Just Chillin' and Driving the Big Yellow School Bus

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we left Arizona to come back to Texas and wait for a new contract.  I called our local school district to let them know I might be back for a period of time, and that I would be glad to drive a school bus if they needed someone.  Our first Monday morning back in Texas, they handed me bus #1 and the sweetest little route anyone could want!

Apparently the kids were so bad that the other bus driver turned in his keys on the Friday before.  No clue what his problem was because those kids are jewels.  Once they were all on the bus the second day, I told them that I would be as nice a bus driver as they let me be.  I gave them a couple of days after that to get a handle on my bein' firm but not picky.  Then I hung this print above the driver's seat facing toward the back of the bus:

Haven't had a lick of trouble...  I can't imagine what the other driver's problem was!

School was delayed two hours this morning because of an ice storm that passed through east Texas last night.  The kids were excellent.  They were standing outside when I arrived at each of their stops, they made sure the bus was stopped and not sliding on the ice, they boarded the bus and sat quietly while I navigated tree limbs weighted down with ice and shrubbery leaning into the roadway, swerved around downed limbs and just generally moved cautiously down the roadways.  When I would look up into the mirror to check on them (which I do frequently), they smiled back at me.  It was so cool!

Friday is Valentine's Day.  I only have middle school and high school kids - but I don't think we ever outgrow holidays.  I bought some of those little valentines school kids give out, and I plan to decorate by taping them to the ceiling of the bus so that they will dangle down.  As the kids get off the bus I'll let them each take one - and give them a piece of chocolate as they step off the bus.

This bus driving is a very cool gig!  Try it.  You'll like it!

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Patience

Tomorrow is our last day in Kingman.  You'd think I'd be busy packing today, but considering everything we have to pack is what we use every day, I can't very well pack it all up.  I could pack clothes in the suitcase - but we use the suitcases as bedside tables.  The bathroom stuff is what we use every day, ditto kitchen, ditto office...

So tomorrow I will spend the day packing.  The good news is, since we only bring what we use every day, there's really not that much to pack.  It's amazing what one can do without.

Granpa's resume has been sent out to Florida, Ohio, a couple of places in California, a different location in Arizona, one closer to home in Oklahoma ... so a contract could come through at any moment.  In fact, we could go east halfway to home and the phone rings sending us west to California.  Que sera, sera.

But, just in case we do make it all the way home, I have contacted our school district's school bus administrator to let her know I'm available to drive Monday.  You know, when I tell folks I have my CDL (Commercial Drivers License) and drive a school bus, they look at me like I have two heads.  What's up with that??  Tis no small thing to pilot one of those monsters through towns and down rural roads - with almost 100 active kiddos wanting off.  A little respect here!  And if someone's gotta do it, I'd just soon it be someone who cares about the kids having a good start and finish to their educational day.

If you like our blog, you can buy the book forms on Amazon under the “Heritage Travels” titles. There are Kindle versions, also.

You can also "subscribe" for free by clicking on the broadcast icon at the top right corner or by bringing out the right hand toolbar and clicking on that icon at the bottom of the list.  It will put that icon on your toolbar at the top of your browser screen.  I try to post every day - it'd be a shame for you to miss one!

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Charities Need Crocheted or Knitted Items

10 Charities That Need Crocheted or Knitted Items

Some charities are solely dedicated to keeping people warm and comforted, which means donations like blankets, hats, scarves, and sweaters are welcomed with open arms. These items are all in a crochet artist’s wheelhouse, if you'd like to make something special for these organizations.


Read about some national organizations below, and click the underlined text to view each charity’s website. Many organizations have specific requests for crocheted items and provide accompanying patterns, too.

