We began July with a trip to see the last two of our 4 kids and their families. We drove to Possum Kingdom Lake, about 200 miles from us and spent 3 days over the 4th. It was a great time.

We had lots of fun with 7 adults one of which is our granddaughter, along with 4 great granddaughters and 2 grandsons. It was hot so we were grateful to have the lake to float around in, a boat, and a jet ski.

We knew this summer was going to be our last RV experience. We began with the epic journey to see 3 grandkids graduate, one in Alabama and 2 in Wyoming. We also attended Gus’s 95th birthday in CA where we saw my brother, Billy, and his wife, Liz plus my niece, Erin and her boyfriend, Carlos. We also saw Cousin Val and her son Matthew, which was a real treat! We’ve seen all of our kids, their spouses and kids except for Heidi’s son, Mike and his family who live in New Zealand. We even saw Kip’s sister and my dear friend, Karlyce who met us for breakfast in Laramie, WY.

Driving home from Possum Kingdom Lake was bittersweet. We talked a lot about the time we got to spend with our family and felt sad about ending our motorhome days.

We began with a little class C motorhome back in 2013. We had a ski boat back then and just took weekend trips to different lakes. From that we graduated to a class A motorhome and that’s when we began to really travel. 3 years ago we sold that motorhome and bought a little bit newer one. We even lived in it full time for a year.

As I said we traveled all over the United States visiting every state except Florida and Iowa. We love RV travel for so many reasons. We traveled with our dogs and never had to impose on anyone. We could retire to our own bed and had our own towels and sheets rather than having to be in a motel room. We could travel at our own pace and really see the countryside. We got to see some friends and family members that we hadn’t seen in years.

There are downsides…we broke down more than once and the nightly spot rentals really went up in price over the years. Nevertheless, we made some beautiful memories that we wouldn’t trade for any car trip or European vacation.

I’m so glad I had the blog throughout the RVing years as I can now look back and relive our wonderful times spent on the road.

Now, we will get it ready to sell. We’re at the age where it has become too much work to drive all those miles and set up and tear down. Now that I’m well into my 70ish years and Kip is into his 80ish years we need to be smart about our means of travel. We’ll have a different kind of fun now and years left of enjoying our dogs and our lives.

By Val Halla

MG said she would teach LAV a lesson to help her with the blog app. I call it “Blogging for Dummies”. This happened a few years ago. MG knew LAV needed help if she was going to co-write with her on the blog using a computer writing program. They both had a lot of stories to tell from Murdo to California with embellishments galore over 70 years of living on the edge. Well, maybe not on the edge. Maybe writing from a safe spot off Interstate 90 or the 101 freeway or from an RV. It was all good.

Lav- also known as Val – jumped right into the blog world not knowing how to add pictures, edit, move text, etc using the app MG had found over 10 years ago. MG had a large number of followers and she wanted to educate her cousin on how to proceed with a skilled polished style of writing. Lav needed help.

So the two cousins sat down in their hotel room in Mesa, Arizona. MG sensed Lav’s anxiety about two minutes into the lesson as Lav broke out in a sweaty, clammy pale look on her face. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom and started blotting her dripping, perspiring face. She tried to look attentive. She tried to seem nonchalant. She tried to look ready. She looked more like a frightened boxer right before a knockout and the punch was coming from a computer generated shot. It felt real but it wasn’t.

“Okay, Lav, hand me your iPad. I’m going to show you how to use this app and you can help write some good stories for my blog,” MG calmly directed.

MG proceeded to demonstrate how to use tabs, the drop down something, the editing tools, the tiny icons and what they did. She showed Lav where to find pictures both original and ones from a free photo library or how to take pictures yourself then post them. Lav never could figure out how to add pictures to what she had written. Text came out all wonky in a narrow column. People couldn’t read it.

MG remained calm, cool, really cool, and relaxed as she showed Lav the tech stuff. She never broke a sweat once. She’s a pro.

Lav was astounded at how serene MG was.

Would someone please turn the AC on?

Lav was already feeling lost in this tech conversation. She took notes but who knew what this info meant? And where would she access all these tools? She wrote down bits of knowledge on her notepad as fast as they came her way. She abbreviated a lot. What’s JSO mean? Ohhh- Just Start Over.

MG was not only an accomplished writer, but she knew how to use the app and its features.

MG said confidently, “And then you can click on this here, see, plus there’s this little symbol. See? Then you go here- click – and you can add images if you have downloaded them and they will appear here…hmm…Why are we seeing those? Oh, yeah. Here they are! See?”

MG instructed Lav step by step as she showed Lav on the iPad screen. I think at that point Lav was still stuck on what symbols meant and where were they again? The lesson was moving along quickly.

“Now let me see your phone. Where’s the WP app?” MG patiently asked.

“Don’t you have the app?”

LAV wasn’t worried anymore about perspiring. Now she was dealing with trembling and twitching but only in a few places that weren’t too awfully noticeable like her eyes, her mouth, her shoulders and her hands. Oh, and she felt her knees kinda jiggling. It was all overwhelming. MG didn’t seem to notice.

“I don’t know,” Lav responded. “Uh, I think I gotta lie down.”

What could she say? MG was being so kind to help Lav. How could Lav recover and get better at writing and using computer tools? She needed MG’s assistance.

