Greetings from Indianapolis

We’ve enjoyed some great times here in Indianapolis even though the weather lately is either hot and extremely humid or pouring rain. There have been softball games, a band concert and a Saturday night at the stock car races with grandchildren. Other events include a mother-daughter evening at the horse races, a super Father’s Day, cookouts and other gatherings with our family and friends, lots of reminiscing at a family reunion and just plain wonderful one-on-one good visiting with our children and other family members.

The negatives, of course, are the doctor visits, insurance applications and RV repairs (yada, yada, yada….) But that’s no fun to talk about, so we won’t.

Here are a few photos of our latest activities:

Out at the ballpark - - Above -- Jerry and his granddaughter Caroline at one of her recent softball games. She’s a super player, of course.

Another momentous event was her 14^th birthday party this past Sunday. Here she is with her mom, Jenny. What a beautiful pair!

We all wish you many more fab birthdays Caroline! Of course her presents included awesome new clothes, jewelry, her fair share of cash, etc. It was a nice afternoon celebration, playing with the dog, listening to brother Ben play the drums, helping Jeff watch the Nascar race and the usual wild family conversation.

To Top It Off:

Uncle Tim gave her a birthday ride on his Harley.

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More Family Fun:

We were glad to be in town for a gathering of Nancy’s maternal family, the Webers. Everyone had a great time talking about old times and catching up a little on the latest, --- and laughing a good deal, too!




Here are some photos of the cousins gathered that day. We had one token male cousin in attendance and it just wouldn’t do but that we drag him into one of the photos. That wasn’t necessarily an easy task, but we managed to get one photo, even if we were mostly cracking up. Thanks Bill, for being a good sport!!


There are (and were) some pretty special mothers and fathers, a.k.a. aunts and uncles, in this family who were responsible for super memories for us all during our childhood. It was so good to visit with these folks. So they just had to be on the blog today.

Thanks so much to you all for the memories – Ruth, Mel, Emma, Gin and Peg. Let’s do it again soon.
And next time we’ll see how many more of the other twenty or so cousins we can gather.

Disappearing photos

Well this blog is driving me crazy! If you see a photo of a motorcycle in the blog posting below, that is in the Grassroots Art Center in Lucas, KS, and it is made entirely of pull tabs. It's a real site! Also, if there's a photo of what looks to be an eagle, that's a Kansas Jayhawk in someone's yard. People get very creative in this area of the country.

This blog has little surprises occasionally. The photos sometimes do not appear when they are uploaded and may pop up later or not at all - sometimes they repeat. I think we need our own website!!

Making Our Way East

We had a very interesting trip east to Indiana where we are now comfortably located at Jerry's son's house, visiting friends and family and taking care of business.

The trip through Kansas and Missouri was more eventful than we had anticipated when planning to "just jump on I70 and head east." We found a beautiful Corps of Engineers park in eastern Kansas called Wilson Lake where we spent four instead of the two nights we put into our very lose schedule. On our first day we explored the small town of Lucas, Kansas, where it turns out a man named S. P. Dunsmoor built what he called the Garden of Eden in the early 1900s. He started a trend toward "Grassroots Art" in this tiny town. His sculptures adorn the grounds of his home and are unique in their design and their message. Here is a sample of the pieces to be seen there. They include pieces relating to the Bible and political statements concerning his Populist beliefs.
As we "toured" the town we learned that Grassroots Art is blooming everywhere, including the local Art Center displaying various types of work of artists from Kansas. It was fun learning about this style that is totally open to any expression and doesn't necessarily include formal training of any kind. We were smiling a lot!!

One artist, Mri Pilar, has invented a style called ReBarb. Her works cover the walls of a home in Lucas. Here is a sample of one of her pieces. Who would imagine!!!



















Pictured here is Lonesome Joe Meets Flirty Gerti, one of the works at the Lucas Grassroots Arts Center. Don't you just love it.




As we took in a few other small towns in the area, such as Victoria, where we visited the Cathedral of the Plains and Wilson, where we enjoyed a great meal at the "Made From Scratch" local diner, we agreed this stop was one of our favorite surprises on-the-road. That includes Kansas' beautiful rolling hills of waving green wheat that resembled the scenery in Ireland.

