On The Road Home

John and I said a teary good-bye to Amy, Dave and the boys and hit the road for Brackettville.  Our first stop was McDonald's for some breakfast and then we headed out of town.  It snowed overnight and flurries were still coming down.  Fortunately we didn't have to travel over Wolf Creek Pass as chains were needed to travel that road this morning.  It was slow going until we reached Chama and then the roads began to clear along with the weather.  It was smooth sailing all the way to Carlsbad where we are spending the night.

Snowy roads to Chama

 

 

 Scenery north of Santa Fe

 Sanctuary of Pagosa Bible Church

where Dave is pastoring

Final Day of Thanksgiving Visit

This morning we attended the Pagosa Bible Church where Dave is the new pastor.   It was a special service today with the members sharing what they are thankful for along with much singing and a short message by Dave. 

The afternoon was spent watching football, playing games, and eating pizza.  We are all packed and ready to hit the road back south tomorrow morning.  Right now it's snowing so, hopefully. it won't last and we'll be able to travel.  We just need to get back over the mountains and further south into the warmer weather and we should be okay.

Busy Time In Pagosa Springs

Amy and Dave have been living in temporary housing the two months they've been here in Pagosa Springs, so Friday morning we all met up with their realtor and looked at a couple of houses.  They saw one they really liked that is in the process of being completely renovated and would be move-in ready.  The next step will be to talk to the realtor next week and decide if this is the house for them.  Since the weather was a little on the chilly side, we spent the rest of the day inside visiting and playing games.

Today was absolutely beautiful with clear skies--we could see the entire mountain range.  We took a walk around the neighborhood this morning and enjoyed the spectacular views.

 This is down the road from the house

Since it was such a clear day, Dave decided to take us for a ride out of town to see more of the area.  As we went up in elevation, we saw more snow along the road and in the fields.  We stopped several times to take some photos.

We returned to the house for lunch and an afternoon of football.  It was decided to take a break from the games and go into town to see the hot springs and resort located right in the middle of Pagosa Springs.  A little shopping followed and we picked up a couple Colorado mugs and pottery to remind us of this visit. 

The most amazing thing we saw was folks sitting at the outdoor tables in winter hats and coats while others were sunbathing right next to them.  The river running through the town is the San Juan River.

Happy Thanksgiving

The weather here in Pagosa Springs was overcast with a few snow flurries and we couldn't see the mountains at all until mid-afternoon when the clouds lifted a bit.  

Everyone enjoyed the delicious Thanksgiving dinner Amy prepared and then spent the afternoon vegging out watching football and playing card games.  Amy and Dave are looking for a new laptop, so it was decided to brave the crowds at Wal Mart this evening.  Unfortunately, the laptops were sold out, but I managed to get a great deal on a new Ipod Touch 6th Generation.  My grandson, Isaiah, has been busy setting it up and showing me how to operate it.  Tomorrow he's going to show me how to download music.

In Pagosa Springs

We were on the road once again by 7 a.m. after spending a restful night in Roswell.  The weather was a little overcast at times but all and all it was a good travel day.  This was our first time in New Mexico and I must say I thought the scenery was beautiful.

When we reached Santa Fe, we found snow along the sides of the road and more on the mountains.  John and I arrived at Amy's by 3 p.m. and spent the afternoon touring their temporary house and the town.  It was too dark to take pictures, so hopefully I'll be able to take some over the next several days.  On the downside, the weather forecast is calling for six inches of snow over the next few days.  It's definitely much colder here than in Texas but we brought our winter jackets, so we should be okay to venture outside.  This is the first time in many years that we'll be spending Thanksgiving with family and are looking forward to a fun day.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Roswell, New Mexico

John wanted to be on the road by 7 a.m. and we managed to leave the house right on time. Our first stop was McDonald's in Del Rio for a quick breakfast.  We drove through some misty rain, but by the time we reached Sanderson the skies were sunny and the weather was just beautiful.  For lunch we stopped at a DQ in Fort Stockton where we grabbed a couple of strawberry shakes and fries to eat on the road.  We had never been in this part of Texas before and found some of the scenery quit beautiful and other parts rather boring.  After crossing the New Mexico state line, we hit some traffic--mainly oil trucks and quite a few pickups.  This seems to be oil and gas country.  Our stopping place for the night was Roswell, NM.  We enjoyed some time in the hotel's hot tub and then went for supper at Applebee's.  Following a delicious meal, we walked around Target, did a little shopping, and called it a night.

