FOREVER IS COMPOSED OF NOWS.....   Emily Dickinson



September 8, 2012

Waylon's Rambling Course

  THE GIFTS


Driving East on 412 toward Fayetteville is a very pleasing and easy drive.  Crossing over the Illinois River and stretching through the Ozarks seems like old school to me.

It is a tradition now to attend the Farmer's Market when going to Fayetteville, and to eat breakfast and sip a Bloody Mary at the incredible "Common Ground," eatery.

Saturday morning eating outside, wrapped in Fall, with a lifelong friend catching up on life, was just perfect. (M. King)  The 1st of many GIFTS of the day.  Two single women, chosing to live a life of being single and making our experience matter is VERY rewarding.  Sharing it makes it even better.

We headed off to a Corp of Engineer park called Prairie Creek.  We pulled up to the toll booth and an elderly couple checked us in.  That was the 2nd wonderful GIFT of the day.  They have been married for 60 years and living the PARK experience for over 30 years.  They giggled at what each other had to say and it was quite evident that their life together was a GIFT they given to themselves.  Being in a toll booth for 4 days a week with one another YOU WOULD HAVE TO LIKE EACH OTHER.   Love in any form makes me HAPPY.

Mikey and I found a nice spot for me to back into that was shaded and facing the woods.  After getting settled in MK and I had one of my childhood friends come for dinner and adult beverages.  It was certainly my 3rd GIFT of the day.  (B. Parker)  Sharing with a friend in which our mothers were best friends was time well spent and so very special.

After my city slicker friends left, Waylon and I enjoyed our solitude and set out to be adventurous with our surroundings.

Beaver Lake
Deer

Early Evening Walk

Wild Cats
Sunset
Quiet Cove
Lots and lots of stars

On Saturday afternoon my neighbor on the South of me apologized for her cat coming into my campsite.  She was in the process of training her 8 month old cat to be able to travel and enjoy the countryside while traveling in her camper.  THEN THERE WAS THE BORDER COLLIE that thought he needed to let the cat know who needed to be up in the tree, and for him to have something to LUST after.   Waylon's gift!

My neighbor and I had not visited more than seconds until the following day after all of her company had left.  Again the cat was the topic of discussion until she said, "You look like someone I know, What is your first name?"  I replied with, "Cynthia," and she came back with telling me my last name.  I knew immediately who she was after she told me her name.  It had been at least 40 years since
we had seen one another.  We lived only 5 blocks from one another while growing up and NOW all we needed was time to catch up.   AMAZING 4 GIFT!

That evening sharing of a bonfire connected us to exploring the following day future campsites, picnicing , and exploring the waterfront of Beaver Lake, a memorable time well spend.  Horseshoe Bend will be the next site for either one of us while in the Fayetteville/Rodgers Arkansas area.

J. Tollison and I hopefully will continue to meet out from time to time to share the solitude of the outdoors, and make some great memories by a campground not too far from home.

My 5th GIFT was visiting with a new friend, J. Miller.  He was kind enough to be the MASTER OF THE FIRE and opened up about his struggles of life.  It is a GIFT to have people feel relaxed enough in your company to open up and SHARE.

What would you do if you knew you only had about 5 years to live on this PLANET?


LIFE IS A GIFT, AND THE PEOPLE THAT PASS THROUGH YOUR LIFE ARE THE WRAPPING.

Hot Spot in the Early 1900s

The camping experience was wonderful, but I must say meeting people top the experience on the ROAD TO MY ADVENTURES.

Imagine " NO Neighbors "

IMAGINE

61 sure happened quickly...  8-10-51

The morning began by having coffee and breakfast with my oldest, (1954) dear friend and her grandson.  There is nothing better than a friend for life.  MY FIRST GIFT FOR THE THE DAY, HER TIME.

Hours later I met with some of my dearest friends to share a movie and afterwards an adult beverage.
MY SECOND GIFT.... Their TIME!  There is something so warming to have great girlfriends to spend your special day with.

