Mac and Nette's Retirement Adventures

Where Did January Go??

2012-02-02T12:34:00.001-07:00

January has sure flown by here in Yuma….We have had a lot of time to just relax. but we have also spent a lot of great time with our friends here.

Last Friday was dinner & cards at Mike and Bette’s…Mac won one of the pots & Bette won the other one. It is so fun to hang out with all these friends.

Just imagine if we hadn’t gotten on that RV-Dreams Chat room…we would have never met Phyllis…and never came to Yuma in the first place. Now we have several friends here that we miss everytime we have to leave. We have met so many new friends since we have went on the road fulltime! I can’t imagine not having them now….

We spent the weekend just hanging out at the RV…and a few errands ran.

Monday was Moose night agian! Hot Wings and listening to some Karaoke…Our friend Mike, does some Karaoke every week if he & Bette are there…

Buzz and Kendra

Bob & Mac

Jerry and Mike

Phyllis, Sharon, and Bette

Tuesday we went to Mexico with the gang….Jerry drove his van over and the 10 of us crammed in to make the trip…we all have different things to get done..some to the dentist…some to the eye doctor, some for pedicures, and others to just do a little shopping. We all met at Paraiso’s for some lunch and of course a few Margarita’s!! We had a great day with an unexpected ending!!

We started back through Custom’s and Jerry handed over everyone’s Passports. The guard looked everyone over and made sure we were all who we said we were…lol…..then the fun started!! Jerry’s van came up for a Random Check! That meant that we all had to get out of the van and walk over to this small caged area…we went inside the cage and they went over the van inside and out with guards and search dogs! Of course everything was fine, but it was a little excitement to close out our day in Mexico!!

Wednesday I was supposed to go Casino hopping with the girls, but I woke up in the middle of the night now feeling very well, so I passed and just stayed home. Now, Mac he met the guys at Parishes for the “DP” Club for a couple of hours. He stopped at Fry’s and then brought dinner home for us.

Not sure what today will bring…..

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Still Kicking Back In Yuma & Visit to Quartzsite…

2012-01-23T00:12:00.001-07:00

Saturday, Jan 14th…just like the title, we were just kicking back here on our lot in Yuma. We had chores to get done, laundry to do, and then we just watched TV and surfed the internet….nothing real exciting here…lol

Saturday evening we met our friends at DaBoyz for dinner for Hanna’s Birthday. Knute was not feeling well, but he did treat us all to dinner…We had a great time and the food was wonderful!!

Sunday, we were invited to breakfast but decided to stay home. My sinuses were starting to bother me again. Mac watched Ball games and I just read my Kindle Fire and did some Facebook…I cooked a Ham in the Crockpot and made a Hashbrown Casserole for dinner. It was really good. I’m saving the leftover Ham to make a pot of Ham & Beans.

Monday, I woke up in the middle of the night with a major Sinus Migraine, again! I hope this doesn’t become a regular thing…. Needless to say, I was worthless all day. We didn’t go to the Moose for Wings & Karaoke either.

Tuesday, I was still not feeling very good so we just hung out at home…

Wednesday, we both had Dentist Appointments in Algodones. Mac was lucky and only needed a filling…me on the other hand need a crown on one tooth that they filling broke, and a bridge on the top where the other filling broke a tooth recently. The other end of the bridge was needing a crown. Also, I need a very small filling. Whew…I was not counting on having this done this year…. I had all the prep work done and will go back next Tuesday for the permanent Crown & Bridge to be put on and the small filling done.

Ohhhh, almost forgot…of course we had to have a Margarita!! We also had a couple of Carne Asada Tacos from Rico’s Taco Stand….they were written up in the Winter Visitor’s Guide here in Yuma so we wanted to try them out…pretty good even though half of my mouth was numb…lol

We then stopped at the Quechen Casino and made our deposit…not too much but Mac says he needs to go back next week and see if it has made any interest…LOL

Thursday we went to Quartzsite for the Escapees Happy Hour. Looked like there was about 300 people there and were told that about400 showed up for the Happy Hour on Wednesday. There was live entertainment. He sang very well.

Got to see Walt & Kelly, Linda Fleeger, Dennis & Carol Hill, Denny & Susie Orr, Jim Tidball, and several others. We stayed a couple of hours…here are a few photos from that day…

After we left the Escapees Happy Hour we headed over to LaPosa Rd to see the gang at the Class of 2007 Reunion for another Happy Hour. The guys were in one circle and the ladies were in another….we had a great chat and got to see Marcia & Joe, Ron & Linda Fleeger, Jim & Nancy Tidball, and Tricia Schmidt. I also got to finally meet an online friend in person…Bobbie Chapman. I also met Kathy Bennett, Bobbie Tumalo, Becky, and a few others…

We had such a great time visiting with these great people.

Friday, we went over to Jerry & Sharon’s for Dinner & Cards….neither one of us won, but we had a great dinner and lots of fun with friends!! Thanks for the great evening Jerry & Sharon.

Saturday, I made a pot of Ham & Beans and some Cornbread. We also took a drive around the neighborhood to look for some Lots for Rent for some friends that will be coming to Yuma in a week or so. Can’t wait to see Donnie & Karen again.

Sunday we hung out at home most of the day and then made a trip to WalMart for a few things that we needed, and then a stop at Five Guys for dinner. We love their Cheeseburgers…but the Fries are to die for!!

Stay tune for what happens here in Yuma next week!!

(((HUGS)))

Gearing up for the New Year…

2012-01-02T14:50:00.001-07:00

We had a great Christmas with our friends here in Yuma. Lots of laughter, games, food, and visiting….

Monday & Tuesday after Christmas were kind of a blur….I had a Sinus Migraine and it sure didn’t want to go away. I think I tried about every kind of medicine that I had and nothing seemed to work…

I used to have a Sinus mask that you put in the Microwave and warmed up…then it helped unblock your sinuses and soothe the headache. I’m gonna have to find another one here if I can.

Wednesday I was feeling better but not quite up to par still. We just hung around the RV and I actually felt good enough to fix dinner. Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and Gravy. Mac had cooked some fresh Green Beans earlier in the day in the pressure cooker so we had those too…yummy. Best meal we have had in a while at home.

Thursday, we went to the Indoor Flea Market on a mission to find a Sinus Mask…and I found one!! YEAH! Now when my sinuses start bothering me I can use the mask before the headache starts.

After the Flea Market we went for a drive and ended up at the Cocopah Casino….Mac put $5.00 in a machine and won $90.00 on the first pull….and just continued winning…He ended up leaving $220.00 ahead for the day. Me on the other hand….I put in $20.00 and left with $15.25 of my $20….not too bad. We were going to eat at the Casino but they didn’t have a Buffet on Thursday so we left on search of a Mexican Restaurant that had been recommended to us on our Christmas Light Bus Tour.

We found Chili Peppers after a little searching….well all I have to say is….the food was almost the worst we have ever had….and we both left there without eating most of it. That’s not normal for Mac,if you know him….$25.00 and I would recommend that if you like real authentic Mexican Food….AVOID this place.

After dinner we stopped at Fry’s to pick up a couple of things and then headed back to the RV for the evening.

The weather here is starting to warm up finally…It has been in the 70’s the last few days and we are really enjoying it. Next week we plan to make another trip to Algodones to visit the dentist that we see there. Mac needs a couple of fillings and I have two teeth that the fillings have came out and broken the tooth. So who know what that will entail! But we will get to go to Paraiso’s and have a Margarita & maybe do a little shopping…

Friday, we went to Mike & Bette’s for our Friday night Pizza & Cards…it is so much fun getting together with all of these new friends that we have made here in Yuma.

Saturday night we went to the Moose Lodge with the gang for the New Year’s Eve Party & Dinner. The dinner was just so-so. No one really liked it all that much. I thought the Chicken Cordon-Blu was pretty good but the biggest complaint from everyone was that there was no salad, the veggies were soggy & no dessert to finish off the meal. Oh well…we ate and did a lot of visiting before the band started. They were really good!

We danced more than we have danced in years…we both figured that we would be really sore the next day, but we weren’t.

Me & Phyllis

Our dinner

the gang…

Phyllis & Bob

Mike & Bette

me & Mac

Nancy & Bill

Jerry & Sharon

Buzz

Buzz’s date, Carolyn

Knute…his wife Hanna was working at the Moose

Hanna & Buzz dancing after she finished working

me & Bob dancing…

A fun time was had by all!!

We went home and Mac decided that a little payback was due, so he called Teri & Dana about 1;30 our time…2:30 theirs and talked to Teri for quite a while…he also tried to call our other daughter, Christie…but she never answered…LOL. Don’t blame her… :)

Sunday we were up and getting ready….we had a New Year’s Day get together at Mike & Bette’s for Football & Food. They had baked a wonderful Ham and everyone else brought sides & a Dessert. Yummy. I even cheered on the Arizona Cardinals..since we are in AZ.

Mike & Bette in their backyard bar area…

We stayed and laughed, and visited until almost 6:00 and then decided it was time to head on home. We just watched TV and tried to catch up on blogs, Facebook, Words with Friends….

Monday we are just going to stay home and relax….nothing planned again until Friday with the gang.

Stay Tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Christmas in Yuma….

2011-12-25T21:57:00.001-07:00

Friday, we had plans to spend the evening with friends…Pizza & Cards. This is a weekly event so Mac & I had to make a run to the grocery store to pick up supplies to make snacks for tonight, Saturday night, and a fruit salad for Christmas dinner.

We went over to Mike & Bette’s about 5:30pm. Mac & I, Mike & Bette, Bob & Phyllis, Bill & Nancy, Knute & Hanna, John & Kendra, Buzz & Carolyn, and Dave all had a great time visiting and playing 2 games of Chase the Ace. Knute won the first game & Bill won the 2nd game. We always have a great time with these friends. Sorry no photos….

We had a wonderful time at Mike & Bette’s on Christmas Eve! Lots of snacks, great friends and more Chase the Ace!! Mac & I both won a round each and Phyllis won the other round. We are very fortunate that we have been welcomed in to this great group of friends here! Who would of thought when we came to Yuma last year not knowing any of them, that we would be spending so much time together and become such good friends!

Here is a little something that I posted on Facebook yesterday…enjoy!

CHRISTMAS EVE POEM

It was Christmas Eve in Yuma…
And everyone was laughing & having a good time.
Mac & Nette scattered about some food for the reindeer
And left hot dogs on the grill, and cookies for Santa,to eat this year.
The lights were all glowing in blues,whites and reds
While their RVing friends had visions of Santa floating in their heads.
The presents were wrapped and under the firewood tree
Bob & Phyllis, Mike & Bette, Bill & Nancy, Knute & Hanna, John & Kendra, Buzz & Carolyn, Mac & Nette, and Dave sat at the table playing Chase the Ace... looking as happy as could be.
Nette read a book to her RVing friends...
About the manger, where the Baby Jesus laid his head.
Mac & Nette looked up at the sky...
To see if Santa’s bright light could be seen nearby.
Mac said that Santa wouldn’t come before bed
So the rest of us ran to our RV's, and covered up our heads.
We listened for Santa, and thought we heard a sound
A deep laugh, quickly rang out all around.
Santa was hungry, and saw the hot dogs on the grill...
He rubbed his big tummy the whole time he ate.
He left lots of RV toys, and turned around in two quick twirls
After all, Mac, Bob, Mike, Bill, Knute, John, Buzz told Santa that Nette, Phyllis, Nancy, Hanna, Kendra, and Carolyn had been very good girls this year.
He left just as quickly... once the reindeer finished their snack
And said, “Be very good... and next year we’ll be back.”
With a twitch of his nose... the sleigh took off in flight
With a a big belly laugh, you could hear him shout....
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a blessed night.”

We had a late night(2am MST) phone call from our daughter’s Dana & Teri and Mac’s sister Linda….they were having a great time!! We talked to the for about an hour and finally got to bed a little after 3am…I borrowed this photo from Jamie…looks like they were having a wonderful time!!!

We will be heading back over to Mike & Bette’s for Christmas dinner today and more time spent with special friends….

