February and March 2009/Pool and Babies What a life!

Goodbye's are hard. So of course what do full timers do? Eat! Here is good friend Sharon (Alaska) getting her steak at Deb and Dave's splittin' for the summer party. Yes, eating is a focal point for the residents of Lakeside RV Park!

A new event happened February 9, 2009. Our first great grandchild was born to Vaness and Erick Schram. I got to see her when she was a week old. So beautiful.

There is a bus that takes TRC residents to an Arizona Indian Casino. Friends Sharon & Deb have been going all fall/winter. I signed up to go in January. What a hoot. You watch a video and play bingo on the way over and we let the rest do that coming back (we slept). Since Debbie would be leaving in March, I decided we were going to have a party for the February trip. We all got our own miniature playing cards; teeth; glasses, leis. There were two other ladies that signed up to go with us. We came up with a strategy (get there; sleep; let the 11 buses leave for parts unknown then start playing after 10 pm). It didn't work.

We went out to dinner as a group one night and then 6 of us went to the VFW to play pool. On the gambling trip one of the ladies invited us to the American Legion to play cards on Thursdays. So, we went. We played some cards then went over and started playing pool and that was the start of the Thursday Pool Team. (TPT) It has been 45 years since I played much pool, but I am hanging in there. Through that we got to know more folks. They play from time to time. They live in Hatch and started coming up specifically to watch us act like nuts and play. It takes 4 of us women to control the two men. :) AND the men are banned from practising this summer.

Monticello Box Canyon

It's about time to leave for WY so I went on a ride with Newell and

Linda when Cliff lead a group up through the Monticello Box Canyon.

Newell forded the creek barefoot.

Wow - up there by the pickup I think we are seeing the end of the trail.

At the end of the canyon.

Whitney has a pair of scales just like this.  Hers has the 1977 license on it from when Mom last had it licensed.

And of course here is a tv antenna on a ...........outhouse???  Go figure

Yup - go on in and enjoy yourself.

This tree is the hanging tree.  It is right in the middle of Chloride an old mining town.

We crossed over the water 116 times to get here at the end of the canyon.

This "road" is really a state highway.  Unbelievable.

There is absolutely NO amenities up here. They have solar for electricity and the propane truck brings that up.  This place is totally inaccessible for sometimes 3 months of the year during the monsoon season.  The water comes from the west and north and gathers into this canyon.  Do they really need to tell us where the main road is.






Whoa!  Driving up the highway.  What a totally awesome day.  I need to do this more often.

White Sands and Riudoso

Our good friends Deb and Dave Martin are heading to Florida to get their boat ready for a trip to the Bahamas. They invited several of us to go to Riudoso and White Sands with them the first Monday in March. So we climbed in with the Jones' from Nebraska and Maynard from Minnesota and headed out. The BEST bar-b-que around is this restaurant - owned by friends of Dave & Deb. What a treat that was. Then we went to their house. They have a horse transportation business and their son has horses. It was beautiful.

We then stopped at the Horse Museum by Riudoso Downs. Yes, that is Debbie. Enough said. These horse statues were awesome!! We then headed down to White Sands. It is gypsum; is pure white and cold. You can even rent saucers and go sledding - while having a picnic and wearing shorts!! It is down for a trip when the kids visit in December.

And "three stooges and a dip"!! What a day!! AWWW; this is the life!

Yes - we are definitely going to miss these folks!! O! Wait! Maybe we can gather again somewhere - isn't that what full-timing is? Hmmmmm! Something to ponder.

This group also makes up 90% of the Thursday Pool Team! (And Maynard and Cliffee better not practise this summer either!!!)
From the left: Cliff (ee) & Karen Jones; Debbie & Dave Martin; Maynard Henning with us.