elevation, elevation, elevation

After a wonderful week in Albuquerque, I picked John up at the airport. We spent the following day at Petroglyphs National Monument Visitor Center, 2 sites within the park, and Old Town where we had lunch at the Quesadilla Grill. Don't miss it if you're there. The flavors are subtle and wonderful!

Thursday morning we hitched up and on down I-40 we went. The buttes, mesas, and canyons from Albuquerque to the Arizona border are gorgeous, but about impossible to photograph. it's something you simply have to experience. We pulled into the RV Park at Meteor Crater in the early afternoon. Some people would say it's desolate and barren, but all we could say was - wow! Space, beautiful space. We were now at 5700 feet above sea level, which was much better than the 7800' in Taos. Of course John had just returned from Green Bay which is only 581' above sea level, so although I was pretty well adjusted to the mile high elevation, he wasn't. We went on up the road 5 miles to the crater and got out uniforms and stuff and found we were to start on Saturday. Looked around a bit then went back to the rig and crashed. Driving/traveling is exhausting.

Friday we drove the 20 miles back to Winslow for groceries - walmart; then went back up to the crater to see the movies and get a bit more familiar with our new summer home. The crater is a Natural Landmark, and is still owned by the Barringer family. It's 4/5th mile across and 560 feet deep. The meteroite (which was the size of a bus) came in from the east at 26,000 miles per hour and struck   the spot about 50,000 years ago, give or take 3000 years. Barringer secured mining rights from the federal goernment in the early 1900's and tried to prove this was the site of a meteor hit. 2 years after his death, this fact was finally confirmed and accepted by the scientific community. To get a little better idea of how big it is, think about 20 footballs games taking place simultaneously in the crater, or downtown San Francisco being totally swallowed by it. This is the first meteor crater to be proen. it is not the largest crater created by matter from space. Russia has that, and it is 61 miles across! The surrounding 260 acres is pastureland for the T-T cattle ranch. The first tours began in 1942 and cost $.50, and you had to drive 6 miles down a bumpy dirt road to get there. today the price for a regular adult tour is $16, seniors are $15, and juniors ages 6-17 are $8. there are also AAA, military and group rates (over 8 paying guests). Special tours can also be arranged in advance. There is currently a 20 million dollar improvement project underway, which should be completed this fall (2013). Until then, you get your exercise walking up the long ramp (a shuttle will pick you up at the bottom if you push the buzzer). The ticket gets you in the gate. There are 4 observation decks at different levels with telescopes in place; a hands on museum; 2 short informative movies; a 1/2 mile hike out onto the rim with a tour guide @ 5 times per day; a gift shop, rock shop, subway, restrooms of course, a space shuttle from NASA, and yes, the astronauts did train here before the lunar missions. All this and the RV Park (which is very clean and nice with pull through and back in sites and 2 doggie run areas) and a gas station, all owned by Meteor Crater Inc. which leases the land. I'm  really impressed with the whole operation. We are here for our guests, and they ome from all over the world to see this crater. In my firts 2 days of work, I've met people from all over the US and Canada and: England, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and I'm sure I'm missing some. So far I've only worked in Admit, and John in the gift shop and rock shop, but that will change this next week.

We're both enjoying the job, and our bank account will too! We have 3 days off now, and John needed to get down to a lower elevation. He's not been sleeping, and breathing is still a bit of a trick, as is appetite and intestine function, and his sinuses and mine have been rather messed up, so we took a trip down the mountains to Sedona via Oak Creek Canyon and down to Camp Verde where we're staying in a hotel for the first time in over 2 years. We're now at 3147' which is a bit lower than we were in Idaho last year.

It's interesting watching the terrain change from elevation to elevation, but if your body is real sensitive, it can be rather uncomfortable going up and down too!

There and Back Again, well, almost

After 2 months of delaying our departure from Rockport, we finally wound up the hose on the 17th of April and left for a day with our great friends Larry and Lea Chrestman in San Antonio. They just beat us to Hidden Valley RV park where we all used our Passport America cards for one night in door to door sites. Larry took us all in to "the Alamo" for a tour. The trees and flowers were all in bloom and it was so pretty. I'm not usually one to go to battle grounds. The energy in so many of those places feels awful, but the energy has cleared at the Alamo, and it was very enjoyable. The displays were very informative, and the building and grounds were in great shape after all this time. There is a donation box, but no formal admission fee, so that was nice.



