Update from Sonia and Dave

by Sonia, via Keith

Sonia Enman (Feb, 2011)

This chemo process is going along slowly.  My blood count numbers continue to be a problem so I have many chemo breaks.  Each round seems to have worse side effects.  I usually go into Rip Van Wrinkle mode for a few days.  Dr. said I may be done in October.  It can't come soon enough.  The bad days seem to out number the good days.

To top it off, I had eye surgery.  The bottom lid of my right eye was growing inward causing the eyelashes to brush the eyeball.  Torture!.  He sewed the lid down so now I look half Asian.

Dave had cataract surgery last week.  It went well and he is happy that both eyes are done now.  He joined a gym and is hoping to improve his walking.

We've been able to spend a few days at the park between chemo treatments.  I'm trying to get a tan to get rid of this Morticia color.  I still have my hair.  Very thin and doesn't grow much, but it's there. 

Hope to see y'all soon!

Hot!

by Keith

It's hot here in Iowa today!

Cedar Rapids 101

Ankeny 102

Davenport 96

Rockport 90

And, the place to be, Newcastle, Wyoming 81!

Great Lunch; Greater Company!

by Keith

Rick and Dianne are on their maiden trip through The Tall Corn State, visiting Bob and Gilene near Des Moines. Today we got together for lunch at a restaurant in Ames.

It was great to see these two sets of friends! That's what's so neat about Rockport 35 RV Park: the friends you meet and enjoy!

A Beautiful Sound!

There's only one B-29 in all the world which is still flying. And it just flew past my house!


What a beautiful sound those four big radial engines make.

Just think —back during The Big One, twenty-year-old guys were flying those.

Saturday, it will leave Cedar Rapids for Appleton. On Friday, it will be on display at show center in Oshkosh.


The bad news: I didn't get a picture of the big gray bird against the white clouds. Maybe the next trip??

Yep, got some the next trip: 















And here it is on the ground.

How Do You Learn What's Going On In Rockport?

by Keith

Well, in this case, I learned what's going on near Rockport 35 RV Park from Helen. She's not at the park at all, but is about 50 miles west of me here in Iowa!

She sent this link: http://www.caller.com/news/2012/jul/18/firefighters-scene-stationary-oil-tank-fire-near-r/
It tells of an oil-tank fire which must be just west or northwest of the park.

I checked this blog and looked at the news items in the column to the right—just below the weather and ad and links. And there was a link to an item about the same fire but from a different source.   http://www.caller.com/news/2012/jul/18/firefighters-scene-stationary-oil-tank-fire-near-r/

This one gives more and later info. The good news: the fire was out in an hour-and-a-half and no one was injured and there was no additional damage.

In the past, I took a poll and essentially no one checked those Rockport in the News links. You might find things of interest there once-in-a-while!

It's good to have Helen and others around who keep their eyes peeled for things happening around the park!

Update from Connie and Ron

by Connie, via Keith

After leaving Cedar Rapids, Iowa and visiting with Keith & Pat (web lessons included) we stopped in Shawano, Wisconsin to visit with Carol and Jerry Bieglow. 

We arrived in Cedarville, Michigan on July 1st. We're in the Cedarville RV Park which is on the northern shores of Lake Huron called Les Cheneaux Islands.  Our motorhome is on the water so we enjoy sitting at the picnic table in the mornings and watch the passing ducks, geese and swans. 

Joe and Carolyn Eger are here (they found the spot for us) and we've visited with them several times. They took us out on their boat and we traveled around the islands. To completely understand the area up here, you have to have the "water" perspective. 

We've been to Saul Saint Marie and watched the freighters pass through the locks. Some of the freighters are 1000 ft long. They just barely fit into the locks and to watch them raise or get lowered is just fascinating!

 We've been over to Mackinaw Island, which is a trip that we had planned for over 20 years.  We took the carriage ride and stopped at the butterfly pavilion. Loved it! Got some good pictures! (Look for them on future cards.) Ron had a butterfly even land on his chin. Yep, got a picture of that. There aren't any motorized vehichles on the Island, but there's still lots of traffic. Between the bicycles and the carriages, it's still hard to navigate the streets. Learned that you have to look for the "good" stores that sold stuff that wasn't made in China.

 

My job here was to get the lessons learned from Keith (my webmaster) and get the website ready to launch. I didn't know the learning curve would be so BIG! But it has been a labor of love and a lesson in patience. So, finally mission accomplished.  The site, www.godsglorygreetingcards.com is now available.  There's still things to "tweek" and things to fix. (It's not good to put a perfectionist in charge of her own website.) Feedback would be appreciated. 

I've up'd the price of the cards on the website, but it's still the same to all my Rockport friends who have supported me so much in this endeaver. You just need to email or call me. New cards are ready to be posted already and I'll do that soon. Will keep you updated!

