Remembering Haleigh and Happy Mother's Day

It's hard to believe that it was 9 years ago today that we said "good-bye" to Haleigh. It was the last time that we held her in our arms. I can still remember that day so vividly...even though it's been 9 years.

A few days later we held her memorial service and then it was Mother's Day. I can remember Kim saying that she didn't feel like she was a mother and I remember telling her that even though Haleigh was no longer with us she was still a mom and no one could take that away from her. I can still see the grief that was on her face that day and how sad she was. Even though we were in mourning we still remembered Mother's Day.

Nine years later I would like to say "Haleigh, I love you and miss you always".

"Happy Mother's Day" to my mom, for being a great Mom; to my daughter, Kimberleigh, for sharing Haleigh's short life with me and of course for giving me two beautiful granddaughters; to my step-daughter, Stacy and step-daughter-in-law, Monica thank you for sharing your children with me as their Grandma Vicki; and Christine, thank you for my beautiful granddaughter, Danya. I hope you all have a great Mother's Day.

Heading to Goshen!

We left Greers Ferry after spending the weekend with the Stone's and Tim, Kim and Ashleigh. We were going to stop in Sullivan, MO but both Don and Rick decided that it was early and they felt they could drive further. Certainly didn't bother me. There's something about riding in a vehicle that lulls me to sleep...I have a hard time staying awake so sleep a lot of the way! (In case you're wondering, I don't have that problem when I'm driving!) Good thing there's music on the radio to keep Don company 'cause it certainly isn't me!!

Got as far as Vandalia, IL and found the local Wal Mart. They have an area set aside especially for trucks and motorhomes and it was already full! There were about 8 other motorhomes in the area we parked in and we were just across from all the trucks! It was a VERY busy area during the night. Once Don shut the window neither of us had a problem sleeping!

Got an early start (well, not really considering that we were going to change time zones before getting to our final destination). We had a little rain on our drive but other than getting behind a really large over-sized load...no problems getting to Goshen! We arrived at the fairgrounds and got set up in our temporary sites. On Friday we should move over to our full hook-up sites, but for now we only have water/electric! It works pretty well and I don't mind because we at least have electric! Spent a little time sitting outside before we headed to Ponderosa for their buffet! If it has buffet in the name, we're sure to get Don to agree to go! We all ate too much, although Joanne seems to pace hersalf a lot better than the rest of us! Now we're stuffed and settled in for the night! Tomorrow we are going to the Shipshewana flea market which is supposed to be one of the biggest in the mid-west! Today was their first one for the season! Until the rally starts we'll basically be doing the tourist-y thing along with relaxing and socializing!

Del Rio, TX

Made it to Del Rio and found the RV park with no problems. It was fun to drive through the little towns instead of on the interstate for a change! We didn't have any other option anyhow, to get to our destination! :-)

Once we got there...and barely set up, I called Stacy to let her know that we had made it! She picked up Justisse from pre-school and brought her to the motorhome. She still had about another hour to work, so we got to play with Justisse while she worked! :-) Justisse had no problem staying with us even though we hadn't seen her in over two years! Of course, it didn't hurt that Grandma had stocked up on some toys and an outfit or two for her! :-) Justisse has always been a great talker and filled the motorhome with lots of chatter!

After work, Stacy drove by and we followed her to their house, which is just down the street from the RV park! The RV park is brand new and very convenient! Justisse gave me the consolidated tour of their new house and then it was back outside where Grandma and Justisse played My Little Pony! See, Justisse wanted a horse/pony for Christmas and got My Little Ponys instead! :-) With the acreage that Korey and Stacy now have...a pony may have to be in her future - some day! :-)

After dinner we enjoyed some time in the hot tub where Justisse ended up falling asleep as I held her! It was too funny, but she was so relaxed and so tired! It was an enjoyable evening and pretty late by the time we made it back to the motorhome!

