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Monday June 8 2015 Day 96 I’M STILL ALIVE
Okay guys! I’m still alive. I haven’t yet gone on the zip line so that is one cause. That is now planned for tomorrow morning before I leave Larry and Charlene’s. That is a must for me.
I had another strawberry picking morning. It is so awesome to be able to get out in the warm sun, this time with cooler clothes on than a fuzzy house robe and do something useful. The strawberries desperately needed picking. I picked two large containers almost full. See pictures below this blog. When I take pictures during the day I have no way to post them at the house. When we get into a service area I just load the photos so they will be there when I am ready to post the blog. So the photos are in order as to time sequence as to when they were taken.
Back to the strawberries. “There is just something special about eating what you have planted and tended and cared for”, as quoted by Charlene. Well, for me there is something special about just being given the opportunity to pick something right out of her garden or anyone’s garden and eating it so fresh. Totally organic, so I could just spray it off in the garden and take that first big juicy bite and then the second and third and so on…Oh my they are so delicious warmed by the son, firm and bright red. And, I get to eat them on my yogurt and bran in the mornings. it has been so wonderful to taste the freshness of the berries and other produce from here and from other places. I had avocados from Lisa and Bill’s place, oranges from Betts’ daughter’s backyard tree, lemons from Paulette’s tree, blueberries from Daneece’s bushes, and now strawberries and sweet peas from Charlene’s bounty. I hope I am not forgetting any other homegrown treats. Remember, I have been on the road for several months now and it is getting more difficult to recall all that has happened in so many days. Oh, how I have loved these days.
After strawberry picking I readied myself for the day ahead. While I was outside Charlene was inside preparing a feast for a king’s lunch. We three were the kings. Now this lunch would probably not be considered a feast for all you hamburger beef eaters out there. Here is what she packed. Delectable bits of cheeses, two kinds of olives, walnuts, almonds, three kinds of crackers, honey crisp apples, fresh cherries picked the day before, hummus, broccoli, carrots, baby cucumbers, and turkey slices. I had some of everything except the turkey slices. Yum…yum… I know my husband would just LOVE THIS!!! NOT! Well, maybe the turkey slices. (I miss you Dave)! We sat out under the tall trees, listening to waterfalls in the distance. We were at some sort of picnic turnout in a national forest. It is necessary to have a permit for any stop you make in the public areas. You either pay by the year and show you tags hanging in your car or you go to the nearest self serve box and deposit your $5.00 daily user fee in the box. Well, Charlene and Larry never know which tag to display so they just put them all out. The day we climbed Beacon Rock was FREE DAY and I didn’t have to pay.
Before we had lunch we drove a ways and stopped at a lookout to see Mt. St. Helen. The side we could see was not the side that blew out in 1980. It is so sad to see the mountain so deplete of snow this early in the year. These snow capped mountains are a huge part of the water source that feeds the Columbia River. I mentioned the dry riverbed that I saw the day before that was fed from Mt. Hood. All those dried up water ways will eventually deplete the waterways on further down in the state of Oregon and Washington. There are a few trees I noticed that are dried up and dead due to lack of water. Usually those are on slopes facing the afternoon’s hot sun. It is nothing like it was in Yosemite where there were full mountainsides of brown dried up dead trees. Please check out the photos of Mt. St. Helen if you can find where they are with my mistakes in posting. Sorry about making you hunt and peck for them. That’s what I get for being in a hurry. I am trying so hard to practice retirement to not live in the fast lane but it is a difficult lesson to learn. I hope I was able to get some nice ones on my camera because I took my life in my hands and climbed over the lookout wall and went down the hill a bit (a pretty safe grade) and took the photos with flowers in the foreground. I think it made for a more interesting photo. So that’s another reason why I am still alive, I lived to climb back over the wall, didn’t get caught, arrested, or fined.
