Into every life rain must fall, but why mine on Monday

Hiking group gathers on Tuesday at trailhead

If there is anything more frustrating than dealing with technical support for a computer issue I’d like to know what it is. Saturday afternoon I spent the first half of the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens game dealing with a wireless hotspot issue.

We purchased the Straight Talk wireless hot spot last year when we were here, but obviously haven’t used it for nine months which necessitated purchasing new gigabytes and restarting the hot spot. Sounds easy, right? Wrong.

The foreign computer expert barely spoke English and the English he spoke sounded like Greek. Between my exasperation at not knowing what the heck he was talking about and then not understanding his broken English explanation I was in a near rage.

Starting up into the mountains

I try not to take out my total complete frustration with folks just trying to make a living but after 90 minutes of shutting down, restarting, rebooting, resetting, I told the man, “this really shouldn’t be this hard.”

Eventually we got the hot spot up and running, but without any security key so that I can’t leave the hot spot up when I’m not using it because it means anyone within range can steal my signal and byte into my gigas.

The only downsize to the Voyager Park is that the commercial wifi offered here is next to Neanderthal in tech terms. We had nothing but trouble with it on our first visit, so determined to find an alternate on our second because the cost of the park wife is $60 a month. The Straight Talk worked well last year, but after Saturday’s adventure I’m ready to give up on the Internet altogether.

Climbing, climbing

So the rest of Saturday was spent watching football and then dancing the night away, if coming home at 10 p.m. can be considered “dancing the night away.”

They have a very good band made up of residents here and they are quite good. We try to dance like no one is watching, but I wish I had paid better attention to those dance lessons my mother paid for in the early 1960s.

My routine, because I wake up so early here (5:30 a.m.) is to go to the fitness center get in a weight and cardio workout before the place starts hopping about 7 a.m.  That is pretty much 5 days a week with the other two days covered by hiking.

Looking at hikers through the cholla

Joan and I walked to church about 9:30 a.m. and were home in time to watch the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys game. We were rooting for the Dallas Cowboys and my exact quote at the start of the game was, “I just hope the game comes down to a controversial referee’s call that goes against the Cowboys and they lose.” Talk about karma. Couldn’t happen to a better guy than Jerry Jones.

The NFL doubleheader continued with the Denver Broncos and Indy Colts which we enjoyed very much as well. Not really rooting for either team in that game, but it turned out to be a pretty good game.

Joan made one of my favorite dinners – Shrimp Louie – with her own dressing and we spent a quiet evening at home.

My hiking buddy Jim is back (right)

The RV repair guy came by on Monday morning to look over the damage, but it was raining so it wasn’t safe for him to climb on the roof but he is in the process of ordering some of the broken parts and I talked to our insurance company and they are processing a claim for us. Hopefully, all with be right with the Laredo trailer soon.

Joan was planning to go to here aquacise class this morning but the rain seemed to discourage her. I mean you’re up to your neck in water anyway, but the idea of being in a pool in the rain didn’t excite her at all. Instead we stayed home and completed the process of unpacking and storing things inside.

Heard a new attorney ad: “Been in a wreck? Need a check? Call Joe Whatever”

The rain clouds moved out of here by noon and the afternoon warmed up nicely on Monday. We pulled out the folding chairs and we sat outside reading for a couple hours in the warm sun. It was really nice.

I'm back too

Our enhanced cable was not connected by 4 p.m. and without it there was no ESPN, which meant no National Championship College Football game so we headed downtown to walk in “Meet Me at Maynards” a weekly event in downtown Tucson where hundreds of people walk 2, 3 or 4-mile courses and then eat out at one of the many downtown restaurants all of which provide nice discounts to Meet Me at Maynards participants.

Joan really likes this event and a number of folks from Voyager RV park participate. Once you’ve walked in the weekly event 8 times you get a free “Meet Me at Maynards” t-shirt and after 15 you get a hat. They also have t-shirts for those who have walked 100 of the events as well as 200 of the events.  The event has been in existence for nearly 6 years so presumably there will be additional t-shirts for 300 and so on as the event continues.

My favorite cactus

Although such an event probably wouldn’t work in the winter months in Michigan it is a great idea to bring people downtown at least once a week. Once you register each week a raffle ticket with your name on it is tossed into a basket and they give away some nice prizes. We’re still two weeks from our first t-shirt (our four weeks last year carried over to this year) but we’ll make at least that this trip.

After we failed to win any of the dozen raffle prizes we headed to “World of Beer” a local restaurant with a 10 percent MMM discount and had dinner and watched the game on the several big screen tvs.

