Four Country Gals

Life is very good indeed… all the way through Thanksgiving and until the morning of December 11.

Mom wakes up not feeling her usual perky self. She’s got an upset stomach that’s getting worse as the morning goes on.

Teasingly, Bev says, “If you’re not better in an hour, I’m calling the squad (cop talk for emergency services)!”

And Mom replies… “Don’t think you’d better wait for the full hour”

With that, both Bev and Cindy spring into action. They call 911 and begin moving furniture so the EMT’s can get the gurney to Mom’s room. Let’s see, if they bring the gurney in the front door, they can go out the sliding door, and make the turn on the patio, then come in the back door with a straight shot into Mom’s room.

Within about 15 minutes, the squad arrives, and loads Mom up for the 45 minute trip to Cedar City. Bev and Cindy follow in the Avalanche. No one knows for sure what Mom’s problem is… but they all agree, she’s feeling pretty badly to agree to a ride in the ambulance.

One thing about Utah, and health care. These folks know how to take care of you… Bedside manners are tops. Even in the emergency room, the empathy oozes. Health care is a most important aspect of the “good life” in Utah.

Now, this a Sunday, so you wouldn’t expect much news about any conditions. But again, because it’s Utah, and health care is awesome, Mom is diagnosed with diverticulitis. She’s spending several days in the hospital until the Dr’s can get the infection under control.

Here it is… Christmas season, and Mom’s in the hospital. No time to slow down…

Besides making nearly daily trips to Cedar City, Bev and Cindy are readying the house for Christmas. That means shopping for presents and also meeting Shawn when he arrives.

Mom’s always hard to shop for, but this year, it’s a bit of a “no-brainer”. Earlier this year, on the way to Utah, the girls had lost “Bree”, having to euthanize her at the start of the move.

They’d be replacing her with a spunky little “brown bug”. Looking around, they found a family in Cedar City who had a Chocolate Lab puppy up for a “rescue adoption”. Perfect! She’ll do just fine with the Black Lab, the other “old gal” Chocolate Lab, and Koda, the shepherd-husky cross.

So, on Dec 17, nearly a week after Mom has gone to the hospital, Bev and Cindy visit the folks with the Chocolate Lab. Yes… they’ll take that one. How soon can they pick her up?

It’s now just a week before Christmas and time to go get Shawn. He’s making things easier by flying into ‘Vegas and then taking the shuttle into St. George. That means Bev and Cindy will go get him, then pick up the puppy, and then visit Mom.

“How well do we have to hide a puppy to get into Mom’s room”, Cindy asks.

“Puppy? How small… oh really… Yes, by all means. The puppy is welcome in her room.”

With only two days to spare, Mom is finally released from the hospital only to spend the next 10 days pretty much in bed, suffering from a bout of depression.

One thing you can say for both these intrepid adventurers, they’re not afraid of hard, physical work. Bev has been steadily regaining her strength, since her bout with the “big C”. Cindy… well, she seems able to work like a horse, day after day.

Remember that big, overgrown Juniper Tam hedge separating the front yard from the circular drive?

Well it’s a haven for all kinds of stuff… garbage from previous owners, tumbleweed that has been blown into the hedge, sand dunes, and untold critters. It’s also incredibly unsightly in Bev and Cindy’s eyes.

What to do? Get ‘er trimmed up. They’ve got Friday free… that’s a good time to “git ‘er done!”

With lopping shears, a hacksaw, a hatchet, gloves, and a large tarp in hand, they set about pruning this monsterous , ugly hedge. Now this thing is nearly 40 feet long, and well over 8 feet thick and nearly 4 feet tall. There’s just no other way to get started than to dive in and find the first unwieldy branches.

By lunch time, Cindy is noticing a rash on her arms. It’s been too hot to wear long sleeves, so they’re both out there in basically t-shirts, jeans and boots. Is it red spider bites? Is it an allergy to something? Is it just an “irritation” from the prickly needles? No time to get too concerned, there’s more hedge awaiting.

So here they are, chopping away, dragging the limbs to the Avalanche so they can haul them to the dump box. The tarp is protecting the truck bed and top from scratches and unnecessary mess.