1. Binky Patrol donates handmade blankets to children with illnesses, those in foster care, and other kids experiencing trauma. The binky blanket can be anywhere from three square feet to the size of a twin bed, and the website has a few free patterns to choose from as well.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
2. Care Wear donates handmade baby items like hats, booties, blankets, mittens, and IV covers to hospitals in the US, Canada, and Italy. You can search for a hospital that’s close to you and see its wish list of items, either just sending the items you make to the hospital or calling the representative listed to discuss the projects further. There are tons of patterns on the website, which emphasizes goods for preemie babies.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
3. Warm Up America donates handmade afghan blankets to people in need. It’s often homeless shelters, women’s shelters, and natural disaster relief organizations like the Red Cross that distribute these warm blankets to those in need. Children’s hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices also receive donations. WUA asks people to simply crochet and send in 7x9-inch sections, but it especially encourages people to work with family and friends to join the sections together and make a big blanket.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
4. Operation Gratitude sends care packages overseas to deployed troops, and handmade hats and scarves are welcomed by this organization. Once Operation Gratitude receives your donation, it’ll be shipped with other items as part of a care package designed to bring comfort to and show support for our troops.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
5. Pink Slipper Project, despite the name, accepts women’s and children’s slippers of all different colors. The slippers are donated to women and children in shelters across the country, in hopes of giving something lovely, warm, and handmade to those in tough times.
   
   Click here to visit the Facebook page.
   
   
6. Hat Box Foundation donates handmade hats to cancer patients across the country. Hat Box wants each and every hat to be unique and made from the heart, and it encourages hats of all different styles, colors, and sizes for women, men, and children. Hat Box partners with hospitals nationwide.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
7. Soldiers’ Angels is a veteran-focused nonprofit that has a special sewing team for crocheting blankets, slippers, catheter bag covers, and other items for hospitalized veterans. Join the Angels and you’ll get more specific information on what to crochet and how to submit projects.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
8. The Precious Pals Program donates sweater-clad stuffed animals to local law enforcement agencies across the country, so police and other first responders can comfort children with the stuffed animals after a traumatic experience. Sponsored by the Knitting Guild Association, the program asks volunteers to purchase a stuffed animal, crochet or knit a sweater for it, and mail it to the guild.  The website has a pattern if you need one.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
9. Project Linus donates handmade blankets to sick children across the United States. Hospitals, shelters, and social service agencies all receive these donations, and you can search the website for a drop-off location nearest you. Project Linus simply asks that blankets be new, handmade, and washable.
   
   Click here to visit the website.
   
   
10. Afghans for Afghans sends handmade hats, blankets, vests, and other goods to the people of Afghanistan. The campaign changes and focuses on different projects throughout the year (right now it’s hats, mittens, and knitted wool socks), and there is an info page that provides helpful cultural tips on what to include and not include in projects.
    
    Click here to visit the website. 

Of course, donations to any charitable organization are gracious and definitely needed – we just wanted to spotlight on some of the places that focus on keeping people warm or specifically ask for crocheted items. Tons of local churches and charities also are looking for crocheted goods – click here to see what organizations near you need these items (courtesy of Lion Brand Yarns). Whatever the crochet donation, it'll make a big difference.

http://startingchain.com/2014/01/10-charities-that-need-crocheted-items.html

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Wild Burros

As usual, God was not finished giving.  As we come out of the Black Mountains into the valley flat lands, we finally see a group of the wild burro that we've heard so much about - and the road signs "advertised!"

I'll take the black one, thank you!  You do know that the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) gives away wild horses and wild burros?  

An Act of Congress

"Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; (and) that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people..."  --Public Law 92-195, Dec, 1971 

https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/  

We have one like the one in the center.  His name is Mordacai, and he is adorable!!  He came as a bonus with our Thoroughbred, July, and he keeps the coyotes out of the pasture - and anything else that's silly enough to cross his fence line - but he loves his people-family.  

So, I'm comfortable around these critters.  I got out of the car, crossed the road and paralleled these burros as they moseyed along about twenty feet from me.  We moseyed together for about a mile and then they began to move away.  I took, oh, about fifty pictures.  Wanna see 'em all??

The miners of the 1800's managed to lose, set free, or abandon burros, and they multiplied.  I mean, really, it only takes a Jenny (female) and a Jack (male) to be left alone and pretty soon you have hundreds of thousands!  

But God wasn't through yet.  Yesterday I got in touch with the folks we met in Oatman and they shared these photos:

Cleo and Junette Phelps live in California, so they headed in the opposite direction from us.  Just after we left and they turned around to head west, these guys appeared.  Junette says that they hung out for about five minutes before moving away.  It was such a blessing to meet folks nice enough to want to stay in touch and willing to share these special moments.