Saturday morning we got up and around and later in the afternoon we all piled into our Avalanche and headed to the border to head into Mexico. The kids had heard about a Mexican steakhouse that was supposed to be pretty good so that's where we were going. It happened to be some kind of fiesta or something so there was a lot of traffic and people, but we really didn't have any problems. We walked down a few streets, checked out some of the shops and bought Justisse a few trinkets! Our late lunch/early dinner did turn out to be very good, but Don about had heart failure when the bill arrived and it was over 1,000 - until he realized it was pesos and not dollars! Took some time getting back into the border and we (Don and I) were a little nervous because we didn't have passports with us! We really didn't have any trouble, but it was a long wait to get back across the border! We had some entertainment though when a group of bikers tried to cut into the line. Actually, what happened was one biker cut in and then motioned for all his friends to come up to where he was (there were about 20 of them). They kept revving up thier engines and honking thier horns. Since they go through ONE AT A TIME, they had really slowed down the line. It didn't affect us because we were in another lane. Once we got to the head of the line, the border patrol agent said "Stop, wait right there" and en masse, all the agents in the station lined up and headed out to make the bikers turn around! We didn't even know that there had been so many agents there but they showed their force! One of the bikers (a girl as a matter of fact) ended up getting pushed back and then she ran right through the check point! The rest ended up turning around although they weren't happy about it! I know that the people in line behind them...and even those of us to the sides...were happy to see justice served!

After visiting for awhile, it was time to head back to the motorhome. Justisse decided she wanted to go with us, so we packed up her things and off we went! You would have thought with everything she wanted to bring that she was going to be longer than one night! On the way back she said "I hope I don't miss Mommy too much". I told her I thought she would be alright and she said "it was going to be a long night"! She wanted to take a shower in the motorhome so we did that. Since it was late, Grandma turned on a movie, popped some popcorn and we laid in bed (on the couch) until she ended up going to sleep! Little stinker...watched the whole movie! Next morning, she wanted to take a shower again! It's quite fun to be able to have the shower head at your level and the shower is "just the right size" for kids! :-)

Justisse LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to pick flowers! If there's a flower within her sight, shes going to pick it! I had a nice bouqet before I left. Only problem was she doesn't get too long of a stem! We had a great time with the kids, but it ended way too quickly! On Monday we had to head towards Louisiana and work and pre-school called!

Hoover Dam

After the race was over the Stones and us headed into Las Vegas. The Terras had to head back to So. California. It is so nice to have full hook-ups after almost a week of dry camping! Not having to be sooo frugal with water, lights and everything else is sooo nice! Being able to do laundry and run the vacuum (with two shedding pets) is almost heavenly! We enjoyed ourselves at the buffet that is part of our "reward" for volunteering at the race and one evening Rick & I went downtown to enjoy the lights and action at the older downtown casinos! We didn't "play" too much, but I learned a lot about older Las Vegas from Rick! We drove back to the RVs on the strip and although I've driven down it many times, it is ever changing and ever growing!!

Don and I left Las Vegas a day later than we had planned. Before we left home we had to have our satellite dish shipped to Utah for repair. I had talked to them during our trip west and was told that it would be shipped out in time to meet us when we arrived in Las Vegas. I had the installer all lined up and everything. Only problem was there was no satellite dish to get put back on! Since it weighs quite a bit having it shipped overnight wasn't an option so we decided to take our chances on having it shipped to us normally. The good thing is that Salt Lake City is a straight shot to Las Vegas! Luckily it did make it here although it was very late in the afternoon by the time it was put back on! The next day it was a long travel day to meet up with Jerri and Lloyd Wood in Willcox, AZ! Since we had to stay in Las Vegas the extra day and we had a commitment in Del Rio, TX we had to push on and didn't get a chance to stop in Casa Grande to see our friends Marlene & Bob Rea, there's always next year though!

I have to say that this was truly one of those "oh sh*t" moments when we came around the corner and saw the new bridge that they are working on at Hoover Dam. To see those two ends sticking out there was amazing! I sure wouldn't want to be working on them, that's for darn sure! Traffic wasn't too bad going around the dam and we did have to stop before going over the dam to be inspected. It wasn't bad...just a few minutes, mostly spent talking to the guy and we had to open our bay where the propane tank is! Where security is concerned, I'm not against having to take a few minutes if in the long run it saves my life or someone elses.

We drove like the wind and ended up getting into Willcox later than we normally like to drive. I had dinner cooking in the crock pot as we traveled so it was easy once we got set up and had a chance to visit! We were all heading east with a final destination of Henderson, LA so the next morning we headed out together with Lloyd leading the way! It was another long day of driving but we made it to Van Horn, TX for the night. Jerri fixed dinner for us so that made it a really nice day! :-) We went our separate ways the next morning after only a few miles, but we'll see them again in just a few days when we get to Louisiana! We were heading to Del Rio, TX to see Stacy, Korey and Justisse! We had last seen them in Rapid City, SD so we were anxious to get there!

