A vacation story (not for the faint of heart)

Everyone is asking how our vacation was, so I need to write this before I can accomplish much else, since retelling the story is making me feel overwhelmed. ;)

We left Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, leaving behind our daughter Beth, 19, who had a sore throat. The first day went off without a hitch. We arrived in Cortez, Colorado around midnight and checked into a local motel and collapsed. The next morning we drove up to Telluride area to find a camping spot, but after cruising through all known camp grounds and driving through the bumper to bumper, crowds of people everywhere town of Telluride, we decided to drive around the mountains and go to our dearly loved area near Silverton. It took a while so we didn't arrive at South Mineral Creek campground until late afternoon. Thankfully they had one spot open, someone had left early and we grabbed it. After setting up tent and stashing cooking utensils and camping supplies in convenient places we decided to go on a drive from the campground up to Crystal Lake. It is a 4 wheel drive only road and ends up at a beautiful natural lake above tree line at about 12,000 feet elevation, filled with only snow melt. It was beautiful. But we only stayed a few minutes because Charles had started feeling a little altitude sickness setting in.

When we got back to camp it was getting worse and he could not catch his breath. He went to talk to the camp host and I walked up while they were in mid conversation. As I walked up I heard, "...well if you're having chest pains too, I think you should get that checked out." I'm like, CHEST PAINS? I thought he was only short of breath. The host called in to Silverton EMTs who told us to come in and get checked out by paramedics. We all jumped in the car and headed to Silverton as the sun went down and it became dark. A police car met us there and escorted us to the fire station where their EMT staff was waiting for us. He was still short of breath and hurting. (he did not think it was his heart, but his lungs, worried it was a blood clot) They did not take chances, though the readings were normal, so they said they needed to drive him to Durango in the ambulance.

Sounds simple, but the only way from Silverton to Durango is a windy mountain road, often edged with a sheer drop off on one side and a mountain on the other for almost 60 miles. The ambulance driver was so concerned about ME driving behind him that he went about 30 miles an hour the whole way, keeping me right behind him so no animals would jump out in front of me. And they did! Deer were all over the place, just running out in front of the ambulance and dashing off the side of the road. I think it happened 8 or 9 times, along with other animals doing the extreme road crossings in the middle of the night.

Finally reaching Durango hospital, it took about 20 minutes for them to decide that it was indeed altitude sickness and partly a panic attack due to not being able to breathe. The doc said that the only way to get acclimated was to spend a couple of nights sleeping in the high country to regulate your body to the altitude. Thanking the Lord that is was only altitude and not anything to worry about, we headed out to the car, only to find a totally flat tire. We stood there, mouths open, eyes staring unbelieving at the tire. Emma gave way into sobs after the traumatic time thinking her dad was possibly seriously ill. Charles went to work digging out the jack to change the tire. A jack in the car....so smart. Eh, only smart if you have a handle with which to work the jack. He went into the ER again to ask if anyone had a jack. The lady who was the receptionist handed Charles her keys and told him to take her car and get what he needed at a 24 hour Walmart down the street. One trip to Walmart, a jack, a tire pump, and a can of fix-a-flat later and we were on our way, profusely thanking the wonderful receptionist who fully trusted us and blessed us with her generousity.

By now it was 1:30am. As we drove through Durango there were no motels that seemed to have any vacancies. I did NOT want to drive up that mountain road again, so we finally found a dingy old motel (the kind you can actually live in) and fell into bed in our clothes. We had left everything at the campground. But it was good to sleep.

The next morning we called home to find out Beth had gone to urgent care and that she had a pretty bad case of strepp throat. ehn She managed to get to the doctor then to the pharmacy herself and then collapsed at home, very sick and very sad. It was like a huge swirling end to a nightmare of running and not getting anywhere. But she said she was fine and we decided since she already had the medicine and was able to stay home and rest, we should continue our vacation in search of relaxation. And by the time we got home on Saturday, she was able to be back at work and was gone constantly with her friends running around having fun. So I think we made the right decision, even though it was a hard few days for her!

After getting our tire fixed for $15 and retrieving our camping set up from Silverton, we found a very nice, lower campground on the east side of Durango by Lemon reservoir called Florida campground. Very nice, camped by a rushing stream, Maggie found a very good friend to play with and we stayed there the rest of the trip. We took 4 wheel drive only trips on mountain roads and read, had campfires and took walks the rest of the time and the first 2 days of the trip seemed like a surreal, distant memory. The patched tire held up, as good as new, even on the rough mountains roads we took.

