Author: mchazen

Bob and Suzy would be stopping by today.  Here’s the backstory:

Bob and I grew up together.  We had common friends, took the same classes and shared the experience of growing up in Van Nuys, California.  For readers not familiar with the geography of Southern California, Van Nuys is one of the many indistinguishable towns in the San Fernando Valley.  There is absolutely nothing notable about Van Nuys — it is just one of the many bedroom communities that sprang up around Los Angeles after WWII.  I’ll leave it to the reader’s imagination what sort of adventures two young guys would have growing up in Los Angeles in the late 1960s.  Let’s say we both managed to survive our adolescence and leave it at that.  Eventually we both left Van Nuys behind.  Bob finished school, married Suzy and settled in Denver to raise a family and start a successful family business.  We managed to keep in touch and today would be our first face-to-face visit in over 15 years.

They stopped by around 11:30 and we spent the entire afternoon talking.  I had expected to discuss what we had been doing for the past 15 years, but it was nothing like that.  Most of the dialog meandered from topic to topic and slowly you begin to piece things together.  Bottom line, they have been working hard to raise two great kids and grow a family business.  They should be proud of their life achievements.  After talking with them, I wonder if my corporate career wasn’t easier in many respects.  It’s one of those what-if questions that never get answered.

So, there we were, two middle-aged guys talking about the last 45 years.  On reflection, two things stood out.  First, although we had both aged, the corrosive effect of time had more of an impact on me (one quick look in the mirror confirmed this).  Second, life experience marginally changes personality.  Bob is still basically the same great guy I know as a kid — only older and wiser.  I am very happy to see he is doing well and has a great outlook for the future.

After a great Italian meal in Colorado Springs, we made plans to get together again.  I’m looking forward to it.

Contemporary Note:  Bob and Suzy are both geologists.  When they asked where the campground was, I sent GPS coordinates.  

Sadly, Bob passed away in 2017 after a long illness.  Where we grew up, Van Nuys was just a place where people lived on their way to living somewhere else.  It is unusual to stay in touch for as long as Bob and had.  I think of him often and miss him dearly.  He was a good friend and a great guy.

The weather is still scorching hot.

Yesterday, we decided to wait it out at the coach all day long.  Some thunderstorms boiled up in the afternoon and provided some relief, but we mostly hung out under the air conditioning.  It was not the best way to spend the day, but at least we kept cool.

Today we were getting cabin fever and decided to venture out despite the weather forecast for more hot weather.  The heat would limit our outdoor activities, so we decided to take a drive south to Pueblo, Colorado.

The moment we got away from the mountains the terrain turned to rolling grasslands.  Pueblo is located in a shallow valley cut by the Arkansas river.  Like most of the high grasslands, there is little cover and buildings are directly exposed to the elements.  Today it was the blazing sun and by 11:30 AM it was already 101 degrees in the shade.

The town looked like it was just bumping along.  We’re not sure what the major industry was, but the university was certainly a big part of the economy.  Years ago a steel mill shut down and the rusting hulk runs along the freeway for miles.  On the face of it, a steel mill in this part of the country did not seem like a good idea; eventually economics settled the issue.  After several minutes driving around Pueblo in the mid-day heat, we decided it was not a bad town.  Real Estate prices were certainly reasonable, but it wasn’t for us.  It was just too run down and exposed.

From Pueblo, we turned west and headed along country roads to the small town of Wetmore and then north to the small town of Florence.  Surprise, surprise!  On the outskirts of Florence we discovered a brand new federal prison, which turned out to be a maximum-security facility.  Now we know who the major employer in Florence is.  All the businesses along the main drag were open and seemed prosperous and the neighborhoods looked well maintained.  However, as nice as the town seemed, we aren’t eager to live next to a major federal lockup.  We’ll take a pass on setting down roots in Florence, Colorado.

It was getting late in the afternoon and we decided to return to the coach.  After fueling the Jeep, we got back around 4:00 PM.  Much to our relief, a local thunderstorm cooled the air and settled the dust.  We spent the rest of the evening at the coach and looked forward to Bob and Suzy visiting tomorrow.

Yesterday was an all-time heat record for the Denver area and today would be much the same.  The plan was to do as little as possible while hiding out from the heat.

