Arizona Bound

After the annual maintenance and service checkup on the coach, we drove it over to Newport and stayed Oct 6-10 at South Beach State Park with our friends Rod & Lynda.  According to the weather forecast, we were supposed to have rain the whole weekend, but it didn’t turn out that way.  We all were quite pleased to have decent weather so we could sit outside and enjoy a nice campfire and visit.  Also, we had the opportunity to have an afternoon where we had fresh Oysters off of the grill.

Once we got back home, we cleaned up the coach (inside & outside) and finished loading it with what we would need in Arizona.  Once the house was secured we were ready to head out.  Pulling out was much easier this time because we decided to not hook up the Grand Cherokee and take it with us.  Since we already have a vehicle (Jeep Wrangler) in our storage shed in Arizona, we didn’t see the need to tow the Cherokee this time.  Our plan is to use the Wrangler till we fly back to OR for Christmas then drive the Grand Cherokee back to AZ after Christmas.

The morning of Oct 18 was sunny and clear.  We drove south to Coburg where we stopped and fueled up the coach.  Imagine our shock when we saw the cost of Diesel was $4.15 a gallon--we took on 95 gallons (ouch).

Just south of Eugene, we got on highway 58 and drove east across Willamette Pass.  It was a beautiful, scenic drive with many of the trees changing colors--lots of oranges, yellows, and reds along the way.  However, we had some “slowdowns” just east of Oakridge when we ran into road construction.  First, we had to wait at the “Tunnel” because crews were inspecting it for cracks, then a couple miles past the tunnel, crews were painting stripes on the newly paved road.  Each time we had a long wait because a pilot car was needed to lead traffic through on the one lane portion of the road.  Just before we crossed the OR/CA border, we had another long wait because of road paving.  Finally, we made it to our usual stop at a volunteer fire department’s parking lot in the small town of Likely.

We woke early on Wednesday the 19th and quickly were back on the road.  The drive was uneventful all the way through Reno and east to Fernley.  As usual, we always top off our tank near Fernley on I-80 at a Love’s Station.  The fuel there was $4.07 a gallon and we took on 39 gallons.  Price a little better, but still a lot more than we were expecting.  Our next stop for the night was at Miller’s Rest Area just north of Tonapah, Nevada.  We got there pretty early and were able to set outside and enjoy a wonderful glass (or two) of wine before dinner.  Well, I had the wine and Ken had his V/O.  It was a beautiful day with the temperature topping off around 75.

Thursday the 20th, we once again ran into more road construction between the towns of Tonapah and Beatty, Nevada.  This time we had to wait about 15 minutes for the pilot car to lead us through the work area.  Finally, we were back on the road and making good time to Laughlin, Nevada.  The further south we went, the warmer it got.  Las Vegas was 76 degrees when we passed through it (11:30 am) and when we pulled into the AVI RV Park (and casino) south of Laughlin, it was 90.  So nice to be able to turn the AC on once we got settled.  For dinner, we walked over to the casino and ate a wonderful dinner.

Friday, the 21st, was another great sunny day.  In fact when we left the AVI, it was already in the 60s.  Our trip took us south to Needles, CA, where we saw Diesel was $4.79.  However, when we got to Vidal Junction, CA the Diesel was going for $4.89…..that was just plain crazy!!  We crossed the CA/AZ border at Parker, AZ about 10 am and it was already 89 degrees.  There we ran into more road construction (paving) but we never had to come to a complete stop.  There were no more slowdowns, but the road south to I-10 was very rough.  In fact the entire road from Needles to I-10 was rough.  We may be thinking of another route next time we head south.

Anyhow, once we got to I-10 just south of Vicksburg, AZ, we stopped and filled our propane tank and added 20 gallons of Diesel to the tank ($3.79 a gallon).  We didn’t stop again until we got to Avondale where we filled the Diesel tank up at Flying J for $3.75 a gallon.  We then made the final trek through Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Apache Junction, and Gold Canyon arriving Queen Valley just before 3 pm.  The temperature was 90 degrees.  Since we didn’t have the Cherokee, backing into our site and getting set up was a piece of cake.  Ken quickly checked on the Wrangler and happily, it started right up.

