It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Around Here!

Well it's been about one month since my last post. Needless to say - we have been busy getting ready for the holidays! After spending Thanksgiving Day in Bartlesville at my niece's house, we came home and watched the Dallas Cowboys play football! Go Dallas! We shopped with Kristi at Stillwater after Thanksgiving, the 26th of November, not Black Friday! The first week-end in December we got our outside lights put on display. Steve and I did it without much trouble. We were pretty proud of ourselves to get that accomplished. On December 10, 2016, Kristi and the kids met us at Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City. Kristi and I went to the Thirty-One Gifts Premier and Steve and the kids roamed around the mall. After that we ate lunch at Abuelo's then shopped for some things that Austyn needed for her Dance Recital. Steve and I went and visited Nancy at her nursing home then went to Kristi's house to wait for the Dance Recital to start. We all attended the Recital and enjoyed it. Steve and I were pooped when we got home! On December 11, 2016 we got our tree set up and by Tuesday - we got it decorated! We have driven around and viewed some of the lights in our neighborhood - we love doing this. On Friday, the 18th of December we went to Ponca City and I had my mammogram. We shopped at the wonderful Brace Bookstore. Next we went to Pawhuska and saw the Pioneer Woman's newly opened store, "The Mercantile". It was nice, and we looked around, but didn't buy anything. There were lots of dishes and cooking goods for sale - and I just didn't find anything I needed or wanted. Some days I don't even want to cook anymore. Maybe because I have been cooking since I was about 10 years old! After that we drove on over to Bartlesville and had lunch with a friend, Dottie. It was really nice to see her and catch up! She even bought our lunch! How nice is that? Next we went to Walmart, the mall and Tractor Supply to do more Christmas Shopping! We also went by Paige's house to drop off the Thirty One Gift that was ordered for her by her mother in law. Lucky girl! We got home about 6 PM and again, we were pooped! On Saturday the 16th of December - we got our first skiff of snow. And the temperatures were bitterly cold all week-end. We stayed in the house and wrapped presents and watched football! This Tuesday- we went back to Walmart and did our Holiday grocery shopping - OH BOY! It really didn't tire us out too bad and there weren't too many people there. We made a good choice going on Tuesday. We have pretty much finished buying and wrapping presents - so now we can enjoy the next few days. Today (Thursday, 12/22/16) I went to work, had lunch with my sister Pam in Enid, got the Boss his gift card and got some color on my gray hair. It was another busy day, then I came home and fixed supper. Let the Holidays by Happy!

Thanksgiving is upon us! November 22, 2016

Wow! It has been a long time since I updated the blog. Usually I don't post much about daily life - because the travels are highlights to us. But we still do FUN things when we are home and we also hang out and are boring at times. Mostly though, when we are home - I am working and Steve is cleaning or doing projects around the house. So these things seem more mundane....and less blog worthy. I will try to do better and post more frequently. I work three days a week, and am diligently working on my other website, DietitianDelivers.com and also a few other side projects. Everyone gets busy. Plus we have watched a lot of college and professional football since we got home! My Oklahoma State University Cowboys are now ranked in the Top Ten in College Football and I am very proud of them! WOO HOO Go POKES! We had a few days when we returned to get back in the groove and then I returned to work on Sept 12. I attended my NCDDA meeting (Dietitian group). We tried out a new lunch spot in Stillwater - The Garage (not really my style - put in your order and wait at table - prices too high for that). I've had a perm and a color since we returned! New hairdos are always helpful. Steve and I celebrated our 14th Anniversary! We attended a memorial service on October 8, 2016 for the Chiropractor Steve went to quite frequently. His death was sudden and it hit us a little hard - he was only 66. I missed a day of work due to a sleepless night - not good and no reason for me not to sleep -- just weird. We both had a doctor appointment in October. At my appointment in Ponca City we walked at Cann Gardens and went out to eat with a friend I used to work with, Pat at Chili's. At Steve's appointment in Oklahoma City - we met up with Kristi and the kids for lunch at Whisky Cake- Great place to eat- a little pricy! We have both had our flu shots. The kids came to stay a few nights with us in October on Friday the 28 and went back on Sunday the 30th. They enjoy coming up here - we don't do a lot - but usually they go to the park and this time they rode the 3-wheel bikes and we walked. The love the dogs and our TV!! LOL I think they love us too! I mowed the yard in front on November 1, 2016, hopefully for the last time this year! It stayed warm about three weeks longer than usual. We normally winterize the RV about Halloween time. This year we did it on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. I found out my stepson, Jim Callison had a stroke about the 31st of October or the 1st of November. He was not in good shape, so on Friday November 4 - I left work early and Steve & I drove to Springfield Missouri to visit him. We left our dogs here alone with access to the back yard and plenty of food and water. We visited Jim and he seemed to be a little better. Of course I tormented him endlessly. His cognition is good, but his left side was still not moving great when we left. We pray that he improves. We took Hazel out to supper at Cheddars - a place we always enjoy. We stayed overnight in the Holiday Inn Express and slept great in the King Size Hotel bed. We arrived back home safe & Sound on Saturday and watched the end of the OSU football game - the dogs were extremely exited that we returned to serve them! On Saturday Nov 12 we went to Enid and I bought jewelry from my sister Pam's jewelry party. Also had to buy a new pair of shoes. Steve was going to buy shoes, but could not find any that fit. And I was busy with work and my website in between all the fun stuff. Today is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving -we have tried to clean and straighten the house a little before Kristi and the kids get here. We washed all the bedding and Steve shampooed the carpet in the living room. He cleaned the bathroom this morning. He is very thorough. On Thursday, the 17th of November, we went to the Poncan Theatre in Ponca City and watched a documentary about the Mullendore Ranch murder. The theatre is a historical landmark and has been carefully restored and is used for many special presentations. It was fun to go. Of course I bought the book and got it signed and finished reading it in two nights! This mystery has been an interest of mine since way back when it happened about 1974. We will go out to eat tonight at La Macarena (here in Perry) and I will work on Wednesday and Friday. For the Turkey Day we will drive to Bartlesville where my niece and her family live and have a great Thanksgiving Feast!

