Reflecting Back on 2005 part 4

The Jemez Mountains are a beautiful sight. I hope to go back there again someday. 

Reflecting Back on 2005
part 4
by JdyJdyJdy


Well here we are at Jemez Mountain campground. I am tired, pissed and thinking I could be in a comfy motel room! We spent so much money on gas today that would have paid for it!! 

Great RAIN ! I have about had it!

Sammy D and my tent and car door.

The ground was just mushy mud! I had to set the tent up under the pavilion. Granny set hers up on the drive in front of my car. Oh I forgot to mention that Sammy D does not like Myatuk! Myatuk is Granny's dog! We have to keep them separated. So every time we stop somewhere it is a big ass battle about who is going to be tied up where etc....Believe me there were days were I just wanted to let Sammy D loose and have his WAY! I was totally getting frustrated at this time. What the hell was I thinking?

Then I started to just realize there was not a lot I could do at this point and I started a fire fixed supper and then I finally looked around! It was soooo pretty here. Peaceful, too! No other campers close by and Candy wasn't barking her ass off! So just as I get back to close to normal, here it comes...Granny! She pipes up and says,"Well do I at least get credit that this is a beautiful place?" I turned around and thought to myself, she best be glad she has the money and she is my MOM cause, ewwwwwww she has a way of grating on my nerves like no other human on this planet!

Anyway I suck it up and say yes! This place is awesome and it truly was. Still didn't change the fact that I sooo wanted to be in a cozy bed and have a nice shower. Camping for fun and camping because you have no where to go are totally different things.

Things calm down and we watch the fire and have some pleasant conversation. Jonathan goes to the tent to sleep and shortly after so do I. Then Granny walks by with Myatuk before I get the zipper shut and Myatuk tries to get at Sammy D in my tent! Wakes up Jonathan....ewwwwwwww I just wanted to kick that dog of hers! uggg

Finally sleep comes.......

New day starts....Already Granny was on it! lol


Mind you she takes my son with her, to go and see if we can get another discount night! Jonathan comes back all proud...He said "she did it and this time she didn't cry. We can stay another night for ten bucks!" I just look out the corner of my eye and say "COOL". Heck I did not feel like driving all over going nowhere anyway! It was a beautiful day and it was really nice to just relax.

Jonathan and I took our dogs on the hiking path. It was really neat. Such a nice place to take a few pictures. I talked to the couple that was hosting there. They were really nice. They had been living there for five years. The lady said her husband was a cancer survivor and that they had many repeat campers that came for the view and to see them. Her husband made arrangements with the Indian tribe, for when he died. He got permission to have his ashes spread out on this mountain.



Of course they prayed that would be many years down the road! It was so cool to see this couple. They had a great relationship and truly cared for each other. They understood our plight too. When we left there I gave her the plant I had been carrying with me the whole trip. I had brought the plant I got from my Dads funeral in 1995. He died of cancer. I asked her to watch over it for me and she gladly took it. I sure hope they are still doing well there. Here are a few more pictures from Jemez Mountains.
















By now I have adjusted to the fact that I am not going to be in a Motel anytime soon. At least I got some nice photos too! Day two is over here now and its time to hit the road. We got up early, packed up and headed back down the mountain.

We got to the town right outside of Albuquerque. It was time to get a spare tire. Luckily they had one to fit and put it on for 25 bucks. Oh I forgot that when I was sitting at a gas station in Las Vegas, NM a man walked up to my car and handed me 20 dollars. He said, "Many blessings to you on your journey. The Lord told me to give this to you." I took it and cried! Granny came over and asked what did he give you? I said , "20 bucks and then she started to cry!" Well it came in handy for that tire that's for sure.

So off we drive to Albuquerque. Holy moly! Traffic traffic and more traffic. We pulled over at a gas station and Granny says, "Hey lets get a Motel here, this traffic is bad and I am so tired...FINALLY I think a nice soft bed! Well guess what?? No motels would take the dogs! So off we go, now Granny says "I want to get out of New Mexico." Oh Man! Okay whatever! Been here all of what 3 , 4 days? I lost track of time completely somewhere along the road.