A short 2 block walk took us to the River Walk, which we'd heard so much about, but mover seen. I had no idea! It was beautiful! Sculpted paths lined both sides of the river which flowed through a man made canal. Restaurants, shops and motels lined the shores along with beautiful landscaping - trees and flowers and shrubbery. A mama duck and her little ducklings swam along and birds flew through singing as they went. I would stop there again in a heartbeat. We had lunch at this silly cafe where the waitresses make fun with you and make you walk down to get your food from the other end of the table. What a riot. Everyone had a wonderful time.  Cheese n crackers and a shot glass of Krupnik (compliments of our daughter Krystal and her boyfriend Kiff) finished off the evening. (Krupnik is a homemade Polish liquor that resembles mead and is made from vodka, honey and lots of wonderful spices. It's potent stuff! And delicious.)

Next morning we caravanned to Brownsfield, Texas where we all stayed in a little city park. This is Larry's hometown, and it's a very nice place. We went out to a little Mexican restaurant for dinner, and another little place with fantastic food for lunch the next day. Sorry, don't remember the names, but Lea can fill them in I bet. John and I stayed an extra day just to relax. Put on over 400 miles the day before. We got to meet some of Larry's family too, and they're a great bunch of people,

O the 20th we pulled out and headed for Taos. Nothing but oil fields as far as the eye can see for a long way- almost all the way to Roswell. Some barren but beautiful country. Roswell had the cheapest gas we'd seen in a long time; $1.53 a gallon for diesel. We had a headwind all the way, almost as if someone was saying, wait, no, don't go that way! A little foreshadowing there. From Roswell, we went up through Vaughn and on up to Santa Fe. The road signs in Texas had been so fantastic, never a question about where to go. New Mexico is different. A sign will come up with an arrow, but that doesn't mean you take the next left (or right) it just means that somewhere up ahead you'll be turning. It's a very laid back sort of system, and not extremely helpful. Thanks to the great road signs we got to see quite a bit of Santa Fe, housing, schools.... Just the places to be pulling an RV through, but we did finally get through and on up the mountain. Gee, it's getting kinda hard to breathe, you noticing it too John? And there's still a headwind. The mountains are beautiful, and .... Snow capped! Wow was a very common word as we continued on. We finally got to Taos about an hour before sunset then 5 miles East of town to our campground. Ken met us at the entrance and helped us fill up our tank with water as the campground water wasn't turned on yet. Been too cold. Hmmm. You short of breath too? Yup. Headache too. The campground was cute - small. Are you going to be able to get our rig in there? Where do we park the truck? The stream is really pretty. "That will be drying up in not too long" we're told. Oh. We're in a canyon that is breathtaking, and very dry. Next day we get a tour of the campground, following day. Start work. I'm nauseous, light headed,sucking air, but this will pass...Johns sucking air. The computer- has an "A" drive. The one next to it has directions on how to start it in "safe mode".   Hmmm. We ordered open campground right away so we'd have some sort of registration system to work with.  It gets better, but I'm not going there. I will say that the promised cell phone signal didn't exist.

After 3 days, I was scrambling to find us another job for the summer, between sucked in breaths and a mind that just didn't want to work real well. John was having a hard time breathing too - worse than me I think. OK, don't panic. John, I said don't panic! This will all work out fine.  Did a quick update on our resume on workamper.com and checked the hotlist - I think that's what it's called. We needed something at a lower elevation and not to far away. Gas will eat up your checkbook.  Hey, look at this, Meteor Crater Visitor Center. That's not too far from here, and it's paid! So made a quick phone call - oh, it's Sunday. Made up a site specific resume and got it sent out and low and behold, when I got done working the next day, I had an email waiting!  We went into town to make a phone call, and decided Pizza Hut would be a wonderful idea. Food is always so relaxing. And, then phone rang, and it was Lanah from Meteor Crater. Ahhhh, see, everything will be just fine. Seems she needed us as much as we needed her. 