We had a great dinner with lots of socializing and then on to “Chase the Ace” We played 2 rounds tonight and I won one of them…$12.00 pot and Carolyn won the other one. WOW…that’s two wins in two days for me…$22.00 total and Mac won once…a $10.00 pot.

Great time with wonderful friends….

Christmas is almost over for another year….hopefully the weather starts warming up here soon!

Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Yuma!!

Celebrating our 27th Anniversary

2011-12-22T00:06:00.001-07:00

Today is our 27th Anniversary! It is really hard to believe that we have been married that long….but when we see our children grown and some our grandchildren almost grown….I guess it is true!

Mac & I married back in 1984 and blended our families to make one. I think overall we have done that pretty well. We’ve had great days, ok days, and some really rough days with our blended family…but I still think it has all been worth it! We have 5 children with spouses, 17 grandchildren, and now 6 great-grandchildren! We love our kids & grandkids more than anything in this world and I really hope that they know that. We try to show them this as often as we can.

Here’s a little look at our family….

Dana & Family…before Carley & Treyson..back l-r Cody, Dakoda, Samantha, Russell, Tryel…front l-r..Britny, Ashley, Dana, Crystal…babies…l-r…Caiden, Jaelynn and Brylee…whew!

Britny, Cody & Carley…

Jaelynn & Treyson…(Ashley’s)

Dusty & Chris

Teri, Kyle, Samantha, and Lynnie

Jaden

Ryan & Kailynn

Kami

Kailynn(Kami’s daughter)

Clyde, Jenni & Natalie

Justyce

Gloria

Jordan

Troy, Kathleen, Michael, Morrissey, and Patrick…this is an old photo but the only one I had of them together…hint, hint…

We Love all of you guys!!!

Mac & I are not only husband & wife, but we continue to be best friends after all these years! Of course, some day's I would really like to hit him over the head with a skillet, but whatcha gonna do…LOL.

We are loving our retirement! We actually get to see the kids more now than when we were both working…still not as much as we would like. Hopefully we can spend more time with all of them this next Summer & Fall.

We have also made so many new friends on this Full-time lifestyle that we are living that we probably would have never met otherwise! We are so grateful that we have had this opportunity to meet and become friends with all of these people!!! Hugs to all of you!

Hopefully Mac & I will have many, many more anniversaries to celebrate together! I Love you, Mac!

Stay tuned for a very busy Christmas weekend!!

(((HUGS)))

Just Hanging out in Yuma…

2011-12-21T23:02:00.001-07:00

I think, maybe, I am almost back among the living…lol. I caught a stomach virus somewhere and have felt like crap for about 3 days. Today is the 4th day and I thought I was feeling better, but…..I guess, not as well as I thought. I hate being sick! Mac & I missed the Parade on Friday night and the Friday night Card games with the friends.

Saturday, I just pretty much laid around. Mac went to the store and picked up a few things. He worked outside getting some other things done. He has been working on the outside patio area. He got the lights all put up around the patio and the firepit area.

Sunday morning I am still not feeling very good so Mac went to the Bloody Mary Sunday without me. I’m just not comfortable to be away from home until this virus goes away. He’s supposed to bring me a sandwich…we’ll see if he remembers. LOL

I have been reading quite a bit and playing with the Kindle Fire. I really really love it! I can check my email, do Facebook, browse the internet, play Words with Friends, and read my books. It has been fun checking things out on it. The only thing you have to remember with the Fire…is that you have to have WiFi if you want to be online. I use mine off of my Cradlepoint Router with the Verizon Aircard. I’m due for a new aircard and I think I’m gonna check out the Mifi if they will let me bring one home to test it out. I don’t want to go to 4g because I will have to change my plan and I have the 5g plan now and if I go to 4g I understand that I will only get 2g with the option to increase that for more money. Anyhow, I’m gonna check it out.

Monday we had some chores to get done and a couple of errands to run…nothing exciting…Post Office, UPS, and to Fry’s Grocery. About 4:00 we headed out to the Moose Lodge for Wings and Karaoke. No, we didn’t sing…LOL. We met all of our friends there and spent a very nice evening.

Tuesday we had plans to take a Bus Tour to see the Christmas lights here in Yuma. $9.00 each + 4 cans of canned goods or non perishables. The lights were very pretty. I even uploaded a couple of photos to Facebook. The tour lasted a little over 2 hours and then we were back at the Tour Bus Business. We all agreed we were not ready to head home just yet so we met at the Moose for another drink and listen to some more Karaoke. We made our plans for the rest of the week…Friday night Pizza & Cards, Christmas Eve Get-together, and our Christmas Day dinner gathering. It has been so great to be pulled right in to this tight group of friends. We love them all!!

Tomorrow, Dec 22nd, is Mac & my 27th Anniversary. I can’t believe we have been married for 27 years!

Stay tuned….we’re going to get busy this weekend!!

(((HUGS)))

Our Winter Home….

2011-12-15T13:41:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Yuma about 2pm on Thursday, Dec 8th and started setting up. We are anxious to get things done so that we can start relaxing and spending some time with friends.

We took a break about 4:30 and headed down to Parrishes to have a sandwich for lunch/dinner. While we were there, Phyllis called and wanted to know where we were. So we hurried and finished our sandwiches and headed over to their lot for “Social Hour” and to see everyone!

Friday, we did some more around here getting things put where we want them. We went to Mike & Bette’s for Pizza and cards about 5:00. We have such a great time with these friends that we just met last year!. Mike & Bette, Bob & Phyllis, Bill & Nancy, John & Kendra, Knute & Hanna, and Dave were all there. Neither of us won at Chase the Ace, but we had a great time!

Saturday we headed over to Algodones for the “Welcome Party” at Paraiso’s Outdoor Plaza. Bob & Phyllis, Mike & Bette, Bill & Nancy, Knute & Hanna were all there too…. From 11:00 – 2:00 there was FREE Margarita’s, Beer, & Food!

Mac & I

Bob & Phyllis

Mike & Bette

Knute & Hanna

Bill & Nancy

and the group…

I wasn’t feeling very well, so we left about 1:45 and headed back to the RV.

As you can see…we have been pretty busy these first few days…

Sunday, we went to breakfast with Bob & Phyllis and Buzz at “Bottom’s Up. They said the Moose was almost impossible to get in to on Sunday mornings now….that’s too bad. We ran out to the Flea Market to look around a little while. Mac was looking for some light fixtures for the RV but didn’t find anything…so I guess we’ll order them through Camping World. The rest of the day we just hung out at the RV and watched some TV and relaxed.

Monday we had a few things to get done around the TV. About 4:00 we went to the Moose for their Hot Wings and to watch Karaoke for a little while with Bob & Phyllis, Mike & Bette, John & Kendra, and Buzz. We got home about 8:00.

Tuesday, we didn’t do anything…it rained almost all day so we stayed home and relaxed…watched TV, read blogs….and then I made a pot of Chili for dinner.

Wednesday, Mac and I went to the Yuma Visitor’s Center to pick up some information on some things that we can do this winter. Lots of activities are going on.

We are starting to settle in here in our site. We will really enjoy the time we have to relax. It’s been pretty cool here, but hope that it will start warming up real soon!

Worked on Christmas Cards this morning and getting them ready to mail…whew…..there were lots of them just for family!

Mac went to the Moose this morning and got our tickets for the New Years Eve Party with our friends…we have a table of 14 for the night! Should be lots of fun!!

Stay tuned……lots more going on in the next few days!

(((HUGS)))

Tucson and on to Maricopa

2011-12-13T14:12:00.001-07:00

While we were in Tucson, we went to visit with Mac’s aunt Vernis. She is 93 this year and is getting around great! We had a nice long visit with her and promised to stop again next if we come back this way.

Mac and Aunt Vernis

Monday, we had decided to go to the Saguaro National Forest-West Loop. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and looked around. We also watched a movie about the dessert. There were lots more Saguaros on this side than the ones we saw last year at the other one. These are amazing. Here are just a few photos that I took….

This is what a Saguaro looks like when it gets old and the cactus part falls off…

and our view on the way back to the RV…

After we got home, we started getting things packed up for our travel day to Maricopa, AZ to see our friends, John & Brenda Brown. We haven’t seen them since last winter in Yuma. We arrived about 1:30 and JB was outside waiting for us.

We got pulled in and after lots of hugs and a little visiting we got the RV set up for a couple of nights.

Brenda cooked a wonderful dinner for us…Steak, Twiced Baked Potato Casserole, Salad, Bread, and a wonderful Pecal Pie Cheesecake…OMG! YUMMY!!!

Borrowed this photo from JB…

We visited for quite some time after dinner and then headed over to the RV to get some sleep.

Wednesday, we went in to Casa Grande where JB & Brenda took us to Eva’s for some Mexican food. It was very good!!

Of course we had to make a stop at WalMart….LOL

Since we had such a large lunch, Brenda made some Cheesy Corn Chowder for dinner with some of her homemade Buns and some Garlic Bread. This is something that I will make in the future. It was really good! For dessert we had a choice of the Pecan Pie Cheesecake or Lemon Gooey Butter CAke that I had made….or both!

We had a great evening visiting and making some plans in jello for them to come to Yuma and a trip to Algodones. All too soon it was time to head over to the rig and bed. We packed up things as we were going to Yuma on Thursday…..but that is another story….

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Trying to Catch Up….Kansas

2011-12-03T22:36:00.002-07:00

I need to try to catch up on our travels…last time I wrote we had left Branson and had just arrived in Garnett.

We had lots of thing to accomplish while we were there. We spent an afternoon visiting with our good friends, Gary & Rosemary. They had their new great granddaughter with them…she is adorable.

I had to have some Bloodwork done and a Mamogram on Monday…uuuggggh! I just love all this yearly stuff….

On Tuesday Mac had a Cardiologist appointment in Kansas City. All went well with his appointment so we were cleared to leave for the winter. When we finished at the doctor’s office we met Paul & Mary for lunch at Panera Bread. We had a nice long visit and enjoyed a great lunch. This was the first time we had eaten at Panera and were not disappointed. We spent a couple of hours catching up with this great couple and then it was time to head our seperate ways. They had dinner plans and we had to get back to Garnett. It was great to see them again and hope to meet up with them again soon!!

After we left Paul & Mary, we made our way toward Overland Park, KS to stop and see Rod & Loyce. We had met them a few years ago when we had a gathering in Kerrville, TX and try to keep in touch when we get back home. We spent a couple of hours visiting and catching up. It was so great to see them again!!

The rest of the week was filled up with doctor appointments that all went well!

We left Garnett on Friday, Nov 4th and headed toward Emporia. We had to make a detour to Williamsburg and pick up some Ribs at Guy & Mae’s…yummy…we love those things.

We arrived at the Emporia RV Park and got all set up and then spent some time with Jenni & Clyde. We all enjoyed the ribs that we had picked up.

Natalie came over to spend the night after her Jr High Dance. We had fun, and she got to spend the night again on Saturday. We did a little photo shoot at the RV Park on Saturday….Photos didn’t turn out too bad…

Natalie

our daughter Jenni

Natalie, Jenni & fiance, Clyde

Natalie & Jenni…

Mac & I

We got to go to one of Natalie’s Basketball games. They won & Natalie played good! We sure enjoyed our time with them in Emporia but it was soon time to move on to Kingman.

Our granddaughter, Ashley was admitted to the hospital in Wichita at 29 weeks pregnant so we wanted to be able to spend some time with her too.

We arrived at Kingman RV and got all set up. We then headed over to Teri & Lynnie’s to see them and the grandkids….it had been since May since we had last seen them. We all went out and had Mexican food for dinner. Yummm. One of our other granddaughter’s, Britny, came down to Kingman from Hutchinson and brought Carley, our new great granddaughter for us to meet for the first time…She is just so adorable.

Britny had Caiden with her so we got to spend some time with him too…he is just soooo much Boy…lol

Britny & Caiden, Ashley’s son

We spent a lot of time at the hospital with Ashley and the little ones…here are some photos of the kids, grandkids and great grandkids…

Carley…Britny’s daughter

Jaelynn…Ashley’s daughter

Jaden

Ryan

Ashley…the mommy to be….

