Michelle and I went from Camp Hosting in a high altitude coniferous forest next to the swiftly moving waters of the Upper Rogue River and numberous waterfalls to the lower, dryer area next to the still lake waters of Willow Lake below Mount McLoughlin within the month of June!
We went from leasurely strolls along the shaded half mile streach along the Rogue River pulling a little green garden cart with all our cleaning supplies and paper work to having a work uniform, a golf cart to zip around the campground in and a work routine that has us up early in the morning to get our rounds done before the campers are up and wanting to use the beach, bathrooms and day use areas!

The 4th of July every one of the campsites were rented and there were hundreds of people to keep up with and clean up after so we were pretty exhusted by July 6th when the resort cleared out. My friends Caron and Steve came up and spent the weekend here. Caron cooked Michelle and I breakfast and Steve cooked dinner each day for all of us. Michelle and I often just skip dinner... neither one of us is really in to cooking.

Jack and Mr. Mike went to Nancy and Ed's for hamburger's for the 4th and had a good time out there. I heard that he was asking around to see if anyone had seen his wife lately....I'm getting the reputation of being a gypsy amoung Jack's friends. But we will be wandering the highways together this winter and spending months in Florida!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and is getting settled into their summer routines!

CHANGE is constant in my life! My stint at Campground at Natural Bridge drew to an end on Monday. Jack pulled the trailer to my new assignment Tuesday morning and I'll be starting as a one of 6 camp hosts at Willow Lake this coming Friday!



So instead of the rush and roar of the Rogue River in the coniferous forrest I will be beside the still waters of a bueatiful high mountain lake looking at Mt. McLoughlin! That is when I get to sit and look!

http://www.southernoregon.com/willowlake/index.html

At the interview I was told, " You pay money to loose weight with Jenny Craig but with us you'll loose weight and we'll pay you!"

HEY! Turn's out there are several Natural Bridges right here in Oregon!

Here are some links on where I'll be.... maybe some of you would like to join me for a day or so this summer!

http://www.twoatlarge.com/camping/campbest.html

http://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2008/07/camping_oregon_top_10_tent_sit.html

A YouTube video of the natural bridge and trail - see the river coming out of the cave and where it disappears underground!

http://www.southernoregon.org/out_about/about_roguenaturalbridge.html

Includes good Driving directions:


Review of the history of the Rogue River and Prospect area (which includes the Natural Bridge)

http://www.oregonlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2008/08/oregon_offtrack_a_fine_prospec.html

http://www.ohwy.com/or/n/nabrpro.htm

Info on the rafting/kayaking run - Class 3-4:

http://oregonpaddling.northwest-rivers.com/natural%20bridge.htm

Mellower run - alittle down river - Class 3

http://www.riverfacts.com/rivers/12704.html

Well that should give you some idea of where I am and what I'm doing until October!

Union Creek, and Becky's Cafe, are only 3 miles away!

See ya!

HERE'S THE LATEST - I have a been called to go to work at my second most dream job (the first being paid to write)! Tomorrow I start at the National Park Service Natural Bridge Campground as a paid Camp Host! They will be paying me to be in one of our most bueatiful campgrounds along the upper Rogue River in the Rogue Umpqua Recreation Area! I can hardly believe it. I started wanting to be a camp host about 18 years ago but didn't have the trailer....

So I will be pretty much out of reach...unless you come visit me at the campground except for my two days off.

The campground is very basic....firepits and pit toliets.....but the sites are large and almost all of them have river frontage! I will be writing after I make my twice a day rounds and taking in the local hikes - so I can be good camp host and be able to answer questions about the trails. Union Creek is only 4 miles away so Betsy's Cafe will be getting to know me! I'll be broadcasting from there when I do!

So I'm off to pack up the trailer!!! Cheers!

ALMOST JUNE! Wow, Spring has gone quickly. Just recently Jack pointed out to me that I have been on the go since January and with a little reflection I see that he is correct!

January was Arizona with Dad, which was also a trip to Mexico and San Diego!

April was Florida with Diane and Keith at their wonderful home in Vero Beach, with a few touristy things, like the McLarty Treasure Museum at Sebastian Inlet State Park, scuba diving in the Atlantic Ocean off West Palm Beach, lunching with an old working buddy of Jack's who now lives in Florida, and two visits to the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral. Jack and I went the first day (the day he flew back to Oregon to start his job as a quality control person for the 2010 census) and the second day Diane and I drove up and took in the parts that Jack and I didn't have time or energy for!

