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.



Whew! Where'd the summer go?

Wow, I've got a little bit of catching up to do here. What a summer! This has been the best summer I can remember in many many years, even better than than the Ren Fair - don't throw anything at me my Ren Fair friends!!! Let me explain. Every year at the fair, there was some type of tension or problem or something that was somewhat unpleasant to the last fair being totally intolerable. The patrons were wonderful, the playing music was incredible, and 98% of the commeraderie was world class, but here at Dworshak, there were so few little irritations that they basically didn't even exist. We loved every minute of it. The mountains were phenomonial, and getting to drive through them to get to our maintenance sites was incredible. We saw deer - lots and lots of deer every time we went out. All of the rangers were top notch - I can't say enough! Thanks you guys, you all made it great! Our co-volunteers were great people, and we had a blast. The trips we took with Sally and Ross were a hoot, we laughed from the time we left the campsite until long after we got back. The pie, oh my, the pie at the Kooskie Cafe, and in Grangeville (sorry, I don't remember the name of the place - Sally, Help!) was Ooooooo so good, and then there was The Cakery/Bakery in Orofino. OOoooooooo. Yes, I'm typing with my stomach. Our pot lucks and Sally's Cooking, and Al's too for that matter, man could those two cook! Steve and Liz are great people, and I learned alot about Solar from Steve, and had a wonderful swim with Liz. The Boat rides, the "Starry Starry Night" event on Aug 25th with an astronomer and his 4 telescopes and us and our music and 126 people in attendance done on top of the dam with the lights off - Took me back to when I was a little girl out in my canoe at night with my guitar playing music to the ducks and just drinking in the heavens and listening to the water and the warm wind. I had the wonderful experience of working with Brittney and teaching beading and card weaving. Brit and I went hiking at Elk Creek Falls, and at the Old Growth Cedar Forest - North of Elk River.

 

 

Brittney and the 3000 yr old cedar!

John and I met so many wonderful people, and I even gave a dulcimer lesson just before we left. Found two great Trading Posts - The Eagles Nest in Orofino and the one in Lapwei supplied me with beautiful beads and the other necessities to create my headpiece (the little turtle was a birthday present, Thank you Sally! ) and earrings and other projects that may come later.

my interpretation of the Clearwater River and the Mountains near Lapwai

We attended the Caritas Choral - Nez Perce Promises in Lapwei, jet boated through Hells Canyon - I feel sad that many of the ranches we visited that day are now gone with the fires of August. The roadtrip to up to White Bird Pass and down through the Greer Grade, and the Cavendish Grade and up to Cour du Lain were fantastic. We saw 3 wolves in wheat fields in different places. The turkey visited us in the campground. We laid out on our hammock and air chair in the middle of the road (behind the locked gate) under the stars and watched the meteor shower - what a beautiful sky! Al showed me where to go to download ebooks to the computer and then to the tablet. Every time we were off we'd take a ride down to Lewiston/Clarkston to make phone calls (T-Mobile does not work anywhere from Lolo to just outside Lewiston on  Hwy 12) and hit Walmart for groceries. The mountains are so different down there. I called them "naked" for there are no trees like up in Orofino and Asahaka. Outside of the canyon, up on top, it's farm fields as far as the eye can see. The things we saw growing were wheat, canola and garbanzo beans. After harvest in August, they burn off the fields. the smoke from that, and the forest fires made the air thick and at times the visibility was almost nothing. This was an unsettling experience for us, for we are not used to that in the midwest, but for the locals, it's just part of living here.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Rose-Cafe/289791082146#!/dworshakdam , corpslakes.usace.army.mil › Corps Lakes Gateway › Idaho Along with doing maintenance, 4 on and 4 off, I helped out in the visitor center a few times when Ross was having some health issues. I found I really enjoyed that too. I learned a great deal about the dam and the surrounding area. For example: the corp owns @ 30,000 acres which includes the 54 mile long Reservoir. The water at full pool is 650' deep at the dam. The dam is the tallest straight axis dam in the US and only 9" shorther than Hoover. Dworshak is 717' tall, 35 feet across on the top and 535' across at the bottom and 3300 feet long. It is composed of monolith blocks and the weight of them alone is what keeps it in place. There are 7 boat ramps, 100 mini camps, 3 day use areas, and 5 campgrounds (2 are State Park). As I understand it, up until Labor Day weekend this year, there had never been a drowning in over 40 years. If anyone is looking for a great place to volunteer, I can recommend Dworshak Dam and Reservoir with 5 stars. It was a fantastic experience!!!

We had been planning to wait until the 15th of Sept to head out, but it got so quiet and the clean up dwindled down so much after Labor Day that we decided to head out on the 10th instead. We got Sam into Dr. Wolverton (Vet) for a nail clipping and to pick up Revolution (anti-flea,tick,worm, mite stuff) for when we get down south, turned in our mailbox key at the post office, packed up and pulled out about 3pm.