We are thinking there are probably a lot of lessons to be learned, character to be gained from such experiences, but we are still learning what they might be. We still have no idea why all of this happened or what we've gained, but we are thankful that God took care of us in each little thing....even driving down the mountain with a leaking tire! And we're also thankful for the people He put in our path to help us. The kids had good attitudes and were true troopers, working hard to set up our camp, take down and set up again and not freak out on us.

Mostly I think we are all thankful to be home again. ;)

Slide show of the trip to follow.

Back

I'm almost done with camping laundry!!!! You can now walk through the laundry room without climbing mountains of smokey smelling stuff.

This is the week before Maggie starts back to school. A new school. Junior HIGH school. We have to get school clothes, shoes, supplies, figure out if how to do lunches, and calm back to school nerves (mostly mine).

Vacation stories are forming. Pictures are uploading. I promise.

Ode to Advil

A long winded, run-on type of Haiku:

Wrapping up a full week of Vacation Bible School
and trying to pack and cook for a week's camping trip
What would I do without Advil?
I love it more than I can say.
Because I'm so pooped.

ps....did you notice, I made a new blog catagory called 'whining'?

Getting through

I did it.

I got through. There was a real person to talk to and everything!

I got up at 7am, when the phone lines open, hit redial for approximately 10 minutes before getting on the waiting-for-a-real-person hold line. I dug my heels in and waited an hour, drinking my coffee, playing solitaire and praying someone would answer, and then that someone would NOT answer while I was in the restroom, and then praying for someone to answer again so that I could get on with my life! And they did. And I'm in again.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Sorry, I'm just a little relieved though.

I will never be bad again! (at least not to the government)

Unfabulous, unfun, unemloyment

It is indeed, a very frightening thing to fall out of grace with the US unemployment system. They send you into their phone system and torture you with weird music and intermittent messages of 'stay on the line, we'll be with you soon' only to be cast out with an abrupt, "We're sorry. You will have to try and call again later." (yes, you just try that little thing and call again....bwaaaaaahahahaha) All of this AFTER you've been on the phone waiting for a full half hour and gaining hope that an actual person will talk to you 'soon'. ehn

This is all because I went a week without filing my weekly claim. We were out of town Monday through Thursday and I thought I'd do it Friday....but it was a holiday!!! *throws my face into my elbow pit and cries bitterly* And that is why they are punishing me. I let my account lapse.

I am bad. I was wrong. Now I will pay (or not be paid).

ehn

Mountain trip slides

A week in the mountains

It's stinkin hot here. It's only 102 but the humidity is 27%. (we are used to the dry 8% humidity) ehn

The cabin trip was great! (Charles and Emma were at youth camp and Bethany stayed home) Maggie brought a friend, so they were totally occupied with each other. I did a lot of visiting with my sister and mom. We took the kids to Woods Canyon Lake one day. Larry and Becky took the 2 kids on a hike around the lake and I stayed with my mom and we sat in lawn chairs on the lake's edge. It was beautiful. I did a little hiking too, but mostly visited with my mom.....this was her and my dad's favorite spot and she wanted to tell me all about it, a nice nostalgic visit. A bald eagle who nests there kept soaring right over us and the pine trees we were sitting under. I was always too amazed to grab my camera (which was right on my lap)! I'm a little multi-task challeged.

Another day my sister Becky and I took the 2 girls to Tonto Creek. Very fun, they got to explore and splash and fall in. When we got back to the cabin, I sent them straight to the showers and told them to scrub just in case nasty micro bacterial weirdness were in the creek...you never know. ;) We found a privately owned 'fishing hole' (really fancy) and let them fish. Each of them caught 2 trout and we ate them the next day for lunch. It was hilarious to see 2 girls and 2 women try to get a hook out of a fish's mouth. The guy at the fishing shack had to come to the rescue several times and a woman there with her grandkids helped us another time.

It's monsoon storm season here, in the mountains it clouded up in the afternoons and rained two of the days. Just when it's getting hot, the clouds come and you need a lite sweater...perfection! And listening to the thunder off the mountains was beautiful.

Now I'm back and supervising laundry and cleaning and trying to trim the dog. So far I only have her BACK legs and bottom area done, so she's lookin funny. I'm trying to get her done so she can come with us to a Fourth of July parade that one neighborhood by our church does. We always go to it and advertise for our VBS. Everyone brings their dogs. I will try to remember my camera.

Shy cactus

Night before last I got up to let the dog out at 11:30pm and this is what I saw in our backyard:



Next morning:



I've never seen it so full of blooms. It stopped me in my slipper tracks! If you get up very early, you can still see most of the blooms open, but who wants to do that????