So, John took the airport charter down to Albuquerque on Wednesday morning and flew into Green Bay for his mom's 98th birthday celebration. I went into the office and gave Ken the bad news. 6 days had passed, and I still was having problems breathing, light headed, massive headache and intestinal problems. I had told him from the start that I would do whatever I could to help, but that I wouldn't hurt myself in the process. I felt bad leaving like that, but really didn't have a choice. I worked that day and helped train Airen for a couple hours the next morning after hitching up the rig. Then I climbed in the truck, turned the key and all by my little lonesome with Sammy dog riding shotgun, I drove down the mountain.

As it turned out, we had quite a few offers. Many from our wonderful friends at Dworshak Dam in Idaho, but we just didn't want to go that far. We also got a note from Texas saying we could come back to our favorite park and work there for the summer, and we got an offer from Bryce Canyon (hmm, that might be interesting in the future) and one from a campground in Colorado. See, everything works out.
Pictures coming soon.

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Read There and Back again first!

Straight down the mountain I went on Interstate 25 into Albuquerque, hang a right and head west on Interstate 40 and get off on Atrisco Blvd. Turn left across the bridge and right on the frontage road and on into High Desert RV Park for a week. No Problems! It was really a great drive, and the lower I got in elevation, the better I felt. This is a great little park right off the interstate. Yes, you can hear the trucks going by, but it's very clean, reasonable and on the very edge of Albuquerque.  Note to self: make sure there's enough room to open the slide BEFORE you get everything hooked up.  If you have a problem, borrow someone else's man to help.  This was too funny. I couldn't get the lever pulled out far enough to dislodge the rig from the truck. There was a fella walking to his rig just about across from mine, so I walked over and asked if he might help me with it. Like a flash of lightning, his girlfriend appeared from in her little casita and glued herself to him. No way was he coming over here with a strange beautiful woman ( well, yeah!) without her. Like I was trying to find myself a man for the night or something. I giggled about it to myself for awhile afterwards! He said he had an injury and wasn't sure he'd be able to do it - yeah, this was a soft city boy. I like my man, period.Anyway, he did finally get it to unlatch. I think I need some grease on that lever - it was pretty rusted from our stay on the coast.

Two exits back east is Unser Blvd, and to the left on Unser, down through the construction and housing developments is Petroglyphs National Monument. That's were I headed after finishing set up. Thought Sam would like a nice walk. He was so excited to go for a walk, AND a truck ride! Sam has never seen the desert, or the sand, though he has experienced buffalo grass which isn't much different from sand burrs. Poor little guy, I didn't think he'd have any problem, but he did not like the sand - at all! We didn't go too far, and while I was looking at the volcanic boulders with petroglyphs carved into them, he laid down and didn't want to get back up, so we headed back to the truck. So much for a hiking companion. What an incredible place though.

Saturday was the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center for me. It's $6 to get in, and well worth it. The gallery is filled with map paintings - something unique to this area, and incredible to see. The people of the 19 pueblos of New Mexico are working to keep their culture alive, and these paintings are being done to keep the names of their sacred places known. Prints of the work are available only to Native American people, so the only way we white folks can see them is to visit the Cultural Center. I so respect these people and their culture. They respect the earth and they teach their children to respect it also. They understand that none of us "own" it, and that we must care for it so it will be there for our grand children and their grand children. They know that what we do to the earth, we do to ourselves. They are heart and soul. I guess that tells you what I think of "our" culture. Enough said.
I waited to come here on the weekend to experience the dancers. Since this week was the gathering of Nations here in Albuquerque, they had three dance troops performing for 6 hours. I got to enjoy Zuni hoop dancers, Zuni Basket (water jar) Dancers and singers, and Apache Cloud dancers. They were wonderful! Artisans were also there vending their work, and it was all so beautiful. I bought a Pueblo Cookie around noon. It was the size of a mall pretzel, and delicious! Not too sweet, and very satisfying. The lower level is a museum with incredible pottery, beadwork and the story of the people as they tried to survive all the changes that were forced on them. I had a wonderful day!

