Operation Crazy Horse Roundup

 Well my Mother has always had a love of horses and we have been pleading with her to scale back operations since she has gotten into her 80's. All to no avail, she had actually gotten hold of not one but two stallions while we were gone from our last visit. So it seems that her intentions were to keep the horse operaton going until she was just physically unable to do it any longer. 

That finally happened this spring. She had a filly that she was going to sell and so it needed its shots. She had Robert help her load the horse and take it to the vets at Silver City.  In order for the vet to work with it she had to have a halter on it.  So she got Robert to hold it with a rope around the neck. Meanwhile she got into the trailer with the filly and attempted to put a halter on it.

This filly had not been worked with and so it was very skittish. Mom fell which excited the horse even more and it began jumping - fighting to get loose. It landed on Mom's leg several times.  Breaking the leg just below the knee.  What made this worse was that she has artifical knees and it broke at a diagonal across where the joint was inserted into the bone.  So she initially went to a hospital right there in Silver City.

They did not have the expertise to work with this and so she was transferred to Las Cruces. A surgeon put a fixator on her leg to stablize it.  A series of rods and pins from the thigh down to the foot. It locked her leg in position so that it could heal. The surgeon warned us that if the bone did not knit there was chance that her leg could actually be amputated. 

Moreover, lack of bloodflow from swelling had killed a muscle that goes down the front of the leg.  This muscle moves the foot up and down - so no more driving. The surgeon also warned us that at her age, the leg would heal slowly and the remaining muscles may not recover 100%. With her COPD and other health problems, she needed to live closer to medical care - not in the middle of the desert.

She did say that we needed to have a fire sale with the horses. So she saw that we needed to get rid of them. I did try to sell some locally by contacted the local FFA. I got a few tire kickers, but no one actually came out to look at them. I knew that there are few local buyers for these horses, quarterhorses are the preferred breed for the ranches as they are a working horse.  The Peruvian Paso horses are a gaited horse and so there just isn't much demand for them.  

Meaning that buyers would most likelly be several states away.  So transportation and logistics would be a problem. They would all need shots to go out of state.  Most of the horses had not been worked with, so we would have the same problem that Mom had - how to get halters on unbroken horses. It would have been a long summer of wrangling horses if I had followed her plan. Sure she would lose the money from the sales of the horses, but none of them were that valuable.  Plus, she was spending around $2500 per month on hay and so forth. So in year, the saving from not buying hay and feed would more than pay for the horses.  Finally, even if we got experienced horse people out there to work with the horses, there would be a liablity issue if someone else got hurt.

So I made a few phone calls and found a horse rescue place to take them all.  We were planning on taking the oldest Palimino and her colt back to Ohio with us. So far, so good - or so we thought. The horse rescue place put out photo's of the horses and let some people know what would be coming soon. One of the people happened to be a friend of Mom's and immediately sent out a bat alert that someone was trying sell her horses. It became a crap storm after that.

Mom was furious and called me from the hospital.  We actually got into a shouting match over the phone.  People were wanting to come pick up horses but I refused to let them do it as I had already signed a contract with the rescue folks and also because of the above reasons.  I got some hate messages on facebook messenger.  

Someone even got Becky's phone number and sent threatening messages to her.  They spoofed a bogus number from Nebraska and said that if don't stop what you are doing, you will be dead!  Later Mom said someone was coming to get a horse. I told her a truck was pulled in front of the gate and that I had a 9mm pistol if they got past that.  Things had gotten that bad. People were even threatening the horse rescue people.  All this commotion for a bunch of horses! 

It seems that nothing is easy when it comes with dealing with issues related to Mom. So the day came for the horse rescue to load the horses.  The 1st trailer was loaded and pulled to the side.  However someone forgot to latch the gate to the trailer. The horses began to ease out.  A teenaged son tried to be a hero and rush to the gate and shoo them back. They rolled him over, but luckily he escaped injury. 

Well we joked, that 1st trailer was just practice. We finally got them all loaded and off they went. A few days later we suspect that someone was posing as a brand inspector called us and threatened that if we tried to move the Palimino and the colt to Ohio we would be fined.  Well by that time we were done. So we got hold of another horse rescue place to take the last 2 horses as the 1st bunch were finished. 

It was a younger guy and he was not experienced pulling a trailer. Even though the address is on the front of the property, he turned into the place next door and had to turn around. By that time it was dark.  But loading the horses was not a problem.  We watched as he left with a feeling of relief.  Which lasted for about 30 seconds as he missed a turn in the driveway and began heading across the mesquite to the mountains! I franticly ran down the drive waving a flashlight to get him to stop. He went well over 100 yards before he realized his mistake.

His girlfriend was not much help in directing him to back up so I helped as best I could.  It probably took a good 30 minutes to get him out of his predictament.  I walked him out to the gate so that he wouldn't have any more drives into the brush. When I saw his trailer lights on the highway North of Rodeo I finally relaxed.

We stayed another day or two to get things set as far as a security camera and better locks, then we left. Becky had done some cleanup intially, but after the big blowup we halted any work on the house.  Much later Mom came around, still not pleased about everything but maybe more resigned to the fact that she could not return to her previous life. So we at least have a truce.  The plan is to move Mom to Houston close to Heather when she is recovered enough to be moved. But I have never seen people get so riled up about a bunch of horses in my life.

2022 Western Trip

 

Wild West trip 2022

Well the 1^st day of our trip was not too hateful. A little snow towards evening in Missouri, but it did not stick to the road. It was a bit cool in the trailer, even with the heater on it was like 56 degrees F. But the 2^nd day of our trip it took a turn for the worse.

We eventually found ourselves broken down in, of all places, Broken Arrow, OK. How about the irony of that. I had been having an on again and off again problem with the pickup truck. Back in October it went into limp mode and I pulled it over and turned it off and then back on. It took off like there was no problem. It happened like every 2-3 weeks before we left. I contacted the dealership and they said without an error code, they could not diagnose the problem.

Well it happened on the trip and this time it threw an errorcode and the check engine light came on. We googled the nearest dealership and drove to a Quality Inn close by, as of course we break down on a Sunday and a thousand miles from home. The motel was nice though, I told them our quandary and they comped us with a room with a Jacuzzi, so that helped raise our spirits a bit.

Another bright spot in all this turmoil was that Zach got to stay in a motel room all by himself for the 1^st time ever. He was absolutely elated at the prospect. We joked afterward that he was probably jumping on the bed across the hall. We do suspect that he stayed up late watching tv, as he was hard to wake the next day.

The day we went to the dealership. Loose air intake, you are good to go and only a $75 fee. Not bad we thought – quick and cheap. Well it was too easy, we got down the highway like 10 miles and the same exact thing happened. Back the dealership. This time he cleaned the Mass Air Flow sensor. He said that he could drive it, or if we wanted to chance it we could just head out. We opted to gamble and just head out. With the same result after 10 miles or so.

So now he is completely changing out the MAF, so we are waiting for that to be done and tested before we can leave. Well the MAF was not it either. As they go down their checklist the next thing that could be wrong was the transmission – what luck! It is under warranty, but the problem is that due to covid it could be a month or better before a new transmission comes in! We like the Tulsa area – but not that much.

So we slept on it and considered our options. The general manager did say that one thing to think about was buying a new one and trading in the used one. They had no loaners and renting a truck was going to be expensive. The cheapest we found was $29 per day, but .59 cents per mile. We were like a thousand miles from Rodeo, NM. So like $1200 in mileage alone just to get to and from.

So I decided to pull the trigger on a new truck. It was a limited selection as the 2022's were not in and there were just 3 2021 model trucks on the lot. I did check with the other dealership in town and they had 4 Titans.