By 9:30 p.m. the score was 35-20 and we felt it was safe to head back to our trailer. We later learned that OSU scored another touchdown with just seconds left. That was a controversy down here, but I remember how Oregon scored a meaningless touchdown when they were playing MSU early in the season so I didn’t care a bit.

A pretty part of the hike

Tuesday morning came and Joan headed off to her first aquacise class and I headed off for my first “hard” hike. This one was a 6-mile trek into the Rincon Mountains in the Saguaro National Park. It was a perfect first hike for me as the distance and elevation is relatively moderate for one of these hikes and it takes me a couple weeks to get acclimated to the altitude. “It’s all about attitude and a little about altitude” one of the hikers said today.

One of the hikers passed out at the 3-mile point of the hike so one group of us headed back down via a shortcut to make sure she got back OK. The rest of the hikers took the full trail. So actually today I only hiked five miles although I did the hardest uphill parts before heading back down.

Tuesday potluck. Joan setting up her mac and cheese

After her aquacise class Joan took a bunch of family photographs to a scrapbooking class here and came home pretty enthused about what she had learned and ready to spend a king’s ransom on scrapbook supplies, but she is looking forward to attractively displaying family photographs. She met some nice folks and had a good time.

After my hike I got cleaned up and we headed to our first potluck supper in the main ballroom. Several of the folks welcomed us like long lost friends and the food was, as always, diverse and good.

With my first hike under my belt and Joan’s active day we both expect to sleep well tonight. The weather has cooled off into the low 60s tonight and we are looking at a short stretch of days where the highs will only be in the low 60s. We’ll keep that in perspective considering how cool it has been at home.

Hail yes! The Laredo has landed in Tucson

Welcome to frigid northern Arizona

It took just 2 ½ hours to drive from Gallup, New Mexico to pick up our trailer in Flagstaff. The owners of the storage lot had warned its customers that a pretty significant hailstorm had hit the area back in the fall and that some units had suffered damage. So we have been waiting with some anticipation to see what, if any damage had been done to the Laredo from the storm.

As we pulled into the lot I immediately noticed that two of the skylights on top of the trailer appeared damaged. One of them was actually smash to pieces, but fortunately no big windows or other damage appeared from the ground. We’re waiting for an RV repairman in the park to show up so I can get on the roof and inspect a little closer.

San Francisco peaks near Flagstaff come into view

It does not appear than any significant water came into the trailer and even better, the mouse prevention efforts I took last spring seem to have worked as there was no evidence of small visitors this time when we got into the trailer.

As we were hooking up the trailer a flight of 15-20 military helicopters flew over which was kind of cool to watch.

It took about 40 minutes to look over the trailer, transfer some weight from the back end of the car to the back end of the trailer (luggage and other supplies) to balance the load. It takes a few minutes to remove the tire skirts and then put together the towing apparatus but we were soon back on the road.

Only briefly though as one of my mirror extensions broke loose and I had to pull to the side of the freeway to remove it and we continued on our journey without, being extra cautious in making lane changes because of the slightly reduced visibility.

Fueling up for the final push to Tucson

Except for some unexpected heavy traffic through Phoenix about 2 p.m. the trip down the mountain was uneventful. There is one major grade south of Sedona that always poses a challenge with the big trailer but we made it up and over the hill in good order.

Before I get too far from the beginning of the day let me just advise on what I think should be the etiquette for using a hotel luggage cart. The very nice Gallup hotel we stayed in has three large luggage carts in its stable. Unfortunately in the morning three impolite guests decided they would take the carts to their rooms and hoard them while the rest of us were left without. I know this because I waited an extremely long time for just one of them to return and they never did until after I pretty much loaded the car, making two extra trips to haul down our luggage, the dirty laundry, the computer satchels and finally one heavy duty and weighty 12-volt trailer battery. I take the battery up to the room to keep it from freezing overnight. I need it to work when we arrive at the trailer so I can lift and lower the tongue of the trailer with the electric tongue stand.

Welcome to our Arizona home!

So here’s the advice: If you need a luggage cart the rule should be that you are packed up and ready to leave before you take the cart. Then, and only then, should you head to the lobby to retrieve the cart, take it to your room, load it and head down to your car. This should take no more than 5 minutes thereby keeping the carts available for other guests to use.

On the way down the mountain from Flagstaff we listened to the last two installment CDs of the “Wild” book that we listened to across the country. I have mixed feelings on the book, but generally enjoyed the hiking narrative.

When we started out from Flagstaff the temperature was 42 and had risen to 75 by the time we arrived in the parking lot commonly known as Phoenix.

Our spot, same as last year

The Tahoe – or “Shadow Beast” – as the granddaughter refers to it groaned a little when we started out, but performed really, really well. In breaking the truck in for towing you are supposed to keep the speeds to around a maximum of 50 mph. that is a little difficult to do when you are plummeting down a 6 percent grade for 1,000 feet.

