Winter in the Desert, Summer in the Mtns

10/15/13

Happy at Home!!?!

I believe in positive affirmations, positive thinking and being positive all around. But believing and doing are somewhat different when it comes to this stationery adjustment!

We’ve been home one month and 4 days and it’s not been much fun! Lots of $$$ going to places that aren’t joy producing…home insurance, new tires, car repairs (got the check engine light fixed), A/C repair…

In the middle of spending all this money, new camera bug bit me. My rationale is something like this…..spending all this money on stuff that brings no pleasure, might as well spend money on something fun! So a cute little red Nikon Coolpix with a 30X zoom came into my life.

Watch what this baby will do. This is picture of downtown Chattanooga taken while on a Stringer’s Ridge hike.

Notice the spot of blue in the center of the picture…..look hard!

This is the walking bridge, Walnut Street, on the left and Market Street bridge on the right.

Zoomed partway…..

And zoomed again!

Unfortunately it lacks a viewfinder and all one can do is point in a general direction and zoom. Can’t really see what is being photographed. After studying the above picts, the camera was returned and the trusty D-40 will get a cleaning!

This past weekend the Nina and Pinta were in town…..remember Christopher Columbus and 1492?……and we walked across the Walnut Street bridge heading for a tour.

Rowers were all over the Tennessee River preparing for a race.

And a few paddle boarders!

Could not get a good picture of the ships but learned a lot about sailing in the 1400’s. These boats are replicas built in 1988 and 2004 in South America.

If this interest you, information can be found by following the site on the sign.

Topic change!

Started writing this post yesterday morning, before we started packing for the Cherokee rally. By mid-afternoon there was a noticeable shift in my energy; happiness mixed with joy and anticipation was filling my heart! All I need to do, to feel happy, is to pack and leave?

During the first cup of coffee this morning, my thoughts are on a friend who may not live another 12 months. It’s reminding me that I want to live each day as if it is the last….and something must change in the way we are living here at home!

Embarrassed to confess that TV has become very important with more and more shows to be watched each week. Filling my inner spaces with action and mystery, non-uplifting shows with titles like Revenge, Betrayal and Scandal. And reading dark books to fill the void…They Are all Gone and Gone Girl.

Still not sure about what changes must be made….but need to stop numbing myself with mindless activities.

Trusting that life will reveal a new direction, eventually.

Here’s a picture taken from the Cherokee rally several years ago.

Keeping my fingers crossed hoping the rain will be minimal. Time to continue packing! Hoping to be there by mid-afternoon!

10/2/13

biking the river park

Three weeks and two days, that’s how long we have been home from our epic trip and we are still adjusting to the luxuries of hot water, electricity and space….

The past 3 weeks have not been much fun due to a virus that invaded my sinuses and lasted over two weeks. Then allergies started making me ill. I’m taking allergy medicine for the first time in my entire life! Is this what I get for leaving the area for three months?

Chattanooga is situated in a bowl with mountains and ridges on all sides….this year we have the honor of being the 9th worse city for fall allergies. Since I have lived here most of my life, never experiencing allergies, figured there was some type of natural immunity inhabiting my body. Alas, no more!

On the positive side, the over the counter meds are working and wellness is returning.

Still struggling a bit in putting our lives back to order. Exercising has always been a high priority for both of us, but our trip was a disaster for elevating our heart rates. (Mine did get elevated a few times when I was not driving and someone else was!) We did a little hiking, here and there, but overall we are returning home with much poorer physical conditioning than when we left. This was our first trip, ever, to leave the bikes at home. And it will be our last!

So now that I’m feeling better, we are walking, hiking and riding our bikes. Last week I grabbed my Nikon as we were heading out to the Tennessee River Park. The park, opening in 1989, is 10 miles, running along the Tennessee River from the Chickamauga Dam to downtown Chattanooga.

After a few miles I am finding the SLR too cumbersome, dangling on my shoulder while bike riding and ditched it back in the van. Will need to depend on the cell phone for any additional photography.

The sidewalk is wide, we always pass people who are walking, saying “on your left” as we come upon them. This is THE correct protocol, or sounding a bell to let them know a biker approaches. The walker should bear to the right giving the biker space to pass. (It is not pretty when the walker goes left into the bike path!)

This is the bridge over the South Chickamauga Creek…the TN River can be seen below at the very end of the creek.

Another view of the bridge. Now imagine flood waters more than halfway up the exposed tree trunk in the center. This is what the park endured last July while we were traveling in AK.

Another picturesque tree with a tell tale water mark.

Great blue heron fishing on the Chickamauga Creek.

Civil War history found at this site…. the Northern army crossed the river here, heading south toward Chickamauga Battlefield.

Wildlife crossing our path!

Our ride is perfect until we leave the pavement and hit the boardwalk. Unfortunately that is exactly what we did…hit the boardwalk!!! It is wet and slick from previous rains. I started going down the instant my rear wheel left the pavement. Hubby, five feet behind me, could only watch me fall as his bike went out from under him. After going down, I am sliding five feet or so on my left hip and shoulder before coming to a halt.

Bystanders ran to our aid, one identifying herself as a nurse. I am hurting, bad, but so worried about David and his artificial hip. But he has landed on the other hip and is OK. My shoulder is hurting and I am wondering if a trip to the ER is necessary but we ride back to the car. And, after a day of icing my shoulder and two days of pain meds, the body is ready to go again.

This smiling face is NOT how I was feeling at the moment! Notice the blue sign!

We were very lucky….will not be riding on wet paths again. Too old to fall that hard!

