July 29, 2010

I can't believe it's been 12 days since I posted, but that seems to indeed be the case. The first 5 or so of those days were relatively uneventful, spent mostly reading and cross-stitching while avidly watching home and garden improvement shows. We did visit our friends Rob and Amber at their home on Sunday, inadvertently crashing a niece's birthday party bbq. As usual it was chaotic but fun visiting with them. Not to mention tasty!

Friday the 23rd found me packing again, fortunately not too much trouble this time as we only opened boxes for the two week stay, but didn't empty them. Some I could just tape back up and others had to be reorganized a bit to sort the food we could store from what we wanted to take or give to the kids. Heather's family benefited the most because all I could offer Laurie was pickles. Turned out she was over that stage of her pregnancy and wanted nothing to do with them. Tough for her, having morning sickness all day on top of being a vegetarian.

We had most of the kids and grandkids over on Saturday to help load the trailer, pickup and car. I'm sure Budd appreciated the help with the heavy lifting, but I kept worrying that something would be put in the trailer for storage that belonged in the car to bring with us. So far all we are missing are the keyboard and mouse for this computer (Budd has no idea where he put them). Obviously, we bought new. Finished loading around noon and fed the kids, then had to keep them entertained as we waited for Laurie and Huggy, who planned the get-together but didn't make it in time for food. 6 teenaged or pre-teen boys plus one teen girl are like a swarm of locusts, and there wasn't much food left in the house anyway. That's one way to clean out a fridge for moving! We left the park around 4 p.m. and headed for Springville, UT, where we left the pickup and trailer in an RV storage lot and spent the night, all the better to get an early start for Grand Junction the next day.

Bright and early Sunday morning we left for Colorado, well-fed and well-rested, and with mixed feelings about leaving the home area once more. Budd's temp assignment here in Lakewood, CO will no doubt enhance his ability to finally get a permanent position with the Park Service, but we are somewhat weary of this nomadic life and its challenges. A highlight on the way, though, was our stop to spend the night with his mom and stepdad. Though we got to see them a couple of weeks ago for her birthday party, it really wasn't a satisfactory visit, because we had to share them with so many other people. Nearly a full day with them was a treat. We found Jim putting together a huge puzzle with a painting of a moose feeding in a pond, and pitched in to help complete it before we left. Note to self: never start a big jigsaw puzzle on my own--I can't stop for food or sleep until they are finished.

Monday found us on the road again (insert Willie Nelson tune here), and a beautiful road it was. I was happy not to be driving as it was like a roller coaster, going up and down and twisting through the Rockies. But I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery while trying valiantly to stay awake. Unusually for us, we made the entire drive without stopping and pulled in at our home-away-from-home at around 3 p.m., stiff and hungry. As our room wasn't ready, we got back in the car and went to find some food.

We are at an extended-stay hotel, Candlewood Suites, just a few minutes from Budd's office. We were pleasantly surprised that rush-hour traffic isn't as bad as we had expected, and have found all the amenities we like in a city within a reasonable distance. I was especially happy to find a nice little park just half a block from the hotel, where I'm pursuing a goal of walking a mile or more per day to get in shape, build up my stamina and lose some weight. More about that in a minute. The suite here is fairly comfortable, if small, and I'm even trying to cook--on a two-burner stove with no oven. I learned while at TICA that we could live on what's available as frozen entrees (since I didn't want to unpack all my pans), but they are not the most healthful fare, and I'm determined to have a 30-day health project.

One disappointing thing is that the TV in the room doesn't have inputs for my Wii, so the park, in-house exercise room and complimentary gym membership that come with our stay here will be essential to an exercise program. I actually hate to exercise for the sake of exercise, except for a few things I find enjoyable like step aerobics. But I do like to walk. Unfortunately, I've let myself get so heavy that walking is hard on my back and hips, but something has to be done. The nearby park has a sidewalk all the way around the perimeter that is .41 of a mile according to the sign. I walk around 2 full times and then cut through the middle where there is a picnic area and playground. Add the distance from the hotel and back for just over a mile. Today I also went out one of the other 'spokes' of sidewalk that provides an entrance to the street on the north and figured it at a mile and a half. Later I'll trace it on a Google Maps tool I've found and make sure. Must find a way to get out earlier, though. By the time I'm finished at 9 a.m., I'm drenched in sweat and need another shower.

