Turning the Page

 We went on our first trip in an RV in 1988.  We borrowed John's sister Cindy's popup tent trailer to take our son Eric to a Christian youth gathering--DC88-in Washington, D.C.  That was it for a couple of years, but we had enjoyed it so much that, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, we bought a Coleman popup tent trailer for ourselves.     

    We used that trailer for getaways on our days off and for traveling during our month-long summer vacation.  One year we went to the Northwest and up into British Columbia.  Then, in 1996 we bought a 1996 Komfort 5th-wheel trailer.  Since then, we have owned two Montana 5thwheels and a Mobile Suites 5th wheel.  Downsizing in 2016, we bought an Airstream travel trailer.  

 Fast forward to this year--we are aging and decided it was time to stop RVing.  The parking area next to our winter home in Arizona no longer has a trailer parked there.

   

On April 18, it pulled out of our driveway without us!  

We have so many wonderful memories of traveling in our trailers.  Over those years, we have slept overnight in our trailer in all 49 of the continental United States. This year, we both turn 79. We have been there, done that.  And decided it was time to change our lifestyle.  To turn the page. 

I began blogging about our life in 2006.   In 2009, we moved out of our home in Centennial, Colorado, and began living in our trailer full-time.  We have traveled; we have volunteered in national parks in Utah and Arkansas; we have volunteered in state parks in Utah and Colorado and in a private RV park in Montana. Then, in 2014, we bought a casita in Gold Canyon, Arizona, where we lived half the year, traveling the rest of the time.  We haven't owned a 5th wheel trailer since 2016. The title "5thWheelWanderings" longer relevant.

Each year I have published my blog posts in a book.  Look at the stack of books I have published!

  

I began blogging about our life in 2006.   In 2009, we moved out of our home in Centennial, Colorado, and began living in our trailer full-time.  We have traveled; we have volunteered in national parks in Utah and Arkansas; we have volunteered in state parks in Utah. Texas and Colorado and in a private RV park in Montana; we have volunteered for US Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Fish and Wildlife. Then, in 2014, we bought a casita in Gold Canyon, Arizona, where we lived half the year, traveling the rest of the time.  We haven't owned a 5th wheel trailer since 2016. The title "5thWheelWanderings" longer relevant.

It is time for a new blog.  From now on, you can read about our life at:  changingourfocus.blogspot.com.

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Filling our time in the Arizona spring

It is spring in the Arizona desert and the Gold Canyon temps are in the high 80s to low 90s.  That means it is time for snowbirds to begin flying north.  We'll be doing that soon, but not yet.  

The warm weather has brought out these bright red flowers on the ocotillo plants in our resort.  These plants bloom when the temperatures heat up in March and, if there is rain, they bloom again in response to the moisture.

 The prickly pear cactus also blooms in the spring.  This plant has bright red and yellow flowers.  Others have pink flowers.

  

We met our friend Darlene Sibigtroth for lunch one day in late March.  When we lived in Granby-Grand Lake, Colorado, she was my supervisor at Mountain Parks Bank.  She and her late husband Gary were members of our church.  Now she lives in Casa Grande, south of Gold Canyon.  It was so good to catch up with her.

Darlene's daughters were people our son Eric knew in high school.  John officiated at one daughter's wedding and today that couple is related to people we know at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Colorado.  That is the church John served as rector before retirement and where we worship when living in our Lone Tree apartment.  What a small world.

John is beginning to look better, too, as we wait to head north.  The dermatologist and plastic surgeon removed a basal cell cancer from near his left eye.  We're so glad that cancer is gone!

In a week or two, we'll never know the surgery took place

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Family and Good Food

We've had a busy--and delicious and fun--few days.  Our son Eric, seen here second from right, his wife Liz and son John--came to Arizona over their spring break.  They spent time with us and checked out a couple of universities here in Arizona--ASU in Tempe and Grand Canyon University.

Our grandson John brought three friends along--Branson, Josiah and Estebahn.  They have been friends for years and all of them are high school seniors.  That means giving some thought to what they want to study in college and, more importantly, where.

