Visit to David's House

The pictures I have posted here were taken before we headed to Tennessee, just never got around to posting them on the blog.

Before heading to Tennessee, Cindy and I were able to visit Aaron and Laura in Wisconsin. The following weekend we headed over to Columbus Ohio to spend the weekend with David. He is now working for Nationwide Insurance in their World Headquarters office in downtown Columbus. Saturday he took us to where he works ( 31st floor with a fantastic view from his cubicle). We spent most of the day walking around downtown and driving around to other parts of the city. We went out to eat at a favorite place of his and then headed back to the apartment.




Sunday he took us out to Alum Creek State Park where he and Than go trail riding on their bikes. They have a beautiful park and a really nice campground if we ever decide to camp in his area. We spent most of the afternoon driving around the lake and sight-seeing. Sunday evening it was time to head back to Sharpsville and plan for our trip to Tennessee.

Thanksgiving Day Weekend

This Thanksgiving we were very thankful to have our son David and his girlfriend Shawna come visit for a couple of days. We had a great time while they were here. They arrived Turkey Day around 4:30 pm and Cindy had supper ready for them. After eating we took a walk around the rv park and then set outside in the nice 70 degree temperatures taking in the beautiful night skies.

Friday morning after having a nice breakfast we headed into the Smoky National Park. I have to admit I was very concerned that we were not going to see anything due to the fog and rain we were having. We decided to head straight to Clingmans Dome (highest point in the park) and hope the weather would clear by the time we arrived. Lucky for us,by the time we were within a few miles, the sun started breaking through the clouds and fog and we had some beautiful views of the mountains. By the time we reached the top the temperature was down to 29 degrees but as you can tell by the pictures the views were excellent.



We took a hike back to a waterfall then decided to head back to Sevierville via of driving through Gatlinburg. For those of you who have been here you know what the traffic is like in that town. We thought David and Shawna might as well experience it so if they ever came down again they would know what to expect. We stopped at Bennett’s BBQ and stuffed ourselves with ribs, pulled pork, steak, hog wings (something new and very tasty) plus all the fixins. Upon completing this task we thought it best to take a nice long walk around Gatlinburg before heading home.

Saturday morning we took them out to see the view of Lake Douglas with the Smoky Mountains in the background. We were so thankful to have them here and be able to show them some of the area that we are staying in.

A thought for the day, “happiness is only real when it’s shared”.

Smoky Mountains

First off, I will apologize for not adding anything to the blog since the end of July. I have had several people jump my case and want to know why no new pictures and nothing to read. I guess I just thought people were getting tired of it but I guess I was wrong. Cindy and I have since left Colorado and have returned to the flatland's of Indiana ( or at least for a month we were there). We had a great time visiting family and friends and eating some of our favorite foods (not found west of the Mississippi).

Currently we are in Sevierville, Tennessee. We are staying at the Two Rivers RV Park, located at the north-end of town and right on the Broad French River. I'm getting the fever to get my license and see if I can catch anything in the river, so in the next few days I bring out the rods and reels.





We arrived here on Wednesday, the 17th of November and have been enjoying some very nice weather. The park has 55 sites, 25 on the river and 30 just behind them. It's a unique park in that it is in town but not really, you come down a side street to get here and you do not hear the sound of the traffic a few blocks away.

This past week we have pretty much just been trying to learn our way around here, when to go and when not to go ( due to traffic), shortcuts, grocery stores, the important things. We are planning on going into the Smokey Nat. Park sometime this weekend.

July

The month of July is almost over and we have been taking in some spectacular sights in the area. We took the drive up to the top at 12,000 ft. via the old Fall River Road. This road does not open until after Memorial Day and closes sometime after Labor Day weather permitting. It is an 11 mile one-way dirt road that goes to the Alpine Summit Visitor Center and also one which makes Cindy a little nervous ( yea, me too at times). If you have ever driven Pikes Peak Road it is like that only one lane and one-way.



Today we took a hike up to the top of Deer Mountain, elevation 10,050 ft. and the views were outstanding. It is a 3 mile hike (one way) and you start at around 9500 ft. From the top we could see the surrounding area where we are at. We saw Estes Lake, Marys Lake, the town of Estes Park, the YMCA Complex, and last but not least our RV parked at Rockmount Cottages. The views were breath taking and no photo that we take can even compare to the actual beauty that we saw.






