Thanksgiving Came and Went

We decided to stay at North Ranch for Thanksgiving. Peggy and Ray invited us to sit at their table for dinner at the Activities Center in the park. About 200 attended, sitting at tables of 10. The park provided the turkey and gravy. Each table provided their own fixins. We met several new people. It was good.

The next day we met with Gary, Harvy, Dianne, and Dot over at Ray and Peggy's to play some music. It was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we went to the Leftover Pot Luck dinner to finish off Thanksgiving Dinner.

The next morning we went to the Pancake Breakfast and on Sunday we attend the Ice cream Social. Eat, eat, and eat. Seems that's all we did for days.

Willard has been getting as much gold as he can before the rains come. I've been line-dancing three days a week, attending meetings, and playing my bass at the Jam Sessions.

We'll probably stick around here for Christmas, too. Of course, we never really know what will happen until it happens. We like it that way.

Ogden, UT Trip

After the Death Valley trip we headed for Ogden, UT for Melissa's wedding. On the way we stopped off at Dan's house in Cedar City for a few days. We arrived in Ogden on Wednesday just before a front moved in. On Friday we entertained at the Assisted Living Center near Joey's home. Afterward, we attended a Weber State basketball game. That night Dan, Trevor, Jessica, Tyler, and Mckinna came for the wedding. Saturday it started to snow! The temps dropped into the 20s and 30s. What were we thinking when we decided to drive the motorhome up here? That afternoon we attended the dinner, wedding, and reception at the Weber State Alumni Center. It was just a wonderful afternoon. Muddy Boots (Dan's band) entertained at the reception. It has been an eventfull trip. If the roads are clear tomorrow, we will head for Arizona to the nice warm sunshine.


And the snow came down.

I was glad Bill and Karen delivered our little electric fireplace. It really made it homey in our motorhome. It also helped heat the living room.

Willard and Rocky relaxed while watching a football game on TV instead of attending the Weber State football game in the snow on Saturday.

I was glad I knitted Rocky a nice warm sweater. He was too. Brrrr!

Death Valley 49ers Annual Encampment

We Red Hatters were in the parade.

The Wagon Train came into camp after completing a 50 mile trek into Death Valley. This was the Wagon Trains 43erd Encampment. We also welcomed trail riders who completed 125 miles in 5 1/2 days.

We played in the Talent Show. There were 50 acts.

We didn't know what to expect at the Encampment. Charlie and Graceann said they had a great time last year, so we decided to go see what it was all about. This annual event celebrates the Death Valley Wagon train that crossed the valley in 1849 headed for the gold fields in California. This was the 60th anniversary. The events took place at Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. We stayed at Furnace Creek. When we arrived we were surprised to find about 400 rigs in a large National Park campground. Across the street was a visitor center, motel rooms, a restaurant, store, postoffice, museum, swimming pool, golf course, tennis courts, service station, and horse stables. We had a full week of activities: daily jam sessions (2 1/2 hrs), wonderful nightly concerts (mostly western and cowboy music), fiddle contests, a talent show, an art show, craft show, parade, historical films at the visitor center, tours, and a chance to meet and greet lots of wonderful people. We will definately plan on attend it again next year. As usual I kept forgetting my camera, so I'm thankful that Charlie and Graceann shared some of their pictures with me.

Pahrump, NV

After the Hitch-Up breakfast we left Bullhead City, AZ and headed toward Pahrump. We took a secondary road through a Joshua Tree forest, skirted South Vegas arriving in Pahrump just in time for lunch. This Western Horizon park is one of the nicest ones we've been to. Too bad we will only be here for the night. We will fill up with water and empty our waste tanks before going on to Death Valley where we will be dry camping (no hook-ups) next week. I just came back from the dog park. I think I'll take a nap or perhaps go to the hot tub. Come to think of it I may go for a wine tasting at the Winery next door. Hmmm. Oh what to do.

