Author Archives: normdave

Our attempt at modern art. Lots of lizards. I thought maybe they drew what they saw the most of. We saw a lot of lizards. Norm wants to know if you can find the flute player? Please email her and her alone, please.

Norm really liked this park and kept saying the same things about it, until I pointed that out to her. She threw a rock at me. I pointed out to her that as a good citizen of the US, I would have to report her to the proper authorities. I laughed every time Norm ledContinue reading “Dino, #2”

I did not have high hopes when this park came along on our route, but we grabbed a hold of this monument and shook the heck out of it and had a great time doing so! Easy we hiked 15-18 miles and drove many more. Our campsite in the Green River campground. By my newContinue reading “The Dinosaur National Monument, Utah…”

This is what our last morning in the Flat Top Wilderness looked like. A great morning and in Yampa, we enjoyed a cup of French press coffee. We had a great two days and really hated to leave, but clean clothes and a shower (definitely) were needed. Our camp site in Steamboat Springs. Every ColoradoContinue reading “Steamboat Springs, Colorado…”

This walkway was a real rush to cross! And we had to do it twice! There is a lot going on in this shot. In the lower left of the photo you can see the trail switch-backing it’s way up and down. In the far right is a Shepard’s tent, the white object. He hadContinue reading “A Few More…”

The photo does not show the exposure that well, but there was plenty of it. The full trail is a 23 mile loop. You can see it in the shot. That is snow is the far distance.

Our camp altitude, according to our GPS, was 10,265 feet. The Devil’s Causeway, our objective is 11,965 feet! We thought the air was thin at our site, we needed supplemental oxygen to climb this trail. It is much steeper then it looks and just kept getting steeper. That is our destination. The very top ofContinue reading “We hike the Devil’s Causeway…”

The pond directly behind our site. You could see the bottom every where. We thought this was where you got water back in the day. Now they have one of those pumps that shoots water out like a fire hose.

This is main street in Yampa. We are going to make a left turn at the end and drive about 35 miles, mostly on dirt roads to the Flat Top Wilderness. After that we dropped off the grid, no cell or Internet, electric or showers for that matter, and we loved it (except for theContinue reading “Kremmling to Yampa Colorado…”

We were driving north on hwy 71 and saw a lot of open fields and cows. Norm spotted this place that looked kind of cool. We arrived in Denver and spent the night at our good friends home, Bruce and Becky, and their dog, Reilly. We spent the entire time catching up and filling eachContinue reading “Enroute to Denver Colorado…”

This is the Las Animas railroad station. Las Animas is the county seat. If you have been a faithful follower of our blog, you know my opinion of KOA campgrounds, ‘For Emergency Use Only.’ But this is the second time we have stayed at the KOA in Lamar and the facility and the people areContinue reading “Colorado….”

This was our residence for Sunday night in Lamar Colorado. It was a nice park, very dusty with few stones on the spaces. The owners were very nice. This is in Las Animas, Boggsville, but it was only open weekends. We went there specifically to visit the Kit Carson museum which turned out to beContinue reading “Las Animas, Colorado…”

The views were just outstanding. The photos don’t do them justice. These are suppose to be dinosaur tracks, but we were dubious. The tracks are not protected in any way and finding them seemed to be only by word of mouth. We thought the state would do a better job of keeping people away fromContinue reading “Black Mesa…”

This is a large and old prairie rattlesnake taking a morning snooze. That brown area right in front of him is the trail. The same trail Norm was walking on, and at the last moment before stepping right in front of his face, she leaped like a gazelle into my arms. Norm has had countlessContinue reading “Norm has bad Mojo…”

We travelled to the far northwest panhandle of Oklahoma to hike the highest point in the state. This definitely helped with our bad case of ‘Leo withdrawal.’ Our third and last state park visit was the best. The park is very remote and lots of sites were available to choose from. Here is the trailContinue reading “Black Mesa State Park, Oklahoma…”

Our campsite was very nice. We had this small loop all to ourselves. The weather was very hot, and for once the Oklahoma wind let us down. Every time we are in Oklahoma, the wind is blowing, usually the opposite way I am towing, but not this day.

Leo looks like a Okie in his camo hat. He loves to camp and ride his cycle and swim. We found this little gem of a park with fresh water springs that were really cold. He loved the water falls, although I think it could have been warmer for him. I don’t know what theContinue reading “Roman Nose State Park, Oklahoma”

On our way to Fort Cobb State park, we needed a pit stop in Hinton Oklahoma. This is our site. We looked for one that would provide us the most shade. The lake is right behind where I am standing. Most of our neighbors had some sort of watercraft. Leo is a natural camper! HeContinue reading “Camping in Oklahoma…”

We had the tree tied to a truck to make sure it fell right where we wanted it to. Success!

