Sept 30 - Watching the Glow of the Sunset in Santa Fe New Mexico

This morning we decided to pull out of the muddy KOA we had been at in Las Vegas (New Mexico) and search out the nicest RV park we could find. We found it...called "Santa Fe Skies RV Park" and it is just 4 miles south of Santa Fe. They have a convention of "BIG RIGS" in here...they are all motor homes over 40 feet long and their trailers are mostly color and stripe/mural matched. The trailers are every bit as big as our entire coach and have two levels for storing vehicles and toys inside to bring along with them on their travels. One couple had Two Harleys plus a sports car inside. We are talking Millions and Millions of dollars on wheels. There are over 30 of these rigs here and they still found room for little old us to fit in and I was so glad.

Being next to them is kind of like when I went snow skiing as a teenager...When I went into the ski lodge, I knew to always put my skis next to the most expensive pair on the rack. If someone was going to take a pair...it would be the expensive ones...not mine.

From where the RV park sits we can see very nearly a full 360 degrees of the horizon. Tonight as the sun set it was absolutely magnificent...such a warm red glow. I can only imagine and anticipate what hot air balloons will look like on that same horizon when we go to the balloon fest next week.

For now we will enjoy touring around Santa Fe and seeing the architecture of the old south.

Take care....
Linda

Big Congratulations to our daughter Cindy !!!

Yesterday Cindy completed the required testing to receive her certification as a "Personal Trainer". What an accomplishment for her in the midst of her already busy life.

I loved the message she left for me on my cell phone..."You have reached the cell phone of Cindy Mayhak, Certified Personal Trainer, If you wish to make an appointment......"

I know it has been a challenge and a lot of work for Cindy so it means that much more to have her complete it.

CONGRATULATIONS !!!! save an appointment slot for when we get home...

Mom & Dad
(The weird one and the wonderful one, or visa versa, depending on whose day it is)

Sept 29 - Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

This morning as we drove south on Interstate 25 it was as though we were on the set for the movie "Dances With Wolves" and would come over one last rise in the outstretched plain to a sea of buffalo (hopefully you know the scene and can picture it). As the high plains rolled on we watched the multitude of antelope literally playing alongside the highway oblivious to us intruding into their territory. They are a happy creature and seem to co-exist with the cattle and occasional buffalo that we saw.

Since we left the high rises of Denver, the weather has cooled considerably and the terrain has changed dramatically. The strong winds of Colorado City kept the weather fronts moving through quickly. Now the winds are missing and there are heavy fog and clouds hanging over the mountains. We even spotted a distant sprinkling of snow today.

We are less than 200 miles from Albuquerque where the balloon festival will be...a number of trailered balloon baskets were in tow today on the highway. The festivities actually start this weekend so it is obvious they are beginning to "ramp up" for the fun. We are not scheduled to arrive in Albuquerque until next Wednesday...half way through the 10 day balloon fest.

Our destination today was another KOA, this one in Las Vegas (New Mexico). We had several heavy rain showers as we traveled this morning and by the time we arrived here the dusty red clay of the campground was muddy and mucky, running in torrents down hill in several sections of the RV park. We have become spoiled with paved RV sites at most of our previous sites so this was a challenge both in parking the rig and hooking up hoses and cords.

Then we encountered a problem with one of the motor home slides (half in and half out as the rain poured). Upon examination (kneeling in the rain and mud, shining flashlights under the motor home and several attempts at running the mechanism back and forth) we spotted a shiny broken bolt on the ground that had sheared off of the drive shaft used to run the mechanism that brings the slide in and out. A friendly, little, Hispanic man came by, seeing that we were scratching our heads a bit more than the normal RV traveler. Once he saw what we were working with he quickly scrounged up a piece of plywood, slid it under the motor home, laid his small, slender frame on it and shimmied under there and fixed it for us. What a God send he was. His size was definitely an asset and enabled him to be our hero purely out of the goodness of his heart.

A new header!

Linda (aka Mom) had some fun creating the new header on the webpage... I could reduce it in size, but then everyone would miss out on the detail of these great pictures! :o)

Sept 26 What do they call this place?

Poor Gary, I am the weird one today!

We finally pulled out of Cherry Creek State Park in Denver this morning and headed south toward our next fixed destination...the balloon festival in Albuquerque Oct 6th. Decided to drive just a couple hours and then settle for a couple more days of "kick back" before we explore Sante Fe, New Mexico.

