Nomads2

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 I ‘chuncked’ (I think that is what John and Chris called it) it out a few feet at a time.

Here I am in action, my saw chewing through this portion of the tree. What you cannot tell from the photograph, or hear, is John yelling at my every move. As this was my first time in a tree, with a power saw, I did nothing that seemed right to John. I didn’t know that you could hold a chainsaw upside down? My feet were not right, I needed to lean back more, the blade was to close to my face ( I was glad to have that pointed out to me, though) and I had to stop and start the saw about fifty times. Start, cut, stop, shut off the saw, and look. In the end, after feeling that I never did anything correct, John told me I did a good job for my first time. John is a great guy!

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 am acting as the last line of defense for Chris as we haul him up the tree. I tried my best and Chris stayed in the tree.

Here Chris is up high and has prepared the way for me making sure that I don’t fall.

A war memorial in front of the courthouse.

All these shots were taken in the vicinity of Whiskey Row.

I know that you are thinking, “They only have ONE grandchild!” but Leo is devilish hard to keep track of. After numerous ideas and many hours of deliberation, this seemed like the ideal solution.

I love this shot and wish I had taken it. The other kids are easier to keep track of.

Leo breaks contact during one of his many training missions here in the desert.

A practice free climb on the newly remodeled windmill.

Leo enjoys a cool dip, hard to believe this is the desert.

I love a windmill! This one is on one of our favorite trails and the last time we saw it, it was in bad condition. Not any more.

After spending three and a half days sitting in his car seat, we thought he would be throwing rocks at it.

Leo enjoying the woods south of Flagstaff.

When we parked on our lot, these flowers greeted Norm.

We were blessed to have such a view from our parking spot.

Grammie and Leo make biscuits for Pappy to enjoy Sunday morning.

Leo checks out some Texas sized steers.

Our rest area in the middle of nowhere.

Leo played on this road for quite a while and no traffic came by.

The RV lifestyle can be exhausting.

Thanks to Leo’s Papa, he has a new set of wheels.

Someone once said, “Those who do not find time to exercise will have to find time for illness.” Before starting any exercise program, one should study the movements, so Leo put on Pappy’s reading glasses and boned up on KB moves.

The second thing one must do is get in the mood by dressing correctly. If you are not a buff dude like Leo here, at least you can look like one.

At last, it is time to hoist some iron. This is the basic outfit needed to complete a KB workout. No fancy athletic clothes, just a basic do-rag and since working out at home, undies will suffice.

I know I have talked about these before, but they are the best exercise equipment money can buy. From Russia with love, kettle bells will do it all, muscle, aerobic, core strength. Just make sure you get proper training or at least a video to follow. The movements can be hazardous to your health if not executed correctly. Check out the best place for anything and everything about KB’s at dragondoor.com, Comrades.

Our park lacks a play ground for kids. That did not bother Leo.

Leo is such a stickler for safety now that he has his own motorcycle, he insisted on using a helmet before playing on this metal box with the “CAUTION: HIGH VOLTAGE” warning sign.

Sometimes RV parks can be hazardous to little guys as Gammie removes a splinter from the picnic table.

Leo carefully examined the painful piece of wood.

The work never stops and Leo is eager to pitch in.

Finally, he finds time to work on his motorcycle. As a former owner of many two wheeled machines, I can tell you that motorized bikes take a lot of maintenance.

A lot of RV parks have swimming pools, not this one. As our grandson played in the large mud puddles behind our fifth wheel, Sam, one of the parks owners, informed us that he would have to charge extra for Leo to play in the parks wading pools. Just kidding, Sam is really a nice guy.

We were driving west on highway 166, passing through Niotaze Kansas when Norm said she needed to stop. Pulling into what looked to be an open parking area we parked in front of this business. It was a good thing we had our own potty.

I guess this speaks for it’s self

This is a photo of new and improved electrics.

Our brand new bedroom air conditioner. We tried it out last night and it worked great.

In the Chanute city park, the second AC unit shines in the sunlight.

The 50 amp cord is like wrestling a boa constrictor. Well worth the physical effort. The best thing is that the air conditioner, the electric hot water heater and Norm’s hair dryer can all be on at the same time, and boy, does she smile about that!

This was our spot for all three nights we spent in Chanute. Our trailer took two days of work to complete our upgrades and one repair item. We found this site by default, just about the only one left, it turned out to be almost level, so we kept coming back to it even when most everyone else left.

The Chanute public library. We spent a lot of time here. I was glad that they had wi-fi.

The wind made it seem like we were still in Oklahoma. It did not stop blowing!

A downtown Sears store. A mower and a roto-tiller were chained just outside the door.

Before leaving the Oasis campground we had to take a few shots of this classic fifth wheel. I have no idea what model or year, but it looked old.

Norm especially liked the innovative window work. I would have used duct tape.

