The Boys and Their Toys

This past weekend the Taneytown Volunteer Fire Company held its annual toy auction and show. The auction was held Saturday evening and the show was held sunday. This was the first time that we were home and was able to help with the auction and show.

The amount of money that was being paid for some of these farm toys was shocking. One farm toy was sold for $400.00.

After seeing what was being paid for some of the farm toys it made is want to go home and raid the toy box to see what we can come up with...

Zoo Keeper Job Finished and USMC Museum

Well, our stint as zoo keepers came to an end this morning. All of the animals survived as did we.

Saturday and Sunday, Tom and Leah went to the Marine Corp. Museum. See the link on the left of the screen.

The Museum is open every day except Christmas from 9 to 5. After spending two days at the museum, we could have spent even more time there.

The museum is right off of Interstate 95 and the best part is admission is FREE.

We advise you not to go unless you have several hours to devote to your visit.

There are three tours each day at 10:00, 12:00 and 2:00 given by volunteers.

So if you are in the area or a former Marine plan on stopping at this fine Museum and learn about the history of the Marine Corp.

Off to be Zoo Keepers for the Weekend

Well we're off on a big adventure weekend. We are going to Virginia to look after our Son and daughter-in-law's zoo. Well, it's not really a zoo, it just seems like that. They have 3 dogs, 5 cats, 3 ferrets, two fish tanks and several frogs and a lizard. Oh, I almost forgot, our grandson, will also be in the mix for several days.

Our son and daughter-in-law are off to sunny California for a weekend conference at Huntington Beach.

Hopefully all of us will make it through the weekend intact.

Another Milestone Day

Hi All!

Well today was another milestone day in Tom's life. He received his first, of what we hope will be many, monthly social security payments.

Since Tom was born on December 29Th, he had to wait until the end of February to receive his payment. Those persons who were born on the 1st and 2Nd, several days later, received their payments the first week February. So persons born after Tom received their payments almost a month sooner. Our government's logic in action????

Bad News Day

This morning was a very, very bad news day for us. We were watching the news this morning when we learned that a friend's 39 year old son was killed in an auto accident yesterday evening. He was a dentist and the father of 6 children, all of whom were in the car with him at the time of the accident.

After hearing the name of the driver on the news this morning, we checked our email to see if we had received anything from our church as to weather or not this was the same person we knew. Much to our dismay it was.

We also received another email from a member of our camping group that his wife passed away yesterday evening. How shocking and sudden it was for us to read this.

After 3 months our sister-in-law is not showing any signs of improvement from the massive stroke she suffered the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

All of this just reminds us how short and precious life can be and to live and enjoy it.

Also this brings to mind a saying we heard years ago, "When you say goodbye to someone, say it like its the last time you will ever see them."

Winter Sucks (:>(

Well, as you have read, we are staying home due to family medical problems this Winter. This has been the first Winter we have had to stay home in Maryland since 1999 and it SUCKS!

Yesterday we had three separate snowfalls. As if that was not bad enough, last night things froze over and this morning was are getting rain on top of the ice and frozen snow. Boy, what a mess!



Icy Mess...



A motorhome shouldn't have to look like this...




Hopefully next Winter we will not be stuck up in Maryland.

PDA Crashed :-( . . .

Monday evening Tom had a great big PDA crash... Oh man, what a big pain that is going to be because it had not been synced for a month or more. The biggest pain is making certain the information that is stored in various places is current.

There are several programs that were on the PDA that does not get backed up to any place and reconstructing the information contained in them will be a terrible pain.

Lastly, we do geocaching and were setup to do it paperlessly using the PDA.

After this being the second PDA to die, we are not certain if we want to buy another one.

New email addresses

We have decided that we no longer need the Internet account we have had with the local library. We have been trying Google for awhile and it has proven to be a much better email system than the one used by the library. Since we are using DSL and no longer using dial-up, there just is no reason for us to continue renewing our account.

We have send our email address change notices to our friends and are in the transition period of changing to the new addresses.

We will also be moving our web page over to googlepages as well.

If Google goes under, we will be in a world of hurt because we are using many of the Google programs on a regular basis. If you have not tried any of many of them we highly recommend Picasa2, Web Albums, Google Earth, E-mail and Pages.

Mom's Funeral

We took 2 days to make the trip to Northwestern Ohio since we didn't leave Maryland until late afternoon. We stayed in Findlay, Ohio along with my cousin and her husband at the same motel.

On Tuesday we went to Deshler, Ohio for the viewing where many family members come and spend most of the afternoon and evening with us. We talked about many good times and traded funny stories to honor a woman who lived 81 years.

The funeral was held on Wednesday afternoon and mom would have liked how everything was handled at the funeral home. At the grave site it was a different story. During the graveside services, my sister said that the grave was in the wrong location.