 

Love from Connie & Ron

Note from Tootie

by Tootie, via Keith

Hello to all from Jasper, MN,

We are having a good summer,except  it is especially hot,hoping for rain. 

I'm hoping to get some help from you mahjong players. I have been given a mahjong set but it doesn't have game cards. Does anyone know where I can get them?

We are looking forward to seeing you all back at Rockport.

Tootie Facile

Note: Tootie's email address is dale.facile@gmail.com .

Current News from Fran and Sandy

by Fran, via Keith

The Oil Creek fire is over 50% contained and the evacuation order for us has been lifted. So, unless you get another note, we are in good shape. 

When we learned of the fire Saturday, it was 3500 acres and about 10 miles southwest of us. Currently, it is over 61,000 acres and came within 3/4 mile of us. 

The nearby ridgeline has 20 hand crew firefighters (from PA) putting out hot spots. The fire is expected to be fully contained by Tuesday, but I think it will be sooner the way they are working. The firefighters did an outstanding job, losing only a small barn to a fire 18 miles long and 7 miles wide in rugged country.

Fran

How to Shingle a Building in One Day

by Keith

Last week was a wild week in our development. Three crews of bilingual workers descended upon us Monday morning. By Wednesday night, they had six buildings like this one finished. They did ours in ONE day. These folks are hard workers, to say the least!

Roofers hard at work, in 90* heat.

Fran and Sandy's Home Threatened

by Keith, from emails from Fran

Update July 4, 8:30 AM:
.

Awoke to blue sky and no smoke. Decided to continue monitoring for a bit before making

the next move.

Update as of 11:30 PM July 3:

Thanks. Just received the evacuation notice (surprise!). Will monitor overnight and leave in the morning, or when we see flames whichever comes first. Will totally pack up before we hit the sack.

Fran

Update as of 5:30 July 3:


Fran reported, "Still here!" and sent the following pictures of a helicopter bombing the fire. (He said it was their version of the Oshkosh air show.)

Original Post:

When is your little spot of paradise not so great?

When a forest fire threatens to roar through it and take everything you've left behind!

And that's pretty much the situation right now with Fran and Sandy, who live near Newcastle, Wyoming.

Here's Fran's report as of late this morning:

The fire is at 20,000 acres , from 8000 yesterday and 3500 Sunday with zero containment. We could see flames last night on the near ridge (1/2 mile) and continue to have heavy smoke. The fire management has been upgraded to Federal control, the nearby town of Osage to the west has been evacuated, I’m told the National Guard is now here as well, and there was a water tender at our property entrance yesterday. We have not been ordered to evacuate, yet, but the fire is much closer than it was. I will send you a picture of the smoky ridge and if I can find one a “before” picture in case we have to take an “after” picture. The Rapid City and Casper papers are treating this as an after thought, concentrating on stuff closer to them and we are in no man’s land. The fire command has a community meeting tonight, so hopefully we will hear some good news.

Here's a view from their deck, during normal times:

View from Sandy and Fran's Deck

But here's the view these days, with the fire not far beyond the near ridge:

Smoke, Way Too Close!

They were advised yesterday that they may be evacuated so they've hooked up the fifth-wheel and also have another trailer they can load with treasures.

It looks like this will not be a stress-free Fourth of July for Fran and Sandy. We certainly hope that the fire is controlled soon and that they suffer no damage.

More Visits!

by Connie R., via Keith

Gary and I traveled to Colorado the middle of June for our granddaughter's Baptism, and we stopped in Keenesburg to see Bob and Grace.  

Bob had just gotten over shoulder surgery and he looked like he had lost a lot of weight.  He said he was not getting over the surgery as quickly as Grace did when she had hers but he was pleased with the results.  We thought they both looked GREAT!  

They are looking foward to a visit from the Clarks toward the end of summer.

Grace and "Colorado Bob"

I have attached a picture of them and also of the newest addition to our family, Kaydence Manez'.

 

Summertime Travelers

By Dianne


This morning we said goodbye to Jim and Gayle Clark as they continue their trip west via northern Michigan. This will be their first experience crossing the 5-mile long "Mighty Mac" bridge over the Straights of Mackinaw into the Upper Peninsula.

We were so happy they were able to spend time with us and see some of the highlights of Bay City. They also spent a day with Dick and Lucille touring Frankenmuth and the world famous "Bronners" Christmas store. Actually I believe Jim and Dick opted out of that part of the tour.

Well, you can't get Jim, Gayle, and Rick together without some sort of fishing experience involved. Rick took them out on the Bay for a great day of walleye fishing (I had dry land plans). As you can see it was a successful trip. Oh, that little fish on the end is actually a perch and yes, it met the size requirement. Later that day, Dick and Lucille joined us for a tasty grilled fish dinner.

We had a wonderful visit. It is so great to see winter Texan friends in the summer time too. Travel safely dear friends.

Rick, Jim, Gayle and supper

Lucille, Dick, Gayle, Jim in Bay City

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