Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It's almost here again. Santa is revving up his sleigh, the reindeer have been on high protein diets for weeks, the elves are on the last fumes of energy, and Mrs. Clause has had Santa on a low carb diet getting ready for all the cookies and milk on his midnight run.

We were getting dinner ready Thursday evening when it sounded as if a train were running right outside our door. We hadn't seen or heard any trains before. Then I could see lots of lights on the freeway. We stepped out to a real treat. About 20 vehicles from dune buggies to semi tractors all covered with colorful lights were making their way through the RV Park honking and waving. After they made their way around our park, they went back on the frontage road headed to another park. I don't know how many parks they went through, but they sure put some smiles on faces here.

I heard that Jessica, David and Lindsey couldn't wait until Christmas to get into the boxes we sent, and so John couldn't wait to get into his last evening. I don't have anything under the tree, but I got mine much earlier when I got my electric scooter. Talk about life changing gifts! We went to the huge Arizona Market Place on Thursday. It is on 40 acres and I think I covered most of it. I still had energy when we got home.

John, Casper and I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas. Our family will be with other relatives this year. We will miss them, but want them to make memories where they are. As for us, I expect we will join other snow birds at the park community dinner, making our memories with new friends.


It doesn't look much like Christmas here in Yuma, AZ. But it is trying...A cold front with a lot of wind started through night before last. At night with no sun to warm the desert and the beautiful clear skies, the temperature dropped enough to run the heaters. So strange to run the air conditioners during the afternoon and heaters at night and early mornings.

May the joy of the season and the love of God touch your life in a special way this Christmas! We look forward to seeing everyone throughout 2008!

Barbara & John

David Popped the Question!

Our son David is engaged! He waited a long time to find the right woman. He thinks he's found her. They haven't set a date yet, but I expect late May to early June of 08. Jessica is a terrific lady and she has a daughter, Lindsey. They live in the Cincinnati OH area. We are wishing the best for them.

We finally had some sunshine today. It's been cold and wet for several days. I though we left that in Oregon. Of course, Oregon has had it bad the last few. I'll take cold and wet.

John gave me a url that you can enter to see where we are. It is http://map.datastormusers.com/user4.cfm?user=5846. It should take you to a map and you can look for 5846. You can zoom in and out on the map to get your bearings.

Data Storm is our internet satellite and if we are set up, it will show where we are.

We did the Costco and Wal-Mart run today. It's getting frantic out there. I think the grocery store may be the only place I go until 2008!

We are headed for Yuma AZ next week. Then it's on to the Phoenix area for about 3 months.

Pio Pico TT, San Diego CA

We have moved our traveling show to the Pio Pico Thousand Trails Park. It's just south of San Diego. This park is very big, covering space on two sides of the road. It was also in the path of the Wild Fires last month. We saw some building remains that apparently had been burned in the fire. Most fire evidence is just the blackened hill sides and tree lines. In several places, the fire came within a few inches of the fence. We learned that Pio Pico was mightly protected by the fire crews.

The rains have started. We got some pretty heavy rain yesterday, but this morning we saw a little sunshine. Now it's raining again.

We took a drive up to San Diego last Sunday afternoon. Talk about stupid moves - the first Sunday in December and we are driving around shopping areas! Again I remember why I shop by internet and mail and why we avoid large cities. We also made the trip up that way on Wednesday (have to make our Camping World pilgrimage) and got caught in the evening traffic. As far as I could see in the mirror or out the windshield were lights of other vehicles. I think I've said this before but perfectly nice people in California seem to be possessed by some demon when they get behind the wheel. There is very little courtesy, and a lot of very aggressive driving. Yet we all seemed to end up at the same place at about the same time.

I finally got around to unloading the camera. I found this wonderful picture Dave took over Thanksgiving in Palm Springs. It was absolutely clear and the moon was rising. It was just a beautiful night.

