Mom, Granddaughter, 4th of July...Time to Go Home

 

I saw mom four to five times per week.  Sometimes we take the Camper Van, put out the awning, and enjoy the outside mornings (although it is a bit HOT now that we are in July), and Mom enjoys these visits the best.  In this picture from our visit today, she is pointing out and talking about all the trees that they have planted outside the "School", which is what she calls the Assisted Living Home she lives in.  Of course...they have not planted any trees.  A few days ago she talked about how when they planted a tree, they also buried a victim of the flooding in Texas.  What an imagination.  Overall, Mom is doing pretty well.  But she is one major UTI from passing away.  Not bad for 95 years of age!

We have seen Granddaughter Addie a few times each month.  On this occasion, we sat out on their patio and Addie was a hoot.  She took this "car" and with her feet (think Fred Flintstone) she drove over to the garage, parked, and started loading stuff up into the car.  "Where are you Addie?"  "I am at COSTCO getting stuff."  She drives back, unloads her imaginary goods, and goes back.  "What are you loading up now Addie?"  "I am getting the Beer!"  My son Michael and wife Anna start laughing...we have no idea where she got that from...can't ever remember her ever saying the word "Beer" before.  

Between Addie and Grandma (my mom) those two are living in a world of their own!

The cul-de-sac that my sister Sandy and husband Arnie live on always seems to have a huge fireworks show.  Poor Indy, even while drugged up on 'ThunderWunders' Hemp Dog Calming Chews, had a hard time.  These fireworks ended around 11 pm...but the expanded neighborhood seemed to party well into the 2 am hour when, HUGE BOMBS went off for the next 15 to 20 minutes.  Needless to say, I finally got some sleep around 4 am.

Saturday is Addie's third birthday party, celebrating just a couple days early.  It will be at a park behind my son's house.  Temperatures are predicted to be in the 90's by the time it is over at 12:30.  On Monday we start the long trip home. 

 

 

Indy -- Three Years Later

 

We got Indy kinda by luck.  Sister Sandy had seen this dog on Nextdoor around 10 am on July 4th.  Showed picture to me, and we showed picture to Marcia, and the order was given...."Go Get Her, I (we) Want That Dog!"

Look at what now I see as fear in her eyes.  Confused, she walked around the backyard with her tail under butt for the first 36-48 hours.  The 4th of July noise did not seem to phase her...probably because she was so very scared already.

She started to calm down, and by the night of the 5th she got a good night sleep...she bonded with me first, and her tail started to stand up in the air, an occasional wag of her tail, and her morning and afternoon treats from Arny and Sandy began.  She started to growl when I held her at anyone who came toward us...she still does this to this day for people she does not know, and sometimes for those who she does know.

Another thing that helped her was that Bubba was still with us for her first 3 months or so.  Look at the difference in her looks after being groomed, and having been with us for 2 weeks!  

And our travels began...  Now she is our only dog, bonded with both Marcia and I extremely well, and has a special bond with Sandy and Arny and other relatives.  She LOVES her cousin Parker, her special boy dog friend Jack who lives next to Sandy and Arny, and just about any other dog she comes across.

Above are a couple of more recent pictures of Indy.  She is such an important part of our lives.  

So tonight there will be a HUGE celebration in honor of our country ... and to us, in honor of our little Indy.  And how will Indy handle it? 

She will be higher than a kite!  She is a VERY sensitive dog when it comes to loud bangs, and other loud noises.  This is the first year we are trying ThunderWunder for the 4th, but we initially tried it out this past New Years Eve.  I gave her one at 10 am, will give another around 7 pm, and another around 10 pm...maybe 11 pm.  We hold her, wrap her in our blankets, but the next large BANG brings her back to being a terrorized dog.  

Hope YOU ALL enjoy your 4th of July.

Note:  Mom is doing well at the "Home".  We feel so much better knowing that she is getting good care, she is still close to Sandy and Patti, and her overall mental attitude is so much better.  She is getting up for breakfast each day since she has been there except for one.  She came over to Sandy and Arny's house last Sunday for a Lamb dinner.  And she is looking forward to being at baby Addie's first birthday party.

River Hydroplane Race – Huntley Park

At Huntley Park, near Gold Beach, OR

The “Peace and Calm” of Huntley Park ended Thursday night until mid-day Sunday.  The fourth of July was not bad at all…but by Thursday night the park was 80% full, and by Saturday it was 100% full…not sure they turned anyone away, but managers Sean and Patty said they ‘filled ‘er up”… maybe they might of crammed someone in if they had a small rig, or a tent…but essentially they were full.  Saturday also brought out the Hydroplane boats.  Saturday was worse than race day on Sunday.  Most of the boats practiced, and they did not all practice at the same time…so we heard the revving up of the engines and whine of boat after boat most of the day with a short break at low tide around 1 pm. 