In fact on the straight and level it was hard to keep the truck under 60 mph. The winds started to pick up toward the end of the journey but not nearly as badly as some of the adventures across Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.

We arrived at the Voyager gate to be warmly greeted by “Bob” who welcomed us “Home” and arranged for our site escort to help us into our gravel strip of land that will serve as “home” for the next three months.

These are resort "limos"

Our escort was “Lee” and he was as nice as he could be and within 10 minutes the trailer was parked and high and dry on 9-197 at the Voyager RV Park, the same spot we had last year. If you reserve early you can designate your return spot for the following winter.

Since last year the trash and recycle yard which was just about 100-feet away has been moved nearly ½-mile away to the maintenance yard and we will no longer get the early morning trash truck wakeup call that we used to get. The park now offers curbside trash pickup and recycling so a major improvement over last year.

After setting up the trailer (hooking up water, cable, sewer lines, turning on the propane, etc.) we headed to the office to register. There Von again warmly welcomed us back and gave us our temporary badges until we get our pictures taken and get our more permanent plastic name tags. Joan is not a big fan of the name tags because it reminds her of having to wear her identification at work.

The new courtyard at Voyager

For most park activities you must be wearing the badges, although they don’t enforce it for trips to the bathroom, the fitness center or the restaurant, which is open to the public anyway.

After registering we headed to the Voyager Bar and Grill where we had to wait for a table. It was fish fry night and there was a school of old folks who turned out for the fish special. In previous visits the restaurant has been sparsely used, but since last year with a new cook and some renovations has become very popular here and beyond.

We only had to wait about 20 minutes for a booth and we really enjoyed the fried fish. Not as good as Blackthorn’s in Buffalo, but not many places are.

We returned to the trailer after dinner, did some more unpacking and settled in for a little TV. It’s a good think that the temperatures here are mild because we currently have the two holes in our skylights which let a lot of air into the trailer. Both skylights have screens, which were not damaged so there is not risk of anything else coming into the trailer unless it can fit through a small mesh screen.

Looking up at one of the broken skylights

I woke up early and headed to the fitness center to start my routine. I’ve gained a little more than 10 pounds since I was here in April according to the fitness center scale so the effort has begun to shed that and more during the next three months. My first hike will be Tuesday.

After working out I headed to the showers and then to the mailroom to set up our mail account and get our mailbox key. It is extremely convenient that we can receive our mail right here in the park.

While walking back from the mailroom two F-somethings took off from the local Air Force base and gave me my first “sound of freedom” moment here in the desert. My father will not be happy I don't know which F-somethings I saw, but unless it is a Lockheed Constellation my aircraft identification is severely lacking. I also ran into a couple friends from our previous visits who greeted me like a long lost favorite uncle.

Late this morning we went to Walmart to stock up on supplies. Joan, as is her custom, sent me searching for a 12 ounce can of condensed milk. Before she sent me on the mission she looked straight in my eyes, made sure she had my attention and then sent me to the “bakery” to find the can of condensed milk.

Search as I might among the packages of buns and loaves of bread I could not locate anything resembling a can of condensed milk. Sheepishly I returned to where she was in the store and said although I couldn’t remotely understand why she would send me to the bakery section to find a can of milk I at least tried without questioning.

“Not the bakery,” she said. “The baking aisle.”  Except there is no such aisle. I looked up at the array of signs announcing whatever is down an aisle and not one spoke of “baking.” 

“The baking aisle,” Joan said again. “You know where you will find flour, frosting, that kind of stuff.” Eventually she found it on her own.

Today we will shop for supplies and tonight we dance. The first of several “Reminiscence Dances” will be held in the ballroom.

Life is good.

Mileage out: (Gallup) 11059

Time out: 7:54 a.m.

Mileage in: (Flagstaff storage yard) 11257

Time in: (Flagstaff storage yard) 10:50 a.m.

Mileage out: (Flagstaff storage yard) 11257

Time out: (Flagstaff storage yard) 11:34 a.m.

Mileage in: (Voyager) 11357

Time in: 4:30 p.m. 11537

The wind continues, but so did the warming trend

Another long driving day was on tap so we got an early start out of Oklahoma City. Last night after dinner I spotted a gas station near us selling fuel for $1.63 a gallon. It would have been smarter to fill up last night as this morning I had to do it in a blustery wind with temperatures hovering around 12 degrees.

Notice the flag and the stiff head wind.

But it was good to get a deal and we were soon on the road even if my fingers were numb.

