Fall 2018 update

Fall 2018 update for the Ramblin Ruis

 Well as we look back on the 6 months since we last posted an update time is truly flying right on by. If anyone is still out there we will try and catch you up on the happenings of the Ramblin Ruis. Since we last updated we have finished our second year at Yellowstone Fishing Bridge RV park. This was another enjoyable experience. Paula and I decided that this year we would prioritize what we wanted to see this year that we did not get to last year.

Lone Beaver having a snack

On the list of the things to do were the Beartooth Highway, Bighorn Mountains, Bechler Ranger Station (in the far southwestern corner of Yellowstone) and kayaking on the Henry Fork of the Snake River to name a few.

The Beartooth Highway is a winding road that has 11 major switchbacks as you climb to the summit of 11,000 feet.

This is one of the last roads that opens in the greater Yellowstone area because of the snow fall each year. The views from the top are spectacular and still somewhat cold even in the middle of June. As the saying goes what goes up must come down and so we did come down and down and down as we traveled to Red Lodge MT which is a town nestled in the mountains on the north end of the Beartooth Highway.

Bearthooth where the highway gets its name

We had a wonderful lunch and then headed to Buffalo Wyoming for the night. We traveled through the Bighorn mountains on this trip which are very impressive and rugged mountains. If you have ever traveled on I-90 in Wyoming, the Bighorns run south of the interstate for miles. We were also hoping to see moose as this was an area our friends had seen 25 on one trip and another friend saw 50 on a separate trip. We were able to see 1 bull and 2 cow moose along the way. After a restful night sleep in Buffalo we headed back west to the park back over the Bighorns which on this stretch were covered with alpine forest and lots of high elevation ponds and lakes. Then we dropped back in to the prairie and the high desert as we headed back to Yellowstone.

On another excursion we started on a picnic lunch down south to the Lewis lake area. After we ate I started driving south where we stopped at the headwater recreation area for some fuel. After fueling I decided to check out the dirt road that leads to the most remote part of Yellowstone which is Beclher Ranger Station. I had no intention of driving the fifty miles on the dirt washboard road, but it was a nice bumpy trip even though we only saw a chipmunk   along the way (oh, did I mention that it took 4 hours to travel the fifty-mile dirt road).  The ranger station was very remote set back in the woods and was located near the Bechler River.

Cave Falls on Bechler River

Beautiful remote area. Once leaving the ranger station we took the paved roads back to the west entrance of the park and back home. Check that one off the list.

Our days in the park were interrupted this year as a major road construction project was started on the Cody Road which runs right by our campground. Due to this we had some traffic delays from the construction so we decided that we would buy a satellite dish so TV could take the place of the every day disruptions of the road construction that made it an inconvenience going out in the park. Dish network has a program that is designed just for RVer’s where you pay month to month for service and you don’t have to sign a service contract which is nice. The only ones who seemed not to notice the construction was the 5 or 6 resident bull bison that traveled up and down the road daily making frequent stops in the entrance of our campground.

As I may have mentioned in an earlier post our staff was most all returners and it was again an enjoyable time working with such a diverse group of people. We again had our holiday meals and cook outs and yes Jim made lots of homemade ice cream.

Eat at your own risk

Something new this year was Paula and I started playing Rook on Wednesday nights with Carolyn and Gary Cooper some of our returning friends from outside Knoxville Tn. These games were held in the break room at the office and started out as friendly games to pass the evening away. Paula had limited experience playing Rook so everyone helped her with a refresher course. But as the weeks passed and she became more proficient the intensity of the friendly games increased. We wrapped up our Rook games the last weekend of the season at the employee pub over Pizza and the games ended in a tie. The championship game is scheduled for the summer of 2020.

During the first weekend of August we were able to get a kayaking trip together in Idaho on the Henry Fork of the Snake River. We did this with Jimmy and Sandy Affholder and Ed and Judy Lonsdale who were returning coworkers. This was a five-mile peaceful float (once we separated from others at the launch point) on a very steady spring feed river.

We saw lots of birds, eagles, ducks, otters but we took a back woods fork and missed the moose and calf. Afterward we had a nice meal at the local Mexican restaurant located on the banks of the river. We have had our kayaks with us for two years and this was only the second time we have put them in the water. The only kayaking inside the park is in Yellowstone Lake which has an average temperature of 42 degrees in the summer.  

