Day 33 and 34 Final days with floods

Getting to Lebanon Mo, was in intense rain (which later was a severely flooded area) with the spray from the road splash and the heavy raisns making driving a very cautious enterprise. The trucks of course make a huge spray and you hope that in a few hundered feet the road is still under the wheels. The car and trailer handled well , though, and after a few stops for gas, food and rest , we did

Fenton MO

arrive at Cloverdale Indiana the next day (Wednesday night) at a park that was very quiet albeit very wet undefoot. The rain had stopped by that time so setting up was less of an adventure than the previous night at Lebanon. There were few campers.

The terrain all along that I-44 corridor and continuing to I-70 in Illinois , was a mass of flooded land. The creeks had swollen to become large lakes and except for the bridges one would not know where the creeks were . All of the major rivers had filled the surrounding land with water and the Meremec, Bourbouse, and the Gasconade rivers had all overflowed their banks. There were mile long lakes over cornfields. The previous day there had been evacuations of towns and of course warnings for people to reach safer , higher ground, and to watch for low areas when driving that were flooded.

We found out later that the number of dead was nearing 20 people, and the flooding will continue to pour into the Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers as the next two weeks will see that water move downstream. (See quote below) When we returned to Grand Rapids we found that many of the relief agencies were getting into action including our own United Methodist Church .

"Lots of flooding happened on the east side of town, in the commercial area. People may be out of work for weeks," said the Rev. Paul Widicus, pastor of Harrisburg (Ill.) First United Methodist Church, where between 9 and 12 inches of rain fell in

Flooding in March 2008

24 hours during the week of March 17. "The Ohio, Wabash and Mississippi Rivers are already at flood stage," he continued. "Next week, many towns will be surrounded by water." Widicus expects a long summer of cleanup. Like his counterparts in Arkansas and Missouri, he is preparing for the long-term response. "We have an ecumenical group in Harrisburg called Christian Compassion Center. We’ll be able to find families needing help as the response unfolds," he said.** (see below)

Tippicanoe Indiana

These statements pretty well sum up the damage and stress the residents are experiencing and it was quite heart wrenching to see that as we drove through.

The frozen hose that we experienced the next morning in Cloverdae IN was nothing next to the flood problems many were going through. We were warm and dry at least. I had not looked at the temps predicted that night as I usually do, but with the clearing skies and north wind the drop was inevitable and did happen. It got to 24 F and so no water movement in any of the water supplies. I gathered up the hose and put it in the shower to be drained after reaching home.

The day was a beautiful day, with the sun shining all day, for driving from Cloverdale IN to Grand Rapids via Indianapolis and US 31, which with a little east turn at South Bend leads to US 131 at the Michigan/ Indiana border. There were a few trucks being extracated from the roadside and medians due to water on the road the night before . One truck was "belly up" with just the wheels showing. We stopped for 20 minutes while another truck was righted and towed away.

We indulged in a lunch at "Das Dutchman Essenhaus" in Middlebury IN, and had the family style chicken dinner (I mentioned this a few days ago) and my pie was blackberry and Ruth had Blueberry . The rest of the trip was uneventful except for a final cleanup of the water and sewer tanks at "American RV " at 76th Street. Lttle did we know that the next day, Friday the 21st, would see good snow storm arrive again and change the green ground to white.

We arrived home at 4:15 safe and sound and very grateful for the chance to experience more of the USA as well as spending time with family. The people , sights, God's creatures, and the out of doors, were all worth the while. We are truly blessed to be able to do this.Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the blog this year versus the letters last year.. Love you all, Jim and Ruth (crazy4birds@comcast.net) Next trip report could be the Holy Land trip in June. Stay tuned!

** The United Methodists (or others) can support UMCOR's flood relief efforts with donations to Advance #901670. Write "Midwestern Floods" on the memo line of the check, and drop in local church collection plates or mail directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. ( A plug for relief assistance if you feel the urge.)

Day 33 “Just Direct Your Feet to the Sunny Side of the Street”

Nope, that's an Auburn!

This is the second last day of the trip and will pretty much wrap things up. The most significant thing today was the overflowing banks of the rivers that we crossed. There are millions of acres of land that is flooded by the torrential rains in IL, MO, OK, TN, MS, AR and I am sure other states from this slow moving storm. More than 20people hav died andthe damage is in the millions at oeast. Little creeks that are normally a dozen feet wide are now ½ mile across and inundating thousands of acres of land including the corn and farmland in IL especially. The towns of Ellington and Piedmont, MO were partially evacuated due to the flooding. More than 500 roads were closed.

