Alan & Nedra's Personal Pages

Our new life

Now that we are both retired from our day jobs we can devote our time to the finer things in life.... Our woodburning, woodcarving, traveling and just learning to stop and smell the roses.

Life hasn't been easy for us the last few years fighting to get Nedra's retirement problems fixed but now that it has finally happened we intend to enjoy every minute of it and do all the things we have been planning for the last few years but couldn't.

Because we have been unable to make commitments until now we have not been able to schedule classes, shows, etc. But that has all changed. We are foot loose and fancy free and ready to go!!!

I received so many requests from people to post updates on our escapades so here is the page where we will do it. The first photos of our new motor home that will take us on our new adventures. We will be living in it until our home is done in NM and then once settled in we will be traveling as often as possible to all parts of the country.

Use of the Photos

I promise not to bore you with family photos but I will try to include some great photos of the country during our visits. Who knows maybe some of them will prove to be inspiring to some of you get those creative juices flowing!

We will be posting photos of our travels and some of the exciting things we run across. The photos are copyright protected. If you see one you like please let us know what you would like to use it for.

LUV you all and hope to meet up with some of you along the way.

Nedra and Alan

This is our home on wheels. It is 37.5 ft long and has 4 slide-outs (the parts of the "coach" that are extended). It really helps create a lot of open living space. The photos were ones the dealer had and far better than any I could have ever done myself....

There are 2 slid-outs on the other side as well so we are equally balanced and won't topple over...he he he!

The photo on the right is the layout of the coach.

We lived in our motorhome for about 4 months until out home in NM was built. Now we use it for fun and business.

This is our view of the world as we travel down the road. It's a bit scary but it sure helps to enjoy the scenery! The living area is very spacious so the fur babies won't get too claustrophobic. Neither will we! It sure beats the tent we used to camp in. I don't think my poor old aching body could stand sleeping on the ground anymore.

The photos of the living area pretty much show what the space looks like with the slide-outs extended. Lots of space...well that is until we get all our "stuff" loaded!

This is the shower area. The potty is across the other side and the glass wall on the right is where the bedroom is. There is a glass door that is out of sight.

This is one of the few RV's we have owned (well the bank) that we can actually take a shower and be able to move!

I'm in heaven here....complete with a select comfort mattress. My body hasn't figured out what number we are yet. Hopefully we will soon before my back gives out!

There is a small wardrobe on the right and cabinets with storage...one for each of us.

On the wall opposite from the bed (both walls are extended) is the drawers, cabinets, TV, etc. There are drawers all across the bottom that are not visible so there is a lot of storage space, well almost enough.

Photos of trip from Washington to New Mexico
Photo taken in Provo, Ut....We stayed in the parking lot of Wal-Mart with about half a dozen other RV's and this was what we woke up to. It was a beautiful view and although there was snow on the mountains we didn't get any. This was our 2nd day out and it was a pretty good trip. Absolutely great scenery in Utah but not enough opportunities to stop and photograph it.....next time!	Photo taken in Colorado. It is called Chimney Rock and it is just south of Cortez/Mesa Verde. Our drive from Utah was good but from the minute we crossed the Colorado state line we We stayed overnight in Cortez/Mesa Verde area. 6500 ft above sea level. We hit snow most of the afternoon driving there but it finally stopped snowing so the next day most of the driving was pretty good...until we hit Gallup, NM.
	The photos on the left were all taken around the Ship rock, NM area. There were so many wonderful sights I wasn't making very good time driving. I kept calling Al on the CB radio saying..."I'll catch up" and he's say "yeah, I know more photos". Gosh what wonderful scenery it is just amazing. This is part of the reason I just fell in love with this part of the country.