 This year we had several folks from southside Virginia pass through Yellowstone on their family vacations. It was nice to see them and catch up on what was happenings in Pitt County and Dan Vegas.

Late in the season we got to witness the circle of life playing out among the wild animals of Yellowstone. We got word of a bison carcass along the Yellowstone river that the bears had been spending some time on. So, after work one afternoon we road down to the Hayden Valley and found the carcass with two grizzly bears trying get filled up before winter and hibernation time. The older of the two bears was on the carcass and the younger of the bears was patiently waiting his turn. As the time passed the young bear began to pace around the older bear on the carcass. Then the younger bear wondered up the river bank a short distance. I began scanning the area for wolves or other hungry critters. At that point I noticed a large bull bison standing up under a tree watching the younger bear who was watching the bison. Then at this point the bison started walking slowly and methodically toward the downed bison carcass. The younger bear tried to confront the bull bison even sitting up and waving his paws.

Not deterred the bull bison continued until he was at the carcass. At this time, it seemed the bull bison was out numbered but he continued and ran the two bears off the carcass. Amazingly without a fight, then for what seemed like forever (10 minutes) the bison walked slowly around his fallen comrade as if he was paying his final respects. He would occasional pause and stare at the bears as they continued to move up the ridge away from a confrontation. Then as just as methodically as he came to pay his respect he wondered off down the river bank undoubtedly glad he wasn’t on the menu that day. Once he cleared the area the younger bear returned to the carcass to get his turn as the older bear disappeared over the ridge.  

As the season wrapped up we had a final meal together in the office the night before we left. It was bittersweet as we enjoyed each other’s company and remembered the good times of the season. We all planned to return in 2020 to the refurbished and newly renovated Fishing Bridge RV Park.

This year Paula and I were able to secure a job in New Mexico which started on October 1. So, with only 3 weeks down time we decided to rent a car and drive back east and store our camper in Montana. This was a whirlwind three weeks in which we planned to visit family and friends while in Virginia and North Carolina. We stopped along the way and saw Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska and were even able to catch a baseball game in Cincinnati Ohio between the Reds and Dodgers. But mother nature had some other ideas as Hurricane Florence hit southside Virginia area while we were there, so we got to see family and some friends but not as many as we would have liked.

On September 29^th we arrived in Las Cruces New Mexico where we will call home for the next 6 months. We are working at the local KOA campground. This area is full of agricultural, pecans, cotton, red and green chilies to name a few which is very surprising being in the desert. We have tried to adventure out at least once a week to take in the area history and culture.

Home Sweet Home View Of Organ Mountains

As most of you know Paula and I have been involved in the OCC shoebox ministries of Samaritans Purse for the last 15 years or so. Thankfully we were able to find an OCC collection location here in Las Cruces which we were able to volunteer at this year. We met some nice folks and were very blessed to be able to help out.

On Thanksgiving Day we had a huge lunch with all the work campers at our location. Each family brought something, and we had a traditional turkey and all the fixings.

 As we reflect over this past year we are truly blessed and thankful for our health and all the opportunities that have come our way.

So I will leave you with this thought, enjoy today and all that’s in it because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

Until next time

Allen and Paula

Ramblin Ruis

Updating the Ramblin Ruis

Updating the Ramblin Ruis’

Sunset over ice covered Lake Yellowstone 

Well here it is May 29 2018 and we are starting our second month of our second season at Fishing Bridge RV Park in Yellowstone NP. We are well into our routine at the RV park the training is over and we have been open almost 3 week now, before we know it the season will be over. Most of us have returned from last years crew but we do have some new faces. Another change this year is I have been assigned as one of the three lead agents. This requires more assigning of sites and dealing with people’s problems than checking in of the guests. It’s a lot like working a puzzle trying to find a place to put 346 campers in 346 sites in three different site sizes.  It’s a little more than I was looking for as a retirement job but it keeping my mind sharp and me on my toes. Oh yea I forgot the best part I am responsible for supervising my wife……..Glad we get along so well or this could be bad but she has been a great wingman to navigate this journey with. Well now let’s get caught up on how we got here from Arizona.