 Well we head out of Albuquerque. We are going through egad tons of traffic, 5 or 8 lanes...lost count! Then finally a two lane again through part of the mountains. Going down hill on the final descent out of Albuquerque my Jeep dies! Yes dies! Totally nothing. I had a heck of time guiding it off the road. I turned on my emergency blinkers and Granny pulls in behind Me!
Okay so now it looks like someone is already there to help. We have no cell phone. Looks like a healthy 3 mile walk at least to the nearest town. 

Thank God, a lady in a Van pulls over and she has a Cell phone and calls a tow truck. 

Awww time to end part 4...
Mechanics, Stuckys and Motel....part 5

Reflecting Back on 2005 part 3

I can still remember this time so vividly. I look back and wish I had not been so angry and frustrated. It is what it is though and through out this story you should be able to feel the real emotions we were going through at the time. 

Reflecting Back on 2005
part 3
by JdyJdyJdy


Well we spent a couple days at the lovely Sugarite Campground. The view was really pretty!



Jonathan and I went to get some water at the bottom campground. On the way back I noticed a hiker. He was looking at that hill like, Oh I don't think I can make it. I stopped the car and asked if he wanted a ride to top. He just smiled and said YES! He had been hiking all morning and by that time had pretty much over done it. His name was George from Trinadad, CO., for 70 yrs old he looked in good shape to be hiking all over the mountain! I drove him up to his campsite and he said "Wait here". So I waited and he came back with 10 dollars. I said, " Oh I don't need money for giving you a ride up here!" He said, "Well you are on a Wing and Prayer, please take this it will pay for a night of camping somewhere." So I kindly thanked him and took the money.

The next morning we were getting ready to head out and George drove by. He stopped and called Granny over to his truck and handed her a ten dollars! He said,"I just found this on the road!"

We got all our stuff together and proceeded to head farther into New Mexico. Granny said, "This isn't the place!" So we looked at the map and noticed there were several campgrounds around Las Vegas, NM. Off we went.
Uggg! The campground for tents had no trees! It was hot as all get out and to boot Granny only wanted to pay 10 dollars so we would have had to leave one car out in the parking lot! Here we go again!

This time we drove to Sapello. There was a gas station and that was about it. Oh I forgot to mention that my Jeep only got 10 mpg! Money was running out fast with all this driving. Well there was a campground at Maur Lake. So off we go to try and find that. OMG, the road sign said, "Not recommended for RV traffic" Okay well we are not RV's...later we found out it should have read, " NOT REALLY PASSABLE AT ALL!" Anyway the lake was suppose to be just 10 miles. About an half hour later or so I found the road to the lake...Now I had a four wheel drive and I tell you I have driven on some bad ass roads, steep roads, curvy roads etc....This one took the cake! It was so steep I was going backwards in drive! I was getting a bit spooked at this point and put the car in reverse and somehow managed to get turned around. I got back to where Granny was and told her NO FUCKIN WAY! She had taken longer to get there, because her car was low to the ground and she had to keep getting out and moving big ass rocks so she could continue to follow me. I did not realize that! So many curves that I lost track of her. lol

Well by now I am out of gas and its like 20 miles or so back to the gas station. So back down the gravel,bumpy, rocky, curvy, holey road. I sat and waited 15 min. for Granny to catch up. The whole time looking at that damn sign that said, "Not recommended for RV traffic" If I would have had some paint I would have changed it right then and there! lol

We get back to the gas station and of course its nearing dark once again. I get desperate and call a friend who happens to work at my dream ranch "Surprise Valley Ranch" This ranch I had seen in a magazine like 4 yrs prior and I always kept a picture of it on my refrigerator. I had also talked to the manager at the ranch a few times. He said he had a bunk house with a couple beds in it and to come on up. He gave me directions. My Mom was pissed! She said do you know what those roads are like? I said, NO! but they are paved except the last mile! lol And besides its a place to shower and stay the night for free so you don't have to spend your 10 bucks!

