Yuma ~ The winter vegtable capital of the world

Yuma Lakes RV ~ had to take this because of the 'Great Falls Ice'

Our stay in Yuma, AZ

Dec 4^th – Dec 17^th....The 160 miles drive to Yuma was uneventful. We stayed at Yuma Lakes (our first time in this park) and Doug & Fran went to Araby Acres.

On Wed. Dad and Elaine drove down from Lake Havasu and stayed at John & Angie Hebblemen's until Sun. We all gathered at their house for a wonderful ham dinner that evening.

Thursday Dad, Elaine, Doug and Fran went to Alcadones, Mexico with us. Doug had broke a tooth that morning so he headed to the dentist. Dad and Mike got glasses and then Mike decided to go to the dentist and get his bridge. We had lunch and wandered around. Doug got his boots shined (they were scuffed pretty bad from the bike accident). The wait time getting back through the border was short! That evening we all went to Daybreakers for dinner to celebrate Dad's birthday. Friday Doug, Fran and us went back to Alcoadones so Doug & Mike could finish up their dental work. Fran & I had a manicure. We stopped at a little outdoor cafe and listened to 'Pepe' play and sing some great music. He played non stop for over an hour! The trip today thru customs was quick – no wait time!!! We went back to Doug & Frans for dinner.

Saturday Dixie worked on some jewelry for Christmas gifts! In the afternoon Dad & Elaine and Doug & Fran came over. Doug bought a motorcycle through Ebay and he will go to Austin, TX to pick it up. We did some travel planning for him. That evening we went back to John & Angie's for Ham & Beans – today was Dad's real birthday so we celebrated again.

Sunday Doug & Fran came over for home cooked chinese food!

Doug flew to Austin on Monday morning to pick up his new bike and will start his drive back to Yuma. I went to John's to cut his hair and highlight/cut Angie's. Then I headed over to Fran's to cut her hair.

Tuesday we made the 22 mile move to Pilot Knob RV park. We got our Christmas packages ready for mailing. Dixie made some more jewelry – this time for Denita to give for presents!

Wednesday I mailed packages and went to Fran's in the morning to work. We shopped in the afternoon – hit the Goodwill! Doug arrived with his bike around 630p.

Thursday we spent a good portion of the day cleaning and rearranging & washing. That evening we met Doug & Fran in old downtown for a drink and then went to Los Manjares DePepe for a mexican dinner. We have frequented this small restaurant in the past & new they had great food!. It was pooring rain by the time we left – we had a lake in front of the motorhome.

Friday we were to have our carpets cleaned at 8am....well they ended up not arriving until after 11am. They finished by 1230 and the carpets looked much better. We headed into Yuma and made a few stops and then went to Doug & Frans for another wonderful dinner.

Saturday Dixie worked on more jewelry christmas gifts. Doug & Fran moved their RV to storage at some friends house and they came over to do some laundry.

Sunday D & F flew back to Montana to spend Christmas and catch up on 'things'. We had a great lunch a Cracker Barrel and then visited some friends from our FMCA group (Dennis, Carol, Bill & Lois). They have a wonderful lot where they park their motorhome for the winter.

Monday was a lazy day....Dixie did a haircut and read her book while Mike cleaned on the outside of the motorhome. Tomorrow we leave for Desert Hot Springs~

A short stop in Indio!

Nov 29^th – Dec 4th ….We drove through some fog, drizzle and wind on our 170 mile route from Simi Valley to Indio – Indian Waters RV resort. Doug and Fran stayed at Indian Well Carefree Resort on Jefferson/111.

On Friday we met Danny & Lexi at Doug & Fran's for dinner. Mike went with Ross in the am to the Q School golf round to watch Chad Collins play.

Saturday afternoon we met Bill & Gloria, Danny and Doug & Fran at the Beerhunter to visit and watch the Bobcat football game. At 7p we headed to Pioneer Town to Pappy and Harriet's for a late dinner. There was a band playing that was good but a bit too loud to allow for any visiting!

Sunday was another day on the go....today's outing was to Aunt Marge's in Riverside. Doug & Fran had never been to her condo. We had a very nice time visiting with Marge and Don and enyoed a lovely chili dinner. When we returned we found our friends from Edmonton – Glen & Henrietta parked next to us. We had to go over and say hi & visit for a bit.

Monday was wash day and grocery shopping. In between Dixie cut Henrietta's hair. That evening we all went to Bill & Gloria's for dinner and to see their new motorhome – a Winnebago Tour. It was very nice and roomy. Next stop on Tues., Dec 4^th is Yuma!

 Air Force One - used by 7 Presidents from 1972-2001

Newt G. signing his book at the Reagan Library

 View of San Fran  from Lombard St

 San Fran beach from the Cliff House

 Chocolate!!!!