Sunday the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History is free from 9am to 1pm (its normally $4 to get in), so I drove down to Old Town and toured the museum. Outside is a sculpture garden that is a must see! It's on 19th Ave. Life size bronze figures of early settlers, oxen, horses, mama's and babies, children, a dog, soldiers. It was incredible! The museum was between shows, so only 2 galleries were open. The paintings were ok. There was one that I really liked of a coyote's upper body & head. You'd swear it was going to jump right out of the frame. I spent about an hour there. Just behind the museum and through the tile and adobe archway is old town. What a riot! It reminded me of Wisconsin Dells and Nogales, Mexico. Shop till you drop! I thoroughly enjoyed going through all the shops and looking at everything. Turquoise jewelry and Native pottery everywhere and everything else. I had lunch in a cute little café and then headed back to the truck. Lunch was my only purchase.
Found a grocery store (Smith's) on the corner of Central and Coors many blocks west of Old
Town. That was my second purchase of the day. Fresh white corn tortillas, salsa, lime, tomatoes, oranges... yum!

Today I headed back over to Petroglyphs National Monument. Sam stayed home. I found a great seat in a shady spot up in the volcanic boulders and just took it all in. I even had a new melody come to me, and I played it into garage band right there on the spot. Cool! I saw 3 little lizards, a hummingbird and a beautiful big yellow butterfly, and of course many interesting rock carvings. This is a very popular place, and people were walking by frequently, so solace wasn't possible, but I found the quiet within for a little bit. I decided to try to find another site within the park and discovered that urban sprawl has surrounded the different areas, and remember those signs I talked about in the last blog? Well, I never did find the 2nd site. I was going to check out the one on the back side of the park that is down Atrisco in the opposite direction from home, but I'm comfortable and just going to have a leisurely dinner and relax.

I've enjoyed Albuquerque. I was having trouble believing there are over a million people here, until today driving around looking for the other Natural site. The houses are huge! Urban sprawl hasn't missed Central New Mexico. It's a wonder the water shed can support this many people. There are many other things to see here; botanical gardens, zoo, aquarium, natural history museum... but I experienced what I wanted to.

Tomorrow I get to pick up my honey from the airport. This has been a good week, but I'll be so happy to have my best friend back.  I wish I could have gone with him, but with our 3 little furry friends, it just wasn't possible. This was the best solution since I couldn't stay in Taos.

I'll get some pictures posted as soon as I shrink them down to a better size.

5 months on the Coastal Bend

Wow, we've been here just about 6 months. Seems like we arrived yesterday, and I'm not ready to go anywhere else, yet. It's been a busy and joyful 5 months. The first 3 were spent at Ancient Oaks RV Park. There we met Rose and Ted, from Ontario, Canada. John was outside playing his dulcimer and Rose stopped by to see what that strange instrument was. She ended up buying one and becoming a student, and wonderful friend. Ted bought one too - his is like a banjo, so we had a wonderful time teaching and jamming with them. Rose and I did several market day shopping trips - took the guys home once so we could all enjoy the day!

October and November were quite warm and wonderful! Wrote a few new songs there! Kimmie allowed me to play music outside her shop - the healthfood store- right across from the harbor. I so enjoyed sitting on the front porch and playing for whomever came by. The harbor was right across the way, and I could hear the sound of seagulls, and hardware hitting the masts of the boats as a warm breeze blew through my hair.

Our daughter Krystal and her boyfriend Kiff spent a week with us right after Christmas. We went dolphin watching on Port A (and got sand blasted - it was blowing something fierce that day!) had some wonderful meals and spent time in the pool and hot tub. We also went to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi - that was amazing. I loved the little sea horses!

 Texas State Aquarium www.texasstateaquarium.org   I think that week was the coldest week we had all winter! They said it was warm, but they had come down from Minneapolis, and it was alot colder and whiter up there! They even went horseback riding on the beach out on the island.

John and I followed The Biggest Looser's exercise and diet program for the first 12 weeks. We both lost 15 lbs. Then we moved over to Copano Bay, and our exercise habit changed. I wasn't feeling too well for a couple weeks, and we just wanted to rest and sleep - which is OK.