All of a sudden… ka-thunk! Cindy hits the ground… out cold!

Thankfully, Bev has plenty of first aid knowledge. First things first… call 911!

Long story short… Cindy takes an unscheduled trip to Cedar City, and discovers she’s highly allergic to Juniper.

Where was Shari? Well, she had been in communication with Cindy earlier in the morning and even at lunchtime when she mentioned the rash. All of a sudden, she heard from Bev, just long enough to let her know she was headed for Cedar City behind “the squad” (that’s cop talk for emergency vehicle).

Good news! Cindy was checked out, told to stay out of the Juniper, and released to return home.

So, what about the rest of the ugly hedge? It’s gonna stay where it is for a while, and Cindy’s gonna walk a wide circle around it.

So much for Friday and work in the front yard. They turn their attention to other areas slated for cleaning.

Saturday morning, they’re cleaning more areas, hosing down the outside of the house, so they can get a good look at it’s real color. Little do they know… there’s storm clouds brewing… and they won’t find them in the sky.

About mid-day, there’s suddenly NO WATER! What do you mean no water?

Oh geez! This isn’t possible… the well can’t be dry. The power is on, so that’s not the problem… hmm… now what do they do?

Fortunately, they’d had a well on the island, so they knew the drill… check the pressure tank. Nope, it’s not leaking.

Check the circuit breakers. It looks like everything is in order… That means nothing is tripped. They still don’t know for sure which breaker controls what as nothing has been marked.

Hmm, maybe they’d better call for help. But who? Let’s go ask Bill, the only neighbor we know. Bill provides the name and phone number of the local well driller. That’s a start… sort of.

Uh-oh, well drillers don’t have any responsibility for the well once it’s dug and they find water and case it. Now what?

Pump service? Is that what they need?

By then, it’s Sunday morning, they’ve had no water for nearly 24 hours… and it’s Southern Utah, where most everyone has gone to church.

Compound that with Labor Day weekend… if they can find the pump service dude, it’s gonna be expensive. They’re in luck. It’s now Sunday afternoon and they’ve got a guy coming out to see what’s wrong.

With only hours to spare before sunset, he confirms the problem… it’s the well pump. Oh my God! Does this mean we’re without water for two days… until Tuesday? Things are gonna get ugly here.

He thinks he has a pump that will work, so that’s the good news. He will return on Monday (Labor Day) to pull the old pump out and put the new one in at a depth of 120 feet.

The bad news… pump is over $500 and because it’s a holiday, labor is double time, for another $500 plus. Oh well… at this point, it’s more important to have the water as soon as possible.

With the kitchen nightmare behind them, they now turn their serious attention to Mom’s room. The days are quickly racing by, and soon, she’ll be joining them. If they can’t get it all redecorated… they should at least get stuff unpacked as best they can.

Let’s see, right now, Mom’s room is chocolate milk brown. One wall has some kind of god-awful wallpaper that really looks like the “papered” side of drywall. There are patches where there used to be curtain rods, and those are unpainted.

Time to really focus and see if they can get Mom to agree to colors. They figure if they take pictures of the chips AND send both the chips and the pictures to her, surely she can choose one.

Well, that’s a no go… Mom can’t decide, so will wait until after she gets here. That means they’ll have moved everything at least three times. Once from where they originally put it, once away from the wall to make room to work, and once to where Mom finally decides to put it.

The one thing (probably the most important one) they’ve done for Mom, is find a great home for the houseplants they brought. You see, Mom just loves cacti, and other little house plants.

Cindy and Bev had carefully packed those in the Avalanche so the dogs wouldn’t trample them. As soon as they saw the east facing kitchen windows with nice deep ledges, they knew exactly where to put “Mom’s house plants”. Now all they had to do was remember to water them… not too much, but enough.

They’re fairly comfortable with the inside (even though it’s not done), so they turn their attention to at least making the outside look more presentable for her pending arrival.

They’ve managed to get the underground watering system going in the front yard. It’s on an automatic timer, and they’ve got it going twice a day, 30 minutes each time.

In order to make that work, they literally had to listen for the water to come on, go see where the timer was set, and adjust the time. Don’t ask them how they got it come on twice a day… that hasn’t happened for a while.