So, we hung around the coach the entire day reading, watching TV and working with the computers.  In the late afternoon, a thunderstorm mercifully cooled things down a bit.  The layer of dust that covered the coach and Jeep was turned to mud.

Early on in our travels, we learned not fight the weather; sometimes you just have to wait it out.  This was one of those days.  The heat wave will break in another day or so and we can get back to our usual activities, but for now, we sit.

With record heat in the forecast, we decided to get started as early as possible.  By 7:15, we were on the road heading west along I-70.

The terrain looked flat, but we were steadily gaining altitude.  Shortly after we crossed into Colorado, the GPS reported 5,200 feet.  Eventually the wheat fields gave way to grasslands used for grazing cattle.

By the time we reached the small town of Limon, Colorado we were ready to take a break.  At our turnoff, we pulled into a sorry-looking Flying J, kicked on the generator and got the big air conditioner cranked up.  It was only 10:00 AM and hopefully the hottest part of the drive was behind us.  No such luck.  Despite the altitude, the air was hot and continued to warm the longer we sat there.  We stayed there about 90 minutes, taking advantage of the Wi-Fi connection to update the computers.  Eventually we fueled the coach and headed southwest along highway 24 towards Colorado Springs.

This part of the drive was along a two-lane road over the same type of country — low rolling hills and grasslands.  We also continued to gain altitude and topped 6,000 feet in places.  The combination of altitude, heat and hills had the coach running a little warmer than normal.  It was not alarming, but it was concerning.  Also of concern was the wind, which seemed to gust at the most inopportune times.

Colorado Springs is a good sized town and Jeanne did some expert navigation.  Our destination was about 15 miles south of town and into the foothills.  When we finally arrived, it was really hot and I let the coach idle to cool before shutting it down.  Our campsite was at 6,670 feet and it was 101 degrees in the shade.  After a lot of back and forth maneuvering, we settled in and set up.  One task I was not looking forward to was scrubbing two days of baked-on bugs off the front of the coach.

We stayed at the coach the rest of the afternoon and evening.  A lot of ground was covered in the last three days and we were tired.  Suffering from altitude headaches, we got to bed early.

When we woke, we were still in Kansas.

With hot weather in the forecast, we wanted to get an early start.  It was only 7:30 when we turned onto I-35 heading north.  Our route would take us through Wichita and then west along I-70 to the small town of WaKeeney, Kansas.  We caught a break and the wind blowing out of the south pushed us along.  The roads were good and traffic was exceedingly light.  The farther we drove, the flatter the terrain became.  Woodlands and farms thinned out.  Grasslands and ranches took over.  The air became drier.  The little towns were farther and farther apart.  It then dawned on us that there is a huge section of the country that is sparsely populated and we were right in the middle of it.  Peaceful, but sparsely populated.

View of the open road on our way through Kansas.

This is what nothing looks like in Kansas.

Strange how you take things for granted.  Growing up in Southern California, one would assume the rest of the country is densely packed with towns, streets, shops, cars, etc.  As it turns out, most of the country isn’t like that.  The regions where food is grown, minerals are mined and water is sourced are way out-of-the-way places.  Growing up in the city, you have no concept of how dependent you are on the resources supplied by these middle-of-nowhere places.  Magically, things appear in shops to buy, building materials are available at the local Home Depot and water freely flows from the spigot.

The miles rolled by uneventfully.  In the afternoon we arrived in the small town of WaKeeney, Kansas, which is little more than a crossroads with fuel stops.  We tanked the coach before pulling into the local KOA.  We got in just in time.  Shortly after we arrived, the weather turned hot.  In fact, it was like a blow-torch.  Running fill blast, the coolers could barely keep up.  Too hot to cook, we ordered a pizza to be delivered to space #13 at the KOA.  We spent the rest of the afternoon munching pizza and watching TV.

Tomorrow, we move on to Colorado Springs.

We got up early.  In the cool of the morning just before sunrise, I shared one last cup of coffee with Bob, my newfound friend.  I feel bad about leaving, we were just getting to know each other.  We plan to keep in touch and I’m sure our paths will cross again someday.