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that we are forever grateful to my other wonderful, beautiful and talented sister Laura for introducing us to the Texas Roadhouse chain. They are one of our go-to places when we are out of town. And Joan, of course, loves the country music.

We were mindful last night that our Bible Study at Taecken’s Terrace was meeting without us for the first time this year. We miss our folks there, but hope they continue with the studies until we return. Driving through the Texas Panhandle we always think of our little group when we pass a gigantic cross just east of Amarillo along I-40.

Welcome to Texas!

As usual our trip through western Oklahoma and parts of the panhandle included excessively high winds today. Joan asked a woman clerk at a Oklahoma convenience store if it was always windy. “Yes, sometimes it moderate, other times it is like it is today excessive, but it is always windy here,” the woman told Joan.

All the scrub trees and bushes have a decided lean to the north, the result of years of being pushed over by the winds “sweeping across the plains.” At times today I thought the wind was so strong it might peel the painted lines off the freeway.

It also plays havoc with decent gas mileage although with the consistently lower fuel prices it is not as worrisome as it was last year.

Welcome to the blue skies of New Mexico

Picking out the cars from our neck of the woods was easy. They were all covered with road salt and we instantly knew we were brethren when they would pass us on the freeway sporting the evidence of the poor weather we had all driven through.

By the time we got to Amarillo it had warmed up enough that I could wash the windows with a service station squeegee although the salt was so thick it didn’t really help all that much. By 1 p.m., somewhere in eastern New Mexico we hit our high for the day of 59 although it stayed pretty much at that temperature until we arrived in Gallup, New Mexico for our night stop.

While we traveled we listened to three more discs from the audio book “Wild” that my sister Pam gave us over Thanksgiving. Some of the language is pretty raw, but it is an interesting story and with my interest in hiking and backpacking it has a great appeal to me.

Snow in the New Mexico highlands

We may, or may not, get to finish it tomorrow on our final leg to Tucson. We like listening to Phlash Phelps on 60s on 6 on the XM Satellite Radio in the mornings which may cut into our book listening time.

At one point in the story, the author refers to a “Shadow Beast” a scary, if mythical figment of her imagination as she progressed on the Pacific Crest Trail. We found that funny because that’s what our granddaughter calls the Tahoe.

The winds lightened by mid-afternoon as we approached and then traveled through Albuquerque and by the time we arrived in Gallup had pretty much calmed altogether.

It's a black Tahoe again.

We are staying in the same hotel we stayed in last year and just to further the routine we again ate at Fratelli’s Italian Restaurant (even though we had Italian on the first night) because we remembered how much we enjoyed our meal there last year.

And Huzzah! I found a do-it-yourself car wash and spent about 15 minutes washing three pounds of road salt off the Tahoe. I completely detail the car next week in Tucson, but it looks a whole lot better than it has for most of the trip.

It may not be until Saturday when I post again as tomorrow will be busy checking the trailer for seaworthiness and setting it up in the park. Thinking and missing all of you back home.

Mileage out: 10377

Not perfect but pretty clean.

Time out: 7:38 a.m. (Central Standard Time)

Mileage in: 11059

Time in: 4:50 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time)

Gas roulette, cold, wind and a little Native American culture

So the cold weather has decided to follow us cross country, eh? When we went to bed last night it was 29 in Ft. Leonard Wood by morning it was 15 degrees with a brisk wind blowing. The weather forecaster with glee mentioned that the 15 was the high for the day as temperatures were supposed to plummet through the day. There was a little added snow overnight but nothing that caused us any traffic issues.

Somewhere out there is the New Madrid fault

So we continued our trip west in pursuit of warm weather and basically never found it today. We did register one brief 27 degrees in western Oklahoma but with winds gusting to 40 mph it didn’t seem that warm.

Also on the news today was word that Texas suffered nine earthquakes yesterday.  We were discussing this in the car when Joan mentioned that Missouri has a famous fault that has caused earthquakes in the past. The former science teacher was struggling to name the fault line when I chimed in.

“It’s the New Madrid fault,” I said. Not missing a beat she shot back.

“See it paid for you to watch all those high school science videos I made you help me preview,” she said.

So I think she claimed credit that I knew the name of the fault line. Now as we arrive in Oklahoma City they are talking about a 4.0 earthquake in Guthrie, Oklahoma today.

This morning I played a little gas tank roulette. My thinking was that the closer we got to Oklahoma the lower the gas prices would be. And that theory held up as we drove west on I-44. Using the Tahoe’s information center I calculated the last possible place in the range of our car inside Missouri, realizing that I didn’t have quite enough gas to reach Oklahoma.

