Countryside RV Resort, Apache Junction AZ & Boondocking at Quartzside AZ 1/10/12 - 1/31/12

  When we got back to Apache Junction, Travis met us at the airport and took us to where we had parked the Condo and truck.  After leaving a Scentsy warmer as a "thank you" we went to Travis's house and picked up our little freezer and headed to Countryside RV Park.

We had never stayed at Countryside, but we had ridden through it a couple of times on our bikes.  It was an okay park, except that most of the activities were handled by "the association."  Someone told us you couldn't join "the association" until you had been there for two months.  That pretty much leaves the Thousand Trail "transients" out of the activities.  Some of the people were really nice, but some of them didn't even know what Thousand Trails was, and they didn't seem to care for the "transient peddlers (I put my Scentsy out for an open house one day)" who come to their park!

There is a really nice pool and big hot tub (the dark green pool) and we visited it quite often in the evening while a lot of the members were busy with their activities in the Lodge.  We met another couple there one night and went to Church with them the next Sunday.

A lot of people in Countryside use golf carts.  In fact, there were very few park model homes that didn't have one parked in their driveway.  There was a "snakebite golf course" across the street amongst all of the sagebrush, but you had to be a member of  "the association" to use it.

Several nights there were beautiful sunsets.

When we did the Scentsy open house, Travis came by in between his rounds at hospitals and visited for awhile.  One of the hospitals he has call at is fairly close to the Park.

The day before we left, Travis brought all of the boys, Nate, Spencer holding Josh, and Nic, by to say goodbye.  It was fun being close enough to them to get to go to some of their activities and spend time with them.  We hope to see them in a couple of months when we are in Yuma and they are going home from a Spring break in San Diego.

We actually left Countryside RV Park a couple of days early and met up with some friends from
Emmett who were boon docking in Quartzside, AZ.  We had always wanted to see what it was like to join the thousands of RVs parked in the desert around Quartzside in January and February.  Our friends, Larry ad Connie, were there with her two sisters from Emmett and Payette ID.  We stayed four nights with them.

 Mary and Charlie are from Emmett and they showed us through their 1976 (?) "bus."  It was so cool and they are so proud of it!  They had to leave the morning after we got there, so we didn't get to visit with them too much.

Larry and Connie ended up getting a really good deal so they bought a Razor 4-wheeler ATV.  They had no way to pull it home so Mary and Charlie made room for it on their ATV trailer.  They all do a lot of ATV riding in the desert.

Loretta and Les are from Payette.  They are retired and spend several months in the "sun country" during the winter.  They mostly boon dock and go where they can ride their ATVs.  It was really fun seeing them.

We let Russ and Louise (more friends from Emmett we travel with off and on) know we were joining Larry an Connie in Quartzside so they decided to add to the party.  Then, while we were there, another couple from Emmett came to visit a couple of times, Mark and Christa.  It really felt like "old home week."

Louise showed Connie some of her water color paintings she has been doing.  She has been taking some classes at the parks they have stayed in and she is doing really well.  When she gets famous I will have to make sure I have an autographed painting!

 Russ and Larry are enjoying some of the sunshine.  It was pretty warm if you could keep out of the wind.

 One night we were there the sky was on fire.  I don't think I have ever seen so much of the sky be bright red!

 Terry's brother-in-law, Ron and Sharon, were down the road in Parker, so they came one day and joined our circle around the campfire.  We usually try to get together with them at least once along the road each season.  I really like Sharon and just try to put up with Ron (just kidding Ron--I have to give you a bad time!)

Connie, Louise, and I have been good friends for over 35 years.  Our kids all grew up together and were good friends.  It is always fun to be with them. 

Wyoming--Mt Rushmore, Kamber's B-day & Baptism 1/1/12 - 1/10/12

The wind blows in Burns, WY!!  We slept in Boe's back bedroom and one night we had 60-70 mph winds.  We thought the house was going to blow away!

The next morning Dan was up on the roof attaching new shingles.  Come to find out, their homeowners insurance guaranteed the shingles only up to 40 mph winds, so Dan became a roofer!  He must have done a good job because, even though the wind blew most of the time we were there, I don't think he lost any more shingles.