Brylee, Crystal’s daughter

Crystal…Brylee’s mommy

and

Dakoda…

and then Saturday, Nov 19th came….and after some waiting, we were introduced to our newest great grandson, Treyson.

He was premature still and had to spend some time in the NICU. He has done great and got to go home on Dec 1st. He sure is a little fighter…

For some reason I didn’t get a new photo of Samantha while we were at Teri’s…I’ll have to post one as soon as she sends it to me.

We left Kingman on Monday, Nov 21st and went to Ulysses where Mac’s sister & family live. We had a great time with them. We ate at our favorite Mexican Restaurants and just spent a lot of time visiting. We got to see Jan & Ross, and their two boys, Brendan & Bryson. They sure have grown! It seems like we don’t get to spend enough time with everyone. Our time was up before we knew it…

We didn’t get to see my sister & family on this trip but hopefully when we come back in the spring.

On the 23rd we headed to Amarillo to spend a week with Chris & Dusty and have Thanksgiving with them & Dusty’s family. It’s so nice that we all get along so well together! We had a great day with lots of food and great conversation…then came the games.

Chris & Dusty had taken off work Friday, Monday, & Tuesday while we were there so we got to spend a lot of time with them. We exchanged our Christmas gifts while we were there…..They gave us a really nice Cooler Bag…

and a Kindle Fire!!! I was sooo surprised!

Our Grand dog, Hank gave Mac a Gift Card to Camping World and one to Amazon to me…Hank is such a good little shopper!! Thanks so much for everything!! You spoil us so much!

Chris and I did several craft projects together while we were there also…here are a few..

We enjoyed our time here with the kids but our time was running out…. :(

Our good friends Rod & Loyce from Kansas City stopped and stayed at the Oasis where we are staying. It was just an overnight stop for them as they were on a deadline to get to Mesa, AZ to their winter site. We spent some time visiting with them for a while before they had to leave for their next stop on their trip. It was great to see them again! We had stopped and saw them while we were in KC for Mac’s doctor appointment.

Wednesday came around way to fast. We had spent a week here with the kids and now it is time to move on…the weather has been cold and a storm is predicted so we want to try to outrun it…lol.

We left Amarillo about 1030am with the intention of stopping for the night in Roswell, NM but we were making such good time we went all the way to Alamogordo, NM to stay the night.

The weather had predicted high winds in NM and AZ for Thursday afternoon and night so we made a decision and drove straight through to Tucson and arrived at Justin’s Diamond J RV Park for 5 nights. We will see Mac’s aunt and cousin while we are here.

Today we had visitor’s at our RV. Joe & Marcia stopped by for a visit. We had a great time catching up and then decided to go out and have dinner at a local Mexican Restaurant. The food was good but the conversation was wonderful!! It was great to see you guys again!!

Joe & Marcia.

We will spend the next few days visiting family and looking around. Tuesday, we plan to move on up to Maricopa, AZ to see our friends, JB & Brenda for a couple of nights, then head on to Yuma on Thursday….

Stay tuned…..more adventures to come…

(((HUGS)))

Branson, Friends, and Saying Goodbye…

2011-10-30T13:43:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in Branson! We ended up staying a couple of days longer than we had intended.

We drove around a few times to see all the fall colors here. They are fabulous!!

I had a couple of days of not feeling very good, so it is a good thing we stayed longer.

We didn’t do very much Tourist stuff, but we did take in a Marty Robbins Tribute show with John & Bridget and Mike & Leslie on Thursday. After we all split up after the show…them headed back to Treasure Lake RV Resort and us back to our campground. No photos…I forgot the camera….

We decided that we were going to go and check out a BBQ place that had been suggested to Bridget. We went to Danna’s BBQ & Burger’s. Mac & I both had the Rib Plate. WOW…they were really good and gave you huge portions. We both took Ribs & fixings home for the next nights dinner. Sorry, no photos…forgot the camera.

Friday, we went over to visit with John & Bridget and Mike & Leslie since we would be leaving on Saturday morning. We have really enjoyed these 2 couples. They are great friends! We have also loved traveling off & on with John & Bridget for the last couple of months and will miss all of them terribly!

Mike & Leslie are going to making their way toward Utah to see family and John & Bridget are headed back to Mississippi to see family and await the arrival of their first granddaughter.

Saturday morning we were up and on the road by about 10am. The trip was pretty un-eventful. No problems with the “DLT”(damn little trailer) for a change…LOL. I sure will be glad when we get to Yuma and can try to sell the Golf Cart & Trailer.

The Fall foliage is just amazing this time of year and I couldn’t resist taking way too many photos….also photos of my obsession…Old Barns.

Table Rock Lake

Drive to Garnett…

and What’s with this???? A Cow on the roof…..

and this mounted on a pole in Nevada, MO….part Manure Spreader & part Plane…LOL

and an abandoned train car…

and then we saw…..

We made it to Garnett about 3pm and started to get set up at the Garnett Inn Suites & RV Park when Mac said that there was a power problem with the pull-thru site that we were in….so we hooked back up and moved across the road to a smaller back-in site….not as nice, but will work for us for the week we will be here.

After we got all settled in, we decided to run downtown and have dinner at the Los Mezcelaros Mexican Restaurant. We saw several people that we hadn’t seen in a while and stopped to catch up.

We have lots of doctor appointments this week and also need to take several things out of the RV and put into our storage shed. Hopefully during this week we will also be able to see several of our friends.

Stay tuned….the craziness is just starting…when we leave here we will be heading to Emporia to see Jenni & family, then on to Kingman to see Teri & family, and then on to Plains to see Dana & family, and then on to Amarillo to see Chris & Dusty before heading west to Yuma for the winter….whew…I’m already tired just thinking about it.But can’t wait to see the kids and all those grandkids that we have been missing!

(((HUGS)))

Friends for Dinner

2011-10-25T14:29:00.001-07:00

Monday we were up and out for a grocery run. We went back to Harter House Grocery for a few supplies. We are cooking for John & Bridget and Mike & Leslie tonight.

On the way to the grocery we decided to take a side trip to check out the Escapees Park here in Hollister/Branson. Turkey Creek is a nice campground with mostly pretty level sites. They have about 6 pull-thru sites. 50amp sites are 17.00 per night or $100.00 per week. The pull-thrus are rented on a nightly basis rate only. Very nice lady that was working at the desk.

Didn’t have my camera so I didn’t get photos of the park. May try to go back for some photos….

John & Bridget and Mike & Leslie came over about 3:30. We had a light Happy Hour with cheese that we bought at Guggisburg Cheese Factory in Middlebury, IN and some Summer Sausage.

Mac was manning the grill to cook up some Bacon wrapped Chopped Sirloin and I was making some Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, and French Bread to go along with dinner.

The food must have been pretty good because we didn’t get a photo of anyone’s plate…LOL. Here are a few photos of the afternoon…

After dinner we played a round of 10 Penny and Leslie was the winner!!

We had a Carrot Cake Roll for dessert and visited for a little while and then our friends had to take off. John & Bridget were to get their new axle installed on Tuesday morning.

Today, Mac & I just hung out around the RV. I’ve been doing some laundry and Mac took a load over to the Laundry Mat here in the Park that needed bleached. Mac also ran the vacuum for me.

We have decided to stay on in Branson for one more night and not leave until Friday morning to go on to Garnett for a week. We have doctor appointments that we need to do, have the truck serviced & the Tow Haul checked….and try to fit in some visiting with our friends while we are there.

We also need to take some things out of the RV and put in storage…so it will be a very busy week in Garnett…

Update on our granddaughter, Ashley. Thing seem to be going pretty good. She is still in the hospital on bed rest but the doctors are still hoping to keep that little boy in his mommy’s tummy for 3 more weeks….so we will be praying that will happen.

Have a great day everyone!!

(((HUGS)))

Elkhart & Goshen, IN, Defeated COE, and trip to Branson

2011-10-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

The last time I wrote we were sitting in Elkhart, IN waiting for repairs to be done on our RV. Chuck& Kathy were also in the area having some work done on theirs also.

a School Buggy delivering school children home after classes.

We met them for a few meals and lots of visiting. Looks like they will be getting their work done before us and be able to start their trip to Defeated COE a day or so ahead of us.

Mac & I made a trip to Guggisburg Cheese Factory.Ohh, the cheese is wonderful. We bought about 5 or 6 different kinds…yummy.

Afterwards we headed on to Shipshewana to the Flea Market again. We walked around and I bought some Dip mixes and Mac bought him a cup of Homemade Ice Cream.

We were getting hungry and decided to make a stop at the Blue Gate Restaurant for an early dinner. We love this place.

We got in for our appointment to Lippert to have our axles replaced….finally!! We had gotten everything all done and were packed up to leave the area as soon as they were finished. Mac also had worked on the DLT(Damn Little Trailer) and had it ready for travel. We arrived at Lippert at 8:15am and they were finished by 10:30….WooHoo!! We went back to the campground and hooked up the DLT and off we went.

We were already a day behind our schedule. We left Goshen on Wednesday, Oct 5th for our first leg of the trip. The weather was great but the traffic was horrible around Indianapolis, IN and Louisville, KY. After a very long travel day we stopped in Cave City, KY at Singing Trees RV Park. It was a very tight fit but we were just ready to kick back and get some rest.

On Thursday we got started pretty early and had a pretty nice travel day. The scenery in TN is beautiful. The trees are changing and they colors are awesome.

Tobacco Hanging in Barn

Fields of Tobacco

We arrived at Defeated Creek COE about 11:30am, parked next to Chuck & Kathy, and got all set up for our 13 day stay! It is such a nice place to stay. Great views and very relaxing. We walked down to let Lisa know that we were there and all set up. Let the Campout begin!!

We had several meals together. No huge Buffets like last year. We were all actually not making large meals….lol.

Our friends that live in TN…

Tez

Lisa

Tony

and Rick

We only see them about once a year…Sure have missed them.

Dave arrived on Friday to join the Campout. We met Dave online in the RV-Dreams Chat Room and had not met him in person until now. Mac helped him get pulled in to his RV site and we had our hello hugs!

Later we all had dinner and Played some Chase the Ace. I think Lisa won one game and Chuck the other.

Sunday, Tony, Lisa, Rick, Chuck, Kathy, Mac & I went to Harpers for some great Catfish. No fish for me….I had some Shrimp, Kathy had a Seafood Platter & Lisa had Pork Chops. The food was really good. Forgot to take the camera…oops.

Monday Jenny & Don arrived and got all set up. We had made dinner so that they didn’t have to cook on their travel day. Mac had smoked Ribs, and we made several side dishes to go with them. Yummy…the food was wonderful!

Tuesday was a girls day out…Lisa, Kathy, & I took off to Nashville for a little shopping and lunch. Jenny didn’t feel like joining us.We stopped first at Bed, Bath, & Beyond…We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and it was very good! Their sandwiches are huge. After lunch we went to Trader Joe’s for some Granola Bars and a few other things. Next stop was for me to run in to JoAnn’s Fabric & Crafts and Bath & Body Works. We then started back toward Defeated. More Chase the Ace….can’t remember who won…LOL

Jenny knocked on our door about 1:30am to let us know that they were taking her husband, Don to the hospital by ambulance. We got dressed quickly and took off for the hospital to sit with her until they finally admitted Don. We got back to the RV about 4:15am and headed right back to bed. Wednesday we got up and checked in with Jenny to see how Don was doing. They were going to transfer him to Nashville for a Heart Cath. and possible Stints. We went to the hospital and sat with them until it was time for him to be transferred.

We sat outside after we got home and visited. Had dinner and played more cards…

Friday night Mac, Dave, & I went to Timber loft Restaurant for dinner. The guys had a BBQ Sampler platter and I had a Steak Sandwich. The food was good!!

Saturday, Mac & I ran to Nashville to pick up Don & Jenny at the hospital. He had had 2 stints put in and was feeling really good.