We pulled out of Arizona on April 20 and started our trip back to Yellowstone. For those that haven’t been to the desert southwest in the spring there are a few things that stand out one is the temperatures start rising and the second is the winds pick up out of the west. So, as we headed out across the desert we got blown around a bit. It also caused us to change our route north and avoid the bridge over the Hoover Dam as the high winds there have been know to blow tractor trailers and RV’s over, so instead we crossed the Colorado River at Bullhead City Az. Bullhead City is a resort town sitting in a valley on the Colorado River. SO down we went and then back up we went out the other side headed to Las Vegas. This is open desert so you have to have plenty of fuel and everything working well on your vehicle. After hitting Vegas at rush hour we made it to I-15  which took us north to Hurricane UT where we stayed in a nice KOA campground. Hurricane is one of the gateways to Zion National Park and the area is surrounded by high red rock cliffs and mountains.  This area was first settled by Mormon settlers.

Leaving Hurricane, we continued north on I-15 toward Salt Lake City Utah. This is an easy drive and was one reason we went to Arizona for part of the winter as we hoped this would help us miss the turbulent spring weather across the mid-west in April.  We made it to Bringham City Ut on the second day where we decided to stay two nights as we were making good time on our trek north.

We spent that afternoon and the next day exploring the areas Bear River Wild Life Refuge which is the world’s largest bird migratory  refuge. The refuge is a wetland with a river, lakes and ponds on the northern end of the great Salt Lake and it just happened to be prime migration time for northbound birds. Now I wouldn’t call us expert bird watchers but because of Ashley’s influence on us we have developed more interest in bird watching and identification. There was a dirt road that traveled about 12 miles winding through the refuge where we saw a wide variety of ducks, birds, cranes and pelicans. We enjoyed this so much that we spent two afternoons in the refuge.

Also located nearby was the Golden Spike National park located at Promontory Summit Utah. This is where in the late 1800’s the east met the west in the western expansion of the Railroads. Promontory Summit is where the railroad from the east met the railroad from the west on May 10, 1869. This was a neat place to visit but as a travel advisory don’t make a special trip just to see it, took about 30 minutes.

There was also a missile research facility in the area which was responsible for building the solid rocket boosters of the space shuttle among other things.

After leaving Bringham City we headed north toward Idaho Falls Idaho where we spent our last night outside of Yellowstone. We hit the local Walmart to resupply before heading into the park.

After leaving Idaho Falls we headed east on Rt. 20 which carried us to West Yellow Montana where we met up with 3 other couples that we worked with last year. We exchanged warm greetings and then went and had a country breakfast before convoying into Fishing Bridge RV Park.

2018 Fishing Bridge RV Park Crew

The winter of 2017/2018 brought a lot of snow to the Lake area of Yellowstone and it was obvious as we arrived at the RV park. The roads and the campsites in the campground had been plowed but high mounds of snow were everywhere. Unfortunately, one of our co workers caught the rear of his camper on a snow bank and it wasn’t pretty to say the least.  Fortunately, its was cosmetic damage and not structural damage so they were able to get set up and with a little duct tape we were able to get them sealed up until the fall when they can get it repaired.  Our site was plowed but we had high snow banks on both sides which would not allow the slides to open unless we dug out.

Thankfully the plow crew was still in the campground working on the other loops so I commandeered one of the bobcat operators and 5 minutes later our snow banks were reduced to snow flakes and we could get set up. Shewwww……thankful for the bobcat.

As training began we had a field trip early one morning as one of our maintenance guys advised of a grizzly bear nearby. So, with the boss’s permission we all loaded up and headed to Pelican Creek where we found a very hungry grizzly. The bear had pulled what appeared to be an Elk skeleton from the creek and he was eating the bones trying to get the bone marrow for the much-needed protein. Now this was an ideal spot to watch as we were on the bridge and he was below us only about 50 feet away. Now I’ve known that I wouldn’t want to be eaten by a grizzly bear but if I ever had any doubt it’s gone after hearing him crunching and crushing those bones as he was eating. IMPRESSIVE strength and drive. Needless to say this was the most exciting day of our almost two week long training.