I am resting up and taking a big breath (a couple of them) from our visit of Arkansas City Kansas. We had been using the GPS for navigation and really had no way of knowing that one of my worse fears about travelling in an RV was about to come into view. After going straight, instead of turning left, I could see it coming into view and instinctively let off the throttle and began to slow. A railroad overpass, just the top part of it. We are travelling east on a residential street, and I can begin to see the height limit sign. Does that say fifteen feet six inch’s or twelve feet, six inch’s? Yikes! It reads 12′ 6″ as I come to a stop. My wife, my partner, my navigator, the one person that I expect to have my six and keep me out of trouble, looks up from filing her nails, and says, “What’s wrong?” What’s wrong I want to scream, ” I have to back up and turn around in this neighborhood! That’s what is wrong! Why were you not watching for this?” But I said, in a meek and embarrassed voice “We’re too tall.” We took quick action, seeing that with a short swing maneuver, which we had recently learned, from The Long Long Honeymoon blog, we backed into an old service station garage and high tailed back to the main road. We made the whole procedure look easy, I made it in one shot with Norm’s direction using two-way radios for communication. After a 25 minute tour of the city, we finally made it to the road we wanted to be on by passing over the railroad tracks. This trip has been one new adventure every time we move!

“What?”

A Passport America park, the Oasis RV park was a very nice park. The type that Norm and I like to stay in. No frills, quiet and just what we look for when we park for the day.

They had this unusual swing, a two seater. We have never come across one that was built this way.

There is nothing like watching the sun set from your very own living room while travelling.

Leo with his most favorite gift. A carrot bat and ball. All any three year old would need or want.

Leo’s favorite boy cousins. From left, Brent, Ryan and Zach. All really great guys. Zach calls Leo, “Bueller.”

An Oklahoma sunset as seen from our living room in the Council Road RV park.

“Oh me! We just finished Easter morning service and it was so emotional. About 30 people came and we had an amazing service. People from different religions were worshipping the risen Lord. We sang a couple of songs; I read from the book of Mark, and Wanda Mitchell from Chicago sang special music. Donna Holt then gave her testimony. Dr. Mitchell wanted to share what happened in the emergency room next—a car wreck involving six people, most seriously, came in late the night before. One was a little three-year-old baby. The baby was non-responsive and they were losing him. Working on the little boy for about 1 1/2 hours, they knew they couldn’t do any more. Dr Mitchell led the ER nurses in a prayer for the baby; twice they prayed for God to save this little child. Finally the baby started crying, then moving, and may recover completely. There were very few dry eyes in that open field in Haiti when the doctor finished. We then sang “Just As I Am,” had prayer, and dismissed. Neither a loud generator nearby nor planes landing could stop us from worshipping our risen Savior.”
Photo : Eddie Tucker carries the large cross he built for the Easter Sunrise Service at the University of Miami Hospital (UMH) located at the Port-au-Prince airport.

Leo likes the guy “Guy” from the food channel.

This is how you order. Drinks are given first, than you stand and move to a seat when directed, as they become availible.

Paul and I eventually get to the bar and watch the burgers being grilled. They start out the size of softballs!

Leo gives his Gammie some loving.

Yes, we ate the whole burger, but not the fries. They were really good though.

The place is very small and only open from seven in the morning till two in the afternoon.

Norm and I had smiles for every bite we took.

It is as small as it looks from the outside. When we left the line was out the door.

A friend of ours wanted to know what was the good reason we had for driving or leaving warm Arizona for what has to be one of the worst areas for weather in the U.S. Oklahoma. Here he is, the best reason!!!

Grandson! If you are a grandparent, then you know why we had to brave Oklahoma weather for this little guy. Do you know why they are called grandchildren? Because they are really grand. We think grandchildren are more wonderful than children, but don’t tell the children. In fact, if we had known just how great they were, we would have had our grandchildren first! Leo loves chicken.

If you have ever seen the movie, ‘Food Inc’, you know what this is. If you have not, this is a feed lot. Someone gave them a fancy sounding name, but I can’t remember what it is. This a good sized one, but I have seen bigger, in Colorado and Nebraska. For the reader, fortunately, you cannot smell it, which depending on which way the wind is blowing, is brutal. The only time they smell worse than normal is when it is raining. That smell is hard to describe.

This is the ‘Cadillac Ranch’ just off Route 66. We always say we are going to stop and this as close as we get to stopping. Some people we talk to are disappointed after walking all the way out there. I’m not sure what they expected. I think it is junkyard art, but I am no art critic.

This is the world’s largest cross. It should be, it is in Texas.

After going five miles in two hours, getting stuck on a half of a degree hill (that is being generous in the angle) and being towed by a vintage 1980 Ford pickup truck, I arrived in this Smiths Foods parking lot where I spent the night shivering in a sleeping bag. I was never so glad to be parked. I promptly reported to the night manager, that I was spending the next eight hours parked in his lot. I soon had lots of company parked all over. Both the night and day manager were very kind and now Smiths is my favorite food store on the move. The real upside was that they had a Starbucks coffee shop inside!

What you cannot tell from the photo is about four inches of sloppy wet slush everywhere. When you are towing your only home, I cannot tell you how stressful it was. Every time I applied the brakes I expected the trailer to come up beside me. Not owning a snow or ice scraper, I used a piece of PVC pipe to remove most of the snow. Twenty four hours later I will be using my Flying J frequent fueler card to scrape ice from the truck.

I just stood there wondering, how I could be here.