We have now been in Queen Valley for 2 weeks and are seeing more and more friends showing up.  Our first night here we went out to dinner with friends Dave and Pat, then just this last weekend spent a wonderful day with “caching” friends from Tucson, Florence, and Apache Junction at a “Birthday Campout” held just north of Florence (south of us).  They all camped out, we didn’t.  It was just great seeing them all again and are looking forward to spending a lot more time with them this season.

End of Summer

Hard to believe, but summer’s almost over and soon we will be heading back to Arizona.  I loosely use the term “summer” because Salem hasn’t really had one.  June was mostly wet and cool.  July had some nice warm days, but also some cool wet ones.  August was nice and mostly in the mid to high 80s.  The first week of Sept did have some mid to high 90s, but as I write this, it's back to rain and cool.  We are being told there still is some nice days coming.  Hope that happens before we head back to Arizona.

We got back in Salem on Memorial Day and have been busy ever since.  The first couple weeks of June we worked around the house and organized some repair work to be done on another piece of property we own.

June 25 we loaded up coach and drove it to Prineville where we parked at the Crook County RV Park for two nights.  We were thrilled to have clear warm days and cool evenings!  Both that Saturday & Sunday, we cached and checked out the BLM campsites along the Crooked River to see what sites were available for us to camp at starting Monday.

Monday, June 27, we moved the coach 15 miles south on hwy 27 and set up camp in a wonderful spot along the Crooked River where we spent the next 12 nights.  Soon after we were set up, our friend, Rod, showed up and set his camp up in the site next to us.  Rod’s wife Lynda had to work until Thursday so the three of us played cards and sat around and visited until she got there Thursday evening.

Saturday, July 2, our daughter Leigh & her husband Tim showed up with 4 of their grandkids and stayed in our huge family tent for two nights.  What fun, we visited, floated the river, ate, visited some more, ate some more, and watched the four "mini tornadoes" - ages 3-7) enjoying their very first camping trip.  The little ones got really dirty and no one cared!  They were having fun and that was what the time was all about. These are the four "mini tornadoes."

On Monday, July 4, our daughter’s family packed up and drove into Prineville to check into a hotel so everyone could get cleaned up and have the little ones take a nap before watching the evening fireworks show.  Rod & Lynda, and Ken & I stayed in camp and enjoyed a very peaceful evening.

After another few days of total fun, we all packed up and pulled out of our camping sites on July 9.  Rod & Lynda headed home, while we drove back to the Crook County RV Park for a two night stay.  Where we camped along the Crooked River was in a narrow canyon, so we on AT&T had no cell/internet service (our daughter did on Verizon L) so we weren’t able to get news on our sister-in-law’s Breast Cancer surgery until we got back into town.  Once back in town, we talked to her and happily, she said she was doing well after having a lumpectomy and would know in about a month if she needed further treatment.  We later found out that would undergo some Radiation, but Chemo would not be needed.  We spent the next two days caching in and around the area, then drove home on Monday, July 11. 

July was a month of Cancer surgeries…. On July 13 we spent a nervous day as our daughter-in-law underwent a "high risk" hysterectomy due to Uterine Cancer.  Thankfully, she came through surgery with a very hopeful prognosis.  We didn’t find out until a month later that she was free of Cancer and required no further treatment.

July 18-25, our coach was in Lafayette, Oregon having the bay door repaired.  They did a fantastic job and it now looks like new.

The rest of July we spent working in and around the house.  Ken re-leveled the pavers in driveway while the coach was in for work, then after we got the coach back he repainted the house.  We still need more work to be done on house, but we plan on holding off till next year.

August came and went so fast, it’s hard to remember what we did that month.  I remember it finally being warm, sunny and in the mid to high 80s.  We did go to Ken’s 50th high school reunion on August 4-6.  Also, on the 18th, we drove to Seattle to attend a MEGA Geocaching Event that took place on the 19th.  Since we were so close to the Canadian Border, we drove across to White Rock and found a couple caches so we could claim a foreign country on our geo-stats.  The MEGA Event was called “Groundspeak's Block Party” and it was held at their new headquarters on 34th and Freemont just under the Aurora Bridge, downtown Seattle.   We spent the whole day there and had a great time meeting geocachers from all over the world and seeing old friends.

