Once again it is past time. This post is more about what is going on personally than what we have been doing.
I am going in for surgery on the 11th of this month. They did an MRI to see what was causing the pain in my hip and they found way more than they were looking for. I have an Aortic Aneurysm in my stomach area. It is way larger than they are when they usually do surgery. The Dr. is still trying to determine the best way to tackle it. As I know more I will post here. I have also posted on facebook so most of you already know this news.
I am through working in the park for the winter, and we had planned on leaving here several days ago. But with the medical developments we will be hanging out in Missoula for a while yet. Not sure of our plans when we leave here now. Will depend on the weather and time of year as to the direction we go..
As a side note, the squirrels are everywhere in the park, getting nice and fat for the winter. I am sitting at the kitchen table writing this and watching them romp around outside. They are very entertaining to watch.

Once again I have been neglect in keeping up the Blog. I am not sure where this summer has gone but it definitely has gone somewhere. I have 9 more work days in the park, We will depart here Oct 1st, spend a couple of nights in Post Falls visiting Don & Caroline. From there we will be off to Washington for lots more visiting, If the weather cooperates we will go down through Oregon on the way back to Arizona for the winter.

We have had a great summer here in Montana, made new friends visited with old friends, checked out some more country and in general enjoyed our time here. We will be back next summer so we can have another great summer then.

Vicki and I went up to Columbia Falls last Sunday, spent the afternoon visiting with Jason and Julie, friends we met when working in Polson several years ago. We had a great afternoon and evening catching up, and Jason made us a wonderful dinner, thanks Jason it was really good. Left there and spent the night at a motel, yesterday we had a nice leisurely drive back to Missoula via Whitefish and Kalispell. Had to sop in kalispell and check out a couple of new 5th wheels, Ya just dreaming LOL. Cats was happy to see us return.

Enough for now, no promises on when I will be back on here LOL, seems I am getting worse at keeping everyone updated, especially since I am on Facebook constantly. For now you all take care and God Bless.

I should have put this in last post.
Snowbowl facts:  Base Elevation-5000ft,  Top Elevation-7600ft. Vertical drop 2600 ft.
Average annual snow of 300 inches. Longest ski run of 3 miles.
Summer stuff, lots of Mountain Bike trails, FOLF ( frisbee golf), The last run resort, (beer, wine, food, and a great atmosphere.
So summer and winter lots to do and see.

Drove up to Snowbowl today, A beautiful, dusty drive. Seeing the ski slopes even without snow brought back lots of good memories of my days when I did ski. I had to take the chairlift to the top just to see the view from up there.

This is the view as you start back down the chairlift, what a great ride.

I can only imagine the thrill of navigating the way down the mountain with ski's strapped to your feet. Alas I think my skiing days are over. To many creaks, aches and pains without skiing.

Here I am again way past due for an update, I am enjoying working here at Missoula KOA, everyone I am working with is super nice, which really helps make the job fun.

pic of flowers in park

Aunt Leilani and cousin Camda came over for a couple of days. We had a great visit, it is always nice to see them. We drove down to Hamilton and toured the Daley Mansion. This was built by Marcus Daley one of the copper Kings.

I wish we could have taken pictures inside, but it was not allowed, It is well worth visiting if you are in the area. It was a beautiful day and an enjoyable tour.
The next day Camda and I went to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation located here in Missoula and enjoyed all the information and mounts, they have a beautiful building full of mounts to enjoy.

 The 2 days of visiting went way to fast and we had to say goodbye as they headed back home. Thanks for coming to visit we really enjoyed it.

The following week we drove up to Polson, met our dear friend Jesse at the Pizza cafe in Ronan for lunch. It was such a great lunch, we were happy that it was still the same as we remembered it.
After lunch we stopped at Polson KOA and visited with Paul and Carlisa for short time, it was good to see them and we had a great visit. Then we went up the hill to Jesse's house and visited until way past time to head back to Missoula, It was a really fun day and hope we can do it again before we leave.

That's all for now folks, hope you are all well and God Bless.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day I couldn't just sit in the trailer and stare out at the sunshine. So I grabbed my camera and went to Fort Missoula. Besides being a Military Fort it was also an internment center during WWII. below is a short description of this period.

During World War II, Fort Missoula was turned over to the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, for use as an Alien Detention Center. Between 1941 and 1944, the ADC held 1,200 non-military Italian men, 1,000 Japanese resident aliens, 23 German resident aliens, and 123 Japanese Latin and South Americans.
Fort Missoula's ADC was established to hold foreign nationals and resident aliens, to distinguish it from the 10 better known War Relocation Act camps that held 120,000 Japanese Americans.

