Our time in Lake City, Colorado is quickly coming to an end.  It has been a very pleasant and peaceful time for us here in these beautiful mountains.

The aspen trees are showing off for us before we leave.  Any direction we point the camera there is a wonderful view.

We have made new friends, crossed paths with folks we met in Sequim, WA a few years ago and enjoyed our family from NM coming to spend time with us.

A new year!

Hi, everyone!! Glad there's some that is still SW!! Skip and I are in Arizona right now, heading to
Elephant Butte about the middle of next month. Just enjoying the sunshine and warm when we
get that!! Been a little cool and lots of wind along with it. But been nice days, too, so not complaining. I see the snow pics, that's why we're still here!! :-)
See you all in a month or so!! Take care everyone!! Sue

Yes.....Timing IS Everything!!

You never know who you'll meet
"down the road," and as Gail stated,
"Timing IS Everything."

As we started out for NM, we knew
Deb & Dave were also on their little mid-western trip before returning to Elephant Butte but had no idea of the timing!! We both arrived on Tuesday, Oct. 11 within a few hours of each other.

What great hosts Cliff and Karen are and what a great time we had "catching up" with our friends. Why - we even got in a couple games of "golf," the card game, of course and an awesome time of just being together once again!! A little touring of the Archway was in order and very interesting, not to mention the wonderful steaks and food!!

Yup......you just never know who you'll meet "down the road." Linda/Newell

Coffeyville, KS

Look who we found when we got to Coffeyville!!  It was sooo good to see Maynard and meet Barb & Frank! 

Randy & I go for "orientation" tomorrow and then start work on Monday. 

Timing is Everything

I found this in the drafts.  Sorry I was too busy to check this earlier.  It SHOULD have posted 7/24/11

Howdy from ND to Everyone!!! We had a very unusual thing happen to us on Sunday. We were coming home from a wedding of a special neighbor girl in Lemmon SD and stopped in Dickinson for a bite to eat. How amazing to run into Linda & Newell in the restaurant AND their daughter Christy and 4 Grands!! What a treat to meet those that we had heard so much about - we had a short but great visit. They were headed for a few days vacation in Medora. Like I say, timing is everything!

It's been a busy summer - so many to visit with at the wedding that we hadn't seen all summer. I was asked what I had been doing all summer and had to answer 'mowing'! Green is such a beautiful color! But golly, it's grows so FAST! What a beautiful hay crop, BUT a little tough to get it dry enough to bale - Life is either feast or famine isn't it? Too wet sure beats worrying about fires as so many are - although truth be told, I'm not so sure I wouldn't rather have a fire than to have to deal with moving back into a house that has been under water for months. It may be easier to start over!

Our kids here did well at the fair - we had a Grand Champion steer in his class - Grand Champion Showmanship and Reserve Champion Showmanship and all kinds of purple and blue ribbons. Our Iowa kids - the twins have their fair this week - would love to be able to attend that one too, but there is too much going on. Do hope to get there in September when my class celebrates our 50th year since gradation - all 3 of us - really. We have the distinction of graduating from a school that we never attended a class in - really. Due to reorganization.

We're doing just fine and hope that goes for all of you too!!

With our Best Wishes - Roger & Gail

Isbell's 2011 Summer

Then we were offered a job at Riverview RV Park outside Loveland, CO located right on The Big Thompson River. Busy, busy summer working with some great folks.

I am so impressed with Phyllis, Deb & Linda with their blogging. Always enjoy their submissions and wish I were more faithful doing it. Well, here is an update on our summer:
After we left Minot, ND in May we then spent about 3 weeks in Hazen, ND and Linda & Newell became our own private tour guides. We enjoyed the time we got to spend with them and the trip to visit with Roger & Gail. It was so great to meet the Zeller’s family, they indeed have some wonderful and delightful grandchildren. What wonderful special memories we have of that time. North Dakota is beautiful, and soooo green!! Sorry, I just don’t have room to put all the pictures we took touring ND… you are just going to have to go and check it out!!
On our way to Loveland we stopped and visited Mount Rushmore. Very impressive.

We left Loveland on Sept. 19th after completing our commitment there and spent a week in Buena Vista, CO visiting with family and friends in the area.