I had it all figured out on the navigation program and "fed" the directions and turns to him as he operated the motor home. After we pulled into the campsite and got all set up he turned to me and asked..."What do they call this place ?" Of course instead of telling him we were in Colorado City (20 miles south of Pueblo) my response was "K O A".

Guess that means tomorrow is his day to be weird !

Yes, we still have a weird and wonderful relationship after all these years !

Sept 24 Visiting with more friends from our Vietnam trip

Today we got to visit with Dennis and Alicia Smart. Dennis was one of the participants in our March trip to Vietnam. We really enjoyed our time with them. Talked and talked, went out to dinner and then talked some more. We had not met Alicia previously but knew she would be a very special person if she was Dennis' wife. It was great to renew our friendship with Dennis and get to know Alicia as well. Too bad all these special people could not live closer to our home base...but now that we have visited Denver we understand better why they like it here.

We have been pleased by the cooler temperatures and lower humidity here. Mother nature has put on quite a show for us with the changing colors of all the trees in the State Park we were staying at. We are anxious to move on toward home but not anxious to leave our little oasis here in the State Park and return to the busy highways.

Sept 23 A surprise in the heart of Denver

In preparation of our arrival in Denver, I had searched out online any campsites near to the home address of the friends we were to visit. What I located was surprisingly a state park (Cherry Creek State Park) right in the heart of the city. It was of course not right down town but very near and also just a couple miles from the condominium our friends had purchased. I called to make reservations and found that their reservation system was going to be down for a couple weeks for "restructuring" and the facility was pretty much full up and any available spots would be on a "first come first serve" basis. Well we almost made other arrangements but at the last minute decided to get up early and just go for it and hope for the best. Well we did get in and what a treat we were in for. They had just reopened a brand new section and it was full hookups...including sewer and water. Everything was perfect.

This large state park not only contains about 400 campsites but is structured around a reservoir with boating, swimming and waterskiing. All around the grounds are excellent picnic areas, walking trails, running trails, biking trails, wildlife observation posts, wildlife habitats, on and on. Everywhere you went there were excellent views of the surrounding mountains and changing foliage on the trees.

We even discovered within the park a rifle shooting range (first I thought the sound was a blow out on the motorcycle tire). The best find was the radio controlled airplane field. We have never seen facilities this nice. The radio controlled airplane base had paved runways, viewing stands, bathrooms, etc, etc. Everyone was very nice and we ended up spending a great deal of time there just watching the excitement.

Fun in the big "Mile High" city of Denver !

Sept 22 Healthy Walking in Colorado Springs

Big event in this very restful day was taking a walk together through the town of Old Colorado Springs. I had taken this walk yesterday and wanted to take Gary back to see a special sculpture studio I had discovered. The temperature out was a very pleasant 70 to 72 degrees and he took me up on the invitation. All total we must have walked a mile and a half. Quite an accomplishment for Gary since extended walks have not been in his routine for quite sometime now. He did great and seems to feel better for it.

He enjoyed the special sculpture studio...the artist is Michael Garman...check out his website at www.michaelgarman.com

His sculptures are very unique and have such wonderful expressions. Best of all he has assembled them together into city settings with buildings, utilities, inhabitants, all complete. Then he uses lights and mirrors to virtually bring them to life as well as adding hologram type videos of people talking, singing, etc. It is quite an experience and actually reasonably priced. I am not into dusting "stuff" any more so I resisted any urges but at the same time enjoyed the experience.

Tomorrow we will move north to Denver...hope to get into a state park there which is very near to the home of the friends we will be visiting with.

Take care everyone and give thanks for not being in the path of hurricanes at this moment...that has to be so traumatic for those folks in the South. Having been exposed to some of the evacuees and relief efforts when we were in Arkansas, I can relate to it a little better...still mind boggling to think of what it might be like...especially many of the families who are still separated from or missing their family members.

Take care and give your loved ones an extra hug...

Linda

Sept 21 - Colorado Springs, in the shadow of Pikes Peak

We arrived in Colorado Springs and have about three days before we need to head up to Denver to meet up with one of our friends from our Vietnam trip.

There are lots of sites/sights we could run around and see here but we have opted to just leave the bike in the trailer and spend some quality time "recharging" our personal internal batteries. We have crossed over into another time zone, the weather is cooler and somehow it is not difficult to sleep in late in the mornings.