They spent two nights in an Airbnb rental house in San Tan Valley.  We had lunch at the Cactus grill in our resort. Coming from Colorado, the warm weather and sun were big attractions here.  I didn't realize boys like to lay out and tan in the sun.

Our neighbors Bob and Jean lent us their golf cart.  These four boys--all 16--enjoyed touring the resort on these wheels. Thanks, Bob and Jean.

That day I served a chili dinner at our place.

Monday, they moved to Tapatio Cliffs resort in Phoenix.  We joined them for lunch.

                                        

 Eric took a selfie in front of the falls in the resort.  What a beautiful place!

They are now headed north, back toward their Colorado homes.  We so enjoyed their visit.

Fun on the Lake

Tuesday we joined 28 of our neighbors for a boat ride on Canyon Lake.  The lake was formed on the Salt River by the Mormon Flat Dam, completed in 1925.

In arid Arizona, people flock to water.  This shows part of the marina on the lake.

Our group had rented three of these pontoon boats for the trip.

Lou was our driver most of the trip.  The rest of us enjoyed the scenery and lots of time to talk.

We saw some wildlife--several big horn sheep.  Trust me, that is what that while figure is on the top of the rock.  

On our boat, we kept the canopy up so part of our group--including John and me--were sitting in the shade.  Here you see another part of our crew with their canopy down.

These folks are also part of our group. I got photos of only part of the group.  I don't want to leave anyone out, so I won't start listing names. 

We enjoyed the scenery surrounding the lake.

Crafting in Retirement

Before we retired, my creative endeavors were limited to sewing.  And is that really creative when I follow patterns?  The same is true for my cooking.   I always follow a recipe.

John had made a number of leaded glass windows for our home and for others.

Then, in 2003 we retired.  Six years later, in 2006, we first spent an extended period of time in Arizona.  Three winters we volunteered for several months at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge.  We also discovered +55 Resorts.  Since then, two of those resorts, Valle del Oro in Mesa and Superstition Views at Canyon Vistas in Gold Canyon, have been our winter homes.

I have tried several crafts, taking classes in pottery and wood turning and other wood projects, as well as learning to make beaded jewelry.  

John also began making various items out of wood and he carves when we are traveling and at our apartment in Colorado.  He makes small wooden boxes, using the scroll saw.  He also uses the scroll saw to make plaques with sayings on them, as well as scenes.  He turns pens.  And he makes intarsia pieces.  

Over the years, I have posted blogs on many of these projects we have completed.

All of this explains why we make it a point each February to attend the Mesa Woodcarvers show.  It is inspiring to see all the beautiful items wood carvers make.

Enjoy all these skilled creations.

Isn't this mountain bluebird good? It looks like it might fly off at any minute.

                        

This building--maybe a tea house--received one of the top awards.  It can be stored in the box it is sitting on. 

Look at this scene.  I picture a mother in the World War I era, respoding to a phone call that someone had been killed.

This relief carving show numerous houses in and around a tree.

                    

I had to really examine this piece--those guns really are wooden carvings.

This tree house carving is very detailed.

Compare it to this rainbow trout--it really is as smooth as it looks.

A beautiful intarsia piece of steer roping.

Look at the texture of this bear's coat.

This bear cub is so cute.  And the relief carving of cowboy boots is impressive.

I like this relief carving of geese near the barn.

 

I imagine this tree is carved out of one piece of wood.  Think how much had to be carved away to allow the branch layers to look this way.

I'm not a carver, but making such a detailed face in a relatively thin stick of wood is not easy.

Not all carving is done in wood.  These bears are carved in stone.

Maybe this carving will help young children learn how to tie their shoes.

The Great Confinement

It all began two years ago—the first case of Covid 19 in the United States was in January 2020.  It was scary:  people in the nursing homes in New York were dying regularly.  We didn’t know how to deal with it. 

Our first response was to stay home and order groceries to be delivered.  We did that a couple of times.  Then we started going to the Bashas across the street from our resort.  Many products were in short supply.  One day we walked home with toilet paper in our bag.    We received comments—“you found toilet paper!!” 

There were lock downs.  Don’t go anywhere. We did stay home but in Arizona shopping for food was still allowed.  That wasn’t true in other parts of the country.  In some countries, you could be arrested for being on the streets or sidewalks unless you were shopping for food or seeking medical care.