We got very lucky. Saturday the smoke from the forest fires was funneling down the canyon into and through Orofino, but on Monday, the wind was out of the S-SW and didn't bother us until we were almost to Powell Ranger Station. Just West of there there was smoke coming from it seemed just about everywhere. You couldn't see any flames, but the mountains were on fire all around us. Fire is a natural thing, but seeing it is an experience. We stayed at "Square Dance Center and Campground" again on the way back. This is a 67 site campground. Electric and Water were $24 for the night. Full hookups are also available. The park is very clean and has beautiful Ponderosa Pine everywhere. I'd stay here again anytime. www.lolocampndance.com

Last night we stayed at the Old West RV Park http://oldwestrvpark.com/ in Reed Point, Montana. This is also a great little park, and it's a Passport America Park. It's right off the highway, easy access. Clean, friendly. The scenery for the past two days has been wonderful. So beautiful. Lunch was at the Sunset Rose Cafe in Ranchester, WY http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Rose-Cafe/289791082146 . I had a $6 hamburger which included lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle, chips, AND a slice of watermelon, pineapple and a quarter of an orange! It was fantastic. I was hungry for fruit and the addition of that on the plate without asking for it was GREAT! Tonight we're in Buffalo, WY at the Indian RV Park. We got a Good Sam 10% Discount and it was still $37.50 for 1 night. I'm appauled. Yeah, they have a pool, but it's too cold to use it. The shower was nice, but ...... Anyway, we were tired and couldn't go any farther. I've made reservations for the next 4 nights. 2 near Deadwood, and 2 near Crazy Horse Monument. We'll see about staying near the Badlands after that. We love this area. Happy Travels!

Hells Canyon!

Oh did we have a day yesterday! It was undescribably fantastic! We booked a full day with Snake Dancer Excursions out of Clarkston, WA with Sally and Ross (http://www.snakedancerexcursions.com/). I suprised John and was up and dressed before the alarm went off at 4:30 am. Had everything ready and was taking fresh hummingbird nectar out to the feeder when Kaylee decided to join me outside. Of All Mornings for her to demand to be out! So while chasing her around, I tripped over Sally and Rosses water line, which of course started spraying ice cold water at me and drenched my pants. Ok, Kaylee is out; Nothing to be done about that, but have to change into something dry, and those were my most comfortable pair of jeans! - khakis would have to do. I got all our stuff loaded - camera, digital audio recorder (which I wish I could have used cause I had was humming a new song out on  the boat, but the motors were too loud to get any kind of recording), 2 pair binoculars, 2 jackets, 4 hats (opps, how did I manage that, only needed 2), phones (oh, no,  just one -John's was in my jeans pocket- which I had to change due to the first outside shower of the day), and 2 big bottles of gatorade. Sally and Ross were equiped with about the same, but they had the sun screen! Good idea!!!

 

Our Great Friends Sally and Ross Giacomo and us, before the trip.

 

 We had a jolly ride to Clarkston arriving about 6:15 - yes a bit early, but we weren't about to miss the boat! Gabe was our captain, and we left the dock at 7 am. There were 8 of us in all, but being with Sally and Ross made all the difference in the world, we had a blast. The boat would accomodate probably 20 people when full, though there were 18 of us on the way back (a boat from another company blew an engine out on the river, and we waited about an hour for them and brought them back with us.) We hadn't paid to go all the way to the dam, but another couple paid the extra $100 each to go that far, so we all got to go! Yes, it was expensive (with taxes it came to $175 each), but it was worth every single penny! John and I started by sitting inside the covered part of the boat, but then Sally and Ross went to the high seats way in the back above the 2 - 350 horsepower Johnson motors. After our second stop, John and I joined them on the other side. In the back you have a better view (Oh the views! The pictures look like nothing at all compared to the real thing), and you have a more interesting ride, Wind, Sun, Water! The 4 of us were all laughing so hard, every time Gabe did a little fish tail or something, and the more we laughed, the more he did it. Sally still had wet pants when we got home, and she had to wring out her socks! After one little soaking, I had to unroll the cuff on my jacket to let the water run out! It was a gas! The other two couples weren't as goofy as we were, but I think Gabe appreciated our joy. One lady couldn't swim and was uncomfortable being around the water, but she did great and overcame her fear. So here we are in the back, sun beating down on us, wind whipping us, water coming at us, and we just roared. Everytime the water hit I became a squeeky toy and squeeled with joy. Sally's laughter reminded Gabe of his mom, so that was sweet too, and he enjoyed it. On the way back we discovered the other tour boat wasn't as... jolly? as ours. When we laughed and  squeeled, they turned around and looked at us as if we were out of our minds. Too bad they didn't have as much fun as we did! We finally had enough though and surrendered our seats to a couple fellows, a father and son I think, and shortly we heard more laughter from behind us. At least they got into the spirit of it!