Last year Paula and I drove who knows how many miles and covered almost every inch of the park roads multiple times but this year we have decided to be more selective in our adventures(fuel prices). We also broke down and got DISH TV this year which will give us another option for entertainment. We were also advised when we arrived this year that our campground will be closed next year to be updated and refurbished so we are focused on seeing certain things that we didn’t see last year on the outskirts of the park in case we don’t return in 2020.

Most of you may be aware that Steamboat Geyser has been going off for the first time since 2014. We were headed to West Yellowstone 4 weeks ago to attend church with some of our coworkers when we topped the ridge and saw the steam towering above the trees. Steamboat was living up to its name as the world’s tallest geyser. Needless to say, we made a detour to see such a rare occurrence. Come to find out it was the steam phase of an eruption from Friday night some 36 hours earlier. Needless to say, it was still impressive as Old Faithful is only 90 feet tall and Steamboat is 300 Feet in full eruptions.

We headed off to church and we were only 15 minutes late. The church we attended is West Yellowstone Baptist church a small congregation that grows with the increased summer workers and visitors to the area. This was the first time I have been in church where after the prayer concerns and praises the congregation gives a wildlife sightings report. Sharing with each other the beautiful creation that God has given us to enjoy. Best of all this was first Sunday of the month which is a covered dish meal. Now the sermon was good but the food was just as good as several of the ladies who are here for the summer are from the south so we had good food and a delicious surprise cake (some will recall this is very close to Margie Morris pineapple cake). We have asked for Sunday & Mondays off so we could continue to attend church but unfortunately because of our staffing and scheduling it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out. But even if we can’t make it to church every Sunday we are very thankful to be surrounded by this wonderful creation which allows us to worship God every day.

Today as we were driving through the park on the way for a short get away and grocery trip we went through the Lamar Valley to see some wildlife. As we rounded a corner the road was block by a heard of bison 75 to 100 strong. They were headed our way on the road which was guarded by a high ridge on the left and a raging Soda Butte Creek on the right. As they got closer to us the leader of the herd decided to cross the creek. Now keep in mind it is springtime and the herd has a number of month old calves “Red Dawgs” in their numbers. As the herd entered the swift flowing creek from the snow melt you could see the current immediately start sweeping the 2000-pound adults downstream and then the small calves followed. The “Red Dawgs” got a real survival test in the evolving circle of life.  Paula was about to jump from the truck and wade into the cold swift water to try and rescue the “Red Dawgs” and interfere with the circle of life. Thankfully all of the “Red Dawgs” made it out and no one had to rescue my wife who can’t swim.

water rescue

Well that’s about all for now we will try to update when we can but with out reliable internet in the park it will be probably only be once a month or so.

Until next time

Paula and Allen

Ramblin Ruis

A Time for Everything

A Time for Everything

Sunset over the Weaver Mountains

April 11,2018

Well here we are again. It seems like just yesterday that we were in Florida but on March 1 we left Cedar Key with our destination Congress Arizona. As we change locations we left behind new formed friendships and headed off to discover new adventures around the next corner.

Well it would seem totally incomplete to do an update and not include a Camping World story. SOOOO, as you may recall we had to order a new recliner set for the camper as the side I sit on had begun to lean to the right as something in the frame had broken. So, we had a scheduled appointment on March 1 in Lake City Florida to get the new recliners installed. We arrived at 8:30 am and unhooked the trailer. While I was unhooking the trailer, I heard a noise in one of the landing gear that I hadn’t heard before but the gear went up and I didn’t notice anything out of the way as I moved the truck so the service guys could move the trailer for the installation.  Paula and I left the Camping World and had breakfast at a nearby Cracker Barrell and ran a few errands before returning to pick up the trailer so we could head west. When we returned to the lot the trailer was sitting around front and it appeared that the repairs had been completed.  Paula went inside to talk to our service guy and I began to back up to hook up the trailer. When I got out of the truck to lower the tailgate an employee on a fork lift was riding by and said he would be back in a minute to help me hook up. I waved, and at the same time was wondering why he was going to help me hookup as I have been doing this for a while now. At the sametime Paula and our service guy were walking toward me and as they got close the service guy said we were going to have to have a jack to raise the trailer to load.  Evidently the noise I heard was the pin shearing off on the left landing gear. WOW. WOW. WOW. The service guy went on to say that when they moved the trailer around back that the leg wouldn’t extend and hold the weight of the trailer. So, we are very fortunate that the trailer did not fall when I unhooked or even before one night while we were asleep. These guys were very nice at Camping World and they assisted in jacking the trailer with, a floor jack up so I could hook up the truck. The part was ordered and was being shipped overnight but this being a Thursday it would not be in Lake City until Monday or Tuesday of the next week. 