January 19th we moved over to Copano Bay RV Park, and absolutely love it here. The park is right on the water, so we can walk down and enjoy the pier. The circle drive is all cement as is our pad and everything is so clean. Walking around the "circle" is 1/2 mile, so exercise is easy. Everyone is so friendly, and there are so many activities. John is enjoying playing poker, and the pot lucks are great. There are crafts and exercise and jams!  We've had dulcimer jams every Tuesday afternoon and regular jams on Tuesday evenings. It's great playing music with other people. I'm orgainzing the dulcimer players music for next year so we're "all on the same page" so to speak and will be ready come winter. This year there were 5 of us, next year we could easily have 10.

I've been busy arranging the music I wrote in Idaho and am working on a relaxation CD. It's coming along nicely. I also took out a membership with www.songramp.com  (I'm Riverwind out there) and am enjoying the community very much. I currently have 4 pieces out there. I am currently collaborating with a new friend on one of my songs. Now it's our song. Hans has done an incredible job arranging it, and writing a chorus. We've been working on the lyrics also. Will be interesting to see where this all goes. It's time for the music. Been working hard on the keyboard also, sightreading and transposing and just getting my skills back and improved. Days I get to "work" on music, I smile all day long.

On another beautiful day, we met our great friends Larry and Lea in Palacios for a picnic. Finally got to share the bottle of wine we picked up in Deadwood, S.D. on the way back from Idaho. It was wonderful! Another get together found the four of us out on Port Aransas. They were going to take us to the Port A Brewing Company, but it was closed! So we took them to our favorite place - Mobi Dicks. Great food and friends. John and I celebrated our anniversary dinner there too. And yet another get together was spent up in Sugarland (Houston). Sammy dog really enjoyed the trip to Houston. He even got to come along for lunch at the outside cafe. It was fantastic. The courthouse in Sugarland is beautiful, and the grounds around it also. The history of the area is enscribed on the brick walkway in front of the building and there's a beautiful fountain.

 

In February John and I went deep sea fishing. I've never been out on the gulf, and didn't know how I'd do. This is the first year I could do it. Too afraid in the past, but that fear is gone. Actually, John did the fishing, I just went along for the experience. It was rougher than anticipated, but I loved every minute of it. Three people were totally out of it and laying down inside, and 2 others were sick on deck. I felt a little guilty when I went in and asked what they had for lunch. The sandwich was delicious!  We had 6 - 10' swells out there that day. It was like being rocked in a cradle. At one of the fishing spots, a shrimp boat was anchored nearby. You can see a little bit of the waves, and one of John's Red Snapper. It was out of season so he had to throw it back, but he had a great time bringing it in.

 

We did get our fishing licenses this year, but haven't done much fishing, and the times we have been out, we haven't gotten much of anything. John does better when I stay home. He got a 70 lb. black drum one day, and a 50 pounder another. Too bad they're not good to eat when they're that big.

We've been so happy to see other friends that we met last year too. Serge and Nancy from Ontario, Mary, Jon and Pearl from Michigan, Karen and Steve from Wisconsin, Kay from Tennessee, Leonard and Terese from Washington, Mitch and Barb out in Lamar. We visited Big tree again, and I sat recording the birds and the gentle waves coming in off St Charles Bay. I'm using that recording in parts of the new CD.

We also took a day trip down to the valley (La Faria) to see Sally and Ross - who we workamped with in Idaho. They  showed us around the area. The sugarcane fields down there are a sight to see. We had a great time. They're hoping we might stay down there next year, but we like Rockport. It's quiet and tranquil here. The valley's energy is very busy, and immense.

We had planned on going up to the Hill Country and stay near Medina for a month, but the nights are still cold up there, and we so love it here. When you're happy somewhere, why leave?



Friends, family and time to come home

I have been such a loner for so much of my life that friendships have been few. The true meaning of friendship came through while we were home. John had some medical issues and instead of our planned 2 weeks, it ended up being 4. We were camped in our friends Jeff and Marlene's backyard, and I'm so grateful for all they did for us. When things got rough, they were right there lending support. It was a wonderful experience. I was able to help Marlene with some projects around the house, and she fed us wonderful meals. She is an incredible cook! John and Jeff went fishing. We also got to reconnect with Shelly, our youngest's godmom,and I spent an afternoon with Dawn and another with Jenny. I'm so grateful for our friends! We also got to spend some wonderful time with our girls. Thankfully, all of John's tests came out ok, and he got the green light from his doctors to head south AND to begin exercising.

