Pull of the road

06 OCTOBER, 2008
feeling the pull of the road
so, i'm starting to feel the unrest, the desire to move on, and the 'anxiety' that goes with it.  i feel like there are things i need to do before i leave this spot.  i've been staying comfortablely at my son's apt.  the neighbors have all toured my van, and have quit asking questions about how i can live in such a small space, and why would i want to.. when i leave for a week or 2 they stop me and ask where ive been and what i did there.  but i am ready to move.  i wish my family could travel with me.  i think that is my challenge.  i need to be happy on my own.  i think i could set up a web cam and talk to my grandkids.. if i did that i wouldnt have the shock that happens when i come back after months away from them.  they are young so they change so much in a short time.  if we talked via web cam i would be able to see those happen gradually.  so that wou

ld solve a dilema for me.  i dont think webcams are too expensive.  so that is one project to complete.  

i want to take my big grill and hammock with me this year.  and i bought 2 lounge chairs and a rope chair.. so i am looking at towing a small cargo trailor.  i could add a vent and a window, and fit a screen over the back door opening and i would have a spare bedrm.  i have always invited people to come stay with me.. this way i could give them a comfortable place to land.  i dont think it would add much to my gas costs.  and it would be a fun project.  i have a line on one.. my cousin put new axle and wheels on an old trailer.. he said he'd sell it for the cost of those repairs.  so i think i should do itl.  

my cobra insurance is done.  i am in poor health, so being without insurance is scarey.  but i dont think i have many options there.  Ooi plan to meet with someone and at least hear what the options are.  but on my own, i'm sure i'll be denied.  

well.  thats my thoughts for today.. hope to be on the road soon.. and i'll keep posting.. i meet some great people traveling.. i am going to be sure to include them on here.. later, diane

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descartes

traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries.- rene' descartes

wheatland music festival

arrived sept. 4th. very wet! hurricaine gusthof dumped rain on us. road needed to be grated repeatedly as traffic turned the gravel road in to all potholes and mud. slow going to get inside..but great concert all weekend!

good day.  well the trip west took a turn we hadnt planned for.  i guess with 30,000 miles on the road, living out doors- hiking, swimming, exploring new places i shouldnt be suprised when the trip turned into a fight for survival.  my grand daughter who is 3 yrs old broke her arm the day before we left.. no big deal, she didnt have pain and they put her in a cast that she could swim/shower in.  what happened next turned our vacation into a nightmare.

emma fell in the fire at a national forest campground near grandby co.  we had just finished a great dinner of hobo pizza, fruit pies, marshmellows.. the fire had been burning for hours and the campground had wood cut and available without limit.. thats my way to tell you how hot our fire was.  her mom pulled her out within seconds, and luckily there was a water facet right there.  her skin was burned off, and the tissue under it was white and black.  burns on her hand, back of both arms and back of both legs.  i am an emt and firefighter.. i had brought burn dressings which were gel soaked in an analgesic (paiin reliever).  after we cooled the burns a fellow camper, who was also an emt came over and we dressed all the burns.  she was over her crying within 15 minutes.  then she started repeating 'damn, damn, damn. '  i think god will forgive us, me for saying it the first time while i held her under the cold water , and then her for copying me.

after driving 10 miles to the hospital, we went 2 1/2 hrs by ambulance into denver to the burn center.  her mom road in the ambulance, and her brothers (ages 4 & 7 ) rode with me.  the boys were upset and i told them that all we could do is pray that she didnt have pain on her ride, and that god would heal her.  when we arrived in denver we found he had delivered on both counts.  the paramedics had given her narcotics and she was busy laughing about the light hooked on her toe ( pulse ox) and when the dressing came off the doctors told us that the burns where not as severe as they were told by the other hospital, after a terrorizing burned skin removal, and new dressings put on she was discharged.  we were told to stay in denver, and they would change the dressings in 5 days and determine if skin grafts were needed.  

i am writing this a month later, we are back in michigan.  the burns are healed.  she ended up with skin grafts, and the scars are dissappearing before our eyes.

i am so thankful that we were spared from a worse outcome.  we learned at the burn clinic that a new child, mostly ages 2 or 3, fall in a campfire everyweek and are treated at denvers childrens hospital.  it was heart breaking to see all the little ones waiting for their turn to scream thru a dressing change.

but, i am thankful.  i know we experience a miracle.   i saw those burns.  i saw the white tissue where the skin was scorched off.. but in denver those burns were pink again.  i am sure her brothers learned a powerful lesson in prayer that they will keep with them thru their lives.  me too.

i sorry i posted such a horrific post.  but the end was so much better than the start.  and to any of you that see someone get burned.  cool the area.. as long as you can.  at least 15 min.  there was some pink on her back where the smoke went up her shirt.  we were concerned with the other areas and never put water on that.. it was blistered when we got to the hospital.  and if you have a first aide kit. the gel burn dressings are expensive.  but priceless if you need to use them.  some of the gel must have gotten on her forehead and when i kissed her in the emergency room my lips went numb.  that kept her from being in agony.  they are a medical dressing, there isnt anything that needs to be scrubbed off.. if you can afford them - they are available from many ems suppliers.. send me a comment and i'll give you a link.  so, hug your kids, grandkids. .. (and a prayer never hurt)

heading west!!

august 3rd- traveling with angel, deegan, emma & ashton. left glenn mi on the 3rd of august, 2008. stayed at reservoir state park, meeker park overflow, aspen glen in rocky mountain natl park.stillwater in arapaho nat'l forest. emma fell in fire in grandby,co..ambulance ride to denver..arrived home 3000 miles later, on august 15th.