Packing

Mondays mean wood carving for John and laundry for me.  It was a little warmer when we took our walk this morning and it turned out to be a very nice day.   John headed to wood carvers after breakfast and I got busy with changing bed linens and other laundry.

Most of my day was spent packing as we're leaving tomorrow morning for Pagosa Springs, CO to spend Thanksgiving with Amy's family.  We'll be gone for at least a week.  John played in a scramble this afternoon and his team came in second place.  Now there won't be any golfing until we get back here to the fort.  I think John will go through withdrawal.  We plan to take our time getting to Colorado and will spend one night on the road in Roswell, NM.  We looking forward to seeing some the country we haven't seen before.  Hopefully we'll have good roads and no snow.

First Frost

John and I were very surprised when we got up this morning and saw the outside temperature was 30 degrees.  We didn't know a freeze was in the forecast.  Since it was so chilly, we had to bundle up in layers, winter hats, and gloves for our walk.  Once the sun got above the horizon, it didn't take long to warm up--we hit a high of 59 degrees this afternoon.

This morning we headed off to church and then out for lunch at Burger & Shake with Chuck and Lois.  Since the afternoon warmed up so nicely, John and I played a round of golf.  The beautiful day brought out quite a few golfers.  We did manage to get in some football in between activities, but overall our Sunday was a pretty quiet one.

 

Change In The Weather

The morning was overcast with high humidity when we left the house for our walk.  Even though the forecast called for high winds, there was no breeze while we were walking; however, we were back at the house only a few minutes when the wind started blowing.  With the temps dropping, it made for a chilly day.

Since we are heading to Colorado for Thanksgiving and won't be back here until December 1st, John and I decided decorate the inside for Christmas.  We'll wait on the outside lights until we get back.  John brought the decorations inside from the shed and I got everything put out this afternoon.  While I was busy with that, John played in a golf tournament with Dean and Jim.  There were nine teams competing and in spite of the tough conditions with the wind, they got second place.  This evening Chuck and Lois came over to play cards.  The ladies won only one game this evening.  I think we'll have to play a different card game next time.

Quiet Friday

We had another beautiful day, but according to the forecast, tomorrow is going to be about 20 degrees cooler with strong winds.  John and I got our morning walk done nice and early and then played a round of golf.  Right now the course isn't crowded, so we can play just about any time.  While we were walking the golf course, we found more wildflowers hidden in the brush.

This afternoon we gave the house a good cleaning.  By that I mean John mopped all the floors.  Even though the house is closed up over the summer, the Texas dust still finds a way inside.  John and I just got all the furniture back in place when Chuck and Lois stopped in for a visit.  We made plans to play cards tomorrow evening.  I think we can now say we are officially settled in and cleaned up both inside and out.

 

Warm Weather Continues

This morning was a beautiful one for a walk.  The sun was just peeking over the horizon when we started out and we enjoyed the sunrise and seeing some of the local wildlife roaming over the golf course.  Everything is still nice and green and the wildflowers are still blooming.

This morning John did a small repair job at the condos and then ran into town to pick up the mail and a few grocery items.  Following an early lunch, we headed down to the club house for couples' golf.  Today we were paired with Wallace and Lou.  Lou had a great day and carried the rest of us.  Our team ended up seven under par which gave us second place.  This was our second week in the money.  Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, couples' golf will be on hold for a couple of weeks.  

 

This evening John and I were both pretty tired, so we spent a quiet evening vegging out in front of the TV.

Beautiful Day

The temps were a little on the cooler side--47 degrees--when we left the house for our morning walk.  There was not a cloud in the sky and it wasn't long before the day started warming up as the sun rose above the horizon. 

Wednesday morning means men's golf, so this morning John headed down to the clubhouse where he met up with seven other guys--several more Winter Texans were back to join the group today.  They split up into two teams of four to play a best ball scramble.  John's group ended up one under par while the other was one over.

