Tuesday, July 29, 2008
More Family Tragedy
Jul 21 – 28, Mon-Mon ... Monday brought more house hunting with our very patient realtor, Lorilei. That evening we went to a ball game of the Great Falls Explorers, a professional baseball team associated with the Chicago Whitesox. We had a good time and they even won the game. Tuesday, Dixie and I had dentist appointments and fortunately, no major issues to be concerned about.
On Wednesday, everything came to a standstill when we learned that Dixie’s 81 year old aunt, Eleanor Struck, was in a serious automobile accident while on her way to the library to do volunteer work. She was taken to the intensive care unit with massive head injuries. Needless to say, we spent a great deal of time at the hospital Wednesday afternoon. Later that evening when Dixie and many of her family were at the hospital, Aunt Eleanor passed away. The balance of the week as well as the weekend was mostly spent visiting with family and friends who came to pay their respects. The memorial service was held on Monday, July 28th at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church where the sanctuary over flowed with people. It was a beautiful service that, in a small way, depicted her wonderful life and service to her fellow man. She will be missed. We were fortunate to have seen and visited with her the previous Friday and Sunday. She was such a healthy, active person that it is very difficult to imagine not seeing her again. Needless to say our first 2 weeks in Montana have not been pleasant.
On Wednesday, everything came to a standstill when we learned that Dixie’s 81 year old aunt, Eleanor Struck, was in a serious automobile accident while on her way to the library to do volunteer work. She was taken to the intensive care unit with massive head injuries. Needless to say, we spent a great deal of time at the hospital Wednesday afternoon. Later that evening when Dixie and many of her family were at the hospital, Aunt Eleanor passed away. The balance of the week as well as the weekend was mostly spent visiting with family and friends who came to pay their respects. The memorial service was held on Monday, July 28th at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church where the sanctuary over flowed with people. It was a beautiful service that, in a small way, depicted her wonderful life and service to her fellow man. She will be missed. We were fortunate to have seen and visited with her the previous Friday and Sunday. She was such a healthy, active person that it is very difficult to imagine not seeing her again. Needless to say our first 2 weeks in Montana have not been pleasant.
Monday, July 21, 2008
On to Montana!
Jul 14 – 20, Mon-Sun ... Today, Monday, was the long ... and I mean a long drive day. Starting out in Reno around 7:30a.m., we drove 500 miles to the little town of Declo, ID. It’s about 45 miles east of Twin Falls. Dixie drove part of the way as most of it was interstate highway driving.
Tuesday, we continued on to Butte, MT which was another 320 miles. We spent two days visiting friends and relatives brought together, unfortunately, due to the passing of Dixie’s uncle Warren.
Thursday evening, we headed out from Butte to Great Falls (150 miles) with Dixie’s parents and brother in the motorhome with us. We reserved two weeks at Dick’s RV park in Great Falls which is only about a mile from Dixie’s parents home. Since arriving, we have been working with a realtor in hopes of finding a small home or condo to purchase.
Friday afternoon we attended a dinner party at the home of Dixie’s cousins, Russ and Cheryl. They have a beautiful home on a golf course outside the city of Great Falls. The weather has been outstanding bringing warm 80 degree days and cool nights.
Sunday, after church Dixie’s Dad went with us to about 15 open houses (that’s a tiring job). After all that about 20 relatives got together at Dixie’s parents home. We had a good time cooking hamburgers and visiting. This week will consist of more house hunting!
Tuesday, we continued on to Butte, MT which was another 320 miles. We spent two days visiting friends and relatives brought together, unfortunately, due to the passing of Dixie’s uncle Warren.
Thursday evening, we headed out from Butte to Great Falls (150 miles) with Dixie’s parents and brother in the motorhome with us. We reserved two weeks at Dick’s RV park in Great Falls which is only about a mile from Dixie’s parents home. Since arriving, we have been working with a realtor in hopes of finding a small home or condo to purchase.
Friday afternoon we attended a dinner party at the home of Dixie’s cousins, Russ and Cheryl. They have a beautiful home on a golf course outside the city of Great Falls. The weather has been outstanding bringing warm 80 degree days and cool nights.
Sunday, after church Dixie’s Dad went with us to about 15 open houses (that’s a tiring job). After all that about 20 relatives got together at Dixie’s parents home. We had a good time cooking hamburgers and visiting. This week will consist of more house hunting!
