Category Archives: Uncategorized

Norm and my Mom doing something that they both like to do, shop. I complained about shopping and they both yelled “Just do it!” We got Mom some candy, a Starbucks cozy, a trip to the outlet mall and dinner at the Mellow Mushroom.

Stocker, on the left and Tucker were the first two to work with us on the sponge board. Norm had to check out the rides before any kids got on. “Safety first” she yelled. My Mom and my In-Laws helped make over 1000 hot dogs! Pastor Dean with some of our youth group.

“When I am weak then am I strong, Grace is my shield and Christ my song.”   Charles Spurgeon

Norm made friends with this high school gal and her grandma. This young lady had a clothing booth behind mine. Things were slow, so she modeled this hat for us. My booth.

There was no rest for the ‘roping dummy’ as kids of all age roped him without mercy. Sunrise on Friday morning.We worked in the food booths this past weekend and had a blast.

“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide….It is alleged by men of loose principles, or defective views of the subject, that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fearContinue reading “Voting Guide…”

I don’t want to call us professionals, but we have quite a few dog-sitting gigs under our belts. This was the cruel and unusual conditions we had to tolerate recently at our daughter Julie’s residence. Other than a few things on a ‘Mom and Dad to-do list” and feeding these hounds, we lounged around enjoying things weContinue reading “Dog-Sitting…”

  A.A. Hodge (July 18, 1823-November 11, 1886) an American author, lecturer, and theologian at Princeton University stated, “A Christian is just as much under the obligation to obey God’s will in the most secular of his daily business as he is in his closet or at the communion table. He has no right to separateContinue reading “He is Lord over all…”

On most Sunday’s this is where we can be found, awaiting the recreation time for our AWANA’s program. Norm is now working with the puggles group so I have to rely on my friend Thomas (on the left) to keep me in line.

Norm is showing off her latest creation! Norm’s Dad is on her right and Bill, her neighbor is to her left.

Nail polish and chain saws, just don’t seem to go together.

Our grandson Leo, is a Cubbie! Leo is working at his Grandfather’s rope factory in Kiowa Kansas. It is never too early to get that good work ethic into kids. From this shot it is obvious that he gets his good looks from this grandfather. He is a flashy dresser thanks to his grandparents inContinue reading “Leo…”

We drove from Yuma to Pinetop or from near sea level to above 7,000 feet elevation in around 8 hours. The temperature here in the daytime is not as warm as the over night low in Yuma. From ficus to pines, I am getting ready to scramble up this tree. I climbed above my topContinue reading “From Ficus trees to Pine trees…”

This is where we called home for the last 10 days in Yuma. The house belonged to Morningside Baptist Church and they were all so great to us. If you find yourself in Yuma, this church is a good place to worship. Our last tree to cut on. Norm is trimming some low branches whileContinue reading “Our last job…”

http://www.yumasun.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=64471 Here is a newspaper article about our team.

This was one gnarly tree to cut. Martin and I got the ‘Big Boy’ Stihl 660 chain saw with a 36 inch bar to whack it up. Using this saw is like wrestling with a gorilla! Here is Martin and his wife Betty sharpening a chain. Betty has been a real trooper and jumped intoContinue reading “There is always a tree to cut…”

This house belonged to an 87 year young lady. She told me she woke up one day and was 87! The before and after shots are quite dramatic. We tried to get the next door neighbor to sign a release form so we could go on his property and remove his trees also, but weContinue reading “Yuma, still cutting…”

I have failed to mention that the city of Yuma Fire Department has given us lunch everyday we have been here and also have provided us with back up chain saws and repair help. We even got home made cookies delivered to our work site this morning (thanks Kayla). Kneeling in front is Martin onContinue reading “Yuma, day 6…”

Like I said, the pucker factor was real high, so I really am more comfortable sitting there and cutting. It looks like I am all tied up in my work. We could not figure out how to drop some large limbs without crushing this chicken coop, so we used a dolly and moved it. MarkContinue reading “One Big Tree, part 2…”

This is the biggest job I have ever had to climb without Chris and the pucker factor was real high! The final product, cut as far down as we could. Here is how we accomplished the removal. Mark is on the right and Les is to the left. Mark is good with a saw andContinue reading “One Big Tree, for me…”

This is Chris, our fearless leader. We refer to Chris, with all affection, as “The Tree Whisperer.” As you can see from this photo, an expert rope climber and rigger along with the ability to use a chain saw with surgical procession. The photo below, is well, the exact opposite. “Uh, which way does theContinue reading “Yuma, day 5…”

We started Monday looking over about 15 tree jobs in Yuma from a storm they suffered in August. Talk about being timely! No one knows that the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams in Arizona have the capability to remove and cut large trees with surgical procession. As you can see in these before and afterContinue reading “Disaster Relief work in Yuma Arizona…”

Have you ever said something a while back and then kind of forgot about it or thought that since no one took you up on your offer, it was probably for the best because if you did do it, you would stink it up? Well this happened to me a few weeks ago. Norm andContinue reading “I said I would do what???”