When driving it is a bit frightful as you anticipate that all is well, but never know what lies ahead. Today the I-44 traffic was stopped in one place where a truck had turned over last night into the ditch and remained

Western Meadowlark Great Tailed Grackle

partially blocking the Interstate. Today, again, another truck had just been completely overturned on its back with all the “16 wheels” showing but it was still intact. But the enormity of the land that was covered was awesome. The Little PineyCreek was not 'little' any more at about 1/2 mile across, and the Gasconade River flooding was a far as the eye could see. The cut's above the river are of limestone mainly. The planting of the cspring orn crop of southern IL and cotton in other states (AR) will be on hold until that water drains and the fields dry up. (Did you know that the word 'up’ has more than 50 meanings,. Look it ‘up’ in the dictionary!) I-44 was hit by an F-5 tornado in 1999, and JW McCall wrote the song, "Convoy " with I-44 as the focus.

Ruth’s rule for a DQ stop is none after 3:00 PM. (Her rule) so we missed by 10 minutes today as we looked in vain for some along the route. Maybe tomorrow. There were some in Vandalia, but we missed it. DID YOU KNOW…that the Dairy Queen was first started in Joliet IL in 1940 by Sherb (sic) Noble. There are 5,700 of them today. Had your "Moo Latte" today?

Prickly Pear Cactus

Tomorrow will allow us a stop at “Das Essen Haus” in Middlebury IN as we will be there in the early afternoon and time for an early dinner. If you have never been there it is a “shopping stop” run by the Amish people, and the main feature is their family style chicken dinner (or beef) with all the trimmin’s I.e.: mashed potatoes, two veggies, stuffing, cranberry sauce, noodles, and of course all the chicken you can eat. Oh, and there are 35 varieties of pies, usually, that come with the meal. (Select one) It is fun to take a group there and have a rollicking time eating. There is a bake shop and many other shops that you can stroll around in after you eat (or before if you wish).The Amish can present a beautiful product especially food.

Yucca in Bud

So tomorrow we leave from this Cloverdale, IN, RV Park, which is as quiet as it gets, to begin the last leg of the trip. It was a good one and we must relate to the wonderful sunny days we did have until this week. The bird count is still at 167 as we saw no new ones today although the hawks were starting to dry their wings on the trees and poles. The journey through the southern part of the Ozarks was magnificent. The multiple layers of sandstone and conglomerate layers with limestone made beautiful cuts along the road. The Mississippian Period stands out at the deepest of the cuts just before St. Louis heading east.

Thanks for reading and I hope that some new pieces of knowledge have been imparted from time to time. We had a great time and are blessed that we are in one piece and healthy. Blessings,

Jim and Ruth

Day 33 “When it Rain, It Rains… Pennies From Heaven.”

That was the theme for the day today and will be tomorrow. From Oklahoma City to Lebanon Mo (where we are tonight) it rained hard all day. This slow moving storm is piling up the inches of rain all through the southern Plains and the Lower Midwest. We saw every river that we crossed that had extended its width to the neighboring farms and land. Many non major roads had been closed anywhere there was a gully and when not on the Freeway we had to be careful where there were large gatherings of water in

One of those Botanical garden orchids

the flooded streets. But, we are safe and up above the nearest river which is the Gasconade River near here The area around Jefferson City on the Moreau River has had the most rain so far. That is north of where we are. Got your Missouri map out?

As usual we stopped along the way for a “trailer lunch”, and did get gasoline for $2.99 which was almost identical; to the price when we first came into Missouri more than a month ago. ($2.89). Trucks make the big splash and spray as they move along but generally everyone is driving 5 to 10 miles an hour slower than on dry pavement.

Today was a challenge for Ruth to spot any birds at all. Would she find any in this torrential rain? Any bird worth it’s feathers would not be visible. Up til noon she was still looking for one. At lunch time we HEARD a meadowlark, but we cannot count any bird we cannot see (Bird watcher’s code). That gave us hope and then, one by one, she came up with one after another even though they were rather spaced out as we drove the I-44 corridor. There was the Osprey on a tree limb; a Meadowlark on a fence post, a surprising view was that of a Great Egret in a field... Then a few Cormorants flew overhead (lots of water for them), a Red Tailed Hawk in a tree, and the “piece of resistance” (J) was 50 Turkeys in a field before we stopped for the day. In all she had identified 11 species on a miserable day for the birds, including two Great Blue Heron. Our total bird species on the trip stands at 167 now.

The ride ended when we neared Lebanon Mo and stopped at the KOA. We registered and the manager led us to the site. There were only three other units there. It was, however, a very wet time to set up. Water was puddled on both sides of the trailer and if we walked gingerly along the side to the door we could just miss the large pool of water next the trailer. At this writing at 10:00 PM it is still raining hard and every once in a while the lightning will light the trailer and then comes the “BOOM!” that shakes the ground. By morning they say the rain will lessen and we may even get going again without having to don our rain suits. We shall see. I will put in a few more pictures from the Botanical Garden in Oklahoma City tonight as we didn’t take any today.

This is pineapple (Why is it neither a pine , n0r an apple? English is wierd)

Here is a short quiz if you have been reading the Blog.
1. Name the city from which the cruise takes you to see the Whooping Cranes.?
2. Which city is further west, Tucson or Phoenix?
3. We had no rain before this week, except once in what Texas city?
4. Casa Grande means what? (Think U of M football)
5. What was the "special of the day" that we ate at the “Off The Hook” restaurant in Rockport TX?
See answers after the last picture. (No peeking) Blessings in the Holy Week, Jim and Ruth

The frog is a Pearly one You may know the name of this one.