So here we are………thinking we are heading west……… when actually we have to find a new place to camp near Lake City. Side note we were hooked up and could go where we wanted but we just had to stay hooked up until the landing gear leg could be replaced. We were able to find a nice KOA where we stayed until the repairs were made on Monday March 4. While we were at the KOA we decided we needed to get a few groceries from Wal Mart. Now we are hooked up so we decided to ride our bicycles to the Walmart which was about 4 miles away. Now my wife was somewhat reluctant to make this ride so as we went along I had to keep setting short term goals such as the next cross street or stop light. We made it without much trouble. We got our groceries and I bought a basket for the bike to carry the groceries back. Now the terrain was flat so it was an easy ride but no short-term goals needed on the return and when Paula saw that yellow KOA sign she caught another gear and I could barely keep up with her.

Finally, March 4 we are west bound on I-10 3 ½ days later than planned headed to Arizona. Now for those that don’t know I-10 runs east to west from Florida to California across the southern US. We pushed across Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana in a day and a half. Then came Texas, it was 2 days of hard driving to cross the lone star state.  The scenery didn’t change much just a few more hills in west Texas. As we passed through El Paso on I-10 we were close enough to the Mexico border that Paula’s cell phone switched over to the international calling plan and welcomed her to Mexico.

Finally, we were out of Texas and we spent two days in Los Cruses New Mexico. Los Cruses is a historic old town where bandits from days gone by like Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa and others use to hold up when on the run.  We then spent one day to take a break from driving and did some sightseeing. We were able to visit White Sands national park and Fort Seldon. White Sands is located between two mountain ranges in a valley used by the US Military for a missile testing range. Its strange driving across the desert and seeing this big white patch of sand in the middle. This sand is course and packs down hard so there are roads cut through the dunes to drive on.

White Sands  National Park

Once we left White Sands we drove to a little State park called Fort Seldon. This was a fort that General Douglas McArthur’s father served as the last commanding General and where the younger McArthur spent some of his youth. We wondered through the visitor center and watched the informational video on the forts operation protecting the trade routes and wagon train trails. After seeing the visitors center we went outside to see the remains of the forts adobe walls and layout. As we entered the walkway to the fort a sign on the side of the trail said “Respect the privacy of the rattlesnakes and stay on the trail”. The trails were clear and gravel which lead us into what was the remains of the fort. As we walked around Paula reached out to feel the texture of the adobe walls. As we walked further Paula was going to touch the wall again when out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement which I quickly identified as a baby rattlesnake curled up in crevices on the wall. I immediately warned Paula not to touch the wall and pointed out the snake. Obviously, rattlesnakes can’t read as Paula was obviously on the trail. We quickly exited the fort as we cautiously looked for mama rattlesnake.

Before we left Los Cruses we met up with Tony and Lanette Langley for dinner. Tony and Lanette were fellow employees at Fishing Bridge last year and they will be returning this year but will be working in a different location this year. We had a great dinner catching up and swapping stories of each of our winter adventures. We learned from Tony that because of the amount of weapons testing conducted in the Los Cruses area that when you fish in the areas lakes or rivers you are given a warning card that outlines the safe amount of fish to eat each month due to the radiation levels.  Good to know in case you are going to visit this area. 

Once leaving New Mexico we stopped in Wilcox Az. This was near the notorious western town of Tombstone Az. After getting set up in Wilcox we made our way to Tombstone. Tombstone was a late 1800’s mining town in the lawless Arizona desert which is most famous for the shoot out on October 26, 1881 between the Earp’s and the Clanton’s at the OK Corral.

