Sunday September 30^th – We’ve been here in Iowa City a little over two weeks now trying to lend our support to Andrea. She was really beaten down and then had to have more surgery with yet to be determined results. She is improving but it is slooooow. We have the 5^th wheel in a Corps of Engineers Park seven miles from the hospital so we can be close by. Trying to be there enough to get answers from the medical teams and yet leave her and Mark enough time to themselves.

 

We get an hour or so every morning hiking in the woods here near the lake. The peace and quiet along with the change in falls colors is inspiring.

 

We also had a good day today at the hospital – all the kids and grandkids there at the same time and Andrea was strong enough to walk with us to the rooftop and enjoy some of this gorgeous weather.

KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING...

 

Saturday September 22^nd – I guess it has been awhile since I put anything on here.  On Tuesday when they were getting Andrea ready to leave the hospital again she got very sick again and they had to put the NG tube back in and start everything all over AGAIN!

 

They did another CT scan that showed another blockage that didn’t resolve itself this time. After discussions with the teams from GYN Oncology (her regulars), Gastroenterology, Radiation Oncology, the pain clinic and two surgery teams – gastric and colorectal. Busy, confusing and frustrating sorting through all the opinions and suggestions.

 

Yesterday the decision was to do surgery – possibly on Tuesday, the meeting with the surgeon was enlightening but scary at best. They put in a Pic line to give her IV nutrition to help her body prepare for the surgery. She looks like she really needs something!

 

Another day of fighting Iowa Hawkeye football traffic to get to the hospital – UGGGG!!!

Quote of the day – from a road sign in Oregon – SCARY!!!

“Don’t pass snowplows on the right side” DUUUUHH!!

 

Oh - and Oregon won't let you pump your on gas/fuel, but you should see the characters that come out to do it.

 

Friday September 14^th – We are back in Iowa. Three days 1900 miles and one day down near Atlantic Iowa with a broken spring on the 5^th wheel and it ruined one of the new tires. I had a great Guardian Angel point out the problem and stop behind me with the insane I-80 traffic flying by. I was able to winch the axel back and chain it in place enough to limp to the repair place the Road Service found. They actually had the springs but couldn’t put them on until this afternoon.

 

We headed to Iowa City to see Andrea and we will stay through the weekend. This is the third stay here in as many weeks. We hope to have shaken the staff enough to get something in the way of answers this time.

 

Utah’s State Motto – We Live Elevated

Is that like saying we are high all the time?? Just Sayin’

 

We did stay high on Wednesday – over 700 miles and most of it above 5000 feet and three passes topper 8000. Enough with the mountains already!

Quote of the day – from a road sign in Oregon – SCARY!!!

“Don’t pass snowplows on the right side” DUUUUHH!!

 

Tuesday September 11^th – Wow – eleven years already.

 

On our walk this morning we saw the Indians getting ready to go fishing. No poles for them! They have certain days of the week where they can go out and net all the Salmon they want.

 

We said our good byes – all three couples are heading in different directions from here. We headed home. Talked to Andrea – first day home from the hospital and she was up at midnight vomiting. Can’t do much more from home probably but we can’t have much fun here thinking about her all the time either.

 

We are two states and one time zone closer. Could have done better but we didn’t leave until 11:00.

 

Monday September 10^th – We got a short walk in and a little coffee before we headed to The Dalles – a town and an area along the Columbia River that was once and Indian trading area and a river crossing for wagon trains. They have a very interesting Interpretive Center and we went to a Raptor demonstration while we were there. The changes on the river are amazing from before the dams until now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a very filling home-style lunch we found and old church – St. Peter’s Landmark – which is owned by a non-profit group. It wasn’t suppose to be open but they were working on a stained glass window and one guy gave us an very comprehensive tour and info about all the surrounding buildings whether they were still there or not – lots of old pictures. Now we know even more about the area. The wind picked up again and it really howls through this gorge.

 

Sunday September 9^th – We got ready for an early church and left earlier than usual because we hadn’t been to it and info was sketchy. We found it with no problem so we were 25 minutes early – no problem – we have a lot to pray about at this point. About 10 minutes after the start time we were still the only ones there! Finally a couple comes in and says “you know we don’t start until 9:00”, well no we didn’t! He says that’s OK we do the rosary. The visiting priest was from Argentina so we missed some of his homily, and the communion was a little unusual but the people were great.

 

We packed up and moved to a Corp of Engineer’s Park less than 50 miles away but checking other travel schedules we found some friends were coming there too. It is a small campground but we got in and setup before they arrived, so we really surprised them when they showed up. It is in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area along the Columbia River. Very scenic, but the steep walls of the gorge are not internet friendly although we do have cell and text… We enjoyed the afternoon with then and another couple that has been traveling with them for a couple months.

Saturday September 8^th – Today was just to hang out – got our walk in and talked to all the kids about where we are. A bike ride this afternoon and playing with Lexi in the river topped off by a great sunset reflected in the river.

