Finally, Back on the Road

When I last left this blog, Betty and I were staying in South Park Mobile and RV Park on Federal Blvd, just south of Hampden Ave, Englewood, CO. This is a very nice and comfortable park with lots of grass, flowers, and mature trees. We will likely return to this location when back in Denver.

There were absolutely no issues stemming from my gall bladder surgery. The most uncomfortable part of this was a sore throat because they had a breathing tube inserted during surgery. After a few days, it was gone, too.

On July 22, 2007, I lost my mother after a very short bout with bowel blockage and perforated large intestine. She was a few weeks away from her 96th birthday. Today, nearly two months later, I will see something in a town we are visiting and think, “Cool, I think I will call Mom and tell her about this experience.” She often told me that she had a great life, saw so much, and experienced amazing changes in technology. She had said she was ready any time she received a call. It will be a long time, if ever, to get used to her being gone. Mother had spent the last 10 years sizing down from two homes (Colorado and Arizona) into her three room apartment in the Sunrise Assisted Living community, so we did not have a lot of “things” to handle. Those treasures that she wanted me to have are safely tucked into our cargo trailer which is parked in an indoor storage facility near Brighton. Our memories are safely intact. Her training and guidance will last a lifetime.

A few weeks ago I had a strange situation develop with leg muscles. The calves are very hard like a runner’s calves. I have difficulty walking too far and climbing stairs is quite a strain. Spinal deterioration was a possible culprit, but an MRI showed no stenosis. Blood tests are negative. I return to Denver on the 25th for an EMG (electomyography) and a nerve conduction test to see how nerves and muscles respond to stimulation. All in the process of “discovery.” In the meantime, we have once again, hit the road, albeit more slowly.

On July 31st, Betty and I flew to Washington DC and spend a couple days touring. Then, we rented a car and drove to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to a Keller family Reunion. Actually the Hottel-Keller Association in Tom’s Brook, VA (see link on the side panel of this blog to the Hottel-Keller Family Association) still cares for the homesteads of both families and the family cemetery. In 1732, George Hottel, George Keller and their families arrived in Philadelphia, a month apart. In 1750 parts of the families migrated to Virginia and homesteaded on land purchased from Thomas, Lord Fairfax. This year’s family reunion was to celebrate being in America for 275 years. We met “cousins” we did not know existed. A good number of them live within 100 miles of the homestead. Definitely a cool experience and lots of fun. We want to do it again.
Finally, on September 7th we packed up the fifth wheel and departed Denver after celebrating mother’s birthday with my brother the evening before. We spend a few days at the Grape Creek Campground in Westcliffe, CO. The campsite sits on the edge of Grape Creek overlooking hay fields and cattle grazing country with the Sangre de Cristo range in the background. The park is perfect for relaxing, reading, viewing scenery, and readjusting from city to RV life. However, its $29 per night is on the high side for a park without physical amenities. From our experience, $19-23 would be more in the range. Nevertheless, it was the atmosphere we needed at the time, and glad we spent the few days.

This past weekend (9/14-16/2007) we arrived at the 4 Seasons RV Resort in Salida CO for the Colorado Excel fall rally and campout. We are parked right on the Arkansas River where we can watch and listen and relax to the moving water. Rafting is popular, here, and many enthusiasts pass by each day, riding or fishing. We have 25 rigs attending, friends we have made over the past 18 months who have the same brand of fifth wheel trailer. Betty and I, along with three other couples, planned and executed the weekend events (we are sorry that Helen and Dennis were ultimately unable to attend, but we appreciated their planning skills, nevertheless). We had a “hobo” theme, with members dressing for dinner on Saturday in hobo style. We prepared hobo stew with the club furnishing the meat (chicken and polish sausage). After browning, we placed the meat in three large kettles with each member bringing a can of anything they wanted to put in any pot. The stew pots simmered all afternoon preceding the evening dinner, and it was yummy. The members arrived in their “finest” attire and boy, was it a sight. Many long time members say that they have not seen such across-the-board participation in costumes in a long time. What a hoot! I am hoping to get some of the pictures that I can post with this blog entry. I might have to post them a little later.

In two weeks is the New Mexico Fall Rally and campout, but we will not be able to attend as we have had a change of plans. We will be going to Wichita KS to the Escapees RV Club HDT (heavy duty truck) Rally. In this club, the members all have over-the-road truck-tractors as the tow vehicle for their fifth wheel trailers. Yes, like the big Volvo’s, Peterbilt’s, Kenworth’s, Freightliners, Internationals, and others. These are the safest tow vehicle available, as their rated capacities far exceed what a recreational vehicle need would be. [One member has an internet “handle” (name) of OVERKILL.] Indeed! Members have been acquiring used over-the-road tractors in very good condition, usually less than 500,000 miles (1,000,000 mile life before engine rebuild), 10 speed autoshift or fully automatic transmissions, getting drive train analysis and certification, then converting the trucks to RV use by removing one of the dual-wheel axles at the rear, shortening the frame to the length of a standard Ford pickup (approx 182 inch wheel base) then “dolling up” the interior. The foot print of these trucks is only a few inches longer than my Ford F350, cannot be any wider than allowed by law (96-102 inches), but taller: my Ford is just under 7 feet tall, and the Volvo’s measure between 11 and 13.5 feet depending on model, sleeper cab and wind deflector. These trucks will turn a circle INSIDE the turning radius of my Ford. Acquisition of these trucks is from a readily available commercial market, and prices are $10,000 to $15,000 plus conversion costs.

The following week, we will be in Sedalia Missouri at the Missouri State Fair Grounds for the Escapees RV Club MDT (Medium Duty Truck) Rally. These trucks are the same size foot print of my Ford, also, but not as tall and generally no sleeper cab. However, these trucks are not the best for RV use if they are off the used market, because these trucks are usually inner-city delivery trucks and have had harder use. Therefore, most of these trucks are purchased new, built specifically for RV use. Prices new will range from $85,000 to $145,000 depending on the quality of conversion and the amount of “fluff” the converter chooses to put inside. Used ones are much more reasonable, and we drove a 1999 International 4700 series with 55,000 miles that was priced at $36,000. To make a comparison, the HDT’s are still less money, and 2-3 times the truck. HDT’s are, therefore, quite popular. It will be fun to look around. I have one HDT member already willing to let me drive his rig to see how it handles. Betty said, “Well, I want to drive it too! “ OKAY!"

After that, we will head for Branson Missouri for a week of music and fun, meeting friend Joanie from Scottsdale. Then we will head for Kansas City to see friends (if the mobile ones are still around!!!). After a week we will head for Smith Center KS to the Excel factory for our last Warranty check up (gee, it has been two years since we took delivery); then, we will be in Lincoln, NE for a few days before heading back to the Colorado Springs / Denver area for the holidays.

Tucson to Denver

Arizona and New Mexico

From our last posting, we had just arrived in Tucson from Mexico. We had made our reservations at the Voyager RV Resort while still in San Carlos for a space near friends, and Excel Club members, Gerri and Carl. We thought we would stay a week, but we liked Voyagers so much that we stayed a total of three weeks.

This was our first Resort for RVs. It is a large complex of 1,576 RV sites, many of which have been leased on a yearly basis to Snow Birds who fell in love with Tucson’s winter sun. So what is the attraction of a large RV resort? They are all-inclusive communities with high quality entertainment in the evenings (Branson style as well as local and regional), dances of all kinds, theater, jazz, sporting activities (a bicycle club, 3 swimming pools including a lap and an exercise pool, a large hot tub, multiple tennis courts, volley ball, the new rage of “pickleball,” bocce ball, golf, shuffle board, billiards), game rooms for cards and board games, and our new favorite of Jokers and Pegs, exercise classes from stretching to aerobic, craft shops and classes (lapidary, silver, stained glass, beading, woodworking, ceramics, machine embroidery, fly tying, oil painting and watercolors, quilting, wood carving) and so much more. Planned activities are only available during the winter season, but the fixed amenities are operational year around. Many people have made Voyagers their permanent home and have moved into this or one of the other Voyager neighborhoods of modular or stick-built homes. RV resorts are available across the Sun Belt and this coming winter we have reservations to stay in Alamo, TX at one of the Rio Grande Valley Resorts (McAllen to Harlingen).

