and bright, but also brisk and cold. The Poudre River was running swiftly, and the falls (which I couldn't get to) were loud and fast, ready to sweep away anyone that ventured into its swift springtime current.

We began to experience snow flurries at about 6,000 feet. At about 7,000 feet you could tell it had been snowing for a good little while. The snow was still fresh on the tree branches, hanging like ornaments on Christmas trees. We knew that soon it would be dry and gone. If pictures were to be had, we should get them on our way up. By the time we returned through this beautiful spot, we knew it would show no evidence at all of any snow.

We saw no wildlife as we went on through Cameron Pass at some 10,300 feet, and over to Walden. We did see a lot of snow, still feet high, and when we looked back down the road we'd just traveled, some very dark skies.

There isn't a lot in Walden, but the Moose Creek Cafe had a wonderful patty melt sandwich. The rye bread here is dark and more like pumpernickel than it is like rye. Sure was good, and probably the hottest meal we've had in any restaurant since we've been in Colorado. We both enjoyed one for lunch before we got back into the car and went on our way.

There's a wildlife auto tour in Walden that is six miles long, so we thought we'd drive through and see what wildlife resides there. It was mostly water fowl, pika, marmot, and prairie dogs. (yup! Prairie dogs in the mountains) We got close enough to see that the prarie dogs had some pretty nifty color markings on them. Some had a black stripe - some had a partially black head or just a black hip. Interesting marks at any rate. There are stands in the preserve that remind you of the wooden deer stands that hunters use. They were occupied, and we wondered if they were for visitors or if they were for researchers in the preserve. We didn't have any real literature, so we just weren't sure. We would get that answer later. And we saw NO MOOSE in Walden.

The day had gotten some warmer and we headed back towards Cameron Pass. About 4 miles before the Pass was the Moose Visitor Center for a state park and we stopped in to see what all was there. The lady ranger on duty was a wealth of information. We learned from her that the people in the viewing stands on the wildlife loop were indeed, researchers. They sit there all day long counting and tracking the movements of the prairie dogs that have been marked with black paint! That explained the markings! We got a good chuckle out of that.

She also told us that the moose (if we should see any) wouldn't have any racks for a few more months. They shed them in the winter, and they are just beginning to sprout again, but are not yet very visible. The cows will be having their calves in another 4-6 weeks so they are looking for a place to have their babies and not likely to be seen either. Plus, since it was snowing, they have a tendency to just bed down in the snow until better weather arrives. We were really disappointed. There was a large probably 2ftX3ft pad on an easel at the door where she was posting moose sightings so that you'd know where they'd been seen and in what direction they were moving. There had only been one sighting that day and it was in the morning. It was nearly 2:30 when we left there and we weren't holding out much hope of seeing any moose for the remainder of our drive home. We figured the only Moose we would see would be the stuffed (real road kill) one inside the visitor center and the one made of straw outside. They sure are a lot bigger than elk. The one inside the visitor center stood about 7 feet tall at the shoulder. A live one that large would be pretty intimidating.

Only four miles down the road, and what do you know?! There on the side of the road was a moose! I was so excited I couldn't get the camera turned on and only got a shot of her as she crossed the road behind us and than another as she scurried through the snow to get away from "those scary humans." Well, dontcha' know that Jim turned the car around and took us right back to the visitors center. We put our sighting on the sheet at the door and showed the ranger the pictures we'd gotten. That sighting just made our day.

Back into the car and we really needed to be getting home. Twenty more minutes down the road, we came upon another moose! (no, we didn't go back to the visitors center again) This one lingered crossing the road and I got a lot of good shots of her. I started walking back towards the car to go on down the road. About that time, Jim popped his head out the window and yelled at me to turn around. There, behind me, following me down the road was a moose!!! I didn't know whether I should run, take pictures, or just quietly back away for fear of being charged by that big thing. Although, after the long winter, lack of being able to find good food, and shedding their horns, they were pretty skinny and didn't look so intimidating. I decided to get a little closer to the car and shoot some pictures (just in case I had to make a hasty retreat away).

The pair seemed as curious about us as we were about them. I sure hope we can get some more good shots after they fatten up and grow their racks back this summer.

Our son-in-law who travels for his job, was sent to Plattevillle to work this week. That put him only 13 miles away from us, so he is staying with us until his flight out on Thursday. It's been great having someone we know come to visit.

I've been long winded enough and I still have another sad post to make that needs to be posted by itself. So, until next time..... let's go shopping!!!

Changing Weather.....

2007-04-30T11:48:00.001-07:00

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...And pay for that good weather, we did! About 2 weeks after arriving in Greeley, it snowed - 3-4 inches stuck. It was beautiful though. We took a ride that day, since Jim couldn't work, to Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Jim found a jacket that he really wanted, but they didn't have his size. I looked on their computer system, and they showed having them in stock AND being on sale for $20 less than what the tag said. So, he got a really good deal, and he was happy to get a new coat.

The icicles on the front of the car were amazing. I've never seen anything quite like that before. (remember, I'm a low-lander from much warmer country than here) When we arrived home, the driver's side rear door of the car wouldn't open. It was FROZEN shut! But alas, 2 days later we were back up in the 60's.

We got a little disgusted with Greeley RV Park and moved to Loveland the first week of April. Stepping out the front door, having the neighbor's water and sewer under your awning is just no fun. Plus, Jim went up to the office to see about getting us hooked directly to the propane meter so we wouldn't have to pull out to go get propane. Jim was informed that we had a large dog. (half cocker - half Bichon, almost 16 years old) The 'manager' said to Jim that he had told me that we could only stay there a month (which was almost up) when I made the reservation. He told me no such thing! Jim simply said that he doesn't 'beg' anyone to take his money and so we moved when our first month was done. The owner of the park was not happy, and did approach Jim and apologize for his son's behavior.

The Loveland RV park we are in now is a far cry better than Greeley. The water in Greeley was sooooo hard that we were having to regenerate the softener every third day. THAT'S WAY TOO OFTEN! Here in Loveland, we have not had to regenerate yet, and we arrived here on April 6 while it was snowing! We also have a decent view of the mountains if we walk to the back of the site. And, the sites other than the side-by-sides that they have are big enough to not be sitting on top of your neighbor. There are a few sites where your view of the mountains is unobstructed, but you have to reserve those well in advance (like 6 months to a year) I'd sure love to see Thousand Trails buy a park in this area or up in Estes Park! It would probably stay full all the time.

We took a drive the day after we arrived in Loveland because it was snowy and Jim couldn't work. In Buckhorn Canyon, we encountered some fantastic scenery. (Even though it scared me to death driving through it)

Exiting the Buckhorn area on the road from Masonville to Hwy 34, there is a llama farm. As we came by there, directly across the street stood a herd of elk. It's one of the largest herds we've seen (about 200 or so) and the first herd we'd seen away from the higher elevations. By this time, we were down to about 6,000 feet. The llama became very alert and excited. They were right up against the fence and it was something to watch the two herds interacting the way they were. It was an "Elk Jam" (that's what the locals call us 'crazies' that create a traffic jam when we stop to take photos) in the truest sense of the phrase. One llama came right up to me and I intend to do an 8X10 or 11X14 framing of him for our walls.

There was one pair that didn't seem interested, but their position together interested the camera. :::smile:::

April 28 - we went to RMNP (no it was not the first time since we've been here - but the pictures I'm going to put up for you are from that visit. The highest we've been allowed to go so far is 9600 feet at Bear Lake. Bear lake is beginning to soften. The walkway to it, however, still has hard pack snow up to the grab rails and a little above. And mind you, those handrails are almost waist high on Jim.

When we headed back down, we stopped along the way and heard the rushing of water. Getting to the edge of the cliff to see it, was no easy task for me. There was a creek running at the bottom of a small gorge area. Pretty, but not nearly as pretty as some other sites we've seen.

From there, we wound down through the roads, looking for Bighorn, or whatever we might find along the way. We finally got something we've never gotten shots of before. Lone elk at a creek! You know it's springtime by looking at their horns that have begun to grow back after shedding. They look as if they are covered with a velvety substance like what you see on lots of crafts at Christmas time. Soon, they'll be sliding their horns along the bark of the Aspen and Pine trees to rub the velvet away. Their horns will grow much larger, and rut season will arrive in the early fall, as it does every year.

It was really warming up as we headed back down towards Loveland. We took a little detour when we saw a sign on the way down to a place called Carter Lake. Imagine, there we were in "feet" of snow at nearly 60 degrees and 9600 feet in elevation, and then less than a 45 minute ride time later, we found ourselves in 80 degree temperatures at Carter Lake viewing this site:

Imagine, areas only 10 miles from this lake had as much as 2 feet (yes, FEET) of snow the Tuesday before, and now it was in the 80's. The diversity of the Colorado weather is amazing, but I love it here anyway.

