Rawlins Wyoming and the summer begins

We got to Rawlins; put on our long handles and heavy coats and settled in.  It is warming up as I didn't turn the heater on this morning.  At just under 7000' it is cooler here. MUCH cooler than Gillette.

The drive through the mountains from Ft Collins to Laramie was pretty with the spring greens out in force.  Yes and snowdrifts here and there.  Did I say the wind blows?  Notice the wind sock........:)

We are staying at a mobile home park 3 doors down from the gkids so we all go and come easily.  I went for a ride with them Sunday (raining - no photos) to Seminoe Lake to survey the camping possibilities there.  We're going back on a good day so I can take photos of the SAND.   The private marina has about 30+ trailers from every era parked hither and thither.  The remarkable thing was the sand.  They have a big front end loader and a dump truck they use to ferry the sand from hither to thither and back again.  The sand was 4 and 5' deep around the trailers.  However almost everyone has a garage - a new garage. We assume that would be for the toys so the sand couldn't bury it.  There was an old boat parked near the entrance that was almost buried.  The maintenance fee must be pretty high as the wind blows here - regularly - :(.  Really puts Elephant Butte to shame in THAT department.  Breezy NM will be a snap after this summer.  :):)

The little guys are good.  I can even understand Egad (Aedan) about 50+% of the time.  He really wants to be a big boy and do big boy stuff.  KaCe is doing really good as everyone has gotten a better understanding of his sensory disorder and he knows what to do when he gets overwhelmed.  Ethan graduates (? complete with cap and gown) from pre-school and is so excited to go to kindergarten.  He's like a fart on a hot skillet so I image that will last until about August 25th (school starts Aug 21).  Travis is settling in at his state job.  He finished the 5 week training and is also being cross-trained in other areas.

Whitney is involved in PTO, Bountiful Baskets and kids play groups. We are planning several projects for the summer. 

Ken is finally feeling better.  The trip was difficult on him and the cold/rain when we got here didn't help him.  

Today has been a good one for him.

Aedan and I picked Ethan up from preschool and also KaCe off the school bus.  We all gathered up to go to the Llewelyn house for dinner.  We left between 3:45 and 4:00.  Our official bathroom inspector, Ethan, couldn't wait so he went to the bathroom. (He regularly checks all bathrooms in ANY building we go to.)  We made quit a gaggle:  3 little boys, the dog, Grandad, Whit and I.  Everybody seemed to have their hands full as we trudged down the three houses. We started a movie I wanted to watch and Whit and I fixed dinner. 

About 5ish I told KaCe to go get 2 Sprite's out of the cooler. Don't drop them. Don't bang them together.  Make sure the screen door is shut.  No you need to go alone.  He came back with the soda all in one piece.  Then he dropped the bombshell, "But GRAMS there's WATER all over in your bathroom and EVEN in your BEDROOM!"

So I trudge out the door, walk three doors down and see water GUSHING out the bottom of the MH.  (!&^@!#^!

Rushing into the bathroom I slop though and what do I see?  THE BATHROOM CLEANING BRUSH STICKING STRAIGHT UP IN THE TOILET!!!! The toilet is FULL and running over!!!  OPEN THE BLACK WATER TANK, Silly!!!!!!  By this time Whit had turned the burners off and was coming over.  Bring towels - I'm going to skin me a boy.............. (She rushes back to her house for towels - Ethan FIND A WALL and stay there until we get back here!!!)  

Well there are SEVERAL good things:

1) the water was NOT black water............it was water from the fresh water tank (it's now empty). (Ethan does NOT know this)

2) Ethan IS still among the living

3) Even though it ran for an hour - (YES 60+ minutes) the damage is relatively little.  (Ethan does NOT know this)

The fan will now run for days to help with the drying of the carpet and yes we're going to refinish the bedroom floor anyway (Ethan does NOT know this.)