My sister said that mom came to her the night before in a dream and told her that they would try to bury her in the wrong site. Sure enough, they did. The records at the cemetery were very poor and they tried to bury mom along side of her mother instead of beside dad. They got things taken care of and mom is now resting beside dad.

Sad News Day

As we were getting ready to go to church this morning, we received the call that we knew was coming but didn't want to receive. Tom's mother had just passed away. We decided to go to chuch and afterwards head for Ohio.

Mom had been in failing health for a number of years and her struggles have at last come to a peaceful end. We know that she has been reunited with Tom's father and brother along with other family members that have crossed over before.

First Post of 2008

Well, as readers of this blog knows there have not been any posting for several months. We have taken several local trips since the motorhome was fixed. I am happy to report there have not been any problems.

This Winter we were hoping to go to Az., but sometimes things don't go as planned. The Sunday after Thanksgiving our sister-in-law had a stroke. This means that my brother-in-law will have his hands full with her health care and will not be able to also look after my wife's mother. As result, it appears that we will be spending the Winter at home.

I talked with my sister several days ago and she told me that my mother is under hospice care and they are not holding out much hope for her to last thru January. We have been in a quandary as to what to do with the dog when we make the trip to Ohio for my mother. If it was not Winter, it would be a "no brainer," we would drive the motorhome.

This is a trip that I am not looking forward to, but one that we all make sooner or later.

The Motorhome is Fixed!

As your read in a previous post, we had a few problems with the motorhome. To recap, an exhaust header broke which in turn burned out not one, but two starters and the front end was damaged by the towing company.

Below are the before and after pictures of the damages.
Broken Exhaust Header
Replacement Exhaust Header

Front End Damage

Repaired Front End

As the pictures show, the exhaust header is now a single piece and the front end looks like new. Oh Boy, on the road again!!!

We got the motorhome back just in time for we are joint hosts of a camping outing next weekend.

Just a Bad Day

Today was just a very bad day. We are on the last leg of our trip back home when bad luck struck.

First off, about 600 hundred miles into the trip, we developed an exhaust leak up around the engine. The leak turned out to be a broken header on the passenger's side. The leak got progressively worse during the trip.

We spent Friday night in Flatbush, WV and early Saturday morning hit the road for home. We made a stop for fuel just West of Cumberland, Maryland and when we tried to start the motorhome, nothing happened when the key was turned. The battery was fine, so that left the starter as the problem.

We called our emergency road service and a tow truck was sent. The driver said there was a Ford garage about 5 miles away and would that be ok to tow it to. We agreed. We followed the tow truck and when we arrived at the lot and got out to unhook the motorhome, that's when we all saw the damage.

Somehow a safety chain got caught in the front end and tore it. The tow truck driver was very upset that this happened and could not understand how this happened. We didn't know either as we were following the tow truck and did not see anything odd take place. We told him don't get too upset as it was just one more thing in an already bad day for us.

The service manager was still at the garage, so we were able to speak to him and make arrangements for the starter to be repaired. We packed a few items in the car, locked the motorhome and dropped off the keys in the garage. We drove the car home without any additional problems.

St. Louis, Mo

We stayed in East St. Louis, Ill., Just across the Mississippi River at the Casino Queen Campground.



The Gateway Arch was very visible from the campground. It was very easy to cross the river into St. Louis. All we had to do was call security from the campground phone and a shuttle van picked us up and took us to the light rail station.



Since there was a ballgame today, we were able to purchase tickets that were good up to two hours after the end of the game, good deal!



We could see our motorhome from the top of the arch through the haze.

Yes, the trams are that small!


Because the South side tram cars were out of service, we had to wait almost 2 hours before we could go to the top of the arch.



We stayed in St. Louis and had dinner before heading back across the river to the motorhome.

Kearney, Nebraska

We stopped in Kearney, Nebraska at the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.



It is dedicated to showing the road west and has an interesting presentation using headphones as you move from area to area. They also allow you to boondock on the parking lot. We spend the night and were joined by several other units and a truck. It was hot and muggy and we should have run our generator and air conditioners like one of the other motorhomes did.

Hiking Day

Today was a hiking day. We planned to hike two trails, the Beaver Creek trail to Taggart Lake and the trail to Hidden Falls and Insperation Point on the West side of Jenny Lake.

We had hiked about a mile and a half when Leah spotted a Mule Deer watching us. Just a bit further down the trail was a herd of Mule Deer bedded down for the day. The herd watched us as we stopped to look at them and take a few pictures. The herd didn't seem to concerned about our presents as we did not appear to be a threat to them.

The Beaver Creek Trail is the long way to Taggart lake and because of that we only passed two other hikers on the trail. Every one else was taking a shorter trail to Taggart Lake.



The Tetons reflecting in the lake made for a great photo.






















After completing the Taggart Lake hike of 4 miles, we drove to Jenny Lake. At Jenny Lake we took a boat to the Western shore to get to the trail heads. The trail was loaded with people as this is the only trail to Hidden Falls and Insperation Point. This was very hard terrain to hike and many persons were not wearing the proper footware and carry any water. We had both and found the trail rough going.

