Dinner Out

July 31 – Not much going on today at all. We didn’t have much to do site-wise. I vacuumed the carpets and shook the rugs. Didn’t even have to cook dinner. We went with 8 other volunteers into Ignacio to Smokin’ Moes BBQ. We have enough leftovers for another meal. We read some and that was about it.

Before bed I put together a bowl of wet ingredients and a bowl of dry ingredients for healthy muffins for breakfast. They have chia, flax, whole wheat and diced apple. Bill is leaving at 9 to take the truck to Durango for an oil change so thought I’d do something different.

Xena's not well

July 29 – I got up plenty early to put the caramel rolls in. However, I pulled a Karen! There were only 24 rolls in the bag but they were LARGE rolls so the bundt pan was pretty over flowing. I carefully pulled off some and put them in a little pan and baked them in the toaster oven for our breakfast, but they didn’t have any good caramel goo on them. I baked the bundt pan and it was plenty full. I had to use a pizza pan to turn them out onto since they were bigger than any of my plates. I made eggs for Bill and we had bacon, fruit and pieces of rolls.

The girls in the office were very excited to see and smell the rolls when I came in. There were plenty to go around. One lady didn’t have any at all, her loss! She ate her dry cereal with a water chaser. Nasty! One lady asked if she could send some to her husband who is also a summer employee at the boat inspection station. I said sure. Then we gave a chunk to the early morning ranger and a cup of coffee and he came back and was super nice and thanked us for thinking of him. I cut off a chunk and brought it home to Bill for tomorrow and left a little bit for them to nibble on the rest of the day.

After lunch I turned off the fridge to thaw out the fridge part. It gets ice on the “fins” and then starts making noise since it works so hard then to cool. I put some stuff in a cooler but it only takes a couple of hours. It takes a lot longer for it to cool back down. It was 59 inside (so it said) when I turned it back on and in 5 hours it’s only down to 44. Should be in the 30’s by morning.

I turned off the water and worked on the toilet seal again. This time I cleaned it and used Vaseline. So far it’s hold much better, so will see how it goes.

We think Xena has a kidney infection or something. We kept finding wet spots on the carpet but when I put salt on them they don’t turn yellow. Then we noticed she is drinking a ton of water and wants to go out much more and pees for about 10 – 11 seconds each time. While Bill is mowing I will call the vet and see if we can take her in tomorrow or Tuesday. She’s never drank that much so we are keeping track of how much she drinks now.

We both read a lot this afternoon, which is nice. We sat outside for a while and we think one little mean hummingbird is chasing off all the rest. It guards the feeder and flies at any other bird that approaches it. Too bad we can’t catch the mean one so the others will come back! The bull elk was out in the field again today. We wonder how long he will stay.

For dinner I baked some frozen biscuits I had made and we split a big sweet potato and Bill had leftover roasted peppers and I had leftover snow peas and I simmered 2 pork chops on low in some mojo crillo marinade and they were so juicy and tender and excellent flavor. No dessert tonight!

Kam called today and said their moving day went really well and Dan and his dad and brother got some things finished at the house and his dad was doing some painting for her, so she was happy. There will be things to buy for a while as they get everything in place and match curtains and rugs and stuff. They should be pretty well set by the time they leave for their Alaska cruise in August.

Time to read for a while and get into the sleep mode!

July 30 - Bill is worried about Xena and he’s not sleeping well at all. He thinks he’s hears her moving around at night and gets up and she’s sound asleep. She didn’t drink any water last night when I was taking her out and didn’t drink much this morning and her urine is back to bright yellow now. She won’t go eat from her bowl but if you lay the pieces down in front of her she’ll eat them.

Bill rode his bike down to get the lawnmower this morning and only ate a banana for breakfast, so I know he’s worried. I called and made a 2:30 vet appointment, then I called Invest about our 1099 from 2010 to see if we can’t get that tax mess cleared up. I headed out after and cleaned and weeded 4 sites and picked up a lot of trash and sprayed wasp nests and got them down. While I waited for the last 2 sites to leave I cleaned the excess butyl tape off the door window and washed the window so that chore is out of the way.

After lunch Bill showered and I went out and did the last 3 sites. They were late leaving and I kept watching for them to leave. Then I closed all of the gates for the dumpsters and came home to shower. Xena had a vet appointment at 2:30. We went back to the vet who took care of her dog bite. She ran blood work and urine tests and called this afternoon to tell us Xena is in the early stages of kidney failure. She also needs more protein so we will be giving her some canned food that is primarily meat with her crunchy food. We have no idea how long she will continue to have a good quality of life. They’re faxing her test results back to our vet in Winter Garden.

On the way home we stopped for Bill to do some library business and at the grocery for a few items of produce. When we got home I made a meatloaf and put it in the oven while we checked sites and took the window frame back to Manual. We stopped by the office to check on a guy who we thought skipped out not paying his last night but he moved to Rosa camp and paid for the night.

I made steamed cabbage with lemon, butter and horseradish for dinner with some veggie brown rice. Then we took Xena for a walk since there are no RV’s on our side right now. Then I got on the computer and Bill did dishes and I made mixed berry yogurt parfaits. Oh, we looked for the elk but for the first night since he arrived, we didn’t see him. Glad I got my photos before he left.

Movie Day and Bull Elk

July 27 – Although it was our day off again, we did go out and check sites and the bathrooms after we walked this morning. We only had a couple leaving so Bill went back out and did them while I cleaned the bathroom and changed the bed and did some general housework. Then we decided to re-do the window in the door for what we planned as the last time! We took Manual’s black frame off the inside and put the new white one on and it would not draw up tight. I knew the other didn’t either but thought we just hadn’t tightened up the screws enough. Well, we had to take it all apart and take the glass back out as it had slid down and over and wasn’t quite inside the tiny tabs on the frame. So we lined it up again and put it in the door and it all drew up tight. I just have to push the butyl down in the crack and then trim it. It looks good though.

Then we showered and had lunch and left for Durango. We only had three stops planned. We went to the movies and saw “The Watch” with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn and it was so funny. Not Academy Award material but a nice afternoon of entertainment. Then we stopped at Wal-Mart. It was pretty quick as we split the list and met back at the check out. Last stop was to fill the truck then we headed back to Ignacio to the casino for dinner. We thought we were entitled to the $6.99 steak and shrimp dinner but we didn’t have high enough ranking of player card so we only got a 20% discount from the regular price. It was a good meal though. The fried shrimp were big and very good and we got 4 per plate along with a 7-8 ounce flat steak, big baked potato and the best steamed veggies. There were strips of jicama, snow peas and carrots. It was plenty filling. We had coupons to each get $25 on our player cards from the casino. These are only good once per person per month so we squeaked by for July. I didn’t do as well as Wednesday but left with $27 dollars of the casino’s money.

We got home around 7:30. Today we diapered Xena and it was full. We think she has some kind of kidney issue as she is drinking an awful lot and she has had a couple of accidents and her urine is close to clear. We checked out the camp and I baked two bread puddings. I had some stale bread so before we left today I cut it up and left it to finish drying out. It was too much for the baking dish I planned to use so I put the overflow in a personal size dish. We’ll give it to Harlan or Marion and Jerry. Once it cooled a little we each had a serving for our dessert/nighttime snack.

The neighborhood bull elk

July 28 – It was back to work at the office today. I had the last of my muesli and some yogurt for breakfast. It really does seem to hold me longer. Bill dropped me off and then he was going to do 3 loads of wash until some of the sites left. I think he only had 6 to do today. The girls were happy to see me this morning at 9. There were only 2 of them and they had people lined up and I could at least do the drive up window so they didn’t have to do both the window and the counter. It was busier for them all morning that it was for me. I balanced but for a moment I thought I was going to be $5 short. I thought I gave back $5 too much in change. I had a rash of $20 bills first thing. I took the bag of scrubbies up that I made and let those that worked today each pick one. There are 2 that I’ll have to catch this week.

