Monday, January 16, 2017

A Long Moving Day

We moved from the local county campground to a home across town today. Finding reservations in the area has been a bit touch and go.  We had stayed at one park before the wedding that had a 6 MONTH waiting list....more on that later. When our time there expired we moved to Krista's driveway for 2 weeks. We were then able to get back into the county system..... and today we have lighted for 2 months.

God is good. We have some friends, Michael's former endorsers, who are going to go out RVing for a couple of months. They have a pad for their RV and were looking for house-sitters. Here we are! They are blessed knowing we'll take good care of their home. We are blessed with a set spot and no rent....We hope to do a couple of more RV modifications by the time they return.

Maneuvering into the spot was a bit tighter than we'd expected. We had measured. John and Nadine have a 28ft Class C - I think. We are 10 feet longer.

Examining the situation - there's an incline 

Tight fit

I didn't get a shot but our rear tires are all the way to the end of the concrete - the back part hanging over the garden....and the nose bellies right up to the bolt on the gate - but we're in. The main living room slide won't open - and that's a bummer - but the bedrooms opened fine.  We're still debating who will sleep inside and who will sleep outside. TONIGHT - as I'm still hacking so loud no one could sleep in the RV if I was in there and everyone needs a good night sleep - I've been banished inside and Stacia is THRILLED to have a room. She's not complained - but sleeping on the jack-knife couch has meant she can't go to bed as early as she normally does, and is up earlier than she'd like to be. 

The guys made a trip to Jerry's to buy wood to help us level the RV - we didn't want the tires up in the air for two months. 


While the guys worked on leveling, Stacia and I moved our kitchen essentials and toiletries inside and worked on settling into the house.

Michael is feeling bad after a long day and went to bed. The kids are playing Quelf. I'm about to settle in for a night of "sleep," which this week has meant hacking incessantly with about a 3 hour nap.

Oh, about that RV Resort with a 6 month waiting list, where we were number 23....they called. They moved us to the top of the list after we stayed there. We'll be moving there when John and Nadine come home for as long as we need to be in the area.   When we stayed in December, I happened to tell our story of needing to be here for VA care and the owner heard. I hadn't noticed all the service flags out front when we pulled in. They support the military and I think they moved us to the top of their waiting list.  I think the fact that Michael is retired military, that our kids are really young adults, our beagle is well-behaved and our rig is "nice" looking - all worked together....sprinkled with a giant scoop of God's grace.

For anyone wanting to reach us - my parents are still a great mailing address. Phones and emails remain constant. ::wink::

The View from the Top (Spencer's Butte)

Shew - they made it! They were at the top of Spencer's Butte when the sun rose this morning. 

Spencer's Butte is a prominent landmark in Lane County. It is the tallest visible point when looking south from downtown Eugene.  The Spencer Butte hikes are part of the Ridgeline Trail System. The base of the butte is 1,300 feet above sea level. The elevation at the to is 2,055 feet. 

Michael and I have been ill. We continued to make our appointments the first 1/2 of the week.  We went to bed on Wed and didn't really get up until this morning. The flu - with colds or a cold/flu. We were blessed to be HERE....Krista took the kids one afternoon and night. CoRielle took them another evening and all day Saturday. 

Krista called Sunday night and mentioned she'd been wanting to climb Spencer's Butte to see the sun rise from the top before she leaves the area in 11 days - ugh I'm going to miss her!  I knew she wasn't sharing random info. I also knew Michael and I were still too sick to even think of a hike. Her proposition was  to pick up those who wanted to hike up at 0545 and drive to the butte...

The boys opted to join Krista. Stacia declared there was "no way" SHE would get up at 0500 to hike! They were up at 0500 and she picked them up right on time! Off for their grand morning adventure.  


They somehow missed the entrance to Spencer's butte twice before it was found. The road follows an incline to a parking lot where one begins hiking to the top of the butte.  The kids were almost level -  almost to the spot to turn into the lot - WHEN THEY GOT STUCK.

Pushing the car - didn't work. Sticks under tires - didn't work. Chipping at the ice - didn't work.  While stuck at the top of the hill, another car got stuck and nearly slid off the road. The kids helped to turn their car around and they called it a day. Finally, a fellow-hiker with a truck  pulled them out of their slick ruts. They were ready to begin their hike!

 Nolan estimates the actual hike to the top took about 30 minutes. There were still spots where the trail was extremely icy and slick. In one spot each hiker they saw fell. It was worth the hike. I'm glad they made it to the butte before sunrise.


Yes, we certainly did count these hours as P.E.