September 30, 2011

September 30, 2011

The last day of September...time flies when you’re having fun, eh?

Michelle took off work today because there were so many things to do before Meredith and Dwaine arrive tomorrow.  We ran errands all morning.  We even made it to a couple of garage sales.  They weren’t so great.

Later in the day we stopped at Sonic for lunch before going to the day old bread store and Walmart.  

In between all of the running around, I worked on the Christmas ornaments.  I had hoped to finish the project today, but I didn’t make it.  Maybe tomorrow...

After dinner, Michelle came to the MH and we worked on a wreath using leaves cut from old sheet music.  We finished one of them and were both pleased with the results.

If I ever learn how to post pictures on this blog, I’ll be able to affix examples of the projects I do to entertain myself.  I have a never ending list of things to do so I don’t have to worry about getting bored.

September 29, 2011

September 29, 2011

We got the motorhome in “go mode” this morning.  Bill needed to take it to a local campground to dump the holding tanks.  He also took it out onto I-25 to “blow the cobwebs out.”

I stayed at Michelle’s and cleaned the kitchen.  I also played with Joey and Hapa.  They love the attention and I love giving it.  Of course, after all that work I needed a nap! 

Early in the afternoon we got text messages from both Meredith and Dwaine.  They were on the road, heading for Colorado.  The Mini, on a trailer, was crammed as full as the rental truck was.

Most of the rest of the day was spent working on this year’s Christmas ornaments.  Hopefully, I will get them finished tomorrow.

September 28, 2011

September 28, 2011

Early this morning I set my sewing machine on the table in preparation for my sewing projects.  There were two garments that Michelle had ask me to repair.  I did those before starting on curtains for a couple of her rooms.

Michelle had purchased a solid medium brown tablecloth at a garage sale.  I used it to make a curtain for the master bathroom.  It was a quick undertaking, especially since Bill installed the new curtain rod for me.

Next on the list was a curtain for Matthew’s room.  He has a camo theme in his room and the fabric that I used fit right in.  I went as far on the project as I could until we get a curtain rod.  When that is in place I can put the curtain on the rod and determine the correct length.

An employee of one of the local thrift stores was to come today for a cabinet and several other things.  Michelle put a gate in the kitchen doorway to keep Hapa and Joey contained when the thrift store guy came.  I tried to open the gate, but wasn’t successful so I decided that I could climb over.  Poor choice of ideas!  I got one leg over, but couldn’t manage to get the other one onto the same side.  Michelle came to the rescue, opening the gate and freeing me.  I am certainly glad that no one was around with a camera.  It was one more stunt to add to my ever-increasing list of dumb tricks.

Tonight we were invited by Stephanie Lane, our ReMax agent, to a Customer Appreciation get together.  The food was great, as was the music.  Lots of the guests were dressed as flappers, gangsters, etc. from the 1920s era.  A good time was had by all!

September 27, 2011

September 27, 2011

As I look back over the day I can’t say that I made much progress in any direction.  Then I thought back to this morning.

Janna, Bill’s niece who lives in the Houston area, called.  We always have lots to talk about.  Today was no exception.  We chatted for over an hour.

Not long after saying good-bye to Janna, my brother, who lives in Santa Fe, NM, called.  We never seem to run out of things to hash over.  He and Peggy, his wife, have several trips planned in the next few months.  Its always good to hear about their travel plans.

I needed to change our legal address with the IRS and spent about 20 minutes on “ignore.”  I figured out that I had already changed it so I hung up.

Just before noon, Lori called to say that we received a notice about our Honda insurance.  That involved another phone call of several minutes.

Well, I guess I wasn’t totally useless today, was I?  I did set up my sewing machine and got things ready to do some projects for Michelle.  That is on my schedule for tomorrow!

September 26, 2011

September 26, 2011

When Meredith and Dwaine arrive from San Jose, CA Saturday they will be staying with Michelle and Ron until they find a home of their own.  Bill and I started our day painting the bedroom they will use.  It looked really nice when we finished.  We had to keep the door closed because Hapa wanted to help.  We didn’t think she would look very nice with blue paint on her furry little body.