I decided to splurge just a bit. We have been frugal a good bit of our lives and I decided to live a little bit. There was a tricked out truck on the lot and it had a sun roof, fancy rims and running boards. And importantly it came with a towing package. Sort of a cowboys Cadillac. It was red which isn't my favorite color but we could get in and go. Some of the trucks lacked running boards or a towing package. So we would have lost more time – and money getting everything set the way that we needed.

It was a low pressure sales environment where the salesmen are paid by the hour. But there was still a bit of negotiation. I was able to get more on my trade-in than they initially asked. And they were trying to get me to pay sticker because new truck supplies are low due to covid. But I pointed out the online price – which was about 5K cheaper and mentioned that it was last years model. Anyway we arrived a figure that worked for both of us. A compromise is when everyone leaves the table a little unhappy.

So we resumed our trip after the interruption. We were about an hour from Deming when we blew a tire on the trailer. Our run of luck continued apparently. Thank goodness for the tire sensor we got for the trailer when we purchased it. This was the 2^nd time it alerted us to a problem – we would not have had a clue either time. By this time, I am getting good at changing the tire. It was like 20 to 30 minutes and we were rolling again.

First stop was Rockhound state park, you are allowed up to 6 pounds of rocks per person. Becky is all about rock hunting, so we did that in the morning. They had an old weathered display that had samples of the types of rocks to look for and their names. The problem was that like a third of the rock samples had been pried out and about half of the tags were too weathered to read or were missing. I shrugged my shoulders and figured that if a rock looked pretty to you, then it was a gem.

We were on the Jasper trail and did find some Jasper and a few other interesting rocks. We visited a winery and a nice Mexican restaurant (Irmas) while we were there. The wine was good and the restaurant was a nice little place with good food. The waitress was nice and it was a good way to end the night. Sometimes those small, out of the way places have the best food.

Finally we were headed to Rodeo and the ranch. We caught up with Mom and found out what all she had been up to and we exchanged the same with her. Zach got to show off his driving skills the 1^st day. Mom needed hay and so we jumped into the Tacoma and went to her hay guy to pick up 10 bales. I did back it up to the wagon, but Zach drove it otherwise.

We did mend some fences and get the pens to where they would actually hold horses. We moved the one stallion to a new pen. A few days later one of the mares got into heat and got him into a lather. The pen has a steel tube gate – which he bent the top half into an 'L” folding it over. He was not far from getting out when I spotted what was going on and so I put a 4 X 4 piece of lumber across the top of the opening to keep him in. I bought a heavier gauge tubular gate to replace it in Las Cruces when I visited a friend there.

My sister, Heather, visited for a spell - it was her 1st trip to the ranch. She was not enamored with the desert. Dusty dirt roads and the remoteness did not agree with her. But she did get to play tourist. We went to Tombstone and the Bisbee copper mine. She flew into Tucson and played tourist there before she left. That was all well received, and she enjoyed that part of the trip. She did have a talk with Mom about getting serious on reducing the herd of horses. It is too much for her and I likewise gave a similar talk to Mom before I left. Time will tell if talk becomes action.  She has maintained all along that after this birthday she would shrink the operation down or maybe sell out completely.

Heather did make a courageous drive on her way back to Tucson to catch the plane home. Coronado National Forest is just across the border in Arizona. She was interested in the scenery and stopped at a couple of monuments.

We had driven the loop the last time we came out West. So I warned her that might be like 200 feet of guard rail on the whole route. Dirt roads, sometimes with snow and mud on them and then some places with 1000 foot drop offs. I didn't want to scare her off by painting too dire of a picture, but I also wanted to paint an accurate portrayal of what was ahead.

She was able to complete the trip and did have one place where an off road vehicle with big tires climbed partially up the side of the mountain to give her room to pass. She did say that it was beautiful, and that yes it was scary in places. I joked that that should give a medal to drivers that make the journey – and survive!

We spent a day and a night in Las Cruces to visit a friend, Manfred, that we had met in Eaton. He owned a business that was a coffee shop during the day and had musical acts come in and perform at night. He did a good job of promoting the business and it was a fun place to visit. So when we found out that he was in Las Cruces we had to make the trip to see him again.

He is an immigrant from Germany that has found success here in the states. And he still works hard to make a living. He traveled America for awhile after leaving Eaton and has a book and is putting together a movie about his experiences during his period of travel. The theme of the movie is about how we are so polarized as Americans here as of late and are pulling apart. He is filming from the middle and is showing both sides.

It was a good visit. He had a G rated painting at a local exhibition named 'Erotica'. I am pretty open minded so I didn't see anything there to offend. There was a range of art – paintings of course, 3d printing which was novel. Uses of everyday articles and implements to make artistic works. So it was interesting. I am not a good judge of art, so we didn't buy anything. Manfred took us to lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant and we had a good time talking about his projects and both of our travels. He is doing some work in Morocco soon, so he will be off on another project soon. It was fun to catch up with an old friend.

We had a good time in Willcox, AZ.  Went to the hotsprings (105 out of the ground) and both of us got a massage.  We ate at a very nice restaurant there in Stafford, AZ.   Did some antiquing and visited some wineries - all in a good 3 days to ourselves.  Which I needed after dealing with Moms horses just before we left.

So 3 are going to Utah - the new owners have paid money and so I will be delivering - leaving March 3 and getting there in the afternoon of the 4th.  Maps says 12 hours, but with stops for water and rest it will take longer.  I get half my payment on load and half when I arrive.

I was able to get the target horses into pens.  But loading them took 3 hours.  We needed to have halters on them for the vet.  So that was a challenge as we had to both halter them and load them. We put the 2 (full grown) geldings in first and Mom actually got into the trailer with them and haltered them - and one had never had a halter on him before (Ramblin Man)! He will be mentioned in this story again...

Then we had the filly to load.  Mom said that the key was to get the mare in first and the filly would follow. But the mare was difficult, it seemed to take forever to get her in, but the filly did follow. We did halter the mare, but it was dark by the time we finished and so no time to halter the filly.

So the next day, we get to the vets about 2 hours away in Silver City. 6 people are in front of us, finally it is our turn.  They say we can unload them and tie them to the trailer.  I told them that would not work, that they needed to be corralled as they had not been worked with much.

We unloaded and they told us to go grab a lunch and they should be done by the time we got back.  With any other horses but Moms that would have been true. We get back and they can't do the filly because they can't catch it.  Rambling Man got out of his halter and this poor guy was trying to catch him in the pen. It's a mess.

So they are ready to give up.  Mom says load the 2 geldings back into the trailer and she would halter Rambling man again.  The assistant states that he does not think this is a good idea. But again she gets into the trailer with 2 geldings and although I helped a little through the sides, she manages to get him haltered again!  Vet comes out and does her thing and he is done.

Becky said that while I was holding the horse and the vet was giving shots, Mom looked very fatigued and was leaning with her head against the trailer getting her breath back. I am hopeful that all of this is teaching her that this whole horse thing is too much.

rambling man is going to a woman that wants him for her grandkids to ride - I joked to Becky that she must not like her grandkids, he is very skittish. Pedro is the other gelding, he lead well and was not much of a hassle - he will do well at his new home. He is a smart horse and has a good personality. The personality of the filly is good, but it just needs to be worked with.