The 1,200 Italian men were merchant seamen, World's Fair employees and the crew of an Italian luxury liner seized in the Panama Canal. Many of the Italians, who referred to the Fort as "Bella Vista," spent the war as paid laborers replacing American men working in forestry, farms, the sugar beet industry and constructing Highway 12.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the FBI arrested more than a 1,000 of the most prominent Japanese leaders on the west coast as potential security risks. Ultimately, over 1,000 Japanese men-all resident aliens barred by law from American citizenship-were held at Fort Missoula for loyalty hearings. None was ever charged with any act of disloyalty but all were held at Fort Missoula or other camps for the duration of the war. The courtroom in Post Headquarters where Enemy Alien Hearings were held is being restored by the Historical Museum with funding from the National Park Service.
A handful of German resident aliens were held for short periods at Fort Missoula, although most were held at Fort Lincoln in Bismarck, North Dakota. The 123 men of Japanese ancestry from Latin and South America, mostly Peru, were a very small part of several thousand held primarily at the Santa Fe camp or at Crystal City, Texas.

Fort Missoula is currently the largest intact WWII internment site with most major buildings of the era still in use, including the Post Headquarters with its courtroom, the hospital, commissary, officer and staff housing, barracks and other support structures. The Historical Museum has an exhibit on internment housed in a restored barrack and is restoring the Post Headquarters.

 I hope you enjoyed this short post on history as much as I did visiting the Fort.

Just returned from going out to breakfast. We met smokey and Pam another set of workampers for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We had pancakes and eggs with meats from bacon to sausage. Very good breakfast and very good company.
The weather goofed, it is my day off and it is beautiful outside, so this will be short because I am heading outdoors to enjoy the sun.
Thanks for checking in on us. We are enjoying our summer in Montana again.

3 weeks since we arrived in Missoula, not sure where the time is going but it sure is going fast. I have been working now for 3 weeks, My schedule is Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat. Then off 2 days Sun, Mon and Tue. Everyone I work with has been extremely nice. It is a pleasure to work with people who are happy and easy going, The General Manager appreciates what we do and lets us know that.
I am working the evening shift and not quite used to working that late yet. I am sure i will be used to it by the time we leave in the fall.

The last couple of days have been rainy, the passes and higher elevation had some of that white stuff fall from the sky, Just rain here in Missoula. Nice out right now, tomorrow is supposed to be back to the wet stuff.

Nice to have lots of shopping close by. However the traffic sucks big time. Guess we just can't have everything. For as close as the park is to town it is fairly quite in here. Forty years ago when they built the park it was out of town, now the town has grown around it.

well for now that will do it. You all take care and God Bless you all on this Memorial Day.

A picture of Vicki after losing 70 lbs.

We made It to Missoula, Montana. This will be our summer home and my updates will probably slow down depending on our activities. We had a real good trip from Arizona, from my last 2 posts you seen that we had lots of fun visiting friends and relatives. After leaving Las Vegas we found our way to Beaver, UT. We stayed at the KOA Campground there. We had worked at this campground in the past and enjoy staying there. The new owneres keep upgrading the park and it is a nice place to stay. From beaver we trekked on north to Brigham City, UT. Nice small town with a KOA Campground that we stayed at. It is a nice park, not designed for very many big rigs, owners were super nice and we had a nice quite night there. Next morning we were off to Dillon, Montana. Here again we spent the night at the KOA Campground there. This is another really nice campground, far enough away from major roads to be a nice quite stay. May 7th was our last day of travel. We arrived in Missoula about 2:00pm, checked in and set the trailer up for the summer. I went to meet my new boss for the summer and had a nice feeling about working here. I started work last Wednesday in the office. I will be working Wed through Sat. and off Sun, Mon and Tue. So far everyone I am working with has been great.
Our campsite is nice with lots of grass. I will leave you with a couple of pictures.

Our Campsite

Montana

DooDad says wake me up when we get there

This will be an on the Road update. We left Arizona City and traveled the long distance of 85 miles to Surprise, AZ. We had an absolutely wonderful visit with John and Linda, friends from Alaska that moved to Surprise.

from Surprise our next stop was Las Vegas. We had dinner last night with Kari and her boyfriend Steve, and Dan and Louise and there daughter. We had a great meal and some great visiting. It was nice to see all of them. We are staying another night here so will do some more visiting tonight.

Tomorrow we are off to beaver. UT. and points north to Montana. Till later take care and God Bless.

We are in Arizona City now. Have been here since Tuesday and leaving next Monday. We had a good trip from Willcox to here, hardly any traffic going through Tucson. Stopped at Picacho Peak for lunch then on to Arizona City. I have been doing honey do projects for Jean here. set up the misting system on the back porch. It sure does make a difference in the temperature. cleaned up her computer for her, deleted a ton of files and junk she had downloaded but never needed or used., replaced an electric receptacle on the front porch and worked some on her old computer today, not sure what is on the list for tomorrow but I am sure something.