After going out for a bit of shopping I came back home to continue working on this year’s ornaments.  When we were in Wyoming in August I bought little cowboy hats.  I am beading the hat bands in a variety of colors.  I’m enjoying working on them, probably because of the beading.  Its a fairly easy idea which is important when there are a dozen to make.

I finished the day watching Dancing with the Stars.  Its one of my favorite TV shows.

September 25, 2011

September 25, 2011

Connor made waffles this morning.  They were very good and a great treat for a Sunday morning.

Michelle and I worked in their basement, cleaning and going through boxes.  The boys helped until it was time for the Denver Bronco game to begin.  We made quite a bit of progress and the area certainly was neater when we finished.

Bill and I watched the NASCAR race from New Hampshire.  It wasn’t a particularly exciting race, but it had its moments.  At the end several drivers ran out of gasoline.  It’s always interesting to see who can make it past the checkered flag.

It was warm later this afternoon, so I stayed inside in front of a fan and worked on an ornament project.  Years ago, when our children were still in school, Lori came up with an alternative to the typical Hope Chest.  Her idea was to make a Christmas ornament every year for each member of the family.  She said that they grew up with a Christmas tree decorated with memories...ornaments that were special, often made by relatives and friends and would miss it when they had trees of their own.  Her idea really appealed to me.  Often the theme is some special occasion in our family.  We also collect things from some of the special places we visit.  When grandchildren started arriving we added them to the tradition.  We are now up to 12 ornaments a year.  It is a really fun idea that I enjoy a lot.

September 24, 2011

September 24, 2011

Saturday, and that means Garage Sale day!  Michelle and I could only eke out a couple of hours because of a busy schedule of chores.  We found several good buys and its always fun, even when we don’t make any good scores.

On the way back we saw a sale in the neighborhood, so we went home to take Hapa for a walk to the sale.  It was further than we thought and by the time we arrived at our destination I was really tired.  While Michelle and Hapa shopped I sat in the shade and rested.  When it was time to start back home I didn’t feel that I could keep up the pace.  Hapa didn’t want to leave me.  She nearly pulled her collar off resisting Michelle’s efforts to get the car and come back for me.  

The rest of the day was spent doing tasks around the house.  

The Oregon Ducks played the University of Arizona in Tucson.  The first half was nearly all Oregon.  Unfortunately, Arizona came out fighting in the second half, but the Ducks hung on!  Yea!

September 23, 2011

September 23, 2011

Autumn dawned with a bright blue sky.  This is such a beautiful time of year with the changing colors.  It reminds me of a poem I wrote years ago.  I was teaching second grade that year, 1988.  

Autumn

A single leaf lets go,

Brown in the morning sun.

Falls gently to the path below.

Autumn has begun!

Since we are in Colorado at the present time we hope to get up into the mountains to see the fall colors.

This was a good day to do some mundane chores.  While Bill changed the transmission fluid, I played at being a farmer.  There were several plants in desperate need of being divided and put in new pots.  With that task out of the way, I spent some time working on a craft project.  

The afternoon temperature was higher than it has been for the past couple of weeks...in the mid 80s.  The thought crossed our minds that summer and fall got kind of mixed up.  Time will tell if that is a fair assessment.

September 22, 2011

September 22, 2011

When we woke up this morning there was frost on the roof of the house next door as well as on the cars.  Br-r-r-r!  And today is the last day of summer.  How about that!