Quiz answers
Rockport, which is near the National Wildlife Reserve.
Phoenix
Nacogdoches
Great House (Big House?)
”All the Shrimp you can eat”!

uiz answers
Rockport which is near the National Wildlife Reserve.
Phoenix
Nacogdoches
Great House (Big House?)
”All the Shrimp you could eat”!

Day 32 Rain Check on Travel

Yes, we took a “rain check” in Oklahoma City as the threat of thunderstorms on the road to MO was pretty impressive. The only thing is …”They don’t pay the weathermen by the number of times they are correct”. So we stayed another night. The rain fell in the form of a 'Scottish Dew' and was pretty nice most of the day. So we took advantage of that and went downtown. We seldom do that (visit downtown) in any city so it was an event for us and a special treat for them!!!

The Crystal Bridge Botanical gardens was our objective and it was easy to find a couple of blocks right off the Freeway (I-40). There was virtually no crowd at all so we had lots of room to move around and take pictures. (There was free parking as well) The outside of the gardens will be in peak this spring but there was little in bloom there at this time. There are many pathways to walk, and even a small (300 seat) amphitheater by the canal that runs through downtown and under the "Crystal Bridge”. The inside has the many tropical plants and tress one might expect, but the ‘piece de resistance’ was the many orchids that were growing all through the Botanical Garden. I will include some pictures for your enjoyment. We did buy a few “hang up” gifts that yo can see when you visit us at “884 Purchase NE”. See ... http://www.myriadgardens.com/index.html

Ruth and I ate at a small “buffet style’ “Sandwich Shop” across the street and we had so much more than we could consume, it was embarrassing. The man piled huge amounts of all the veggies (Brussels sprouts and Saur kraut for me) as well as an extraordinary amount of meatballs. Ruth was smart and ordered a chicken salad croissant sandwich which was delicious she said. It was a real ‘original downtown ambiance’ place with old style bench seating and an extra dining room off the bench area.
We still had some time left so went back to Arcadia Lake (see last entry) and this time tried the camping site (no one was there yet) where we did garner some 23 birds and added the Golden Crowned Kinglet, and the Black Crested Titmouse to our list for the first time. This brings our TOTAL LIST of birds seen to 167 on this trip. That’s pretty good for the pre migration months.
See the site... http://edmondok.com/parks/arcadialake

We set out tomorrow for Lebanon MO and we will see what the weather does to the total distance travelled. See you soon. Love, Jim and Ruth

Day 30 Texola and route 66

The drive from Amarillo to Oklahoma City was much shorter and our early arrival allowed us to do a “short load” of laundry (one washer load) so we could still be fresh when we arrive in Michigan. We listened to an Arkansas SPEBSQA(W) group sing in the backgroundwoth the the humming washers and dryers.

On the drive the wind had shifted, however, to the north so the side winds slowed the mileage in the gasoline ($3.09/gal) in the Panhandle of Texas. No more 12 mpg.

The constant winds have brought about a change in the landscape, here in east Texas and
Windmills, those wind generators are in many places in both states. I read that China actually leads the world in non connected wind generators (ones that are not hooked to a grid) and will lead the world in conneced ones, soon. The lay of the land as the drive moves on I-40 into Oklahoma begins to become rolling and fraught with small canyons and arroyos. Then there is a sudden spurt in the growth of deciduous trees that is not seen in Texas. This leads to smaller farms and more fences and noticeably smaller land holdings. There was more wheat and alfalfa grown. There were lots of trucks and motorcycles at this time. One rest area is dedicated to the “Old Route 66” which runs through here in various places. Route 66 is not a designated highway anymore, but the town of Clinton OK is the center of Route 66 memorabilia. There is a Museum there and many shops devoted to the memory of that great Route that carried Americans after WW2 to California and the west.

We ate lunch as we often did at “TA” truck stop where there is lots of room and we can look at a field or pasture adjoining the stop. Some of the truckers are walking their dogs that they have with them on their cross country runs. I guess it would make a good companion.
We began to see some hawks and meadowlarks as the day pro-gressed and in paces dozens of the latter on the roadsides. Route "66" Museum in Clinton OK

Getting to the campground in Oklahoma City was a trick as the Campground Book said to turn “EAST” off the freeway, and we did, but saw no campground (RV Park). After calling the office we discovered that the book had printed ‘east’ instead of ‘west’ so we did get straightened around and we had only driven two miles out of the way. Turning around with the trailer on a rural road can be a problem at times.

So, we finished the laundry and then called Ruth’s sister as they were in OK City with a former pastor here. It happened that they were in a restaurant less than one mile from us, so we joined them and had time to eat with them at a “Rib Shack” (Of course for dessert we sampled the brownie with kahlua sauce.)