Sunrise on my second day. Leaving New Mexico and about to enter west Texas. If you look real close you can see the solid ice that covered the entire truck. I think I found the best use for any credit card.

Sometimes, it is good to take a moment and reflect where one has been.

This is eastern Arizona or western New Mexico, this is also the end of good weather for me.

No one that is towing their home and all their possessions should keep going into this! If Norm would have been with me. I would have been sitting in our house in front of the heater.

For sure, it snows in many parts of Arizona.

Very pretty day, outside it was 37 degrees.

All of the photos in this blog were taken in and around the Flagstaff area.

All these cars were passing me, I was busy taking photos.

The pride and joy of the chainsaw crew.

It is a lot of stuff, but we use all of it at one time or another.

Here are some new shelves that Ernie made and I helped install.

They tell me this oven weighs 700 pounds. Wow! No wonder those trailers are so heavy to pull.

Here are three good reasons to join the Arizona Southern Baptist Disaster relief team!

At the very top, and hard to see is Daniel, a journeyman tree guy that works with John. In the middle is our fearless leader, Chris. Bottom left is a great young guy named Seth.

Here I am, just hanging out. Chris is giving me expert instructions. Climbing trees is almost as much fun as climbing rocks. Almost.

I went on to climb just a few feet from the top. The large branch that curves to the left above my head is where I finally wound up standing on. Very exciting!

We place gear and size up the job of trimming these three sick pine trees.

Everyone helps out carrying things. Lots and lots of equipment is involved.

The area has to be cleaned and tarps are put down to protect our climbing ropes.

This is John giving instructions on what the duties of a”ballast guy” are. John has forgotten more about tress and how to cut, trim, prune and climb than I will ever know.

Norm worked and worked trying to remove the head of this poor cow. No way was this going to happen without the use of my very nice and nearly new SOG multi-tool.

She sawed and sawed and managed to get cow ‘stuff’ in all parts of my nearly new multi-tool. As I write this, it is resting in bowl full of vinegar.

You would have thought she found a gold nugget!

We stopped at my Mom’s to show off Norm’s new trophy. For some reason the smell did not get any better.

We had our own gang of off-road riders on a great desert day.

We split up so Norm and I could get home first. It all changed when Norm saw something off the side of the trail.

My trusty steed. We picked this machine up on 9/11/01. Except for some warranty work, this quad has been trouble free.

Oh, no! That is Norm investigating her ‘discovery’ and I think there is a smell in the air.

If you look real close at the background, you can see a lady pointing at the pooh from this colorful bull.

We only looked at about a thousand of these booths. I know they were all different, but after a while they all looked the same.

We have no idea how we get into some of the situations that we do. We are both a work in progress and the Lord is still forming us the way He wants us to be. Saturday evening we were getting ready to close up the emergency service center and secure it for the night. I think I forgot to mention that we were not only serving as the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief assessment team, but we had been given a state of Arizona promotion to security team members by having a key to the building which allowed us to shower, so we had no problem with the additional duty. But, we digress. As I was trying to lock the door, the state’s network engineer resource management man, Owen, (a really nice guy) came back with the above HAM radio. I have no idea how the HAM radio system works, but it is a really good thing to have when problems occur. Owen picked up a call for help by another HAM radio operator that came across an injured hiker that could not walk without assistance. After a few seconds of discussion, I called 911 and relayed the information as it came to Owen. Norm ran to the truck and brought our road atlas so we could locate the hikers position and help direct the rescue services. The on site HAM operator provided Owen with GPS coordinates which improved the accuracy of finding their location. After one small glitch, (talking with the 911 operator twice, the Maricopa sheriffs office twice and the Phoenix Fire department once and almost having the Tonto Basin Fire department come to our location) the Maricopa county helicopter airlifted the hiker to safety. I think Owen had at least three HAM radio comrades helping him and the rescue departments. It was a great feeling to help someone and see the HAM radio system function as well as it did.

In July this creek/river is a dry wash. Not today! It was quite an adventure.

This is the fella that took us over the river. His name is Dan and he is an authentic Arizona cowboy.

Two weeks ago this was solid flat ground.

That is the residence satellite dish that was in solid ground with concrete.

This is the water line from the flood.

This is our headquarters and part time residence. We are doing assessments for the work that our disaster teams can do.

“I can only spread the sail; Thou! Thou! must breath the auspicious gale.” Charles Spurgeon

Highway 60, east of Interstate 25, in New Mexico, west bound driving into winter weather.

Two views of the same road. The photos do not do the landscape justice. The vehicle shows up in only one image.

Meers Oklahoma, home of an outstanding hamburger.

Our favorite and much experienced teacher, Bertha.
Just some of the displaced people enjoying our flapjacks.

We finally get to work in disaster relief, not in chainsaw work, but in the new kitchen that our Arizona chapter just acquired. Although we were not trained in this discipline, we learn fast cooking around 180 pancakes and upwards of 120 burgers. It was a great learning experience and we had fabulous instructors helping us with finding our way around the cook trailer.

This trailer is brand new and works really well for an event this size.

Our location was Salome Arizona at the towns high school in support of the Red Cross.