With the turn of a key and a tank of gas these red boots lead me down 412 toward Tahlequah a place I f dear to my heart.  My THIRD GIFT was pulling into a friends driveway for a celebration of wine, steak, cake, candles and GREAT CONVERSATION mixed with laughter and memories.

The little Lighthouse stayed parked in the driveway a bit longer than planned, but an invitation to witness a couples "50" wedding anniversary kept me located in town wanting to share in their celebration.

This is a couple that I used to baby-sit for while attending college in the early 70s.  It amazes me to see when a family raises their children (4 girls) and the love they share is so evident after 50 years.  Not only the parents, but the adult children exude such Love for one another.  Respect.  R E S P E C T.

IMAGINE

Lois and Jack Reese's life together raising a family  has been wonderful and full of so many memories.  About 7 years ago the family was given the news that Lois had several medical hurdles that would cause her to not be able to remember, or  be able to communicate the wonderful memories that they have had throughout those 50 years.  I SAW FIRST HAND.........REAL LOVE TO THE FIRST DEGREE.

Monday Morning:

It is so wonderful to know you can go back to where you went to college and reconnect with friends.
Seeing the direction their life has taken and to meet their new family was terrific.  The outreach to show me around and help me to find the perfect spot to "get away" was not only FUN but thoughtful of them.
Being that my college years are recorded "as my favorite," driving around all the old stomping grounds made for a PERFECT START TO BEING 61   Stomping could refer to a bit of beer or mind adjusting substances.   :)

The town, Tahlequah, has changed, but the river continually changes, SO THERE IS NOT A CHANGE, or if there is ONLY THE RIVER KNOWS.

After Interviewing the grounds, the view, the river, the shade, Peyton Place, Highway 10 was my selection in spending the next 4 days.

IMAGINE

This is a first for me and a memory that I will cherish forever.  A GIFT!  I WAS ALL ALONE IN THE CAMPGROUND.  No one was there but my little co-pilot and me.  No one but perhaps a River Spirit or two.

As I sit writing on a beautiful morning over looking the river that I give responsibility to WHO I AM TODAY, it could not get better.

Having coffee to the sounds of the river and being alone soothes my soul.

IMAGINE

There's no neighbors......it's easy if you try.
Can the world live as one?
No possessions.
No greed or hunger.       (no neighbor, lots of possessions, no hunger or greed)

You may say I'M a DREAMER...

The last event of the night was me dragging my lawn chair out to the largest opening of the gravel bar, beneath the sycamore trees, to gaze upon the stars, world show,  "Not war" with Little Faithful Traveler beside me.  We were entertained by only watching the sky fill the darkness, and to sit and count my blessings. "Almost as many as there were stars!"  At least for the first 20 minutes.

Soon a thought crossed my mind to add a little music, and darn if I didn't get up and dance on a wonderful August evening.  I even started embarrassing myself, so I said one last prayer thanking God for God, and walked slowly back to the Little Lighthouse and called it a night.

IMAGINE

As I shut down the house and crawled into bed, my last thought was, "Tomorrow I will dance again, but I will dress for it, or perhaps undress for the event.  All those stars will be watching me so I will decide that FATE LATER.   "If you have read this you can ask me if in private.

I HOPE SOMEDAY YOU WILL JOIN ME AND THE WORLD WILL BE AS ONE!

"I love John Lennon!"

My birthday boots in honor of
Ann

College friend and his son.

Nip and Tuck

No neighbors!

There are as many river rocks as there are stars.

Co-pilot/Body Guard

Think freely     :)

Home Sweet Hot Home

Made it home safely.  Woke up to 78 degrees and experienced 110 in Oklahoma City before leaving.  I MISSED THE FIRES by about 3 hours.

Reflecting on my 2nd Chapter of my travels, it was amazing!!!  I hugged the yellow line on everyone of the passes in Colorado.  I just felt more comfortable following the yellow in those winding, steep passes instead of the outer white line which allowed for little error.