September 9, 2016- Friday Home Is The Destination Today

Same routine, get up and get going! We were able to get gas pretty easily. The drive was pleasant and we arrived in Woodward about 1:00 or 1:30 PM. We stopped and visited with my Aunt Mary -who was recently placed in Hospice. She looked good and we all visited about and hours.

We kept going East and arrived home about 4:00 PM. It was HOT! Of course!

We didn't stop in Enid- because my sister was still at work and we were ready to get on home. Of course when we got home - we only unloaded the essential items and decided we could take our time getting the RV unpacked and things put away. It was another good trip in the books! Total for 27 days. Miles in the RV: 3,162 miles Gas for RV: $1137.90 Sites: $ 638.00 Avg $23.62/night Route and Places stayed: Perry to Colby, KS - Stayed at Whistle Stop RV $35.00 - 1 night parking lot type RV Park, Pouring Rain while hooking up Colby, KS to St. Vrain SP (N or Denver) $60.00 - 2 nights - pretty but very close to I -25 (discount - Mil. Appreciation) Denver to Wellington, CO KOA $40.00 - 1 night - Fair RV park - but expensive - handy to I-25 Wellington, CO to Buffalo, WY $82.00 - 2 nights - Deer Park Campground- nice, we have stayed here before Buffalo, WY to Big Timber KOA $49.00 - 1 night - Looks nice-we didn't want to spend this much-but we were tired Big Timber KOA to Many Pines (near Newhart, MT) $15.00 - 3 nights - Forest - lovely - no hook-ups Many Pines to Great Falls MT Maelstrom Family Cam $226.00 - 12 nights (1 was free - AF coupon) Nice RV Park for being in town. Great Falls, MT to Hardin, MT Grandview CG & RV $ 41.00 - 1 night Site was OK - Office was smelly Hardin, MT to Douglas, WY KO $ 35.00 - 1 night Great Place! friendly people, well kept, one of the best KOA's Douglas, WY to Air Force Academy $ 24.00 - 2 nights (1 was free with AF Coupon). Great Place - will keep returning Colorado Springs, CO to Guymon, OK $ 31.00 - 1 night - Nice park - will return if in the area.

September 8, 2016 - Headed further South then East

Well - same routine in the morning. Get up, eat, walk the dogs, hook up the pickup and unhook the utilities. Then back out on the road. We headed south out of Colorado Springs and after several miles - we found a gas station where it looked like we would fit and had to wait to pull in and get gas.