While at the lookout site I almost had the opportunity to get a ride on a motorcycle. A beautiful RED motorcycle! But…alas the driver did not have his rear seat attached. Three bikers drove up beside us and of course conversation ensued. When I asked if he would take me for a ride he said sure. That was Steve #1 (the big guy). He was with Nancy and Steve #2. We had a delightful conversation and I asked for their wisdom. Steve #1 said: “Live your life to the fullest.” Steve #2 said: “You only go around once so do what you want to do.” I think I am paraphrasing that a bit. Nancy said something that I really liked when she said it and now I can’t remember what she said. I forgot to take notes on my phone. I sometimes forget that I have that feature. I’m still getting used to this technology stuff. Well, at lease I had a picture taken on the RED HARLEY! (I think it was a Harley). It was big and beautiful. Oh how I would have loved to take a spin on it. Nancy was going to loan me her helmet. Okay Dave, you can quit shaking your head now. I didn’t go! But I might of!
After the Mt. St. Helen interlude we then drove to the location I described above and then ate lunch. After lunch we hiked down to see the lower falls in an area that has three falls, lower, middle and upper. We were above the falls so did not have great opportunity for photographic views. I took more videos than photos but I don’t know how to upload a video on my blog. We hiked back up to the road (everything here is either up or down when you are walking) and took off for the middle falls. We parked in a little turnoff and hiked down to the middle falls. We almost didn’t get to go because about half way down it was cordoned off with bright pink ribbon tape that said it was closed and we had to turn around. Well, Charlene’s husband is fearless, (and when I say that I am a believer that it is LITERAL) he stepped over the boundary checked it out and in a little while returned and said we could make it. Hmm… It was definite that Charlene should not go down the hiking trail due to the fact that she needs a new hip replacement. Well, guess who went? You got it! I stepped over the tape, looked around in the eerie solitude of the vast shadowy forest to make certain we weren’t on surveillance camera. Not only were not on surveillance camera, there wasn’t another soul around anywhere. I felt better that Charlene was staying where the tape was so if we didn’t come back maybe she could Med Flight us out. Larry and I went down, down, down and when I looked up he was nowhere in sight. He was gone! Then I hear this plaintive yell above the din of the waterfall noise. He was calling my name “Wanda”, (oh yeah, that’s me I thought in this Kathleen persona). I could barely hear him but I could not see him. Then, through the trees I could see movement and low and behold he was walking IN the water. It looked like he was walking ON the water because he was on a ledge of rock that protruded out from where the waterfall fell from above us. Oh my it was so beautiful! So…So…BEAUTIFUL! It was worth breaking the law. (Don’t tell my son the Policeman I said that). I did figure out why it was taped off as I traversed down the 2 to maybe 3 foot wide path with drop offs literally one step away. The mountain was seeping snow melt runoff due to the hot weather and the 45 degree decline was slick with mud. I found my purchase and traversed those areas without falling. Oh man, not only did I have to go down, I had to get back up. Would I do it again? MAYBE! Well if I answer truthfully it would be a definite YES! It was worth it. Now that is another reason I am still alive. I didn’t have to be Med Flighted out. I think maybe Larry is being a bad influence on me.
We decided we would not hike the next 3/4 of a mile to the upper falls. We’re not talking about a little walk in the park here. These slopes are SLOPES! Up and down. I absolutely loved it. I think all my stair climbing exercise between classes in Redding readied my calf muscles for these hikes as well as climbing to the top of Beacon Rock. If I lived here I would become a hiker. It is so amazing to be in such pristine nature, isolated, quiet (between waterfalls that is), without much to carry, just enjoying nature at its fullest. I never knew hiking could be so exhilarating. The best part of the day was that I didn’t get killed on a motor bike, I didn’t die on a zip line, I didn’t get arrested for climbing the wall and I didn’t tumble down the mountain side, and I didn’t get arrested for stepping over the pink barrier, nor slide down the muddy pathway. Thank you God that I survived the day!
This blog has been written in its entirety at the Kia Dealership in Oregon as I waited for four new tires, an alignment and an oil change. I am in the waiting room while customers come and go, each watching a bit of TV and me here just typing away. My elbow neighbor Charlie sitting beside me took a picture of me sitting here typing so I could put it on the blog. He has been been here longer than I have. I asked him for his world wisdom for the moment. Here is his reply: “Why are we as a nation getting involved with a war in the middle east that has been going on for thousands of years. They are going to continue fighting and fighting until there is no one left to fight. We should get out of there and let them do what they are going to do. All they are going to do is kill our troops while we are there.” Charlie was watching the news on CNN as he waited here these few hours. I have been here since 9:00 a.m. and it is now 12:12 p.m. Charlie is gone now, another person in this world that I will probably never see again but delightful to talk with. I have been so fortunate to have come across so many interesting and “real” people. I have enjoyed every encounter. Kim who works here also gave me one piece of advice: “Enjoy the moment.” I like that!