Sunday Rich & Mary arrived and we had planned a brunch of Eggs in a Bag.

oops…I don’t have a photo of Rich & Mary. I must have lost it somewhere…uh oh. We were sure glad that they came to stay for a few days. We don’t get to see them very often.

Don & Jenny

Kathy…

We all visited and then got back together later in the day for Chili. Walking Tacos…and then a couple of games of Chase the Ace. I finally won a game! Tony made another campfire and some of us sat outside until about midnight.

Monday, we started packing things up to prepare for us to leave TN on Wednesday. We got a lot of things done. Later we had dinner and sat outside by the campfire until late again….

Tuesday, we had made plans to go to Cookeville to the Mandarin Palace for Chinese food. Rich, Mary, Chuck, Kathy, Lisa, Toy, Rick, Dave, Mac, and I all enjoyed one of the best Chinese Buffets that we have had in a long time. After we got back to the campground we went over to Tony & Lisa’s RV to visit a little while and to tell them goodbye. Lisa had school on Wednesday morning so we wouldn’t see her.

We got a message Tuesday evening that our granddaughter, Ashley was taken to the hospital and then flown to Wichita, KS. She started having contractions. She is only 29 weeks along and they were going to try to slow things down. They don’t want to bring that little boy into the world any sooner than they have to.

Wednesday we were up and out of the park by 9:00. We were traveling with Chuck & Kathy on our way to Branson. We stopped in Walnut Ridge, AR for the night about 5:00 after about 330 miles. We didn’t even un-hook the truck. We had a light dinner and just relaxed.

Thursday we were off about 8:45am on the final leg to Branson. Pretty easy travel day and arrived in Branson at the Ozark Country Campground about 2:00. Chuck & Kathy were staying at the same park as our friends John, Bridget, Mike & Leslie. We got all set-up and headed over to John & Bridget’s RV. They had made dinner for us. We had Chili, Chili dogs, Corn Casserole, and a Pumpkin dessert. Very good. Thanks so much for the meal!! We sat and visited for a while and then Don & Susie and Lynn & Mickey came over to see all of us for awhile.

Today we had our good friends Nolan & Donna Sue come to visit with us. Donna’s daughter Carla and grandson Quentin came along. We were so happy to see them. We visited for a while and then headed over to John & Bridget’s park. John, Bridget, Mike, Leslie, Chuck, Kathy, Nolan, Donna, Carla, Quentin, Mac & I were all going to have an early dinner together.

Donna & Quentin

We had a great time and got a lot of visiting done! When we were all finished we told Nolan, Donna, Carla and little Quentin goodbye as they needed to head back to Springfield.

We headed over to Treasure Lake RV Resort where the rest of the gang were staying. We visited for a while and when it started getting cold we decided to head back to the RV. Chuck & Kathy are leaving in the morning so we told them goodbye and had several hugs. We have been traveling off and on with these 2 friends since July and are really going to miss them terribly! We have made tentative plans to see them this winter in AZ or CA.

Update on Ashley…they have taken her out of the Maternity & Delivery Floor to a regular room. Her contractions have slowed down so they are hoping that she can hold out for a while before having to have a C-Section. We want little Treyson to stay in his mommy’s tummy as long as possible.

That finally brings me up to date again….maybe I won’t wait so long to write again!!

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Kellogg, IA, Elkhart, IN, and the Arrival of a New Little Princess to our Family!

2011-09-25T15:20:00.001-07:00

We left Kellogg, IA Monday morning heading toward Joliet, IL for the night. The trip was pretty uneventful…

passed some beautiful old barns…

Mississippi River…

until we were approaching Joliet. There is major road construction on I-80. Mac was trying to be careful with all the holes in the road and large drop offs from new highway to the old one.

Needless to say, we hit one of those large areas where the new road ended and the old highway was really bad! The little trailer hit really hard and one of the tires started wobbling again….darn. Now we needed to get somewhere that we can pull off to check it out. We had already decided not to stop for the night in Joliet but continue on to Elkhart but we had to find a place to pull over. We decided that we could pull off at the Casino that we had originally planned on staying at. Mac looked at the tires and all looked ok now, so we decided to go on. We were wanting to stay out of anymore of that construction so off we went on highway 30…big mistake! It took us right through all the little suburbs, stop lights, and MORE road construction! Evidently the little trailer tires were not ok. We had someone pull up beside us and tell us that the tires were wobbling again….darn. It was ruining the new tires that we had just put on a couple of days before. Mac pulled off again and decided to lock the tires so that they wouldn’t swivel. That’s not really a good thing to do since when you make turns the tires won’t swivel..they are just drug around the corners.

the trees are starting to turn here…

After hours of going through all the suburbs, we finally made it to Elkhart about 7:30pm…we left Kellogg at 9am….9-1/2 hours…now that’s a LONG day. We were exhausted!

We got checked in at Elkhart Campground and set up. Chuck & Kathy were waiting for us with big hugs! That was a great way to end a terrible travel day! We were so tired that we didn’t cook dinner or even go out. We just sat down and tried to unwind.

Tuesday morning, Chuck & Kathy had an appointment with Mor-ryde and then moving over to Goshen for the Montana Rally. They stopped by later in the afternoon to visit and we all went to Bob Evans for dinner.

Wednesday, we had made plans to meet Chuck & Kathy at Shipshewana and go to the Flea Market…so off we went…decided to take the toll road so it would be a quicker trip…No Way!! LOL…the road was backed up for miles! So I called Kathy and told her that we were going to have to back-track and take another route. We finally made it about 45 minutes late….lol. We spent a couple of hours at the Flea Market and bought some Fruits & Veggies. Kathy bought some of the same, plus these beautiful pots of Mums!! They are big & full of blooms…none for me though. :(

We left the Flea Market and headed to Rise N Roll for some lunch. Their sandwiches are really good. We also bought some Caramel donuts, and some cookies…yum, yum.

When we left, Kathy and Chuck were headed one direction and we were headed toward to Goshen so we could find where Lippert is located. They still had not called to set an appointment time and Mac decided to just go and see them face to face. That worked! We had an appointment time set up. We just had to print and sign some paperwork that they had emailed to us.

Thursday, Mac was up and out of the RV headed to have some blood work done. He was gone a very long time and I was beginning to get worried. He drove over to Michiana to a Lab and when he got there it was closed down, so he had to drive all the way back to Elkhart and go to the hospital. He also went by Heartland and bought a new ladder for the back of the RV that had gotten broken…

Chuck & Kathy came by in the evening after they had been to a Rally Dinner somewhere herein Elkhart. We visited for a while and then they took off to head back to Goshen. They are having way more fun than us even though they are going to have some work done on their RV also after the Rally is over.

Friday, we were in waiting mode….we were expecting a new little princess to enter the world and join our family. Cody had taken Britny to the hospital and they were going to induce her…

Carley Nicole Eakes arrived at 1:23pm…9-lbs 3-oz and 21” long! Welcome to our family Miss Carley!!

proud parents Cody, Britny and little Carley!

Mom and baby were doing good! Congratulations Cody & Britny! She is adorable!! Can’t wait to get back to Kansas to hold that little one close and do some snuggling!!

Mac worked on the little trailer doing some adjusting that was recommended. I went through a lot of stuff here in the RV filling bags of stuff to take to Goodwill on Monday. We headed out to a little Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Mac had found it online and said that it was authentic Mexican food. Well, it was pretty good. The Burrito that Mac had was huge!

Saturday it rained off and on all day…we pretty much stayed indoors. It was cool and really gloomy…

Today, I had decided to make some home made Chicken & Noodles. I got things going and just let them simmer most of the afternoon. Mad some mashed potatoes, and green beans…turned out pretty good.

We have just watched TV most of the day…NASCAR….congrats to Tony Stewart!!

Tomorrow we need to check on having the tires installed on the RV and get it ready to move over to Lippert on Tuesday morning for them to replace the axle and get everything aligned. Hopefully this will fix that problem.

We will probably be here until Thursday or Friday when we will start making our way toward Defeated Creek COE for “Lisa’s Campout”

Stay tuned…..

(((HUGS)))

Deadwood, SD, Dinner with Friends Valentine, NE, West Point, NE and Kellogg, IA

2011-09-18T19:01:00.001-07:00

On Monday, Sept. 12th, Mac and I took a drive…

out to Lead, an old mining town….

and then on to Deadwood….

Nice town but doesn’t even compare to Cripple Creek, CO….

Then we were off to Sturgis, SD to check things out…

Imagine what this street looked like a few weeks ago…

and then we were headed back to Hart Ranch. We had dinner plans with John & Bridget and Mike & Leslie to say our farewells.

Mac’s plate…

After dinner we visited for a little while and then headed back to the RV to start packing up for our trip to Valentine, NE. We will be traveling with John & Bridget.

When we got home, I started on the inside, and Mac on the outside…it didn’t take long to find out that Mac had found a flood in the bay. There was water everywhere. After sopping all the water up, Mac found that the Water Pump was leaking(Pouring)….so John came over and helped for a little while and then at Midnight, Mac ran to Wal Mart to see if they had anything to stop the leak. No suck luck…so we tuned the water off and went to bed.

Tuesday, Mac was up at the crack of dawn on his way to a RV Parts store to see if they had the fittings or a new pump. He was very lucky. A very nice lady working there found a water pump for him and told him that it should be covered under the 3 year warranty. YEAH!! So he got that installed, packed up, and off we went.

We stopped at Wall Drug to look around. Had to take a few photos…

Then we were off to stop and see Chuck & Kathy in Kadoka, SD. They have been stuck here for about a week having their truck in the shop being worked on.

Sunflowers…

The trip was pretty uneventful and we made it to Valentine, NE about an hour or so after John & Bridget, got all set up and John sent us a message that Bridget had dinner for us. Thanks for the dinner! It was great!!

On Wednesday, we were up and off to go and see Ray & Dorothy Darnell. They are the parents of our friend Ronn Darnell. We had a great visit with plans to have dinner together later that evening. They treated us to a Prime Rib Buffet at the Rosebud Casino…It was wonderful. Thanks so much Ray & Dorothy! We took our camera and never even got one photo.

Thursday it rained all day and we didn’t even leave the RV all day. I had made dinner for John & Bridget. Tips with noodles, Cheesy Corn Casserole, and Brownies & Lemon Bars for dessert. This is our last night together. On Friday we will head south and east toward Elkhart, IN and they will head south towards Branson. We had had such a great time traveling with these two and will see them again in Branson the end of October.

Friday we were up and on the road by about 9:30am. The trip seemed pretty uneventful until we were stopped by a Sheriff’s Officer on the other side of O’Neill, NE.

No ticket, she said that she had heard a noise and saw that one of our tires on the little trailer shredded off and it was riding on the rim….Thanks so much! She waited while Mac changed the tire. We were back on the road again for just a little while when Mac noticed that the spare was really wobbling. He stopped to check it out and it was almost ruined so we limped into West Point, NE to find the City RV Park for the night.

Saturday morning Mac was up bright and early and headed toward Fremont and got 2 new tires and rims. He came back and changed out the messed up one and now we even have a good spare.

We were on the road again!

Missouri River….really high

and flooded for miles and miles…

We drove to Kellogg, IA and stopped at the Kellogg RV Park. We will stay here until Monday morning since we don’t want to try to find an RV Park in the Chicago area because of the NASCAR races this weekend.

Stay tuned…..

(((HUGS)))

Touring with Friends…

2011-09-12T11:50:00.001-07:00

Saturday, we didn’t do much but decided to make a run to WalMart so picked up John & Bridget and off we went. Stopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond again….John liked Bridget’s Tervis mug so well he wanted one of his own…lol

Next stop WalMart for a few items…and I mean very few.

Then decided to have something to eat so Mac was wanting to try out Arnold’s Diner.

It looks like an old 50’s diner….well …and not being negative here folks, but the food wasn’t very good, but the service was terrible.

We drove down LaCrosse St and I noticed that the statues of the Presidents were on this street…I only got a photo of a couple. I will have to go back today before we head to Deadwood….

