Taxes

One word says it all, doesn't it! An image immediately comes to mind... papers all over the kitchen table, a calculator sitting in the middle of the mess, bleary eyes, lights burning late into the night. Well, part of it is true. I wasn't as organized for my annual tax duty this year as I usually am. But Thursday and Friday were the days. So out came the stuff and the sorting and calculating began. Only I didn't work late into the night. Last year I had an accountant do them because of the changes in my life. There were enough things different this year that it would have been easier to have the guy do them again. But now I have them figured out -- I think. I will have a professional look them over. So how did it work out? Well, it could have been worse. My frustration is that I would get it finished, double check it, and realize an error. However the correction to the error always caused me more money. It was finally, "just leave it alone."

The Ministerial Education and Guidance Board meeting which I mentioned in the last blog was Tuesday. It was a loooooong day... but a good day. We interviewed about 7 people who are in various stages of entering the ministry. Three will be ordained as elders (for our church, that means minister, pastor, reverend, preacher -- whatever you want to call them). That will happen this coming June at our Annual Conference.

We had a great time with Ginger. Joyce went with her to a class she taught to some of the ladies her organization supports on how to protect themselves from those who would try to take advantage of them. Remember, she works with mentally challenged clientele so this kind of instruction is much needed. All in all, it was just fun to spend the evenings with her.

And then, in addition to all that... I did nothing. Or at least, very little. I am spending a lot of time carrying in fire wood -- it's just plain cold here! At night it has been getting down to the high 20s. They tell us this will end soon. I hope so. I'm ready for spring -- or going south again. Today we worshipped at the Pursuit Church of Nazarene. They have an interesting history. There used to be 3 Nazarene Churches in the area -- one in Murphy, one in Rogue River, and one in Grants Pass. None of them very large. About 2 years ago they closed all three, sold the property (or listed it for sale), united as one congregation, and began a new church plant. They presently meet at South Middle School about a mile from our house. They still aren't very large but it was a good service and a good sermon.

So that's it here. Not very exciting but you know what they say... "we can't stand much excitement at our age." How is the excitement in your life? Hope you aren't overwhelmed.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jog

Maybe it was more "jiggity" than "jog." We left Las Vegas at noon Tuesday, stopped at a Wal-Mart in Tulare that night, left at 5:15 the next morning and arrived home at about 5:30 p.m. No problems; no incidents. It was really fun being with Joshiah, Lilly and Jana in Las Vegas. We went to a museum Monday and also played in the hot tub. Tuesday morning we had breakfast together. Korak was supposed to be with us but got tied up helping his parents with a car problem. He joined us in time to say goodbye.

The weather was off and on rain from Corning all the way home. Since then it has been dry but somewhat cold. Rain started today. I wonder why we came home?

At home it has simply been "play catch up" -- wash, mail, banking, groceries, clean RV, etc. -- not very interesting. At present we are in Salem at Ginger's. This morning we attended the Easter service at Allen Creek, then left for Salem. Ginger, Joyce and I went to McGrath's Fish House for our Easter dinner this evening.

I have a board meeting at the Conference office Tuesday, then we head home Wednesday. Time to do the taxes. So this is short but I'll make up for it with a couple pictures of the kids.

I've Seen Las Vegas

The high and low. The high this week was camping on the shore of the lake in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We sat in the shade with a beautiful view of the mountains over the lake, roasted wieners for dinner, and toasted marshmallows for dessert. Everyone needs more evenings like this. But we only had two. On Thursday we took most of the day to tour Hoover Dam and see the views from the view points. What a sight!

We left the nice warm sunny pleasant lovely great (notice I'm heaping on the adjectives for everyone up north in the rain and snow) weather of Bullhead City on Wednesday and landed at Lake Mead. No hookups, but a top notch campground.

But on Friday it was off to Las Vegas. Why Las Vegas? Well, for one we had never been there and I've always wanted to see it -- Joyce hasn't, but I have. And two, it was another chance to see our grandkids (oh, and Jana and Korak, too). Korak's parents live here so it was convenient for them to come here. Friday evening Joyce and I drove The Strip and walked through Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, and New York New York. That is a lot of walking. Yesterday, with Jana and the kids, we went to Circus Circus to see the free circus acts and let the kids play games on the "midway." The circus acts are free because it gets the people to the midway to spend lots and lots and lots of quarters on silly games. We drove down to the MGM Grand to see the lions. That was really cool. The lions come right up to the glass. Lilly and I were 12 inches from a lion's face! And we toured 4 floors of M&M (as in candy) paraphernalia.

We are camped at Sam's Town about 5 miles from The Strip. Kind of interesting that after we left LA we started this Arizona/Nevada adventure at Sam's Family Spa and RV Park in Desert Hot Springs. Now we end it at Sam's Town in Las Vegas. As far as I know these 2 Sam's don't even know each other. This place has a waterfall and light show each evening. Very good!