On Sunday, they loaded into the water around 9:45, started up and headed down to Gold Beach.  There was silence for about 15 minutes…then it sounded like an army of bees headed our way…got louder and louder and louder, then this guy in the pictures above showed up, followed by the other dozen boats or so.  The guy in the above two pictures was in the front from the start of the race to the end…so I figure he won.  There was no loud speakers, no announcers…it was just over, and silence once again fell on Huntley Park.

 

   

The most exciting part of the race was this Zebra Boat…the guy had to pull into the pits for a quick adjustment.  A minute or so later he started to get back into the race…but when he gave it full throttle, it knocked him out of his boat.  The “kill switch” did its work cutting the engine’s power, and one of the safety boats captured the boat.  I am sure it was a long, embarrassing walk out there to get his boat…just glad he did not get hurt because it could have been worse.  Only wish I had the picture...but it was behind some bushes from my view...oh well.

About 15 minutes later this ambulance comes storming into the campground, sirens cut as he pulls in, but lights still flashing (I just got unlucky and took the shot between flashes).  At first we thought it was for the racer who got knocked out of his boat, but it was for a camper down the way who had a diabetic attack…they hauled him off to the local hospital, with spouse trailing a bit behind after the tent and everything got packed up into their van thanks to neighboring campers.

After the race had ended, this guy shows up.  I thought at first that he was just a bit late….

…then realize he was in the race, broke down either up or down river, and they had to go pull his boat out.  This gal was taking a picture of the propeller area, so I assume that is what busted.

We knew it was going to be a crazy weekend, and it was.  But the people were all friendly, by 10 pm the quiet time was recognized by all, and other than the noise of fisherman pulling out with their boats in the early morning, all was quiet up past 8 am.   The worse part of the weekend was the overcast both days...had to run the engine to keep batteries charged to where I like them. Today it is 65 degrees, sun shinning, the quietness has returned, and frankly…just a bit boring….naw, just joking, we enjoy the peace and quiet.

My last fire update.  It is 100% contained…the sound of helicopters flying overhead is long gone.  The group renting the camp have claimed responsibility, according to the local newspaper, but they still won’t talk about “how” it happened.  They assured the paper that they had insurance, and it would cover the cost of putting the fire out…estimated to be over 1.5 million dollars now and rising.  However, I am certain the forestry company whose land also burned…who lost a 10+ year area of a Redwood Grove that they planted…is going to go after them for a business loss…hope they have lots and lots of insurance…well, on the other hand, going bankrupt and shutting their eco-activist business down might be better.

Smoke Free, Nearly Noise Free, 4th of July

At Huntley Park, near Gold Beach, OR

At our age, we YEARN for a nice, quiet place to enjoy the 4th of July.  Huntley Park seems just like the place.  Huntley Park is 7 miles up river from where Highway 101 crosses over the Rogue River…eliminate the twists and turns, we are probably 6 miles as the crow flies.  There was a large fireworks show in the harbor near the bridge in Gold Beach…we could faintly hear it from Huntley Park.  Could actually hear the “new tent neighbors” (man, woman, two little girls) way more than the fireworks…both adults like to talk loud, and …how can I describe this in a nice way…talk in a very impolite way to each other.

The Oregon Department of Forestry has taken over the fighting of the Lobster Creek Fire.  This fire has been handled VERY WELL by all those involved…unlike last year’s Chetco Fire where the fire, discovered in June, was allowed to burn uncontrolled until the August Winds blew it up to a 200,000+ acre fire.  Lobster Creek has been stopped at around 450 acres, it is fully lined (fire break all around it) and as of last night, it is 30% contained (large enough fire break that “if” fire blew back up, it is unlikely to cross that containment line.)  They have multiple heavy and medium lift helicopters working the fire, and the planes are ready to fly in from Medford, but they are not needed anymore.  Over 700 fire fighters are working the fire, and the command center and camp area has been moved to the Fairgrounds in Gold Beach.  Outside of Sunday night and Monday morning, we have been smoke free…and very little smoke is pouring out from the fire right now anyway.  If you want to see some good pictures, including a bucket drop of water on the fire, look at this site here.

These young men fought the fire all night long on Sunday, and a temporary camp was set up in one of the group areas here at Huntley Park where they came in Monday mid-morning, took showers, and then slept.  by 7 pm, they were gone, as was their entire camp site equipment…Marcia enjoyed the view for one morning. 