The Fall Grapevines

 The Ocean near Jenner, CA

 Berringer Winery

Korbel Champagne Cellars

Northern/Central California

Nov 19^th – 28th …We drove in some pretty high winds out of Medford to Redding, CA. Also some mountainous terrain. After a 191 miles drive we arrived in Corning, CA at the Rolling Hills Casino around 2pm. The large lot was quite empty so we thought it would be a good place to overnight. We drove the car just over 30 miles to Chico and went to the movie, 'Lincoln'. After the movie we shopped at Trader Joe's and then had pizza and beer at a local place called 'Woodstock Pizza'. We arrived back at the RV's around 930p to a lot packed with trucks. There was a refer parked just across from us that had his running all night long! It was a bit noisy!!!!

On Tue. the 20^th we headed down the road 175 miles to Santa Rosa where we stayed at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV park. The park was ok but our check in experience was not. We encountered one of the the rudest camp hosts ever. He was definitely on a power trip. Once we got settled in everything was ok.

On Wednesday Doug drove use around. We made a circle trip through Sonoma, Napa, Calistoga....We had lunch at a great local Mexican restaurant (Taqueria Maria) in Napa While in Napa we drove by the Cedar Gables Bed and Breakfast that we stayed in several years ago. We walked around Robert Modavi Winery but decided against the tour and tasting as they were pretty pricey....it's not like it used to be when they were all free. We went down the road a ways to Whitehall Lane Winery where we did do some wine tasting. The charge there was $15 but they waived that when Fran bought 2 bottle of wine. The next stop was at Berringer (the oldest winery in the valley). They were closed early due to the holiday so we weren't able to go inside. We did walk around their grounds and took many photos...their house and grounds were beautiful!!!! The road home was quite windy but scenic.

Thanksgiving we drove into San Francisco. We crossed the Golden Gate bridge and then Doug took over the driving. We drove around the Golden Gate park, to the beach near the 'Cliff House', though Haight/Ashbury, down Lombard Street and then headed to the wharf. We parked the car (free for the holiday) and purchased a ticket for the cable car and street car($14 ea). We had a lovely ride to downtown – the end of the line. We walked around a bit and then caught the historic street car, where we followed the piers to our stop at Pier 39. We walked around there a bit and saw the sea lions sun bathing! From there we walked the wharf and stopped for a beer ($31 for 4). Next stop was Ciopinno's, a neat Italian Seafood Restaurant. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner of Seafood.....Crab/Shrimp Louie for Doug and I, Clam Linguine for Fran and Blackened Snapper for Mike...too finish it off we split an excellent apple dessert. Afterwords we walked to Ghirardelli Square and sampled the chocolate. We had perfect weather for our San Fran trip and thoroughly enjoyed our day!!!!

Friday we rested a bit and then in the afternoon we went to Costco, a couple of Thrift stores and a quick Walmart stop. We barbecued tri-tip steaks that evening.

Saturday we checked on Fran's mail which didn't arrive. Then we drove to Korbel Champagne Cellars where we went on a wonderful tour, did some tasting (once before and once with the tour) and then had a great lunch at their deli. We also had to make a few purchases. At least the tour and tastings were free here. After leaving there we continued on the curvy river road to the beach coming out near Jenner. We headed north and made a couple of overlook stops to enjoy the beautiful ocean view. We then headed south to Bodaga Bay. It was another scenic day in Sonoma county!

On Sunday it was a 200 round-trip into Sacramento where we went to Old Sac. We met Tracy and Larry Park from Placerville for lunch. They are friends of Doug and Fran – Larry is a guitarist that lived and played in Great Falls. Old Sac is a neat historic place. We had lunch on the river and enjoyed our visit.

On Monday Mike & I left at 930a and Doug & Fran waited to pick up the 'general delivery mail'. We worked our way through the San Fran/Oakland area crossing the Richmond/ Rafael bridge. We made a quick fuel/lunch stop in Gilroy. We arrived at Santa Maria Fairplex around 430p. Today's drive was 315 miles. Doug and Fran arrived at 6p.

On Tues. we drove the car to Solvang, a small Danish town out of Buellton. We were there in 2005 but Fran has Danish roots so we wanted to go again! We had a good danish lunch at 'The Red Viking'. Went to the Bethania Lutheran Church which was built in 1912 and was made to the look of a danish church of the 1600's. We wondered around town and finished off the visit with a danish pastry and coffee! On the return trip we stopped in Buellton at Andersen's Split Pea Restaurant where we walked through their gift shop and little museum which told of the history of Buellton.

