Good Morning, Class of '64
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| Jo Writing inthe Attic - Norman Rockwell |
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien
"I am looking for someone to share
in an adventure that I am arranging,
and it's very difficult to find anyone."
"I should think so — in these parts!
"I should think so — in these parts!
We are plain quiet folk and
have no
use for adventures.
Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!
Make you late
for dinner!"
Anna was fortunate in finding a
willing Adventurer, her husband Brent.
She continues her travelogue:
willing Adventurer, her husband Brent.
She continues her travelogue:
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| Penning a Letter - George Goodwin Kilburne |
I guess I need to sit down and write for so many people are wondering what Brent and I are up to these days. So here goes!
| Lady Frances Wyndham - The Letter Writer |
There has not much been happening in the last couple of months since we went to Rosamond, CA for our newer RV. Brent and I spent a year in Rosamond the 5 weeks that we were there sending paper work back and forth to the dealer.
From the Seinfeld TV Show:
GEORGE: So they're flying the tiny
instruments in from El Paso.
KRAMER: El Paso?
KRAMER: El Paso?
I spent a month there one night.
From Life Magazine - 1908
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| Life magazine in 1908 |
Toledo
John Denver
I have always loved NASCAR but since living at the
the Willow Springs Race Track, I don't care if I never hear the sound of
a racing engine or tires again. We were able to see some of the new
cars that Ford and Porsche have coming out this year. They use Willow
Springs for some of their commercials and they bring several cars to act
as decoy so industrial stealing will not happen. Very secretive.
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| Ford Mustang at Willow Springs |
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| Porsche Macan at Willow Springs |
Our host at the race track was involved in a 5 car crash the day after we left and we have not heard how he is since then. Praying he is okay for he was already ill with cancer and did not need anything else to bring him down more.
I learned a great lesson while I was there. We were introduced to a man who lived over the car shop and worked with some of the race cars and he admitted to Brent that when he got orders to go to Vietnam that he handed his papers back to his commanding officer and refused to go. He was given a dishonorable discharge and was booted out of the service.
The hate rose in me when Brent told me about him. Yes, I said the word hate! I have always had a difficult time with people who were more afraid of losing their life than doing their duty because my first husband gave all and died in combat leaving me and our 2 children behind.
It was very difficult for a 20 year old and I hated all who was scared of that war. Yes, it was war even though the government position on that is different and people who protested instead of supporting our troops was to me in the same category as the ones who fled to Canada. Cowards.
I realize it was a futile thing and should never have happened. I am not unaware of the "NO" reason we should have been there to start with. Brent set me down and we talked for hours about how I felt. We prayed and shared for the longest time and by the time Thanksgiving came around I was able to invite this person to Thanksgiving dinner with Brent and I.
I was also aware of how his life had been. Filled with shame, unable to get good jobs, and looking at his self in the mirror was hard. I felt sorry for him. God through Brent was able to finally heal something in me that had colored my life for a long time. So this Christmas Season means even more to me now. I hope you do not mind me sharing this with you but I think it makes our travels all the more important to share such growing events even though they are personal.
When we left Rosamond we went to Death Valley. I was very pleased to be going there as I have read about it my whole life. My grandfather who raised me would have loved seeing it and I wanted to see it for both of us. Well, guess what? It never rains in Death Valley but the whole 2 days we were there it rained. I guess I took it with me! LOL It was amazing to see acres and acres of lake because the desert could not absorb so much water at one time.
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| Death Valley after a Rain |
We also went over a great 3 miles of nothing but washboard road that shook us till our teeth rattled. Great fun and great adventure. (Only after we got back on smooth ground).
The great sand dunes was amazing and people were walking up and down them. I love to see areas of nature that are void of man's foot print. A lot of beautiful area's around the great desert was ruined by off road vehicles who left deep and very unsightly trails. Man is most assuredly not kind to this world.
I could in my minds eye see how hard it was for a person on foot to get through Death Valley for it is very, very large. You can see mountains in the very far distance surrounding the valley and it is hard with a 33 foot RV with a car in tow to get up those same mountains leaving.
Across Death Valley
Mary Barmeyer O'Brien
Across Death Valley is a fictionalized account based on the true story of the legendary journey that Juliet Wells Brier, her husband, and their three sons undertook during the Gold Rush from Salt Lake City to the settlement of Los Angeles.
Mary Barmeyer O'Brien
Across Death Valley is a fictionalized account based on the true story of the legendary journey that Juliet Wells Brier, her husband, and their three sons undertook during the Gold Rush from Salt Lake City to the settlement of Los Angeles.
Project Gutenberg Free EBook
Death Valley in '49
by William Lewis Manly
Important chapter of California pioneer history.
The autobiography of a
pioneer, detailing his life
from a humble home in the Green Mountains to
the
gold mines of California; and particularly reciting the sufferings
of the band of men, women and children
who gave "Death Valley" its name.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12236?msg=welcome_stranger
Death Valley Days
Radio and Television Program
The radio and TV versions combined to make
the show "one of the longest running western
programs in broadcast history."
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Sego Lillies (1953)
With The Old Ranger
Full Episode
When we left Death Valley we were heading East and went through Las Vegas, NV during rush hour. I know that many people love to go to Vegas but the two times that we have been there I could not wait to get out of it. It was a long drive with no apparent RV parks between Vegas and Kingman, AZ. We spent the night at a truck stop and moved on to Blake Ranch Rd. RV park where we have spent the time catching up with mail, phone calls and resting.
Rush hour traffic on Interstate 15
near the Strip in Las Vegas
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| Vegas Rush Hour Traffic |
Kingman, Arizona
We have a small Christmas tree up with decorations on the windows and are going to be able to spend our first Christmas together here. We are having Prime Rib for Christmas dinner which my wonderful husband is going to cook for me. He spoils me rotten and I love it. On the 11th of Jan. we are going farther East and South to try and find our hidey hole. Hopefully Texas - somewhere it is warm. It gets rather chilly here at night and gets down to freezing sometimes so further South as we keep saying.
Hidey-Hole
hid·ey-hole
a place for hiding something or oneself in,
a place for hiding something or oneself in,
especially as a retreat from other people.
hidey-hole
Houghton Mifflin
A secluded or isolated place;
Houghton Mifflin
A secluded or isolated place;
a hideaway.
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| Young Woman Writing - Pierre Bonnard |
“Would you tell me, please,
which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal
"That depends a good deal
on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter
which way you go.”
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Alice in Wonderland
What is that feeling when you're driving
away from people and they
recede on the plain
till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the
too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to
the next crazy venture beneath the skies.
Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
On the Road
I know not all that may be coming,
but be it what it will,
I'll go to it laughing.
Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick;
or, The Whale
The Happy Wanderer
Frank Yankovic
Frank John "Frankie" Yankovic was born
July 28, 1915 in Davis, West Virginia. He was a
Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known
as "America's Polka King," he was considered the
premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during
his long career.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Yankovic
Here’s to freedom, cheers to art.
Here’s to having an excellent adventure
and may the stopping never start.
Jason Mraz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Yankovic
Here’s to freedom, cheers to art.
Here’s to having an excellent adventure
and may the stopping never start.
Jason Mraz
Glad to hear from Anna!! great job on this Pat..jmc
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