Up closer

Bill picked me up and we had lunch. Marion sent him home with some avocado/tomato salad for me. It’s very yummy and easy, I’ll have to start making it. Bill left to pick up firewood and I was cleaning up lunch and folding the laundry, and he came back right away and said to get both cameras and get in the mule. The elk had crossed the road and was right beside Tiffany camp and much closer to try and get a photo of. I took a bunch but haven’t looked yet to see how good they are. Then we sat in the mule and watched him cross the road and trot down the road side of the fence until he found a spot he was willing to jump over.

I came home and finished laundry and did email and started looking at places to go next summer. I did some research on things to do to improve the seal on our toilet. There is no general consensus of the best thing to use but one recommendation was coconut oil, so I tried it, but no go. Tomorrow I will try the Vaseline.

Bill grilled buffalo brats and brat burgers for dinner and I made corn on the cob and steamed snow peas. After taking Xena for a walk and chatting with Newell and Anne (Manual’s girlfriend) we came back and shared the rest of the bread pudding. I got my shower and here I sit back at the computer getting ready to check those photos and post another blog.

Before bed I put together a pan of caramel rolls to take to work tomorrow.

Day Trip to Silverton



Durango-Silverton Train on the way to Silverton

July 26 – It was a great day! We got up at 7 and on the road by 8:10. Unfortunately on the way I was trying to look up something on my cell phone and got severely nauseous on the way. I would have laid down if there was any way to in the truck. We stopped at Tarpley’s on our way through Durango and picked up our newest door window casing. Then Bill stopped at the health food store so I could get a bag of crystallized ginger to ease my really ill stomach. I haven’t felt that bad in a long time.

As we continued on our way to Silverton, I started feeling much better. We stopped at an overpass there we knew the Durango-Silverton train would pass under. We went on the train in 2010 and knew there was a place there people were stopped and watching the train, so now we were the watchers. Bill was getting impatient but I refused to give up. There was a bus driver there who said he had passengers on the train that he took to the station in Durango and was picking up at Silverton. He waited with us and we got some great photos of the train coming around the bend and then going under the overpass. We didn’t see the train again until it arrived over 2 hours later in Silverton as we were getting ready to leave.

Molas Lake from Molas Pass

The road up is curvy, steep and mostly has no guard rails. It’s call the Million Dollar Highway. It goes on passed Silverton to Ouray and on northerly. Bill was really glad we were not going any further. We stopped at Molas Pass. It was beautiful scenery and a view down of Molas Lake in the valley. On the way into Silverton we stopped from above and got some photos of Silverton down in the valley. You can see all the iron ore tailings around the mountains as it’s the stain that gives it away. We could see the tracks leading right into town. Once you get down in Silverton is doesn’t seem very big at all. As a matter of fact, most people leave in the fall. They only have 60 students in their school and they each are provided a laptop. Only a few places are open all winter. In the summer there are tons of restaurants and shops. We talked to some of the shop owners and they retreat to Mesa, AZ for the winter.

Lunch at Thee Pitts Again BBQ

After covering the main street shops we decided to have lunch at Thee Pitts Again BBQ which was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I went with one of Guy Fieri’s favorites, a smoked turkey open face sandwich of roll bottom, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy stacked. It was awesome. Bill had a brisket sandwich with potato salad and a pickle. It was really a good lunch in a little hole in the wall place.

We walked over to Blair Street, which was the “brothel” street back in the day. Most of the old brothels are now restaurants and shops. The train arrives right at the corner of 12th and Blair. Silverton was a gold and silver mining town beginning in the 1870’s until the 1990’s. There is a mine tour you can go on but we didn’t have time. As it was we knew we wouldn’t get home until dinner time and we left Xena to be taken out twice by Harlen.

I did some Christmas shopping and Bill let me get a really lovely gaspeite bracelet. It was mined in Australia but is no longer so it’s getting more difficult to find pieces. I wanted a lighter shade of earrings and a bracelet to blend with a necklace I already have. So I found the bracelet but have not had any luck on earrings that I liked.

Indoor Beehive

On the slow ride back down the mountains to Durango, we stopped at Honeyville. They have a live beehive behind glass that you can watch the worker bees in action. There is a pipe from the top of the hive that runs across the ceiling and out of the building so the bees can go out and bring back the pollen. It you look long and hard to you can eventually find the queen. We didn’t do it this time but we did the last time we were here. They sell a variety of honeys, honey wine, mustards, syrups, candles and more. If it is made from honey or bees wax they must sell it.

We stopped in Durango at Walgreens to pick up my photos that were ready and then at Albertson’s. Bill just dropped me off and he went to the shoe shop to pick up his shoe to save time on getting home. I was so glad I had put some chicken in the crock pot so I only had to make a salad and cook some pasta. It was an Italian chicken dish with one of those crockpot packet mixes and I added tomato paste and a can of diced tomatoes with oregano and basil. Then before serving I kinda shredded up the chicken. Bill really liked it. Only have enough leftovers for one person.

We ended up having a couple of sites to clean but Bill went out while I was watching a show and did them. That was nice. I’ve gotten behind in my journaling, which of course puts me behind in blogging. Better get in gear tomorrow and get caught up. I did download all of my photos from today and downsized them and uploaded to Picasa so they are ready for viewing by the general public and to paste into the blog. It all just takes time!!!

No Mower and No Washer

July 24 – We were a little slow moving this morning. We got up at 8, dressed and went for our walk and then I made bacon, fruit and whole wheat pan waffles for breakfast. I had homemade apple butter on mine and it was so yummy. Then we went in search of a lawnmower so Bill could cut around our sites. Barry was on one and Harlan was on one and he was broken down over at Tiffany and was just sitting in the shade at Newell’s RV. We gave him a ride, Bill dropped me off on the way and he was back and forth and finally got back with no lawnmower.

Bill dropped me off at site 62 to start weeding while he took the weed eater and went his own way. We worked about 90 minutes, as it was getting really hot. Bill is supposed to get a mower tomorrow. We had lunch and then went out to do some work on the RV. We tried again to tighten the screws on the slide topper, so it’s as good as I could get it. I used some silicone on a spot on the roof to connect two pieces of plastic that cover the screws that I guess hold the roof on. Then I siliconed what we now think is the spot leaking at the shower stall. We took the door window out again and the plan was to put the new black frame on the outside and keep the white one on the inside. Well, we got it out, took the new glass out of the old frame and cleaned it all up and put sealant and butyl tape on the outside frame and Bill was holding it in and I was putting the inside frame up and putting in a couple of screws to hold it and the darn screw holes did not line up. Since the windows are standard we assumed the frames would be also. So Bill went down to Manuel’s and borrowed the new inside frame we got for him last week in Durango and we used it. Geez! I called Tarpleys and asked if all the frames they carry have the same hole pattern and they do so she’s holding the last interior white frame that they have. We ill pick it up on Thursday.

House on the hill with clouds gathering

We got the usual dark skies and threat of major rain but only a short shower and no real wind to speak of. We both did some reading and I worked on some scrubbies before making dinner. I sautéed 6 of the venison loin steaks I cut from the tenderloin and microwaved 2 ears of corn and roasted some mini peppers for Bill and I had a handful of raw carrots. It was a good dinner and we were not stuffed for a change. I had a string of phone calls which is unusual for me so Bill went ahead and walked Xena by himself for fear of more rain. We could see lightning over the lake behind Tiffany camp.

