Well, the weather is warming up and with that comes the all powerful motorcycle...
We (Jason, Dave and I) decided to go to the Laughlin river run again this year and believe me, it's no Sturgis!!
I'm not talking about the wild women, the parties, the people in general. I'm talking about the Green, beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota compared to the desert of Nevada/Arizona. There wasn't a lot to see while in between places, but when we finally reached our destination, it was worth it, in it's own respect.
We stopped in Mesquite the first night, because of our late departure time, then woke the next day refreshed and ready to explore California/Nevada/Arizona on two wheels. We did have a
hundred dollar hiccup near Vegas when our trailer tire blew, but we got it taken care of and got another one just in case it happened again. It still amazes me, the whole supply and demand thing, how trailer tires, in say, Ephraim are $25 bucks but trailer tires in Vegas, after crossing the hot desert, are $100 bucks!!! Weird!!
Anyway, we got to Needles, CA at about 10:30a.m. and checked into our hotel for BOTH nights. (Notice how both is caps...pay attention to that slight detail for later in the story.) We then set off
for Lake Havasu. We stopped at the boat docks just to "check out their boats". Can I just say that the people that were there that day had too much time on their hands and "too much bloody money"!! I could not believe how many boats were bigger than my house!! And fast!! They would rev their motors and the water would shake in fear!! (Not really, but it sounds nice.) It was an awesome sight to see, and an awesome life to live...if you can afford it!! We decided to eat and then spend some time at the London Bridge, that we couldn't find because of the "bridge" we had to keep going over while looking for it...Remember the old saying, "you can't find the forest
for the trees"...well, we couldn't find the bridge for it was under us!! We finally figured it out and decided to walk down below, so we could really "check things out". It was beautiful. The details and construction was massive! I remember seeing it when I was little, but all I remember of it was the beach side, kind of where it ended. Anyway, it was a cool, memorable experience.
We then continued our "quest" to Laughlin to take part in the
biker rally that was being held there on the "strip". As we parked our bikes and started to look around at all there was to see, I looked over at Dave and started to laugh!! His face was so shocked at what was surrounding us, I could tell that he was just trying to absorb the chaos that was bustin' out the seams!! We started walking through the vendors and I noticed Mike and "Angieland" of the Full Throttle bar in Sturgis over signing autographs, so of course, we went over and took advantage of the photo op. It was
cool to see what kind of people that they really were. Mike was a little shy and got embarrassed easy. His "dreads" were falling out, and he actually was a nice guy just trying to make a buck. Angie was really short and vivacious. She looked over and laughed when she noticed that Mike was getting embarrassed. It was cute to see that they really knew each other, that they were "real" with their feelings for one another. It was a refreshing change from the "biker bar" persona. I found out that neither one of them drink or smoke. They just had this really great idea to sell beer to those "wild bikers" once a year who did. I think, other than it being beer, they hit the jackpot!!
We headed back to the rooms at about 10p.m. and had an all right night UNTIL the 12 year old dance group that was "Camped out" directly above us decided to get up at 4:30a.m. and start practicing their "routines" for two and a half hours, until they finally packed up and left. I was not happy that the floors were that poorly insulated!! Every little (and big) step was heard...EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!
The next morning, we started off towards the Grand Canyon, south entrance. There was
NOTHING for four hours straight!! We found Saligman, birthplace of "Cars", and stopped to take some pictures and get some
souvenirs. As we crossed the road to get some pictures of the mannequins hanging out of the "biker bar", we heard a lady, in a very burnt out sixties voice, ask us if we wanted to try her "breakfast dogs". We politely said no thanks, where she insisted that "they were better than mcdonalds any day man." So Jason said that we would have one. We thought that
she would just pull one out of her little umbrella cart and we would be on our way, but NOOOOOO....She fired up her camp stove, pulled out three sausage links, complete with casings,(eewwwww!!) and fried them up while we waited. It was hilarious!! She put a glove on the hand that was holding the hogie, while she shoved cheese inside it with her un-gloved hand!! Needless to say, I did not partake of the fruit that day...Jason ate both of ours and woke up sick the next day!!
We FINALLY reached the Grand Canyon, walked out on a couple of ledges, snapped some
pictures, and headed on our way, BACK to the rally, per Dave's request.
We finished walking the strip and headed back to the hotel for a well deserved "soak" in the hot tub.
This is where the story gets interesting...
We noticed that our key wasn't opening the door, so knowing that somehow we needed access to our swimming suits before the pool closed, I marched down to the lobby for our keys and some pool towels. I waited patiently for 20 minutes while 6 very stinky frenchmen and women argued with the hindu desk clerk about their reservations...sidebar, the frenchmen and women did NOT speak english, and the Clerk did NOT speak very good english....It was a long wait!!