As we continued East we stopped at Hermann, Missouri, a river town in wine country that we enjoyed at the beginning of our RV life a few years ago. It was another enjoyable visit, taking in a few wineries, the just-opened German brewery and a fabulous Swiss meat market. This is another place that we would recommend for a nice break for a few days.

Leaving Ken's Lake

Today is the last day of our three week stay in Moab, Utah. Tomorrow Ferd will take us on down the road once again. Making our home at Ken's Lake was even better than last year. There were old and new friends to spend time with and super times on the trails. Who could ask for a more beautiful backyard.


The last few days we've had the opportunity to get acquainted with our neighbor, Cliff, a young man who was a commercial writer and decided about ten years ago to sell out and live on his sailboat. Since then he made another lifestyle change when he went off the water to the road in his Airstream trailer. What an adventurer! He's a person who stepped outside the realm of expected behavior
to seek out unusual life experiences. It's been enjoyable listening and sharing with him. His latest exploration is in writing plays and we won't be surprised if his creative ideas end up being big broadway hits! Meanwhile, he's riding his mountain bike wherever he pleases.

There were some more good 4wheeling days last week -- thrills on many obstacle, good people to run with and desert spring flowers everywhere. Photos from these trails are posted on our images page. If you are interested in seeing a slideshow of them, click on Utah2007 in the right column. That will take you to the images page. Click again on Utah2007 and you will see the new files: Kane Creek, Golden Spike, Flat Iron Mesa and Poison Spider.

We'll be heading east for a visit with family. There will be an intermission in the blog until we have internet communication. Happy days everyone!

More Moab Happenings

What a playground Moab is! It's fun to participate and, sometimes, as much fun to just watch. There are people enjoying the trails on all variations of transportation, bicycles, motorcycles, atvs, and 4wheel drive vehicles. Of course, there are also the sturdy people hoofing it and some on horseback as well. Many take a trip of their choice on the Colorado River. Just cruising through town you will see all variations of people and transportation.

Take a look at the Jeep (above) that we found when we were out and about. Two of our friends' children, Patrick and Tristin, were interested in the license plates from everywhere used to make up the body and the wrenches and other tools forming the tires.

The other morning as we were preparing to leave our campsite this fellow came riding by our motorhome with his inflatable friend onboard. We just had to snap a photo. He said she sparks lots of attention as he takes her along on his rides.


















We've been on several trails this past week, including Golden Spike, Eagle's Dare, Kane Creek and Hell's Revenge. Golden Spike was another lengthy and challenging one.


This is a photo of one of the spectacular views as Jerry came up a steep incline. It was our last day of 4wheeling with our n2Jeepn group. They were great to be with again this year.




A few days before that we went on Kane Creek trail which runs through, around and above Kane Creek. The trail through the valley is fantastic and it winds up out of the valley by way of a narrow, sometimes rocky, ledge road that has exciting spots. As we approached the end of the trail we came to this steep obstacle.
Here is Jerry maneuvering up the rocky incline.


More photos of our crew on this trail will be posted soon in the Utah 2007 files. Stay tuned!











We've been offroading since Monday with the FMCA 4wheelers (Family Motor Coach Association), a gathering of friends in Moab. This is only our second opportunity to be with this group and the welcome we've received is great. It's a diverse group, all out to have some fun! On the trail here showing us how she can tackle this crevice is Judy, a 68 year old and proud of it.
















What we've also learned is that there's always plenty of help whenever anyone needs it. This wheeler bounced off course just a little and got quick assistance to hold him upright while he moved off this pinnacle.




















Below are a couple of especially nice (and skilled) 4wheelers that we have had a good time getting to know better here in Moab. Jane and Rick here easily taking an obstacle in their Rubicon Unlimited.


















Some "extra credit" on the first day out was the "gravy boat." Several went in to the boat after our fine four-legged escort, Brandy, showed us how deep the water was.


