So I told Becky that from Tuesday to Friday in Willcox that I did not want to talk or think about horses.  We got back today and Mom has released them from their pens!  They have to be caught all over again!  Needless to say, I was not happy to see that, I couldn't believe it.  She said it was too expensive to buy the small round bales and so that was the reason they were let loose :-(   

On the plus side, Zach is getting to be a regular ranch hand.  I thanked him for his help - and he did well in getting the horses loaded and held the one gelding while we worked around with the other.  He seemed pretty proud when I told him that he  was getting to be a regular cowboy.

Although I did have a teachable moment when I saw that he had the rope wound around his arm while he was holding the one gelding in the trailer. I told him that the gelding is a thousand pound animal and that if it spooked, it could jerk the rope against the steel sides of the trailer and splinter the bones in his arm the way that he had the rope all wound around his arm. I showed him how to wind the rope around a steel cross bar to get leverage and then hold the rope in away that it would not pull his arm or hand against the trailer. Oh, and to always hold a rope with gloves so that you don't get rope burn – I learned about that the hard way when I was a youngster.

Becky went with me on this horse delivery trip. I was worried as I try to keep expenses down by sleeping in the truck instead of a motel and so with her bad back that could be problematic. But on the other hand it is nice to have someone with you to share the experience and also to help chronicle the trip. She did manage to take a lot of photo's of the landmarks we saw coming and going. But surprisingly she slept OK back wise in the truck.

On the way up we had a quick burst of excitement. We were traveling through a reservation on a 2 lane highway. There were 3-4 vehicles behind us and oncoming traffic was about the same. All of a sudden the 2^nd oncoming car whips out into our lane and goes to pass the car in front of him. I swore and started to press the brakes. Becky looked up in time to see a black sedan coming right at us!

Just a split second before I applied full brakes, he swung his vehicle back into his lane. Then we saw the reason he was in such a hurry – a cop in hot pursuit. The cop was likewise dodging cars as he whistled by with lights and siren. But what a mess that could have been with the 4 horses in the trailer. Becky burst into tears from the experience – it was so close to being a catastrophe.

We finally made it up to Utah to drop off the horses at the trainers. I think they are in good hands. The trainer is one of those people that just seems to have a way with horses. The slow, gentle way that moved around the horses and the gentle tone of his voice reminded me of the way that my Mother works with the horses. I asked him if he needed a hand getting the halter on the 1^st horse, he already had it haltered and was gently leading it off the trailer. The rest were offloaded with no incident. With the unloading and the paperwork done, we headed back to New Mexico.

But not so fast, we had another incident and again on an Indian reservation, this time the Navajo one. I saw a piece of something black fly out of the corner of my eye. Then I looked in the rear view mirror in time to see a trailer tire shred up - pieces of rubber were flying everywhere. So I had a flat to fix.

Just ahead I saw a sign for a Baptist church. I figured they would have a big parking lot and so it would a good place to replace the tire. But when I pulled the tire off, the hub was unnaturally low to the ground. When I looked closer, I saw that the leaf spring had broke. No 30 minute fix here, it was going to take some work.

Fortunately, some volunteers were cleaning at the church and saw our plight. They gave us a couple of burritos and told us about a Navajo Trailer Sales and Service place about an hour away in Gallup, NM. They had the spring, but they closed in an hour and 15 minutes. So we had to scoot to make it before they closed.

We got there in time and got the spring for a decent price. Then we had to buy a bale of hay as we had fed the last of the hay that morning, figuring we would be home by nightfall. We saw a flea market and at one end of it there were several sellers of hay with either flat bed trailers or trucks filled with various types of hay. We just needed a single bale, but they had big bales – they were the size of 3 or 4 of regular sized bales that I remember chucking around in my youth. We bought one and it was like $18. More hay and more pricier than I needed, but any port in a storm.

When I got back, I found out that the hardest work laid ahead. The 4 bolts that held the spring to the axle were not much of a problem. But the bolts that held the shackles to the frame were rusty and fine threaded. Using a breaker bar, I had to bear down and could only manage about a ¼ turn at a time. It was tedious and hard work. I was close to just calling it quits for the day and seeing if I could get a cut off saw from a hardware store to cut off the bolts. But the nearest hardware store was an hour away and it was creeping towards dusk.

Anthony was a Navajo who used to work bus maintenance for the local school district. He is 74 years old and he stopped by to see how things were going. He went home to get some tools after assessing the situation and came back with the tools and his grandson.

Then a truck and a van pulled up. The truck had a huge flatbed trailer which I later found out had been loaded down with building materials. One of the guys walked over to ask what was up. I explained my plight and in minutes we were surrounded by these guys from Somerset, KY. They had come to the reservation to put up a building for the church – and they had tools. One of these tools was a cordless impact wrench. So between the tools that Anthony had brought and what the work crew had there was enough to get the job started.

In minutes they had the old bolts off. Then they had the new spring on, things were happening fast – it was like watching a nascar pit crew. Becky came out of the truck and was in tears. “I prayed that my husband would not get hurt fixing this trailer and my prayers were answered – thank you so much.”

Some would say it was serendipity and others would say that things happen for a reason. It was a 714 mile trip and the blowout happened about 200 yards from the church. A church where a work crew was arriving that afternoon. All that I can say is that I was inspired and it renewed my faith. Right now Ukraine is being attacked, but an event like this reaffirms my belief in humanity and somewhere, somehow that there is god that works in ways we don't always understand.

It was too late to get back on the road and we were a short drive away from a town with 2 hotels, so we drove there to stay the night. We had to stay at the Navajo Hotel of course. The next morning we get up – to 4 inches of fresh snow! The forecast had been for a dusting, but we got that and a lot more.

It was slow going at first but after about an hour we got out of the worst of it and before long we made it to where it had not snowed at all. We were able to make decent time. We did make a detour on the trip. There is a place called the Valley of the Gods in Utah that was not too far out of our way and we were able to go around the edge and see a good bit of it.

We were not able to drive through it as we came across a sign that warned that vehicles with trailers past like 20 feet were not allowed. Not wanting to take any more chances we turned around at a ranch and just looked over the edge into the valley. Pretty impressive even from a distance.

Zach was able to get in a boatload of driving. He drove to the post office most every day and we let him drive on longer and longer trips. Driving Miss Susan, we joked. His longest trip was a 3 hour (one way) drive to Las Cruces to get the Toyota to the dealership for maintenance and he even had to drive back at night. He accidentally exited the highway at the wrong exit when he was hugging the right side and drove a little slowly once it was fully dark on the 2 lane highway, but he got everyone home safely on all of his trips.

We did make a side trip to Tuscon. It is not all that far from Mom's place and it wasn't too bad of a drive. We stayed in an Airbnb and checked out the area over a long weekend. We had to visit a rock shop for Becky. There are tons of rock shops in the area and I can see why. During my walks in the neighborhood I saw fools gold, many varieties of quartz, and so forth. The backyard of the Airbnb had some interesting specimens that you could find just walking around.

We ate at several of the restaurants as we had heard good things about the food in Tuscon and we were not disappointed. We got to see the desert museum and all of the cacti. It was worth the visit.

Another side trip we did was to Shakespeare ghost town.  At one time it had 3000 residents when silver was found there.  It had a few more booms and busts and now the population is 3.  But the current owners have done a good job of preserving the past.  Many rustic buildings and stories are to be found there.  We enjoyed the place, it was well worth the price of admission.  

One thing that I wanted to accomplish before I left was to climb one of the mountain peaks behind the ranch. The last time that I visited, I tried to climb the higher peak but I picked a bad route and ended up boxed in to where I could not go any higher without climbing back down and going an entirely different direction.

This time I went with the most direct route. It was steeper but I had a definite way to the top. It took some doing but I was finally able to make it all the way up. I rested for a spell and explored the top a little. Then it was time to head down. It was steep, so the going difficult – I had a walking stick which helped a little. But it felt good to accomplish the feat, I don't know how many more years I will have the endurance and stamina to do challenges like this.