Cleo researches outlaws of the 1800's and goes on horseback-quests to follow their get-away trails.  He also like to crawl into abandoned mines that he finds on his cross-country trips.  He said that when he and a friend crawled into one mine they found a pair of Levi's still wrapped in the store wrappings.  It was sold online for tens of thousands of dollars!!  He also finds old coins like double eagles.  One that he found didn't have the weight of the other and a numismatist (a coin specialist) showed him how to open the coin and inside was a photo!  It was worth more than the real coin because of its historic significance.

I asked if he ever gave tours of places he's ridden.  Cleo said that he's thought about it.  I told him to give me a call when he was ready to start doing that!

Junette buys and sells old books - and has some worth tens of thousands.  What a cool couple!  Thank you, Lord, for making our paths cross!

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The Abandoned Gold Mines

Our first visit to Oatman was back in August of last year, right after we arrived in Kingman.  http://thetravelerstwo.blogspot.com/2013/09/clark-gable-and-carole-lombard.html 

Today, we didn't want to go for a long trip, but we did want to "go."  (And that's a surprise because ...?) So, we decided on a lazy lil' trip down Route 66.  You know it's gonna be a good trip when you start out seeing signs like this:

We've been down this road before, but this time the road is the destination.  We take our time, stopping repeatedly along the way, sometimes for my photo ops and sometimes for Granpas.  Check this out:

Flowers.  In the Desert.  In January.

We wouldn't have seen these if we hadn't stopped and walked around a bit.
This whole area is strewn with rocks of cooled lava.  What is really interesting is that my research says the volcanic-looking cone in the Black Mountain range is not an extinct volcano.  (That's weird.  It looks like an old volcano caldera, and the ground is covered in these black basalt rocks.)  They say it's what's known as a block-faulted peak caused by geologic uplift. The east side of the peak is reddish-brown; the west side is black basalt.  But they say the rocks are cooled lava. My research also says that a quick way to tell the difference is in the name: if it is a "Mount," it's probably volcanic in origin, if it is a "Mountain," it's probably uplift.

As we come out of the valley and begin to climb up to the mining areas around Oatman, I'm greeted with more excellent sight-seeing encouragement.

Back Country Byway

Burro crossing next 8 miles!  Love it!

Arizona is such a gorgeous place!  Now, if you were a pioneer, or a gold-rusher, what would you do with all of these handy rocks?  Of course!  Build a house!  And that's just what they did!

The remains of numerous structures can be found around the gold mine just before we get to Oatman.  We met a couple of folks while we were up here who said that the owners of the newly reopened mine are getting $60,000 worth of gold a day just out of the "tailings" - that's the stuff that's left after the ores are separated from the rocks.  I say "newly reopened," because the sky-high price of gold right now makes it profitable to work old goldmines.

This opening to a mineshaft is in the heart of Oatman.  Though I don't think it's active anymore, I do think it was real at one time.


The next one, however, is definitely for real.

Yup.  Just right out in the middle of nowhere there's this hole in the ground with a bit of superstructure around it.  And this sign identifies it as the "Arizona Central Shaft" of the United Western Mine.  What? Someone just took a pick and a shovel and started digging?  I suppose...  How strange.

While we're stopped on the side of the road doin' photo ops, there's another couple doing the same thing.  I think I remember seeing them in the restaurant there in Oatman.  We exchange a few pleasantries, and it seems they're checking out the same possible excavation that made us stop.  Sure enough, it's another gold mining shaft.  Cleo and Junette seem to know a bit about this stuff.  Cleo explains that the white striations in the rock indicate ore is close by - probably to the right of the last vein of white - which is precisely where the shaft had been dug!

There is a solid iron door blocking anyone who's inclined to trespass - but Granpa is tall enough to reach over the door and take a few pictures!  (Yeaaa!)  Overhead we notice this wood beam that's obviously been in place for a long, long time.  See the shim that was put in on the right side?  It's been compressed to almost nothing by the force of the rock closing in under its own weight or perhaps because of geologic shifts.

Visually you can follow the path down deeper into the excavation.  You're actually going into an old abandoned gold mine!!  How fantastic is that?!

