Our Time Draws Near...

These last few days here are still wonderful and fun but the "time beast" lurks around the corner hissing that we have to go... 

Christian and his brother Oscar, who is here for the day, wash and clean out our car.  Tio mostly supervises.  I'm not sure how much "supervising" happened; he ended up holding this little angel the whole time.  She makes him smile.

The children build one last fort in the yard.

We go all out and feed Little Man and Oliver all of our leftover carrots; oh how we will miss them.

Happy Jack!

Playing wheelbarrow in the front yard.

One last dinner outside with angel food cake and strawberries for dessert.  Mr. Deke spent the day with us that day working upstairs with Jeff; he stayed around for dinner too.

Moo!

Did we really dress like this to get free food?

Of course!  When you have a family as large as ours, who would turn down $40 worth of free chicken at our favorite fast-food place?  We never get kids' meals except this one time of the year when they are free, so it is a really special treat for the little ones because they can turn in the "prize" for ice cream.  I did, however, spend a few dollars to get the older ones some ice cream and a little bit of extra food for Scott; one complete meal doesn't quite satisfy him.  Still a great deal by anyone's standards and they had a fun time dressing up. 

 We brought these 2 cowboys along to help with all the cows!

Tuckered out after a night as a cow-hand but ready to jump up with his gun at the first sign of a disturbance.

Mt. Diablo State Park

One Saturday afternoon we went up to the summit of Mt. Diablo.  We can see it easily from the house.  I walk towards it every morning to the entrance of the State Park, exactly one mile from the driveway.  That particular entrance, though, is only for hikers and horses.  We left the house, turned towards town, then back again and around and went in the North Entrance which is for vehicles.  It took awhile to drive the long winding road to the summit.  While Clayton sits at 394 ft. elevation, the summit is almost 4,000 ft. 

The road we live on that "dead ends" into the state park entrance.

Along the way there are many picnic areas and hiking trails.  We stopped at one called "Rock City".

Lots of rock outcroppings to explore and climb upon.

Elizabeth found her own cave.

While it may be 80+ degrees in Clayton, on the mountain, it was much cooler; it was almost 60 degrees and windy up top.

At the top.  According to the signs and information here, the top of this mountain has been used for surverying Northern CA and Nevada.  Many survey points are taken and line are drawn from this top point. 

While we picked a clear day to go, it was cloudier at the summit.  We were able to see rivers, bridges, and towns aways off but the Golden Gate Bridge and the city were in the haze.

With the binoculars, we could easily see Mitchell Canyon Rd. (our road) that goes into the park.  Following that, we could make out the quarry, and just barely could tell where the house was.  Jeff found 3 spruce trees that are in the back in a Zen garden and I found the light color of this gravel in the driveway.

The mountain again as seen from Mitchell Canyon Road

The quarry as seen from the road.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Great Sand Dunes

Along the road in Colorado

Snow in Colorado

Morley; a church front from an old mining community along the Santa Fe Trail

This morning (Wed.) we left Raton, New Mexico and followed the interstate and also the Santa Fe Trail through the Raton Pass. This was the first time we got a glimpse of the way the trail went in daylight. According to the maps, we were right on it. Several times going up into the pass (up to 7,500 ft.) I noticed "washes" along the highway. A lot of years ago, Dorothy Stone, who is now with the Lord, showed me some ruts from the Oregon Trail in the side of the hill in a park in Kansas while we were at an Alpha Delta Kappa picnic. When we were at the visitor's center the guide there said we could still see remnants of the trail if we knew what we were looking for. I knew when I saw the "washes" what I was looking at. It would have been so much fun to continue on into southeastern Colorado along the "trail line" and go to Bent's Fort; apparently a place with much living history about the trail but our time is limited. While we are having fun and seeing things along the way the objective is to get to CA by Sunday evening; Jeff begins work there on Monday with a meeting with the DOT in Sacremento. I'm glad we saw what we did and the scenery was breathtaking from our vehicle and gladly not from a covered wagon.

