Traveling fro HOT Chadwick Missouri to the Low Temps of Salida, Colorado - on the road again!

After a wonderful and exhausting spring in Chadwick, MO it was time to head back out on the road. It was great to run the off roading campground there where we have so many wonderful friends and family. But, with the heat indexes reaching around 100 degrees every day, we knew we were about a month later leaving than we normally like.


Often times weather does dictate our travels. We've learned to leave Missouri no later than the 3rd week of June if we don't want to deal with the horrible temps in western Kansas and eastern Colorado.  But this year we broke our own rule and stayed a month longer. Our daughter has moved to the Springfield area and is on her own now. Staying near her for the extra month was well worth the heat.


We left Sunday, July 12th and had a rough first day of travel. Many of you know that we take two vehicles - 


We brought the blue Raptor 80 ATV along for this part of our trip. We like to off road in Colorado and Utah and Gabriel is old enough to do so.  But, the flat bed that I pulled did not handle the lay out of the UTV and ATVs well. As I drove down I-44, it felt like the trailer was sloshy in the back and seemed to pull the van instead of the van pull the trailer. I got on the walkie talkie and told my husband how it felt. So, while we took a break at Precious Moments in Carthage, MO - he added two spare tires to the tongue to add weight to the front.  I got back in and it road a lot better. 

That night my hubby changed the trailer around again by putting our Raptor 80 on the tongue of the flat bed. Once he did that , it drove great. 

We spent our first night at the same place we always do when we travel across Kansas on Hwy 50 - Oasis RV Park. Great place to stop for the night.

Day Two - We left as early as possible because Shae (my husband), found a cracked rim on one camper tire. So, we found a Walmart in Pratt, KS where we waited over two hours for service. Temps were 105 degrees when my hubby got the new tires and installed them on our camper. We spent hours wandering Walmart and he spent hours sweating outside.

We parked for the night at the Sportsman's RV Park in Lamar, CO. It is a nice place to stop for the night and jump in the pool to cool off. 

Day Three - From Lamar we made the trip all the way to Howard, CO. It is a wonderful campground - Bandera's Bunkhouse  RV Park, Motel, and Horse Camp.  It is right on the Arkansas River, which I can hear from in my camper. It sounds beautiful. 

From our base at Bandera's Bunkhouse RV Park we had many adventures....

those are coming!

Everything Got Trashed While Traveling to Texas

One of the problems with taking your home down the road, is that sometimes the bumps and dips completely turn the contents upside down.

Such was the case last week when we traveled from Missouri to Texas.  It was the worst it has ever been.  

What happened?  I don't remember any huge bumps!

Items from my desk slid off the end as well as the things underneath it getting thrown in front of it.

Our camper must have tipped far to the right, everything on the left had shifted that direction.

I drive a 15 passenger van that tows our UTV, ATVs, kayaks, bikes and other items.  I didn't go in a ditch, curb, or huge bump to the right!  But, when towing a 42' camper, it might hit things that my smaller 16' flat bed does not.

Our school book shelf completely tipped over and broke apart.  That has never happened before!

Even toy shelves on the back wall flew forward and spilled Josie's toys!

It was awful. Like I don't have enough to do!

Taking a camper down the road is liking having your home in a 5 hour long earthquake.  Even with everything hooked, taped, and stored - there are times when it is gonna fall apart and fall over.

Such was the case this past week....

Condensation in a Camper...I Might Have Won the Battle!

The battle is over...I think I won.

Time will tell.

Cold weather is coming to stay and with it condensation in the camper.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know the struggles I have with condensation.

With paper thin walls and extreme temperature differences, water/condensation collects on almost every wall and fills every window sill, every morning.

Mold becomes a serious problem and has to be dealt with constantly.  In the past I thought I was going nuts after having to wipe walls and sills for months at a time.  I had to dig everything out of cabinets that were on the outside walls of the camper and dry them out every other day.

I tried putting charcoal in bags, Damp Rid, small dehumidifiers, leaving a vent open, and other things but none seemed to help much.  They all helped a little, but not enough to keep my sanity!