At mid morning Bill and I drove toward Denver to get some supplies for the motorhome.  He thought we could get everything at Cummins Coach Care, but that was not to be.  They didn’t have the transmission fluid he wanted, so they sent us to the NAPA Distribution Center, about four miles away.  As soon as we got onto the freeway traffic came to a stop!  Bill was upset and the longer we were in the traffic jam the more agitated he became.  We were able to get off the freeway after 30 minutes of mostly stopped traffic.  We couldn’t find NAPA and had to make several U-turns, before stopping to ask for directions.  Cummins had given us the wrong address.  We finally found NAPA, only to learn that they didn’t have the fluid.  They directed us to Western Trucking Company about two miles away.  The people at Western hadn’t heard of that brand of fluid, but gave us directions to a supplier who would have it.  By this time, steam was coming out of Bill’s ears.  The more upset Bill got, the more humor I saw in the situation.  Let me tell you that didn’t help things one little bit!  And to make matters worse, we couldn’t find the fourth place either.  That was the last straw, according to Bill.  We headed back toward Loveland, stopping at Costco for lunch, a few supplies, and gasoline.  Bill felt better after he had eaten, and we continued of our merry way.  What a trip!

Bill was absolutely exhausted by the time we got back to Michelle’s, but I still had enough energy to go get a haircut and see my friend Erin at my eye doctor’s office.

To say this was a day filled with adventure was a major understatement!   

September 21, 2011

September 21, 2011

Many years ago (at least 25) I created a stain glass design of a wind swept tree on a beach.  It consisted of 15 panels that fit into a door.  When we sold the house in Seaside, Oregon, I took the panels out of the door...big mistake!  I should have taken the door and the panels as a complete unit. 

I decided the time had come to reassemble all of the parts.  We weighed the options that we might use:  (1) build a frame for the panels, (2) get another door, (3) store the panels back in their storage place.  Option three was low on the totem pole.  I realized option one wasn’t such a good idea either.  My woodworking skills have definitely diminished over the years.  So option two seemed like the way to go.  

We found a door at a surplus lumber place.  Today was the day set aside to get it all reassembled, laying it on Michelle dining room table.  It turned into an all day project that left Bill and me exhausted.  After installing the stain glass, which didn’t always exactly fit into the dimensions of the door, Bill secured the panels and we were able to stand the project up against the wall.  There are still several things to be done to it, but we’re glad for the progress that we made.

September 20, 2011

September 20, 2011

It was mild and clear this morning when I set off to do errands.  I went north to Fort Collins.  The main road going through town is always busy.  Today was no exception.  Why don’t those people go home?  Oops!  That would include me, wouldn’t it?  

I was out and about for several hours.  When I got back home Bill called me a “wayward wife.”  Hm-m-m-m!  I wonder what he meant by that.

By mid afternoon dark clouds had rolled in.  The temperature dropped several degrees.  After dinner, while I was working on a beading project, rain started to fall.  We have had some rain everyday for over a week.  Not enough to strangle a frog, but every little shower helps water the lawn.

September 19, 2011

September 19, 2011

I accomplished more today than yesterday, which isn’t saying a whole lot.  At a garage sale on Saturday I bought a wreath made of eucalyptus branches.  In my collection of nature “stuff” I had some eucalyptus “buttons,” the nut-like part left after the bloom falls off.  I also had several flower shaped “cones.”  After putting all of the eucalyptus things on the wreath I made a bow of raffia as the finishing touch.  The wreath is for Meredith.  

I also spent some time on another type of wreath, which uses leaves cut from sheet music.  The jury is still out on this one.

So you can see that my day was somewhat productive.

September 18, 2011

September 18, 2011

We had kind of a lazy day today.  I made a list of jobs I wanted to accomplish this week and nothing got marked off.  Ugh!  The NASCAR race from Chicago was rained out so I can’t even use that as an excuse.  

I did, however, add to my text message goofs list.  Twice a month I text Brent to remind him to water his plants.  The dictation came out as “Hey Farmer Jones have you watered your craps.”  Replace the last word with “crops” and you will know what I meant to text.

I had a good laugh about that, but then I am really easy to entertain.  It doesn’t take much to get a giggle out of me.

September 17, 2011

September 17, 2011

Saturday is Garage Sale day.  Right?  Well, it is when Michelle and I are together.  We made about 10 stops, but didn’t find very many good deals.  The season here will soon be over because cold weather and snow are just around the corner.