My friend Kathy D. introduced me to a great website called SparkPeople where I can track my food/calories, exercise, calories burned, and a number of other things. It's also a social network where I can get support for my health goals from other people who have similar ones. I've spent a day and a half of exploring this wonderful resource. Admittedly, I wouldn't have spent quite so much time if the internet connection speed here at the hotel was really high-speed as advertised. I'm afraid it's too slow for tutoring, which may be the death-knell for my employment with tutor.com. They drop people after 30 days of inactivity, so I must get back on before the 7th of August to stay active. I'll give it a try, and if it's too slow will have to beg for leniency due to the circumstances. But back to exploring SparkPeople, I do recommend it for anyone whose lifestyle goals would be enhanced by tracking. I've long ascribed to the motto 'Goals measured are goals achieved.' Maybe it's just because I'm a compulsive counter.

Well, the goal for today is to do a couple of loads of laundry, then enjoy an afternoon of cross-stitch. The laundry is overdue as that was yesterday's goal, too. ;) I'd better get started!

July 17, 2010

We're now at Timpanogos Cave National Monument, affectionately known in the NPS as TICA. The AO and Supervisor graciously made available a park housing unit that is currently empty, but will be rented to the new maintenance chief week after next, by which time we'll be on our way to Lakewood, CO. We've been here a week, more or less camped out with minimum supplies and furniture. Rather than getting lots of exercise walking/hiking around the park as I had planned, I've put about 50 miles a day on the car just getting errands done. I think I'll be able to stay put most of next week, though.

This house is a far cry from the little duplex apartment we had at Canyon de Chelly. A three-bedroom, bath and a half rambler with actual carpet and linoleum tiles that aren't white make it quite a liveable space. Add the spectacular views and the American Fork river running along the front yard about 15 feet below us, and it could be quite idyllic if we could only stay! I think I've mentioned before that the AO here is one of Budd's strongest supporters, and we had become friends with him and his wife before we left last winter. Last night they brought a Dutch oven dinner and their patio set to make us more comfortable, and we had a great time getting re-acquainted.

I promised an account of last Saturday's surprise birthday party for Budd's mom, one of the sweetest ladies ever. Various family members had been planning and preparing for this party for over three months, and it was a huge success, with all of Mom's surviving siblings and their spouses in attendance. Also some nieces, nephews, my sister-in-law Gaylene, most of Mom's grandkids and great-grandkids and all of the great-great-grandkids (two). Instead of being one huge surprise, it was a series of little ones as Mom saw one or two people she didn't expect to see between the parking lot and the park pavilion. When she realized the true extent of the party, with about 50 in attendance, she couldn't stop saying how surprised and pleased she was. It was a beautiful day, the wind and rain having stopped for the duration of the party. I was proud that we had all four of our kids and most of theirs in attendance. Missing only three of our eight grandkids, one at football camp, one on a previously-planned visit to relatives back East and one that we couldn't arrange transportation for. We saw relatives we hadn't seen in years, and our kids were even more happy to see cousins they hadn't seen in quite a while. Mom was still giddy the next day when we called to say 'bye' as we left town for the rest of the trip to Salt Lake. Budd's friend Doug said we should do it again in ten years, but I want a party just like it in 3 and a half when I turn 65.

The trip from Grand Junction to Salt Lake was relatively uneventful. We returned to Thompson to find our pickup and trailer just where we'd left it and none the worse for wear. I had asked one of the kids to ride with me and Matt volunteered, so we had a good visit on the way. Just one glitch held us up in Price when we stopped for gas in the pickup...we sat too long and the pickup refused to start again. An hour of jumper cable battery charging and a quarter of a tank of my gas later, and it finally did. Our hurried purchase in Arizona is coming back to haunt us as we're certain there's a problem with either the starter or battery, maybe both, and afraid there's a compression problem as well. The pickup is at the mechanic's now for a checkup, and I guess we'll find out Monday what the bottom line will be.

It's a little odd being up here in the American Fork canyon as far as communication goes. We have to drive about three miles to the mouth of the canyon to get cell phone signal. We had a park visitor knock on our door at almost 10 pm night before last, hoping to find a phone because he had locked his keys in his car. Luckily, I had insisted Budd get a key to the admin building which is just across the wide driveway, just in case we had an emergency and needed to phone out. Because we're only here for a short time we couldn't get internet service either. I'm lucky that my Blackberry acts as a modem, but only when we can get cell phone service. However, it is limited service, so I can't use the data service to get to Facebook. I'll have to wait until we're in Denver to post pictures.