It is a fact that I only passed 8 cars or trucks the entire trip.  "I am not in a hurry, and the motor-home just seemed to do better at 60 miles an hour."  I never had to slow down for a construction area, because, I WAS ALREADY SLOWED DOWN.  :)

The road sign crossings included the following FALLING ROCKS, (if I wasn't nervous enough on the passes, DEER (of course) ELK, (for sure) BLACK BEAR, (just once) and the SURPRISE SIGN,
 T U R K E Y S!  If my memory serves me correctly I have never seen a TURKEY CROSSING!

I had to keep my eye on the road so if there were bears, turkeys, elk, falling rocks or elk crossing in my path...I missed them.

Trying to put together another trip soon, but will wait for the heat to move on, and for the weather to be suitable to my desire to romp.

Going to a private one on one at The Apple Store tomorrow to help with blogging and other Mac questions.

Hopefully I will be able to commit to jotting down my writings and attaching photos where they belong.

Happy Trails to All ..............

The Little Lighthouse Rolling Stone

Be Back Soon
Come Join Me

Remembering the Campgrounds!

Just a quick note of the camping that I remember.

Okmulgee Lake with Mom and Dad.  There were so many evening picnics with the Shirleys, Harlanss, Fidlers, Parkers, and the Vanderpools.  So many good time with friends and families.  I still remember the smell of the Bush Beer consumed by the adults,  and the ice that we had to get at the ice house before pulling out to the lake.  So much innocent fun and not one of us was bitten by a snake.  JUST LAUGHTER!

One summer the Fidlers and Harlans had a school bus converted into a camper.  We traveled to Tahlequah and camped on the river.  ("most likely the bus would not go any further.") It might have been the Baron Fork, a tributary of the Illinois River.  All I remember are the bunks and the freedom we had playing wildly along the river.  Yes, now that I think of it, the hunt for the "church keys," that made that wonderful sound of continual adult beverages being opened and shared.  All I know for sure is that EVERYONE WAS HAPPY AND CONTENT.

Okmulgee Lake 1959----2012

Going to school in Tahlequah called for much time on the Illinois River.  All of us were poor, but being in the outdoors was RICH, and full of fun and memories.  "We also had to have a church key up until we could afford the beers with pop tops!"  Correct me if I am wrong but I think Coors started having pop tops in the early 70s.  I do know for sure that we did not have to have block ice or go to a ice house to fill our ice-chests.  I personally remember a PINT being all you needed to make for a great day after summer classes ending around noon.

Little by little friends started buying tents and started investing in camping paraphernalia.  HUMMM PARAPHENALIA always made our camping trips more memorable.  So many great memories!

Then came the child bearing years and friends gathered to let their children run freely along the Illinois River or Tenkiller Lake.  Time seems to have come full circle.

It was the time I got to spend 6 weeks in Yosemite that I knew that the mountains, rivers, wide skies, waterfalls, and campgrounds were something I never wanted to forfeit no matter what.

My invitation to travel by motor-home with college friend Kevin added to seeing The Northern Rockies, Canada, and then the following year to venture out into Alaska.

Like I said, once you have smelled the pines, listened to a waterfall, hiked into uncharted territory or viewed a mountain lake..........you just can not close the book to wanting to continue to to find the ROAD LESS TRAVELED.

About 4 years ago THE COOPERS let me use their RV to see if I might want to buy it.  My friend Bill and I borrowed it for about 10 days and came to the very place where I am writing this blog.  Ouray, Colorado, Creed, Colorado and the Black Canyon.  We did pull a small pickup which allowed us to do some day hikes and sightseeing.

Today sitting under the awning of my own RV, hearing the light rain and thunder in the valley while drinking a little red wine just soothes my inner being.  NO CHURCH KEYS!

Tonight the ALMOST FULL MOON peeks out  whispering a GOOD NIGHT!

Good Night to All and to All a Wonderful Tomorrow.

PS  I am having a hard time thinking about coming home due to the HEAT.

Life is Good and the Memories of Mom and Dad are FANTASTIC.

2nd Place to Campout after buying The Little Lighthouse.

It's a Great Day FOR a MOONDANCE!