Well my yesterday tale is almost over. After we escaped the perils of being arrested for crossing the barrier we hiked up to the highway and walked down the middle of the winding road. See picture somewhere in this blog. And we headed “home”. Oops, I mean we headed out to Pizza Time at the Backwoods. Literally, the Backwoods. We entered from the back of a building, the tables were outside in the cool of the evening and we looked at blank Angus bulls peering over the fence at us as we ate. The mountains surrounded us sort of like a mother hen, drawing us close with a feeling of being safe. And the pizza was interesting and delicious. It was sweet with a real kick. We had Thai Shrimp Pizza. Hey, if I am going to try octopus, Thai Shrimp doesn’t scare me. It was really hot thought! And for me to say that you know it was HOT. As I ate it I realized it was really the hottest when I had a big bite of jalapeno pepper in the bite. It was a good hot.
Went home and went to bed and up this morning at 5:43 a.m. I arrived here at the dealership at 9:00 a.m. Charlene and Larry are a bit off the beaten path. When I was with my cousin Joyce she encouraged (demanded) me to get my GPS out and learn how to use it. Up to that point I had been using either map quest printouts or my new Iphone. Well, I followed her suggestion, mainly because she got it charged and working for me, and it is a good thing. In some of these places I’ve been (on the very day I left her place) I have been out of service areas. My phone would not even pick up any kind of signal. It was my GPS that delivered me safely to all my destinations. I have thanked Joyce over and over in my heart since then. NowI say it in print for the world to see. Thank you cousin Joyce. You saved my lost self. I have been able to get to each destination, clearly and safely due to your lessons. By the way Joyce, I miss you a lot! Tell Daneece hello for me! Joyce, I finally found the perfect cherry!
Love to all of you…
April 27 2015 Day 51 “I See the Ocean”
Up close and personal I can see the ocean. I posted a couple of pics for you.
This day as been awesome! I actually slept in until 8:30 a.m. That is very late for me. It felt so good because I knew I would be driving. I have found that I have a tendency to get drowsy on some of these long drives. When I do start nodding I look for a place to stop, get out, walk around, fill up the car or empty me out. It breaks the cycle of the drowsies. Well today’s trip was less than a three hour drive but I still had to stop once. It was a very interesting day of driving because I was going across the state of California instead of driving south to north. There are four major highways that go north/south. Well, today I drove on all four and I was going from east to west in a southerly direction. First I was on Highway 99, then Highway 5, then Highway 101 and finally on highway 1. I was constantly working my way south/west in a stair step sort of patter in order to arrive at my destination. I arrived on time or there about and had a delicious dinner and evening out.
As I was driving and merging onto the coastal Highway 1 all of a sudden the ocean just appeared. I had to quickly take a look and it was breathtaking and up close. I wasn’t expecting to have my first glimpse in such a dramatic way. I was stunned and sorry that I couldn’t stop the car and just gawk. I rolled down the windows and let the ocean breeze blow in. Coastal air is so different than inland. It is fresh and cool and heavy and moist. When I left Modesto at 1:00 p.m. it was 87 degrees. It dropped to 73 degrees, then 65 degrees and then to 58 degrees the closer I drove toward the ocean. I purposely checked often to see how the temperatures changed. Every time I got over another huge mountain the temp was lower. It’s as if the Ocean feels my thoughts right now and the curtains rustle and the cold air wraps it way around my legs caressing me as if to say welcome. It is quite cold. I wish I knew what the temperature reading is. But I don’t.
My host home is my first cousin Bill Tackett, son of my mother’s, late brother. They live nestled high above the town of Monterey overlooking a view of the water. Monterey is a seaside town built on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. After dinner they took me on a short tour around the town. The light was so beautiful. The fog lay thick out over the bay and the sun played with the light to create some beautiful illusions. How am I so fortunate to be just where I needed to be at the right time to view such beautiful sights. I took a few pictures but they cannot do justice to what my God-designed eye of the heart is able to see. We also stopped by the home of where they go to Bible Study on Monday evenings so I could meet some of their friends who would be there. I met some wonderful people. I asked one for her word of wisdom. She quoted something from Ghandi: “There are seven days in the week and only two days in which you cannot do anything, Yesterday and Tomorrow”
This lady I met is Susan, and we had a few other discussions. We talked about living in the moment, which I like to believe I do. I said that I enjoy who I am and the age I am and have peace and contentment. She replied that she thought the reason I was so content was because I do live in the moment. When we do live in the moment and accept who we are we do have the tendency to be satisfied with life. It was a good insight to be brought to my attention.