Our retirement plans have always included RV travel, so we decided to go one step further. We did not want to have the responsibility or expense of the fixed home while pursuing our retirement goal, so just before leaving Mexico we contacted our friend and local realtor, Vanecea, to talk about listing our townhouse for sale. The Denver market is not a good one, but we felt we had a good location in the Villas, an age restricted community. Our townhouse was built in the late 60’s, so before moving in two years ago we laid oak floors throughout, completely redid the kitchen with new cabinets, flooring, counters and stainless steel Kitchenaid appliances, paneled over the old rough cedar beams, remodeled both bathrooms and installed a Jacuzzi tub in one. Basically, I guess we gutted and refinished the house, which means we spent too much money. With the support and skill of Vanecea, who sells the lion’s share of the property in our community, we added our construction costs to the price we paid two years ago and hoped to find some interest. No property has every been listed for this much per square foot in the neighborhood, but three weeks later, she had two offers for us at the same time. One offer was over asking price so we said “YES!!”

From that point on, our lives were different. Our plans to linger in Arizona with friends changed to a focus of moving out of the townhouse. What personal belongings will we save? What will we store? What will we do with the rest? Where will we live? We still had the usual milestones of inspections, title search, question and response deadlines, but the buyer was paying cash and really wanted to move in right away. How could we make all of our decisions by the contract time? Sister-in-Law Rose Anne said it best: we will have to make a decision on what to keep and what to discard, right down to the last paper clip. Oh boy was she RIGHT! (I shredded old files for a week).
We shortened the time we had planned to visit Arizona friends in order to focus on the task at hand. We still had two Excel Club meetings to attend, one in Las Cruces, and one in Colorado City before arriving back in Lakewood. This timing fit in well with the real estate process, so we began our planning. We had a short stay at the Val Vista RV Resort in Mesa, and Cochise Terrace RV Resort in Benson with a little site seeing in Sierra Vista and Tombstone.

Our next stop was Las Cruces, NM for the New Mexico Excel Club gathering at the Hacienda RV Resort. This is a big club due to the hard work of the BEST EXCEL DEALER in the country, our dealer from Moriarty NM. 80 rigs showed up and as we drove into the park to register, we were met by Good Year Tire representatives with a set of wheel scales. Every rig and tow truck was weighed at each wheel to determine load balance and to see if we were overweight on axles or tires. I was stunned! We were not yet full-timers, and our rig was overweight! Well, we got out the Weight Watchers scale and began to scrutinize our load. I had 13 pounds of magazines that I was saving because I had the physical space. Within a half an hour, Betty and I had disposed of 60 pounds of “fluff” we were keeping just because we could. The next day we attended a seminar put on by Good Year’s regional manager to help us determine how to be weight compliant. What a GOOD program this was, necessary for safety as well as comfort. Now, we not only had to downsize our townhouse, but trim down the weight of the RV!
At Colorado City, the Colorado Excel Club had its largest turnout of 31 rigs. We saw old friends and got to know others. We feel so blessed to have the friendship and camaraderie with others who enjoy the same pursuit as we do, and in the same brand of rig. They guys try to solve each others rig challenges during the day, and we eat and play games in the evening.

Our last stop before Lakewood was in Colorado Springs. Thanks to a tip from Excel friends Vaughn and Joanne, we stayed at the Pikes Peak RV Park in Manitou Springs for a few days while we visited niece Kate, husband Scott, and children Sean, Timmy and Lizzy.
The Pikes Peak RV Park is an older park, immaculately cared for, right on the river and shaded by huge trees. Because it is an older park the spaces are tightly nestled among the big trees and it was a learning experience to maneuver our rig into our cozy spot by the river. This is definitely a repeat.

For the next seven weeks, Betty and I worked to trim down our material possessions. I purchased a cargo trailer on eBay in which we will store the items we decided to keep. We took a week out of packing and sorting so that I could go to the Goshen Indiana factory to pick up the trailer. We stopped off in Lincoln, NE to see Betty’s aunt, uncle and cousins; went to Sioux Falls, SD to register to vote (yes, South Dakota is our legal domicile), then back to Lakewood to pack. Upon arrival back in Colorado, we decided the best thing to do was move out of the townhouse immediately, so we located our RV in a nice mobile home / RV park in southwest Denver and began living full time in the trailer.

In our younger lives, we were given lots of items for our new household by older generation relatives, so we decided to ask the nieces and nephews if they would like to have any of our personal items. When the family had made their choices, we were blessed with a fairly empty home; most major items of furniture had found a new home as well as many smaller, everyday items. We developed a loading plan for the cargo trailer, packed boxes of the treasures we decided to keep, and stuffed the garage with items for disposal. For three days, we opened the garage doors for a big sale and when the dust settled, I had only a few items to take to the DAV thrift shop. It all happened to quickly and easily that our heads are spinning. We had thought about this for so long that all the steps just seemed to fall into place.

On June 22nd, we closed on the house and gave possession on June 25th. I will admit to exhaustion at the end, and lingering dreams about packing and sorting. In the end, we have our treasures in the cargo trailer in a climate controlled warehouse, and are happily snuggled into our RV home.

Oh yes, did I mention I had my gall bladder removed this past Friday? What an amazing experience that was. Betty drove me to the hospital at 6AM and laparoscopic surgery was at 7:30. By 8:30, the surgeon was visiting with Betty about the procedure, and by 9AM I was awake in recovery. At 9:45, the recovery nurse asked Betty to bring the car to the front door and I checked out at 10:15. By 11:00AM I was relaxing in my lounge chair under the awning at the RV park talking to family and friends on the phone. One percocet every 4 hours for the rest of Friday and Saturday minimized the discomfort. I took the gauze off on Monday, exposing the 4 tiny suture-tape covered holes through which the instruments and camera had been inserted It is now Tuesday evening, and I have had one pain pill in 48 hours. The suture tape will come off in a few days by itself as I shower. As long as no complications occur, I don’t even have a follow-up appointment. How amazing is this???

Becoming full-time RVers is a milestone that I would rank right up there with getting married or moving across the country to start a new job. It is a life-altering experience. We are so looking forward to this adventure: to visiting those “100 places to see in America before we die,” to visiting friends and family in every nook and cranny, and to savor the sites and sounds of our great country. Watch out…your neighborhood just could be invaded by the wandering Keller’s.

Love and hugs to you all.

San Carlos to Tucson (March 11-18, 2007)

Dear fellow travelers...

Once again, I have a lot of catching up to do. Future blog postings will take us to Tucson, Mesa and Scottsdale (a stay shorter than we had planned), then to Las Cruces and Colorado City for the Excel Club gatherings. The teaser is that Betty and I end up back in Lakewood in early May but found ourselves homeless! The good news is that I did get my taxes done, and filed. Good ol’ Turbo Tax.

Now, the adventure continues as we prepare to leave our wonderful Mexican Adventure behind.
Before leaving San Carlos, we took a short trip to the Colonial town of Alamos with two other couples. One of these couples are Mexican citizens and have a friend and business associate who owns property in Alamos. We three couples were permitted to stay in his home since he was going to be away. What an amazing experience. My mouth was open in awe nearly the whole trip.
Located in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, Alamos was once the most important colonial city of northern Mexico. In 1531, Coronado explored this area and in 1630 Jesuits build a mission near Alamos. Silver was discovered by the Spaniards during the late 1600's and over the next 250 years Alamos became the center of government, commerce and culture in this part of the world. Silver Barons built large haciendas and money and power ruled. In 1783, when the first Bishop of Sonora arrived in Alamos, the population was over 30,000. By 1790, Alamos produced more silver than anywhere else in the world. In 1865 Emperor Maxamillian renamed Alamos the capitol but by 1909, most mines were closed due to cost of production and revolutions. Poncho Villa’s troops entered town in 1915, and he announced that he would live in Alamos one day; but by 1933 the railroad was abandoned and the population had decreased to about 1000; Alamos was nearly a ghost town. In the mid 1940’s a few Americans rediscovered Alamos and began restoring the old haciendas. Today it is a charming town of about 10,000 happy and friendly residents.

The 300 year old hacienda in which we stayed was initially renovated in the 1950’s with upgrades following. This home fronts a long, narrow street just two blocks from the city square surrounding the church. The exterior looks like a simple white wall with a few ordinary shuttered windows; but the door was ornately carved. This door was only a hint of what was to come as the home opened up into huge interior gardens, pools, fountains, tile and brick floors, outdoor living rooms facing the courtyard and large individual bedrooms with bath facilities (our bedroom was 25’ x 25’ with an attached 15’ x 25 bathroom…all tiled. A library, formal dining room and large modern kitchen were appropriate compliments to the home. Attached to the home on one end was a guest house, or casita with two large bedrooms, separate baths, outdoor living room and dining area, and huge kitchen.