The Peoria Indian "Museum" in Miami, Oklahoma

I locked the computer on the number of remaining miles I had gave myself a little cushion and then determined from our “Next Exit” book (this is a manual that outlines the services at every off ramp on every Interstate in the U.S.) where our gas stop would be.

Wind (I have to believe that the name Oklahoma is an Indian word meaning "gale force winds") was playing a little with my anticipated mileage but about 10 miles from exit 46 – the place I determined we would stop and get gas – I still had 43 miles left in the tank. The low fuel light came on at the 50-mile mark and when the computer figured we had 40 miles left, a new message came up.

The mileage countdown disappeared and there was a graphic that indicated I needed gas now. Knowing I only had a few miles to go I ignored it, but then realized that the car was basically telling me “Hey stupid, stop and get gas,” only in a much nicer way.

Pulling into the gas station I decided to try and wash some of the salt off my driver’s side window so I could see my outside rear view mirror better. When I went to grab the squeegee I realized it was frozen into a solid block of ice.

With the car filled up (gas was $1.82 a gallon, a nickel higher than the previous stop I passed and a nickle higher than the next stop in Missouri so I guess I lost the game) we headed on into Oklahoma.

Just inside Oklahoma at Miami, OK, there is a Native American cultural stop that Joan has enjoyed in the past – Buffalo Run Casino. With a short travel day I indulged her in a little cultural exchange. I did participate a little and came away $30 to the good. Joan had not as good a day, but she was not admitting to how much she donated to Indian reparations.

Joan bundled up against the wind at her fav restaurant

We spent just two hours at Buffalo Run Casino which is run by the Peoria Indians, an Algonquian-speaking people, whose ancestors came from what is now Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. So at least we kept the money in the family.

With gaming over we finished the 2 ½-hour run to Oklahoma City and checked into our favorite hotel here – The Governor’s Suites – and headed to The Texas Roadhouse restaurant which is one of Joan’s very favorite. She says it’s because of the food I’m convinced she loves the country music that plays there.

I had planned to wash the car if the temperatures were at all reasonable but with temperatures in the high teens when we arrived here in Oklahoma City and expected to go down much further I didn’t want to freeze the doors on the car closed. So tomorrow, weather permitting we’ll try again to wash the thick caked salt off the Tahoe.

At one time in my life I was part of a team, yes a team, who worked on deciding what kind of warning should be put on the plastic lid of a disposable coffee cup. At a large (and I do mean large) polystyrene cup manufacturing company I worked for in the early 80s this was a major issue.

When someone purchased hot coffee from a disposable cup it was not assumed that the purchaser would understand that the contents within could cause scalding burns. So a huddle of lawyers, the company’s owners and even myself were involved in determining a brief but effective message to warn consumers. Remember this message had to fit on a cup lid.

After many hours of due diligence and consultation this is what we came up with in 1981:

“CAUTION: Contents May Be Hot”

The capital letters were supposed to emphasize the message. It is a message that has survived to this very day on the lids of the cups from the manufacturer I once worked for.

Still waiting for a bath

This morning I was reminded of this when I opened a package of hotel supplied cotton swabs. I use cotton swabs to dry my ears before inserting my hearing aids. The warning on the package? “Do not insert cotton swabs into an ear.”  Don’t worry, I can’t sue you now if I somehow plunge the device too far into my brain and perform surgery.

And just to further tie up this topic the disposable cups in the hotel room in Ft. Leonard Wood contained a similar warning as to the one I helped craft so many years ago in Michigan. This message was a little more light-hearted.  “Caution, Hot, but you’re smart enough to know that.”  I like that message better than the one I was involved with. It accomplishes the same thing, but with a small dose of humor.

Mileage out: 9990

Time out: 8:20 a.m. (Central)

Mileage in: 10371

Time in: 4:16 p.m. (Central)

The tradition of getaway bitter cold and snow continues

Our view leaving Lapeer

Hard to believe but our next great adventure is upon us. And like most of our winter adventures this one started in the snow and cold of Michigan.  This year all the problems started right at the get-go.

We were slowed by two accidents, both in Flint along I-69 before we were even 30 minutes into the drive. Roads were not really that bad, but it doesn’t take “really that bad” to throw some people into a spin and into each other.

Unlike last year that would be the end of our traffic issues. Icy roads did mean that I drove a little slower, but by the time we arrived in Indiana the roads were wet and the sailing was smooth. I did use more than ½ gallon of windshield spritzer getting to our destination tonight at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Somewhere near Charlotte, MI (no sun)

Last night, and again today we were contacted by our destination hotel to tell us that they had to close down the inn because they were having serious fire alarm difficulties. We have some experience with midnight hotel fire alarms and took them up on their offer to relocate us to a nearby hotel – The Holiday Inn Express which, to be honest, was a step up from the Quality Inn where we usually stay. At the same rate too.