On Wed. we moved down the road 140 miles to Simi Valley. We toured the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.. When we visited in 2005 they were just ready to move 'Air Force One' to the library. We enjoyed our visit and got to see several new exhibits. Getting there was a bit of a challenge for all. Doug & Fran had a difficult time finding a diesel station that they could fix into – they ended up detouring on a narrow curvy road to get turned around. We couldn't find a place to stop to use the 'facilities' – exited twice and had to detour around as well. We had planned to park at the Reagan Library but there wasn't room for the car/motorhome so we went to the nearby Walmart where there was also not enough room to park. From there we went to the Oak Park RV park – a county park we stayed at the last time. Doug & Fran arrived about an hour after we did and just parked the RV and jumped in with us so we could get to the library/museum. Neither of us had lunch so we were pretty starved by the time we left. We headed to a local Mexican place called Chuy's where we had fish tacos. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing!  Tomorrow, the 29th we drive to Indio to spend 5 nights.

 Happy 70th Birthday Mike

 Salem ~ State Capital

 Happy Early Thanksgiving

Mike & Camilla at our early Thanksgiving Nov. 17th

Oregon 2012

Nov 9^th - 18th...OREGON...We drove 110miles from Chehalis, WA to Hubbard, OR on Friday the 8^th. We arrived at Fran's Mom's (Camilla) place shortly after noon. We parked both RV's in her yard making it quite handy for visiting! That evening we had dinner at the Colony Pub in Aurora.

On Saturday we celebrated Mike's 'big' Birthday! We all did a bit of shopping and then came back home and made a wonderful shrimp dinner. A good time was had by all. Doug & Fran bought a neat little electric fireplace at Camping World for their RV so all enjoyed our drink there.

Sunday we visited at Fran's cousins house (Pokey & Dick) where we were introduced to many of Fran's cousins. One raised Falcons so we went to his yard to see them. It rained most of the day but we had a great time visiting!

Monday the 12^th Dixie worked on Medical Acct Services stuff.

Tuesday we all took Camilla to the Dermatologist in a suburb of Portland. Afterward we had lunch at Roarkes….. where we had their special coney island dog & hand cut fries. From there it was a stop at the Goodwill. We then drove around downtown Portland. Next stop was Camping World where we purchased an electric fireplace for the motorhome...it's different from Doug and Fran's...ours is black and looks like a wood stove.

Wednesday afternoon Doug, Mike and I drove to Salem. Fran took her Mom to a doctor appt in Salem. We toured the capital building, shopped a bit downtown and then all met for dinner at a Mexican restaurant back in Woodburn.

Thursday we made a Walmart run and stopped at the Woodburn Goodwill. Pokey and her Mom Betty (Camilla's sister) came that evening for dinner.

Friday Doug and Fran visited with her Uncles and Mike & I took a trip to Costco and Camping World. We couldn't find the digital TV booster at the first Camping World so we drove 20 something miles to Hillsboro (east of Portland) to get one there. We also found a Dish Network retailer to pick up an item for Doug. That afternoon Dixie worked.

Saturday we prepared an early Thanksgiving dinner. We enjoyed our turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, red cabbage, brussel sprouts and of course pumpkin pie! Camilla set a beautiful table with one of her many china collections. Speaking of china collections – we put two of Camilla's items on Ebay. Hopefully we can sell them for her!

Sunday, after 9 days we departed Camilla's around 1030a. We had a wonderful time during our stay and are thankful we could camp out in her yard. We had planned to head to the coast for a couple of days but the forecast was for heavy rain and high winds so we changed plans! Today's destination is now Talent, OR (5 miles south of Medford). The drive was 257 miles. We stayed at a Passport park called American RV. The rain let up after about 45mins into the drive.

Tomorrow the 19^th we will depart Oregon!

 

A bad weather day at Snoqualmie Falls

 

Ruby Beach in Olympic Natl Park

 

The Guppy family at the motorhome!

 Mike, Fran & Doug at Westport, WA

 

Westport, WA Pier

 

Tallest Lighthouse in WA

 

Mt Rainier is behind the clouds!...REALLY

 

Narada Falls

Winter Trip - Idaho & Washington

Oct 27^th – Nov 7^th...We finished packing the motorhome in the snow. It warmed up for us the morning we left - Sunday the 28^th. Levi was in Great Falls for the weekend so he followed Doug & Fran and us to Missoula. We all had lunch at Hooters and we then we continued west to Coeur D'Alene, ID. We stayed there for 2 nights at Tamarack RV park. We drove around the town and took a drive to the Spokane Valley area where we stopped at Cabela's and Camping World. On the 30^th we drove through more rain and arrived at Tall Chief RV in Fall City, Wa around 430p. This park is pretty much in a forest so we didn't have satellite TV and Doug and Fran didn't have cable!