I went through a stack of recipes I brought and found one for soft molasses ginger cookies that I made. Jerry told me she really liked the peanut butter cookies but that she preferred soft cookies so I decided to give these a try. It called for chopped raisins and I did my best with my tiny food processor but raisins are difficult. The cookies were only 2 inches wide but really yummy. I’ll take some to Jerry tomorrow. Bill said he didn’t want me to share them so I said we’d divide them in half and each do what we want with our half.

We watched Rizzoli and Isles, White Collar and Covert Affairs and I finished up all my netting so my scrubbie project is put to rest. The cookies were our dessert for the evening. Bill headed to bed and I tried to get on AOL and kept getting an error message so went on via Internet Explorer and did my mail as well as printed what is supposed to be the instructions to fix my problem. Since I get my account for free I’d have to pay for chat or phone support. Will see if I have time to work on it tomorrow!

July 25 – Once again the day didn’t go as planned. We went for our walk and had cereal for breakfast so we could head out. Bill rode his bike down to Tiffany camp to see about using a lawnmower and I rode mine to the office to pick up our reservations. Bill ended up catching up with me there. The mowers were both being used. I stopped at the ANS / boat inspection station to ask about the wavy wires I keep finding in the spaces, but they were not wires they use.

Molly and I reading in my recliner

Back at the RV I went out to weed and Bill went back to Newell’s to get some strong bug spray and he did that. Without a mower he just went back to wait for the washer tech. Barry saw me with the mule and drove over to find Bill to see if he wanted the mower. By then the washer tech arrived and he and Bill had moved the mattress into the living room and he was taking the washer apart. Well, that didn’t go as expected either. He discovered once he got in it that there was another circuit board that runs the motor and it had some rust and water stains. The Whirlpool techs did not tell him there was a second board and it didn’t show on any of the on line diagrams. He said he knew that was the problem since the motor wasn’t dong its job and yet the motor was fine. He assured me he would order the part today so it would be in for next Wednesday when he does this route again. I had a big pile of laundry just waiting. CRAP!!!!

Once we put the bed back on we got showered and ready to go to Ignacio. Bill dropped off some books at the library and then we went to lunch at the casino. We got our free $20 each and Bill went to read and I went to play. I cashed out with $57.75, which was my best day. You can’t play any machine with their money, only certain ones, so I kinda figure the odds are not in my favor, but I found some machines that are more like the old style ones and I did pretty well. On the way home we stopped at the grocery for some water and produce.

I sorted the laundry and took one load up and that will leave 2 full loads by Saturday for Bill to do while I’m at work. I hung some out and dried some in the dryer. We both read a while and come dinner time we weren’t hungry. Finally at about 8 Bill took Xena for a ride in the mule and to ask Harlan to clean our 2 vacating sites tomorrow and I got out the last of the lasagna and cut it in half and made a bowl of celery chunks, tomatoes and avocado chunks with Italian dressing. I ate my half but Bill put the lasagna away and ate the veggies, then had a peanut butter and jelly tortilla.

We watched TV and I wrote some cards and made some postcards of Xena and Molly.

Just Working and Relaxing

July 22 – I was up at 7:15 with a back ache. No use staying in bed, so I got up and did some stretches to try and work it out. I think I sat way too long in the recliner reading and that’s not normal for me or my back. Then I cleaned my coffee maker. I was concerned that the minerals in the tap water might clog something up so I ran the cleaner solution through and now am only going to use filtered water. I made Bill his poached eggs, toast and bacon with fruit and I settled for bacon, toast (with homemade apple butter) and fruit. I didn’t feel like dirtying up more dishes even though Bill is the one to wash them.

Bill drove me to work, along with a loaf of the banana nut bread, and was going to take Xena for a morning walk in the grass there before heading back to start on site cleaning. One left last night after the wind we had and 2 of the fishermen left before we did. We had 26 supposed to leave today but ended up ONLY 24 as two extended for another day. Than meant a lot of fire pits for poor Bill to clean. The dock broke in the wind yesterday and they had a time getting it secure in the wind so get all the boats off the water. It was busy again in the office. It’s amazing how many people don’t arrive with their boats and jet skis until noon and the weather normally blows up around 4-5. Hardly seems worth the effort to me to put the boat in, park the trailer, come back for the trailer, wait in a long line to get your boat back out again.

I had my salad with salmon as planned and Bill had more fried hot dogs, nasty. Then we picked up trash and we went out and we had one more site that just left and I did the fire pit and trash and he raked. We drove around and warned tent campers that the wind this afternoon was expected to be worse than it was yesterday. Bill read while I made deviled eggs for my potluck dish tomorrow. I have a crudités tray that I think will hold them in 2 compartments and I’ll fill the other three with veggies and grapes and raspberries. Two of the ladies today said they were doing dessert, so I’ll back off of that. I didn’t want to drive 18 miles to the grocery so had to work with what I had and I did get a dozen eggs on sale for .99 so that’s what they are getting. I used a pastry tip to pipe in the yellow so they are rather pretty.

I put a venison roast in the oven with some carrots and potatoes for dinner. So we read and relaxed until dinner time. I should have put more liquid in the roast due to the altitude and dryness here. It’s also the first time I’ve tried roasting in one of my green pans. I checked and they are made to withstand high temps in the oven. It was good and Bill was happy but cornbread or biscuits would have topped off the dinner.

We took Xena to the office to have her walk in the nice grass and then we settled in for the predicted high winds that never happened. That was fine with us.

July 23 - We got up and headed out to walk this morning and Terry tracked us down to let us know the staff meeting today was to be at 10 instead of 11. We had cereal for breakfast since we’d be eating early, we thought. Bill said he’d go do the 2 sites that were vacated and I had a couple of calls to make. He came back and was showering and Terry came back and asked if he could come help him load the grill to take up for the luncheon after the meeting. While Bill was helping Terry I put my deviled eggs on a tray and filled in the center with a jar of olives. There wasn’t any room for any veggie after all. I packed up some extra serving pieces, plates and silverware and Bill wanted to take a small cooler with Snapple and a Sun Drop for him.

As is normal for here, nothing was ready at 10 and there was a debate on whether to have the meeting and lunch in the big conference room that was not set up, or out at the picnic pavilion where the grill was. We ended up at the pavilion and the meeting finally got underway at 10:45. Geez! The various department heads spoke and they introduced the new marina manager who is from England. Finally lunch got underway. They grilled burgers and brats and provided bottled water and iced tea. The “guests” brought the standards: potato salad, pasta salad, beans, chips and dips and several cakes for dessert. I must say my eggs were a hit. They started on them as soon as the grill was lit and they were long gone before we were ready to get in line. At least we didn’t have leftovers. At the end we were waiting around for a group photo, so we didn’t leave until after 1.

We changed into work clothes and Bill went to clean our remaining sites and do some weed eating while I went back to weeding. All of the sites have had the major weeding finished so now I am just trying to maintain them. I did 10 sites, as it was super hot out today. Along the way I also pick up all kinds of trash, especially since we’ve had wind lately and it ends up in the trees too.

This afternoon was relaxing. Well, as relaxed as I get. I read the Sunday paper and then we watched reruns of NCIS and I crocheted some more scrubbies. I want to finish them this week so I can take them to work this weekend for the girls. I did start looking at water heaters for the rental house. Barb emailed that it was leaking really bad. It’s probably 12-13 years old so guess it’s time to replace it. I’ll call Jared tomorrow and tell him which one to get and hope he gets it done in a couple of days.