Only one other happening of note this week. Budd looked up from the 'dinner table' (which at the time consisted of two tv trays pushed together) and noticed a doe in our back yard. When the picture through the window didn't turn out well, I slipped as carefully as I could out the back door and got within probably 10-15 feet of her for more pictures. Finally she looked up and just stared at me for maybe close to a minute, and then spooked and ran up to the back fence, just a few yards laterally and up maybe 10 feet. There she stopped and looked again, so I went inside to give her some peace to finish grazing. Unfortunately, there was nothing to rest my arms on and the light was going, so none of the pictures did the experience justice. I'll post the best one, anyway. What a beautiful creature! The next day someone from the maintenance department came with a weed-whacker and chopped down all the grass, so I don't know if she'll be back.

Maybe I'll see her on my walks next week if I get up early enough. There is a rough road that runs just behind our yard and then up the hill quite steeply for maybe a quarter of a mile up to a utility building and water tank. I've made the walk twice, stopping for breath every few yards and turning to take in the view across the canyon, then mincing my way down. The grade is so steep that if I don't watch where I place my feet the rocks roll out from under and I end up sitting, rather abruptly. That's happened twice, so I'm being more careful now. The last thing I want to do is wait until Budd discovers I'm missing before someone comes to help me with a broken hip.

The sun seems to be hiding, maybe we'll get some rain this afternoon. I had no idea how much I missed rain in Arizona, until we got some in Grand Junction. I'm ready for more!

July 11, 2010

What a week! Ongoing overheating problems forced us to decide that the old Ford Ranger wouldn't make it to Utah. While seeking other options, Budd contacted someone who had towing equipment, hoping to have the pickup loaded on a flatbed towtruck and the trailer towed behind. That proved quite expensive, but the man did have an old Ford F250 for sale, 1984 model with less than 58,000 original miles on it. (Yes, we checked the Carfax!). So one of our remaining packing days (and way too much of our reserve funds) was taken up by getting to Phoenix to buy it.

We left the Ranger in the hands of a friend in Ajo with instructions to sell it for as much as possible while telling the truth about the issues (we were beginning to suspect a blown head gasket or even cracked head). By the time we hit Moab, she called us to say that the pickup was sold for our asking price! Maybe we should have asked for more? We recouped about three-quarters of what we spent trying to fix it, so I guess it's a lesson learned. The new old pickup has issues that didn't show up on the test drive, but it's towing the trailer with no effort.

We headed out of Ajo much later than planned, at about 3 p.m. with a 6+ hour drive ahead of us. Both of us are night-blind, so we pushed as fast as we could, bearing in mind that pushing an F250 means getting about 8 mpg. Still, we pulled into Tuba City at nearly 10 p.m. after some very tense driving on two lane highways north of Flagstaff. Gas stops and driving under the speed limit added an hour to the time that Mapquest calculated. We were extremely happy to see the hotel in Tuba City! It's a beautiful new facility, the first hotel built on Hopi land in 50 years. It's called the Moenkopi Legacy, in case you need a hotel while passing through the reservations in northeastern Arizona.

The next day, somewhat more rested than the day before, we headed out at 8:30 and made it to Moab with no issues. A quick stop to say hi to Budd's sister and we were off again. Along the way we decided to leave the pickup and trailer at a Thompson Springs gas station while we made our side trip to Grand Junction. An extra, unnecessary 160-mile loop would have cost an extra, unnecessary $60 just in gas. So we got the rig settled, left contact info with the station manager (who had graciously given permission for this scheme), and hopped back on the road. I had been in text contact with our daughter Laurie, who was also headed for Grand Junction, and learned that they were passing through Crescent Junction, just 5 miles behind us, when we got back on the road. As Budd was now at the wheel, Laurie and I continued to text and next thing we knew, she and her husband were right behind us! We let them take the lead, which turned out to be very lucky.

Budd is waiting to pack the laptop so we can continue on to Salt Lake, so I'll make the dramatic story very quick... A few miles afterward, Budd glanced in the rear view mirror and was alarmed to note that the car following us was rapidly gaining on us, with no indication that the driver was going to change lanes. At the last possible moment, he honked the horn and swerved left. We don't know whether she was asleep, or what, but it appeared that the driver didn't realize we were there. She looked up, swerved right (thank goodness!) and passed us on the shoulder doing about 90. She swerved back into the lane between us and Laurie's car, around them on the left, and was at the horizon before any of us could breathe again. I'm so glad Laurie's husband, a much less experienced driver than Budd, wasn't faced with that decision!

All's well that ends well, though, so we're very lucky. I have to save the account of the surprise birthday party for another day, so Budd can pack up the laptop. Suffice to say a good time was had by all.

July 3, 2010

Happy birthday tomorrow to the USA!

