Well I have recently returned from another great adventure of approximately 5000 miles in 12 days. The first three days were long and hard, but I had only one thing on my mind and he was waiting at the end of the road for me to love on, Wyatt Jace Bradley. He was worth driving 10000 miles for.
The first day out we proved that "blackholes" really do exist in this great universe, they just renamed it Wyoming. Night time in Wyoming is dark, very very dark. I do want to thank the highway department for putting reflectors on the sides of the roads. I found them very reassuring as I wasn't sure there was a side of the road there at all. At one point in the journey, they even provided a pull off for a scenic view. We saw black nothingness, so took a picture and moved on. I was very excited when we finally saw the lights of our first nights destination of Buffalo. Then there was a choice of which way to go with no clear direction. Highways are confusing in day light when they change directions, but the black of night changes your perspective. We decided to flip a coin and fortunately landed on the right highway to the most beautiful Comfort Inn I have ever seen, well in Wyoming anyway. We discovered the next day that Wyoming was just as interesting in daylight as in dark. It is a land of many antelope. I thought Albert was going to leave me there if I sang "Home on the Range" one more time. It was an unexplainable urge that I had no control over. Must have been the after effects of the "blackhole."
Our next days journey took us through Denver. I was in for culture shock. I realize now living in little ol' Spokane has spoiled us. We are very fortunate to live in a city with only one freeway to deal with and the traffic here is a pure delight. Denver was my worst nightmare. Lane after lane of nothing but cars going nowhere, literally. One hour later we thought we had made it through and then there was another traffic hold up in the next town. I have concluded that one day their new claim to fame will be mile wide freeways. I will never complain about traffic in Spokane again!! Love you Spokane and I really mean that!
Our third day started out beautiful as we drove through Texas (no comments people, native Texan here) to see my new grandbaby and then we reached what I remembered as a small little towns of Denton and McKinney. Oh my goodness. To begin with the posted speed limit is 65mph. Now that would be great except for two things 1) unbelievable traffic and 2) you are racing from one red light to the next, OK maybe racing is not the proper term since it is impossible to do that because of all the traffic, but when you do have a break you best be prepared to join the herd. I think they need to reconsider their speed limits. I had these visions of Spokane doing that on Division, which would have been equivalent to where we were, and shuddered in fear. I admittedly get frustrated because we can't do 35mph, but will never think 65mph a good idea anywhere! Then you have to factor in the road construction with bright flashing signs threatening you that they will be shutting down the road way at a certain time. I finally figured out that everyone was in a panic to get where they were going in fear of being trapped in road construction hell all night.
We actually make it through and arrived in Farmersville all in one piece, but then we realized we didn't know how to actually get to my son's home and had to call for a rescue. We had a great visit and truly enjoyed the Old Town Days of Farmersville. Their claim to fame is Audie Murphy and old Onion barns. It is a quaint little town, great riding lawnmower pulls and what every western town needs is a good gun fight. It was really fun and we enjoyed it a lot. It is really a beautiful little town with brick streets and wonderful old buildings they are revitalizing. I love it when cities appreciate what is already there.
After playing with baby for two and half days, we left for the next leg of our adventure. Off to Albuquerque, NM. On arrival we were pleasantly surprised by their beautiful freeway overpasses. Salmon and turquoise graced them and it was quite artistic. But, again, we were in for a little surprise. Balloon Festival had increased their population by about 10000 plus people give or take a few thousand. Bus loads of people from all over the world were there to see the 700 plus balloons in flight and other various festivities. We talked to the hotel clerk to plan our route of escape and ended up getting the best view of the balloons ever. They were landing in yards, stuck in between houses, kissing the tree tops and swooshing away. It was spectacular!
As we left New Mexico behind, we ran into thunderstorms at the four corners of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah. I haven't seen those kind of clouds in quite a while. Lightening, thunder, wind and prayers. The clouds made me a little nervous and if we'd had a place of refuge, I would have done so. I did a lot of praying watching the clouds very closely, after all I am a Texas girl and if nothing else I know what certainly clouds mean. We did hear after reaching Moab that they had tornadoes in Arizona. Don't think I have ever heard of that before. We made one quick stop to see Aztec ruins and I was in high gear. Albert kept asking me what my hurry was and all I could do was encourage him to look and let's get out of there. We had to cross a couple of low water crossings to get there and with the storms blowing in I knew we would take a chance of having to deal with flash flooding. He just had to trust me on this one, but grouched all the way until we actually hit the storm on the way out. We came to a small town that had a sheriff set up on each side of town. I think they were watching the weather as it was raining too hard to be motivated for anything else. We eventually drove out of it made it to our destination of Moab and prayed it would not be raining the next day.
