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Time has passed so quickly this month and of course, been bittersweet. The hours with Mom are so precious. I deliberately haven’t been on-the-go too much beyond taking her out for a few shopping trips; instead spending time chatting, making meals together and playing Mexican Train (her favorite) nearly every night. I did manage to Craigslist some items Marc wanted sold and raised enough cash to cover some of the expenses of my return to WI. I also babysat the installation of her new heating system and thermostat and she is well on her way to understanding how that will work.
Unfortunately, she still refuses to give up her wood stove, saying that does a better job on keeping her old bones warm. Given her age, my brother and I were hoping to do-away with the whole buy and split and stack and pack thing with the wood. Oh well, since he is the one left to do it, he will need to deal with it and her stubborn refusal.
On their last visit my son and daughter-in-law made a fabulous dinner for us last evening and I indulged in all my seafood favorites! He used to be a chef so he easily whipped up homemade Hollandaise to top off King salmon stuffed with Dungeness crab, smothered in Brie then baked to perfection. As if that wasn’t enough heaven, I also bought 24 fresh oysters which I BBQ’d and we washed it all down with Hillary’s homemade margaritas on the rocks. The temperatures even cooperated for us to do a little “porch sittin’”.
Early on Tuesday I will start the long slog east; following for a time the path through Idaho taken by daughter Rachael and Eric as they make their move to Dallas. They leave very early Monday morning having wrapped up everything in Portland and watched as the moving company left with all their possessions save for what would fit in her Subaru for the trip. I’m sure we’ll be comparing texts each evening as to our travel days, although mine will be much longer than theirs and certainly much slower paced. The weather forecast doesn’t sound particularly optimal with lots of rain showers for the first few days and maybe even some snow showers in Montana. It’s still changeable spring in the high country.
This my last entry for awhile, since I had internet at the house turned off and have not as yet scheduled its re-installation. Plus, life will be hectic for a time given all there is to catch up on at home, like grass cutting and weed pulling and planting a garden!
It was a warm Saturday morning as I pulled away from our Yuma lot with my casita
and cats behind me and hit the road north. I had a relatively easy first day,
stopping just outside of Searchlight in a small RV park for my first night out
on my own. All went well the second morning too, getting through the dreaded
Las Vegas but north of there I nearly got run off the highway by a passing
motorhome and toad who misjudged oncoming traffic as he was passing me and very
nearly swiped the front end of my new truck and barely missed the oncoming
car. That night was spent in a Hawthorne, NV casino parking lot where they even
provided free dump and dumpster. An early start the next morning brought me
through Reno and Hwy. 395 north which much lessened the traffic and country
roads allowed me to hit Klamath Falls, OR before tiring out at the Klamoya
Casino parking lot. Bend was an easy hop in on Hwy. 97 the next morning, a
Tuesday, so all in all I made good time I figure, as my first towing effort
with 1173 miles done in three days and three hours.
The kitties were not happy campers in the least and I had a lot of problems with young Spirit in calming her down and finally (after a week!) getting her to eat again. And it took a vet visit at that. The trailer proves to be very confining for all four so I am not looking forward to the long haul homeward when I leave here.
Time is flying as preparation for the two-day family reunion/birthday bash took up much of last week and out of town company started arriving two days in advance. It was great seeing everyone and I think my mother was very moved and shocked at the surprise appearance of her sister Myrna, whom she had not seen in seven years, which we had kept a secret. Myrna had to leave on Mom’s birthday but not before partaking of the superior baby back rib and chicken BBQ put on by my son and daughter-in-law.
It was sad to bid Rachael and Eric adieu as we don’t know when we will see them again given their move shortly to Dallas, TX. My daughter has gone from working in cyber security for Nike to the same type position at the headquarters of PepsiCo. They will be moving on April 22nd, off to new adventures and at a salary level that will allow them to finally purchase their own home so they are off-the-chart excited.
My time has been filled with preparing Craigslist ads, helping mom and doing bunches of research for a new heating system and running her around town since she finds it difficult to drive here now with all the traffic. Bend has become a mess—the type usually found in crowded California cities and I find I often employ what Marc refers to as “The Law of Superior Tonnage”. In other words, when the small Yuppie-mobiles refuse to allow me in or to merge, I merely come on out anyway. Works every time! I just don’t get the “freeze them out” mentality of Western drivers after driving so long in WI where everyone automatically and courteously moves to the left to allow you to merge. God get me home soon!!!!