On Sunday, we told Kevin & Arlene goodbye. They are headed back to Texas for a few weeks. Arlene has been sick almost the whole time that they have been here and has not got to do much sight-seeing.

After they took off, Mac & I and John & Bridget decided to go to the Air & Space Museum by Ellsworth Airforce Base.

This is a very nice museum, with lost of Planes outside and displays inside.

Then we were off to take a drive to Custer and out to Crazy Horse Memorial…

Crazy Horse…John & Bridget said it looked the same as it did in 1991 when they were here last…

We saw some pretty cool Buffalo while driving through Custer…

and these horses…pretty cool, huh…

after Custer, we took 16A across to catch up with highway 79 for our trip back to Rapid City…

we saw a several Turkeys

a few old Barns

and these Busts along Highway 79…there were 3 of them, but somehow I only managed to get 2 with my camera…

We had a very nice day with friends…

Monday, Mac & I are going to take a drive towards Deadwood and then we are invited to a cookout at John & Bridgets. Mike & Leslie will be coming over from Custer State Park as this is our last day here at Hart Ranch….

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Hart Ranch, Rapid City, SD

2011-09-09T22:35:00.001-07:00

Tuesday we left Gillette, WY about 10:30am heading toward Hart Ranch in Rapid City, SD. The drive was un-eventful as we followed John & Bridget. No stops along the way…

and this National Cemetery outside of Sturgis…

We arrived at Hart Ranch, got checked in, and got the RV all set up.

Soon after, Bridget called and John wanted to know what was for lunch…so off we headed to find a sandwich. Kevin & Arlene were resting and didn’t join us.

Mike & Leslie were going to come over from Custer to visit with John & Bridget that evening and we decided to stay home so that they had a chance to catch up.

Wednesday, John & Bridget invited us over for a cookout. Mike & Leslie were coming back over from Custer again to join in on the fun. Also, Arlene came over. Kevin wasn’t feeling well. We had a great dinner of Hamburgers, Brats, Hot Dogs, Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Baked Beans. We sat around visiting until it got too cold outside.

Thursday, I went with Bridget & Leslie for a little Retail Therapy. Mike drove us…lol. Arlene didn’t go along as now she was feeling bad. Bridget & I hadn’t been anywhere close to a Kohl’s or Bed Bath & Beyond for months and it sure was nice to look around. I had a couple of 20% off coupons…one for Kohl’s and one for Bed Bath & Beyond. I found Mac some shirts in Kohl’s and used the coupon.

After we got home, Mac & I fixed some BLT’s for dinner and just relaxed. I actually fell asleep while he was watching football….LOL

Friday, we tried to get a plan together for some sight seeing. Mac ran over to talk to John & Bridget & Kevin & Arlene. Arlene still wasn’t feeling well so they were going to stay home.

We decided to go south of Rapid City through Keystone to Mt Rushmore…

and then on the Custer State Park.

We stopped to see Mike and Leslie at the RV Park that they are Workamping at. We had a good visit and then we were off to take the Wild Life Loop in Custer State Park…

We passed through several tunnels...

one with only about 2 inches on either side of the truck to make it through….

We saw Deer…

Pronghorns…

Elk…

Buffalo…

and some Donkey’s….

After our day we stopped in Keystone to have some dinner….not the best Buffet we have ever had…

We got home and now are just watching TV and we will get up and go out exploring again tomorrow….North of Rapid City this time…

(((HUGS)))

Moving on to Cody, Buffalo, and Gillette, WY

2011-09-07T12:35:00.001-07:00

We had a great stay in Island Park, ID but is was getting time to move on after a month. We packed up and left about 9am on Thursday August 18th with Chuck & Kathy following us. We hadn’t gone far when Mac noticed that they were not behind us any longer. We were on the highway that goes through Yellowstone so we tried to find a place to pull over and wait on them. After about 30 minutes, we turned around and went back to find them thinking that they must have had trouble….Sure enough, they had had a blow-out. We sat and waited with them for the Emergency Roadside Service to come and get them all fixed up…and then we were off again…..

The trip was un-eventful after that…beautiful scenery….

We arrived at Yellowstone Valley RV Campground and got all set up for our week stay. Several of our friends had already arrived and were waiting on us. Kevin & Arlene, Bob & Barb, Roger & Barb, and new friends Don & Susie. We were still waiting on John & Bridget to arrive.

Friday, we went to the Buffalo Bill Dam…..

and the Trading Post Museum….beautiful Dioramas and a lot of American Indian & Military & Civilian displays also.

After all that we went back to the park and had dinner together.

One day Mac & I and John & Bridget went to the Silver Dollar Bar for dinner….they had great Hamburgers, Fries & Onion Rings.

No photos, sorry.

I didn’t do too much after that as I was having some medical issues and went to Urgent Care on Sunday and every day after until we left to go to Gillette. I’m not going to get in to it on the blog, but needless to say I had a real pain in the butt…..lol

We left Cody on Wednesday, August 24th for an overnight in Buffalo, WY at Deer Park RV. We have to be in Gillette, WY on the 25th by noon for a Staff meeting for the Escapees Escapade Rally. Mac & I went out to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner.

if you look real close, you can see our RV reflected in their back window…LOL

The next morning as we were getting hooked up, we saw several Turkey’s wandering around….

Kevin & Arlene left early, but Mac & I and Chuck & Kathy traveled together again…didn’t want any more break-down’s on the way. We made it to Gillette and the CAM-PLEX about 10:30am and got all set up in our sites. Kevin & Arlene next to us, and Chuck & Kathy right down the road.

We went to our Staff meeting and got our assignments for the week….we are doing Hospitality & Popcorn Booth with Kevin & Arlene, plus a bunch of Volunteers.

We had our Staff Dinner on Friday, August 26th. They had it catered in…there was Smoked Beef, Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad, and Cheesecake for desert. It was all very good!

Saturday & Sunday we manned the Popcorn Booth with Kevin & Arlene since we weren’t going to have any volunteers until Monday. We also were responsible for the Hospitality area to make sure it stayed looking nice. That evening several of us went out to Las Margarita’s for dinner as it was a free night with not other activities going on. We had a great time with our friends.

Sunday afternoon we had Opening Ceremonies for the official start of the Escapade. There were 679 RV’s there, I think for the Rally. Now, that’s a lot of people.

Tuesday, there was a Happy Hour with the Class of 2007. There was so much food and a lot of people showed up. The Class adopted 8 more people into the class that night. Also that night my name was drawn for one of the door prizes at the evening’s activities. 3 Gift Certificates, 2 Insulated Mugs, Truck Oil, Chemical, and some Toilet Tissue. It was a great box of stuff!

Thursday, we had Closing Ceremonies for the Escapade…..this is the last official full day. There were more prizes given away and I was lucky to have my name drawn from a raffle…I won the Grand Prize Quilt from CARE. They drew names every day for different quilted items throughout the Escapade. I was so surprised!!

Mac was also Initiated into the Elks Lodge 2825 in Gillette, WY with about 49 others….very large group. They made some exceptions so that the spouses could attend.

Friday, several of friends that were staying through the weekend got together for a Baked Potato Dinner…we took our own baked Potato and a topping for it. There were so many toppings it was hard to decide what to eat…lol After dinner, the games came out…Ladder Golf, and a game called Corn Hole(kinda like Washers)

Saturday, we got together again for another dinner….Taco Soup, Beans & Cornbread…and so much more. Afterwards there was games again….we didn’t stay long as Mac wasn’t feeling very well. He was having problems with one of his teeth.

Sunday, we got together for Happy Hour…it was like a Buffet…LOL…again games afterwards.

Monday was our last day in Gillette and there was a surprise Birthday Party planned for Marcia since they wouldn’t be around anyone on her big 5-0. We all bought a Gag gift and met at a Chinese Buffet Restaurant to surprise her. Someone provided a birthday cake. Her husband brought her in and I think that she was very surprised!! A little teary eyed even. It was great fun after we had all had dinner…she had a song sang to her, opened her gag gifts, and cake was passed around.

Then it was time to say goodbye as some people were leaving early on Tuesday before we would be up.

Tuesday, we were up and hooked up and headed to Rapid City, SD to stay at Hart Ranch RV Resort for a week….more on that in my next blog…LOL

Birthday Dinner & Earthquake Lake

2011-08-15T21:49:00.001-07:00

Saturday was Kathy’s Birthday and Chuck had planned a dinner in West Yellowstone at Cafe’ Madriz. This is not your ordinary Mexican Restaurant, but authentic Spanish food from Spain.

So Mac & I, Chuck & Kathy and Kevin & Arlene all headed in to West Yellowstone for our first experience of food from Spain. The menu has many Tapas, which are small servings of one item. We ended up having a Meat & Cheese Tray, Meatballs, Shrimp, Chicken Skewers, and an Egg & Potato dish that is kind of like a Quiche. Items were served as they finished cooking and we all ate a little of each dish. There are no dinners served at this restaurant, but we all enjoyed everything. And it was a new experience for all of us. Plus, Chuck treated us all to dinner!! Thanks so much Chuck for dinner and letting us help Kathy celebrate her special day!!

The Birthday Girl:

Chuck & Kathy

all of us except Mac…he was taking the photo…

After dinner we headed back to the RV for some cake & ice cream and a gift for Kathy.

Sunday, Mac & I decided to head out to explore Earthquake Lake and Hebgen Lake.

We had a nice drive, passing some pretty scenery…

on the way to the Earthquake Lake Visitor’s Center. They have a great display of the history of the lake and have a very nice video that shows what happened the night that the earthquake happened and the destruction that followed. This is a short excerpt:

On the evening of August 17th, 1959, the area just west of Yellowstone National Park experienced an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale. At the time it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the United States. It killed twenty-eight people; many were buried beneath the 80 million tons of dolomite that crashed down upon a sleeping Forest Service campground, others drowned when the Madison River, displaced by the slide, engulfed their tents.

For more information on the Earthquake, click on the “Earthquake Lake” in red above.

Here are a few photos:

and the actual Slide Area:

more photos of the lake:

and “Ghost Village” This is an area where several cabins had fell into the water and floated downstream and eventually landed when the waters started to subside. They are still in the actual area that they landed.

Then we were back on the road to continue on down the road to Hebgen Lake. This lake is huge! Very pretty also.

and some interesting old homesteads and buildings:

We had a great day and headed back to the RV for a cookout with our friends. We went inside when the weather started cooling off.

Monday, we just stayed around the RV and got some household chores taken care of…..Laundry, changing bedding, cleaning the floors, and making some phone calls. Later in the day the wind came up really strong and it rained a little bit…but the temperature dropped and it got really cold.

We are starting to get Hitch Itch. We have seen just about everything in the area. It is also a LONG way to do any real shopping for groceries and supplies.

Stay tuned on what we get in to on our last couple of days here in Island Park, ID.

(((HUGS)))

Big Springs & Johnny Sack’s Cabin

2011-08-10T12:41:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying the nice temperatures here in Island Park, ID. Although, about mid afternoon it does seem to rain a bit and the wind picks up for a little while. The temps seem to run in the mid 70’s everyday until about 4:30 when the rain and wind hit….lol

Monday, Kevin and Arlene invited us to go to Big Springs and Johnny Sack’s Cabin. This is a really peaceful place to visit…here are a few photos and an excerpt from the history of the man and his cabin:

Born in 1884, Johnny came to the United States with his parents and four brothers and sisters from Germany when he was six years old. The family settled in South Bend, Indiana, and Johnny eventually made his way west to the newly established community of Ashton, Idaho.

Along with his brother Andy, Johnny arrived in Island Park by passenger train during a blizzard in June, 1909. The brothers’ ambitious goal was to raise cattle on Henrys Lake Flat. After years of working for various ranchers and serving time in the military, Johnny began making his living building furniture and cabins.

Standing just four foot, eleven inches tall, Johnny leased his cabin site in 1929 from the United States Forest Service , one of more than 30 cabin sites surrounding Big Springs, for $4.15 per year. Little did Johnny know when he first acquired the choice building site, his home would become a landmark one day discussed in the United States Congress. Using craftsmanship that reflected his early training with the Studebaker Wagon Corporation, Johnny created beds, chests, tables and chairs from hundreds of pieces of pine paneled with bark inlay. Even his lamp stands, magazine racks and ceiling fixtures were cleverly wrought from odd-shaped limbs, knots and pine cones.