  

Gabe is a Coast Guard certified boat captain for inland waterways, and I've never seen a waterway like this one. Nothing to fool around with. The water was running at over 22,000 cubic feet per second in the river yesterday which is high (17,000 is about normal, and at 17,000 cfs the 2 big rapids by the dam are class 4) Yesterday they were class 5, which is crazy. I didn't want to go through anything worse than a class 3, but Gabe was extremely professional and knew exactly what he was doing and how to go about mastering those wicked, wild, rolling rapids. Our boat only needs 5 to 6 inches of water, and is flat bottomed and quite wide - it sat 4 across comfortably plus the center isle. Never once did I feel any fear at what we were going through, even when one of the last 2 really big ones -  one of the class 5-'s was an 18 foot difference between top and bottom and we went through it sideways on the way down! The trip upstream was incredible, and that's when I took all of the pictures (having too  much fun getting wet to take pics on the way back, besides, my camera is water shy:) You can go out to Google, images - and do a search on Hells Canyon - there are great pictures out there that others have posted too.

 

 The deepest point has 9000+' peaks above it. We could see the peak at 7000+" while we were at 1200 feet above sea level. Hells canyon is nothing like the Grand Canyon with it's straight walled sides and many colors. Hells canyon, (the deepest canyon in the world) is very rugged. -  We saw 1 huge Black Bear way over on the side of the mountain, 8 Big horn sheep (one was a young one), 3 Bald Eagles, and 2 mule deer on our trip. The big horn sheep were really neat. We were docked at Kirby's waiting on the other group and across the river something moved. First people were saying there were elk and big horn sheep, but the binoculars gave it away. A family of big horns (one with a tracking collar) were having lunch just across the river along the CCC trail.

My bitty camera wouldn't zoom in that far, but Sally's could, so the wildlife pics are her's!

  

 now, here's some more of the canyon.

 

 

   

 the stream at Kirkwood's Ranch

Hells Canyon Dam - Small by Dworshak standards, but still...

Gabe did a great job telling us about the history of the area, pointing out historic spots and watching for and pointing out wildlife.  He was also a wonderful host for our coninental breakfast - yummy muffins and juice/coffee, lunch of chicken, pasta salad, beans, a vegie tray and soda or water for lunch which was at one of the historic ranches now owned by the forest service, and our cookie snack. Although there was not a potty on this particular boat, we made ample stops to take care of necessities and stretch our legs along the way.  It's 110 miles from the marina in Clarkston to the Hells Canyon Dam, so we went 220 miles round trip! The shadows were giving the canyon different dimensions on the way back and it was truely beautiful.

Kittie and Krystal, here's something you and your fellas would enjoy -

 We saw many, many rafters - this one was funny due to the umbrella! There are quite a few companies that offer rafting trips. Primitive campsites with sandy beaches can be found all along the river at special spots. I'd love you to experience this!

 people have been in this canyon for time untold as these petroglyphs show.

What's a trip without an after pic.

We seem to have changed!

till next time! Laugh!!!!! It feels great!

The first 24 days at Dworshak Dam in Idaho

WOW, the drive from Lolo through the pass was incredible, all the way to Orofino and up to the dam. Since arriving here, we see deer daily; lots of them, and in this last week, the fawns have begun to appear! We have California Quail feeding at a ground feeder spot just behind our rig along with mourning doves, Grosbeaks, Towhees, Robins, Western Tanager,and many other birds. I was thrilled to see the quail as I haven't seen them since I was a child on vacation in Arizona. We've also seen many osprey and golden eagles and of course black and turkey vultures. We have several bunnies sharing our little volunteer village and wild turkey come daily to the feed spot out back. John thought he saw a bear scurying up the hill the other morning. We also saw 8 elk and a snow shoe rabbit on a drive from Elk River  back to Orofino on Hwy 8 & Dent Bridge Road.

The scenery is incredible. The last two days have been in the high 70's and the nights comfortable with a light jacket. The locals say the rest of the month past was more like March. Rain, drizzle, and more rain. Of the 24 days we've been here, it's been sunny 3 days, and one of those clouded up in the afternoon and we got a storm. For the most part though, there is very little wind, and the rain is not intollerable. Mostly just drizzle. I have to admit though, we're happy to see the sun! I was actually able to use my solar oven today and bake potato bread and hard cooked eggs.