So, when my husband decided he wanted to try to stay further north this winter instead of say warm Texas, Florida, or Arizona - I was thinking - make a reservation at the nut house for me!

I love my husband very much and try to trust his judgement.  We don't always agree but I decided to just go along with this and make the best of the cold situation and stay in the cold with a smile.

I researched bigger dehumidifiers on line.  I don't have room for one that is larger than 30 pints and I definately want one that is on the quieter side.  But, after reading the reviews it seemed that none would work.

So, when I saw one at Walmart the other day I just grabbed it and set it in my cart.  I figure if it doesn't work then it will go back.

And guess what....

It works!  So far so good!  Tonight will be a test of its efficiency.  With temperatures dipping even lower and us still breathing as much as usual - we will see how much, if any, condensation is on the windows.

I hope it will do the job and the battle will be over and I will continue to be only half crazy instead of totally!

More New Tires! That Makes 25 this year!

Wow!  More tires!  

You can’t be serious!  

Last August, we were travelling from Montrose,  Colorado to Marysvale,  Utah when we blew two tires on the camper.

Read these two previous post to hear about that!

Though we bought 19 tires last August, that did not include our Dodge Dually.  We drove all the way from Virgin, Utah to a campground near Branson, Missouri with only one cracked rim on the camper, which is quite common for us.  That happened somewhere between Grants, New Mexico and Amarillo, Texas.  My husband was doing his normal check of the tires, rims, and motors before we would head out the next day when he came across the crack in the camper rim.  He found a local tire place that got us one pretty quick and we got it put on and left the next day.

But, back to the current wheel problem.

 Thankfully, my husband is very meticulous when it comes to motors, campers, vehicles, and basically anything you would consider “a guy’s job”.  A couple of days ago he came in and broke the bad news, “Honey, we have to buy tires for the truck.”  Oh no, I thought.  Seriously?  We just bought 19 tires last fall and now we have to buy six more!  Plus, the truck tires cost more than the other ones. 

Shae was looking over all of our machines, motors, tires, and equipment – on an almost daily inspection – when he spotted the bulge in the back outside tire of our dually.  He told me how thankful he was that we had made it to Missouri without it busting.  So since my oldest son needs our van for his new job, I asked my husband to get new tires quick, which he had already planned on doing.

Today we made the 40 minute trip to Walmart to get the new tires on.  We have always used locally owned tire shops but this time we thought we would go with a nationally owned shop in case we have problems down the road.  When we go to a local shop in a particular town we can almost guarantee that we will not be going back to that town again.  If the shop does bad work, we can’t just bring it back and say, “Fix It!”  We might be 1000 miles away before we catch their mistake!  Believe me, this has happened to us.

After we arrived at Walmart, my husband glanced at the tire with the bulge in it and the bulge had tripled its size in just a short drive!  The Lord really protected us, as usual!

He decided on a NITTO Dura Grapplor tire.  We hope it will do good for us.

Tires are definitely something we have to budget for.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nitto-205-130/19473690  These are the tires that Shae decided on.

The rim was welded back at one time.  Now, we just replace them.

Shae checks our tires often which has saved many a problems on the road.

Sometimes we get the same rim and other times we do not.

Hazards on the Road - Air and Water Issues

There are so many benefits of traveling full time. Yet, there are many disadvantages.  

Through the years I've learned to always try discern if the problem I am facing is due to living in a camper and traveling full time or if it is a problem that I would have had in a sticks and bricks home.

Often times the difficulties are not caused by our lifestyle.  No matter where we live there are hard times.

Other times it has everything to do with traveling.  When I come to that decision I make necessary adjustments, get a good attitude, and start to be thankful I am even alive.

Lately, I have been facing a problem I have not had in three years.  During my pregnancy I had breathing problems.  My lungs did not want to cooperate with my body and I had a very difficult time breathing.

There were many causes - some were my fault - too much stress - not setting boundaries in my life - 

                                      - some were not my fault - exposure to sickness - stress I could not avoid 

I was also exposed to a huge fire in central Florida that year, and that must have been the trigger for my emergency room visit.