We arrived at Arrowhead RV in time to be invited to eat with the owners and their workampers at Eddyline Brew Pub. Yummy food and great folks to visit with. (We have worked at Arrowhead in the past so they feel like family).

The new community of South Main in BV is really unique. They deeded all the river frontage to the city and there are wonderful walking paths up and down the Arkansas River. There is a unique artsy resting area along the river walk.

Another favorite place to eat is Quincy’s.

And of course there is K’s. Just good old fashion hamburgers and hotdogs and ice cream. You always have to stand in line! Just no way around it, but worth it! Oh, and there is Lobach’s Bakery on East Main. If you snooze you loose so don’t sleep late if you want the best in town.

This is the mural on Nature’s Pantry (local health food store). Cute. and great place to get local produce and everything else that you find in a well stocked health food store.

Jumpin’ Good Goat Farm. We got to take a tour last summer when we were here and even went into the “cheese cave”. They have free samples in their little gift shop as well and that is what got us hooked on this particular goat cheese… it is very mild and tasty. Not at all strong and disgusting like I thought it would be.

Fall has arrived and the aspen trees are in their glory. Our trip to Aspen Ridge with our church family Sunday after church.

Zellers2 reporting..........

The Zellers are on the road again; we are sitting in Glendive, MT for a week to visit friends. Having lived in Glendive for 13 years, we still have ties here and enjoy visiting. Newell even said, "It feels good to be in our second home" and it does. I always miss our camper in the summertime!!

Since the waters seem to be receding in ND I decided I should send an update.

August 1 they began to decrease releases from the Dam; they are still releasing from the spillway gates but you can see that the lake
levels are decreasing as well, meaning the influx has also declined.
The water marks are quite impressive and show just how much
the water has receded.

We were up to the Dam on Sunday and noticed that they have shut off 6 spillway gates and the flow has significantly decreased; the water is not moving near as fast over the spillway.

There is still plenty of water moving through the Power Plant as
you can see it pass through the tailrace. The number of spectators has decreased as well and there are no longer patrolman to direct
traffic. The novelty has worn off.

The last 2 pics continue to show the decreased lake levels and
were taken up at Hazen Bay. At its peak, the BBQ grills were under water; Sunday, they were well out of the water and again the water lines tell their story!! It is really amazing that such a
large system can fluctuate so much in a week or two.

Many have begun to remove dikes and sandbags in the Bismarck/Mandan area; however, its really not advised as of yet.
It looks like the worst is over; however, speculation is that this could be a repeat next year. I believe the COE is continuing to lower Sakakawea Lake in preparation for next year's influx. I heard (this is not official) that this could be a 4-year cycle. Of course the sandbags will never last throughout the winter but I'm
thinking caution should be used in removing the dikes. It'll be
interesting to see what unfolds in the years to come. I heard there
were 400+ homes affected in the Bismarck/Mandan area as far
as flooding, which really is nothing compared to what it could have
been had they not had time to prepare. To my knowledge, no
lives lost due to the flooding.

Minot on the other hand has had extensive loss and damages. The waters have receded and clean-up and recovery is in the process. I'm afraid many will still be displaced during our winter months as there certainly will not be time to get it all taken care of properly. Mold is a real issue, especially with all the humidity this year.

We hope everyone's summer has been good.........it's beginning to feel like fall already up here in the north country!! We'll be heading home on Sunday. Before we know it, it'll be time to head out for our fourth winter in EB. Zellers2 reporting.

Nice visit with Lynn yesterday!

Lynn took a couple of days off from her summer campground job to go down to Cedar Cove and pick up the stuff she'd left stored there. She had a nice visit with Clay and Sharon, Richard, Martha and Bob, and a couple of other folks who are summering there. Of course they went to the Legion for Wednesday night supper! Then she stopped by here on her way back up the mountain north of Taos.

She's really loving her job! The campground has been closed for a while on account of the fire that came much too close, but it may reopen soon. Meanwhile she's been painting picnic tables and doing some other maintenance around the park. She loves being by herself in the woods, but she also likes it when campers are there so she's looking forward to the reopening.