The vaccines were developed, and mass vaccination sites set up.  I spent hours on-line, first just trying to connect to the overloaded website to sign up.  When I did get in, the only time slots available were 6 am or after 9 pm.  We settled on 6 am.  That meant leaving our home about 5am, diving to the parking lot at the State Farm arena in Chandler, snaking through the long line of cars to get in and then to get our shots.  We repeated this a month later except we made our appointment during the first vaccination trip.

We had entered the world of mask-wearing.  One woman wrote on Facebook, “I never guessed I would be wearing a mask and going to the teller in my bank and saying, “give me my money.”  I don’t think any of us had expected to live under these conditions.  I adjusted to it by reminding myself, again and again, this was nowhere as bad as living in Germany during World War II.  We didn’t have to hide in the basement whenever we heard an airplane.  We just had to social distance—keep 6 feet way from anyone not living in our household.  Signs sprung up, marking the 6 ft intervals on the floor or sidewalk.  Many of those signs are still in place.  There were one-way signs in grocery store aisle.  (Thankfully, those are gone.)

When we left Arizona in the spring to travel to Colorado, we found RV parks where we called in when arriving in their parking lot.  Someone, wearing a mask, then came out of the office to check us in.  Traveling through small towns in Colorado, we found the 6 ft signs in stores, but at least the stores were open. 

Our granddaughter Kylie made masks for us and for some friends.  It was a short-term experiment in entrepreneurship.  I don’t think she is planning that kind of business for her future.  Teaching school is where she is headed.

For a year, many schools were closed.  Our son Eric and his wife Liz are school teachers.  Once some schools were open for in-person learning, they had to be prepared to teach in the classroom and also online for students remaining at home.  For months, they could never be sure if they would be teaching students in the classroom or looking at a camera and teaching online students.  Some days, Eric as doing both.   All this was hard on the students and even harder on the teachers.

For the 2021-22 academic year, the schools in Littleton were open.  John, our grandson and the son of Eric and Liz, doesn’t feel he learned as much with only virtual classes and he missed his friends.  This last fall was better, they were in the classroom. Right now, things are iffy.  Their daughter, Kylie, is attending the University of Colorado at Boulder.  She is planning to go to on-campus classes this semester.

This has been going on for long enough, many are choosing not to follow the guidelines.  Today we saw a speaker on TV, talking with his mask on to a microphone (and perhaps a live audience.)  The people standing behind him were not wearing masks.  Political leaders across the country have imposed mask mandates while being seen and photographed maskless in indoor gatherings. On Sundays, when we go to church, the members of the choir are wearing masks.  Since most, if not all, of them are over age 55, I am willing to bet almost all of them, are vaccinated.

We jumped at the chance to get vaccinated—2 shots of the Pfizer vaccine last spring here in Arizona and a booster from Walgreens during the summer.  Apparently, that is not our ticket to freedom, as we were promised.  Some stores and other locations have signs reading “masks required,” some say, “masks required unless fully vaccinated.”  And now, there are signs reading "the CDC recommends wearing masks when gathered indoors.  Please be considerate of your neighbors and wear a mask."

Now it appears our shots protect us from severe illness and hospitalization and death, but not from getting Covid.  Our son Eric has received all three shots, but he still got sick.  He felt miserable and ran a fever for several days. He just turned 50.  We are 78 and we certainly don’t want to get sick like he did.  But I really feel we were deceived.  Oh, I know, this is a new virus, the “experts” aren’t really expert yet, but we are still vulnerable.  Omicron is much less serious, but it still causes illness and some hospitalizations.

A Johns Hopkins study showed that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States only reduced coronavirus-related mortality by 0.2 per cent on average, compared to a Covid-19 policy based solely on government recommendations, according to a review of science literature on the pandemic by three noted European and American economists.

There are so many contradictions.  Mask mandates are accompanied by an increasing number of medical people saying cloth masks do not protect you.  If that isn’t an incentive to ignore the mask mandates and “strong recommendations” that we wear them, I don’t know what is.  Since January we have been asked to wear a mask while indoors at church.  The CDC, fountain of all “knowledge” about the pandemic, says that in areas of high transmission, masks should be worn in all indoor gatherings.  Why did I get vaccinated? 