We turned toward the northwest and trekked towards the Great Sand Dunes National Monument or is it park? This was fun for the children; they could barely believe all that sand and how high the dunes were, and yes, you can climb, roll, run, and more there. So they were tickled. On the way we went through snow; yes snow in May. The temperature dropped to 30 degrees. As we settled back down into the valley at the Visitor's Center it had risen back up to about 50 degrees. Clad in shorts and short sleeves (appropriate when we left NM); we had to change into our "long clothes". I had anticipated this might happen and one of our totes had all this for everyone and was handy in the back. So we had a dressing room going on right in the car. We even put the baby in a covered suit type outfit with a hood (the wind was strong). However, it was way too windy after leaving the Visitor's Center to be out on the dunes with her and as I had been there before I decided to go back and sit in the car. Jackson and Elizabeth stayed with me as well. The wind had picked up and then the snow began and it got worse and worse. It looked like a blizzard and no I don't have a picture because Jeff had the camera. Further, the others were not coming back. I didn't worry about them; I knew they were having fun, but I couldn't see the bushes in front of the car it was swirling so much. So, we made lunches and sang songs in the car. Almost as soon as it had begun, the snow went away and the sun came out. Shortly they returned, smiling, and wet! They had climbed all the way to the top of one of the dunes only to be met with the swirling snow at that moment so their view was obstructed but they had had fun. We will be finding sand everywhere for days I'm sure. The rest of the day was spent, you guessed it, driving. We are staying in Cortez, CO right near Mesa Verde National Park.

An industrial car floor for industrial kids. Mercedes has got it right!

Santa Fe Trail

Lodging in New Mexico. Jeff earns points in Holiday Inn Express as he travels so we have been so grateful for lodging for "free" with a hot breakfast the next morning. I am so interested in history and always have been. Tuesday night as we were coming into New Mexico (in the dark) I began to see signs for the Santa Fe Trail, a National Scenic By-way. I had not realized that not only would we be close to the Trail but that we would actually cross over the Cimmaron Cut-off and travel along the trail itself. The cut-off was the choice for settlers going into New Mexico from Colorado. It was faster but more desert-like with very little water. Most took this route. We actually crossed right over the trail ruts and I didn't even know it until later. I'm sure if I had I would have asked my sweet husband to pull over and I would have been out looking for them with a flashlight. I'm sure he would have done this. When we reached the hotel in Raton, NM we were on the trail or it ran right beside the interstate. As we walked in under a clear starry night I wondered what it must have been like to travel such a distance over 62 days sleeping each night under that same beautiful sky. What a perilous fearful but wonderous adventure it must have been. How many mothers before me tucked their precious children in under that sky as I did that night as well in New Mexico. Thank you Lord for a safe place to stay and a beautiful night.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011





Well I promised to post about everything, well, almost everything. And of course every trip has its glitches. Ours happened Tuesday. First the cooler blew a fuse; we had been told this was a possibility. We went to an auto parts store and fixed that. But even though it is working (making the right noises), it is not too cold; not sure what we'll do about all that. Jackson dropped his water bottle on the floor which resulted in a mini-flood. Thank goodness for a new vehicle with no carpet or upholstery. I also keep a few golf towels handy in the car at all times for times such as this. We also got a late start since one of the children was in the bathroom for about an hour, trying to "go". Oh, the joys of traveling. I'll post a few pictures when I have a faster internet connection. I've been trying to do this on the road but most of the time we are in the middle of nowhere.

Fort Smith, Arkansas to Raton, New Mexico

On Monday after we left the Nowlin's home, we drove on into Arkansas, crossed the swollen Arkansas River to the far western part of the state, Fort Smith on the border of Oklahoma. Monday's drive was short (by this trip's standards), 5.5 hours of driving and 415 miles. We drove through the little small towns (pop. 363 etc...) along the top of the state as I-40 was closed due to flooding.


Tuesday we left Ft. Smith, crossed the Arkansas River again and went into Oklahoma. After awhile it started to flatten out considerably. We drove across Oklahoma and into the panhandle of Texas and then headed north. Tuesday was a looooonnnggggg day of driving. That was pretty much all we did. My navigator husband says we drove 10.5 hours and went 712 miles. I know you're all wondering how we passed the time. I'm getting pretty proficient at feeding people in the car; this process can take up to over an hour. Any of you who have been around my children know how much they eat and this is a hobby of theirs which they take very seriously. I have a couple of large rubbermaid bins with food that I pull out from under the seat and all the tools and fixings for lunches with what is in the cooler. We also work on many activities that we brought with us. First we all brought school work. In this vehicle I can stand up since I'm short and I can move from row to row to help with work. Then we have many activities the grandmothers gave us, bingo games for traveling; maps to color, dot-to-dots for all the states; flashcards; and other various activities. The week before we left I became a member of Enchanted Learning online. I printed all kinds of activities, charts, maps, and more dealing with geography and the states. Each child has a notebook with the bingo games, crosswords, word searches... in it and we add the maps and other printed activities as they complete them. By early evening we then enjoyed re-runs of the Andy Griffith show. We move around too; the children have been taking turns, changing seats daily and Scott and I share the front seat and switch around as well. So far, Daddy is doing all the driving.

