We're Back At The Ranch

What another whirlwind month! Before leaving Cedar City, we managed to put in an automaic sprinkling system in the front and back yards, battled with the weeds on the rest of the property, mended a fence, installed a back door to the garage, and made a flying trip to Livingingston, TX to pickup a truck for Dan. Gene and Penny were selling theirs and Dan needed another truck. His had over 200,000 miles on his. Anyway, as soon as we recovered from the 5 day trip, we moved on to North Ranch.

When we arrived we found our frends BJ and Charles already here. Graceann and Charlie came in several days later. Arlo and Polly got back from their trip to Main sometime in August. Betty is back safe and sound from Maryland. John and Willa May are back from Washington.
Bob and Julie moved to Oregon. Their house is still for sale. The neighborhood is about full for the season.

We have been really busy since we got back: ice-cream socials, playing music, line-dancing, sharing meals with friends, visiting the dog park, going for the gold, a trip out to Stanton, painting in oils with BJ, Willard back to his jigsaw puzzles, gardening, adding on to our fence, making our yearly Dr. visits in Sun City, shopping in Prescot, and joining friends at Rumors in Yarnell to celebrate October Fest and to listen to Paul play German music on his accordian. And  we've enjoyed some great Happy Hours with friends. Things are back to normal at North Ranch.

We moved on to Southern Utah

We are now at our son's house in Southern Utah. We've been helping him with some much needed yard work. Now I remember why we sold our house to become fulltimers on the road. I am so tired. The good thing is that I lost 5 pounds during the past week. We did go to see a play the other night with Lisa and Dan.

The other day Willard came in holding his head in his bloody hands. He had hit his head on the bedroom slide. I got the bleeding stopped and we decided to go to the emergency room. It's a good thing because he had to have 4 staples put in. Now we have to stay until the staples can come out which is sometime next week. Also, we have to wait until our mail catches up with us before moving on to North Ranch.

We are now at Joey's and Beth's in Ogden, UT

We arrived safely at Joey and Beth's in Ogden, UT. I love the dry mountain air. It was great to see the fam again. I can't believe that the last time we were here was last November at Melissa and Brandon's wedding. Everyone is very busy these days, so we usually don't see them much while we're here. We did manage to find time to all go out to eat at The Texas Roadhouse one night. We are now waiting for our mail to catch up with us. In the meantime Jason and Sara scrubbed down our roof and waxed the coach. We will be moving on to Charlie's in Sunset, UT to have our airconditioner serviced, then on to Freightliner in Magna, UT to have our engine serviced. Then we will head for Cedar City, UT. All is well...........

Movin' On.......

Our stay in Spring Grove, Minnesota seems so long ago, yet it has been only two weeks since we were touring the beautiful Amish Country. A group of Amish moved into the area in the early 70's. They have established homesteads on about 40 acres of land. Other farmers have large corn and soybean fields covering the rolling hills. On our Sunday drive we passed a number of Amish families in their black horse-drawn buggys on their way home from Church held in one of the neighbor's homes. They spend most of their day going to Church and returning home for the homesteads are far apart.

One of the most interesting places we visited in the area was Slim's Woodshed in Harmony. Slim took us on a tour of (as he claims) the largest woodcarving Museum in the USA. His collection was over-whelming. It's a "must stop" if you're in the area.

We left Spring Grove early one morning and headed for Sioux Falls, SD to renew our driver's license. Mary and Tom live in Wotherington, Minnesota and drove in to visit us one afternoon. We finally met Tom. Mary is one of our dear Norwood friends whom we haven't seen in years. It was great catching up on her children, grandchildren, and Norwood friends. We had a picnic lunch and Tom wanted to listen to some of our music. After we played a couple of songs our rude RV neighbor decided to mow his lawn. We couldn't compete with the noise, so we put away the guitars and called it an afternoon.

The next day we headed for Sturgis, SD. It was a long day because all the RV parks were full of motorcyclists for 50 miles on either side of the biker's meca. We had to spend the night in a truck stop in Wyoming. The next night we stayed in an RV park in Montana. A group of bikers from Amboy, WA along with their motorhome pulled up beside us. We had such a good time getting to know them.  We even ended up playing our music for them. They said they loved it. It was a lot of fun.

We left the next morning and headed for Helena, MT to visit with Bill and Karen (some of our Stanton friends). Larry and Sue (Stanton friends) were there also. It was great to touch base with them all. The next morning we moved on to Missoula, Mt to visit with my brother, Charlie. We've had a wonderful time sharing meals, relaxing in the hot tub, having breakfast with Brandy and Alicia, shopping, attending the fair, and golfing. It's been a busy week, but it's time to move on.