Ummm ya at this time things are getting a bit testy! lol So we drive the 10 miles(took 30 min) to get to Surprise Valley Ranch. It was so beautiful and I was soooo tired! Finally I had actually got to a place I dreamed of going to and I am homeless, with my son , 3 dogs and following me is my Mom , her dog and CAT!

I get out of the car and probably stunk like a skunk! lol First thing Hal said, "Do you all wanna shower?" He showed us the bunk house and it was just that. Two beds, no bathroom just and outhouse, but hey he wasn't charging us! There was a little stream out front of it and the dogs of course went right for the water!



We first went to shower and get cleaned up. We had to drive down to the shower house. Boy that shower felt great! Granny was still pissed, so she didn't even shower! She was mad because Hal didn't want any pets in the bunk house.

 Well when he first opened the door Candy, muddy feet and all proceed to run past him and me and jumped on every bed! HOW embarrassing! That's when he said no pets in the bunkhouse. Well we had to get out our blankets and pillows. Ate some supper and when it got dark Mom sneaks out and get her Cat and Dog and brings them in!! OMG...My dogs started barking, so I end up sleeping in the friggin Jeep with the stinky wet dogs! It was just a disaster.

The next day I get a lecture from Hal about how I didn't plan anything and I come there to try and find work and bring my MOM! lol He gave me some leads on some possible work and some advice. Then it was time to leave. Jonathan cried. He always wanted to live at Surprise Valley Ranch.


We head out of the ranch and its a beautiful day! We got to Las Vegas, NM and looked around and now Granny's car has a flat! So we stopped and she got a used tire for 20 dollars. Thanks George! He gave us just the amount we needed to get the tire. Well after browsing around Las Vegas we decide to head to Santa Fe. Granny said she did not really like Las Vegas, NM. So off we go. We headed out on the interstate and I was leading this time. I got tired of Granny always pulling over right after I would get the car up fast enough to pop it into to third gear. Well there she goes! Passes me! Dang it! I was cussing she pulled me over!

 Okay so I will give her some credit here...ummm I had a flat and did not even know it! lol So now the problem comes, my spare tire is under neath the car! I have no clue how to get that thing off of there.

Two really nice guys stopped and were heroes for a day. They got the tire changed and guess what? Its low! The closest town is Pecos now. So we thank them and ask if we can give them some money for helping and they said , " No way you're on a Wing and Prayer" best of luck the rest of your journey! "

We made it Pecos and aired up the tire. Since we had more mountain country to drive through I stopped at Sam's to see if he could fix a tire. Well they had closed a few minutes before and were already in party mode! However he checked the tire and said it was trash...no way to fix it and he didn't have one to replace it with. He tried hitting on my Mom too! He asked me if Granny could be his girlfriend. They asked around to see if any place was for rent. Nothing really but a two bedroom trailer and no pets! So off we drive to Santa Fe.

We arrive in Santa Fe in time for the sunset. It was beautiful. We stopped at a gas station and Granny gets out and says, "This is it! This is where I want to live." I told her its really expensive to live here. I tried to call a landlord I had talked to but no answer. So we drove around and of course no campgrounds in Santa Fe! lol We got some food at Kentucky Fried Chicken and Granny said, "Well lets get a motel." Yay

Save that Yay! I went in and found a room, but she decided while I was in there that she didn't want to spend the money! Sooo off we go to the rest area outside Santa Fe. A sleepless night in the car! It sucked.

The next day Granny decides she wants to go to Albuquerque. I just rolled my eyes and said whatever! We get outside of there and she finally says okay we are both tired we should get a room! Well I get out again and the lady at the motel, says yes we can have all the pets and two rooms and check in now! With a discount! Only 70 bucks for two rooms and not check out till 1 pm the next day! It was 7 am...I was so loving that...dreams of a soft bed, a nice shower! I came out smiling, only to be pissed about a half a second later! Guess why she did not want to stay there! Nope not the money this time. There were no doors to the outside, there were hallways! to the doors!(I was so friggin MAD!)