I finally spoke up after he skipped right over me and started to deal with the OTHER people in line, by saying that we needed to "RECHECK IN" and get some towels. It was finally a success!!
We busted in, changed, soaked, and after a really long day, peacefully fell asleep....(this is where it gets good!!)
We got a call at three o clock IN THE MORNING!!! I was thinking that it was like a warning call that the building was on fire, or that our bikes were getting rained on or something.....NOPE!!!
Jason answered and tried to understand what was being said on the other end of the line..."sir, you are in that room unlawfully and I need to know how you will be paying!"
"what?"
"sir, I need you to give me your credit card information right now, or we will have to ask you to leave this instant!"
"Huh?" "I think we already paid for our room?!"
"sir, I have no record of you paying for your room for the second night. I need you to come down here and pay for your room immediately!"
"Give me the dang phone!!"
"Here, talk to my wife."
"We booked two separate nights!"
"oh, there it is."
Click
What the heck!! I got up and stood outside my door, contemplating going down there, half asleep, and giving her(notice I said "her") a piece of my mind, but I figured that she would be there in the morning, and I would just wait until then! I made a feeble attempt to fall back to sleep, when the "neighbors" above us decided it was time to get a move on. More stomping back and forth until they were all gathered and loaded!! No sleep!!
I went down to try to make sense of what just happened. Tired and sunburnt, I marched in and asked the "her" at the front desk if she was my three o clock wake up call. Now, you know when you can tell when somebody's lying? Stuttering her words, looking from side to side, trying desperately to "come up" with something on the fly...well that was her, to a "T"!! All I heard is blah, blah, blah...excuses, excuses, excuses!! Needless to say, we will NOT be staying there again, and our last night was finally refunded in full!! Not O.K.!!
We, (Dave) decided he needed one more taste of the rally before we left town, so we rode back in. We walked across the street, bought t-shirts, took a picture of Dave with a "pin up" girl, and headed for home!!
All in all, it was a fun experience. Good times, good food, good friends!! We arrived back in Ephraim Sunday night, went in to see Jim Monday from 3-10p.m.. Listened while he "argued with the angels", and went in the next morning for his last breath. He was such an inspiration to me and my family! He taught us how to use our brains and how not to sit idol and just assume that this is all the life we have left to live. He
helped me to see Jason's perspective during disagreements that I had had with him, and he gave such helpful, honest criticism that helped me to grow and become!! His wisdom and friendship will be missed!!
Now, to love and move on. The graveside service is planned, although the weather is kind of bad, and all but one son will be able to make it here for the service. Jason's birthday is tomorrow, and Mckay's baptism is on saturday. Busy week, but we'll be surrounded with lots of family, both legit and not so legit(I've adopted the Green family, all but Marty!) I hope all goes well. Wish us luck.
Thursday...That's right....a huge TEN!!! I can't believe that he is already that old!! It seems like yesterday, all the tantrums, the whining, the complaining...oh wait, it was yesterday!! I got a huge list of things that he chose not to do in class, like not wanting to do anything because he was SO tired!! He got sent to time out...in fourth grade people!! I can't figure this one out like I can the rest. I have no idea where he came from or where he's going!! I guess the old adage is true...apples don't fall very far from the daddy tree!! This one is totally up to him!!
That's how we have felt this last year. I am so grateful for our trials in life, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just need a slow down!! So here it goes!!
y went to talk to the college about the possible purchase of our house, and he kind of giggled and said that there is no way that the college will give him any more money until the multi-million dollar housing project is up and running, and he gave us a timeline of 30-40 years until they will find other things to do with this block!! Yeah!! That's what I said!! So I mentioned that with any new business that moves in, it is required to install a privacy fence, and that our quality of life is being compromised, and that we are going to start working on raising our property value, he just laughed and started talking to Ja
son about the current power situation with their housing project!! Classic!! So we went straight home and started making plans on what to do to increase our property's value. We gathered rock from whoever would give it to us and my dad and mom bought paint and painted our house for my birthday!! I know, I'm spoiled!! They came down on conference weekend and
helped with the start of the transformation!! I loved how helpful they all were! It helped so much!! We are putting in a sprinkling system this spring and we are finally installing our swimming pool in the back yard, so things are finally looking brighter, regardless of what our year has been like!!
hen we got back to camp, we decided to go slide down snow banks in garbage sacks, and that was awesome as well, until Kaden and Mckay went off the other side of the snow bank and fell almost straight down onto some rocks. Kaden was finished after that, but Mckay wanted to get back up there for another round. He thought it was awesome!!