We had a brief few hours of sunshine the next day and were able to go into Arches National Park and it was spectacular there. If you have never traveled to that part of the world, I do highly recommend it. It was beautiful and I look forward to going back to see the whole park and also to see the other parks of Utah one of these days.
We then ventured on to to our next destination. So up to this point we had found the blackhole, survived Denver, laughed and cried through Denton and McKinney and got stormed on. That was nothing compared to our drive through Salt Lake City. Detours, road construction and at least 100 miles of the worst drivers I have ever seen anywhere!!!!! Speed limits mean nothing and if you leave an inch between you and the car ahead they will instantly fill it without warning. Turn signals mean nothing. If you didn't leave enough room then they just pull over on you or even if you did leave enough room they pull over on you. I am sure they thought I had lost my mind because I actually wanted them aware that I was trying to change lanes. Speed limit was 55, they were doing 70 and passing two police cars we actually saw. I thought their job was to control speeders or am I just foolish in thinking that. Those people are out of control! Evidently Salt Lake has a whole set of rules the rest of the world is unaware of. Drivers BEWARE! I pray that I never never have to go there again. Strange I said the very same thing the first time I had to go through there!!!!! DANGER DANGER DANGER.
We did make it to Blackfoot and got to play with the granddaughter for two days. She is a little monkey and climbs everything. Definitely takes after her Daddy. She knows she is the center of attention and makes sure you are watching. She has this mischievous little twinkle and then suddenly she will look at you and sweetly say in a soft little voice, "Hi." Melts a Grandma and Grandpa's heart. Next minute she is loudly barking unintelligible orders at whoever is hindering her at the moment. You just wonder how such a tiny sweet little girl can make such a loud ruckus. Oh the joys of Grandkids! I just wish I was younger and could keep up a little better.
We finally headed home and after being gone so long I was thrilled to see the mountains again. There is just something about the Montana/Idaho border. Believe it or not you can actually smell the evergreens and it is so refreshing. My husband just thinks I have a vivid imagination, but I know it is real.
We do plan another trip next spring, but it will not be through Denver, Denton, McKinney, Albuquerque or Salt Lake City. We will find the less traveled back roads of this land even if it takes longer. Besides that is where you find the best things to see. Maybe even the biggest ball of twine or other wonderful treasures. Give me Small Town USA any day.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Continued Saga of Little Trailer of Horrors
We knew we would have to get up early to begin our quest of the beast. The alarm was set and as 6am rolled around we arose to a cold dreary day. With dread we loaded the car with every weapon we could conceive not knowing what it would take to conquer the beast. We questioned each other as to our preparedness, keys, tools, glasses, etc. We were ready!
As we drove along rain began to pelt us, but even the thought of tromping through mud or Biscuit the Hound of Bob's Place would not deter our mission. We had a determination as never before to finish this job in victory. As we pulled up "IT" did not look so confident as before and Biscuit had not been released. We had keys to the door and a determined look in our eye and no Biscuit to deal with. Only The Little Trailer of Horrors waited patiently knowing we would slip up at any moment and the tables would be turned. The tables would turn, but not as it thought. I knew it was trembling in fear when our secret weapon arrived. It didn't look so confident when "Joe" walked in.
Mud was tromped in everywhere leaving it's brown dirty mess on new clean floors, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was winning this battle. The panel was removed to the dark depths where the heart of the beast, the illusive water heater, was thought to reside. We all held our breath as Joe bravely and carefully reached in an arm. He felt around and made contact with the levers that would turn off the flow of water. The hope of success was at hand. Hot water turned, cold water turned and bypass turned with ease. It had been conquered! No more would we tremble when the fall leaves began to blow and the wind had a chill in the air. We now knew it was the end of the reign of the Little Trailer of Horrors. Peace had come at last to Bob's Place. Ah, the smell of sweet success and antifreeze. With our secret weapon Joe we had succeeded in winterizing the Little Trailer of Horrors. We were victorious and life was good. What was a horror and finally become a second home.
We thanked our conquering hero "Joe" as he drove off into the sunrise to hunt other beast. I am sure they too were trembling at the thought of his arrival. He was our hero and we will be forever grateful!
We now look forward joyously to Spring and the promise of new adventures. We are the Crazy Roses and the world had better be prepared. We are coming!