So, we disconnected the water, pulled the slides, unplugged the power, aired the suspension and raised the stabilizers.  One last look around and we pulled the coach to the front of the office to hook up the Jeep.  We checked the brake lights, did one last walk-around, waived goodbye to the campground owners and turned onto the highway.  After five weeks in northwest Arkansas, we were back on the road.  We didn’t find our dream home, but we very much enjoyed our stay and made some new friends.  No doubt, we will be back for a visit; maybe to stay for good.  But first we need to do a little more traveling.

After fueling the coach we headed south along I-540 and then west on highway 412.  Our route would take us through Tulsa to I-35 and then north into Kansas.  The roads were good and the drive was uneventful.  Surprisingly, the terrain was rolling hills with ranches and farms separated by woods.  It was all very picturesque and peaceful.  The coach hummed along seemingly unbothered from its five week stay in Arkansas.

Our destination was near the small town of South Haven, Kansas, which is just over the Oklahoma/Kansas state line.  Fortunately there was a diesel fuel stop a few miles before our turnoff, so we took the opportunity to tank the coach.

Finally, we arrived at the RV park.  Dear readers, trust me when I tell you there was absolutely nothing around.  The RV park was in the middle of a plowed field in the middle of more fields.  It was as if someone had the bright idea to put hookups and a small office in the middle of nowhere.  The small town of South Haven was miles away.  A cloud of dust swirled around the coach.  Exiting the coach, all you could hear was the wind, cicadas and trucks in the distance.  The old-style gas station bell summoned the campground host, who emerged from a well kept 1970s era trailer.  There were only three other rigs in the park.  I looked around expecting to see Rod Serling standing in a vacant campsite; surely we had entered the Twilight Zone.

The campground host chatted on an on with the enthusiasm of someone deprived of human contact.  We finally finished check-in, pulled into our spot and hooked up.  I got to work getting the bugs off the front of the coach.  All day long we were getting whacked with beetles as hard as flying rocks.  The front of the coach looked like vandals used it for paint-ball practice.  It took about 45 minutes of scrubbing in the howling wind to get it clean.

Since the coach was the tallest thing around, getting satellite reception was no problem.  We watched TV before falling asleep.

Today is our last day in Rogers, Arkansas.

The morning was spent in Rogers picking up some last minute supplies from Walmart, updating the computers and fueling the Jeep.  By late morning, we were back at the campground preparing the coach for an early-morning departure.  We took down the sunshades, checked the oil, flushed the tanks, did some last-minute laundry, put away all the small things that get scattered about, checked the tire pressure, cleaned the windshield, etc.  We finished around 2:00 PM and headed for Faye and Don’s.

It was a hot, humid afternoon and we all headed for the lake.  As warm as the water is this time of year, it is still a relief from the heat.  From time to time, a wake from a passing boat would gently rock us.  Roxy the rottweiler watched over us from the edge of the boat dock, snarling at any watercraft that got too close.

Eventually hunger got the better of us.  We returned to the house, cleaned up and headed to one of the local Italian restaurants.  The meal was underwhelming, but we enjoyed the time with Faye and Don.  After dinner we said our goodbyes and headed for the campground.

At the campground, I wanted to make sure we were square with the owners and found Wayne repairing the playground merry-go-round the kids were using.  We said goodbye, thanked him for his hospitality and wished him well.

With nothing else left to do, we watched some TV and got to bed early.  It would be a long drive tomorrow.

We spent the morning at the campground doing laundry and getting a few things ready to leave.  We then made a run into town to update the computers and pick up lunch.  The plan was to spend the day with Faye and Don, possibly going out on the lake in their boat.

Jeanne and Faye floating in the lake on a warm summer day.

Closeup of Jeanne keeping cool in Rogers, Arkansas

Faye splashing around, trying to keep cool.

View of lake from the boat dock.

Boat dock and view of the lake in the distance.

As with most things, the best laid plans are usually laid to waste.  Arriving at the house, Don was having trouble with the electricity at the dock, which meant he couldn’t put the charger on the battery, which meant the boat would not start.  No problem.  We had lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon floating in the lake.  It was lazy, decadent and a welcome relief from the heat.  Afterwards, we played dominoes.

We returned to the campground early and found the place had gotten busy — looked like two family reunions were taking place at the same time.

We went to bed early.

Our life is getting back to normal.

