Made it Through Another Christmas

Wasn’t nearly like the old days, when the kids were home and the lights went up.  The lights began to be too much hassle when they would only work on the ground when you tested them.  Seemed a function of altitude.  Once they were elevated to the lofty heights of the roof they would take turns not working.  I used them as a excuse to scale down the extravaganza to one wreath last year and nothing this year.  Leaving Teri to settle for interior decorations.  Here is what is was like one of the last years the lights still worked.

 

This year Molly and Spencer got their first two wheel bikes.

Those training wheels will be gone soon.

First was the walk to the park

This was taken right before we started out for Florida

Christmas day 2010

Not really during the Christmas season, but this was the last photos we got of Jake and Annie before we left the state.

So this year Teri had to settle for separate photos with the kids and nothing getting done in time for the annual letter.  So here are the little ones with Grandma and Grandpa sometime during the season.  My apologies to Jake and Annie for not including them in their “puppy years”.  That is when they are so cute (at least when they are asleep) that you can’t bring yourself to sell them to the Gypsies like you keep threatening.

This year Amy said she couldn’t understand why I celebrated Christmas, being an atheist and all.  I said that I haven’t “celebrated” the religious aspect of Christmas in a long time, but the traditions around the season (good will, food, gift giving and the gathering of family) were worth keeping.  The rest of my comments were censored by the Editor-in-Chief, guess who.

Tomorrow we resume the out-fitting for the first trip in the trailer.  Hope to make a practice run around the local parking lots soon.

Stay safe, more later from down the road.

WHAHAPPENED!

 I haven’t watched a newscast in ages.  Then we turn on the NBC Nightly News for grins and find a lame duck congress has passed a whole bunch of laws; go figure.  Did the Dems finally grow a pair and shove all that legislation through in a last (and only) hurrah?   If only.  I figure that after the elections were over the politicians could actually do something other than chest pounding and posturing for the electorate.  The Republicans no longer had to look over their shoulders to see if Sarah and her fellow idiots were approving, so they could actually compromise and get things done. After all, they have two more years for people to forget.  See, elections and the resulting playing to the “base” only clouds their minds so I’m still not going to vote.  We need something different, something that gets the job done all year long.  Still waiting.

Stay Warm.

Have a great Holiday season

After all, tis the season

Been watching the rest of the nation getting hammered by the weather.  Glad to be south of it all, just rain here.  Cleared up today in time for the carolers that came by Amy & Derek's tonight.  Wish I'd thought to take some photos of the 60 or so neighbors (including Molly's favorite baby sitter) in the group.  We'd spent the last two days baking cookies to pass out, in fact the last batch was still in the oven when they came by.  The whole thing reminded us of the Romberg family that lives across the street from us in Soldotna.  Their kids could always look forward to their mom dragging them out for caroling and then passing out a plate of home made Christmas goodies.

The Christmas season is in full swing around here, that means serious shopping going on and major crowds at the big stores.  Don't know how it is in the rest of the country, but it looks like a big retail season here.  We still have lots to acquire before we are ready for the road, so we plan to do our part.  Oh Joy, I feel a rant coming on! But I'll spare y'all for now; after all, tis the season.

Stay safe out there.

Floridizing

After over two months of living at someone else's place we are finally nesting into a space of our own.  We are grateful to all of our wonderful friends and family that have literally supported us this year.  It has been quite a transition and you haven’t seen the last of our wanderings.

We are still working out the routine of life in a RV.  You know, the little things, like make sure that the dump valves are CLOSED before you remove the discharge cap to hook up the dump hose.  And you think someone who has spent the last 20 winters in Alaska (often laughing at those Floridians whining about slightly below freezing temps) would know enough to disconnect the garden hose supply when it is forecasted to drop below 25 before dawn.  The RV has an Arctic Pack with insulated tanks but I neglected to think about the garden hose supply line.  Oh well, I needed practice unhooking a frozen hose at 6 AM to thaw it out in the shower.  You sure get some weird looks when you are asking for Frost-Tex cable at the local Lowe’s.

We are looking forward to Christmas with Amy, Derek and the grand kids.  I’ll try to post often, hope the season treats you all well.

Stay safe.