Due to its unique location and picturesque setting, Johnny’s cabin and nearby water-wheel have long been one of the most photographed sites in Island Park. The cabin attracts thousands of visitors each summer interested in the log and stone structure as well as the building’s colorful creator.

One of Johnny’s trademarks is the split bark decoration used in the cabin’s furniture and interior. He took great pride in detail work. One ceiling lamp, still hanging in its original location, contains seventy-two individual handcrafted pieces of wood. A double bed was made of ninety-six wood pieces which Johnny nailed and glued together. Today many of the individually crafted pieces of wood furniture Johnny created for his home remain in their original location.

The cabin took approximately three years to complete, as Johnny worked primarily with hand tools — saws, draw knives, scrapers and planers. Johnny built a small structure and water-wheel at the edge of the springs to harness the power of the springs and create electricity.

After his death in 1957 the cabin became the property of Johnny’s two sisters. They later sold the cabin to Elberta and Rudy Kipp, who made it possible for the building to be opened as an interpretive center in 1980.

About Big Springs

Producing over 120 million gallons of water each day, Big Springs a Natural National Landmark, is one of the 40 largest natural springs in the world. The springs create the headwaters of the Henrys Fork of the Snake River which travels across Fremont County creating spectacular scenery at Upper and Lower Mesa Falls.

With a constant temperature of 52 degrees, the springs is home to rainbow trout, muskrats, ducks, moose and other critters. It is not unusual to see osprey and eagles dive for a meal of fresh fish from the springs.

We had a wonderful time with our friends exploring this great place. If you are ever in Island Park, ID, or even close, it is well worth your trip over to see the Springs and Johnny’s Cabin.

And here is a photo of the sunset we see almost every day from our RV…

Tuesday we just hung out around the RV and then went over to Kevin & Arlene’s to play cards with them, Keith & Donna, and Chuck & Kathy until the wind came up and cooled things down so much that it ran us all inside.

Today Mac has been cleaning the truck and I have been at work on the computer. We will all be gathering later today to have a cookout.

Tomorrow Mac has to have blood work done again to see what his levels are again.

We have a few more sightseeing trips planned before we leave here next Thursday so stay tuned to see what we do…..

(((HUGS)))

Another Trip to Yellowstone & Time with Friends

2011-08-05T20:34:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying our time here in Island Park, ID very much. We are not in town so we have been spending a lot of time just hanging out. We have spent a lot of time with our friends enjoying Dinners, Happy Hours, and some Card playing thrown in for fun.

Tuesday, Aug 2nd, Chuck & Kathy invited us to take another day trip to Yellowstone so we piled in to their truck and off we went. We were going to tour the south loop of the park. It wasn’t long before we saw some Elk off in the distance…

and a couple of freshwater Pelicans floating down the river…

and then we drove on and saw a couple of Buffalo up close & personal…LOL

We turned off at Fisherman’s Bridge and stopped for lunch at the Lodge. The food was just so-so,but very expensive. After this, we were off to see some of the Geyser’s….

a Bald Eagle flying away from us…

and some Deer….

and more Elk….

then a side trip to more Geyser’s…

and a beautiful waterfall…

Click on this link for more photos of our day trip…

Day Trip to Yellowstone, Tuesday, August 2, 2011

and then on the way out of the park….some beautiful sunset photos…

Thursday, Mac Chauffeured Kathy, Arlene & I into West Yellowstone for a little grocery shopping.

Today, Chuck & Kathy and Arlene went with Mac & I to the Smoking Waters Mountain Man Rendezvous. There were a lot of things to see, but not really anything that we were interested in purchasing.

We went in to West Yellowstone to do a little more window shopping. We purchased some Huckleberry Jam and some Sweet & Hot Relish…lol. Arlene made a couple of purchases and so did Chuck & Kathy. Afterwards we headed home to each of our RV’s for some dinner.

Stay tuned for more adventures here around Island Park, ID…

(((HUGS)))

Island Park, ID, Yellowstone & Time with Friends

2011-07-30T14:07:00.001-07:00

We have been having a great time herein Island Park at the Valley View RV Park with our friends Kevin & Arlene, Chuck & Kathy, and newly arrived Keith & Donna.

We have been preparing an evening meal together and not having huge potlucks so it seems we are eating much less. We’ve enjoyed a few Happy Hours with minimum snacks and a few evenings of games.

We spent one day with the “Idaho Gang” going to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful. On the way we saw a Buffalo…

and an Elk.

We also saw lots of geysers…

and the beautiful landscape of Yellowstone…had a picnic…but…

Old Faithful was the main attraction of the day…it erupts approximately every 88 minutes so we had about a 30 minute wait until the main event…

When we returned from Yellowstone we stopped in West Yellowstone and went to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center with Chuck & Kathy….

The Bears are awesome…Sam & Illie are twins. They wandered into a fishing Village near King Salmon, Alaska. They arrived in the Center in 1996

Sam…weighs in at about 1000 lbs…

and Illie…weighs in at about 750 lbs

The wolves were all sleeping…

Tuesday we returned to the Discovery Center as our ticket covers two consecutive days…

We saw..

Spirit…weighing in at about 350 lbs arrived in 2002 after being relocated six times in efforts to divert her desire to obtain food near the Resorts.

Kobuk & Nakina were orphaned as cubs in 1998 after a landowner killed their mother & brother in the Delta Junction of Alaska

Kobuk…about 525 lbs

and Nakina…weighing in at 390 lbs

Wednesday we had an all day road trip planned to Yellowstone with Mac & I, Kevin & Arlene, and Chuck & Kathy. We rented a Mini Van so that we could all go together. WE loaded up in Kevin’s truck and headed in to West Yellowstone to pick up the Van. We were going to do the Upper & Eastern Loop of Yellowstone. There had been many wildlife sightings in that area and we wanted to see some…

We saw lots of Buffalo…

and even this one headed right at us on the road…LOL

we saw a Black Bear crossing the road in front of us….

a Grizzly out in the field…

some Mule Deer…

and another Black Bear…

We also saw another Grizzly but it went in to the trees before I could get a photo of it, and a Beaver standing right on the edge of the road…I had my camera ready to take the photo and a car came around the road and scared it away.

We had another picnic…it sure seems like the food always tastes better out in the open with friends…

The majesty of Yellowstone cannot be duplicated in the photos that I have enclosed….It is just breathtaking….to see more photos click on the link below…

Yellowstone Upper Loop-Wednesday July 27th

We ended our day in West Yellowstone with Ice cream for dinner…LOL

Yesterday some of us went into West Yellowstone to do some window shopping & lunch…There are lots of neat things in town, but we don’t have any room in our small house for anything more…we ended the evening with a bring your own food and we all ate together….Great day with friends.

Today we will be attending a Potluck that the Park is putting on. I made a Key Lime Pie for my donation to the meal…

Stay tuned…we will be going to Yellowstone one more time for the Southern Loop next week….and more fun with friends.

(((HUGS)))

A visit to Rexburg, ID and Mesa Falls with Friends

2011-07-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

This morning we were up and on the road about 11am headed to Rexburg, ID. Mac & Chuck had to have blood work done and Kathy, Arlene, and myself were going to have Pedicures. Kathy needed a manicure and Arlene & I needed haircuts.

We arrived a little early so we started looking somewhere to have lunch. Mac and I like to go to the little out of the way places instead of the usually Fast Food places so I looked on Yelp to see what all was available. I found a little place called “Joe’s Filling Station” so off we went in search of this place.

and last photo of me with long hair for a very long time…lol

We seated ourselves and the waitress was right over and took our drink order. We checked out the menu and the daily specials and made our decisions…the girls were having Country Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Green Beans, and Homemade Rolls. The guys decided on Liver & Onions, Mac with Fresh Cut Fries and Chuck having Mashed Potatoes. The food was very good and the atmosphere was very cool. The company & conversation was fabulous though…

After lunch the guys dropped us off at Reflections Hair & Nails so that we could all have our beauty procedures done. They were very busy and we had to wait awhile. I got my hair cut and it is a very short cut for me. Arlene just had a trim. They took Arlene & I back for our Pedicures and Kathy was getting her nails done. All in all I was pleased with my Pedicure and with my haircut, except it is a LOT shorter than I wanted in the back!!

The guys picked us up and we ran by the grocery store for a few items and then we were off headed back to Island Park. On the way we decided to take the scenic route that we had saw a few days ago that takes you to the Upper & Lower Mesa Falls. The drive was pretty and we stopped at an overlook to see The Tetons from a distance…..

Then we stopped at the Lower Falls…they were awesome!

Falls in the background…notice the “New” short haircut…

Myself, Arlene, and Kathy

Then on to the Upper Falls….

We arrived back at the RV park about 7:30 and everyone went to their own RV’s with the guys having plans to play golf in the morning and the girls just to hang out and maybe a trip to the Craft Fair down the road…

Stay Tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Star Valley RV Resort & Teton National Park

2011-07-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday July 5th we left Cheyenne, WY on our way west and then north with a destination of Thayne, WY and Star Valley RV Resort. Molly had called us and asked if we wanted to come there instead of going to Rawlins….it sure didn’t take Mac and I long to re-arrange our plans to stay at Star Valley for 11 days.

Our travel day was very nice. We saw views that are awesome. I even saw a few of my favorite things to photograph…Barns and old houses.

We stopped for the night in Rock Springs, WY at the KOA. It’s a nice park but there isn’t a lot to offer in the town.

We were up early Thursday and on the road so that we would arrive in plenty of time for Happy Hour…lo.l We were greeted by Bob & Molly and Keith & Donna. John & Bridget arrived about mid-afternoon and got all set up. Bob & Molly and Keith & Donna had things out for Happy Hour and were grilling dinner for us. It’s so nice to see these great friends again.

Friday night we all went to Jackson Hole to a Dessert Theater called “Murder Rides Again” It was very good and the actors & actresses were very believable.

Saturday, we had Brunch over at Keith & Donnas. We visited for quite a while

and then Mac & I headed out to get fuel and to look around a little bit. We ended up at the Teton National Park. This is a very nice place. We got to see Buffalo, Elk, and even a Momma Grizzly with 2 cubs. They were pretty far away so the photos don’t show them very well.

Elk

In the background behind the Elk you can see the Momma Grizzly & one of her cubs…

Sunday we all got together and took a drive to Afton and hiked up to the Intermitant Spring. We had all packed a picnic lunch so we ate before starting the hike. It is about a 3/4 mile hike in and mostly uphill. There were spots where the path disappeared and we climbed over big rocks and walked across logs to get to the bridge that takes you to the Spring. There was so much snow melt this year that the Spring was a continual flow but it was still awesome to see it and the snow. After we all hiked back down we were all hungry again so we went into town and had an early dinner.

Hike to Intermittent Spring with the Wyoming GAng

Monday, Bob & Molly loaned us their car so that Mac & I and John & Bridget could go pack to the Teton National Park for the day. The weather was beautiful and we found a perfect spot for a picnic.

Picasa Content

Teton National Park & Jackson Hole, WY with John & Bridget

We drove and drove but only saw some Elk and a herd of Buffalo….then we turned onto the last leg of the park and there it was…One lone Moose laying in the grass…she laid there for quite some time. I got several photos and we decided that she wasn’t going to get up, so we got in the car to leave. About that time she got up and started moving around….so we all piled out of the car to take a few more photos.

What a great day with our friends….Thanks Bob & Molly for letting us use your car for this wonderful outing!

The rest of the week we had Happy Hours, played cards, and ate a lot!

Wednesday night we all went to a Chuckwagon Dinner outside of Jackson Hole at the Bar J Ranch. The food was good and the entertainment was great. We all had a fun time!!

We had Brunch at our RV on Friday, the 15th. I had made a Bacon & Onion Quiche, Biscuits and Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. Mac cooked Sausage Gravy. I think everyone enjoyed it and got plenty to eat.

