All OK in Upper Peninsula of Michigan!

Just a shorty! Wanted to let you all know that my sister's place is still standing and has negligible damage. 600' away, the neighbor's home was totally destroyed. Thank you all for all you good wishes and prayers.

Well, guess an update is in order. After my last blog, i got a scathing email from my sister and she is now submitting papers to have me committed! Soooo, for fear of losing my mobility, we have decided to try once again to find someone to build a 100 gal. gas tank for our 8 year old rig!! LOL. we decided to stay in Colorado trying to deal with our gas tank dilemma. We found another trucking company who is going to try to find someone to build a tank, we are still waiting for an estimate and timeline. We also called our mechanic in Surprise to find out the dangers of driving it as it is. The answer was that if we drove it very ''SOFTLY" we might be ok. Unfortunately, on U.S. roads that is quite a challenge, and probably not at all possible. Our plans for the summer have now changed. Nan is flying back to Nebraska, and I am staying in Colorado to babysit the rig. We are still planning on being able to get to Bryce Canyon by the 8th of August or sooner. Don't worry Kevin, we are making it quite clear we are to be there and we have everyone involved working at top speed to get us on the road by then. The mechanic we are working with now has found someone who does build gas tanks, we are just waiting for a quote and time estimate. Hopefully, we will hear by Tuesday. More updates will come then.
While we are here, I have played in 2 indoor pickleball tournaments. We have seen friends we haven't seen for 20 years! It's been great running into them (and no, i didn't hurt them). I was, however, warned NOT to hug too tightly. Dang, it's a bitch getting older! We are taking the time to visit old friends and seeing some of the new things around Colorado since we've been gone.
We went to a graduation party for a niece (my adopted family) the other day. I knew those kids since they were babies and now they are grandparents! I don't know what they are doing, but I sure haven't gotten as old as they have. What a gutt punch! How can I be that old?
Yesterday, I received word that my sister has probably had one of her houses burned (Pike Lake fire in Michigan's Upper Peninsula). They are waiting to hear for sure if it was one of the structural fatalities around the lake. They also have another house on Lake Superior which is in the direction the fire is moving. They are on the list of evacuations, but have not been told to leave as yet. We are praying for it to rain and help control the fire which has taken 22,000 acres so far. Seems the whole country is in a high fire danger area since the lack of snow and rain this past winter. The unusual heat has also contributed to the extremely dry areas.
We'll let you all know how things are going, and want to let you know we are thinking of you all. Hope everyone is doing well and no disasters are happening where you are.
Hugs, Big Hugs, and to those who just can't take it (BJ!), little hugs!!!!  :)

Loveland, Colorado in May

Well, guess it's time to update! We have been here in Loveland, Co since the 3rd of May. We left Salt Lake City all fixed up and ready to travel! OOOPS!  There's a leak! Oh, No! It's NOT from the levelers, it's from the GAS TANK!! Ok, so, I call a truck repair shop in Denver, "Sure, we can fix that. Bring it in and we'll check it out!" Hooray! We take it in, and before i even get myself organized, they tell me they CAN'T fix it. Color me a bit miffed. They say, "Cummins in Commerce City can do it." I call Cummins and go over there with the rig. I explain there is a pinhole in the gas tank on the bottom where it sits on the chassis bar. They take it in for 4 days! When i come back, they tell me that there is a leak in the bottom of the tank and they don't know if it can be repaired or will have to be replaced. They are now talking to Monaco to get a new one. Hold your horses! Monaco doesn't have anything for a rig that old!! 8 years?? So, now they are going to find out if one can be built. Answer is "they don't have them in production anymore." So the next step is to have one built. But, Monaco hasn't been able to find plans to build one!! This is getting very very exciting now! NOT! I've also been given a number of about $5,000 to $6,000. After getting myself all worked up and livid, i call our local repair place. Massey Diesel is in Surprise, AZ. They say "If it's a tank that can be pulled out of the doors on the side, it will be about $500!! Soooooo, we have decided to leak across the country and wait til we get  back to Happy Trails to have it fixed. Thankfully, it is a diesel, so it isn't a fire hazard. And, it is a very small leak at this point, so we won't be losing fuel along the way except for some drops along the way. We have to put down a cardboard under where it is leaking, but it isn't like we are losing gallons a day. Don't ya just love mechanics?
While we were here, I've played in a tournament in Ft. Collins and will be playing another in Lakewood this Saturday. We've been thoroughly enjoying our stay with Carol and Diane and their dogs. They have a wonderful deck and a great hot tub for pickleball fever. We enjoy our happy hour and coffee on the deck with a wonderful view of a small forrest out back with foxes, elk and their 2 horses. Trav LOVES the huge yard he gets to play in, and their 2 dogs, Chinook (golden retriever) and Bonnie (????). Chinook is involved in agility and we've gone to a couple of trials.

it was pretty fun to see the difference between what the human wants and what the dogs want! At least there are plenty of chuckles. but the dogs are fun to watch and see how they tear around the courses and jump for joy when they pass the finish line. We've also enjoyed visiting some of our friends that we haven't seen in a few years. We had dinner with friends we haven't seen in 10 years and it was like we had never been away. What a delight to spend time with them. Nan is doing well, she has fallen in love with Kindle and has read a whole library i think. She is also in charge of the yard work and has spent time tending weeds and flowers. She also has spent some time cleaning the rig and reorganizing inside. We are intending to leave here late next week and head to Nebraska where nan's mom and sister are. We'll visit with them for a spell then head to Michigan. I'll update you all as we go, but hope everyone is having a great summer. Have heard from some of you and it sounds like things are going along pretty good. Hugs to all our friends!!

Salt Lake City to Loveland, Colorado

We finally made it to Colorado. Actually, I think we were blown here! Driving thru Wyoming was quite exhilarating, 55 mph winds made us a little jumpy but we were glad it was a tail wind! We had a bit of frustration in Salt Lake City. We had a water leak in the grey water tank and a diesel leak in the gas tank. Also had the gennie and rig serviced and our rear bin door repaired. The grey water tank has a crack on the top of the tank and only leaks when it gets too full. Because of the cost, we decided to live with it. In order to put in a new one, that the insurance might or might not cover, they had to drop the tank and install the new one to a tune of about $2000. The gas tank was another story tho. They couldn't fix it because it was sitting on the frame of the motor home. They would have had to send it out and we decided to find our own facility. The only place that is equipped to do it was a truck repair place. Because it sat on part of the chassis, and it was leaking from the bottom where it sat on the chassis, it had to be removed, emptied, steamed, dried and then welded. Sooooooo, needless to say, we needed to find a place where we had somewhere to stay during this ordeal. We have no clue as to the cost, but it was something we couldn't just live with, especially with the price of diesel. We are in Loveland, Colorado now, staying at friends who have a mini-ranch! It's actually a bit of paradise here. They are on 3.5 acres with enuff room that there are no close neighbors and it's very quiet with some visits from elk, mtn lions now and then and sometimes a bear or two. As we drove in, we noticed that the pasture on the corner had a new tenant! He is 4 days old and the cutest thing around!!

He was born with those bangs!! 

Never knew how soft a baby burro could be!!


We arrived about 5 minutes before Carol and Diane were leaving for pickleball, so naturally, i had to join them.

We have many we will be visiting while here in Colorado, since we haven't spent much time here in the last few years. We plan on spending at least a month and one or 2 pickleball tournaments. Looking forward to seeing old friends and family.

I mentioned earlier that Nan had a new hobby. Here are a few of her projects! Who says dumpster diving isn't good fun!



Hope everyone is having a great summer so far, and hope everyone is safe and healthy and keep on laughin!!!!