I'll do the laundry and get groceries tonight. And we will fill up our motorhome with diesel in the morning. Then on to a new experience early tomorrow. Life is good......

The Chapter 32 Rally Comes to an End

It's been a fun week: (1) we were able to visit with a lot of North Ranch residents and some that weren't, (2) attended a Mel Tillis concert, (3) I placed 8th out of 30 in a poker tournment, (4) we entertained along with Jim, and (5) Willard got his fill of nickle Keno for awhile. Tomorrow we hitch-up and head down the road toward Death Valley. Life is good.

Chapter 32 Rally in Bullhead City

First Day: We arrived in Bullhead City yesterday morning. I had put the wrong address in the GPS so we almost turned onto the wrong road. Not a good idea. You can't make a U turn in a 40' motorhome pulling a TOAD. We turned off at the next red light after spotting a big turn around area. While we were sitting there checking our map, Willard saw Peggy drive by in her truck. We decided to call the RV park that we were to stay in and lo and behold we were on the right road to the park. Amazing......

We got parked and settled in for the week. At 4:00 we attended a get-together and pot-luck "dinner" at the pavilion. I was surprised at how many people we knew that were attending the rally. It's always a little awkward meeting with a new group of people. But, we always make new friends which is a blessing. There are about 40 people here and most are from North Ranch. Afterwards, we went to the Riverside Casino and deposited a few bucks.

This morning we gathered for a wonderful breakfast at the pavilion. The rest of the day we just goofed off. A storm is moving in and fierce cool winds began invading the area. Tomorrow the temps are expected to be in the 60s. We are supposed to play our music tomorrow afternoon, but, if it is too cold, forget it.

Hitch-Up Itch

We have just about put away our stuff ready to head down the road to Bullhead City, AZ early in the morning. We are going to attend a Chapter 32 Rally for a week. Then it's off to Death Valley for a week of playing and listening to music. After that, we will be headed for Utah to attend Melissa's wedding. We should be back at North Ranch about Nov. 16th.

Tom and Andra Visit

Tom and Andra (our Florida friends) came for a visit. They stayed in the North Ranch RV Park. We stuffed a lot of activities into just a few days: visiting, sharing meals at our home, lunch at the Congress Senior Center, linedancing, and drywashing (yes, they recovered some gold). Andra gave me a sewing lesson on free form sewing, we had a show-and-tell on recent projects, and Tom fixed our fan and bedroom light. It was a fun filled few days. They left for LA early this morning. We will miss them. Below are some pictures Tom took while Willard, Charlie and he were dry washing out on the desert.

Dry Washing for Gold on the Arizona Desert near Congress, AZ Oct. 22, 2009.


Photos by Tom

October on Lot 360

The hummingbirds visit early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

Willard is busy working his puzzles.

The birds love my bird bath.

My mini-garden furnished tomatoes and basil for the neighbors all summer.

Tour of Our Motorhome

Some have asked for a tour of our Alfa. So I took a bunch of pictures and you can see them by scolling down and clicking on Our Photos.

The Bass Band at the Iron County Fair

Dan and two of his children (Trevor and Jessica) entertain at the Iron County Fair on Labor Day 2009.

(Photos taken by Muddy Boots)

We'd like you to meet Rocky

This is Rocky. He is our Yorkie/Shitsu. He is 5 years old and a delight. While Willard was convalescing in Ogden, UT, we decided to visit the Animal Shelter, just for something to do, of course. Most of the adoptive dogs were Pit Bulls and the like, so we really weren't interested in adopting, since many RV parks don't allow those breeds in their park. We did find out that the shelter had a web site that listed dogs to be adopted. About a week later Willard said, " Jean, get on-line and see if they have any new dogs to be adopted." Sure enough, Rocky was listed about an hour earlier. We were definately interested. So the next day, we went to meet him. We took him for a walk and played with him for awhile. He melted our hearts, so we went through the required adoption proceedure. By the time we had him neutered, teeth cleaned, shots, groomed, and bought pet supplies we were out several hundred bucks. But, he is well worth it. Already he's brought new life to our family. He loves to travel, greets everyone with a wagging tail, has great manners, likes to cuddle and doesn't bark hardly at all. We already love him and I'm sure you will too. Hope to see ya on the road.