Speaking of snow...there is that cold white stuff on the mountain peaks to the west.  Br-r-r-r!  It just makes me shiver thinking about it.

There is a store in Ft. Collins that has really good prices on bulk foods and produce.  We stopped there on our way back to Loveland, garage saleing all the way, of course!  

We had rain off and on most of the afternoon and evening and the temperature was mild.  That makes for good indoor project time, like balancing the checkbook, cleaning the bathroom, filing insurance forms, and so on and so on and so on!  Ah, the joys of life!  Those little things that keep life interesting.  Yeah, right!

September 16, 2011

September 16, 2011

They tell me that it was very foggy this morning.  I’ll have to take their word for it.  This was one of my “tired days” which I have occasionally and I didn’t get up until 10:30.  It was a blue sky day with just a few clouds over the mountains.  I like my weather report better than theirs.

This afternoon Michelle, Bill, and I took the two dogs to a garage sale just a couple of blocks away.  They were really good pups while Michelle and I shopped.  We took the long way back home, making quite a parade as we walked along.

Tonight, while Michelle went to Joshua’s football game, I stayed inside and dog and boy sat.  Actually,  Hapa and Joey took care of me.  They can be really entertaining.  

September 15, 2011

September 15, 2011

Bill and I had several important errands to accomplish today.  We were successful and still had time to go to Burger King for lunch.  We even managed to go to some places that weren’t on the list.  That doesn't happen very often.  I usually wear the geezer out before then!

For several days I have been looking for a notebook that is vital to me.  One would think that because we live in a “hallway” we would know where everything is.  Wrong!  After searching several places that I had already looked I found the notebook.  I sent Michelle a text message that should have read “I found it. Yippy Skippy!”.  (And now another Text Message Goof for the records.)  The Dictation App wrote “I found it yet baby Skippy.”

Later in a message to Meredith I was telling her about being used as a base during a game of chase.  Using the Dictation App to ask “Who was I playing with?” came across as “Hello wise eyes playing with.”  I think without the Dictation App and my goofs life might be just a little bit duller.

Connor played in a football game this afternoon.  He made some key plays and came home muddy and very tired.  It was cold and rained for part of the game, but they just played right on through it, those tough little kids.  Oh, I tend to forget that Connor isn’t a little kid anymore...he’s five inches taller and out weighs me by about 50 pounds.  He also has muscles and I don’t.  Little kid, indeed!

September 14, 2011

September 14, 2011

The weather was like winter today, as far as I was concerned.  I was colder than usual, which is pretty darn cold.  Michelle was sick...stomach cramps, etc...so I spent more time in the house rather than in the MH.

There was a cold rain falling most of the day so every time I went outside I got chilled.  Br-r-r-r!

I worked on a beading project this afternoon.  What should have taken 15 minutes took over two hours.  That seems to be the norm, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Meredith and Dwaine left their dogs, Joey and Hapa, here so they can devote more time to packing for their move.  Joey knows something is happening, but isn’t sure what.  Hapa is just her usual frisky self.  My inside time was divided between tending to Michelle and playing with my “granddoggers.”  Guess who got the majority of my attention?  Right!  The furry beasts.

September 13, 2011

September 13, 2011

The saga of the house hunters...Meredith and Dwaine are still looking.  The plot thickens because they fly back to San Jose tonight at 8:50.  We are all stressed out, some more so than others.  

Going up and down stairs, in and out of houses, walking around yards, ect. isn’t all bad, though.  This week I have lost two pounds!  I knew that I am getting a bit more tired each day, but last night I proved it.  I post my journal (which is usually the last thing I do before going to bed), then I check to see if the blog has gone through.  (I am trying to avoid making messes that Lori has to straighten out for me.)  Last night, between posting and checking, I put my elbows on the table and rested my head on my hands.  I don’t know how long it was before Bill touched me on the shoulder, scaring me out of several years of my life expectancy.  Going to sleep like that is totally foreign to me.  It is Bill who can sleep anywhere...on a rocky beach, standing at attention when he was in the army, or waiting to be served in a restaurant.  We use to wonder if he could sleep while walking a paved path with me.  So we experimented.  He placed his hand on my shoulder as we walked along.  I felt the instant that he went to sleep, but he immediately woke up.  That nap was only a second or two.  I usually don’t go to sleep that quickly, but last night was different. 