Here I am trying to make a good cut. Holding on with only my legs, but tied to the tree by two separate lines. Chris is showing me how to make an outstanding cut on a large limb. Chris has the tree roped to keep from getting something called a ‘barber chair’ which sounded likeContinue reading “Training part 2…”

Whenever a guy sees one of these machines sitting around, you know what will happen. A tree must come down! This is the offending tree, a eucalyptus. It had to come down, and we were the right men for the job. Here I am trying to explain something to Billy, on the far right, whileContinue reading “Chainsaw Training…”

I just drove through that smoke in the mirror. It actually was quite thick and at least a couple of miles wide. It smelled like burnt wood. This rain turned out to be real heavy down pours, about three different big ones. Usually this view would be blocked by our fifth wheel, but this isContinue reading “Road Trip, Phoenix to Yukon Oklahoma…”

My uncle Dick passed away. He was the last remaining brother of my Dad and always a joy to visit with. Ever since I can remember I enjoyed spending time with him. Dick, along with his wife, Dorothy, would have Norm and I in stitches telling us stories about people in the neighborhood or otherContinue reading “A sad day…”

They will give the sense of every article of the constitution, that may from time to time come before them. And in their decisions they will not confine themselves to any fixed or established rules, but will determine, according to what appears to them, the reason and spirit of the constitution. The opinions of theContinue reading “What has happened…”

Take a close look at this guy. Perfect posture from God. Flexible muscles, perfect height to weight ratio, consumes only the food he needs without advice from a diet and nutrition book. This guy doesn’t have to be told to exercise and knows what works and what does not. He is searching for his good spot toContinue reading “This body is a Temple…”

Norm is on channel 3 TV, live! That could have been a scary thing, but we heard she did a good job and looked good. I know that though! Norm referred to the camera man as the camera dude. He got a chuckle out of that. The news lady seemed very nice, but I neverContinue reading “Doney Park, Flagstaff Arizona…”

This truck has more bowling ball sized rocks under it. This is the driveway to the house in the above shot.

The county is calling this the Shultz Flood #1 Incident. This is not a very good picture, but that is the burn area on the side of those mountains. The locals tell us that they are not regular made mountains, they are mountains made from volcano’s. Which is where all the boulders came from thatContinue reading “DR, day 1…”

This is one of our neighbors. We are in Flagstaff Arizona staying in a hotel for a 0700 meeting tomorrow to represent the Arizona Southern Baptist Disaster Relief response to floods. Our drive up was complete with a slow down from an accident, heavy rain, blinding lightening and a tree fire near Munds park. WeContinue reading “We Respond…”

“Theodore you have the mind but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should.”     Theodore Roosevelt’s Father

It was so big it took me three shots to get all the showroom in. I think this is the bike that Malcolm used for the beach riding scene from the movie. I have no idea why they had this car at the shop, but Norm liked it and you know what that means. IContinue reading “Motorsports…”

This Malcolm Smith Motorsports located about two miles from where we stayed. That is me in front of 80,000 square feet of two wheeled fun. Growing up I watched a movie called ‘On Any Sunday’ that featured Steve McQueen, Mert Lawill and a guy named Malcolm Smith who could do just about anything on aContinue reading “A special treat…”

Deanna came forward the second night and rededicated her life to the Lord and just to make it all complete, she asked to be baptized. Jerome is asking her if Jesus Christ is her personal Savior. Deanna said “Yes” and Jerome dunked her. We were all so happy! The youth group behind the camera andContinue reading “Youth camp day 5…”

Norm and a really nice guy named Matt posing for a shot in between paint jobs. Norm was the Queen of the clean paint brush and roller. The kids got together and purchased flowers and mulch for the home owner. They asked Norm for advice on how to plant them. The finished product! It reallyContinue reading “Youth camp day 5….”

I got a parking ticket on campus. It says that I took up four parking spaces with my truck. I think that has to be a record or something that deserves an award. Pulling out from Liberty, our view was the same everyday. We sat in the same seat and if a kid was sittingContinue reading “Youth Camp day 5…”

Our group is getting ready to do something, probably paint. On the left is the Youth Pastor, Mike from Liberty and on the right is a news guy. We got coverage from print and TV. I rode up front everyday, so I guess this is what it would have looked like if I had turnedContinue reading “Youth Camp day 4…”

These flower pictures are all from Liberty Church in Moreno Valley California. My Mom loves flowers.