We had one last stop in New Mexico – White Sands National Park. Found out that the white sand was actually gypsum that had leached out of the mountains. But I found that a lot of folks treated the place like a beach. As far as bringing beach chairs and laying in the sun. Youngsters (well and some adults) enjoyed riding sleds down the dunes. Found that some of the wildlife had adopted to the sand by becoming white – lizards and insects had to adapt to life on the dunes.   

It was time to head home. We stopped to visit Becky's niece in Missouri. Kris and Amanda have 4 kids and we sure can identify with them. Holding down jobs, wrangling kids, and keeping the bills paid. They have their hands full, but seem to be managing things well. They remind me of us when we were about the same age.

We had a dinner and a chat at their house. Well you have to chat – no TV in the living room. Which as you think about it, makes sense. No distractions, you have to focus and interact with each other. So a good idea all in all. A room for living, not watching.

All in all it was a very eventful trip. Lots of ups and downs but it was very satisfying, we never get tired of seeing the West.

Horsing Around

I had discussed with my mother the previous spring the idea of me delivering some horses when the current crop of foals was ready. With the drought in the West, the number of horses ordered declined. Still there were 2 horses with willing buyers ready to go this fall. Not as many as we had hoped, but still less mouths to feed in New Mexico.

Originally I was going to bring Zach and Becky. But as I worked out the math and logistics, it would take a longer time and more $$ to lug everyone around the West. I could save on motel rooms by sleeping in the truck at times and I could make my own lunches with the mini fridge. It would be a spartan few weeks, but it would be cheaper and faster. Plus there is value in being by oneself every once in awhile

So off I went on a Saturday morning. The nice thing is that the further West you go, the higher the speed limits. At some points, 80 mph. So I was able to make good time and made it out to New Mexico in 2 days. One thing that I noted was the occasional dead armadillo in Missouri. Not typically a state that you think of when you think of armadillo roadkill. I had thought their habitat was more in the SouthWest.

Well I arrived in Rodeo and rested for a day before embarking upon the 1^st destination. Had a nice meal at the Sky Island Grill – very healthy portions. Craig is a handy man that my Mother employs from time to time. The project du jour was to load up a colt into the trailer. But the colt still had to be separated from the mother. So that added a level of difficulty.

Fortunately the mare was gentle. So we got them both in the trailer by leading the mare inside. Then we had to get a rope around the neck of the colt to tie him temporarily in the trailer while we lead the mother out. Easier said than done. Craig and I had to tag team on the colt as he went from one side of his mother to the other as we tried to get a rope on him. We finally got him fastened and the mother was lead out. So step one was completed.

The next morning I left for Idaho. The owner lives just across the border in Wyoming, but the horse trainer lives in Georgetown Idaho which is about 15 miles away. We were taking him there to be halter broken.

The GPS took me on some highways that I had not been on before. So it is always nice to see new country side, particularly out West. Nice mesa's, butte's and just picturesque landscapes almost every mile. Saw some wild horses – that was pretty cool. Most were black or brown. But I saw a few with that wild mustang pattern. As it got dark on that 1^st day I started to look for a place to stop.

As it turned out the next town was on the Navajo Indian reservation. I parked behind a strip mall and got out to get in my daily walk. When I walked along the back edge of the mall where there was a fence, I discovered numerous empty pints of vodka. Apparently a favorite of Navajo youth when they want to indulge.

The people that I met in the restaurant and store were very friendly. I was walking out of the Burger King when a woman held the door open for me and said “god bless you sir.” I was taken by surprise – what I should said was - “I need all the help I can get!”, but I just quickly said “thank you” and went on my way.

On the way back, I did stop in at the Navajo “Art Center” - I add the quotes as it was not the art center that I had envisioned. Nothing hand crafted or locally made that I could see. Everything was manufactured – sure it had native Indian patterns, but nothing was handmade. I did buy Becky an Indian blanket and some incense, I figured it helped the local economy to a degree.

On the way to the drop off, I passed through a town called Soda Springs. It billed itself as a stop on the Oregon Trail. Which of course brought up memories of the Oregon Trail computer game – it felt like every other journey found you dying of dysentery on the prairie.

The trainer was nice, looked like a cowboy out of the old West. We got the colt unloaded just fine and I was on my way back to New Mexico. For some reason the GPS routed me back differently. It was getting towards dark and I found myself in mountains with hair pin curves. Was the GPS trying to kill me??? Thankfully the road straightened and I descended from the mountains to the valley below where it was smoother and the remainder of the trip back was uneventful.

Another days rest and it was time to depart, this time to Texas. We had to separate 2 horses that had been penned up as the buyer had been waffling back and forth on 1 or 2 horses, finally deciding at the last minute on 1. Surprisingly it was an easy load despite the horse not being halter broken.

But getting the trailer out of the corral was a chore. Over the years mesquite has grown in a few places and there were some fence posts in the way. So Craig and I finally had to unhook the trailer and rehook it at a different angle to get it out of there.

I was up before day break to leave. I did take a minute or two just to look at the New Mexico night time sky. No clouds and it felt like you could almost reach up and touch the stars. I looked at the milky way and just took it all in. Back to reality, I finished packing and I was off.

The terrain in West Texas was pretty much the same. Going North through New Mexico and Arizona there were a variety of rock formations and different colors. But West Texas seemed more bland in comparison. I do recall that it felt like you could drive for miles and not see any houses or anything.

There was a guy going east bound and he must have had some sort of car trouble. I saw him get out of the car with his flashers on and look around with his hands on hips. He must have been wondering “What am I going to do now!” I don't know if there were any service stations for 50 miles in either direction. I felt his pain.

I had to pass through Austin on the way to Caldwell, TX. On the West side of Austin there are more wineries than ranches. At least it felt that way. Even a place that made gin and vodka. They must party hard there in the state capitol.

I pulled up to the ranch that was the new home for the horse and the front section was dedicated to long horns. I saw about 20. Then I reached the horse barn and met the new owners. The ranch owner was a retired emergency room doctor – Glenn Cochran. He looked and spoke like Sam Elliot. Sallie was his wife and Carlos was the new owner of the horse. All were very pleasant and we conversed for a bit.

Soon it was time for me to leave and meet my sister. My father had gifted me a slot machine. But Becky did not care for it in the house at all. So I offered it to Heather since it was just sitting in the barn collecting dust. We arranged to meet at a restaurant in College Station so I could drop it off to her.

But I had time to get in an oil change, or so I thought. With all the time traveling through mountain, pacific, and eastern time zones, my time pieces were out of sync. My fitbit was still on mountain time. So I was leisurely getting stuff done, then I plugged in my laptop and looked at the time. What the...? So I did a search “what time is it in College Station, TX” It was almost time to meet at the restaurant!

I got with the manager at Jiffy Lube and explained my dilemma. They hastily completed their work and although I was fashionably late, it was better than the time I would have arrived if I had not happened to look at my computer. The visit went well and I was able to log in little driving time before dark.

I made it back to the ranch that evening and had a nice supper. That was one nice aspect to the trip. It is nice to be doted upon by your mother. At home I have to do all the cooking. She fixed breakfast and supper during my visits. And that last supper was good – salmon and mashed potatoes. I had already had T-bone steak on previous occasions. For breakfast the next day – potato pancakes. I can recall having those from time to time growing up, so it was a breakfast that fit my mood well. I have to confess, I felt a little guilty – it seemed like I should be the one cooking for her. But my belly had no complaints.