Before dinner we took Xena down in front of Tiffany camp to walk and then we stopped by Newell’s. Barry was there visiting and we all got in a few laughs over various things, plus discussing today’s meeting. We cleared out some leftovers for dinner and I was on the computer and Bill was watching TV and Marion and Jerry stopped by. They had been down to see the buck elk. It’s still there from Saturday night. If I catch it up closer to the fence maybe I can get a better picture.

After they left Bill did the dishes and emptied all our tanks and listened to his Sirius radio. I did email and finished another blog.

Lunch and a Movie

July 20 – Back to Durango again! We left at 9 so we could make the early movie. We stopped at Tarpley’s to discuss the parts and repair to our toilet and the parts were over $100. He suggested a different type of toilet that has fewer issues down the road. We’re going to try and hold off until we get back home. I want to do more research on the one he is suggesting.

Then we went to Walgreens and I uploaded 95 photos to be printed that we will pick up on our next trip to town. The movie theatre is in front of the mall so we went to Bath and Body Works and exchanged some scents and used a coupon and stocked up on liquid soap for the bathroom and kitchen. We went to different movies just 5 minutes apart. Bill went to see “Ted” and said it was funny but not as good as he expected. He was one of 3 there. I went to see “Magic Mike” and although I enjoyed the mostly naked men, some of the story was a bit sordid for me and I got tired of overuse of the F word. Those guys were pretty hot though!

Heading into Ken & Sue's for lunch

After the movie we went downtown and had lunch at Ken & Sue’s with a last of our gift cards from Kam and Jared. It was a delicious lunch. Bill just got a huge burger with fries – BORING! I had ancho gulf shrimp on a salad of arugula, mango, tomato and avocado with a citrus dressing. I’m still smacking my lips! The bread basket was very good too. Very long skinny crackers and pan yeast bread that at first look I thought was cornbread.

On the walk back to the car we stopped at the olive oil place and they finally had both my Myers Lemon and Blood Orange infused olives oils in. I could only afford a bottle of each to take home and I will so enjoy them on my daily salads with rice vinegar. Yum, yum, yum! We made a short stop at Albertson’s for a few produce specials and then fuel on the way home and get got back at 5. Marion and Jerry took Xena out twice for us and we sure do appreciate them and Harlan for doing that.

You can barely see the orange on him but it's on his wings
when he flies.  Colrado Oriole???

We changed clothes and headed out to the sites and had 5 to clean. One had the new campers there before we got to it but we managed to get the rest done before the new arrivals came. We will be full again this weekend. We turned tickets but more came after we came in. With such a good and late lunch we were neither interested in a full fledged dinner so at about 7:30 I had some ham spread on crackers and a bunch of grapes and Bill had some Special K chips and later a banana. We went up to the really green grassy spot by the office where Bill walked Xena and I drove over to Marion and Jerry’s to return the sunglasses they left on the counter and picked up our key.

We called Jacque to see how Lou is doing since Jacque emailed this morning that Lou had a mini stroke and had also developed sepsis and they may be moving her to hospice. It doesn’t look like we will see Lou again, but she has surprised everyone more than once. At 99, she is still sharper than a lot of folks.

Nothing to watch on TV so I journaled, posted blogs and did some cards to mail. Time now to read for a few minutes and since I have to work in the morning I can’t read as late as I’d like.

July 21 – I was up in time to make Bill some eggs over easy and bacon and toast for both of us along with a fruit bowl. They always have cookies and donuts, etc. at the office on the weekend mornings so I need to have breakfast to stay away from that stuff. It was a crazy busy morning. Apparently we had another dog bite incident in our park last night that we didn’t know about. As a family was parking their RV, the daughter opened the door of the truck and their little dog ran out and straight to the neighboring RV where 2 BIG dogs were tied and one bit the little dog and popped its eye out. Later we heard they took it to the vet who put it back in and sewed it shut and said they would hope for the best. It’s very sad for the little dog, but maybe it learned to stay clear of big dogs. I had my first non-balancing day, drats! We take credit cards and I guess I hit $17 instead of $7 and I was over $10. Everything I do is multiples of $7 so I knew I was going to be off. Oh well, at least I made money for the park instead of losing it.

Bill wanted fried hotdogs for lunch so I made those for him along with veggies and cottage cheese and I had a mish mash of things, including a tamale I bought at a little convenience store that has a sign out and we finally stopped and I got 2 to go. It was actually better than the ones at the casino. We took a ride around the park to turn reservations and check the TP. I found out the reason we were sold out is there is a fishing tournament going on at the lake. We have some who have boats and are sleeping in their van. It’s a 2 day tournament.

I got my ironing done and picked a handful of my radishes and then I cleaned rhubarb and put a crisp in the oven. I used Splenda half brown sugar in the topping and regular splenda and a pinch of soda in the rhubarb and Bill said it was really good. I read my Rizzoli and Isles book while that cooked and then I put in 2 small loaves of banana nut bread. We had 2 brown bananas and the girls in the office asked if I was bringing muffins tomorrow and I said I’d bring something. Bill wanted the bread so I looked in my cookbook and found a recipe that added raisins, a first for me and you put a teaspoon of lemon juice in the mashed bananas and it doesn’t turn the least bit of brown. We tried it before bed and it was really light and airy.

I got back to my book again and put off getting dinner ready. The wind really kicked up and we could see tents blowing off and boxes and bags and what I thought was a grill cover. We only got a few drops of rain and once it settled down we drove around and the grill cover was a plastic lined table cloth and we could not find the owner. One family said they found an American flag on a pole but we didn’t have anyone ask about it either. It really blew and the slide toppers made so much noise.

Where we sit and watch the birds and sunsets

When I got around to dinner Bill was having grilled mahi mahi and I was having grilled salmon. We had corn on the cob and I had the last of the red rice and Bill had a tomato. He said the fish was really good. He likes it firm, not fishy and with lemon pepper. I grilled 2 pieces of salmon so I can have it on my salad for a couple of days. We drove up to the office area again to take Xena for her walk. I went by Marion and Jerry’s to see if they had any Vaseline to try and lube our toilet. They had some thinner lubricant that I will try tomorrow.

When we left someone told us they saw a buck elk down the road from us so we drove down and he was a 5 pointer. He was alone just grazing for a long time then he laid down facing the road and lots of people were out taking photos. I did but am not sure if they did very well. We really need a new camera but will have to see how the washer repair ends up. They called and are coming on Wednesday.

Terry came and to tell us there is a potluck luncheon for the volunteers and staff on Monday at 11 to welcome the new marina manager. I guess we got left off the list as they gave handouts to the other volunteers and Marion asked Bill if we got one and he said no. I guess he told Terry and he personally came by. We kinda feel like the red-headed step-children out here by ourselves and we do more than any of the other volunteers except Barry. Oh well, nothing to do but work out our term and never come back. Everyone is really nice but we are always the last to know anything.

The rest of the evening we both read and I finished my book. It was really good.

Back to the Casino and the Vet

Front of the Sky Ute Casino

July 18 – We only had 2 sites to clean this morning since 2 of our campers re-upped for a couple more days. We thought we’d head to Ignacio early and rent the shampooer, go to the casino and play before lunch, then eat and get back so I’d have lots of time to shampoo the nasty carpet. I’m not sure what happened to the time but we didn’t get on the road til 11:30 so we went to the casino first and I played our cards, only got to keep $12 this week. I tried some new games today and have no clue how to play them. I like the old fashioned machines that you just play and don’t have to think. Lunch was good. I love their soup so had a cup of it, a big salad, a tamale and a brownie with some soft serve. We were a little earlier today and it was busier.

