Nostalgia

I just received a batch of photos from some friends that took a gorgeous, scenic drive through the back roads of Nevada with the local Z car club.  Such gorgeous photos!  Genuinely made me wish that Mike and I had been able to go.

It got me in a bit of a nastalgic mood...so I thought I would post my e-mail summary of a similar trip that we were privileged to go on last October...

Mike and I decided to take advantage of the continuous delays of his impending departure to the giant sandbox this past weekend to sign up for a great trip through his Z Car Club. We had heard about the Z Run to Death Valley back in June, and had our name on the list to go from the start. Then we found out that he would be leaving, so we cancelled our plans. Fortunately, the constant delays of his departure allowed us to take part in the trip after all!

It was a bit of a whirlwind decision…Mike made the phone call to the trip's organizers on Wednesday, we boarded Fred in a local kennel and left on Thursday! We spent Thursday night in Manteca, CA and met up with the drivers on Friday morning to begin the trip. There were 11 Zs participating in the drive. We crossed the Sierra Mountains early in the day on Thursday using the Sonora Pass. This pass is north of the Tioga Pass that we explored a couple of weeks ago. The scenery was just as stunning, although not as rugged as what we found in the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather – the sky was a gorgeous blue scattered with silky white clouds. We even got to see some snow on the way!

Lunch brought us to the town of Lee Vining, and an after-lunch stop at Mono Lake. Mike and I visited this lake briefly a few weeks ago, but did not drive on any of the roads around the lake at that time. We missed out! The Z run cut off of the main highway, and into the Mono Scenic Basin. We stopped to check out the Mono Craters, formed by volcanic activity, and got some great pictures of the lake and distant scenery. From this area, we began entering the more arid areas of the valley that runs between the Sierras and the White Mountains. The road was long and hilly – perfect driving conditions for this group!

We rolled into the town of Bishop for the evening, just in time to miss driving in the huge rain storm that we observed dumping snow on the surrounding mountains! The storm blew through overnight (lots of wind!!), and was still lingering in the early morning when we met in the parking lot to begin the next leg of the journey. In a strange twist of luck, one of our drivers had run over a screw and had a flat tire! I don't know what was funnier…the fact that 4 people were trying to help get the tire fixed, or the fact that they all brought their own gloves on the trip! So this delayed our departure by a couple of hours, which worked in our favor…

Once we were on our way, we took a small diversion off of the main road to check out the Bristlecone Pine Forest…something that isn't in our tour book and not on any of our maps…so Mike and I never knew about it! This forest is the home to the world's oldest trees – and they grow in the worst possible conditions! Nothing else can grow in the dolomite that these trees have rooted themselves in. Mike and I will definitely go back to check out the actual forest and trees in better weather. The previous night's storms had blown in some snow into this area, and we drove as far up into the park as we dared…once we started hitting slush on the road, we all turned around and drove down to the lowest scenic view…which was amazing! This view offered a panorama of the valley below – and awesome views of the neighboring mountains and the weather blowing through. Had we left a couple of hours earlier, we never would have been able to make it as far up the mountain as we did, and the weather wouldn't have been cleared up yet. So a big thank you to Dustin and Makayla (sp?) for sacrificing their tire. J

The trip continued on through an arid valley with very little in sight…just a couple of ranches. We meandered our way into Nevada and passed by an apparently well-known brothel. Of course, we had to stop and take advantage of this photo opportunity! On through Nevada, we entered Death Valley and drove to Scotty's Castle. Everyone took advantage of the opportunity to get out and walk around – some signing up for tours of the castle and others just wandering around the grounds. It was at this point that we were supposed to meet up with about 15 other Z cars from another Z club…but the main road leading through the valley was closed due to the previous night's weather! While we were not all looking forward to adding about 50 miles to our trip by having to drive back into Nevada and enter the park again at a different location to get to our night's lodgings, we really had nothing to worry about. Our "Buzzard Luck" struck again when Steve locked his key in his car and had to call AAA for a rescue. About two hours later, when we were finally deciding to resort to our own methods of unlocking the door to the Mach 5 (with a modified bucket handle, no less!), the AAA guy showed up to a round of applause. After just a few minutes, the car was open, and so was the road! Another unexpected delay worked in our favor, as we could now drive through the valley and check out some more sights.

