We are back in Arizona after spending a very nice “dry”
three weeks in Salem for Christmas. We
heard that for Oregon it was the driest December since 1877. It was cold, but we had sun every day. Could not have asked for better!! It was not so in Arizona. While we were gone, they got a lot of rain and
the desert is nice and green!
December 4, we flew out of Mesa Gateway airport on Allegiant
Air back to Eugene, Oregon. Our daughter and her husband were there to pick us
up and take us home to Salem. The flight
was only 2 hours, 28 minutes and very comfortable. I surely would recommend that airline to anyone
wanting inexpensive and simple. We spent the next few days getting our house
ready for Christmas. I put up and
decorated a tree, while Ken put lights up outside. While home, we did the usual stuff; shop, eat
out, visit friends & family, shop, and eat out some more. Yes, we had to also pack what we would be
taking back to Arizona with us. Since we
didn’t tow the Grand Cherokee to Arizona with us, we were preparing to pack it
up for our return trip.
Christmas Eve and Christmas day are times for love and
family. We spent both days with our
family and loved every minute we were with them. On Christmas Eve, we spent a couple hours
with the Paveleks for food, drink, and lots of visiting. From 8:30 to 11 we were at our daughters to
watch the great grandkids open their gifts from everyone. After the little ones were done, we spent the
rest of the evening exchanging gifts with rest of family. At 11:15 Ken & I were at church to
celebrate the true reason for Christmas at Midnight Mass. A long day, but so worth it!! Christmas Day is when Santa visits the little
ones very early in the morning, so we stayed home till Noon, then went back
over to our Daughters for a wonderful afternoon and dinner. It was a wonderful day!!
Two days later, we had the tree down and all the Christmas
decorations put away. Finally, on
December 28, the Jeep was loaded, the alarm set, and all the services turned
off. We left Salem around 11:30 while
the weather still was nice. That night
it was supposed to start raining. We
were fortunate to make it across the mountain pass while it was still clear and
have a somewhat sunny drive to Susanville, California where we spent that
night.
December 29, we left Susanville and made it to Tonopah,
Nevada and checked into the Best Western for three nights. Our plans were to geocache along highways 6
& 375 (known as the Extraterrestrial Highway) where over 1,500 caches are
hidden. We spent the next three and a
half days caching and found all 1,500 caches, plus many more that weren’t part
of the “ET Run.” Most of that time, we
were on dirt roads and we along with the Jeep were covered with dust. Our poor “white” Grand Cherokee was a dirty
brown inside and out.
For New Year’s Eve, we had dinner then spent the night at
the Windmill Ridge Restaurant & Lodging.
It’s a wonderful restaurant and the rooms (cabins) are very nice. Both of us were so tired from the caching
that we didn’t stay up to see the New Year come in. We were both sound asleep by 7:30 pm.
The next morning, January 1, 2012, we were on the road at 6
am. Of course, when we crossed over the
border from Nevada into Arizona, we lost an hour because of the time change. Even with that, we were in Queen Valley by 3
pm. It was wonderful to get off the road
and back into our coach. The work began
when we started unloading the Jeep and trying to find a place to put
everything. Thank Goodness, we have two
sheds here!
Since being back in Queen Valley, we are back into the swing
of park life and trying to fit all the activities in. It seems there is something going on every
day and we really have to pick and choose what we really want to do. Since we have been coming down so many years,
we have done most everything, so this year we are taking things much
easier. Ken is still spending time in
the Rock Shop, but not as much as in years past. We plan on doing more off road trips and more
caching and less group partying. The
weather has been wonderful since we got back.
The days are in the high 60s (low 70s) and the nights are dipping in the
high 30s, so we’ve had the heater on a few times. As for rain, we may or may not get some this
next weekend, but that is just a possibility.
We wish you all a very Happy New Year!!!!