We are eagerly awaiting the return of the Elk. Due to the temperatures they have all headed into the high country, with just a few remaining around. We've been told sometime next month the bull elk will return and start their "bugling" so we are excited for this event to take place ( unless they keep us awake all night) then it might not be so great.

Life is what you make of it. Always has been, always will be.

July 4th weekend

Randy and family came up and spent a couple of days with us and as usual we had a great time. It's nice to have family close by to spend some time with and we appreciated the effort they made in coming here. They took a pretty good hike on the way here and I think they were as tired as we were from working so we just decided to sit around and take it easy Saturday evening.

Sunday morning Cindy and I had several cabins to clean so they decided to take a hike just in back of the property here. Now we have been here for over 10 weeks and have yet to see a bear, oh there have been people in the park that saw them but not us. So guess what they saw on the way down from their hike? Yep you guessed it, a cinnamon colored bear, probably 1 yr old by the size of it, but regardless a bear. They have some wonderful pictures they took of it and were gracious to let me post them on the blog. So I hope everyone enjoys viewing them. As for Cindy and I, we will keep looking and maybe someday see one.

Monday afternoon while everyone was sitting around outside, I opened the door to go out and saw some elk in the park. I went out and told everyone to be real still and maybe they would come by the camper. Well they kept still and the elk did come by, in fact there several and around 6-10 newborns. As you can tell by the pictures they came pretty close to the camper, close enough to eat on Cindy's flowers hanging out behind here. There were many great shots taken by everyone and if you would like to see more, April has them posted on her facebook.

Summer finally has arrived here is Estes Park. We've been having temps in the high 70's and the mid 80's a couple of times. We made a trip into the park the other day and took one of hikes at the high elevation. We were not able to do this trail awhile back due to the snow that was still covering the trail. The trail started at 9200+ feet and ended up just a little over 10,000 feet. The views that we saw was just unbelievable and I'm sorry to say the pictures do not even begin to show the true beauty one sees while hiking here. The hike took us about 2 hours to reach the end of the trail but as we told our boss here,some people hike just to get to the end and miss out on the things around them, we like to take our time, see the views, take pictures and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. With that said here's a little quote for the day "The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely".





Randy and family came up and visited us for fathers day and we enjoyed spending the day with them. We went into town and ate then walked around town and looked for and found some more geo caches. We had a great time and I told them it was nice to have family close by to celebrate the holidays with. Look forward to their return this next weekend for the 4th of July.




We had our first opportunity to see some new born elk the other day. We were out cleaning some cabins when about 15-20 cows and 7 or 8 new calves came strolling through the park. This is first group we have been able to watch since they started birthing. They ended up settling down on an area of "new grass" that we planted several weeks ago. They actually stayed here for about 20 minutes until several cars started pulling into the park to take pictures and I guess they had enough of people and headed up the side of the mountain.

Aaron & Laura's Wedding Reception

We made our trip to Aaron and Laura’s house on the 4th of June for their wedding reception. We were very excited about seeing them as well as our families from Indiana and Kentucky. Pat & Mark, Randy & Carolyn and Debbie made the trip as well as Cindy’s family; her dad, Chuck, Chris & Roberta and our youngest son David. We had not seen any of our families since last September so we really cherished the chance to see everyone again. I think I can speak for everyone and say the weekend went well.

Aaron and Laura worked their rear ends off planning for this and I will say they done a fine job putting it together. The only set back we had was it decided to rain the afternoon of the reception but we did not let a little rain dampen our spirits. We truly had a wonderful time seeing everyone there and I would just like to thank all of you again for making the trip up there. It sure was nice to be able to visit with our families and friends once again.

For those viewing the pictures of those dancing, yes we could hold the camera still, we just had the wrong setting while taking action shots. The pictures of the river is the river that flows through the park where we are at. This is what we came home to! Till next time remember; " And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years"

Memorial Day Weekend

All is well here in Estes Park as we have somewhat adjusted to a high altitude,busy schedule, and humidity. Randy and family came to visit us on Memorial Day weekend and we had a great time with them. We had the opportunity to fly back to Wisconsin for Aaron and Laura's wedding reception and had a wonder time visiting our families from Indiana and Kentucky. As with most vacations the time was short but we enjoyed the time spent with our families. I'll post pictures of the weekend there later on this week.



