SUNDAY JUNE 27 2010

We arrived Southern Indiana Friday, June 25.  I had made reservations on the “web” for space at the Crazy Horse Ranch which turned out to be a combination dude ranch, horse farm amid basic beauty amid rolling green hills lined by a forest of trees.  The road into the ranch was true off road and I threatened Ken with a major calamity if he did not stop immediately but that wasn’t possible cause there was no where to go.  However, when we climbed the last gravel paved hill and looked upon the beautiful ranch house with horses grazing in the pasture and deer rushing across the meadow, my spirits improved.  The owners of the ranch are wonderful, helpful and gracious people who seem interested in our comfort and committed to helping us enjoy our stay.  We wish our children and grand children could be here to share in this experience and the wonder of life as it is here on this beautiful Southern Indiana ranch in the trees and valleys of my childhood memories.

 

On Saturday (June 26) we attended a luncheon celebrating the 60^th anniversary of my graduating Class of 1950.  It was a wonderful day of memory recall that varied from truth to embellished “wish we had”.  Our class of 49 persons has 30 still living and approximately 13 were at the luncheon.  Our evening culminated in the annual alumni banquet for the graduates of French Lick High School which was replaced by a new school in 1955.  I was surprised at the small group of celebrants as compared to our last attendance but as time goes on, the annual get together will continue to dwindle until graduates of the old school will no longer exist in their current “state”.  Ah – the beat just goes on.  It was a good place and time to catch up with the good citizens who helped form the person we ultimately became.  I never cease to be amazed at the goodness of the people from my “old home town”.  I have, indeed, been blessed and I treasure the memories of my formative years and the good friends that practiced what I believe to be the basic philosophy of what America should be and was all about until the great hand of government became the micro manager of our life.

 

On Sunday, June 27, Ken, Mackie and I arose early and made our way to the Church of my youth where Ken and I were married 59 years ago come October 7, 2010.  There you have it for another week of travel.  I am looking forward to seeing my nieces and nephews who still live in the area as well as visiting my old haunts, seeing old friends and enjoying the memories of a former life in the days of few modern conveniences when entertainment was that which one could create from togetherness.

 

Life is good.

 

 

GOOD MORNING

We are having some work done on the front window of the coach. Hopefully, when that is done, we will be able to leave the factory by noon at the latest.  We are going to a State Parkin neaby Mississippi for two nights and then will make our way to Bowling Green for an overnight stay and then into Indiana on Friday.  We will probably be out of touch by phone and I net for the next two days. 

 

It continues to be in the high 90s and low 100s with lots of mug in this area.  Enjoying Mackies company and will be glad to get to Indiana for the next leg of our trip.

 

If you can’t reach us until Thursday, don’t be surprised.  We are going to be in the “woods” overlooking a lake in the rolling hills of Mississippi.  Whew!!!  Can’t you just hear the excitement and enthusiasm in my voice?

 

 

PICTURES FROM ARKANSAS AND RED BAY ALABAMA WHERE THE DAYS ARE HOT AND THE NIGHTS WARM

 

PICTURES FROM THE SOUTH

 

FRIDAY PM JUNE 17 2010

After our visit with nephew Mike and nieces Jeanne and Katey in Sherwood, AR, we made our way across the great Mississippi into Memphis TN and an over night stop in La Grange, TN.  Our friend, Maxine Stoll, joined us for our visit to Red Bay and after a great deal of encouragement, has agreed to travel to Indiana with us.  We are enjoying Maxine who is like family.  She took care of Gary when I went into the hospital to deliver Terri and subsequently baby sat with the two of them until her husband, a career Navy Chief was transferred and she had to abandon our children to accompany her husband and family.   We have remained  long time friends and we consider her a member of our extended family.

 

Our friend Vi Jackson called us this week to report that her husband Richard (Dick) is in the hospital.   Dick and Vi are friends from Canada and we were introduced to them by our mutual friends, the Haselmans.  We have enjoyed many wonderful evenings with Vi and Dick, Bruce and Gwelda.  We have many wonderful memories of Dick and Vi and we wish Dick a speedy recovery.

 

Our stay in Red Bay Alabama has thus far been uneventful.  Our primary purpose for this stop at the factory where our RV was manufactured was to replace a booth in our dining area with a table and chairs and computer work station.  That has been done but some additional miscellaneous projects are still incomplete so we will be here for the weekend.  We will do some sight seeing out and about along the Natchez Trace.  On Thursday we visited Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo Mississippi.  The weather has been unreasonably hot, in my opinion.  I must apologize to Cousin Richard.  I told him to “get over it when he worried about the high humidity that he expected to confront in Buffalo when we all meet up to visit his brother and the family’s roots in Warsaw .  Cousin Richard was obviously more aware of the weather than I was.