Our grandson Justin and his wife Holly live in Tacoma while Justin is stationed at McChord AFB.  Holly is pregnant with their first child and our soon to be 7th great grandchild.  We found out late August that she is having a boy and his name is Tristen Raymond Allen.  We all are very excited about the up and coming birth of this little guy.  On the 20th while heading back to Salem, we got to visit with Holly & Justin at their place and see how they plan on setting up Tristen’s room.  After having a late lunch with them, we checked into a hotel for the night and had the opportunity to have a wonderful visit with our niece Janis.  Janis, whom I haven’t seen for over 20 years, is my half sister’s third of four children.  It was such a thrill to sit and talk with Janis and reflect on the past and present.  We vowed to set up another time to get together and include her siblings and our daughter.  I am truly looking forward to that.

Labor Day, Sept 5, we headed north to SeaTac and stopped in Tacoma to spend an hour with Justin & Holly over an early dinner.  As always, it was great to see them….they are so cute together!

After dinner, we drove north another 10 miles and spent the night near the SeaTac Airport.  Early the next morning, we caught the airplane to Yakutat, Alaska and were there till September 14.  Ken has been going to “Yak” to fish for Salmon since the late 60s, but I didn’t start until I retired in 1999.  After watching the weather, we were expecting nothing but rain the whole time we fished, but were pleasantly surprised to have some very nice days.  Yes, there were some days of rain, one very heavy and miserable day, but two days were totally sunny and nice.  One thing about the rain, the awful “no see-ums” don’t bother you.  As I have said in the past, the scent of the month in AK is DEET.  I used a lot of Avon Skin So Soft and I didn’t get one bite (yay).  The fish were smaller than last year, so our “limit” didn’t weigh as much as last year, but we still brought home 3 full boxes (150 lbs) of Filets plus about 30lbs in a 4th box (180 lbs total)

It is now late September and soon time to head to Arizona!  We first will be taking the coach to Coburg for its annual service and checkup on Oct 5.  The next day, we will be driving to Newport, OR and camp at South Beach State Park till Oct 10.  Once we get back to Salem and ready the coach for travel to AZ, we will be on the road….hopefully by the 17th.

Back in Salem

Our trip back home to Salem was another great adventure. We had sun, clouds, rain, and even snow while en-route. Our worst nightmare was the wind. No matter where we were, we had wind, and most of it was a strong side wind. Driving a 40 foot coach and towing a Grand Cherokee puts us at about 65 feet long, and the coach being almost 12 feet tall just makes us one huge sail in the wind. The strong wind started just west of Phoenix and didn’t quit until we got into Oregon and over the Willamette Pass into Eugene.

We left Queen Valley, AZ on May 12 and our first stop was on Vicksburg Rd, at exit 45 on I-10. We pulled into the Zip fuel center to fuel up and upon leaving the fuel pumps, Ken turned too sharp and ran into one of the side guards protecting the fuel pumps (oops). He banged up our pass thru bay door and now has to get it fixed ($$$).

After the mishap, we continued on our way to the Avi Casino and RV Park at Fort Mohave south of Laughlin, NV. We stayed there for a few nights and geocached along Route 66 from Newberry Springs towards Needles. We ended up getting about 851 total caches in two days. From there, we took coach up north about an hour and stayed in Searchlight, NV at a quaint mobile home and RV Park called Crees Trailer/RV Park. We stayed there three nights and geocached in the hills north of Searchlight and even drove over to Primm on I-15 for more caches. We found about 75 caches while there.

After Searchlight, we drove on to Hawthorne, NV and stayed at Whiskey Flats RV Park for 3 nights. We were hoping to drive the Jeep up the back way into Yosemite National Monument via Tioga Pass Rd, but the road was closed due to a huge snow fall. They said the highway was in the process of being plowed, but with all the repair work to be done, it wouldn’t open till mid June. Since we couldn’t get into Yosemite, we took a drive around June lake and totally enjoyed the sights and, YES, we also geocached while there.  The first picture is of June Lake from above, and the rest are different views around June Lake Loop Road.  It really is a beautiful spot and we so understand why a couple of our friends like to spend their summer there.

This really is a real slot machine buried in cement with plaque explaining it's history!

After we left Hawthorne, NV, we drove coach on to Reno/Sparks, NV to spend some quality time visiting with our relatives there. We did not do any major caching while there, but did pick up a few caches near Sparks Marina RV Park (where we stayed). We had a great time showing our aunt & uncle what a geocache looked like. When we took them out to dinner a couple times, there just happened to be a geocache very close to where we ate, so had to show them what we do for fun (grin). We also had dinner at our cousins house one night and saw a geocache about 450 feet from their house…of course, we and the cousins had to go in search and find it.