Tuesday's snow took us on a drive through Buckhorn Canyon near Masonville, and I will leave you with a picture or two that I took as we drove through that area. I will try to post a new blog on Mondays from here on out.

While we wait for Next Monday, Let's Go Shopping!

We're going to be mighty cold......

2007-03-05T14:04:00.001-08:00

Jim got a call this morning from Colorado. ACK! They want him back out there. We wanted to go back, but we really weren't prepared to be going back out there until sometime in April. We're going to freeze our butts off! (that won't hurt me a bit) He needs to be out there by Monday for work, so I guess we'll be leaving not later than Wednesday morning.

I am anxious to see the area this time of year, just not anxious to travel the roads getting there this time of year. We are going to have to go somewhat out of our way in Kansas because there is a section of I-70 that's closed until March 16. Guess that means that we'll be detouring through Wichita and across KS 400 into Garden City and then up KS83 to I-70.

Jim promises me that if we hit icy roads, we will absolutely stop until it's safe to drive again. Ice scares the blue blazes (and more) out of me!

I can't say that I'll be sad to leave Georgia. It's coming into severe weather season and they do get a lot of tornados in the area. Americus, last week, for example. We're only about 70 or so miles from there. I'm very thankful that we have a good weather radio.That thing has been a Godsend for us being on the road. I have to say it's probably one of the best gifts we've ever been given since we started RV'ing. (Thanks, Chirs!)

As soon as we can after we get there, I want to make a run to Sierra Trading Post. I love their prices and they've got some great stuff! We'll only be about 45 minutes away from their store that's in Cheyenne, WY.

I'll add more to this post later. For now, I need to worry about getting the coach ready to go tomorrow.

UPDATE March 13, 2007:
Well, it was a fairly uneventful cross country trip. We arrived (exhausted) at Greeley RV park on Saturday morning, the 10th.

Mother Nature cooperated with us quite well. the weather was beautiful all the way. The first night we stayed in Brinkley, AR. at a little RV park that we stayed at on the way east last fall. They've made some improvements, but they are still remodeling. Heck, for nine bucks on the Happy Camper rate, you can't beat it. :) 50 amp electric service and long, level concrete hookup with free cable TV too!

Thursday we hit the road and stopped in Russellville, AR for fuel, both for us and the coach. Flying J (FJ) keeps telling us that our debit card is no good at the pump. Then you go inside and have them slide the card again and it's fine. This has been going on since the Saturday before Christmas. We've not had a problem in 6 years, and now all of a sudden they don't like our debit card. This doesn't happen anyplace else. It seems only to happen at Flying J. I don't get it, and I don't think they do either. But since they don't seem to be doing anything to correct the issue, I think I'm going to put a "trouble with FJ" page online pretty soon. We've run into a few people standing in line to pay that have also had the same problem. They haven't called customer service to do anything about it, but I have. At first I got a wonderful response. This time, I e-mailed them on Thursday night, and so far, no response.

Anyway, we left there and headed on out across Interstate 40. At the end of the day, we were in Oklahoma City and stopped for fuel again since it would be the last FJ stop where we could get fuel. The FJ in Limon, Colorado was too far and too small. It's not a truck stop with an RV island. It's just like a regular gas station. The FJ in Oklahoma City was pretty crowded, so we opted not to eat there. We were just going to fuel and go. I should have gone in to handle the debit card problem. Jim said the pump said it was authorized, (but it always says that), so I left him to go in and get the receipt. WRONG! When he came out he was furious. The clerk told him his card was no good. He tried explaining to her what has been going on since Christmas time, but she'd hear none of it and insisted that the problem did not lie with FJ. There was an ATM behind him so he stepped over to it, got the cash and paid, asking her how come there's no problem at the ATM and there is at your fuel pump? All she said was that we saved a whopping 36 cents today on our fuel. WOW!!! It cost him $2.80 to get the cash out of the ATM. So, let's see ----Saved 36 cents, but it cost us $2.80 to save that 36 cents - in essence, it cost us an extra $2.44 to get our fuel. Now hears the kicker; we go to FJ because their fuel is about 5 cents a gallon less. We only needed 36 gallons. So the other station would have been $1.80 more, but because FJ ended up being $2.44 more than it should have been, it cost us an extra 64 cents and a lot of aggravation to go to FJ instead of the competitor across the street. That's not good business! Jim has vowed to not go to FJ again, but I think he'll get over it the next time we hit the road.

Moving on down the road, we wanted to get through Oklahoma City before rush hour started and maybe get settled down for Thursday night before it got too late. The laundry was piling up and that makes me crazy. So at Exit 108 in Oklahoma (our intended exit) we stopped to go into the KOA that's right there by the Cherokee Trading Post. What a shock to see that they were closed. The place was all dug up like they're doing a lot of work on it. I couldn't find a listing for another park on our route for a very long way and we sure didn't want to be out there in nowhere after dark. We took the option of eating at the Trading Post restaurant and sleeping with the truckers in the parking lot. So much for getting some laundry done. The food there is pretty reasonable and it was good too. Once again Mother Nature cooperated with us. It was a beautiful, warm night for this time of year. When we woke up Friday morning, it was just a little bit chilly and only took the furnace about 20 minutes to warm us up to toasty.

We left at about 6AM our time (5AM local time). The ride up US 270 and US283 into Dodge City, over to Scott City and up to I-70 was a lot less hectic than driving on the Interstate. It was a very nice ride. The roads were quiet and we just leisurely made our way through Kansas.

The first snow we saw was just north of Scott City on US83. As we headed on towards Colorado, there was more and more along the sides of the road. It just amazed me that there could still be snow with the weather in the 60's. As we came into Colorado, there began to be more and more snow along the sides of the road. In the welcome center area, there were snow mountains where the trucks had dumped the snow they'd cleaned off the highways. Not an unusual site for the locals, I'm sure, but it was quite a site for me. ::smile::

We gained another hour right about mile marked 35 in Kansas as we entered Mountain Time and arrived in Limon, Co. at about 3PM (that's 5PM for you time challenged easterners) We pulled into the KOA behind the FJ there. WOW! There was still a good foot and a half of snow all around the edges of the park and it was a muddy mess from what had melted. The coach and car had stayed pretty clean until now. (Jim has this fixation about keeping the car and the coach shiny all the time) I fixed dinner, we watched a little television and headed for the bed. It had been a long, long day. Thankfully, it hadn't been on a crowded Interstate highway.

Saturday morning we awoke to a cold 30 degrees, had our coffee and headed out. We arrived in Greeley at about 10AM (local time) and got everything set. We had to head out for the Camping World in Longmont right away though. We remembered how hard the water here is, and the hours I spent getting the hard water deposits off the fixtures, and the severe itching after showering in it, so we went and invested in a Water Softener for the coach. There were two choices. I wasn't sure which would be the best choice, so I e-mailed the day before, while we were traveling, a friend of ours who had gotten one while they were out west last year and got their recommendation. This thing really works!! Half the amount of detergent in the washer, I'm not itching after a shower and I'm not using half a bottle of shampoo to get a little bit of lather anymore. Thanks Pete and Donna!!! The recommendation was a good one.

Sunday morning, we wanted a little relaxation and some breakfast, so we headed up to Estes Park. You have to know how I love that town. It was beautiful. the snow on the top of the mountains was a lot less than I'd expected to see but it was still a gorgeous site. We had breakfast at the Big Horn because The Trailhead Restaurant (they have a good breakfast - don't know about other meals) is closed for the season.

We got home in time for Jim to watch the Nextel Cup Race and that's about it for us for now. Y'all come see us in Colorado!!! The weather is almost alarmingly warm right now. I can't help but think we'll pay for it in a few weeks.

Georgia on my Mind

2007-02-16T04:32:00.001-08:00

OK, so we've been in Georgia for a week now. Sorry I didn't post sooner. We arrived last week in Palmetto, Georgia. Jim's offerd choices by the commpany after finishing the job in Tennessee was the Indianapolis area or here in Georgia. I am so very glad that he chose not to go to Indiana. Did you see all the snow up there? No, it's not as bad as Oswego, NY - but it's bad enough that we would have been freezing in a Motor Coach!

It did snow about 2 inches before we left Tennessee. It was gorgeous, but freezing. It was the first time the dog had ever seen snow. We took her out in it, and she just stood there when she got her feet in the snow and looked at us like "Mom! Dad! What is this? Feels like water but it looked like cotton." It was really funny to see the expression on her face. When we got here to Georgia, we took her to the groomer and sad to say, she had to be shaved. So, right now she no longer looks like Falcor in the movie 'Never Ending Story.' It will grow back. In the meantime, the poor thing is shivering in this cold winter weather we've been having, so we bought her a little quilted coat with a fur collar. She sure seems to like having it put on before she goes outside into the 30 degree and lower temperatures. I thought she'd hate it. I was wrong.