2009 Baker-Vegas Relay Race

It's impossible to really describe what all goes on before the race, during the race and after the race. This year there were 250+ teams. Each team has 20 runners (there are 20 "stages" or legs), substitute runners, drivers, team catchers (to "catch" the runners as they finish their leg), volunteers to help at each stage, support for the team and family! At each stage there are a minimum of 2 motorhomes to set-up the stages and be responsible for the stage, paramedics, radio hams, motorcycle support (they get to be "pretend" cops for the day and offer traffic control) and the team volunteers. Each stage is a buzz of activity!

This year we had to be out of the school parking lot at o'dark thirty so we decided to go out the night before! It worked out well and we were able to get our stage set up in plenty of time for our first runner! Our stage consists of me, Don, Vicki and Steve Terra. We have worked together for 12 years on this stage. This year Rick & Joanne Stone joined us and helped out, although their "designated" job was to be hosts for the motors. The guys on motorcycles need to get off their bikes at some point, and since most don't have refrigerators, etc. strategically located on the course are several hosts who have snacks and drinks.

In my pictures I'm showing...

the radio hams,

medics,

a line of runners coming into our stage (long distance view),

and the view after leaving our stage! Can you imagine running and seeing that "hill" in front of you knowing you had to reach the top of it??

Rick & Joanne hosting one of the motors,

Vicki T. signing in one of the runners

one of the air support units (they used to be on our stage and have now moved north)

one of the runners being caught by his catcher and a medic

vehicles used by the German team (we have/had several international teams)

some more runners coming in (it can get quite congested at times with runners and their follow vehicles)

One of the runners being taken by ambulance to the medical stage for more treatment (and possible air evacuation to either Pahrump or Las Vegas)

One of our stage signs conveniently posted on a historical marker sign!

And finally, it's the end of our stage! Time to relax and have some dinner! We'll head to Las Vegas in the morning! For us, it's the end of the race for another year! For the runners, it's just the beginning!

Westward Ho!

From Flagstaff, the Stones and Leiths headed to Avi Casino in Laughlin, NV. We stayed for several days recharging our batteries (literally and figuratively) for our stay in Baker for the Baker-Vegas race.

We spent some time going through the booths that were set up on the side of the casino, but the best thing we did while here was stop for a hamburger and fries at In-N-Out! Oh yummy! If you've never had an In-N-Out burger then you have no idea what you're missing! It's one of the things I miss the most about California/Nevada/Arizona! :-) I think that Rick & Joanne enjoyed them as well! I cheated and actually had it twice! One of the days Rick & Joanne went to see some friends who had a house in Laughlin and I went shopping to get what we needed before getting to Baker (nothing in or close to Baker...that's for sure!) an In-N-Out burger was just what I needed to give me strength while I shopped! :-)

One of the days we drove over to Oatman, AZ. There is a ghost town (that refused to die) there that has burros that walk freely through the streets! We walked through the stores, took pictures of the burros and then headed back to the motorhomes!

Once we left Laughlin we headed to Baker, CA to begin preparations (and socialize) before the race! In Kelso, we stopped at the Kelso Depot to show Rick & Joanne the refurbished train depot that is there. Don and I had seen it several years before, but wanted them to see this little "burg" in the middle of the desert! From there it was into Baker. I've blogged about our participation in the race before, this being our 16th year not much has changed! You can read about the race here.

It was fun to see "old" friends and talk to all the newcomers about what was ahead! Unless you've been a part of the race, you really have no idea what is involved in it or what an impact it has!

Flagstaff, AZ

It was a *l*o*n*g* driving day today! It's nice that I can get up and walk around the coach (well, if you want to call it that). I didn't walk up and down and get rid of some of the excess calories from last nights dinner! In fact, once we made it to Black Bart's we got the coaches parked, leveled, set up and went in to the restaurant for dinner! I could get spoiled going out to dinner two nights in a row! :-)

Even Furby was going a little crazy by the end of the afternoon! He was jumping up on the dinette chairs, twirling around and in general, just being a silly kitty! Of course, whenever he got too close to the front, Tess would chase him back to the back! It's not like they don't like each other! Tess is just a little protective of her "dad"!

Driving through Gallup, NM today we had some snow flurries! I had to call my mom and Ashleigh and let them both know we had snow! Of course, we were only driving through it so didn't have any time to really enjoy it! Don't know if there was enough to accumulate, but it was 41 degrees outside so doubt if it stayed long!