Dear Tara

Dear Tara,
I'm so glad you're my sister; every girl should have one.  I'm thrilled my girls do.  I'm so happy I had more than just the obligatory boy and girl so that my girls can experience this.  I'm guessing there are times in every siblings' life when they wish they were an only child, but I'm sure that "only" children wish for siblings more.  You are a treasure to me and I am always amazed by your compassion and sense of duty.  No one is ever a mistake; all of us are wanted by God and created in His image; even my 2 perfect little boys in heaven were desired by Him to be created and be.  You are no exception, a beautiful gift to the family I grew up in.
I'm so glad you came to visit us here in our new but temporary home.  We extended the invitation to anyone and you were the only one to take us up on that.  I'm glad you brought Kate, one of my 8 nieces, since she is just about the same age as Sarah Kelly.  It was really cute with all of you in the "girl's row" in the back of the Benz.  That tickled me.  I hope it wasn't too bouncy back there around all those curves we traveled on Highway 1, going up the CA coast.

 I'm so glad you were willing for anything, especially all of our adventures.  Whew!  Did we really pack in all that in just a long weekend?  Maybe we "ran" you too much. 

 At least we made it to the beach and the Pacific.  I know it was so much fun for the kids.

 And we were really fooling ourselves that they would not get wet.  Ha!  We should have just put them in the bathing suits and not worried that it was only in the 70s. Jeff did a pretty good job of getting them cleaned up though, didn't he?

 I hope you got some good pictures and I'll email you some more of the Golden Gate Bridge since it was hazy and you couldn't see it so well.  I'm glad Jeff drove you home that way after picking you up at the airport and you both got to see it well and drive over it then.

 I'm sorry Miss Jules didn't get to come but it sounds like she had a lot of fun in NC having one-on-one grandparent time.  That is so fun and important.  But the 3 girls here certainly didn't lack for anything together; they were all smiles every day, that is until you left and Sarah Kelly cried that morning.

 You have such good ideas; I really like the one about taking a picture of everyone's toes in the water, first without it and then as it rushes in although I think I have the pictures in the wrong order. 

 And you pointed out as well that this was Miss Ellis's first time (well other than last week) to see the beach and the Pacific Ocean at that.  Here we have been to Charleston 4 times in her short life and she had yet to see the Atlantic or visit the beach.  She has to go all the way to California to see the ocean.

 I don't know how well she liked her Daddy's idea of dipping her feet into this cold cold water, though.  And, there is still some sand and dirt under those tiny toenails too.

 I'm sorry the weather was so deplorable.  I mean, who thinks it's going to be in the 60s in CA in June, 20 degrees below normal?  And the rain, I mean, there has been no measureable rain in June here in the Bay area in over 13 years and we get 1 inch in 1 day!  But you were a good sport, attempting to shop in it.  I know that was no hardship for you!  I somehow missed getting the shopping gene.

 We braved the lower than normal temps to have a cookout and eat outside

 but it was chilly so I'm glad now, we didn't opt for the outdoor movie.  That really would have been cold.  But I also know you're not much of a movie person and would rather read a book, which you did, a whole entire book while you were here.  I picked it up after you left and read it myself the following week; it was an intriguing story.

Going to the city was fun.  Now the shopping in Chinatown I do have to say I enjoyed.  I went back the following week; you wouldn't believe the antique/furniture store that I found.  If Jeff had not been with me, there's no telling what I might have shipped back to SC.   Maybe I do like some shopping after all.  Remind me to show you the picture of the 4 ft. bronze lions I wanted that were on sale there.  They were awesome and would look so good at the bottom of our road when we put our gate in; that is until someone stole them, if they could lift them.  As it is I am sending back 3 (small) pieces of furniture and gifts on the boat that will return via truck.  What a great place to find some interesting things. We'll probably make another trip there soon since it's only 45 minutes away.  But I think our excursion with you to Pier 39 will be the only one.  We did have a good meal there though.

I do hope you had a good time, despite the weather and I miss you.  Of course the day you left, the very day, the temperatures jumped back up into the 80s and have been that way, hot and dry ever since.  That's life isn't it?  I'm glad you made it back safely and we'll see you in NC sometime this summer.  Don't eat too many of those belly flop jelly beans you bought at the factory here when we went on the tour, or you'll have to go on a weight loss program with me, not that you would ever need to!

Thanks again so much for coming to see us.  I know the time change to the east was hard and it means a lot you took the time and effort for the trip. 

Love you always,

Kel/Aunt KK