Fixing up our bikes

 I like being able to see behind me so mirrors inside each handle bar was one of the first things I bought.  A padded seat was the next.  The bikes came with saddlebags, but they were a little small so I bought larger ones so I could do some grocery shopping on our trips.  I have been shopping on the scooter so it is very much the same.  I can load the saddlebags, and clamp some bags onto the seat behind me, resting on the back rack.  The bike does not allow me to have something in front like I'm used to, so absolutely no watermelons on my lap while I drive.  I only did that once, and will never do it again.  It was work to drive, stay focused and get the watermelon home.

We also bought a hitch bike carrier that we can lock down so we are not concerned about leaving our bikes out over night.  I bought a barbecue cover and it goes over both bikes nicely.  We have motion alarms so that when we park the bikes and go inside we can lock them with a huge chain like lock but also if the bikes are tipped an alarm goes off.  The biggest problem with that is that I keep forgetting to turn them off while we are traveling so we often go down the road with the bikes blaring and us totally unaware.

The bikes are an investment I hope Dean will enjoy.  I am really looking forward to getting some exercise on our trips and seeing if it can help my health.  I hope to return home from the trips this summer, a little stronger and a little skinnier.

Bike riding view in Leeds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to give Van Life a try, so we parked on the frontage road next to the turn off into Mom's house in Leeds and slept the night.  We unloaded the bikes and went for a little ride.  I think this is one of the only times Dean actually got on the bike without me prodding and pushing.  I can picture us getting around on the bikes when the van is parked.  I think he will join me on shorter lengths to the grocery store, or out for a scenery view.  The dogs love the bikes.  Little Mindy can fit in the side pockets nicely and I simply attach her collar to the pocket.  Lu is a little more agile so we will have to work with her to make sure she stays put, but so far, so good.

Rock Hunting

Not really my cup of tea, but Dean has always loved rock hounding.  We thought we would go out on the Dixie dessert and look for rocks, but we ended up driving instead of hunting.  No matter, what a beautiful world we live in.

They've found their spot

The dogs have ridden with us for many miles and we finally have things figured out a little better.  They like to be up close to us, and will stay on the floor but they don't like it.  To relieve their anxiety to be up and in my lap, we have learned that putting some soft fabric on the dash is perfect....  well it's perfect until we slam on the brakes and they go flying.  But if given a choice, they want the window and the dash.

Visited w/the Tooth Fairy

Taylor texted and said he was in major trouble.  He had just spent the day looking for silver dollars because their was a great need as the tooth fairy was coming.  Because it was a weekend he didn't have a lot of options.  He called a few banks, and I believe found one in Payson that had some  $.50 pieces.  Seems like maybe Macy's grocery store also had an option for him.

It is so fun seeing your little children grow up into parents and remember vividly what life was like for them at that age.  Taylor was just a delight to watch.  No regular coins would do.  It had to be special.  I had to laugh because when my children were little I made sure that the tooth fairy continued the tradition I was raised with of receiving a silver dollar.  They because impossible to find later and so we introduced the $.50 piece.

It is wonderful to be raised with good, even great memories.  It's also wonderful to see those memories being passed to the next generation.

Down time

One of the bad parts of traveling is that Dean has not been very good at taking his pills.   He missed three days in a little over a week.

When he misses it takes a while to get back to good again.  Yesterday and today were spent in the bedroom.   I didn't get a lot done either but have spent the day cleaning a bit and setting up my camera and fixing the blog.

Chandra RN

Congratulations on your accomplishment!

Small world

When I read my sister-in-laws father's obit I found an interesting thing.  Her father was baptized by would-be Uncle Art Slater.

Obituary

Robert Louis Stilmar (Bob) passed away peacefully at home on the evening of December 16, 2017 at the age of 99.

...

He went to work for the federal government as a civilian and after the Pearl Harbor attack transferred to the Army. He served during World War II in the Philippines running early warning radar.

It was there he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being baptized (by his Army buddy, Arthur Slater) in the Pacific Ocean off the island of Leyte on April 22, 1945.