Mckay told us the other day, "I just can't help it, the music just MOVES me!!" We love that he loves to dance!! We have been blessed with such great kids!! Happy birthday Mugs!!! We love you!!!
hundred dollar hiccup near Vegas when our trailer tire blew, but we got it taken care of and got another one just in case it happened again. It still amazes me, the whole supply and demand thing, how trailer tires, in say, Ephraim are $25 bucks but trailer tires in Vegas, after crossing the hot desert, are $100 bucks!!! Weird!!
for Lake Havasu. We stopped at the boat docks just to "check out their boats". Can I just say that the people that were there that day had too much time on their hands and "too much bloody money"!! I could not believe how many boats were bigger than my house!! And fast!! They would rev their motors and the water would shake in fear!! (Not really, but it sounds nice.) It was an awesome sight to see, and an awesome life to live...if you can afford it!! We decided to eat and then spend some time at the London Bridge, that we couldn't find because of the "bridge" we had to keep going over while looking for it...Remember the old saying, "you can't find the forest 
for the trees"...well, we couldn't find the bridge for it was under us!! We finally figured it out and decided to walk down below, so we could really "check things out". It was beautiful. The details and construction was massive! I remember seeing it when I was little, but all I remember of it was the beach side, kind of where it ended. Anyway, it was a cool, memorable experience.
biker rally that was being held there on the "strip". As we parked our bikes and started to look around at all there was to see, I looked over at Dave and started to laugh!! His face was so shocked at what was surrounding us, I could tell that he was just trying to absorb the chaos that was bustin' out the seams!! We started walking through the vendors and I noticed Mike and "Angieland" of the Full Throttle bar in Sturgis over signing autographs, so of course, we went over and took advantage of the photo op. It was 
cool to see what kind of people that they really were. Mike was a little shy and got embarrassed easy. His "dreads" were falling out, and he actually was a nice guy just trying to make a buck. Angie was really short and vivacious. She looked over and laughed when she noticed that Mike was getting embarrassed. It was cute to see that they really knew each other, that they were "real" with their feelings for one another. It was a refreshing change from the "biker bar" persona. I found out that neither one of them drink or smoke. They just had this really great idea to sell beer to those "wild bikers" once a year who did. I think, other than it being beer, they hit the jackpot!!
NOTHING for four hours straight!! We found Saligman, birthplace of "Cars", and stopped to take some pictures and get some 
souvenirs. As we crossed the road to get some pictures of the mannequins hanging out of the "biker bar", we heard a lady, in a very burnt out sixties voice, ask us if we wanted to try her "breakfast dogs". We politely said no thanks, where she insisted that "they were better than mcdonalds any day man." So Jason said that we would have one. We thought that
she would just pull one out of her little umbrella cart and we would be on our way, but NOOOOOO....She fired up her camp stove, pulled out three sausage links, complete with casings,(eewwwww!!) and fried them up while we waited. It was hilarious!! She put a glove on the hand that was holding the hogie, while she shoved cheese inside it with her un-gloved hand!! Needless to say, I did not partake of the fruit that day...Jason ate both of ours and woke up sick the next day!!
pictures, and headed on our way, BACK to the rally, per Dave's request.
helped me to see Jason's perspective during disagreements that I had had with him, and he gave such helpful, honest criticism that helped me to grow and become!! His wisdom and friendship will be missed!!
the funnest year yet.
paper about the bison herd on Antelope Island. It said that over 300 "cowboys" were going to try to herd the bison into a holding pen for their yearly check-ups. We decided that this would be a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon, so we packed a lunch and headed out. It was a crazy drive but it was well worth it in the end! We saw more wildlife than we did in all of
Yellowstone. We saw buffalo charging men and women on horseback and we saw coyotes and antelope and we even saw(ran over...oops!) a snake. I tell you what, if you have time to visit, you should. It was awesome!
After lunch we saw the "trucks" finish herding the herd into the holding pen, which was way cool and a little crazy! After that we decided to head back to Bear River for the annual trunk or treat. I thought that it started at 6, but it started at 5 and so we totally missed it!!! Go me!! So we decided to just start walking to see where it would take us. It brought up so many memories of when we were little. It was fun for Cresta and I to share the fun stories of when we were kids to our kids. We walked for blocks with one goal in mind...candy!!! Jason ate the candy that Mckay couldn't have, and I filled my pockets with chocolate...Somebody had to eat, I mean carry it for them.
Mario and Luigi absolutely loved it!! Now, back to reality...
I love you Jason, my "scary" biker stud!! Thanks for taking such good care of me for the last 15 years! I hope the next 15 will be just as fun and full of adventure!!
get myself ready as well. I've always walked them to school the first day. It's a tradition. But this year was different.
As soon as the camera flashed, Kaden was on his way, with Mckay running close behind, trying desperately to not only catch up with him, but pass him and win!! I myself couldn't even keep up, but who can keep up with a lanky 10 year old and a really fast 7 year old on the first day of school!!??
ne National Park. It was fun until we got there and discovered that it would cost us a whopping $40.00 just to enter the park. The even bigger kicker is that the first 60 miles was road construction...yeah, road construction!! We had to pay to ride on dirt roads and gravel!! Fun, right!! The only animal that we even came close to see was a bear down by the water!! It was pandemonium! 