We left Reno just as the weatherpeople were predicting a huge winter storm heading that way. Yep, we got caught in part of it while crossing over Sage Hen Pass between Susanville, and Alturas on hwy 395. Snow and rain mix were pretty heavy for a while, but again, the worst part was the wind. We ended up making it to Oregon and stopping at the KlaMoYa Indian Casino on Hwy 97 for one night. The temperature that night went down to 35 degrees (brrr). We got home on May 30 just in time to say a huge happy birthday to Leigh, our daughter, who turned '40 something.' She is a beautiful lady, mother, grandmother, and above all our special girl!!  We love her very much!!

Now as I sit here typing this blog, it is raining outside.  Bummer, all I see in the forecast for the next few days is rain! However, they say the temps will actually start to rise sometime next week and actually may get up in the high 70s (wow). This is the end of May, so hopefully, there will be lots of sun to come in June!!

It's that time again.

It’s that time again! We are getting ready to pull out of here on May 12 and slowly work our way back to Salem, Oregon.

April was a wonderfully slow and relaxed month since so many of the park’s activities were over and many residents left for their home states. We had more time to spend with great friends from Apache Junction & Florence by going out to dinner with them and even having some BBQs at their places. We will miss them a lot while we are gone!!

Ken & I did take the Wrangler out several times for some fun Jeeping & Caching adventures. We explored a lot of old roads that we hadn’t been on before and discovered a lot of great places. We only saw two Rattlesnakes and one Bull Snake this whole season, but we did get a very close up and personal shot of a Gila Monster on one of our last drives. He was not happy that we were invading his space, but did take the time to pose for us.

Because there wasn’t that much rain this year, the wild flowers didn’t pop out like they have in the past.  The majority of cacti were late in blooming, but the huge Saguaro's bloomed right on schedule mid April.  This arm was low enough that we were able to walk up to it and look right into the blooms.  Aren't they gorgeous?

April was a strange month for temperatures.  It hit 100 on the first (April fools) and by the 9th it was back to 55 and rain.  It only rained one day then it turned dry and started heating up again.  Thankfully, with the warm dry days, we had wonderfully cool evenings.  We did get back up in the high 90s, but mostly we were in the mid to high 80s.  Because of the varying temperatures, there was a lot of wind.  So much wind and high gusts that we couldn’t leave the awnings out.  That has all changed and now for May it’s turning hot!  Yesterday, May 4 it hit 100 and it looks like it’s going to stay in the triple digits today and thru the weekend.  We leave on the 12th and are hoping that the temps don’t get much higher…. Of course, Laughlin, Nevada is usually hotter than it is here in Queen Valley.  Thank God we have 2 heat pumps that work very well.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone.  IF you go out this evening, please stay safe and drink sensibly!!

April Fools

This has got to be wrong, April 1 already?  WOW, only one more month and we will be getting ready to head back to Oregon.  I must be getting senile because I have no idea where the time has gone!!

We’ve been Jeeping & Caching a lot more this season, plus taking part in all the regular resort activities, which are way too numerous to mention here.  It seems like there was something going on, in and around the park every day, and we had to start saying no to more activities than we were saying yes to.  Also, we took more time this season visiting with and enjoying our geocaching friends.  We even met some very good friends for dinner several times and visited with other friends & acquaintances’ at geo events.

Of course, Ken continued working in the Lapidary Shop preparing his “rocks” for making belt buckles & pendants as gorgeous additions to his spectacular beaded jewelry.  In February, he had three tables set up of gorgeous jewelry for sale at our resort’s annual craft fair.  He sold some and took orders for more!!

Our geocaching was a way to get out more with the Jeep Wrangler and find old roads that we haven't been on before.  We did go out by ourselves a lot, but when we knew we were heading for some extremely tough roads, we had another couple go with us.  Along with the Jeeping & Caching, we hiked.  When there was a decent trail, I hiked and enjoyed it, but when it became boulder hopping and beating the brush, I called it quits (grin) and let Ken do it.

So far this season, we’ve only seen one huge Rattlesnake, and that was while we were happily in the Jeep.  It was quite large and very unhappy to have us disturb his “warming” in the middle of the road.  No, we didn’t have the camera with us and, of course, our cell phones were turned off (no reception) so no pictures.

