NOVEMBER 9, 2008

Hello-o-o!

It's me again. Neil came home after two nights in the hospital and seems to be doing fine. At least he's the same old goofy guy we all love! He and Tom spent most of the week getting equipment cleaned, repaired & ready to go out in the desert for "The Hunt" on the 13th.

Duncan, Sandy & I stayed busy with shopping, lunching with an old friend, reading, playing Mexican Train and, of course, the mundane laundry thing. The guys took us to lunch a couple times and to a lovely Sunday Brunch at the Garden Cafe this morning. Since we got back we've been held prisoners in our rig because of a BAD sandstorm--gusts up to 45 mph. The wind has really been rocking us!

Our greatest entertainment has been little Max. He's such a clown. Sandy & Neil went out with friends one night & we were the "puppy sitters". Duncan ran with him around a couple of blocks. Later I walked him around the block. Tom got down on the floor & he (Max) ran like mad from the front to the back of the rig for about 20 minutes. Then another walk. Sandy said he was dead asleep about 15 minutes after they went inside. It was about an hour later for the 3 of us. We had such a good time--but then again--it doesn't take much to entertain us & make us laugh!

Until later,
Tee
Life is Good

PS--Here's a couple of photos from White Sands National Park and Las Cruces, NM.

Oct 30

I can't believe it's been a month since I last wrote. Time flies when you're having fun and that's exactly what we've had!

We met Duncan in Meeker, CO & spent two days with some of her family and then on to Moab, UT & caught up with Sandy, Neil, Barbara & John from Sisters, OR. Spent a week there enjoying Canyonlands & Arches National Parks. Duncan & the guys went on their jeep trip & had quite the adventure. You couldn't wipe the grins from their faces for days! You can read all about it in Tom's blog.

A two day drive from Moab put us in Las Cruces, NM in time for our Sunday brunch at the Double Eagle in Mesilla and a lunch at Chopes in La Mesa. Made another trip to White Sands since Neil & Sandy had never been. It's like being on another planet out in the dunes!

Barbara & John took a side trip from Moab & met us again in Tucson where we visited a few days with Bob & Pat and Louie & Nicole. Then on to Yuma. We're all settled in & are enjoying temps in the 90's.

Little Max (my godpuppy) is growing every day & has the sweetest disposition. He's super smart and a wonderful traveler.

Neil wasn't feeling well yesterday & his sugar level dropped to the 40's a couple times. After he went to bed Sandy heard his breathing change & he was totally unresponsive so she called 911. His reading was 37 & EMS got the reading up but in 10 minutes it dropped again. It yo-yoed all night. The Dr. thinks his meds are too strong & they can get him regulated so he'll be able to come home tomorrow. We're all hoping for that.

Til later,
Tee

Moab Jeep Trip

October 14-15

Even in Moab, UT 5:30 am is early and dark but that’s what’s needed if you’re going to be on the road at 7:00 (almost daylight) so as to make 83 miles to your stopping point for the night. We’re talking about 169 miles door to door in two days over some roads that no self-respecting horse drawn wagon would be caught dead.

The trip is actually the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. It’s roughly 112 miles long plus our route carried us over the Potash Scenic Byway and then up Shafer Trail for a second time. Shafer Trail was first developed as a horse trail around 1917 by a cattle rancher then in 1952 it was “improved” so it could be used to haul uranium ore from mines near Potash and the Colorado River to the top of the mesa. We thought it was pretty awesome until we hit some of the other sections of the trail and then we decided to rename Shafer Trail the “Interstate”.

“We” consists of Neil Koch and John Richman from Sisters, OR, Duncan Wall, Tee’s friend from childhood who still lives in Beaufort, SC and me. Sandy (Neil’s wife), Barbara (John’s wife) and Tee held down the fort in the comfort of the RV’s back in Moab.

You can check out all of the pictures at our Picasa Web Album. While awesome they in no way can convey the feelings one experiences while actually there. Our transportation was two Jeep Rubicons—air conditioning and satellite radio. We really felt confident in their ability to safely transport us over what is considered a moderately difficult back country trail which definitely requires high-clearance, 4-wheel-drive vehicles.