I hadn't known that she lost her beloved dog Duke a couple of months ago, he got hit by a car and she really misses him. I'm hoping another furry buddy needing a home kind of wanders into her life!

Once the park closes in September, she'll head home to Kansas. She's got reservations back at Cedar Cove starting in February, so we'll see her cheerful face then. Thanks for the visit, Lynn!

Another "Dam" update.......North Dakota

It just doesn't end...... The releases at Garrison Dam are now at

150,000 cfs which is what they predict for the rest of the summer

or until the influx decreases. Last I heard, the influx at Williston

was right at 188,000 cfs and it varies. It sounds like there is plenty of snow yet in the mountains - some ski resorts planning to

be open through July 4; that's gotta be a record!! The COE

estimates high flows throughout the summer. Will their efforts be good enough.....one house has already caved in according to news media - some of you may have

seen this on the internet. There are areas of concern and some

roads closed.

We have noticed in our area a very full Lake Sakakawea with boat

ramps being totally covered and boats loading off the road; many barbecue pits and electrical boxes are under water at Hazen Bay with no beaches visible and many trees in the water.

Landmarks disappearing. The water fowl love it!!

In our many travels back and forth from Washburn and Bismarck, we notice a lot of the low lying areas backing up with water from the Missouri River and a lot of bank erosion. It is unbelievable!! So far everything seems to be stabilizing on the river........

Attention has now turned to Minot who is having major flooding. Following the news media stories and the flood updates gives us an unbelievable view of this tragedy. The people of Minot have been fighting and fearing the Souris River since May........it has literally moved into their town threatening to cut of the north side from the south side where most of the medical services and food sources reside. Looking ahead, they have made provisions in

the event this should happen. Unfortunately, we do not have pics

of this event but if you are interested there are numerous sites on the internet in which you can follow this event and it has reached

National News.

We feel so bad for the people in Minot. This is the worst flood of

the Souris (Mouse) River EVER; it too goes down in history!! The

good news is that they are thinking this should be receding in the

next couple of days and weeks unlike that of the Missouri River.

And the rain won't quit..........we still have 2 days of sunshine and

nice weather and 5 days of "doom and gloom" with rain showers &

some severe weather! So far, nothing dramatic on the severe

weather end but still plenty of rain, which we do not need. It would be nice to share this moisture with our friends in NM.

Again, I eventually will be sharing more pics of the flooding events in ND on my Travel Journal.

The last picture is in Bismarck along River Road/Bike Path. That boat may get to travel on its own (smile). I'm sure it's well seated, but stranger things have happened. (HA) It is fortunate that no lives have been lost in either the Missouri River flooding or the Minot flood; we continue to pray and hope!! Zellers2 reporting from ND

Sharon and Clay left...SNIFF!!

Boy, am I going to miss them! But our loss is Cedar Cove's gain...they made it down there just fine, and they're going to hang out in Space #10 by the office until the rest of the uptown group start showing up. Sharon is looking forward to the easy few steps to puzzle, laundry, and showers.

We had a wonderful time while they were here, their spot looks awfully empty. Dang, we may have to head south to bother them sooner than we planned!

Emile & Diane say....HI!

Hi there,

Emile and I are spending most of our time camping along side the Ottawa River near Thorne, ("for my American friends it's right next door to the Quebec border, a town called Temiscaming about 30 minutes from our driveway). We have a beautiful spot - we play cards (golf - 2 handed - one deck of cards works pretty good), read, Swedish weaving, and lots of rest. Emile tries to fish but his knee is so sore from arthritis that he is not able to. Oh yes, we have the generator and we watch a movie each night as there is no reception for TV. Actually get one french station and one radio station CKAT (country and western)

Come into town for therapy usually its once a week or twice a week whatever works Today came in for a good shower and going right back - We just love it.
Able to go to church in Temiscaming, at Ste Therese parish it is bilingual but I usually hit he french mass which is OK as it brings back memories of my youth and I do understand the language.
We have appointments on Wed and will be here this weekned.
Sorry for the flood of emails but that is what is going on in our life at the moment. Can someone but this on the travelers blog thanks!
Think of you all often
Dianne and Emile

I posted for them. The photo is from google images a shot of the Ottawa River.