Our volunteer position with the Corp of Engineers is fun. A bit exhausting (mainly because I don't know how to stop working), and exhilerating! We have 10 areas in our maintenance route and take care of cleaning bathrooms at 4 locations, 2 of them flush, 2 of them pit. I prefer the pits, they're easy! We also pick up trash all over the grounds and up and down 2 roads (have orange vests for that) It's ridiculous what people throw out their windows! We weed eat and mow at the campgrounds and day use areas (that's the exhausting part) and pull weeds in the flower beds up by the visitor center. (A custodian takes care of maintenance in the visitor center, so all we do is empty garbage cans outside and keep things nice and clean. We have two favorite areas. Merry's Bay is 3 miles from town and down a very narrow 14% grade road down to the reservoir. It is a day use area with picnic tables, fire rings and a pit toilet. Walking the area between high water and present level is neat. I've seen HUGE wolf tracks there, and we believe cougar tracks this past week.

The deer are starting to drop their fawns also. This little sweetheart was laying right along the side of the road on the way down to Merry's Bay.

Canyon Creek Campground is our other favorite. It's 11 miles out and over the mountain. The scenery and wildlife are always enough to take our breath away. The reservoir is huge; 54 miles long, and the water is crystal clear. The dam is 3/4 mile across and over 700 feet tall. Within the reservoir are trout, cocomi (sp), bass and crappe. The fishing license here is $98 for out of staters, plus a trout stamp if you want to try for Schnook Salmon on the north fork of the Clearwater just below the dam. As much as I want to go fishing, I'm too cheap to spend that much on a license, so John goes fishing, and I go watching. So far, he's not caught anything big enough to keep, but it's fun sitting out there with him, camera in hand.



driftwood at Merry's Bay

John in his maintenance duds by the remains of a HUGE tree, washed up on shore.

The sign at the turn to Merry's Bay and Canyon Creek Campground

Our Volunteer village is very nice. We have full hookups and we're behind a locked gate, so no one bothers us after hours, and the other folks we're working with are great people, as are our supervisor and the others working here at Dworshak Dam. We couldn't be happier with everyone. They treat us very well.

I'm so interested in the wildlife and botany I haven't taken any pictures of the dam or our village; I'll have to remedy that in a future post.

Orofino, 7 miles from Dworshak, is a quaint little town that is still a town without tons of empty storefronts. Their bakery is incredible, and they have several nice restaurants, a great shoe store, a natural foods store ( I was Thrilled to find this!), a library, post office (we've got a PO box in Ahsahka which is 3 miles from Orofino.) and no fast food places. The people are friendly and helpful. There are 3 grocery stores and several hardware stores and a few thrift stores, a garden center and more. Part of the city is on our side of the Clearwater river, and part is on the opposite side and runs along the river for several miles.

Here, we are amidst the clouds, and there are fir trees surrounding us in all directions. 40 miles west of here on hwy 12 is Lewiston and just across the bridge in Washington is Clarkston - that's where Walmart is. Down there, the mountains are "naked" - no trees! It's very different from here, and it gets warmer down there also. However, our T-mobile phones work there! Only verizon works here.



Our friends, the clouds, hanging over Ahsahka and Orofino

The mountain creeks are beautiful!

Something we never expected was the smell of the air. It's undescribable, and wonderful. There are wildflowers blooming everywhere and the forest is lush, (except where potlatch corporation has clear cut - those areas are bare bones and awful), responsible logging has been done by others, and those areas are lush and alive, but potlatch doesn't log responsibly - and that's very sad.

Most of the people around here are very very good stewards of the land. When local people come here, there is little to no trash to pick up. Tourists on the other hand..... well, you get the picture!

Canyon Creek Boat Launch

Come to Idaho and be Amazed!



Reed Point to Lolo, Montana

Tonight we find ourselves parked amidst heavenly smelling ponderosa pine at the "Square Dance Center and campground" off hwy 12 west of  Lolo and Missoula, Montana. The entire ride today had us in awe. From the huge grassy basins to the snow capped mountains in the distance. We've never been this far west in Montana, and it was incredible crossing the continental divide. I had been a little concerned about pulling through the mountains, but our wonderful truck is fully up to the challenge. Other than a drop in mileage, she pulls almost like there's nothing there. (smile) I just tried uploading photos again, and again the server refused them. I think I'll upload them from the computer to the tablet and try that. I'm finding the small screen size of the tablet to be awkward to impossible, but I'll get it. The energy on this side of the continental divide is tranquil. I don't know how else to describe it. The land here is older and weather worn; the mountains are smoother. The water is sweet and has a taste similar to the air which is also sweet and clear - lovely. Super tonight is rice and vegies with salad dressing as the sauce - it's really quite good. Not the steak John wanted, but it will do. We're both really tired - road wear, and altitude I think. Tomorrow we'll make Orofino and the Dworshak Dam - our final destination. The road is a twist curvy and the 140 miles could take 3-4 hours we're told. It will be beautiful:)

Louisianna to Wisconsin to Montana

Wow, I'm finally catching my breath, and we have good wi-fi so here we go. Time to get caught up!