Our Stay in Iron Mountain and Beyond

We moved our home to Iron Mountain, Michigan. What was so weird is that in the rig behind us was Janice & Dean (from Alabama) who started fulltiming when we did. We haven't seen them in about 4 years and had no idea we were in the same area, much less the same park. Also Lila and Steve (friends from North Ranch) were there. Amazing! We did lunch at a Chinese Buffet and had Happy Hour at 4. It was fun sharing experiences. You just never know what'll happen next.

We only stayed at Iron Mountain two days before hitching up and moving to Spring Grove, Minnesota, leaving our friends behind.  We finally got an appointment with a dermatologist in La Cross, Wisconson about 25 miles away. So we will be here about a week. The area is rolling farmland with beautiful manicured farms. Many are Amish homesteads. Corn seems to be the main crop. No fast food in any of the towns in this area. Oh my.....

This weekend the RV park is hosting Family Olympics, so the park is full with families. Kids of all ages and dogs of all sizes are everywhere. The pool is full from morning to night, kickball, minature golf, bingo, and horseshoes are just some of the daytime activities.  The aroma of smoke fills the air, as the sun sets in the west and campfires are lit.  It all brings back memories of our tent camping days when our children and/or grandchildren were young. What fun we used to have together. Now they are all grown up and we find ourselves on the edge of all the activity.

Tahquamenon Falls

While at Newberry we visited Tahquamenon Falls with a drop of 48 feet. It is famed in Longfellow's poem, "The Song of Hiawatha." The gold and russet color in the water is tannic acid from the decomposition of the vegetation. It was a nice walk to the falls. We went early in the morning before it got too hot.

Tahquamenon Falls

Whitefish Point

It's hard to imagine this calm sea is a graveyard for hundreds of ships. Go to http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/  to find out all about it. It was one of the most interesting places we've visited, I guess because we didn't know very much about it in the first place. Mark encouraged us to visit it and we did. It was a good day visit. (I finally remembered my camera).

Across the Mackinac Bridge and on to the Soo Locks

We crossed the Mackinac Bridge. It was five miles long. It connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. We've been on longer and higher bridges. The history is what was interesting. Read about it at  http://www.mackinacbridge.org/historical-construction-album-31/

Later we visited the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. More than 11,000 vessels of varying size pass through these locks every year. Most cargo in the ships are either iron ore, coal, grain, or stone. The boat we watched go through was carrying dried beets for cattle feed. The boats and ships pass through the locks between Lake Huron to Lake Superior. Very interesting. For more pictures go to link below:







http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS240US241&q=soo+locks+michigan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=U05OTKXqDpKosQPc5anSDw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=7&ved=0CEYQsAQwBg

We parked at RV Park East in Kincheloe, MI about 12 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. It was part of a military air base active in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. Across the highway the buildings were converted to house prisoners. We met several couples that were there for a class reunion. They were both stationed at the air base years ago. They shared many of their memories here. You meet the nicest people in RV parks.

Our Visit to Mackinac Island

We road the Star Line ferry over to Mackinac Island yesterday. It was first a summer fishing camp of the Great Lakes American Indians. . In 1671 Father Jacques Marquette established a mission to the Huron Indians on the island. During the American Revolution a fort (Fort Mackinac) was built in 1780 by the British. It became US territory after the American victory. By the 1820's the fur trade was florishing there, afterwhich it was adapted to commercial fishing. It then became America's second national park, established just three years after Yellowstone. Since then, the Federal Government transfered the national park and fort to the state. Now it is a popular Resort. There are no vehicles (except for a fire truck and police car). There are bicycles and carriages, horses, horse manure, and people everywhere you look. It wasn't anything like I expected. The movie "Somewhere In Time" was filmed at the Grand Hotel, but there is a $10 charge to walk around the hotel. We didn't visit the hotel. To visit the Carriage House was free. We didn't do that either. We didn't have the energy to ride a bike or walk back up the hill to the hotel after our tour. We only saw one person in period clothing. She was the welcome committee at the fort. We road a horse drawn carriage and the guide gave us a history of the island. That part was interesting. We did find out the the island is noted for it's Fudge. And they have a Lilac Festival in the Spring. I'll bet it's a beautiful time of the year. It was an interesting morning, but I don't think I'd go again. It has become a real tourist trap. If you are a bicyclist or hiker you'd probably love it. We are neither these days.
http://www.mackinacisland.org/  Today we just rested and planned our trip on the UP. We'll move out of here in the morning. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge should be interesting.

