Reno side trip

 About 70 miles south of Reno is the small town of Yerington, Nevada.  We had planned a side trip there on Wednesday to visit a high school friend that we hadn't seen for decades.  Marilyn Mott Brown was the person who pierced my ears when Heidi was 9 months old.  Yep, a needle, thread and some ice cubes were all that were needed.  I wonder if anyone does it the "old fashioned" way anymore?  Heidi will be 54 in June.  Guess that is a very long time!

The trip took almost 2 hours.  Traffic is not your friend in Reno.  Lots of construction and traffic delays happen daily.  We decided to wait until the rush hour traffic was over, so it was after 9 AM before we headed south to see Marilyn.

Which one is not like the others?  Is it the gray hair, or the shirts that set as apart?😏

Of course, I had to take a picture of the beautiful tulips in her front yard.  No trip is complete without some landscape or flower picture, at least for me.

Our short visit included lunch at the local Mexican restaurant.  It provided us with excellent food and a chance to talk some more with Marilyn.

We proceeded to head southwest and then north, making a large loop up towards Carson City.  Allen lives north of there, near Washoe Lake.

Below is a picture that Doris took through the windshield of beautiful Smith Valley with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.

Allen explained to us how he designed, rebuilt and repositioned his house after losing it to a wildfire started by his neighbor.  In the end there was a silver lining, and his house is perfect for him.

He posed by his favorite picture of Lake Tahoe that is in the entryway.

The view from his living room looks west towards the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The back yard included a gorgeous peach tree full of blossoms.  Looks like he'll have plenty of peaches this summer.

Per Joan's request, we made a stop at KFC on our way back to Reno.  She treated us to dinner, and it was a win-win for all of us.  No cooking and no clean up!

No trailer? No problem!

 After weeks (or maybe months) of planning, we made plans to visit cousins in Reno.  Also going along are Doris, Sandy and Jerry, Don's two sisters and brother-in-law.  We all decided to rent a 7 passenger van and drive there while we were still "young" enough and not senile!😅😅.  Between the 5 of us we should be able to figure out the directions between Google and a regular map.

We started out at 6 AM on Monday.  It was the day of the solar eclipse, so we all had our special glasses on hand.  Stopped at the infamous Area 51 in Nevada to take a look at the sun....

No aliens were seen, but then again, we were only interested in seeing the eclipse.

Thirteen and a half hours later and numerous stops for gas and potty breaks we finally coaxed our tired old bodies out of the van and into Joan's house in Reno.  Sandy and I took turns in the very last seat in the back, thankful that we left the driving to Don, Jerry and Doris.  I can attest that back seat driving is much easier. 😉

Joan's daughter Shelly and her husband Jim live just down the street from Joan.  On Tuesday they invited all of us for dinner, her brother Allen and his companion Cheri.  Also invited was Roberta Ross affectionately known to us as Birdie. She became part of our extended family after camping with us many times.  

Shelly and Doris shared some good wine in the kitchen before the meal.

The afternoon was perfect for sitting out on their porch.  Looks like Allen and Don were into some deep discussion.

The hosts: Jim and Shelly Tresley.  They had a few moments to relax before dinner.

From the left: Joan Forbes (cousin), Birdie, Cheri Love and 2nd cousin Allen.

Jerry, Allen, Don behind the pole and Jim.  We sure enjoyed the sun and windless afternoon.  The previous week it had snowed and the coming weekend there was colder weather predicted.  Talk about good timing.

The excellent dinner of pulled pork, baked potatoes, tons of toppings was topped off by the peach cobbler made by Shelly.  She even made it without butter so I could have some.  Plus non-dairy ice cream.  It was a dessert I couldn't resist.  All of us had some, even though our bellies were full.

And here we were...all wearing the same shirts.  We had not even talked to each other about bringing and wearing the same tops!  Over the years we have collected matching shirts from various places.  That way, if one of us gets lost, the other two can tell the police what to look for.  So much easier than trying to remember what they wore when they wandered off from our group.  

And then we added Joan into our group.

And last, but not least, Birdie, Shelly and Cheri posed for a picture.  For some reason, I never took one of the guys.  They aren't too keen anyway of lining up for a photo.