Flood update......North Dakota

Zellers2 reporting from ND. As you can see, Garrison Dam reservoir is full to the brim. It would definitely be going over the spillway gates if the Corp. would not be releasing. We finally got to see the Spillway Gates open after several trips. This is definitely a moment in history as the gates have never been opened to release flood waters since its finished construction in 1954. It is definitely a sight to see!!
As the brochure states, "The purpose of the Spillway is to control the water level during an emergency situation." I guess it's official: We're in an emergency situation!!

There are 28 gates and they released water from 25 of them. As we were watching, the release was at 25,000 cfs; mind you this is not at full capacity. It was awe-inspiring to see this water come through the gates, down the Spillway, over the Apron and out into the channel to the Missouri River flooding the lower Spillway pond and picnic area. The water was up to the roof on several of the picnic shelters.


At the Powerhouse, water is also being released and while we were there it was certainly boiling at 90,000 cfs; again not full capacity. They can release as much as 140,000 cfs at the Powerhouse. It was definitely more than the 70,000 we witnessed earlier. Of course with this great a flow, the tailgate wings are sustaining erosion and they are currently fixing and rip rapping.

The communities of Bismarck/Mandan and the counties carry live coverage of the flood updates and so every morning at 9 a.m. we are glued to these updates. The River seems to be scouring itself creating deeper channels which allows the River to better handle the increased flows; however, this also brings about a large amount of bank erosion quite evident as you drive along the River and over the bridges. The influx of water throughout the Missouri River system is phenomenal this year; I've lost count of the figures they've given. Currently the outflow at the Dam is 115,000 cfs and by Sunday it will be at 120,000 cfs and by mid-June the predicted amount will be 150,000. The communities downstream have done all they can do to protect and inform but with that amount of water there are bound to be homes lost; we just pray no lives will be lost in the process. The bright lining has been sufficient time to prepare; often times, this is not the case!!

Yesterday, an alert came out that they need sandbags for the Stanton Park. The town of Stanton is about 10 miles from Hazen. This is where the Knife River flows into the Missouri; we wondered if they would be affected. I guess so!!

It's hard to imagine all of the entities that are affected by rising and flood waters as has become so evident to us as we continue to watch the updates on our local channel. It seems there has been a phenomenal community effort in this endeavor. Our leaders are doing a great job and our National Guard and Corp. of Engineers have sure been life savors in the dike and levee construction. Many, many stories. I'm sure there will be plenty more!!

As is customary, I will be posting more pics and history in my Travel Journal. Please contact me at zellers2@westriv if you would like to join our Travels. Zellers2 reporting.

Water......water.....Everywhere!!

Many of you may or may have not

heard about the influx of water into

the Garrison Dam Reservoir due to

the extensive rains and snow melt in Montana and Wyoming (Yes, Phyllis & Ken that rain has to go somewhere - smile) Lake Sakakawea and the Garrison Dam are both in our backyards here in ND. Hazen Bay is only 13 miles north of us!! It's hard to believe that just 3 years ago Hazen Bay was completely dry and they are no longer loading boats off the ramp - they are loading off the road and 2 of our low boat ramps are completely under water.

Linda & Randy Isbell as you know got flooded out of the Roughrider campground in Minot and decided to come down to Hazen. They are staying in the Lewis & Clark Campground not too far from our house! Tuesday, despite the cold and windy day, we decided to give them a tour of the South Shore of Lake Sakakawea and the Garrison Dam. Newell and I had been that way only a week ago and within that short time the Lake has continued to rise and it is only going to get worse by the Corp. of Engineers information. The influx from the Yellowstone River has risen from 80,000 cfs to 113,000 cfs currently and depending on rains may rise to even higher levels.

This puts pressure and a dilemna on the Garrison Dam as it is so near full that they have had to start releasing water. Last week they were releasing at 55,000 cfs and are currently up to 70,000 cfs and by Monday they will be up to 85,000 cfs. Of course this definitely effects downstream specifically Bismarck & Mandan. Flood measures are in effect for these two towns and outlying areas. The Corp. predicts by June 9 the releases will be up to 90,000 cfs and who knows by then what the influx from the Yellowstone River will be as the River there usually sees its June rise from the snow melts. This is a new scenario for the dam, never before having to release this much water. The delemna being they can't predict what will be coming for rain fall in addition to the snow melt.