Around 8 pm two county sheriff’s cars came cruising through the campground.  At first I thought there might have been a problem, although the park is still less than 3/4 full…but then I realized they were making their presence known looking for firework activity.  Heck, it has been so free of booms and bangs that I forgot all about fireworks.  Glad to see them, we sure don’t need any stupid person starting a fire lighting off fireworks.

After I took the solar panel in for the night (see the black cord at the back of the motorhome, that’s what I hook the solar to), I took this shot to show that we now have more neighbors.  On Tuesday, only the cargo van, which is owned by the Camp Manager, was here…now we have a person sleeping in a van, and numerous RV’s that are beyond that trailer you can see at the back. 

Out our entrance door side we have the tenters, and two RVs off in the distance.  However, the Hydroplane Races are this weekend…there are two family reunions coming into the two group spots today, and I expect that we will be excited on Sunday evening after most of the people pull out and go home. 

Speaking of Solar earlier…yesterday was not a good solar day.  Lots of high clouds, marine layer stuff, keeping us with few glimpses of the sun (mostly as the sun was going down), and temperatures which were frankly just a bit on the colder side.  Had to run engine for 90 minutes to charge batteries during the evening hours.  Had a hard time sitting outside for very long, so I sat in the front seat and plugged in the Kindle and watched a Spaghetti Western which I had not seen before.  Even though it was the 4th, I went down to the Library on a hunch, and YES, their Internet was up and going and strong as I pulled up next to the building.  Filled up both Kindles with movies.  One thing about Spaghetti Westerns…you think you have seen them all, as you watch you realize that you have not seen this particular one, but it is as corny as all the other Spaghetti Westerns you have seen (outside of Clint Eastwood ones, of course).

I promise pictures of the hydroplane boats as they pass by.  We are elated that the fire is under control, and not a worry anymore.  Have decided to stay here until July 17th, then we started heading south to my son’s wedding.

4th of July, 2017

The Burdick-Cline heritage has seen its fair share of fireworks throughout the years.  Dad’s people came over on a boat named the Mayflower…the first Burdick, Robert Burdick, came over from England to what is now Rhode Island in the mid-1600’s.  The first Burdick in California, at least first within my linage, arrived in San Francisco on a boat in 1850…having left the east coast in 1849, perhaps before he even knew gold was found.  He was a farmer, not a prospector, and settled in what was then Newark California.

On mom’s side, the Cline side, her people, on her mother’s side, came to America about the same time Robert Burdick did…but they settled in Delaware, then Maryland, then Pennsylvania, then Ohio, then…well…mom’s folks liked to move a lot.  Take her mom, dad and eleven children…the birth place of the children is as follows:  Selma, Kansas -- Bucyrus, Kansas -- Niangua, Missouri -- Peru, Kansas -- Niangua, Missouri -- Adrian, Missouri -- Kenneth, Kansas -- Williamsville, Missouri -- Kennett, Missouri -- Dinuba, California and Dinuba, California.  That is a bunch of moving around…but grandpa, who died when mom was a teenager, worked for the railroad and moved from station to station…at times, the family even lived in train stations.  Had to wait for trains to cross the tracks in a few places just to be able to use the outhouse.

All this background information just so that YOU KNOW that when I say, “I hope EVERYONE has a wonderful and safe Fourth of July,” that you know where I am coming from…from nearly 400 years of history as a resident of this land which we now call America.  I am proud of this heritage, proud to be an American, proud of those…even family members…who gave all they had to make America what it is. Seeing the turmoil that goes on today, seeing the backbiting, the bickering, the foolishness, the out right hatred with our politicians in Washington DC…it brings tears to my eyes.  Never the less…it is our nation’s birthday…Happy Birthday America, let’s celebrate that which is still good in our wonderful country.

Marcia and I had a bit of early fireworks this past weekend.  On Friday night I went to flush the commode…and it did not flush.  Push down the foot pedal only filled the bowl with more water.  Our commode works differently than most motorhomes.  Most work on gravity, where the contents fall into the black tank when you flush.  Ours is more like a boat or a train or a plane…we hit a “on” button, pressure builds up, when the green light comes on, you flush, and the air pressure that has built up moves the contents to the black tank.  One good thing is, all the contents pump through Macerator to break everything up into tiny little pieces…so no chance of the infamous Toilet Paper Pyramid for us.  However…the pump IS just one more thing which might go wrong.  Knowing this, I have had a plan “just in case” the toilet ever went out on us so that we could still live in it until it was fixed.  I hope any of you who travel extensively in a RV have a plan too…because you never know when a foot pedal might not work, or a back-up might occur.  And our back-up plan, no pun intended, could work for just about anyone.  It has to do with putting a garbage bag liner into the toilet, and empting as needed by sealing the bag, remove from toilet, put in another bag, and dispose of properly.  Lucky for us, I was able to move the “ball”, as they call it, turn on our pump, and let things flow down and through the system.