For all of those who read this blog remember: “It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, but what is the most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let the person know how you feel.”

May the 21st and the busy season is creeping upon us like a thief in the night. We are finally adjusted to the 7500 ft. altitude and busy as a bee. We have 20 cabins here and most of them we had to start getting ready for the summer season. We have found that we have muscles that have not been used for quite some time. But as I’ve mentioned before life is all about giving and getting and we are being rewarded with the beautiful views that we wake up to in the morning (even the 12 inches of snow on May 12th). It’s quite a thrill to be sitting at the table and eating breakfast and look out the window, only to see several elk grazing grass around the camper. The birthing season is coming up within the next few weeks so we are excited and hoping to see some new born elk.

Randy and family came up last weekend on our 28th anniversary (although they were not aware of it) and we enjoyed the day with them. We went fishing then out to eat and we had a real nice visit. We’re looking forward to their return on Memorial Day weekend.



Cindy and I went into the park and thought we would hike a trail or two. I guess we did not give any thought about choosing a trial located towards the top of the park because boy were we surprised to find a ton of snow up there. We are at 7500ft and the end of the road we took is about 9500ft. We were a little shocked to find the trails up there had about 2 ½ feet of snow still on them. We decided that maybe we should wait another month until the trail was opened for us beginners that do not own snowshoes or shoe cleats. We did find a real nice trial around a lake that we took and enjoyed the day taking in some sights.

We’re getting excited about going to Aaron and Laura’s the first of June for their reception and getting the chance to visit with our families from Indiana and Kentucky. Hope everyone can make the trip and enjoy the time together. Remember this; “Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once”.

Estes Park Colorado

April 28th and we are finally getting settled into our new location. We arrived here a week ago and were greeted with some mild temperatures and some snow still lying around on the mountains. This past weekend we made plans to drive to Denver and visit with Randy and family. Our original plans were to be there on Saturday to watch Connor play soccer and then spend the night. After talking with Randy on Friday and getting the weather report, we thought maybe we should head down Friday to beat the snow. The only real snow we hit was when we went through Roosevelt National Forest heading down highway 36 after leaving Estes Park. Once we were over the peak and starting down the mountain the snow quit, the roads were somewhat dry and we headed to Denver.

Due to the snow they had received, Connors soccer game was cancelled both Saturday and Sunday and we did not get to watch him play. We did get to spend some time just hanging around the house playing some games, going to the mall and eating too much Cajun food, and going Geo Cache hunting with the boys. We had a wonderful time with them and headed back Sunday evening. The real nice part was we did not have to drive 18 hours to get back home, only a couple of hours.

We have yet to go the park, but have had an enjoyable time watching the elk in the area. When I was on the phone with Randy Friday a herd of elk came by on the north side of our camper. I counted around 35-40 but they were just a little too far away to get a good picture. Today Cindy woke me up to let me know there were several just in front on the camper (30 feet or less) eating away on some grass. The weather here has been a mix of everything. We have had some real nice sunny days, some morning snow of 2-3 inches (gone by noon), and some very cool evenings. We’re looking forward to getting out and doing some serious sightseeing before the crowds start arriving.

This morning ( Thursday 29th) when we awoke there was a nice dusting of snow on the ground, about 4-6 inches, but gone by mid afternoon. We went into the Rocky Mt. National Park today with our bosses and had a nice time just driving around and taking in some of the beautiful sites up here. As you can see, plenty of snow and wildlife were there for the viewing. We see the weather is warming up back in Indiana and look forward to seeing all of you at Aaron’s in June, until then “Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror.”

LBJ, Luckenbach, Flood

The past couple of weeks we have been site-seeing around the Hill Country. We went and visited the LBJ Ranch and Luckenbach Texas. The tour around the ranch, which is a working ranch, was a self guided tour with a cd playing. We thought we would come over here a week ago but we decided against it. Now that we made the trip we’re glad we did. The chance to see the “Texas White House” as it was called was well worth the time to come here. Although we were not allowed to take pictures inside of the house, we enjoyed listening to the guide tell about the history of the house, the world leaders that met there and their decisions made during LBJ presidency.