The trip over to Pio Pico was uneventful (thank God). The park here is much different from Palm Springs. PS was pretty green and lots of palm trees and flowers. Pio Pico is dirtier and dryer. But we have a huge tree outside our door. It gives us and our neighbor shade all day long.

Our site is almost against the mountain so the sun drops early. We have had some days when that was really appreciated.

Our thoughts are with our Oregon Friends after all the storms up that way. I saw a picture from the Eugene Register Guard of Hwy 38 and a boulder bigger than a pick up truck was sitting on the highway. The national news shows were showing pictures of I-5 under 10 FEET of water. If you don't know I-5, it is about the only way to get from Washington to California through Oregon. It being shut down will be very significant to all of us, especially on the west coast. So many consumer goods come in along the Pacific Coast and get moved by trucks up and down I-5.

I've been looking at Amazon's new electronic book reader, the Kindle. What a concept! It would be about the best thing for an RV'er who loves to read. With the limited space, storing all my books is a challenge. Also I tend to get my books by trading in at the RV parks. Gives me a lot to read for very cheap, but I'm at the mercy of others who leave their books behind.

Of course Amazon has been sold out of them for several weeks. They are showing up on e-Bay at unbelievable prices - $700 on up to over $1000! Why didn't we buy several when they were first out??? I've never been much for getting any brand new technology or software. I like to give it a few months to work out the critters. Maybe John will look at it for a birthday present in March. And maybe the price will be down a bit.

We see all kinds of RV rigs in the parks. Everything from million dollar bus conversions to tents, but this was one of the more unusual. This little Tab trailer more than doubled its size with the addition of the Tab Tent. It caught my eye and the camera. I don't think I can downsize that much. :-))

The evening is upon me, so I'll sign off for now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day! I am so blessed. I am in Palm Springs, California sitting outside in the sunshine and enjoying a beautiful day.

David and Jessica had no problems getting here, airline worked, rental car there and easy drive out to us from Phoenix.

Jessica wanted to see some of our family pictures. As we started looking through them, the memories come flooding back. I remember how happy I was on my wedding day, all the family and friends there to watch us promise to love each other for the rest of our lives.

I remember the labor pains and the long hours waiting for David to make his appearance. Then how awed I was to see this beautiful little child, head full of dark hair (wonder where that went), and trusting us to take care of him, feed him, shelter him. I just couldn't believe God had given us this wonder-full little life.

I also remember the pain during parents' illnesses and deaths, all that they had done for us as we grew up. All that love bouncing around!

When we stop to think about it, we are all very blessed. We have food to eat and share, we have reasonably good health, shelter from the heat or cold, all the basic human needs. Most of all I am thankful for family and friends.

So, on this Thanksgiving Day 2007, I thank you - my family and friends for making my life what it is! And I thank God for putting us all in the right places at the right times.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving From Palm Springs

WOW!!!! Is it really true??? Is it really Thanksgiving in less than a week???

Time just seems to fly by. We are still at Palm Desert Thousand Trails for another week or so. I made a trip to Florida last week so I guess that's where part of my time went. The weather here is still a bit warm, but the forecast is for more typical temperatures by Tuesday. I'm ready for 70's instead of almost 90!

We got some pictures of the "windmill farms" along I-10 on our way over from Yuba City. It's hard to put the size in perspective, or to convey the number of generators, but it really does look like a grove of windmills. There are different sizes and towers. It is a green energy source. I wonder if folks in the Texas Panhandle have considered them??

Check out this little roadrunner. He was sitting on the park's BBQ grill outside a 5th wheel. We were driving by and backed up to get a picture. Wonder where Wylie Coyote was?

This picture was taken at Lake Minden Thousand Trails in October. It was a lovely place to relax and enjoy nature. The lake was so smooth and the colors were beginning to turn. It had been stocked with fish and several campers were trying their luck. I didn't hear about anyone catching anything, tho.