It's a chilly 24 degrees here in Flagstaff! The low is supposed to be 20 degrees tonight! That's a little on the cool side! We'll have a short day tomorrow! It's only 195 miles into Avi Casino in Laughlin!

On the road again...

After almost a year, we are once again "on the road" - heading to the very same place that we headed to almost a year ago!!! We are once again on our way to Baker, CA for the Baker-Vegas Challenge Cup Relay Race. If I knew how to add the link, I would, but it's somewhere on a past blog! :-) I've been really bad about blogging anyway, so I'm not going to look for the answer right now either! :-) It's been with some rather *S*L*O*W* starts, but we've made it to Tucumcari, NM and should get to Flagstaff, AZ tomorrow!

In early December we took our coach to be repaired from the tornado damage and from a little "self-inflicted" damage that both Don and I were responsible for (we forgot to put down the satellite dish before backing into the garage...after not using the motorhome for travel we forgot some of our routines). We told the shop at that time that we would be leaving "first of March" for a trip. Fast forward to Monday. We were "supposed" to take the Avalanche to the shop to have it prepared for towing and then bring both it and the motorhome back home. That would give me time to get it ready to go...on Wednesday! We were just about ready to leave when they called Don and asked if we could come on Tuesday instead because they weren't ready - little did we know! They had also informed us about a week earlier that the satellite dish had just been sent out for repair and wouldn't be back before we left. That's MAJOR! That's not only internet access but t.v. as well. We told them we would be in Las Vegas about two weeks after leaving and to see if we could get it put back on then. Since we are planning on being gone for almost a month...that's only half the trip! We changed some plans we had for Tuesday and headed there instead. We already aren't "happy campers" and once there find out that they need a piece for the Avalanche. They are having the piece over-nighted and Don makes arrangements for them to finish the job and bring the truck back to us the next day. Guess we won't be leaving on Wednesday after all!!

Don and I headed home with just the motorhome. All was well until we got almost home. We were going to turn on a narrow street and someone was turning towards us. Instead of waiting or backing up like he should have done, Don decided to turn. Guess what? The back tires went into the ditch and there they stayed! Couldn't go forward and couldn't go backwards! Ugh, ugh, ugh! Don's first comments were "call a wrecker", mine were a little different! Actually, I got on the cell phone and called Troy, our contractor/friend and asked him to bring a couple of boards. While we were waiting for Troy, another friend's son drove up and he called his dad's partner, Ken to come help. Ken and Troy ended up chaining their trucks to the back of our motorhome and between the two of them they were able to pull it out enough that we could back up the rest of the way and turn like we should have! Sometimes there is a reason for having PATIENCE!

On Wednesday the repair facility brought the Avalanche to us, finished what they needed on the motorhome and left. Thursday morning we hook-up and check the brake lights, turn signals, etc. and find out that we have NO LIGHTS! Now why didn't they check that before they left?? They offer to meet us "on the road" and we head out.

The first night our plan is to get to Oklahoma City to meet up with friends, Joanne & Rick Stone who are joining us at the race! After about a two hour delay we finally get going (I spent the time shopping since they met us in a mall parking lot!) No problems making it to Oklahoma City but once there we started to put up our "bat wing" antenna (it's the antenna that you use to get local channels over the air) and find out that they hadn't replaced it...the one that was destroyed in the tornado was removed, but they hadn't replaced it (Don had asked them about it about a week before when we had stopped by to check on the progress and he saw the old one on the floor)! So no satellite and no bat wing means that we are really out of luck for t.v.! Not much of a problem for me, but sure brings tears to Don's eyes!! One perk...Rick had told us about an empty mall parking lot just down the street from their home so that's where we went. We were just at the end from the library and they had wi-fi! If I sat outside, I could download our e-mail! :-)

After our arrival, Don called Rick to let him know we were there. Don looked out the window and who was in front of the motorhome in his car...Rick! Rick took us to their house and we had a great dinner that Joanne had fixed! All that and trying to pack for a month long trip too! Spent some time catching up and enjoying the evening and then it was back to the motorhome so we could get an "early" start on Friday! Nine a.m. this morning and off we headed! Our first stop was Flying J for fuel, next was a rest area for lunch and finally this evening we landed in Tucumcari, at an old RV park that Don and I have stopped at in years passed. One perk of being with Joanne and Rick...we walked a little ways down the street to a restaurant for dinner! Normally we would have had something in the motorhome! We needed to walk a little further back to work off our dinner but it didn't happen! Maybe tomorrow while we are driving I'll walk up and down the motorhome aisle to work off some of the calories...or maybe I won't! :-) It's an even earlier start tomorrow so that we can make it to Flagstaff and Black Bart's for dinner! Wow, dinner out two nights in a row...I won't know what to do with myself! BTW the park we are at not only has wi-fi (that's why I can blog) but they also have cable! Tomorrow night we plan on boondocking (being in a parking lot of Wal-Mart or somewhere so most likely no wi-fi - or t.v.)!