On Sunday we needed to do some birding so went to a nearby lake (Arcadia) and found 17 specie of birds. Besides Eastern Phoebes, Juncos, and Coots,we did see many Eastern Bluebirds, so spring is on the way. The Bald eagle that is there eluded us. We have NOT seen an Eagle yet on the trip. We do cross the Mississippi River one more time so there is hope.

In the afternoon it was a visit to Jim’s niece in nearby Edmond. They are constructing a wheelchair accessible pool and sidewalk from the front, for their son and his friends to be able to access. It was good to catch up with Brenton, Ray, and Bernadette (Mom). We missed Dad (Gary) and Nathan who were coaching and playing baseball in Tulsa and the report is that they won the Tournament and qualified for the Little League year end Tournament in Steamboat Springs CO later in the summer. Check out this site. http://www.triplecrownsports.com/

That about wraps it up for this one and we head into Missouri in the morning and expect rain all the way. We will plug along and let the road flow as it will. Blessings to all, Jim and Ruth
P.S. ‘Texola’ is a town on the Texas/Oklahoma border. Questions . What is the name of the town on the Texas/Arkansas border’s name? On the Texas/ New Mexico Border? Stay Tuned.

Day 30 Quarter Horses and Wild Fires

Huge earth mover tires at Texas Canyon (I-10)

Yes, those were the parameters today as we moved from Las Cruces NM to Amarillo TX. Route US 70 almost all the way. The day stayed warm all day except for coming through the pass at St. Augustine where the temperature dipped to 59 up in the mountains over 7,000 feet. The climb up from Las Cruces was slow and that began to slow the day down somewhat. Jim had figured 8 hours in the car , but with the mountains and the wildfires and the views of the White Sands National Monument as well as a 20 minute wrong turn in Roswell (we missed the turn for US 70), we arrived in Amarillo after 7:00 PM. That was the latest day yet, and we won’t do that again. It makes the day very long.

The wind was a plus and a minus factor today. It was minus when stopping for lunch , the wind took the cover off the propane tanks (large white cover) and actually lifted it off the tanks and flung it across the large picnic area. Ruth was quick enough to slow it down and we recovered it. I had a can of V-8 I was drinking and had set it in the doorway of the trailer. In the excitement I locked the trailer when we moved ahead and forgot about it. Thirty miles later I remembered it and went back to “wipe up the mess” It was still standing on the carpet, intact! YES!

There was also a wildfire north of Roswell which was started by a car fire (completely demolished ) and was sweeping across the prairie with the 45 m[ph wind. The fire trucks were trying to stay ahead of it , but it looked to no avail.

The plus side of the winds was the tailwind for the trailer. We actually got 14 mph with the trailer in tow with two tanks full. At one point I had driven 87 miles and the gauge didn’t come off of full!

Riodoso Downs is in Riodoso high in the mountains, and we passed the race track and huge facility there. It is the Quarter Horse capital opf North America. Everything there is geared to that racing facility. This is the "slow " season, but it gets going during Memorial Day weekend and finishes on Labor day. It is rigt across the street from "Billy The Kid" Casino.
The view of Mescalero Valley from St.Augustine Pass

The town of Roswell (45,000) has many shops referring to the UFO’s and other alien activities. Right across from the Space Museum and UFO Center, there were; “Sidewalk Cover Up Café”, “Not of This World”, “UFO and Alien Stuff Shop”, “ The Landings” and others we didn’t see. The controversial landing/crash was in July of 1947. See this site for more onfo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident#The_Truth_about_the_UFO_Crash_at_Roswell_.281994.29

Off to the west of Roswell in the White Sands area there are 100’s of wind generators in the distance There are five main sites in NE NM, the one at Clayton County being the largest Excel Energy runs some of them. Portales has a very large bio Energy plant and the smell is unique to those sources. Both cotton and peanuts are

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident#The_Truth_about_the_UFO_Crash_at_Roswell_.281994.29

irrigation. The large transport station at Clovis is one of the largest

White Sands National Monument

in the west. Many trains run to the feeder lots to bring in and pick up cattle by the 10,000’s. In a 20 mile stretch north of Clovis there were 5 trains loaded with both cattle and much miscellaneous materials for the SW. Hereford is known as (of course) the Hereford Cattle Capital of the World.

Sure we stopped at a DQ and Ruth had the usual. Remember what it is? Jim had a chocolate shake.

It was a terrific day with lots of variety in people, topography, roads, elevation and excitement. Hope yours was as good.—Love, Jim and Ruth

Day 29 Heading east from Phoenix to New Mexico

Day 29 Heading back from Phoenix to New Mexico
An average sunset from NE Phoenix
There is some time lapse in here, but we will cover that in today’s writing. There is also a two hour time change from MST to CDT. (See below) (Do they still call it writing, when we don’t really write?)