Hot as Hades

Guess I spoke too soon. It's 7 pm and it is 100 degrees. Yesterday it was 112 in the shade. They tell us they had record heat in July, more than 20 days above 109. We escaped to Prescott today and visited with Don and Penny. We had lunch at the Chinese Buffet with them, then loaded up the truck at Costco's. Paul and Janet stopped by and gave us some pictures they took at the Senior Citizen's Center when we entertained in the Spring. They are such a nice couple. Betty had her 92 ed B-Day celebration in July. And Bob and Julie just got back from a trip to Colorado. Paula and Mike moved to their new place in the park. We'll miss them as neighbors. Several rigs rolled into the park today. Soon the park will be buzzing with activity for the winter. Wonder what tomorrow will bring.

North Ranch Here We Come

Willard is well on the road to recovery. While sitting in Ogden, we decided to go to the shelter and see if there was a little dog we might like to bring home. Sure enough there was. Rocky is his name and he is just perfect for us. He's 5 years old, well mannered, lovable, and likes to travel. (I'll post a picture later) We left Ogden a couple of weeks ago and headed for Cedar City where we stayed with Dan a few weeks. We did some work around his house, visited the grandkids and Dan before moving on to the Ranch. We rolled in here yesterday afternoon. I couldn't wait to see how my gardening survived the record heat in July. My cactus garden is doing just great, our Arizona Sweet Orange tree is putting on new branches and leaves. Maybe we'll have an orange this fall. The Texas Sage is giving us little blue flowers. And the basil florished in the summer heat. I also have thyme, sage, parsley, and marjorium. The neighbors had tomatoes out of my little square foot garden most of the summer. It is great to be back. I can't wait to start line dancing again. Willard wants to do some fishing this year at Lake Pleasant. The mornings are wonderful. So are the evenings. It is hot during the day, but I've got a good airconditioner, so as Aunt Ruth always said, "Who cares?"

Were Still in Ogden

Just as we were getting ready to leave Ogden, UT, Willard fell on our son's front steps. He tore his front thigh muscle from the knee cap. He had to have surgery and the doctor said he would need to stay put for about 8 weeks. OMG! There went our summer travel plans.

So we are still here....2 weeks later. In the meantime we decided to take our couch out and get two matching recliners. They are to be delivered tomorrow. We also got an airbed for visitors.

We made homemade icecream tonight. It was really good. Tomorrow is our 51 Wedding Anniversary. I think it will be a quiet one. All is well........

It's Raining AGAIN!!!

We finally made it Ogden. It seems we were just keeping ahead of tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail, and wind for three days across the mid-west. The weather was just beautiful when we arrived here on Sunday.
Joey and Beth left for a convention in San Antonio on Wednesday. It has been raining since.

We did get our refrigerator fixed at Charlie's Service on Friday. And on Thursday we had a nice visit with MaryAnne and Ray. They came over for dinner. We met them at the Alfa Roadrunner Rally in Quartzsite last January. They were having some work done on their Alfa at Charlie's too. While at Charlie's we also visited with Betty and Joe, whom we met at Q. They were headed for Yellowstone. We've met so many nice people on the road.

Not sure how long we will stay here or where we will go when we leave. Oregon? Southern Utah? Decisions...decisions.

Another Travel Day

Today was a long day traveling for us (abt 400 miles). We made it around Kansas City and on to Nebraska on I 80. We finally found an RV park for the night. Nebraska doesn't let you stay in Rest areas and WalMarts overnight. But RV parks are few and far between. We plan on sailing across Nebraska tomorrow. It's supposed to be windy with scattered rain showers. I can't wait to get to Ogden and park for a week or so. We need to go to Charlies Service in Sunset, UT to have our refer repaired. We have a recall on the Norcold heating element.

