December 2009

Can you believe it? December and 2009 are over already?
We started out the month at the Indio Tamale Festival. We had a great time and ate enough tamales to last for a year.

We set out December 18th for a road trip to the Portland area for Christmas. Pat went with us and we dropped her off in Sacramento at her son’s for Christmas then picked her up on our return trip. Stoli went with us too - I was glad that we didn’t have to leave him at the kennel.

While in Portland we got to see Santa. I’m quite sure that he was pretty busy talking to kids and checking out their lists. Camryn and Colby got to sit on his lap.

We also got to spend time with Ben and Anna….The kids are growing so much!

Ben is really in to Lego’s and he is quite amazing how well he can put them together.

The time with the grandkids was fantastic. They always have so much fun together.
We all went to a Portland Trailblazer Basketball game on Christmas day. They won! What a fun evening.

The Fox girls at Christmas!

We love our sons and we love our daughters-in-law. We are so proud of all of them and the wonderful lives they have created. What a great Christmas!

We end December back in our home on wheels in Indio. We love it here! A New Years Eve Party will help us send off 2009 and usher in 2010. Our best wishes to you all in the coming year….
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

November 2009

November is already over and Christmas 2009 is almost on us. Where does the time go?

Mike and his off-roading buddies have already spent the night out camping somewhere in the desert twice! They take their tents, stoves, food and of course their jeeps.

Mid-November, we took the motorhome to Kingman, Arizona for a Jeep rally. There were 160 people, lots of off-roading trails and great fun. We all spent Thanksgiving together and had a wonderful dinner.

The off-roading trails took us to many areas in Kingman. We explored several old abandoned mines with some interesting equipment in them.

One trail took us to a little town named Chloride, we found some amazing paintings on the nearby rocks. These paintings were about 40 feet high. They were painted in the 1960’s by a fella living in a nearby cave. Local people brought him paint and he created beauty on the rocks.

Mike led two trails at the rally. The final trail was called Moss Wash. It was a difficult trail but it had some by passes so it was a good trail for everyone. The Gold King Mansion built in 1929 was very close to the Gold King Mine. We try to take in the history on the trails.

As November closes, we are back in Indio California.
We wish all of our family and friends a peaceful, happy and joyous Merry Christmas

October 2009

October finds us in the midst of the beautiful palm trees gently swaying in the breezes……Yes – We are back at Outdoor Resort in Indio, California. Mike, Pat and I left Sunriver September 29th, made an overnight stop in Susanville, CA and spent two nights in Reno, NV. Mike’s brother and sister-in-law (Chuck and Eva) and Pat’s son and his wife (Rob and Serena) drove over from Sacramento for a brief visit. One more stop in Lone Pine, CA and the next day we were here!!

The sunrises are gorgeous and the days have been in the high 80’s and the low 90’s each day.

Just out our back door are beautiful palm trees………and sun. Lots of SUN!

Mike has jumped into his off roading already. Just a few fellas here this early but they love every minute of checking out the trails.

Mike and two of his buddies went out for an overnight trip. One day of “Jeepin” and one day of hiking. He was in 7th heaven.

We ended October with my 62nd birthday! A wonderful day, a
great birthday and a yummy dinner out!! What more can an old gal ask for?

September 2009

Early in September, we took the motorhome up to Portland. We spent Labor Day weekend with Marc, Maria, Camryn and Colby. What a great time. We went to an Oregon State Football game in Corvallis. Oregon State creamed Portland State and we had a wonderful time.

The stadium was filled with Orange and Black and the crowd was rev’d to the max!

This was my first college football game and I LOVED IT!! (Besides – OSU won!)

Following the Labor Day weekend, we traveled up to Vancouver, WA where we spent a few weeks with Brandon, Karen, Ben & Anna. We watched the kids while Brandon and Karen worked……….we had so much fun!

We took Pat for a weekend and drove up to Tacoma to spend time with our dear friends, Joe and Lynn Lewellen. We ate, visited, ate, had a massage, went out to dinner and had so much fun playing with their 4 week old springer spaniels…….adorable little balls of fur!

Back in Sunriver again….with a visit from Pat’s sister-in-law, her niece, Ron’s cousin and darling little Madison.

OK – now I’m ready to hit the road. I got my "short" haircut and

I’m looking forward to spending time in Indio. We leave tomorrow!

August 2009

Our brother-in-law and very dear friend, Ron Hoffman has lost his battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis. Ron passed away on July 31st and we miss him terribly. His wife (Mike’s sister) Pat has been staying in her motorhome on our Sunriver lot with us and we have been trying to offer her support during this terrible time.

In the midst of the trauma of losing Ron, our once every 3 years Coontz family reunion took place. We thought about cancelling, but we had relatives already traveling to the Oregon Coast and Mike and his brother and sisters were the hosts of the reunion. The reunion had to go on.

We had 47 show up for the reunion and we had activities and meals all planned.

One afternoon, the clowns showed up and brought fun, magic, face painting, balloon twisting and red noses for everyone! They were a real hit!

Pictured above is Mike, his brother, his two sisters and all of our families. We had 100% attendance for our family and that gave us so much help to pull off a great reunion.

We finish out this month helping Mike’s sister get her motorhome ready for the trip south and getting her Sunriver motorhome lot closed up for the winter.

Through all of the adversity we have experienced, we are reminded to enjoy every minute and always be kind to the people who are important to you. Life can be too short.