Our home is now in White Cloud, MI

We parked our home at  Woodlands on the Lake in White Cloud, MI. Wednesday. Mark and Alexa has lake front property in Morley, a little town nearby. After the wedding we spent a few days at the lake golfing, eating, shopping, eating, and canoeing. We had a wonderful time visiting with them, but they have to go back to work and we need to move on. We're pulling the slides in and hitching up the truck tomorrow morning, hoping to be parked before the front moves in, bringing with it more rain.

Below is a short slide show of our visit here.

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Our Home in Indiana

Willard and Rocky relaxes at  Indian Lakes Resort in Batesville, Indiana. We spent two weeks here. We went to Greensburg to see the Tree on the Courthouse Roof. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/463 We visited Oldenburg, a unique old German-style town and Metamora, The Canal town with world-famous antique and craft shops http://www.metamoraindiana.com/ . We donated to the Holiday Casino on the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, In. We also attended the Antique Farm Machinery Show

at Ripley Co. Fairgrounds Park Osgood, IN.

Jim and Sue, new RV friends, were parked next to us. They invited us to a lovely dinner at their rig. They are from California and just sold their house and started fulltiming in March. After dinner we went to the camp Pavillion where a country band was playing. We enjoyed watching Jim and Sue linedance to several songs. They linedanced as partners. I'd never seen that style before.

One day Willard said, I think I'll try to call Goeff and Gayle again. They are the Australian couple we met at Pacos, TX. in April. To our surprise Gayle answered the phone. It seems that for the past two months their cell phone had not been working. She turned it on for about 15 minutes before we called and we were the first callerl. They were in Skagway, AK, of all things. It was great touching base with them again. They are having a great time and will be driving their motorhome back to Dallas in August where they will store it while they fly back to Australia. We hope to meet them on the road.

Mark and Alexa's Wedding

We finally made it to DeWitt, Michigan to attend Mark and Alexa's wedding on July 11, 2010. We arrived early to help prepare for the big event. We helped erect tents, mow, build a band stand, prepare food, and decorate. It was a lot of work, but fun too. They made us feel needed. The wedding was a great success because of all the pre-planning and preparation. The only thing that happened that was not planned was the brief rain storm soon after the first dance. Some left early because of it, but many stayed while the band moved their equipment to a dry area. Alexa sang a song to Mark and Willard and I played two songs for the newlyweds. Dancing, food, drinks, and visiting finished out the evening. It was a great experience for us. We silently celebrated our 52 wedding anniversary too. They were kind enough to recognize our anniversary in a way that didn't take away from their own celebration. After breakfast with Mark, Alexa, Mark's son, his girlfriend, Cindy, and AJ, we tackled the clean-up, took some of the tents down, and put away all the extras. Somehow we managed to find time for Alexa and I to play miniture golf while Mark and Willard hit some golf balls. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to icecream cones. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

It was hard to leave this beautiful view from James and Carolyn's porch, but we needed to move on. We had such a good time at their home. One day I was telling Carolyn I needed to get Mark and Alexa a wedding present. Carolyn said she had some quilt tops her aunt had pieced together. She suggested that I could buy one of them and her cousins, Joyce and Judy, could quilt it on their quilting machine. Well it sounded like a great idea so Jan, Carolyn, and I prepared the quilt top for quilting, bought some filling and a king size sheet. And in three days the quilt was done.
I think they're going to love it.

We also went to a big flea market I bought a necklace with 4 grains of rice in it. I watched the lady write on each grain my kids names  and painted a rose on the forth one. Amazing! We all went to Ryans in Corinth, MS one night and then to Harrah's Casino in Tunica, MS another day. We ended our visit with a friend-and-family gathering for a potluck dinner. It was a hot afternoon, but George, Willard, Lloyd, and I managed to play some music. It was really fun playing that afternoon.

After we left James and Carolyn's we went to Loretta Lynn's Ranch and Campground
http://www.lorettalynn.com/images/ranch/2010/LL_RANCH_2010.pdf  We visited The Plantation House, The Coal Mine replica, The Butcher Holler House she used to live in, and The Museum. It was all very interesting. We were not crazy about the RV park though. I worried our entire stay about how were were going to drive our motorhome around the trees and down the narrow road to get out of the park. We did take some day trips around the countryside and to WalMart in Wagner, TN. And we took a deep breath of relief as we wound our way out of the park and on to a major highway.  