Three years later my lungs have decided to go on strike again.  We are in Utah this year.  It was difficult to avoid the fires in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado, but we did and we made it to Utah with no smoke inhalation.

Sadly, not long after we arrived the fires from Idaho sent there poisonous smoke south to us.  There were two weeks I could not even leave the camper.  Then two more fires were west of us and then south.

Why didn't we pick up and leave?  I guess we were hoping it would stop. We have spent so much money to get west and have plans to stay for a long time.  No one wanted to change those plans.

After the smoke subsided, my husband and I went for a hard hike up a mountain. When we left there hadn't been smoke in the air for days. Little did we know a fire had started west of us and the smoke was still not visible.

Notice the smoke hovering in the mountains

Since then my lungs have been hurting.  So, I ask myself, is this something that is the fault of our lifestyle?  No, there was a ton of smoke in Missouri this year! If we had our home there still smoke would have been an issue.

In other ways yes.  I think it is important to consider the environmental impacts in the locations we travel to.  I am always going to www.homefacts.com.  They tell me how many tornadoes have been in the area, sex offenders, environmental hazards, and other necessary information.

Another problem here is the radon.  There were huge uranium mines in the mountains all over the area.  Thankfully we have our water filter.  The radioactive material can get in the water supply.  We also stay away from the mine dumps. Some have mercury around them.

Whether you are traveling full time or just going on a trip - be informed.  Be careful and count the cost and benefit of each place you go.  Our home is on wheels so we can pick up and leave or be patient and make the necessary changes to stay where you are at.
Below is an Amazon Widget that has the water filter we have used for over a year. It is amazing. I used to get sick all the time from bad water at campgrounds.  Every few days I would feel tired, my belly would rumble and maybe some of the diarrhea.  Which, with living in a camper is not a pleasant thing to have, especially when everyone hears everything that goes on in the bathroom.  Too much information you say?  Well, for those of you thinking about going on the road - this is the reality.  Those of you on the road already - I know you totally sympathize.



We also have a great air filter.  There are many on the market. You can shop through our website on Amazon.  Also, check out our Amazon Market for more products - hey, we gotta make a living, too!! he he
But seriously, these are really important issues that we deal with sometimes on a daily basis and can really affect our health.  I joke about it, but I have almost no voice because of my lungs. I hack and cough when I eat and have a hard time jogging now.

Camping in the Woods Has Its Problems

It is days before the home school convention I will be speaking at and sure enough I got poison ivy on my chin.  Can you believe that?  We live in our camper - in the woods...but still...right before the convention?

The leaves have filled the forests.  The campground is in full bloom and pollen is covering everything.  With the nice temperatures the kids have enjoyed doing school and playing outside as much as possible.  But, about every fifth time they pass the ball, someone misses it and the ball flies into the woods.  Someone has to go get it, and I know there is a patch of poison ivy over the fence.  Or, maybe it was dear hubby when he hiked through the woods to get lighter wood for our campfire.  Regardless of where I got it from, I sure have it.  That is part of living in the woods.  Whether the danger be poison ivy, bears, mountain lions, weird neighbors, or snakes, we have to deal with it the best we can.

So, hopefully the witch hazel I am putting on my chin will help the poison ivy to go away.  If not, I will see you at the convention with a very bumpy, red chin!

Bad Weather in a Camper

There are many positives and negatives to hitting the road full time.  We love traveling, seeing the sights, visiting family, climbing, hiking, four wheeling, kayaking, mountain biking, spending more time together, are just a few of the wonderful reasons to travel.

Yet, there are negatives and the worst for us is bad weather. 

The recent outbreak of storms has hit us hard in central Texas.  It is quite scary to have lightning crashing around us as we hide out in our 42' camper that seems like a tin can when the wind is rocking it back and forth.

The first big storm hit about a month ago.  We were at Navarra Mills Army Corp of Engineers campground.  It was a beautiful place to stay.  Our camper was nestled among numerous large trees which kept us shaded during the day.