To make good our escape from Michigan this is usually our longest driving day, and today was not an exception. After checking weather forecasts I wanted to get as far south and west today as I could and 700 miles was at the maximum range of my patience and attention.

It was 5 degrees when we left Lapeer and a whopping 29 degrees when we arrived in Ft. Leonard Wood. It should get a little better tomorrow. By better I mean probably windier and much more boring as we ride the asphalt ribbon across Missouri and part of Oklahoma.

Indiana has sun

Leaving is always a mixed blessing. We look forward to seeing and being with the new friends and neighbors we have made in Tucson, but we also miss our friends and family back home. On the way here today I learned that a good friend of mine from the American Legion was taken to a local hospital in serious condition so we are praying for Mel and Lulu tonight.

At some point in Illinois the temperature rose to 22 and at the same time the 60s station we were listening to on XM radio was playing Martha and the Vandellas “Heatwave.” So very appropriate. We also started listening to an audio book given to me by my wonderful and adoring baby sister Pamela.

I must continue to thank my daughter-in-law Toni for teaching Joan a new tradition which involves letting out a lout "Wheeeeee" and a two-handed wave like gesture with each border crossing. Today, of course, that meant three "Wheees."

A "Show Me" State sunset

Knowing my interest in hiking she gave by the book “Wild” the story (and now, or soon to be a movie) about a woman’s adventure on the Pacific Coast Trail. The opening chapters in which she recounted the painful loss of her mother to cancer was especially poignant to me and Joan who have both lost mothers, Joan’s most recently.

A strange round object, which emitted both light and warmth showed up in the sky almost as soon as we crossed the border into Indiana about 10 a.m. “What is this strange object that hangs over the earth so proudly,” we wondered. It is the same object we see almost every day in Tucson.

As I mentioned the ride was pretty uneventful and fortunately we arrived and got through St. Louis ahead of the evening rush hour, which contributed last year to a very late arrival. After checking in to our new hotel we headed to a local Italian restaurant that we have eaten at here twice previously.

Surprise, surprise we arrived to find that while the restaurant was still Italian “The Prime Bistro” now, the old restaurant apparently didn’t make it. Hard to understand how our one visit a year didn’t keep them going.

A very dirty Tahoe

In addition to making our way to Oklahoma City tomorrow I have Joan on the lookout for a car wash as the Black Tahoe looks like it has been whitewashed. Unfortunately it was whitewashed with road salt.

We had a very nice meal there and then headed back to our room for some rest.  And since we are in Missouri here’s a quote I found from Brad Pitt about his home state:

“In Missouri, where I come from, we don’t talk about what we do – we just do it. If we talk about it, it’s seen as bragging.”

Tomorrow won’t be such a vigorous driving day and the weather promises to be an improvement. Until then.

Time out: 7:06 a.m.

Mileage out: 9381

Time in: 5:30 p.m. (Central time)

Mileage in: 9990

A nice three day walk in the woods - of Wisconsin

(Updated 9/22/14 - see below in bold italics)


A bad day hiking is better than a good day at work any day. For about two years my brother-in-law Philip and I have been trying to put together a back pack trip.

The stars finally aligned this year and last week we set out on a four-day, three night back pack trip on the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin.

This was Philip’s first ever back pack trip and just to make sure he didn’t invest too much in equipment before he knew whether he liked the hobby I suggested he rent or borrow the equipment for this first adventure.

On Thursday, Sept. 11 we started out from a point at the very south end of the Kettle Moraine Forest – Southern Unit.

To make this all work my sister Laura drove with us to a town of Oconomowoc (which is harder to pronounce than you can imagine) and we spent the night in a nice hotel there.

We dropped off Philip’s car at a forest station at the far end of the Kettle Moraine Forest – Southern Unit, but not without a bit of trepidation. My hiking maps showed that parking was available at the forest station, but signs at the stations indicated that no overnight parking was allowed.

Not being able to drop off Philip’s car at the end of the trail would have presented a real problem for getting home on Sunday.

But Philip found the forest station manager and worked his charm and the man gave us a note for Philip’s windshield that said we had permission for overnight parking until Sunday, the 14^th.

After dropping off our exit vehicle my sister drove my brand new Tahoe (I really must love her) to the start of the trail about 40 miles away.

Philip and I grabbed our gear, suited up and after a quick picture taking moment headed out on the trail about 9 a.m.

The first segment – The Whitewater Lake Segment started with a bunch of wild turkeys and followed a rolling trail through beautiful pine forest and at spots had beautiful views of the surrounding area.