It took us four days to get to Rockport this year, and I'm O so happy to be home! We're staying in town, so we're close to everything, and I'm now playing music in front of the Health Food Store in Old Town (right across from the water!) two days a week. I'll also be playing at some craft fairs, and we'll see what else develops. My creativity has been flowing like crazy and I've at least a half dozen new pieces done or in progress! Last year's Texas trip only brought 1 song, so this is amazing. Belly Dance Class is also on my agenda, and I attended the first one last week. I'm meeting so many wonderful light minded ladies. I'm tickled!

John and I have been doing some fishing, but the best for John was yesterday when he went out to Goose Island and caught a 44" 70 lb. Black Drum! He was just tickled, and I'm so happy for him. We've been out to the Island a few times fishing and dolphin watching. We've seen several sea turtles.

The 2nd Saturday of every month is Market Day in Goliad, and we had a wonderful day. The Live music was great! It turns out that Goliad had 2 market days in Dec. The first Saturday is all hand made items (Christmas Shopping) the 2nd Sat. is the regular market. We may have to take another trip over that way in a couple weeks!

We're beginning our 4th week here, and I still have to pinch myself - are we really here! HAPPY!

The Biggest Loser and a couple of winners

Making the decision to go Fulltiming brings about many lifestyle changes. This fall I went through some pretty emotional trauma due to our fulltiming decision which we love but some family members are pretty unhappy about. As a result of that, I am freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. (I won't go into details, it wasn't pretty) So I'm taking the bull by the horns and making some other positive changes in my life. One of which deals with menopause and the thickening around the waistline! UGHHHHH, what happened there?

John has also been carrying around alot of extra weight for many years, and decided now is the time to do something about it, and in so doing, maybe be able to get off of the regiment of pills he's taking daily.

We began at the library of course. I went in search of better recipes, a better cookbook, and oh my the assortment. After going through many many books, I discovered Jillian Michaels, The Master your Metabolism Cookbook. WOW. Low calorie, easy to follow, delicious stuff, and there was the Biggest Loser International Cookbook also. This was exactly what I was looking for. We've been watching The Biggest Loser for years. (I did join a gym a few years back, and truely enjoyed the workouts and the results, but my partner, well. Wisconisin isn't real conducive to walking - at least for 5 or 6 months when the hazzard of freezing to death or slipping on the ice is greater than going the distance. So after returning from a trip to C. America, I didnt' continue. Shame on me!) So, I went out to Amazon and did a search, and there they were! Each for under $9, and the exercise book was there too, so I also got that.

We both read the later cover to cover and decided to begin when we arrived back here in our favorite place in the world. Texas. Today we begin week 4, but I'll backtrack to week one of our journey. Sorry, pics are just too embarrassing!

The workout is not difficult, well, it gets better. We found out how incredibly important the warmup and cooldown is. That stretching is NOT part of the warmup - stretching is a great way to tear muscle if they are not warmed up! Circuit Training (which means you only allow 4-8 seconds between the exercises, so you go from one right into another - I made up a paper that we hang up in front of us with the exercises in order so we can easily keep going without checking the book) And When doing muscle training - which is what the circuit training is, you never do it 2 days in a row. Every other day, so we chose to do M-W-F and take Saturday and Sunday off. Mornings are best for us. We purchased some inexpensive Heart Monitors ($28 at Walmart) and 2 elasticy stretch ropes (under $7) each. We're also using My Fitness Pal out on the web to keep track of calories. Another app out there is Calorie Count and I've found some more wonderful healthy recipes on there!
We do our weigh in on Mondays.

Week One
We're excited to begin. Workout one. Ouch, I can't believe I can't do these for a minute. It's great we have a fitness center at our RV park to work out in. Also started walking on the beach on T, Th. Couldn't make it to the pavilion halfway down the beach.The workout took us about 50 minutes (everything was new) John had numerous dizzy spells and had to sit down until they passed. We perservered and finished and figured, it can only get better from here!