We spent 2 days at Poch's Fishing Camp and RV Park www.pochesrvpark.com/home
swimming, fishing, exploring and just relaxing. Although all we caught were some little bitty sunfish, we saw a couple HUGE catfish. We also had lunch at the Pont Breaux restaurant. The catfish and gumbo were wonderful. www.pontbreauxscajunrestaurant.com. Don't know what we were expecting, but the whole experience was very nice. The town and surrounding area was all neat and tidy, and the people were so friendly. Our noses were the only problem - allergies! BLAH. We had planned on taking The Great River Road north along the Mississippi River, but the radar and our allergies changed our minds, so we hopped on Interstate 55 and made it to Hugh White State Park in Mississippi http://www.stateparks.com/hugh_white_state_park_in_mississippi.html. There were only 3 RV's in the park that night, and it was full moon, and the trees were 100 foot tall. It was truely breathtaking!

I'll have to upload photos later, the server rejected them here.

I had several melodies coming to me also which I got on my little digital tape recorder, so when I have some time in Idaho, maybe I'll be able to finish them.

We awoke to stormy skies,so headed north. We got through Memphis just before the storms hit, and that was the story the rest of the day. A tornado touched down 40 miles behind us as we passed into Southern Illinois on Hwy 57, then slid over to Hwy 51 to make a straight shot to Rockford; unfortunately, the navigator fell asleep, and we ended up in Urbana Champlain instead of Bloomington, so we lost an hour there. We had planned on staying over one more night, but ended up driving straight through to Menomonie. Got back to the house at about 9:30 pm and planted ourselves in our driveway.

The next morning we went into the house for a look, and it's amazing what you see after being away so long, and being emotionally detached from it. Oh MY! We had 14 showings since last fall and no offers, and looking around, no wonder why. We took inventory, made a list and went for supplies. The whole upstaris needed painting, the summer sleeping porch needed finishing and painting, the yard we won't discuss...... two and a half weeks later (with a trip to Green Bay for my mom-in-law's 97th birthday party - which was simply wonderful!) we finished the painting, trimming, sun room, kitchen ceiling......... and the third showing brought us an offer!!!!!!!! We weren't as happy when we saw what the offer was, but it was cash, and they wanted to close in 2 weeks, so we countered back and forth, and in the end, we closed 1 week later. Then picked up our new 27' 2002 Jayco Eagle that has the most wonderful kitchen I've seen in any rig! It has one slide and the interior is in blues.  3 people could do chi gong in here at the same time!  I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.

All in all, our little visit to Wisconsin turned into 6 weeks, but the house is gone, and we are truely full timers now!  The door to door moving took us over 4 hours! I was trying to put things away as they were brought in, and all in all, we're pretty well moved in. The underbelly needs a bit of work, but the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are in real good shape. Still need to get rid of the books. We picked up a Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Tablet through T-Mobile and got a $100 rebate so we now have secure internet. We're a little disappointed with the battery charge time, and there's much to learn in running it, but John has a new favorite game (aha, there's the battery life problem!) and I loaded out a few helpful apps: mileage, finances, chess, spider sol - um, yeah, I like games too, and a calorie counter, chromatic tuner and metronome.

The house closed on Friday the 11th and we couldn't pick up our new rig until the 16th, so we moved out to the Highland Ridge Campground near Spring Valley. This is a Corps of Engineers park, and it's beautiful! We stayed there 5 nights, and had the best family picnic (mothers day) that I think we've ever had.

We finally hit the road on the 16th around 3:30 pm. 4 hours later than planned, and we made Alexandria, Minnesota the first night. We stayed at the Alexandria shooting Range and RV Park www.alexandriashootingpark.com. There wasn't a tree in sight, but the folks in the club house were very friendly, and we had our choice of all but one campsite which was occupied; so we pulled up close to the shower house, hooked up, set up, and hit the sack. It was peaceful and we slept like rocks. The new mattress has a pillow top, and it is very comfortable!

Nights 2 and 3 were spent at Theodore Roosevelt National Park www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm ! Dry camping. Bison walking past the rig, wild horses walking through the campground, prairie dogs, sage brush, and a little bit of heaven every which way you turn! It was remarkable! We stayed at the Cottonwood Campground in the Southern Unit. John used his Golden Age Pass for the first time, and it got us into the park for free and our camping was $5 per night! Yesterday we took the 20 mile loop through the southern unit. It was simply spectacular. Again, pictures later. We met some wonderful people, and we all shared a venison dinner, along with a chocolate cherry cake that I made. The new kitchen is great!