After browsing over a couple cups of coffee this morning, I set out for a walk on a quest to get my hair cut. The temperature was just right and I discovered we are located in the midst of "Old Colorado Springs" complete with wall to wall boutiques, antique shops, gift shops and lots of T-shirts for sale. I had fun just wandering aimlessly around exploring and experiencing all there was to see. The buildings are old and historical in nature. They have the beginning of a fall festival underway and there are bales of hay and scare crows on every street corner looking like they are waiting for the walk light to change so they can cross. Perhaps that takes the place of the tourists who are not here at this point. It is kind of a transition season for them and things were pretty quiet, but that's how I like it.

Only thing breaking the quiet was the sound of my cell phone playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" everytime my daughter, Cindy, dialed up my number to chat. We were having fun talking back and forth in between the customers she had descending upon her office, wanting to conduct business...can you imagine...I guess it is a work day for everyone else.

My how I have grown accustomed to this retired lifestyle...now if I can just find my way home to my own bed, my own car and my own water aerobics class that my sagging belly really needs (don't worry, I am still within 10 pounds of my original low weight...but have just lost lots of the muscle tone that my water aerobics class had helped me build).

Sept 19 - The Famed Wal-Mart Campout

Many fellow travelers had told us of their favorite overnight stop over...in the parking lot of the all convenient and ever present Wal-mart Store. Finally we had the opportunity to experience first hand this adventure. One of my trusty travel book that lists truck stops and facilities includes the local Wal-marts. I called ahead and located one in Colby, Kansas, half way between Wichita and our next destination of Colorado Springs.

When we arrived at this particular Wal-Mart, we discovered it was not one of the new, large "super" stores and had a relatively small parking lot. Not willing to be discouraged easily, I entered the store and asked the manager about their overnight RV parking policy. He was very gracious and directed us to the outer edge of the parking area where there were no cars (or Rvs) parked at that point. We backed got settled in and I went inside to do a little Wal-mart shopping as a courtesy. It was a challenge as this was the worst stocked Wal-Mart I have experienced.

As the evening wore on, we read books and watched some television, but the real show was watching the other RVs come in and "jockey" for positions. By morning we were like a little city of self-contained circus wagons. While we were quiet and subtle about our "camping" status, some of the other RV units ran out their awnings and sat around on lawn chairs reading and visiting with their "neighbors".

In the end, this was a very positive, overnight experience that we will utilize in the future. It sure beats paying $20 to $30 per night for those nights when we are in transition between one destination and another.

Sam Walton would have been proud!

Sept 17 - Not Another Museum !

Today was to be Gary’s adventure day, as we were going to the Wichita Aviation Museum down adjacent to McConnell Air Force Base just south of town. We arrived there at 11 AM and found the sign said it would open at 1 PM. OK, McDonald’s nearby and we had a leisurely lunch while we waited.

The impressive building housing this museum was the Wichita Municipal Airport from 1935 to 1954. Then it became part of McConnell Air Force Base and abandoned in early 1980. It was later cleaned up by volunteers and opened as a museum in 1991. Inside, we were able to view a vast number of restored aircraft as well as donated historical aircraft in the process of renovation. There were several levels to the building. The third floor is a large balcony with railing that allows you to look down onto the lower, main level.

They tell that: during the 1930’s and 1940’s seating was arranged around the balcony railing so people could watch passengers come up the south stairs while their plane was being refueled.

Many movie stars and VIPS came through this building – Howard Hughes, Bob Hope and Gregory Peck – to name just a few. Fred Astaire once danced around the compass rose (the design in the marble floor on the lower atrium level) just to entertain those watching from the balcony.

It was just that kind of a setting where you could picture this happening…something out of a movie. And the best was yet to come…

Next we took a narrow stairway that led up into the airport tower. It was very rustic and complete with a rotary dial telephone. The view was awesome. A full 360 degree panorama of Wichita…which by the way is perfectly flat…we could see the few tall buildings of the downtown area in the distance but, best of all, we were able to sit there and watch several of the large Air Force tankers take off and land. They had a radio connection broadcasting the Wichita control tower communication and it felt like you were right in the middle of the action. Of course my aircraft buff husband loved every minute of it.

From our vantage in the tower we had a bird’s eye view of the outside displays. They included several aircraft used in the Vietnam war as well as Learjets, Cessnas and a number of Boeing aircraft. Wichita is home to both Cessna aircraft and Boeing but the Boeing facilities looked pretty dormant due to the current worker strike.

Once we safely descended the many staircases we had a bit of energy to look into a couple of the aircraft outside before we mounted the motorcycle to leave.