This is written on the Thursday that we left Phoenix and stopped for the night in Las Cruces NM. It was a long driving and riding day and considering there were two hour time differences between AZ and NM it got past supper time in a hurry. We took care of that by eating at a nearby “cracker Barrel” with the trailer still hitched. (Arizona does not change time)
Downtown Phoenix ( And sports centers) Round tailed Ground Squirrel

But let’s go back to Wednesday when the five of us (Andy, Gerri the baby, Ruth and I) took a tour of the Hohokam ruins at Coolidge AZ. It lies about 60 miles south of Phoenix. These ruins have been there many thousands of years and represent the culture of some four major groups of natives that have been on this Salt River and Gila River “oasis” for 7,000 years. It has been an amazing existence and just before the explorers came there was a 100 year drought which exterminated almost all of them and little remains today of the culture. (The Navajos and Apaches and Hopi are remnants of that earlier culture. They are tied to the Anasazi and others, in the later years.) Originally a nomadic people, they found like many cultures, as the population got larger, they had to find ways to adapt. This group used a large canal system along the two rivers (above) and became farmers until that too was not enough. At one time it was estimated that there were over 250,000 of them living in the area from Colorado to Mexico and from the Colorado River to The Rio Grande. Some settlements had 10,000 people. This went on for thousands of years. Note the three story house.

Ruth’s sister and bro in-law caught the early flight for Oklahoma City where they will meet friends for a few days and then fly home. We, on the other hand set out from Phoenix at 8:15 during rush hour and anticipating the worst, sailed down

Hohokam ruins 3 story building It is Lupine

I-17 and out of town in less than 45 minutes. That was a TRAVEL MIRACLE! We were amazed but grateful. The day stayed partly cloudy at 74 F but the bonus for the day was, we HAD A TAILWIND and got the best mileage of the whole trip. It is amazing what a 35 mph wind can do from behind. We anticipate the same tomorrow only 5 mph faster as we had for Riodoso Downs,and Clovis, NM, then Amarillo, TX where will be spend the second night.

The first noticeable town "out there" in the middle of the desert south of Phoenix was Casa Grande a suburban town with 25,000 residents. It is a truly a “desert town” amid the Saguaro cactus in mostly flat land. The saguaro grows in the Sonoran Desert and receives about 10 inches of rain a year. There are five biomes in that desert.

Water? Where does that come from? Water issues are severe here in Arizona and there has not been sufficient surveys to determine even, IF, there is sufficient ground water for the rapid growth to come in the years ahead. This is especially true in the Gila, ad Verde river systems and Pinal (agricultural) lands. The first Saguaro cactus as you drive from east to west is found at Picacho as the rise in elevation seems to be the needed ingredient

Along the way today we passed the Conex cement Plant just outside Tucson. It makes expanding cement that is used worldwide.

We passed Willcox, Benson, and Deming on the way to Las Cruces. Maybe the Sandhill Cranes are still there? A short rest at the “rocks” at the Continental divide which is at about 4,000 feet elevation at that point.

The day ends quietly in the same campground we were in a week or so ago, the one that had the breakfast in the morning for all the guests, so we are well taken care of. Wish we had time for the exercise room and pool. Hope to catch you tomorrow. - Love, Jim and Ruth

Day 25, 26 More freeways, some golf, baseball and stucco housing.

Roseate Spoonbill In Flight Hey, we are sorry that there was not any Blog yesterday for those of you that looked for it, but it really was pretty much “City Stuff” and a lot of that was driving on the freeway. Again the freeways here are an amazing sight to behold. I have been in Chicago, Boston, Detroit, L.A. and Seattle, and never seen the volume of traffic last for so long and go so far as here in Phoenix. Although it is only 515 square miles in size, it still is 50 miles from the SE corner of town to the Northeast side,and you are still in the city. Now that is a ‘fur’ piece of driving. Generally the housing is stucco and usually painted sand color. They go on for miles and miles with no trees to break the view, except an occasional palm tree
Green Winged Teal
But, back to activities. The baby Rabeka is still the center most of the time, as we move back and forth from the trailer to the Bellgraph’s home, and then out on some errands both with and without the baby. Grandma took the baby to Karrie’s work (the Mom) and was able to allow her fellow workers view the baby and “ooh and aah” over this work of wonder. Grandma has been baby sitting the child this week while she is here. Generally we have been visiting at the Bellgraph’s during the day.

Yesterday (Mon) both grandfathers and I did get out for a round of golf at the Cave Creek Golf Course. http://phoenix.gov/SPORTS/cavecree.html This course is built right along a large canyon (arroyo) and is on the level parts above the canyon bottom. Two of the holes cross the canyon and present a challenge to the golfers. We did not see any roadrunners, but we did see two Harris’ Hawks. They are beautiful and you can see them at this site if you wish. http://www.greglasley.net/Images/Harris The burnt orange on the wings is obvious when it flies. Tugboat off the Texas City ship canal
The golfing was fun and even at 74 degrees there was cause for safety in the sun to prevent sunburn and heatstroke. Drink lots of liquids and seek the shade when possible. The sun is higher here. Jim shot a 52 on the first nine but faded to a 58 when that canyon was met on the last hole. It overcame him giving him an ”hourglass” on that hole.