A few years back, Norm and I thought we were finished working with youth. We did that and were really looking forward to working with seniors (old people), the normal progression, we figured. Of course, we did all this planning without consulting the Lord. He had other things in mind and here we are workingContinue reading “Our Youth Group…”

This is a former climbing rope. We have had this rope for quite some time now. I was sitting in the climbing office at Devil’s Tower a few years back when Michael, one of our climbing rangers, asked if I wanted to go with him and find an abandoned rope that some visitor reported? “You bet!”Continue reading “Norm is so crafty…”

Camp site # 14 in Flagstaff Arizona. We had a great time walking around down town and swallowed down some good grub. This is the burn area where we worked in July helping clean up. We took the time to drive through some of the harder hit areas. Some houses showed dramatic improvement and sadly,Continue reading “And just like that, it was over…”

This random plant was growing in the middle of no where, with nothing else around it. After completing our last hike, we were driving back to camp and Norm looked to her right and asked me ‘Is that someone on top of that truck?’ and of course I agreed with her. It turned out toContinue reading “Our last day in Goblin Valley…”

Many people wonder how we can stay in the cargo trailer. As you can see, it is very cosy. There is a place for everything. This looking in through the two rear doors. I tell everyone that it is a work in progress. It may look like chaos and cluttered, but we had a goodContinue reading “Random Items…”

We do not know for sure, but someone told us that the movie “Galaxy Quest” was filmed on location here. After this much thinking, studying, and contemplating, I should be much wiser.

It almost seemed that we had to hike through tight spaces on every hike. This is really down in the drainage on the trail to goblin valley. This was our last hike, so we sat on a big rock with a big drop off, basking in the Sun.

I think I was looking for something to eat. If we look like we are having a good time, your right! These goblins were so much fun, Norm could not help pointing out how the goblins all looked like some item or animal. This goblin looked just like a throne. So, my Queen took herContinue reading “Goblin Valley…”

A lot of people are curious about what we eat while travelling. Some people think we eat at restaurants all the time. Nothing could be further from the truth, as you can see. We cooked our own meals for almost three weeks before giving in to one of Ray’ s burgers. I think we pickedContinue reading “Camp food…”

This looks strange in the photograph, but it is solid rock we found in the canyon.

This is a lot higher than it looks, and deep also. We had to climb over with some effort.

If you look real close, you can see Norm has to put one foot in front of the other. Stepping wise, this is the narrowest part of the canyon. Self portrait. As you travel through the canyon, you come in and out of the slots, with some few wide areas. You are still surrounded byContinue reading “Little Wildhorse part 3…”

When there were no big rocks to climb over, the trail was good gravel. Yikes! You can never be sure who you might run into in these canyons.

Norm spent much of her time saying ‘Wow’ and laughing. It was an incredible experience that we will never forget. It made for a long day, about 8 miles round trip (loop). We liked the first canyon so much, we hiked it twice. Norm is way up near the front of the shot. The LordContinue reading “Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyons…”

Campsite#12 proved to be quite expensive. We had to pay top dollar for a site, nine dollars to wash the truck and trailer (okay, it was really a rinse, I hate to pay), $9.50 to do laundry and two hours of our time cleaning the inside of the trailer and every piece of equipment weContinue reading “Green River Utah…”

Our experience with this drive was not good. We could not recommend this unless you like bumpy, very dusty conditions. Campsite #11, somewhere in the seventy mile stretch of road that is Nine Mile Canyon. Must be some sort of new math? We loved our spot till Norm had to spoil it by pointing outContinue reading “Nine Mile Canyon, Utah…”

This is the remains of a chicken coop that belonged to a lady named Josie that lived on or near the monument for more than 50 years. No modern conveniences, she canned her veggies and killed her own beef and wildlife. The cabin still remains and there is one color photograph of her sitting atContinue reading “Dino # 5 and Jenson Utah…”

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.