With a little spotting this guy made it out of the gravy without getting a drop on him.

In the next couple of days, as we have some time between trails, you will find all kinds of new photos of 4wheelin in Moab. Check back under our Utah 2007 files.

Keep smiling!

Fantastic Friends and Food

For the past week we've made our home at Ken's Lake, a BLM campground near Moab, with a super bunch of "Fulltimers." The group began with four rigs and gradually, as more wandering friends joined us, we swelled to ten rigs at our max. Some left as others arrived, different sizes and types of rigs, some with pets and some with toys. These gypsies hail from New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana and California. We range from five months to seven years on-the-road. The stories being shared of fulltimer experiences are never-ending.

A big thanks from us all goes out to Jerry and Dee who have offered their site for campfire gatherings and hosted delicious Dutch oven meals. This morning's fare was scrumptious cinnamon rolls.

















Here's Jerry doing his magic with the coals and iron pots.



It's difficult for us to be on the South Beach plan with this going on.
But we can always do that next week. It's been fun and we'll have to do it again down the road!

Wheelin' on Steelbender

A few days ago we were invited by our friends Geir and Jan to come along with their family on the Steelbender off-roading trail here in Moab. It took us seven hours to go about 15 miles on the trail. But it was an exciting day. The trail crosses Mill Creek in several places, takes some steep ledges and affords many panoramic views of the valley and mountains surrounding it.











We also enjoyed the many desert spring flowers popping up everywhere. This is a Desert Paintbrush pushing up between the rocks along our way.












We all appreciate Geir's spotting advice. In this photo he points to the best route for his son Jon to take up this little (ha, ha) rock.















Jon's wife Sarah, son, Tristin, and seven-month-old daughter, Valerie, watch as he does some fine wheeling up this grade.
Lockers came in handy on this one!






















Little Valerie was a great sport all day long. Here she is with her father, Jon, and grandfather, Geir.



One of the most challenging obstacles on Steelbender trail is what they call the shelf road. This is slick rock that starts with a gradual slope and then drops about four feet so you have to free fall down. There's a cliff next to this drop off which means you don't want to get your vehicle too far to the right when coming down.






In these photos you can see first, the cliff that's to the right as you slide down this obstacle.






The next photo is Jerry bringing Ole Yeller over in fine fashion.
Next is Andy and Allison taking the plunge in their Jeep equipped with a V8 Corvette engine. We enjoyed listening to their rumble as we followed them on the trail.
It was a long day that included lots of exciting 4wheeling. And what a great group!

State Trust Land

Below is a photo of the beautiful spot we had to vacate yesterday. We were parked with some friends in this valley just south of Moab that we knew was used by RVers frequently. We all thought this was federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and perfectly legal for us to spend some time there, as we all had done in the past. Well we were visited one morning by an employee of the State of Utah who informed us we needed to move off of State Trust Land within the next day. Needless to say, we were very disappointed. Didn't they understand that we were doing no harm? After all, the cows and horses were trampling on the ground and eating everything there. After some growsing amongst ourselves, we decided that at least we would make further inquiries and explain to the appropriate individuals that we were very good custodians of the land and that perhaps they would see fit to let us stay.
Well we wrote a letter to the State of Utah Land Trust Dept. and the six of us went to the office in Moab to discuss this with the young man who had come to give us our notice that morning. It was a learning experience. He was very respectful of our situation and listened courteously to our lobbying efforts. We learned that the land was donated for the sole purpose of earning funds to be contributed to the schools in Utah. The Land Trust Dept. is responsible for insuring the value of the land is maintained. The grazing of cows and horses that is permitted on the land helps to raise funds. It was difficult to argue with the ban on camping on the land after we were more informed. Due to our persuasive manners, we were successful in getting permission to stay for a few more days. But after sleeping on it, we all packed up and moved to the BLM campground a couple of miles down the road the next morning. We still have a fantastic view, just not the wide open space that we were sharing with the cows.
Our off-roading is in full swing now with friends that we met last year in Moab. Today we took the "Steelbender" trail. It was a full day of fourwheeling, about seven hours. There were plenty of obstacles and challenges. Photos of this weeks trails will follow.