Today the two brother’s in law went to watch one of the Spring Training games at the Peoria Complex in west Phoenix. The Los Angeles Anaheim Angels played the San Diego Padres and beat them 5-4. This is a stadium that seats 11,000 plus and was about 2/3 filled. It was a good chance to see some prospects and a couple of former Tigers were there on the Padres teams. There was Tony Clark and first base, who was followed by Robert Fick at first base. The Angels have a very speedy team and stole three bases. Not Robert Fick!

The ladies took that trip to Karrie’s office in the morning and in the evening another cousin (Marcie and Shannon) took Ruth and Jim out to eat at the cousin’s favorite place, the Red Robin. We understand there is one in Grand Rapids now. Great hamburgers, although Jim opted for a shrimp dinner. Ruth enjoyed the hamburger.

Tomorrow we venture to the ruins at Casa Grande where the Hohokam Indians had a large settlement. It is an active Historical site and I will place more on the blog later in the week, as tomorrow evening we will be sorting things out to get ready to move east on Thursday morning. This site will let you see it briefly. http://www.nps.gov/cagr/historyculture/index.htm

The days have been the same. It is usually 55 F in the morning, and 75 F in the afternoon, with sun all day. Think about it! It is “no change in the weather” , weather. There were some high cirrus clouds this afternoon, however, which gave some shadow at times.

DAY 24 RABEKA'S DAY

MOM, KARRIE AND SISTER JILL

Today was the dedication of the child Rebeka Bellgraph at the Community Church in the Valley. This was in Phoenix This church uses this ceremony to welcome the child into the Family of God with Baptism coming later in life.

The entire family was here , meaning the parents Beau and Karrie Bellgraph, two sets of granDparents, The Tigglemans and the Bellgraphs, one sister of the mother and one Great Aunt and Uncle. Her Great Great Uncle and Aunt (the Immiks) and a Great Aunt once removed with her husband. There were also many friends of the Bellgraphs that attended . These were close friends of the family.

Day started at the CCV church , Phoenix, with about 6,000 in attendance at one of their 5 services (Sat and Sunday). The sermon was entitled “A Strong Finish” (getting our life the balance it needs with God). Most of the above attended that service in the morning/ RABEKA AND FAMILY AT DEDICATION

Lunch was served at the parent’s home and all chipped in to make a nice picnic lunch in the yard where it hit 74 degrees under sunny skies.. Sloppy Joes, a taco casserole, and potato salad and peanut butter bars made it a success. Lots of pictures were taken. Then at 3:00: we attended the dedication where each family and friends of the child accompanies the family and the child is accepted individually with a chance to pray and talks with the pastor.

After that it was a social time at the house with lots of exchanges and of course more picture taking..Karrie's sister returns to Michigan tomorrow, and her [parents stay with us a few more days. Having two birthdays in the family, yesterday added to the hubbub.

IT was a great day for the family and especially the baby who was taking it all in all day. She was a gem.

May your Sunday have been as rewarding.

Blessings,----Jim and Ruth FAMILY IN BELLGRAPH'S YARD

Day 23 Those Phoenix Freways

Day 23 Those Phoenix Freeways

This was the first day in the Big City of Phoenix. Not Jim’s favorite thing to do, but needed, at this part of the trip.

It was a gathering of the family three times today.
The Pizza Place in Mesa

First after the morning greetings, showers and breakfast, it was off to the grocery to purchase food for the reception on Sunday for the guests who will attend the “Dedication” of Rebeka. That was nearby, so just a few miles on the car.

Then we all took a trip to the Mall (Paradise Valley Mall) to purchase some gifts for the two birthday people, both who celebrated today, Andy and his daughter Karrie. When we entered the J.C.Penney store at one end of the Mall I casually asked “About how long will this take?” The answer seemed to be “Two hours”. I had spotted a shop where I could get a haircut while they shopped. I did check it out and a woman named Kim, proceeded to cut my hair. She was a native of Columbus Ohio and of course a Buckeye Fan. We agreed not to discuss either team until after the haircut. She was well informed on the Cleveland Browns and being a Lion fan, we both decided that it was good we could pick on the Arizona Cardinals as the “door mat” of the NFL.

Haircut finished. I proceeded to try to meet the rest, but after 1/2hour of continued walking it was obvious that I had missed them in one of the 100’s of stores in that complex Mall. We did meet when I stayed in one spot after the second hour had passed.

Aunt Uncle Ray and Aunt Kitty Immik

We were to meet “Uncle Ray and Aunt Kitty” at Karrie and Beau’s place before we drove to the “Organ Stop Pizza", where the Grand Rapids original Wurlitzer organ now resides. It was a fun time singing at the top of my lungs the “good old songs” from my youth. (All the Military service songs, God Bless America and a medley of Irish songs were the ones liked best.)

That completed, we beat the setting sun getting back on the Freeway (I-10 and I-17) and started our journey back to the Park at 7:00 PM. . . . It was a good evening and the 11 of us were treated by “Uncle Ray” who lives in Sun City nearby.