So here it is April 1 already, and the weather is heating up.  In fact, we are supposed to be close to triple digits this weekend.  Supposedly, it won’t stay that way, but we will have to wait and see.  There are some wildflowers and cacti blooming, but because of the lack of rain this year, it isn’t a sea of colors like last year.  The huge Saguaro’s are starting to bud.  They will be breaking into bloom in the next few weeks.  I think the Saguaro bloom (state flower) is the most spectacular of all the cacti blooms.  It just doesn’t look real. 

The Resort’s activities have pretty much come to an end, with just a few things more happening before Easter.  Many residents have left or are in the preparation of leaving.  Yes, there are many like us that won’t be heading back to their homes till May and a very few that will stay all year long.  We plan on leaving around the second week of May, unless the weather stays at 100 or below, then we may leave later.  Right now, even though it’s getting warmer, the nights are cool and refreshing.  It’s wonderful to have the cool breeze in the evening and listening to the Coyotes howl at night.  Oh how we love the remoteness of this resort!!

We have friends, who live in Washington, arriving today.  They have been staying in southern AZ for the last two months and now are heading home.  They plan on stopping here for the weekend and visiting with us before their trek home.  As I said earlier, it's going to be one hot (98 degree) weekend, but we plan on having fun.

Happy April everyone!!!

January is over

Another month has gone by and we can’t believe we only have three more till we leave AZ. So much has been going on that I won’t go into a lot of details, but will say we have been having lots of fun and plan on continuing to have fun. We had a nice month of clear & sunny (sometimes cold) days with rain coming only on the very last day of the month. It was so completely different than what we had last year. So far, we have been pretty dry and the rain we got hardly settled the dust.

On January 4, our daughter called and said her car had been broken into. It seemed to be quite random since a huge amount of cars on their side of town were broken into. Sadly among the things stolen were our house keys plus our burglar alarm key fob. Thank goodness our address was not with the keys and we guessed/hoped the thief had no idea to whom the keys belonged. However, not wanting to take any chances with the alarm fob being active, Ken decided to fly back to Salem for a few days and meet with ADT to deactivate the stolen fob and change the house door locks.

Once Ken was back in AZ, we got back into park life and all the activities that go with it (many dinners, coffee socials, and lots of fun activities). We also hosted our annual ‘East Side Pot Luck’ where we provided BBQed Alaskan Salmon that we caught in September. Our neighborhood has some wonderful cooks who all brought a huge array of great food & desserts. The highlight of the afternoon was a ‘While Elephant’ gift exchange where we managed to wear off some of the calories that we all ate. As always it was a great time!

Since the days were so nice, we took time to get out in the desert with the Wrangler. It’s nice going out with a group, but mostly we enjoy taking our time and going out by ourselves just to geocache. We’ve been out Jeeping several times and have found lots of caches we haven’t been to before. Oh yeah, there are many more on rougher roads to get to.

On the 29th, we went hiking in Usery Mountain Regional Park with friends. Even though some of us were physically hurting (my knee, Dirk’s back, Kathy’s foot & shoulder), our goal was to hike the most popular Wind Cave Trail. The hike is 1.6 miles (one way) up a rocky terrain with an elevation gain of 800 feet. The trail is well marked, and in most places nice walking. It is rated at 2.5 (moderately difficult), but some areas have steep stepping spots and sometimes rough rocks. Going up was no problem, but coming down was quite painful on the knees. Even with the pain, it was a beautiful hike with some great friends.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We hope you all were blessed with a very Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful time being home for Christmas and enjoyed seeing our grandson while he was there on leave.

Our Christmas Eve was busy with several things taking place:
First we, along with most of the Pavelek clan, were at Ken’s brother’s house sharing fun stories, warm drinks, and great food. We don’t get a chance to see this side of our family very often, so it was wonderful to get together for a couple hours and get caught up on what each family is doing.

Secondly, later that evening, we went to our daughter’s house where our immediate family had gathered. This is the time when we exchange gifts and watch the five great grandkids open presents from the family (they get special gifts from Santa on Christmas morning). Of course the greats (ages 1, 2, 4, 5, & 7) were wide-eyed and very eager to tear into their packages. We had a ball watching their excitement and listening to their happy screams each time a new prize was exposed. We also were extremely pleased to let them leave the room to enjoy their new “stuff” so we adults could be in peace while opening our gifts. It really was a great time!!