On Wednesday we met Micheala during her break at Costco, stopped at Trader Joe's and then drove with Doug & Fran to Snoqualmie Falls & Issaquah. On Thursday we all went to Redmond where we drove around and finally found Microsoft's Visitor Center. Microsoft has a HUGE area (miles) of many, many buildings. We also made a thrift store stop. That evening we all met Micheala, Tim, Adriana and Dillon for a burger at the XXX Drive In in Issaquah. We had a great time celebrating the kid's birthdays!

On Friday around noon we headed out for Seattle. We explored Pike's Place market, the warf and downtown. We took the monorail to the Seattle Center and walked around in the 'rain'. We met Gene, Tamar, Gena, Gita and Alexa (Uncle Howard's nieces) for dinner at the Steelhead diner across from Pike's Place. We had a wonderful dinner and a grand time spent with friends. Dixie drove home in the rain...have we mentioned that it has rained everyday since we've been in the pacific northwest???

Saturday afternoon we attended Adriana's soccer game at Mt Si high school in Snoqualmie. More rain but they won the game! After the game they came to the motorhome where we had Papa Murphy's Pizza and visited!

Sunday we left the RV's around 930a headed to the ferry in Mukilteo where we caught the 1030 ferry to Clinton on Whidbey Island. Our destination was Gene and Tamar Feltons' house. They have a beautiful home on the southern point that overlooks the bay and the Pacific Ocean. The outside area has a spectacular view of the water and their vineyard! We delivered Uncle Howard's camera collection that he willed to them. We snacked a bit and then they took us to Langley where they own “The Star Store”...a grocery, clothing, wine and basic store(s). It was very cool and they carry just about anything you might need and then some. From there we went to the Italian restaurant above the store where we had a nice lunch. Once back to the house we visited, sampled their wines and later ate a delicious dinner. We finally had to leave shortly after 8pm to catch the 830p ferry back to the mainland. Whidbey Island is a quaint area with wonder views of the water! Thanks to Uncle Howard we met some wonderful friends! (actually Tamar, Dixie and Doug played together a couple of summers in Hogeland about 50 years ago!)

Monday it was time to depart for the next adventure. We drove the 110 miles to Elma, WA which is out of Olympia on the way to the beaches and Olympic Natl park. Mike & I stayed at Travel Inn RV (one of our membership parks) and Doug & Fran stayed at Elma RV Park (a Passport park). We drove to Aberdeen and Westport that afternoon and checked out the beach, WA's tallest lighthouse, a winery and a crab cannery. Tuesday the 6^th (Election Day) we drove the Olympic Peninsula (320 miles around). It was an all day trip over varying scenery and weather. Our lunch stop was in Forks! We also stopped at Ruby Beach on the west side and Port Angeles. We even looked up the house of one of Fran's ex doctor clients. They weren't there but she left a note for them. The drive down the east side followed Hood Canal so it was a pretty drive right on the water. Of course we had to have rain off and on throughout the drive.

We decided to stay one extra day so we could catch up! We had a wonderful rib dinner at Doug & Frans and planned the adventure for the next couple of days!

Thursday we drove the RV's all of 35 miles to the Walmart in Chehalis where we overnighted. Today's car drive was to Mt Rainier. It started out a bit foggy and cloudy. The drive to the park was scenic. We arrived at Longmire (the southwest entrance around lunch time)....just in time for it to start snowing! We went through the visitor's center and then ate our picnic lunch in the car watching it snow. The ranger told us a place that we may get a good view of Mt Rainier – no such luck. From there we decided to make the winding, uphill drive to Paradise. The snow was sticking to the road at this level. We stopped at a pull over along the way a caught a break in the clouds and snow and actually saw the edge of Mt Rainier (with clouds covering a lot of it). We took a few pictures and moved to another stop at Narada Falls, a beautiful large water fall. It was very picturesque with the light snow on all the greenery! Once we made it to Paradise which is the base of the mountain it was very cloudy and snowy so we didn't see much of anything. We took a different route back, arriving at the motorhome around 430p. We met Janet Simons (lived in Turner) for dinner at a restaurant called The Thai Dish. On Friday we completed our trek through Washington!

                                         Shay and Tyler at 'Amazing Toys'

                    Shay at Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center

                                                            Ouch!!!!

                            Windshield and pieces of the bike

The Harley after the deer encounter...looks better in the picture than it really is!