This morning was a bit interesting. Our Rig battery was dead. Seems it wasn't a 2012 model - 2008 is more like it, and it was deader than a doornail, so, our slide wouldn't come in. I got out the book, and slid underneath and unlocked the brake on the motor, but the little ratchet we have wouldn't even budge it, and we couldn't push it either. I had the pleasure of sitting on some ground wetted by a passing bison, so had to go change pants - lol! Thank goodness for good neighbors. The couple across the way had a generator, and that did the trick! We finally found a Walmart in Laurel, MT (just west of Billings) and got a new battery, and tonight we're in a cute little RV park that honors Passport America in Reeds Point, MT. It's called Old West RV Park and is just off exit 392. Clark, the owner just purchased the park a couple weeks ago, and it looks like we'll be stopping by here on the way back through! :) stay tuned!!

Off to Louisianna - April 1

We're tucked into the most peaceful park we've ever been to, Quiet Oaks. Hidden Oaks was peaceful, but this is soothing.I hear an owl in a tree, and the crickets are chirping. Dragon flies were just all over the place, but it's twilight now and I'm sitting outside! Well, a couple mosquitoes, but nothing like back in Lamar! John heard turkeys earlier. We're 1/2 mile N. of Fenton off 165 north of Lake Charles. Louisianna was a huge suprise to us. It is lush with huge trees and the woods are very thick. I don't know what I expected, but this is wonderful. Everywhere we look it is sooooo clean and tidy. It's amazing. Did the hurricanes hit this far west of New Orleans. I suppose they did since they cover huge areas, but there's not much sign of it. The trees don't show it at all.

 Well, maybe I do need to go in, mosquitoes. We sat outside for at least an hour though, and it's only now at dusk that they're out.

 Anyway, I didn't think we were ever going to get around Houston. The Galveston Island route was a no go. The road was closed for construction, we had to turn around and go back, so we ended up taking 2004 to 147 on up to 10. It seems there just isn't a good way around Houston, but there was some beautiful scenery. The bridges we went over were incredible. One crossing the W end of Galveston Bay, then another one on 210 around St. Charles (it was a detour). We stopped by the Welcome station when we entered Louisianna and got a good map and lots of information, so we'll see what we find tomorrow!

Murals and other services

I promised the winter Texans a spoonbill, so I pulled out my brushes and 5 hours later, here she is(3/29/12). 29" x 32". Where? In the office of course (Hidden Oaks RV Resort, Lamar Texas). This is one of the strangest birds I've ever seen, and she lives here in the intercoastal waters of the Texas Gulf Coast.

The other two murals turned out like this - full view.

More is written on these in the Hidden Oaks Post.

I've been trying to figure out for years what I want to do with my life. The answer finally came to me; I want to help lift people up. With all the schooling I've had in all the different areas, here's what I can offer. Everything is pretty much negotiable. I'm loving the workamping and I think barter is a wonderful thing. Win-win!

Deb & John - Dragons Lair Music

Performances (@1 hr.) + CD sales                                                     

CD - Meanderings                                                                            $12.50          

Deborah Peters - Services offered

Music Lessons-  Dulcimer or Guitar

Private lessons                                                                                     $12.50 1/2 hr.

Group Lessons

Workshops 40 min. - 1 hr.                                                                                     

Digital lesson Book & midi (dropbox or memory stick)                   $12

Physical Copy with midi data                                                             

Lesson DVD (coming soon)                                                                                  

Craft & Chi Gong (exercise) Classes  40 min - 2 hr                         Negotiable

Card Weaving

Loom Beading

Making your own patterns

Tatting/Knitting/Crochet  

Basketry                                                                                                                

Mural Painting                                                                                   Negotiable

Reiki Treatment                                                          suggested         $35 1/2 hr.

dragonslairmusic@yahoo.com

John Peters



Barbeque extraordinaire! & pig roasts

Dulcimer jams and performances with/without Deb

Computer - problem solver

 

Workamping is the most wonderful way to do all this, it is so flexible, and it takes us to places where we would never even have considered sharing what we do. If you are interested, or know someone who is interested, contact us at the above link.

Solar Cooking

I've waited 20 years to have a nice solar oven!  Tried building one when my girls were little, but either we didn't do it right, or the sky wasn't sunny enough for long enough when we tried to use it. In recent years I built a solar reflector that I used with some success. The pot went into an oven cooking bag to hold the moisture & heat in.