The backyard is another story. For the time being, Koda likes to play in the weeds and enjoy the shade of the tall cinder block wall. Missy and Mindy could care less.

You know, these two have been unpacking now for over two weeks, and they still have boxes scattered about, stuff laying around as if it will never have a home, and Mom arriving within a very short time… They’ve simply got to get in gear and get it done!

So it is as they head into the Labor Day weekend…

It’s the end of the first week, and believe it or not, they’re still unpacking.

Cindy has her room more or less in the order she wants it. With her computer set up, she and Shari are back in touch. Within the next week, Shari will turn control back to Cindy on all the programs they work. So that Cindy didn’t lose any continuity, she had given “admin control” to a few choice programs.

Bev’s room is still in a bit of a mess. She’s not sure exactly which way she wants her bed to face. Of course, that means nothing else has a place, either.

Mom’s room? Well it’s still a disaster. About all that’s been done in her area is to create a space for a computer. The bed isn’t set up yet, as Mom won’t be here for another month or so.

Mom’s bathroom hasn’t been unpacked either, as both gals are waiting to see if Mom is ok with her medicine cabinet. It’s rather small and pretty old fashioned. Seems kind of “old” for a house that was built in the mid-70’s.

They’ve kind of taken care of the more “important” things, like face the couch towards the TV, and set up the dining table in the kitchen. They’ve also sort of made way for fixing meals.

Neither of them are real “adventuresome” cooks, so Mac and Cheese works for a few times a week, as does Soup and Sandwiches or even TV Dinners.

The one thing they’ve had to figure out is coffee.

You see, the kitchen, including the morning coffee is within “Mom’s Domain”. That means neither one of them has ever really learned how to make coffee. Now, they have some idea in that their fancy coffee maker/grinder is more or less “goof-proof”.

You put the beans in one side. You put the water in the other side. You press the button that says “grind/brew”. That’s pretty simple… but how many beans for how much coffee?

Mom never told them that, or else, they never bothered to ask.

Let’s just say they drank some pretty awful coffee, from too weak to too strong for a week or so, until they finally got all “just right”.

Over the weekend, they continue to unpack, and try to figure out where things fit best. Little do they know what lies ahead as they really settle into their new home.

They were tired of unpacking, and had found a reason to go to St. George.

When you leave their house you go southwest to get to Enterprise. At the north city limits, there is cut-off to St George. It takes you over a 6150 foot pass and then drops you into the heart of “color country”.

Enterprise is a cute little “country town”. It has a grocery store, a general store, a senior citizen center, a True Value Hardware store, a bank, Post Office, a couple of auto/truck repair places, a beauty salon (at one of the auto repair places), two LDS Churches, and a full school system including an elementary school and high school which serves most of the valley.

St. George is the largest city in “color country”, and is also one of the fastest growing cities in the US. The weather makes it a magnet for retirees, with most being “snowbirds”. They arrive in the fall to enjoy the incredibly beautiful winter weather and then leave in late spring just before daily temperatures go to 100 degrees or better.

The drive to St. George offers breath-taking views of the massive red rock mountains, cliffs, and ravines. On the way “up the hill” from Enterprise you have to keep a sharp lookout for deer on the road. It’s not uncommon to see at least three or four of the critters.

About half-way there’s a little village called Veyo. The little country store there has some of the best pies you’ll ever eat… and the price is reasonable, too.

About half-way between Veyo and St George is the new golfing destination/community called “The Ledges”. Several well-known entertainers are purchasing homes in this community. From the highway, you can see several new homes that are built in the “adobe style” with flat roofs and “pole beams” extending beyond the walls.

St. George is just a few miles north of the Arizona border and is within about 30 miles of Zion National Park. You can see some of the peaks on a clear day.

St George is a “shoppers delight.”

Mom’s room was really ugly. The walls were “chocolate milk brown” and one wall was fully wall-papered. Bev and Cindy thought they could help with re-decorating by gathering paint chips and then sending her pictures as well as the chips. After all, her room would be redecorated espeically for her.