Most of October 2012

October ...The month started out with a change of weather. We woke up to snow on the 3^rd. It didn't stick but the high temp dropped by 40 degrees from 80 on the 1^st to 40 on the 3^rd. We went to the movie, Trouble With The Curve with Clint Eastwood. It was a good movie. Dixie won a drawing for some free Mary Kay so she had a facial on the 3^rd. Dixie took Doug for his Prostate biopsy on the 4^th as Fran was at the farm working. The results came back negative a week later – good news for now at least. Dixie realized her drivers license was due in January so she got that taken care of. Tyler and Shay stayed with us from the 4th-7^th while their parent went to an EMT conference in Helena. While they were here we went to a “Americans” hockey game. IT was a lot of fun and there was even a couple of fights. We also went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and did a some shopping. We finally completed our crawl space project – the vapor barrier is all down once again. We completed another project we have been putting off – updating our wills. Dixie went to the What Women Want Expo on the 13^th. We have made several trips to the motorhome, packing items and refueling. The weather turned cold on the 20^th so we plugged it in so we can run the heat this next week before we leave. We are doing last minute things...Mike renewing his 'Carry License', Dixie getting a haircut, Christmas shopping, etc.

On the 19^th we picked Doug up at Front Range as he flew his plane in to hanger it for the winter. We went to lunch and then he headed to the farm on his motorcycle. He wanted to take it out there to load it in the 5^th wheel for our trip. Unfortunately, he had a bad accident about 50 miles into the trip. A deer jumped out of the ditch about 4 miles this side of Loma. He hit the deer going around 70 mph, split the deer in half and the bike went to the left and he went in the air! When landing (believed to have been on his right side where his arm/elbow hit his ribs – this was determined by the pain) he skidding down the pavement approx 300-400 feet and then rolled a few times where he scraped his left side – luckily the leathers took most of it. It just so happened that he had just met Steve and Annie Humphreys (unknown to either them or Doug). Steve saw the accident in his rear-view mirror. They turned around to help and found out it was Doug – what are the odds??? Another car heading towards GTF had called 911. A pickup that Doug had just passed also saw the accident. Between these two vehicles and Steve's they were able stop traffic. The EMT checked him out and Doug was feeling ok at the time so he declined the ambulance. Steve and Denita happened to be in Havre on their way to Great Falls, so Doug, Steve & Annie waited at the scene until they arrived with a trailer to haul the 'totaled' bike. He arrived in Great Falls with deer blood and parts on him and his leathers. He also had a nasty looking scrape on the crown of his head and some missing hair. Once he cleaned up Denita and I took him to the ER as he was having a hard time breathing and his groin area hurt a lot (figured he took a handlebar to the groin). Three hours and 3 CT scans later they determined that he had 2 fractured ribs....totally amazing that was the only real injury. He definitely had a guardian angel (Mom I think) riding with him that day! The head injury was just an abrasion that looked much better the next day. He is healing well now but was very sore for the first few days! The bike & the deer didn't fair as well as Doug.

The next day on the 20^th we all went to The Sting to celebrate the miracle the Lord gave Doug and also an early Birthday (Oct 25^th). 

Denita, Steve, Tyler and Shay left on Sunday. Doug and Fran stayed until Wed. and then headed home to pack up the 5^th wheel. We had planned to all leave on the 26^th and attend the Griz game on the 27^th in Missoula. Those plans were changed due to the accident and the fact that it snowed on the 22^nd and continues to do so off and on. The weather is below freezing (in the teens this week). We will try and head out on Sunday the 28^th if the weather permits!

 

Before

 

During

 

After

September 2012

September...Whew, we are winding down the summer. The weather has still been great although we are in need of rain. The crawl space it fairly dry, just some water standing under the kitchen area. Our project this month was to lay the plastic down as a vapor barrier. Anything in the crawl space is a job as you can't stand up down there! We managed to get over half of it done in one day before we ran out of plastic – the rest will be completed in Oct. We actually had another big project for this month. We wanted to take our old TV out of the motorhome and put in a LED flat screen...well, easier said than done. Doug and Fran went with us (since Doug will be the installer) to see what it would take to removed the old TV. We realized quickly that it would be no easy task. We started by Doug purchasing a special saw to removed the frame (only to find out a couple of days later on the internet that there were hidden screws that should have removed it—oops that was our fault -we should have searched the blog sites sooner)! Well on the 9^th, Doug and Mike and I went back over thinking we could finish the job – well we did but it was difficult to say the least. Once we finally were able to get the very large screws loose to drop down the metal frame, we found that the TV was accidentally screwed to that metal frame.. The TV ended up coming apart before we got it out. It weighed 80 pounds and is very bulky. It took the 3 of us to get it out and Doug ended up breaking it apart more just to get it out the front door – they don't build these things to replace or fix any appliance. That TV was not meant to be removed! We purchased a Samsung 32 inch TV and ordered a mount online. It took another two days later in the month for Doug to build the box, attach the mount and get it all to fit in the space – again not an easy task. When all was said in done, it turned out great and we even got the TV to work with DirecTV (must have hooked it up right). The jury is still out on the surround sound and DVD player – October's project!