Since it was still relatively early, Gary wanted to know if there was any place more I wanted to go. I said, yes, to “Cowtown”…he said OK as long as it was not another of those “museums”. Well I knew that technically it was the “Old Cowtown Museum” but not the typical museum so I did not own up to it.

We would our way through the streets of downtown Wichita until we located a complex of parks along the Arkansas River where they have located a number of “Museums”. The entire area is very well done and attractive to visit.

We located “Old Cowtown” which is a complete town of restored antique frontier buildings. It is very authentic and true to the Wichita you would have found in 1880 – 1890…just when Gary’s ancestors arrived. The streets are dirt and everyone there is dressed in appropriate vintage clothing.

Their frontier ball team had just completed a baseball game and added to the other activities going on. The blacksmith was in his workshop working the forge. The livery man was in the stable shoveling the horse manure out of the stalls. The stage coach sat outside the stable. The railroad cars were at the station. The printer was in his print shop and talked to us on the wooden walkways to see if we had any news for his latest edition of the Wichita newspaper. We wandered down the walkway and visited with the carpenter who was building another coffin in preparation of the next Wild West shoot out. Across the street was a log cabin with bear skins drying outside alongside skunk hides and coon pelts. It was all very authentic and educational. Not your typical dry museum behind plate glass. We both loved it but soon tired after our already full day.

Our motor home with the air conditioning already running was a welcome sight. The familiarity of our own place and our own things is very comforting when we are tired. We are having fun but starting to think we will be really be ready to be home when it is time.

We will have been here in Wichita a full week…RV park gave us a weekly rate of $110 (plus metered electric) so we are getting our money’s worth. Monday will be departure day and then we will head to Pikes Peak for a few days before we visit with our good friend Dennis Smart in Denver on the 25th.

Sept 16 - Newton City, Museum and Genealogy Library

When Gary’s ancestors first arrived here from Ohio they lived in Newton City, north of Wichita. This was a wild and wooly town along the Chisholm trail and route of the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Railroad. We have seen posters in the museums advertising good farming land to the farmers who might move to the area and populate the railroad right of ways. This, we believe, is what attracted Gary’s great grandparents. They had been farmers in Ohio and reflected their profession here to be farmers as well.

This day during our research (I say “our” but you know Gary is doing his part by sitting patiently reading his adventure novel), we discovered the following tidbits:

Shortly after his arrival in 1880, great grandfather, Allen Frederick Stocker, helped to form a new school district near Newton City.

In 1900, Orrin’s brother Zellan was newly married and living on Elm Street in Newton City. We drove by the house and took pictures. He also disclosed he was a stenographer…which in those days was an acceptable male profession.

The 1905 City Directory for Newton City, listed Orrin’s brother George as a “fireman” with the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Railroad. We have later census records in 1910 which show him as a railroad engineer. That same directory surprised us in listing Orrin in 1905 working already as a “lineman” for the Newton Telephone Company.

Most interesting part of the day was just driving the “main” streets of Newton City, seeing the old railroad station and historical buildings where ancestors would have lived and shopped and visited. This is much easier to do in a town that has remained relatively small like this. They have also done a very nice job of renovation and renewal to capitalize on their history and heritage.

I wonder what will I ever do for excitement once we leave these sites with family historical significance?

Sept 15 - Productive Library Research In Wichita

Today we spent several very productive hours in the genealogy library room of the Wichita Library. Gary has learned to bring along his own personal novel to read while I browse and search the volumes of information in search of Stocker ancestors and he knows me well so he settled in for a long read today.

I zoned in first on trying to find obituaries on Bob and Lucy Stocker, Gary’s great great aunt and uncle who lived in the famous “porch house” (see previous blog posts). I was trying to find their two daughters and hoped that an obituary or death notice would list them and their married names. I could not locate anything on Bob, but did locate the 1991 obituary and also funeral home records for Lucy but they did not mention the daughters. Perhaps they did not outlive her, as she lived to be 100 years old. This ended up being at this point a “dead end” literally and my desire to “visit with” current descendents of this branch of the family will not be fulfilled at this time.

Next goal was to obtain some additional information on what was going on in Wichita in 1880 to 1910 when Gary’s great grandparents lived here. What had gotten their son (Gary’s grandfather) Orrin into the job of being a “lineman”?

I was browsing through books on Wichita history and “magically” turned the page to a power pole full of linemen (over 30 of them on one pole)…. a larger scale of the picture we have of 10 men up a power pole (one of which is Gary’s grandfather). The picture I found in the book was from a convention held right here in Wichita around the turn of the century for the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers). It is not difficult to imagine, Orrin getting excited by these climbing daredevils and in 1910 turning up (according to the census) in San Francisco working as an “Electrical Lineman”. I look forward to doing further research to look up the dates of that convention to better put together the possible/probable story.