Permits are required for all overnight trips along the White Rim and usually are filled early. We lucked out and a cancellation allowed us to overnight at Candlestick, one of the sites almost halfway thru our trip. The National Park Service maintains 20 indivual campsites in 10 camping areas. Each campsite has a composting toilet which is well maintained. The toilet is the only thing provided and everything else must be packed in and out.

After climbing Shafer Trail the first time, a short distance later we turned down Horsethief Road to actually begin the 112 mile trip. The road was so named because it follows a portion of the same route used by a group of horse rustlers who were operating in eastern Utah around 1890. The road is relatively flat for the first 13 miles and then you descend 850 feet in 1.5 miles down switchbacks to reach the Green River. During this portion of the trip, we saw some people who obviously were not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier—they were base jumping from the mesa to the valley. They jump in this area because it’s not actually within the boundaries of the park. The NPS doesn’t allow such activities.

It’s difficult to know when to stop taking pictures because around every corner is another breathtaking picture of Mother Nature. In some of the pictures you will see that occasionally we’re only 2-3 feet from the edge of a long fall. The other bit that we found somewhat unnerving was climbing steep sections of the road and once you reach the top you have no idea whether the road goes straight ahead or turns. It sometimes helps to remember that we’re probably only doing 2-3 mph. There were occasions, however, when we stopped to let someone walk ahead just to make sure. We let Neil and John lead figuring that we would have time to stop if they went over the edge.

The other somewhat unnerving consideration is meeting another vehicle since traffic moves both ways but the road is single lane (or less). Our first day we only met one vehicle but the second day we met a number of vehicles and bicyclists. Fortunately none were in locations where it is impossible to meet—including bicyclists.

We had a full moon on our overnight and a beautiful sunset. No fires allowed and a sunrise departure made for an early evening following cocktails and dinner complete with wine and dessert. I was first to arise and had a pleasant surprise for everyone—my Heater Buddy had the potty all nice and toasty for morning rituals.

The second day was another day of breathtaking 4-wheeling and scenery and one final climb up Shafer Trail. Back to Moab to clean the jeeps, refuel them and prepare for our morning departure. Interesting note—one jeep required $49.84 in fuel and the other required $49.80.

Summary—a great trip and recommended for all but the faint hearted.

TO THE RANCH

Oct 3

Hey y'all!

Turned north to I-40 in Knoxville & passed by Bucksnort, TN (that's for you Mickie) & on to Memphis for a visit with the Wibles. Crossed the Mighty Mississippi & STILL no sign of Tom & Huck. I'm beginning to believe those boys are fictitious! On across Arkansas passing Toad Suck Park for an overnight in Ft. Smith. On our way to Oklahoma City we passed by Lotawatah Rd & the Kickapoo Casino--LOVE these names. Oklahoma City is a destination for us to have dinner at the Cattleman's Cafe at Stockyard City where the steaks are like velvet on your tongue and, once again, we were not disappointed!

Turned north to Kingsdown, KS for a few days with Chuck & Karla at their ranch. Drove about 200 miles one day to have a picnic & tour a hotel built in 1885 which is being restored by a retired USMC couple. This is a story I can only TELL you--and I will when I see you. What an adventure! Left this AM bound for Moab, UT & the next adventure.

Later--Tee

From Tom--Chuck now has his hangar complete so one day we went to feed the cows and Chuck decided we should fly over to the Cafe 57 for coffee and a cinnamon roll, then a little jog up to Dodge City to refuel and return to the ranch. Always an adventure around the next corner!

2008 Western Trip

Written Sep 23rd by Tee but ignored by Tom until Oct 13--oh well!

Hey y'all!