Just to give you dimensions, the main house was 75 feet deep from the street to the back wall, and 125 along the street front. The attached guest house added an additional 50 feet along the street front, and was also 75 feet deep. The home was not opulent, but finished in the quiet grace of colonial Mexico. Truly, this was an amazing experience for us, and we owe deep thanks to our friends in San Carlos and their friend in Alamos for including us in this wonderful adventure.

We departed Mexico on Sunday, March 18th and when I returned my Sonora sticker at the 21 km station, I bought diesel at Pemex station for $1.88 USD per gallon, the lowest price I have paid since buying the Ford Diesel in November of 2005! Boy sure wish I had bought the extra 100 gallon fuel tank! When we reached Nogales we waited in a line of vehicles for about 2 hours at the border station. The US Border guards were efficient and courteous asking the obligatory questions and inspected the interior of the trailer. Their interest with us was in raw fruit, beef, vegetables, and pork. The frozen prawns I brought home were of no interest. We were soon on our way, blasting toward the Tucson airport to get our friend on her reserved flight to Denver. She checked in 3 minutes before the gate closed. WHEW!

We stayed overnight, and the next three weeks, at Tucson's Voyager RV Resort on Kolb Road just south of Interstate 10. We can't wait to tell you about Voyager's and this marvelous experience, along with our trip to Phoenix, Las Cruces and Colorado City on our way back to Lakewood. With a LOT OF LUCK, I should be able to write this in a few days.

I must say that our Mexican experience was one to repeat. Yes, If you EVER want to visit this amazing country, don’t hesitate. Make your plans, gather some friends and travel together in a caravan. Get ready for a pleasant adventure. Send us an email and ask us any questions. We won’t have all the answers, but will love to talk to you about it. Would we do it again…you bet!

Thanks for sharing Mexico with us. We hope you will stay tuned for Arizona and New Mexico.

WONDERFUL San Carlos

Wow, we have been in San Carlos a month! We can hardly believe it. We have been so busy…NOT! And yet, when recently made friends have asked us to dinner and to play cards, we find that our schedule is, well, packed.

It has been very windy the past couple days…actually, for a couple weeks. We had a totally calm day on Wednesday this week, but wind off the Sea of Cortez has been fairly relentless. The past couple of days, we have been doing what all folks must do…bookkeeping, budgets, expense allocation, financial reviews; all the mundane stuff that must be done. We are NOT on vacation…rather, we are living in the Retirement Villa (RV) and still have the normal bills to pay, et al. Life goes on while having fun, so every once-in-a-while we have to “pay the piper.”

I thought I would give you an idea of the food. Here is a picture of Coconut Shrimp prepared at Charley’s Rock restaurant which sits on a small point in the Bay. There were six shrimp on the plate, but Betty and I had to each have one to be able to tell you that they were FANTASTIC. GIANT shrimp, and well prepared. About $9.50 US including steamed vegetables, rice and toast. The Modelo Light was about $1.80. (Okay, several Modelo lights!!)

Did you see the movie “Catch 22” with Steve McQueen? Made in the early 1970’s? This movie set is located about 2 km from where we are parked, and the Catch 22 beach is close by (formerly? Clothing optional). We drove on the old airstrip just off of the new parkway which leads to Hotel Paradiso (former Club Med) to the old movie set. There is a concrete ramp for cameras still in place. The extensive rock structure is in ruins (see photo), but still visible. The old airfield has lots of weeds in it now, but is easily distinguished from the surrounding desert. We will have to get the video from Netflix when we get back to the states to see the movie. Don’t believe we ever saw it, but in our advanced years, even if we had seen it, it will be new to us…HA.

Coming up soon is the Carne Asada Festival at the Ranchitos Elementary School. Parents of the attending children prepare their favorite foods, and we get to buy tickets to lunch to support the school. Benefit: we get REAL local fare. We did the Homes Tour, sponsored by the San Carlos Rotary Club for the benefit of local school. Wow, some pretty impressive homes. Coming recently from California, we viewed these Bay-Front homes as multi-million dollar properties. If fact, $7-800,000. Still seems expensive, but killer views.

Don’t forget to look at the previous post (no notification sent) for maps and locations.

Time for happy hour. Retirees cannot pass that up. Until next time…..

MAPS of Sonora and San Carlos

Betty's brother, Robb (Hawaii) has been after me to post maps. So, here are two maps: The first map shows the route from Arizona to San Carlos. The route is on Mexico 15 from Nogales through Hermosillo, the state Capitol, to San Carlos. Four lane highway and about a 5 hour drive. Three toll booths paying a total of about $33 USD. Save your toll receipts. Is something happens to you (accident with another vehicle, his a cow, etc, this is insured by the Federales, or at least the locals say so.
CLICK ON A MAP TO MAKE IT LARGER.

This next map is a location map of the San Carlos area. We are at point #2, Marina Real. The former Club Med is just to the left of #1, now Hotel Paradiso.
CLICK ON A MAP TO MAKE IT LARGER

The third picture is of San Carlos Bay. Lots of sail boats anchoring in the bay. Fishing boats come in here, too. The mountain as the backdrop is called goat horns by one friend. Her husband calls them Goat T--ts. Well, not sure of the translation...you be the judge.

CLICK ON A T-- (oops) MAP TO MAKE IT LARGER

If you have questions, don't forget you can post them on the website (blog) with your login. If you have forgotten how, I can have the blogger site send you a new invitation, which will likely mean you will need to set up a new password.

Beautiful San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

We arrived in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico on January 26th about 6:30 in the evening. We set up our campsite, had dinner with friends and hit the hay. It is hard to believe that we have been here 10 days already. We have barely relaxed. The skies are sunny, and the town has many fun little places to stop and shop, wonderful restaurants, a good ice cream store, and beautiful sunsets. Betty has been busy with the digital camera, and pressuring me to get on the stick to get some posted on the blog. I am struggling to learn how, so if you have any hints, let me know. I know this should be easy, but heck...I didn't know what a blog was a year ago.

Last Friday, we drove to Hermosillo, the capitol of Sonora, to do some shopping. Our friend who lives here wanted to go to Home Depot to get a chop saw for cutting bricks and paving stones. Across the street is a Sam's Club and a Super Wal-Mart. Costco is a block away. WOW, not the Mexico I remember from 25 years ago. Hermosillo is about 130 km north of San Carlos and four lanes the entire trip. Diesel fuel is subsidized by the government to aid the trucking industry, so apparently Mexican citizens are not allowed to own diesel vehicles. Tourists, however, need to buy fuel, so I filled up the other day at $5.72 pesos per liter. 3.78 liters per gallon. I "think" that is about $1.97 per gallon at $0.09089 USD per peso. I paid $2.69 USD per gallon in Nogales, AZ before leaving the US. It is fun to see all the brightly painted shops and houses as we drive along the streets and roads.

This picture is the Palapa Restaurant (a palapa is a thatched canopy) on the beach just a little bit out of town. It is in a site where an old hotel is being torn down and a new one is being built. This little oasis had two large and wonderful crab cakes for $100 pesos (a little over $9.00 USD) including a salad. We have eaten at several local restaurants and are trying what the locals tell us is good. Tequilla's is a restaurant at the marina where we had their fish special: mahi mahi browned on an iron skillet in butter with garlic and lime. Seasoned perfectly, and the garlic was crispy. It came with house rice (all the dishes seem to come with rice and always VERY good) and steamed vegetables. This was also $100 pesos. An evening or two later, we went to the Fiesta Hotel and enjoyed 1-1/2 whole lobster with steamed vegetables and rice for $220 Pesos.

Well, it just about margarita time, so I had better get the limes out and cut them up. Limones are small, cute little limes that are used everywhere on everything. Drizzle them over food, in your drinks and even over your hands as a sanitizer. One of the local bargains, for sure.

Until next week...hope you stay warm. WE ARE!!!!!

WE'RE BACK ONLINE!

Buenas Tardes, Amigos!

Wow, a lot has happened since we last had a posting on this blog. I last wrote while in Chama, NM in early October. When the New Mexico Excel club gave us their hugs and we all said our goodbyes, Betty and I decided to stay a little longer (than we had planned). The loss was that we missed seeing the friends in Santa Fe we had originally planned to visit. We had to get the trailer into Moriarty to RV Sales for winter storage, then bust to Denver for my doctor appointment on 10/8. We had a breakfast at a Roadhouse in Santa Fe, dropped the trailer and headed for Colorado Springs.