Right after arriving in Texas, we ordered a nice solar oven http://www.solarovens.org/, and 2 months later, the sky is finally clear enough to use it! Yesterday I made Hard Cooked Eggs (for egg salad) and cooked turnips - nicely done! Today (4/5/12) was the real challenge. I made a Molasses Rye/wheat yeast bread complete with 2 risings. It was done before noon! This is amazing since the heavy dough usually takes forever to rise (I should mention that I grind my own flour, so it was 1.5 cups of rye berries and about the same of wheat berries), but I put it in the solar oven and set the oven in the sun but not aimed at it so it was under 150 degrees and it rose quickly. I took it in and punched it down and set it back in the oven (inside its enamel pot) and in no time at all it had risen again and was ready to bake. I put the reflectors on the oven and went on with my rig cleaning (the ceiling vents needed cleaning and the only way to clean them is from the roof - brilliant! So I got the extension ladder out of the shop and hauled my pan of water and rag and cleaner up to find I needed a crescent wrench to get the vent covers off - it took a while, and a few trips up and down the ladder, but I finally got it done, and when I did, the bread was also done! Perfect!  Then I got out some chicken thighs (frozen) and cut up a couple potatoes and tossed in some frozen vegies, squeezed lime over the chicken and added a bit of rosemary and put it all in the pot and back out in the oven. WOW! The flavor was unbelievable. It cooked at 250 for about 4.5 hours, and the chicken fell off the bone. Juicy and just wonderful.

As I continue playing with my oven, I'll add to this blog, so stay tuned!

Hidden Oaks Dec 10 - April 1 2012

Mid February has snuk up on us like a hungry puppy! I don't know where the time has gone. Dec. and Jan. saw the Red Tide and millions of fish killed along with probably millions of jelly fish too. I managed to get a couple good pictures of the beautiful jellyfish.

This Moon Jelly is about 8" in diameter.

They call this one a cabbage head.

3 weeks were spent banging my head against the wall developing a data base. John found what we needed online for $25 bucks and a huge sigh of relief was heard from me. Hidden Oaks now has a reservation system that works - very nicely. So I got it up and running, all the data input and did a little training along with writing up a very thorough users guide.
Another week was spent on the mural. This is the first painting I've done in probably 10 years, and I must say, I'm thrilled with the results. I've got 28 hours in the painting, and probably 3 weeks of thought prior to beginning; and the cost of the paint......under $40! I was able to use some of the paint that was been left from other projects at the park and it worked out beautifully.The area here is so incredibly beautiful that inspiration has surrounded me since we arrived. 

The Whooping Crane Wall in 2 parts

The Pelican Wall - the pool table sits just behind me.

There are White pelicans and cormorants out on the sandbar.

This is Isabelle, the Pelican closeup

Here's Stanley the Pelican, sitting on a piling

The fishing has been iffy at best. Nothing like Branson's fish fry 4 nights a week. I think in the 3 months we've been here we've had four meals of speckled Trout and one of Flounder. We've been doing all our fishing at Goose Island State Park (don't need a fishing license as long as we stay in the park) either on the jetty or on the 1625' pier. The scenery is spectacular! We see dolphins often and usually catch something, though they're usually too small; 14 3/4 " with the lower limit being 15" - frustrating, but fun. We also learned about shrimp eels - nasty little creatures that look like snakes, but love to eat shrimp!

Larry and Lea Chrestman arrived mid January, and we've been enjoying their company alot. We'll all be here until April.

Along with the beauty, comes the little problems - little fleas, little - no wait, Texas sized mosquitoes and they are all overly abundant much to Sam's (our dog),the girls and my dismay. The water here is from a well, and it is caustic - eatting right through the male end of our hose, cloggin up 2 water pressure regulators and disintegrating the screen at the input spot on the rv. Chemically it's safe to drink, but it tastes terrible. Fortunately, the Exxon Station up on hwy 35 sells 5 gallons of fresh good tasting water for $1, so that works.

We've been to Goliad several times now. Goliad State Park is a beautiful place. John and I toured the old restored mission/museum and on a second trip Larry & Lea and John & I had lunch in the park and checked out the mission again. The second time was the 2nd Saturday of the month, which is the market day on the square in Goliad. What fun. Lea and I bought a big bag of Grapefruit for $5 and split it. Ooooo those were good grapefruit, and they lasted a long time (John and Larry don't eat grapefruit!) The history in Goliad is extensive and dark. The things that happened there were much worse than the Alamo. We went to the mass grave and several other spots in the area with history written so we don't forget. For more information on Goliad, click here www.goliadcc.org/index.php/Goliad-TX.../goliad-tx-history.html  I don't like writing about such awful events.

We've also been looking at rigs - we do need to find something a little bigger. Fell in love with a 32' Ever Green travel trailer that has an outside kitchen! Quite a bit bigger than want we want, and way more than we want to spend, but very very nice! We found the price of rigs down here is MUCH higher than those up north, so we won't be pulling a bigger rig back with us! Must be a Texas thing - everything is bigger in Texas!