Jim is learning how to use a PDA on the Georgia job. Being in an Atlanta suburb (SW), the gas company, of course is AGL (Atlanta Gas Light). they use a PDA instead of handwritten paperwork. Jim now has no choice but to join the rest of us in the world of computers, as much as he may not want to do so. He's a fast learner, so it shouldn't be all that difficult for him. The most difficult part is seeing the screen. They use that chincy zire 21 that is only gray tones, the screen is too small and difficult to see, and the stupid things crash on a regular basis. The reviews on them are horrible.

Jim brought me chocolate I don't need, 2 cards, and a dozen roses for Valentine's Day. WOW!!! I didn't do much for him..... I made him his favorite - brownies, and he also got two cards. It was a very nice evening and we had supper at Ruby Tuesday's in Peachtree City. We're only about 10 miles from there.

There's an RV show this weekend in the Norcross area at the NorthAtlanta Trade Center. With all the racing going on in Daytona this weekend, I don't know if we'll get to go to the RV show or not.

We are staying at South Oaks MHC (manufactured home community) and RV Park in Palmetto. It's not really a manufactured home community. It's a mobile home park. However, FINALLY, we have a site that has some decent yard and grass! We are on a concrete slab. The power and water is good, and even if it rains we don't drag in a bunch of Georgia clay mud! Hallelujah!

Yesterday morning, I was sitting outside having my morning coffee. It was peaceful, though not quiet because I85 runs alongside the park. Behind us are two fifth wheels, and we are all under a canopy of pine trees. I was looking around at nothing in particular, when in a tree about 100 yards away above one of the 5th wheels I spotted a red-headed woodpecker. They're pretty shy and you don't see them that close that often. He was a BIG one! I'd guess him at about 10-13 inches (not counting the tail feathers). Of course, there I sat, coffee in hand and no binoculars, no camera with long lens and no tripod. DRAT! I would love to have had a picture of that big boy. I'm hoping, that as the weather gets a little more suitable for sitting outside, (today's high is only going to be around 40) that I'll have another chance at him. The binoculars are out there. If it warms up a little in the next few weeks, I'll drag the camera, lenses and tripod out there too.

Alright, enough for now. Go Shop!

Chattanooga NO NO

2007-01-29T09:17:00.001-08:00

We didn't make it to Chattanooga. Once again, the company changed Jim's orders just as we headed out. He got sent to Sweetwater, Tennessee instead. We're Staying at the Sweetwater Valley KOA. I didn't post sooner because I've been sicker than a dog with a really bad cold and not wanting to do anything but stay in the bed and sleep this past week. I'm starting to feel better now.

We are also now official residents of the state of Tennessee. We should be able to complete the driver's license portion of the address change one day this week.

It is freezing cold here. The temp when we woke up this morning was 13! The water pipes are frozen even though Jim wrapped them with insulation. Thankfully, he filled the fresh water tanks yesterday just in case, so we do have water. Our high for today is only expected to be around 33 or so. And yesterday, it SNOWED! Jim called it flurries. I called it snow that didn't stick. It came down pretty heavy for about 10 minutes turning to just wetness as it hit the ground. Anything that was wet during the night though, was black ice this morning on the roads. Luckily, most of the wetness had dried before the sun set yesterday. The weatherman says we should have temps in the 40's tomorrow. That's going to feel like a heat wave compared to right now. We've used nearly half of our 65 gallon tank of propane here in only 10 days. OY! A tank of propane normally lasts us 6-9 months!

We get e-mails from our friends in Florida on a daily basis telling us how nice and warm they are down there! They just have to rub it in. ::grin::
There was a really thick coating of ice on the inside of the windshield this morning. I put towels in the gap area between the dash and the windshield to absorb the moisture as it all melted in the warmth of the sun. That worked really well. I only wish the sun would shine farther into the coach to warm everything even more. I'm wondering if the campground water pipes will even thaw out today at all. It' a little after noon, and so far there's still no water. Ah, the joy of camping in winter weather.

Not much news, so I won't get long-winded. Besides, I still don't feel fabulous. I think it's time for me to take some meds and go lie down for a little while. I'll write more when we kniow where Jim is going next...

Chattanooga Choo-Choo...

2007-01-16T09:34:00.001-08:00

Christmas and New Year's have come and gone and so have the visits to the doctors. YAY! We spent Christmas with my son in Cartersville, Georgia and his family for the first time ever with the grandkids, and the first time with him since 1992. It was wonderful to be able to do that. And, the best part was that I didn't have to do all the cooking. The secret family raisin cake was all I had to bake this year.

Jim finished up the job in Dublin, Georgia just in time for us to get down to visit our friends in Florida for the New Year. It feels so good to pull in to a Thousand Trails RV Park. I always just want to shout "Honey, I'm home!" when we pull into one of these parks. They beat pay parks by leaps and bounds for amenities, and most importantly, space to breathe. Most TT parks RV sites give you room to breathe and don't stack you into the park like cattle going to slaughter.

While we were there, it was off to get all the doctors to say I was OK to go for another year. My orthopedist retired this year and starting up with a new one after 20 years wasn't my idea of a good time. I really liked the old Doctor and I felt like friends with him more than Doctor-Patient. I sure did miss seeing him this year and bringing the tray of cream puffs that I always make for him and the staff. The new Doctor was alright. I suppose as years go on, I'll adjust to her. I did have to have some blood work done for liver and kidney function because of the meds they have me taking. I'm sure if there is a problem, I'll hear from her.The visits to the Prosthodontist and the maxillofacial surgeon were fairly routine. The first said I was brushing too much and not leaving him anything to really have to clean. The second said it looked like I was OK for another year and sent me on my way. YIPPEE!!!!

We headed out on Friday for Norcross, Ga and arrived here on Saturday. Jim has to be trained to use the maps and such for his job on a PDA. It looks like we will be leaving Norcross on Thursday and heading for Chattanooga, Tennessee. There was some discussion about maybe sending him to Danville, Virginia because the tech that is there now got hurt and they need someone in there for about 6 weeks to cover for him. WHOA! It snows there!! The company there insists on someone with at least 2 years experience, though, and since Jim has only been doing this for a year, they wouldn't take him. The choices were back to Nashville or Chattanooga. Seems as though the supervisor in Nashville found someone while we were doing my Doctor visits, so that left us with Chattanooga. We'll be heading out probably on Thursday. Since it's only about 130 miles, we'll also be arriving there on Thursday. We aren't going to leave too early though. Traffic in the Atlanta area is awful and we have to take 285 from Norcross around to I-75. When you have to do that, you wait for mid-day, middle of the night, or a weekend.

The most inconsiderate drivers I have seen in the almost six years we've been traveling are here in the Atlanta area. No one yields where they should, they won't let you move over a lane to get where you're going, (especially when they can see that you're an out of state person and don't have a clue where anything is) and they pay no attention to what's going on around them. New York City drivers weren't even this inconsiderate, though they were more vocal. I wanna go back to Colorado! Everybody there is always happy - even waitresses and store clerks!

To those who did, Thanks for shopping with us last month! I'd sure like to become a shopping site that people go to for comparing prices first. Y'all make sure to pass us around, and maybe that will happen for us. Right now, we're only covering costs - but it does give me something to do.

Love to all of you - more soon!

WHEW! Breathe - Then don't Breathe....

2006-12-22T06:56:00.001-08:00

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Well, we found the problem with the coach! I told Jim, but he just didn't want to listen to me. (as usual) It seems there is a lever on the slide motor. If you need to put the slide in manually for some reason, then you switch that lever and it takes the brake off the slide so you can put it in manually. Somehow, (no names mentioned) that lever had been moved and every time we'd go around a curve or turn to the right, the slide came out. He was sure that couldn't be the problem until he saw it for himself while we were packing up to go to the service center. I had suggested that it could have been moved, but he said when the slide goes back in, it should automatically lock itself again - IT DOESN'T!

We were more than relieved on Tuesday when the service manager checked things over, and said everything is fine. The gap that was between the body and the basement seems to have "healed" itself, and other than a door hinge that has a small bend in it, we are none the worse for wear. WHEW! I was able to finally breathe again.