Where Has The Time Gone?

Warsaw seems so long ago. That's were we were during my last post. I'll try to bring our travels up to date.

ESCAPADE: We attended the Escapees Escapade in Sedalia, MO for a week. It was great to meet our friends there. We attended quite a few workshops, enjoyed the entertainment, shopping for RV supplies, and having dinner with our friends Charlie and Graceann and BJ and Charles. The highlight was singing two songs ("The Keys in the Mailbox" and "The Cowboy Rides Away") in the Ham-a-Rama. Trevor played guitar with us. He did such a good job. About 1200 people clapped as we left the stage. I think Trevor is hooked. We convinced Charlie to sing one of his songs. He sang "A Daisy a Day" and did a great job. I think he's hooked, too.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY: The only drawback about the Escapade was the rainy weather. We would step out of our rig into ankle deep water. Most of us (abt 700 rigs) were parked in squishy grassy areas. Many had to have their rigs pulled out of the mud when they got ready to leave. A neighbor told us about putting lime behind our wheels as we backed up the 200 feet to the pavement. We did, and out we came slick as a whistle. We were on the road by 8:30 headed for a new adventure.

LOST VALLEY LAKE RESORT: We stayed at this resort which is near Owensville, MO just south west of St Louis. It was so much fun. Trevor seemed to really enjoy it. During a sightseeing trip in the area, we ended up at WalMart to buy some fishing tackle. Trevor and Willard fished nearly every morning. We played music, cooked hamburgers outside, went to the swimming pool and hot tub, rented a paddle boat, played Bingo, had a Catfish Dinner. It was a full three days.

AIRPORT: We took Trevor to the Lambert St. Louise International Airport. It was his first time to fly. I think he was a little nervous. Anyway, we wiped away a tear or two as we sent him on his way to Salt Lake City. We called him on his cell phone when he got seated. Joey called the airlines to check on him during the flight and met him at the gate in SLC to see him off on another flight to Cedar City. That flight was delayed because of a lightening storm. I paced the floor until he arrived in Cedar City about 11:00 pm. I'm getting too old for this! Thank goodnes for cell phones.

JAMES AND CAROLYN'S: The next day we left for James and Carolyn's. They live in Bethel Springs, Tennessee. We decided to take a back road over to I 55. Bad idea. The road was narrow and no shoulder. But we managed quite well until we came upon a Detour to a more narrow, winding, roller coaster road. We were definately in Redneck Country. Soon we approached a railroad crossing with the arms down and the signel going "ding, ding, ding" but no train. Several cars and trucks went around the arms and on their way. I got out of the motorhome to look up and down the tracks. No train in sight. A man came from the other direction in his car and stopped. "Y'all may be here all day. The arms won't go back up. It's been reported, but no one's been out to fix it." Willard assured me he could go around the arms. So, I strapped myself into the seat while my wonderful life flashed before me. And Willard proceeded to weave this 40' motorhome towing a truck around those arms and we were on our way. It was an amazing feat!
We finally reached I 55 only to meet a thunder storm. By the time we got to Tennessee the rain was over and we had dodged the lightening. Our next trial was to get to James and Carolyn's house in the backwoods of Tennessee. They met us on the highway and lead us to their home. More narrow, winding roads, then gravel, then through a gate between trees and onto a dirt road and across an earthen dam. What an experience.