Back of the Sky Ute Casino

On the way back Bill stopped at the library to return some books and order some new ones. Then we went to the hardware store and rented the shampooer. As we got home Terry and Barry stopped to deliver our wood bundles. We’d sold 8 so with the weekend approaching we needed to stock back up. As soon as they left we cleared up what we could off the floors and I got started on my shampooing. I did the bedroom first, 2 canisters of water and it was still dirty but my left hip starts hurting so I took a break and started on the living room. I don’t know how many canisters of water I used but they were black. It is unreal how much dirt gets in the carpet and we’ve gotten pretty good about removing our shoes. I worked on it until 5:30 and my hip was killing me so it was time to stop. I dried around the edges with towels and put a big sheet over the living room floor since we have to walk on it until it dries. Will take it up before I go to bed. With the AC going in the bedroom it has dried pretty well, and I didn’t do as many times in there. The unit is huge compared to my Hoover so you can’t get it but so far under the bed or close to things. I had a problem in the dining area as it wouldn’t go under the table and the table is screwed down. I did the best I could and at least we’ll feel better. It will need it again when we get home for sure.

I knew I wasn’t going to feel like cooking so Bill had a salad and lasagna and I had a salad and taboule I made a couple of nights ago and a leftover baked sweet potato. Then I just wanted to sit in my chair and work on some scrubbies and watch my shows. When they were over I did Xena’s hot compresses and Bill came out as I was almost done and he said I was doing the wrong side of her neck. Oops! I was basing it on how I was holding her during the attack but I guess I was wrong and he got all bent out of shape and Xena was not happy that I had to start over on the other side. I hope the vet says we are passed that stage of treatment tomorrow.

I had my shower so I don’t have to get up extra early to leave at 7:45. I just have to dress and eat, quick and simple. Now to do some email and look up a few things on the net and maybe read for a few minutes!

July 19 - We didn’t have any sites vacating today, so that was good. We wanted to leave between 7:45 and 8 for Xena’s vet appointment. We just had a quick breakfast of cereal and then loaded the carpet shampooer in the truck and off we went. We went to the hardware store first and then headed on to the vet. We were about 20 minutes early but she took us right in and we were out in no time. She gave Xena a clear bill of health, well for the bite anyway. There was no infection and the wounds were healing nicely so she was good to go.

We stopped in Durango at Tarpley’s, the RV place, and they didn’t have what we went for but got Manuel’s window frames. Then we stopped at the Humane Society Thrift Store and Bill stayed in the truck and I went in. It was half price book day so I got 2 paperbacks. Then we went to AT& T as Bill was having trouble again with his phone and I had a charger I wanted to return. Bill went in this time and I stayed with Xena. Bill was the second in line when it opened so he was out pretty fast. Last stop was Wal-Mart for a new rug, bird seed, and a few groceries. Good thing I got some grapes so we had a snack on the way home.

We stopped at the office on the way in and picked up 16 reservations. Everyone said July was the busiest month. After lunch Bill went out and put them out and repaired one of the fire rings that he was waiting for a washer from maintenance. I made a holder to put up another banner on our big light post I made and I finally put out my three kokopellis. I filled the seed feeder as it was totally empty and my birds and the dumb ground squirrel were very happy. I tried to fix the toilet but looks like I’m going to have to get new parts tomorrow at Tarpley’s. That should be a fun project. I heard replacement toilets run over $200 so hoping to avoid that.

Manuel and Barry stopped by and I was getting really hot outside so I gave up and came in. Manuel came by for his window parts we got for him. The guys talked for a long time then everyone got back to work.

My carpet looks lots better but still has some damp spots. It should all be dry by morning. Of course Xena already initiated it and I was so ticked. It is a lot lighter when it’s clean. I think we will end up taking the living room carpet out and putting something else down.

I made pizza from scratch for dinner with salads. Bill was very happy since he’s a pizza person. Just pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes and cheese. He doesn’t like anything else on his so why bother. I thought there might be some left for his lunch one day but nada. We got a big rain storm and I could see lots of lightning around. The TV was struggling with all the interference with the satellite. We watched a couple of shows and I wrote some postcards and now I’ll put my pj’s on and read for a bit.

Boring Couple of Days

July 16 - Bill nudged me at 6:30 AM and asked if I would take Xena out. Since he’d been sick it was the least I could do. Ugh! It’s pretty chilly out at 6:30 in the morning. Bill’s stomach pain has subsided but he was feeling quite puny still. He made a piece of dry toast after I headed out. I just had some granola and a bowl of fruit. Marion came over and offered to help with the sites but I knew we didn’t have many and I could do them and we want to keep the hours for our time sheets.

Before lunch I cleaned 4 sites and only 1 fire pit, so that was nice. Then I almost completed my first round of weeding but Harlan stopped by to check on us and I stopped then for lunch. I did manage to weed my own site though. It’s pretty sad when the other sites are pristine and ours has weeds growing up through the gravel. I tried to tidy up outside at the picnic table and pitched my bench covers. They were fading badly and had some holes and tears. I will need to keep an eye out at places for new ones. Bill did the dishes and called to check on renting a carpet shampooer today and he did all of Xena’s hot compresses. After lunch he rode with me and did rake one site that the spot had so many mosquitoes that they moved to another site. Later when I knew the last of our spots had vacated I went back out and cleaned the last 3 and 2 of those had fire pits to clean. I closed the 3 dumpster gates as they finally came and emptied them.

I could not stand the dirty carpet any longer and vacuumed it really good but will have to do it again on Wednesday if we rent the shampooer. I was headed to shower and decided first I was going to get that TV articulating arm put up. As expected there was no stud behind the cabinet but the back wall of it was about 3/8 inches and the TV only weighs about 8 pounds so I went ahead and mounted the arm and put the TV on it. I think it’s going to be really nice. We can just take the TV off when we are travelling and I don’t think the arm will be a problem without the TV jiggling around. Still can’t get the Direct TV remote to program the TV though.

Karen called this afternoon once she read about the dog bite incident. It was good to talk to her but Bill was anxious for us to go up to Rosa camp to deliver some cookies to the folks there that I made yesterday. He had showered and was feeling like getting out some and chatting with the guys. We were gone over an hour so it was dinner time when we got back. He said he was ready for some lasagna but no salad so that’s what we had. Well I had a salad. He didn’t have any problems so maybe tomorrow he’ll be “healthy” again.

I called Polly to let her know the bad news we received today that my friend and former co-worker, Kim Crews, lost her son to suicide yesterday. It’s a very sad thing and our old bank group has not heard from Kim in ages and I’m not sure anyone knows where she is now. It was good to talk to Polly but not good to pass that news along.

Bill and I started walking Xena and at one of the sites with a shelter where there were swallows nesting we saw that one of the nests has broken and fallen and there were 2 dead swallows there. The nests are little chunks of clay that are stacked in a rope design around and around. I don’t know if the weigh of the birds was the problem or another bird attacked or what. I walked back and got the mule and drove back to clean it all up and put the little birds in a bag. They were fine earlier today as I check all the nests when I check the sites. We didn’t have any kids in that area today so I know that was new the problem. Oh well, at least it was only two.

I finally balanced the checkbook and registered the TV and cleared up a stack of papers that had accumulated on the printer. I have my pile for tomorrow ready to work on. Bill mike go into Durango with Manual, our favorite ranger, tomorrow, just to go. They will go to the RV place and wherever else Manual needs to go on his day off. He works a regular 5 day week, but then he does get paid. I think they are just going to hang out. He said there will be seasonal rangers positions open next year and I know Bill could get the job if he wanted it. Maybe he should consider applying for one someplace next summer. He’d love to work with Manual but I don’t want to come back here next summer. It’s too darn windy!

Bill has headed to bed and I should shortly follow.