But, when the winds hit, the trees bent extremely far down.  I was concerned one might fall on the camper, and even if it didn't fall, lightning could strike one of them and then go into our camper.

The winds hit suddenly and the kids and I ran for our truck. We didn't even have time to put shoes on.  I drove as fast as I could to the bathhouse just across the field.  We ran inside and huddled in the corner.  Most of the kids were half asleep as this happened around 6 or 7 am.

Shae, my husband, and Cody our 18 yr old, were still at the camper, closing windows, vents, and grabbing as many items outside before they blew away.

It wasn't but a few minutes after we had arrived at the bathhouse that Shae and Cody showed up. 

We hid in the bathroom/shower area for over an hour.  It got very cold so Shae ran back to the camper to get us a blanket and shoes. 

Once the storm was over, we drove back to the camper, relieved to find everything in tact and accounted for.  The only damage was to our tent we had set up for the kids to play in.

We were thankful to be ok and to have our camper in one piece.

Storms are terrible in a camper.  I have more stories to share....one about the tornado!

Heading North This Time of Year

Crazy is an adjective used to describe us for numerous reasons.  I am about to give you another...

We headed NORTH

a couple weeks ago, to stay in Wisconsin for a month or two. 

Yes, you read it right. 

We headed NORTH!

This time of year most RVers are heading south to get a spot at the quickly filling campgrounds.  There aren't a lot of places to spend a warm winter, so reservations are a good idea.

But, of course, we just couldn't do the norm.  Instead, we packed our bags, left our camper behind and made the long trip to northern Wisconsin.  You see, it has been six years since I have seen my Grandma and I decided I didn't want to wait another winter.  So we winterized our camper, left it at a friends, and headed north.  This is the first time away from our home on wheels in over two years.

After three days on the road, in motels, and with family, I told my husband,

"I am never traveling without the camper again!"

It took us sooooo long to get to our destination.  On day two we stopped almost every 45 minutes for the 4P's

PEE

POOP

PUKE

OR PLAY

We left a trail of bodily fluids from Missouri to Wisconsin.  I have children of all ages, and getting them on a potty cycle is almost impossible.  So, we decided to enjoy the trip no matter how long it would take or how gruelling it would be.

The good news is that we found a cabin to rent for a month!  It feels so weird to stay in a house again.  We actually have privacy and peace and quiet again! 

And, with visiting family comes the faithful sicknesses.  It seems when ever we visit family we get sick.  Why is that!?  So we enjoy the cabin while we are cough, snort, and wheeze!

My memories of kayaking Lake Wappapelo, pregnant!

Lake Wappapelo, in Southeast Missouri was a great place to stay. It is one of those few areas that we would consider moving to when we are ready to settle down. The small town, self-sufficient, not a suburb, was very appealing to us. But, since this is the kayaking article, I best stick to that subject and not go on a rabbit chase.

The lake is quite beautiful and has good fishing. Shae, Cody and Hanna went on an exploration kayaking trip around the lake. The air temperature was pretty cold, so no swimming.

The next day we took the kayaks to the spillway for the reservoir.

Spillway of Lake Wappapelo, Missouri



I was very pregnant with Tytus at the time, but decided I would take a quick spin anyway. Those of you who know me know that I can be very adventurous. I climbed in, with a lot of difficulty since my belly was huge! Josie decided she wanted to ride with me. She climbed in and we headed out. I didn’t get too far from the shore in case we tipped over.

Fisherman dotted the shoreline, some catching fish, others not.

Seeing the spillway and enjoying the water from a kayak is a wonderful way to enjoy God’s creation. There is something special, peaceful sitting on top of the water; no waves, quiet, no rushing or appointments.

Josie got a little antsy and wiggly, so I decided I better get to shore before she tipped all three of us over; her, me, and sweet baby in my belly! I paddled to a little inlet where I thought we could disembark. Cody, my 17 year old was nearby so I hollered to him for some help.

He grabbed little Josie and set her on shore. I, on the other hand, was not as easy. Sitting so low in the kayak coupled with the water being much lower than the rocky shore, made for a bad combination. I put my left leg out of the kayak and realized that there was no way my large, pregnant body was going to follow.

