A short catch up! Miracle Man!

Adam and Erin took a day trip to Yosemite 
National Park on one of their days off..Fall is beautiful!

Tuesday, October 29th we were next door saying good bye to John as he was leaving the next morning to head back to California for work until Thanksgiving. We left about 2000.

At 2340 we got a frantic call from Karen so we all headed for the hospital in town as it appeared John had a massive heart attack. Eventually they air lifted him to Reno. 

Karen's family and us headed there. Long story short, the last 10 days we've spent a lot of time in Reno. 

After a roller coaster 10 days, things are looking up. So many prayers have been said and looks like they've been answered. 💙🙏🙏 Also, an amazing team of specialists too! 

Karen told us tonight that 3 separate doctors came in to see John and they all said they call him "Miracle Man" because it's a miracle he's still here. By all rights, he shouldn't be! 

Today we stayed home as it's gotten so cold, it's time to shut down the outdoor kitchen and the outhouse bathroom. 

I finally cooked a meal. LOL. 

Found a recipe for Low carb Shepard's Pie..my side is 
cauliflower rice and Ken's is mashed potatoes (not so low carb)LOL.

Last Sunday after visiting John we had a nice fire in the
outdoor kitchen and a drink. Not quite our Champagne
Sunday though. 

Ken did get our sign Bryan and Cheryl gave us 😊

Of course they had to take a hike to up one
of the mountains. 😁

Time to finish a few more chores and look forward to Happy Hour 😊

Didn't get posted last night, So Happy Friday!! 

As of last night John was moved to a rehab facility in Sparks, NV. We're headed there today for a visit :) 

Randy, Amber and Amelia's wedding, Halloween party, Now we're all alone again

John (the minister and step dad) Amber, (the beautiful bride)
Randy, the handsome groom and Karen, the happy mom!
I tried to lighten the picture, but I'm no good at it LOL. 
Have to wait for photographer pics 

The happy little family! 

 Lot's of Saturday was spent putting together a few things I was taking to Karen's for the Halloween spread! 

Since I was cooking on Saturday...LOL. 
Mimosa to start the day. 

Steven and Candy got here about 1500 and Adam not until about 1900. He was camping at Deslolation Wilderness for 3 nights for work. Happy he made it when he did! 💙

We got ourselves dressed and headed next door about 1700. I don't have any pictures of us but I'm sure someone does! The wedding was scheduled for 1800. Sun would still be up, but not shining in everyones faces. 

They had everything decorated so beautifully. You'd never know you're in the middle of the desert. Of course, at their house you really don't know you're in the desert anytime. 

A few minutes after 1800 the ceremony started with Amelia (Millie) walking down the aisle throwing rose petals. Then came Amber and her Mom who walked her down the aisle. 

John did a great job of performing the wedding. It was a close call this week as Nevada makes it a lot harder to be called a minister and perform weddings. Sounds silly doesn't it? Sin City has several on every corner! Wednesday afternoon they got it done! 

Mother / Daughter dance 💕

John and Amber 💙

Adam and Mason enjoying the fire (oops Sunday morning)

Steve and Candy 

Mason, Candy, Steve, Ken and Chloe

Chloe and Mason the lumberjacks! 

Karen and her son Stephen with The Band Next Door playing
in the background

Cousins Adam and Mason. They sure kid each other but in 
the end 💙

Sunday morning I cooked for the kids and then we headed
next door for a brunch that Karen's daughter, Isabel made.
Beautiful morning and more mimosas LOL. 
Karen's mom Izzie's 81st birthday too. 

81 looks good on Izzie! 💜

Chloe and Mason getting ready to take off on Sunday 

We had several fires going inside and out over the weekend. 

Adam enjoying a good beer 

Adam left today around 1200. 

Another great weekend, over too soon! Ken's been working on firewood all afternoon. A new turkey meatloaf recipe for dinner with veggies. I'm all done for today so just waiting for Happy Hour! 🍷🍺 Have a great evening!  

A quick catch up! Party next door tonight!

 Last time I blogged we were just west of Gunnison, Colorado in a pull off. Had a great night's sleep and then we were off again. 

The pull off we spent the night out of Gunnison, CO

Beautiful drive and later we fueled up at Green River, Utah and carried on another 30 miles or so to Ghost Rock View Area. We've stayed here before. Nice spots and free! 

Our view from our spot across the road. 

Love the drive from Green River, UT!

We didn't have too far to go and pulled into  Sacramento Pass just inside Nevada near Great Basin National Park. It's a free campground and just beautiful. We've stayed several times over the years. Well, it was Sunday and it was only about 1100. So we set up, got our lawn chairs out and enjoyed Champagne Sunday 😃

Nice fire pits, barbecues, picnic covers and tables. Pit toilets
that are very well kept if you so desire. 

A beautiful view of Great Basin Park 

Monday we were on the road fairly early heading for home! Always fun to go, but nice to be heading home too. We arrived mid afternoon and it was time for a catch up with Karen and the hairy kids too. 

Tuesday was a unload everything and get caught up day. 

Wednesday we headed for Reno and Total Wine. Time to restock as we've got company for the weekend. 

Thursday found us a Walmart in Gardnerville to stock up on food for the weekend. Enjoyed a nice linner at Sharkey's. 

Friday morning I got a text from Mason and Chloe that they were on their way! Got things ready and they were here just about 1130. 

Enjoyed the day visiting and Ken made a nice fire out by the outdoor kitchen. Burgers and fries were on the menu for dinner.  Around 2200 or so we called it a night. 

Today (Saturday) finds us getting things together for the Halloween / Wedding party next door. Karen's daughter Amber is getting married tonight. John will be officiating and it looks gorgeous over there. Then the party begins! 