All of us have been camping with each other, making lots of wonderful memories.  In addition, we all have a sense of humor when it comes to sharing camping stories (of which there are many).  We are richly blessed to have such great family and extended family members.💓💓

The Last Hurrah (Post #1)

 This is our last trip with the trailer. 

The time has come for us to hang it up, so to speak.  We've always wondered what would go first: us or the trailer?!😟   Now we know!  We still have some good miles left on us, but Don no longer wants to mess with setting it up or taking it down when we travel.  Our Cougar 5th wheel doesn't have the automatic levelers which made for a much easier set up when we pulled into a campground.  There was also a lot of preparation work for each trip which included picking it up, cleaning, loading all the food and clothes, making sure everything is working, etc.  

This is our small caravan heading out from our neighborhood in Avondale.  Doris, Sandy and Jerry had come up on Wednesday from Tucson and stayed in the house with us. We left on Friday morning, February 9th.  The Five of us and our little homes on wheels.

The morning was very cool and cloudy as we headed towards River Island State Park, north of Parker, Arizona.  At least the rain had quit the day before.

Saturday morning at the campground was wet and windy. You can tell it was colder by just looking at Don's outfit (jacket and jeans).  Usually if it was 50 degrees or more, he had on shorts.   It had rained during the night. We were still glad to be together once again, enjoying time with our family and friends.

The constant breeze coming from the west and the clouds meant it was jacket time for all of us.  One of the best ways to deal with the wind was to sit behind Doris' trailer.  We had our own little group area, even if it took up part of the roadway.  😂

Our group is smaller this year, but there were cousins who came all the way from Reno to camp with us.  One couple backed out because they had a leak in their trailer......wonder why they decided not to show up?  Because of storms with wind and rain in the forecast?  Smart decision.

The line up: us, Doris, Sandy and Jerry.  Not in view is Jim & Shelly's motor home, Allen and Cheri's trailer, Bob and Kerry's motorhome and Greg and Lori's motorhome.

This time the campground had an abundance of blackbirds, who spent a lot of time roosting in the huge Eucalyptus tree by our table and common area.  We had to be careful of where we sat.  It reminded me of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie called "The Birds".  Needless to say, if any crumb made it to the ground, the birds took care of it.

Travels with our rig took us to the East coast and up into Maine twice, over the Mackinac Bridge, up into Banff National Park and down into the Everglades. We made it to the Oregon coast with it's spectacular beaches three different times. We hunted down covered bridges and lighthouses in different states.  There were years we traveled alone and explored by ourselves, while other times we joined up with friends and family.  Both ways worked for us.  It was a blessing to have our own bed each night, no matter where we were!  

Those times are now behind us but I have 4 journals full of notes, pictures on Facebook and a blog that keeps all the memories right at hand.  We are BLESSED!

Below is the map that I have highlighted all our travels.  Different colors for different years, some overlapping.  Remember, not all who wander are lost!

The Last Hurrah: Super Bowl Sunday

 This was our whole group on Sunday morning. Left to right: Lori, Bob, Shelly, Jim, Kerry, Greg, Sandy, Jerry, Doris, Don, Allen and Cheri.  It was still a bit cool that morning, although the sun was out and the rain was gone.

                                                            View of the front entrance

The one drawback for this park is the lack of dependable internet service.  You can see Jerry and Kerry checking their phones in the pic below, just to discover there was no cell service either.  Sometimes a text would go through or you would connect to the internet if you were close to the office, but it wasn't a given.  My gosh, we even had to resort to getting in touch with each other the old fashioned way by walking to their rig and talking in person! Imagine that!

Time for the Super Bowl!  No way to watch it on TV, so Jim found a guy who announced each play.  At times he talked so fast I thought he must be an auctioneer!  We did our patriotic duty by standing in the direction of the American flag while Reba sang the National Anthem.

Apparently, listening to the game made a lot of people hungry.  Don and Jerry to the rescue with their dueling grills!

Hamburgers are always a good choice for camping!  Greg was chowing down on his.

As the afternoon sun left, it became chilly.  Out came the propane grills to keep us warm.

The game went into overtime, lasting until 9 PM!  In the end, it was Kansas City 25 and  the San Francisco 49er's with 22.

Above is a picture that Cheri took of our group.  Even I'm in it!

Last Hurrah: Post # 3

 The weather has warmed up...so it's time for a hike up the hillside!  Doris, of course, is in the lead.  She is the fastest walker and has already done this several times this week.  We're headed towards the orange wind sock up on the bluff.