July 17 - It was a hum drum day. We had 6 sites to clean so after a ride to the office to pick up our reservations and we had 19. We’ll have at least 26 sites to clean on Sunday! That’s a lot when they can all have fires now. Bummer! We did our sites and Bill showed me how to work the weed eater that converts to an edger and I kinda like doing that. After we were done we just sat in our chairs under our tree and watched all the birds. We have a new pair. They are black with beautiful bright yellow at mid-chest, neck and heads. The hummingbirds were out too. Newell came by and brought us a new broken push broom that we could swap the handle with our horrible push broom and have a good one.

After our visit it was time to head in and have lunch. Bill wanted to go get the mower and cut some grass around sites that had been occupied last time he mowed. First we just rested and read for a while. Cindy called to catch up on the dog bite situation and some other things and then I got showered and dropped Bill off at maintenance to get the lawnmower and I went up and did 2 loads of wash. I called my parents and talked to my mom while the wash was washing. I got back and hung out the laundry just as Bill was finishing so I picked him back up and we came home and vegged in our chairs a while and read. I had a nice glass of wine and a couple of almond butter crackers while Bill got his shower.

I had a big chicken breast that I cut in half and pounded out for dinner. I browned it on both sides and then I poured Italian dressing on it and let it simmer while I made fresh broccoli and corn on the cob. It was a good dinner and then I read while Bill did Xena’s hot compresses. I think she’s getting tired of them. We took her for a walk and saw that someone going to our RV to get firewood so Bill went back and sold them 4 bundles. He hates that they can now have fires! Some are such a mess to clean up.

We’re watching TV and Bill did the dishes and life is good!

The fun is never going to end.....

July 14 – No one slept very well last night. Well, maybe Xena because she was drugged. I tried to keep my arm elevated and it didn’t hurt unless it was bumped and I didn’t take the pain pills. We just had cereal as we needed to put hot compresses on Xena and I had to get two loads of laundry ready for Bill to do. Barry stopped by to see how we all were and that was nice. Then Marion showed up. Word travels fast here.

Bill dropped me off at the office and then he went to do the wash. He had only 4 sites to clean this morning and 3 had fires last night. Today we will be close to filled. I had a headache all morning and didn’t take anything until lunch time. I had a big salad with turkey and blueberries and Bill had the last venison burger and cottage cheese. Bill had hung out and dried all the clothes and he folded them as I tidied up a bit and we left about 2:30 to go to Durango so I could go back to the doctor. The hospital said I would have another charge to come there and I have a $300 deductible per visit so I decided to go to the Urgent Care today. We stopped at the RV place but it closed at 3 and we missed it. We stopped at the olive oil shop in downtown but the 2 kinds I want have not come in. Bill waited in the truck and read while I was in Urgent Care and it took about an hour. To make the trip worthwhile we stopped at Natural Grocers for granola and City Market for some produce. By then it was after 5 and we were not sure what to do about dinner. I had taken chicken out but by the time we got home and I cooked it, it would be late. We ended up stopping in Ignacio at the Mexican restaurant and it was pretty good. Three policemen were eating there so we thought it must be good. Neither of us finished our meals especially since we each received 2 sopapillas and we definitely wanted to have room for them. They were some of the best we’ve ever had. Not the least bit greasy.

As soon as we got home we did Xena’s compresses and I called Manuel to let him know we were home. He went with me to the dog’s owner as they had indicated to him that they were going to pay all our expenses. I made copies of the vet bill and what I had paid to the hospital last night to give them. Manual was finalizing the quarantine of the dog while I talked to the dad. He said his daughter would get it all paid. I told him that the Urgent Care was going to bill me after my insurance and the hospital is doing the same so those bills will be at least a month down the road and that we have one more vet appointment that we assume will be $45. Bill, being the consummate pessimist doesn’t think we’ll get the money, but I think they felt really bad and that the dad will help her get it taken care of. The fact that it’s not all at one time will make it easier.

No more walks around the park for Xena unless it’s mid-week during the day when everyone is out on their boats. That’s her favorite time of day when she gets to sniff all the other dog spots on 40 sites and now she will have to be happy in our space or the one next to us that is normally vacant.

Well, my headache is creeping back so better take Xena out and get us both to bed.

July 15 – I did not want to get up this morning. Bill said he was up from 3:30 AM because Xena pushed the door open and didn’t wake him and had pooped in several places in the living room and he didn’t see them all and stepped in some. He tried to clean as best he could without waking me. Now he didn’t feel well and hadn’t slept since he got back to bed. What a way to start the day. So I got up at 7:30 and got out the Lysol, scrub brush and bucket and scrubbed all the places I could tell he had worked on and used a big rag towel and now those spots are very bright and the rest of the carpet looks filthy. I will call the hardware store in Ignacio and see if they rent cleaners and clean the carpet this week.

Bill said he didn’t feel like eating and came out and lay on the couch while I made grits, bacon and fruit. Then I did Xena’s hot compresses and got dressed and drove to the office. He didn’t even feel well enough to drive me up in the Mule and since I worked until 1 I knew he really felt bad and wasn’t going to even try to clean sites this morning.

Work was good. Some slow times, which the girls and I got to chat during and then some super busy times when people were lined up in the lobby and my drive thru. I balanced as usual but did multiply wrong on my report and thought I was off but found my error. My goal is a perfect record for my summer job!

When I got home Bill was asleep and had been since right after I left. I made a sandwich so I could get out and do our sites before it got even hotter. I had just finished changing, eating and putting on my hat when Marion came and said he’d help me do the ones that had people coming in. So we took his golf cart and went all the way around and there were only 5 fire pits to clean and they weren’t bad and I picked up the little bits of trash and put out our new reservations and pulled the ones we cleaned. He doesn’t rake the sites and I wanted to rake but Bill said if we just did the fire pits he’d forget the raking this time. Most of them didn’t look like anyone had walked on them anyway. Marion also checked on the TP while I checked for trash at the last 2 sites. It only took about an hour, so that was good.

When I got back I did Xena’s hot compresses and then put sausage on to make lasagna. Once I got it in the oven I made peanut butter cookie dough and once the lasagna was done I started baking in both the gas oven and the toaster oven so I’d be done faster. I wanted to vacuum but couldn’t with Bill sleeping. I got the cookies finished by dinner time. Bill came out and I got him to eat a piece of dry toast and drink a glass of water. I took Xena for a short walk where there were no people or dogs while Bill talked on the phone to his great-nephew Michael. When I got back he was on the phone with Carole and then she and I talked and I filled her in on the dog fight-bite story.

Bill sat up long enough to watch The Glades and Longmire and I worked on the blogs I’ve been behind on from not being on the computer for 2 days. I got him to drink a small glass of 7-Up and then he went to bed. Now it’s time for me to post these last two days, give Xena her pill and hot compresses, take her out to potty and maybe I will read my book for a bit.

Tomorrow has got to be a better day!!

Friday the 13th Horror

July 12 – We got up at 7 to make sure we left between 8 and 8:15. Just a quick bowl of cereal and some cantaloupe and I packed lunch of sandwiches, veggies, fruit and potato sticks for Bill. We each took a granola bar in our packs and several bottles of water. We managed to be out of the park by 8:15 and all the way there Bill was worried we left too late and wouldn’t make it to our first tour at 10:30. I just kept my mouth shut as there was no point in getting into an argument that early in the day.