 Port Aransas is  one of our favorite day trips and lunch at Moby Dicks - they have an incredible Mahi Mahi sandwich. The dolphin watching out there is wonderful too. Take the first left after you get off the ferry (I love riding the ferry!) and park by the marina. Then walk along the sea wall. They are wonderful to watch.  We went to Charlies  Pasture and Leonabelle Turnbulls birding center (There's a great overlook tower there and a BIG aligator, along with tons of water birds; the trail there is also short and easy) the Texas Marine Science Institute has lots of aquariums and information on local habitat and flora and fauna, Mustang Island State Park (No comparison with Goose Island State Park which is a mile from Hidden Oaks and on the inland waterway) is amidst the sand dunes and the big waves of the Gulf, we also went riding on the beach and just enjoying the beauty.

Doris Mader - the bird lady - came and did a great presentation here last month. She had a cara cara, great horned owl, screech owl and kestral with her. John got to hold the cara cara, and I got to hold the great horned owl. That was neat!

Our oldest daughter was here in January and we had a wonderful visit. The best in many years! Our youngest and her boyfriend are coming week after next for a week. We're looking forward to their visit too.

We took a little ride out to the the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge this past week. It's 38 miles driving and probably 5 miles via water from here. We planned on getting our National Parks pass as John turned 62 this past June. Never thought about taking cash, and of course, they don't take credit cards! We had enough with us to get into the refuge, but not enough for the pass. silly us, we just don't carry cash! One of these days we'll get the National park pass. Anyway, the day we went was very humid, and the mosquitoes about carried us away! We saw 6 aligators (5 of them were really big!) an armadillo and about 6 whooping cranes way out in the marsh. The drought this year has been very hard on the whoopers. There are no blue crab this year for them to feed on, and the park has been conducting controlled burns to force insects, etc. out for the whoopers to eat. The main road is where we saw all the wildlife - the auto tour loop seems to go on forever, and this time as well at the last time 98 years ago) that we took the loop, we didn't see much. Most critters don't like the sound of a diesel engine, me thinks! It's an interesting place, and the wildlife of this world needs more safe havens where they and their homes aren't being destroyed by mans insatiable greed. Sorry, that just sort of slipped out. :Z

Oh my, I realized (3/6) I missed talking about the most wonderful part of this place! When we got here, we did not plan to workamp, but a week later found us doing just that, and getting this campground organized and cleaned up. As part of that, I set up an activities calendar, and began sharing music, exercise and crafts with our campers. That had never been done here before and we weren't sure if it would go over. Looking back at the past 3 months, now that almost all the Winter Texans are gone, makes me very happy. In January, Barb and I shared our crocheting knowledge with Karen, and just before she left she showed me a beautiful afghan that she made while her husband was up at the clubhouse playing cribbage every night. Karen also shared her beading with me and we made a couple beautiful spiral braclets. I  shared card weaving with everyone in mid- February, and some beautiful straps were made and the craft will be passed on to grandchildren and others when everyone gets home. John and I played folk music every Friday evening from 4-5 or so, and we always had a crowd and got to share a few of our CD's. I had two Dulcimer students, and they both came knowing nothing about music, and left as very capable and excited beginning mountain dulcimer players. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 am found us doing Chi Gong (energy cultivation) in the back room. I had probably 12 different people at different times, but Mary and Nancy were there for just about every class.  We also put on 3 pot lucks and a Super Bowl party which were all very successful - and delicious, and I was able to demonstrate our flour mill and solar oven.  Being a part of our Winter Texans lives was the most wonderful part of our stay here! I find I really love doing Activities - much more than working in the office, or doing maintenance. It was neat when everyone came in daily to check on the mural progress, or ask a question about something that I could help them with. Everyone I touched, also touched me, and brought new friendships; I am grateful to all of them!

We tood A second trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/aransas with our daughter Krystal and her boyfriend Andrew (Kiff). We had a wonderful day. While we were hiking, John stayed behind and watched the cranes. The gators were roaring and he heard something behind him, so he turned around... to find himself 10 feet away from a huge gator that decided to cross the road to find out what all the roaring was about. He looked at it, it looked at him, he backed up and was about ready to climb the tall fence by the spotting scopes when it continued across the road. Poor John, he called Kiff (no answer) to have us come back with the camera not remembering that the phone had a camera on it. I think he almost had a heart attack! That's one gator John will never forget! John also got his National Parks Card, so we're ready for all those wonderful parks out west next year!

It was wonderful having Krystal and Kiff here for a week. We went dolphin watching out on Port Aransas, and got to see our first sea turtles (I didn't get pictures!) We had some cookouts and Krystal and I played music that we used to play at the Renaissance Fair! That was incredible. We laughed, fished and got too much sun. I'm grateful to Joyce at Hidden Oaks for the opportunity to bring my girls down for a visit.