Bev and Cindy’s bathroom didn’t have a “medicine cabinet”. It had a full mirror firmly attached to the wall. Now, they knew better than to purposely break a mirror… but hey, when you’re trying to get a great big (24×36 inch) mirror loose from a wall (it was glued)… stuff happens.

First item on the list… a nice three compartment medicine cabinet.

Remember, Bev had set up the computer in Mom’s room. There was more than one reason for that… She didn’t get to bring her computer desk. At the price of computer hutches, it was smarter to leave that one and buy a new one. They looked all over but didn’t find one Bev liked, so that would wait for a trip to Cedar City.

Cindy had also left her computer hutch and is now using Mom’s, who won’t be getting a new hutch any time soon.

They pretty much made the rounds, going to WalMart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and any other place that looked interesting, including Costco. They’d been in Sam’s Club’s while in Ohio, but once inside Costco, Cindy’s only comment was “Boy, with a membership here, we could get into serious trouble!.”

What did they actually come home with? Well, they got the medicine cabinet, and the paint chips. And, they didn’t get the Costco membership.

Monday morning, bright and early, the United Van Lines moving van showed up, complete with an “unpacking” crew. Oh boy… this would be like Christmas, opening boxes, some of which they hadn’t seen for nearly a year.

Where to put stuff?

Fortunately, the house didn’t require a lot of painting or other serious stuff. It was pretty much ready to move into, aside from cleaning out the dust. There were plush new carpets throughout. The only room that would be re-decorated, would be Mom’s room, and that would have to be done after moving things in.

Thank God for a pretty good sized single-car garage. Along with the overhang of the combination back porch, carport, they’d have enough room to put boxes outside and furniture inside… well, almost.

The “off loading” took the entire day. Little time to contact Shari and let her know whether or not they’d have room for all they brought.

Now, this home is about 29oo sq feet, so it’s not small. It has a full basement, although there were virtually no improvements beyond the laundry area. The main floor has a living room/dining room combination, a long narrow kitchen, three bedrooms and two baths with a hallway connecting the bedrooms. There are two doors which open directly to the walled-in back yard and patio. The front door has a small “mud room” so you can get in out of the weather first, then remove any wet clothing, before stepping into the entryway.

At the north end of the kitchen there is a door to the outside which puts you at the foot of the driveway, just in front of the garage door. The door to the basement steps is also at that end of the kitchen, just inside the door to the outside. In some cases, that is a blessing, and in others… well, let’s just say it’s always a good idea to keep the door to the basement closed.

So, back to unpacking… they would get the big stuff in the house in at least the right room. If a box was obviously marked as something they needed right away, it went in the house, and hopefully to the right room.

The rest of the boxes went to the garage. They tried to maintain some order, but in the usual chaos of unloading a truck, they can safely say there are still things they’ve not found, two years later.

After nearly 10 hours of unpacking the big moving van, it was now about 6PM, the van was empty, and the day was done. You could’ve put a fork into both Cindy and Bev, calling them “done”, too.

After getting that call from the real estate agent letting them know the house is theirs, it wasn’t long before the previous owner showed up with all the keys they needed. Since she had moved just down the road, it was much easier for her to bring them the keys, than for the agent to drive all the way out.

Keys in hand, they quickly got into the house so they could get their beds unpacked. At that point, the beds were more important than food… can you believe that?

With a few hours of sunlight, no problem getting enough done before dark.

Jimmy had TONS of work to do… You see, he wasn’t just an extra driver, he came along to do those all-important “guy things”, like make sure the electrical was in working order, and the furnace, air conditioning and heat pump worked properly, as well as make sure the plumbing worked.

Within a few hours, he was more than happy to crash on the living room floor in his sleeping bag.

Everyone was up early Saturday as they had lots to do… more lists were made and off they went to Cedar City to pick up stuff like cleaning supplies, air filters, etc.

In addition to all the inside work, figuring out where they expected things to go, cleaning the dust out, they also took time to “survey” the outside. Note this overgrown hedge… it plays an important part later on.

Bev had to take Jimmy to the Cedar City airport Sunday morning. Cindy couldn’t sleep (still on east coast time), so she was up washing windows before daylight, as well as recording one of the most beautiful sunrises.