The excitement is building. Dave and Jessica are coming out for Thanksgiving and I can hardly wait! We don't have a lot planned since some attractions are closed, but I'm sure we'll find plenty to do and eat.

I dug out some old pictures to show Dave & Jessica. I am struck by the joy and the sadness of it all. The joy from remembering all the good times (and even some of the bad ones). And the sadness from realizing that I don't know some of the people in the pictures, I've lost contact with some others, and just don't manage to stay very connected to family in far away places. It got me thinking about holidays and stress and siblings, other relatives and giving thanks. So if you have gotten lost, send me an email or give me a call!

Growing up as an only child, I missed sibs, but really didn't understand what I was missing. The older I grow, the more I miss that connectedness. When I hear about sibs fighting about anything, especially the trivial junk, I just shake my head. Don't you all know how very lucky you are to have each other? There is no one who knows you like a sibling. Not parents or friends - only someone who has lived life with you from a very young age.

It's Thanksgiving. Take a few minutes to really think about the grudges, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and separation. Is it really that important? Or can you let it go? Do you even remember why you are estranged? Can you be the brave one to hold out a hand to an estranged family member or friend? Life is just too short for hard feelings. Reach out-I'll bet you'll be glad you did.

OK, now that I've been on my first soap box, let's move on to another topic. I bought a medical scooter. I go to Ft Lauderdale next week to pick it up. It's used but very little and has new batteries. Look out world, I'm on a roll now! I am so excited about being able to roam around the RV parks, go shopping and see the sights without so much pain.

I've been doing my Bookcrossing thing. In case you aren't familiar, it's a wonderful way to recycle your books. You set up a free account, then register the book www.bookcrossing.com on the site. You can type in the ISBN and the site will fill in most of the blanks for you. The book then gets a BCID. You attach a label or sticky to the book with some simple instructions and the BCID # and leave it "in the wild." The plan is for someone to pick up the book, read it, and log it on the Bookcrossing web site before sending it on it's way. You can track the books' travels. I usually leave the books in the Club House at the RV parks when I trade for ones I haven't read, but I've left books on planes, in waiting rooms, etc. Check it out.

This shot shows our Hughes Net (Internet) satellite dish (foreground) and the DISHnetwork tv dish. We've had the Hughes for several months now. We are really spoiled! No more finding hot spots or carrying notebooks up to the lodge, etc. and wondering who might be reading our computers! John is doing a great job of aligning them. He's using a birddog - no, not a four legged one. It's a sat finder that really makes the job easier. Drop us an email if you want to know more about Hughes or birddog.

I think it's getting to be bed time. I hope everyone has a Thankful Thanksgiving. We truly do have so much to be thankful for.

See you down the road.

Barbara

Palm Springs

We've been off the net for a while. We took our time driving down and we had to make a stop in Bakersfield for the Cummins shop. In the mean time we John has added on another year as has David.

We made here and are pretty much setup. We came in a day early (on the 6th) since we got the motor home done in time. The Cummins folks steam cleaned the radiators and put it on a dynomometer. They said they thought they had our over heating problem fixed. I think they did. We climbed some long high roads and it never got beyond 1/4 on the gage. Cummins now recommends steam cleaning once a year. It wasn't too bad expensive either, about $200.

Palm Desert is the actual town we are in at the Thousand Trails Palm Springs resort. We haven't done much nosing around yet. It takes a couple days to get things like we want them and then to rest up ;-)) It was 90 yesterday and today was a little bit cooler. The forecast is for more normal temps around 75 -80 by the end of the week. We are in the Mohave Desert so the nights cool way down. It is also dry so the warmer temps are more bearable. My skin is sure feeling the dryness. I may have to buy stock in Jergens.