Chaos, as all the "people" stopped to snap a picture!! Stopping in the middle of the road just so they could get a photo of a bear!! It was crazy!!
notice the big turn off sign that read Cody, WY this way...not that way!! The rest of the night was spent in darkness until we made it to a little campground/cafe that didn't have any lodging left and they absolutely couldn't allow tents in the park. They were kind enough though to re-open their establishment so that we could at least thaw and get warm so that we could travel the next hour and a half to Cody.
I'm so not above pitching a tent on the lawn at wal-mart at 1:00a.m.! The sleep was peaceful until 4 a.m. when it started "raining" on our tent!! I looked out and the sprinklers just kicked on and we were getting "watered"! It lasted until 4:55a.m.!! And to make matters worse, the giant, loud street sweeper started up and down the motor homes and campers and lasted until 5:15 a.m.! Tell you what, I won't try that again!!
That morning we ate at a really good hometown restaurant!! The portions were huge and the prices were cheep!! We went to the Buffalo Bill museum before we ventured forward!! There were tons of guns!! We even saw one donated by Dick Cheney!! I guess he gave up guns after his little "incident"!! We laughed a little about that one too!!
cream and water. Then we pushed through until 10:30p.m. when we finally got to Sturgis!! I don't know who was more excited, me or Doug!! I think he was glad that we, uh I, made it safe and without incident!!
We had a little tent and it cost us $60.00 a night! And more so, you had to pay for everything! Showers were .25 cents for 15 minutes!! I felt like I was at girls camp again!! I guess it was all worth it though because I did get to join in on the teasing of Justin, Doug's friend!! I tried to tease Randy, but he would just stand there and shrug his shoulders and laugh. Justin would fight back! The first thing that I said to him was that "he finally got his bike out of the trailer"! I think I must have shocked him because he didn't even have a response! The rest of the trip was just about the same! He would make it so easy to tease him! That's what Jason says about me...all...the...time!! Now I know what he
means!!
We decided to go to the fights that night because Jason and the boys wanted to go and I couldn't be the "who brought the girl" girl, so I went along even though I was really zapped from the "no food" day before! The first fight I cringed, turned white, almost passed out and had to sit down for a while because I got so sick! How could they break someone else's nose and be o.k. with it!? Then around half way I started figuring out that I wanted the cocky guy or girl to go down by the "underdog", so I started looking, cheering, then sitting back down in case it got bad! By the end of the fights, I was screaming for the S.D. state high school champ to go home and for the Utah underdog to "get him"! I couldn't believe how into it I was getting. I could totally see, at that point in my journey, how fighting at someone else's expense could be entertaining. I could see for a brief moment at the excitement that the people in the 1950's would feel while watching the "fights" for their only form of entertainment. Then someone bled, and it was over!! I couldn't handle it anymore, so I made up an excuse to go across the street to get some "snacks" at the grocery store! It worked! By the time I got back, it was over, and we got to go and sleep!! Awesome!!
make sure and say a prayer before we left. That is a tradition with my mom and dad that we start each trip and day off with a prayer. We just didn't know if we dared to in front of everybody else. But we did, and we are so grateful that we did!! We rode 
around Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse monument, Custer state park, devil's tower, and into Deadwood before we noticed the dark clouds all around us, water gushing on the side of the road, and hail varying from the size of a quarter to the size of a softball surrounding us on the side of the road! As we walked into our dinner reservations there was a severe storm
warning blaring on the t.v. warning everyone to take cover and be prepared because two tornadoes were about to touch down in the area!! We got a call from Doug telling us to 
find refuge because they were getting pounded and everyone's tents were either smashed, or filled with water!! He said that he would dry our sleeping bags for us so we had something to sleep in that night, and that we were in charge of cleaning up the rest!! So of course, $15.00 worth of quarters later we were able to wash and dry all our clothes!! The other funny thing about that day, is that while we were waiting for our table I took one dollar and gave one to Jason and we played the quarter slot. I won $15.00 and .25 cents!! Just enough to cover the wash and a 15 minute shower!! Nice, right!! So, as I was saying, because of starting our day with prayer, we were able to ride all day, untouched to the storm that surrounded us!! How blessed we truly are for being protected!! Jason still comments on how we were able to miss all that and make it back unharmed! It was a true testament builder!!
blast!!! I'm glad that I can say that I rode the whole way on my own bike and returned to tell about it!! It was awesome and I made some really good friends that I would rather have with me than against me!! 
Mom's next painting. View from our camp in Sturgis