Our friends Steve and Candy should be here anytime. Hopefully Adam too. He spent the last three days in the desolation wilderness with 2 coworkers camping for work. Hopefully he's on his way too! 

Have a great night! 

Branson to Beaumont, KS, on to Holcomb, KS, Just outside of Gunnison, CO.

 We left Branson about 1030 on Wednesday morning. We had a nice travel day and ended up in near Beaumont, Kansas. The ride through Wichita was an easy going day! Ken was able to do 70 miles an hour no problem. 

Our spot at Ozark Country Campground 

Just out of Branson, the tallest cross in North America
it stands 218 foot tall! Beautiful. 

Wichita, don't think we've been here since 2001 to visit my
aunt and uncle. 

We spent the night at a really nice rest area there on Highway 400. It's just out of Beaumont, KS. Great parking for a lot of rigs. Ken had to air up our truck tires as they all showed low, so that was a perfect place. Our wifi was great along with television stations running our generator. 

Rest Area just out of Beaumont, KS. on highway 400

Thursday morning we were greeted with lots of wind. Didn't stop all day and of course it was a crosswind. The winds averaged 30 to 40 miles an hour. 

We made it from Beaumont to Holdcomb, Kansas just out of Garden City. We did stop at Walmart along the way to stock up on a few things. You can buy beer in Walmart but no wine or hard alcohol in Kansas😱 

We found a Love's truck stop and got the best site there. We were on the end of back up sites so we were able to put the slide and steps out, no problem. Of course, no picture. :(

We started the generator and were able to watch tv and enjoyed the evening with Happy Hour. We could have let the generator run all night if we wanted as the truck next to us was running. Honestly, we like the white noise of their motors running. 

This morning we sat the alarm for 0530. Got ourselves up and running and got out of there just a few minutes after 0830. Yep, we like to take our time in the am. 😁

Got on the road and enjoyed the drive. We were headed towards Pueblo, Colorado but found a road that was a little longer but not as congested. We took CO highway 10 out of La Junta and then to Highway 69 to Highway 50. Beautiful scenic highway. 

Highway 10 out of La Junta, CO

Community Center for the town. We had lunch in the Mansion, 
they have a huge parking lot. :)

Nice pit toilets, if you so choose. Just a great site! 

There she flies in all her glory!

Once we hit 50 we were able to find a liquor store in Poncha Springs. Stocked up and away we went. Then we followed the highway up Monarch Pass to Gunnison. We are in a pull off the highway for the night. We tried a dispersed campground, but the road up was scary so we moved on. We will try that one when we bring the car. 

Colorado mountains and colors are gorgeous!

Got set up, heater on because it's definitely needed. Happy Hour and a delicious turkey burger, fingerling potatoes (thanks Dana, my hubby is now spoiled with them) and green beans. Some old tv shows and now it's time to hit the hay. We'll see where we end up tomorrow! 

Oh one last thing! 

Not the best picture, but our oldest 
grandson, Adam working an event for
the National Forest Service. When I
worked as Crime Prevention for the 
Sheriff's Department this one of my
most favorite things to do. Work an 
event and meet with the community.
Now my grandson does the same, 
along with other duties too, just as
I did💙

Welcome home Jacob! An emotional morning! Historic Branson, The Runaway Coaster and Heroe's for linner!

I had to post this first! Welcome home Jacob!!💙
Allissa sent me this as I was getting ready to post this blog! 

 We woke up this morning knowing today was the day our grandson, Jacob was coming into port in San Diego. I started looking on the webcam about 0600 their time (of course it was dark). He's been on the USS Theordore Roosevelt for the last 9 months (extended deployment because of problems in the Middle East). 

I got a message from Allissa and brought the webcam up. We were hooked after that! Pretty amazing to watch without being there! Of course I'm thinking about Russell, Lori and Allissa being there watching and waiting for the ship to come in and for Jacob to get off that ship! Yeah, pretty emotional morning! 😊😭 

Ken's brother Don sent me this pictures from the webcam. Thank you! 💙

I am so proud of that boy and all the other Sailors and Marines that serve our country! 💙

I did hear from Russell that they got him off the ship! 💙

So once we knew the ship was in port we got ourselves ready to head to downtown Branson and a little window shopping. It's a busy little place! WE walked around and into stores (pretty much the same stuff). Went into Dave's 5 and 10 store. We did get a new ornament for our tree. 

Busy busy busy!! 

Around 1330 we headed for the Runaway Coaster. Paid our money (20.00 a person) and got on our little coasters. 5 min trip to the top of the mountain and then you are in control of your little cart on the rails. Woohoo! Downhill and thrilling! I don't need to do it again though! Some parts were scary as you think you need to slow down, but then you feel like you're going to fall out of the cart, so you have to speed up! LOL. We both enjoyed it! 

Don't have any pictures, as they want you to buy theirs. 

After that we headed to Heroes Family Restaurant Tastes and Taps. We loved the name and what it represented. Tributes to our Heroes! Does it get any better!? 

There was a Navy section, but I didn't want to make the people 
move LOL. Just kidding. So no pictures of that. 

I wanted a couple of beer glasses but none for sale :(

Service was great and food was awesome! For a touristy place not bad priced either! 

We're back at the campground for Happy Hour. Tomorrow we'll start heading home. Not a bad place to be either!

Today I am so PROUD to be an American! So proud of our grandson Jacob! It was amazing to see the ship come in and to see all those service men and women manning the rails coming into port. Reminds me so much of when Russell came in in 98 and 2000. Those memories never leave you. I am so happy for Russell, Lori and Allissa getting to spend some time with him. Welcome home Jacob! We love you! 💙💙

AMERICA!! 💖

Have a wonderful night!