We're on the road again heading west. Spent the weekend with our local camping group, the Carolina Pelicans, in Effingham, SC & had a wonderful time--as usual. Then on to Spartanburg, SC for a great visit with dear friends Al & Lee Huey. Lee and I did lunch & saw "Mama Mia"--what a hoot--& the guys saw old friends--one Tom had not seen since 1964--what a special day!

As I write this we're in Lebanon, TN on the way to Memphis. For those who "track" us, we came up I-26 to I-40 and will be on I-40 to Oklahoma City. We tried to volunteer to go to Houston with the Family Motor Coach Assn Disaster Response Team to help with the aftermath of IKE but got such disjointed & unsure responses that we decided 1000 miles out of our way for something so unsure was probably not in our best interest. Even on our route there are lots of stations with no fuel!

So--there ya' go--the Krimmingers are rolling on!

Later--
Tee & Tom

PS--You can catch some of our photos at our Picasa Web Album
Click on the link to go there.

Tom

TOM TRAVELS ALONE

We arrived back in Little River on December 1 and spent the following week in our usual routine: unload the motorhome, clean up, catch up on paperwork, etc. On Friday, Dec 7 we headed over to Florence, SC for our Carolina Pelicans'(local chapter of FMCA) Christmas Party hosted by Danny & Doris Dimmery. Bob & Ann Billups who live just down the road from Danny were gracious enough to allow all who desired to dry camp on their property--not sure why they don't just open a campground. Pictures are of Danny's tiny little barn (6,000 sf) and the pig on the cooker.

On the way to Florence on Friday I received a call from the Red Cross asking if I could go to Oregon for disaster relief. They wanted me to leave in 24 hours which I believed just wasn't possible so we agreed that Sunday afternoon would be acceptable.

Friday night we visited with the members of our group who were there and played some wild games of Mexican Train and drank Danny's home made wine. Good stuff!

Saturday found us at Applebee's for a Red Cross pancake breakfast and then back to Danny's to watch the pig cook. Had to leave before the Christmas party but Danny was gracious enough to provide us with an extremely generous portion of pig--one of my very favorite things. Arrived home about dark and with Thomas' help unloaded and winterized the motorhome. Also thanks to his generosity I was able to borrow just the luggage I needed for the trip.

Sunday found us ferrying the "Beav" to its resting place for the winter and me trying to make sure I had the proper clothing, etc. for the trip. This was my first deployment for the Red Cross and I found it to be extremely rewarding and interesting. Arrived in Portland around midnight EST and finally managed to get in bed sometime around 2:00am EST (11:00pm PST) and then reporting to the Red Cross by 8:00 on Monday morning. I was sent to fill a position in the technology portion of the operation but for reasons unknown to me, they were overstaffed so I was assigned to Health Services as their administrative assistant.

Most of my work was for the two managers of Health Services--Donna, a local volunteer nurse from Portland and Dianna, a national volunteer from Knoxville. We operated out of the headquarters in Beaverton, OR which was a very large warehouse with a small office space.

One day I did make it out to Vernonia, the site of the worst flooding. Believe it or not there was no looting or any of the shenanigans we saw after Katrina--only people helping other people less fortunate. It did bring back memories of Hugo when we were flooded--I don't even like to think about it!


The Red Cross had several other shelters and service centers early on in the relief operation but these were closed as soon as the immediate needs were met and other organizations stepped in to provide long term assistance.

In Vernonia, the Red Cross had both a shelter and a service center, both located at a sports camp. As you can see from the pictures, it was an extremely nice facility for this purpose. One slight drawback was that it was located on the side of a hill--not really ideal for your elderly clients.




































Mudslides continued while I was still there and at least one occurred after I returned home on the 19th of December.



Hurricane force winds stripped the trees and as you can see, these are not baby trees!



A good experience and I still made it back before Christmas even though I had been scheduled to be there through the 29th. As with any operation of this kind, there is always a rear party to close everything down and so there were some who didn't make it home for Christmas. There were also some who left Oregon to travel to the midwest where the Red Cross had yet another relief operation in progress because of the ice storms.

Until next time,
Tom

PS--I did see the sun for 10 minutes one day!