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The Famous Shaped Balloons

 This, of course, is Angry Bird, owned by Frank Wechter and the Campbell Cove 1 Stop.

 Then we have the much more sedate Baby Bee Joelly, from Bob Romaneschi and Romer Beverage.  

And hiding in a tree would be Annie The Lady Bug, brought to you by Michael Scott and Granpa's most favorite restaurant, the Golden Corral!

She's as cute as, well, a lady bug!!

Ol' Humpty Dumpty is a match for a cutie of any kind.  Rich Lawhorn and Suddenlink offers you this one.

Sushi, the fish, fits right in with the cute crowd.  Katie Griggs and Shugrues are responsible for this creation.

Now for something a bit more ominous!  Sarah the Witch, by Patrick Nilz and Allied Waste.  I love it!  

See that teeny-tiny basket hanging underneath?  Gives you an idea of her actual size!

Just because I'm an Old West kinda girl, I like the Wells Fargo Stage.

This big boy is piloted by Elizabeth Wright-Smith and sponsored, of course, by Wells Fargo.

I believe you've already met Beagle Maximus, flown by Jamess Cassel for the All American Fitness Bar.

But my favorite of them all was Betty Jean Butterfly, flown by Bob Romaneschi who partnered with Frontier Communications in creating this beauty-cutie!

Honestly, folks, we had a really, really good time here.  The one thing we missed was getting to walk inside one of these balloon as they were inflating it (but before turning on the burner!)  I'm not quite sure how we missed that venue, but if we ever go to another festival we'll make a point of doing that.

I think I've got all of these memories sufficiently recorded now.  Remember, there were over 400 pictures for me to have to shuffle through and create a story from!  I'll move on to another visit to Oatman, Arizona now.

If you like our blog, you can buy the book forms on Amazon under the “Heritage Travels” titles. There are Kindle versions, also.

You can also "subscribe" for free by clicking on the broadcast icon at the top right corner or by bringing out the right hand toolbar and clicking on that icon at the bottom of the list.  It will put that icon on your toolbar at the top of your browser screen.  I try to post every day - it'd be a shame for you to miss one!

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A Balloonist's Treasure Hunt

One of these photos has 21 balloons in it.  Can you find them all?

Once upon a time, long, long ago, we lived in Plano, Texas.  They held a hot air balloon festival.

Back then they would get sponsors to donate things, and the balloonist went on a kind of treasure hunt.

 

One of the treasures of this particular gathering was a set of car keys donated by a local Ford dealership.

The keys had been placed on top of a utility pole, and the balloonist had to navigate his/her balloon down to the pole and capture the keys -- if they could find the particular utility pole involved!

I remember that it was a Saturday morning.  

You know, the kind of Spring morning when everyone wants to sleep in?

As the balloonists began to descend in a quest for the car keys, the neighborhood dogs began to bark. The lower the balloons got the more frantic the barking!  Soon the balloons were so low that you could hear the roar of the propane-powered flames!

It was utter chaos.  I don't know if they ever found the car keys or not, but I think the city council never authorized another balloon festival!

If you like our blog, you can buy the book forms on Amazon under the “Heritage Travels” titles. There are Kindle versions, also.

You can also "subscribe" for free by clicking on the broadcast icon at the top right corner or by bringing out the right hand toolbar and clicking on that icon at the bottom of the list.  It will put that icon on your toolbar at the top of your browser screen.  I try to post every day - it'd be a shame for you to miss one!

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This was succinct and totally informative!  I just couldn't edit any out!!  So, thank you eBalloon.org, the credit is all yours.

(Did you know that George Washington was present for the first balloon launch in America?)