The drive home was a bit more adventurous. In Oklahoma just as I was getting tired and thinking of pulling over – it started to rain. Then rain a bit harder. Then it rained hard enough that cars and trucks were pulling to the side of the road with their flashers on. I had thoughts of calling it a night – but so did everyone else. The ramps had cars and trucks lined up on the shoulders, so I figured it best to just outrun it. The storm was going North East and I was headed due North.

I switched over to local radio to keep up with the weather since I know that Oklahoma is like the tornado capital of the world. Sure enough this radio station had a weather watcher in a car following severe weather. I am thinking “Dude, what are you doing – its not worth being out in this stuff. It's certainly not worth your life.” One of the towns they mention – Thomas, OK is an exit that I had passed not so long before.

And he is giving this play by play of rain, thunder, wind, etc. “I'm going down county road 31 to get a closer look at this storm...” You can tell the guy in the studio is getting worried. He is telling the guy to back off and keep a distance, they can see what could be a funnel in the radar. Dude finally gets the hint and pulls over. Sometimes we need to think about our life choices. I can think of lots of ways to make a living that don't involve chasing tornadoes.

I finally get to point where there is dry pavement and I start looking for a place to stop. I am really fatigued now. I pull off where there is a truck stop. But I spot a casino and I see a huge parking lot with like 10 semi-trucks parked to the back. A good a place as any and I settle back for the night. I figure if a storm pops up I can always run inside and take shelter in the mens room. And if I get insomnia maybe I hit the blackjack table.

I did wake up to the truck rocking from the wind and thunder around 3 in the morning. There was one huge thunderclap nearby and the lights went out in the town. The Casino must have had emergency generators as some of the lighting stayed on and select lights in the parking lot came back on as well. It was back to the radio station.

But it was some talk show or another and so I figured there must not be any dangerous weather with this particular system. I looked at my weather app just to be sure, but nothing obvious was on it either. I read my kindle book – Wild Bill Hickock (hey I'm, traveling out West, right!)for a bit and nodded off.

I slept in a bit the next day and then it was back on my trek to Ohio. The weather system had brought in a rainy front that lasted all through Oklahoma and Missouri. Just outside St. Louis it brightened up and dried up a bit.

When I reached Terre Haute, IN it was getting dark. I put in my thumb drive that had my favorite music on it and cranked up the volume. I wanted to keep my adrenaline up so that I wouldn't feel tired during that last sprint across Indiana. Some old stuff, some new stuff on that thumb drive. Metallica to Brooks and Dunn to Imagine Dragons to Muddy Waters to Aurosmith to Frank Sinatra.

I pulled in front of the house around 10:15 or so in the evening. Sat there for a moment and reflected on the trip. It was nice to have some 'me' time to reflect on things. The West is always spiritual so there is a calming, peaceful feeling to it. Now it is back to the grind and reality – time to eat my own cooking.

Things I Would Say

 Becky and I stumbled across this letter in an old abandoned house.  It was written by a woman who was nearing the end of her life.  A lot of what she has to say has meaning to those of us still alive.  It is kind of sad in a way because we don't think that who ever she meant to have read it, ever saw it. The place was more or less intact and had been empty for 10-15 years.  It was left in a stack of papers in a drawer, along with a bunch of pictures and so forth.  But I thought that I would share it here so that all who read it can think about what she is saying pertains to their life.  The main message that I get is to not worry about the past - or the future.  Live in the now.

The Woods

 Went to Dad's today to help him clear out some fence line for the calves that he plans to buy this fall.  While working I stopped to take a break.  I was next to the woods that surround the house.  By moving slightly I could block the view of the house and see the woods as I saw it 50 years ago.  When cowboys and Indians, civil war soldiers and lumber jacks ran amongst the tree's.  The forts and teepees that we built - all those memories came back to me. 

Flashes of memories go by - drinking water from a mason jar.  Catching minnows from a nearby creek.  The time we knocked over an old hollow tree and tried to dispatch a possum with our makeshift arrows and bows made of sticks and twine.  Somehow no one got hurt that day, and the snarling possum made a hasty get away.  Camping overnight and the thunderstorm that struck, worried parents came and picked us up.

Mighty maple and sturdy hickory trees, oh the battles they saw once upon a time.  Do they remember me as I remember them. That pile of rocks there, that was once good to hide behind. 

The boys are all gone now, some forever.  But in the woods I can still see them and hear their war whoops as they chase down Johnny Reb. 

I take another sip of water and put my gloves back on, break time is over time to get back to work. The spell is broken and its back to reality. Well to folks driving by it's just a patch of trees, but at one time it was the Woods. 

East Coast Trip 2021

We were supposed to do our east coast road trip last year, but the covid shutdowns made that impossible. So we replanned our trip for this summer and now with covid winding down (for now) we started our trip. I do have to thank my deceased uncle Vaughn for helping to make this trip possible in a way. He passed away about 6 years ago and left some money for his nieces and nephews.  At that time we put some of the money we got into a CD for this trip. The money was to be used for our and our kids expenses. We knew we would be retired around then and we had planned to do an East Coast trip as a bucket list item.

The goal was to meet our kids and their families along the way and spend time together – to try and make memories with each family as we journeyed from the Keys of Florida to Bangor, Maine. We were partially successful in that we could only meet with 2 families this year – Joe and Sam are expecting their 2^nd child in July and so they took a rain check. The timing did not work for Eric and Vanessa. Both families want to do something next year – probably at the Great Lakes. So we split the fun over 2 summers, not really a bad thing all in all.

The 1^st leg of this trip was difficult. It was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend and so the traffic was up a tick or two that Friday. Then it was rainy and the accidents started to happen. We had at least 5 different slowdowns for accidents and in some cases phantom events. We would slow down to crawl for a half hour or an hour and then all of a sudden speed up with no rhyme or reason. 

Outside of Knoxville we ran into a heavy downpour. Hard enough that traffic slowed to about 5-10 miles an hour and we turned on our flashers. The heavy rain let up but we had precipitation of some sort all through that 1^st day.

Towards the end of that day we had one of our indicators for our trailer tire pressure bark at us and then stop. Very curious. We decided to be cautious and pull over at the next exit. I spotted a big parking lot across the way, but when we turned on the street they had put concrete blocks across the entrances.

So what to do, we went a short way down the road and I spotted an odd horseshoe shaped turnaround – just big enough for the truck and trailer. In the middle there appeared to be some sort of concrete curb with weeds growing up out of it. We were able to get off of the road safely and I check the tire pressure with a gauge and it was OK, so a false alarm.

Now to get back on the road. It was still a light drizzle and at first we were going to back out. But people were starting to get off work and it was hard to find a big enough gap in traffic to back the trailer out onto the road. So Becky had the idea to just go around the rest of the horseshoe and that way we could get onto the road easier with no backing.

There was a little mud at the far apex of the horseshoe. So I gunned the engine a little to make sure we went through it OK. The horseshoe had concrete closer to the road giving way to gravel at the end furthest from the road. We felt a bump when the trailer tire caught the middle curb. The tire rode up and over... then fell with a crash! Once the tire left the curb it fell into a foot and half deep hole!

So we were in a pickle. The trailer was resting on its frame over that hole and the drivers side tires were dangling off the ground. Fortunately we had a jack and blocks of wood. So Zach and I began the process of lifting the frame off of the curb. Fortunately there was a pile of busted up concrete off to the side. We used that to put under the tires so that we had a makeshift ramp to get the trailer up and out of its predicament.