OK Corral

Now this epic gun battle between the law and order group of the Earp’s and the outlaw group of the Clanton’s is what has kept Tombstone on the map since all the mining dried up shortly after this historical shoot out. I am not sure what Paula and I were expecting but we found one street preserved close to the 1880’s. This to us was more like a Tweetsie Railroad on steroids for those on the east coast to reference. Everything was commercialized and you couldn’t even see the OK Corral with out paying 10 per person to see a slapstick recreation of the shootout. Which we did. Somewhere in all the trappings and commercialization was lost the 30 second gunfight. 

After leaving Wilcox we arrived in Congress Az which ironically was a mining town and is where a lot of the prospectors came to when Tombstones mines dried up. Congress is a small desert town located about 1 hour northwest of Phoenix at the foot of the Weaver Mountains. For the movie buffs you might recognize the Weaver Mountains from the movie Granite Mountain Hotshots. This movie depicted a forestry department Hotshot firefighting team that was killed in a wildfire. This was in the Weaver Mountains about 10 miles from where we are located.

While here Ed and Judy Lonsdale our friends from Idaho that we worked with at the park last summer passed through as they were on a road trip to Death Valley and northern Arizona. We had dinner with them and then spent the day hiking in a park in Wickenburg where we had a very nice picnic lunch.

After lunch we headed toward Phoenix as there was an air show at Luke AFB. The Blue Angels naval flight team was performing so we were able to see them for the first time.

Blue Angels over Lukes AFB
It was truly amazing to watch these guys flying so fast upside down, side by side, and various other tricks. The show lasted about 45 minutes and was a real treat. Glad we were able to spend this time with Ed and Judy as they will not be returning to the park this year.

Paula and I were able to catch a ballgame at the Dodger’s spring training against the KC Royals. This was a nice time as we both had a Dodger Dog and enjoyed the game.

Unfortunately, on March 18 Paula had to fly back to Asheville as her mother was hospitalized. As much as we enjoy this adventure there are still “life things” that each of us have to handle. 

The Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes in Chapter 3 talks specifically about a time for everything. And in verse 2 it says “there is a time to be born and a time to die”. Sadly, on March 22, 2018 at 7:54pm Paula’s mother Jane Hansel ended her struggles her on earth and entered the gates of Heaven where she will suffer no more. In verse 4 of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 the write also says “there is a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance”. As sad as it is for us to lose our wife, mother, grandmother and mother-in-law we can laugh at the good times we had together and dance and rejoice that she is no longer suffering. On March 27 we were able mourn and celebrate her life and her passing in a very nice service at the “Little Church on the Hill” know as First Presbyterian Church of Swannanoa.

Mama Jane & Papa Steve in Egypt

In Alaska

Allen, Paula and Mama Jane NYC

The Gang at Thanksgiving

Mama Jane and her court in England

Paula, Kim and Mom

So, we dedicate this blog in honor of

 Jane Connelly Hansel

April 16,1933 to March 22,2018.

Thanks “Mama Jane” for all the memories.

 

“Heaven is my Home. I am just traveling through this old world.”

So, as we travel through this world, we learn not to take anything for granted and enjoy each moment we have as none of us are promised tomorrow.

Next Stop Yellowstone National Park

Until next time

The Ramblin Ruis

Allen and Paula

Wow 2018 where is the time going???

Wow 2018 where is the time going???

Well down here in the retirement capital of the USA the pace has slowed down a bit for the two of us just as the frequency of the Ramblin Ruis Blog.

Did you know that the population of Florida increases but at least one million people in the winter months of January through March?? Wow that’s a lot of snow birds hanging out in retirement communities up and down the state of Florida. While most of you guys up north were suffering through a cold January and early February Florida wasn’t spared. Now granted we did not have snow or extended bitter cold spells but upper 20’s at night is cold for Florida standards even in January. Because of the cold Paula and I didn’t do much the first couple of weeks here in Cedar Key. We were able to make some new friends and attend a National Championship college football game party at the club house. Unfortunately, Alabama won again.

As the weather began to warm toward mid-January Paula and I headed down to Crystal River Florida to go kayaking with the Manatee’s. Because of the extreme cold weather these “sea cows’ as they are known gather in the warm 72-degree waters of the Crystal River and the springs that feed the river. This was a real treat as there were at least 150 to 200 Manatee’s swimming in this area. They swam around us and under our kayaks as we glided up the river. And yes, the water is clear as the name implies so you could see to the bottom of the river.