The police officer, sitting in his car, near the shore, looked at me like I was crazy as I attempted to boost myself out of the kayak, with no success.
I had Cody grab my left forearm. He pulled as I pushed with my right.
Legs flailing, arms grasping, loud grunting, my dress flying up, are just a few of the actions of the moment!

I noticed the police officer looked away politely as my legs flew up and my dress slipped past my knees. I think I would have rather had him come help me, though!

With absolutely no grace and complete embarrassment, I got out of the kayak and on to shore, vowing not to get back in the kayak until after the baby was born.

Shae had two kids for a ride in his kayak.

Cody and Hanna tried to ride together. It was so funny as they almost
tipper over - over and over again.

Gabriel thought he discovered a new island
and named it the "Island of Pine".  He got to
be a real explorer, and THAT is one
of the many reasons we do this trip, so our
kids can do amazing things.

(This story actually took place in the spring of 09.  I am going back in time to tell some of our earlier stories.  Hope you enjoy!)

How Do Eight People Use One Bathroom?

Many people want to know...."What about the bathroom, for all of you?"


Shae, hubby, cleaning out toilet with our drinking water hose??? I hope not! 

We have six kids and have been living in the camper for 2 years now.

One bathroom!

I think it would be great to have a second, though. I do not use bath houses at campgrounds. My thought is, this is my home, I wouldn't go to the neighbor's to go potty, why go to the bathhouse. The amount of time it would take me to run 4 small children back and forth to the bathhouse would be ridiculous. I don't like my older daughter using them alone, too many weird-os out there.

My son and husband use them some, but not a lot.
Cody, my 17 yr old, dumps the sewage tank every four days, sometimes we can push it to five.

We figure Cody must like toilets after
we found him drinking from this one
at the Discovery Center

There is a pecking order to the potty

1. me, when I was pregnant and now our little wee one potty training

2. our 3 yr old daughter

3. our girls, the boys can pee outside if need be

4. our 6 yr old son

5. me, when I am not pregnant

6. dad and our oldest son

Now, when dad is going in to the bathroom, everyone else better hurry up and go first. He may be awhile.

No reading in there, or at least not any longer than how long it takes you to go, except for dad.

We did put a lock on the inside, up high so the little ones can't reach it. We have tried signs that say occupied or empty, but they didn't work, our little ones kept tearing them down.

Privacy is horrible, though! If someone makes a sound in there...everyone can hear it. Giggles fill the room when daddy goes in.  He is so loud and the kids think it is so hilariously disgusting! 

A little secret, turn on the tv or music for cover noise when in the potty.  I don't know if my husband realizes that is why I put Jimmy Kimmel on the tv for a few minutes later at night!!!

Another problem, not to get crude, but the stink can spread quickly. We always turn the bathroom fan on.
Our sink and shower are seperate from the toilet which is nice.
I cut a shower curtain in half and put hooks through the holes. The hooks hang over the side of the shower. They can be moved around the door to cover the shower for more privacy.

This was no doubt one of the grossest times on our trip.  The poo overflowed in the dump station and our own turds were floating across the road!  I was pregnant and got out of the truck to see what was going on, I almost puked.  It was so unbelievably disgusting, I am cringing now, two years later, just thinking about it!

It was quite unpleasant when the sewer hose ran under our
stairway!  Everyone had to be careful not to trip on our poo!

For more stories about poo and other (fecal) matter, read my son's article
"Into the Depths"

Happy camping!

Sometimes I don't think I can do this anymore....

I about lost it.  Sometimes I don't think I can live in a camper anymore.  I don't have these days very often.  Just every now and then.  If I can get through those moments, hours, or days, I will be fine.  Endurance....it is very hard sometimes.

It has been two years on the road now.  Traveling has been wonderful, yet I miss having a home sometimes. 