Michelle and I took Meredith and Dwaine to the airport in Denver.  The clouds were very dark and threatening, but we were nearly back to Loveland before the rain started.

September 12, 2011

September 12, 2011

Meredith drove in to Broomfield to her new Oracle office.  The rest of us either went to school, worked from her home office, or went in search of more real estate options.

This morning was cool with clear, blue skies.  As the day warmed up clouds began to form.  By late afternoon rain had begun to fall.  Unfortunately, it didn’t amount to much.

Meredith returned from Broomfield with a good report on her new office.  It sounds as if she made a wise decision about moving to Colorado.

After dinner we watched the Bronco/Raider game from Denver.  The Broncos weren’t doing a very good job as half-time rolled around.  I was nearly asleep before the end of the second quarter so I decided to go to bed before I fell out of my chair and did major damage to myself.

September 11, 2011

September 11, 2011

As many of you know, quite often my memory is pathetic.  It’s interesting, though, that there are things of importance, mainly to the world, that I remember where I was when I heard about the occurrence.

On 9-11-01, we were just getting ready to leave the Susanville, California Walmart parking lot when Lori called and said “Turn your TV on.”  Just as we did, the second plane hit the tower.  It was horrifying.  We stayed there all day watching the events unfold.

I also remember the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  It was such a tragedy for this country.  I was in my classroom when I heard the news.  As opposed to that day was the first USA man launched into space.  Once again I was in my classroom.  We were overjoyed by that happening.

My family was living in Neodesha, Kansas during the last part of World War II.  One day we went to a movie.  When we came out of the theater people were in the street rejoicing, crying, cheering...a multitude of emotions.  The war was over!!!  It was something I’ll never forget.

My memory is locked around these events...some with happy thoughts and some with much sadness.  I guess that’s life!!!

September 10, 2011

September 10, 2011

At 8:30 this morning, Meredith, Michelle, and I went to a huge parking lot sale held by the Loveland High School Marching Band Booster Club.  Covering about 1/4 of the school parking lot, it was a huge affair.  We bought several things, but weren’t able to spend much time at it because of a busy day ahead of us. 

House looking was back on the agenda for today.  This afternoon Meredith and Dwaine put in a bid on a house.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) another buyer offered the owner the full asking price.  So, there will be more houses to look at in the future.

NASCAR raced tonight from Richmond, Virginia.  There were a lot of wrecks causing a record number of caution flags.  Thankfully, there were no injuries, just beaten up race cars.

No goofs, no mileage, no caches, and no critters...just a regular type day in Loveland, Colorado.

September 9, 2011

September 9, 2011

The morning was spent house hunting again...in and out, up stairs and down, around the outside, measuring RV parking space, etc, etc, etc.

Today our hunt took us south to Longmont.  As far as towns go, we all prefer Loveland to Longmont, but it was interesting seeing the different areas.

We hadn’t been back to Michelle’s very long when she and I turned around and drove back south to Boulder for Joshua’s football game.  The first half ended in a tie, but the second half performance didn’t go so well for the Loveland Indians.  Joshua made several good tackles and intercepted the ball once so we did a lot of cheering, but it was disappointing for the kids.  

When we got to the stadium the weather was very mild, but once the sun went down the temperature dropped.  By the fourth quarter a strong wind was blowing.  Although we both had jackets and a blanket we decided that it was time to leave.  

The journey back to Loveland took about 40 minutes.  It was really good to get back home.   Whee!  This was a busy day!

September 8, 2011

September 8, 2011

At 10:00 this morning, Stephanie Lane, the realtor that Michelle and Ron used, took Dwaine, Meredith, and me to look at houses.  I think we looked at seven or eight.  We will go with her tomorrow to see several more.  