As we turn around, the blue waters of the Colorado River appear along with a partial view of our campground.  Right now, there is no one nearby and it is extremely quiet.  Peaceful.

Another view from here reveals a trio of jet skis heading south down the river.  Across the river is California.  

And as Sandy and I turn around towards the hillside, there is Doris waving to us!  Sometimes I think she has more energy than the Energizer Bunny!

More delicious food is on the agenda for today.  Shelly made taco meat from White Tail deer meat.  It tastes just like regular beef, no gamey taste at all.  She has also cooked up taco shells and there is a huge assortment of toppings including cilantro, guacamole, avocado, different cheeses, non-dairy cheese, lettuce, etc.  Both Doris and Shelly are working hard at getting everything ready.  TACO TIME!

The crowd is down 4 people.  Kerry and Bob, and Greg and Lori left Monday morning to head home and to go back to work.  

Thursday was beignet day.  This is a tradition for Jerry, who makes the dough from scratch.  Then he and Sandy team up to roll out the dough, cook them in the Dutch oven and coat them with powdered sugar.  This is a treat all of us look forward to (except me because of my lactose intolerance-drats).

I'm going to call Jerry "Beignet Boy"! 😀  The Legend Lives On....

No Wandering in Wyoming

 Wyoming has a LOT of open space!  What a difference between the traffic on I-25 in Colorado and I-25 in Wyoming!  I think we encountered more cars in half an hour in Colorado than the whole time we were in Wyoming.

About half our trip in Wyoming was on the I-25 interstate, the remaining was on Wyoming Route 59. Gilllette is almost straight north of Windsor, Colorado where our son and daughter-in-law live. Don drove, Glen rode shotgun and I was content in the backseat. 

 

Not much to look at here except trains with their coal cars.  Wyoming has been the biggest coal producer in the United States since 1986.  The coal that comes from here is lower in sulfur, so it burns cleaner than coal from other states.  

Those long lines of coal cars needed a lot of engines to pull them!

Almost all the way back to Parker, Colorado there were storms brewing.  Luckily, we hit a few light and brief showers or drove through the area right after the storm had passed.  

No heavy traffic on the road we just went over either.  I wonder if people from Wyoming even know what it is to experience a traffic jam.  Boy, I would have been ecstatic to drive on the mostly empty roads to work years ago.

Going to Gillette

 Our last adventure was to the small town of Gillette, Wyoming.  Why there you ask?  To pick up our son-in-law, Glen and take him home with us to Arizona.  Our granddaughter Hailey was assigned to a physical therapy place there for a 6-week internship.  He flew to Utah and helped her drive to Gillette.  There is only a very small airport there, so it would be quite a process for him to fly home.  Luckily, we were still in Colorado, only 4 hours away by car (or truck).   We drove up on Saturday morning and left on Sunday morning, so it was a very quick and short trip.

Previously called Donkey Town and Rocky Pile, Gillette was founded in 1891.  The current population is probably around 40,000 people.   On Saturday afternoon we took a stroll in downtown Gillette.  At 4:30 PM not much was open and there was almost no traffic on the street.  It sure made it easy to find a parking spot!

Can you see the photo bomber between Glen and the cute bear?  👀

Basically, the downtown area is about two blocks long.   Definitely no crowds to worry about here. 

Hailey decided to take a break and have a short chat with a guy named Abe. 

Even though this is a small area, bronze sculptures were in abundance.  The tall lady below is "Belle".

Here is a cute grouping right in front of the children's store. Apropos, don't you think?

A group of retired people had set out their camping chairs on the sidewalk!  I guess that is what people do on Saturday night here to create their own entertainment.  As other individuals walked through, the group would clap and holler.  I was up for the challenge and skipped by them.😂😂

We met up with Hailey's host grandmother at Wyoming's Rib and Chop House for a nice dinner.

This is the church that Hailey will be attending while she stays with Elsie Peters. We left right after church to head back to Colorado for the night.

Hailey and Elsie Peters, her "adopted Grandma".  We discovered that Elsie grew up in Tucson and knew some of the same people we did since she attended Grace Lutheran Church there.  What a blessing for Hailey!  She has her own bedroom and bathroom in the basement and a loving person to watch over her.