Okay, so to the title for this blog. I wanted to see Las Vegas. Now I've seen it. I'm disappointed. The Strip was not what I expected -- much more crowded and too much construction. People drive fast -- remember I've driven in LA -- these people drive fast. They zip in out of traffic and think nothing of cutting you off. And the city doesn't seem to have a pattern for the streets. They stop, end, turn, and run at angles to each other, all for no apparent reason. They call this "sin city." Yes, it is. The signs -- some actual signs -- are everywhere. Of course there is sin in every city but here it is flaunted, celebrated, capitalized on. So, okay. I've seen Las Vegas. We leave for home Tuesday. We are only staying until Tuesday because the kids are staying that long.

Today we worshipped at Green Valley Christian Center. A great, growing Assembly of God congregation. Afterward Korak took all of us out for brunch at Boulder Station and then we went to his parents house for the afternoon.

Now you know my world. It is not the world of Las Vegas. Where is your world? (Don't miss the pictures I added midweek, below)

How About Some Pictures!

Plans Change

We are now in Snowbird RV Park in Fort Mohave, Arizona on the south end of Bullhead City. This wasn't our original plan but... plans change. Last Sunday when I wrote, we were in Apache Junction and just had a wonderful dinner with friends, Mike and Jackie. On Monday we had dinner with more friends, Wes and Carol. Wes was my boss when I worked in construction during college oh so many years ago. In fact, Wes was one of the prime movers in me getting to college at all. We had not seen him for at least 25 years -- maybe longer. So it was fun to visit for a few hours and we look forward to more visiting next year.

Instead of leaving that area the next day as we originally planned, we decided to stay longer and see the area around the Superstition Mountains. So we hooked up the Alpenlite Palace and moved 5 miles out to Lost Dutchman State Park right at the base of the mountains. Beautiful! We drove up to Tortilla Flats -- a gorgeous drive up the Apache Trail (now highway 88). I bought Joyce lunch in the Superstition Saloon (don't tell the superintendent!). Actually it is more restaurant than saloon but they do have a bar and if you choose to sit at that location the bar stools are saddles. Funky, huh? The walls are plastered the one dollar bills that people have left along with their name or business card. The next day we hiked a trail to see the poppies in bloom. We were 7 to 14 days too early to really see the desert in its finest blooming glory.

Wednesday came and we headed to Prescott to see Marilyn and her family. She and the kids attended Allen Creek while we were there. Actually she started attending two Sundays after we did. So we had dinner with them both Wednesday and Thursday evenings. When I say "them," I mean Marilyn, Joy, Nelson, and Marilyn's mother Polly. The rest of the family is married and still living in Grants Pass. It was fun to visit for awhile. We were close to them when they went through some hard times.

On Friday... instead of going southwest to Quartzsite and then north to Lake Havasu City we changed plans again and left early in the morning for Williams so we could take the train into Grand Canyon National Park. Yes! train ride. This was a special treat for us and it was a fabulous day. We left the campground at 7:20 (I'm sure everyone was glad when I got that diesel out of there) so we would have plenty of time. We did. We had time to look around the gift shop, drink a cuppa coffee, and watch a wild west shootout. These Arizonans like there shootouts! When we got to the park we only had 3 1/2 hours before the train headed back so we took a bus tour which enabled us to see more than if we were walking. After the tour we took our box lunch (which they gave (?!?!?) us) and walked to the rim of the canyon to eat in full view of God's wondrous splendor. The weather was beautiful -- about 55 to 60 degrees and sunny. Now the nights... that was different. It had been dropping to about 15 to 20 degrees at night. So we didn't stay in Williams. When the train got in we fired up the F250 and headed for warmer climes. Which was Blake Ranch RV Park, 12 miles east of Kingman. We got in there at 8:00 which is a lot later than we usually stop but this was an exception.

Now, I have a question for you who know about these things. I wasn't really worried about the interior of the RV freezing because I can use an electric heater to keep the inside warm. But the RV is not arctic equipped and I worry about the drain lines freezing. My question... will they? How cold does it have to get? The gray water drain (that's the sink and shower for you who need to know) is a 1 1/2 inch plastic pipe about 18 inches long. The black water drain (toilet!) is a 3 inch pipe about 18 inches long. I'm not really worried about the storage tanks freezing overnight but if the drain pipes are full of the color appropriate "stuff," what does it take for them to freeze? That why we didn't stay in Williams -- or even in the Grand Canyon RV Park. In Prescott, it was supposed to get really cold so I left the drains open the first night but since we were leaving early the next morning I didn't want to deal with a frozen drain hose. What I did was invest in a gallon of RV antifreeze and dumped it in the tanks. Did I need to? I await your sage advise.

It is beautifully warm here in Bullhead City -- but also a little windy this weekend. We attended church at the Nazarene just down the road then went to Laughlin. If you are not looking at a map, Bullhead City, AZ and Laughlin, NV are just across the Colorado River from each other. Since Laughlin is in Nevada, it is a casino town -- Bullhead City is the bedroom community. I took Joyce to a couple of the casinos just to look around... and to eat brunch (good prices). I'm really corrupting her -- first a saloon, then a gambling hall. Oh, my! Our next stop will be Las Vegas. I think.

Well, stay tuned. We have found some warm. Maybe we'll stay here! Who knows?

(PS: my blogger spell checker doesn't work sometimes so if you see any errors just call them typos -- they couldn't be because of my spelling ability!)

