Wednesday, June 26, 2019

2019 - the first half

I always seem to have to play catch up.  Here we go again.

A bus trip to the Rose Bowl Parade started the year in a wonderful way.  Great trip.

In January it seems to be a tradition to RV to Yuma and Quartzite.  While in Yuma I get to visit  NOMADS friends and make a trip into Algadones, Mexico.  In Quartzite I get to enjoy the chaos that happens each Jan/Feb in this small town.  It becomes a haven for tens of thousands of RVers who come for the rock and mineral show, flea market, and RV show.  Tons of fun.

February started with a visit from one daughter.  We went to the Renaissance Fair, which is as big as the state fair.  Now there's some people watching!  Most are in costume, as were we.

At the end of February, I was back to Kearny, AZ for another project.  It was a great team and we had a lot of fun as we painted the exterior of the parsonage and did other odd jobs.  This little community is so nice.  Unfortunately, it will be the last project there for awhile.  I just hope they can keep the church going.  I will probably go back for a short drop-in project some time.  While there we did birdwatching, watch javelinas get at the birdseed, did a tour of a monastery, and saw beautiful scenery.

In March I flew to have a brief visit in the Duke Center area.  Back to Mesa.

In April it was time to leave for a journey to NE Utah.  For three weeks, I was able to do a great deal of sightseeing.  Northern AZ and Southern Utah are full of great national and state parks.  Unbelievable scenery.  Capitol Reef National Park is amazing.  Also got to see the world's largest copper mine and Promontory, where the golden spike was driven.  Of course, I went to the Great Salt Lake and to SLC.  All was well, the to the project.  The UMC church camp was at 6700 ft elevation.  It was cold the whole time.  There was a few sunny days, but most were cold with freezing rain or snow.  We were building a large storage shed.  Many times we delayed because of the weather.  Even the last day, Memorial Day weekend, there was snow.  Ugh, don't want to be cold again, or see snow.

Mesa is providing the hot weather.  Very hot.  But it's wonderful.




2018 catch up

Well, I have been neglectful.  I still  want to keep this going to have a record for myself of my travels, but I certainly need to be more diligent.

The Kearny project last year was very good.  I enjoyed the work and the team.

After that I returned to Mesa and did some sightseeing travels around AZ.

In April/May 2018 I went to Potosi Pines UMC Camp near Las Vegas to do a project there.  I had done a drop-in project (1 1/2 weeks) here several years ago. This was a full team, 3 week project.  The main work involved taking off the existing siding on the lodge/dining hall, and putting on new siding.  The wood siding all had to be painted first.  A roof was created to join the hall all storage shed.  Some other odd jobs were completed.

I returned to Mesa, but in June flew to Kansas City.  I accompanied my brother as he made a trip to Cleveland Clinic.  While driving to Ohio we stopped in Casey, IL to see a lot of "the world's largest...." that are around the town.  In the Cleveland area, I was able to visit some friends and family.   Then it was back to Kansas City, and back to Mesa.

The next adventure involved driving the RV to northern Colorado to camp with other brother.
Along the way I was able to do other stops to sightsee- Winslow, AZ and La Posada, Two Guns (a ghost town), Canyonlands National Park.  The camping in Rifle Gap State Park was nice, but cut short due to some health concerns of my brother's. (He since had some procedures done and is doing well.)  On the return trip to Mesa, I stopped at Mesa Verde National Park.  An amazing place!!!  I want to go back.  Incredible ancient cliff dwellings.

In July there was a damaging monsoon storm that went through the RV resort where I stay.  Luckily I had no damage to my park model or RV.  About 50 of the park models in the park had damage.  Crazy.

At the end of July I flew to Philadelphia to see one daughter and took the train to NYC to see the other daughter.  In NYC we were able to go to a show and in Philadelphia we saw another show.  And while in that area I was able to meet up with Duke Center friends and then spend some time with college friends.  It was a great time to see so many people.  Back to Mesa.

In August I flew to Jackson, CA to see sisters.  Another great trip. Back to Mesa.

The end of September brought another plane trip.  I flew to Memphis, TN to attend the NOMADS annual meeting.  It is always a good time to visit, take seminars, and be with other NOMADS.  While there I toured St. Jude Hospital.  What an amazing facility and worthy of any donations.  I was pleased to be able to give blood after I had the tour.  I also was able to walk on Beal Street where Elvis had done some recordings.  Back to Mesa.

In October I returned to Potosi Pines Camp in NV to help paint a shed and assist with building a handicap ramp. It was their 60th anniversary party.  It was a good week.   Driving back to Mesa, I went on historic Route 66 and stopped at a variety of places.

Later in October I flew to Philadelphia again to help daughter with her business.  Halloween is a busy time.  Back to Mesa.

The rest of the year was spent enjoying the activities of the RV resort and sightseeing in AZ.