The crisis over.  We laughed as we cleaned up and replayed what we though happened. The laughter DIED as we made our way down 3 doors.  Ethan was standing at the wall by the door looking out.  Grandad made a point of finding out what happened and told Ethan if he would have TOLD someone the brush was STUCK in the toilet - he wouldn't be in so much trouble.  

Moving on.........

Whit turned Fast Five back on and Lo and Behold where were we in the movie????  Yup where they blow the toilet and there is black water (and other unmentionables) all over the bathroom.  We REALLY made a point of telling Ethan this is what he made happen (without the explosives of course).  That we had quite a mess - Yes, yes of course we'll tell him the truth - WHEN HE IS 30 and has children of his own!!

Yes - summer in Wyoming.  Nothing like it!

Miscellaneous tidbits from Season '12-'13

Hey Deb - get on the top and crank the wench to get the boat up there.  So she VERY c a r e f u l l y climbed the ladder to comply.

It didn't work - hmmm. What to do?  And Dave RUNS up the ladder.

Nope. Plan B.  Dave RUNS back down the ladder and Deb VERY c a r e f u l l y back down the ladder.  Yup!  We are Sistas!!

All too soon they are ready and leaving.

Comin' round the bend.

And then there were three.

Clay's grandson Michael graduated from NAU this May.  Courtney and Kitty asked me to take pictures of Clay in his hockey jerseys.  His pro team - the Red Wings and the NAU one.  

And then it was time for ALL of us to move.  Us to Wy and Wyn/Ki and Clay Up Top.  Yes the season must be officially over.    

It, like all the rest, was different this year.  Not bad - different.  Wonder how different the next season will be?  Can't wait.  Meanwhile it is kid/gkid/ggkid time!

Spring Wrap-up!

I finally got pictures of some more FF folks so want to splash their happy faces out and about.  The first are Jan and Ray Pierce from Michigan.  They began a new adventure in "going south" this year by selling their older 5th wheel and renting one of the park models for the winter.  It seems to have worked for them as they will be back.  Ray is a quiet (but deadly) gentleman with a killer sense of humor; he is also a writer - Thanks for the autographed book Ray-The Beauty of the Background. Jan loves to kayak in the summer but feels like EB Lake is a bit much for her.  They were a great help this winter in spreading the word about BB.

Roger and Carol Trembley are from New Hampshire.  Roger is a Cowboy Shooter and they introduced the park to their friends Roger (Snoozer) and Charlene Champagne.  They dress up in period costume when they do their shooting.  Carol loves to play cards and keeps Linda honest for M-W-F exercise.

Here is the Cowboy group on April 6th.  A motley crew indeed!

Roger and Charlene are full timers from New Hampshire and recently became New Mexicans.  Charlene is a killer card player (well,-----she DOES keep score a lot. :)  )!!  She forayed out into beading land this year and completed a bracelet.  BUT she has already picked out three she wants to make next year.  Roger is a KILLER pool player!!  He and Kathy Madsen need to give us lessons - not that we'd pay much attention.  Debbie and I have a "reputation".  Linda likes to say, "We just need to sit back and wait.  One of them will sink the cueball or put the 8 ball in the wrong pocket before this is over."  Yup - we mostly beat ourselves.

Kathy and Doug and The Kids ready to load up for the summer.  They store their 5th Wheel in place year round.

Before Maurene and Bill left we made a girls trip to Hatch.
Me, Kathy, Mary (a new one to the crew this year), Maurene and Deb
As always we had a blast.  On this trip we practised our cheers for Newell's birthday.

As of course there is Mexico.  I finally gave in and joined the group in having dental work done in Mexico.  4 of the gals went along to supervise - where they saw a once in a lifetime event - Phyllis, speechless and white with apprehension!!!  Linda bought a pinata - which turned out to be for DECORATION ONLY!!!!

We got home in time for birthday cake on Tuesday (we went on Friday. :) )  Newell supervises Debbie measuring the cake.