April also contained a week long trip to Utah with Mike to check out Zion National Park for Brett and Maya's wedding next Memorial Day Weekend. Not only did we check out the town of Springdale, Utah for reception options etc... we took some time to explore some of Zion Canyon. Mike and I hiked 6 of the 11 hikes listed in the Welcome Newspaper they had out at the Park Entrance. The first picture is of the mouth of the Hidden Canyon - a one mile trail that goes 875 feet straight up! The second picture is of Mike in one of the water washouts in Refrigerator Canyon on the Angels Landing Trail. The rest are all Angels Landing Trail pictures. It was the best! We climbed 5700 feet to the peak of Angels Landing! We both bought the t-shirt - WE EARNED IT!

There is no way pictures can do the Zion Canyon justice! You have to see and experience it for yourself. It is more accessable to the average person than the Grand Canyon!

And after those outings were little jaunts... bike riding with girlfriends on the Oregon & California Bike Trail on a bright and warm Sunday afternoon. We rode 19 miles!

Camped and white water kayaked on the Klamath River with other friends on Memorial Day Weekend. We started with 7 on the upper streach and it wittled down to 5 for the second section

to Gottville Boat Ramp. Mike joined us on the second half. He and Caron took the waterfall route I've been avoiding for all the years I've been going down the Trees of Heaven to Gottville section! They said it was a blast!

Between those activities I've been getting my flower gardens in order and planting things in the vegetable garden. We have lettuce of 4 kinds already!

I also have been interviewing for jobs as a camp host! My friend Michelle and I are hoping to get put on at the Natural Bridge in the Rogue Umpqua Forrest. We've interviewed for two places and are hoping one will come through.

And I'm continuing to write my own articles, do hired out content writing, and working with Maya on developing their wedding website http://brettandmayagetmarrried.wetpaint.com/

So there you are, that is why I haven't been posting very many blogs! I'm to tired by the time I get home!

I hope everyone is enjoying Spring in ways that make them happy!

The family has been in motion and now everyone is settling down again.  Diane has made it back to Coos Bay after a scenic road trip through the state of California.  Brett and Maya are currently making their way back to Bangkok, Thailand after what sounds like a culunary delight of a visit in Austin, Texas and some beach time in Tulum, Mexico.

The footloose wanderer I usually am, I have been staying home. Closely tied to my computer at times and puttering around in the garden and yard at other times.  I heard from several friends that Jack had been making noises about 'grounding' me after the Utah trip.  No need, I was tired of travel and ready to be home for a bit.  But now Memorial Day Weekend is fast approaching and the first river trip of the year!  I'm winding up for take off!

It's looking like the count will be about 12 people for our get-away.  Most are rafters and the main focus will be doing the two runs connected to the Trees of Heaven Campground but I'm taking the domino's too.

Yesterday I mixed pleasure with work. I spent the day traveling to interview for a Camp Host position. On the way I stopped to walk along the Rogue River Gorge (Brett's favorite spot) in Union Creek and then turned off Hwy 62 just a little further down the road and took the Natural Bridge trail. In all my years here I had never stopped and viewed where the Rogue River goes underground for 200 yards. Seeing it gushing out of the lava tube is awesome.

The interview in Prospect took about an hour and was very pleasant. So different than interviewing for IT positions! Mike and Shiloh were interviewed also, as they would be with me if I happen to be asked to host a campground for the summer.

After the interview a picnic lunch proceeded a walk along the trail that runs by Pearson Falls and to the gorge that Mike, Caleb, and I "discovered" about 15 years ago. The rocky gorge we climbed through to connect to the trail on the other side is a thundering rush of white water right now. I failed to take a camera! I remembered our Cub Scout outing where the water had risen enough from our original scouting hike that we had to carefully get everyone over the streams of water coursing through the boulders. If it had been flowing like it was yesterday that would not have been possible! Lots of good memories passed through my mind on the short hike!

Time has certainly passed quickly.

Sunshine and raindrops! It's warm either way! I think a person can live here without a single coat!

This morning Diane and I did a walking tour of the community. I know where the camper will be parked and where the dog park is that I can play frisbe with Shiloh at this fall! I also got to meet a few more people and their dogs here!

Jack has safely returned to Klamath Falls and was joyfully greeted by our two fur kids.

I have been talking about looking for work and my willingness to do any kind of job... so when I got to Vero Beach Sis let me know that she had something for me. There was an Easter Weekend Breakfast at the community center and an Easter Bunny was needed. Being one of the newest residents I was asked if I would be willing.....