While John was gone I tackled the finances.  The desktop was getting covered with receipts and mail, so I decided it was time to get things back under control.  

Following lunch, we vegged out a little and then decided to play a round a golf since it was such a beautiful afternoon.  The nice day brought out quite a few golfers.  We had just returned home when Stan M. stopped in for a visit and asked John to take on a minor repair job.  Our evening was spent watching Survivor and a couple of shows recorded on the DVR.

Windy Day

The rain of yesterday gave way to sunny skies, warmer temps, and very strong winds.  John and I started off the day with our usual walk around the golf course.  Following breakfast, John got busy fixing the flat tire on our golf cart.  He noticed it was going soft yesterday and by this morning it was completely flat.  After some searching, he found the leak and repaired the tire.  Once that was done, we headed down to the clubhouse where we met up with Dean for a round of golf.  We were just starting the second hole when we were joined by Billy, Dean's friend from the RV park.  It was a little challenging playing in the wind, but we still managed to have a good time.

This afternoon we did some visiting.  Our first stop was to see Georgia Jim's new home and from there we took a ride through the RV park to check out who was back on the fort.  Our final stop was Lois and Chuck's to see their new Jeep and we ended up visiting for an hour or so.  We ended the day watching "The Voice" and guessing which singers made it through to the next round.





 

Back To Carving

It was raining this morning when we woke up, so that meant no walk.  The wood carving club meets Monday mornings, so following breakfast, John headed over to Wallace's where he met up with five other guys for a morning of carving.  His first project for this year is a wooden leaf dish.  While John was gone, I took advantage of a quiet house to get the bed linens changed and several loads of laundry done.

When John got home, we headed to Del Rio for lunch and then made a stop at Wal Mart to pick up the few items we missed on last week's grocery run.  We got back to the fort just in time for John to play in the Monday Night Football nine hole scramble--his team came in one under par and got third place.  This was his first time participating in this event and he enjoyed playing with new partners.

Hopefully, this humid, rainy weather will move out soon--we need some sunshine.
 

 

Gloomy Day

The weather was misting when we left the house for our morning walk.  We thought it would clear up later, but the clouds and rain hung around all day.

Today was our first Sunday back at the First Baptist Church.  It was good to be there and see our church friends again.  Following the service, Chuck, Lois, John, and I attended the annual Feast of Sharing lunch sponsored by the local Church Alliance.  The event was held at the local civic center where they served a homemade turkey dinner with all the trimmings at no charge.  The local community band played Christmas music during the meal.  I don't know how many folks attended, but the place was packed--heard they served 600 last year.    

Since it was cool and rainy we spent the afternoon just vegging out while watching the football games

Settling In

We are slowly settling into a routine now that the unpacking is finally done.  The house still needs a little more cleaning, but that should be completed sometime over the next few days.

Things are pretty quiet on the fort now as the majority of the Winter Texans won't start arriving until mid to late December.  Once they get here the many different activities will begin. Right now John and I pretty much have the golf course to ourselves.  We did manage to get some card playing in last night--Lois and I still can't beat the guys at Uker.  Not too much to talk about right now, just walking in the mornings and playing golf in the afternoons.

 

Couples Golf Again

This morning was about 10 degrees cooler when we left the house for our usual walk around the golf course.  The past few days have been fairly humid, so today's break in the humidity and lower temps was much appreciated.  Since the temps have been so warm and there has been plenty of rain, some wildflowers are blooming all around the fort.  The golf course is also nice and green.  

Third hole of golf course

 

Wild flowers

John spent the morning working outside cleaning up the yard, trimming trees, and spraying weed killer along our walkways.  Several heavy storms over the summer months left plenty of broken branches around the yard that needed to be picked up.

This afternoon marked our return to couples' golf which is held every Thursday afternoon.  Today we were paired with Milo and Sherry White and after playing what we all thought was a so so round, we took third place.

 

 

Grocery Shopping

Wednesday morning is men's golf, so John headed down to the clubhouse around 10 a.m. where he met up with four others for a round of golf.  As the Winter Texans return, more men will show up to play.  While he was busy golfing I continued on with the unpacking--there are still a few items to get put away.