Trying to get all of our stuff, for eight people, and live in a 8'X42' box is so hard.  I have been working at it for over two years, from when we bought our camper.  About two weeks ago, I walked into our back room and said, "I give up, it is impossible. Eight people cannot live in 42'.  So, it can be messy, cluttered, and some things can break, and I'm ok with that."  I can't fix it.  I try and try.  I purchase different storage shelves, change things around, pack up some items while purchasing others all in an effort to make our life better in this home on wheels.  I finally realized that no matter what I do, I cannot do it!  It is actually a good place to be, in my heart that is.  I spend too much time trying to live in an impossible situation. 

I have found that in my moments of greatest weakness, God moves the most.  When I am trying to fix, change, manage, and do, I tend to fail at some level if not all levels.  Am I saying that I don't have to do anything?  God will sort my laundry and change diapers?  No, I am talking about my striving and having no peace in the midst of such abundant blessings.  Yes, I am preaching to myself right now.  It is so easy to get caught up in the here and now, the immediate need of the moment and lose the eternal value of the day.

My one year old tried to go in the back room two days ago.  He couldn't even walk because of all the "stuff".  It is all really wonderful "stuff" mind you, but still too much of it!  If we had a house, it wouldn't be much at all.  In a camper, not much is a whole lot of "stuff".  I lost it.  That is it!  Walmart was my destination and nothing would stop me.  I bravely jumped in the van with my 17 year old son and 1 year old son.  Everyone could sense that mama had reached the end.  I bought a bunch of plastic containers of all sizes, crammed them in the van and headed back, after paying of course.

Everyone had to sort, again, and try to take out as much as possible.  One of the main reasons we sold our home and gave away or sold most of what we owned was so we would not be so bound to material things.  Yet, here we are, once again, spending all of our time maintaining our "stuff". 

NO MORE!

I have to admit, it was not easy.  It was like I was packing away some of my dreams.  I thought that I would have more time to paint, draw, craft, sew, cook, etc, with my kids.  I brought lots of projects I had hoped to finally get done, thinking I would have more time.  This is not the case.  So, as quickly as possible, I passed the boxes to Cody, who crammed them in the van.  It was a lot of hard work for everyone, and sad in some respects. 

I know, though. all those things are just things.  I want to see my kids hike mountains, kayak rivers, meet amazing people, learn the history of this wonderful country. 

We will do those projects some day...or not....

But, I do know that I am ok...my kids are ok....and the earth will still revolve with out all of our "stuff".

I Really am Blonde Even Though my Hair is Getting Darker....

I know that if I am driving the van, it is my responsibility to know how to take care of it and what to do
in certain emergencies. Shae does all of the oil and maintenance, so I just rely on him for most things
to do with our vehicles. I rarely even put in gas. When I am out driving around, I have to purposely
look at the gas level, because sometimes I just forget to; I have gotten so used to Shae just filling it!

I don’t believe in blame or excuses, so I take total responsibility for what I am about to tell you. We
knew our van had an overheating problem. This was going to be my first big mountain pass to drive
over. I was hauling the flatbed with all of our toys on it. I should have researched overheating.

BUT I DID NOT

I DID NOT RESEARCH ANYTHING

Well, I know you know where this is going...

We began going up Hwy 16, from Buffalo to Ten Sleep, over Powder River Pass, in Wyoming. I hadn’t been climbing the mountain long when I noticed my water heat gauge rising. It was just a little at first. I tried to slow down a little, but that didn’t help.

I called Shae on the walkie talkie and he said to slow down
and .....what?

Oh no! We lost signal.

I hurried and tried him on the cell phone....

Oh No! No signal!

I really didn’t know what to do. I had Hanna dial Shae’s number over and over, but no answer.

The gauge kept rising.

I knew I needed to pull over. I found a spot and got off the road. My father passed away in 04’, so I
couldn’t call him,

WHO ELSE?

I tried my father-in-law. He said to turn off the air.

BIG OOPS ON MY PART!

Never turn on the air if your vehicle is over heating. My mother-in-law shouted from the background...”I just read in a travel book to turn your heat on high if you are overheating!” So, I cranked the heat.
After a few minutes, the temperature began to go down. I got back on the road and drove ahead to
where Shae had finally found a spot to pull over. He couldn’t believe I had the air on. It was pretty
dumb of me. I should have known better.

