Well got some great news...& sad news...

[Ramblin Fever]

Great news is, we took off to Blue Mesa - the largest lake in Colorado, last Friday.

It was a good 4hr drive or so, had to take two vehicles as the boat must come out every night as there is no real safe place for ankering overnight, and we get tired of setting-up the overhead camper, leveling the Dodge diesel out so the refridgerator will run right, just to have to put down the camper and shut off the pilot light everynight to pull in the boat.

So, for these kind of lakes, we just take the 2nd vehicle primarily for loading and unloading the boat - in which case, we took the Rodeo. It needed a good long highway drive, it's been a while, truck ran great, NO ATF leak at all thank-goodness.

Not a single fish even nibbled on our poles, it was terrible, but the lake was wonderful and we did a lot of swimming, etc and had 3 nights/4 days of pleasurable time - we needed to get out.

Bad news is - we barely pulled into home and the phone rang, Grandma was in the hospital, the same Grandma who lost her hubby of 60yrs in February, to cancer.

Long story short, she had triple by-pass surgery in May and recovered fantastically, great energy, great color, etc. and she did still have the zest for living even without G'pa - as she knew it just wasn't her time to go yet, and she'd be with him soon enough.

Well, Tuesday morning we lost her due to complications of the surgery's aftermath. Surely didn't expect this, as we were just talking of going to the Zoo, Pike's Peak, etc - she was doing REALLY good.

Moral of the story - enjoy everyday to the fullest, cause you just never know.

[amigo-2k]

Glad to hear you had a good vacation, and sorry to hear about your Grandma. I'm sure she is happy to be hanging with Grandpa again.

I too am heading out to do some camping, but the Amigo is staying home due to the gas prices (the Mazda3s gets 35mpg versus the 21 in the Amigo).

[Ramblin Fever]

You know, G'ma died at 2:14 AM and we made a joke of it, saying it was just the right time to ketch up with G'pa, have breakfast, put the boat in, and go do some fishing before the sun comes up.

I have this cool picture taken of the two of them 2 yrs ago; the picture was snapped from behind them, holding hands, and walking slowly down a wooden boat dock. For a while, after G'pa died, the picture just didn't feel right to look at, but on the same morning G'ma died, I came home after she was immediately taken care of, and the 1st thing I did was to look at that picture - suddenly the picture came alive again and they were walking and talking.

Those two showed me the initial true ways of camping when I was a child; my parents couldn't always afford to go alone, so we generally went as a family group with G'ma & G'pa. We went to more places then most people have ever heard of, and I've been all over this country and to many of our great lakes.

They will surely be missed.

It surely wasn't cheap filling the diesel, the rodeo and the boat - I can't get a break on either one of them.

Diesel gas was $3.15/gallon with a 32 gallon tank; rodeo has to have 87 octane or it won't run right, at $3.15/gallon with a 21 gallon tank; and then the boat has to have 91 octane at $3.20/gallon on a 19 gallon tank, filled twice over the weekend.

Needless to say, the boat's only been out twice this year.

[surferfletch]

Sorry to hear, Ramblin. Carpe diem.

[LXA]

Ramblin,

Sorry to hear about the loss of your grandmother. She sounds like a wonderful woman who had a great, positive influence on your life.

I guess the only thing I can share is to be greatful she didn't suffer and linger. Ironically, I lost my mother exactly 2 years ago today. Like your G'ma, she was a strong and independent woman. I could write volumes about her and her gift to bring people together. She had to live with us for 5 years because she suffered from a rare, progressive, degenerative disease. It was the type of end-of-life scenario she had dreaded and certainly didn't deserve. My dad, on the other hand, went quickly. Had 4 heart attacks and the triple bypass over a number of years. He loved his old steam and gas engines. Basically, his heart gave out when he was cranking on a tractor at the county fair. I could write volumes about him, too, filled with things he'd do for anyone out of the kindness of his heart. But if I had a choice, I'd choose the way he went.

You have good, strong memories of her and your G'pa. Lean on those memories now and pass on the great things they taught you, in remebrence of and to honor them.

Take care. You and your family will be in my thoughts.

[2000izusu]

i am sorry to hear about G,ma. its a good thing you got in some rest and relaxation before this stressfull event.

[rodeo02]

I'm very sorry for your loss Ramblin. All of my grandparents have been gone for some time now. I miss them. Good vaca story! Been awhile since I've been on one of those.

Joel

[df2000]

RF: my thoughts and deepest sympathy are with you and your family.