We got a little magazine about the area when we checked in (read that advertisements). There are several things we want to do. There is a date farm that tells about how dates are grown and processed. They have a gift shop and restaurant (of course). We've been told we have to try a "date shake" when we are out there. There are two arts/crafts/farmers markets - one on Sat & Sun and the other on Tuesday evening. We are close to the pool and store. The park is between I-10 and an active rail road track so there is a little noise. It doesn't bother us much.

Obviously no pictures yet, but I promise to work on that. We did take a few shots of the windmill farms along the way.

California Fires

I am watching the news. These fires are terrible. We aren't in any danger here at Lake Minden Thousand Trails. We've talked with some of our traveling friends that are already further south. They have been evacuated twice. Most of the campgrounds and motels are full.

We are scheduled to leave here October 7 so we are hoping things will be ok by then. Our next stop is supposed to be Palm Springs and then 3 weeks later to Pio Pico Thousand Trails. I seriously doubt we will go there. Even if the fires are out, we expect many people to be living in their RVs while they assess damages and rebuild.

I haven't gotten out to take pictures since we've been here. It's on my list ;-))))

The weather has been warmer than I like but it is supposed to go back down into the 70's tomorrow. The leaves are turning such beautiful colors. The RV park will have hay rides for the kids next weekend for Halloween. They stop the wagons in certain areas for the kids to go TorT'ing.

Check back in a day or two for some pictures.

Rain, Rain Go Away

It is raining and cold here in Yuba City California. It has been really nice, and the rain is badly needed here, but we are breaking camp and moving down the road a ways tomorrow. It's so much easier to do when it is dry.

I was looking through some pictures and found a couple worth posting here. The first one is from our Christmas visit with David and Jessica. It reminded me how nice it was to see them. We are really looking forward to our next visit. Hope the house buying is going well.

It was cold and rainy then too.

We were at Devil's Punchbowl State Park. The Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coast is a wild thing, churning and spraying. Even in December, there were surfers out with their boards looking for the waves.

When you look down at the punchbowl, you can see some of the action of the waves. There are some BIG rocks out there in the ocean, too. Makes me wonder at the awful power to throw them from the closest land.



I also found some Yosemite National Park photos. We didn't have much time to spend the day we visited, and it is definitely a place I would love to revisit. More power of mother nature on display.

The waterfall was so loud, you could hear it from the road which was at least a mile away.

Have a wonderful day!

Cook'n

I've spent a bunch of time recently looking through new recipes. I had (note had) a software program that I had spent tons of time adding recipes. I had a problem with the software and could get absolutely no help. The only solution they gave me was to buy a new disc and start over! So I was ticked off and decided to find something else.

And find something else I did. I found a great software for gathering and keeping recipes together. It's called Cook'n (www.dvo.com) and it is fantastic. They also have a club that you can join. One of the best parts of the club is a Forum. It is well run, and there's a lot of information to be gleaned. If you enjoy cooking and recipes, check it out.

It was raining here (Thousand Trails Lake of the Springs near Yuba City, CA). They sure need the rain around here. Everything is so dry. I was shocked at Lake Shasta on our way down here. It was soooo low.

Tomorrow I hope to get through some pictures in my files and maybe get some more up here. I've been getting some inquiries about my chainmaille and fused glass jewelry and I don't have a web site anymore. Maybe getting some pictures up here will give folks an idea what I do. After all, Christmas is coming sooner that we think. I need the money and someone must need the bracelets for gifts! Makes sense to me.

It's time for the new series on TV "Women's Murder Club." I hope it is as good as the Patterson novels.

More Pictures

Getting Started Blogging

I've never been very good at diaries or journals, so I expect this will be no different. My main purpose creating this blog is to have an easily accessible venue for pictures we have taken on our travels.

We are currently in Oregon House, CA at Lake of the Springs Thousand Trails Preserve. Oregon House is about 25 miles from Yuba City/Marysville CA. It is a nice park with lots of wildlife including wild turkeys, deer, wild peacocks, squirrels, etc. The weather is warm during the day and cooling at night (great for sleeping).