It drizzled when we began work, but as we made progress, the rain gradually went away, which helped uplift our spirits as we slowly raised the trailer to where we could back it out. After about an hour of effort we slowly gave the truck gas as we gradually backed the trailer up the ramp. It held and we were back on solid pavement. This time we were patient and waited for traffic to clear and got back on the road.

We were lucky – no major damage to the trailer. There was some sheet aluminum that filled the gap between the frame and trailer that got bent up. Nothing that an afternoon in the workshop couldn't fix once we got back home – so we were fortunate as it certainly could have been worse.

We left early for our stay in the keys in case that there were to be a breakdown. So we used a fairly new app called Hip Camp to find a cheap place to stay in our trailer for a couple of days until our reservation date was here. We selected a place in a palm grove. It was a 17 acre place in the middle of truck farms and ornamental plant growers. In each direction there were fruit growers, flower growers, palm trees, and so forth. I guess with the warm climate you can pretty much grow stuff the year around.

The owner had several peacocks, they were shy and elusive. So we could only spot them at a distance. There were some mangoes and luchins(sp) growing. The mangoes were not quite ripe, but the luchins were tasty.

Finally it was time to go to Key Largo where our campground was located. The weather was very hot and sultry. But the ocean and sky were very blue. Chelsea and Dan met us down there and set up a tent right behind the trailer.

The beaches were fair, but there had been some seaweed wash up on the shore and so on the Caribbean side beaches there was a layer of washed up seaweed that that you had to walk through in order to get to the water. Once you got there, the water was clear and pleasant. The park beaches are around a lagoon and so the waves are virtually nonexistent. Great for the kids and Becky.

One place we wanted to see was Ernest Hemingways place in Key West. We were not disappointed. Now it did take some effort to find parking. There were a few lots around, but it was a more residential area. Becky and I got lucky and found parking on a side street ½ block away. Chelsea and Dan had to park a bit farther away and had to walk several blocks.

He had a bit of coin from his books from the looks of things. Lots of carved wood, marble sinks, and so forth. The place was well furnished, I was impressed. He had a smaller second building behind the house where he did his writing. We could not enter the room, but were able to get to the entrance way and take a look around.

Found out that he could not get a permit for explosives and so they had to use picks to dig out the swimming pool in the coral rock below. At the time, it was the only swimming pool for a hundred miles. One of the reasons he moved down there was to go fishing which he did frequently.

We did see the cats with the extra paws. They were through out the house and grounds. Little Sterling went to pet one – and got scratched! To be fair she had just had an altercation with her sister and I will bet that the cat figured that it didn't want a troublesome girl to come near. I joked that we should sue the Hemingway House for damages and mental anguish and become the new owners.

Chelsea and Dan found a nice beach on the Gulf side – with no seaweed and we spent some time there. Afterwards we went to a restaurant by the ocean called Hog Heaven. It was reasonably priced and it had a great view, more importantly their food was great. Of course their specialty was Southern BBQ, but they had some seafood as well. They had a circular dock where people could tie up their small boats and grab a bit to eat. All in all a good experience.

Oh, and there was a glass bottomed boat tour to the coral reef. That was another highlight of the trip. It was true about the abundance of fish in a reef. As we slowed down we could see sand and hardly any fish. Then suddenly we were above the reef and seeing fish left and right. Even some nurse sharks and barracuda. The smaller fish were very colorful. Definitely worth experiencing.

Zach did admit to feeling a bit seasick. But he did not throw up. However on the upper deck several people were looking pretty green. The rest of us handled the ocean chop just fine.

Chelsea and Dan cut out for Miami a few days early. Even though we let them borrow a fan, it was just very hot at night. There were some little biting insects that would pester you early in the morning and late at night that were problematic for them. At the end of one day when they had played hard at the ocean and at a park, a tired and cranky Sterling protested that,“I don't want to be on vacation anymore!” We let the girls come into the AC of the trailer and lay down in our bed. to give them a respite that afternoon.

Next stop for us was Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. Another one of those bucket list things. But let me warn you – that place is expensive. $57 per adult ticket. And when you pull into the entrance – another $10 to park! They know their audience, the geeky folks willing to pay through the nose for a peek at all this, and they put a vacuum cleaner to your wallet.

I was not sure what to expect. They had rockets there of course. But we went to the Saturn/Apollo Mission area as our first big exhibit to see. That was worth the price of admission. They have you watch a short film when you arrive. Then they have the original mission control set up – and working. They go through a 3 minute countdown and launch on the live screen with the actual voices of the NASA staff. It does put you on the edge of your seat when they get to the last 10 seconds.

At launch the doors open and there is an actual Saturn rocket. You get to touch an actual moon rock which is cool. There is a lander, a lunar rover, and many other artifacts from the Apollo program. There is also a tribute to the astronauts that died in the one rocket when they were going through a drill.

Next up was the space shuttle and again there is a film and the curtains open to reveal an actual space shuttle. Lots of stuff to see and lots of activities for kids in that area. So all in all it was a good experience, we left satisfied.

Jekyll Island is a place that we had experienced in the past and enjoyed. So we included a week there as part of the trip. In the early 19^th century it was a place for rich people. Now it is a park – although there is private property inside the park. So there are motels and houses scattered amongst the marshes and trees.

Camping has been hard to find everywhere we have gone. I think that with Covid being on the wane (for the time being at least) everyone is satisfying their travel bug. So all the low priced camping places were filled up on the island and only the expensive ones are left. So we stayed at a “RV Resort” during our stay. It was not actually on the island, but an easy 15 minute drive away.

It was very nice in that the facilities were pristine and upscale. We did notice that trees were sparse and concrete was everywhere. So not like camping at Hueston woods for instance where you are on a concrete pad and surrounded by grass and trees. We noticed after the 1^st day or two that we had about the oldest rig there. All the other rigs looked to be fairly new and very nice.

So a woman was walking her dog and noticed our trailer. She said that she used to own one just like it. And that it was nice to see a “vintage” trailer still in use. We had never thought of our trailer as a vintage trailer (It's a 2003, about 18 years old). As I observed to Becky - well at least our trailer is paid for, a lot of these rigs cost $60,000 or more and I bet they will be paying for them long after they get tired of them.  

Later in the trip as I was fueling in upstate New York, a guy with a RV dealer logo on his shirt walked over remarked how he had not seen a Kiwi Too trailer in a long time and how ours was in good shape.  I thanked him and mentioned that in all of our travels we had not seen another one.  He replied that most folks did not keep up with their trailers and they end up in a scrap yard.  We keep ours under roof and I guess it helps keep it from weathering.

I did observe a novel way of fishing. I saw a guy with a drone and at first it was hard to see what he was doing. But after a bit I caught on to what he was doing. He used a drone to carry his fishing line out about a ¼ mile from the beach. Then he released the rig and brought the drone back to the beach. It got the bait way out there, further than casting it manually would have done. It was an interesting use of technology. If I tried something like that the batteries of the drone would give out and I would lose it in the drink.

Poor Zach had a rough go of it early in the trip. I tried to tell him that he needed to start wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts before we left. That way his skin would start to tan at least a little before we got into full sunlight on the beach. I had already been wearing shorts and sandals before we left and did not burn at all. Zach was a different story, he did not heed my advice and despite our efforts at getting him to wear sunblock, his lower legs and feet were burned and peeling at the keys.

Then at Jekyll Island we were at St. Andrews beach and at the South end there were some dead tree's. Guess where Zach decided to get into the Ocean – by the dead trees which had roots going out into the water. He cut his shin and forearm. So he was sore and miserable for awhile. As I write this we are in the outer banks. He is tanned and his cuts have healed. He still doesn't like very big waves in the ocean (OK with low tide or a cove), but he loves the beach.

