12/8-12/31 - Monte Vista Village Resort, Mesa, AZ

Finally, warmer weather.  Steve takes to the many activities and plays bridge, pinochle, pickle ball, and rides his bike.  He meets friend Elaine for drinks.  So far, we are enjoying ourselves.

We take the trek ALL THE WAY ACROSS PHOENIX, to Surprise to see Elaine and Jim at their house.  It is a very nice floor plan and just the right size.  It is on an acreage almost next to Jim's folks, and they both enjoy being there and in Arizona vs. Kansas.  We enjoy a great dinner, laughs and Steve goes for a ride in the RTV.  Jim gave him the ride of his life!

We took a scenic drive to the town of Grove and ate the best Mexican food in several years at La Casita in the historic downtown.  YUM!!!

We go to the Christmas Eve evening candle light service in the Ballroom here at Monte Vista, get to sing Carols, and have cookies and cider after.  Lots of nice people decided not to leave for Christmas, so there is a full house.

We are also participating in the Christmas Dinner today, so plan on eating lots of good pot-luck food!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

Cliff Dwellings at Tonto National Monument

Saguaro "Forest"

We take a scenic drive through the Superstition Mountains to the Tonto National Monument in the midst of the Tonto National Forest.  The forest is actually saguaro cactus, not trees!



Dottie likes our visiting covey of Quail!!

 We will be participating in the New Year's Eve festivities here in the Resort.

See you all back here next year for more new adventures of Steve and Cathy!!!

12/3-12/8 - Racing to warmer weather!!!! OR 1,340 miles to Mesa, AZ

Oklahoma City - it is cold!  Snow is expected in the next few days, so we decide to sprint to Santa Rosa, NM and skip our plans for Amarillo, TX.

Santa Rosa - we are snowed on!  Yuck.  We persevere, and decide that Deming, NM is our next stop.

Deming - not quite as cold here, so we do laundry and go shopping.  We are certainly boring.

12/1-12/3 - Chanute City Park, Chanute, KS

In for annual servicing, no biggy!  Got out of there for under $200!!!!

11/1-12/1 - CampAWay, Lincoln, NE

Here we are in the bosom of Family!!!  YAY!!!

We are able to see Payton's final volleyball games, lunch with friends, go through our storage unit, Steve gets to rake leaves and clean out roof gutters (he hasn't had to do that in a while), brunch with family, etc.

Steve was even able to go to a football game (the one with the hail mary that happened right in front of him!) AND a basketball game in the new Arena.

We take an interlude to KC and stay with friends Paul and Mary.  Their guest room is da bomb!  Had a great time there.  We also do our Dr. and Dentist thing while we are in KC, and get to visit friends who come from Florida for the holidays.  Had a great party at Barb's with the Berrys, Fuhrers, Mohrs, more Berrys, and Barb and Joyce!  Cards were played, and Cathy even participated!

Back to Lincoln, and the first ever LEWIS-COLTON Joint Thanksgiving Feast!!!  We had waaaaay too much food, but everyone got along and we had a good time!

Lewis Clan

Colton Clan

Happy baby Maxson

On Saturday after Thanksgiving, we had a dinner to celebrate Cathy's parents' 60th wedding anniversary.  We were 2 months early, but with most everyone in attendance, it was good timing.

10/2/-11/1 - Walnut Grove RV Park, Merriam, KS

Here we are back in KC at our "home" park!  We are able to have lunches and dinners with old friends, and Dottie gets to see her vet!  Cards are played!  Steve is in heaven.

Bob and Pat are moving into their new stick home, and we get to see their grandson, Cash!  What a cutie!

Cash with his clown nose

10/27-10/28 - Chanute City Park, Chanute, KS

We are here in lovely Chanute to have our RV bearings repacked. What fun!  Short stay and then on to KC.

10/21-10/27- Turkey Creek RV Village, Hollister, MO

Here we are in Branson!  We are in a nice Escapees Park and we are close to the action.

First, must buy show tickets!  We have never seen Shoji Tabuchi, so those tickets are a must!  Absolutely fabulous show!!!!  If you have never been, I highly recommend it!

Then, on to the Oak Ridge Boys, who are celebrating their 40th year together!  Great show and we are able to sing along!  Purchased the book "Elvis to Elvira", that showcases Richard's move from Elvis backup singer to an Oak Ridge Boy.