Saturday I called Camping World, and the guy said, “Well, we carry that type of toilet (Dometic 310 Series Low Profile), but don’t have any in stock.”  “How about surrounding stores?”   “Nope, it is something you have to order…we can put the order in on Monday, and it will be here on Friday..”  “Never mind, Amazon can get it to me by Monday…”, click (he hangs up).  Put the order in with Amazon, and by noon yesterday it was here, by 1 pm I had it installed and working.   Not a “fun” thing to have to face, but it was made easier with a good plan.  That plan also included having lots of 13 gallon garbage bags.

Today’s menu includes….BBQ Tri-Tip, Lemon Shrimp, BBQ Corn on the Cobb, and Mashed Cauliflower, along with a few other things.  Although, because of our diet, we can’t have the corn…nor the Tiramisu Dessert that I bought for the family, the rest of the dinner is part of our diet.  YUM!   Hope you all have a nice 4th of July BBQ too.

Next Trip Starts Sunday to…

We have our next trip planed, another one week trip, this time up north to Shasta area, then along the Sierra’s to Burney Falls, past Mt. Lassen to Lake Almanor, then to Quincy, one night in Truckee again and back to my sister’s house the following Sunday.

We will stay at McCloud for two nights, and it is our plan to drive the Everitt Memorial Highway which goes up Mount Shasta to the old ski area…it is a launching off point for many who wish to climb higher up the mountain.  I have heard it is a pretty little drive and, weather permitting, you can get some good pictures.  The road to the top (Panther Meadow Trailhead) just opened up July 1st.

After two nights at McCloud with full hookups, we are going to go to the State Park (no hookups) at Burney Falls for a night and another visit to one of Marcia’s favorite waterfalls.  From there we are going to drive to Lake Almanor for another no hookup at the NF Park for another night.  Thursday we will pull into Quincy for two nights at an RV Park we have stayed at a few times now.  Then on Saturday we will go back to Truckee and stay at Granite Flat for another night before we head back down the mountain to Citrus Heights on Sunday after church and a quick lunch (no hour wait this time).

This trip is designed for the following:   a) get us out of the heat again, b) provide mixture of full hook-ups and no hook-ups, which is what we would be doing if we were on a longer trip, c) give us another check of the motorhome without getting too far off from our family, and from where we know our motorhome could be looked at and fixed “if” something went wrong again.

On Saturday we are having another cul-de-sac 4th of July.  Burgers, hot dogs, brats, shrimp, beans, potato salad, etc., etc., etc.   And, of course, lots of FIREWORKS.  Hope you all have a safe 4th of July, and for those who are American, who live in America, or are visiting America, please know and understand that we are, for the most part, a very patriotic people.  For those who want to do us harm, it is said that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, stated, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."   Although he may not have said it, the outcome of the war showed that this statement was accurate had he said it.  I pray to God that we still have that resolve.

What A Country!

I, like many of our readers, love The United States of America.  Both my father (Mayflower ancestry) and my mother (Delaware ancestry dating to the late 1600’s) have ancestors who have lived in what is now known as the United States of America before July 2nd/July 4th, 1776.  My roots run deep, my love runs deep, and yes, I do have concerns which I will not address here.  

Yakov Smirnoff, an American born Russian Comedian (aka: American Comedian of Russian Descent) has made a load of money off the line, “What a Country”, followed by, or proceeded by, talking about our beloved United States of America and comparing it to his ancestral homeland of Russia.  Here is an example: In America you can always find a party; in Russia the party always finds you.  Want more?  Click here.

What I do want to address is something that struck me after I read today’s post at Travel with the Bayfield Bunch.  Al, who is an excellent blogger, talked about some of the famous people he has seen or met through his life.  It reminded me of some of close encounters too…which I wish to share today.

Governor Pat Brown was the 32nd Governor of California.  Sometime in the ‘60’s, mom had taken us kids on a visit to the Capital in Sacramento where we lived.  When we got to the Governor’s office, we went in and mom asked, “Can I see Governor Brown?”  The secretary asked who we were, did we have an appointment, and mom let her know that we were just visiting the Capital and wondered if we might be able to visit the Governor to say “Hi”.  Well, she called into his office, he said sure, and we trotted into his office for a short, friendly visit…including a hearty handshake for each of us.