The farmlands are being irrigated and they look lush and ripe. Strawberries and blackberries and blueberries are being sold at roadside stands along with the first picking of nectarines and peaches. Last years harvest of almonds and walnuts are in abundance also. So many local vegetables are already being harvested. It felt like late summer in Wisconsin because of all the fresh varieties available. I so crave fresh food and I have been buying it along the way. Sometimes I forget and leave it behind if it hasn’t all been eaten and other times I take it with me in my thermal bag and eat it for lunch. I have not stopped at a fast food place for a meal since I left home. I carry enough real food with me that I don’t need to do that.
I drove by a large Reservoir today. As I looked down I realized it was almost empty. Sand bars broke through the placid surface. I believe it was the San Luis Reservoir. The article below is from today’s paper discussing the information about the dam that I thougth might interest you. Here today but it may be gone tomorrow.
San Luis Reservoir
Panoramic view of Reservoir
The San Luis Reservoir is an artificial lake on San Luis Creek in the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range of Merced County, California, approximately 12 mi (19 km) west of Los Banos on State Route 152, which crosses Pacheco Pass and runs along its north shore. It is the fifth largest reservoir in California. The reservoir stores water taken from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. Water is pumped uphill into the reservoir from the O’Neill Forebay which is fed by the California Aqueduct and is released back into the forebay to continue downstream along the aqueduct as needed for farm irrigation and other uses. Depending on water levels, the reservoir is approximately nine miles long from north to south at its longest point, and five miles (8 km) wide. At the eastern end of the reservoir is the San Luis Dam, or the B.F. Sisk Dam, the fourth largest embankment dam in the United States, which allows for a total capacity of 2,041,000 acre feet (2,518,000 dam3).
Completed in 1967 on land formerly part of Rancho San Luis Gonzaga, the 12,700 acres (5,100 ha) reservoir is a joint use facility, being a part of both the California State Water Project and Central Valley Project, which together form a network of reservoirs, dams, pumping stations, and 550 miles (885 km) of canals and major conduits to move water across California. The San Luis Reservoir is located in Merced County, and has a visitor center located at the Romero Outlook where visitors can learn more about the dam and reservoir. The surface of the reservoir lies at an elevation of approximately 544 ft (166 m), with the O’Neill Forebay below the dam at 225 ft (69 m) above sea level. This elevation difference allows for a hydroelectric plant to be constructed – the Gianelli Hydroelectric Plant. Power from this plant is sent to a Path 15 substation, Los Banos via a short power line. Those 500 kV wires, carrying both the power generated here and elsewhere, leave the area and cross the O’Neill Forebay on several man-made islands.
California is big. I thought Texas was big. It is. It is big Wide. California is big TALL. The landscape is so diversified that it seems I go from country to country around the globe, One thing, it has a lot of are mountains. Boy have I crossed some mountains since being on this trip. Beautiful, beautiful mountains. And when I arrived in California there are even more mountains. Check it out online. The below paragraph was taken from the internet to give you a little info regarding some of the ranges in California.
Coast Ranges
Coast Ranges, series of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America, extending from SE Alaska to Baja California; from 2,000 to 20,000 ft (610–6,100 m) high. The ranges include the St. Elias Mts. in SE Alaska and SW Yukon, which have the highest elevations; a partially submerged portion that forms the islands off the coast of SE Alaska and British Columbia; the Olympic Mts. in Washington; the Coast Ranges in Oregon; the Klamath Mts., Coast Ranges, and Los Angeles Ranges in California; and the Peninsular Range in Baja California. The Coast Ranges are rugged, geologically young mountains formed by faulting and folding and are composed mainly of granitic rock; the northern third is glaciated. N of San Francisco the ranges are humid and thickly forested; the southern parts are dry and covered with brush and grass. Lumbering, mining, and tourism are important.
