Mother’s Day 2016 will go down in history as my favorite Mother’s Day to date! And the best part is, I got to celebrate it on two glorious days!
We had to leave Arizona on the 7th in order to make it to Stanley to start work by the 10th. My daughters planned a whole special day for me on Friday the 6thbefore we left. Kallie hosted, and decorated the house with banners and balloons! Brooke was off work and Krisanna took the day off, too. We had pedicures, and a wonderful afternoon in Kallie’s pretty backyard. They cooked for me, pampered me, and let me just play with the boys! If you ever get invited to Krisanna’s or Kallie’s for dinner, GO! They’ve got skills!
Saturday morning, we packed and said goodbye to the beautiful Sonoran Desert. We headed northwest toward Viva Las Vegas where we would spend the first night. I contacted some dear family friends, the Fergusons, who live in Henderson. I grew up down the street from the Fergusons, and they are my second family. Bob and LaRae are the parents of Kurt and my newly-adopted sister Patty, Kurt’s wife. Love these peeps! We drove into Henderson with Kurt and Patty insisting we overnight in their driveway (literally). We did, and it worked out great! (Except we may have pissed off a neighbor or two by being there). Kurt and Patty live on a beautiful golf course, SO spectacular! Amazing views. We had a fun dinner Saturday night at their place and enjoyed the patio.
Sunday morning (actual Mother’s Day) we all drove over the Bob and
LaRae’s for brunch. The view from their house is of the Strip, the desert and red mountains beyond. Simply jaw-dropping. Add to that, LaRae is a decorator and Bob a very very accomplished wood carver; the house and belongings should be in a museum. Seriously. After a super fun, yummy brunch, we headed out toward the desolate Nevada desert for a lovely 381 mile tour, next stop Wells, Nevada. Or so we thought.
Funny thing about adventures like this: you are never, ever, ever bored. 161 miles into this drive, nature was calling me. We found a rest stop, but it had no rest room! Just a tree, picnic table, and pull out area.
Doug quickly spotted that our back tire was almost flat. Our last stop was only 60 miles back and all was well. We were still 80 miles away from the next town. On Highway 93 you barely see anything or anyone. It’s kinda eerie to me that in the hour-and-a-half we were there changing the tire, we saw ONE other car. The spare made me nervous; it wasn’t a matching tire so we were going to be wonky. We are tugging 29,300 lbs people! We now had to make it 80 miles up the road to Ely, stay over, and get to a tire shop Monday morning. We were given a rainbow as we drove slowly into Ely, confirming all would be well.
We made it back to Boise on Monday. Beyond spent. Too tired to be tired. Our dear friends Sora and Garet came to our rescue, and after storing the jeep for us while in Arizona, brought us not only the jeep but dinner! Love these two so much. They have a knack at showing up at the right time with the right love offering!
Departure for Stanley was put off one day due to the tire issue, so we arrived at Chinook Bay Campground in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area on Wednesday, May 11. The view as we drove in:
Doug towing the RV and me following in the jeep, we were both in AWE, giddy, high-fiving, couldn’t control the joy as we looked around at our summer HOME.
When I look at this area, I just can’t imagine Heaven being more glorious, or anything–anywhere. As with most things, the pictures cannot touch the magnificence. If you EVER, ever ever get a chance, visit this place. Our RV parking spot is to die for. We back up to Little Redfish Creek flowing out our back patio doors. Our front windows view the lake and mountains. Every window is a postcard.
We have no TV or radio reception, and yet we have everything we need: peace, serenity.
We are now employees of Recreational Resource Management of America. We were told we MUST wear uniforms anytime we are working, and they are lovely. Men’s t-shirts and jackets, men’s khaki shirts with badges and green hats. I feel like the Ranger Yogi. So far I cannot figure out how to glam this up.
We are coming up on a week and half of camp hosting. Doug signed on to help with the maintenance crew. Basically he’s on call for all RRMoA’s campgrounds and there are nine, plus several more non-hosted self-serve grounds. He has a company truck and travels all over Redfish lake, Alturas Lake, Petitt Lake, Stanley Lake and Grand Jean 45 mins away. He really enjoys his new office, and the commute isn’t bad either.
I am in charge of Chinook. I personally meet with every camper, register them and collect fees. We just opened two days ago and have had three campers. If full we would have 12. I’ve already met some interesting folks, from the other camp hosts to the campers. This is simply fun stuff! I have been baking cookies for the other hosts and maintenance guys. I have even delivered warm cookies to the campers! (I am going for Camp Host of the Year, and pretty sure being the cookie lady will do it.)
And yes, I get to clean the toilets every day. They are flush toilets and we only have one men’s and one women’s. You can do anything for a short time. Anything.
Yesterday morning, we woke up to 20 degrees and no water. Our water supply had frozen. We now have heat tape on it so that won’t happen again. This morning we’ve had snow, rain, hail, and sunshine all before 11 a.m.
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