We stayed around Denver for the rest of October and visited family and friends. Leo and Jamie (two former NPS associates from San Francisco) flew into Denver for a conference and we had dinner together. Jerry and Mary Ann were in Castle Rock visiting their daughter and family, so we met with them , too.

On November 1^st, Betty and I flew to Hawaii as a celebration of our 40^th Anniversary. First to Oahu to visit Robb (Betty's brother) and Rose Anne who moved to the Mililani, near Honolulu, last year. We spent a week with them, then flew to Kaua’i to spend two weeks in their beautiful vacation condominium at Lae nani., in Kapa’a (www.lae-nani.org). We flew back to Honolulu for five days at Thanksgiving to spend time with them in a condo on Waikiki, and had our turkey dinner at the Waikiki Yacht Club (what a lovely site!). We then flew to the island of Moloka’i for a week of more R&R and a visit to the old Hansen's Disease (leprosy) colony at Kalapaupa, Although many individuals still live there, no new residents have arrived since 1969 as the disease is now well controlled. We rode mules down the 1600 foot sea cliff to the colony, and back…and boy, do we have a keen appreciation for the sure-footedness of these fine animals. From Moloka’i, we flew to Maui and had breakfast with friends Tekla and Bill from Haleakala NP, then off to the western coast of Maui at Kahana for a week. We flew back to Denver on December 7^th to spend the holidays with family, and during the following several weeks we got our doctor and dental appointments out of the way.

ADDRESS CHANGES: We have a new mailing address. Please do not send letters and cards to the Lakewood, CO home. Rather, send to 3700 S. Westport Ave. #2757, Sioux Falls, SD 57106. Our cell phones are the same, and the only email addresses we now use are 1) talktogordon@escapees.com and 2) talktobetty@escapees.com.

On January 22^rd ( a day late due to the 5^th in a series of heavy snow storms to hit Colorado this winter) we packed our truck and headed for Moriarty, NM to pick up our trailer with a night’s stopover in Colorado Springs to see our newest family member, Elizabeth Victoria (Lizzy), born to Kate and Scott on November 28^th. Big brothers Sean (5) and Timmy (3) are surely proud of their new sister.

We arrived in Moriarty on the 23^rd, and boy was it cold: 11 degrees. We spent the night, then left the following day about noon after cleaning snow and ice off of the room slides. We spent the night in the Flying J truck stop at Winslow AZ, another cold night, but were comfy in our little house on wheels. The 25^th found us in the Tempe, AZ at the Tempe Elks Lodge where they have an RV park with 26 full hook-up sites for traveling Elk members. This is a very nice club, and we surely appreciated their hospitality.

At 7:30 AM on the 26^th, we picked up our friend Joan from Denver at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, loaded the truck and trailer, and headed for the US/Mexican boarder at Nogales. We crossed into the Mexican State of Sonora, cleared the customs checkpoint with a breeze, and by 6:30 PM that evening we were snuggled into the El Mirador RV Resort in San Carlos. Joan’s husband met us at El Mirador, loaded her treasures into his pickup and we all drove back into San Carlos for dinner with their friends Richard and Beatrice. One of Beatrice’s sisters owns El Gallo restaurant where we had our delightful dinner of fresh seafood and pasta, and listened to the mellow guitar and vocal of Mark Mulligan.

So, here we are at El Mirador (www.elmiradorrv.com). It is about 70 degrees during the day, 55 at night. Bright sunshine is over the marina near us looking out into the Sea of Cortez. And the SUNSETS….oh my! Colorado can keep the snow!

Keep watch as there is more to come: More Photographs, maps, and other promises that I hope to keep. Thanks for reading!!

Hasta Luego

October 1st - New Mexico

AUTUMN IS HERE

(I wrote the initial draft on 9/21, and have had difficulty getting it posted. I have now updated the text on 10/1 and hope to get a connection soon. Thanks. GHK)

We arrived in the New Mexico mountains, at Chama NM, on the 20th in heavy thundershowers driving down US 285 and Colorado 17 from Salida to Alamosa, then to Antonito across Cumbres Pass into Chama. The next morning I awoke to a light snow on the bike rack bag, and the day proceeded with rain and sleet and cold. The wind was blowing and the sky was gray, gray, gray. Brrr. In spite of storms and mountain passes, our Ford F-350 handled like a real trooper, and the Excel firmly and snuggly attached to the fifth wheel hitch with no wavering. We have had each of them about a year now, and love them both.

We attended the Colorado Chapter of the Excel Club in Salida. About 20 units showed up including members and friends from the New Mexico Chapter. We camped along the Arkansas River at the Four Seasons RV Resort. Sharing this experience with others who enjoy the same life-style is wonderful. The club hosted a costume party one night furnishing roasted pork loin with the members chipping in with dishes to share. We laughed hard, drew numbers from a hat for prizes, celebrated a 50th anniversary, and shared some heart-felt feelings of friendship with one another that welled-up tears.

Soon after arriving in Chama, Jim and Vicky, friends from Albuquerque whom we knew from our days in Santa Fe drove in and camped next to us. Gordon made posole (hominy, pork, green chili, garlic, oregano, chicken and beef broth, and a few pinches of favorite stuff), and Betty whipped up a delightfully light green salad. We surprised Vicky with a little birthday cake to celebrate her special day. They stayed through Sunday morning, but we remained for the entire following week because the New Mexico Excel Club gathering began on Friday (28th) through Monday, October 1st. Then we head for Moriarty to the BEST Excel dealer in the US for a little work.

It is now 5:30 AM Sunday morning, October 1st. The sun has warmed us for the past several days and the whole weekend of the Excel Club gathering has been a delight. There are about 50 Excel fifth wheels in the Little Creel RV Park and it is a pretty amazing site. Our camp site backs right onto the Rio Chama, and throughout the last week we have watched countless fly fishermen and many using spinners take some beautiful fish from river. We has walked in the woods, had several social gatherings of pot luck meals, stories, skits, horseshoes, our version of special team Olympics (my team came in first), and an evening of music and dancing. Even though Betty fought with some back pain last night, she is thrilled that the strength in her back is increasing and that she is able to dance, again.

Today we will have a continental breakfast and social time, then an open house (trailer) event so that we can see the decorating and special ideas that others have implemented. Some of the members will head for home today, while others will stick around until Monday morning. I can’t say enough good about being here with the New Mexico Club. Like the Colorado club, we have met some terrific people, all of whom we will look forward to being with at the next gathering in the Spring.

When we arrived in Chama a week and a half ago, fuel here was $3.11 for diesel. Today, the price is down to $2.62. Betty and I had taken a little drive over to Dulce, NM last week on the Jicaria Apache Homeland where we bought fuel for $2.46. Gee, I wonder what it is today? I understand that Moriarty has fuel for $2.42, now. Boy, it can continue down as far as I am concerned.

We think about our friends and family often and trust you are doing well. Send us a line or post on the blog when you have a chance. Until next week…

Bringing us up to date

Wow, I didn’t realize that the last posting was the 21st of August. We have had several inquiries wondering if we are okay. Gee, thanks for checking…we are doing fine.

Miss Kitty survived her sleep-over at the Vet in Kearney, MO. Her blood tests were still not normal, and she was dehydrated and had an infection in her intestine. The vet gave her an antibiotic and a hydration injection under her skin so that her body would absorb the fluid. He also put her on a short term diet of prescription AD pet food, which is very palatable. Upon arriving at home, we took her to the regular vet. Now, 3 weeks later, we are seeing an abnormal rise in liver enzymes. A sonogram several months ago revealed a tumor in her liver. With her hyper-thyroid condition, which causes rapid heart rate and excess physical activity (which we try to control with Tapizole but which has its own tough side effects) her little body is already under strain. She eats 4 to 6 times a day, ¼ to ½ can of food and still only weighs barely 6 lbs. The vet has advised us to be very conscious of her moods and feelings in order to monitor how she might feel. He does not believe her prognosis is very good. It is sad for our little friend to be in such distress.

We arrived at the Excel factory in Smith Center KS on the evening of August 23rd. We were a few days early for our scheduled service because I caused a failure in the black water holding tank. There is a flush intake valve right next to the city water hook up valve and I hooked up to the wrong one for an overnight stay. Consequently, in about 20 minutes, I had overfilled the black tank (luckily it was clean) and burst a seam. Water came out the roof vent but luckily we avoided water inside the coach. The technicians had to take apart the underside of the trailer to replace the tank. This, on top of the other work we needed to have done, caused us to spend a whole week in the factory parking lot behind the service department.