Money, Money, Money

It seems that the frequency of my posts in inversely proportional to the amount of money we are spending.  Since we hit Tuscaloosa the flow has looked like an Al Gore global warming chart.

We bought the Truck just outside of Tuscaloosa and have been throwing small amounts of money at it to get it ready for the trailer.  Got it ready with the hitch installed, new spray-in bed liner, electrical hook up in the bed and a new trailer brake controller, just in time to pick up the new (to us, it’s an ’05) fifth wheel trailer and take it to the camp ground to set up until the first trip (currently being planned for just after the new year).

Now the painful part of buying stuff to make it a home when we have everything we would need back in Alaska.  We got the essentials and are starting to shop the thrift stores for the rest.

The only big item left is the sliding bed cover for the truck and storage boxes to use the space around the fifth wheel hitch.  We’re going to let the credit card cool down a bit before getting that.

Tallahassee RV Park, home for the rest of the year

Meanwhile, Amy and Derek have added another member to their family.  Higgins, a 2 year old yellow lab mix, recently graduated from the DAWGS in prison program in Port St. Joe, FL.  He in settling in nicely and should graduate from his new cell (the kennel/crate in the master bedroom) soon.  Photos to follow, soon, really.

WE MADE IT!

Monday evening found our caravan pulling into Shantelle’s in Acworth, GA, just northwest of Atlanta.  We aren’t used to long solo drives after two months of dual across the country.  The resulting frequent stops and detours made us a little late but we had it figured out by today when we drove down to Tallahassee.  We stopped at an RV dealer in Jonesboro to check out one we are interested in an had no problems on into Tallahassee.  Here’s a link to one on the Denver dealer’s web site.


CrossRoads_Cruiser_31REP

A word about Shantelle with apologies to her in advance for embarrassing her.

I am proud of my kids.  They have both grown up to be adults I am proud and thankful to know.  But Shantelle is the only young person (without any of my genes) I had given advice to that actually followed it.  She was fresh out of high school, not too thrilled with college or satisfied with building rail road tie retaining walls for me on my construction sites.  So, I suggested that she consider Army Warrant Officer Flight School.  The only place where you can walk in off the street and test your way into a guaranteed slot in flight school without a degree (this was in the ‘80s but I believe a similar path is still possible today). 

To say that she took the ball and ran with it would be a rather large understatement.  She flew for 12 years on active duty all over he world, including Desert Storm, and earned a retirement finishing in the Guard as a W4.  Along the way she married Phillip (another Army helicopter pilot) and they have three incredible boys.  She managed to beat cancer along the way too.  Today she is a hockey, baseball and lacrosse mom among a few other pursuits.  I look forward to following the boys accomplishments.  And maybe someday actually meting Phillip (we missed him this time and it was the first time we’d seen her in over 20 years).  When I finally write my memoirs, she’ll get a chapter or two.

I could go on (as you all too well know) but I must apologize, no pictures.  Things were a little hectic and it was raining most of the time we were there.  When it stopped we were a little antsy to get our last leg done.

Time now to get busy on Amy’s list (not even a little bit like Angie’s List, except maybe in length) and finish acquiring our RV set up.  I’ll try to keep up the chatter in the meantime.  See you down the road.

Stay safe!

Where were we?

I know it has been a while, but in my defense, I haven’t been all that busy.  When we left our intrepid wanders they had used up all their vouchers in MO and were headed south and east again.

We did visit the Jack Daniels distillery, great tour and the booze isn’t bad either. 

I liked the roof framing and bracing

Our tour guide.  It's good to work at Jack Daniels.

 Then we drove a Chevy truck as we passed through Birmingham on our way to Tuscaloosa.  Nice but we really liked the ’08 Dodge 2500 we drove in Cottondale, AL after we got there.  So we bought it and now we are a caravan.

Jack and Sue Washburn took us in for Thanksgiving.  They just moved into their long time dream house on the lake.  That is their house on the lake; rather than their “lake house”.  The difference being the number of houses you own.  It has been a hoot.  We had the family thanksgiving with four generations of Washburns that really made us feel warm and welcome as well as stuffed.  Friday after Thanksgiving found Jack (Woofus) and yours truly standing in line for the Best Buy opening at 4:30AM in the pouring rain.  We were quite a ways back in the line, clear to the parking lot behind the building.  But we got in in with the first group and were on our way home with a new 55” flat screen for the basement rec room by 5:30.