We were glad to get to Goodlettsville just north of Nashville. We stayed at the Nashville Country RV Park http://www.nashvillecountryrvpark.com/Photo_Gallery/ . It was a good stay. There was a jam session in the park one night and I joined in with my Bass guitar. I got a little carried away and ended up with two blood blisters on my pickin' fingers. But I sure had fun. The swimming pool was bath water warm, so we got in (I hate cold water pools). I washed clothes in the laundrymat in the park one afternoon. Rocky got a bath and trim at PetSmart and we did some shopping, But most of the time we visited with my cousins, Elaine and Jimmy and their family. Two of Elaine's children were not there. We had a wonderful visit though and a wonderful dinner at Elaine's oldest daughter, Tonya and her husband Randy's home on the last night in Goodlettsville. They asked us to play some music, so we did. It was difficult because it got dark and we aren't used to playing when we can't see our fret boards. It was good to get to know Elaine and her family better. We decided it had been too long between visits.
Photo by Tonya (Will, Jean, Elaine, Jimmy)

The next morning we drove to Batesville, Indiana. It is a beautiful area, rural charm. We've taken country drives each afternoon and even visited a beautiful casino on the Ohio River. Last night we had a thunder and lightening storm. Thank goodness there were no tornadoes spinning out of it. Saturday we went to Osgood to a Tractor Show and Fair. It was a lot of fun: flea market, food, and tractor collection. We didn't stay for any events. Three hours was enough for us. Could it be that we are getting too.......no I can't bring myself to say the dreaded word.

Bass Fishing in Tennessee

Willard caught this beautiful 6.7 lb. bass yesterday evening just before dark. It was full of eggs so he released it, after taking a picture of course.

We are visiting with James and Carolyn and having a wonderful time. George and Jan are coming tomorrow, so we will have a few days of fishing, jamming with our guitars, and catching up on our life adventures. I think we are planning a cookout on Saturday along with some of James and Carolyn's friends and relatives. We'll be playing music, of course.

Guntersville Lake for Bass Fishing

"Wish I had my boat."

While we were at Guntersville, Alabama, they were having Bass Tournaments. There were at least 21 tournaments going on at the same time. The park was full of families with bass boats and fishing rods. If you are interested in fishing for bass, this is where it's at. http://www.guntersvillebass.com/ 

Memories of May 2010

I sometimes wonder why I even keep this Blog going. Not sure anyone even looks at it. But, I figure I'll enjoy it when I can't get out and about anymore. It will be like browsing through a scrapbook, I suppose. And perhaps one of our grand children or great grand children will discover it and realize we did have a life when we were old...a very good one, I must add.

With that being said and off my chest, I'll try to recap our experiences during the past three weeks.

We left Gene and Penny's in Liviingston, TX  after we came back from the visit to Santa Fe, TX to see my siblings. We made it to Abita Springs, LA by early afternoon. The RV park was nice, but I couldn't get cell phone or internet service (had to buy my internet service), we couldn't get satellite, and we only had 30 amps. And it was hot and humid, raining nearly every afternoon. We did enjoy the hot tub several times though and Willard caught one fish. Rocky enjoyed his walks, but didn't like walking in the wet grass. Guess he's an Arizona dog for sure.

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One day we went to New Orleans and visited the French Quarter http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/fq/?gclid=CPaNzYDJ_6ECFRuenAodJmlwCw . We rented a horse and buggy for a tour of the area. It was really interesting. One of the most interesting stories our guide told was about the New Orleans cemeteries. You can read about them at this site: http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/tours/cemeterytours.html  We shared a shrimp Po-Boy sandwich and some Beignets (French doughnuts), while being entertained by some sidewalk Blues musicians. We also saw the Mississippi River once again, and visited some of the shops on Decator Street. I especially liked the Voodo Do Store. It was awfully hot and humid, so we didn't stay all day. We were really impressed with the 25 mile bridge across Lake Pontchartrain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain_Causeway . We had to travel it to get to and from our RV park and New Orleans.

Another day we went to Bay St. Lewis, Mississippi to Silver Slipper Casino http://www.golfcoast.com/casinos/silver-slipper-casino/ . Didn't have much luck, but enjoyed the trip. The casino is right on the bay about 500 feet from the beach. The RV park there was about $30 a day.  We didn't stay there, but it would be fun parking there if you wanted to be a beach bum for awhile.