July 2009

Our brother-in-law, Ron Hoffman is in St. Charles Hospital in Bend and he is very sick. Ron has had a lifetime of problems with his lungs but a massive pneumonia has really knocked him off his feet. The doctor has started him on a new medication and we all hoping for the best.

Brandon, Karen, Ben and Anna came to Sunriver and stayed with us. The weather was wonderful and they took a day to float the river. We really enjoyed their visit.

Ben and Anna spending the night with Grandma and Papa.

Two new fawns in our area. We caught this picture when they came to visit.

Mike rode 48 miles in the Tour DesChutes bike ride to support cancer care and research. He rode in remembrance of my brother David Gundle, his Uncle Bob Coontz and our sister-in-law, Ruby Fox.

We finish out the month of July with Ron on our hearts and in our prayers.

June 2009

It’s June and we have decided it’s time to escape the heat of Southern California. I finished my hand appliquéd and hand quilted quilt and gave it to my dear sister-in-law, Cathie in Reno.


On our trip north, we stopped for a few days in Redding California and met Mike’s brother Chuck and his wife Eva. We spent a great day seeing the sights of Redding. At the Turtle Bay Park, we saw this dinosaur named “Sue”. She was found in South Dakota. Sue is the largest preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found.

Also at Turtle Bay, we walked across this modernistic foot bridge to see the flower gardens.

In the afternoon, we went up to Angels Camp in the mountains to see the “Glory Hole”……..an crazy spillway for the nearby dam.

We spent 10 days in the Portland area so Janet could get her “Grandkid Fix.” While spending time with Brandon and Karen, we were able to watch Brandon participate in a triathlon. In this picture, he is very near the end …..and still smiling.

We were in Vancouver just in time for Anna’s 4th birthday party. What fun! I can’t believe the little princess is four already!

Next we headed south of Portland (to Sherwood) to spend time with Marc and Maria. We had a great time. We were able to see Colby play baseball twice. He was really good. I think he’s a natural (just like his Dad was)

Camryn and Janet had fun watching Colby’s games. Camryn is now 9 and so very grown up. It was wonderful spending time with her. We went to see “Up” (a great kids movie) and then out to dinner that evening.

After we left Sherwood, we met up with Brandon and Karen at Silver Falls State Park (just outside of Salem) for a fun “Father’s Day” Weekend.

We finished out June back in our Sunriver home. The lot looks good and it is nice to be back. The weather is wonderful during the day (in the 80’s) but dips down to the low 40’s every night. We sleep so good on those cool nights.

May 2009

We started out May in Moab Utah. It was the annual FMCA 4-Wheeler rally and we stayed in Moab about 2 weeks. The weather was in the 80’s with just one brief bout of rain. At the rally, we had an “appetizer potluck” a pizza dinner and a potluck dinner…..along with off-roading runs most of the days. Moab has hundreds of trails with all ranges of difficulty.



This picture is of the confluence of the Green River (on the left) and the Colorado River (on the right.) You can even see the different colors of the two rivers coming together.

Mike led the Gemini Bridges trail (Bridges above) and we had a great day on the trail.

After the rally was over, we headed back south to Indio to enjoy 3 more weeks of sun.

I’ve been learning a new method of quilting and this is my first (and probably my only) project using that method. My Indio next door neighbor, Paula and I decided to both make this quilt of trees. I like the quilt, I machine quilted it……..What do you think of it Paula?

I also finished this table runner. I took a class and really liked the results. It has been really hot in Indio and the afternoons are sewing, laying by the pool or just lounging around.

Tomorrow we leave Indio and head north. We hope to see Chuck and Eva on our journey and then end up in Sunriver.

April 2009

April started out with Mike’s jeep trip on the Mojave Road Trail……from Needles to Barstow California. An old saying goes…….if you leave a rock on this pile, you will have a safe trip.

The wind really blew on this trip. Mike slept in his Jeep and they made coffee in the restroom.

The wild flowers were beautiful. This beaver tail cactus was in bloom with hundreds of blooms yet to open. All in all, Mike loved the trip…the snakes, the cactus, the wind, the tunnels…all of it.

Toward the end of the month, we headed out of Indio to Moab Utah. We had 5 rigs all together. We stopped for the night at a Casino parking lot in Mesquite, Nevada.

Our first night in Moab, we went out to dinner (I was beat – much too tired to cook!)

Mike went on a jeep run called Poison Spider. This was his lunch stop. Beautiful…..yes!

We will be in Moab for the next 2 weeks.

March 2009

We started out March in Parker AZ. We were in Parker for an FMCA 4-Wheeler Off-Roading Rally. We spent 6 days in Parker and had a great time at the rally along with 100 other coaches!. The picture above is from “Horsehead Canyon”


We returned to Outdoor Resorts just in time for the “Mardi Gras” golf cart parade. It was a great parade……..a lot of fun!

Later in the month, we took a trip up to Jullian, CA. Had a great time seeing the sights and best of all was the “Apple Pie.” We took an off-road trip back to Borrego Springs.

The resort is beautiful.....It's my favorite time of the year. The bogenvilla are all in bloom and everything looks so nice.

We’ve had a visit from home…….Flat Stanley has come to visit us. Flat Stanley was mailed to us by our grandson Ben and will be visiting with us for about a week, then we will write a blog about his stay with us. We’ve got some great shots of Stanley and his wonderful visit!

We’ve finished out the month of March with Mike planning a two day off-roading event along the Mojave Trail. He will be taking the trip with four other guys and he is really looking forward to the journey. I’ll let you know more about the trip next month.