Breathing again only lasted two days. On Thursday (14th) - I couldn't breathe, literally. I cracked a rib and don't know how. I guess you'd call it osteoporosis. I grabbed one of those body briefer things at Wal-Mart, and it really helped. If I were to go to the ER, they would only tape the rib, give me pain pills and not be able to do anything else. I already have pain pills, and I guess the body briefer acts like "rib tape."
Tasha has been lots better, but then suddenly began losing her balance almost anytime she was on her feet. I suspected an ear infection after a few days, simply because I could think of nothing else, short of a stroke, that would cause that. She gets groomed about every 4 weeks, and I'm always told that her ears look fine. I won't trust someone else with that information again. I started her on treatments of a home remedy on Monday, and it seems to be helping tremendously. She has her balance back and last night, for the first time, she ate again without assistance. I would have taken her to the Vet if she hadn't responded at all by this past Tuesday, but the meds they give me for an ear infection for her usually cause deafness in her. I wanted to try this remedy on my own, and I am very glad that I did! I will keep a closer eye on her in the future, and never trust the groomers to tell me that her ears are fine again. I feel so guilty for believing them and not keeping an eye on it myself.
TOMORROW! We leave Dublin and head for Cartersville, GA. We are going to have our first Christmas ever with the grandchildren there! (ages 10 and 6) We're really excited. AND, it will also be our first Christmas since 1992 with our son. The day after Christmas, we'll have to come back to Dublin, but only until the end of the week to finish up the job here that Jim is doing. On Dec. 30 we head for Wauchula, FL, to the Thousand Trails Peace River Park. While we are there, I have all my many Doctor appointments to get squared away. It's going to be unpaid time for Jim, so we're going to have to watch that budget ever so closely. When I get done seeing Doctors, it looks as though his next assignment will likely be either Chattanooga or Nashville. I'm hoping for Nashville. We've not been there yet, but we've spent tons of time in Chattanooga.
We wish all of you the Safest, Merriest Christmas ever, and a Very Happy New Year! I'll be back to write more during our time in Florida after I see all the doctors there.

Slip Slidin' Panic

2006-12-06T06:25:00.001-08:00

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Well, it's been awhile since I've written anything. That's partly because of the holidays sneaking up on us, and partly because of depression.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I fixed Jim and I turkey and all the good stuff that goes along with it. Neither of us care for the white meat, so I bought legs only. I've never cooked just the legs, but they turned out wonderful! and the meal was really cheap that way too!

The day after Thanksgiving, we had to head out of Tupelo to Dublin, Ga. for Jim's next assignment. The trip was going really well until we were about 30 miles or so from the Georgia Border on I-20.

We heard a thump like something shifted, and then a few minutes later, another - as if whatever had shifted, shifted back into place. The next rest area was the Georgia Welcome Center so we pulled in there. I took Tasha for a short walk, and Jim took his usual walk around the coach and car.

The big slide was out about 3 inches at the bottom. It pulled back in with no trouble. We headed on down the road, keeping a close eye on it but really not thinking a whole lot about it. When we came off of the Atlanta West bypass onto I-75, the slide went out again. NOW we were concerned! We got to Jackson, Georgia and pulled into the Flying J there. As we approached the fuel pumps, we heard another thump, as if we'd hit something. I jumped out looked all around the coach and above, but saw nothing within ten feet of us. However, the slide was out again. And, once again it came back in with no problems. We fueled up, and headed on towards Dublin. Only 90 more miles to go. Keeping a really close eye on the slide in the mirror, I had to pull it back in 3 or 4 times in transit.

When we arrived in Dublin, it was dusk and by the time we got the car unhooked and the coach backed in, it was too dark to have a thorough look at anything. The slide went out just fine, so we didn't worry a lot.

The RV park owner came around to collect for the month that we plan on being here. He had given me one price on the phone, but when we got here (and were sorta stuck between a rock and a hard place), he raised the price. I mentioned that he had told me a price on the phone that wasn't the same. He said, "Well, I give an estimated price on the phone, and a final price when you get here and I see what you're driving." If that isn't gouging, I don't know what in the world is! He didn't tell me that "estimated" crap on the phone. He's charging more than we've ever paid anywhere, including Colorado! There is no pool, no amenities, other than our hookups and a laundry. I don't know why he thinks this place is worth such a high price. It's no wonder we're the only ones on 75 available sites. It's a very poor business person to have prices so high that no one will stay here. He doesn't seem wise enough to understand that if his prices were inline, the park would likely be fairly full. It's not a BAD park, it just has nothing to offer for the price charged. About half of what he charged us would be more in line with what's here.

Anyway, Saturday morning, Jim went out to do his usual walk-around. UH-OH! There is a tiny gap over the electrical door hinge, and the hinge is bent. We double checked that the slide will come in from full-open, and it does.

I made some phone calls and found a National RV dealer in Appling, Ga. which is up on I-20 near Augusta. We made an appointment there for the 12th and then Jim talked to the service manager at the Factory Service Center in Lakeland, FL. I took pictures and sent them to him, but now he's on vacation and we won't probably hear from him until the 11th. We were hoping that we'd talk to him in time to know if it is safe to bring the coach all the way to Florida or not. But I can just see us going down the road and that slide running itself all the way out.

We do have CSP to cover the slide, (with only a $50 deductible). If a weld has "let go" in the structure, then that's under manufacturer's warranty for another year. It's just that, being in limbo, and not knowing for sure how serious the problem may be, gets to me big time.

On top of all this, Tasha, now over 15 years old, has been really ill since Thanksgiving. (she's better now) This dog got me up and walking years ago, and took care of me when I really needed it. She's something really special. For all the surgical procedures I've had to go through, she's been right there to welcome me and to be by my side when I've come home from the hospital. It was those recuperative times that she never asked for anything until Jim would get home. She just stayed by my side keeping an eye on me. She's done things like pull covers over me when I've kicked them off in my sleep, and pushed pillows at me when she thought I needed to sit up. I think if she could cook and clean, she would have done that too. I know we're going to lose her eventually - and right now it's my turn to take care of her like she tried to take care of me. I finally couldn't hold it back any longer and between the stress of Tasha being ill and not knowing what is going on with the coach, broke down into tears Sunday night. Poor Jim, he just didn't know what to say or do.

We need all of you that shop online to shop with us for Christmas! If this is anything serious, then we're going to need every little bit we can gather, in order to not have to dig into that little bit we've put aside for medical emergencies. Both Taylor Shopping and Woman A Week Shopping offer price comparisons. So, when you find what you're looking for, if we have more than one store offering the same item, you can click the compare button and see who has the best price. You can also enter your shipping zip code to add on the price of shipping, and see who has that final best price including shipping. We would appreciate it to the Nth degree if those of you who are online shoppers, would please use our service.

I'll post more when we know what's wrong with our home and what has to be done to fix it. For all of you out there that read this - We really appreciate you, and we Thank you a ton!

All Shook Up

2006-10-20T14:38:00.001-07:00

We have arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi, the Birth Place of Elvis Presley. I expect that we'll be here until sometime close to Thanksgiving. We headed out of Greeley, Colorado last Saturday morning. I hated leaving that area. It's just so beautiful there near Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. We're hoping that Jim will be assigned back there again in the Spring.

It was a fairly uneventful nearly 1300 mile trip. Saturday was a beautiful day for travel and we made it all the way to just North of Wichita, Kansas. There's a rest area on I-135 close to mile marker 22 that is really nice. With an area for RV's and a dump station, we were amazed at how quiet it was even though we were right there on the freeway.

Sunday started out drizzly and rainy and only got worse. We drove right into the bad weather. There's a travel stop along the turnpike in Oklahoma where we were just going to stretch and grab some coffee. When we got there, it appeared as though their fuel prices were fairly low at $2.29 for diesel, so we went ahead and filled the tank. Ha! Who would have ever thought that one would consider that "fairly low?" Diesel was only 99 cents a gallon 4 years ago. We both just knew that we'd regret it further down the road. Fuel prices always seem to be way out of line along turnpikes. Somewhere in the middle of Tulsa, where we had to cut to another highway, there sat a Police cruiser, lights spinning, crossways in the highway. The ramp from US412 to I-244 West was closed! We had to go on and get off at the next exit and get ourselves turned around. We wound up taking I-244 east and going around town the long way back down to the Muskogee Turnpike. You would have thought that the State Patrol (or somebody) would have put signs further back, or stationed people further back letting you know that you needed to find an alternate route. Once we finally got squared away and back on track, there was construction as we came through Broken Arrow onto the turnpike. We were reading the traffic sign close to the entry, looked up and the lanes had been split with orange traffic cones. There was about a tenth of a second to make a decision which way to go and Jim chose the wrong way. We were exiting the highway instead of getting on the turnpike. Between that and the ramp a few miles back being closed, he was all shook up, but the feeling subsided when he realized that we weren't the only ones. Even the semi drivers were doing what we did. Thankfully there was a fuel station right there that we were able to turn around in, and finally get back on course.