We finally played a round of golf on the 18^th (first one for Dixie for the summer). Bill & Gloria were back in town for a few days so we visited with them over dinner at Dads. Also this month we gave blood, attended on of the last Voyager games, the movie '2016' & went to the dentist. Mike had a 'baby' tooth pulled that has been bothering him for sometime. He also went to the doctor for his annual and had a couple of tests.

On the 25^th we brought the motorhome to the house to start cleaning and filling it. We had a propane hose made so we can hook it up to our propane tank on the motorhome. This will come in handy for our grill and firepit. We are planning on heading out on Oct 26^th.

 Congressman Rehberg & Senator McCain in Great Falls

 Ken Overcast at the Gospel Concert at St Johns Lutheran church in Gt. Falls

Since we didn't take any photos of harvest you get this one of Doug during a skit at the school reunion!

August 2012

August...Were is the summer going? Tyler, Levi and Mikenda stayed with us overnight on the 4^th. They came to attend a concert at the fair. Danny and Lexi flew in on that day as well. They headed to the farm the next day so we didn't see much of them. Bob & Paula Cox were in Great Falls visiting so we met them at the Voyager baseball game on the 9^th and also visited with them at Dad's on the 11^th. Danny & Lexi left the evening of the 11^th . On the 13^th we met the cousins at McKenzie River Pizza. Bob & Paula, Mark & Debbie, Doug & Fran, and Cheryl were in attendance. It was another fun night of catching up. On the 14^th we attended the annual condo picnic. This month we inventoried & appraised Howard's coin collection, attended an informational talk from Denny Rehberg and John McCain & enjoyed a gospel concert with Dad & Elaine where we listened to Ken Overcast and other good music. On the 21^st we drove to the farm to help out some with harvest. Dixie did some cooking and we both helped moved vehicles. Dixie also did a lot of Fran's work. We ended up staying for a week! We got back on the 28^th and left again on the 31^st. This time we took the motorhome to Seeley Lake to Aunt Shirleys. Dad and Elaine took the boat, Steve & Denita took their camper & Doug and Fran decided to stay home as they were tired after the long harvest! We had a great time boating on Sat and Sun. Levi came from Missoula & Jody, Jay and Jim & Shelly came from Butte. Also Billmayers, Maloneys and Gail & Monte were out on the water. We came back on Labor day!

 AT McKenzie River Pizza with the cousins

Big Sky FMCA Rally

July 2012

July...We got back home on the 1^st , only to leave again on the 4^th for Hogeland. Danny flew in on the 3^rd and we all went to Hogeland for an all school reunion in Turner. We had 4^th of July dinner at Doug & Frans. On Friday Danny & I helped Darla Van Voast set up the AV equipment for the slideshow at the banquet. There was a very large crowd in Turner (around 600). It was fun seeing lots of people that I haven't seen in a long while – some since high school. There was live music each night. On Saturday, Mike & I helped Doug, Fran and Tammy sell drinks at the tent/dance. We were kept quit busy!.

On Sunday the 8^th we buried Mom's ashes at the Silverbow Cemetery and said our finally goodbyes. You may be gone, but never forgotten MOM!

On the 9^th we were back in Great Falls and helping Dough & Fran move Howards things to their house. We have Howard's car in our garage with the hopes of possibly buying it. We took it in for maintenance work on the 13^th for a 'groan' in the steering. It took quite a while but it was finally fixed. We worked a lot on preparing for the FMCA Rally we are hosting – getting gifts, creating agendas, purchasing items, etc. Other things that kept us busy in July – attended a Denny Rehberg talk at the college, walked the rivers edge trail, went on a short ride on the river on Dad's new pontoon boat, Dixie's annual doctor visit and we inventoried and appraised Howard's camera collection.

We put the motorhome on a site at Dick's RV park on the 26^th which was the start of our Big Sky FMCA rally. We had 17 rigs in attendance, which as a very good turn out. It was a busy 4 days but we had a great rally and a fun time. The weather cooperated for the most part. It was quite windy on Sat. so we had to moved our dinner inside the small building. It was hot but at least it was out of the wind. We were caught at a weak moment and both agreed to hold offices for the next 2 years – Mike, President and Dixie, Secretary.