Sunday we all got together for our last night at Star Valley and had Ribs, Cornbread, Beans, Baked Beans, French Bread, and Peach Cobbler. Then of course we had to play cards again! Mac won the 10 Penny game again.

Monday we were up and ready to head out, traveling with John & Bridget to Island Park, ID to meet up with Kevin & Arlene and Chuck & Kathy. We drove through some beautiful country again…mountains, rivers, Mustard fields, and Potato fields….

We needed to stop at WalMart in Idaho Falls to buy some groceries and fuel up. When we walked into WalMArt, we were greeted by Kevin & Arlene and Chuck & Kathy who had the same idea…LOL Lots of hugs were exchanged and then we all seperated to get our shopping done so we could get to Island Park and all settled in.

We are all parked in a row together and have already started the month out right….Happy Hour, Dinner, and Cards!!

Tuesday, the guys all went to check out the golf course and the girls took a trip into West Yellowstone to browse some of the shops and have lunch.

It’s gonna be a great month here!!

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Cheyenne Wyoming and Visiting Family

2011-07-03T14:19:00.001-07:00

We left Woodland Park on Monday, June 27th on our way to Terry Bison’s Ranch RV in Cheyenne, WY. Our travel day was pretty short.

We traveled through Denver and I had to get a shot of a couple places there…

We made it to the RV Park and got all set up.

This is a nice place next to the highway but not a lot of noise. They have a Restaurant on site, plus you can take tours of the actual ranch where they raise the Buffalo. Also they have many other kinds of animals here….Camels, Alpaca’s, Horses, Beefalo, Minature Horses others.

We haven’t taken the train tour yet, but maybe tomorrow.

After we got all set up, we ran to the grocery stores and WalMart for a few supplies. Mac ran in to Sam’s also.

Monday night & Tuesday I was sick with the “bug” so didn’t do anything on Tuesday. Just hung out at the RV.

Wednesday we took a driving tour of Cheyenne and also stopped at the Wyoming State Museum. Free Admission, also. It was a very interesting place with a movie about the Railroad coming through and lots of displays….

Jade

Fossils

Dinosaurs

and here is another Wyoming Wagon…a little different that the one in my last blog, but…it shows you what the insides look like.

and Sheep herders lived in these while the watched the herds…Mac’s family grazed Sheep and had these Wyoming Wagons on their land.

Native American displays

Household displays

and Mac explaining to me that a machine like this Maytag is what his mother used and he got his hand caught in when he was a kid…

Western Displays with guns and saddles…

and there is so much more to see…too many photos to post on this blog.

After the Museum, we went in search of the “Boots”….These are 19 large boots that have been painted by local artists and then auctioned off. They raised nearly $100,000.00. The boots are located in different areas of the city. Here are a few of the boots we found…

We had barely arrived back home when our friends Keith & Donna Green pulled in right beside us with their new to them Foretravel Motorhome. We were so excited to see them!! We hadn’t seen them since we were in Yuma last winter. Their new coach is very beautiful! Much more room for them. We visited for a while and then came back to our RV for the night.

Thursday, we went our seperate ways…Mac needed bloodwork done and I had an appointment for a Pedicure.

We made plans to have dinner with Keith & Donna. We met at a little place called The Tortilla Factory. The food was very good, but the company was much better!!

Friday we were up and preparing to make a long drive to Sterling, CO to visit with my Aunt & Uncle and cousins that I hadn’t seen in many many years. I was very excited even though it was a 2-1/2 hour drive both ways. Most of them were working so we had planned to arrive around 3:30.

We had such a great time re-connecting with them and introducing them to Mac.

Here are a few photos that I took….

my Uncle Dempsey Milligan. My dad’s brother…

My aunt Darlena…

and this is..from left…Darwin, Debbie, Uncle Demps, Aunt Darlena, and Denny….my cousin Dalen and family weren’t able to be there…

Debbie and family

Denny and family

and Darwin and family

We missed seeing Dalen and his family but we hope to be able to go back to Sterling and spend a few days with the family soon!

Saturday, we took another drive downtown to try to find the other Boots that we had missed and made a stop at WalMart.

We had dinner with Keith & Donna and two other couple sat the Senator’s Steakhouse & Saloon that is located here on site. The food was very good, but we didn’t try the Bison. Donna had a Bison Brat and said it was very good.

After dinner we visited for a little while and gave our goodbye hugs to Keith & Donna as they were leaving Sunday morning to head to Thayne, WY where Bob & Molly are.

This morning(Sunday) Molly called and asked what our travel plans were when we left Cheyenne and told us that there was a lot next to them that we could stay on if we wanted to change our other reservations. It didn’t take Mac & I long to get on the phone and cancel the other reservations and make one at the KOA in Rock Springs for July 5th. We will arrive in Thayne, WY on July 6th and stay there until July 18th when we are scheduled to be in Island Park, ID for a month. WE sure love this life…and as they say our travel plans are made in jello…LOL

Everyone have a terrific and safe 4th of July tomorrow!!

(((HUGS)))

Cripple Creek and Dinner with Friends in Manitou Springs

2011-06-29T21:51:00.001-07:00

On Friday, June 24th Mac & I decided to make a trip to Cripple Creek to see how the town had changed since we were there the last time…about 20 years ago…LOL

We started making our way up the mountain and the views were amazing!!

We stopped at the Heritage Center to look at all the displays. There were lots of displays regarding the mining history in Cripple Creek.

We passed the Molly Kathleen Gold Mine but didn’t take the tour. Mac took it several years ago, but I couldn’t go down inside…

We then went on in to Cripple Creek. WOW how things have changed!

There are about 10 – 12 Casinos in town now….most of the downtown buildings have been converted into casinos. Of course we had to try our hand a several of them. I think I left town with about $40.00 more dollars than I started, but Mac didn’t do quite so well. LOL

They were setting up vendor booths for Saturday & Sunday’s Donkey Derby. We weren’t going to go back for that…they were so busy on Friday I can’t imagine what Saturday & Sunday were going to be like.

When we left Cripple Creek, we decided to make a side trip to Victor, CO to see what all was there and to make a trip to the Sunnyside Cemetery. We had been to this Cemetery when we were here years ago and man it has changed a lot. Gone was the wide open area to walk through the old gravesites and lots of wrought iron fences had been put up around family plots that made things look real crowded.

We took a drive through downtown Victor and it didn’t look like many businesses were still open.

We then headed back to Woodland Park to our RV…have I said…the views are awesome here…we love this area.

On Saturday we just hung out at the RV and did some household chores and watched TV and set outside for a while.

Sunday we made a drive to Manitou Springs to meet up with Jesse & Ginger and to meet online friends Tony & Jackie for an early dinner at the Stagecoach Inn. We arrived in Manitou Springs about an hour early to have a look around but the town was swamped with people so we just drove around. We couldn’t find a place to park the large truck…Lots of businesses that would have been nice to go in and look around.

We headed to the Inn about 2:40 to make sure we were there on time.

After everyone arrived we had hugs all around and started chatting to catch up. We ordered some drinks and continued to talk for quite a while. We eventually ordered our meal….the food was only so-so and VERY expensive. The Company & conversation were priceless though!! It was so great to spend a couple of hours with these friends.

We headed back to the RV to start packing things up for our trip to Cheyenne on Monday….

Stay tuned…

(((HUGS)))

Woodland Park, CO

2011-06-25T19:23:00.001-07:00

We left Lamar, CO Tuesday morning to make our trek to Woodland Park, CO for 5 days. The trip was about 170 miles and we had a nice drive….

about half way through our drive we looked up and saw….

the mountains….Oh how we missed seeing them…

we arrived in the area and traveled through Colorado City on our way to our RV Park…

We arrived at Diamond Campground & RV Park

We got all set up and decided we were going to go out to Rudy’s for dinner…it was good, but not as good as we have had at other Rudy’s location.

Here are a few photos of the RV Park…very many trees…

Wednesday, we took a drive around to check out the area…it sure is pretty here!

After looking around we decided that it was time for dinner. We checked “Yelp” and decided on Carlos Miguel’s. The food was ok but they used way too much Cilantro in it…and Mac & I neither one care for cilantro…

Thursday we drove out to the Pikes National Forest…took a few photos..

rock formations…

and some beautiful scenery…

Friday we headed over to Cripple Creek and Victor…but that is for another blog….Have a great day!!

(((HUGS)))

Ulysses, KS…to…Lamar, CO

2011-06-25T18:36:00.001-07:00

We left Plains, KS on Tuesday, June 14th to go to Ulysses, KS to visit with Mac’s sister and her family. The drive from Plains was only about one hour so we were set up quick.

Linda, Mac’s sister came by to welcome us and then the 3 of us were off to El Ranchito for a much needed Mexican food fix! We love this place! We have to eat here at least twice everytime we come to Ulysses. We visited for quite a while and when Phil, Linda’s husband got home we went to Alejandro’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner. This is another of our favorite places in Ulysses.

Wednesday we decided to go and visit our good friends Jerry & Joyce Klein. Jerry had just gotten out of the hospital so we didn’t stay long. It sure was good to see them both again!! After our visit we went back over to Mac’s sister’s house. She was cooking dinner for us!! Steak Kabobs, Baked Potatoes, and Creamed Green Beans…Man was it yummy!! Thanks Linda. We didn’t take our camera over so didn’t get any photos…

Thursday, we just hung out and visited with the family…and Linda’s grandson, Bryson had a T-Ball game for us to attend…they are so cute at that age. Sorry, no photos again. After the game we all went to Alejandro’s for dinner…Wonderful Fajita’s.….yummy

Friday, we visited with Linda some more while Phil was working.

Late afternoon we headed over to some more good friends of ours, Darrel & Lynette Hickman. We visited and caught up for a couple of hours and then headed back to the RV.

Dakoda & Samantha had softball games in Ulysses that evening, so they came over early to visit and another trip to El Ranchito…

The girls played a very good game and I did remember my camera for this one…here are a few photos from their game…

Dakoda…

and Samantha…

and Linda & Phils grandsons…Brendon in the back and Bryson up front

and Jaelynn…

We had a great time visiting in Ulysses, but it was over too soon…it was time to take off to our next destination….Lamar, CO

We packed up and left Saturday morning for our trip to Lamar….

it took us about 2 hours and we arrived at the campground and got all set up. Mac’s cousin, Tom stopped by to say hi while Mac was getting everything outside done.

We headed over to Tom & Dorothy’s after lunch and visited for quite a while and then we went out to dinner together. Tom took us on a ride around so we could see all the changes that had taken place.

Sunday was Father’s Day so we pretty much just hung out at the RV. We did ride around town for a little while.

Murals around town…

Statutes…

Monday we went to the Visitor’s Center for some information on Colorado…

I also had to take a photo of this Wyoming Wagon….they were like a very stark RV that Sheep Herder’s lived in while guarding the sheep. Mac’s dad grazed sheep when he was growing up so he is very familiar with these wagon’s as he’s been in them many times with some of the worker’s that stayed in them…they have a stove, cabinets, a bed, and seats….very rustic…lol

We stopped by and visited with more family….Kathy, Tiffany, Chris, and Bret and work. We didn’t stay very long as they we kinda busy..It was great to see them all again and hopefully it won’t be so long until the next time.

Tom & Dorothy’s grand son had a ball game for Monday evening, but I wasn’t feeling well so Mac went without me.

We had a great time here in Lamar catching up with family. We will definetly have will do this again!!

Tuesday we will be heading to Woodland Park, CO for 5 days to relax and check out what all has changed since we were here last time.

Stay tuned….

(((HUGS)))

Visiting Family and Crystal & Tyrel’s wedding…

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We have really been enjoying our time here in Plains visiting with the kids & grandkids.

Crystal’s wedding is coming up fast. Friday was the Rehearsal and dinner and everything went well. The wedding is going to be really nice with the bright colors that they have chosen to use. Crystal’s dress is beautiful.