Monday, July 14, 2008
The most 'unique' player of the tournament....Jim McMahon, former Quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He plays golf 'barefoot' and wears a different pair of 'flashy' pants everyday!
Beautiful Lake Tahoe & the Celebrity Golf Tournament
Jul 7 – 13, Mon-Sun... On Monday, we moved to the Horizon Casino parking lot which is about 100 yards from the entrance to the Edgewood Golf Course where we will be working for the next week during the American Century Celebrity Championship tournament. Although most of the week was extremely hazy due to forest fires some miles away, this is a magnificent golf course on the banks of the majestic Lake Tahoe. We helped our friend Ross set up his merchandise booth of golf memorabilia in the morning. That afternoon, Mike rode the 55 miles to Reno with Ross where he had some business to attend to. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were practice rounds prior to the main event on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not only did we help Ross with sales at his booth, we also did a lot of printing of his sales material. Thursday, Dixie began working as a tournament volunteer in the Hospitality area of the gorgeous clubhouse of this golf course. She’s had a fun time checking in andtalking with many celebrities and sports legends as well as former Vice President Dan Quayle who patted her on the back (she found out his caddie for this tournament is a Continental Airlines employee that she knew). On Wednesday, we attended a VERY elegant dinner function at Harrah’s Casino for all the participants of the tournament. There was entertainment during dinner, however, the big surprise was a live show done by Jay Leno himself. Although the sound in the auditorium was not the best, it was a very funny show, nonetheless.
On Saturday, we got the sad news that Dixie’s Uncle Warren had passed away. We will leave South Lake Tahoe Sunday afternoon so that we can be in Butte, MT by Tuesday for the service on Wednesday or Thursday.
We stayed to the end on the tournament on Sunday and then headed to Reno about 6pm. We spent the night there and headed out Monday morning around 730p.
On Saturday, we got the sad news that Dixie’s Uncle Warren had passed away. We will leave South Lake Tahoe Sunday afternoon so that we can be in Butte, MT by Tuesday for the service on Wednesday or Thursday.
We stayed to the end on the tournament on Sunday and then headed to Reno about 6pm. We spent the night there and headed out Monday morning around 730p.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Goodbye to Yosemite and Hello to Lake Tahoe!
Jun 30 – Jul 06, Mon – Sun ... One of the highlights of this week was going back to Yosemite Park and going on a 3.75 mile hike, with an 800 ft climb, through Mariposa Grove. The magnificent Sequoia trees are in this area and have been for hundreds of years. What an impressive sight these trees are. Thursday, we moved 22 miles from the Bass Lake park to an Escapees park near Coarsegold, CA. This is a very nice, quiet and friendly park made up of mostly retirees. On Friday, Independence Day, a complimentary barbeque lunch was served in the large park clubhouse. We met some nice people at our table; people who used to travel as much as we do but can no longer because of age or health issues. So today, while Dixie does laundry, Mike will do the necessary engine checks before our departure tomorrow, Saturday. That’s when we begin our journey to South Lake Tahoe to be a part of the Celebrity Golf Tournament July 8 – 13. Our first night on the road will be at a Walmart in Placerville, Ca. It’s about 60 miles from our destination. Well, the Placerville overnight didn’t work out. There were signs in the parking lot prohibiting RV’s from overnighting. Dixie called the park where we were booked for Sunday and they suggested staying at one of the casinos in South Lake Tahoe. With that information, after a bit of Walmart shopping, we continued the 65 trip to SLT. The drive is at times steep and very curvy on highway 50. The trip starts out at approximately 2,000 ft above sea level and ends at over 7,000 ft at the summit. Then it’s downhill for 4 miles to Lake Tahoe. We spent Saturday night in the back parking lot, along with about 10 other rv’s, at the Montbleu Casino.
On Sunday we moved to “Campground on the Lake”. We decided to stay here only the one night and then move to the Horizon Casino which is just across the street from the golf course. We didn’t have any hookups at the campground and have to pay $23 a nite so we decided to save a few $$ and have the convenience of being within walking distance to the tournament.
On Sunday we moved to “Campground on the Lake”. We decided to stay here only the one night and then move to the Horizon Casino which is just across the street from the golf course. We didn’t have any hookups at the campground and have to pay $23 a nite so we decided to save a few $$ and have the convenience of being within walking distance to the tournament.
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