On July 2 we arrived at the home of my Dad and his wife Vena Lee in Provo UT. The RV parks were full so we parked in their side yard. It worked out perfect! We got to visit with some of Vena Lee’s daughters and families. Korkie loves being in Provo. They have a large back yard with grass and the next yard has several sheep and baby lambs! He can roam free in the yard and bark at the sheep! There was a parade in Provo on the 4th with lots of bands, floats and balloons. We were invited to one of Vena’s daughter’s home who live on top of a hill overlooking Provo. They can see several displays of fireworks from their yard and Korkie was invited. So off we go. Korkie did really well making friends with everyone. Then some poppers went off. Well, he started shaking real bad. We took him for a walk down the block but he got worse. So we had to take him home. We missed all the fireworks. We made plans to meet in Helena MT the end of July for a family reunion once we got hold of my brother Terry and his wife Diane. We left Provo on Monday the 5th.
Decided to see the Dinosaur National Monument Park in UT. We stayed at the Outlaw Trail RV Park in Jensen UT. Now this park looked like the down and out outlaws still lived there. A few of the rigs were OK but most looked like they had been abandoned or should be. When we arrived to ask for a space the manager just said “take your pick and I will catch up with you later.” Well, we had all the hook ups we needed and a laundry which we really needed. On our way out of UT we had stopped at a Rest stop for lunch. There was a nice trail so I took off for a short walk. When I got back, Bob is standing by the sink with brown stuff all over his shirt and shorts and glass all around him. A bottle of Worchester sauce had exploited as he opened the cupboard. We cleaned up as much as we could and Bob changed clothes. Worchester sauce smells pretty good for a while but after several hours it wears thin and becomes yucky. This RV Park was across the Hwy from the Utah visitor’s center and the entrance to the Dinosaur Park and had a laundry which we needed very badly. What more could we want so we signed up for 2 nights. Still didn’t know what the rate was. We did some site seeing of the area and took an Auto tour of Cub Creek Road and the Dinosaur Park. We enjoyed it very much.
We were then on our way to Lafayette CO to see our daughter Kay and her family. The Bark Beetle has hit Utah and Colorado very bad. Large mountain ranges are filled with dead trees. The only way to get rid of them is a very cold, below freeze for several days. The weather has been too warm the last few years.
We pulled into Kay’s drive way around 2:00 PM. I was to call Kay at work when we arrived and she would come home. I left a message that we were there and we went ahead and got settled. My phone rang about 30 min later and that was when we got the message from Vena Lee that my brother, Terry Cannon had passed away in Clancy MT. But I had only talked to him the day before and he was fine. On Thursday AM, his golf day, he had got up, put on his golf clothes then collapsed and died from an embolism. Well, Terry said many times that he did not want to get old. He loved to golf. I guess it was fitting that he died quite young (he was 68) and he was getting ready to play golf.
We stayed in Lafayette that night, had a nice time with Kay and granddaughter Elisa. Bruce and Kristi Rose were in Las Vegas and would be back the next day. Kristi dances in competitions around the country.
The next day, Friday, we headed up to Clancy MT. We got about 3 blocks from Kay’s house and heard a loud bang. Imagine the sound that comes from metal hitting a concrete embankment going about 35 miles an hour. A loud BANG! We looked around, narrow road, no place to stop to see what we hit. Finally a right hand lane appeared and we could park and see what happened. The magnetic sensor switch for the stairs had fallen off and the stairs actuated just as we crossed the one lane bridge. They were bent back at a 30 degree angle. Could not get them up, down or off! After working with several implements, Bob unhooked the car from the back, drove in front of the rig, took the steel safety chain and tied it to the car and the other end to the stairs, then back up. Darn if it didn’t work! Didn’t look too good, but got the stairs up.
It took us 2 days to get to Helena. My 94 year old Dad and Vena Lee had come in an hour before us. Terry & Diane’s children, Lisa and Brian and their 3 children from upstate NY had come in the day before and Ben & Sue and their son from Helena came to the house every day. Vena Lee’s daughter Diane came in from Canada and our daughter Lynda and son Rick came from CA. We laughed, cried and hugged each other. A cocoon of family members is so comforting in time of grief. We had the service on Tuesday and on Thursday the family had bought a Blue Spruce tree and had it planted on the #3 hole at the golf course Terry played at. Autopsy revealed blood clot on the lung. They had been treating him for heart problems.
On Friday Bob and I headed to the mountains of Montana for a rest. We chose St Regis MT, a small (population 300) mountain town. Our campground is on top of a hill surrounded by green mountain forests. There are no signs of Bark Beetle here. The RV Park has walking trails that take you into the forest and through meadows. We have seen deer and Elk in the evening. It gets dark around 10:00PM here. We have been here for a week and will be heading out tomorrow. Thinking of heading south around the Grand Tetons!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Beginning adventure
We did it! After thinking about it, then re-thinking about it, and then we decided to do it! We have sold, loaned out, given away, donated and stored what was left of our worldly goods. We cleaned out and rented out our home for at least 1 year and we will on our way tomorrow, Sunday June 28, 2009.
What are our plans? Itinerary? Well to start, on our way to Provo UT to visit my Dad and Vena Lee for a few days. We like Hwy 50 so it may take a while. I have always wanted to spend some time in those old Nevada towns. Maybe this will by my chance!
