Willow MacKenzie is Here

On Wednesday, April 7th, Jen's water broke, she went into labor & headed to the hospital. Willow MacKenzie was born at 2:17 am Friday, April 9, 2010. She weighed in at 8 pounds & 20" long. Joe & I left Asheville immediately after my doctor's appointment on Friday and arrived in Reading on Saturday. We had dinner with Bill, Bev & Em at Viva and then we all went to visit Jen & Willow at the hospital. Jen was totally surprised to see us, she wasn't expecting us until Sunday. Willow is so adorable; like a Gerber baby. David was there too. It was like an Evans family reunion. Jen & Willow came home Monday afternoon.

We took a side trip to Lancaster & Ephrata where we saw this Amish horse & buggy on its way to Walmart of all places.

This Walmart also has a special place to park your horse & buggy.

We had great time watching Willow's progress during the week - Her cries & smiles; her squiggling & squirming around & the cute noises she makes. We even went out to eat at Austin's Saturday night & Willow slept through the whole meal. On Wednesday afternoon we took Willow & the dogs to the Reading Museum for her first walk in a stroller. Again, she slept through the whole experience.





























Caught this Mallard Pin-Tailed Duck posing in the Wyomissing Creek at the museum. Looks like he's practicing yoga poses.

Well, things have settled down now - Jen, David & Willow seem to be adjusting to their new life together.

Monday, I met up with my friend Kerry (we've been friends since the fifth grade). Even though I haven't seen her for a couple of years, it's like we've never been apart. We just pick up where we left off, catching up on what's been going on in our lives. It was great fun.






Can't leave Reading without a shot of the Pagoda.

Sick as a Dog in Asheville

Back in Asheville, my allergies continued to get worse. Everything settled into my lungs and I ended up with bronchitis. My doctor put me on antibiotics & had me get a breathing test done at the Pulmonary Clinic. It was determined that I now have viral asthma; I was prescribed an asthma inhaler. Finally after 2-weeks I am no longer coughing, I can breath easily and can sleep through the night without having to use 3-pillows. Yeah!

While in Asheville, Joe & I both had dental appointments, we got our taxes done, and got the dogs groomed. After the grooming fiasco in El Paso, the dogs seemed relieved to be in familiar surroundings, and they know when they look good - And they do look good.

We made the usual rounds while here in Asheville. Went to Great Eastern Sun (GES). Got to try some of Barry's new products from India. Prepackaged meals - Just heat & serve. They are great! I would certainly serve them up; very convenient for the RV lifestyle.

We had lunch downtown at the Noodle Shop with Juniper; always enjoy seeing her. We walked to Kilwins for desert - ice cream. Got to see some of our favorite street performers.

Amarillo, TX

We are headed to Amarillo, TX today (3/18/2010).
We stayed at the Amarillo Ranch RV Park last spring when Sue was traveling with us, so we know it's a nice campground. We only stayed overnight, but we managed to pick up a job as camp hosts for the summer. Starting May 1st we will have a campsite provided at no charge including all utilities & laundry - we only have to pay for our food. We will work 25 to 30 hours a week helping campers get situated in the park, and we will also be compensated financially. What a deal!.

Next stop, Oklahoma City, OK.

Albuquerque

We left the Flagstaff area immediately after viewing Meteor Crater & the museum, heading for Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque. On the way we ran into a fierce snow storm. I took this picture just as it started; it got a whole lot worse as we chugged along.

Shot of damaged awning

The following day we took the RV to Camping World to get a new awning installed. We also got the 100% replacement coverage -Lesson learned :-(

It's now Wednesday and it's sunny & hot; go figure. Joe took advantage of the weather to wash the car & the RV.

On the Road Again...

After a long delay waiting to get our satellite antenna repaired, we finally hit the road on Saturday 3/13. It was another white-knuckle drive. The wind was blowing so hard it ripped our patio awning to shreds, but we finally made it to Meteor Crater RV Park about 30 miles east of Flagstaff.






On Sunday morning we went to see the crater, the world's best-preserved and first-proven meteorite impact site. The crater is a mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference, and over 550 feet deep - that's as tall as a 60-story building! The topography so closely resembles earth's moon & other planets that NASA designated it as an official training site for Apollo Astronauts.




It happened some 50,000 years ago - A meteor ripped through the skies at about 40,000 mph and smashed into the high plains of Arizona. Within a few seconds, the force of resulting massive explosion threw millions of tons of rock over the surrounding area causing a shock-wave of hurricane force out in every direction, creating destruction for miles.

Red Rock Canyon

Back in Vegas...

Evan has to leave for another month of training in Tucson & Phoenix on Monday. Before leaving, he cooked dinner for us 2 nights in a row & we went to see Avatar in 3D.

He also took us to see the new Red Rock Visitor Center & a panoramic drive through the canyon showing us some of his favorite places to climb. The best part for me was when Evan pulled out his BLM card for the guard at the entrance. I just can't help being so proud of my geologist son :)

Joshua Trees

We saw these antique cars touring the canyon.

Wiley Coyote & Zabriskie Point

Friday morning I noticed this coyote wandering about 30 feet from our campsite. This wiley coyote looks like he is well fed.

Today we went to Zabriskie Point, a part of the Amargosa Range. There is a dramatic view at every turn; here are just a few.

These wavy mudstone hills formed millions of years ago from sediment left behind from the now dried up Furnace Lake, gravel from the surrounding mountains, and ash from the once-active Black Mountain volcanic field.

Before we left Death Valley we stopped by the Famous Furnace Creek Inn. For all you Ashevillians, it reminded us of a very small Grove Park Inn.