The Washburne's "house on the lake"

The Washburne's "house on the lake" view of the dock from deck, backyard still under construction

 

The Washburne's "house on the lake", the upper deck.

Then we had to drive down to the stadium so Woofus could sell their season tickets and get back to the house for the 1:30 kickoff and party at their house.  Unfortunately, Bama did not prevail at the end of a Jeckel/Hyde game that saw two very different halves.  At least the rain quit before the game started.

Then there were two birthday parties for Camden.  One quiet one for just a few; and one with about forty with lots of kids.  Teri and I were busy at the car dealers finalizing our purchase for the big one, but we did get in on the cake.  The party had a “Roll Tide” theme. 

 Mix in several trips to the car dealer and the time seemed to fly by.  Note, when doing anything around here, take Sue with you.  It seems that she has delivered babies for just about everyone in the area.  Seems note worthy that she remembers them all and they are really glad to see her when she runs into them.  After she came with us to the car dealer and they caught up on all the grand babies, we were like family there.

We are getting close to the end of the trail for this trip.  Just a few stops around Atlanta and we’ll be back in Tuscaloosa where we can start outfitting for the next trip in the Spring.  Meanwhile, tricking out the new truck begins.

Stay safe, see you down the road.

St Louis-Nashville

It was good to spend time with the DeJeans but it's good to be moving on too. We plan to spend the next two nights in Manchester, TN then on to Tuscaloosa for some serious house warming and tailgating. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.

From this point on into Tallahassee we will be on the look out for the right tow vehicle. Should be interesting.

We have been able to avoid too much night traveling but the days are definatly getting shorter. As I write, it is 4:30 with two hours to go yet. The sun is setting over our left shoulder as we head south east into Clarksville. There has been road kill all over; we're just hoping not to contribute.


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Our work here is done Tonto

Well, it was quite a battle, but clean living prevailed.  We took the offending part off and Rog (jr) worked on that with the bench grinder, while I ground away on the crossbar with the pneumatic die grinder.  All to provide clearance for two bolts on the transfer case.  That took us till lunch; then we went sight seeing until Rog had to go to work.

Here is everything in its proper place.  We could feel the balance returning to the Force as the last bolt was torqued down.  Sure hope it runs as good as it looks.

It's time to move on; tomorrow we head for the Jack Daniels distillery.

Last Day of Assembly

Well we thought it was the last day.  After we got the transmission and transfer case mounted, cleaned up some of the mess and took pictures of our masterpiece, we noticed that the angle of the drive shafts seemed a bit steep. 

So, we reviewed all the parts recently assembled and one appeared to be upside down.  

Here's Harvey inspecting Roger's (senior) upside down installation of the transmission mounting bracket.  Rog claims he was just following orders.  His son and I made allowances for his age and plan to rectify the problem tomorrow.


The company that made the modification kit has a tech hotline that has been invaluable.

It has been great fun to play with all of Roger's (jr) tools and get dirty.  Hopefully teaching young Roger some valuable lessons along the way.  Like how working alone is much less entertaining. 

Teri and I will spend one more day here and then start moseying toward Tuscaloosa.

Work Continues

Lilly checking out her seat, provided it is done by the time she's driving

Supervision by Troy, security by Harvey

Another day making sure the two Rogers stay out of trouble.  Luckily, they didn’t believe me and called Mr. Goodwrench.  But I was still able to provide valuable advice like “the waterless hand cleaner works better than axle bearing grease at cleaning your hands”.  Although, I was just a little late with that tidbit.  Turns out axle grease really does clean a little, if you start out with really dirty hands.


More Later

Moving Again

 We are now at little Roger’s in St. Louis.  His folks came with us so the Rogers and I are working at assembling an antique Bronco that he has scattered all over the basement and garage.  He and his dad have quite a few total rebuilds (from my favorite, an Avanti,  to rare Shelby Mustangs and CJ Jeeps) under their belt, but they really enjoy having me around to supply helpful suggestions.