We picked this portion of the Ice Age Trail because all but the last couple miles is all within a forest, while other sections of the trail involve long sections of hiking on highways and roads, which is not the most fun.

In doing my research I discovered that drinkable water was scarce on the first couple sections of the hike so I brought along my water sterilization equipment because we had to carry enough water to have for dinner and breakfast for the first day, night and next morning.

A ranger advised me that we could draw some water from Lake La Grange as long as we sterilized it before using it.

Carrying lots of water is never fun because of the weight and in my past back pack trips I always had my son Tim around to do the heavy lifting.

Before we headed out Thursday morning we stopped and got Subway sandwiches so lunch the first day was pretty good.

After lunch we drew out water out of the lake and then hiked another five miles to our first day reservation at Shelter 3 in the Blackhawk Segment of the trail. The shelter was about ¼-mile off the trail up a hill and it included an outhouse, which is always welcome.

Unlike the Appalachian Trial, you are required to have reservations at a shelter or campground and are not allowed to camp off the trail, although I don’t know how they police that as we never saw a ranger on the trail, or other hikers for that matter on the first two days.

Instead of using the shelter we set up our tents outside next to the fire ring and then set about finding enough dry wood to build a decent campfire. Philip led the way and we ended up with enough dry wood to keep a fire going for about three hours.

For dinner we had a freeze dried meal of Chicken and white bean chili. It’s never as good as it sounds.

We hit our tents about 8 p.m. and endured a pretty chilly night. From 1 a.m. to about 3 a.m. we listed to some very noisy owls and then about 2:30 a.m. there was a blood curdling scream from an animal very nearby to where we were sleeping.

One of the challenges in the night, especially when it is cold, is trying to convince yourself in the middle of the night that you really don’t have to go to the bathroom when you really do. Eventually, you realize that you will not go back to sleep unless you get out but it is never pleasant crawling out of your sleeping bag and heading out into the cold air.

The next day we asked a ranger what animal that might have been and he said it was likely some small animal meeting its fate in the jaws of a coyote or bobcat.

We were up early – about 6:30 a.m. – and we cooked up some granola with our JetBoil cooking system. We also had coffee and tea using some of the lake water.

By 8 a.m. we were back on the trail and headed north to our next destination a hostel near the Visitor Center and Forest Headquarters near Eagle, Wisconsin.

Our next water stop was still five hours away at Horserider’s Camp in the Blue Spring Segment of the trail. Fortunately the weather was cool and our perspiration and water intake was not as critical as it might have been had the weather been warmer.

My back pack is not the right size for me so I started to have issues with the straps cutting into my shoulders. We resolved it the next day, but that’s a story for the Saturday segment.

The trail on Friday was a little more challenging that I had anticipated with plenty of hills to climb. Again there were lots of beautiful vistas along the trail. We stopped at Horserider’s Camp to fill up on fresh water (better tasting than lake water too) and take a break at one of the picnic tables there.

We also took advantage of the very nice bathroom facilities there.

Much of the rest of the day was spent hiking on fairly level trails including a long segment in a large meadow. The skies were turning dark and it appeared that we were going to get rained on. We couldn’t check into the hostel until about 4 p.m. so we went past the hostel and camped out in the warmth of the forest headquarters.

For two hours we sat in the headquarters and enjoyed a cold soda (nothing tastes quite so good as a cold soda when you have been drinking lake water for two days). We also toured the museum and then got into our rain gear when it was time to leave as the weather had turned wet.

The hostel was just about a 15-minute walk from the forest headquarters and we were met there by the operator – Bill, who happens to be a newspaper reporter.

Sleeping in a nice bed and having a roof over hour head is always a welcome diversion from a rainy trail.

We ate freeze dried lasagna which was pretty good as freeze dried meals go.

Philip turned in early and I stayed up until about 9 p.m.

In the morning we cooked some oatmeal,  coffee and tea, and then said our goodbyes to Bill and then were back on the trail heading north.

What we learned Friday afternoon was that we would be walking directly into the path of a North Face endurance event so we were prepared to meet hundreds of folks on the trail.

Our morning conversation went something like this as we were approached by several hundred runners:

“Morning, morning, good morning, hello, hi, good morning, morning, good morning, hi, hello, good luck, hi, good morning…..” and on and on. Probably would have been better to just carry a recording with us.

But after a few hours we walked far enough that all the runners had passed us and we once again had the trail to ourselves. The day’s hike took us through the Stony Ridge Segment, the Eagle Segment and the Scuppernong Segment.

Again the trail was a lot more climbing than I realized from my research. We briefly toyed with the possibility of walking another six miles back to the car, but eventually we decided to use our reservation at the Pinewoods Campground.