Cliff Palace in background

We arrived at Mesa Verde National Monument, Cliff Palace tour starting point at 10:20. That gave us time to go to the bathroom and get to the meeting point. Bill did the videoing and I did the still camera and I felt like a pack horse with my waist pouch with 2 bottles of water. I did finish one and some of the other as the elevation was higher than in Arboles and I kept drying out. The Cliff Palace tour was ranger led and it involved descending uneven stone steps and climbing 5 ladders for a 100 foot vertical climb. It was only about ¼ of a mile but it’s the ups and downs that get you. It really is a spectacular site when you first get down and come around the corner and view the entire dwelling site for the first time. The Anasazi first came to this area in 600AD and for 200 years lived on top of the mesa and evolved from being hunters and gatherers to farmers. They eventually left their pit houses on the mesa and built stone structures in the sides of the cliffs where they could better defend themselves. Eventually the weather conditions changed and there was no water for farming and they had depleted the wood supply and killed off all of the animals and just took what they could carry and left. They did not have any beasts of burden at that time.

Final view of Cliff Palace as we left

This was our third visit to Mesa Verde and we always come away with more knowledge of the area because they are continually discovering more dwellings and more information of the lives of the people. Our tour lasted an hour and then we only had a short drive to our second tour at Balcony House. We gave ourselves an hour in between so we could have lunch and regroup. We ate in the truck and got to use the lovely pit toilets. Ugh! Not pleasant on any day, but worse on a hot day.

32 foot ladder to leave
Balcony House

Our second ranger tour was led by a native Navajo male ranger and he gave a more native perspective of life there as well as the religious aspect of their lives. He took us back in time when we would have had to make our clothes, hunt our food and haul the rock and stone on our backs to build our homes. He was very insightful and we really enjoyed his tour. Well, except for the climbing a 32 foot ladder, crawling through a 12 foot tunnel and climbing up a 60 foot open cliff face with stone steps and 2 10 foot ladders to exit the site. Bill is not big on heights and wouldn’t look but straight ahead, but me, I got half way up and turned to see below. This was the most strenuous of the tours they have at Mesa Verde. They said about 120 people at a time lived in Cliff Palace but only about 40 in Balcony House. It was much smaller but quite interesting.

Kiva in Balcony House

They have other tours but we knew after two we would be done for the day, so on the way out we stopped at the gift shops and took a ride through the campground there just to check it out. You’re pretty high up on the mesa and the views down over the towns and valleys are beautiful. We could see a storm in the distance and thought we might run into rain at some point but never did. We stopped at the shoe guy again so Bill could take his other shoe in and at Wal-Mart and the gas station. We got home at 6 and unloaded. We had some new campers in and saw 10 bundles of firewood so we knew the fire ban must have been lifted. There was a notice on our picnic table that is has been modified and they are to keep a 5 gallon bucket of water ready if they have a fire and it must be attended. Bill was not a happy camper.

We had leftovers for dinner and then walked Xena and updated our camp log. There were several sites that vacated. We watched a show, well Bill watched and I listened and typed. Then show on was not one Bill is too interested in so he went out and raked the sites. When he got back we shared the rest of the peach/blueberry cobbler and he went in the bedroom to read. So here I sit for 2 more hours editing photos and blogging while he leisurely reads. Oh such is life!

July 13 – This Friday the 13th was true to its reputation.

Since we took off most of Tuesday going to Cortez, we knew we needed to stick around the campground and get things ready for a really busy weekend. After breakfast we rode our bikes up the office to pick up reservations and were pleasantly surprised that we didn’t have any. We stopped by Rosa camp to see Marion and Jerry and ended up visiting longer than we had planned. When we got home I took Bill to pick up a lawn mower and that was his task for the day and I headed out to work on my weeding. Marion and Jerry came by and brought me some avocado salad for my lunch and we finished the bulk of our work by 12:30.

I heated some leftover rice at Marion’s suggestion and had my avocado salad over it and made Bill a hotdog and cottage cheese. After lunch I filled the bird feeders and tended my garden and then went to modifying my Mule roof design. We had the board we had used inside on the bedroom window and it was about the right size to fit above the bars of the roof, so I cut some of the zip ties and angled in the board to make it higher in the middle so the water would run off and not pool on top. I re-fastened the roof with zip ties and that chore was done.

We rested and read for a while and then got showers and dressed to go to the casino. I had some coupons from online that we thought we could use for $25 each for free money on our player cards. Well, there was no expiration date on them but they would not honor them and said they expired in October. So I used some of my prior earnings and played for a while, but NO LUCK!

It was free pie night at The Patio Restaurant in Ignacio and they have some super delicious pie there, so we headed in for dinner. Bill had chicken and I had liver and onions. I tried the green chili potato soup and it was delicious, but my liver was kinda thin and a little dry. I’d rather they have one thick piece instead of 2 thin pieces. I have learned if I’m going to have the pie to pick it out and tell the waitress right away as that is what a lot do when they arrive so they don’t miss out on their favorite. I had the coconut cream and Bill had Berries of the Forest. We saved them until we got home.

Then things went really downhill. Xena was ready and waiting for her walk and the park was close to full. Bill went with Marion to refill the TP and I started around with Xena and turned tickets along the way. Bill joined us at about half way and we were 2 spaces before our RV and I was still walking Xena as Bill was turning reservations and checking dates but was right beside me. The entire way around I made sure I walked Xena on the pavement as it had rained pretty hard earlier and I didn’t want her walking in the mud. I spotted a dog moving towards us out of my left eye and noted it was on a restraint so didn’t give it a thought. Then the dog started running full speed at us and I thought the restraint broke but later found out the collar broke. It was a 45# boxer and it went straight for Xena’s neck. Poor Xena yelped and yelped and Bill was hitting the dog and trying to pull it off and I could just see that the dog wasn’t going to let go and rip her neck open. I was on the ground with my arms wrapped around Xena and someone got the dog off and I thought I had gotten bitten but was trying to calm Xena and I was crying and Bill was trying to get me to let go of her but I was so afraid she was torn up and would run off and I waited until she seemed calm and some lady came and looked and said there was no blood. Then I let Bill take her from me and we were oblivious to everyone around us and took Xena inside and she was just shaking so bad and yelped if we touched her neck area. Then we found a gash but it wasn’t really bleeding so we wrapped her in a blanket and tried to get her to drink and eat a snack to calm her down. Then I took off my hoodie and saw I had a kinda big puncture on the bottom of my right forearm and 2 small ones on the top and a scrape. Bill said I needed to dress it so I did and then we got on the phone to find an emergency vet. It was about 7 pm and we found 2 so ended up going to Kindness Animal Hospital just before you get into Durango. One of the vets had said I needed to go to the emergency room. We saw Barry, one of the volunteers, as we left the park and told him what had happened in case anyone was looking for us as we are supposed to be here on Friday nights. The vet saw the big, well big to us, gash and 2 smaller ones and a scrape on Xena’s jaw was said she was going to be fine since it didn’t penetrate into muscle. She got 2 shots, 2 kinds of pills and a cream and instructed us to use hot compresses on her 3 times a day and to bring her back on Thursday.

The Urgent Care closed at 7 so we had to go the hospital emergency room. I was the only one there and got right in. They irrigated all my wounds and the big one the water went right in it and swelled up my arm about ¾ of an inch and a few inches wide and it started hurting. The PA attending said my body would absorb the fluid but let the nurse gently massage a lot of it out because it hurt. They didn’t want to stitch it as it would heal better, just like Xena’s, from the inside out if it was left open. I was to clean it and put a bandage on to keep it dry and clean. I have to go back tomorrow.

So we arrived home at 10 pm and Manuel, the Ranger, was there as we got out of the truck. Barry had told him and he had to report it to animal control. If you get a puncture in this county, maybe the state, the dog has to be quarantined for 10 days. He had spoken to the owner, who is a young girl and gave her an incident report to complete and left me one to do also. I got it done and then we ate our pie. It was delicious and so full of coconut and more toasted coconut on top of 2 inches of whipped cream. The filling was jus the right firmness. Oh yum! Bill said his fruit pie was good and he put whipped cream on it.