I know, I don’t want to go to the hospital or die if I get covid.  But for a year our president has called this the “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”  Now, that doesn’t appear to be true.  Just dying is the province of the unvaccinated. 

Then I read about the death rate and how many of those in hospitals and those dying are from covid or just with covid.  Will I live long enough to really know? 

I just had blood tests as part of my annual physical exam.  I do have covid anti-bodies from my vaccinations.  I guess that is really good news.  One of our neighbors here in Arizona was in intensive care and on oxygen for about a month with covid.  But she still needed to be vaccinated because a blood test showed she didn’t have any anti-bodies.  What is real? 

I have always been extremely compliant with rules and laws.  So, I wear a mask when asked or directed to.  But, more and more, I ask “Is all this really necessary?  Will we find out in a few years that the mandates, the mask rules or “strong suggestions”, the social distancing are really only effective in making us “feel “safe.  And in making our political leaders feel they are “doing something”?

The good news is that our society is back open.  We can go to the store, go to church, go to school and concerts and movies.  Life is more back to normal (that is a ridiculous statement.)  It is either back to normal or it’s not.  But we aren’t really back to where we were in December 2019 before all this began. But our society is not shut down.  We can live our lives, even if that means wearing a mask while singing in church.

I feel betrayed. And angry. Realizing there is no one to blame, I still feel that way.  I’ll live with it, follow the guidelines and try to stay healthy.

But I DON’T LIKE IT!!!@

Writing, I've Been Writing

I have been writing for many years.  In grade school I wrote for the McKinley Grade School paper.  It was typed on special paper that could by dittoed for other students to read.  In junior high I wrote for the Byers school paper during Miss Mapelli's English writing class.  I wrote for the South High Confederate and in college, I was news editor for the Coloradoan. For obvious reasons, I was a journalism major.  I never made my living writing for a newspaper, but I did write news releases for the CU News Service.  My writing continued for the Colorado Episcopal Women, for the League of Women Voters and for church newsletters.

In 2006, long after these early writing responsibilities, John and I were retired and began volunteering and traveling.  To keep our family up to date with where we were and what we were doing, I started this blog.  I don't know if many of the family read the blog--I know 2 or 3 of them did. Some blog posts attracted 50 to 60 readers, today it is 30 or 40.  

I no longer blog as frequently, but these blogs are, in effect, our scrapbooks.  Each year I submit them to a company, Shared Book,  that publishes them in hard-bound books.  This week, we received the book of 2021 blogs. I   feel pretty good when I look at how many books I have written!

Here I am, appreciating how many books I have published.  The book in the front of the pile with the picture of that cute little girl--me at about age 3--is the story of my life, Not What I Planned, Even Better.

Like I said, my journalism professor would be very proud.

Leftovers

We all know what leftovers are.  You prepare a meal, serve it and then gather up and store what isn't eaten.  Annually, for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I roast a turkey or turkey breast so we will have leftovers for turkey sandwiches.  I do this even when we aren't having any guests for the holiday meal or are going somewhere else to celebrate.  The leftovers are so important.

The same thing happens when John is making boxes, using the scroll saw.  He starts by gluing together several layers of wood--in this case two layers of one wood, then two thinner layers of wood on the top and bottom.  

Then, using the scroll saw, he cuts out the center of the box.  This photo was taken after the bottom of the box had been attached.

He then glues on a bottom layer and makes a lid.  

Recently, he realized that the center wood he had removed could be used to make more boxes, just smaller ones.  Here are the first two boxes the original block.  

Here are all six boxes, all made from the same block of wood!

John hates to throw anything away.  You should see all the scraps of wood we have in the shop.  He even makes boxes to hold all the scraps from box-making!  

A Much Better Year

 The year 2021, while not back to what we would call "normal," was certainly more reasonable than 2020.  The Covid 19 pandemic is still limiting our lives to a certain extent, but we have taken part in many of our normal events.  We didn't travel too many miles, but we spent considerable time in both Arizona and Colorado and also enjoyed time in Texas and New Mexico.