We stopped at Ubehebe Crater, and thanks to our most fortunate "unluckiness", we had awesome lighting as the sun began its descent past the mountains for the evening. Just goes to show that what might appear as an unfortunate event can often work in your favor! We rounded out the night with a fabulous group dinner at the steak house and a dip in the mineral springs-fed pool.

Sunday saw a morning with no delays – we drove up to Dante's View and Zabriskie Point to check out some amazing panoramas of the valley. Mike and I were very satisfied with this visit to the park, as we saw some things that we didn't see on our last trip through the valley. After a final stop at the hotel for breakfast, we were on our way out of the valley and to our final stop – Ridgecrest for lunch. Mike and I had made this drive before – in rain and fog at night– so we took advantage of being able to enjoy the scenery this time.

After lunch, it was back towards the Sierras and the road home. We passed back through my favorite patch of Joshua Trees that we saw back in January. Upon reaching Lake Isabella nestled in the Sierras, we branched off from the rest of the group and headed home.

Mike and I had a wonderful trip, and hope you enjoy the pictures. There are a lot of them, and be warned that you'll see a lot of pics of cars…but after all, that's what this trip was all about!

Here are the pictures from Friday:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaMWjduzcs1Fy8

Here are the pictures from Saturday:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaMWjduzcs1Fz4

Here are the pictures from Sunday:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaMWjduzcs1F0k&notag=1

A Glimpse Into The Window

I've started watching a new program on TV. It's called "Army Wives," and it offers me a little flashback into my previous life. It's like if the "Desperate Housewives" had married soldiers…only without all the sex in the storyline.

I'm only two episodes into this series, and I'm pretty impressed. It seems to offer a pretty insightful look into the lives of military spouses. Oh, sure…some of it is a bit dramatized. But you know, I look and see flashes of truth.

There's the two most prominent versions of the "officer's wife." One is the wife that really reaches out to all the spouses, no matter what the rank of their soldier. Claudia Joy is the model of some of the more delightful officer-wives that I met in my experience with the military. She doesn't try to wear her husband's rank, or demand respect because of it. She is warm and genuine and real.

The other officer's wife that they've featured in the storyline so far is the polar opposite. She is snide, condescending and catty. I've seen those wives, too…all too many times.

There's the couple that are struggling financially. I think most lower-enlisted families have been there at some point. Just scraping by and trying to survive and keep the family afloat. This couple (Pamela and her husband) is doing some pretty amazing things to get by, and I'm interested to see where their story goes.

I see the gossips weaving through the scenes. Every base has them…the spouses that just can't mind their own business, and have to gab about other people's affairs. In the first few minutes of the first episode, rumors were flying - and I saw the parallels to real life there, too.

I relate most to the newly married couple. PFC Troy LeBlanc and his wife, Roxy. It takes me back to when Hubby first joined the army. He had five full months to fully immerse himself in the army culture and learn the ins and outs. I came in clueless. Struggling to learn what all those silly acronyms meant, the new "rules" governing our lives. It was hard, and I see Roxy struggling to fit in and adjust, just as I did.

So far, I really like what I see in this show. I can relate. When Roxy found out that her husband is due to ship out to Iraq in a matter of days, my heart sank with hers. I know what it feels like to go through that experience, and it tears my heart out every time. Such experiences have changed me so…I get all emotional and tear up anytime I see something on TV that shows a family being separated or reunited because of the duties of war.

I rejoiced with the Lt. Colonel and her husband when she returned from two years in Afghanistan, because I know what that experience is like, too. Coming together with the person that you love most, the person that you desire to be with no matter what…and then having to experience the unfamiliar as you learn about each other all over again. I watch their reintegration experience with keen interest…thankful that Hubby and I have not had such trying experiences. Praying that we never will.

