Giving thanks for Thanksgiving.

                                                          Beautiful Chloe and Grandfather.

                                                      Christina the Zen color coordinator.

                                After all that remolding Sean takes a well deserved rest.

This is Lola the psychotic ball of fur that almost died after ripping my Levis to shreds and placing me in great peril of bleeding to death....OK, so she only broke the skin with  a mere trickle of blood...she still almost evolved.

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I had more of Kyle’s mushroom gravy generously poured over light-as-a-feather, pop-out-of-the-roll biscuits than I should have but hey, what’s Thanksgiving without pigging out a little? Besides, I went gentle with the rest of the entrées so I only ½ oinked.

A great time with son Sean, his wife Christina and kids, Kyle, Chloe and Greta. Your kids can’t teach you anything, right? Wrong. Sean showed me “Tool Time” tricks that boosted my fix-it-guy five notches on the handy man meter. We pulled out all the old fixtures in their bathroom, changed the wall color to soft emerald green and then installed new brushed silver hardware--complete with oval mirror. Sure we made plenty of mistakes but learning is half the fun. We were within a 32nd. of an inch of disaster but didn’t know it until we peeked into a drilled hole to see the slightest of penetration on a plastic water pipe. Now THAT would not have been fun.

Sunday afternoon Jackie and I were were back in the rig speeding down I-75 making it to Lima, Ohio where the night temps were still below freezing with stiff winds. Tonight we’re in Chillicothe, Ohio after a little detour through the town of Bellefontaine to roll across the first piece of pavement laid in the US of A. 1886 If your interested take a look at the whole story…. Temps above freezing tonight....High five!
http://construction.asu.edu/cim/Articles/concrete-road.pdf

I know I don't appear old enough to be a grandpa but here's proof, Kyle and Greta. 
Jackie is in Dexter with her family and I am in Howell with mine.  Still a lot colder here than in Key West. 

Nov 23, 2010

Gutted and riding home to be Thanksgiving dinner, atop the 4 wheeler big eyed monster is this 8 pointer from the Yoop. Spotted this guy in the driveway of a gas station in Gaylord, MI.

We're now south of the Mighty Mac Bridge by 200 miles. Snow and slush on I-75 until we passed Grayling and then the weather cleared and gave us clear sailing, dry pavement.

November 22nd, 2010

November 22nd


Monday morning and yep, that’s ice on the window of the rig. Ice on the windows, ice on the trees and ice on the road. All this waiting, diligently marking “X’s” and now we’re stymied by a little ice. One sixteenth of an inch of ice holds back this twelve thousand pound, six wheeled road schooner? So it goes.

The sun refuses to shine, unable to find it way through the thick clouds, but the temperature rises a few degrees, just enough to allow the road salt to do it’s melting magic and in turn sends the rig rolling down Little Finland Rd to Jackie‘s place in Crystal Falls. The motor hums and for the first time in seven months “The Wanch” is once again rocking down the highway to the tune of Willie’s , “On The Road Again.”

November, the moon of “Ice on the Teepee.”

November 20th, 2010

Jackie asked, “Why is it called a Magic Marker?” An astute question for which I have no answer and continue-on striking another “X“ on the calendar with the black, felt-tipped marker. Each “X” means another day closer to threading our way south via the back roads of rural America.

The calendar is an orderly method of keeping track of time, a far cry from the Native Americans, which a month, know as a particular moon was sufficient. Today, we have sliced thin the measuring of time down to “Planck’s time” which is 3.3 x 10 to the 44th sec. Nope, I don’t understand it either, something to do with the speed of light, so I do my calculating with a # 2 pencil and nanoseconds.

Nov 19th, 2010

Jackie taking the left hand pledge that all RV’ing rock hounds must adhere to, “Thou shall not collect any but the most beautiful rocks and not exceed 25 pounds in any given day. Further, I will listen to the voice of wisdom and understand that all rocks designated as “Leaverites” (Leave it right there.) will not be stowed aboard the wheeled-schooner for transport home.”

Nov 18th, 2010

Detailed maps showing land controlled by the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. These are helpful, almost necessary, for locating Blue Roads and Boondocking, (back-roads and free camping) areas having no potable water, electricity, potties nor people and where one is allowed to hound for pretty rocks.

November 17th 2010

The snow has quit falling in Iron River,so now remains fog and slush. Just can’t imagine why anyone would want to leave this beautiful weather.


Six “X’s” still to strike.

Nov 15, 2010

Chomping-at-the-bit and starting a blog that I might actually keep updated… Under threat by Jackie to do so.

Monday morning and only seven ”X’s” remaining on the calendar before we buff the snowbird badges and head south.

First it’s Thanksgiving dinner with our families in lower Michigan before venturing on to I-75 and heading south toward warmer climes. We’ll stop in Georgia to visit with my high school buddy Gordon (Scoop) Clark, and then on to Hemingway’s old stomping grounds, Key West, FL.