For those of you who wonder about how we spent our 40th Anniversary…well, it was in the parking lot in Smith Center Kansas. Now, it was delightful, believe it or not. Parked next to us, also having some work done on their trailer, was a couple we had met in late May from Colorado Springs. Betty, Troy, Betty and I had cocktails and snacks around 5PM while I cooked a marinated pork loin on the BBQ. When the roast was done, they ate their “hot-dish” and we had the roast and fresh corn. We had a delightful time with them and look forward to being with them again next week in Salida, CO for the Colorado Excel club gathering.

Upon leaving Smith Center, we traveled along US 36 to Bonnie State Park near Burlington CO where we R & R’ed for two nights. Then back onto US 36 we drove though Last Chance CO where my father had owned a dry land farm. I learned to drive on this farm at age 14 driving grain trucks hauling wheat. From Bonnie to Byers, I only passed one diesel fuel stop and fuel was $3.40 a gallon. I was too stuck up to pay that price and held out until Byers. I won’t do that again. When we got to Byers, the truck computer said I had 34 miles remaining until empty. I was REALLY sweating needles.

On September 6th we celebrated my mother’s 95th birthday. The family gathered at the White Fence Farm where we had balloons, cake, gifts, lots of roses and good food. Of course, any time we can all be together is good and this was extra special. After dinner, we browsed the unique collection of gifts and listened to the country music in the attached building.

And speaking of being with family, we were in Greeley CO last weekend visiting my cousin whom I have not seen for several years. Her daughters from Greeley and Fresno were there, too and it was such fun to be reacquainted and learn about their interesting lives.

Finally, we have now acquired full-time internet service. (see the link at the side for Broadband Internet via Cell Service). The computer has become such a way of life with us. We have struggled with connectivity issues during the entire time we have been traveling. We considered Satellite internet service, but the equipment cost, the monthly fees, and the critical set up each time we changed locations in order to hit the satellite were more than we were willing to accept. I tried dial up service through my cell phone, but it was not successful. We have burned up many hours in internet cafés along the way, and this usually takes up our daytime site seeing time...necessary, but not really satisfying. I guess we have become pretty dependant, and are “spoiled” about our desire for convenience. Yesterday I received my Verizon air card which plugs into the PCMCIA slot of the laptop and provides unlimited internet wherever Verizon or its cooperators offer service. In many cities, this is broadband internet. Outside of these areas, the service is supposed to be 5X faster than dial up. So, as we drive down the highway, Betty can log onto the internet and do her email, search for places for overnight stays, restaurants, pay bills, or just about anything. Of course, there are places where no cell service is available, but so far we have found these to be very few. The air card can also be attached to the antenna on the roof of the truck or trailer, both of which are cell phone boosters. We chose the Kyocera KPC650 air card, and the Kyocera KR-1 wireless router specifically designed for air cards. So, I plugged the air card into the router, set the SSID, 128 bit encryption and password and created our own little network. Betty and I are each on the internet right now trying to catch up on stuff. This is SO WONDERFUL. Of course, I have only had it one day, and it IS computer related so I fully expect glitches to pop up. If it can happen it will happen to Betty or Gordon, right Bill???? (Bill is our favorite IT specialist from Golden Gate NRA in San Francisco. We had lots of fun with him, but I think he is bald now because of tearing his hair out trying to figuring ways to solve our problems).

We leave on Thursday for Colorado Springs to visit our great nephews (oh yes, their parents, too). Then on to Salida for the Colorado Excel Club rally and to Chama NM for the New Mexico Excel Club rally. We will also enjoy some leisure time in Chama with a delightful couple from Albuquerque (Vicki and Betty worked together in Santa Fe in the early 90’s). We should be back in Colorado by early October then to Hawaii in November for our 40th anniversary celebration. We will have Thanksgiving with Betty’s brother and his wife who moved to Oahu early last year. Hmmm. Thanksgiving on Waikiki…sounds delightful.

Thanks for staying tuned and putting up with my delayed postings. We’ll see you down the road.

Watkins Woolen Mill State Park, MO

We arrived at this beautiful State Park last Thursday, but have not had internet hookup until today. Last night, Sunday, a man arrived in his fifth wheel trailer and set up camp two spaces from us. While we were enjoying happy hour, he walked by and we hailed him for a visit. He lives in Liberty MO, and was here to spend a week while his wife went back east to visit her daughter and new baby. He is working in Liberty every day, and commuting to and from the park. His tow vehicle is an F450 Ford, V-10 with custom bed for towing. However, with fuel prices as they are, he will return on Monday with his Harley...more fuel efficient for the daily commute. He has a Hughes Internet Satellite Dish and told us that he left it open so that people he met might be able to use it. Hence, we have internet service today, a week before I our planned arrival in Smith Center at the Excel factory for our service appointment. The satellite internet is not as fast as Comcast broadband. It is billed as the speed of DSL. Better than what I was using yesterday, for sure (which was nothing).

Watkins Woolen Mill SP is an absolutely beautiful park. Seems like every park into which we have gone in Missouri is a gem. Missouri voters voted a 1/10 of 1% sales tax to improve state parks and historical areas. Improvements are in every park we have visited. Paved drive areas, gravel parking, grassy and shady camp spots, new restrooms with individual shower and dressing rooms. We have 50 Amp electricity but no water or sewer hookup. So, we have to break down and move the trailer to dump. Kind of a disadvantage, but the site is terrific. Also, Excel, our brand of 5th wheel, has made the dumping of holding tanks almost touch free, so this is the easiest we have ever had the necessary tank maintenance.

The history here is amazing, too. This is the only remaining 19th century woolen mill in the US with original equipment in place. Waltus Watkins moved from KY in the middle 1800's had a family of 9 children. He, his wife, and one unmarried sister and all the children lived in a two room cabin on the 80 acres of land he bought. A good business man, he learned how to make brick, and built a kiln. Set up a saw mill for dimention lumber, planted several orchards, cultivated fields for crops, sold dried fruit, farm produce, raised livestock, built the woolen mill, had a general store, and employed about 40 people plus three slaves. Soon he had 3660 acres. He was also a justice of the peace, served in the legislature. built a church and school for his employees and was a trustee for the nearby William Jewel College. All of his children, including the girls, had at least some college. Get this...his desk was tall so he had to stand up to work. His philosophy was that if one sat down to work, they were lazy. I think he had too much drive.

Missouri had the third highest number of encounters (skirmishes) during the civil war of all other states, but he was able to keep on the good side of both sides. Probably made blue and grey wool yardage for uniforms for both sides. The house he built also still stands and is 70% furnished with original family items. A living history interpretive staff does a great job of explaining the history.

Yesterday, we drove to Jesse James farm and birthplace. His mother continued to live there and ultimatley died here. Within a month after his murder in St. Joseph, the family was giving tours of the farm (revenue); in his day, he was extremely famous. His birth father, the Rev. Mr. James was the minister of the church that the Watkins family attended until they built their own church and school. The farm is interpreted by the staff of Clay County, Misssouri Parks. Also, pretty well done, but they could use some coaching on preservation. The racoons keep getting into the old house and chewing up things.

Today, we went to the vet for Miss Kitty. She has decided not to eat her food. Looks to us like a chewing issue. But the vet said the teeth and gums look okay. We left her for overnight for blood work, urine test and follow-up for her hyperthyroid condition. Well, we'll see what the vet says in the morning.

We will move on in a day or two. Betty wants to stop in Washington KS where service dogs are trained. This is on Highway 36 on our way to Smith Center. This should be very interesting.

Final note: Fuel in Merriam KS was $3.32 when we left. Here, in Kearney MO, the fuel is $3.09

Have I mentioned it yet??? We LOVE being retired and LOVE this leisurely life out here. But we are looking forward to seeing the family at the end of the month, back in Denver.

Hugs to you all...

Leaving Kansas City

On Monday 8/14, we will depart Kansas City and work our way north and west toward Smith Center KS. I have an appointment with the factory for some service items, and figure that I will get them taken care of while in the neighborhood. The GOOD folks at RV Sales in Moriarty NM are more than capable of doing the jobs, but I figure since I am here, well the factory should be capable, too. We want to stay at a couple MO State Parks north of here to see the sites, and hopefully the heat won't be as bad as the past month. Tonight, we had rain and the cool-down has come. However, the humidity is up. Tomorrow will tell a story, I know. The 15 day forecast is for upper 80's. Lots better than upper 90's to lower 100's.

