Halloween Campout 2014

Hi all,
Our time here is quickly nearing an end. We have pretty much completed all the house cleaning at my dads and the house is listed. Dad is doing well where we have him. The family thinks it is a good place and he is being well cared for.
 This past weekend was our annual Halloween campout and a good time was had by all. Wendy and Colleen made our 'wacky wavy arm flailing inflatable tube men' costumes. Many adults? get into the act although the treats are more of a adult beverage type.

Wendy, Colleen, Goyo and Ray

grandsons Lukas and Isaiah

unknown trick or treaters

 We had a great time but were more than happy to shed the plastic saunas when done.
 Our Saturday night meal is a soup buffet that always is guaranteed to fill you to the max. All this made a great time to spend with family and friends.
 Today I had a breakfast with about 20 other retirees while Wendy was meeting up with her former coworkers for lunch. We then capped off the evening helping my sister Darlene celebrate her 60th birthday. It was at one of the restaurants where we have had many family gatherings. It was super nice to be able to be there.

Dar and grandsons

Dar and hubby Dennis

 We have a calendar marked with various things to do and the last two weeks will be busy. We have yet to plan our route, maybe we will be doing that as we drive away.)

Wendy's pine needle baskets

Dar's Balloon basket

Happy Halloween

A lot of cleaning and a little football

 Hi all,
 Another short update blog, it will be good to get back on the road and have travels to write about.
We have been busy with getting dads house cleared out and ready for sale. The sign actually went up last Friday and people are already calling to view. Going through the emptying process, visiting the rooms and possessions along the way has actually helped with the sadness of selling the house they called home for 54 years.
 Saturday Wendy and I went to watch great-nephew Jordan play in his league football championship game. At a nice cool 40something degrees we bundled up pretty good. The game was an exciting back and forth game that they won 30-29 on a last second missed field goal.
 Sunday we got together with Colleen and the family to watch the Packers and work on Halloween costumes. Next weekend is our annual Halloween campout at Indian Trails Campground in Pardeeville WI. We have been doing this campout for over 20 years and always have a blast. And you will have to turn in next week to find out what we were.)

Jordan and better half Jenelle and photobomber?
 

Excel-lent Week

  Hi all,
Holy cow! how bout this weather? Way to early for the highs that they are talking about(50's).  The Country View Campground is situated on a good hill in the area offering great views and all the breeze you want.
 Saturday we took a drive to visit at our Excel club campout. They were meeting at Westward Ho Campground near Sheboygan WI. As we were unsure of our plans we thought best to just drive up for the day.
 The club is a Wisconsin chapter of Excel RV owners. We have been members since 2008 and though we are on the road we still enjoy getting together with the club when possible. It was nice catching up with the goings on of the group. We also got in on a great pot luck dinner and enjoyed some campfire chat before heading out.

 On Sunday we took advantage of what may have been the last warm water day to pontoon with the kids. Our son Nate had bought a nice 20 ft. pontoon this spring so this was our first adventure on it. Daughter Colleen and family also came along. We had a great day swimming, picnicking, and fun boating around admiring the lake properties.

life on the sandbar

Colleen and hubby Goyo

Nate and Wendy

Grandson Noah and gf Haley

  The rest of the week was a lot of house cleaning and visits with dad. He seems to be adjusting well to the new surroundings which will make us feel much better when we need to leave. As it stands now we hope to hit the road Oct. 6th or so. That should give us ample time to drive slowly to Fla. for our Nov.1 volunteer job. In the meantime we will be busy, busy, busy.

Wendy's latest creation

Goodnight All

Taking care of dad

Hi all,
 This post will be short as we have been busy with dad visits and stuff.
To update on my dad, his health has been improving. His moods have been good, memory issues remain problematic. His physical stature is a bit weak and unstable. He needs to use a walker and will be limited to short walks with someone along side. 
 Good news was we found a Health and rehab center we think will be a good fit for him. It is located about 15 miles from Mukwonago- an acceptable drive for the family to visit. We have begun the task of cleaning out the house as a sale will be necessary.
 We have relocated to Country View Campground just outside of our old hometown of Mukwonago. We will be here for a month to get the decent monthly($495) rate. It is a nice private park that we have stayed at in the past. It will allow us a quick drive to and from the house.
 I again want to thank everyone for the well wishes and support.