Sugars comments:. My dad said he ran into him somewhere and he was reading scriptures or Art came up to him when he was reading scriptures.  Something.  My father had started reading the Bible.  Art asked him if he wanted to know more or some some thing.  Gave him a Book of Mormon and started teaching him. 

Baptized him in the ocean but had to write to get permission from salt lake first is how the story goes.  

Although the first official Mormon conference was held in the Philippines on May 13, 1945, it was only attended by Latter-day Saints in the U.S. military.


The Philippines wasn’t dedicated for the preaching of the gospel for another decade; on August 21, 1955,

Uncle Arts funeral

One thing I really love about the Wood family is that they are so very supportive of each other.  Because of the snowy forecast from Cedar to Tremonton, the Dixie family didn't make it.

Change of plans ... Heading for home

After leaving Albuquerque I looked for a church that we could attend tomorrow, Sunday, and I didn't find one further down the road so we pulled over in a businesses large parking lot just a block from the last available one on my map. It was a perfect spot for staying the night, and would not make anyone uncomfortable with us being too close to their business.

As I checked Facebook I ran across a notice about Uncle Art passing at age102.  We discussed it and decided to toss our plans and head home - the 9.5 hours on Sunday.  However, my messed up sleep schedule came in handy and I drove 5.5 before Dean even woke up.
We made it home in time to cook supper and watch a movie.

The moon was full and as we passed through the desert near Shiprock, the beautiful formations stood out in silhouette and it was a beautiful drive.  (This image is a stock image, as close to what I saw as I could find.  Dean was sleeping and I was driving so no picture.)

Albeturkey Old Town

After we got out of the temple we went looking for Old Town.  We found it but we were a little bit late.  They rolled up the streets at 5, and we only had 5 minutes.  I told Dean I was sure we had more time, but we didn't.  They were rolling up their jewelry out on the streets when we stepped out of the van. 

Although we couldn't go into the shops, we were able to look at the fun old buildnigs and the quaint shops.  There weren't many people (I guess they knew what time they closed) so we walked the dogs and then a couple of blocks.  With them shutting down so early, I didn't know if there was a security issue, as we had not researched it.  We felt better just getting in the van and seeing from our seats.

My Dad used to talk about Albeturkey and I absolutely loved that he called it that.  I have no idea why he did, whether he had just heard the name somewhere as that, or whether he just said it once and I got such a kick out of it that he said it that way thereafter.  My Dad did stuff like that - if it made me happy he would have done that.

I had purchased some jackets for the dogs because they spent a great deal of time shivering when we didn't have our heater on in the van.  They have been a blessing to them.  It really seemed to make a difference even though little Mindee's is way too big.  I may have to fix it, but for now it keeps them warm.

Originally I had planned to stay for Sunday in Alberturkey but the wind storm was following us and it was not as bad as the night before but it was still blowing enough it wouldn't be fun to be out walking in it.  We decided to move on to Cortez or somewhere in between where the weather wasn't quite as bad.  The van was very comfortable for sleeping even though it was in the low teens.
I had slept on the bench the night before and it got down to 2 degrees.  It is much colder on that level and I finally got up and drove just to get some heat in the van.

Albequerque Temple

We took more family names to the Temple in Albequerqe.  We were lucky enough to be able to do some initory again, which takes less time but still be able to have a temple experience.

Next to the Temple was a distribution center and also a little restroom area where I could wash my hair - which was much needed, although frizzy afterward.  It was such a blessing to have found that spot and we could sprits the wrinkles from Dean's new pants and shirt that we purchased next door.  I wish all temples had this wonderful addition.  As we came and went there were many families that took advantage of the waiting area next to the restrooms.  I guess they have patrons in their district from abou 5 hours away.  This convenience is a necessity for them.

As we got to the door to enter, I realized that I had left my phone with my recommend in back at the van.  Dean went back to get it.  The security guard quickly met him.  It is wonderful to know that since they must need one, someone watching over the van, and the dogs, gave us a good feeling.
The dogs are getting better at being left in the van, and are good to rest on the floor between us while driving.

