We are in Spokane

Due to some sad events, we left Casa Grande earlier than planned and are now at Alderwood RV Park in north Spokane.

Ken's nephew, Bill Novotney, who is my age, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer the first part of March and passed away 17 days later. Fortunately, we acted quickly enough that Ken was able to fly to Spokane last week and was able to see Bill while he still knew him and to say good by the day before he passed away. Bill's service and burial were yesterday (March 26) in Harrington.

I had not yet had time to collect my thoughts or decide what to do, although I was leaning toward driving the car up, when on Sunday Keith called and said he would fly to Phoenix and drive the motor home to Spokane. He arrived late Sunday night, and we were on the road by 10:30 Monday morning to arrive in Spokane on Wednesday afternoon.

I had most everything taken down, put up, or stowed away which amounts to a fair bit after having been parked in the same place for almost two months, and our traveling friends were right there to assist with utility disconnects, car tow-bar and car hook-up.

No learning curve needed for Keith, he just put it in gear and away we went. We stayed the first night in Alamo, NV in a truck stop that hosted not a single truck but several RVs, and we even braved it and ate breakfast the next morning in their little cafe with no ill effects. The second night found us in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Ontario, OR, and then on to Spokane on Wednesday.

Since Bill lived the past forty years in Harrington and was involved on several fronts, his service was standing room only. There were probably 225 folks in a church that can hold about 125. Bill and Karla's youngest daughter, Debbie, teaches at a Hutterite school in the area so many were in attendance and they provided several vocal pieces, a cappella, both at the service and graveside. Their oldest daughter, Marty, composed and read a lovely piece reflecting on what her dad had meant to her and her sisters, and Marty's oldest son, Kieran, read a poem written by her other son, Kiel. Both beautifully written and delivered.

Craig and Colleen drove over on Thursday, and they and Keith will leave tomorrow to go home. We will probably stay in the area for a few more days before going home because I want to be sure the kitchen is finished before I get there. the plumbing was connected yesterday, and I think the contractor still has some trim work to do, but it is essentially finished. The cleaning crew goes in on Wednesday.

Jerry and Lois' house has become family central for our kids to include Cinda's arrival yesterday so there are bodies sleeping everywhere. I'm sure J&L will be glad to reclaim their home and get their lives back to normal next week.

The weather here has been reasonable but colder than I like. At the moment, the frost is just beginning to melt off. Not that we had stellar weather in Arizona; in fact it was the coldest and wettest winter we have seen since going down for the past six years. I wore shorts just TWO days out of the entire two months.

My next blog will be from Steilacoom. Ciao.