Within a few hours, Bev returned home and they continued to unpack what they could. Jmmy had a more exciting adventure, going to Columbus Ohio by way of New York City, thanks to severe thunderstorms throughout the mid section of the country. He finally got home about 11PM, after thinking he’d be home by 2PM or so.

Upon checking into the motel Wednesday night, the Inkeeper suddenly realized they had three pretty good sized dogs, and saw an opportunity to extract a higher rental… Well, the girls got all undone. After all, they were pretty much exhausted after the very long day.

They soon struck a deal. No extra charges unless the dogs damaged the room.

The next morning, with Bev and Jim having packed everything, and gotten the three dogs into the vehicles, Cindy stood for inspection in the room… no problem at all. Therefore, no extra charge. However, the shoddy treatment by the proprietor has led Bev to put that place on her “do not recommend” list… to the point of not even providing me the name.

Knowing they’d be staying in Cedar City for at least one more night, they went across the street to the Motel 6, where the folks were very dog friendly, even providing them a first floor room near the door.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to “go exploring”… that means go west on Hwy 56 and find their new home. All that stood between them and their home was one more mountain pass… elevation 6455 feet. Lot’s of history here… but no time to stop and investigate.

Within minutes they crested the summit and began their decent into the Escalante Desert Valley. My God, you can see forever!

They pass the little burg of Newcastle. Significant as this is the home of their local Post Office; that and a Phillips 66 station and convenience store. A couple miles further there’s a sign to the Beryl Rural Fire Dept and a community “dump box” area… oh boy.

About 7 miles down the road, they come to Beryl Junction. Where’s Beryl?

What’s at the junction? This is where Hwy 56 and Hwy 18 intersect. You’ll find the “El Rancho Restaurant”, a small Mexican place, as well as the offices of the local power company, “Dixie Escalante Power Cooperative”. There’s an elementary school, a small community center, the “old school”, and a couple of houses. Oh, there’s also a road maintenance shed including some fuel tanks, and a little roadside picnic area.

A few hundred feet south on Hwy 18 is one of the busiest Goodyear Tire stores in the west… they marvel at that…

Turning right (north) on to Beryl Hwy (no longer officially Hwy 18), they soon find themselves in very unfamiliar territory.

What’s this big dairy? How come everyone looks alike? More about that later.

What was once desert is now a huge patchwork quilt of irrigated circles. Folks are growing alfalfa, hay, potatoes, and corn. There are a couple of “cubing” operations on their right about 4 miles up the the road.

Just past a sign that’s had more than it’s share of bullet holes saying… Blowing Dust, they turn west (4800 N or Antelope Springs Road) and see a fair-sized group of locked mailboxes.

Heading west for about 1/2 mile, they pass a couple of mobile homes. Other than that… nothing but sagebrush, tumbleweed and sand.

Right on to 400 W and they’re new property is on the left of the truck… an expanse of tumbleweed, sand, a couple of pinion trees, a couple of sagebrush bushes… and their new house.

I say “house” as it’s not yet THEIR HOME. With the “double closing” and Bev and Cindy on the road, paperwork had to be “overnighted” to Mom. Yes, she’s on the deed. This process proved to take a little longer than they expected. Mom had done everything correctly… so it wasn’t her problem.

A quick call to the seller confirmed that although they could unload the trailer and store the stuff in the garage, they wouldn’t be able to put anything in the house. That was the advice from her attorney… as long as she was carrying the insurance, the new occupants couldn’t have any access to the house.

No problem… with the trailer unloaded into the garage, they’d have room to haul some new furniture. You see, they’d left their old beds on the island, planning to purchase brand new beds when they got here. Hey, if you’re gonna make a change… you may as well make a big one!

Trailer unloaded, they take time out for pictures… gotta show Shari how far away from “civilization” they really are. From here you can see over 40 miles west, about 40 miles or so north, about 25 miles east and about 20 or so miles south. What a view!

Ok, time to get back across the mountains to Cedar City, a distance of about 45 miles, and do some serious shopping. In addition to the new beds, they add a dining room table and four chairs, spending nearly two grand in the process. At least they’ll sleep well, and have somewhere to eat.