Time with grandkids

 Hi all,
We had a good week with a couple grandkids staying with us for a few days and some good visits with my dad. He still remains in the hospital as we have been having a difficult time getting him accepted in close by facilities. His demeanor has improved in the last week giving us some new hope. Medication is helping and of finding a good place for him.
 I want to thank everyone for the nice comments and support, it is very appreciated.
 Grandsons Lukas and Isaiah stayed with us the past three days keeping us well entertained. We enjoyed the beach a couple times, some card games, along with trying to wear them out at the playground. Needless to say we were the only ones wearing out.(

Lukas's made us lemon poppy seed cake

The boys after giving me my ALS bucket challenge

 Thursday Colleen asked us to go along with her for her pre delivery inspection of her new camper. She had picked up a 20 ft. Palomino Solaire rv that is a hard trailer with canvas tent ends. We thought it a nice fit for the family. It is also a big step up from the small pop up that they had. She thought it really funny when they had her sign a paper saying they would not live in it full time.) It has some nice features with LED lighting, elec. awning, and indoor/outdoor sound system.

 Our holiday plans will be staying around and visiting with dad and a Sunday picnic. Wishing you all have a nice and safe holiday.

Back in Wisconsin

 Hi all,
We left SD on Monday after turning in our uniforms and other gear. We were a bit sad leaving and felt like the time had just flew by.
 We made a one night stop at Big Sioux Recreation Area a state park just southeast of Sioux Falls. It is a nicely wooded park along the Big Sioux River. Seems like we haven't seen trees with leaves in a long time, I told Wendy it will be hard to make a basket out of those.

 We then boogied across Minnesota to WI. We made a stop in La Crosse to visit with grandson Alex. He is beginning his second year of college there.

We ended the day at Country Roads RV Park in Wisconsin Dells. It is a private park listed for 55 +. We had stayed here a couple other times with our camping club and find it to be extremely clean and quiet.
 Our plan was to try and get a non reservation site in Ottawa State Park, if we didn't get in there we would set up camp in Wendy's brothers drive. We lucked out and got a site, by the time we were set up the other open sites had filled. We will stay here til Labor Day then move to Country View Campground in Mukwonago for a month stay.
 We set up and then went for a visit with my dad. He has been in the hospital the last couple weeks. The family is working to find him a place where he can be cared for.
 We were a bit nervous going in for the visit as my brother and sister have said he has been very mixed up mentally and his memory is very bad. We actually got a good visit with him and he asked about each of our kids and how they are doing. He also expressed feelings of frustration over his loss of ability to care for himself and his memory. I was sensing he was getting tired and thought we should go. It was hard to leave, he was telling us we didn't need to bother with coming back.
 Thankfully we had two of the kids Nate and Colleen come for supper. Colleen brought Lukas and Isaiah, nothing like a couple grandkids to get lift your spirits. We will have the boys come for a stay next week which should be fun.

Dead in Deadwood

Hi all,
We are busy as we prepare for our departure . It is hard to believe season two here is done. We have had a good time and enjoyed the move to the Stockade Lake campground. Wendy has not minded doing the attendant work and we are considering doing the same next summer. We will see how it all affects us at tax time to make sure it is worth it.
 We had a nice going away cookout with some of our work camper friends the other night. We met the new camp host at Stockade Lake South campground and one other new couple that was coming in to do cabin cleaning. It was a nice gathering and bad us for not getting pics.
 We did get out for one more sightseeing excursion taking in Deadwood. After the bike rally it really was dead. Deadwood had quite a few casinos that were getting nothing for business. Maybe some later arriving bus tours would help but I doubt much. We browsed through some stores looking for discount Sturgis tees, scoring one for five bucks. Oh and we each lost a dollar in the slots- I know big spenders. We did enjoy some good music and a beer at one place and ate a nice lunch at Mustang Sally's.

In Celebrity Hotel and Casino

 We took  one more drive of the wildlife loop but saw more buffalo by the visitor center than out on the loop. Wendy also stocked up on pine needles, like we won't find pine needles in WI.

3 of her latest beauties

from our bird feeder

We'll miss you critters

in our back yard

 So on Monday we will hit the road with a stop off to see Grandson Alex in La Crosse. It will be good to be with family again. As things now stand with my dad- his mental health is not looking good. We are trying to find a place where he will get the proper care he now needs.