For my readers who want to hear about the Casita…..two weeks from today it will be on the road again! Heading to the Cherokee, NC rally!

9/21/13

Passages

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend who had just retired telling her to decide what’s important in her life and figure out how to make it happen. It was a phone call and I was happily sitting in my camp chair gazing at a blue Kansas lake.

Today we spoke again, this time I was the one lamenting a feeling of emptiness, and she repeated my words back to me.

And so the search begins! Actually it started before we got back home from the trip, already wondering, “what’s next?”

Going to Alaska and staying gone for over three months was the biggest accomplishment that I could imagine for this retired part of our lives. Now it’s done and we have the tee shirts to prove it! So what else do we want? How do we want to be living? What brings joy into our life?

Traveling in the Casita brings us joy. Spending time outdoors biking, hiking or kayaking brings us joy. And sharing activities with friends brings us joy.

And simplicity brings me joy. I can’t speak for the husband here as he seems content whether the house is organized or in chaos!

Upon returning from these extended trips, I find myself needing to discard possessions. This time I successfully parted with over half the clothes in two closets! But it seems to be never enough!

It’s almost an obsession to rid myself of everything I own. Would love to just pay someone to come get it all….house included! Lucky that I’m married to someone who would object to giving it all away.

But I know and crave the freedom that comes with getting rid of everything; I did it 25 years ago! Everything was sold or given away except the pickup truck and my life changed.

Real ready for another big change!

Passages are always happening in our lives. We returned from our trip in time for David, a 1955 graduate, to say “goodbye” to his high school. This school, a landmark in our community dating back to 1937, served as a grammar and high school.

Unsure of what will replace the old school. With the exclusive North Shore encroaching on Red Bank, it will be prime real estate!

Another passage tomorrow as summer will turn to fall….here’s hoping for a long beautiful autumn!

9/12/13

Good-bye Kansas, Hello Chattanooga!

It was not difficult to say good-bye to the Kansas heat but very hard to leave folks who feel like family after 6 days of hobnobbing, telling tall tales and exchanging travel stories.

One of the nights at the rally the sunset is so magnificent I can not stop taking pictures.

Going to work them all in…..as this is the official end of our once- in-a-lifetime Alaska trip.

Deciding that one more day of 101 temperatures would be one day too many, we are hitting the road early before the pancake breakfast send-off. Picking a couple of destinations ranging from 300 miles to 400 miles down the road works best for us. Nixing the idea of traveling off the interstate, deciding that we rely on the constant Wal-Marts and McDonalds for sustenance and shelter. It’s an easy travel day until we try to cross the river in St Louis. Traffic should be light as it is Sunday PM but the lane that we are in is not moving, taking us an hour or so to go a few miles.

Using the handy All Stays Camp app, we find a Cracker Barrel on exit 16. Looks like we are not going to make it to Rend Lake….a COE where our friends are staying. During the meal we ask permission to spend the night. The manager says we are most welcome and very glad that we are asking permission as they do not like unauthorized visitors behind the store after closing. He suggests that we might want to enjoy one of their breakfasts before we leave.

The interstate is close and it’s melody of traffic soothes us to sleep. At 1:30 AM a noisy monster goes through the parking lot, eating the trash from the dumpster….loudest waste disposal truck ever! Why 1:30?

At 6:10 we are eating breakfast and, after another easy 400 plus miles, we are entering Chattanooga! Feels so strange to be returning after 102 days. Our house is swallowed by vegetation!

But we are relieved that everything looks like it should….no one had carried off our TV’s. Only glitch is the Sienna, parked in the middle of the driveway, will not start.

Astonished at the weeds everywhere! But it did rain most of July and we were gone a long time!

Overgrown flower beds.

Obedient plant, a TN native, apparently needs no care for 3 months.

May need to dig the whole bed up, use round-up, and start all over!

The path to the patio has disappeared!

My cleome is 4 feet tall!

Hubby trying to tame the wilderness!

The hardy begonia.

Wild ageratum and morning glory.

We are unpacked, clothes washed, cats retrieved, A/C repaired and settling back in to the boring humdrum of life at home.

No regrets! And enough memories to last the rest of our lives!

Want to thank everyone for coming along with us. You helped us get through some difficult times. Love y’all!

9/6/13

Kansas Eggstravaganza 2013

The Sixth Annual Kansas Eggstravaganza officially started today with a pot luck breakfast. Tantalizing dishes come out of the little eggs when it’s pot luck time and the socializing begins!

It’s been a little too hot to do anything but visit. The temperature dipped into the 80’s for a day or so and now it’s back into the mid 90’s with 99 degrees predicted for the weekend.

The heat has not stopped the fun….maybe just slowed some of us down a bit.

We are camped right across from some of our old friends from east TN who are right on the water. Our site has evening shade but is brutally unprotected during the middle of the day. The A/C is staying on until the sun sets.

The campground is laid out in a loop where everyone can easily visit. At last count 30 trailers have arrived with more expected tomorrow. Amazing how many come from Texas!

Larry and Debbie Gamble of Little House Customs have been hard at work since last Monday with the early arrivals. Larry performed a valvectomy on our shower drain…..the Alaskan trip had knocked off the drain pipe. No longer must I get on my knees to pull the shower drain lever!

Larry and customers!

Debbie minding the store!

A few unusual fiberglass campers……

a 1970 Western Campster! (can’t remember the entire name!)

This 1983 model is being lovingly restored by new owners. They patiently explained that it really is a Casita!

All of the other trailers, so far, are Casitas and Scamps except for the one 19’ Escape owned by a St Louis couple. The Escape campsite appears to be the favorite hangout place.