I did learn a lot that day...

•First, be prepared for what situation I am in. Shae may not be there to help me.

•Second, do not turn on the air when we are driving up a mountain.

•Third, my mother-in-law knows random facts that she doesn’t need to know living in flat Florida.

Too Much Stuff!

We had a great winter in Arizona and NM. It just semed like we accumulated so much stuff. Now, there are 8 of us in our camper, so that is easy to do. It is my husband and I and six kids. Some days I don't know how we do it and other days I can't imagine not doing this.


But, things have gotten to a new level of crammed. I know I could not shove another thing in another hole anywhere in here. I really got to be quite stressful as we constantly cleaned and picked up things before sweet baby would shove them in his beautiful mouth. He is one year old on Thursday and every bit of curious. So, I know I have to baby proof the best I can. Also, my five and eight year old have grown so much that they have to hunch over in the back room, where we have bunk beds that come out of the ceiling. I don't want my children to be hunchbacks, so I knew I had to change things in here, A LOT!

So, we decided to skip southern NM and TX (boo hoo) and head back to MO to get out as much stuff as possible.

That is where I am now. I am parked in my mom's yard with our big, ugly storage trailer up and out of our old neighbor's cow pasture and sitting in it's future location, my mom's woods. It has been hard to do a lot outside since it has rained so much, but I have managed to get a ton done. Today I actually finished our bedroom/bathroom/office and almost finished the living room/kitchen/school area/foyer/pantry/loft bed area. Tomorrow I was going to run errands but instead I may have to finish the back room. I'm not sure what I will do.

It sure is hard work. I have been at it for two weeks now and am still not done. I know it takes me longer because I have so many little ones to tend to. My older three sure help a lot, but they take a lot of time also.

We haven't visited with hardly any friends. A close lady friend of mine and her two daughters that are my kids dear friends came over the other night. We had dinner, which ended up being a total disaster. I don't know why I try to cook for others in this camper. It is a long story, so I will not share all the details, but I will tell you the night ended with my 5 yr old walking around farting on my leg, then his two sister's legs! Now, I know we live in a camper, but do we have to act like wild animals!!!! Who taught him to do that anyways??? I won't blame anyone, but you can probably guess who. And it IS NOT me.

I have had such a wonderful time with my mother. She has been great. This has been or best visit with her ever. Her fiance, Tom, is just great, too.

All the kiddos are in bed and sweet husband is snoring loudly. I am enjoying a few minutes to myself before I climb in bed in my newly organized bedroom.

Please think of us as you accumulate junk. I know how it feels. I read Tom Smythe's blog entry about it a couple weeks ago. It made me feel a lot better knowing that everyone accumulates too much stuff and we just need to go home and unload what we want to keep and give away the rest.

Sweet dreams,

sheri

Gilbert Ray Campground, Sonoran Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park, and who broke our door?

Driving to Gilbert Ray Campground northwest of Tucson was quite a ride. 

Read my earlier post about getting lost and then add this story to it! 

We came in from the north.  We took W Avre Valley Rd from I-10.  Went west on it and then turned south on Sandario Road.  That goes for 10 miles or so until it reaches Mile Wide Road where we turned left.  That brought us past the Sonora Desert Museum and to the second entrance to the McCain Loop Rd where we went right to get to Gilbert Ray Campground. 

Let me go back to Sandario Rd.  It is so full of dips!  I was following Shae who was driving the truck pulling the camper.  I saw our things flinging up and down as he traveled somewhat slowly down the long road.  I just prayed the Lord would put angels to hold our things in place.  One of the hard things about traveling full time is that we got rid of most of what we owned.  We either gave it away or sold it.  I still have some in a storage trailer in our friend's cow pasture but not much.  I was always reminding myself that "I can't take it to heaven".  There were days that were more difficult than others as I saw things that I liked leave my home.  It was very character changing for me.  So, as I saw our things getting tossed around in the camper driving down the awful road, I had to keep reminding myself that it is just stuff.  I can't stress about it or worry.  It is a constant choice to keep things in perspective.  Yet, I know that we are to be good stewards of what God has given us.  Shae works hard to make the money that pay for everything we own.  So, I pray for God to protect our things from breaking, yet know that if I do lose something it is not the end of the world.