We went on to the Flying J in Russellville, Arkansas, we were pleasantly surprised to see that diesel there was $2.34, and felt like we'd surely made the right choice filling up back on the Turnpike. Hoping that it would be somewhat less in Mississippi, we opted to wait and fill up on fuel for the coach and ourselves sometime on Monday. We made it to Brinkley, Arkansas Sunday night. There's a motel/RV Park there called the Ivory Bill Inn. It used to be a Super 8, and remembering it as clean, cheap, cozy and comfy, we decided to stop there for the night. We had stayed there in 2002 when my brother was taken quite ill and we rushed to get back to him on the East Coast. It's been let go somewhat and not as nice as we remembered. The grass was to our knees (but at least we had grass) and the hookups, while fine, needed some attention. Inside, in the lobby, it was apparent that there is a lot of remodeling going on right now. I sure hope if we get back thru that way in the Spring, that they'll be all done redoing things, and it will be back to what we remembered. Either way, it's a Happy Camper Park, (½ price all the time) and you can't go wrong for $9.00 a day.

Monday started and ended in a pouring rain. We got through Memphis sweating it all the way. That's some highway around that area. It needs lots and lots of work and the signage doesn't give you a whole lot of advance notice that you're going to be going off to the left or right. We made it, though, without a single wrong turn. It's no fun to make a wrong turn in a 40Ft RV with that big ol' Hummer on the back making you close to 65Ft long! We stopped in Olive Brach at the Flying J truck stop, filled up with Propane, diesel, food, and got back on the road. Tupelo was only another hour or so and we were getting pretty travel weary. We arrived here at the Campgrounds of Barnes Crossing shortly after lunch and got out site. The people here are super nice. The sites are kind of tight, but plenty long if you happen to be pulling a long trailer behind you. (which we aren't) They do have the best cable we've ever had, but I'd rather have WiFi than cable TV any day! Anyway, we managed to arrive and get setup in between raindrops. Then came the deluge! It rained and rained and rained some more. It rained all day Tuesday too. Jim wasn't able to get much work done. Our site is a new site with lots of Orange Mississippi mud on it and the rain didn't help. We don't have any grass for the dog, but so far she doesn't seem to mind too much. She does have orange feet now, so she's going to the groomer on Saturday. The owner here brought in 4 or 5 huge scoops of fresh gravel yesterday and did his best to fill the site where the rain had washed away most of the gravel, so hopefully now the dog will stay clean after grooming on Saturday.

That's about it for now. Like I said, it was a fairly uneventful trip. I have lousy access (extended network) and no WiFi where we are right now, so please be cautious about what you e-mail to me. No pictures right now, please!

Happy Camper pays for itself on your first vacation!

Happy Camper is a 50% discount club for RVers. As a member, you can stay at over 1,200 quality RV parks on a full hook-up site for half price; and unlike other memberships, it requires no contracts, no home parks, and no point systems. At just $49.95 per year.

M - i- Double s - i - Double s - i - Double p - i

2006-10-10T15:29:00.001-07:00

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We're not going to Jackson, but we are going to Tupelo, Mississippi. We leave this coming Saturday morning (14th) and expect to arrive at the Campground at Barnes Crossing sometime on Monday afternoon. Jim will be working in Amory, but we aren't sure how long this job will take or where we will go after that.

We took our last (I think) drive thru Rocky Mountain National Park last Saturday, and didn't see a single bit of wildlife. We were really surprised. I did, however, remember to get a shot of the statues as you come into Estes Park.

Now, mind you, I had to take these pictures out the car windows as we drove through the stoplight by the sculptures. The hardest thing I have to do when I want to take some shots is to get Jim to stop. I say all kinds of things like "Wow! What a picture!" and "Wouldn't that make a great shot?" He just doesn't get it. I have to finally resort to "STOP! I want to take a picture of THAT!"

We were supposed to get snow last night. It didn't happen, darn it. It snowed all around us, but not here and not right in Denver either. The weather reporters here are saying that we will get snow tonight. I'll believe it when I see it.

I've been working on the Woman A Week Shopping site trying to get it going. It's not doing great, but it's doing. We do have a toolbar that you can download for free. I promise you it's totally non-invasive, has no spyware, requires no personal info, and you can configure it to do some pretty nice things for you too. Let me know what you think of it.

I'm going to start working on revamping Taylor Shopping this week. That's going to take me a long time, and I am certainly not looking forward to it at all. I've got a headache just thinking about it. I'm making the attempt to learn CSS (cascading style sheets), and either my learning curve has gone way down 'cause I'm getting old, or it's an awfully lot to learn. I think I'd be better off 'unlearning' everything I use to create web pages, and starting all over than to try to learn something that contradicts the way I do things now. I've been told that CSS is here to stay and I'd better learn it and live with it, so I'm trying.

There's not a whole lot else going on with us right now. I'll post again when we get to Tupelo. Gee, I wonder if there are any casinos there. ::big grin::

Rocky Mountain National Park

2006-10-01T17:33:00.001-07:00

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If you subscribe, I'm sorry - I had forgotten to title this post when I put it up.

I guess I have two weeks of catching up to do here.

We went back to Rocky Mountain National Park again. We go every Saturday. I could go there every day and just sit and watch what happens as the day goes by. The elk were really active. It is Rut season, after all. There is no sound in nature like the sound of a trumpeting elk. I did try the video camera for the first time since I bought it a few years ago. I was able to get some up close video of an elk herd and the sound of the male doing his trumpeting as he worked his way through the herd.

We got up to Bear Lake and it was snowing to beat the band. I got a few good shots of the snow. It really made me want to sit down and just look at it forever. I think I miss seeing the snow. This was the first I'd seen in many years.

The Autumn changing of the leaves is pretty much at peak and the aspens are a vivid yellow. Pictures just don't do any of it justice.

I love Estes Park. If I had to stop RV'ing, I could easily make my home there. We came out of RMNP and into Estes Park to do some shopping. We both needed new Winter jackets and they have some beautiful things there. We shopped for quite awhile, had something to eat and decided to head home. At the busiest intersection in town (RT 34 and RT 7) there's a small triangle of land where there stands a larger than life sculpture of a Bighorn under a few trees. You can bear off to the right and head south on Rt 7, or stay straight and go around it. It's a pretty good sized area. (reminder to self: take a picture of that sculpture) As we pulled up to the traffic signal, we noticed five additions to that sculpture. There were five live elk there! Four of them were napping and one was picking leaves off the tree. I was amazed that they weren't running amuck out of fear. We got a little further out and traffic was stopped for a huge bull elk and two does crossing the road. Not another 100 yards and there was one in a yard on the side of this main thoroughfare. I got video of all of it and only this one picture which happens to pretty much stink:

We headed on out of town and through Thompson Canyon when we came upon a pair of Bighorn sheep. They were only about 50 feet off the road up in the rocks. We stopped, I got out the camcorder and started filming. They were pretty scared and confused. They wound up in the road walking the center line. We were terrified that someone was going to come around the bend there and hit them. Fortunately, they heard the traffic before the traffic saw them and bounded back up into the mountain and away.

Not even a mile further down the road, we came upon a whole herd of Bighorn Sheep. Video again, but no stills. I'm having fun with the video camera and learning what I can and can't do with it. Anyway, we figured the two we had seen further back had gotten separated from the herd and were looking for them. The rest of the trip home was pretty uneventful. I would love to go spend a whole weekend in Estes Park before Rut Season is done, and be able to get up into RMNP before daylight. Dawn, with the sun at your back, seems to be when the best pictures can be taken. Enough for now - more in a few days, I hope.

Deep Canyons

2006-09-13T15:14:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we drove back to Rocky Mountain National Park. (RMNP) The road beyond Rainbow Curve was closed. We aren't sure why, though it was pretty cloudy up there even at 11,000 feet. It might possibly have been because the Wapiti (Elk) have begun to descend for the autumn Rut too. Pictures were not great yet. On the way back down from Rainbow Curve, a wapiti came off the side of the mountain right out into and across the road in front of us. He was huge and had a really big rack. He moved on down the side of the mountain. It amazes me how they can keep their footing on those really steep descents off the sides of the roads.

We did stop for breakfast at the Trailhead Restaurant. It sits at the entrance to the park. There are two campgrounds there on either side of the road. We drove into the one on the right to look at the sites there. The first site we saw had a most unusual camping guest. You can see his picture here.

He wasn't someone I wanted to get very close to and snap a shot, so it's not great, but it gives you an idea.

Sunday, we drove through Poudre (Pooter) canyon on highway 14 and up to Cameron Pass. (10,000 feet) It was snowing and hailing up there, but I did get a few decent shots while we were at a pull off area.