This is the exciting part of genealogy and I am really enjoying it…and Gary is getting a lot of adventure novels read !

Sept 14 - Sometimes You Just Get The Feeling Someone is Trying to Tell You Something

It was quite stormy last night so we found ourselves sleeping in quite late this morning. The temperature had also cooled off so that added to our rest for the night...aw much more like home!

Finally we were up, showered and the weather was so spotty, raining here and there I considered trying to take a taxi to the library to keep from having to get the bike out and in the weather. After checking out taxi fares we decided it was worth taking the bike out.

The setting in this RV park is pretty bleak...just an open flat expanse of gravel with only an occasional tree. I had heard the gal in the office tell about their big ice storm a year or so back that killed all their beautiful trees and left them without power for 8 days. We have had some problems on and off with off loading the bike as it can "hang up" on the ramp if the slope is too steep. This lot was so flat it did not occur to us that we would have an issue...until it hung up and of course ripped another hole in the antifreeze overflow tank that we had ripped in July at Oshkosh. As we dismantled the tank from the bike the situation worsened as it started to spit rain from the sky again. Finally we huddled in the empty cargo trailer and applied the "JB Weld" patch material I had luckily purchased just in case we had this problem again (this was what the nice maintenance man at Oshkosh had mended the tank with when we were there)...too bad my theory of if we have it we will never need it again did not work out.

We sat and stared at the tank waiting impatiently for the patch to "set up"...finally I looked at Gary and said "Somebody is telling us today is not a good day to go anyplace !". It did not take much convincing to get him to retreat to the motorhome and the adventure in his recent Clive Custer novel he has been reading...something about the Sahara Desert and he seems to really be enjoying the story.

Later in the afternoon, we finally reassembled the motorcycle and tested our patch by taking a quick trip to Wal Mart. The bike seems to be OK now so perhaps I will get my library genealogy research done tomorrow...that is unless we get another "sign". Nice at least that we are retired and can just shrug and say "Tomorrow is another day".

Such a blessing it has been to be able to take this trip at our own pace and take our itinerary as it comes. I even have Gary excited about the genealogy items I am coming up with...now that is progress...and NEVER in the past would he have enjoyed reading novels the way he does now.

Sept 13 - Where's Harry ?

The thunderstorms have finally abated so we are ready to strike out on the motorcycle in search of some family history. Spent about an hour calling around to cemeteries to locate a couple more relatives and then we headed out.

First stop was the old pioneer Highland Cemetery established in 1888 atop a slight hill overlooking Wichita. I had discovered online that Gary’s great grandparents were buried there. We had a general map and were on our own as there was no one in attendance to help with gravesite location. Within 15 minutes we had located a large monument to “Stocker” marking the graves of Allen Frederick Stocker (1853/1923) and Ella Cora Stocker (1857/1922). We were surprised to find another adjacent stone commemorating their daughter (Gary’s grandfather’s sister), Edith Gold Stocker Bush (1895/1939). We have 1922 pictures of all these people so finding their graves was more personal…not just a name but a face to go with it. We were pleased to see that their monuments are very nicely done, obvious that there is someone in the family who has recently had these redone.

The online cemetery directory had listed Edith’s brother, Harry Stocker (1882/1935) as being very close to the other family graves. We searched and searched to no avail. This cemetery is not well maintained so we were going stone to stone brushing away cut grass and overgrown grass to read each stone in our search for Harry. No luck!

I felt a special drive to find Harry’s grave since he was “special”. According to census records, in 1910 (age 28) he was living with his parents here in Wichita. In 1920 (age 38) he was attending a State Training School in Walnut township and it was disclosed that he could not read or write. We have a reference from 1923 (age 41) that he was living in a home for the “feeble minded” in Winfield, Kansas. He died in 1935 at age 53. Perhaps we will never know more of the story but I was sorry his grave was not well enough marked for us to find it.

Next stop was the White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Garden of the Christus. This is where my phone research had indicated that we would find the graves of Edith’s brother Bob Stocker (1887/1972) and his wife, Louise (Lucy) Kase Stocker (1892/1991). Being a newer cemetery, they had good mapping available for us to go right to these graves. These were nicely done and well kept, complete with silk flowers in a vase. They had two daughters and I suspect that one lives locally for the site to be that well maintained.