 Howard's Memorial

' Lillian Miller Hamilton Nace' Family at Beaver Creek Reunion

Brother Roger, Mike and Brandon

June 2012

June... June started the Farmers Market, Alive @ 5, Voyager Baseball and Garage Sales. Denita and family were here the first weekend. They purchased Bill & Gloria's living room furniture so they came to pick it up. We helped Bill & Gloria with their garage sale on the 8^th. Doug & Fran used our passes to take a trip to northern CA. They had a bit of a problem with flights on the return so they were gone a few days longer than planned – the fun of non-reving! We made a trip to Houston on the 9^th where we saw Brandon and family. We stayed at Barbara's with them. We attended a wonderful BBQ at Mike & Hopes, a Sugerland Beeters baseball game, lunched & visited Roger, Karen and families, visited the Firefighers Memorial (Jason) and also spent a morning with Ruthie. We had a wonderful time and arrived home on the 12^th. (we had to try 2 flights out of IAH before getting on). Denita, Steve, & Levi passed through on their way to U of M for Levi's college orientation. On the 23^rd we were at the farmers market with Doug & Fran when we received the news that Howard Nace had passed away. It was a shock as he had not been sick. We spent the weekend making arrangements. On Wednesday we took the motorhome to Beaver Creek Park for a Miller family reunion. We drove the car to Hogeland for Howard's funeral. We enjoyed our time visiting with some of his family that we have not seen since childhood days. We went back to the motorhome that evening. Shay went with us and stayed overnight as well. The rest of the family arrived on Thursday for the reunion. The Butte crew were also there. We had a great time visiting and catching up with everyone!

 Tyler with his diploma

 Levi & Aunt Dixie

Mom's ashes are buried

May 2012

Apr 27 – May...Dixie started out by working the day after we returned. On the 28^th our dryer quit working (the washer was the one that really needed to be replaced). On the 30^th we began our washer/dryer shopping and made our purchase on the 1^st where we bought a ---- at Eklunds. It's so much fun researching and making a decision (NOT)!

May was a busy month catching up – there were flowers to plant, visiting to be done and some work in there. We attended Levi's divisional track meet that was held here. Elaine arrived on the 17^th to spend the summer with Dad. We went to the farm on the 18^th to attend Graduation on the 19^th. Levi graduated from High School and Tyler from 8^th Grade. It was a busy & fun weekend, but how can they be that old? Dixie had to have her ring repaired and then while wearing 'Moms' ring, lost the diamond in it. (luckily Doug found it on their floor). Both rings were now in the repair shop. Dixie dug out some old gold pieces that were broke or no longer being used and sold them to cover the repair costs! We gave blood. We had snow on the 27^th! On the 31^st Dixie helped Gloria price items for their garage sale – they sold their house and will be moving to the motorhome. (sounds familiar).

Another Successful Trip South Completed!

Apr 23-26...We left Laughlin around 740am for a trek north. We decided to take an alternate route turning off the I15 north of Vegas on Hwy 93. We drove 377 miles to Ely, NV. We arrived shortly after 330p – we fueled up at the Shell station ($4.19 a gal) and parked in their lot. We had snack and drinks at B&G's. We went to Taco Time in the shell station for dinner. There were several trucks that arrived by bedtime so we decided it was a Tylenol PM night! We had breakfast at Subway and were on the road by 735a.

We stayed at Ft Hall Casino parking lot on the 24^th. They have an RV park so they wanted us to stay there but since we were just doing a quick overnight they let us park in their parking lot. The 25^th we spent in the Butte Walmart parking lot. We met the family there for drinks and chicken at the Freeway Bar. Once again a good time was had by all. We arrived home on the 26^th, unpacked and had dinner at Doug & Frans. ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL WINTER SOUTH!

Lexi & Aunt Dixie at the Autism Walk...no it wasn't a bad hair day - the wind was a blowing!

Marge, Shelly & Lexie

 Really cool firepit at the Street Fair

Lexi at the Autism Walk with her new Ed Hardy tennis shoes!

Easter Sunday at Hope Lutheran, Riverside, CA

Desert Pools - last time for this season!

Apr 2 – 15 … We set up at Desert Pools in site 138 next the the pickle ball court. The back of the park was closed off for the season so we were not able to get a north facing site. In the afternoon we headed over to Cat Spa to visit Bob & Cheryl. Dixie needed to take their picture so she could make them 'calling cards'. We had drinks with them and Jim & Linda (Quartzsite). 

On Tues. we went back over for dinner with them. It was our last visit for the season as they leave on Wed. Doug & Fran made it home on the 3^rd and Dad on the 4^th. Mike played a little vollyball while we were here and Dixie did a few haircuts. Business is slowing down now that many are headed home! 

On Fri the 6^th we had happy hour with Glenn & Henrietta (friends from Edmonton). They leave on the 9^th.

We celebrated out 21^st anniversary on the 7^th. We drove to Cabazon to the outlet mall. The place was packed. We hit the Ed Hardy store and wondered through a few others and then headed back. We picked up Danny and he went with us to dinner at the Outback. Afterwords we made a stop at 'The Alley and Trader Joes”.