One other thing we have had to "deal" with...we had the repair facility winterize the coach since it would be sitting out during some freezing weather without the heaters on and not being used. Instead of blowing out the water in the lines, they put anti-freeze in our system. Even though the tank was drained...we are still dealing with anti-freeze in the water! I can't tell you how many batches of ice I've thrown away already and the water I've run! Ugh! Needless to say, I'm not using any ice and I'm certainly not drinking any of the water!!!

This trip will be a little different from the one last year in several ways. Mostly the house is finished and we won't be "racing" back to get it completed! Also, after the race we will be in Las Vegas a few days (getting the satellite put back on for starters) and then heading to Del Rio, TX where we will spend a few days with daughter, Stacy and of course Justisse and Korey too! From there it's on to Canyon Lake, TX where we will meet up with friends, Maribel and Bob Clerc, who are heading to Henderson, LA with us for a Monaco Wannagos rally. After the rally we will make our way back to Greers Ferry until our next trip in May!

From this to that!

Jan. 2008

Feb. 2009

BTW Don and I are helping to stimulate the economy!

Clyde died and other news...

Last week we had an ice storm that for most in the area was worse than the "Ice Storm of 2000". For us, we didn't really suffer too much from it until the day after! It was kind of neat to watch, and a few days after Don went for a drive with our neighbor, Bill and saw some of the areas that were still in ice mode. I took quite a few pictures of some of our plants, roof, lights, etc. that had ice on them (only one of those here). The day after the ice storm we lost our power for about 8 hours but it came on before we went to bed. Many in the area were out for the week and there are still a few in the surrounding areas that have no power because of the severe number of power poles that were lost.


We had brought my mom over in case, but there was never a real time when she could not have been at her own house! We were afraid if we lost power that the road between us might be too bad to go get her!

Since we have fireplaces and a gas stove, we knew that we could manage a little better. It was o.k. though since we enjoyed some yummy breakfasts and got in some tole painting and card making!


I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the weather, but Clyde (the camel pictured here) died at some point and was on the front page of the local newsaper. We used to look for Clyde on a daily basis when we were staying in Shirley and driving back and forth everyday! Both Ashleigh and Shae got to stop and see Clyde as well! Bonnie is still there, but Clyde loved to come to the fence when anyone stopped and you could see he had a very personable personality...even if he was a camel!

One thing about Arkansas...if you don't like the weather today wait until tomorrow because it's sure to change! The few days before the ice storm Kim, Tim and Ashleigh were here and we enjoyed appetizers on the deck! Don had to take off his sweatshirt and Tim was in his shorts for the entire day!

I haven't been too good about blogging lately and hadn't mentioned that we've had visitors lately! Dave and Marie Ostrander were our first "campers" after we've moved back in the house! I forgot to get pictures so the night before they left I went out in the bitter cold (the temps were in the teens at night) and took a picture of their coach in the dark! It was VERY cold while they were here and they stayed an extra day because of the cold temps but I had fun trying out some new recipes on them during their stay and a few days Marie and I enjoyed some beading!

Last week we had our first "official" house guests (family doesn't count) when Glenda and Ray Roe stopped to visit while traveling from Iowa to Arizona. Glenda's brother had passed away and they had driven their truck to Iowa. On thier way back to Arizona they made a detour through Arkansas to see us and the house! Glenda and I always have fun and we made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby! I think they enjoyed the downtime after their very busy and stressful few weeks! We had some nice weather while they were here so that was an added bonus! The last time they had been here we had been in the framing stages...the first time! They couldn't believe the change in our view after the tornado!

And just because I still haven't finished with my "mega" update from last year (!) I'm including a picture of Rick and Joanne Stone (well, actually of their motorhome) who were some of our last visitors of 2008 before we were able to move back into the house!