On down the road we headed to a place called Luckenbach, Texas, population 3. I’m not sure how many of you know how it became famous and if you don’t I’ll let you find out on your own. But I’ll give you a clue, Waylon and Willie. What amazes me are the number of visitors who go there (just like us) to say they have seen it. It’s kind of like visiting Kokomo and not going and seeing Old Ben, it’s something one must do. So needless to say we went to Luckenbach and had a beer at the Post Office/gift shop/bar. The pictures of the cowgirls & cowboys building is the restrooms while visiting the town. I will say this, when one visits there you realize just how laid back, out of touch with the world, carefree, no worries or whatever you want to call it, you can be, just as the song says.




Our last night at Kerrville on the 15th of April was not planned to be our last night there, but due to circumstances beyond our control it was. We had seen several days of rain but nothing significant until Thursday. At 11 o’clock that night, we had someone pounding on our door to tell us they were having everyone hitch up their campers just in case the river might rise and we would need to evacuate. Now the message we got was “just in case”. By the time I got out of bed (I was trying to sleep),and Cindy and I went outside and started hooking and unhooking things, the EMS was telling people to evacuate. Now all this happened with-in a matter of a few minutes. When we closed the door at around 8 o’clock, and looked at the river it was only a couple of feet deep. By the time we stepped outside at 11 o’clock, the river was at the top of the bank, maybe around 9-10 deep, I didn’t know for sure without diving down and measuring it, which I was not going to do. We learned just how fast we could tear down, pack up, put away and move, all in around 15 minutes. The next day more rain was planned and they were not sure when we would get back into the park so we headed north to Amarillo Texas.

I’m writing this on Tuesday, the 20th and we are now getting settled into our new location in Estes Park, Colorado.

Another thought for the day: “You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough”.

Wild Flowers, The Alamo and Riverwalk- San Antonio

There are a few things I have learned about Texas. One of them is this, Texas is a very large state and when you travel through it, the distance on the map takes a long long time to make it from point A-B. The other is that people here are very considerate when it comes to driving. You all know how in Kokomo that a red light means blow right on through it, a green light means wait and see how many people are going to run the red light they have, and yellow, it really serves no purpose other that to take up space between red and green. I have to admit that what we have experience here is that the majority of the people actually stop when the light turns red. Maybe it has something to do with the fact of all the cameras mounted at the intersections recording their every move. We also found this true in Arizona, and in Phoenix the fine alone for disregarding an automatic traffic signal amounted to $275 plus other fees attached. The last thing is that people out west like their speed. In Montana and Arizona anywhere from 65-75 on Interstates, here in Texas we actually were on a stretch on I-10 where it was posted 80mph and small 2 lane highways, such as our St Road 26, 70mph is pretty much the normal. For the most part we have found that people that are not driving 70 on the 2-lane roads, will actually pull over on the shoulder and let you go around. I guess since the state is so large people want to get from point A to point B without taking all day to do it.




We took a day and went to San Antonio and visited the “Alamo”. I will have to say that before now I was not too informed of what the Alamo actually was. I’m sure I fall in the category with most of you, that while attending high school, the Alamo was not on the top of our “to do list”. But I will say this, it was a very worth while place to go and visit and to actually learn about this thing called the Alamo. When one walks around and realizes you are actually at the scene of a historical event, it is a very humbling and rewarding experience. We also enjoyed the chance to spend some time on the San Antonio Riverwalk, an area of downtown with many shops and eateries.

A final thought for today: “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.”

1 Year On The Road!!

April 9, 2009, the day we left Indiana. It has been one year since we started on our “extended” vacation. We have been blessed with so many opportunities of visiting places and meeting people since then that is does not seem possible it has been a year.

In this world we live in it’s all about making choices. I tell people we meet it’s all about giving up one thing to get another. We made a choice to do this, knowing that it would take us away from family and friends, and this has been the hardest part of this trip. The thing that has made this adventure easier is knowing that our family and friends gave us their support and blessings before we left.

For those of you who read our blog, we hope you have enjoyed viewing our pictures and reading about our adventures as much as we have enjoyed sharing them with you.

There are too many things we have see and done to even begin to pick our favorite. Probably a couple of things that stand out above all else for me was the opportunity we had to go to Mexico for a week, along with our son David, and see our son Aaron ,and our new daughter in-law Laura, get married. The other one being the chance I had as a father and grandfather, to be with Randy, Connor and Dylan and watch them catch some real nice trout. Remember this "Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile"

Texas, green grass, tall trees and water!