Here is an incident that happened while going to a Walmart. Becky is handicapped and so I always go inside and get an electric scooter for her. I walk to the door and in front of me is an elderly woman and her daughter walking to the same door. A Walmart employee on an electric scooter comes out of the door and heads down the front of the store to the other set of doors.

We all converge at about the same time. The daughter asks the guy if she can have the scooter for her mother. The employee responds that I have to get this over to the other door for some one who needs it. The woman says that her mother needs it now – and she wants that scooter. She starts berating him and he is firmly but politely saying that this other person asked for it first. Then she says that she does not like his attitude and that she will report him to his manager.

I am thinking to myself, wtf – this poor guy is probably making minimum wage and is simply doing what his boss told him to do. In other words just a poor schmuck trying to earn a living. This lady has to be a jerk about it and give him a hard time.

So I go around the little side show and go into the store. There I see a single scooter by the door. I go ahead and get it going and go out the door to take it to Becky. Just as the mouthy lady and her mother walk in. She looked at me with daggers but didn't say a word. It was nice to be part of karma, I have to admit a bit of smug satisfaction as I cruised out the door. I felt sorry for the mother, but if her daughter hadn't wasted time giving the dude lip they would have gotten into the store first and the scooter would have been theirs.

A side note, both the women and the employee were black. It goes to show that Karens come in all colors.

Next stop was Edisto Beach, a place that we have been to at least a dozen times over the years. We were meeting Chad, Sarah, Cash, and Serenity there. I do remember the feeling as you drive to the beach and it was nice to feel it again. You are in the South with the huge trees filled with Spanish Moss. The trees are on either side of the roadway – in some cases just feet away from the road. But the tree canopy closes overhead in several spots where it feels like driving through a tunnel. It makes you feel like you going to an enchanted land. I felt the warmth of good memories as we weaved our way around the huge shade trees to the beach. And about a mile or two away the trees give way to marsh and suddenly you are in the sunlight again. The ocean is bright blue in front of you and an ocean breeze tickles your hair. Vacation we have arrived again.

We stopped at the Pavilon as we have many times. It has changed ownership over the years and it has pretty much morphed from a restaurant into a large beach store. There is a small bar and grill on the ocean side that is still in operation, but the building is 80% retail now where it was all restaurant before. Still it was nice to see the familiar after not being here for 10 years.

The campground was booked up so we used a new app called “Hip Camp” to book a place to stay. It is like airbnb, only for campers. Someone with extra room on their property can allow tents and RV's to stay over for a fee. Hip Camp gets a cut of course. But it is a life saver on this trip. In the touristy areas, the campgrounds are full this year. I think Covid has made everyone want to get out and do stuff this summer.

So the place we stayed at was next to a marsh and was about 5 acres with lots of trees. Plenty of spanish moss hanging from the grand old trees on the property. There was a rickety pier that ran out into the salt water marsh. I did not feel like getting out my ocean tackle, and the water was only 2-3 feet deep, so I took my light pole over to the dock. I lost a couple of shrimp. Then I felt the line move and I set the hook. Zzzzz went the line as it sang off the reel. 100 feet of line peeled off as the fish raced for the deep water. Then I felt a bump and it was gone. Never saw the fish, but it must have been huge. When I inspected the hook to see what happened, it was straight. Lesson learned, I should have gotten out the big tackle this close to the ocean.

Chad and Sarah rented a house on the main street through town. They were easy walking distance from the beach, Pavilon, and the grocery store. So it made a good base of operations for us to drive there and then go to the beach access from their place. We spent plenty of time at the beach of course. Poor Cash looked red as a lobster to us. Serenity fared a little better, but still has some redness about the shoulders. Both were beach bums, it was hard to get them out of the water. Edisto is good place to body surf. Something about the angle of the beach and the way the waves break. So I was able to body surf a little. I tire easily anymore so it was body surf for a half hour, read for 2 hours, then repeat.

We did go to Fort Sumter on a tour, it was something that Zach asked to do. It was interesting to get a detailed history. I did not realize that after the confederates took it over that it was attacked several times by the North. Alas, all attempts were unsuccessful. The North did gain the Fort in 1865, but only when the South finally abandoned it. They had huge cannons there and the brick works were immense, it was a well made fort.

Afterwards we went to an eclectic place called the Tattooed Moose for lunch. It was a bit off the wall, but in a good way. They encourage people to write on the walls. So all sorts of graffiti everywhere. Many mounted animals including a huge moose head over the bar. The food was excellent and we left satisfied.

The outer banks of North Carolina was our next stop. This is another place that we have been to several times. We visited for the 1^st time not long after grandma Susan bought the place in Belhaven. The North end is very busy and commercial. But the further South you go, the less congested and less commercial it gets. So a little something for everyone. The North end with putt putt golf, giant jungle gyms, and so forth for the younger crowd. Then the South end with miles of open beach and sand dunes for people who pursue life at a more leisurely pace.

The nice thing about the outer banks is that you are allowed to drive on the beach. So for us with the mobility issues and the amount of gear it takes to get set up, it is nice to be able to just park the vehicle at a quiet spot. Unload right there and no carting back and forth armloads of stuff to and from a parking lot to a distant beach.

Becky and I had a date night and after dinner at the Pangaea - we tried to watch a sunset, but mother nature did not cooperate. It was very cloudy to the West. But still it was peaceful on the beach and it was nice to have a cool beverage and watch the day bow down and the night creep in across the ocean.

I went fishing at Avon pier. Over the years the ocean waves have slowly twisted the structure this way and that. It isn't unbearably twisted, but it has several slow rolls left and right, and a few up and down slopes. It is solid enough, but I would not want to attempt to walk it drunk. On the day that I was there they were setting up fireworks for the 4^th of July. So there was a fair amount of commotion and hammering. Despite the disturbance, the fish were biting.

Some youngsters caught a croaker and a sea trout. I caught a decent sized flounder. The fellow next to me caught a fair number of white and yellow fish. Another guy further down caught a small shark. I made a mistake, while drinking my water I threw my head back to take a swig. A gust of wind caught the bill of my hat and away it went. It must have sailed a good 50 feet in the air. Charlie the tuna is probably wearing it by now.

It was my favorite hat, one that I had bought in Amelia Island about 12 years ago. And like most guys, I hate to part with the familiar. A T-shirt has to be in rags before it is tossed, blue jeans need to be soiled and stained into many shades and shoes have to have holes in the soles before they are disposed of in a trash bin. So I was sorry to see an old friend go. But fortunately, I packed another hat and it will become my new favorite. At least until my next bone-headed move.

I did have a good day fishing at the beach the following day. Croakers and I think they are called whiting – small white and yellow fish were what I caught that day. Around 10 in all, so that a good day too.

They had fireworks at the pier on the 4^th of July. We parked on the beach and I think that ½ the town did too. It was very crowded, but everyone got along just fine. We had a guy come by and say that at the end they were releasing vehicles in groups of 10 from one end of the beach to the other. I looked at the hundreds of vehicles up and down the beach and thought to myself, good luck with that.

The fireworks were nice – they lasted about a half hour which is about right. A local music station played music to match up with the display. At the end it was not an organized 10 car at a time exit as the officials had wanted. Rather it was a Formula One start – everyone headed to the beach exit at the same time. Which is what I expected would happen being a student of human nature. We were not in any hurry, so we had a drink of wine while we alternated looking at the stars and looking at the trucks and jeeps jockeying for position in the sand. After most of them had left we left and returned to where we were staying.