In January we also attended a bean and corn bread dinner at the club house along with Bingo games on Tuesday nights. January also brought about a spring cleaning of sorts.  Paula and I took a different part of the camper each day for a week and went through our stuff for further downsizing. We adopted the attitude if it was something we had brought just in case we needed and we hadn’t use it in the past 10 months we must not have really needed it in the first place. SOOO we are a little lighter now than we were when we arrived here January 2^nd. January also found us going to dinner at the Treasure Camp restaurant located on the Suwanee River with our new friends Al and Pam Pelfrey (Georgia) and Don and Jan Mason (Ohio). This was a neat place which sits right on the banks of the Suwanee River and the dinning room is a screen porch overlooking the river. They have window inserts for the winter and a huge pot belly stove in the middle to heat the whole building.

Paula and I also got up early and went down to the marsh to watch the lunar eclipse at the end of January. This was really cool as we had seen the solar eclipse in Yellowstone this past summer.

February 1^st brought about what we referred to as the Cedar Key Shuffle. There were several of us that had reserved a second month late in 2017 which allowed us to secure a site for the month of February but it required us to change sites. SO on the morning of the 1^st about 5 or 6 of us had to hook up and move to our new site for February, hence the shuffle. We moved from lot 2 to the back of the park on lot 73 which is a much quieter location than up front. As the weather warmed I shifted my attention to the outside of the camper and the truck. Neither of which had been cleaned or waxed in a while. So I washed and waxed the truck and took a couple more days to wash  the roof and wax the exterior of the camper. If you can see under the coating of yellow pollen you can see that both the truck and camper have a much-needed shine restored to their exterior finishes.

Sand Hill Crane

We also took a day to go toward the Orlando area where we met up with our friends Bob and Cheryl (Rhode Island) who we worked with last year in Yellowstone. We had a nice lunch at the clubhouse restaurant located in the community where they had just purchased a home. We also had a surprise visit from our friends Joel and Margie (Alabama) who we also worked with last summer. We took them for a tour of Cedar Key and we had lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants.

But the best thing in February was that the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. Not that I am an Eagles fan I am just done with Tom Brady and the Patriots. Remember the 1972 Dolphins are still the only undefeated season team NFL in history.   

Last weekend we went with Al and Pam to a Greek Festival where we had some delicious Greek food and deserts.

We have continued Bingo on Tuesday nights in the clubhouse for February as well.

So, what’s next for the Ramblin Ruis you might ask, or maybe not, but here’s what it looks like. We will pull out of here on March 1 and are headed west. We will be going to Congress Arizona which is located northwest of Phoenix. Once we get to the Lake City area and turn west on I-10 we want see another road until we get west of Phoenix. This is right at 2000 miles and we should be able to make it in 4 ½ to 5 days depending on weather along the way. We are planning at least one stop over near Las Cruces New Mexico to meet Tony and Lynette Langley who we worked with last summer and are wintering in New Mexico.  Once we arrive in Arizona we plan to stay until around April 20 at which time we will pull out and head North to Yellowstone for our second season working in ‘Your National Park” as our friend Ed would tell each of his guest last season at the end of the check-in. We are scheduled to leave Yellowstone around September 6. As of now we are currently looking for a camp host type job for the fall.

So, there you go.

As I typed this it happened to be the same day Billy Graham the beloved evangelist of the poor and the presidents passed away at age 99. Graham touched countless lives during his lifetime and I can still remember watching his televised crusades on a grainy black and white TV as a child and teenager.  I am sure the angels in heaven are singing a special and loud chorus today as another saint has come home. Because of his influence his children have carried his message and ministry.  Paula and I have been blessed to be a very small part of one of these ministries as Samaritans Purse continues to touch millions of lives around this world.

I will leave you with these quotes from Dr. Graham himself;

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;

When health is lost, something is lost;

When character is lost, all is lost.”

“Heaven is my Home. I am just traveling through this world.”

So as we travel through this world,

Until next time

The Ramblin Ruis

Allen and Paula