They have a comfortable log cabin on a hill nestled in the woods overlooking a large lake. Their large manacured lawn added to the beauty. The sunsets were breathtaking. We sat in the porch swing each evening and watched the family of geese come for their supper in the freshly mowed grass, hummingbirds defended their feeders, and rabbits romped in the field and took dust baths in the driveway. And we held our breath while a young mockingbird flopped to safety after it fell from its nest. We went to a big flea market, yard sales and an auction. We ate catfish, BBQ, Chinese Food, and Carolyn's wonderful meals at home. Carolyn and I went for long walks, visited some of their friends and relatives and attended Church. Willard, James, and Jerry fished from a small boat in the lake. The first trip out in the boat found them paddeling back because of a gas leak causing them to run out of gas. During the second trip, they had another gas leak, but was able to fix it and putt putted back. They fished from the bank and in the creek after that. Yes, they caught a mess of fish. But, no one wanted to clean them, so back they went. The boys ended up taking us out for a Catfish Dinner. On Saturday about 25 friends and relatives came over for a picnic. Willard and I entertained. It was so much fun getting to know these wonderfully friendly people of the Tennessee Hills. I couldn't believe the week was over. It was time to move on.

http://www.visitmusiccity.com/

NASHVILLE: We left Bethel Springs and headed toward Nashville on Monday. On Tuesday we spent the day touring the area. We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, hopped on a Trolly for a tour of the community, visited several stores as we walked down Broadway, had lunch at a corner cafe. We even met our RV neighbors at the ice cream shop. In May a tornado had come down in the RV park we stayed in. They were logging the downed trees. No one was hurt, but one camper trailer rolled over with two people in it. I'm sure it gave them quite a scare.

TODAY: We left the RV park early this morning and head for St. Louis. We stopped for diesel and discovered the area was under a storm alert. We drove out of the rain, but had to deal with the wind most of the day. We stopped of at a Casino to get off the road for awhile and came out $40 to the good. We got back on the road after eating sandwiches bracing ourselves for the Loop around St. Louis. Because of Willard's determination and my map reading we made it safely. Our frazzled nerves told us it was time to get off the road. Now we are at a Rest Area on I 70 for the night. We had Hot Pockets and watermelon for supper, turned on the air conditioner and relaxed to our favorite TV programs. I just wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Warsaw, MO

We are parked at a Passport America park at Warsaw, MO. We got here yesterday about noon. Yesterday we drove into Sadelia to find the fairgrounds and become familiar with the area before driving in for the Escapade Sunday morning. We played music for awhile in the late afternoon. This morning we got up early and visited the Harry S. Truman Dam and Visitor's Center. We also visited a fish hatchery and a turn of the century family farm. Later in the day we visited with a couple (Joyce and Jim) that's going to the Escapade too. They shared their experiences while work camping at Branson, Durango, Denali, AK, and Washington. The boys played music while Willard cooked pork chops on the grill. I prepared the rest of the meal in the rig. We had pork chops, rice & gravy, squash/onions/tomatoes, cantalope and apple pie. After we ate supper we watched the RFD Channel on TV most of the evening. Tomorrow we need to be in Sedalia about 8:00 am, so "it's early to bed and early to rise."

Lake Meade Here We Come

Monday morning we visited a wonderful museum in Tucumcari, NM before we left the area.

Then we made our way to Liberal, KS. The most interesting thing we saw was near Dalhart, TX. There were two of the largest Stock Yards one could ever imagine. You couldn't see where they ended for it was too far away. The poor cows waiting to be butchered kind of took my appetite away for a big juicy hamburger.

Photos by Trevor

By late that afternoon we finally located the Mid-America Air Museum in Liberal, KS. They exhibited over 100 airplanes. There were war planes and helicopters, experimental planes, and private planes. It was so interesting that we stayed in their parking lot that night and toured the museum again the next morning.

Because of sever wind advisories we left Liberal, Kansas and headed for Lake Meade State Park early in the day. Sure glad we were off the road when the wind was at its peak. While at Lake Meade we visited the Dalton Gang Museum at Meade, KS and the Dodge City museum. Both were great museums. Trevor and Willard went metal detecting back at the lake and found about 35 cents in coins. And they also went Geo caching. I caught up on my email messages, paid some bills, and had our mail stopped. It was a good stop.