Starting weight  - waistline          John  227- 46       Deb   151 - 33.5
                
Week 2
The routine was easier, we're feeling good about exercising.
weight   - waist  - (GAIN or LOSS)     John 224 - 47  (-3)   Deb 145 - 35.3 (-6)

Week 3
Hey, this is getting easier! We both feel great about the workout. We can feel the difference! Deb made it all the  way to the pier at the far end of the beach. Might have overdone just a bit, sore the next day. John almost made it to the pier! John had a diet slip when we got together with friends and the guys had a couple beers and a huge steak. I also think we're building muscle which is heavier than fat. Only explanation I can think of, cause my calories were good. Maybe a little low - I can't believe it, but not eatting enough will cause you to gain weight.

weight - waist - (GAIN or LOSS) John 228 - 44.25 -  (+4) Deb 147 - 33 - (+2)

Week 4

Wow! One thing I noticed last night is that meals are now coming together very easily! (this is coming from the fingertips of a woman who hasn't enjoyed cooking (or done much of it for quite a few years!) I've been making us delicious meals for a full 3 weeks! I've also found that I haven't been eatting enough for quite a long time. John is having problems meeting his caloric requirements, so I'm making 3 servings and needing some healthy snacks etc. to get him there. John is doing 1800 calories a day, and I'm allowed 1200 calories. My Fitness Pal keeps track of nutrients, so it's easy to see if you're eatting a balanced diet with your carbs, protein and fat in the right amounts. My clothes are beginning to fit again! It's a work out day, and we're about ready to begin.

weight - waist - (GAIN or LOSS) John 222 - 43 3/4  (-6) Deb 141 -  31 3/4  (-6)

Week 5

weight - waist - (GAIN or LOSS) John 220 - 43 1.2  (-2) Deb 139 - 31  (-2)

I got very involved with my music this past week, and we didn't do our morning walks. Still, progress is seen! Week 5 begins a new set of upper, core and lower body exercises, and we're hurtin! Lots of crunchies and squats and T raises. No Pain, No Gain, or should I say loss. This just means we're engaging unused muscles and we'll feel all the better for it. I'm really starting to think bicycle! Still don't know if my hips will handle it, but I'm thinking about it alot. There's a recumbent bicycle machine in the exercise room, and I'm going to try it out and see how it feels. It would be wonderful to be able to ride again!

We're alsoo making some allowances for Thanksgiving - namely eatting a light breakfast then watching portions and enjoying the food. We're attending the park Thanksgiving Potluck. This should be interesting!

Oh, I found some more wonderful recipes. Why didn't I think to look here sooner? http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/social/rachels-nutrition-blog/2012/07/beans-beans-the-more-you-eat/

Week 6

Thanksgiving did us in. I gained a pound, and John gained 6! Pot Lucks are deadly! I think it was the pie table - mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Also struggled with meals this past week. Week 5 was the hardest week for me so far. I just ached. We started the second series of exercises, and they include alot of crunches and squats. However, we persevered and got through it. onward.

weight - waist - (GAIN or LOSS) John 226 -    (+6) Deb 140   (+1)

Week 7

OK, we both lost a pound. Good, but we were hoping our hard work would show a little more. No measurements this week. We were also introduced to a new book by some friends called "Wheat Belly". Very interesting indeed, and well worth the read! We went off of wheat on Monday 12/3. Today is the 6th, and I'm going through withdrawal. Picked up some spelt berries yesterday; ground it this morning and made Banana Blueberry muffins. They are wonderful! We can do this! I remember the last time I went off of Wheat about 15 years ago. I did a 28 day fast, eatting vegetables and cooked oatmeal. I lost 15 lbs and felt fabulous. My head was clear, I had energy....... I didn't connect how I felt with the absence of wheat until now. So we've purged the rig of wheat - did you know even Soy Sauce has wheat in it?????

weight  (GAIN or LOSS) John 225    (-1) Deb 139   (-1)

Week 8

weight - waist (GAIN or LOSS) John 221 - 43.5"   (-4)  Deb 139 - 31.5  (0)

John had a good week!  He lost 4 lbs and 1 1/4 " in his hips. I'm so proud of him. He's really dedicated himself to this!!!! Going out to eat isn't helping me. Darnit. Trying to stay off of wheat and going out to eat doesn't work. How can I calculate how much cheese was in the quesadia - it was a homemade corn tortilla, but... Also, the withdrawal off the wheat was difficult, and I was hungry. We'll just keep going. I can do this. On the positive side, I lost an inch in my hips and an inch and a half in my chest. That's worth smiling about! I also realized last Monday that I am not a belly dancer. My lower back and hips ache whenever I dance, and I was careful to do the movements correctly; however, I am a musician who loves to play for belly dancers! Another step forward. The spelt flour muffins seemed to cloud my head and makes me feel bloated. hm.