Granny said,"Well there is a campground right over there" It will be cheaper. Yes, but we need rest and I need to get cleaned up if I am going to look for work. Ugggggg she had the money tho...so off we go to the campground. Its already HOT as hell and no shady spots at that campground! So we drive and drive and got lost! OMG blind leading the blind. I swear we drove 200 friggin miles, because Granny is now looking for 5 dollar a night campgrounds. HELLO its 2005 not 1965! lol

We drove and drove and ended back up at the first campground. We went to a different section and I was getting ready to set up. BUT oh noooooo....Granny said, "Hey I got the right directions for that cheaper campground, lets go there." If looks could kill, she would have been laying flat on the ground! Anyway I went to the grocery store and got some supplies. We headed off to the "CHEAP" campground. Well hell its clear up in the mountains! Its not 5 dollars but 10 dollars a car! If you have been following along you probably know what happens now! lol Yep Granny in action again. She talks them into 10 dollars a night.

Wow this is way way more than I thought , this is going to be at least 5 parts maybe 6! I am leaving you now with us at Jemez Campgrounds.
I made this graphic from one of the many pictures I took there.

Stay tuned for part 4! Jemez, Rain, Albuquerque ....and this is only half way through! :)

Reflecting Back on 2005 Part 2

Now on to part 2: I look back at this now and it seems so unreal, but it was all real. I gave my Mom a copy of this whole story and she was suppose to write her version of the story, but she never did. She passed away July 7, 2014. 

Reflecting Back on 2005
Part 2
by JdyJdyJdy

By now it is Sunday July 10th. Granny had arrived late in the afternoon and it was time to get her tent all set up.



Then we figured it would be good just to kick back and  relax!


She found a nice shady spot. Rocky was hanging out with Granny's dog Myatuk(white fang). Jon said, " Hey Granny, come look, I think its going to storm, the clouds are looking weird."


That was one side,
this was the other



It was not very long after that the wind picked up. The sky got increasingly darker and darker and clouds were just crazy! It started to rain and the WIND! OMG...I had to grab Granny's cat, who was still in his carrier, get 3 dogs and Jonathan all to the bathrooms. We made it in there just before the torrential  downpour, lightening and wind like crazy! Jonathan said, " Mom? Do you think this bathroom will hold up?" I said, " Well it is better than the tent!" Then we realized, Were is Granny?

Well she was trying to secure her tent! LMAO It is not easy to do with winds speeds gusting up over 50 mph! So she finally gave up and got in her car. She drove over by the bathroom. Her dog was in her car. She was soaked!

Well the storm ended and we got camp put back together. The tents actually did stay up! It was however a good thing we had taken out all the blankets and sleeping bags. The inside of the tent was kind of wet. We got towels and dried everything off and proceeded to get ready for bed. WELL!!!!! The storm happened to be just in a lull or the eye or whatever! LMAO... snuck right up on us! No time to get to the bathroom this time. So there we sit in the middle of the tent with Granny's cat and one dog. The other dogs were in the Jeep. Granny was in her car again. Mind you my mother had not sleep in like 30 some hours by now!

Even though the tent stayed up it sure was scary being in there. The sides would suck in and touch us. The dog was shaking to death and the cat was meowing. Then as quick as the storm hit it was over for good now.

My Mom asked, "So has it stormed like this since you been here?" I laughed and said, "No! That's your welcome to camping Storm!" We found some dry wood we had put under the picnic table and made a fire. Had some coffee and went to bed.

The next couple of days it was HOT! I mean HOT! 100 degrees in the shade. Mom started complaining about the heat. She took a nap and got up and said, " I got it! We are going to New Mexico! I had a dream about the house we will get and everything!"

 Now you need to know my Mom a bit to know this isn't how things are gonna work out!  I said, " I have no money left!" She said, " Well I got money and we are getting out of here." Now that I look back I must have had sun brain to go for her PLAN!