Shae was the first to go into the camper.  Things weren't terrible in the front.  The back was a mess.  Stuff had been tossed everywhere, but thankfully nothing was broken.  After about an hour of cleanup, the camper was back to normal.

There was a nice concrete pad at our site.

My teens do sword fighting for exercise in our campsite at Gilbert Ray Campground.

Gilbert Ray Campground is very nice.  I didn't ask if they had a shower house, I just assumed they did since they didn't have full hook ups.  I won't make that mistake again.  There is no shower house.  We planned on taking showers the day we arrived, so instead, we continued to stink.  Sink baths only last so long, so we did eventually take turns having showers outside.  I washed the girls hair with the outdoor shower.  One night, I went out after dark and started my shower.  The wind was so cold and I kept screaming quietly when the air would blow on me.  I found out there was a star gazing group just through the bushes.  I am sure they had a good laugh as they heard me freezing. 

The cactus were in bloom, so hikes were beautiful.  The bad part is that the rattle snakes were coming out and being found all over the campground.  That makes it hard with the kids running everywhere.  I had to be watching out all of the time.  There are also a lot of mountain lions in Arizona, so we had to watch the kids on any hikes we went on.  It makes it difficult with so many little ones.  I don't know how many times Gabriel almost fell into a cactus.  The spines on those things are huge!

We stayed in campsite C1, which is the biggest site in the campground.  They gave it to us since we had so two vehicles and two trailers.  It was nice to have some privacy.  It used to be the camp host site.

Of course, we loved the Sonora Desert Museum.  We bought a family year pass, so went 4 times in a week.  Josie loved all of the bronze animal sculptures.  She kissed them over and over.

There is so much to do there for everyone. 

The Saguaro National Park was just a few miles down the road.  It is amazing to drive through so many stunning cactus.  They have a great Junior Ranger Program there.  We always have Josie do the programs, even though she is a little young, at 3 yrs old.  But, it would be hard on her if Gabriel and Naomi always got badges as she didn't.  So, Shae took her and read her the questions and helped her find the answers.  When we went back inside to get their badges for completing the book, the Ranger at the counter looked unsure about a 3 yr old actually completing the older kids booklet.  She took Josie's book and began to ask her the questions to see if she could really do such a difficult book.  Josie answered every question correctly!  The Ranger told me, "I was sceptical that a 3 yr old could actually do this program, but I was wrong!  She did great!" 

We went for the drive around the scenic loop.  Shae stopped the van so we could look at the holes made in the ground by animals.  I opened the side door so the kids could see them.  As I went to close it, Shae told me he would do it by driving forward and then putting on the brakes.  Then, the door would slide forward and shut.  This is something he and I have done for years with different vehicles.  So, I sat back as he pulled forward, but he slammed on the brakes!  Wow!  We flew forward, thankfully in our seat belts.  The door rushed forward and smashed into the lock.  Well, it closed, but we were all a little surprised at the force of it.  He just cringed and kept going.  We enjoyed the rest of the drive down the terribly bumpy dirt road.  We were almost out of gas and I had read the map wrong.  I thought the scenic drive was a lot shorter than it really was.  So, when we arrived back at the visitor's center, we were very low on gas and now our sliding door wouldn't open!  The door jammed when Shae put on the brakes too hard!  The kids and I went back inside and left Shae alone to fix it.  I have learned over the years to leave him be when something like that happens.  We try not to bother him when he is fixing broken items.

He did fix it, though.  I was not surprised, he can do just about anything.  That is what is nice, if he can break it, he sure can fix it!

All in all, we had a wonderful time in that area.  We shopped at a grocery store that made me feel like we were in Mexico.  It was fun to try to figure out what to do with all the different foods they sold there.  We left the area ready to get to a new state and maybe some trees!