It was fun to be a bunny for a little bit.

Hopping around the club house to distribute candies and get pictures taken was equal to an hour workout in a sauna! The kids, young and old, seemed to enjoy my antics.

My First Florida Weather Watch

It's 11 am - check out time at the Holiday Inn Select near the Orlando International Airport and the TV screens in the lobby are repeating Tornado Warnings over and over with doppler screens showing the storm front as it is moving across the state. Currently the thunder, rain and winds are hitting this area but the 'high wind cell' is behind that and coming this way. Hmmm a whole bunch of new terminalogy to learn and dechipher!

The advisory is to stay in and do not drive if you do not have to so I believe I will have breakfast here at the Holiday Inn and watch the screens a bit longer. The storm warning extends to Melbourne Beach... about half way to Vero Beach... my destination.

Jack flew out at 6 am this morning and should be in Portland, Oregon in a few more hours. Mike will pick him up there and then he'll be on his way across the state to our home. He may be dealing with snow and ice issues! Every area has it's "issues"!

Yesterday we spent a great day at the Kennedy Space Center before checking in to the Holiday Inn. Jack was asleep almost immediately! The Shuttle Experience was interesting but not as good as the space shuttle ride Diane and I did at Disney World a few years ago. Touching a real moon rock was cool, seeing the Land Rover and the emmensity of the rockets was awe inspiring.

I planned to return today and see the IMAX shows and the Hall of Fame but think that will have to keep for another day. Since I got the tickets signed I can go back within the next 7 days. Maybe Diane and I will drive up one day. It's only an hour away.

Thunder is rolling and lightening striking! I think I'll go eat something! Comfort food!

And of all times my cell phone battery has run out! Darn!

Vero Beach Vacation is well underway! We've been here since Wednesday the 8th and have managed to do a FEW things! Wednesday it's self was mostly jet lag day but Keith, Diane and I did make it to the Wednesday night dinner, gospel music hour that evening.

Thursday Jack and I took a driving tour of Hwy 1A1 from the Causeway Bridge (SR 60) to Fort Pierce. We stopped at the local dive shop, Deep 6, first and discussed local beach dive sites and how to tell if it's a good dive day off the Vero Beach sites. Then went and scoped out Pepper State Park where the lobster are enormous. Lobster season ended in March so we will have to wait until our return in the fall months to get to go after those big boys! When we returned home Diane, Jack and I took a refreshing swim in the pool and then had a great BBQ chicken dinner.

Friday was scuba dive day! We went out on the Deep Obsession with Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures for a two-tank dive off West Palm Beach. It was everything advertised. Lots of sealife, including a sea turtle, a romoria companion for Jack, and several moray eels The seas were to big for my sea bands to compete with and Jack and I were both very sea sick. The currents worked against us and we had to work hard to stay with the reef along the Flower Garden Reef so much so Jack was exhusted after the 1st dive and did not do the second one. I would have skipped the second one but I was to sick to stay on the boat - I had to get back in the water to get any relief. The crew was great and got me rigged up for the second dive and then got be launched into the water. At 55 feet deep I was fine! I didn't take the camera on the second dive, which was at the Breakers Reef - named after the famous West Palm Beach Breakers Hotel that the reef is directly infront of. I wasn't feeling up to finding it, so there are no pictures of the hawksbeak turtle that swam through our school of divers or the batfish that came up out of the sand and "flew" away. While I was diving Jack got a really good start on his suntan.

We were a little done when we got off the boat so we rescheduled getting together with the Tews until Saturday! Here's me after a rough day at sea!I'll post more later!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all o' ya!

We're having Colcannon for dinner with 10 of our best buddies. I don't think we'll be singing or dancing jigs but I watched a few people doing it on TV today.

Jack has manned the kitchen all day and the time is approaching for guests to arrive so I better close with wishing you the best of the luck of the Irish!

Pay it Forward - Web Style
I got this from Diane's SeaAmi site

The Rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?

2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

So the challenge is out there to those that read my blog! I am interested to see who will comment on this post!!

The gardening article was inspired as Leo and I worked on our greenhouse gardening project. Although we both have been gardening for years neither of us have ever grown plants in a greenhouse so this is an adventure.

While putting all the little seeds in the containers we discussed all the ways that a person can make money from a garden with out all this meticulous attention to detail! A woman I worked with in Roseburg sold the starts from her Japanese Maples and I've bought wonderfully healthy perennials at garage sales! I'm thoroughly enjoying writing!