After a couple days of driving we arrived at our next stop, Kerrville, Texas. We chose this place due to the fact it is centrally located to some of the sites we wanted to see. Our park is named By The River Rv Park, and is located on the banks of the Guadalupe River. This area of Texas we are in is called the “Hill Country” and is really quite beautiful. The area has nice tall trees, green grass and water, something Cindy and I have missed seeing the past few months.

We went to a town called Fredericksburg which is an old German Town. The town is a shopping haven for those of you that like antiques. Store after store of antiques and gifts to buy, and plenty of food along the way. We actually went over there to see some of the wildflower fields but they were not in full bloom yet, so we’ll try it in a week or two.

We have been keeping busy taking some day trips throughout the area and enjoying the countryside. We have also had our days of just doing nothing but sitting by the river, reading and watching wildlife. We did take our bikes out to a city park with trails and we found out just how out of shape we really are. But on the positive side we at least attempted to do some riding and actually enjoyed the day (the aches and pains came the next day).

Our plans are to be here for a few more weeks and we want to visit San Antonio, LBJ Ranch, Corpus Christi , Austin and some other scenic drives. After that we will be heading to Estes Park and settle into the wonderful Rockies and prepare for the summer. Until next time consider this “Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have”.

Leaving Arizona

The winter months are over and spring is here. Cindy and I are spending our last 3 days here at Augies and are heading to Texas for a few weeks before our arrival in Estes Park, Colorado. This past couple of weeks we have enjoyed spending time with some of the people here in the park. We went to the Arizona Opry and had a meal and a show featuring John Denver. The man performing did a very good job of telling the life story and singing the songs recorded by John Denver.

We rode along with Larry and Evelyn and after doing some shopping they took us to Organ Pipe Pizza. It’s very hard to imagine what the place looked like just by seeing the pictures but it was a truly an amazing place. The organ and all of the attached pipes located throughout the building were installed at a cost of $1 million. The stage with the organ lowers into the floor when the organ is not being played and turns 180 degrees when it is being used.

DOUBLE CLICK PICTURE FOR FULL SCREEN!




We had the opportunity to ride in a parade being held in Gila Bend. John asked us if we wanted to take his 4-wheeler and join along for the fun. Talk about bringing back memories, this reminded us of all the times we were involved in the “Big” Little League Baseball parades from Sharpsville to the ball diamond. I think the whole town of Gila Bend turned out just like it seemed the whole town of Sharpsville did. We actually enjoyed watching the little kids running for the candy and filling up their bags ( reminds me of Dylan when Connor was in the parade).

As I stated in the first paragraph this is our final weekend at Augies. We would like to thank John and Donna for giving us the opportunity to come here and spend the winter. To all of the people we met while staying here we wish you the best that life has to offer, and for you to know we have been blessed to spend the winter months with you. Our travels will take us to the “Hill Country” of Texas for the next few weeks, and then we are heading to Estes Park the last week of April. Until then remember this ”Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anybody can start today and make a new end”

Laughlin NV, Grand Canyon, Sedona

Well it’s the first week of March already and we’re getting anxious to hit the road for a few weeks before heading to Colorado. This past week Cindy and I took a few days and headed to Laughlin, Nevada. We had the chance to drive through Quartsite, Az but luckily nothing was going on. The reason I say this is because a month ago there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 150-200,000 RV’s camping in the desert around that town. People have told us from high up it looks like a sea of white (roofs of the rv’s) in the desert. Now for those of you who know me understand why we waited till it was over before traveling there ( I’m not into the BIG crowds).

The pictures of the London Bridge are actually the real London Bridge located in Lake Havasu . The family that owns the McCullough Brand of tools, actually bought the bridge, dismantled it piece by piece, and shipped it over here. The waterway you see under the bridge was man-made and branches off of the Colorado River. This is definitely a case of someone with too much money and nothing better to do with it than spend it on a bridge.