Here is a view of the back deck of the DeJean’s

We all went to the Arch before setteling down to work on the car today.  I’ll try to get some photos of the project as we progress but it already is starting to look like a car again.

The 30+ year old Tram car to the top of the Arch

Still a ways to go yet

 

Forced to Fish Again

Another fishing milestone; Rog caught fish, I got skunked.  We went to the base of the Table Rock Dam which flows into Taney Como Lake.  Taney Como Lake looks a lot like a slow moving river which flows through Branson, but with a dam at each end, it is considered a lake. 

The day started with rain but it soon cleared up right after Rog got a few fish.  Then the sun came out and the bite ended.  At least I got a few pics.

Rog was just so happy to have snagged this poor fish, I had to take his picture to get him to let it go.

Backing up a little, this is the most interesting sight on I 70 between Denver and Kansas City

Planning to veg here til Monday, then on to St Louis.

Milestones

This is going to be hard.  Today I had one of the best fishing days ever, and I forgot the camera, so I have no documentation.  To make matters worse, my only witness is Roger and he has virtually NO creds in the fishing world.  He’ll probably say that he caught more fish than I (true, but who can believe HIM).  So I must apologize. 

We went to the White River in Arkansas and caught and released the most rainbows ever for me.  The water was low, the weather was perfect and the fish ravenous.  They hit most everything we threw at them.  They were small (largest >17”) but feisty and brightly colored. 

It was a good day fishing and that beats most other choices of activities.

We are safely ensconced at the DeJean’s in Blue Eye and Roger’s been coaching me in choosing the proper towing vehicle and how to find it on the internet.  Who’d-a thunk?

More news when it’s fit to print.

WARNING political rant

We've been driving across the heart of the US, from Denver to Kansas City.  The news has been covering a network interview with "W" about his latest memoir.  In the book he states that the lowest point of his entire presidency was when, during Katrina, Kanye West said he didn't care about black people, and that was the same as calling him a racist.

REALLY!  That confirms a lot of my opinion of W's character.  I can think of several low points in his presidency that a "person of character" would place ahead of being called a racist.

How about the moment when you realized that your "intelligence" team had ignored the information that could have thwarted 9/11?

Not fair?  Possibly.  But, surely, when you realized that you had just spent thousands of American lives to determine that there were no WMD's.  That would depress you a little more than someone calling you a racist.

Didn't W visit Walter Reed?  How could seeing the incredible pain and suffering you had personally caused not be a lower point in your life than being called a racist?

And I do believe W is a racist.  He may not hate the black man, but he certainly doesn't care about any race he considers inferior.  That would be all non white races.  If the shoe fits, don't whine when it is pointed out.

Sorry, but I get motivated when I see him being treated as anything other than what he is.  A spoiled, frathouse drunk who has done more to damage this country than anyone else I know.

I'll quit calling you Shirley if you'll quit calling him a hero.  He's the two worst mistakes this nation ever made.

Looks like I'll have lots more motivation in the future as he and Fox News reinvent history.

Stay safe, see you down the road.

Last Days in Denver

Friday we said goodbye to Les and Kathy and moved over to Vicki and Len’s.  We really had a great time.  Their grandson, Jaxen, was a hoot.  But he’s 17 months old, it comes quite natural for him.  We progressed a long way in the learning process toward our RV purchase.  It is so much more valuable learning from your friends experiences rather than what you can glean from the magazines and other written resources.  We have considered lots of different configurations and seem to keep coming back to the fifth wheel.  A lot will depend on the full cost analysis still underway, and what is available in Florida.  Say tuned.

That morning we learned that Cassie had given birth to a bouncing baby girl (Isabel Catherine Moores 8lbs 6oz-21”).  We felt lucky to have been able to see them right before this milestone and look forward to following their progress.

Sunday, kick back day.  Actually going to watch NFL (or squiggly ball to those fans of real football) at Vicki and Len’s.  Yesterday Len allowed me to fill out the golf foursome he plays with on weekends.  It was a fantastic fall day, high around 80, no wind and nary a cloud.  I should have mailed it in and sat in the sun at the clubhouse.  I think I’ve had worse rounds, but memory fails me as to exactly when.  I started out with the old standby excuse that it had been a long time since I had played, and after a very short time had used up all the rest.  I’m going to need some new ones if I am to do this again.  Luckily, the rest of the group was very understanding and a good time was had by all.  It probably didn’t hurt knowing I was just a temp, moving on soon. At any rate, I had a great time and hope to actually learn this game someday.