Bob and Lucy were the great cousins that Gary’s brother Steve visited in 1971. We knew that Bob had died the following year, but had not known until we saw the headstone that Lucy had lived to be nearly 100 years old. Again, I suspect that her daughter must be around to have cared for her all those years after Bob’s death…more research to be done on that.

Next stop was a home on Ohio street where the 1910 census had indicated Allen and Ella Stocker had lived. We were disappointed to round the corner and find that the address is now the parking lot of an office building.

Next we proceeded to the famous “porch” house at 1002 McCormick Avenue. Success this house is still there. I call it the porch house as we have a 1922 picture with Allen & Ella Stocker together with several of their children are posing in front of the porch. We also have another photo taken by Gary’s brother, Steve, taken in 1971 of Bob and Lucy on that same porch. I am brave; I knocked on the door and was greeted with the sound of a very large dog barking. No question that if the people were at home they would know someone was at the door. When no one came, I left a note and perhaps will have a phone call from them if they are interested or just curious about the history of their residence.

All in all it was a very productive day…and I even got in a quiet nap after we got back to the motor home. Tornado warnings again tonight so we tucked the motorcycle away in the trailer away from any minor damage. Major damage…oh well, if we end up in Oz, at least we will have a pretty red motorcycle and side car to get around!

Sept 12 - Dorothy's Part of Kansas

We arrived in Wichita Kansas on the 12th just in time for one of their “severe” thunder storms with associated tornado watch. We ended up with large hail stones, lots of strong wind and heavy rain. Wonder how Dorothy handled those storms without a TV warning system to tell her when to go into the storm cellar. Perhaps that is why she ended up in Oz with the Wizard.

Decided this was a good day to leave the motorcycle in the trailer and just rest and read books. It was a welcome respite and we will now be better ready for our searches of Wichita graveyards and old residences. I have done a great deal of research and am anxious to see how much more of our family stories we can put together with the facts and figures.

Sept 10 - Oklahoma City

We spent three nights at an Oklahoma State Park called Thunderbird State Park, just south of Oklahoma City. We had no desire to visit the big city but instead headed southeast to the small town of Maud for an advertised “antique” auto show they were having on their main street.

The back roads of Oklahoma stretched on and on as what had looked like ten miles, stretched into 30. It was quiet and quaint with an occasional armadillo or skunk roadkill here and there.

Finally we arrived in Maud, oops, almost missed Main street. We could see they had blocked off the street with orange cones and a group of people were gathered. As we parked in front of a small hardware store we could hear the out of date western music blaring. Yep, this is definitely Oklahoma. Parked next to us was an old pickup truck with a tattered davenport resting at a 45 degree angle, sticking out the back of the truck bed…perhaps an antique auto “rumble seat” Oklahoma style.

Another block down (main street is only 5 blocks long) we finally found the “antique” auto show. It was a local car club and most of their cars were younger than we are. There were about 20 cars and while they were very special to their owners, they were not what we expected. Everyone was having a good time, with cotton candy and beverages served out of the local refreshment wagon.

We enjoyed our visit, but when they brought in the trailer of brahma bulls it was time to leave. The bulls were to advertise a rodeo they were having that night but it was much too hot a day to have them contained in a trailer on main street.

Sept 8 - A Restful Day

Spent the day doing some online research into our ancestor's connections in Wichita, Kansas. That will be our next major stop as we again begin our trip in a westerly direction.

After watching news, making phone calls and checking online volunteer sites today, we have decided that there is not enough more here for us to work on where we can make a meaningful difference. What we worked on yesterday has been suspended as of today and the items will be moved to another yet to be determined location. Beyond that the smaller groups who have been taken in by the churches seem to be well cared for. We even saw on TV news accounts of larger evacuee encampments with military national guard personnel and police in attendance to "take care of them". Also realized that our health is a bit too fragile to do too many days like yesterday...too much heavy lifting, standing and lots of dust.

Tomorrow we will pull up our temporary roots and move on to a state park in Oklahoma on our way to Wichita for another tour of cemeteries and old Stocker residences. Should be interesting...I think I have a "fix" on grave sites for Gary's great grandfather and great grandmother...I'll keep you posted and also an update on the family home in Wichita that we hope to visit.

Take care...

Linda

Sept. 7 - Buried in Donations

We were up early this morning to drive the 50 miles south from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Van Buren, Arkansas (just north of Fort Chaffee). We were parked by 11 AM and ready to report for volunteer duty.