Today we headed East on HWY 54. We are staying in a small RV park in Eureka, KS. We found one geo-cache, but couldn't find the other. We explored the area and discovered a nice size lake about 5 miles out of town. Then back to town for a Shake we went. Now, we are just lounging around, me on the computer and Willard and Trevor working Sudoku puzzles. It's a lazy afternoon, warm with a gentle breeze. Tomorrow we plan on being in Missouri. Life is good. I think I'll go take a nap......

This is where we are: http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=4875

It's Off To The Escapees Escapade

Guess who's taking the pictures.

The Escapade is in Sedalia, MO this year and we decided to attend. Trevor wanted to come with us so he packed his clothes and cell phone and off we went. We left Cedar City about 7:00 am this morning and headed for Hurricane, UT. The we went up the mountain to Jacob's Lake, across the Indian Reservation to Gallop, NM and stopped at a RV Park just east of Grants, NM. We had a long day. We don't usually travel 420 miles in one day, but there just wasn't any place to stop. The most tramatic thing that happened today was that I thought I lost my debit card, but we found it in Willard's billfold. He used it to get some cash before we left and kept it. What a relief. It is now 9:30. Our tummies are full and we're watching our favorite TV shows. All is well.

Another April Came and Went

I'm making a feable attempt to remember what happened in April. The first week I volunteered to wash dishes for the Busy Bakers at North Ranch. It is indeed a treat when they roll up their sleeves to bake breads and sweet rolls as a money maker for the park. The next week I attended Bead Week at the Activities Center and ended up making two very nice bracelets (if I must say so myself). It was an intense two days. We also attended the Senior Center luncheon. Both the food and company was great. We returned in two more weeks to entertain for about an hour before heading for Cedar City. We spent the rest of the month at Dan's place helping him get some yard work done. We had to repair a fence, put in a clean out for the sewer, run electricty for our motorhome, and fix some leaky faucets. We cleaned the property making a manure pile, lumber pile, compost pile, rock pile, and brush pile. We mowed the lawn, and trimmed some fruit trees. It was a lot of work,but I think it was well worth it. The place is starting to look and feel like a home. It is amazing how Dan has managed to furnish it on a very thight budget. It's been a good thing.

March Madness

We began the month of March with our La Fiesta Celebration. The theme this year was Marti Gras. We all hurried about preparing for the big event. We made masks, planned what to wear to the dance, prepared food for the big feast, practiced the program, decorated floats, cars and ATVs for the parade.


We gathered for the parade. I played "When The Saints Go Marching In" on my clarinet. It ended up being the only music in the parade. In about a block of walking and trying to play, I hopped on a golf cart to finish the parade. I can't believe I used to march and play. My my, that was so long ago.

We had a hot dog and hamburger cook-out for lunch at the Activities Center. There was also a dutch oven cookout, a pancake breakfast, and a big dinner before the program. It all ended with the Mask Dance. Artists in the community displayed their works, a dog show was held for our four legged friends, the King and Queen was crowned, and games were played. It was a full two days of activities.

We played "Waltz Across Texas" during the program. Paul played the accordian with us.

Above: Our line-dance group danced during the program.

The above photos were taken byMax Latimer.

We attend the Dance on Saturday night. Oh what fun we had.

Below: Another highlight for March was helping Dan purchase a house in Cedar City. It's on a 1/2 acre lot, so we will have plenty of room to park our motorhome during our Cedar City visits.

It was 16 degrees at night in Cedar Cityduring our brief visit, so the woodstove was welcomed.

Below: On the way to and from Cedar City we crossed over Hoover Dam. We have been watching this bridge being built for the past 3 years. It will be the highest arched bridge in the world and the second longest arched bridge. An amazing feat



March did come in like a lamb and is going out like a lion. It's been windy and cool all day. All is well......