Public Access

Contrary to the last few blog posts - we are not big drinkers, but we are ALWAYS open to reasons to celebrate and finishing a CD is a biggie!!!!!!

Dave finished Public Access - a collection of hymns this last week. It is now in the hands of DiscMakers and will be back in our hands and ready for market in mid-January. 

Appropriate for the season, give a listen to Gentle Mary.

We are so very thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in this way and to use the gifts He has given to His glory.  Dave was happier than he appears in this photo. 

Adventures in Lodi

Sometimes campgrounds are spacious and other times we can pass the sugar without opening a door.  This was a cozy stay. But while we were here...

Watching the Sandhill Cranes coming in to roost.

My favorite birder - Dave, along with lots of others at the Woodbridge  Reserve. 

We saw perhaps about 1,000 cranes fly in for the night. It was awesome!

And as always, after a week, it's time to move on down the road.

Cutting a Rug

We were parked in a church lot for about a week and we were informed that we should keep our doors locked at night as there are many folks who travel through the area.  So we did.  In the bed of our truck we keep all kinds of stuff, hoses, wood, chocks, and our outdoor rug.  Of course, our truck bed does not lock and we did not think we had anything worth taking.

When we arrived at our next stop and wanted to use our outdoor rug, it was missing. We had to smile because while a dirty piece of outdoor carpet might not be worth locking up or considered valuable, to a homeless person in need of shelter it was probably quite a find. 

A Visit - Trending South

 My dear friend, Linda, lives in Minnesota.  When the opportunity to visit sunny California came along - she jumped.  

On one day we rented a car, and with Dave as our chauffeur we played tourist and visited San Francisco - Lombard Street, Cliff House, Golden Gate Bridge, onward chauffeur.

When we are together we are ALWAYS in search of a happy drink.  We had lunch at one of the MANY choices at Fisherman's Wharf- and a Bloody Mary - happy drink.

After sampling in San Fran, we decided we could enjoy our own Bloody Mary bar.  Success! 

It is certainly counted as valuable treasure to have people who have walked with you through the years and miles. 

Playing Tourist at Lake Tahoe

It was a beautiful fall day in sunny Lake Tahoe.  There were very few tourists, which gave us a chance to see the locals relax.   

Thai Kitchen served up a wonderful meal.  We knew it was THE place as we entered because members of the county sheriff's department were eating there as well.

YUM!

Snowball fight? 

Forty-five of the eighty-one trapped members of the
Donner Party survived to live in California

This memorial is built in such a way that
visitors can visualize how deep the snow was in the winter
of 1846 by looking at the height of the rock pillar.

Now you may consider this bad form to talk about my yummy lunch when the next topic of my tourist day is Donner Memorial State Park, but there you have it. 

We saw a movie about the Donner Party (which was not much of a party at all) along with a school field trip group from Reno, Nevada.  Dave and I were much noisier than the children.  We could not help ourselves the movie was probably filmed in 1960 complete with blacked out spots.  It reminded me of grade school when I hoped the film would break so I could miss more class time and maybe even get early recess! The film may have been old, but it was informative. The Donner Party should not have taken "Hastings Cutoff," it did not save them 300 miles as they had hoped.  As one child opined in the movie, "get started as fast as you can and don't take short cuts." 

So often Dave and I get busy with work and neglect to enjoy the sights. 

We have been living full-time on the road for 5 1/2 years and this was our first visit to Lake Tahoe. I feel as though we have just gotten started and we don't take short cuts - hauling our house, are you kidding? We don't take short cuts.  

Back to the Beginning!

I have fond memories of our time in Hannover.

Our family moved to Hannover, North Dakota, in 1986, where Dave began his public ministrty.  It was fun to see pieces of our past while parked in their lot for a few days. The people were just as kind and the post-concert treats just as yummy as I remember.
Our daughter started Kindergarten and our son, preschool.  Big firsts for them. I lived on the prairie for the first time in a non-town with about 17 people and all the trees were in rows. It was quite an adjustment for our family er... me. 

Our haRVey in the foreground with our first parsonage in the background.

My friend Patty... we learned a lot together. 

Kenny and Audrey, our kids adopted them as grandparents and have great memories of spending time with them.

17 miles south of Hannover stands Salem Sue Worlds largest Holstein

Across the road from St. Peter - a field of Sunflowers, such beauty on the prairie.

Making a Trade

I usually have a few items to give away. Either we no longer use them or we discover we have two.  How could we end up with extra??? Easy. Just like when I had a stick house, the only way to lay hold of the old one is to buy a new one! We had a set of chocks we no longer used, and an empty storage bin.
I took these giveaway items to our campground neighbors and mentioned that today only I was willing to part with these items for FREE! My neighbors actually needed the very kind of chock offered, I gladly unloaded gave them away. The storage bin was a bonus for them. BUT... unwilling to just take my stuff, I was given the fruit pictured in trade.  The oranges are from their backyard; the grapes and avocado are from their friends' garden. All in all it was a great trade. 

The Clamming Sport

 We walked to the beach in the evening following the conference in Seaside, Oregon, and learned about Razor Clams. There were families all along the beach area and we thought they were all coming to enjoy what promised to be a great sunset. We were surprised to learn upon closer inspection they were all dressed for clamming!  You must have (as we used to call them, "Juneau Sneakers") boots, and a PVC pipe with a handle called the clam gun, a bucket for your catch, and as in all sporting events - patience. Starting to sound interesting, huh.