The road through the canyon runs along the Poudre River, and the scenery is outstanding. I don't believe there's a wide angle lens wide enough to capture the real beauty of the canyons.

I'm thinking I might try my video camera, and see if that will be better, though I doubt it. It gives one from the East a feeling of complete and total "WOW! Look what I've been missing all these years." We kind of hung around for a little while and began the long drive back at about 4PM. (mountain time) There are several areas as you come through the canyon that have signs that say there is open range for cattle. We had just passed one at about 7500 feet when I saw a cow on the opposite side of the river. I was pointing it out to Jim at about the same time got a good view of it. It was a BEAR!

Jim just about hit the side of the mountain getting off the road so I could get out and try to get some pictures of it. I was so excited that most of them were blurry from me shaking so much while I was taking them. We followed him down river and at a wide opening in the river, protecting us with a tall fence, the bear went into the water. I did get some decent shots of him then. Fact is, I need a more powerful telephoto lens, which I intend to order in the next day or so.

New Additions to our family!

2006-08-23T09:02:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the world Ricky Lee!

Last Tuesday, the 15th, our 2nd great-grandchild arrived in Ohio. A baby boy, checking in at 7lbs. 7oz. and 19½ inches long. We are anxiously awaiting pictures. We had hoped that Jim would be assigned into that area when the baby was due, so we could be there. Sadly, that just didn't work out. All we know so far other than his birth stats is that he has lots and lots of dark hair.

We also adopted another new family member last week. Her name is Sassy (Sassafrass), and she is believed to be about 2 years old. We brought her home on Saturday evening, and of course the first thing she did was run and hide.

She found a way up under the bed in the coach. Jim had to block her out of there and once that was done, she found another place to hide at the front of the coach. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to get herself in the wall behind the driver's console. Jim had to take the whole thing apart to get her out. The first night she chose to hide behind the dash board. On Sunday morning we found that she had found her way up inside the dash behind the backup monitor. Out came the screwdriver again and Jim took the covers off the dash to get her out of there.

She came out from behind the dash several times during the day Sunday and made fast friends with Tasha (the dog). She has obviously been around dogs before. She went to her like they were old friends from a previous life. Sunday night she slept close to Tasha, but not quite on her pillow with her. It's as if she knows that's Tasha's special place to go when she wants to just be left alone. Monday, Sassy did lots of exploring and slept on the foot of our bed. PROGRESS! We had to put her food up on the bedroom dresser to keep Tasha from eating it all. Even though we managed to find corn free cat food, it's still probably not good for the dog to eat it. (Tasha is allergic to corn) Sassy is getting more lovable as the days go by, and when she wants something she comes to you and cries, then sits up like a dog would to beg. I'm wondering if someone has trained her to do other things too. I suppose we'll find out as time goes on.

Saturday, we took a drive to Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne, Wyoming. WOW! I had a blast. They're still my favorite store on the Internet, and now anytime I get the opportunity to go to their store, I will!

Cheyenne is a pretty nice town. I didn't see any major chain type stores there. I was hoping to be able to go for Fontier Days, however that was over on August 1st. We just missed it. From the flyers we've seen, it looks like it was a wonderful celebration.

There's so much close by where we are to do, I just don't know what to do next! I think a ride thru Rocky Mountain National Park might be the order of this weekend coming up. Maybe we should go again in a few weeks after the first snowfall up there. The website claims an abundance of wildlife, including Elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, black bears, coyotes, cougars, eagles, mountain lions, and more. Hopefully, we'll see some of them and get some good shots with the camera. Since Trail Ridge Road closes around the beginning of October, we'll surely want to visit that area this week.

That's all for now. More after this coming weekend.

What a week!

2006-08-18T17:16:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy week and a half! We are finally out of Kansas! YIPPEE!!

It started a week ago Wednesday, and we have finally arrived in Greeley, Colorado as of this past Tuesday.

Jim completed the Kansas job, and we had to take the car and coach to Dodge City to get it ready for towing. They got us right in and started on everything. The brackets and the light wiring on the car were done in just a few hours. Then came crying time. The install of the Toadstop II didn't go so well. They thought they had it all done and lo and behold the braking box had filled up with brake fluid because it was hooked up wrong. It's supposed to be air vacuum operated. The car was full of brake fluid all over the place on the floor behind the driver. The RV place had to hire someone to come in and get it all cleaned up. They did a great job on it.

Now we had to wait overnight for Blue Ox to send a new Toadstop. They didn't want the one that had been contaminated with Brake Fluid to be used. So we waited another day. (Mind you we are now on our 3rd day there) The box arrived as it was supposed to and a new tech went to work on it. He had it all figured out and he really knew what he was doing. We were very impressed with him. Ours was the first Toadstop they'd installed and there were a few glitches, but a call to the Techies at Blue Ox quickly cured all the problems.

Every night while we were there, as soon as they pulled down the Bay doors and headed home, the jackrabbits came out. Dozens of them! We were at the top of a big hill, next to a huge Dodge City Feedyard. There was a large pasture right there beside the RV place and they filled up the watering troughs with a hose from the RV center. The hose had a wee small leak in it and made a little puddle. The jackrabbits would come to drink. I didn't get any pictures. As soon as you open the door, they'd run l

Rocky Mountain High, Colorado

2006-08-07T19:35:00.001-07:00

On this past Friday morning Jim was going to be sent to Mississippi. By the end of the day, he was told, no - he'd be going to Greeley, Colorado with a stop first over in Steamboat Springs for three weeks. That means that as of right now, we will be headed for Colorado on Thursday and Friday of this week. YAY!!! Civilization and Broadband Internet! I can't wait. Greeley has two Wal-Marts, Cracker Barrel, an outlet mall, a regular mall and a whale of a lot more! ::I'm doing a happy dance::

It's been a long hot week this past week. The temperatures almost everyday have been well over 100º and there is no rain in sight. HOT HOT HOT!!! When we get to Steamboat Springs, we'll probably be freezing our butts off. The temperature there right now is down in the 40's at night. They are getting up into the 70's during the day with an occasional 80 0r so. Jim will like that. My guess, at 9400+ feet elevation, is that, being "flatlanders" we're both going to have a hard time breathing.

I've spent the week trying to get our new shopping site, Woman A Week Shopping, up and running. Please visit anytime you want to go shopping on the Internet. While I was doing that, I found the absolutely coolest store with better prices even than Amazon. It's called onSale. (mostly electronics and digital camera items) Visit through us, please - look at their prices, and you'll probably be as WOW'd as I was. As a matter of fact, if they have something and Amazon has the same thing, you can compare prices on the new site between the two stores in order to get the best price.

Thursday, we were awakened at 6 in the morning to the sound of a plane flying very, very low. When we went outside to see just what was happening, we discovered a small plane spraying the corn crop in the field across the street from us. I still find it pretty amazing to see, probably a 500-600 acre corn field, on a town's Main Street.

I ran back to the coach, grabbed the camera and started snapping. I took more than 60 pictures. I've put just one of them here so you can see for yourself just how low he was. I have a few that look as if he was about to crash in the corn. And, I got a few of him right over my head too. He was no higher over my head than the power lines were.

Conrad, our African Gray (Grey) Parrot, is learning how to count. He says, "Wanna count? Ooone, four, five! Yay Conrad" I'll get him to do two and three sooner or later. It only took one try with him to get four and five. Those are numbers that were in our phone number at the house. I was stunned the day he spoke up and said my name, phone number, and then also spelled my first name. I figured right then I was doing too much ordering on the telephone. ::smile::

OK, I'm done for now. More later.

It's a zoo out there...

2006-07-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

It looks as though Jim will be done here in Kansas sometime in the next week. He phoned his boss to tell him last week and they told him they'd send him to New Orleans for a short job there. I was getting excited at the prospect of documenting what it's like a year after Katrina, and then the boss said no, maybe they'd be sending him to Northern Mississippi instead. That burst my bubble, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see where they decide to send Jim next.

We will be stopping in Dodge City to get the brackets on the Hummer so we can tow it. Now, there are a few of you out there that have asked what color Hummer we got. [smile] Silly people! I have a digital camera and I can put images on the web in a flash. So the picture of the Hummer in my previous post is a picture of the Hummer that we bought. I parked it under the trees at the campground where we were in Deerfield, KS, took a shot of it, and uploaded it for all to see the exact one that we got. BTW, we are now back in Scott City until Jim gets done here.

Saturday, we went to the zoo in Garden City. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the zoo here does NOT charge admission. I took an awfully lot of pictures. I've compressed them down to three animations so I can put them here for you to see some of them. I did get some really nice shots that I'm pretty proud of. If anyone wants a printable image of any of these, let me know and I'll send it to you VIA e-mail.