The wind kept picking up their trampoline so Jill, Terry, and Dan went and took it apart.  I thought it was going to blow them away before they got the job done.  The movie pictures I took of it are really something!

Kamber had her 8th birthday on January 5 so we got to help get ready for it.  She wanted a karaoke birthday party (she got a karaoke machine for Christmas) so we found some shiny fabric and put together some hip-hop dresses.

Jill decided to put one on and practice with Kamber.  Again, the movie pictures are much more entertaining than these snapshots!  They are both pretty good singers!

Dan's mom and dad, Dave and Aris, came for Kamber's baptism.  They invited us to go with them up to Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota since we had a couple of days before the baptism.  We jumped at the chance since we had never been there before.  We had a fun trip and got to know them better.

Our first stop was at Crazy Horse.  It is on an Indian reservation.

The Indians are carving Crazy Horse, sitting on a horse, out of the mountain.  They only do as much as they have money for, and then have to wait until they raise more money.  It is taking them quite a while to finish it, but it will really be something when it gets done.

As we round the corner, coming to Mr. Rushmore, there is a profile of George Washington.  The first few hours of dark in the evenings it is lit up.  They say it is quite a site!

As you go up toward the mountain, there is a column of state flags--one for each state and the date that state joined the union.  It is pretty impressive.

We found the Idaho state flag.

All of the trails that take you up the mountain close to the carvings were closed so we weren't able to go up them.

It was amazing to be there at Mt. Rushmore, after having just seen pictures of it all our lives.  Here are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.  Each of the eyes of the Mount Rushmore presidents are 11 feet wide.  Each of the noses are about 20 feet high.  Each mouth is about 18 feet wide.  The total carvings of their heads are about 60 feet tall and it took 14 years to carve them.

About 90% of the rock was removed with dynamite blasts.  In the museum you could push the plunger and simulate a blasting of different parts of the mountain.  Terry felt like he was part of the creation as he blasted away!

We stayed one night with Dan's sister's family.  Here are Aris and Dave with Candy, Dash, Sport, and        .  We thank them for their great hospitality! 

 

Kamber had her birthday party.  We made "microphone" cupcakes for the occasion.

The girls sang karaoke, wearing all of the hip-hop costumes!  They got bling rings and stylin' sunglasses!

The reason we stayed so long at Jill's (2 1/2 weeks) was to be there for Kamber's baptism.  I got to make her dress after she picked out the fabric.  She looked really cute and Dan did a great job baptising and confirming her.  We are really proud of her and were so glad to be part of her special day.

We were ready to get back to our little Condo and I am sure Jill and her family (especially Boe because he gave up his bedroom to us for all of that time) were ready to get back to their normal life.  We had a great time and, with a little help from drugs, Terry and I flew back to Arizona!

December 2011 - Preferred, Ridgeview, Golden Sun, Jill's for Christmas

We left Sarah's home and headed to stay one night at St. George RV Park in Hurricane, UT, and hopefully, some warmer weather.  Then we went on to a week at Preferred Park in Pahrump, NV.  It is a nice park and a good place to get good prices on buffets at the local casinos!  When we left Preferred, we went to Ridgeview RV Park in Bullhead City, AZ, for three nights. 

We got a really nice spot right on the bluff at Ridgeview. 

Out our big back window we could see the Colorado River and the bright lights of Laughlin, NV.  We could even leave our shades up all the time because there was no one between us and the view!

Our only tom peeper was a little roadrunner.  I think he could see himself in the shade of the window as he perched on our bikes, and he had a nice "visit" with himself.  We enjoyed ourselves there and sold some Scentsy at an open house in the clubhouse while line dancing and a potluck dinner was going on.  Terry helped with the Scentsy and enjoyed the meal, but he didn't join in any of the line dancing.  I was able to do a couple of dances until my leg (still healing from the break five months earlier) said it was enough.  The next day we were on our way to Golden Sun in Apache Junction, AZ.

 We took the picture for our Christmas cards so we could get them sent out.

We got to spend some time with Travis' family, going to a couple of Christmas concerts with Spencer and Nate performing.  One Monday night Spencer entertained us with some guitar playing.  He does a really good job.