Photos of trip from New Mexico to Alabama and back
	Well we're done ordering our new home and have had enough green chili and sopapilla's to satisfy us for a few weeks so we're on our way to visit Al's daughter's in Alabama. We decided to spend our last night in NM at the Isleta Pueblo RV Resort. It is about 15 miles south of Albuquerque (between our new home and ABQ). Last time we were here they had a small casino and that was about it. They now have a new gorgeous casino and RV park and are building a new hotel and convention/event center.....oh how my eyes lit up at the thought of a pyrography festival here. Ah the wheels are spinning. They even have a shuttle from the airport. Well while here we of course had to check it all out. Great buffet dinner and I even got lucky on the slots...well, I guess breaking even after dinner isn't so bad!!!! Next stop is Amarillo!
We spent 4 days in Huntsville, Alabama visiting Al's daughter's and our grandson Noah. While visiting we stayed at the Monte Sano State Park. It was beautiful and peaceful and we were fortunate to have a great campsite. Toby and Rufus had a ball hunting squirrels and there was certainly an abundance of them in the park.... There really wasn't much to do in the park but it was relaxing! We got to visit with Al's oldest daughter Elaine, her husband Jeremy and our grandson Noah every day or evening and it was great. Al's youngest daughter, Pam was busy working but we got to see her a couple of times while we were there. The squirrel photos were taken at the state park in Huntsville and the one on the bottom left was taken in Rockport, TX. This little guy was soooo cute. He was hanging by his tail trying to get to the bird feeder but unfortunately the photo didn't come out great. The state park was filled with greenery which protected us from the HOT sun. It was big enough that we were able to have Elaine, Jeremy and Noah over for dinner (Pam was working again). Toby discovered his new favorite pass time...hunting wild animals! He really enjoyed himself in his new roll as Toby, the great white hunter. I'm afraid to tell him he's a sheltie and that he's supposed to herd sheep, not track wild animals! Ah, but our next extended stop is at the coast in Texas so he can rediscover his other favorite pass time....chasing fish in the ocean! Both boys had a great time meeting a greeting our neighbors in the park and two little boys (2 & 4) who don't have dogs and weren't exactly sure they liked dogs at first, especially considering how BIG Rufus was....but Rufus did his best to wow them with his antics (he was a real ham using every trick he could muster to win their hearts). By the second time we went for a walk with them the two boys were giggling and playing with both of the dogs. By the time we left both kids and their parents were so in love with Rufus that mom and dad had decided that perhaps that a golden retriever would be a great addition to their family. The photo on the right is of Toby who has discovered that he can get a much better view out the window by sitting on mom. Guess I'm good for something huh! After a long day of doing dog stuff Toby decided he needed a rest...what better place than on mom!!! Are you beginning to see a pattern here???? It is nice to know that my dogs don't take me for granted and that I am well trained...he he he!
The first day in Texas we stayed in Rockport and got to visit a friend who works for the Gulf Coast Humane Society. I helped her start a pet therapy group about 6 years ago and we became great friends. Laurie is now the director of training for the HS and does all the training for the rescues and for the pet therapy group, Paws Up. Laurie invited us to be surprise guests at the group's 4th annual awards ceremony, doggie costume contest and fun run. It was a riot and I was thrilled to see how the group has grown from 4 teams to almost 50 now. One of our favorite places when we lived in Texas was the beach and Port Aransas was one of the best beaches around. Of course our dogs loved it as you can see! Hard to believe that Rufus (our golden) hated water when we first got him as a rescue. Toby was a born water dog and has no idea that shelties aren't supposed to like water. He took to it like a duck to water. The photo on the left with the sign is actually live seagulls. It was so funny, they actually looked like they were posing for me. We were waiting in line to get on the ferry and they were right in front of my window in the car. The photo on the right is also taken at the Port of Aransas ferry landing. It is a beautiful park and we have stopped there on several occasions in the past. It's nice to watch all the boats and people out parasailing. Well, we spent about a week in Texas and it's now time to head back to NM to check on the house! The photo below is of Judy and Verne Whitehead in our motorhome. We met them several years ago when I was teaching classes in Fredericksburg...gosh that had to be about 4-5 years ago! Judy took a couple of my classes and got hooked on burning. Now she burns just about anything she can get her hands on including conche's. She also got her daughter-in-law, Candi hooked as well and Candi is an amazing artist...puts us both to shame! It had been several years since we saw each other and we had a great time playing catch up. Judy and Verne took us out to dinner one night and the next day we went to their house to visit for a while and Judy showed me some of her burnings. Great time was had by all! The photo on the left and right was taken at their home (the one on the left is much better but I wanted to post both so you could see the beautiful table that Judy burned). The table in front of us in the photo on the right is of a table burned by Judy. It is actually an old ammunition box that she salvaged. It is absolutely gorgeous and Judy has been having a great time burning these boxes with a variety of designs and sizes. I was absolutely thrilled when she gave me one. Of course I had to promise to send a photo of the finished burning. Guess I better get to work!!! We're now hoping to schedule some classes in the area in the winter when all the winter Texans come back to the coast...will keep ya posted! BTW, we have been so busy with traveling and maintaining the shop that I have not had much time to burn. Hopefully that will change as things settle down a bit.
6/2....Next stop is back to Albuquerque to check on the house. The house is due to be delivered next week and we want to try to get back before it is so we can take some progress photos of the lot before delivery and then after. Should be fun!