Tomorrow is the Dedication and we will have a full story on that day.
Love you all, Ruth and Jim
Shannon and cousins Marcie and Ruth
Jim and Ruth

Day 23 Family arrives by plane in Phoenix

Eared Grebe

This will be a relatively short entry as we were to pick up Ruth’s sister and husband (Gerri and Andy) at the Phoenix Airport. But first getting settled in a big city means getting the lay of the land so that your trips out are efficient. Getting gasoline at $2.94 a gallon was a start. Next was a trip to the Safeway store which was ‘money back” if your tel. number is in their bank It was!

Ruth’s niece Karrie and husband Beau live about three miles from where we are staying. That is a real convenience as we must remember that Phoenix is a VERY spread out city, being the 13th in land area in the USA. It does have more than 4 million people in the Metropolitan area. That is a lot of cars, with movement all day long (and most of the night, too).

Well, we did see the new baby (RABEKA) and took her with us to the airport to greet Karrie’s sister, Mom and Dad. It was a joyous first time for all of them to see the new addition

The rest of the day was getting goods put away and then to Karrie’s place for a lemon/chicken spinach casserole which was delicious. Gerri brought her first DVD that she made of the Upper Peninsula fall tour we did with tem last fall and Beau showed one of his “Short Movies” that he has entered in the Film Festival here. It is called “The table” Another one of his has been accepted in France for display on the continent. He is a film photographer and part time producer.
Common Loons
The DVD’s after dinner ended a very satisfying day for all. Tomorrow promises to be another as we visit the Casa Grande ‘Hohokam” ruins just south of Phoenix and head for the Wurlitzer Organ at the Pizza place here in Phoenix for supper. Remember the one at the “Roaring Twenties”? This is the same organ that was moved here. Any requests?

We will catch you tomorrow and hope all’s well with you
Blessings, Jim and Ruth

Puting in new dike and wharf at Rockport Harbor and Marina

Day 22 Arrival at Phoenix with professional help.

Some of those Sandhill Cranes

When we last left off the car was in the local auto repair shop in Willcox, with two brakes to repair. That did happen and Joe, the wonderful mechanic who did the work, stayed late on Wednesday night to strip down the drums and prepare the wheels and brakes for the morning when the parts arrived. The pads, drums, rotors, hub arms all were replaced. They showed heavy signs of Michigan salt roads. They were in verybad shape. At 8:00 AM he and his helper started and they had the job completed by 10:30. Now there is a good man with a work ethic and love of his fellow man. We were so pleased to be able to be back on the road by noon as we did not expect that. We just have to have faith and trust in people as they do come through. God Bless them.

The trip into Phoenix passes through Benson (got gas at $3.09) and the continuing saga (in looking for a full service truck wash) ended with a TTT trucker stop in south Tucson. We pulled in and asked if we could get the vehicle and the trailer washed. (Needed to get that Gulf salt and the Texas /El Paso dust off the vehicles). “Chuck” the Korean born manager said, “You’re next”! In 25 minutes his men had it cleaned and we were on the road again. We had a good exchange about the North and South Korean relations. He has relatives there (NK) he has never seen. He told an interesting story. Years ago the South Koreans would float transistor radios when the wind was right , into North Korea. But today, they send, by balloon, the latest cell phones with numbers attached so the North Koreans can phone the people in the south. Talk about spreading freedom! North Korea is very destitute .

A Curved Billed Thrasher gettingbreakfast

The rest of the trip was a breeze as we entered the afternoon traffic in Phoenix at about 3:10 and by 4:45, had completed the stop and go traffic that always accompanies the highways in and out of Phoenix. We traversed from south to north where our new RV Park was located.

A large Palm tree adorns our drive (see tomorrows pictures) amid the other more permanent dwellings. Backing in was snug and only one foot separates our slide out from the neighbors fence.. We called Ruth's niece, Karrie, and took the three of them out to supper at “South of the Border” a Mexican emphasis restaurant. It was Chimichunga for me with an assortment for the others. A rare treat was to order dessert and it was a Kahlua pie that Ruth and I shared.

The beautiful Vermilion Flycatcher

It is warm in Phoenix, (72 today) and shouldn’t get anywhere near freezing tonight. Last year we experienced record heat at 99F , but it will be 20 degrees less than that I am sure all week.

May you all be well and tomorrow we will start some “urban” pictures for you . Love to all,

Jim and Ruth

Day 21 Sandhill Cranes and more…

Some of those 34,000 Sanhill Cranes near Willcox AZ

It was cold again today (for Arizona) at 34 F. Even though that is not freezing we had a momentary chill, when Ruth turned on the water for the shower. No pressure. Checking the hoses they were all showing good pressure, but on closer inspection the small filter (like in your kitchen faucet) was plugged with ice. (Metal tends to get colder than plastic) After a few minutes of warm breathing into the orifice, I managed to get the opening free. The water flowed.