Betty has her last physical therapy appointment Monday, early PM. Her back is doing much better with the treatments. The Shawnee Mission Medical Center is just down I-35 at 75th Street and is about 6 minutes from Merriam where we are in the Walnut Grove RV Park.

Oooo. The rain just picked up and is pelting the trailer. Lightning and thunder. Just as long as the famous winds of "tornado alley" don't kick up.

We went TV shopping with our friend Bev, today. New TV for her living room with a DVD player so the two grand daughters can watch TV close to her when they are staying over. This will be so good for her. While we were shopping, Bev's son decided he would carry the old TV from the living room to the lower level lounge area. A 37"...By himself. Darned if he didn't miss a stair carrying it down. He fell. Luckily, he fell backwards and the TV, the wall, the vase and its stand, none of that was damaged. He, on the other hand has a large bruise on his thigh and a deep gash in his hand which took stitches. He drove himself to the urgent care facility and called his mother while on the road to tell her not to worry...RIGHT! Well, he got a shot of antibiotics, a tetanus shot, a metal splint on the finger to be sure the stitch holds, and a complimentary Ace Bandage. Oh, did I mention that his mother gave him a lecture (after she found out he was okay) and his wife gave him a piece of her mind? He admits it was a "bone-head" thing to do. I wonder why TV manufacturers do not put hand grips on a TV that large. Gee, 'cause TWO PEOPLE ARE NEEDED. We surely are glad that he is okay.

We said our good-byes to Bev tonight with tears and hugs, thank yous and promises of next visits to come by both of us. This has really been a treat for us to spend this time with her as she has made the move to KC. She is looking forward to settling into her new community. (see past postings for additional discussion about our experiences over the past 5 weeks). It was REALLY hard to say good-bye. We look forward to another day and another time.

We were back in Lakewood (Lees Summit) on Wednesday as guest of our old friends and former boat partners, Wayne and Sue. It was a hot day, over 100. We all donned our swimming atire, and headed for the pontoon boat. Pulling into a cove shaded from the afternoon rays, we grabbed a float and hit the water. No shock as we climbed down the ladder. The water seems only slightly different from the air temperature. Oh, my. We had forgotten just how WONDERFUL those days on the lake had been. We floated for a long time, had a little libation and some guacamole with chips and talked and talked. As it began to get dusk, we hopped back onto the pontoon boat and toured both the east and west lakes. (Lakewood has two lakes formed in an old limestone quarry and joined by a channel. Our townhouse had been located just up from the channel where we could see boats passing between lakes.) Lakewood is now in its final development stages and is truly a community of communities. About 9PM we headed back to their home, and Wayne cooked a pork tenderloin on the grill while Sue combined the gormet accompaniment. We finally left their lovely home near midnight. What a great time in our old neighborhood with good friends. Thanks so much.

Karen and Skip entertained us in their Plaza Condo on Monday, last week, with wine and cheese, laughs and stories. Then we went out into the Plaza for a walk and up to Skip's favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. What a delight...and yes, another late night. Then on Friday, we went back to their home where the four of us took the MAX (express bus) to the convention area downtown KC for the 19th annual Elvis parade and impersonator contest. What a hoot. We saw lots of Elvis look-alikes as they paraded by: some marched in a Scottish Bagpipe band wearing kilts and Elvis hair playing "Love Me Tender" on the bagpipes; a '59 Pink Caddie convertible with Elvis waiving and throwing kisses; a velour (exterior) finished Sedan Deville with Elvis inside; and floats and other conveyances showing off their brands of Elvis. All of this led to the stage area where there was a vocal contest of Elvis music by the impersonators and this year's best was chosen. The grand finale was a gray-haired grandfather being shot out of a huge canon, projecting this aged human through the air (I have his mid-air picture!) to a large net across the open staging area. Man, how can you top the entertainment?

On Saturday evening, we went to the Grand Ballroom at the Embassy Suites near KCI airport for the Heart of America Dancesport Competition. For three hours, we watched some absolutely wonderful dancers compete for trophies, dance scholarships and money prizes. International style foxtrot, quick step, waltz, Viennese waltz, cha-cha, paso doble, rumba, jive, swing, and more. They even had pre-teen and teen competitions. Eveyone was dressed to the 9's. We thought it was better than "Dancing with the Stars" from television.

We are looking forward to being back in Colorado soon. We want to see the family and get ready for Mother's 95th Birthday party. She had a bit of a scare this AM. At 7:30, she was taken by ambulance to the emergency room because the staff at the assisted care facility could not get a nose bleed stopped. The hospital got the job done, and my brother brought her home around noon. She sounded a bit shaky on the phone this evening, so a good sleep will do her some good. But, it took a little starch out of her.

Since we are leaving this city RV Park with WiFi, I don't know when the next posting will be. If lucky, Friday or Saturday I will find a hook up somewhere and do the job. Hope you all stay well and happy.

Cheers!

One more week in Kansas City

Kansas City, well, Lees Summit, was our second home following Denver. We had lots of fun here, and we are revisiting some old haunts, as well as learning new ones. Yes, you all received a bogus message that asked you to save a website link to Walters Dance Center. You don't need to do that. My goof. The message was intended to go to Betty, but I clicked on an adjacent link and everyone was included. Sorry. Of course, when YOU visit Kansas Ctiy, Walters Dance Center will provide you with a great deal of qualtiy dance for $5.00 per person for the evening, $7.00 if you take the lessons beforehand (yes, only $2.00 more for 2 hours of instruction on the dance of the day before before the evening dance time). Pretty cool.

We were at our friend Bev's house today. Maybe unpacked 3 boxes, but had great fun with her amazing decorator items she brought from St. Louis. We mock-hung pictures, tapestries, castings and feather wreaths and actually hung some of those plus many other items. Brass and gold Italian candle sticks were arranged above the undulating kitchen cupboards, mirrors hung in the bathrooms and bedrooms, and stacked boxes of family photos were carried to the storage area for future sorting. Later in the day, Bev's delighful daughter-in-law and two CHARMING grandaughters stopped for a visit. Morgan and Molly were shrieking GORDON, GORDON when they drove into the driveway. I am in LOVE, again. I dunno, there is only 57 years difference. Not TOO bad, huh?

Unfortunately, Bev is still sick. She started out fine this AM, but the constant stress of the past couple years coupled with the move to KC, has brought her exhaustion to a head. She "PROMISED" to sleep a lot, read books, rest, do NO unpacking, not think about all the stuff to do...Yeah, right! for the next 3 days. Well, we will not be there to make her feel like she has to work, so that 's good.

And, you guessed it. We are taking Airborne, Chinese Herbs, and anything else we can think of so that WE will not get sick...just in case exhaustion is not the whole issue.

I have an appointment on Wednesday morning, EARLY, to get the diesel serviced...15,000 mile scheduled maintenance. We only bought it in October. Mercy! And today, BP announced that it will shut down the Alaskan Prudhoe Bay oil field due to corrosion in the pipeline. Diesel in KC is already at $3.32 gal...the most I have seen to date. It is supposed to go higher on this news. Oh, dear. Looks like we may change some plans to go further east, this year.

However, in August of 2007 will be a celebration of the 275th anniversary of the Keller's and Hollel's migration to America in 1732. It will be held near the family homestead in Toms Brook VA in the Shenandoah Valley. When Betty and I worked in D.C. in 1994, we visited the old homestead, the family cemetery, and sites around the area. I hope we will be able to attend this momentous occasion. Traveling 2/3 across the US for such an event will likely be a healthy fuel cost, so will want to make it pay dividends in visits to old friends, as well as in new experienices. Take a look at www.hottelkeller.org to see some of our history.

On Wednesday, we will go to Lakewood (in Lees Summit, MO) where we lived a joyous 6 years. Our friends and former boat partners, Sue and Wayne, are hosting a Kansas City cool down outing for us. Wednesday is supposed to be another HOT one, so we will go over in the afternoon, swim suits and all, and spend the afternoon on the pontoon boat...or, in the water along side. Then, Sue will prepare a pork tenderloin and the necesary accompaniments for dinner. Knowing Sue, this will be an event to behold. Man, can't wait. It will be fun to see the old neighborhood. We understand that the east lake (our neighborhood had two: east and west lakes) is nearly completely developed. Well, this will be a fun outing.