 

There you have it for our second week on the road.  I have been pleasantly surprised with what seems to me to be a very good quality of life as we travel the scenic byways.  It seems to me that the American way of life has provided a pretty good lifestyle to these good country people.

 

Tomorrow I will post some pictures from the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday June 7

After a good visit wit little Bro, Don and wife Linda in Cottonwood, we moved on to harass the Haselmans in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. From New Mexico our route took us into Amarillo and an overnight  stop in Amarillo, Texas and a visit with Haselman daughter Kimberly and her husband David.  We met the newest arrival into the family as well as their two year old.  What a great family.  We were impressed with how much Amarillo has grown since our trips cross country in our youth.  As we have traveled I-40 which parallels much of old “Route 66”, it is amazing to see the changes and evolution of life in the 58 years since our first trek together across the hot desert and route in a car that had no air conditioning and a minimum of what are now considered to be required amenities.  

 

After an overnight stop in Oklahoma City, we moved into Little Rock for a busy Saturday seeing the sights of Little Rock with tour guides Mike, Jeanne and Katie Burns.  Needless to say, a trip to the Clinton Library was not a “required” visit to our sightseeing and thus we did not include that in our busy day and we are none the worse for the lack thereof.   It was a busy day.  Early Sunday morning we left our hospitality space in nephew’ Mike’s front yard and crossed over the Mississippi River into Memphis TN and an overnight visit with our friend, Maxine Stoll and her family in La Grange TN.  We got to visit with Maxine’s daughter Kathleen and met her children, Kevin, Darrell and Christian, fine young people all.   Early this morning Monday June 14, we moved down (up? The road a piece into Red Bay Alabama for some work that we had pre arranged  for our coach and Maxine is accompanying us.  Lunch out and a nap restored us to the reality of relaxation and the beat goes on.

 

Doesn’t look like much to do in Red Bay but Ken did find a “coon dog cemetery” listed as a possible attraction to include in our list of “things to do”.  Undoubtedly that has moved to the top of the list.

 

Life is exciting no matter how “down and dirty” you need to get in choosing your entertainment.

 

Here’s to your personal memories of  your favorite coon dog.

 

 

 

KICKS ON ROUTE 66?

As we continue our Eastward trek, I sit in the passenger seat of our RV and wonder anew at the awesome strength of those pioneer women on their Westward trek in days of old.  How many women today could similarly withstand that trip?  I venture to say that not many would be up to the task.  I am never so aware of the greatness of those women as I am when I sit in the RV and gaze out upon the vast miles of open space  before me.  From the great desert area of Arizona and New Mexico we entered into Texas and the beauty of the flat green land before me brought a tear to my eye as I was once again reminded of the awesome beauty of our country. 

 

Our travels thus far have been smooth with a wonderful two day visit with family in Cottonwood, Arizona, an extended visit with extended family in Rio Rancho New Mexico and a too short visit with extended family in  Amarillo, Texas.  As I write this, we are en route to Sherman AR for a visit with family before our next invasion of extended family in La Grange TN.

 

As we traveled parallel to Route 66 we were reminded of an encounter with a gentleman in Wales who had done Route 66 via motorcycle a few years ago.  Brian, if you are reading this we wish you well wherever you are and remember fondly our day aboard the longboat during our visit to Wales.

 

More from the road as the mood strikes us.

 

   

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We left beautiful Camp Verde Arizona early Saturday and traveled to Gallup New Mexico for an overnight stay.  Weather in Arizona was delightful but a heat wave was forecast to arrive on Saturday and it has accompanied us into New Mexico.  We arrived at the home of our friends, Bruce and Gwelda Haselman and their family mid day on Sunday amid a thermometer reading in Rio Rancho New Mexico of  102 degrees.. 

 

As we traveled through the beautiful high country of Arizona and New Mexico we were reminded once again of the beauty of our country.  It is good to be experiencing a reminder of just how special the great range and valleys surrounded by tall mountains and rolling hills can be.   Of course, for some people it might be just miles and miles of nothing but to us, it is miles and miles of awesome scenic beauty.

 

All is well.

 

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FROM THE ROAD

After an overnight sleep over on the banks of the Colorado River in Ehrenberg, we arrived at first destination of note, Camp Verde Arizona for a visit with brother and sister in law, Don and Linda Burns.  Quiet relaxing day out and about in the Verde Valley before our departure Saturday for New Mexico and our Southerly trek to the Midwest.

 

All is well.