Christmas on the road

     We left Washington on December 19th, and headed south.  We stopped for the night in Kelso, Washington, and it was cold.  We stopped for the night near Ashland,  Oregon, and it was colder yet!  We stopped for the night in Red Bluff,  California, and it was getting warmer.  We arrived at Mike's parent's house in the cool 60s.  All we had to do was turn into a narrow drive wayand get past the gate and fence.  And then park.  An hour later, we were ready to hunker down for Christmas.  Mike's mother moved into an adult care facility in September, and this was his father's first Christmas without her in 65 years.  I cooked a turkey dinner for Christmas eve, and Mike's brother and niece joined us.  We ate the leftovers for 4 more days!

Christmas Eve dinner

 On Christmas morning, Mike and I opened our presents to each other and gave presents to his dad.

 And then we went to Mike's sister's house for an amazing brunch and visiting with family and dogs.  (There were five dogs present, including our Louie!)

Party animals

    The next day, Marty, Marisa and Lola joined us visiting Mike's mom and had lunch with us in our "home".  Lola has grown since we saw her in October!

Of course we gave Lola a doll!

The doll and Lola have pockets

 When we first arrived, Louie was terrified of the big dogs in the pasture, and barked at them from behind my legs.  Later he watched and watched from behind the fence, and by the time we were ready to leave, he was sitting IN the pasture for hours on end, watching those big dogs.

3 big dogs and Louie

We enjoyed our time with family, but on the 28th pulled our long trailer out of the driveway and headed south.  On to more adventures!

Our ridiculous Christmas Letter

The 2011 Tall Tales of Mike and Chris

Every winter, as the weather gets cold and the days get short, you hear, go south for the winter, it will be warm. So in 2011 we did. We started out by heading back to North Carolina to my sister, Gale’s home, where we had left our trailer and our dog, Bernie. We thought North Carolina was in the south, but we were fooled. It snowed and snowed! So we high-tailed it out of there and found snow in South Carolina. Then we headed to Georgia’s Jeckyl Island where it was cold, but did not snow. We won’t describe the misery of frozen sewage tanks and water pipes every morning no matter how many faucets we left dripping. (Hair dryers came in very handy!) In Savannah, it got a little warmer, but it wasn’t until we were halfway down Florida that we finally hit 70 degrees.

We loved the beauty of the trip south! We enjoyed visiting with Aunt Joyce and Uncle Dick during their annual trip to Jeckyl Island, and we were overwhelmed by the Everglades! So many amazing animals including crocodiles, alligators, panthers, pygmy rattlers right in the camp and birds of every amazing color and design possible.

Unfortunately, while driving through northwestern Florida we stopped in a business parking lot to make lunch. Immediately, two men in a truck wanted to know what we were doing. Then we noticed that the business had no name and the tall fences circling the buildings were topped with vicious biting barbed wire. As our stomachs sank, we realized we had found a secret CIA outpost and that we would have made a better choice if we had eaten lunch on the hills of red ants! Every time we turned around after that, nondescript cars were following us! We headed north and visited with Amie, Tony and the boys during their trip to visit with Tony’s father and step-mother in Mobile, Alabama. We enjoyed wonderful hospitality and got to see our very first Mardi Gras parade complete

                                                             Moon Pie dance!

with flying stuffed animals and moon pies. We toured the USS Alabama with the Parkers, but sometimes when I turned around, I saw men ducking out of sight. We worried that they were possibly after the Parkers now that we had been seen together. The agents followed us to Huntsville where we visited with Aunt Joan and cousin Linda. The agents followed us through Arkansas where we soaked in elaborate ancient soaking pools in Hot Springs, AK and while we dug in the dirt at Diamond Mine State Park.( I think they stole the diamonds we should have found.) They followed us through Texas and into New Mexico and all the way down into the Carlsbad Caverns. I think the agents even enjoyed seeing the petroglyphs at Three Rivers Petroglyph National Recreational Site. But then rabid terrorists required attention and the agents needed to go. They arranged for our demise by having a lady (agent also) crash into us. These were old agents who forgot about airbags. We survived and only needed a little fixing. AND now we have matching surgery scars on our backs. Not every couple can say that!!!

We flew back to Washington nursing our wounds and moved back into our house. We started mowing and cleaning, pulling weeds and cleaning, and Mike put a new roof on the house. Then we mowed again and cleaned again and pulled more weeds. And we missed our old trailer lifestyle. We listed our house for sale. In 2 and ½ months, 2 people came through the house. But our frustration paid off! We were able to do a lease option to buy with a very nice couple. And buy a new trailer and truck.

We are set to campground host at  Saddleback Butte and Big Sur in California and Salt Water State Park and Deception Pass in Washington. We are very excited and can’t wait to start in January.

While we were traveling, our grandchildren continued to grow. Noah is 6 and attending first grade. Luke is 4 and attending preschool. They are both swimming and taking karate.

Lola will be two in February. We were able to visit with her in October and loved seeing her run and run in the park. Amie and Tony are working very hard and running marathons. They have been able to enjoy great vacations, including Thanksgiving in Mexico.