When John returned home we took off for Del Rio where our first stop was Sonic for some lunch before heading to Wal Mart for a restocking of the fridge and pantry.  As usual, our first major shopping trip was quite expensive.  We gassed up the car--$1.93 a gallon--made another stop to pick up some produce, and then hit the road back to the fort.

Since the day was cooling off by the time we returned home, John decided to play a few holes of golf  while I opted out to catch up on some reading.  We are slowly getting back into the flow of life here in Texas.

Internet Problems

We arrived here on the Fort a little after 1 p.m. Monday afternoon following a quick stop at I Hop in Del Rio for a bite to eat. We were only here about five minutes when folks started stopping in to welcome us back.  John eventually got the car unloaded and I started getting things put away.  After setting up the laptop, we discovered there was a problem with the internet and a call was made to AT&T.  Seems there was a problem with the line and a service call was set up.  Fortunately, someone would come out on Tuesday morning.

Sam Lark called Monday afternoon to see where we were and upon learning we were back on the fort, invited us for supper at the golf course.  We spent an enjoyable evening catching up with our Winter Texan friends.  Before heading back to the house, we ran into town to pick up a few food necessities to hold us over until we can do a major grocery run.

Tuesday morning it was back into the routine of a walk around the golf course before breakfast.  John has been chomping at the bit to get back out on the golf course, so he went down to the clubhouse to sign us up for a six month membership while I waited for AT&T to come.  The service man arrived nice and early and after working on the lines for about 45 minutes, found the problem and got us back on the internet.

John and I took a break from unpacking and played nine holes in the afternoon.  Judging from the way we played, we should have kept on with the unpacking.   When we finished golfing we headed out to visit some friends who arrived a few days ago and set up a date for playing cards.  Though we miss the folks at home, it's great to be back here in the warmer weather.

 

In Texas

This morning was another early start.  We were on the road around 6:15 after eating a very nice breakfast served by the motel.  The weather was bright and sunny with no wind, so it was easy driving.  The further south we went the more color we saw on the trees. We got through Oklahoma City easily since there was no traffic on a Sunday afternoon.  John and I stopped every couple of hours to stretch our legs and pulled into our motel in Wichita Falls around 3 p.m.  We rested for a bit while watching some football and then headed out to do some shopping.  John found a pair of Crocs at a sporting goods store--he'd been thinking about buying some for a while.  After the shopping was out of the way, we ate a great steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse and followed that up with a walk around Wal Mart for a little exercise.  Tomorrow is the final leg of our journey.

First Leg of the Journey Done

John and I were up bright and early and got the last minute jobs done--turn off the water, unplug TV's and computer, and several other things you can only do right before walking out the door.  We left right on time at 5:45 a.m. and since this was the first day of rifle season for deer hunting, we saw many folks on the road heading to their favorite hunting spots.  We had dry roads and bright sunshine all the way to St. Joseph, MO. where we are spending the night.  On an unbelievable note:  We just finished our meal at Cracker Barrel and were heading out to pay the bill when someone called John's name.  Sitting there was Ed and Elaine Peterson, Matt's in-laws.  They are on their way to Branson where they plan to take in some shows.  John and I sat and visited with them while they ate their supper and then visited the mall to walk around and get a little exercise.  Tomorrow it's back on the road for the second leg of the journey.


 

Final Countdown

After several weeks of packing and sorting, we are finally ready to hit the road bright and early tomorrow morning.  The weather has turned much cooler, so that makes us even more anxious to get out of here before Mother Nature brings on the snow.  This morning John took care of some last minute jobs--new filter on the furnace, heat changed over from the wood furnace to the electric boiler, etc.  I went around the house making sure we didn't miss anything and everything was packed that we wanted to take.  This afternoon we headed to Bemidji where I had my annual mammogram (it keeps getting pushed back as you have to go a year and one day between them), and we both got our flu shots.  Since there is no food left in the house, we stopped at Burger King for a lunch.