Jack is busy tumbling our sunstones from this past fall's trip. They are cleaning up nicely and Jack is going to design a necklace out of this batch for me. Sunstones and obsidian needles interspersed with beads. We are planning a trip to the bead shop for Friday afternoon.

Mike is scheduled for his "interview" at Klamath County Library Main Branch on Friday also. This interview is so he can be part of the "Read to a Canine" program at the library. I was in Arizona when the original orientation was held.

Here is a snapshot of one of the places Dad and I visited while traveling the highways between Bullhead City, Algodones, Yuma, and San Diego. We are a family of outlaws...

Hope everyone else is finding rewarding ways to get through this dead time of winter!

I've really been published! Maybe not a real big deal to some people but I'm pretty jazzed about it. It's always been said write about what you know so I wrote about Angels in Whiskers. Check it out! The link to the left will take you right to it!

Let me know what you think!!

Remember Angels In Whiskers I was blogging about in November and December 2008? Well, the website I created for them is now on the web! Check it out! http://www.angelsinwhiskers.com/
Mike and Shiloh can be seen under "Our Angels"! Now you can know what Angels In Whiskers in Klamath Falls is about!

Other than that I am now busy learning some ways to make money with my skills from home! I'm excited to be working with words, not computers, and have visions of writing creatively again.

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! I got to "chat" with Brett in Thailand on Instant Messenger ! Jack and I treated ourselves to a Valentines breakfast out and then later Jack put together a 3 course dinner! AND he gave me a wonderful card! I, on the other hand, didn't have a card, didn't cook, and was a very bad example! Jack was definitely the chief sweetie this year!

This time last year we were floating in the Caribbean on a cruise ship! Jack was enjoying all the variations of chocolate they supplied for Valentines Day and I was in bed sick! Jack brought several little delicacies to the cabin for me to try but I couldn't enjoy them. I did have a card and present for him that I'd bought before we left for the cruise and gave it to him that morning - so I'm not hopeless - just distracted this year!

Signe and I ran the 5K Winter Wings fun run this afternoon! It used to be called the Bald Eagle Run. It was the first fun run we did together in 1996! I have no idea how long it took us - I do know only one person was behind us! The strong head wind going out was the same as it was 13 years ago! We enjoyed ourselves and finished before all the goodies were gone at the finish line! Linkville Lopers did a good job hosting the run! Next month is the Run for the Music! I'm getting back in to it!!!!

My trip to Arizona is coming to an end. It's been busy but restful also. I've fed burro's carrots on the street of Oatman, seen the Elmore branch of the family in San Diego where we had a huge family picture taken (15 people) before Rod and S'te move to Bremerton,WA, wandered the streets of Algadones, Mexico looking for ways to spend my remaining pesos from our Yucatan trip and experienced the longest line of my life getting back across the border. Friday Dad and I will spend one night in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget and then I'll catch my plane home.

A good 2 week visit!

Well, I'm off to Arizona to visit my Dad for a couple of weeks. Jack will be staying home with the dogs on snow standby! I don't know how much internet access I'll have so I may not post again until February.

While I'm there Dad and I are going to drive down to Algodones, Mexico so Dad can get some dental surgery done. I'm hoping we'll be able to take in a few ghost towns along the drive there (Dad may not enjoy ghost towns after having dental work.) Algodones is right across the border from Yuma, Arizona. There seems to be quite a few we could check out. Oatman is very close to Bullhead City, where Dad lives, and I know we will go there if no where else.

I've been reading about Nevada and Arizona ghost towns for the past couple of days in preparation. We have 4 books on western ghost towns as it is one of the things on our list of things to do in our retirement. Jack's parents had a couple of books that we kept and Jack had a few of his own.

I love our personal library! It's so neat to just go to the shelves and find a book on the topic's we are interested in. I have been known to be fiscally irresponsible around two types of items, books and plants.The Goodwill As-Is store is a treasure trove of books for me! Hardbacks are a dollar and paperbacks 50 cents! I've gathered almost all the Sue Grafton, Clive Cussler, W.E.B. Griffin, Tom Clancy, and James L. Michener books. I really enjoy the search through all the books as I look for our favorite authors - and have a wide Miscellaneous group of books as a result!

As for plants, Leo is a source of inspiration for me. He orders seeds! Last Friday night when Signe and Leo came to dinner Leo and I poured over the seed catalog's and put together our order from the Farmers Seed Catalog. Seeds are much cheaper than nursery plants! Our share was $8 for enough vegetable seeds for the whole garden! We have access to a green house and plan to start puttering around in it in March. When Leo mentioned rounding up containers for use in the greenhouse I went out to my garden shed and was able to gather over 50 empty containers from last years nursery purchases! I hope I can get good with growing things from seed... that will save me from my self guilt on how much I spend in that area!