We spent the next couple of days in Laughlin, NV at the Riverside Hotel and Casino, the 1st hotel/casino built there, sightseeing and doing some hiking in the surrounding area. Our plans were to head to Vegas and see the Hoover Dam then maybe take in a show, but decided instead to go to the South Rim of Grand Canyon. The temps were a little cooler up there than what we have been accustomed to. Upon our arrival in the town of Williams we were greeted with temps in the high 30’s and snow on the ground. Actually it was kind of nice to see that white stuff again ( I know, you’re all tired of it) and it did make the views of the Canyon even more spectacular. We spent the night in Williams, a Route 66 town, one of many that is struggling to stay alive, and made plans to go to Sedona, Arizona the next day.

Wednesday we headed to Sedona to take in the beautiful red rock that is there and to do some hiking. The area surrounding the town itself is beautiful with all the red rock formations, it’s just the town in one big tourist trap. The average selling price for a home there during the first part of this year was over $500,000. Now trust me, these homes are not mansions, these are single family homes, that are selling for this price. We drove through the town (as fast as possible) which was about 15mph, and headed out away from the rat race to take in some beautiful scenery hiking. Back home to Gila Bend where the temps were 70+ to do some absolutely nothings.

Our Trip to Mexico

This past week that we were in Mexico was nothing short of spectacular! We arrived on Monday the 8th and returned on Sunday, 14th. If there were any setbacks we had it would have been the 2 hours it took to go through Customs upon our arrival. I believe everyone that were heading to Mexico arrived at 3:00 pm. It took us 2 hours to finally get through customs and board our shuttle to take us to Riviera Maya Resort. The time lost waiting in line at customs was made up by our van driver. I have taken the cabs in NY but our driver had to be an ex Formula One driver. I never knew a 2 lane road could actually be made into 3+ lanes.

We took Tuesday morning and visited Playa de Carmen, one of the hottest spots for shopping and night clubs in the area. For those of you that love to shop and take in beautiful beaches, this is the place to go. Street after street of shops and food vendors.





On Wednesday we headed out to see the Maya Ruins in the city of Tulum. It was a very rewarding trip to see the beauty of what is left of an ancient city dating back to around 1200-1500 A.D. It was a pretty awesome experience just standing in the center of it and visualizing the city filled with people. One of the things we found interesting was the fact of the height of the doorways. If you look at one of the pictures of an adobe where I'm standing, you realize the height of the citizens of Tulum.



The remaining of the week we just stayed around the resort and took life easy. I went snorkeling with Aaron and David one morning and had a great time ( although it does get one tired real easy). Cindy and I took a kayak out and went for a ride on a catamaran. Our day deep sea fishing trip was fun, even though we did not have much success (Laura caught one nice one), the water was really rough and did not have much sympathy on our stomachs.



The night of the wedding there just happen to be a beach party going on which we all felt we should contribute to. There was music, contest for the adults, try placing one hand on a ball, circle around it 5-6 times, then run backwards to the next person in line ( almost makes you feel like your drunk ) or doing the limbo ( good thing was if you lost you got a shot of Tequila poured into your mouth).

Our last night there we had the pleasure of seeing our son, David, go upon stage and compete in a "Perform like Michael Jackson contest". He did not win top prize ( but in all of our opinions he should have), he definatly has some moves when he is on the dance floor.




This trip would rate at the top of things that Cindy and I have been able to do, and were very fortunate to have the opportunity to spend it with Aaron, David, and our new daughter in-law Laura, along with her family.

The Wedding & Beach Party

Remember to double click slideshow for full size photos

Without boring you with every detail I'll let the pictures explain themselves. The only details I will give now was that it rained all day( off and on )and 45 minutes before the wedding they had to decide what to do, stay outside and hope for clear skies or go inside and have it in a building. They decided to stay with it outside and by the time the of the wedding NO RAIN and cloudy skies. The wedding was wonderful and the resort was having a Friday night beach party which turned out to be a perfect time for their reception. I can only say it was a night to remember ( or at leasst try to remember). For the rest of what we done I will post it later with more pictures.

Ajo (ah-ho, not A-hole)

The past couple of weeks Cindy and I have enjoyed visiting some of the area attractions. We headed down to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The park sits in the lower part of Arizona south of Gila Bend and borders the Mexico border. Needless to say we stayed on this side of the border and chose not to visit Lukeville, Az., a border town. There are some towns on the border that one crosses and there are others where it’s just plain smart to stay away from, and Lukeville is one to stay away from.