Then to an afternoon showing of the Platters!  Small theatre, small audience, so LOTS of personal attention!  Cathy was sung to, we danced, we met and got autographs, and had a lot of fun.

Last up was the Gatlin Brothers show!  What a blast, got to sing along and actually remembered lyrics!

We also toured the Wilson Creek National Battlefield and ate at the world famous Lambert's Cafe (home of the throwed rolls)!

Shoji and his daughter

Oak Ridge Boys

The Platters

The Gatlin Brothers

10/14-10/21 - Cahokia RV Parque, Cahokia, IL

We moved to Cahokia, but are still meeting for more wine tours in MO.  Great people, good wine, and fun times!!!!

After all the wine, we decide to tour a Frank Lloyd Wright home in the area, and visit the Grant National Historic Park.


We also tour the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, otherwise known as the Arch.  Steve braves the claustrophobia to go up in a capsule, but Cathy stays behind to look at the museum.



We take some time to walk to Union Station, and see that the fountains are tinted Cardinal red, just in time for the last playoff game.

While at Union Station, Cathy checks in on Facebook to find out that her nephew Joe is also in St. Louis!!!  We plan to meet for breakfast at the Rooster!  What a coincidence!  After breakfast with Joe, we go to the Endangered Wolf Center for a tour.

African Wild Dog

Mexican Gray Wolf

Maned Wolf

Red Fox

10/10-10/14 - Lost Valley Lake, Owensville, MO

Taking time to drink the wine!!!  Met up with friends to do a winery tour.  Now these people know how to wine tour!!!  Bring food (lots of it!), buy wine, and have a big picnic.

10/3-10/10 - Horseshoe Lakes, Clinton, IN

We took some time to clean inside and out, but we did venture forth.  One of the best places we went was to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, IN.  GREAT PLACE!!!


 Lots of sleeping going on.

Plus, a lion and tiger that were raised together from cubs.  Even though he (the tiger) is bigger, she (the lioness) is in charge!

Then we visited the state capitol building.  This is our 22nd capitol!

9/29-10/3 - Indian Lakes, Batesville, IN

This is a Thousand Trails park near Cincinnati.

WH Taft Home

WH Taft Home

Our first foray is to the William Howard Taft National Historic Park, then a tour of 3 Frank Lloyd Wright homes and a failed attempt to see the Underground Railroad Freedom Center (closed on Mondays)

one of the FLW homes??!!??

cool architecture?

Historic bridge

neat?

9/22-9/29 - Thousand Trails, Wilmington, OH

This is a Thousand Trails park with a lot of permanent sites, but we manage to find a good spot!

One day we take a tour of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.  What a place!  It is huge, and also has an outdoor Memorial Park and lots of stuff to look at.  Steve reads slow, so he take a long time to finish, and they have to chase him out the door at closing time!  While we were there, we watched a film of Aerial Dogfighting that was filmed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.  Just like old times.

the first all-metal plane

early aviation wheel

 This museum had a lot of info on the Wright brothers, who lived in Dayton while they were developing their aviation business!

doesn't look to aerodynamic!

On another day, we toured the State Capitol building and the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park.

Ohio State Capitol Building

In front of one of the Hopewell mounds.

Med Clinic built in bench

We were able to tour the Westcott House, another Frank LW home that has been renovated.  We also looked at the Medical Clinic in Dayton, that he designed!  Also toured the Dayton Aviation Historical Park, which included the Wright brothers bike shop.  Watched movies (recreations) of them trying to fly in a big field outside of Dayton.  Cool!

Medical Clinic

Med clinic fireplace

Westcott House

Wright brothers printing press

9/15-9/22 - Kenisee Lake RV Resort, Jefferson, OK

We are in another Thousand Trails park.  Lots of permanent sites here, but we found a good one!

We go to Canton for the day and look at 3 Frank Lloyd Wright homes, the First Ladies National Historic Site, the McKinley Library and Museum, and finish when Steve tours the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  What a day!

First Ladies NHP

McKinley memorial

Steve aspires to play!

The next day we tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and realize our camera isn't charged.  (Sorry, no pictures).  Cathy enjoys the films of the inductees and Steve likes the neat stuff that has been collected.  This is Hard Rock Cafe on steroids!  After the tour, we go see two more Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the area.

Then we tour the Garfield National Historic Site, see a Frank LW home and have lunch at the Hard Rock in Cleveland.

Last touring spot is the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  We can hardly find the visitors center, and when we do, it is closed for renovation.  Oh well.