However, we leave the next day for New Mexico. I had had a lot of hits on my resume and only from New Mexico so we figured I would have a better chance at a job there. Ya go figure! lol Anyway the shortest way would have been straight down I-25...but NOOOO we had to take HWY 71 through CO. talk about the middle of nowhere land! We drove and drove and drove...it was getting really late and we had no clue where to camp etc.

We ended up stopping at a gas station and mind you there is a campground right there! Well now is when Granny starts to wig out and realizes this is going to cost some cash! We sit in the cars outside the gas station for hell, hours! it seemed. She did not want to pay 15 dollars to camp. However we had passed two FREE campgrounds right before that, but she said it was too windy and they did not have drinking water. WHO CARES?? Its FREE! We are homeless! Good grief!

She goes in the gas station and talks them down to 10 dollars to camp, well by now its friggin pitch dark! Almost midnight and then she decides she wants to go back to the FREE place! ( Lake Henry) Oh I forgot to mention that my tail light was out and of course in nowheresville nothing is open. Sooooo after all that we get ready to go back to the FREE place. Oh great! A semi now almost rolls over on the only road out of that gas station...so of course there are cops and we cant go by them with a tail light out. Well don't despair we found a bumpy gravel back road to get back to the FREE place. I left my lights on and sat up my tent in the pitch black night! The ground is hard as rock and bugs city! I go to help Granny with her tent, well now she is pouting. I said come on lets get your tent set up. She said, " No, I am gonna sleep in the car!" OMG! What the hell ever!

Next morning I take down the tent. Had about 5 hours sleep I guess. Not sure if Granny slept at all. There was some weird giant birds running around out there and they kinda freaked her out I guess. lol

So the journey continues, we make it the bottom of CO. and now we are getting up higher in elevation and my car is really screwing up. Second gear is just not there anymore. I was shifting it manually, but now its not working. I stopped at a parts store to get a new bulb for my tail light. Luckily there was a mechanic in there and he came to look at my car. We looked pitiful by this point. No showers, its was hot etc. They thought it might be bad plugs, so they gave me the tools to get the plug out! ha well ya I got one out and took it in ...nothing wrong with the plugs...soooo I couldn't get the plug back in now! lol Thankfully the mechanic guy came back and he got the plug in. He said you can drive the car without second gear, but sooner or later they will all go out and that car is not worth fixing!

Question is now, should we go on or go back?? Go back where? We are HOMELESS.  Well Granny is the leader in this pack and she says we are going on! So off we go to New Mexico. The roads are getting steeper and steeper now and we have not even reached Raton Pass! If you have been here you know that Raton Pass is some scary ass shit in a car! lol Its not bad going up, but going down.....weeeeeeeee...it scared the hell out of my MOM! Awww but we made it!

In Raton we stopped at the visitor center to get information on campgrounds. Anyone who has ever been to New Mexico knows that road signs are not real prevalent! It took forever to find Sugarite Canyon State park campgrounds. Finally we find it! Its getting later in the day now ...of course! We find a spot and guess what?? Ummm Granny says, "Oh this just won't work!" WHAT?? oh hell....anyway they have another campground up on the hill! Ya okay we need more hills at this point!

We go to that campground and yes it is way better! Really neat actually. They gave us the horse campsite because of all the dogs. Granny had once again talked them into 10 dollars a night instead of 20. We get set up.



I said, " Hey look at this, they have a place to put your firewood in case it rains!" Granny says, "Well that is really neat! I hope it doesn't rain though." We got some supper cooked and pretty much fell fast asleep that night.

Next day, Granny was teaching Jonathan how to play cards.



It was just a beautiful day! The ranger then stopped by to inform us that bears were in the campground last night and to make sure we put our food up. I said, "Up in the car or tree??" He laughed and said no in that metal box right there." I said, " Oh I thought that was for the wood!" ( haha we were clueless! )


Notice we had food on top of that box!