I don't know the names of some of these animals. I think the duck with the blue bill is a ruddy duck. The white bird with the crest and blue eye area is a mynah bird of some type. The bird with the orange head and legs is the one that captured my heart. He's just so pretty, and he didn't seem to frightened of people, but I never did find out what he is. I assume it's a he since most birds that have a lot of color are the males of the species.

I think we'll probably go back again this weekend. It was really hot, though not as hot as the 108º hot that we had for several days last week.

A lot of the animals weren't moving around much, or weren't even out to be seen because of the heat. Maybe if we get there really early in the morning, they'll be up and about to be seen. Besides, dummy me forgot to take the camera off of macro until we got to the aviary. So, the pictures I had taken of the 8 month old baby giraffe with its mama weren't very good. It was huddled with its head on her back. When we went back, I couldn't even get a shot of the two or three (including the daddy) of them together. Hopefully, I will get that sweet shot when we go back.

The puma (the cat behind the bars) was a pacer. He was to and fro pretty much nonstop except to pose for a picture.

There was a pair of black jaguars just down from him (no picture). While we were looking at them, some idiot at the puma cage, climbed the barrier and stuck his hands in to pet it. the guy is lucky he still has hands. It's morons like that that spoil things like this for the rest of us. I'm glad he didn't get hurt, but he might have learned a hard lesson if he had.

We walked, and walked, and walked. We were both exhausted by the time we got done. The zoo is at a public park. They also have picnic areas, ballfields, a really large pool, and a playground for the children. A National Annual Family Pass (2 big kids, 2 little kids) is only $35.00 purchased through this zoo (Lee Richardson Zoo) and allows admissions to over 100 other zoos nationwide. I think I'd rather give my money to a zoo that has no revenue from admissions, and so really can use the dollars, than to one that already collects revenue from admissions to their facility. Makes sense to me.

Anyway, I'm done for now. Cross your fingers for us that we get sent to an area where there's a Thousand Trails Park. Whenever we pull into one, I feel like I'm home. I sure do miss the TT parks and all the people we know there. Hopefully, we'll get sent to an area that has one and we can get "home" for a little while.

Leaving Kansas soon I hope..

2006-07-10T14:56:00.001-07:00

FIRST THINGS FIRST---

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETHANY FAITH!!!!
YOU ARE NOW A TEENAGER!
HOORAY!

Well, we no longer have the Dream Cruiser. We traded it on Saturday. We are now the proud owners of a 2006 Hummer. The baby one!

Nothing ever goes perfectly smooth though, does it? It looked like it was going to be a breeze getting it ready to be our new toad. This morning I discovered that we cannot use our current braking system with it. That means that we have to sell the Blue Ox Apollo-Luxor brake system that we just bought and have only used for two moves. It's an expense we hadn't counted on either. Hopefully, selling the Apollo will help offset the cost of the new Toadstop.

So, here we go again - me following Jim all over the country until we get time to have everything installed. There is a Blue Ox dealer in Dodge City, and I'm hoping that when Jim calls him later that he can get us in this week.

On to more fun stuff. We had to go to Colorado Springs to find a Hummer dealer. That was 260 miles one way from where we are right now. We left at 8.30 in the morning and didn't get home until sometime after midnight. They were really nice folks too! Standing right in the front door, you have a gorgeous view of Pike's Peak! It was an awesome sight to see. It was as if the top of the mountain just reaches right up to Heaven. Looking at it made me feel like if I drove up the more than 14,000 feet, that that's precisely where I'd be. The WV mountains are just nothing compared to this. We were already standing at an elevation of 6300 ft, and Pike's Peak stretched higher, higher, higher! There's still snow on the very top. I didn't get any photos because it was pretty much cloud covered (again).

We may have to go back again soon to have the dealership look at a minor ride vibration. You know Jim - Mr Perfection when it comes to that stuff. :) If we do, it will have to be in the next two weeks. That's about all the longer we should be in Kansas. YIPPEEE!!!! I have my fingers crossed that they won't keep us in Kansas in some other city. I'd like to get back to civilization as soon as I can!

I did see my first barn swallow this past week. He was hopping about in the cornfield, eating the long silks that have begun to grow from the tops of the corn stalks. I watched him thru the binoculars so that I could get a really close view of him. I tried taking some photos but couldn't get close enough even with the 10:1 optical zoom to get a decent shot without scaring him. `I guess it's time for a telephoto lens add-on for the camera. I should ask Santa for that for Christmas.

Yesterday morning while we were having our first coffee, the cows across the side street from where we are were moved across to the pasture behind us. There really are still real cowboys in Kansas. They herded them over on horseback. There were about 100 or so head of cattle, and again I didn't get any pictures. It was too early, and my eyes weren't ready to look thru the camera yet. Besides, I was really in a lazy mood after the long day we'd had on Saturday.

I did, however, get some wonderful shots of the goldfinches. We hadn't seen any in quite sometime. I was beginning to think that there weren't any goldfinches in Kansas. Then when I did see them, they just sat in the tree and seemed to pose for me. Yes, Tarzanna Graphics is me. I don't want anyone stealing my pictures and taking credit for them, so I add the text in a way that makes them unwanted.

I've been trying for the last two months to get a photo of a ring-necked pheasant. 30 or so inches tall, they are beautiful with their bright red and green eyepatches, the almost fluorescent looking breast feathers, and their long brown tail feathers. Their feathers are used on hats, and from what I've read they're pretty valuable. Early in the morning you'll see them standing along the roadside. We've stopped many times for me to try and get a good shot of them. They do seem to be very tolerant of all the cars going by, but the moment you stop, they duck their heads into the wheat, the corn, the hay, or whatever type of field they happen to be nesting in, and run like crazy. Really fast runners, they don't give me even a little bit of a chance. I sure hope I can get a nice shot before we leave Kansas. We did have the unfortunate luck to hit one with the car about three weeks ago. It was a female. We had no warning at all. She just flew up from the wheat right in front of us. Jim and I both were in tears over that incident.

Ok, so I'm long winded. :) I'm done for now.... More when there's more to tell...

Kansas

2006-07-06T10:26:00.001-07:00

I'm not really all that fond of Kansas. It might be because we are in the middle of nowhere. It's 15 miles to the nearest anything. The park we're in isn't all that bad. It appears to be a piece of old pasture land. The power (50 AMP) is good and the water is crystal clear well water. The price here in Deerfield RV park is fair too. For $15 a night or $90 a week, you have all the hookups (power water sewer) you need and access to a Bath House if you need that too.

On our way here, we had a tractor trailer rig cut in front of us on the highway, throw a tiny little stone and chip the passenger side windshield. In the siteline of the driver to the rear mirror on that side, it was only a tiny little chip no larger than a pencil eraser. Before we got to our destination, it had become a more than foot long, full fledged, vertical crack. The glass people that the insurance company uses are a National company that claim to be able to service you anwyehere in the country. Guess what? They don't have anyone in this area that does RV windshields. Kindly, they've agreed to wait until Jim's next job assignment to get someone to us.

We also lost our dash air. That's not a big problem. We tend to use the generator to keep things cool when we travel. The dash air just won't reach the whole forty feet of the coach to keep it cool anyway. Thankfully we have a CSP plan. CSP is a mechanical breakdown plan that covers every part of your RV, right down to the televisions! I think I might be really happy that we opted for the $50 deductible plan. The pricing is so reasonable that now that the coach is over three years old, we would have been crazy to not have it.

You know, when we started RV'ing 5 years ago, I began keeping a daily hand written journal. I did that for about a month. It was just getting too tedious, and I was writing 5 and 6 pages daily. That went by the wayside, but Blogging seems to be a better way for me to do this. And those friends of ours that like, can read what's going on with us. I don't have to send a mass mailing to any of you. I can just post here whenever there's something to tell, and people can read whenever they feel like reading.

There's actually not a lot going on right now. Over the July 4th long weekend, we did take a drive to Pueblo, Colorado. It's only about 200 miles and it seemed like a good daytrip. I think we may be going back again this Saturday. It's a REAL town with all the things and places that we're familiar with normally having at our disposal. The real truth is that Jim saw a car he thought was really nifty, and he wants to get a better look. If any of you out there are interested in buying our Dream Cruiser, we might just be selling it pretty soon. Jim has a very difficult time working out of it.

The equipment he has to carry takes up a lot of space, and too often he's bending into the trunk (with its low hanging door because of the convertible top) and breaking his back to deal with his supplies. He just really needs something a bit larger. In case you aren't aware, it's the 4th edition, 2005 model Dream Cruiser. They only manufactured 1700 of them and ours is #1349. Just let us know if you're interested. :) And the best part is that if you're and RV'er, it's wired and ready to just hook on to your rig and take off. It's even already wired for the Blue Ox Apollo Braking System.