Today is our daughter Julie’s birthday. Happy Birthday Honey, we love you and give thanks that you are our little girl.

This is Liberty Baptist Church located in Monroe (I think), about a thirty minute bus ride from the camp. This is a very poor neighborhood, but the Church is like a beacon of bright light to the community. As crews fan out to work and help people, another group of teenagers help with Liberty’s vacationContinue reading “Youth Camp day 3…”

This is actually not the official day count, but it is the one I like. Our guys enjoy the first meal, and the food is surprisingly good. This is our Youth Pastor/Associate Pastor, Jerome. He is the one next to the rooster sauce. Signs, signs, everywhere, there are signs. The boys put in more milesContinue reading “Youth Camp, day 2…”

We arrived safely to California Baptist University from our place in Congress. This feed unit is heavy and I do not usually tow trailers from the bumper, so it took some getting used to. As you can see from the picture, it is an aerodynamically challenged unit. I hope our Pastor sees this photo ofContinue reading “Youth Camp, day 1…”

Just like 1992, Norm is working in vacation Bible school for our church. Just like our church in Miami, when word got out that she could show the kids how to make tie-dyed t-shirts, it was a given that they would be included. I think she modified around twenty shirts in all for young andContinue reading “VBS…”

This is our tool trunk. We did our first job together, by ourselves. No master carpenter standing by to give us answers to any question we would have. Merle gave us our instructions, scrape and wash this roof. Then, when it was dry, we applied repair materials and thick white rubber like paint. This isContinue reading “We are Baptist Builders!!!”

Last night Norm noticed that her cactus flowers were going to bloom and promptly ordered me to get up early, make coffee and when the coffee was ready to drink, I was instructed to wake her. At around seven Norm took these pictures and by nine the flowers were closed and gone. All total, thereContinue reading “Desert Flowers…”

Norm filled that little trailer twice and a large dumpster many times over with construction debris. To the right are sheets of dry wall waiting for Norm and I to carry in. We helped Merle install both the doors seen in this photo. I also got the first time opportunity to use a nail gunContinue reading “Baptist Builders, part 2….”

We worked for four days here at the Golden gate seminary in Scottsdale Arizona doing a variety of tearing things apart and building new things. It is hard to see, but Norm is in the center of this shot strolling toward Merle to receive her orders for the day. Here are just some of theContinue reading “Baptist Builders work…”

This guy said goodbye to us on our way back to the car.

This is the peak from the back side.

Norm blazes a trail to the summit. Actually she is just following the marked route. Tread lightly. Here we are at the top, basking in our success. Norm says, “Crawl up there and let me take your picture.” So here I am. All these little buds will become small white flowers soon.

Norm just asked me if I was sure there is no other way to the top?

We hiked Vulture Peak in June! I know most people are thinking “You two are insane!” But, we started at 0600 and finished at 1000. The weather was not bad at all. Most of the climb was in the shade so that was nice.

Boy am I late with these pictures. Norm saw at least twenty-five of these little guys yesterday. They are a little bigger now. The quail seem to be everywhere this year. Along with a bumper crop of bunnies.

This is Merle and me working on another project for someone in need. Merle is a master builder and craftsman that has built commercial structures and church’s all around Arizona and the southwest. Watching Merle cut boards, and operate all the equipment that is housed in his work trailer is just magic! Norm likes working withContinue reading “Merle and me…”

Some people will go to any length to use the carpool lane! I’m sure this is not related to this young woman’s upbringing.

He stood as others dream to stand; He spoke as others dared not even think;                                                                                  Continue reading “Captain Humbert Roque (Rocky) Versace…”

I am not sure that I am the best person to climb and cut trees with power equipment, but I went up anyway. You can see the saw dangling from my belt in the lower right corner, as I try to figure out the best way up. The tree was dead, but sturdy and IContinue reading “In a tree, with a Power Saw…”

We were back at the house of the “Hostess with the Mostess” Phyllis’s (on right, the only good looking one in our group) house cutting and whacking trees that her neighbors wanted removed or were a threat to thier property. Warren, John and myself hook Chris up and make sure he won’t fall. I amContinue reading “Disaster Relief Training…”

A war memorial in front of the courthouse. All these shots were taken in the vicinity of Whiskey Row.