One thing that we have noticed all up and down the coast is the fine print you need to read when you get gas in touristy areas. So you will drive along and see a sign where the gas is like 10 cents a gallon less than the others. So you pull in there (hey what a bargain!) and start to pump your gas. Then you realize that the difference only applies to cash only or to using one of their brand credit cards only. In other words, you are paying more than the advertised price on the sign.

We learned to be watchful of this early on and now that we know what to look for, we have seen it every state and mostly where there is high influx of unwatchful tourists. The locals already know what is up so they avoid those stations, they are looking for the guy from out of state who isn't paying attention.

The next stop was in Massachusetts where we visited a nephew – Mike and a niece – Katie. Mike lives in Dalton, which is in the Berkshires. A ski area where folks from Boston and New York like to visit and so it has a reputation for being an upscale area. My impression of the area was trees and boulders. Both are to be seen in abundance.

Our campsite was on a rugged climb up the side of a hill. It was Mount Greylock campground afterall. So I guess we should have known it wouldn't be flat. It was rainy and muddy when we set up. Hurricane Elsa had been pursuing us up the coast and had finally caught up. It rained for the first couple of days when we got there, then it cleared out. We liked some of the architecture of the houses that we saw. We saw several churches made of stone that we liked.

The visit with Mike went well. He and his wife Christina seem to be in a good place. They are looking to buy a home in the Dalton area. It is a sellers market and so places are going at a premium. Still they have a place that they plan to make an offer on here in the next week or so.

We ate at a place called the Old Forge. The interior was like a rustic tavern. They had a multi-page menu of just beers, I was impressed. The basement of that place must be stocked full of beer to keep up with that inventory. I tried a local beer and for a 2^nd round, Mike ordered a draft german beer. I followed his lead and ordered one as well, I was pleased.  He has a good taste for beer.

They are known for their wings, so we had to try them and out. Of course they were awesome as well. The owner does a good job of being a field general. Moving chairs here, sending the busboy there, checking on a table on the other side. He really stays on top of things. And from the quality of the food and service, it shows.

We visited Katie next. She lives to the North of Boston. We found a campground on Winter Island which is close to Salem Massachusetts. It was only 30 minutes from Katies place, so it worked out very well. We were close to the ocean which has been a common theme this trip.

We visited Salem first – the home of the infamous witch trials. And the color black was a common theme with the womenfolk in town. We took a tour of town and found out about a notorious couple of guys. A sheriff and another fellow who collaborated on getting folks to confess to being witches so that they could take their properties. They had a “witch house” where they would torture people into confessing. This was besides the witch trials so all kinds of weird happenings in Salem back in the day.

One item of note about New England towns. A lot of these places were founded and instead of being platted out they were added to a little at a time. A road here, and a street there but always in a random way. Sort of willy nilly depending on the whims of the builders at the time. And the hilly terrain adds to the complexity as well. At times it seemed that the streets were staked out according to the ramblings of a drunken tavern customer staggering back home.

In Pittsfield there was one main road we followed that actually cut through the middle of town like a snake. And Salem was similar in that we sometimes felt like we had to turn all directions of the compass to get from point A to point B. What did people do before GPS? I could not imagine navigating without it on the East Coast.

We did enjoy our stay on Winter Island. There is a harbor there and we spent several evenings having a glass of wine while watching the boats come and go. We discovered that there were several places along the harbor where there were flowers and plaques. Other couples had enjoyed the same thing over the years and when their partner passed they would set out flowers or a plaque by their favorite bench in their memory - very touching.

We met some interesting campers on Winter Island One couple from Oregon is traveling with 4 kids! They are taking a summer to see the states. I told them that we would go for maybe a week or so with our 4, but my hat is off to them for going cross country with all of them. Another couple is from Colorado. The husband is a computer programmer and they are living on the road for year to see if they like it. He is a computer programmer and so working remote makes sense for them.

We had dinner at Katies place. It is a suburb of Boston and close to the expressway so it was easy to find. Young Jack was all boy. He was full of vim and vinegar. The young lad also has blond hair and blue eyes – I am sure the lassies will find him attractive when he is older. Katie is expecting and he will have a sibling sometime this fall.

Dinner was fine of course. And for desert Katie splurged a bit and got chocolate eclairs from a genuine french bakery. They were excellent. Sean does work where they optimize ads on the internet for clients. Right now he is working from home due to covid, but expects that will end so and he will be a commuter once again. It is only about 30 minutes to where he works, so it isn't too hateful.

The last place we visited on the East Coast was Bangor, Maine. Actually a campground between there and Bar Harbor. We wanted to visit Acadia National Park and Bangor so we found a place midways between the 2 places. Our 1^st impression of Massachusetts was boulders and trees. Maines 1st impression was just trees. There may be boulders there as well but they are well hidden behind all the trees. Plenty of timber to be found here, I can't imagine the timber shortage we had earlier this year after seeing all of the pine and maple. Maybe they are hoarding it to drive up the prices.

But my 2^nd impression of Maine was Lobster restaurants and firewood sales for campers. In our immediate area there was an abundance of both. We did go out to eat Lobster to celebrate the last stop on the East Coast. The place had lobsters from 1 pound all the way to 5 pounds. They had them outside in huge tanks. The cook was grabbing them out of the various tanks according to their size. We joked – how did he have all his fingers. I guess those bands don't slip off very easily. But the water is cold – 38 degrees and he said that he had to stop sometimes just to warm up his hands.

The people here are pleasant and polite. Sometimes the folks in Massachusetts struck me as a bit standoffish. At Winter Island me and Becky passed by another couple who were camping and said hi and in response – nothing. Welp we just shrugged our shoulders and went on. But here in Maine they were very nice to us both at the campground and during our travels

We made a journey to Acadia to see the coastline and mountains. One thing that I noticed on the way was that as we got closer it was more and more commercial. It reminded me of the drive to Gatlinburg only on a smaller scale. Lots of shops and restaurants on both sides of the road. Finally we reached the park and we were back in nature. The rugged coastline is the main feature of this park. There are some very high cliffs and various types of rock that made up the cliffs. It was very scenic.

So now it was time to start angling for home. Becky had never seen Niagra Falls and we added a stop there on the way back to Ohio. I had been there once before when I was around 12 or 13 with the Freedmans. But it is still impressive. The roar of the water, the mist, and just the sheer power of the falls.

We took a tour on the Maid of the Mist. So we good a good dose of all of the above on the boat trip. The water really rocks you around. It reminded me of when I went on a 10 mile offshore fishing charter and there was a storm off shore. Waves coming at you from various directions and the spray getting everything wet. They did pass out ponchos so we were able to keep mostly dry.

The guy at the campground said that we had to try the cave of winds. We commited to going there and it was another $24 per person. I was disappointed. You went on these wood steps and wood decks by the falls. I thought that an actual cave would be involved, but rather it was a vortex of wind and water from the falls. More exciting than standing under a water hose on a windy day, but the same effect.

I noticed that the decks and stairs were all made of 2x4s. I remarked to Becky that you would think that it would be made more sturdy with all the people that visited each year. So the ranger that took us up the elevator remarked that they had to rebuild this every year due to the falling ice – it destroyed that structure every year. So that made sense, make it all just sturdy enough to last about a season because it will all need to be put up fresh next year.

My favorite part was just being on the various beaches during this trip. I enjoy just reading a book or fishing from the beach. My favorite manmade thing was the space center at Cape Canaveral. When they simulated the countdown to a Saturn V rocket launch, it really got your heart pounding with anticipation. The most peaceful spot was when we watched the boats come while siting on a bench by the harbor on Winter Island. All in all it was fun and memorable trip.