My current obsession is crocheting. I have just learned how to do it. I've made 6 washclothes, 3 scarfs, and am on the assembly stage of my first afaghan. Hours pass completely unnoticed! It's soothing to me. It's like therapy or meditation! I love watching something come together in my hands! I've already got the yarn for my next afaghan!

So that's it for me for now! Hope you'll are fit and well out there!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We have a white Christmas here! And when the sun is out it is lovely! Saturday before Christmas a bunch of us got together and went snow shoeing out on the Skillet Handle by Klamath Lake. Christmas Eve we gathered again at Nancy and Ed's for dinner and fellowship but the continuous snow cut our evening short. Being 12 miles out on Hwy 140 they get more snow than we do in town and the plows run less often. We were safely home by 7 pm!

The bueaty of life has been reinforced by recent events. I am exceedingly grateful for Jack and I's health, our reasonable financial stability, and my extraordinary sons.

I am so proud of how they work together in times of crisis - no matter what the crisis or the form of support needed. Not only do they come to each others aid in the form of money, but even more importantly, they give each other time, energy, compasssion and companionship!

I don't view myself as having been sucessful in very many aspects of life but the fact that my sons are good to each other and to people in general gives me a sense that I was a good influence as a mother. The proof is in how they are today.

These thoughts and feelings have filled my mind and heart this Christmas and made it rich!

-3 DEGREES!
I've always said I wouldn't go any further North because it's to cold up there - so the cold is coming to me! It's a record cold for Klamath Falls! I'm staying in doors but I see lots of cars going by outside so there are many that are braving the outdoors. It's actually warmed up to almost 20 degrees now that it's afternoon.

All the presents are sent out and I'm just sitting back with my crocheting and staying warm! Hope everyone is doing likewise!

HOLIDAY GREETINGS! Here's our holiday snapshot! The poinsetta is our christmas tree this year!

Shiloh has healed up wonderfully and is going at full throttle again. The vet's assistant had suggested we put a child's tee shirt on Shiloh to keep her from licking the stitches they'd put in. We got two for her and Shiloh liked her tee shirt so much that when I took it off of her to show the stitches to Mom she crawled up in to the chair I was sitting in and hide behind me! She nuzzled the tee shirt in my lap as if asking me to put it back on! We all got quite a chuckle out it! She did the same thing each time we "undressed" her! I went from never having "dressed up" a dog to putting one in tee shirts and then angel wings for the parade in one week! She looks cute in both!

I spent a few days with Mom and Teri in Anderson, California. I was great being 'just us girls' ! We sat and visited about anything and everything that came to mind! We also tried out some great receipes which I brought home and made for Jack. He loves the "Best Dip" Mom! I haven't made the Cream of Chile soup for him yet but I know he'll like that also!

Shiloh was in the Klamath Falls Snowflake Parade - wearing bells and angel wings - on December 4th! There was an Angels with Whiskers float but we were part of the group that walked our dogs and let the kids (and adults) in the crowd pet them. It was a quick mile! I was dressed warm so as not to get cold and had to strip gloves, headband and scraff off after jogging to catch up with our float each time I stopped to let folks pet Shiloh! It was fun!

Mike and Shiloh have their individually embroidered Angels with Whiskers vests! These dogs are starting to have wardrobes!

The glucose test came back that I am not diabetic... no news there. I was referred to another doctors office to look in to sleep apnea. I went and I agreed to do the sleep study they recommended but after receiving the information on the cost I am going to cancel the appointment - $3,500.00 for the overnignt sleep test. I may have some degree of sleep apnea but it is not life threatening and I can deal with it by taking naps as needed! It's a case of ROI - a lot of money spent with questionable return. Although the technology exsists to diagnose and treat any and everything - the cost is to great for the minimally insured. Once again I am reminded it is VERY costly to become involved with the medical world and one needs to limit contact to only instances that REQUIRE medical attention.

I want to spend what money I have LIVING life not giving it to the medical community to figure out all the details of my personal oddities! I've survived just fine without figuring out why I feel tired so often. It's not diabeties, thyroid or anything else they can figure out with the blood tests so I'm going to just drop it and continue to live with it as I spend the money they would use up in diagnostic tests on trips to Florida and Thailand.

Ha!