Guess that should catch you all up on our exciting life for the last several days. Take care and God Bless.

I have been cleaning out the outside storage area, where does one accumulate all this stuff. I see no need to pack a bunch of this with us so am filling the storage shed here at sis in laws place..
Weather has turned warm here, supposed to hit 96 today so I will need to get out soon and finish my cleaning out the storage area and repacking it. We will leave here Tuesday and travel to Arizona City, will leave there May 1st and go to Surprise, AZ to visit with John and Linda, friends from back home who have retired and moved to Surprise. Then on to Las Vegas for a visit with family and friends for an evening. From there it is on to Montana for the summer. I am ready to see some green grass and trees again.

If I get a chance I will post from the road, if not I will catch you all up when we arrive in Montana. till then God Bless and thanks for keeping up with us on the blog.

Montana here we come!!!!



Nice warn weather this last week. We have been enjoying the nice warm spring weather here, highs have been around 80 and slowly getting warmer. Time to think about heading north soon, Plans right now are leaving here towards the end of the month. This is the latest we have stayed in Willcox for the winter.
I built in some shelves in Cheryl's utility room, nice to get stuff up off the floor and able to get to the washer/dryer easily. They came out looking pretty good for just using cheap materials and then painting them white.
I did work last Saturday at the gas station, Tom wasn't feeling well so he stayed home and hopefully is better.
We are looking forward to spending the summer in Montana. After leaving Montana our plans are to go to Washington for a week or so then back to Medford Oregon for our annual physicals. From there we will head back to Arizona again for the winter. That is our long range plans and always subject to changes.

I will leave you with a picture from June 2003.

Yesterday we made a trip to Tucson, Vicki needed a Fashion Bug fix. Next on to Costco for a few needed items, and apparently lots of stuff that wasn't on our list. After Costco we decided it was time for a Red Lobster fix, Had Lobster and shrimp, mmmm good. Then on way home had to have a Walmart fix in Benson. Finally arrived back home about 8:30 last night. Wore out full of lobster and happy.
I did get the shelves up in the bathroom. They look good and are very functional. I will start on the front deck today, supposed to be in the 80's again today.
Work out at the station has probably come to an end for now. If something comes up and they need help, they will call. I do enjoy working out there, All the employees are good people to work with, and the owners are really great people.
So much for a short update, hope you are all doing great. God Bless and take care.

Yesterday, I did accomplish a couple projects, Replaced all the inner workings on a toilet at sis in laws.
Then I installed an automatic flusher on the toilet. Needless to say I spent most of my day in the bathroom and couldn't even use it.
Yesterday was another windy day and today is another windy day so far.
Next project, the front deck needs a new coat of paint. Of course this entails prepping it before applying any paint. Probably a several day project. Also have some shelves ordered to install in the bathroom. I must like that room, I sure do spend time there.
Work at the Gas station is coming to an end soon. I am scheduled to work Sunday through Wednesday then time for projects above.
So much for my exciting life, you all have a great day and God Bless.

March !!!!! How did it show up so fast? Where did Febuary go? Actually what happened to January? so many questions and so few answers. The calander does say it is March so it must be so. Getting closer to our trek north for the summer. At least I have to start cleaning and organizing for the trip. When we sit for more than a few days it seems everything comes out of the storage areas and nothing gets put back unless we are ready to move on. I still have lots of time to do these little chores, so for now I will just be thinking of how to pack everything away for the trip.

One big concern of ours and most everyone is the rising cost of fuel. Wish we had a president that had some big Kahunas and do what is right for us and not the rest of the socialist world. OK off my soapbox.

Weather here has turned nice, supposed to be in th 80"s next few days. We did get to freezing this morning for about 30 minutes. Trees are all leafed out here now and weeds are doing great.

where is this???

TOMBSTONE

January has come and gone. It was a month I will never forget. Jan 5th I received the phone call I have been dreading to receive. My mother had passed on to Heaven. She was always a best Mom, friend and fishing partner. I know she is in a better place and at peace with no more pain and suffering. She will be missed by family and many many friends. She was always up for a new adventure Mom and Dad packed up the family in 1954 and moved to the territory of Alaska. She raised us kids properly during hard times and good times. I could go on for a long time on what a great person she was. I would like to thank all my family for there friendship that we have. I would like to thank Mom's church for all there support.

OK, after a trip to Alaska to say goodbye to my mother I am back in Arizona, working part time at the Chevron Station. I enjoy working there as it is just like Family working there. When I was in Alaska they made sure Vicki was OK and kept the propane bottles filled.

Other than working part time I have not done much. There are several things I need to do, and the list keeps growing. Truck needs a bath inside and out, same for the trailer. There is a couple of loose shingles on Cheryl's roof I need to repair. more yard work and on and on.