Having arrived at Dad’s barn, they set about gathering the many boxes and other items they’d been moving off the island for the past six months or so. Originally, they’d been packing and storing the boxes in the basement of their island home, but the Realtor insisted they move things off and put an end to any clutter.

So, they moved things three times, from the upstairs to the basement, and then back upstairs out the door, onto the truck, to a rented storage building, out of there, back onto the truck… across the lake to Dad’s barn.

By the time they had stuffed the moving van and 12 foot trailer, all available extra space in both the Avalanche and the Blazer, it was nearly 11 PM. Yikes, and they were still in Ohio!

On the road… no matter they’d been up way before the sun. They must press onward.

They convoyed back to pick up the I-80 Turnpike, and head west.

Somewhere west of Toledo at the Swanton Rest Area they pulled off for much needed sleep.

Every time they stopped and started again, Cindy called Shari. It mattered not that there was a time zone adjustment, or that it might be the middle of the night. So, Shari was called after the vet stop, and then again very late, as they left Dad’s barn.

Very early the next morning, with fresh eyes, they again started their trek… Utah or Bust!

Bev and Jim did most of the driving, with Cindy filling in for short stints. On long boring straight highways, Cindy tended to get drowsy (or is that mesmerized).

From just west of Toledo, they put the pedal to the metal, soon heading into Indiana, through Illinois, Iowa, and into Nebraska. They’d be on I-80 until they got to I-76 just west of Ogallala. Even though they had well over 1900 miles to go, they felt like they’d be there in no time.

The towns and cities became a blur as they raced westward, stopping only to fuel the rigs, themselves, the dogs, and to provide a few minutes “out” for the dogs and themselves.

By the time they stopped for the night in Kearney, Nebraska, they’d gone through most of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and half of Nebraska. That’s also four update calls to Shari, who was tracking their progress, as well as keeping an eye on the weather for them.

The found a “dog friendly” motel and crashed for the night, knowing the most challenging section of the trip was still ahead… the drive across the Rockies with the Avalanche pulling a 12-foot trailer.

Up early again and fueled by coffee and a McDonald’s breakfast, it was time to load the dogs, and point their convoy westward.

From Nebraska into Colorado and another call to Shari, they could almost see the mountains now.

With Denver just ahead, the Rockies were in plain view. From Denver, they were just 60 or so miles from the famed Eisenhower Tunnel…

the highest vehicular tunnel in the world at over 11,000 feet. This would officially take them through (rather than across) the Continental Divide.

Now they were on the western side of the Continental Divide, where all the drainage would point to the Pacific Ocean.

Just west of Denver, the weather had turned quite sour on them, with “slushy rain”. That terrible stuff stayed with them all the way through the higher elevations. After that, it was rain clear into Utah. Who’d have thunk you’d run into this kind of weather in August.

Somewhere along the Glenwood Canyon, with Bev driving the Avalanche… the trailer got in a huge hurry to get to Utah. As she was watching the trailer skid along side her left rear tail light, it was all she could do to correct it’s path.

After a quick underwear change at the next rest stop, it was someone else’s turn to drive as Bev took time to recover from her near disaster. Just as soon as they had a cell signal, Cindy called Shari to let her know they’d nearly lost the trailer.

Time out for fuel, refreshments, and a “doggie out” in Grand Junction before pressing forward to Utah… just twenty miles west.

Cindy, who’d never seen much in the way of mountains was in total awe of the beauty and mass of the Rockies. With each turn and slight change of scenery, she’d take another picture.

Would you believe that within less than 180 miles, they had dropped from the “top of the world” at the Eishenower Tunnel into Grand Junction at less than 5,000 foot elevation. No wonder the trailer was in a hurry.

With only 340 or so miles to go, they once again pointed the convoy west, towards I-15 and Cedar City. There they would spend the night at yet another “dog friendly” motel.

As if the drive hadn’t already been tortuous, I-15 was under construction most of the way. Here it was, dark, rainy and now they had the “orange barrel brigade” to keep them on their toes.

It was late, very late when they reached Cedar City. Luckily they had called ahead for reservations. No time for anything but to fall into bed, totally exhausted from the marathon drive, yet anxiously anticipating the next day.

Remember, they had never seen their new home in person.