Buffalo Bill and Cabela's

First, grandson Hiser continues to improve. He sat in his Momma's lap today -- the first time in 8 days!

We have now traveled about 1,200 miles. I'll try to be specific about mileage next time I write. Since my last note, we stayed at an RV park in Liberal, Kansas, that hosts pheasant and quail hunting every November. Brenda and I are already planning on a pre-Thanksgiving trip. The city is somehow related to the Wizard of Oz story, 'cause they have "Dorothy's House" as a city attraction. Well, we didn't have any tornados, but we were treated to a huge downpour complete with hail. Fortunately, we had no damage.

North Platte, Nebraska, was our next stop. North Platte's most famous citizen was William Cody, aka Buffalo Bill. His home is a state historical site, complete with adjoining campground. We went to bed under threat of rain, hail and possible tornadoes, but only had a light rain. The tour of the house and horse barn the next morning was well worth the time spent. In all, I guess we were there for more than two hours. On display were several firearms. One in particular was a double-barrelled rifle! No mention of the unique arm was made in the notations within the display case. I doubt if the rarity of the London-made piece is known to the curators. We left Buffalo Bill's place about noon and headed West to Sidney, Nebraska, from where I am writing.

Sidney is the home of the very first Cabela's retail store. In honor of that, Brenda and I felt obliged to spend some money. Her retirement gift card from Cabela's has also been retired. Oh, we had another rain storm with some small hail. Dinner was Nebraska-raised beef, provided from Sallie's freezer.

Our traveling pace has slowed down to a more comfortable tempo. We are entering parts of the country neither Brenda nor I have ever seen. That means we will have to stop more often to see it better. Bob and Sallie are wonderful tour guides, although Sallie was a bit more enthusiastic when we were in Texas.

"...without undue stress..."

Well, we are indeed Alaska-bound. In fact, we are more than 700 miles from home. However, prior to our departure, we had to make a couple of trips to Jackson, Mississippi, to check on our grandson, Hiser, who was (and still is) in the Pediatric ICU at the University Medical Center. The short version is: spontaneous septic arthritis of the right hip and infection of the right anterior thigh muscles. He has been in an MRI scanner once and to the OR twice. I am grateful to report, he is improving and should make a full recovery. If it were otherwise, we would not have left!

Bob and Sallie Cooper were also delayed in their departure -- although in not nearly as dramatic a fashion as Brenda and I. We joined up Thursday morning and are caravaning together. Friday afternoon, we made it to our scheduled rendezvous with Maggie Young, M.D. and her husband. Maggie is a long-time friend of Sallie's and their annual get-together is important to both of them.

North Texas, where we are camped, is hot. The wind is blowing, so the heat is tolerable. There are some folks here that would disagree with that comment about tolerable. With the delayed departure and the relative urgency of arriving on time to meet Maggie, we have put in two rather grueling days. Bob assures me that we will slow down the pace from here on...I'll let you know. Furthermore, I have not taken a single photograph. Brenda has taken a few, but she hasn't shared them with me, yet.

Now that we are underway, and now that the travel pace is promised to be more vacation-like, I hope to take some pictures and smell some roses. Meanwhile, y'all pray for Hiser's continued recovery.

Back on Schedule

Guest House is wired. Done with that project until September.
The 5th wheel is cleaned and ready to load. We have added wire shelves and various storage devices to try to make storing and retrieving stuff easier. I gave up on building a basement fishing rod holder -- too crowded under there already.
My truck tool box got cleaned, tools sorted and cleaned, and a bunch of stuff added. All in all, steady progress...and we should be ready to leave as scheduled without undue stress.

...learning curve is long.

I "Geo-tagged" the two images in today's post, but the tag didn't make it from my 'puter to the blog. Just for laughs, if you enter the following co-ordinates into Google Earth, you will bring up the location where the photos were taken. I intend to tag all the photos I post here, but may have to link to a web site repository. I'll keep working on it.

Co-ordinates: N31 50.38 W91 26.178

Guest House "dried-in" for the summer

Viewed from the South: The brick patio was the floor of the old gun room.


The image below also is from the South, but it shows the East wall of the Guest House -- this was the opening into the garage.








The interior will have to wait until we return in September. Only minor plumbing and the final electrical work are lacking from being "user friendly" right now. [My electrician became a GrandPa again, and is out of town trying to control GrandMa...Hahaha.]

Slow but steady progress...

The Guest House is on hold until we return in September. It is relatively clean, the tools are cleaned and stacked on shelves, and the lumber is on a trailer under the shed and protected from weather. Still no electricity.

We have a very important trip to Dauphin Island coming up this weekend. Then, at the first of the week, we'll bring the 5th wheel up to the driveway and begin the final packing. All those lists will come into play.

BTW, my pneumonia is mostly resolved, but I tire easily.

Unexpected (unwelcome) delay

Well, I didn't keep to an "every Wednesday" schedule for even one cycle. Last weekend I became progressively ill with malaise, fever and productive cough. Having been reading up on Swine Flu, I assumed I was being psychosomatic. By Sunday, with two degrees of fever and large quantities of thick, brown sputum, I changed my diagnosis to bronco-pneumonia. On Monday, my private physician saw me in his office and, likewise, confirmed that diagnosis. Now, after four days of Ceftin and lots of rest, I am better. Amazingly, I have managed to get a few things prepared, in spite of the illness.

The ceiling is installed in the Guest House kitchen. The shower lacks only installation of the faucet to be completed. It is, otherwise, ready to cleanse bodies. Mr. Harper has been contacted to come complete the electrical wiring. Jimmy is a personal friend, and several years ago I asked him to come check out why a circuit breaker was popping. He discovered a dead short I had wired in as I put in a shop receptacle. He made me promise to always call him to do wiring. I'm not even supposed to take the cover plate off a wall switch! Hence, he will come finish up what he has already started.

Being unable to do more physical and manly things like building walls, I have been polishing lists. You know: kitchen items to take, camera items to sort and take, medical supplies to take, etc. The medical supplies are more than half ready. I'm taking enough surgical instruments to repair trauma, but not enough to get into trouble by starting something. My old black bag has long since gone missing, so I'll have to find a replacement.

All in all, we aren't much further along the road that last posting. However, I am sure we'll do better next week.