Then Granny has a really strange look on her face. She said, "Bears? I heard something last night by my tent and Myatuk was acting strange. Then I smelled something really bad right by my head. There was a bear by my tent!!"

After that bit of news Jonathan said he wanted to go on the trails. So here we go with dogs on leashes and up the trail...


The farther we get up the trail, the more I noticed Jonathan slowing down. Then Candy tried to go off trail and had her tail standing at attention! Jon screamed, " Candy sees a BEAR! I am getting the hell off this trail!" He drops Candy's lead and hauls ass back to camp! I stand there debating whether to go on up to the top and see the view or go back...

Well shit by this time I am getting scared too! So I just went back to camp! After all Candy was acting weirder than normal. Rocky and Sam wanted to go, but Candy was like NO WE ARE GOING BACK TO CAMP WITH MY BOY! She made a sound of some kind, scared the hell out of me and then Sam and Rocky beat ass and pulled me the rest of the way back to camp! So no trail hiking there.

When we got back to camp Jon comforted Candy. She seemed really freaked out and needed 
some loving.


Time to break for part 3...guess this is way longer than I thought! 

Reflecting Back On 2005

Reflecting Back on 2005
by JdyJdyJdy

It's now been 11 years ago today that this adventure started. I've come along way since being homeless in 2005. I hope to travel these roads again with new eyes and gain a new perspective. This was a great learning experience. There are 8 parts to this story. Today I am sharing Part One. 

Part One

The year 2005! Wow what a year it was...

January:  I worked as a cook in a hospital/nursing home...The hours where good and the people were nice. This is were I worked.

January was just a regular month.
Jon and Candy in the snow.


Me and Jonathan


February: Here is where things really started turning around. I woke up one day after work and could not move my neck! I figured I just slept wrong and went to work anyway. Next day it was worse...I went to the DR. before work. They took X-rays and immediately set me up an appointment with a neurologist. The Dr. said the X-rays looked Nasty! Yes he really said that! lol
So I go to get an MRI...then to the Neurologist.  Aww well he said, " I don't want to scare you , but your neck is so bad, that if you happen to fall down or something you could risk being paralyzed from the neck down. WOW...I just sat there and stared! Surgery was planned for 4 days from then...I had to have a cervical fusion of vertebra's 5-6-7...Dang that sucked! I was in the hospital for 2 days and one night...off work for 3 months and had to wear a neck brace. So that pretty much takes care of Feb, March.

April: My older Son decided to move from IL. to SD to live with me and Jonathan. It was sooo great having him there. Even though there were NOTEs! lol (He knows what that means) funny now when we look back at it!



Jonathan loved having his brother home. :)

May: Well I was feeling much better in May. So I tried to get my old job back in the laundry dept(I had worked there before the kitchen) at the hospital/ nursing home...Nope! They were afraid I would get hurt and the DR. had said not to go back to kitchen work. He said to find a nice office job. At that point I still was not allowed to lift to much...I was in a small town and no one wanted to hire ME! They had all seen me around town with a Neck brace on...I guess that means you have the plague or something...ha

Jon graduated from Kindergarten! :)


Looks so Happy! lmao...More like big friggin deal I just wanna go out and play! After all he had a trampoline at home.

So Jon spent his days playing on his trampoline...



June: I paid my rent on June 2nd. Then on June 3rd I got an evict notice from my landlord....OH GREAT!!! He decided he did not want to rent anymore! Now what?? A week after that, my son's father quit his job...so no more child support! I still did not have a job and there was nothing! absolutely nothing available to rent...anywhere! No one wanted us to stay with them because of the dogs.  I wasn't going to get rid of my DOGS! They are part of my family. ;)

Then thoughts of no more walks on the prairie entered my mind
.

No more prairie weeds as flower presents from Jonathan,


No more long walks with the dogs and Jon.


We So loved those walks...there is more to see on the prairie than you would think. :)
Everything was just leading to the fact that South Dakota was just not working out! 



We came back from the store one day to see this on our porch! Just another sign it was time to go.