Skip and Karen, former Lakewood neighbors, had us to their Plaza Condo last night for wine and cheese (even though it was sweet with the cherries, karen, it was GOOD cheese). Then a walk around the Plaza (only 90 with 60%) until we arrived at a favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. Surf and turf...crusted shrimp and beef tenderloin. Yes, Linda, Weight Watchers would not be proud. I calculated that I used up 30 of my 35 EXTRA flex-plan points. We continue to hold our own: Betty is still in her Lifetime range, actually within 1/2 pound of her lowest weight. I am holding my own at 10 pounds ABOVE my lowest weight! Yes, Betty has MUCH better control. But, I was higher than this, and I am bring my weight back down. ...albeit slowly.

Friday, we go to Barney Ellis Plaza downtown KC for a noon parade in honor of the anniversary of the passing of Elvis on August 16, 1977. All local Elvis impersonators will be present and many will perform. Should be a HOOT! We are going with Karen and Skip and will drive to the Plaza then take a bus to town. Don't want to fuss with the traffic and the renovation of downtown KC.

Joanie and Jerry left our Lakewood (Denver) condo on the 6th and headed back to Scottsdale where it is undoubtedly cooler...HA. Betty has had lots of fun talking to Joanie on the phone to discover where they have gone, their favorite restaurants, etc. Boy, it takes an out-of-towner to teach you about your home area. We have lots of turf to cover in October and December while home from travels.

And, to our friends on the Outer Banks, Jim and Bette.....WAHOOOOOO! Bone scan is negative...the prostate cancer has not spread. Move ahead and get that Allegro BP. Full timing awaits you. Life ahead of you is EVERYTHING that you know how to handle. The Class of 2006 stands with you on this journey. Betty and I hope to see you in Quartzite in January.

Well, better hit the rack. It is after midnight in Kansas City. Pretty sleepy out. Will try my weekly update this coming weekend.

Hugs to you all.

Kansas City for 9 days

We arrived in the Kansas City area on Saturday evening, about 8PM. The thermometer on the car read 101, however, the humidity was not as high as St. Louis. Actually, the temperature was tolerable because the sun was not bearing down on us. After dropping off the Envoy that Betty drove from St. Louis, loaded with plants and pictures, we drove to Merriam KS to the Walnut Grove RV Park where we will be staying for 9 days.

Walnut Grove is the only in-town RV park in Metro KC and is located just off of I-35. It dates from 1933, and used to be a mobile home park. Today, all the mobiles have been removed and the park has 54 RV spaces with full hookups and 30 or 50 Amp sites. It is a typical in-town park with close neighbors on all sides. The pull-through spaces are narrow, but longer. Ours is a back in space with a greater width that accommodates our slide outs better. The daily rate is $27. No discounts are available. Wireless internet is included, so we have the LUXURY of not searching for a hook up somewhere. Another benefit is that it we are really close to most things. Downtown KCMO, riverboat gambling (we don't) is 15 minutes. Independence is about 30 minutes. Our old stomping ground at Lees Summit (Lakewood) is about 40 minutes. Overland Park, Shawnee Mission, Prairie Village are all next door. And of course, that GREAT Kansas City BBQ.

We will be here for several days seeing our friend through the receipt of her furniture and personal belongings. She prefers to do the unpacking however long it takes so that she can organize her things and know where everything is. Can't say we blame her at all, having just moved ourselves about a year ago. We will visit former neighbors while here then decide just where we will go next. All we know for now is that we have an appointment at the Excel factory in Smith Center on August 28th, unless I can get the date moved up due to a cancellation. Our intention is to be back in Colorado by the first week of September for my mother's 95th birthday.

More at a later date. That's if for now.

Off to Kansas City on Saturday

Hi Again. We are still in St. Louis today, but leave for Kansas City on Saturday morning. Today is cooler (but not much) with overcast and a spit of rain or two. Yes, higher humidity.

We spent yesterday at the Jefferson Expansion Memorial (Arch). Took the tram to the top, got out and took pictures through windows and then called my Mother to tell her where we were. Saw the BIG screen Omni view of the National Geographic Lewis and Clark journey of 1804 into the new Louisiana Purchase, the documentary of the building of the Arch in the mid 1960's and spent a lot of time in the NPS museum. We didn't get home until nearly 10:PM as we chose to drive around to see some evening sites. The parking garage at the Arch takes vehicles up to 7 feet, and the pickup is just under that. I had to take down the CB antenna and the Cellular antenna so that they didn't get banged up.

The day before, we toured Grant's Farm, an original place that was owned by President Grant, and later owned by the Busch Family (Anheiser-Busch). Boy, the Clydsdales are big animals. Some of the old carriages and wagons are interesting, too. This farm has several hundred species of animals from all over the world that roam freely on the farm..no preditors that I am aware of. And the elephants are in large compounds.

Tonight we go to the Botanical Gardens for an exhibit of hand blown glass by Dale Chihully in the gardens. We hope for cool and dry.

Tomorrow, we want to see the A-H Brewery and the History Museum in Forest Park. We'll see if we can get up and running in the morning.

The packing of our friend when quite well. We helped out for a little over two weeks, then her daughter arrived from AZ and her son from Kansas City. Today, the commercial packers arrived, and tomorrow the moving van will load. We will pick up pictures and flowers on Saturday AM to put into the fifth wheel and the rear seat of the pickup. Betty will drive her Envoy to KC, Shawn will drive his Range Rover and Bev her Jaguar. We will caravan to KC. Unloading will be on Wednesday.

Until next time, Hugs to you all...

St. Louis Weather

Well, you may have read that St. Louis was hit pretty hard with high winds on Wednesday evening, 7/19/06. Huge trees went down all over the central part of the city. Comfort index is 115 today. Power outages from the storm last night have 300,000 residents without electricity. One major area without power is the municipal water district which cannot pump water without power. Our friend Bev has friends in the core city area that are without both, electricity (air conditioning) and water. Out in west county, we avoided most of the damage. High winds, but not big tree losses and although power was off and on between 7-8PM we maintained electricty (and AC) through the night and into today. More winds forcast for today...we'll see. Weekend forcast is 15 degrees cooler. We'll take it. We try to keep the inside of the RV about 15-20 degrees cooler than outside. Can you believe that 80 degrees inside feels cold???

Betty and I went out at 11AM today to empty the holding tanks and take on fresh water. OMG! Just standing by the RV I soaked my shirt. Betty's hair was pinned up, but it was soaked. This is too much for anyone, and we really feel badly for those suffering without power.

Packing is going well. Basement and dining room are done. Kitchen will be attacked soon. Commercial packers will arrive on Thursday next week, and movers on Friday. Then we can head for Kansas City where is is cool.

NOT!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, this is a day off from packing today, so we have to hit Wally World for supplies. Until next time...

Singin' the (heat) Blues in St. Louis

OMG. Comfort index exceeds 100. 96 degrees, light rain with sun. It is like a sauna outside. Now I remember why we moved out of the midwest. WHEW!

We spent two days at Bev's house setting up her garage for the moving sale. Then, on Wednesday we had the first day of the sale...yes, the comfort index has been the same uncomfortable "off the chart" reading. We did pretty well for the first day of the sale, but Bev wishes it had been more productive. We will have a second sale Friday afternoon, 5-8. then the final day on Saturday. After that, I think a charity will pick up the remaining stuff. We will begin the packing for the move next week. INSIDE. IN Air Conditioning!

When BC and I were at Weston Bend State Park last week (north of Kansas City) we picked wild black berries. The park limited our take to one gallon per person, per day! Needless to say, we could not eat that amount, but it was fun to pick. Now, we have chigger bites in all the tight places where elastic are tight to the skin. Cheapest Blackberries we ever ate, and also the most costly, if you know what I mean.

We are at the St. Louis Bread Company, aka Panera Bread Co. All stores seem to have free WiFi, so Betty ordered a Greek salad which is about the yummiest I have ever eaten. We each have our laptops screaming along doing our mail, paying our bills, and learning how to fight chiggers. No sightseening until next week after the moving sale is over. Then, there are lots of places we want to see.

Hope you are enjoying your summers!

Cheers from the Kellers.

Heading for St. Louis

Well, Betty went to a Physical Therapist in Lincoln this AM and we are now sitting at Panera Bread Co waiting for her aunt and uncle to join us for lunch. Then, we will head off toward St. Louis for the next several weeks. We will stop over in St Joseph or Kansas City for a few days of rest before heading off to our new "job" in St. Louis...helping our friend Bev get ready to move.