Teri and Vicki went to lunch with some of their mates from a Friday morning bowling league down in Lakewood.  Reports from local sources indicate they had a great time catching up and wish they had thought of this before 20 years had passed. 

It looks like we are going to be running in front of a storm system when we head out to points east tomorrow.  We plan to be in beautiful down town Blue Eye in two days.  It has been interesting to hear every ones forecast of the coming winter.  Reminds me of the movie The Hallelujah Trail, which also centered around the forecast of winter in Denver.  It is one classic comedy, good for any audience.  It was made in 1965, check it out here.  click here

Everybody stay safe, see you down the road.

Back to South Park

Les and I went fishing on Tarryall Creek today.  But first I had to arrange Jaxen’s Legos.   I’m figuring he’ll correct the imbalance in the force and knock them all down in about 7 seconds. 

It’s been over 20 years since I’ve been to South Park and I didn’t notice a lot of change.   Quite a bit on Hwy 285 and a lot of the road to the reservoir has been paved, but the creek looked exactly the same.  Still knocks me out after all these years.  Caught a few small rainbows.  It was the first time I actually crawled on my hands and knees to drop a line over the bank, and it worked on the first cast.  Of course he told all his friends and they scattered. 

Tarryall Creek rainbows were small, feisty and spooky in the low clear water

Above two are of the area below the dam

Les practicing casting

The "Sign of No" prohibited most everything

We drove out on Hwy 285 and back via Hwy 24 into Colorado Springs.  Glad we did, cause as soon as we got down stream from the Dam we ran into this small herd of Big Horn Sheep.

We slowed to a crawl, and drove right up to them.  The Prius was in super stealth mode (EV)

Two nice rams; there didn't seem to be any argument as to who was in charge

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Teri and Kathy met with a Soldotna friend for lunch and later Teri mastered a new knitting technique.  I figure she'll be cranking out new surprises for the rest of the trip.



Yesterday, we looked at fifth wheel trailers and tried to convince Les and Kathy that they needed the one that we all agreed was perfect for both of us.  Unfortunately, we don't have a appropriate tow vehicle yet, but they do.  I'll be working on that in the near future.

Still in Parker

Perfect weather here and more of the same at least till next week.  Les and I went fishing on the South Platte below Deckers.  Great stream and of course I forgot my camera.  Going back out tomorrow to South Park and I will remember this time.  Here's a shot of the back yard/green belt of the Hatch's.

Went over to Troy DeJean's here in Denver and met the newest member of the family, Buddy.  I had big separation issues after 15 minutes with him.  Was good to see Troy and meet his friends.  Now I have some great stories to tell his folks.

Must Fish

Laid back Halloween here at Les and Kathy's,  their grandson, Jaxen 16mo, came over as James Bond and Les took him around to the neighbors where he was quite a success.  Earlier today Les and I checked out the new Orvis shop here and a local fly shop, so we have new stuff to take to the stream Tues.  Tomorrow Teri and I go back to Evergreen for the afternoon.  Fall is treating the Denver area well, it was over 70 today clear and calm.

Here is some shots of the drive from Albuquerque to Pueblo via Angel Fire.

Antelope on the wrong side of the fence didn't seem to realize how easily they could jump the fence.

 We stopped at the Vietnam memorial at Angel Fire.  It was the site of the beginning of a documentary film that featured Jim Coleman and the family of a friend of ours from our unit in Vietnam who died shortly after I left.  The film is titled "In The Shadow of The Blade" and is quite stirring.  They restored a Huey and flew it around the country to let survivors of KIA vets ride in it to experience a common link all Vietnam vets had.  The unique WOP WOP of that rotor blade.  Here's a link to the web site about the movie.   click here  I ordered a new copy of the DVD as I left my old one with the VA in Kenai

Vietnam memorial at Angel Fire

Some cool over passes north of Santa Fe

 Hope you all had a great Halloween!