Seriously though, I see so many changes for the worst since I was last here nearly four years ago. The whole world wants to move to Bend and I can hardly wait to get out of here—it’s just maddening now with its overcrowding, its complete Yuppie mentality and designer beers, its sky-high housing costs with no availability for new transplants, and its Goddamn small roundabouts at practically every intersection. They used to call it “Poverty with a View” and I don’t see as it’s changed much excepting now they could probably also throw in “The place of the HAVES and the HAVE NOTS. There is no middle ground in Bend; you’re either filthy rich or you are nothing. What’s comical about this whole thing is that when my mother passes on, my brother and I are going to be left with ten acres in this nirvana that others would kill to own since the average lot size is now 4500 square feet and goes for $265,000. But alas, her property is not in the urban growth boundary so cannot be split—otherwise we’d retire as millionaires. Ah, what popularity does to a place is shameful. One of the best decisions of our life was to leave this place in the rear view mirror.
More to follow.
What have we been doing?
So, the farther we get into fixing the ’97 Dodge, the more there seems to be to fix. We take it out for a 30-mile spin towards Quartzsite towing the trailer and I don’t care for the way it handles the trailer despite the addition of the air bags and heavy duty shocks Marc installed. Getting it back home he notes that there is antifreeze leaking and further checking reveals it isn’t from the radiator hose or something simple. It’s from the engine.
I start to cajole that it may be time to consider a new(er) truck; larger, more capable. After all, everything we drive is pushing twenty years old and older. Marc balks big time. The days ebb by. We have sank so much money and time into this.
Two weeks before I am due to leave, Marc goes out on his own to hunt for a new truck. He comes back with a line on a new GMC 2500HD 4-wheel drive with optional tow package, which gives it a dash-installed trailer brake, heavy duty springs, anti-sway and back up hitch camera. A couple days later after arriving at an agreed price he sends me in, we sign paperwork, he leaves back for work and I drive home with a new truck. All 25 miles of travel until the transmission goes gunny bag; apparently not knowing what gear it should be in so let’s just randomly shift and rev the engine at inopportune times. Marc calls the dealer an hour later and tells them to come get it—it’s their truck again, we want nothing to do with it.
In lieu of the GMC, the dealer suggests substituting a Chevy—same truck, same equipment, they’ll give us the same price. Only it’s not the same truck. The GMC has wheel trim which help prevent rust, important to folks who drive salted winter roads; and it had the running board option and cargo bed lights. It also commands at least a $1000 pricing premium for the brand over a Chevy. We’re sent home with a dealer plate and the Chevy to try.
Our deal was made on a GMC—we want the Chevy similarly equipped for the same price and MINUS the brand premium or we walk. The dealer goes back and forth for two days before capitulating. Parts should arrive to the dealer Friday to turn the Chevy into its cousin by Monday or Tuesday. With any luck, I’ll have a new truck by mid-week and I can maybe leave here on time next weekend. Why should something so simple have to turn into such a time-consuming disaster of stress and headache?
Dealing with the typical car salesmen and glad-handing dealers made us realize what we had in our encounters purchasing our two RVs recently from Dean Peters at Schieks Click Campers in Wisconsin. What a jewel he is—a regular guy who pulls no punches and just gives you an honest deal. What a concept.
Monday update: It’s finalized and the new Chevy is ours. The fender skirts are larger and more appropriate to heading off rust and somehow give the refined truck a more rugged appearance. We hitched up this weekend and I drove out twice and it feels so much more comfortable with the load. It has a six-speed transmission which can be manually controlled which is a boon on downhill grades; we tried it on the 6% grade into Wellton.
I’m very pleased but still nervous as a Nelly, as they say. My anxiety shifts into high gear at the thought of going off on this venture by myself even though the truck is equipped with OnStar. Who would have thought at the beginning that it would have required the purchase of a new truck and attendant expense? I figure at the speed I’ll drive and the rate of mileage, the trips will be very time-consuming. We’ve done all we can to assure me a safe trip so it’s time to do the dance. Just one more thing left for Marc to do: install the bed lining and the auxiliary fuel tank he purchased for the Dodge into this new truck.
It’s always hard to get excited about writing an entry when the kids have just left as it always leaves me feeling so sad since I get to so seldom see them. Eric & Rachael are due back at work tomorrow however, so left this morning on the three-hour drive back to the San Diego airport. It’s raining right now, adding to my feeling of depression.
All in all, the visit was fantastic and we enjoyed lots of catching up chat, evening al fresco dining and fires, and a ton of good beer and wine! Neighbors joined us for a brat dinner to welcome them to Yuma and celebrate their recent engagement.
Sunday, we planned for the day in Algodones, as Eric had never been to Mexico and Rachael had a wish list of things she wanted to shop for. The colors are so enticing--bursting forth from every vendor’s booth and I was able to find the new stained glass window I wanted for my little trailer. Wandering worked up our appetites, which we satisfied over lunch at El Paradiso, a consistent favorite of ours.
Marc has a big week coming up given his job trailer was finally delivered last week. Electric is supposed to go in today and the official groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Thursday. The project is finally underway!