Teton Mts.

We left Dubois, Wy heading for Jackson, Wy. We stopped at Elk Ranch Flats and took our first real look at the Tetons.




After we got our motorhome setup at the Campground, we went down to Jackson Square to take a picture of the Elk Antler Arches. At 6:oo pm two streets were blocked off and a big song and dance infomercial took place. They were pushing to see a show at a local theater. We did not return any more during our stay as it was no big deal. The town of Jackson is located in the area known as Jackson Hole as it surrounded on all sides by mountains. It has become a year around tourist area. In the Winter time there is the skiing and the rest of the year there is hiking, biking and river rafting.

The prices in the stores reflect a tourist area, but we felt the restaurant prices were very good as was the food we ate.

Dubois Wyoming

Today I am trying something new with the blog. I am using the slide show from Picasa to show the pictures I took in and around Dubois. To see the slide titles, you need to click on the picture and then on the little box in the lower left corner.


We have spent the last two days at the Longhorn RV & Motel 3 miles East of Dubois, Wy. New owners have taken over this old park and have put a lot of money and work into it. Along with all of the upgrades are price increases, about 40 dollars a night. Good Luck to them, but the rates are a bit steep.

As we were walking in the campground this morning, Doris Roberson came out of their motorhome to greet us. We were at a Newmar FMCA pre-rally in North Carolina last which they also attended. We also saw them at the Newmar rally in Gillette. They have been here for a week and will be here for another two weeks.

They told us about the Sawmill Lodge and Restaurant and what a nice drive it was. After spenting sometime looking in the stores in Dubois, we made the drive to the lodge and found it to be as the Robersons advised.

Thermopolis, Wy

Nestled among the foothills of the Owl Creek Mountains and resting beside the Big Horn River lies Thermopolis, Wyoming. It is one of those small picturesque Western towns where the altitude is higher than the population (altitude 4500, population 3200), and is renowned for its World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring and beautiful surroundings. The Big Horn Springs are located throughout Hot Springs County.

In Thermopolis (Greek for “Hot City”) the scalding water comes from the Big Spring, which is located in Hot Springs State Park. From this turquoise and green spring, the water flows into cooling ponds at a temperature of 127 degrees. A boardwalk leads you over terraces from the over flow of water. These terraces are made chiefly of lime and gypsum which separate from the cooling waters. The colors you see are due mainly to primitive plants (algae), which grow in the warm water. The cooler water then runs over rainbow-hued mineral terraces into swimming pools and Jacuzzis, and into the Big Horn River



When early explorers went through the Big Horn Basin they saw that all the water drained into what they would call the Big Horn River. Explorers from the South came through the Wind River Mountains and named the river found there the Wind River. One did not know the other had named the same river. The river changes names at the Wedding of the Waters just a few miles south of Thermopolis. Here the river leaves the Wind River behind and becomes the Big Horn River. The river flows lazily through Thermopolis with many public floating, fishing and bird hunting accesses.


The Wind River flows through the beautiful Wind River Canyon on U.S. Highway 20 just south of Thermopolis. The canyon walls reach 2500 feet into the sky at many points throughout this beautiful drive. As you travel you will see sphinx-like shapes of rocks a thousand feet above the bed of the river. There are castle formations and waterfalls that tumble out of the rock formed canyon sides. Look in the crevices for formations of perpetual ice and snow, which endure the summers heat.

We decided to spend the 4Th of July in this area before moving onto Jackson, Wy. It seems like a very nice little town with the Hot Springs and the river the big draw.

Leah and I went to the hot springs one morning for a soak at the State Bath house. The mineral water was warm and felt very good and relaxing. Because of the water temps, it is recommended that you only soak for 20 minutes at a time.

We are staying at the Eagle RV Park on the western edge of town. It boasts having a hundred shade trees and although I didn't count them, I believe there is. Everyday they are watering the trees and the grass.

This is a very active RV park. A lot of RVs leave in the morning an by mid-afternoon the park fills up again.

Inner tubes can be rented and the park will take you up stream so you can float back down the river. This trip takes about 2 1/2 hours.

Buffalo, Wy to Thermopolis, Wy

To get from Buffalo to Thermopolis, we had to go over the Powder River Pass. As you can see from the sign, it is 9,666 feet high. We had to climb in 1st gear part of the way but we made it without a problem either going up or down.






Shortly after we stopped at the parking lot, a van pulled in with 7 boys in it who crossed the road and climbed to the top of the pass. Leah, Travis and I climbed the bunny hill :-)...





Nestled among the foothills of the Owl Creek Mountains and resting beside the Big Horn River lies Thermopolis, Wyoming. It is renowned for its World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring and beautiful surroundings. The Big Horn Springs are located throughout Hot Springs County.