This past week has really dragged for us, unfortunately. While quite a lot has happened or been settled, we don't have much to do except wait. Yes, we need to pack, but with 5 days still to go, there's only so much we can pack that we don't need. Today I'll tackle the office and decide what I dare store for the next 6 weeks or so, bearing in mind that we may or may not be able to get back to Salt Lake after that and before the next assignment. The logistics of this nomadic life are complicated!

So, we took the pickup to the shop for a tune-up and a new radiator, and it still overheats. It's back in the shop for a new water pump, and if that doesn't work we'll just have to drive at night. We will have officially spent more on repairs than the thing is worth, and it will have to last another 50,000 miles. It's got 260,000 on it already. If we had known what this would run to, we might have done better buying a bigger used pickup with only half that on it.

Meanwhile, manually pulling the trailer into the carport, Budd lifted it a bit too high and cracked the fiberglass trim on the top front. He went out yesterday before it hit 110 degrees to repair the crack so it won't leak. I haven't seen it yet, but he reports it's UGLY! Can't start loading it until we get the truck back, and we're now second-guessing whether to carry the boxes up the stairs in the back yard to load in the carport, or down the 45-degree angle of the driveway to the park strip in front and load in the sun. Decisions, decisions.

I finished a couple of handcrafting projects and started another, just to kill time. I wish it weren't so hot or that my WII were on a carpeted surface...I could use an hour or more of exercise a day because I'm getting FAT(ter)!!! Heat is in triple digits by 10 am each day, and it's long past 10 pm before it falls under that. With coyotes and javelinas roaming the town, I'm not too excited to walk in the dark, though to be honest I could do it at 5 or 6 am before it heats up too badly. The wind blew hard all last night. I think it's working up to a monsoon storm, which I would like to see before we leave, but not on the day we are trying to load the trailer, please.

We finally know that we are going first to Timpanogos Cave in Utah, and that they will be able to supply us with a small house for the time we're there. We'll almost be camping out in it, because at this point we know we won't be there for more than two weeks, possibly only one. There is still some question of whether he will have to start his detail in Lakewood on the 19th to satisfy the budget people at regional. The 19th is the beginning of a pay period. As a week, or even two, isn't enough to get internet service, we'll be a little handicapped with no internet (and no tv either!), but we will have cool mountain breezes and some great trails to walk. I'm saving my energy for that. We'll probably take the laptop to a wifi hotspot every couple of days to check email. And so the adventure continues, with extreme rural living in the heart of urban Utah.

Saved the best for (almost) last--our youngest daughter, Laurie called with exciting news last week, but I couldn't report it here until she had notified her grandmother, who reads this faithfully. Laurie and her husband Mike, affectionately known as Huggy, are expecting their first baby! We are all so thrilled, and of course I'm hoping for a girl. With four grandsons, three step-grandsons, and only one lonesome step-granddaughter, we need another girl! Unfortunately Laurie, who has inherited a bit of my grandmother's second sight, says it's a boy. We'll see.

While it's so exciting to know she is pregnant, I'm a bit unnerved by how early she found out. We have a looooooooong way to go. She doesn't see her OB until August, but she has used a couple of online calculators to determine that she is due around the end of February or beginning of March. She told me that between our family and Huggy's, there are about 20 birthdays between Christmas and the end of January...so they want it as far away from January as possible. Should have planned better. ;) (I'm kidding, Laurie.) Anyone with tips on easing morning sickness, send them my way and I'll pass them on. She is already sick most of the time, poor thing.

Well, next Saturday we'll be in Grand Junction for a surprise birthday party for Budd's mom. I think she has an idea that something's up, because she called yesterday or day before to ask when we might be coming her way. I lied and told her we may come that way on the way to Lakewood from Salt Lake. It's ok to lie to maintain a surprise, right? Last time I surprised her, though, it almost gave her a heart attack. We had moved to Virginia in March of 1983, and in July my brother flew just the kids and me back for my grandfather's 90th birthday. We went over to see Mom, and just walked in the back door as usual. The girls, then two years old, ran right past their grandma and headed for the toybox. When I got in, Mom was sitting at the breakfast table with a bewildered expression on her face, and when she saw me she burst into tears. The girls had flashed by so quickly that she thought she was seeing things! With relatives coming from near and far for this 80th birthday party, I've recommended to my sister-in-law that they soften the surprise somehow.

Today is the designated day for Ajo's 4th of July celebration, so I'm going to see if I can make my way through the parade and celebrants to get to the library for the $2-a-bag book sale. Have to stock up, as we will probably be back in Chinle before the end of the year.