Exploring New Mexico Photos
The tall plants are some agave plants that are used in landscaping throughout Albuquerque. This is a very common plant in the southwest and is found throughout New Mexico and Arizona. There are a wide variety of agave plants and I have yet to find the name of this species. The plants shown in the photo below right are Yucca's also very common throughout the southwest. All of these photos were taken in Albuquerque in and around the airport area.	Believe it or not this pottery is set along the highways and bi-ways of Albuquerque. No, they are not small...they are actually quite large...in fact they are taller than me! We have found some of these along Interstate 40 as well as the airport in Albuquerque. It is actual pottery made by artists from the local pueblo's. I believe the one on the top left is from the San Ildelfonso pueblo and the one on the right is Acoma. I have not figured out where the one on the bottom left is from but it could be either the Sandia or Isletta pueblo. One of these days I will get it figured out. Each one of the pots is signed by the artist so I can just imagine how much money they have invested in this pottery. I am very impressed with the landscaping that the city has done around the highways. The retaining walls are all painted and carved in southwestern designs as well as overpasses and bridges. The landscaping itself contains all southwestern plants as well as pottery and other types of art including metal carvings and sculptures.
Not the best photo of the mountains but it's the best I could get. With all the heat (currently in the mid 90's) and moisture it's been a bit hazy around here. I will continue to try to get a better photo of the mountains. These mountains are called the Sandia's which means watermelon. This photo was taken from the west mesa. I used to live on the east side and woke up to the mountains every morning. First thing in the morning as the sunrises the mountains look just like a watermelon....hence the name.	The photos on the left were taken from our front door of the Monzano Mountains. We drove there recently to do some rock hunting for our yard. The pottery was on display at the Indian Village at the State Fair. The boy on the right is getting ready to compete. He is called a "Fancy Dancer" and the photo was taken with his permission....Now I dare you to do a burning/painting of him and all his beads. And yes those are all tiny little beads. Unfortunately they got rained out and we couldn't stay any longer waiting for the sun to come out...which it did, right after we left!
The Acoma Pueblo and Sky City are about 60 miles west of Albuquerque. It is the oldest living pueblo in New Mexico and still home to many people. Like many other pueblo's they now have a hotel, casino and also an RV park. We went with our RV group. Most of us toured the pueblo after breakfast. It was a wonderful day and very glad we had the opportunity to visit. They are a very hard working people and very proud of their heritage. These photos were all taken atop sky city. The city was built high a top the Mesa as a means of protecting it's people from attackers. The city is still inhabited by some of the elders. There is no electricity or running water. The photo on the left was taken from the top of the Mesa from the top of sky city and as you can see the views are just amazing.	El Morro National Monument is southwest of Grants, NM. This was a day trip we made while camped out at the Acoma RV Park. We were joined by another couple and we thoroughly enjoyed the visit although climbing up there was exhausting. It is made of sandstone. El Morro means Inscription rock and it holds over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs dating back to 1605. Inscriptions are from Spanish and American explorers, soldiers and ancient puebloans living atop the mesa. It is unfortunate that due to the very nature of the sandstone and nature many of the inscriptions are being destroyed and to date all methods of trying to preserve the inscriptions have failed. We were totally amazed at how many still remained and were visible. The inscriptions were all done by hand and looking at the inscriptions on the bottom right you can see that some are very ornate.
National Petroglyph Monument is in Albuquerque on the west side and it is amazing to see them right in the heart of a booming metropolis. There is quite a climb to get to the top but well worth it...even considering that I am terrified of heights. I found this expedition to be very therapeutic just as long as I didn't look down. It is amazing that I lived here for many years and never had the opportunity to do this when I was younger and definitely more fit but as they say, better late than never. So, here I was just like the other tourists, snapping away all kinds of photos. Of course my motives were to use them on some of my burnings.	Chaco Canyon is north of Grants, NM. It is amazing to see all the ruins and if you look at the photo on the top left with Al you can get an idea of the size of the rooms in each building. Those people must have been very small! The building of this community of native americans took hundreds of years. Nobody seems to know much about the people who lived here but I suspect that it was people who when they left ended up becoming the pueblo's that are now known throughout the southwest. We were told when we were at Acoma that the Acoma ancestors left Chaco Canyon 100 years before the people who resided in the existing ruins arrived.
El Mapais National Monument is another wonder that is south of Grants, NM. Just one more amazing place to visit. This was one of the places we had wanted to visit during our visit to Acoma but we just didn't have enough time. La Vantana, which means window is something to behold and the photo on the right doesn't do it justice. The entire area Northwest area of New Mexico has so much history and culture and it is our goal to check it all out.	Lake Morro, State Park coming soon
City of Rocks state park...coming soon!	Silver City, NM...coming soon!