Some interesting things have happened so far. Coming up the Hwy 80 upgrade our engine got hot. Now we are really heavy with stuff, (What we cannot find room for, we are sleeping with ) it is hot outside, upper 90’s, and we are towing the Jeep, but our 350 Diesel Cat engine should not be doing this. We wanted to stop at Gold Run rest stop, but it was closed. So we went on. Finally made it to the top. Bob checked the Air filter, changed the fuel filter, and several other things, all OK. So we cooled down, had lunch and took off. We then discovered our Ice Machine does not make ice. So we now buy a bag every day or so. Could be worse. Spent our first night in Finley NV. Met a nice couple from Sacramento got to talking and he was a former Union City Cop, we knew some same people. They had a small dog and he was a Marine. Need I say more? Had an enjoyable evening.
Next day, Hwy 50 the loneliest road in America. Saw a vehicle every hour or so. Very windy, like the grass on the side of the road was laying flat against the road! Our 24,000#’s rig plus car is jumping around in the wind! We hear a flapping and the locked awning has come undone and is flapping in the wind. There is no shoulder to get off the road. We pull over anyhow. A CHP officer came by and parked behind us to warn other cars. Finally got it fixed and re locked. Spent the night in Ely NV.
Next day off the loneliest Hwy in America to a lonelier one on Hwy 93. Saw a vehicle ever 2 hours or so. A few miles down the road one of the locked bottom cupboards pops open. A dust storm is brewing on the desert. It was a day of hard driving for Bob and hard for me because I lean back and forth depending on how we are moving. Korkie spent the day under the table.
Looked on the map and found we were pretty close to Zion National Park! Never had been there so decided to check that out! Found a campground in Springdale UT. Pretty little town. Came across a bit of a problem. The campground is located with a Quality Inn Motel. We were driving along, Bob spied a Quality Inn sign and we pull in. Well right away a nice lady comes out and says “wrong Quality Inn and you can turn around up there”. It was a very small parking lot. Remember, with the jeep being towed, we cannot back up. So we wiggle to and fro and after quite a long time, we pull out. Find our campsite, set up. V/T time.
Next day we decided to go into the park. Well we found there was oil splatter all over the car so we sent out to find a car wash. In pretty tourist towns, there is no car wash. It was then we found out the tires were out of alignment due to the small parking lot turn around. We asked at a gas station where the closet tire alignment place is. “Well, it’s in Hurricane down the road about 20-30 miles. On the right hand side of the street, you can’t miss it”. So off we go. You can’t miss it means asking in several places before we find the only place in town that can alignment tires. Turned out good, a nice place, found a car wash and ready to come back to Springdale. That afternoon we toured Zion Park. Beautiful sights. On to Provo UT
What are our plans? Itinerary? Well to start, on our way to Provo UT to visit my Dad and Vena Lee for a few days. We like Hwy 50 so it may take a while. I have always wanted to spend some time in those old Nevada towns. Maybe this will by my chance!
Some interesting things have happened so far. Coming up the Hwy 80 upgrade our engine got hot. Now we are really heavy with stuff, (What we cannot find room for, we are sleeping with ) it is hot outside, upper 90’s, and we are towing the Jeep, but our 350 Diesel Cat engine should not be doing this. We wanted to stop at Gold Run rest stop, but it was closed. So we went on. Finally made it to the top. Bob checked the Air filter, changed the fuel filter, and several other things, all OK. So we cooled down, had lunch and took off. We then discovered our Ice Machine does not make ice. So we now buy a bag every day or so. Could be worse. Spent our first night in Finley NV. Met a nice couple from Sacramento got to talking and he was a former Union City Cop, we knew some same people. They had a small dog and he was a Marine. Need I say more? Had an enjoyable evening.
Next day, Hwy 50 the loneliest road in America. Saw a vehicle every hour or so. Very windy, like the grass on the side of the road was laying flat against the road! Our 24,000#’s rig plus car is jumping around in the wind! We hear a flapping and the locked awning has come undone and is flapping in the wind. There is no shoulder to get off the road. We pull over anyhow. A CHP officer came by and parked behind us to warn other cars. Finally got it fixed and re locked. Spent the night in Ely NV.
Next day off the loneliest Hwy in America to a lonelier one on Hwy 93. Saw a vehicle ever 2 hours or so. A few miles down the road one of the locked bottom cupboards pops open. A dust storm is brewing on the desert. It was a day of hard driving for Bob and hard for me because I lean back and forth depending on how we are moving. Korkie spent the day under the table.
Looked on the map and found we were pretty close to Zion National Park! Never had been there so decided to check that out! Found a campground in Springdale UT. Pretty little town. Came across a bit of a problem. The campground is located with a Quality Inn Motel. We were driving along, Bob spied a Quality Inn sign and we pull in. Well right away a nice lady comes out and says “wrong Quality Inn and you can turn around up there”. It was a very small parking lot. Remember, with the jeep being towed, we cannot back up. So we wiggle to and fro and after quite a long time, we pull out. Find our campsite, set up. V/T time.
Next day we decided to go into the park. Well we found there was oil splatter all over the car so we sent out to find a car wash. In pretty tourist towns, there is no car wash. It was then we found out the tires were out of alignment due to the small parking lot turn around. We asked at a gas station where the closet tire alignment place is. “Well, it’s in Hurricane down the road about 20-30 miles. On the right hand side of the street, you can’t miss it”. So off we go. You can’t miss it means asking in several places before we find the only place in town that can alignment tires. Turned out good, a nice place, found a car wash and ready to come back to Springdale. That afternoon we toured Zion Park. Beautiful sights. On to Provo UT
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