Eternity

Celebrities are dropping like flies today. People's first reaction to Michael Jackson's death was interesting. I saw a lot of them on facebook. From calling it a publicity stunt (I had that first reaction too) to cynical remarks about how strange he was....and he was. And Farrah Fawcett's very unglamorous end....another 'interesting' celebrity. I know they were real people, they both had families and friends who are grieving, but it's not really personal for most people (unless you're a fan). So we are free to gawk at the evening specials on their lives (I did too) and give our opinions. (I am too apparently) To us they were almost caricatures of humanity, an image, a modern day freak show. Whether celebrities are exploiting themselves or are unfairly exploited is up for debate, but it's all kind of a parade of the most immoral and egotistical eccentrics in our society. Yet this day their eternity was made for them. It's all so empty and strange feeling when you ponder it.

Personally we've had to deal with a friend's death this week too. He was a deacon and a good friend at our last church. Randall absolutely loved life, loved his wife, his children and God. He rode a Harley Davidson and yet would snuggle with and talk sweet to his little yorkie with abandon. It made you laugh, but it was real humanity, not plastic or contrived. He was down to earth and lived his life for God and family, not for the public. When his time came he said, "I'm home...I'm home. Praise God, praise God." Then he breathed his last. Hearing it reminded me of when I'd come home from school, as I would come through the door, calling out to my mom, "I'm home! I'm home!" Cool image....hmm.

My own father's death was similar except he couldn't talk at the end. We could tell that he was keenly tuned in to us, tried to respond when he heard my brother or his sister on the phone. He was more himself than he had been for months Having dementia takes you away before your body is ready, but I think his spirit overcame his mind for a while at the end. He knew what was happening up until the last hour or so of his life.

It was August 21st and there was a storm gathering. We sat with my dad, singing hymns, talking to each other remembering old family stories and jokes. We were holding dad's hand, giving him water on a sponge because he was breathing hard and his mouth was dry. Then the summer storm blew in and raged for a while. I opened the window because my dad LOVED a good summer storm. He would go outside and watch them blow in and through whenever he could, even climbing up on the roof sometimes to watch the lightening (yeah, I know). So for a while we listened to his labored breathing while thunder crashed and rain came down in sheets. When it was over we kept vigil for another hour or so, then he opened his eyes, after having them closed for days, too weak to focus on anything I imagine, and his eyes were bright and focussed up in a corner of the room and there was an energy in his eyes, it wasn't just a look, it was a gaze. It made me actually turn and look as if I would see what he saw. But I couldn't (one day I hope to). I don't know what he was seeing, but I have a very real sense that it was another realm of reality. His breathing which was rough, labored and loud started calming and becoming very shallow and then very intermittent. The storm between death and life was blowing through and we knew it would soon finished. He had been focusing mentally on Heaven a few days before he died and now it was as if he saw it. And his spirit never focussed on us again. He was already stepping over and it was a privilege to be there with him while it happened. He took a few deep breaths and then he didn't breath again. And then, in our hearts it began to rain. But it was a very cleansing, sweet rain.

Death is something we don't often see and have to be there for in our society. But it is a very real part of life. I've been wanting to write of my father's death since the evening it happened, 3 years ago, but it never seemed like the right time. I think in the age where you see celebrity icons dying and we are so far removed from it, but still feel it so deeply, it's good to hear of more personal experiences, something unexploited that gives hope and not just sorrow. Something normal and natural and spiritual. After going through that with my father, I am not afraid to die. I never thought I was afraid, but it was a precarious thought, something far off and surreal. Now I know it is just a transition. I've seen it and envy it a little. Can you imagine stepping over with God and reaching your Home that is more familiar and real somehow than the ones we've lived in here on earth? I'm closer to being able to imagine it now.

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4

Bringing Evangeline home

Have you ever noticed the button on the upper right of my blog? *points* It has a picture of a baby in pink on it and says "Bring Evangeline home" on it. If you click on it you will find the story behind it.

A fellow pastor's wife friend of mine is adopting a special needs baby from Ukraine. They are raising the money for the travel and adoption costs through the site you see if you click on the picture of Evangeline. There is also a brief story of their life and adoption. Amazingly, through many obstacles and lots of waiting and paperwork, Gillian and Sergei are in Ukraine right now picking up Evie and bringing her home with them.

International adoptions are a long, difficult process, but if they do not adopt Evie, she would grow up in institutional care. Please pray for them as they travel. And pray for Evie as she gets settled into having a family and bonding with them.

You can follow up on the story on Gillian's blog, Pocket Lint.