As we drove along rain began to pelt us, but even the thought of tromping through mud or Biscuit the Hound of Bob's Place would not deter our mission. We had a determination as never before to finish this job in victory. As we pulled up "IT" did not look so confident as before and Biscuit had not been released. We had keys to the door and a determined look in our eye and no Biscuit to deal with. Only The Little Trailer of Horrors waited patiently knowing we would slip up at any moment and the tables would be turned. The tables would turn, but not as it thought. I knew it was trembling in fear when our secret weapon arrived. It didn't look so confident when "Joe" walked in.
Mud was tromped in everywhere leaving it's brown dirty mess on new clean floors, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was winning this battle. The panel was removed to the dark depths where the heart of the beast, the illusive water heater, was thought to reside. We all held our breath as Joe bravely and carefully reached in an arm. He felt around and made contact with the levers that would turn off the flow of water. The hope of success was at hand. Hot water turned, cold water turned and bypass turned with ease. It had been conquered! No more would we tremble when the fall leaves began to blow and the wind had a chill in the air. We now knew it was the end of the reign of the Little Trailer of Horrors. Peace had come at last to Bob's Place. Ah, the smell of sweet success and antifreeze. With our secret weapon Joe we had succeeded in winterizing the Little Trailer of Horrors. We were victorious and life was good. What was a horror and finally become a second home.
We thanked our conquering hero "Joe" as he drove off into the sunrise to hunt other beast. I am sure they too were trembling at the thought of his arrival. He was our hero and we will be forever grateful!
We now look forward joyously to Spring and the promise of new adventures. We are the Crazy Roses and the world had better be prepared. We are coming!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Little Trailer of Horrors and Biscuit the Hound of Bob's
It is October and fall is in the air. Leaves of gold are peacefully drifting in the air and there is a distinct sharpness to the wind. So begins our tale.
We left with all confidence that we would winterize our trailer and then be merrily on our way to enjoy the rest of our Saturday. Right out of the shoot we, again, forgot the keys to the trailer and had to make a u-turn to fetch them after we were half way there. We should have seen at that point the returning home part was the only thing that would be the right thing to do and staying would have saved our sanity.
After a quick trip to Hayden to affirm what we knew about winterizing, we were on our way to get the job done. Second stop was WalMart because Ron the trailer guy was convinced their antifreeze was cheaper, which it was not. So on we went to Bob's Place where our trailer is wintering. When we arrived we were greeted by the resident "guard dog" Biscuit. Now with a name like Biscuit I envision a furry, dumpy little dog with big brown eyes. Biscuit is a red something with no manners and annoying as all get out. She jumps on you, gets in your face when you come near enough and generally is just a pest. I would not classify her a an "A 1" guard dog except for the fact she would drive them crazy and they would retreat from her pestering. Albert tied her up to keep her from under foot and she immediately chewed through the rope which I am sure she has had plenty of experience doing. Now I know why Bob had what looked liked a ships chain on her. She must have teethed on it and now has fangs of steel.
We retreated into the trailer to find the water heater. Albert had good luck finding the plug on it outside and getting it drained. I went on the hunt to find the pump and the inside part of the water heater. Mission partly accomplished as I did find the pump. The water heater however was somewhere in the vicinity of our kitchen window and kitchen cabinets. We had two access panels which needed a screw driver we didn't have of course. We commiserated over the fact we couldn't get the winterizing done that day.
We left the haven of the trailer to be greeted by Biscuit the hound of Bob's. Word commands and firmness had no affect on this bundle of energy who desperately had the need to continuously jump on you. I resorted to "stupid dog" and Albert's patience was growing weary just in general. He opened the security gate for us to leave and of course Biscuit saw an opportunity to go visit. I pulled out and Albert trotted off to find the wayward girl. He was successful and quickly got her behind bars and we were on our merry way.
Half way home, of course, we realized we needed to bring the batteries so we could charge them, so we turned around and headed back to Bob's and Biscuit the hound of Bob's. We were absolutely thrilled when we got there that Biscuit had disappeared. I think the neighbor across the street reported to him that we had let her escape and he probably had her in protective custody. We got the batteries and went merrily on our way again.