Meredith and Dwaine would like to find something before they fly back to California Tuesday night.  That may be a tall order.  We did, however, look at one that might be a good choice.

Dwaine has already given his two weeks notice on his job.  Meredith’s Oracle job at the Broomfield, Colorado office begins on October 4.  She plans to go into the office on Monday to get acquainted with the new office surroundings before they fly back to San Jose.

They brought their two dogs with them and will leave the pups and Dwain’s car at Michelle’s.  Hapa, the little female that looks like a fox, is loving having a yard.  She had several naps in the sunshine today.  Joey is staying closer to people in the house.  He knows something is going on, but can’t quite figure out what it is.

Medical update on Bill...his leg hurts!  Nuf said!

September 7, 2011

September 7, 2011

56° and rain are what we woke up to this morning.  Oh, boy!  It was jeans and a sweater day.  I worked on my “bead and supplies” project during the day.  The job wasn’t as enormous as I had thought it would be.  I was able to complete the task by mid-evening.  It is such a good feeling to cross that off my To Do List.

Michelle’s twin sister, Meredith and her husband Dwaine, plus their two dogs left San Jose, CA last night at 10:00, arriving here in Loveland, CO at 9:30 tonight.  To say that they were tired would be a colossal understatement.  That wasn’t the kind of trip that anyone would like to attempt very often.

As some of you may know, I now have an iPhone.  It goes without saying that it is much smarter than I am.  There are several features that I really like.  One is dictating text messages.  Sometimes they come out OK, but more often than not they need to be translated.  That can be a real challenge for the receiver.  Meredith and Michelle want to keep a record of the funniest ones.  I thought writing them in my blog might be a fun new addition.  

So here goes...for years, our daughter Lori, has said “Yippy, Skippy” when things are great.  Well, this morning Meredith sent me a text message telling me how far they had progressed in their journey east.  I replied with a “Yippy, Skippy!” which went through the air waves ad “Tippy Sloppy.”  I laughed so hard that I had a difficult time sending a text message with the correct words.

Now that I have sent my first Text Message Goof, I can promise you that it most likely won’t be the last.

September 6, 2011

September 6, 2011

We had rain off and on all day, so it was a good time to do some inside chores.  One of my goals for our time in Colorado is to reorganize my beads and beading supplies.  It will be a major undertaking requiring a mess on our table until I finish the project.

The NASCAR race from Atlanta was run today.  It had been delayed because of heavy rain Saturday and Sunday.  There were a few sprinkles today, but it didn’t cause the drivers too many problems.  I am happy to say that Jeff Gordon won in a very exciting race to the checkered flag with his team mate, Jimmy Johnson.

Bill spent a major part of the day resting.  He’s doing all he can to get his gimpy muscle healed.  As patients go, he hasn’t been too difficult to take care of.  

September 5, 2011

September 5, 2011

Happy 15th birthday, Connor.

Since Bill hasn’t received a call back from Ringling Brothers about his job request, he rested most of the day.  His pulled muscle has improved, but still has a ways to go.

I swept the walk, clearing the pulled weeds from yesterday.  And once again I was on kitchen duty.  I also cleaned some storage containers in the motorhome.  That seems to be a never ending job.  I've told you before that I know how to have a good time!

Connor celebrated his birthday several times today:  a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast,  opening presents after lunch, and ice cream and cake, complete with 15 candles, after dinner tonight.  It was a busy day!

September 4, 2011

September 4, 2011

Today was much like yesterday, except I dodged the dirt work and opted for kitchen patrol again.  Bill, however, edged along the front sidewalk while Michelle and her crew worked in the backyard.  After resting for awhile, he stopped his “farmer” duties to change the filters and fluid in the transmission.  As he came out from under the rig and stood up, he stepped onto the “creeper” that he had used to roll under the MH.  

(In case you don’t know what a “creeper” is, I will try to explain.  It is kind of like a big skateboard that a mechanic might lie on to get under a vehicle.  It has four wheels and usually rolls very easily.  Do you have a mental picture?) 