I've noticed that this show seems to really try to focus on the truths of military life. The housing that the lower-enlisted are living in are almost mirrors of where Hubby and I lived in Alabama. We referred to our little duplex as the "crack house" with good reason. It was by no means luxurious, but it was shelter and it was free, and we were thankful. I see the houses that the officers and their families are in and reflect that yes, this seems to be true to life as well.

I want this show to reflect the closeness of military life. How people run into each other at many different duty stations throughout their military life. How the base operates as its own little city…you see all these people every day…you live together, you work together, your kids all go to the same school and daycare, you all shop at the same places. You run into each other at the bank, the gas station, the store, the library. There is no getting away, and that can swing either for the good or the bad.

I hope that this show stays the course and does well. It seems that so many shows fail to make it past the first few episodes anymore. I'm almost afraid to become a devotee to any show because of the fickleness of the industry. But I see that this show has potential. With a bit of time and seasoning, I think that it may offer a peek into the trials and tribulations of the military lifestyle…something that the average person most likely will never get a taste of any other way. It is a unique experience…full of personal little successes and failures. I hope this show is that window…letting other people see what it is like inside the cultured existence that is military life.

Seven Months Gone

Today marks seven months since Hubby officially left home on his journey to the sandbox. What has happened and changed over the past month?

- Number of meals cooked this month: 0 
  Running total for deployment: 0
(Note that I do not count frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets or baking a hamburger in the oven as cooking.)

- EEP!! Only about two more months until Hubby returns!! That's so exciting!! I've noticed a pattern whenever he leaves for a long time. The first few months of separation fly by so fast, the next few drag along and are pretty difficult, and the final three or so are full of excitement and anticipation about his return. I've finally entered the excitement and anticipation stage - I can't wait for him to come back home!!

- Scrapalooza saw the completion of 31 pages. I'm still trapped in 2004, and need to find my way to our departure from Europe in October of 2005 before the Hubby gets back if I'm going to meet my goal. I'd better get my ass in gear and start scrapping hardcore again!

- Sweet Sadie has graduated to being able to sleep in the bed with me at night. There are no destructive messes in the house, and she has finally learned the schedule! It is so comforting to have her body curled up next to mine in the bed. Just the presence of another being in the bed is nice these days. Of course, Fred always has to "one better" Sadie. Since she now has a place in the bed, he has started sleeping on his Daddy's pillows! They truly are silly pups - and they love each other's company so much!

- For the record, the Black Beast (Hubby's car) seems to be falling apart while on my watch, and I am totally not amused. In addition to the leaky power steering fluid, causing the Hicas light to keep coming on…now the antenna won't work properly. Garr! It's not my fault, I swear! And I'm concentrating on keeping my Granny Mobile in good running order long enough to sell it later this year…in order to herald in the Era of the Heep!!

- No additions to the garden this month. I'm concentrating on maintaining my army of plants and trying to keep as much alive as I can in the face of the impending heat wave that we call Summer here in the Central Valley. I fear that most of my container garden will perish in the intense heat of the summer. I'm intensely hoping to have some sort of cover in place over our west-facing patio by this time next year…maybe I'll have better luck then.

- Reports from the Front...Stress level - pretty high. Work is keeping me going full steam ahead. We're totally slammed these days, with barely enough staff to keep going. I'm hanging in there…there is a small skeleton crew keeping things afloat until who knows when. It's bringing us all closer together, though…and that is a huge positive. We've instituted an awesome new coping mechanism…Mad Libs! OMG - they're so funny! We all look forward to the designated Mad Lib time of the day. We find ourselves literally rolling on the floor in laughter - which is a good thing. We all need something funny to look forward to every day, and this seems to fit the bill. I got bitten this month - by a little POS dog - my hand didn't turn blue or fall off, so I guess I'll live. And no bull…well, okay…maybe a little bull. We had a bull running in the city this month! It was quite the story - made for a very interesting week when it happened.J And speaking of the week of the bull, during the very same week we also brought in a ferret (illegal in Cali - who knew?…well, apparently the cop that pulled over the car that had said ferret as a passenger knew…), a giant iguana, a python sighting and the turn over of a family of hamsters. We have quite the menagerie!