The next day we had taken the batteries to be charged and were prepared to conquer the trailer. Battery charging people call and say batteries are no good as they are dead. We have not used said batteries so we are perplexed as to how they could be dead and immediately call the trailer place which of course was not open. We decided to go to the trailer anyway and take the correct screw driver to find the elusive water heater. It is fortunate we took many different sizes maybe 30 different sizes. Did any of them fit NO. We finally resorted to using something that sort of worked, but we were in fear that the screw would get stripped. We got it open only to discover NOTHING. It wasn't where it should be. We went outside to be greeted by the Hound of Bob's place Biscuit. Oh joy. How a small dog can be in two places at one time is just eerie. It was like there was two of her. In your face, jumping and evil thoughts looming in our heads, Albert was just starting to use the safety chains on the front of the trailer when there was a whistle in the air to which she did respond. Now I know she responds to something. Thank you Bob. The search was on and the Little Trailer of Horrors won. We left with our tail between our legs again defeated and frustrated.
Our trial is not over sad to say. We still have to get the trailer winterized. Just a 5 - 10 minute job everyone says. Now I wonder if secretly they were laughing sinisterly as we walked away. The trailer won this round, but we are coming back with a new weapon called a Joe. It just thinks it is in control. Now who is laughing.
We left with all confidence that we would winterize our trailer and then be merrily on our way to enjoy the rest of our Saturday. Right out of the shoot we, again, forgot the keys to the trailer and had to make a u-turn to fetch them after we were half way there. We should have seen at that point the returning home part was the only thing that would be the right thing to do and staying would have saved our sanity.
After a quick trip to Hayden to affirm what we knew about winterizing, we were on our way to get the job done. Second stop was WalMart because Ron the trailer guy was convinced their antifreeze was cheaper, which it was not. So on we went to Bob's Place where our trailer is wintering. When we arrived we were greeted by the resident "guard dog" Biscuit. Now with a name like Biscuit I envision a furry, dumpy little dog with big brown eyes. Biscuit is a red something with no manners and annoying as all get out. She jumps on you, gets in your face when you come near enough and generally is just a pest. I would not classify her a an "A 1" guard dog except for the fact she would drive them crazy and they would retreat from her pestering. Albert tied her up to keep her from under foot and she immediately chewed through the rope which I am sure she has had plenty of experience doing. Now I know why Bob had what looked liked a ships chain on her. She must have teethed on it and now has fangs of steel.
We retreated into the trailer to find the water heater. Albert had good luck finding the plug on it outside and getting it drained. I went on the hunt to find the pump and the inside part of the water heater. Mission partly accomplished as I did find the pump. The water heater however was somewhere in the vicinity of our kitchen window and kitchen cabinets. We had two access panels which needed a screw driver we didn't have of course. We commiserated over the fact we couldn't get the winterizing done that day.
We left the haven of the trailer to be greeted by Biscuit the hound of Bob's. Word commands and firmness had no affect on this bundle of energy who desperately had the need to continuously jump on you. I resorted to "stupid dog" and Albert's patience was growing weary just in general. He opened the security gate for us to leave and of course Biscuit saw an opportunity to go visit. I pulled out and Albert trotted off to find the wayward girl. He was successful and quickly got her behind bars and we were on our merry way.
Half way home, of course, we realized we needed to bring the batteries so we could charge them, so we turned around and headed back to Bob's and Biscuit the hound of Bob's. We were absolutely thrilled when we got there that Biscuit had disappeared. I think the neighbor across the street reported to him that we had let her escape and he probably had her in protective custody. We got the batteries and went merrily on our way again.
The next day we had taken the batteries to be charged and were prepared to conquer the trailer. Battery charging people call and say batteries are no good as they are dead. We have not used said batteries so we are perplexed as to how they could be dead and immediately call the trailer place which of course was not open. We decided to go to the trailer anyway and take the correct screw driver to find the elusive water heater. It is fortunate we took many different sizes maybe 30 different sizes. Did any of them fit NO. We finally resorted to using something that sort of worked, but we were in fear that the screw would get stripped. We got it open only to discover NOTHING. It wasn't where it should be. We went outside to be greeted by the Hound of Bob's place Biscuit. Oh joy. How a small dog can be in two places at one time is just eerie. It was like there was two of her. In your face, jumping and evil thoughts looming in our heads, Albert was just starting to use the safety chains on the front of the trailer when there was a whistle in the air to which she did respond. Now I know she responds to something. Thank you Bob. The search was on and the Little Trailer of Horrors won. We left with our tail between our legs again defeated and frustrated.
Our trial is not over sad to say. We still have to get the trailer winterized. Just a 5 - 10 minute job everyone says. Now I wonder if secretly they were laughing sinisterly as we walked away. The trailer won this round, but we are coming back with a new weapon called a Joe. It just thinks it is in control. Now who is laughing.
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