Back to Bill and Vicki: After dinner we drove around the community here on the coast. They made such a believer out of me regarding the things see to see and do that I called my next destination and postponed arriving at their home until Sunday afternoon. So all is well in regards to my going to my next panned stop. After the short car tour we went to Bill and Vicki’s place of home Bible Study and I met all the people that were there. We then came home and here I am. SLEEPY.
So Sleepy…
Where do I lay my head?
Kathleen Martens
April 27, 20015
I walk into the arms of God
Never does He think it odd.
He nestles me in a quite place
With me alone in this space.
I am His and He is mine
Oh such a beautiful time.
I rest in Him and His peace
He rests in me and does not cease.
Missouri
March 7, 2015 DAY ONE
I wish I could capture words as I live through each moment. But alas, if I am writing, then I am not doing. So I must rely on my 24 hour memory to write all that my brain was experiencing yesterday. It was a beautiful, wonderful, uneventful day of driving. It was my wish to have it so. My prayer this past month was that God would allow the storms to go before me or come behind me. Because of my postponement of leaving last week I missed an awful ice and snow storm at exactly the place I would have been had I left on time. Today I sat in the church in Rolla Missouri and the pastor told about how the church had been used as a safe place for 60 of the people who were stranded on the highway after being involved in a 25 vehicle car crash on Interstate 44. There were no services at the church last Sunday due to the horrible road conditions and all the people who were stranded without a means of transportation, using the church as a place to stay. The church body braved the storm and accommodated the people with places to sleep and food to eat. Well, that was one storm I missed.
Back to yesterday, the sun was shining, the sky was full of beautiful clouds, the land was covered in snow and the air was pristine. I saw a wolf alongside the road, dead, but still beautiful. And I must admit I have never seen such beautiful artistic power lines. Really amazing works of art. I so much wanted to stop and capture their beauty with the camera but knew it would not be safe with people speeding by at 80 miles an hour. The speed limit was 70 and they were all passing me so I figure they were going 80. Fortunately there was not much traffic and I don’t recall there being any construction. I also was surprised as I drove into Rolla to see so much carnage and twisted burned out MAC trucks still on the side of the Interstate awaiting removal. So many skid marks and deep gouges in the earth made the accident all too vivid and real.
My first stop was in St. Louis where I promptly got lost following map quest’s written instruction. “Lost as a goose” as my mother used to say. So what does a damsel in distress do? Well, ask for instructions of course; did it on my hands free car phone by calling my source point, my nephew Eric. I only got lost a couple more times. Finally, safe and sound, I arrived on a quaint narrow street from the 1930’s. Beautiful, all brick homes with gingerbread and arched doorways and steepled gables. And we were all hungry and that is where the pizza above originated from.
Now, just so you know, my car is packed to the gills. I didn’t have time to cull my last clothing list so I stuck it all in. And after one day, my car is already a mess. And it will stay that way until I get to my next stop tomorrow evening when I plan to take everything out, and start over!
I’ll tell you one thing, I never realized just how much God still has to teach me. And…He is using every day to do so. I think I am in for an interesting trip!
Briefly, as this message is getting wordy, everything that was in my front seat was rearranged to the back seat (bigger mess) so nephew Eric could ride to Rolla with me. His wife followed, for a while until she realized I drive the speed limit and then I followed her for about two minutes. She arrived a few minutes before we did. And oh what a delight I walked into. Eric’s wife’s aunts graciously opened their home to me, sight unseen so I could stay in Rolla and visit my Aunt Gracie. A home that you actually felt love dripping from the ceilings. Their story is amazing and interesting and too long to tell in this post. Remember this adventure is to tell it like it is. Stay tuned to hear about these two identical twin ladies with hearts of gold.