Celebrating the Land

Fresh Air Massage

Organic Goods and Music

Took the day off yesterday and received an early morning massage outside of the "Little Lighthouse" then  headed for the Farmer's Market in Ridgeway.  Being on flat land has its benefits, especially when rainstorms are in the area.

Where they filmed True Grit.

Just a quiet day, trying to not act like An Accidental Tourist..

Getting to the Little Lighthouse in the middle of an afternoon rainstorm was just what was expected.  WONDERFUL!  Raindrops on a medal roof and thunder bouncing off the mountains makes a gal want to read until it is then time to nap.  (DOWN COVER)

 At the RV park every Wednesday and Friday they have BBQ and wonderful bluegrass entertainment.
This KOA is really great being you have just about everything you need and more, not to mention the stream running behind us.

We were invited into Ouray for hamburgers and DOMINOES last night!  Very good company and the margaritas and homemade salsa from Dee Hennigan made for another memorable evening.

Ouray County is known for its heritage as a ranching community.  This area boasts beautiful organic ranches and farms that raise everything from cattle to yaks to sheep, llamas and herbs.  "What the heck do you do with yak meat?"  Hope we don't get invited to someone's casa for YAK tacos, or Yak burgers.  Could sure use a nicely weaved rug for my little bedroom though.

It is  my ambition to have friends join me next summer for either July or August.  There is an 18 hole golf course in Ridgeway, a liquor store, plenty of good music and food....... So mark your calendars.
Check out the KOA in Ouray/Ridgeway.  KOAs have cabins for 41 dollars a night... It is mostly for sleeping and you have access to everything the campers/RV/tents have.  That way you have a car to take day adventures.  
koa.com/campgroud/ouray

PLEASE THINK ABOUT MAKING A VISIT HERE WITH ME NEXT YEAR.

ps      Looking for a BeeKeeper      :)

The natural world comes alive through the EYES OF BEES.

PSS  The cool weather is giving Jan more energy.   She is peaking at 3 miles a day.

I WANNA LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS

Some of you reading this blog know exactly where I have been parking my Little Lighthouse.

These are the areas I have witnessed....So comment if you will.  "To comment, hit the No comment icon twice.  There is a little pencil next to it."  I think this should work now.

Celebrating the Land in July surrounded by the Rockies.  Can not get much better than this.

Ouray (Switzerland of America)  on Highway 550 in southwestern Colorado along the San Juan Scenic and Historic Byway, of America's most beautiful skyways.  Red Mountain Pass connects Ouray to Silverton and Durango to the south while the drive through Ridgeway, to the north and west.  I absolutely love Ridgeway.  Small but has almost anything you need.   NOT WANT, I MUST SAY.

Yesterday Jan, Debbie, Waylon, Eli and I tracked to Telluride after meeting the guys in Ridgeway for a wonderful breakfast.  Telluride is a very exotic mountain town that has IT TOGETHER!!

Arts, Music, Eco Friendly, Shuddle service and so many healthy looking people.  VERY DOG FRIENDLY.  May I mention the drive through the San Juan Mountains felt safe as well as Magnificent.  Debbie managed to drive most of the time with 2 hands on the wheel and no more than 10 miles over the speed limit.  * I told her before we left for Telluride that I had contacted the Mountain Rangers that we were on our way and if they needed extra cash for the county WE COULD HELP.

Anyway the ride was pleasant and a sure memory.

The southwestern corner of Colorado in the heart of the San Juan Mountains, Ouray County has a population of around 4,560.  I WONDER IF THEY NEED ONE MORE?

Last night Jan and I went to the Sky Cafe at the Chipeta Solar Spring Resort to listen to live music.  Singing was Gigi Love and the person she tried to model herself after was Emmie Lou Harris.  She wrote most of her own songs. ("with a cause,")   Listening to her, watching the sunset casting down on the peaks of Mount Sneffels Range, viewing the saw-tooth beauty of the Cimarron Range, and counting each time a star appeared.......  made for another heavenly day, at the temperature of 85
.