This evening we went to Matt's for supper and afterwards Sara gave me a haircut.  Even though she is working full time at the center for pain management, she still cuts hair for family members.  Sam's birthday is the end of this month, so we took this opportunity to give him his birthday present since we won't be here for his special day.

The car is loaded and, hopefully, all is set with the house.  Matt keeps an eye on the place while we're gone.  We are hoping to leave by 6 a.m. with our first stop St. Joseph, MO.  Texas, here we come!!

Rainy Day

Rain moved in overnight and hung around the entire day, then the temps dropped in the afternoon bringing some light snow showers.  I guess it's just a preview of what's to come.  The hunters are glad to have the colder weather as that will get the deer moving.  Today was spent packing up the little items we overlooked and pretty much just hanging out and counting the hours until we hit the road.

Two More Days

Today was car servicing day.  Matt dropped his car off in town for servicing and then came along with us to Bemidji where our car got checked over and ready for the long trip south.  By the time we left the dealership, it was time for an early lunch, so we had a quick bite at Burger King before heading back to Bagley where we dropped Matt off to pick up his car.  Some time this afternoon was spent going through the freezers and making sure everything was wrapped correctly and ready to be left for five months.  There are only a few little last minute items left to pack and some floors to be mopped and we'll be ready to hit the road bright and early Saturday morning.

Nice Weather

Our fall here in northern Minnesota has been longer and much warmer than normal.  Today's temps reached into the 50's--same time last year the highs were in the 30's.  John has been keeping an eye on the weather between here and Texas and so far it looks like we'll have good weather all the way.  Last year we started out on icy roads which made it slow going for the first few hours.

This morning John helped Matt with a small job and now work is over for him since we'll be leaving and Matt will be occupied with hunting as rifle season starts Saturday.  I kept busy today with a dental appointment and clearing out some kitchen cabinets.  We're down to three days until we take off.

Photography Success

Since all the outside work is done for the season, John has been spending time down in the old shop doing some cleaning up and taking apart the carts we used to move product.  Even though it has been a little over two years since we closed the business, there are still a few odds and ends to clear up. We have done more sorting and are considering another sale sometime next spring--we'll have to see how ambitious we feel by the time we return from Texas.

John and I plan to take off early Saturday morning, so I have been keeping busy getting the house cleaned up and everything packed.  My check off list is just about complete with only the internet and Direct TV left to cancel along with the final clearing out of the fridge.

As many of you know photography is a hobby of mine and a couple of months ago a friend talked me into displaying some of my pictures at a gallery for local artists.  The gallery has what they call a "Showcase" wall where you can display your work for a month at no charge.  

My photos on the "Showcase" Wall

On Saturday John and I went to the gallery to clear out the display and found that I had sold four pictures.  I was thinking it would be amazing if I could sell one.  I've decided to join the gallery next spring and show my photography full time.  This will be a new venture for me and I'm anxious to see how it will go.  

 

 



 

Back To Blogging

After taking an almost two month break from my blog, I've decided I'm ready to get back into the routine of writing once again.  As you can see, I've changed the look of the blog--not sure this is the design I'll settle on, so you might see a few more changes in the coming days.  Let me know how you like it.

John and I were kept pretty busy attending volleyball and football games most of September and October--sometime attending three games in a week.  The Bears football team had a very successful season wining the conference championship.  Sam was voted conference Offensive Player of the year and received a beautiful trophy.  Jenni, Rachel, and Hanna also had strong volleyball seasons and will be back on the court again next year.  I think everyone is glad the fall sports are over and can have some time off before basketball starts in a few weeks.

Our fall weather has been exceptional this year with the temps well above normal.  We had a little taste of winter last week but it only lasted a day or two.  Matt has been glad for the good weather as he and John have been able to work and get many jobs finished up.  The past few weeks we have been busy packing and getting the house ready for our departure south for the winter.  We've enjoyed our summer, but are now looking forward to see our Texas friends again.

Preview of what's to come

 On the family front, Amy's family relocated to Pagosa Springs, Colorado where Dave is pastoring one of the local churches.  The kids seem to have made the adjustment to a smaller school system and are enjoying the outdoor life in the mountains.  John and I are planning to head their way either Thanksgiving or Christmas.