March 8, 2015 DAY TWO
…A day that was more priceless as gold. Spent the entire day with my precious Aunt Gracie, my mother’s sister. It was one of her “good days”. She is experiencing memory loss. Some times the loss seems more severe than others. Aunt Gracie seemed to be her same usual jovial self. She remembered me, my face that is, but not a lot of the details of my life. She still had a recollection of my children at different times during the day. She asked the same questions over and over and I answered each one as if it was the first time. Moments are always new to her and she seems content most of the time, but at others, shows concern for what she know is happening to her. Even if she didn’t remember me, I remember her, and I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for anything. I so wanted to see her one more time in my life and I have done so. We talked and talked and shared long ago memories that she recalls vividly. It was so fun to hear her tell of them, and how new and refreshing they are to her. I think she especially enjoyed to have someone to listen to her. Her precious Bob is in recovery from a serious fall several months ago. He is able to walk with the aid of a cane but I can see the sadness that he has due to his loss of activity. He was always such a hard worker and doer of anything that needed to be done. It was such a beautiful thing to see how devoted they are to each other.
I went to church with her and then met up with her daughter and we all went out to eat. Aunt Gracie’s appetite is alive and well. When seeing how much she loves to eat it is surprising that she is so tiny and thin. She seems like a delicate flower, fragile and beautiful.
March 9, 2015 DAY THREE
My last day with C and S. Worked out on their stationery bike, more delightful conversations and story time, preparation for my next trip, packing up for the ride south and then time to meet my Aunt and Uncle before leaving Rolla.
Gracie and Bob were able to meet up with me the next day for a lunch at a Burger place. I passed on the menue, she ate half a burger. But she was not having a good day. She was unable to stay long and we parted with tears and hugs.
Went back to C and S home, packed the car and I was on my way.
March 10, 2015 DAY FOUR
Started the journey Saturday and now it is Tuesday and I feel as if I have lived a lifetime in between. And what a beautiful lifetime! Amazing how much can be packed into three days. Today I am resting. On Saturday I met up with my nephew Erik and wife Karen at their home and had a wonderful LATE LUNCH, as I was late for my first scheduled appointment. I tried so hard to arrive on time. I did everything except speed. I suppose if I had not left 2 hours and 40 minutes late I would have had a better chance of being there on a time. It was a lovey surprise to find out that Eric and wife were going to my second stop with me. Karen had made it possible for me to spend two night with her aunts in a location where I needed accommodations. If nothing else wonderful happens on this trip it will have been worth it just meeting these two delightful, godly ladies. WOW! What a weekend of learning and blessings from the Lord.
These two ladies, I will call them C and S, are identical twins. They are so full of the Lord that God’s love just drips from the ceilings of their home. I could feel the Lord’s presence when I entered their home. I have never felt so humbled to be in the presence of such loving and caring people. The parts of their story I heard while there would make a long interesting book and a better movie. I will have to write more about them later as I do have their permission to do so. They have lived an amazing 82 years. I wish I could have spent many more days learning from them and hearing about the wonderful miracles that have happened and are still happening in their live. From the moment I walked in and met Miss C my learning experience began. God started doing a work in me that even surprised me. I believe I was supposed to be there exactly when I was there. I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to reach out and share God’s love with a young man who was staying with them. As a new believer he was searching for so many answers. I know the words God allowed me to share with him touched him deeply and possibly will make a great difference in his life. It is always a great joy to be able to pray with others. However, this was a situation where I think I was much more blessed than those I was with. The seed had already been planted and God allowed me opportunity to water.
I arrived in Willow Springs last evening just in time for dinner. So wonderful to sit down and have dinner with friends that I haven’t seen for awhile. I am currently visiting with Kathleen and Mat formally City Church attendees. We played a wonderful game of 9 hole golf (cards). It was wonderful because I won! Up way too late again and so today I slept in, raided the fridge, spent time with the Lord, and finally showed my face between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m.. This was all done with advance notice as it was Kathleen’s (the other Kathleen) idea. What a great idea. I’ll try to log a picture of the homes I’ve been to so you can see the different places and styles.
After updating the blog I will go work out at the YMCA. I’ll try to log a picture of the homes I’ve been to so you can see the different places and styles. Hopefully this will publish with the slow internet speed here at the Willow Springs Library. None of the homes I’ve been in have WiFi. And not many more do that I’ll be with the next week or so. Uploads may be far and few between.
A Cup of Water
A Cup of Water
By Kathleen Martens
March 17, 2011
A soothing cup of water
Does more than just quench thirst,
When offered from the heart
A soul will be submersed.
Perhaps it is not liquid
But “words” that are a balm.
Healing pain and sorrow;
Creating peace and calm.
Visions of Poetry 