Today we went back to Ridgeway to eat at the True Grit Cafe.  Ridgeway was where they filmed the entire movie True Grit.  Lunch was absolutely wonderful and what makes it so unforgettable is the gentleman that played the piano throughout our lunch dressed as if he was one of the characters in True Grit.

Off to Ridgeway again to sit in the park and listen to live music with the dogs, while drinking a sip of Pinot.

Affirmations of the Day:

Express Gratitude
Enjoy Exercise
Practice Good Nutrition
Take Time to Relax
Read

*Pictures later...

All is well and some.

ps I have my tapestry from the 70s hanging from my awning for privacy.  Just something about that time that makes me happy.

Tomorrow a lovely lady will come to the RV to give both Jan and I a massage.  7:45.  Can not wait!

"I am healthy, whole and complete."

2 Wheels-4 Wheels-6 Wheels

I can honestly say I have had the most fun I have ever had in my entire  life this last week.

Being courageous and wild at heart has jumped right into my sense of being AND BIT ME GOOD!

St. Francis ER

As most of you know, I was bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake on my second adventure since getting my 26 foot LIGHT HOUSE. (RV)  Hiking in the woods is not a new thing for me, but I would hardly say I was hiking the night the RASCAL attacked me.

2 Wheels took me right into the hospital and thankfully OUT after a stay in the hospital.

4 Wheels, ahhhhhhh my goodness what an adventure it is to start at the bottom of a mountain range and    end up looking down and around at the most beautiful sights you have ever seen.  Getting there of course gave new meaning to TAKE CHANCES AND BELIEVE IN YOUR 4 wheeler's POWER.

Today we rode (Jan's brothers and sister-in-law) for at least 4 1/2 hours and crossed from Ouray to Silverton through one dirt trail to another not so dirty but muddy mountainous trail.  3 times I thought to myself,  "Embrace this and make a memory to call upon in my elder days, even though you are white knuckled and in danger 75% of the time either going up, or coming down."   THE VIEW WAS UNBELIEVABLE and the tour guides were exceptional.  Debbie dressed me in North Face gear and black leather gloves thank goodness.  Riding in the  rain in the Rockies calls for CUTE AND SMART GEAR.
The songs in my head were of course from John Denver's Greatest Hits, and if I hum one more chores of Stairway to Heaven I think I will go back up to the mountain peak and jump off.

Rocky Mountain too High

Two nice young gentlemen were on mountain bikes bringing the ashes of one of their fathers to the place he called "His favorite Place."

Yesterday's trac to the highest mountain peak had me doing a Julie Andrews in jeans and tennis shoes, but I KNOW I HAD THE ARM ACTION PERFECT.

Stairway to Heaven

Life with a view

Now to the 6 Wheels.  The Little Lighthouse is just perfect.  It looks so dandy sitting between RVs that any country star could be hold up in traveling from one concert to another.

This morning we met our new neighbors as we were leaving to go into town.  I asked the gentleman if he was from Texas and he said yes.  OK, license plate gave it away, but it was a sure ice-breaker.  He asked me where I was from and I told him I was from Oklahoma.  He said, "My wife is from Oklahoma."  She was brought up in Okmulgee and spent much of her life also in Morris, Oklahoma.
Tomorrow I am sure we will find time to exchange memories of Okmulgee in the 50s.

Jan has been getting to do anything she wants on the 2 days we were off mountain surfing.  She found a great DOG PARK for Eli and Waylon in Ouray, and Debbie, Jan and I packed a great lunch and went into Ridgeway to picnic and discover what that small town has to offer on a warm summer day.

There were many times my travel partners let me travel a ways by myself.  I kept thinking about the people I LOVED THAT HAVE LEFT THIS WORLD.  I TOOK TIME TO APPRECIATE THE MOMENTS, FOR I ALL TO WELL KNOW THEY WILL ALL TO SOON BECOME JUST A
MEMORY.

Some of you are asking how to write a comment.  I thought I saw a place on the Opening Blog page, but just keep trying.


More later,
Julie/John/Led Zeplin are deep in my HEART