Coming back from Idaho...

Well, the trip back yesterday was rather uneventful. I did run into some bad road conditions but it wasn't bad enough to scare me like it has been on some of my other trips. It was snowing when I left Idaho Falls (Picture at the left) but it was so cold and windy that it wasn't sticking on the road, just blowing away as fast as it was falling. It snowed on me almost all the way to Wells, on and off but the worst part of the road was between Jackpot Nevada and Wells. There were a few places where it was almost a white out and the visiblity was so poor I had to slow way down. Once I got to Elko it was smooth sailing and dry pavement the rest of the way back.

The second picture is one I took on that stretch of road between Jackpot and Wells. I couldn't take one during the white out periods, much too dangerous to take my hand off the wheel.

I was between Winnemucca and Reno when the sun went down and the sunset was a glorious end to the day and I enjoyed that sight till the colors faded. The sun shining under the clouds was lighting up the top of the hills east of the highway so I tried to take a picture of them and got this interesting shot with the foreground showing that I was moving along at a good clip.

As sad as it was for me to leave Karen's place, the drive yesterday was very pleasant and a postive end to a very wonderful 3 weeks in my life. I'm going to be doing whatever I can in the next few weeks to expedite my move, packing and making some plans for getting to where I don't have to say goodbye to Karen anymore. Those goodbye's are killing me and I am just not going to be happy until I can get to where I can avoid that very unpleasant situation.

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do in life to be happy, life is just too short and it doesn't make sense to be unhappy when you have the means to change that... and I do.

Karen's first day of work

Today was the first day of Karen's 2009 tax season. Now it's all work till April 17. At least for now she even has to work on Saturdays, starting tomorrow. Of course that's a bummer for me since I have to be leaving on Monday and I won't get a chance to come back till sometime next month at the earliest. I have some stuff to do around here today and I'll keep busy anyway, but I'd much rather be hanging out with the lady I love... oh well.

There is another storm moving in today but this one is a warmer one and we are supposed to be getting rain instead of snow, which will be a rather nice change from what seems to be the norm around here. Some of the side roads are still a little snowy but for the most part getting around town is not the chore it was last week or the week before. There is supposed to be yet another one on Monday when I am planning on leaving so I'm hoping for the best on that one. Worse case scenario is I have to stay a few days longer... mmmm, just give me a reason!

Idaho Falls

Here is a picture I took the other day of the falls from a different angle. If you have never been to Idaho Falls, this must be what they named the place for. The first name for this town was Eagle Rock and I'm not sure why they made the name change but that's the story as Karen told me. The Snake river runs through some interesting lava beds but everything is covered in snow right now and I can't wait to see it after everything melts in the spring.

Yesterday Karen and I worked in her H&R Block office getting it set up for her opening tomorrow. It was a nice day together and I just love working on projects with her. Today, even though it's a holiday we are going down there again to finish it up. I only have a couple more days here on this trip and we are going to be rather busy until I leave, not my preferred alternative but I knew that when I came here and I can live with it. No matter what, being with Karen is the reason I'm here, working or not. One more thing... Happy New Year!!

Sight seeing...

Karen and I took a little tour of Idaho Falls today although it was rather cold. We had a walk around on the trails in the green belt which today was more like the white belt as you can see in the pictures. I got a couple of pictures of the falls, and of course, my favorite lady.

Stayin' Warm!

Well, we had a very nice time on Christmas with Krista, Karen's daughter, and her family. The first picture is Krista with the YES on her shirt, Karen and 2 of Krista's kids. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Krista and Curtis, her husband. I really want to get down to Logan and see some of that country and I'll be in the right place to do that after I move up here... but in the warm time of year though.


In the mornings we have been sitting in the kitchen near the wood stove having coffee and breakfast so it dawned on me to take a picture of that. It's very cozy in Karen's house and I just love it here. This morning I spent a considerable amount of time shoveling snow off the roof and then cleaning up the mess it made. It is warmer today than it has been the whole time I have been here, the thermometer says 44 which is really nice compared to the 20's we have been having for highs. Karen had a hair appointment this morning so it gave me some time to get a few things done. I have to say, I'm not looking forward to going back to Susanville at all, but I will have to be doing that soon. I'm going to miss my new little family until I can get moved. Oh well...

Fun in Idaho

I just love seeing Karen sitting next to me in my truck so I had to take this picture before we went out the other day to go shopping. The snow has been getting deeper around here and with the wind there were some rather deep drifts as you can see on the roof of her house.

Christmas is over for another year and soon the year will be over too and since it has been such a bad one for Karen we can say good riddance in about a week.

The pictures on this page are from the past few days, I just haven't had time to post any so I'm playing catch up. There is one of us sitting at the kitchen table having coffee and checking email, of course I'm not in the picture, I took it. That's Cody, Karen's Grandson sitting there with her.

I also wanted to get one of the scene out her back window, which is the next one down. I really want to see this view when it is green.

I'm having such a great time here and I'll be having to leave soon to go back to Susanville and I'm NOT looking forward to that at all! The problem with life is that nothing is final or static. There is always another chapter or an end to the good times. In the same respect there is always an end to the bad times too so I guess it all evens out, huh? Nevertheless my trip here will be ending soon and I'll have to head back down the road, a drive that will not be a fun one for me.


But for now, it's all good. I took a picture the other day of Karen wrapping presents on my bed downstairs. I like this spot and it's right in front of the downstairs wood stove and if you look closely you'll see I had a fire going. I really miss wood heat and I have been making fires regularly while I have been here and they make the place nice and cozy!

Hey Tom, check out the gas prices here. It was $1.41 the other day when I got gas so it has gone up a couple of pennies I see. I gave the lady $20 and actually got change after filling my tank from near empty. It's been a while since I did that.

One of the attractions in this town is the fountain in this last picture. I don't know what it looks like when the water isn't hard but it's quite interesting when it's all frozen. Karen had showed me a picture of this but there was nothing to give it any perspective and I didn't know how big it was until I saw it. There is a round-about that goes all the way around it and it's on the way to Walmart so I've been there several times. I took that picture as I was driving since I couldn't talk Karen into getting out to pose for me. (She didn't want to climb over the big pile of snow, and I don't blame her.)

Shopping!

Spent the last 2 days out and about on the town with Karen doing her last minute Christmas shopping. We had lunch yesterday at the Highway Cafe which is a local eatery and had a very interesting and quite good 3 course lunch. The roads were trying to thaw out some but every now and then you still had to use 4-wheel drive to get around. No new snow today, but Christmas day we are supposed to be getting another dose and on top of what we already have, it will really be a white Christmas here.

Today Karen and I spent shopping again and had lunch at another local place in the same shopping center where her office is. She was joking with me about being bored but it's all good for me, I'm not only enjoying everything we have done so far but also the company as well. Tomorrow her daughter Krista and her family are coming up from Logan Utah and we are fixing dinner. Good times, no doubt! I have a few pictures I took today but I will post them tomorrow.