	eballoon.org How the Balloon works How Balloons are Used - Commercial & Leisure - Corporate - Promotion & Advertising - Sports - Weddings Parts of the Balloon - The Basket - The Burner - The Envelope History The History of Balloons Flights Atlantic Crossings Atlantic Crossings 1970-77 Atlantic Conquered Around the World Flights - First Successful Attempt - First Successful Solo Champagne Flights Typical Flight Directory Ballooning Sites Balloon Rides Clubs & Societies Events/Festivals Manufacturers Museums Products & Services Pictures Alpine Ballooning Balloons Over Cities Baskets Burners Envelopes Flying History Inflating The Envelope Landing Manufacture Miscellaneous Special Shapes Views From The Balloon Weddings Full Text Listing Festivals America Australasia Canada Rest Of Europe UK Contact THE HISTORY OF HOT AIR BALLOONING On the 19th September 1783 Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist, launched the first hot air balloon called 'Aerostat Reveillon'. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground. The first manned attempt came about 2 months later on 21st November, with a balloon made by 2 French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. The balloon was launched from the centre of Paris and flew for a period of 20 minutes. The birth of hot air ballooning!!! Just 2 years later in 1785 a French balloonist, Jean Pierre Blanchard, and his American co pilot, John Jefferies, became the first to fly across the English Channel. In these early days of ballooning, the English Channel was considered the first step to long distance ballooning so this was a large benchmark in ballooning history. Unfortunately, this same year Pilatre de Rozier (the world's first balloonist) was killed in his attempt at crossing the channel. His balloon exploded half an hour after takeoff due to the experimental design of using a hydrogen balloon and hot air balloon tied together. The next major pivotal point in balloon history was on January 7th 1793. Jean Pierre Blanchard became the first to fly a hot air balloon in North America. George Washington was present to see the balloon launch. Now a large jump in time, of over 100 years: In August of 1932 Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard was the first to achieve a manned flight to the Stratosphere. He reached a height of 52,498 feet, setting the new altitude record. Over the next couple of years, altitude records continued to be set and broken every couple of months - the race was on to see who would reach the highest point. In 1935 a new altitude record was set and it remained at this level for the next 20 years. The balloon Explorer 2, a gas helium model reached an altitude of 72,395 feet (13.7 miles)! For the first time in history, it was proven that humans could survive in a pressurized chamber at extremely high altitudes. This flight set a milestone for aviation and helped pave the way for future space travel. The Altitude record was set again in 1960 when Captain Joe Kittinger parachute jumped from a balloon that was at a height of 102,000 feet. The balloon broke the altitude record and Captain Kittinger, the high altitude parachute jump record. He broke the sound barrier with his body! THE ATLANTIC CHALLENGE In 1978, the Double Eagle II became the first balloon to cross the Atlantic, another major benchmark in the History of Ballooning. After many unsuccessful attempts (see our section onAtlantic Crossings for more detailed accounts) this mighty Ocean had finally been cracked. It was a helium filled model, carrying 3 passengers, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman. They set a new flight duration time at 137 hours. There is a full story breakdownhere in the Atlantic Conquered part of the site. THE PACIFIC CHALLENGE The first Pacific crossing was achieved 3 years later in 1981. The Double Eagle V launched from Japan on November 10th and landed 84 hours later in Mendocino National Forest, California. The 4 pilots set a new distance record at 5,678 miles. 3 years after this, Captain Joe Kittinger flew 3,535 miles on the first solo transatlantic balloon flight, setting yet another record. In 1987 Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, rather than a helium/gas filled balloon. They flew a distance of 2,900 miles in a record breaking time of 33 hours. At the time, the envelope they used was the largest ever flown, at 2.3 million cubic feet of capacity. A year later, Per Lindstand set yet another record, this time for highest solo flight ever recorded in a hot air balloon - 65,000 feet! The great team of Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand paired up again in 1991 and became the first to cross the Pacific in a hot air balloon. They travelled 6,700 miles in 47 hours, from Japan to Canada breaking the world distance record, travelling at speeds of up to 245 mph. 4 years later, Steve Fossett became the first to complete the Transpacific balloon route by himself, travelling from Korea and landing in Canada 4 days later. Finally, in 1999 the first around the world flight was completed by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. Leaving from Switzerland and landing in Africa, they smashed all previous distance records, flying for 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes. Follow this link for a more detailed description and breakdown of the flight in our Around the World Flights section. It's interesting to see how the development of the the hot air balloon has gone full circle on itself. At the very start, the first balloonists burnt materials onboard the balloon to generate heat to propel the envelope into the air. This theory then became obsolete as gas and helium designs were introduced as it was considered safer and more reliable than flying with an open flame. It is only within the last 50 or so years that hot air balloons have come back into interest.