Yesterday, we went to town to pick up e-mails, wash the car, make some phone calls and do a few other things.  I’m feeling much better and it was good to get out again.  In the afternoon, we even went for a swim.

Today, Jeanne planned to leave early to spend the day with a former co-worker now living in southern Missouri.  She would be gone all day but before she left I wanted to check the pressure in the Jeep tires.  Yesterday while washing the Jeep, I noticed the tires ‘looked’ different and got suspicious.  Sure enough, one of the tires was inflated to 44 psi cold!  I immediately adjusted the pressure.  The only thing I could figure was someone at the tire place in Texas overfilled the tire in error.  Good thing the Jeep wasn’t overloaded; it could have led to disaster.

One of the e-mails we picked up had the information needed to complete the June financial report for the club.  It took the entire morning to pull it together.  The end of the process includes sending an e-mail with the attached report and mailing a CD with the backup files.  Taking care of the club books might be a little time-consuming, but I don’t mind.  It forces me to keep my accounting skills sharp and lend a hand to the club.

Readers of this triplog may recall that Jeanne found work for me modifying the campground map.  Well, one good thing leads to another and the campground owners presented me with a few changes.  The changes were time consuming, but not difficult.  I spent most of the afternoon erasing trees, making trails, moving a lake and labeling cabins.  I felt powerful being able to rearrange the campground with a keyboard and mouse.  The changes were finished and given to the owners late in the afternoon.  To my relief, they were happy and the map project was officially over.

Knowing Jeanne would be tired and hungry when she returned, I got things ready for dinner.  She showed up about 5:30 PM and dinner was served shortly thereafter.  Jeanne had a good time visiting with her friend and shared a little of the conversation.  The rest of the evening was spent visiting with our campground friends, Bob and Connie, before we went to bed.

It has been a series of lost days.

The day after our anniversary I came down with a bad case of the flu.  The next three days were spent in the coach recovering from fever and and watching daytime TV.  I’m not sure which was worse.  At least Jeanne was able to get out to run some errands.

The illness forced a change to our plans.  We were suppose to be on our way to Colorado Springs by now, but we put off making the trip a few days.  Too bad, we had our minds wrapped around moving on.  But like so many other things we learned on the road, things can quickly change and you have to be flexible.

Despite my illness, there were some things of note.

We frequently talk about our working careers and how we enjoy leaving it all behind.  In an ironic twist, one evening Jeanne returned to the coach with a work assignment for me.  During a conversation with the campground owners, the discussion turned to the map campers receive upon check-in.  For a year and a half, the owners wanted to make changes to the map, but couldn’t find anyone to do the work.  Knowing I could hack with graphics on the computer, Jeanne was quick to volunteer my services.  Truth be known, I did enjoy the challenge and was glad to help the owners.  We were both surprised at how well it turned out.

Tonight, we were having dinner when a stranger knocked on the door.  As it turned out, some guy would be pulling in for the weekend and wanted to ask me about satellite reception.  By some miracle, the signal is able to reach us through a hole in the tree canopy while almost everyone else around us is blacked out.  While my dinner was cooling and flies were charging into the coach (somehow word gets out in the fly community when our door is open) I informed the guy of the situation.  Well, guys love to talk about their rigs and the conversation quickly was redirected to the virtues of his new coach and the the modifications he already made to it.  The guy has a brand new 2004 model year coach and already he has modified the air bag system, bought new shocks, put on a steering dampener and upgraded the exhaust.  In the process, he probably voided every manufacturer warranty.  What possesses guys to mess with their rigs like this?  Most problems in life are self inflicted.

Finally, by this morning, I recovered enough to have morning coffee with my newfound friend, Bob.  Triplog readers may recall Bob and Connie have about a month to go before construction of their new home is completed.  In the meantime they are living in the 5th wheel.  Anyway, solving the world’s problems over a morning cup of coffee is always a satisfying experience.

Hopefully, my recovery will continue and we will be road-ready by Monday.  In the meantime, we plan to use the next few days to visit with friends and prepare to move on.

Contemporary Note:  In retrospect, my illness was probably tick fever.  Lyme disease perhaps.  All the symptoms were there.  I hadn’t been this sick in many years and can understand how this can kill someone.