We left the park and some hiking and headed to a town called Ajo( pronounced Ah-ho, not A-hole as some of us do.) The town was home to a very large copper mine, the mine itself is actually 1.5 miles across and employed over 1000 workers until shutting down in 1985. Ajo is a small town with a few restaurants, shopping and some mission buildings.

Ater leaving Ajo we headed back to Gila Bend and enjoyed just lying around in the 70’s degree temperatures. After closely watching the weather map I now know why people head to the southwest part of Arizona. While everyone ( including Florida was freezing ) we were enjoying the temps in the mid 70’s in the day and mid 40’s at night ( makes great sleeping weather).

Wednesday, Jan. 13th, we had an opportunity to go to the bombing range just south of us. Now I have not talked very much about the bombing range( in fear of worrying some of you at home) around here but I will try and fill you in on what it is. There is between 1 and 2 million acres of desert here that is owned by the govt. and used for every kind of training from all of the branches of the military. It is not uncommon for us to be sitting outside or in the camper and hear them dropping live bombs. Sometimes they drop the BIG ONES (someone said around 500-1000lbs) and you actually feel the after shock of it. We have also had the opportunity to hear the A-10 Wart Hogs use live ammo ( 30 mm) , it shoots 3900 rounds per minute, 50 rounds the first second and 60-70 rounds per second after that, so what we hear at the rv park is the sound from this huge gun being used. The sound we hear is nothing more than a loud zipppp to us. The day we went to the bombing range they had the F-16’s dropping dummy bombs and firing live ammo. It was quit the experience to be able to stand on the tower and watch them fly by where you could actually see the pilot and watch them shoot at the targets ( see pictures). The only disappointment was that the A-10’s were not out that day but we did get to see quit a show put on by the F-16’s. including some rocket fire at targets.

NEWS FLASH: we actually got rain here, the past 4 days, and cooler temps, so I guess we have experienced WINTER in Gila Bend.

Desert Living

Yes, Cindy and I are still alive and well, we just haven't posted anything for a while and people have let me know about it. I have to admit that we have been pretty much just hanging around the rv park and not doing very much sightseeing. Basically we have just been waiting for some people to arrive here. The place is starting to fill up and we are meeting and making several new friends. The pictures on the first slide show are from a State Park called, Painted Rock. The petroglyphs you see were made by the Indians that lived here.



We spent our first Christmas in the land of sunshine, the temps here were in the high 60’s and mid 40’s at night. I will have to admit it was totally different being here for the holidays, no snow, no cold temps, no family, very few Christmas decorations around, but on the positive side, it sure was nice to go outside in our tee shirts and soak in the sun. Randy and family came and visited us on the 28th and 29th and we were very excited to see them. The boys sure are growing up fast and getting bigger every time we see them. We enjoyed the time we got to spend with them and hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.




For those of you who we haven’t told, we will be spending our summer months in the beautiful state of Colorado. We have already lined up a place to be, Rockmount Cottages, in the Estes Park Area. This place is located just 2 miles from the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park, in Estes , Colorado. Those of you interested in seeing where we will be can type in www.rockmountcottages.com and explore what’s there.(click on the numbered cottages and see pics of the actual cottage) We’re excited about the area ( lots of 14,000 peaks there) and are looking forward to being there.

Cindy and I experienced our first today. We spent 7 hours riding ( in mid 70's) 4 wheelers in the desert with several other people. The man that owns the RV Park here let us use his 4 wheeler and we had a blast sightseeing in the desert. I now know why people like to be in the desert ( if you own a 4 wheeler). For those of you who know us and know how much we love the mountains, well today we had the chance to see the beauty in the desert. We found our winter home( you'll find it in the pictures) and I actually found a crystal nugget with several GOLD flakes in it and we both found several small flakes (NO BIG NUGGETS). We rode to an old copper mine and the picture of the thing that looks like an oven ( actually it is) is called a smelter, used to extract copper from other iron. CIndy even came home with a nice size copper nugget. Other than having to eat a lot of dust, the ride we took today was one of the highlights of the things we have been able to see and do since we left home back in April. In fact in might even come close to catching a 24 inch rainbow trout.



We’re looking forward to the coming months and have several things planned, the most important one being a trip to Cancun in February, to see Aaron and Laura exchange wedding vows. We are also planning a trip in the next few weeks to drive down to Mexico and take in the sights there ( and yes, we are going with someone that has done this before).Until next time remember this, “ Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments take your breath away”.