Local people told us that a volunteer sign up center had been opened at a shopping mall rather than have the military base overrun with signing people up. I located it on the map and off we went. When we arrived there the door we had been told to go in had signs telling us to go directly to the base instead...so we turned around and backtracked to Fort Chaffee.

At the gate of the Fort we were informed that whereas yesterday they had 7,000 evacuees in residence, they had succeeded in moving them all out and now were just cleaning up. If we wanted to "volunteer" we could report to a row of barracks where they were busy cleaning/disinfecting the rooms. We proceeded into the base but, instead of finding the cleanup crew, found a volunteer sign-in desk. There they directed us instead to a warehouse complex to sort donations.

We were greeted warmly and escorted into the complex of warehouses surrounded by mountains of wooden palates of "stuff". Some was new and some was just a hodgepodge of items.

Our job was to sort down the individual clothing items into boxes for women, women large, men, men large, kids, babies, towels, linens, mens shoes, womens shoes, etc, etc. You get the picture. We literally dug right in and immediately they caught me folding the clothes....WRONG...can't take that much time...just throw it in the box and move on. What a mess we had going. There were guys carrying in more sacks and boxes of goods. We were retrieving them to sort. Others made the rounds and took your boxes as they filled up. They were marked, taped and then carried over to be added to a new palate of boxes which were all designated "women" or whatever. Once the palate was full they shrink wrapped it and finally moved it outside.

During the day we had two different times when actual evacuee families came in with nothing but the clothes on their backs looking for additional items. We had a ball searching out items for them and seeing their reaction...there was one man who had lost his entire family...that is what I wished I had been doing all day but it is not how the day went.

It was frustrating to see so many items (donated by merchants and individuals) not yet in the hands of the people who so desperately need them. Since the bulk of the evacuees have already been disbursed throughout the state, they are not yet sure how they will distribute the rest of these items. There were literally mountains of baby strollers, playpens and such just sitting in the open. It is great that everyone was so generous but disheartening to see them just sitting there.

Update tonight on the news is that they have set up a center north of here in Fayetteville (where we just came from) as a statewide distribution center for donated items...as guess what...they want volunteers to help sort them...they already have 9 semi-trucks full of things up there waiting sorting.

We have decided to just rest up a day tomorrow and then decide where we go from here. What we did today was very exhausting as well as frustrating in terms of not seeing a substantial beneficial outcome from it.

Well time to shower my sweaty body and slide into bed.

Take care everyone...give your loved ones an extra hug tonight...A very good friend told me recently that life is far too short not to tell your loved ones how much they are loved...for her and for me...give them that extra hug and expression of love that is so very valuable and appreciated.

Sept. 7 So Hard to Say Goodbye

It was so difficult this morning to say goodbye to our good friends Jim and Linda Buckner. They are not long time friends but feel like it. We met Jim this past March on our Vietnam trip and had just been introduced to his wife, Linda, on our Branson trip in June. However, there has been a depth of sharing and common experiences that has acted as a quick and lasting bond.

During our 5 day visit we prayed together, laughed together, cried together, ate too much together, shopped together (Linda even gave me a lesson on E-Bay "sniping") surfed the web together, and went sight-seeing together. We had a wonderful time. It is just difficult to leave such dear people, knowing it will certainly be some time before you may see them again!

September 5 - The Pull of the Hurricane

Of course this will not surprise you if you know us very well.

We are feeling a definite draw to all the volunteer efforts going on with respect to the people being evacuated out of the hurricane ravaged South. There are evacuees being moved into all corners of Arkansas...funneled through Fort Chaffee just south of where we currently are located.

At the Baptist church services we attended on Sunday they spoke of a church camp where up to 900 may soon be "housed". Jim and Linda Buckner knew we were interested so they drove us out to see the camp. Very sad facility but due to the extensive need it may very well be put into service.

Today we learned of another retreat site here in Fayetteville where they already have evacuees in residence with more to come. We went to visit that one today and registered in their volunteer database. The frustration is in that these things are moving very slowly and we want to do something NOW...again I am sure that sounds like us.

Tonight I was on the internet sites checking out opportunities here and in Fort Chaffee and just about ready to just throw up my hands and say to Gary that we should just move on in our "affluent" tour of the states and virtually ignore those in need.