Josh got all comfy under the pillows in a big chair.  He is just growing up too fast!

After spending a couple of weeks at Golden Sun, we parked our truck and the Condo at the home of one of Travis' friends and flew to Jill's home in Burns, WY, for Christmas and to stay for Kamber's baptism in January.  I know that some who know Terry are shocked at this because Terry does not fly!  But, with a little help from a prescription from Dr. Howard, he made it just fine!

We had a fun time enjoying some of Jill and Dan's Christmas family traditions.  One is to have a candlelight dinner on Christmas Eve.

Another tradition they started just this year is to read the Christmas Story around the campfire (since they had just gotten a new little campfire pit) on Christmas Eve.  It was kind of cold, but we actually got through the Christmas Story and roasted a few marshmallows before we gave in and went inside.

Kamber left a note for Santa.  She wanted to get a head start on next year!

Santa did find the Clayson house for the first time in Wyoming!  He even left stockings full of goodies for Terry and me.

Boe and Kamber check out their stockings.

Santa had left gerbils for the kids, but they didn't even notice them until they had gone through their stockings.  When they saw them, they were so excited!  They had asked Santa for them, but Jill kept saying they couldn't have them.  Santa won!  Jill told them that if they get out of their cages, the mouse traps would come out and that would be the end of the gerbils.  But, after a few days, I think even Jill thought they were pretty cute!

We spent the next week trying to keep up with Jill's family and all of their sports events, Church activities, and all those things that keep young families busy.  We went bowling on New Year's Eve and even made it through until the new year (except Jill fell asleep for a while on the couch) and saw the "ball" drop.  We have had a really good year and we are looking forward to a great new year in 2012!

Hunting, Sarah's, Jill's, Thanksgiving at Shay's 10/2011 - 11/2011

We got back to Emmett in time to get Terry ready to go hunting in Idaho Falls with our son, Shay.  I stayed home because Heidi and all the kids would be in school all day, so there was not much for me to do.  This is one of the few times Terry and I have been separated in the last five years!  It was pretty tough, but we survived! 

They had quite convoy after they got the 4-wheelers in the pickup and on the trailer, and everything hooked up.

They went hunting up by Mackey, ID, where Heidi's aunt lives.  They park in their yard and have electric hook-ups.  These are some of the hills they hunted.  They got up as far as the snowline.

Shay, coming home off the mountain, with nothing but his rifle attached to his 4-wheeler.  That was about the same story every day.  They saw lots of does, some moose and antelope, but no deer with antlers!  Oh well, they keep saying that they go mostly for the experience of the hunt!  Now they don't have to cut up any game!

After Terry got home from the big hunting trip, we made ready to head out for the season.  We were planning to spend Thanksgiving at Shay's, and since Sarah's husband, Ryan, was going to be in Korea for a couple of weeks in November, we decided to go to Grantsville and park  in Sarah's driveway for a few weeks to be there with her and the kids while Ryan was gone. 

It was lots of fun being being so close to them, and yet having our own home so we weren't under Sarah's feet all of the time.  The kids would pop in and out a lot and we spent quite a bit of time in their home.  Sarah fed us a lot and we had them over to eat a couple of times.  Lindee came over to show us her little pumpkin.

I got the kids started on "looming."  Luke is in the middle of making a stocking hat.  He did a good job.  Jenna made several scarves for herself and some friends.  It was a fun project.

We got to be there for Halloween and helped out with the pumpkin carving.

All of the pumpkins turned out great.  Here are Jenna, Luke, Lindee, and JT showing off their masterpieces!

JT got his face all painted up, getting ready for his Dracula costume.  He came over to the Condo to show us.

After they all got dressed in their costumes, Terry and Sarah took them out trick-or-treating.  I stayed home to hand out treats to all of the goblins who came visiting.  It was a fun night!

The kids had a few days off from school in November while Ryan was in Korea, so we loaded them up in Sarah's van and headed to Burns, WY, where Jill and Dan moved to.  We had never been there before.  It is just about 20 miles east of Cheyenne.  This is their back yard.  They bought a 1/2 acre lot and put a modular home and little shed on it.  There is plenty of room for their camp trailer and their trampoline.