Saturday morning arrived…Wedding Day for the young couple! We just hung around the RV for part of the day until Mac’s sister, Linda, & family arrived with their RV. We all visited for a while and then got ready for the wedding.

We took off out into the country to Tyrel’s parent’s house. The wedding was going to be outside on the side deck. Everything was all set up and I went upstairs to spend some time with the Bride, Dana, and some of the grandkids. Crystal looked beautiful in her Wedding Dress…and was a little stressed…lol

I’ll let some photos tell you the story of the wedding…..

letting off a little stress…lol

here are a few other photos taken before and after the wedding…

Russell & Dana

Jeff & Sara

and Tyrel’s parents…John & Melinda

After the wedding, we headed out to the building that they were holding the Reception & Dinner. We actually got through the Reception & Dinner before a storm brewed up….uh oh…Tornado Warning….Radio announced for everyone to take cover. That was pretty scary because there were about 100 people there and only enough room in the storm shelter for the little kids and babies. Everyone stood around watching the sky and Mac came over to me and said “Get in the Truck & put on your seat belt, we are going out to the road to see if we can see anything.” He had planned to take off in the opposite direction of the Tornado if it was coming. It was raining so hard that I’m not sure we would of even saw it, but Mac was determined that we ere not going to just stand around and become targets for the storm. Eventually the rain stopped and the storm passed by without a tornado so we headed back to the building to continue the celebration. I’m sure that Crystal & Tyrel will always remember the wonderful wedding & the Tornado excitement of that day…

It looked like everyone had a great time…some of them more than others…lol.

We made it home about midnight after trying to get Mac, who had imbibed a little too much, into the truck!

Sunday was a pretty laid back day. We didn’t do much except hang around the RV most of the day. We went over to Dana’s in the evening for a little while.

Monday, we ran to Liberal to make a WalMart run. I needed a 4g USB drive to copy all the photos that I had taken of the rehearsal & wedding on for Crystal & Tyrel.

After we got back we had the other casserole that I had made for dinner and then off to Dakota & Samantha’s softball games. WE stopped back over at Dana’s for a little while before going back to the RV to start packing up for our move to Ulysses for a few days.

We will be in Ulysses until Saturday morning when we leave to go to Lamar, CO to visit Mac’s cousin’s.

Visiting the Kids & Grandkids

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We left Garnett on Friday, May 27th for Emporia, KS to spend the weekend with Jenni & the girls. Natalie had a Softball tournament on Saturday. We were up at 5:30am, yes 5:30 AM and headed to Council Grove for the games starting at 9am.

It was a very cool and dreary day. Natalie’s team came in 7th…not the best but she played very well. She made some good hits and stole home a couple of times.

We had dinner together on Monday for Memorial day. Mac grilled hamburgers.

Gloriana

Natalie

and Justyce

Tuesday, May 31st, we were on the road again headed to Kingman, KS to see daughter Teri & family. While we were setting up, Teri stopped by to say hi before she headed back to work. After we got all set up at the Kingman RV Park and headed over to their house. The have been babysitting their granddaughter, Kailynn since her regular babysitter was off for two weeks. It turned out perfect because she was still there while we were…

We had dinner together several nights and spent a lot of time visiting and catching up. The kids are growing up so much. It’s hard to believe that Kami is grown with a one year old, Kyle will be a Sophomore in College, Samantha is going to be a HIgh School Senior next year, Ryan a Sophomore and the youngest, Jaden will be a Freshman. Time sure does fly when you don’t se them very often.

Kailynn, our great granddaughter Monday with dinner and a “Cake & Icecream” Cake.

Kailynn & Papa Lynnie

Kailynn & Grandpa Mac

Tuesday, June 7th, we packed up and started our trip to Plains, KS to see Dana & family and attend our granddaughter, Crystal’s wedding.

Our granddaughter, Dakota, had ballgames on Tuesday night so we got to enjoy watching her play. She made several hits, and stolen bases. She even pitched the second game.

Brylee

Caiden..

Jaelynn, our oldest great granddaughter, came over for a sleepover that same night. She was very good and her & grandpa slept all night. Grandma on the other hand, didn’t get much sleep…lol Didn’t get a photo of Jaelynn yet…she is just to busy to stop for photos.

We went shopping in Liberal on Wednesday, and looked at baby items for Britny & Cody’s new little girl that will be arriving in September. We have decided to order something since they didn’t have what we wanted at the store…

Thursday, we lost a very special man that Mac & I had the pleasure to know only for a short while. Paul was a great guy that loved his wife so much! Heaven just got another angel….

My allergies have really been bothering me and when I went to the doctor she said I had fluid built up in both ears….It sucks to feel miserable when we want to have so much fun with the kids…

Today is the wedding rehearsal and dinner. I hope that I feel a little better before it starts…

Tomorrow is Crystal’s wedding and I will make a post on just that event soon…

Take care everyone…Live every day as if it were your last…..Love you all!

(((HUGS)))

Garnett & Doctor Appointments

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We left Emporia on Monday, May 16th heading to Garnett to take care of some Doctor appointments and check on our house. The travel was nice & quick…only about an hour.

Tuesday, the 17th, Mac had two doctor appointments scheduled for today. HIs first one was with his Cardiologist’s office. He saw the Nurse Practitioner, Kayla for a checkup and to discuss one of the medications that he is taking. After much discussion, all that was needed was some bloodwork to be done. Mac went down to the lab and got that taken care of right away.

When we left Kansas City, we headed over to Lawrence, KS so Mac could see his Vocal Chord Specialist about the problems that he has been having with his throat. After the scope & photos taken, the doctor assured us that there were no indications of cancer and that he was pretty sure that it was a combination of Acid Reflux and a continued use of his Blood Pressure Medications. He sent a note over to the Cardiologist’s office & Mac called them and they agreed to make a change in that medicine. Whew…we were worried.

It has rained in Garnett almost every day since we got here so we haven’t done a whole lot. We did do some purging in the RV….we ended up taking about 200-lbs of stuff out. WOW.

There have been devastating storms that have passed through the midwest while we have been here. Our cousin & family that live in Joplin lost their house, but the are all fine, thank goodness. My niece that also lives in Joplin was at her other grandmother’s and they are fine. They were about 1/4 of a mile from where the tornado went through. I think I heard on TV that there were about 70 tornados sited in that one week, and 30 something on Sunday, May 22nd when the big one hit Joplin, MO. We really need to get out of tornado alley.

We spent one evening at our Stix house to set out some severe storms that were supposed to come through Garnett with HIgh Winds, Hail, and Heavy Rains. We wanted to put the truck in the garage so we went over and spent about 4 hours over there before returning to the RV. No damage at either places…

Here is an old School House that we pass by on our way to our friends house…if you know me, you’ll know I seem to have an obsession with old buildings & barns.

We also went to dinner with our good friends, Gary & Rosemary Turner a couple of times. Once to Paola for Mexican food and one time to Williamsburg for Ribs.

We also attended a visitation for a friend that passed away while we were there.

Wednesday, the 25th, I had a doctor’s appointment. All went pretty well. Bloodwork looked pretty good. My White Blood count has been really low ever since I went through cancer and chemo and was told by my Oncologist that it might not ever come back up to normal range….well, let me tell you…it DID!! Barely….mine was 4.1 and the lowest normal range is 4.1. I was so glad because it has been running about 3.4 which was pretty low and I seemed to catch everything that went around.

In the afternoon, Mac & I had Eye Doctor appointments. Our eyes had changed just a little but I ordered new lenses for a pair of frames that I already had and Mac ordered a new full set. His spare pair broke last week.

We left Garnett on Friday, May 27th and came back to Emporia, KS for the holiday weekend. Jest so happens that Natalie had a Traveling Team Softball Tournament on Saturday that we decided to go to.

We had to leave Emporia at 7:15am this morning to ho to Council Grove, KS for the games…..that is just too early. We got up about 5:45am…. It was cold and dreary all day long…brrrrr

Our daughter,Jenni

Natalie played good but her team ended up taking 7th. They played 3 games and the 4th the other team forfieted since one of their players got hurt.

Now we are back at the RV..warming up and watching TV. We will be here in Emporia until Tuesday morning when we leave here to go to Kingman, KS to see our daughter Teri and her family…another kid & grandkid fix!!!

Stay tuned…

(((HUGS)))

Amarillo by morning….then on to Waynoka and Emporia….

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We stopped in Cedar Crest, NM for an overnight stay…and we were parked right next to our good friends, Keith & Donna Green. They were visiting the area and had to have some repair work done on their tow setup.

We went to dinner together and had a nice meal a great conversation. We hadn’t seen them since they left Yuma in March.

We were having a few tire issues and weren’t sure if we would be able to get out of Cedar Creston Tuesday morning, but Mac checked out everything and we were good to go. He decided that he would have the tires fixed in Amarillo.

The trip was pretty un-eventful and we arrived in Amarillo mid afternoon at the Oasis RV Resort off of I-40 west of Amarillo. We like to stay here because it is an easy off and on from I-40 and it isn’t too far from the kids house.

Dusty & Chris gave me my birthday present when they came out….it is a pretty little firepot.

Wednesday evening Chris & Dusty had a Texturing party at their house….lol Dusty & Shane did the Texturing and Mac cooked dinner…Christie, Wendy, and I watched….

Thursday evening we went to Ruby Tequila’s for Cinco de Mayo…..we had a great dinner and a couple of Margarita’s….

We really enjoyed our time with the kids…Chris & I went for a pedicure on Friday afternoon…it was great to spend a nice relaxing afternoon with her.

Saturday we just kind of hung out and then had dinner with Chris & Dusty at a place called Coyote Bluff Cafe…this place was a little dive, but the Cheeseburgers were wonderful!

Sunday was Mother’s Day and we were invited over to Dusty & Chris’ for dinner. Dusty was cooking for all of us. We had a great dinner and they gave me a nice plant…we’ll see if I can keep it alive!

Monday, was our last day in Amarillo. We met our friends Jim & Ellie for lunch at Jason’s Deli. We hadn’t seen them since last year in Defeated Creek in October. We had a great visit and got all caught up. Hope to meet up with them somewhere in Colorado on our way north to Cody, WY

Monday evening we got together with the kids after they got off work and went to Blue Sky for dinner. Great Cheeseburgers and fries!. We went back to their house and visited for awhile, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. We are going to really miss them but we will see them again in November!

They have been working on their kitchen…gutting it, texturing the walls, painting, and getting ready for the new cabinets to be finished and delivered. I can’t wait to see photos of the finished job!

Tuesday morning we were up and on the road about 10:30 and heading north east to my sister & brother-in-law’s in Waynoka, OK for 3 nights. The trip was nice and enjoyable.

Lyvonne had taken 2 days off of work so we could spend more time together. We had a great time together. We all had dinner at El Charro and it was really good. Wednesday we just kind of hung out and visited.

Thursday, Mac, Lyvonne, and I had Mexican for lunch…yummy. After lunch when our food had settled, we went over to Carlson’s shop. They own an ATV & Buggy Shop. They rent them out for people to go to The Little Sahara State Park and ride the dunes. He also repairs buggies, sells accessories and much more!

We took two Razr’s out to the Little Sahara for some time on the Dunes. We had a great time! I think Carlson has created a demon in Mac…He loved it.

Friday morning we were up and on our way to Emporia, KS for the weekend to see Jenni & the kids. We had a nice and quiet drive. I am back in the Midwest…I can see old Barns…I guess I’m obsessed with these old things.

Jenni, Clyde, and Gloriana came out for a visit also. We went to the Chinese Restaurant for dinner…It was just barely ok…

Natalie’s dad brought her out to the RV to spend the weekend with us after her school dance.

Saturday, we all spent the day together and I made Chili and homemade Cinnamon rolls for dinner. We watched a couple of movies.

Today, Mac, Natalie & I are just hanging out at the RV….

We will be having sandwiches and left over Chili today…I am not cooking…lol

Tomorrow, we will leave here and go to Garnett for Doctor appointments. Mac has appointments in Kansas City and Lawrence and I have one in Garnett….what we find out will determine on when we will be leaving Garnett….