The two events of the year that made the most impact on our lives were the death of John's brother Tim on May 6 and our decision to rent an apartment instead of spending the summers in our RV in Colorado. Three shots of the Covid vaccine--in February and March with a booster in September--helped us to feel safer and have kept us healthy, at least so far.  It has been so good to see signs reading "masks not required for those fully vaccinated.

The beauty of God's creation was a recurring subject in my blogs, from time in the Arizona desert to changing colors of the fall leaves.  We took stunning drives through the Colorado mountains and walked the streets and paths of El Paso, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Denver and Breckenridge.  

We enjoyed time with family and friends.  Several times we met Arizona friends for lunch--more than my blog shows because I forgot to take photos on several occasions.  Not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings, I didn't write about those lunches, but we did appreciate that time.

John has been very busy in the workshop when we are in Arizona.  He has made numerous boxes, including several for us and family members who also wear hearing aids.  The boxes provide a space for the hearing aid charger and an attractive decoration in our homes.  He has also turned pens on his lathe.

We set out for our summer travels on April 29, planning to travel around one of our favorite states--Texas.  We only made it as far as El Paso when Tim died.  We turned around and headed for Colorado.  Tim's funeral in Canon City brought together many members of our family. 

Following the funeral, we headed south, spending time at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton.  We enjoyed being able to do target shooting there.  We visited Pueblo and Limon before moving to St. Vrain State Park near Longmont for two weeks.  That gave us access to friends and family living north of Denver.  Next, we at set up the trailer in Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora.  

In 2022 we will both turn 79 years old.  We still feel (relatively) hale and hearty, but we know we must take our age into account as we plan the future.  While in the Denver area, we began checking out apartments and rented a one-bedroom unit in Lone Tree, a community in Douglas County.  John grew up in Douglas County and we owned the funeral home there for nine years.  We were back home.  The apartment is located only about a mile from the home we lived in for years, so the neighborhood is familiar.  

We enjoyed shopping for furniture and everything we needed to live there for months at a time.  We also made a quick trip with the trailer to Arizona, where the Airstream is stored when we are in the apartment.

Our apartment is right on the light rail line.  We love trains and it is fun to ride them as we explore the city.  In addition, we are just a few miles from our son Eric and his family.  And we are able to worship at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, where John served as rector from 1991 to 1997. 

A year ago, I ended the blog recap of 2020 writing "Good-bye and Good riddance." I don't feel that way about 2021 and I hope 2022 is even better--meaning more normal.

Desert. What Desert?

We spend our winters in a desert--the Valley of the Sun, otherwise known as the Phoenix, Arizona, valley.  During the monsoon or rainy period during the summer, this area received 4.2 inches of rain--the third most monsoon rain in the past three decades.

The rain isn't done coming, however.  Friday, Christmas Eve, it rained all day in our resort in the east part of the Phoenix area.  Here are some pictures of what happened.

This is a catchment basin.  Since it rains so seldom, the rain isn't absorbed very easily.  These areas are built in to help keep the water.

Any ditch or wash quickly fills with a racing stream when it rains.  When we drive around in Arizona we often see signs reading "don't enter if filled with water.  It makes me wonder "why" until we experience a rainstorm like this.  

Normally, it is possible to cross this wash on a paved path.  Not Friday.

Here we see small lakes in a low-lying area.

Today, almost all of the puddles have dried up and the larger rainfall lakes are rapidly shrinking.  

We lived in Wisconsin for three years in the mid-1980s.  One year "only" 8 inches of rain had fallen by mid-summer.  That was what they call a drought.  Homeowners were out shopping for hoses and sprinklers so they could water their lawns and keep the grass alive.

The United States we live in covers so many environments, from deserts to rain forests.  Growing up in Colorado, lawns always have to be watered during warm weather months.  And that is the only way that green grass can be maintained here in the Phoenix area.  In Wisconsin, if it rains excessively, a windstorm could blow over trees with only very shallow root systems.  In the drier areas, roots go very deep to find moisture.

We have been so blessed to be able to travel throughout our wonderful country and learn about areas so different from what we grew up in.