Linda and Cindy (the new assistant manager) share a birthday.

And what would  Happy Hour be without Margaritas?  Nowhere!

 Hmmmm I think it is official.  Linda is OLD!!!

Only in years!  She's very young in spirit.

And then the wind began to blow.  Dave's niece  hubby and 3 dogs came to visit.  Dave moved Babe the Big Blue Truck over for not only a windbreak but to anchor the borrowed popup to New Mexico ground and not let it go to Kansas Dorthy.  They are now official visitors and have official names CC (Chipmunk Cheeks) and hmmmm what DID I name her!  

In the middle of the visit Deb and I had more dentist appointments (I have 2 more, she is done). It seems we must go early so we can stop at the bead store. Imagine THAT!!  This rock, outside the bead store,  was very intriguing.  Notice the tiny circles all over it?  (No I don't need a geologist to tell me what it actually is!!)

 More Misc.....Deb and I getting a ride from Ki after we cried over Maurene and Bill leaving.  We had slippers on and OF COURSE couldn't walk back down the hill.  We can only to the UP in them.

Most of THE SISTAS!!

Saying goodbye to Carol and Gary (going back to SD before spring) was hard.  They are going to sell their rigs and stay closer to home next year.  Hmmmm!  They have had a LOT of snow since they went back - I surely do wonder if there is a "park model rental" in their future?

However they WILL be at the mini reunion in NE in August!! Woo-hoo!



And then I began my trips to Mexico for the dentist.  He is redoing work that a Casper dentist did 5 years ago. grrrrrr.  And even with insurance I paid more then than I am now.  I was very apprehensive for my first trip as the dentist in Rawlins told me it would be $4700+ for the tooth I was having problems with.  I had been looking at my front teeth and it appeared to me they were all 6 a mess - but who am I? I really had the idea that I'd come back from there with no front teeth and wouldn't be able to afford to finish the job until this fall.  I was terrified of what he was going to tell me and on top of my apprehension for just ENTERING a dentist office I obviously looked really bad.  One of the dentists down there brought that home when she asked me if I was all right; that I looked really white.  hmmmm! You suppose?  Anyway the news wasn't as grim as it would have been up here.  He is doing the first three now and the next three later.  I had two root canals, one extraction and will have a bridge when we go south.  Not bad - of course my automatic flinch reflex guaranteed that he gave me 10 shots to get the root canals started.  And I won't be in the poor house $$ wise.
Dennis/Sharon (MN) are here and we played as many card games as we could and I got more pictures. IT is VERY dangerous to leave Deb and I alone as we are dangerous...........






Mary/Paul were camp hosts and we sure hope they come back.  Paul hold the camp record for the highest score in Five Crown (goal is lowest score).  They left to head back to east to meet their grandson for the summer.

Yes Mary your score was 67 for ONE hand.  Sorry.  Mary was with us when we were practicing for Newell's birthday.








All too soon it was time for Dave and Deb to hook up and head north.

Babe the Big Blue Truck was all hooked up and ready to roll.

This left only three "On the Alley".  Everybody leaves just when the weather becomes WONDERFUL 24/7!  What are we thinking?


The patio looks so good.  Donna/Dick got it all spiffed up while they were here.

And now it is time for us to leave.  I have one more dental apt in Mexico tomorrow.  Wyn will drive all day as I'll be driving the next two days as we head to WY.

The 2012-2013 Season (for us) is officially over.
We leave Wyn/Ki and Clay to hold down the fort with Cindy/Gene; Sharon/Larry; Dave/Joyce & Rick/Cheryl.  Martha and Bob will return around June 15th (hopefully).  Next year we will be moving across the street to #98.  The wind about got us both coming out of the bus several times and Ken isn't doing any "sun baking" at all any more so we'll try a change.  We'll see.   The bitter is now and Saturday is the sweet when we see part of the Wyoming family.