MEET ALLIE
10/31/08 - We drove to Colorado Springs to pick up our new baby. She's a 1 year old golden retriever who needed a new family to love her. Her name is Allie (formerly Mollie) and she is the most amazing little girl. She is housebroken and has had obedience training, although she needs a refresher. Her former owners were very busy people and traveled a lot so poor Allie was very neglected. She spent a lot of time either alone in the backyard, crated in the house or boarded and as a result was very lonely and frustrated. She will need a lot of work to overcome some behaviors she has acquired through lack of supervision. Allie comes from over 5 generations of champions and although she's never been a show dog she surely could have been. She's settling in quite nicely and hopefully she will calm down a bit and Myah and she will become great friends. Her breeder, Michelle Orvis is a wonderful lady in Colorado who helped put me and Allie's owners together and helped coordinate everything. We are thrilled that Allie's owners were so kind and wanted to give Allie a home that could spend more time with her and give her what she needs....lots of attention and love!	Michelle was wonderful in providing me with all of Allie's baby photos so we could see how she grew up before being sold to the people we got her from. And her owners sent me a couple of photos of her since they got her. It is almost like having her as a puppy without having to go through potty training! The one on the left is Allie at 2 weeks with her mom. The middle photo is her at 8 weeks and the one on the right is Allie at 6 months.
11/1/08 - Allie's now in her new home and settling in. These were all taken when she got home and had a bath (gosh she reeked). Her fur has been trimmed (you can see in the right photo) so she still looks the same as when she was a puppy. Not sure why anyone would cut a golden's fur but we'll take care of that. It will all grow out soon enough and she will look like a real golden should. She's a gorgeous girl and obviously very happy! Myah's not too thrilled with her right now but hopefully she'll get used to the giant bull and they'll start to play. Allie keeps trying to get Myah to play but right now she's like a bull in a china shop and poor Myah doesn't know what to make of her. She's been around all kinds of dogs but none quite as exuberant as Allie.	11/2/08 - Day two with Allie. She's a handful but oh so sweet. She's emptied her toy box several times but hasn't learned to put things back yet. We'll work on that. She got a new toy today (cute hippo on the right) and immediately destroyed it. Guess we find some indestructible toys! She also decided she likes eating rocks so we gotta try to nip that in the bud ASAP. I guess a lot of this is due to lack of supervision and boredom with her previous owners. As you can see in the middle photos she relaxes where ever she can find a spot, even if it's on top of Al! Our for a few walks today and she got lots of attention from everyone and she just loves that attention!
11/3/08 - Last night was a disaster trying to trim the fur on her paws and trim her nails. She acted as though we were trying to kill her so we stopped and since we're heading to the vet in the morning we'll let them deal with it. Off to the vet this morning to get micro chipped and see what's going on with her feet and thank god I did. Poor thing had goad heads imbedded in between her toes. They were in her skin and all caught in her fur so they had to shave all fours and then clean out the skin. She also had an ear infection but otherwise she was in good health. When we got home she was sooooo happy and as you can see she was just beside herself (and a bit upside down)! Now that her feet are feeling better she went for a 2 mile walk with Al when she got home and got lots more hugs from the neighbors....one even stopped his car to get out and pet her.