Well, when Bill stepped on it with one foot while the other foot was planted firmly on the driveway, he did the splits.  He was glad that no one witnessed this spectacle of grace in motion.  He lay on the driveway for several minutes before he tried to get up.  Michelle and I had gone to Lowe’s.  It was probably a good thing that I wasn’t around, because I would have commented that it was a strange place to take a nap.  Somehow, I don’t think my observation would have been appreciated!

We got no more work out of the “Flying Walenda” for the rest of the day.  Poor Bill!  He didn’t know how much a pulled muscle could hurt.

September 3, 2011

September 3, 2011

Michelle and her four “boys” plus Grandpa and I spent the morning pulling weeds in their yard.  It wasn’t our idea of a good time, but what the heck.  It didn’t hurt us.  It has been a long time since we have done manual labor.

Some supplies were needed for today’s activities so Michelle and I went to Home Depot.  Sam’s Club is just across the street and we are sure that their pizzas were calling to us.  We caved...and took three of the yummy round things home for the workers.  Neither Michelle nor I wanted to cook.  Can you imagine that!

The work continued into the afternoon, however I changed my job description to an inside activity...cleaning the kitchen.  I don’t know which was harder on my hands, dirt or dishwater.

We called a halt to the fun and games at 6:00, so Michelle and I went to JoAnn Fabrics and Walmart.  We didn’t have much energy or interest in shopping, so we made it as quick a trip as possible.  We spent the evening watching the Oregon Ducks lose to LSU.  Sniff, sniff!  (That’s me crying.)

September 2, 2011

September 2, 2011

Our plans were to leave at 6:00 this morning, but we forgot about the shorter daylight thing as autumn approaches.  At 6:00 the light was a bit too dim to hook the CRV easily, so we stayed in our snugly warm bed for a few extra minutes.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

While living in Casper, Wyoming in the late 1970s we drove I-25 to Denver and back many times, mainly to take Meredith to her heart specialist.  Because it is such a windy area that there have been miles and miles of snow fence.  There is still some of the fence left, but pine trees have replaced most of them, planted in three or four long rows.  It looked refreshing.

After fueling at Sam’s Club we continued south.  Bill practiced honking just to make sure the horns still worked.  Just before we crossed the state line we saw five camels.  And then we entered Colorado and, sure enough, the practice helped!  I did my part, too!

We got to Loveland at about 10:00.  Bill was so tired he took a two hour nap.  Michelle and I had some running around to do, including a few garage sales.

Connor had a football game in Fort Collins at 4:00.  Although Connor’s team didn’t win, I thought they played a good game.  It was cool and cloudy...great football weather.

Travel Totals:  mileage, 131---highest elevation, 6400 ft.---critters, five camels

September 1, 2011

September 1, 2011

I’m sure Willie Nelson was singing as we left Gillette at 11:30 this morning.  Believe it or not, today we have a tail wind as we travel south on Hwy. 59  We seldom have a wind pushing us.  So mark this day in history. It might not happen again for millenniums to come.

As we drove through Thunder Basin National Grassland we saw deer and antelope sharing the yummy grass with some horses and lots of cows.  Peaceful coexistence at its best!

Before arriving in Douglas we went through the thriving metropolis of Bill, Wyoming.  Yippy, skippy!  From the looks of things, the population appeared to be about 10, but that may be a gross exaggeration.

When we crossed the North Platte River, Bill and I both had happy memories of rafting the river with our children.  Everyone had a paddle and the big rubber raft went slowly round and round and round.  Great fun!

There is a city park in Wheatland that allows overnight parking.  We have parked here before and were glad that a spot was open for us.  Bill has had a rough day with no time for naps.  Poor guy! It was good just to have a relaxing evening.

For the first of September, this was a very good day as we are on our way to Michelle’s house in Loveland, CO.

Travel Totals:  mileage, 181---critters, one deer and a whole bunch of antelope.