It was a very scary thing to go through. Xena doesn’t deserve to die that way. She’s so passive and now that she is deaf she has no ability to escape an attack. It could have been so much worse, I just can’t imagine going through that. Bill was so upset and would have been devastated had Xena died. She was pretty worn out when we got ready for bed, but then, we all were.

Trip to Cortez and still no washer

July 10 – Let’s see if I can remember today a day later. We left at about 8:30 to drive to Cortez to the Colorado Visitor Center to get tickets for guided tours of Mesa Verde for Thursday. You can buy them up to 48 hours ahead and we didn’t want to drive into the park and not have tickets or have to wait for tours later in the day. We got there at about 9:30 and got tickets for 10:30 and 12:30 allowing an hour between for our lunch and travel. We have to be at the turnoff into the park by 9:30 as it’s a curvy mountainous road. We took Xena with us since we’d be mostly in the truck and we could take turns staying with her if we made stops.

They have a Safeway in Cortez so we stopped for produce and I broke another pair my $1 reading glasses so we stopped at Dollar Tree and I got 5 pair. Hope they last for a while. Bill wanted to drive thru Historic Mancos on the way home as we picked up some brochures of places in the welcome center. It was a few blocks long with several homes and buildings from the 1800’s.

Fire came right up to the back of this house

East of Mancos is where one of the fires was. On the way back we pulled off a couple of times to take some photos. It is amazing that there were houses on a knoll and it looked like just a few yards behind them was totally scorched and burned. Their once beautiful view out of their back windows is gone for many years. It looked like one big hill was burned all the way around leaving an occasional patch of green for some unknown reason. Those people were really lucky that their homes were saved after the several hundred than were not in the other fires around the state.

We stopped what we considered briefly in Durango. First stop was to pick up Bill’s shoe from the shoe repair, and then I picked up my watch from getting a new band on it and took another watch in to have the battery replaced. We decided Bill would stay in the truck with Xena while I went into Wal-mart for a very short list, plus pick up his prescription and on my way out get two subs from Blimpies that we could eat in the truck on the way home. That plan worked out well but we still didn’t get home until after 2.

Since it was our work day, we both changed into work clothes and headed out. Bill used the weed whacker and I went back to weeding. Once I get the bulk of it done, the maintenance should not be so bad. As it was, I did 20 sites today, but some were just maintenance ones and others were massive with huge weeds that kill my wrists the next day.

When we got in Carole called and said they would not be able to come in August as previously planned. Herb had been having some problems and they found out he has a 2 inch cancerous tumor in his colon and is scheduled for surgery August 1. They sound like the whole procedure will turn out fine but he’s going to be in the hospital for 5-7 days and then home resting for 2 weeks and then gradually get back to normal. We were very sad to hear he will have to go through all that but also sad that they won’t be coming.

My pretty dinner

After two Radlers and a long rest break, I got started on dinner. I went for a bit of a gourmet touch which doesn’t do much for Bill, but he really enjoyed it in the end. I grilled 2 pork chops and topped them with a mango salsa. I brought a bag of red rice I bought at an oriental store so I cooked some of that and the veggie of the day was baked acorn squash brushed with a apricot preserves and butter glaze. The salsa was good but I really liked the sweet touch the preserves gave the squash. Later for dessert I made parfaits with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. It was the perfect dessert for a warm night after a nice meal.

We watched a couple of shows and headed to bed.

July 11 - We wanted to be up and dressed and finished with breakfast by 8:30 as the appliance guy was supposed to come this morning. We didn’t have a specific time. No word by 9 so Bill rode his bike to the office to pick up our reservations and I headed out in the Mule to start weeding. He came out with the weed eater when he got back and we worked for 2 solid hours. He did some pulling of the big weeds that he passed as the weed eater won’t cut them. Today I put most of them in the back of the Mule instead of in the dumpsters as it fills them up and then there’s a problem over the weekend. I took my load to the pile down by the maintenance shed and then came back to rest and regroup. I checked my baby birds and all 4 were out sitting along the edge of the nest. They are bigger every day and then one day we’ll go out and they’ll be gone. Of course I took photos and video.

We had not heard from the appliance guy and had tentatively planned to go to the casino for the Young at Heart half price lunch buffet, so I told Bill I would shower since I’d take the longest washing my hair. I had just gotten out when I heard the tech arrive. At least this time he didn’t have to take the washer completely out, just forward and leaning to put the new circuit board in. I finished getting ready and came out to read while he was doing his thing. Well, it wasn’t the $300 circuit board. The tech was not happy. He called Whirlpool and they said the only thing left it could be was the electric harness. The good news was if it is that and not the circuit board he can return it and I think this part is much less expensive. So, he’s going to order the part and let us know when he can come back. He said he’d have to talk to his dad, the owner, and they will probably come together.

Well, Bill got his shower and we left according to plan and had our lunch. They made a few little changes to the menu but it was still basically Mexican. After lunch we registered our player cards and got our $20 each to play on. Today I went to the non-smoking room and played the poker machine with my card and when I thought I had played long enough it let me cash out with $17.50. Then I played some kind of penny machine but it takes .90 to max each play and I did win 750 pennies one time. The guy next to me said he thought I must have cashed out for a lot as I did win a lot but in pennies it doesn’t add up to much. I finally cashed out with $4.50 so I left with $21 more than I went in with.

We stopped at the library so Bill could return a book and at the welder’s in Allison to see what he would do with our bike rack. He bent it back out and said he thought that would hold find so we headed home. I checked on the birds and not one was visible and neither were the parents. Then we had a storm and I checked and still no birds. I wondered if they got flying lessons today while we were gone and have officially flown the coop.

I had bought more peaches on sale yesterday so had plenty to make a cobbler for us and a small one for Marion and Jerry and an even smaller one for Harlan. I had some blueberries too so threw some in and since Marion is diabetic I made it almost entirely with splenda. The only concession was I used some splenda blend brown sugar for that brown sugar flavor.

After I paid some bills and did some researching on the computer I called Carole as there were several sites in our camp open for at least a week starting the 15th. We have one right across from us and it only has electric but we thought they could fill their water tank when they arrive and use the public restrooms during the day and they can shower at our RV and squeeze in a week before the surgery. Being in our camp is better as they won’t be bringing a car and they can just walk over as can we. We can all bicycle if they bring their bikes and we’ll take the truck for all of our excursions. She said she will try to resolve it all tomorrow once she gets the rest of Herb’s tests scheduled. Since he’s going to be down and out for a while maybe we can work out this last adventure before.

I took the last package of venison out for dinner and grilled burgers and they were nice and juicy. Then we had leftover vegetables and that was it. We thought we better make our deliveries before another storm burst so we took leftover chicken and dumplings and cobbler to Harlan, along with the key to take Xena out twice tomorrow, and cobbler to Marion and Jerry. You never know when you’ll need back up so food is always a good way to win people over.

Our 4 babies

When we got back, still no birds, but while we were watching TV I spotted the swallow adults swooping down and around and went out and three of the babies were perched along the bottom of the roof edge down from their nest. Of course I got more photos and videos. We had some cobbler with whipped cream while watching TV. Later Bill said the mom was sitting out there with them but we only saw 3 babies. I checked all around the ground for number 4 and hope he was sleeping in the nest still.

We want to leave between 8 and 8:15 tomorrow and I’ll need to pack some sandwiches so better get moved on into the bedroom.