Lincoln has been cool the last few days, a refreshing change from the first few days of heat. We arrived at 101 degrees, with humidity. Oh my.

Will add to this in KC or St. Louis when I can.

Love to you all

Back on the Road Again (finally)

We planned to leave on the 28th of June but did not get away until the 29th. After a 10 day stay in CO, we are now in Lincoln NE for Betty's aunt's 80th Birthday. If you have not been to Lincoln, stop at a state roadside visitor information booth and get a Lincoln tour book. Boy, there is a lot to do here, and unusual things to see. We need to come back for more time.

It has been great fun to be in Lincoln for the birthday, and I have really enjoyed meeting her cousins and their families, some for the first time in 40 years. What a great mix of personalities. We laughed a lot, joked and teased, and or course, ate a lot. The birthday celebration was on the 2nd, served by grandson: Chef Joe, sous chef at upscacle VENUE restaurant in Lincoln. Prime Rib that melted in your mouth. I asked about the seasoning and his response was a kind, "well, I roll the prime in a Tuscan mix of seasoning and slow roasted 3-1/2 hours." Okay, Joe, what is IN the "Tuscan mix?" Outa sight! The meal served 34 people, and we met some of their long time friends from North Platte, Cozad and Omaha as well as Lincoln. We have spent several days enjoying a yummie wine and cheeze (PLUS other goodies) party at cousin Sue's home and lots of social time with aunt and uncle.

We have been staying at the Nebraska State Fair Grounds with full hookup and 50 amp service. $120 for 7 days. Grassy with paved internal roads and paved tire tracks in the spaces. Pretty close together, and no tables, but a good rate if you are just using this as a place to run the A/C and sleep. We are gone all day, so this works out fine.

On the way to Lincoln, we overnighted at Johnson Lake State Park (NE), 8 miles south of Lexington off I-80. GREAT park with lots of grass, gravel sites with large shade trees, 50 amp service, lake views, no water or sewer hookup (but available in the park). $10 camp, $5 elec, $3 state park entrance fee. This is a park to which we will return. Found it in Wright's Free Camp Sites (or under $10) book. Good source of reasonable camping sites.

We leave Lincoln on July 6th and head for St. Louis. This is a working leg of the trip as we will visit a long time friend who is moving back to Kansas City (where we first met her) to live near her son and his family. We will help with the garage sale, then assist with packing in preparation for her move the end of July. I hope we get to see her new home in KC this trip...sounds like a real delight (if you like "stick-and-brick" construction instead of the RV life on wheels!)

Sorry that I have not been able to post. Again, I have been without internet service since the last posting. Here, in Lincoln, I am using Uncle Bill's broadband cable. When we head out for St. Louis, I will see what we are able to find and will post by the end of the week, with luck.

Thanks for your faithful reading. Sorry if I don't get your emails answered, but often the limited time is used up in the Blog update when I can get online. I appreciate your understanding.

Until next weekend, Cheers from BandG.

Back in Colorado (for a short time)

Even though my intention is to post each Friday or Saturday, we have really been out of the "internet loop" for a long time. We are in an RV park south of Colorado Springs and they have FREE WiFi, so I am going to make hay while I can.

The Excel Home Coming in Smith Center was lots of fun, and just like summer camp. The days were all planned and all we had to do was to participate. Seminars on the systems of our rigs, walking tour of Smith Center with prizes at the end, city-wide garage sale, breakfast and dinner every day along with most lunches furnished by the factory, games, blue rock shooting competition, 7AM wake up every morning with a loud speaker system that could be heard all over Smith Center, and capped off by a music concert, fireworks and an 11PM, 100 vehicle parade up and down the streets of town banging on pots and pans from the backs of the trucks. Even the city folks participated by standing on their front porches banging pots and pans back at the parade. Really silly, but what a hoot.

After leaving Smith Center, three couples of our group went to Glen Elder State Park (KS) for a few days. We needed to rest after the stress of the Excel home coming. While there, we went to Cawker City to see the world's largest ball of twine and then to Lebanon KS to see the point of geographical center of the 48 states. Otherwise, we rested and relaxed. Well Betty relaxed. I was busy fighting off the nasty little black flies who really had a feast on me. DEET may be fine, but it seemed to be short lived as the little buggers really dove in for a bite.

From Glen Elder SP, we drove back by Smith Center to pick up a special order and then drove US 24 through central Kansas to north of Burlington CO to Bonny Lake SP. Here we relaxed, sorted the cargo bay, arranged the inside of the living area and generally adjusted our Villa to our desires and style of living. Bonny Lake is pretty dry as eastern CO drought is taking its toll.

From Bonny, we drove a short distance to Flagler CO to visit new friends Jim and Verna (also Excel owners). We parked our Excel in their driveway for the night and had a thoroughly enjoyable visit with a drive around their town, visit with some of their friends, great hamburgers for dinner, and played a new and fun board game until 11PM. After a lazy morning, we left Flagler about 2PM for Colorado Springs in a head-wind that just would not stop. Our diesel did just fine, but just maintaining 55 MPH kept the truck working hard. I would not doubt if our air speed was 85-90 MPH with the head wind. Fuel consumption dropped to 6.2 MPG...Oh my.

Now, we are about 35 minutes south of Colorado Springs in a private RV Park. It is very quiet and peaceful here. Tall pines, mild temperatures, partly sunny skies, 61 degrees. Even though the afternoon breezes are still here, the sound of the wind in the pines tugs on us...it is home.

And speaking of home, we will be home in a few days to visit family and take care of a few doctor appointments, while making plans for the next leg of our adventure.

Smith Center Kansas 6/2/2006

Betty and I are in Smith Center Kansas where Excel Fifth Wheel trailers are made. We arrived on Wednesday after one night in Prairie Dog State Park (Norton KS) and two previous nights at Scott Lake State Park (Scott City KS). We have had quite a bit of rain and our camping in the vacant lots around Smith Center has provided us with some new "lake-side" camp sites. The factory has taken very good care of us (an estimated 650 rigs): food, entertainment, seminars, factory tours, walking tours of town, and lots of new friends in the Colorado and New Mexico Excel Clubs.

I have not been able to log onto the wireless internet service provided here, so I am in the high school computer lab. Also not able to get onto my full email system, only the web-based version which has no files. If I owe you a message, sorry. Will see what I can do later.

We leave Smith Center first of the week and then we go to...uh, I guess we are retired so who knows. Maybe somewhere to just relax and read a while. I hope to post next week, Friday or Saturday, depending upon the availability of internet service.

Thanks for listening and posting.

CHEERS!

The ADVENTURE Begins !!

Just a quick note before I pack up the computer. It is about 5:45 AM (23 May 2006) and we are in the throws of getting on the road. We plan to head out about 7AM and stop over in Castle Rock to visit the Seales, our FIRST full time friends...they were friends long before full time, though. We'll have coffee, then aim south a few days before heading east.

Stay tuned...!

CHEERS!

Just a few more hours

Saturday afternoon...1PM. Taking a break for lunch. We have been at the trailer this morning organizing and seeing how much more we can take. Something wrong here...I think there are weight limits!! Betty wants 14 days worth of clothing along, 'cause she does not want to do laundry very often. Well, heading for the midwest and the humid climate, we may be FORCED to do laundry often...hot and sweaty. She has pushed out of her mind the 6 years in Kansas City and the 4 Months in DC. Well, no worries. We will take it as it comes.

We should be in Santa Fe on Tuesday evening, and hanging around there for a few days while the Retirement Villa (RV) picks up a few enhancements. Then to Kansas for the reunion of Excel Owners at the factory. After that, a bit of a change. We will REST and READ and NAP. Should be back home by June 18th. We both have medical appointments on the 19th.

I will post a small message or two along the way, as we are able to find WiFi spots. There will be one in Moriarity, and for sure one in Smith Center. Just don't know how reliable we will find them to be. As advanced as we think we are, technically, we are still babies at understanding.

While we are on the road, first class snail-mail can come to us if you use the following address:

Betty and Gordon Keller
177 Rainbow Drive # 7727
Livingston, TX 77399-1077

This is our mail forwarding service. We will tell them periodically where to send our mail. It is best if you use this address because it is faster. If you send it to our home address, we will still get the mail, however it will take an extra 2-4 weeks!

Stay Tuned... and CHEERS!