She curiously wished they could have ham and beans for dinner. Hey, that would make this all feel much better. Ham and beans? Nah, that wasn’t going to happen.

Thanks, MG. I’m going to figure

it out .

By Valerie Halla

We were pretty excited, the four of us, not to just be there in Mesa for the snowbirds 2023 Jones/Lyman County South Dakota Gathering, but for getting a full box of Krispy Crème Donuts: FREE. Bill snagged them at the end of the reunion. Such a smart cousin. Remember I had said that this reunion had tons of sweets put out? Like we needed to add more sweets and calories to our senior diets and let’s not eat any protein nor veggies and fruit. What are veggies and fruit anyway? Never heard of them. Donuts? That’s a different story.

Bill brought the donuts back to our hotel. Mary and I were like Wolfhounds ready to pounce on our next meal only we were sugar hounds. She grabbed one and so I chose a shiny chocolate covered one which called out to me like a moth to the flame if the flame was chocolate coated. We managed to control ourselves for that night. After that we pretty much guarded the box with our lives.

The next morning we took the box of KC donuts proudly downstairs for the continental breakfast.

We four were putting together our donut patrol team. Gus, being the oldest, placed the large box of donuts on a table next to ours after carefully surveying the area. We then proceeded to take turns getting our continental breakfast with one of us on security for donut duty at all times. I suddenly saw a guy heading for the DT = Donut Table.

A clean, swell looking guy sat down next to the donuts with his breakfast. He was alone and looked relatively trustworthy but one never knows. I cannot recall which one of us gave him the original warning … uh… I meant greeting about our box. Gus even teased the stranger about our special donuts sitting in the big box at his table. We were getting friendly but still cautious with the fine wholesome looking stranger near our donuts.

Gus said, “Sir, you’re in charge of our donuts. They were free.” The fine quiet stranger did not seem to be impressed as he tried to eat his breakfast in peace. We obnoxiously weren’t going to let him eat in peace.

Gus kept prodding. “Sir, would you like one? “

Sir answered,”No thanks. How did you get them for free?” (He may have cracked a smile.)

After we got our emotions settled from the shock of Sir not wanting a free Krispy Crème donut plus not seeming honored, we forged on. One of us explained how we had gotten a box of donuts for free. We clearly were experiencing some boredom yet bragging about our good luck. How could anyone turn down a free donut? Are you kidding me? This Sir guy maybe came from a different galaxy far, far away- a donut-less galaxy.

We did get over this rebuff. We weren’t too hurt by Sir. We did eat more donuts. We might’ve thrown a couple away, but I doubt it. They were, after all, free and that’s a big deal in our galaxy called South Dakota Donut Association, though sadly, I do not think that group is currently together anymore.

Getting to the Casino- Mesa – Part 2 by Valerie Halla

Bill and Gus picked my cousin Mary and me up outside Sky Harbor Airport and we sped off to the hotel. Being both excited and happy to be going to the reunion with all the snowbirds, I made offhand comments throughout our visit. (I’m normally quite aware and sharp, but please don’t ask Mary nor Bill and not Gus, definitely not Honest Abe/Gus if I’m usually sharp and “with it”.)

Walking up to the entrance to our hotel, I commented, offhandedly, “Oh, look! There’s the US flag flying over our hotel. And is that the Arizona flag beneath it?” No one answers so I answer my own question. “Yes, I think it is!”

Some laughter ensued.

After getting settled in our comfy two rooms, we headed out on the highway to Arizona Casino for dinner and what else- gambling. Bill showed me a one cent slot machine but I don’t gamble, so we hung out at the bar talking while Mary cozied up to some giant monster sized machine spitting out lights flashing trying to coax her out of money. Gus and Bill had Old Fashioned drinks and I had a more hip younger mimosa.

I was sure glad we had eaten a delicious dinner before gambling because we had the money to eat then. Who knows how much money we’d have later after gambling.

Please- No Silver Alert

Mary and I shared a room but after sleeping soundly I heard her get up around 5:00 am. Later I found out that she had taken our car rental back to the Casino to give them more money.

Later she told me she had driven carefully, hands at 10:00 and 2:00 on the wheel, eyes on the road, driving a strange car, in a strange state. Mary lives in Texas. She got to the casino to gamble, however she worried about the cops seeing her drive erratically to get back to the hotel. She didn’t want the dreaded Silver Alert when cops can seem to sniff out grey haired old ladies driving around in a daze especially ones who have gotten excited about being far from home rambling and gambling. I wonder what their law enforcement code is for that.

Phew. She made it back safely.

I cannot remember anything much about the actual Jones/Lyman County South Dakota reunion. I know we took food to share and talked a lot. I caught snatches of various people talking and was hungry for real food since it seemed like there were tons of desserts there. Being a bit hangry that there weren’t plates of meat and casseroles and salads, I swear I heard someone mention “Ham and Beans”. I was so hungry that I blurted out, “Who has ham and beans?

Mary brought me back to reality saying no one did, but Doris Haugland who owned Mack’s Cafe in Murdo, made famous H and B. She was talking with Doris’s two daughters.

I’m immediately hungry whenever I hear those three words to this day.

All in all, a good time was had by all.