Oklahoma Temple

What a wonderful experience it was for us to attend the Oklahoma City Temple.

They had a lot of younger workers, and I love that.  They bring such a fresh feeling to the experience.  Dean and I both were with people in training and it helped me pay more attention.
I visited with Kara, one of those training in initory, and Brittany Anderson's (Glitchen Shumway) cousin.  She was delightful, and even took me on a tour of the baptistry.  It has India blanket flower, golden wheat, and other symbols from the area.  The other sign in the window, in the far right of this image, was also an Indian sign which means "God be with you."

We had a great time in Oklahoma City but we found out we got out of Sterling just in time.  After Alexis ballgame an ice storm hit.  It was bad enough that they cancelled school the next day and also any ballgames they had planned.  The wind caught up with us there in Oklahoma City but it really wasn't too bad.  It as cold enough I had to put on my cover from Cracker Barrell that I had purchased that morning. 

I had driven until I got tired and pulled over to sleep in the parking lot of Cracker Barrell on the outskirts of town.  Fun to find a grey fancy shirt and this pull over cover. 

Old Town Albuquerque

  On the way home from Kimberly and Josh's we chose to go low in the US and visit Albeturkey (yes, that's what my dad always called it and I always laughed with him - so now that's what I call it.

 The trip was not nearly as long as I would have hoped but we spent some time in old town and took a few pictures.  We got there close to closing time so we rushed in as many places as we could get into , making sure to go around the corner to find a bathroom, and then we got back into the van and cooked a little supper - or chef salad.

This is just exactly what I pictured retirement to look like.  I can do this all day - every day.  I enjoyed Old Town, and the little park.  I would like to now move on as quickly and instead spend a few days in each location.  Dean doesn't seem to want to do this however.  We will need to figure that out as we make our future plans.

Oklahoma City

We stopped at the Oklahoma City National Museum and walked a bit.  I didn't want to go inside because I just thought it would be too emotional and it was hard enough to realize what happened there from the scenes outside.

We visited where the building was before it was blown up and looked at the monuments and displays they had put in place since that terrible scene.  It is sad that these kinds of things happen and we should not forget.

We planned to see the river walk with all the lights.  I had found it online and saw pictures and it was so beautiful.  We grabbed something to eat but when we were done a cold front had come in and we opted to do a walk in the daylight.  We enjoyed the little walk and Dean said it reminded him of one of the walks he took in San Antonio.  We quit early because even the dogs were done.

We quickly got on the road again, in an effort to get out of the storms. 

Just a little shopping

I woke up early and got done miles behind us but when it was morning we had to find a bathroom.  Cracker Barrell is always à great place to stop.

Wrapping up Kansas

While Dean finished the outlets in the basement, I packed the van.  I went and ate school lunch with the little girls then at 2:30 we got the three younger out of school to go to Alexis' basketball game.  She had some awesome moments.
We left a bit early to make sure we were set up for our Gathering but forgot about the time change so we even had time to study scriptures for a while.
Afterwards we tried to set up camp but I couldn't sleep so I took a further down the road.  The winds were gusting and it was a very cold 2 degrees but we did fine.  When I got too cold I drove a bit further, making good time and ahead of schedule.

Time to See the World

Possibly one of the rules about taking pictures is making where you took them.  I have no idea where this is at, but adding it on the blog 5 years later makes me want to go back.  

I assume this was where we slept on the way home from a trip to Sterling, KS.
 

Cooking and laundry....

It's hard to please everyone with ten eating but the noodles and gravy came as close as we got.  The creamed eggs, and breakfast cinnamon rice came in next.

Syncing watches

Kim got a Fitbit for Christmas which made Grandma's watch a close second.
After a couple of days, it was obvious we needed more.  I ordered two sets of three of a cheaper watch.
Viv was not happy as the new one wasn't as easy as Grandma's.
Post script:. I was informed the older three might enjoy a watch too so after we left three more were delivered.

Modicon

Yes, Dean thinks he is funny.  A process controller that he used out at the plant, the Modicon took the spotlight on the Rubicon.  Very few people get it, but when they do, they laugh with us.