Anyway, when we went to Pueblo, we could see the Rocky Mountains. Not very well though, because it was very stormy black in that direction. On our way back, we weren't able to get ahead of the rain storm. At some points in the drive home the sky just opened up on us. We had rain so hard that we couldn't, at times, see the vehicle in front of us. We even had some pea sized hail. I took some photos of the sky behind us as we were speeding along in a hurry to get home. Maybe I'll post one or two of them later, when I get my film card out of the camera.That's it for now. It's a cool cloudy day here in Western Kansas, and I haven't seen Dorothy or Toto yet. I'll be back tomorrow or Monday.

New Direction

2006-07-01T17:11:00.001-07:00

We are taking a new direction here with our blog.

First, allow me to introduce us. I am Teri and my husband is Jim. We are full-time RV'ers who have circumnavigated our great nation two times in the last 5 years in a 40 foot RV. We started in a 35 foot Holiday Rambler, which only lasted two weeks. We didn't know we were about to become 'full-timers.' After that first 2 week trip, we went back to our dealer and got a larger RV. We opted for a 38 foot Damon Intruder. We kept that coach for a year and a half. It was a wonderful coach and we loved every minute in it. When we decided to sell our home in Florida, Jim decided he wanted a bigger coach with a diesel engine. I, of course didn't care as long as I got a washer/dryer. I should have held out for a dish drawer too. ::smile:: Be that as it may, we are now traveling in a 40 foot National Coach that we have had for three years.

This year, Jim had to come out of retirement and take a job to keep us going. He is working as a "leak survey technician" for a national company that contracts with natural gas companies. He's been with them since January and is loving every minute of the new job. It's stress and hassle free, and there is never a problem with being paid. they pay little, but they pay on time with no hassle. That's a really important factor when you never know where you're going. The company has been just marvelous.

Presently, we are in Far Western Kansas. We've been here for 2 months and expect to be here at least one more month. There sure isn't much here. However, we have watched harvest happen, and it's an incredible sight. The farm equipment is massive. Crews of 30-40 people travel from the south of Texas all the way to the Canadian border doing what they call "Custom Harvesting."

You'll see what seems like a never-ending parade of over-sized farm equipment coming up the road as you drive the main ways, and behind that an equally long parade of RV's. They fill the RV parks along their route for about two weeks. During this month of June they've been in our area harvesting wheat. The park where we're staying filled with harvesters and their families. They were some of the nicest, and for sure, some of the quietest neighbors we've ever had. I could not believe how quiet and well-behaved even the smallest children were. I never knew before that wheat is planted in September and it takes all this time before it can be harvested.

I intend to post from here on out not less than once a week. Every day would be great, but there isn't always something for me to say every day. Please take the opportunity to use our links. We've not even been breaking even with income from our websites, but we'd sure like to have lots of visitors.

Since it's Saturday, and Jim has weekends and holidays off, I'll stop for now. I'll be back by Wednesday for sure. I have lots to talk about -- we'll start all over with this Blog and see if any of you are interested.

Have a GREAT FOURTH OF JULY, everyone!!!

Sierra Trading Post

2006-02-02T12:20:00.001-08:00

WHEW! Things have been a little crazy for us over the holidays with all the grandchildren and with Jim just getting a new job. BIG news is we have a new grandbaby and a new GREAT-Grandbaby on the way this year!

We hope you had a great holiday and a Happy New Year! This month we are giving you a link to deeply discounted items at Sierra Trading Post. They offer discounts of 35-70% everyday! A huge selection of name brand clothing, footwear, outdoor gear, home furnishings and more, including Ameribag closeouts!

Old Memories make great gifts

2005-11-27T10:45:00.002-08:00

Short, sweet and to the point.....
Do you remember all those things the Five and Dime had when you were a youngster? Are you longing for them again? Want to give someone that nostalgic gift for Christmas? We found a fabulous place that's got all the neat old goodies right down to Brylcream ( a little dab 'l do ya) Go shopping at Vermont Country Store!

They've got Horlicks tablets, Lifebuoy soap, the old manual coffee and meat grinders, Burma Shave products, pine tar soaps, WOODEN q-tips (haven't seen those in many a year!), Walnettos (chewy caramels with chopped California walnuts) and a whole lot more!!! If someone is asking for some old nostalgic type gift, chances are you'll find it at Vermont Country Store. While you're there, pay a visit to their Holiday Gift Area.

If you are really stuck and just don't know what to get, get flowers! (or, in case you suddenly remembered someone you forgot.)
Visit Flowers Fast - The Online Florist - Great Prices, Same-Day Delivery [ View Most Popular Items ]

That's it for now! Have a great time shopping at TaylorShopping.com!

Getting ready for Christmas

2005-10-30T06:15:00.001-08:00

We have some great things going on with our "Katrina adoption" thanks to all of you shoppers out there. They're getting back on their feet slowly but surely. FEMA has not been a lot of help to them yet, but they do keep promising. The family has been displaced from Waveland to Northern Mississippi, and work is very scarce. We're going to go and visit them for a week or so in November and offer whatever help we can. We're excited about getting there - maybe we'll even stay longer than a week. We'll know more when we get there.

Our daughter in Ft Lauderdale weathered Wilma fairly well. They still have no power, and the people there didn't seem to think it was going to be as bad as it was. She foolishly didn't evacuate, however, she did get supplies in for two weeks just in case. Her home is in tact - she's very, very lucky, and she knows that. The biggest problem for her is that there will be no work until there is power, and that means applying for disaster unemployment compensation. Wish her luck in those long lines.

We would still encourage you to donate to the Americn Red Cross. You can Visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP NOW to do so. It's going to be an extremely long, and expensive recovery. Please do what you can for those who lost everything in Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma this season.

Links to help find Katrina survivors

2005-09-02T06:15:00.001-07:00

For those of you able to get to the Internet - links you might need to find family and friends. If you need a link to something special, if you have other links you want put here, e-mail us. Also please make a donation, even if it's only $5.00 to the American Red Cross.

EDIT 9-6-05 Please if you have not already registered with the Red Cross, do so immediately. You can register the name of family that you are looking for, or that you have found. If you need to pass this information on to someone without Internet Access, ask them to phone 877-568-3317 and give their information to get registered to make it easier for friends and family to find them.

Taylor Shopping search

2005-07-19T07:03:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention in our first blog that we've also implemented our own private search engine at Taylor Shopping. We have a database of millions of items from nearly 200 different stores. It makes it a lot easier for you to find that special item, especially if you have the manufacturer's item number. Here it is, if you'd like to give it a try.

On a more personal note -

We're in the NE corner of Ohio until the 28th of July. It's been hot and steamy here, but not nearly as hot as it was in Virginia the previous two weeks. Nothing exciting is happening with us for those of you that might wonder. I think today, we will be going down to Middlefield and visiting the new Amish Wal-Mart store.

About Taylor Shopping

2005-07-16T16:43:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this is our first Blog posting. For this first post, I'll try to tell you a little about why we're here.

We are full-time RV'ers. We set up Taylor Shopping as a way of trying to supplement our income and keep all those bills that still exist, paid. So far, we aren't making a fortune, but we are making just enough to pay for the site. We had hoped that it would be enough to supplement our "fixed income." We've now decided to create this blog in hopes that those of you who read it, and shop online will use our site as a means to find that store and do that shopping with us.

We aren't Amazon or eBay. We're just a retired couple trying to make ends meet, and it's those of you out there reading this that can help us do that by shopping online thru us.

We pass out business cards to all those wonderful people that we meet on the road. Some of them do use the site, and it's those people that are giving us enough business to keep us up and running.

Taylor Shopping is a great place to go hunting for a particular item that you might be looking for from Ameribag to Shoes to electronic equipment, clothing, books, and even tools. We have more than one merchant for these items, but these couple of links will give you some idea of all that we have to offer.

We've also got some great merchants for our RV'ing friends including Camping World, Passport America, and Happy Camper half price camping.

Several years ago, we also started Granny's Gold®. It's the very best fudge you will ever put in your mouth. We discovered that it was nearly impossible to keep up with the orders and handle things while on the road, so we had to sell the company. Being a small restaurant and bakery with so many other things happening in their lives, while also nearing retirement age, they have since, very sadly closed that business.

We'd love to hear what stores you use and what stores you'd like to see that might not be on our site. We'll get them if we can for you, and let you know. Sometimes we can also offer certain shopping incentives in the form of online coupons that may not be available to you if you go directly to the store's website. So, get on over to our site, Taylor Shopping, and have fun shopping til your fingers fall off.