This is the front of their home.  Like most roads in Burns, the town road in front of their home is not paved.
It will look really nice when they get some shutters put on the windows, a circle drive put in, and their lot lined with trees.  They need the trees for a wind block because the wind blows so much there!

There was still some snow on the ground when we got there.  The kids had lots of fun playing in it.  Here's Jenna, JT, Kamber, Luke and Boe making snowmen.

The boys were up for a snowball fight, but I don't think the girls thought it would be much fun.

Jill and Sarah out relaxing on the back deck.  There was kind of a wind block and the sun felt good!

Jenna, Kamber, and Lindee all dressed for more fun in the snow.

Some of the kids got sick while we were there, but Terry, JT, and I got to go to Cheyenne to watch Boe compete in a wrestling meet.  Boe took JT and let him set with the team during the meet.  JT thought that was great!

When we got back to Utah, we ended up getting snow.  Sarah kept the driveway clean for us, anxious for Ryan to get home to take over some of the chores!

Jenna, with her new short haircut, made a great snowman.

Jenna hadn't had her hair this short since she was really young.  I think it looks really cute on her.  She looks so grown-up!

Well, Ryan made it home from Korea and Thanksgiving was upon us!  Terry and I headed out for Shay's in Idaho Falls the day before and Sarah and her family got there that night.  We made a stop in Malad City, ID, to see my Dad's brother, Bill.

We hadn't seen Uncle Bill for a lot of years, but he hadn't changed much.  He lived with out family several times when I was just a little girl.  He has never married and lives by himself.  We bought lunch with us and had a great time visiting with him.

He is quite a collector and has a lot of things in his home.  I told him he was a good housekeeper and he told us he had just dusted everything that morning because we were coming!  He had a lot of knicknaks and has quite a collection of old dolls.  He showed us a music box that had belonged to his grandmother (my great-grandmother) and it still works

Uncle Bill has a nice little home and is really proud of it.  He will be 90 years old this September 30 and is  the oldest living relative on my Dad's side of the family.

He has a really nice big back yard.  He takes care of it all by himself, grows a garden, has fruit trees, and has seven cats!  We saw all of them!  We promised Uncle Bill that we would throw him a big birthday party in his back yard in September on his 90th birthday.  He seemed to think that would be a great idea.  It will be a great time! 

We had a great time at Shay's for Thanksgiving.  We took Emily a loom and she also did a good job making some scarves.  And then Marissa got this crazy idea that her ducks, Thelma and Louise, needed sweaters.  So I took some old yarn they had and tried to come up with a "duck sweater." 

 The next day, Marissa put the duck, dressed in the sweater, in a stroller and went out for a walk around the neighborhood.  She had several curious neighbors stop for a look!  How fun!

Before we left Utah to head south, we were able to get a bunch of our extended family together on my Mom's side of the family.  It was so good to see all of them--my cousin Vicky and Ken, Terry and I, my uncle Terry and Nancy, Aunt Eulala, Aunt Anna, and cousin Jo and Merle.  We had a great meal, but not nearly enough time to visit.  We will have to do it again!

We were also able to see our friends, Dutch and Gail, who live in Ogden.  They have land down in Wikieup next to my Mom's old place.  I have known them my whole life.  Dutch went to school with my Dad in Samaria, ID.  It was so good to see them feeling well and doing good. 

This is a picture of the Salt Palace that we would pass each time going home to Sarah's.  I took a picture of it with my phone and had to learn how to get it onto the computer for for BLOG.  So, this was an experiment!  When Sarah and Jill were 17 and 18 years old, we were in Utah and we dropped them off here for a New Year's Eve dance.  It was a little scary doing that because they thought they were more grown-up than I wanted them to me.  But they had a great time and everything went fine.  I always think of that when we pass by here.

We had a fun time getting to spend time with three of our kids and their families, and getting to see extended family and good friends while we were parked at Sarah's.  Thanks to Sarah and Ryan for all of their hospitality.  It was great, but they were probably glad to have their driveway back and their life return to normal as we pulled out and headed south to find some warmth and sunshine!