Tombstone and Beyond

Excuse me pard'ner while I park this rig over here someplace. Then we can sit a spell and catch up on all the goin's on around here. Yes sirree, I'm lookin forward to that.

We have traveled a lot miles, seen a lot things, but are only 100 miles closer to home than we were this time last week. We made a big wide easterly loop and are now in Apache Junction. But first things first.

In last week's blog I forget to mention a project that took the better part of three days -- a storage shed. Joyce P wanted a storage place for outdoor things like patio chairs, planting pots, etc. So here it is. This was her plan; I just built it for her. It is about 7 feet long, 30 inches deep, and 4 1/2 feet high. Jim will paint it the same color as the house. It is mostly screwed together and was fun to build. (Notice I said, "screwed together" not "screwed UP).

Tuesday we left for Tombstone. This town is famous for Wyatt Earp, Johnny Ringo, the Clantons, and the "Gunfight at the OK Corral." We saw it all happen. We were there. A ring side seat. And it didn't happen in the OK Corral. It happened in the street a couple doors down. But "Gunfight Next Door To Fly's Photography Studio" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Pictured here is the gunfight taking place. Just think! History comes to your computer!

Tombstone is a fun little town. It has dirt streets, board sidewalks, no motorized traffic on the 4 blocks of main street (Allen Street), and all kinds of period shops, saloons, restaurants, and museums. We stayed in Wells Fargo RV Park right in town. It was not fancy; simply a spot on gravel with hookups but it was within easy walking distance of town which made it fun. We watched a couple of the shootout reenactments, toured an old silver mine, visited Boothill, and really enjoyed the place. One day we made a loop going through some old ghost towns (which were more like remains of decaying adobe buildings -- but fun to see), down to Douglas on the Mexico boarder, up to Bisbee, then back to Tombstone. We were going to cross the boarder to Agua Prieta but changed our minds when we learned there was very little convenient shopping. We hadn't intended to do much in Bisbee but rather go back later, but when the shopping fell through we got to spend more time there. We did not do the Queen Mine Tour; maybe some other time.

Let me tell you about a weird thing that happened. Maybe "tragic" is a better word. About 5:00 we went back to the pickup to leave Bisbee. It was parked up in a cul-de-sac kind of parking area. We decided to sit there and eat some sandwiches we had brought; the weather was warm so the windows were down. Parked right next to us was an older model compact car and a motorcycle. As we were eating, two ladies and a man came out of a tavern. One of the ladies was obviously drunk. She had the car keys and wanted to drive. The man was trying to talk her out of it and have her ride on the motorcycle with him. But he didn't try very hard. As she was getting in the car I asked him if he was really going to let her drive. He said, "That's what she wants to do" -- as if she was capable of making a decision. I told him he was nuts for letting her drive. She started the car, backed out and hit the retaining wall, managed to put it in gear and drove off. Now understand -- the main street of Bisbee is really, really, really narrow. Two RVs would have trouble passing each other. Well, I let her get a good head start and then left. About three blocks up the street she had plowed into a pole. There were people there to help her so we didn't stop but I wanted to go back and chew out that guy for letting her drive.

We stayed in Tombstone for four nights then left for Safford. Our intent was to find some of the hot tubs the area is known for but as it turned out, one was 35 miles from town, another was about the same distance in the opposite direction, another was commercialized and expensive, and we simply missed another one. So we went to the museum instead!

This morning we attended the Safford United Methodist Church, hooked up and left for Apache Junction. I'm not sure about this RV park we are in. It is supposed to be this big, fancy dancy place but they have trouble getting things right. They messed up our reservation and had a hard time even finding a spot for us. It is a back in site designed for placing a park model (no angle to the back in -- and we are surrounded by park models), they didn't tell me I had to get real close to the concrete patio pad so I just parked it -- too far away. After I'm all hooked up, the neighbor comes home and tells I have to move over so he can park his car. So I move over 3 feet. Then to top that, they didn't give us a code for the gate (didn't tell us we needed one) and we were locked out when we got home tonight. Fortunately a guy pulled in behind me who had the right numbers. The name is Countryside. I don't recommend it.

I mentioned coming home tonight. We had dinner with Mike and Jackie. She is the daughter of a lady who attended our Grants Pass church. If you have been following the blog faithfully (!!!??) you remember the two ladies who died within minutes of each other last November. Jackie's mom was one of those ladies. We met Jackie years ago when she came to visit her mom and have enjoyed her friendship over the years. Tomorrow we are to have dinner with another friend. More about that next week.

I'll try to add some pictures here. They are a lot easier to put in at the bottom of the page.

Main street Tombstone. The stagecoach is for tours of town.

Boothill Cemetery. It is all sanitized with gravel walkways, metal grave markers, and piles of stone to mark the graves. Coming from town, it's not on a hill either. Coming from out in the valley it is up, but not from town. Sure blew my conception of BootHILL. In the background you can see the valley and the new homes going in. The Tombstone area is growing!

Well, pard'ner, gotta be moseyin' along. Let me fetch my buggy, hitch up ole Lightin', and off we go. Catch up to me if you can.