With that finished - we were back on the road. We drove down I-25 to Pueblo, then turned east on US 50. When we got to Lamar, CO - we turned south again and headed to Boise City. Then we headed east on 412 and drove as far as Guymon, where we stopped for the night. We were tired again. This was a really neat RV park - it has a Drive-In theater that is open from May through September 1. We will need to return so we can see the movies from the RV. They also had some nice old cars on the property. The weather was hot - but not extremely hot. We enjoyed our stay.

September 7 2016, Wednesday - Cooling our Heels in Colorado

After getting around we decided to take a drive to Farish Recreation Area. This area is located at Woodland Park,CO and it affiliated with the Air Force Academy. It has Lodging, Cabins and Campsites. It also has two ponds for fishing and the lady in the office told us many people hold weddings here.

The drive was 45 miles from the Air Force Academy- but it took longer than 45 minutes to drive there. I always forget about driving in the mountains of Colorado, you don't go by miles but how long it takes to get there. Many places were slow going - 45 mph or less. Also we went through several little towns that took time. We were very impressed with the scenery there - it was beautiful! We kept climbing and climbing - by the time we arrive at the rec area - we had reached over 9,200 feet in elevation.

We walked around the ponds with the dogs and drove around the campsites, but I noticed Steve was not looking too good. I think the elevation was a little too high. So we didn't spend much time exploring before we headed back down to the RV. It was very pretty and serene. They are only open May 1 - Oct 1. We had though about trying to rent a cabin for Christmas up here - that is now out of the question - too high and not open.

We returned to the RV and went to the BX and Commissary. Not sure what else we did - just took it easy and cooked some supper on the grill and walked the dogs anyway.

September 4, 2016 Sunday. Off We Go

We got up and left about 9:30 AM - pretty good for us. We had completed our leaving preparations the night before and didn't have a lot to do before take-off. It was cloudy and cool and we enjoyed our drive, first to Belt then Monarch, then Neihart.

It was 38 degrees at the top of King's Hill Pass.

When we arrived at White Sulphur Springs - we discovered they were having a parade!  Guess what?  We brought up the rear and we just waved at the bystanders and had fun with it!

Yellowstone River

We continued on our drive and stopped at Big Timber.  Here we picked up some souvenirs, walked the dogs, and stretched our legs.

Tall Tiny House at Big Timber !

Steve had quite a bit of energy and so he kept driving until we got to Hardin, MT.  We stopped for the night at Grandview Camp & RV Park. The place was not as bad as the reviews, but the office definitely had a bad smell of cats. Since we were only staying one night - no problem for us.  They were friendly and we got a pull-through site - so we were able to leave easily the next morning.  In fact we only hooked up the electricity and cable for faster departure.

September 3, 2016. Saturday Taking it easy and preparing to leave

My sister, Pam called this morning and told me a bad earthquake had hit around Pawnee, OK.  Since I know people over there - I was worried.  I texted my friend Kellie and found out that her parents' house had sustained a lot of damage - it was very near the epicenter. And to top it off their 50th wedding anniversary is coming up on the 9th of September.  She had hauled off a load of glass in her pickup and they were using a front end loader to scoop up rocks and put them in a grain truck.  She said the tile flooring was broken into pieces also.  I sure feel sorry for them - but they are strong and will overcome it. 

Steve and I went to Walmart to stock up on supplies. When we left we saw a tent in the parking lot - not just RV's.  Crazee. 

We just hung out at the RV and took it easy.  The dogs really enjoyed this place because they got to dig for varmits.  We never saw any creatures - just holes and once in a while a squeak.  It sure did make the dogs go wild though.

We had a beautiful sunset and will depart in the morning.

September 6, 2016 Tuesday Heading further South

Well, we left Doughlas, WY even later this morning.  It as about 11:00 AM before we got out of the RV Park.  Then we had to get gas before driving on. Neither one of us wanted to get up this morning, but we finally did.  We keep changing plans also.  We went through Glendo, Wheatland and Chugwater, WY.  

We stopped at Chugwater, WY to have lunch.  The place we stopped, had just hung up the closed shingle when we drove up.  Lunch was not to be had. Back in the RV and snacks were eaten. There was another couple that drove up about the same time as us -but no deal - the place was not opening for 4 customers.  

Steve just kept driving south. 

He got to thinking and thought we should just head on down to the Air Force Academy and stay at Peregrine Pines FamCamp.  I had tried to call and make reservations -but no one answered the phone. Luckily they had plenty of room - so we are staying for 2 nights.  This will help us catch up on our rest and we will not be so road weary.  

We had chili and took it easy.