Easter Sunday Danny came over and at 730a we headed out to Aunt Marge's. We made a quick stop at her condo before going to church. After church we attended the breakfast there. We had a wonderful Easter dinner at Aunt Marge's around 3p. Those attending besides us – Uncle Don, Lexi, boyfriend-Ryan, roomate-Catlain, Don's son-Eric and his 2 kids.

On Wed. the 11^th Dixie flew to Houston for the day to visit with Ruthie. A mutual friend, Lisa Bronte picked Dixie up at the airport and they went to see Ruthie. The got their shortly after 12 and stayed until after 330p. They had a great visit reminiscing. Ruthie is communicating better! It was a long day, leaving at 630a and returning at 7p but it was worth it. 

The 12^th was Aunt Marge's Birthday – we celebrated on Easter. That day we drove into downtown Palm Springs and walked through the Village Fest Street Fair. We were going to eat there but the wind was blowing too much so we found a place called Bill's Pizza and ate their. On Fri. the 13^th the wind blew a lot and it rained. It was a laundry day and the rest of the time was spent inside. 

Sat. we met Danny and Lexi at the Civic Center Park for the Autism Walk. We never actually did the walk but we were able to see it all. Lexi decided she wanted to play at the playground. All was well until she started playing with a little girls scooter...she got very upset when she had to give it back. They went home and we made a last trip to check Ross's condo and to Trader Joe's. We stocked up on 'stuff'! Then we went back to Danny's to visit for our last time. 

Today (15th) we drive 25 miles to Fantasy Springs Casino for the night before heading to Laughlin. We plan to make one last stop at WinCo!

                                Hot Air Ballon that went over our RV Park in Indio

Our last trip this year to Desert Pools!

Mar 19-Apr 1... On the 19^th we made our last trek to Indian Waters. The site we reserved by the pond was taken so they put us in site 206 on the east wall. Dixie continued Fran's work. 

Tue/Wed we checked out a place for Doug and Fran to stay. We determined the Riverside County fairgrounds (about a half mile away) was the best deal at $20 a night for full hookups. They pretty much had the place to themselves. 

On Wed. we went over there to cehck it out and find out where to park and pay.

On Fri. the 23^rd Bob and Cheryl came over to check out Indian Waters and go out for pizza. Cheryl and Dixie did a little shopping first and then we were headed to Rosati's...Bob and Mike went there first but found out that they didn't serve beer so we had to go to plan B...we ended up at Good Stuff pizza! 

On Sat. Doug and Fran arrived about 130p. We met them outside our park and went with them to the fairgrounds. Danny came over on his motorcycle and Doug and him rode to Pioneertown , with the rest of us following in the car. We had a great dinner at Pappy and Harriet's and listened to the band! 

Sun. Dixie and Fran grocery shopped and Doug and Danny went on a motorcycle ride. Mike hung out at the mh.  The wind blew bad but it did go down some so Doug was able to cook our wings outside. Dixie gave Danny a much needed haircut.

On Monday, Dixie and Fran worked.  Dixie made split pea soup which we all had for lunch.

Tues. Doug and Fran came over to do their laundry and do a little 'pool' time. Doug and Fran cooked some ribs at our mh. Danny and Lexi came over. 

Wed. I cut Doug and Fran's hair and colored mine and hers. The work mail came so Fran and Dixie worked some more. Fran cooked a great chicken dish for dinner! 

On Thur. the 29^th Doug, Fran and Dixie drove to Cabazon and met Aunt Marge for lunch and some shopping. Dixie used her Birthday money from Dad and got a great buy on a light weight leather jacket. We lunched at Ruby's Inn. On the return trip we took the first exit to Palm Springs and makd the trek all the way on Hwy 111. Mike golfed with Bill, Gloria and several from their park. We all met back at the motorhome and then met Danny and Lexi at Rockin Baja in La Quinta. 

Friday Dixie stayed busy doing 7 haircuts.  Doug and Fran rode their bikes to Julian and returned via Borongo Springs.  We intended to meet at the Jackalope Ranch for Happy Hour but it was packed so we headed down the road to Neils for pizza and wings! 

Sat. Doug and Fran came over in the afternoon and we went to the pool. We then went to D & F for cocktails and then a wonderful dinner at Chef George on Washington and I10. 

Sunday Doug and Fran left for their trip home. We will miss hanging out with them. We are talking about doing some traveling together next year! Dixie went to church in the park. Then it was grocery shopping at WinCo and laundry back at the park. We spent a quite evening at home!!! Tomorrow we head back to Desert Hot Springs for our last 2 weeks in the valley.

Snow in the mountains...taken on 3/19/12 at Desert Pools RV park

Leprechaun LEXI