The temps gradually rose up to 72 during the day and later on the winds came up. We scouted the local lake, (Lake Cochise) and came up with a number of birds in that small lake. Then it was down AZ 186 to find those Cranes. Along the way the hawks were out in numbers as were the Meadowlarks and Ravens. There seemed to be no Cranes in any of the “appointed” fields.
Great Horned Owl in barn
After some 30 miles of driving along the fields surrounding the Playa (where the Cranes feed) we saw overhead a huge flock of them. They were soaring in their graceful, last circles with the updrafts. We continued on to Whitewater draw , where there were many bird types in the flats there and not too far away the Cranes had come down for their mid day rest. There were 10,000 of them to be sure. It was as a mass of gray against the shrub and brush. Lots of noise and although almost all were down, there were still a few that were coming in. From where we stood there were two huge groups of them, one as long as a quarter of a mile. It was a sight to behold, and makes one thankful for the Creation that we can enjoy. We ate lunch there, and were able to photograph a Vermilion Flycatcher (red and black), a few Canyon Towhees (new for us), a Ladder Backed Woodpecker, two Great Horned Owls and a Barn Owl almost in the same trees. There were some shore birds and sparrows, but those were the highlights.

Vermilion Flycatcher

By that time the Battery on the camera had begun to sputter as we had left the camera in the car overnight and that always drains the battery. So we started back to the Park a bit early (1:30). That lovely drive was not without it’s distractions as about 35 miles out of Willcox, the left front t wheel started to make a rolling, scraping sound. Even after stopping and examining every possibility, I could find no [problem. It had to be in the wheel,,,right? So driving cautiously at 34-40 mph , we limped back to town and were able to find a shop that did wheels and tires with a good, experienced, wheels mechanic. He dropped us off and…well

The car will be fixed and delivered to us tomorrow so we won’t get away before noon. We found out that there were two brakes that needed complete rebuilding as one was practically falling off. We were blessed , again. Stay tuned tomorrow to get the whole picture and if we get to phoenix by nightfall. Love, Jim and Ruth

Day 20 Roadrunners and the Road to Willcox

Ruth at Balmorhea Lake Roadrunner, one of many

It was another cool morning in the desert SW with the temperature at 5:00 Am reaching 25 degrees. (How did I know that?) Ruth and I have remote sensor that we put out every night that tells the ‘high’ and ‘low’ for the day with other statistics The high reached 75 today as we reached Willcox AZ.
The morning started with that free breakfast that Rally RV Park offers to all of its guests. It actually had two lines in two rooms and it seemed like the whole park was there. It was a buffet style; help yourself, with waffles pancakes, juices, cereals, fruit, coffee and tea, and rolls of all sorts. Quite a spread. We picked up a free “Today” newspaper, and the clerks gave us all the advice and questions answered that we needed. No one, however, seems to be able to tell us where a “Truck Wash “ for the trailer is located (We never did find one all day) but, we know there is one in Tucson on the way to Phoenix, so perhaps we will find it.

Red Tailed Hawk


Green Heron

We left Las Cruces at about 8:45 and headed out west on I-10 again. . This road is undulating with many long hills both up and down of course. There are many trucks heading to Phoenix and California. The vistas are marvelous and it reminded me of some pages in the Arizona Highways magazine with all the resplendent colors thereto. The limestone and sandstone walls along the highway are replaced with red sandstone layers which change the reflective light off the rocks. When we look far ahead the haze at the foot of the mountains makes them appear as if floating in a cloud.

Eared Grebe

This was a good area for Roadrunners and a few miles out of Las Cruces was a large grassy area with some mesquite bushes interspersed. There was one of those Roadrunners about every 50 feet for a few miles. Ruth has the count.

During lunch at a rest area near Lordsburg (a big trucking stop) we had a chance to see our first Cactus Wren, (We heard one a few days back at Boy Scout Canyon). It was in the trees at the rest area. I also had a good discussion about the Museum of Space at Alamagordo. Today we did see 18 species of birds including many hawks (Northern Harriers, Red Tail and some Sharp Shinned, a few Chihuahuan Ravens, some crows and a NEW bird the Black Throated Sparrow right here in the park in Willcox. Being on the road all day ,that was a good day.
After an early supper and getting the trailer set up we did a ‘scouting trip’ to see if we could find any Sandhill Cranes of which there are 10,000 here in the Playas south of Willcox. We drove a “circle route” with a few long dead end roads which were very dusty, and did find a viewing area that was open only until 6:00 Pm. Saw 5 Cranes in a distant sky. We will get there tomorrow before the gate closes. It is now managed by a huge cooperative energy producing plant across the road so it is controlled access (That might be good).

Here in the RV Park there is another type of quail, the Gambel Quail. They are found further west than the Scaled Quail. They are much darker than the Scaled Quail, and we should have some pictures to compare them tomorrow.

Tomorrow should be another cold morning and a fine day with sunshine again. They get a lot of that here in AZ.

May this find you all well, and thanks for reading the blog. It is good to hear from some of you that are doing that and I am open to suggestions as you might have guessed. - Blessings,
Jim and Ruth