 

Friday September 7^th – After a not so good night sleep – we were both awake by 4:30 and up by 6 – worried about Andrea. We looked at each other and said we are going home. We packed up and hit the road determined to see how far we could get today.  One little town had a Teapot shaped Gas Station that is in our 1000 places to see book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We traveled diagonally across Washington State and had Oregon/Idaho in our sight when we got the news that Andrea’s first test came back with good news – no small intestine blockage – thanks for all those prayers. Now we struggled with “what to do” now.

 

We crossed into Oregon and hung it up for the night. We will wait a couple days for the test on the large intestine. If that is good they will send her home with new dietary (Possible liquid only) instructions and maybe some different meds. She is such a challenge to them – they really don’t know what to do. The Phase I study she was in for her cancer treatment has so few survivors (less than 5%) I’m pushing them to look in Phase II and III to see if similar problems exist and solutions may have been found at other test sites. When she gets released we will decide to travel more here or home.

 

We will just hang in here until then on the Columbia River – this valley is pretty nice. There is a Tillamook cheese plant near here that makes more cheese than in Tillamook. There is also a lot of river history because it was a wagon train route and Lewis & Clark trail also.

Not sure what this flower is...

Thursday September 6^th – Our walks in the morning here have included picking fresh blackberries every morning and now we have several quarts of them in the freezer. They are sooo good – and I don’t like them very much at home, I think fresh and ripe make the difference. You can’t get any but the edges because the vines are huge, thorny and thick. I can’t even reach some of the big ones.

 

We spent the day doing cleaning, laundry and recuperating along with making alternate plans to head home if we need to for Andrea.

Wednesday September 5^th – We were planning a low key day with cleaning chores and an afternoon bike ride when Texting with nephew Matt we found this was there open day so we switched gears and met them for our “tour guide” Version of Seattle. I’m pretty sure it kept me from the usual Big City Rage…

The "Official" fish toss at the Pike Market

 

The "Original" Starbucks

We had an enjoyable lunch in Ashley’s old home town and saw all the downtown “things” that we had patience for. The Pike Market was great and the Space Needle was even tolerable for Linda at over 500 feet off the ground.

 

Long, but fun day – with the sun setting as we headed home.

 

Tuesday, September 4^th - We walked around the Marina to the north of us this morning and among the trees that lined the fields were blackberries, some of the sweetest blackberries I’ve ever had so we had plenty of fruit before we got back. They were picking squash or pumpkins in the field but we couldn’t get through the berries to see for sure. After breakfast we rode our bikes to town. It is a cute old harbor town with most of the buildings being used as shops and restaurants. We chose a wood fired pizza place for lunch and they had a choice of microbrews to go with it. Then we rode back to the campground and drove toward Anacortes – an island town with ferry service to the San Juan Islands. It is a beautiful area and we went to the Deception Pass area that has two bridges that link it to another Island and a scenic State Park. We really like to let Lexi roam as free as her electronic collar allows but the $87.00 fine for off leash in this park said – no water time for you dog!!

 

Then we went through the Historic downtown to see buildings that were built in boom times when they thought the railroad was coming there but it ended up in Seattle instead.

 

Monday September 3^rd – We don’t usually travel on holidays but the choice wasn’t ours. At one point we could see far off Mount Rainer and at 14,400 feet it is still snow covered. We got caught in a traffic jam about 30 miles ahead of the mountain pass that caused about an hour of stop and go traffic, and traffic was heavy all but the last 20 miles. A lot of fruit stands are in this area and fields are being picked.

Sunday, September 2^nd – We got a walk in before getting ready for church. We put a pot roast in before we left. We got to the church and it was closed – I think that is a first! This is after checking their web site to see if the times were right. Strange – especially with a Catholic school next door. We did pick up a few things in town and topped off the fuel for tomorrow.

 

The roast smelled delicious when we walked in – and it was. Had just enough time to make a Cherry pie so it could bake while we ate. Love that homemade crust.

 

Saturday September 1^st – The entertainment is here but my Russian is a little weak! The first part of our walk was through the campground. 130 sites and 120 of are full of tents and most have several on each site. The field where the stage is located is about a block square and it looks pretty crowded – we saw the band and the choir practice but didn’t go to the events.

 

After breakfast we went back to Blue Lake in Dry Falls State Park. After Lexi showed off on the dock for a while we hiked another trail on the south side of the lake. It was a gorgeous view with the blue lake water in-between two towering rock walls.

 

After lunch we went to the Grand Coulee Dam. We drove by Banks Lake for 27 miles on the way – it is one of many lakes along that corridor. The Dam is an awesome site and the visitors center was fun to see – displays on how the dam was built and movies on the history of the area.

 

The most spectacular part was after dark they let water flow over the dam and show a 36 minute laser light show on the water coming down the face of the dam.