Abita Springs had a Crawfish Festival, so we just had to go. I finally got to go to a crawfish boil http://mrcrowder.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/crawfish-boil.jpg . We ordered 5 pounds of crawfish, new potatoes,and corn on the cob all cooked together. They dumped it all in a paper sack and off we went to one of the tables under a big tent. There was a band playing music on the bandstand and a couple was dancing. People were milling about as we watched to see how to eat our lunch. Like all the others, we tore open the paper sack and begin eating with our fingers. Thank goodness there were plenty of napkins on the table. Wish my camera battery hadn't died. The woman sitting next to me took a picture and said she would email it to me, but no picture, as yet.

We left Abita Springs and went to Dick Albritton's in Couderant, LA to install some upgrades on our coach. It was a beautiful part of the country. Earl and Samie were there. It was good to see them again. The last night there we had a great jam session. Early the next morning we hitched up and drove to Meridian, Mississippi.

We've been in Meridian 5 days. It's been a good stop over. We visited the Jimmy Rodgers Museum again http://www.jimmierodgers.com/. We were here 8 years ago, but rushed through. This time we took our time. And the museum guide was very informative. We also visited the Dentzel Carousel http://www.meridianms.org/culture_attraction.htm. I had my first experience riding on a carousel. I'm sure it would have been more fun if I were a child, but I survived getting on and off my horse as gracefully as possible for a 70 year old youngster.

Our Visit at Alice's

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We had a wonderful visit at Alice's. We went to Galveston for dinner and a walk on the beach looking for a sand dollar for Charles' granddaughter. There was none to be found, but be had a good time. Then we checked out the carvings around Galveston made from tree stumps left from the Hurricane, Ike. That night we played a game of Dominoes. The boys won, but we girls came in at a close second. The next morning we had a big breakfast: biscuits, gravey, eggs, and sausage. Later Scott and Meme came over for lunch. It was great visiting with them. That afternoon we left so Alice and Charles could attend Charles' 50th Class Reunion.

Google: Galveston Tree Carvings

http://www.slideshare.net/rangatang/galveston-tree-carving

On to Gene and Penny's home in Livingston

Our last evening at "The Mooring"

We had a wonderful week's visit with Carl and Aimee, but had to move on, promising to come back next year to see their new home completed. We'll be looking forward to that trip.





We said our good-bys the morning of May 3 heading for Gene and Penny's at the Escapees Park in Livingston, Tx. We had a busy two weeks while there. First Gene and Willard took out our old TV and put in a new one, which proved to be a challenging project.  And I made a clock to put where the mirror was.  

Then Willard and Gene installed brake and tail lights higher up on the back of the coach where they can be seen better. After our projects were finished we had some fun. (1) had several meals together at home and at restaurants, (2) went to Costco's in north west Houston to buy the TV and VCR and DVD player, (3) went to Louisina to a Casino, (4) sat on the porch each evening enjoying each other's company, (5) and Gene and Penny hosted a neighborhood dinner one evening. Gene cooked a turkey, everyone brought some great food, and Willard and I entertained with our music after the meal. On Friday and Saturday we went to Santa Fe in our truck to visit with Alice, Charles, Scott, and Meme. On Monday we packed up and moved on to Abita Springs, Louisina. We want to thank Gene and Penny for inviting us to their place and for all the help they gave us in upgrading our coach. Hope to See Ya in Quartsite 2011.

The Bass Reunion

On June 28, 1908 at Martins Mill, Van Zandt, Texas Robert Elijah Bass and Mamie Estelle Riley were married. That was 102 years ago. And on May 1, 2010 Carl (their grandson) and Aimee Ward hosted a Bass reunion at their home in Streetman, Texas at "The Mooring." More than 30 decendents attended. Robert and Mamie's youngest child, Garland, was in attendance and gave a nice rememberance of his parents. There were over 30 first, second, and third cousins, some meeting each other for the first time. Many of the first cousins hadn't seen each other in over 50 years. All agreed that that was just too long. We want to thank Edris for starting the planning of the reunion over two years ago, even though she was unable to attend. We missed you, Edris. Later some visited their old stomping grounds in Cayuga, Texas which stirred up many memories. As we parted, we all said we should do this again...let's hope we do.

T.S. Elliot  said it best......,

"We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

Through the unknown, remembered gate

When the last of earth left to discover

Is that which was the beginning."

(shared by Carl Ward)