Emergency supplies

27 SEPTEMBER, 2008
emergency supplies
my last post got me thinking.. what should i bring for emergencies..

for travel, assisting at MVA (motor vehicle accident)

fire extinguisher
latex free gloves
blankets
bandages
flares
cpr mask
ice pack
for camping

water supply
sterile saline (eye rinse)
magnet (very small item, but irreplaceable for metal sliver in eye)
ace wraps (pressure dressing, or sprain)
benedryl oral and cream ( allergic reaction)
burn dressings- gel packs
hot packs (chemical)  hypothermia
tweezer
after bite stick (ammonia for jellyfish sting)
thermometer
if its listed in the first section, it could be used in the second...obviously.

woke up early to sunshine.. lots of blue sky letting the sun shine bright! had a great night last night. cooked supper out at lake michigan, steak, mushrooms,stir fryed sugar peas, bread and tonka pies for desert. i made mine with apples and marshmellow.. the kids went swimming after, the lake is up to 71, their skin was sooo cold when they got out. after we met a friend and were walking back to the van.. a discussion with a man with a metal detector turned interesting.. he asked the kids where they were from.. to make the story short.. he went to get his wife to meet my friend. .her great uncle had hired the woman as a migrant worker when she was 15. he then paid for her family to come to the states. in 1960. what an amazing thing to meet up with her so my friends children could realize how much one person can do. the future of that family was changed by his generousity. i thought it was great. everywhere we go those stories are there. people who make a positive change in another's life. i want to be that person. the turning point for someone who is hopeless.. i hope i can have the vision to see what needs to be done and make a positve change for myself and others.

Galveston,tx

i am trying to put togather a plan to help out down in galvaston tx.  i spoke with the local grocer and he said that he would help me any way he could.  i have no idea what that means.  could be a donation box set up at the store, or food at low cost, or no cost-  or maybe help paying the gasoline expenses.  i was collecting toys from the grandkids that they have outgrown.  we filled 2 boxes and now we need someone to donate them to..

the local church has a fund for missions.  you need to put in an application with your plan and a board looks it over.  i need to have this all figured out before i submit anything to them.. so that what this post is about.. figuring out how to help.

there is a pharmacutical company near here that sells generic meds for cheap.  i am sure i could get a donation from them.  i already found a connection to the person who sets up their charity donations.  i talked to my cousin and she has a friend who could call someone in a management position.

so, i just need to pull it togather.  what i would like to do is make this an ongoing thing.  use a blog to track where i was going so people who help me and who donate can see that their donation is getting to the people they want it too.. the overhead costs would be minimal.  i can take care of myself, its the gas that would have to be included in the donation or i cant do it.

so, i need to keep talking to people and see what i can come up with.  i leave for the south in 4 wks anyway, so if i can get out of here sooner..  i'll be working on  this.. let me know if you have any suggestions of how i can make this my new 'occupation'  g day.

repair the van windshield
check the oil in the generator- change if neccessary
? cover the carpet in prep for having a lab living with me? rugs, plastic stuff from rv dealer,
get copy of rabies cert. from vet
take out unneccessary stuff ( extra lawn chairs, beach toys )
oil change for van
wash and wax van
order a new hubcap ( lost one on exit ramp in chicago)
hide a key under the body of vehicle.
pack the medical bag,gloves, benedryl etc
subscribe to internet via sprint
get the dog groomed.. remove all her spare hair
copy some music on to cd, same for audio books
buy some shoes.. (flip flops and crocks arent enough for mountains , or are they?)
pack up the camera / lenses / books on photography in nature
buy cds to store pictures
consider a gps ( no funds now)
train capo to laydown, and stay down
repair buick to sell
clean van carpet
find camping supplies in storage unit
make trip album with deegan for the trip west 07 and panhandle trip 08
go out to dinner with julie
9V for weather radio
repair weather stripping in door of van.. (dealer)

Planning

i spent last night looking thru books on travel, my brother takes travel and photography to the level of a science. he has books on where to travel, what month for the best photo opportunities. personally i need to avoid cool weather. if i am going to the mountain parks i need to do it in the summer- along with the thousands of others who have 2 months to take their kids to see the world. but i went to yellowstone in august, and still found myself hiking trails where i would see only 2 or 3 others. which is reassuring to me. i get paranoid when i have gotten myself to the middle of nowhere.. suddenly i think of breaking an ankle, or meeting someone with bad intentions. so i believe i will head to glacier, and then see about the west coast. i have family in sandiego.. it would make a nice stop after weeks alone.
i talked to my daughter this morning and she has no problem with me taking the 4 yo with me. but i am gonna hold out, and do this alone. i love to travel with them. but i really need to find my place, i want to stop for a week or so because i found an aspen grove, or a nice mountain lake. so today i will order some guide books. i have an amazon credit card which gives me money to spend on the site for each dollar i spend. i havent found it to be the best credit card to have.. airline miles might help me more, but i am slow to switch.
thats all for this post. the summary is.. i am planning. i think the foders guides to national parks seem to be helpful. they have routes to follow for weeks. and then tell you all the little places you are passing. so that's it for now.

mount evans

drove up mount evans. hiked, pictures

topsail nature preserve, florida panhandle

june 6-17 deegan and i camped, played on beach, hiked, swam, biked. met up with logan and anna in Louisville, ky.on way back to michigan.