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.

February 2009

This month, we took a day trip over to Simi Valley and toured the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. A great trip!


President Reagan is buried at the Library in an incredibly beautiful setting.

When the last “Air Force One” was retired, it found a home at the Reagan Library. We were able to walk through the interior of the plane and then we had lunch at the restaurant located under the plane.

Mike rode his bike 103 miles in one day in the Tour d’ Palm Springs on Valentines Day. Not bad for an old guy!!

It snowed in the mountains above Palm Springs and off roading in the white desert was beautiful!

Both Mike and I follow and really enjoy professional bicycle racing. When we discovered the last stage of the Tour of California ended in northern San Diego, we just had to go. It was GREAT! All the big international racers were there and we had front row seats near the finish line.

January 2009

The economy is plummeting all around us but the sun still shines every day and life goes on. We choose to focus on the positive.

Mike & I have joined a Wii Bowling League…….yes you heard me…….a Wii Bowling League. It is so much fun and it’s a great group of people that meet with every week !

We had a “Welcome Back Fiesta” party this month and the resort is filling up with people from all over the US and Canada. It’s been a pretty rough winter all over the country but beautiful and warm here.

I went with three other gals to the “Road To California” – the southern California Quilt Show. It was big……so much to see. We had a fabulous time ! I came home inspired to start some new projects.

Our winter home is fantastic……see what I mean about beautiful clear blue skies?

The geraniums and petunias are all in bloom……yes – it really is January.

Mike took his annual golf trip to Bandon Oregon with Marc & Brandon. He always enjoys his time with the boys and is already looking forward to next year.

Mike continues to enjoy his time climbing rocks with the Jeep. We see some beautiful scenery and interesting places in the desert and he has some crazy friends that love “wheelin” as much as he does.