Then I received a check from the school district for gas from driving my son to school. I decided I would just have to camp out for awhile. So I researched camp grounds, cost of living and calculated how far the money I had would go.

July: This was it! Had to move...I put all I could in a storage unit, loaded my 1976 Jeep Wagoneer with a bunch of stuff! I painted, "A Wing and Prayer" on the back of it with fingernail polish! 


Did I mention that second gear was out?




163,000 miles or 263,000...no one really knows!



It was scary at first, but I also remembered this picture I had taken just a few days before we 
left. I had seen the face in the clouds
.

To me it was a sign God was watching over us. The storm before this picture was over 70 mph winds, tornadoes in the area, hail etc...We were in a trailer on the prairie! Trees were knocked over and everything, yet the trailer actually stayed put. It gave me enough faith to go out on a wing and prayer! 

That and lots of people were praying for us. :)

Jonathan and the dogs loaded up no problem. After all they figured it was just a giant vacation! The first stop was at Chadron State park in NE. I knew right away I was on the right path. We went to set up and someone had left a campsite with a fire already burning! :) Another storm was approaching so it was nice to have something to cook on.



I know it looks sunny, but there was a storm coming! :)


Rocky wanted to stay in the Jeep when the storm started. However Candy would not have that! She wanted Rocky with us. Candy about had a doggie heart attack! She hates storms to begin with and I tell you what, her eyes about popped out of her head when it thundered and we were only in tent! (So that night the dogs slept on the camp mattress with me and Jon!) Sammy didn't care for it much either. Jon and I were laughing! The storm was short lived and we slept all night. The tent even stayed up!

The next day we headed for Lake Minatare in NE.

The weather was great we stayed here for a week. Here are some of the photos from this part of the journey.
The sunset view over the lake.




Candy climbing Trees...I missed the shot of her in the big tree...she was really climbing it! It was laid over just enough so she could get in it. She climbed clear to the top,up about 50 feet in the air! Jon was scared and made her come back down. lol
At least I got one shot of her on a tree.


Sammy D jumping trees!



Jonathan climbing on Trees.


Jon, Rocky, Candy and Sammy D all enjoying the cool water on a hot day. :)



Sammy D swimming out too far! Candy had a fit! She barked her ass off! She insisted that Sammy get back to shore immediately!! WOOF WOOF! NOW SAMMY NOW! WOOF WOOF! You'll drown! You are out way to far!


Oh my I laughed so hard...You see Candy is the Queen and all must obey her! ;)

It was just like a vacation at first. Learning how to cook every meal over a campfire was a chore! I got pretty good at it though. ;)

Jonathan collecting wood for the fire.


The first day he was all gun ho! He went to every abandoned camp site and got all the left over wood. He was grinning and having so much fun. Well the next day was a different story!
Right after he woke up the next morning, Jonathan looked at me,looked at the campfire, put his hands on his hips and said, " I tell you what! I am not working my ass off today getting firewood!" I laughed and told him he did not have too! He said, " That ain't fun it's work!" To funny! However he did end up getting more firewood. I think he was just tired and sore from doing to much the day before. Bless his little heart.



At this point Jonathan really did not understand we were "homeless" and that we had just the tent to live in. To him and the dogs it was fun just staying at the lake! Rocky was in doggie heaven! :) Rocky was at the lake. first sign of light everyday. Candy hung around the camp or stayed by her boy Jon. Sammy D stayed mostly by me, unless of course a rabbit came by.

Then day 7 came. I still had no job, but I did have a P.O. box and was going to get public assistance. In NE. they will help you out even if you are staying in a tent! 

 My mother had said something about coming out to camp with us. Then she could watch Jon and the dogs while I looked for work. Aww best laid plans of Mice and Men!
So Granny(that's what everyone calls my Mom) shows up! With her dog and cat! Yes CAT! lol


This is were I am going to end the first part, because whenever you get Granny involved in anything...well its gonna be long!

Part 2 coming soon...adventures in Bear Country and more to come...