About that time I pulled up my e-mail and a blog post of my daughter Cindy. I have cut and pasted it here for you to read but wanted to share with you also here blog site address, as I am so proud of all she is doing and has done. As Linda Buckner just reminded me...it is obvious she has a big heart like I do...so without bragging I will ask you to read the following quote from her blog (cindysblog.blogspot.com):

So I am sharing this experience in humbleness because it worked out so perfectly...
I am on a freecycle list where people offer up things they no longer have a use for for free... There are lots of OFFER ads, and lots of WANTED ads...
Well one on Friday caught my eye that a gal was asking for help for her friend that didn't have the money to buy her girls' school supplies... (single working mom that doesn't get any child support from her husband that left two years ago)...
Well it struck a cord with me and I responded to ask what was needed. And committed myself to the whole lot of school supplies...
Some of the stuff I already had in my stockpile of "it's a good deal, lets buy lots" other things like three ring binders I had in storage from pharmaceutical reps getting rid of them...
Still others I raided my kids' collections of backpacks - they really don't need more than one each right?
Since I was going to the store to get the rest of the school supplies anyhow, I asked about underwear sizes. I stocked up on those for the girls as well...
There was a need for a winter coat for the 8 year old & I looked through our closets and found one of those with matching gloves, washed it up and added it to my growing pile of stuff...
I compiled it all into each girl's backpack. One for the 8 year old, with as much pink stuff as I could find (she loves pink). And one for the 12 year old...
Then when I was ready to go over there today to drop the stuff off, something told me to stop at the grocery store for some staples for them...
I called her and let her know I was going to be a bit late...Got bread, milk, cheese, eggs, peanut butter, mac and cheese, spaghetti noodles, brownie mix, butter and a few other things.
When we got there and handed the things to the Mom she told me "bless you heart" about the groceries she wasn't expecting...
The 8 year old took the milk in and shouted out at her mom "Look mom MILK! We don't have to drink water anymore!"
It brought tears to my eyes... Somehow I just knew it was needed...
I love lessons like this to bring the kids along on... I love explaining to 9 year old S. that not everyone in America (or even in our own city) has enough to eat and drink, or to survive. It puts a bit of perspective on life and why I get so upset/disappointed when she worries so much about who has more hair barrettes or something silly like that.

Reading what my daughter had done made me swell with pride that she has such a big heart and is reaching out to share what she has with others...even when she really does not have a great deal of extra funds to do it with. So why am I even hesitating at going out of my way to help the evacuees in their time of need and my time of "plenty".

So I pledge here to my daughter, I WILL find a way to make a difference in some way for these unfortunate people who have lost so much...how could I do otherwise when I just happen to be in the neighborhood at the moment and have some time on my hands. Keep doing what you are in your corner of the world, my sweet Cindy, and I will live up to my part as well.

Hugs to you all but especially to Cindy (Big Smile through tears in my eyes !)

September 5 - MDA Telethon

Today was Labor Day and the annual MDA telethon. Linda Buckner has ALS (also known as Lou Gehrrig's Disease) which is a type of Muscular dystrophy. They also lost a daughter named Cindy in her 30's to this disease. This very worthwhile campaign is obviously very near and dear to their hearts. It was our privilege to accompany them down to the Fayetteville shopping mall where the local call in center was being telecast and run. I was even recruited in to help with a few phone in pledges.

It was one of those days where you really appreciate the good health and blessings that God has bestowed upon you.

"There but for the grace of God go I" is a phrase I often repeat to myself.

September 4 Fayetteville, Arkansas - Visiting Good Friends

I have been so enjoying the hospitality of our good friends, Jim and Linda Buckner, that I have been lax in "blogging".

We arrived here on Friday morning and have been enjoying their lovely home and community ever since. We were able to park our motor home in their driveway and have access to their home whenever we want.

As Jim told us "Mi Casa es su casa"... "my home is your home". They went as far as to offer a bedroom if we wanted a break from the motor home but we are so trained at sleeping in our motor home that we declined that offer. We have however enjoyed the opportunity to take a shower without worrying about where to put in the quarters or running out of water/hot water/or drain water capacity.

This morning we went with the Buckners to their church, First Baptist Church of Springdale, which is reportedly the largest Baptist church in Arkansas. It was truly enormous and we really enjoyed our visit there. They have high tech screens and all the sound systems you would ever want.

More important was the welcoming Christian attitude of everyone in greeting us. There were open arms and big smiles. It was also obvious that the Buckners are treasured members of their church community. They have an extensive ministry that is reaching now even as we speak to help out the hurricane ravaged people in the South.

Tomorrow we are going with Jim and Linda as they volunteer for the MDA telethon.