Well, it worked once, so let’s try it again with another Governor.  Governor and future President Ronald Reagan was the 33rd Governor of California.  On another visit to the Capital, this time with cousin who lived in Ohio along with us, mom once again entered the Governor’s office….but this time we were told that he was not there, he was flying down to L.A. in 45 minutes from the Executive Airport in South Sacramento.  Well, guess who lived just 1 1/2 miles from the airport?  So we rushed down there, and yep, we met Governor Reagan.  So gracious of him to walk over to us, shake our hands, ask my cousin what happened to her arm which was in a cast. Finding out that she broke it going down the slide into our pool “standing up” on the slide, he says, “Oh, our Skipper (Ron Jr.) did the same thing, but broke his leg.”  

   

The 1968 Presidential Campaign brought many a Politian into Sacramento,with many of them landing and taking off from the Executive Airport close to our house.  During that summer my brother and I, sometime with a cousin, would ride bikes over to the airport to watch planes come and go.  During two of these occasions we met Presidential candidates Robert Kennedy and George Wallace, each of whom shook our hands as they passed by.  The next year mom and dad took us to Washington D.C., and we saw the small white cross which still stands over Bobby’s grave.  I am fairly sure it was the last time he visited Sacramento when we saw him.

In 1976 the Sacramento Railroad Museum opened.  In 1981 the museum’s complex was complete, and Governor Brown was there to celebrate the opening….as was I.  Now I took pictures of this on my old film camera, but those are back home or with my daughter. I am in this crowd somewhere.  And oh, just to keep everyone straight….this is Governor Jerry Brown, Pat Brown’s son, who was the 34th Governor, and after a nearly two decade hiatus, he is also the current Governor (39th) and the longest serving Governor of the state.  Of all of the people listed in this posting, his is the handshake I never got, but I was there at the opening of the new Railroad Museum, and if you have a chance, you should plan on visiting it too.

    

Bill Cartwright played for the Bulls, went to school in Elk Grove, just south of Sacramento.  One of my employees knew Bill and brought him into the restaurant a few times….he literally had to duck to get under the door.  A real nice guy.  Two or three times I saw John Madden up at Harrah’s in South Lake Tahoe.  One of the biggest hands I ever shook. Around 1983 I attended a Fellowship of Christian Businessmen in San Jose with the founder of the restaurant chain I worked for.  An Oakland Raider, who was on the 1980 Super Bowl Team, was there and passed around his ring.  It could fit on my thumb without touching the sides.  I think it was Mickey Marvin, but frankly, I was so excited to see and hold that ring that his name just has not stuck with me.

  

My parents met Jacob Henry in the late 70’s or early 80’s.  His full name is Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer, brother of Max Baer, Uncle of Max Baer Jr. (Jethro on Beverly Hillbillies TV show who also happened to by my Uncle Mac’s newspaper boy back in the 1950’s).  Buddy was a Heavy Weight Boxer, with a record of 52-7 with 46 knockouts, with two of those losses coming to the legendary Joe Louis. Like his brother and nephew, he also was an actor. Buddy had the biggest hand I ever shook….no doubt about that.  When I met him, he looked like the picture on the right, but a tad bit older.  There have been a few other sports figures…but let’s go back to the dirt…errrr…Politician's.

It is difficult to live in Arkansas, be the Director of a Public Library, and NOT meet the Governor of the state.  First was Bill….no offense taken to the offices he held….if you are from Arkansas, you call him Bill.  Even many of those who followed him to D.C. said it was hard to not call him Bill, but they learned very quick to call him “Mr. President” in public.  I had not been in the state more than 3 months before I met him for the first time.  Hillary, well, I met her in D.C. while eating in the Senate’s Restaurant.  I never met their daughter, but all three were avid Library users up in Little Rock.  Ok, a few stings here….the Clinton Presidential Library looks a lot like a very large double wide trailer, and the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock has been called the “HillBilly Airport” by many of the locals.

     

Governor Jim Guy Tucker, left, followed Clinton…went to prison due to White Water investigation.  Governor and former Pastor Mike Huckabee, center, was my favorite turned least liked Governor due massive cuts he made to the Public Libraries during his administration, and the half truths he told about it to try and justify his actions.  And my favorite Governor, and current Governor, Mike Beebe, who, along with local State Senator Jay Bradford, saved and later restored the funding to the Public Libraries.  

  

On our blog-site, at the bottom, you will find these two images.  To us, they represent all that is right about our country.  Who would have thought that this boy born in the ‘50’s would have such an opportunity to see so much, and meet so many.  There are others who are not listed that should be, but this is long enough…..Have an enjoyable 4th of July, and remember what it is all about.  What A Country…yes indeed.