Marty, Taylor and Lola reside in Foster City California where Marty is employed at a Toyota dealership and Taylor is a stay at home mother. Bobby and Alison have recently announced that they are expecting a baby in June.

We were so excited that we immediately arranged a campground host position two miles from them for May and June. Marisa is living in San Francisco and traveling all over the country and beyond to give presentations to rooms full of doctors. She has been able to travel for fun as well. We are very proud of all our children, their spouses and children. We are very blessed.

We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season filled with peace, love, laughter and joy!

Love,

Mike and Chris

Back at it again!

Yes, we are crazy!  Yes, we are insane!  But we so missed the full-time RVing lifestyle.  So after we have both undergone spinal fusion surgeries (we have matching scars) physical therapy, chiropractic care, massage and accupuncture, we are at it again!  We have leased our house with an option to buy for three years, purchased a truck capable of pulling a trailer and a brand new trailer.  We have moved into the trailer and have it parked for a few weeks at a friend's property.  In January, we will be campground hosting at Saddleback Butte State Park in California.  And in the warmer months, will be campground hosting in Washington.  So, we get up in the morning.  Clean the home, and 15 minutes later have the day left to . . . . . .. . . . . whatever.  Play, paint, walk, contemplate our navels, read - you name it. 



A dramatic end to an incredible journey.

On the morning of March 16th we left camp early headed to Santa Fe to view museums and art galleries.  At 10:00, Louie was hanging out with Mike and looking around.  Then he went to sleep on the backseat.  I am so glad he was in back!

At 10:15 we were crossing an overpass over Interstate 40 at Cline's Corner (former site of Route 66) and first a white SUV turned in front of us to enter the freeway so close to us that Mike laid on the horn.  We were almost ready to say "whew" when we noticed the black SUV behind the white one was going to cross in front of us very close behind the black one.  Mike said, "I'm not going to be able to miss her" and we crashed into her right rear quarter panel.  Without steering, we would have gone into oncoming traffic, but Mike steered us straight down the hill on the other side of the road, through the guardrail and avoided rolling us down the hill.    Great driving Mike!

We were tossed around and have some soft tissue injury and bruises.  I had black lips for a few days from the airbag. The woman we hit has a sprained wrist.  Considering that we were going between 50 and 60 miles an hour, we are all incredibly lucky to walk away.  We were all taken by ambulance to Albuquerque about 50 miles away to be checked out. One can see the truck is obviously totaled.  The trailer frame, despite all my research on strong frames, buckled and had to be trailered rather than towed to the wrecking yard.  Louie was taken to an animal shelter to be cared for.  He was not hurt at all.  The local sheriff witnessed the accident.  We couldn't have a more credible witness and he determined that the accident was 100% the other driver's fault.

We spent three nights in an Albuquerque hotel.  We went to the wrecking yard to collect our belongings, but were given only two hours by the yard supervisor so were not able to get everything.  We shipped home what we could get, and flew home.

However, our house is still leased out.  We have been staying with wonderful friends, and beginning in April are renting a beach cabin on Whidbey Island until our tenants can find another place to live.  We are still in shock over the unexpected end to the journey.  We are trying hard to adjust and to remember how very lucky we are to be alive and healthy!

The offending vehicle.

We will have to take another trip to see Santa Fe, Taos, Arizona and Death Valley!

Three Rivers Petroglyph National Recreation Site

We traveled through the Lincoln National Forest crossing over hills of dwarfed pines, oak scrub and cactus. We headed north on Highway 54 running parallel to the White Sands Missile Range.  We kept our heads ducked and did not run into any errant missiles.  In many places, you could see the band of white sand next to the Jornado Del Muerto (mountains) range.  We arrived at the National Recreational Site in the early afternoon and had plenty of time to explore.

More than 21,000 glyphs of birds, humans, animals, fish, insects and plants, as well as numerous geometric and abstract designs are scattered over the northern Chihuahuan Desert. The petroglyphs at Three Rivers, dating back to between about 900 and 1400 AD, were created by Jornada Mogollon people who used stone tools to remove the dark patina on the exterior of the rock. A small pueblo ruin is nearby .  Anthropologists believe that this location was a crossroads for tribes that would leave messages for each other and tell stories with the petroglyphs.

The road was straight, straight and straight.

Valley view from the campground.  White Sands is near the mountains in the distance.

We chose to follow the no dogs on the trails rule.

Is this an older version of the cuts of meat diagram in many cookbooks?

Man with beer belly.

In several places people have chipped away the petroglyphs.

Vana of the petroglyphs!

An obvious eagle.

When studying children's art in college, I learned that all children go through a progression of objects before people and then the same progress with people.  This circle with a cross in it is one of the shapes drawn by children before they draw people.

Roadrunner?

Reconstructed footprint of an older home.

This house is a little newer.

This is the newest type of house found on site.

The campground had only two RV sites and a few unoccupied tent sites.  The evening was warm and we were able to enjoy a long and dramatic sunset.  After dark, the stars were just as spectacular.  And it was soooo very quiet!