Nature's Creations

We spent a day getting closer to some of the wonders nature has created in the Arches National Park. It was definitely an interesting episode. We saw people hiking and climbing everywhere, all sizes and ages and nationalities of people. The uniquely shaped formations in this park seem to demand that they be climbed. Parents climb with children, photographing them at every juncture. We even came across these climbers who brought their mountain climbing gear. The fellow at the bottom kept calling to the girl on the top in what sounded like French and she kept raising her arms for photos.






There are more natural arches here than anywhere in the world. One of the most popular to see in the park is Landscape Arch. It is over 300 feet long. About 15 years ago a slab of rock about 60 feet long and 4 feet thick fell from the underside so no one is allowed to walk beneath it any more. Here is a photo of that arch. Who knows how long it will last due to its very thin structure. The hike to see Landscape Arch is 1.5 miles and the trail continues beyond it to other arches. On the day we chose to be there a hiker broke her ankle while at the furthest point of the trail and had to be helicoptered out. Nature can be dangerous.





The arches were created over 100 million years by underground salt movement, extreme temperatures and erosion by water and ice. The picture here shows some of the "fins" created by pressure forcing rock layers upward. This natural passageway is actually a part of the trail leading to an arch called Sandstone Arch. It's in the middle of a group of these fins and children were having lots of fun using it like a playground.






It rained for a couple of days and afterwards the flowers in the park were blooming everywhere. I don't know what these beautiful deep crimson blooms are but they dot the sandy hills throughout the park.

And here's a prickly cactus sprouting its first brilliant bloom with many others just ready to burst. These are examples of the many purples, oranges, reds and yellows decorating the landscape.





Our stay in Arches National Park is over, but we've moved only about 30 miles away, south of Moab. For now we are boondocking in a beautiful valley with a few RVer friends and some cattle. Looks like we won't be here too much longer though since we had a visit from the State of Utah Trust Land Dept. telling us we need to move on. It's one of those "long stories" that will be told another time. But we will find a place close by. To be continued.

Arches and Mashed Potatoes

Our latest roost is in the beautiful Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Our friends, Jack and Danielle, are volunteer camp hosts here and helped us select the most gorgeous spot of all (#21) in the Devil's Garden campground.
This photo is our view of La Sal Mountain and the natural splendor of the park. It's been cloudy and rainy today but this evening after the rain stopped we had a stunning display when the sun came through the clouds causing many shifting and changing colors on the sandstone in our backyard and the distant mountains.


Yesterday we went off-roading with Danielle and Jack and another couple we like being with, Jan and Geir, whom we met in Moab last year. Knowing they would never steer us wrong, when Geir and Jan kindly offered to take us on a trail called "Mashed Potatoes," we all quickly accepted. It was a great time!
Early in our afternoon's adventure they took us to a very interesting spot where two pieces of mountain have laid against each other somehow, forming a v-shape. Here's a photo of a few of our group entering one side. This opening is about 50 yards long and shows traces of mountain lions inside, seeming to be a perfect shelter for any animal. We all walked from one end to the other. The next photo is Jerry, Jack, Danielle, Geir and Jan at the other end of the tunnel/mountain.





















The next several hours on Mashed Potatoes trail was packed with 4wheeling fun. This area is an array of the petrified sand dunes that could for sure be described as mounds of those yummy potatoes.










Here's a few photos showing the enjoyment we all had in this playground.




Geir showing us how their "Rubi" does its tricks on rocks.




Below Jack and Jerry each pick their own routes, while Danielle gets the best vantage point for a photo.











The last photo on the page is Jerry taking an "extra credit" challenge. This crevice is a favorite spot for anybody wanting to add a little excitement to the trail. You have to be careful not to get a tire in the wrong place and slide sideways into the crack. Geir gave Jerry some great spotting on this one and he had a ball.

There are more photos of today's escapade posted on our photo site. If you would like to see them, click on Utah 2007 in the right column of our blog. When you are on the image page, click Utah 2007 again and then click the Moab file.