One of the funnier moments of the trip occurred around the campfire Saturday night. After building a robust little fire, my brother-in-law put his feet up on the metal fire ring to dry and warm his feet. Although I gently warned him that it might not be a good idea, he later discovered that the fire had melted the glue holding the sole of his shoe onto the actual shoe.


During our walk the next day, the flapping of his shoe got progressively worse and you could tell it was beginning to annoy Philip. But with the only choice being to walk barefoot, he persisted.

At the campground we had the chance to take a nice warm shower and this time we simply purchased some dry wood at the camp store and enjoyed a very nice comfortable campfire before turning in about 8 p.m. Saturday.

With only about six miles left on our trip we were up early on Sunday, packed up our gear and then headed out for the last leg of our hike.

Part of this day’s hike was on roads, but we also hiked on the Waterville Segment of the trail. We saw some Sand Hill cranes along that trail.

As is usual, the last couple miles seemed much longer than what it looked like on the map, but about 10:20 a.m. we spotted Philip’s car at the forest station and we high-fived at the sight.

We changed into our tennis shoes and after a gas stop where we bought some soda we were on our way back to Philip and Laura’s house in North Aurora, Illinois.

Back at the house Philip and I washed the tree sap off his car and then when Laura returned we headed out of lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant, because nothing sounds better on an empty stomach that some very rich and hot food. At least it helped keep me awake on the drive home to Lapeer on Sunday night.

Whether or not Philip ever goes on another back pack trip I give him credit for being a good sport and giving it a try. Back packing is not for everyone and sleeping on the ground is not even as glamorous as it sounds.

The upside is that I think I got to know Philip a lot better and I realize how fortunate both he and my sister are to have each other.

Home sweet home

Old glory standing straight out

Exactly 100 days after we left Michigan we returned. Today's travel was uneventful and we got home in time to have Joan stop and renew her driver's license which expired while we were in Tucson.

On the way from Iowa City to North Aurora, Illinois we encountered some of the stiffest winds of our trip.

It was one of those days I was very glad that the trailer was back in Flagstaff and not behind my car.

It seems we missed a lot of the recent bad weather as most of the foul weather seems to be about one day ahead of us. The wind is doable without the trailer attached, but I felt sorry for those folks we saw pulling fifth wheels and trailers on Wednesday.

Whee! We're in Illinois

We spent two wonderful days with my sister Laura and her husband Philip in North Aurora, Illinois. Always the best hosts, my sister whipped up a wonderful spaghetti dinner (my favorite meal) and invited Doug and Deb for dinner and we had a wonderful time Wednesday night.

On Thursday, my sister took a day off from work and she and I went for a brisk walk in the morning while Joan got ready and we had fun catching up. After the walk we headed to the local Costco store. Why? Because it is there and we don't have one at home.

Besides Costco has the best free samples and I enjoyed all of them during our visit there.

Joan, Laura and Philip

In the afternoon we headed to a local car wash so I could clean about 10,000 bugs off the Tahoe and then we all went to the movies to watch "Monuments Men." The movie was pretty good and we had a great time and free popcorn refills, so what's better than that.

In the evening we went to a nice restaurant - Stockholms - in Geneva (Geneva, Illinois, of course) and then headed back with an extra plate of food for Philip who was working late in Chicago.

Back at the house Philip and I started planning our September backpack trip in Wisconsin and then we turned in to get a good night's sleep before we headed home to Michigan on Friday.

Me, Laura and Philip

My sister suggested a new route from her house to I-80 and it was really quick and knocked at least a half hour off our trip.

Before we even drove home we stopped at the local Secretary of State's office so Joan could verify for them that she could still see well enough to drive and a quick eye test and a $25 check and she was approved for another few years of driving in Michigan.

Back home we found the house in good shape, except for the back hoe damage in the front yard from the broken well pipe while we were gone, but all in all we found the old place in good shape. Thank you, Elin.

Whee! We're in Indiana (Trust me on the sign)

I went and picked up a couple cheap pizzas for dinner and then I headed back out to attend the funeral visitation for my friend and former work colleague, Angelia Lewis. Sad news, but I got a chance to talk to all her children and tell them just what a great woman their mother was.

Be good to each other, life is short.

Usually this would be my last post for awhile, but I'm working on a Top 10 (it may actually be longer, we'll see) of things that any newbie RVer should consider before investing in a vehicle.

Tune in over the weekend and you may see the list pretty soon.

Whee! We're back in Michigan

Time out: 7:46 a.m. (CDT)

Mileage out: 78808

Time in: 2:30 p.m. (EDT)

Mileage in: 79148

In case you have forgotten our trip started back on January 8, with a mileage of 66995 - a total trip mileage of 12,153