It was a beautiful evening and so much fun to watch generations on the shore some practiced and sure while others were learning the ropes. "I got one," yelled a child of 8 or 9, and his dad helped him dig through the sand for the prize.   

There were a few groups who came prepared with beverages, munchies and headlamps. They were in for the long haul. 

Seaside Oregon

 We were honored to serve the teachers at the Northwest District Teachers Conference.  They gather in Seaside, Oregon, it was sunny and warm, with the ocean less than a block away.  It was mentioned a number of times that the weather is not always so agreeable - sometimes it rains! What? 

Chris and Beth Swanson let us borrow their car - very sporty compared to our truck! I wish we could pull our house with such a small car.

that bit of deep blue - the Pacific.

This is terrible picture, but I had to include it because Dave Geiselman, pictured with me went to grade school with my Uncle Charlie in Wausau, Wisconsin. He was tending the Concordia Publishing table and I was at the next table over selling Dave Horn CD's.  Of course we got to talking...

Standby!

 I recently was able to fly standby round trip from Seattle, Washington, to Minneapolis, Minnesota.  My flight to Minnesota began with - waiting.  Will I get on the flight? I was number 9 on standby, then number 5 for a long time -  okay maybe 10 minutes.  In the end, with only three people waiting, the attendant said, "RUN with me!" so I did.  I had no seat assignment, but as we entered the plane she gave me a seat number and I sat.  Many folks were giving me the evil eye as though I personally caused the delay. I buckled my seat belt  and did not care a whit, I was on my way to see my dear Logan, my kids, and friends. I smiled and read my book. 

Now, my standby trip back to Seattle was fraught with adventure. My friend and I arrived at the airport at 6:30 AM; then watched three flights that did not include me leave, and finally a 5:10 PM flight which was a go. The delay did allow for a Bloody Mary meal shared with my good friend and thanks to Becca for the standby save!

YUM

my sweetie pie

haRVey Inside Out

Since my previous blog was about parking and photos of the outside, I thought perhaps a tour of the inside might be in order.
I have watched a few TV shows about defining spaces, clearly we need to work on that. Until we do, our little house has everything we need VERY close by. 

Our kitchen and dining room table  

My desk and the family room. The kitchen is also right there for easy access.

the family room area which also doubles as extra dinner seating. Please note how the three guitars, banjo, mandolin, and  bass guitar are close at hand - always.  When you spend the night you will also find pillows and extra blankets behind the loveseat.   

Our office area with a handy exercise room right there!  

HaRVey Parking!

 If you follow my blog, you have seen a photo much like this one.  This is our campsite in Spokane, Washington, at St. John's out in the country.







These next two are photos of haRVey were taken at our campsite in Ellensburg, Washington, which is just to the East of Snoqualmie Pass.

This is site 150 in Fall City, Washington, at Tall Chief Campground.  This is a very nice campground.









Which brings us to Elma RV Park in - you guessed it - Elma, Washington.  This is a back in site without much wiggle room.  Dave did a great job.  Our neighbors were kind enough to move their car while we backed in. :)  I took this picture of "between" the sites as it is most telling that all RV sites are not created equal.  

As we travel and make reservations ahead of ourselves, we do not know what it will look like apart from a very general idea. 
Most campgrounds have a laundry room and full hook-up (water, sewer, electric).  

The thing I really enjoy is we don't know exactly what it will be or who we will meet, however; I do know where my coffee pot is located, where my computer will be, where my favorite jammies can be found, plus any comfort food purchased will be just where I left it before we last moved. 

John Ford Clymer - Ellensburg Washington

Perhaps I am too young to know about John F. Clymer, but I am now acquainted with him - happily so. 

 Upon entering the museum, located in Ellensburg, Washington, I was greeted and asked if I would like to see the video. Of course I would, and glad I did. :)  Mr. Clymer was a contemporary of Norman Rockwell, and they both created illustrations for magazine covers. All told Mr. Clymer did 90 covers for the Saturday Evening Post. 

Below are a few samples of his beautiful work.

Just in case you have not been to Ellensburg.   

haRVey in the Shop

haRVey on his way to the doctor!

Normally, when you need a little work done in your home you just have to be there when the repairman comes to the door.  In our case we must pack a bag in anticipation of spending the night elsewhere.  

We have known for awhile that the brakes needed work, but it is hard to coordinate being away from your home, office, studio for any length of time.  Knowing that I-90 and a 6% downhill grade coming into Seattle is waiting for us, we decided that Kennewick, Washington, would be the place to have the brakes fixed. We were funny as we watched out house go by on the way to the garage. "Watch the curb, he is going to bottom out the bumper," and "man, he is taking that corner awfully close."  We should not have wasted our worry! 

 

Getting a little EXTRA help/advice from Bob in the service department.

"Did you know you can ...." men and trucks - I went for a walk... 

... to look at perhaps a future haRVey.

Russ Dean's Family RV treated us very well.  We did not have to spend the night elsewhere!
Our brakes were fixed and they were so kind to answer ALL of our many questions.