Last, but not least, we celebrated the true meaning of Christmas by going to Midnight Mass and rejoicing in the birth of our Lord. It was a beautiful and joyous service!! We were tickled pink to see our niece, Larysa and nephew, Brendan in the choir playing their instruments. Brendan plays the Trumpet and Larysa plays the French Horn.  She also plays the piano, and sings. Earlier in the evening, they had given us a CD on which they had recorded several songs of them playing and singing. They did a wonderful job and we are thrilled to have it. They are two wonderfully, talented young adults!!

Christmas Day we were back at our daughters for a huge family dinner. Thankfully, the great grandkids had already opened their gifts from Santa and were happily playing with each other. We ended up with eleven adults and 5 children around two tables for dinner. Like I said earlier, it was a wonderful time spent with our family. Sadly, our two sons couldn’t join us as they both live out of state, but we were able to have some time to talk with them on the phone.

On December 27, we were once again on the road heading back to Arizona. We had been watching the mountain pass reports and knew there was going to be a lot of snow. But, we were in the Grand Cherokee and did have “Spider Spike” chains with us, so weren’t really worried. We did have packed snow part of the way, but we truly lucked out and didn’t have any problems. We made it to Susanville, CA and spent the night there. It was cold, but clear!

The next morning, we saw a report that another storm was headed our way and would be hitting California then working its way across Nevada and Arizona. Hearing that report, we decided to get across Nevada as fast as possible. We made it to Tonapah, NV about Noon and after fueling up headed for the little town of Rachel (on the Extra Terrestrial Highway). We had passed through there on our way to Oregon and cached the whole way. However, there was one group of caches we had passed on called the Alien Head. The head is comprised of 51 caches laid out in the shape of an Alien head all about .10 mile apart. It is totally meant to be walked and Ken had already done 13 of them when we came through earlier. We didn’t want to miss it, so we got close to the site and parked the Jeep. Since this area is pretty remote, and because the Jeep was packed with bunches of “stuff,” neither of us wanted to leave the Jeep alone. At 2:30, Ken left me with the Jeep and followed a well beaten path to the majority of the caches. I was close to just a few along the road and knew where he would finish, so I managed to grab some without being very far from the Jeep and met him as he was finishing up about 4:30. We still had another hour to get to Alamo where we stopped at the Windmill Ridge and had a wonderful dinner. After dinner, we made the choice to continue driving for Las Vegas and ended up staying in North Vegas at a Comfort Inn very close to Nellis AFB. We both were beat but happy the weather was still clear.

On December 29, we were on the road early and made good time to Hoover Dam. There were clouds around, but no rain or snow. However, there was wind and a lot of it. We were on the new road/bridge that spans high above Hoover Dam and the wind was horrid. Even in the Jeep we were being pushed sideways. I sure wouldn’t want to be up there in the motorhome when the wind was blowing like that. After we crossed the span and were headed down out of the canyon, we started seeing sprinkles of rain on the windshield. By the time we got to Kingman, Arizona, it was raining hard. We did experience rain/snow mix while on I-40, but got out of it on the way down in elevation toward Wickenberg. It was a white knuckle drive in the pouring rain as we got closer to Phoenix and Mesa. The drivers were just crazy, cutting in and passing in dangerous areas. Finally, we made it through the freeway system onto hwy 60 and made our way to Queen Valley arriving about 2:45 pm. What a relief to finally be back at the coach and out of that traffic.

The heavy rain lasted another day, but the wind continued for a couple more days. It was gusting here enough that Christmas decorations from neighboring coaches and homes were being blown all over the place. After it quit raining it turned very cold! We had three days of very cold “freezing” temps. It was cold enough at night that Ken turned the outside water off to keep it from freezing. Thankfully, we have plenty of water on board, so it wasn’t a problem. We didn’t get anything like northern Arizona got and is still getting. They had lots of snow and sub freezing temps. Flagstaff was/is soooo cold that many places have had pipes burst.  This is a picture of our park's fountain mid morning as the ice is melting. 

Ken & I rang in the New Year like OLD champs.  First, we played cards with some friends & neighbors. After we were back home, Ken watched China’s New Year celebration then at 10 headed to bed.  I stayed up till Midnight, but was in bed at 12:02 am.  Yes, I did watch the ball drop, but once that was over, I was off to dream land.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!