Week 9  weight -  John 223   Deb 140

Week 10 - Christmas week   weight - John 224   Deb 138

Week 11   John - 122   Deb - 138

Week 12   John 118    Deb 136

The past 12 weeks have flown by so fast. I was hoping the weight would come off faster, but we've both lost 15 lbs and that's something to be very proud of. John had a rough week at Christmas and lost 2 days of working out, but came right back to it. I missed a day, but changed the MWF that week to T TH S so didn't loose the flow.  Today it's down right cold out there, and the fitness center here at the park is not heated, and it's not kept clean, so we decided to try it here in the rig with just space and our Gold's gym stretchy ropes. I think I actually got a better workout here than I have over there with the weights! I've outgrown the 5# weights, but the 10# are too much for me, but the stretchy ropes or whatever they're called worked great! Now we know we can do this literally anywhere! The thing we're having the hardest time with is, of course, food. Planning meals is time consuming, and preparing them even moreso. Sometimes it's fun, but it's day in and day out. I've been experimenting with ezekiel bread, and we're liking the results. Just about out of buckwheat so will have to order more. Using a meat grinder to process the sprouted grains and beans and a slow oven to finish the bread. More experimenting to come, but it's delicious, easy to digest and very healthy. Sometimes, the old/ancient ways are the best!

Crazyhorse Monument

If you think Mt. Rushmore is something, you haven't seen anything! This is our second visit to the Crazyhorse Monument which is located on hwy 385 between Hill City and Custer. The Mt. Rushmore sculpture would fit inside the head and feathers of Crazyhorse. It is a work in progress begun in 1948 by the Boston born sculptor Karczak Ziolkowski. It is 563' high by 641' long. The three-dimentional sculpture is of the Warrior Crazyhorse on horseback pointing, in answer to the question posed by a white man asking the derisive question "Where are your lands now?" - It says, "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

 

 

 

The project is soley funded by private parties. No federal or state money is accepted. The Indian Museum of North America is but one of the buildings on site, and a wonderful place to spend an afternoon, or donate your native american pieces to. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

 

 

 

The beadwork is incredibly beautiful, as are the weavings, painting...

 

The artwork comes from the native peoples themselves and is but a beautiful shadow of the native american people themselves.

 

Upon entering the museum, there is an orientation video explaining the history and reasons for the monument. The mission of the memorial foundation is to protet and preserve the future, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. The entire project is a work of love. Finally something given back for everything that was taken.

 

Laughing Waters Restaurant has wonderful food at competitive rates and the staff are all very friendly and helpful. The gift shop is a large artisan's shop with beautiful pottery, quilts, baskets, beadwork, jewelry, and music, along with books, beautiful t-shirts and too many other things to mention. There is a snack shop. The Sculptor's Log Studio Home and Workshop, the American Indian Cultural Center made from blast fragments, statuary, a Bronze Showroom, conference center, viewing veranda. A lazar light show is presented at dark nightly Memorial Day through Naive Americans' Day (weather permitting) It's so worth going to see. We'll make another trip out here for this. Admission is $10 for adults or $27 for a carload; 6 and under are free. It's open yearround.

www.crazyhorsememorial.org

 

Although Korczak passed on in 1983, his wife Ruth and 7 of their 10 children are still devoting their lives to the project. It is a testiment in faith and dedication. This has real meaning. After seeing what has become of Deadwood since we were last here @13 years ago, Crazyhorse Monument has only gotten better, while greed seems to have destroyed Deadwood. We won't bother stopping there again. It isn't even a shadow of what it once was. In fact, it is unrecognizable, and not in a good way.

 

The Indian University of North America and Medical Training center are future plans for the memorial. This was the first year summer classes for credit were completed, so this plan is coming into being as you read this.