The first picture on the far right depicts releases at 55,000 cfs taken on our first visit a week ago. The second picture in the middle shows the release at 70,000 cfs and was taken a week later when we visited with Linda & Randy.

The last picture is a front view as the water boils out into the Missouri River.

It's an interesting, news-worthy, and history-making event. We hope and pray for the safety of those downstream. The leaders of our municpals, counties, and state

seem to be doing a great job in protecting and informing the

public. If we were 10-15 years younger, we would be

volunteering and may get called upon yet - Newell's brother

lives in a potential flooding area!! The bad news is this will

probably continue through the summer. Most of our families are

not in the flood plain but with Mother Nature who knows what's ahead of us!! We'll keep you posted.

Dennis has a six pack - of stints that is!

Sharon called a little while ago.  Dennis went to the doc on Monday and she wasn't pleased with the outcome of some of his tests.  SO he went into surgery today and got three more stints.  (A different surgeon this time.)  He replaced the ones on the bigger arteries around the heart.  Two of the stints are close together.  He will go home tomorrow.  The kids were in Duluth with Sharon.  I don't know who all she called but she told me to put the update on the blog so here it is!! 

WY George on the road!

Good ole George called twice yesterday. The first time he said "I'm waving, can you see me?" He was going by the Air Force Academy in CO. Springs. Del is with him (the previous owner of Lakeside.) They were pulling George's horse trailer with 3 horses and a 15 day old baby who's Momma died 2 days after it was born. They stop every 4 hours to feed the baby. George as a daddy. Ah.........
The second time he called he said "We are back in the US of A." I said ah, in WY are ya? He is happy again. Reporting over and out for George!

The River Won

Saturday was evacuation day from the Roughrider Campground in Minot, ND. The dikes that had been holding the river back could not hold the rapidly rising river.

We are now in Hazen, ND and will wait to see when/if the river is going to leave the campground. We look forward to spending more time with Linda & Newell Zeller, just feel sad that it had to be under these circumstances. The young couple that own the campground are such nice folks and their home is on the property.

Randy was on a mission in his waders and when the water got too high he had to get out his tube boat to get to where he was going. Yep, there are campsites under all that water.

Sharon & Clay are here!

The Farnhams landed here about noon, in the park where we are staying in Albuquerque. It was absolutely great to see them! They're looking & feeling good, and they're going to chill out here for a month or so. They decided not to go to OR after all, the weather on the coast has been nasty and there's no guarantee they'd ever have any "summer" there after traveling all that way. And Sharon may have to go see her doc in EB in July anyway.

So I'm sorry they're not going to be sucking up oysters and clams and crab like they wanted to, but I'm selfishly delighted to see them! I asked Sharon if she was "casinoed out" after spending all this time in Nevada, and she said "HELL NO!" So I think there is some playing in my future, and I'm really looking forward to it!

Learning to be ducks in Gillette, Wyoming

We made it to Gillette Wednesday just as the rain commenced with flood warnings attached.  We are going to get a big dose of family this summer.  Daughter Whitney;s family has moved very near SIL/DIL and all of the gchildren will be here this summer plus a few.  No pictures at this time - it's raining too much.  Note to the SW folks: Cathy at Monks Cloth and More wants to have pictures of our projects to put on her web.  I'm thinking of making a Picasa web photo album of  what I have.  Please send me pictures of what else you want me to include.  Quacking right along - The Colpitts!

Raders made it to Idaho

Hi everyone! Well, here we are in Idaho with my parents. They are doing good and so happy to have us back again. Dad seems to be doing good, however, he really does not know what is going on. Probably just as well though.

We had a great time while in UT at our daughters. Life with kids is so hectic though, never a moment of quiet!! We saw both our grandsons play baseball numerous times. Was enjoyable and we felt lucky to be able to be there and see them. Our granddaughter is going to beauty school, so grandma had to have a haircut!! She actually did a very good job!

We have had lots of rain since leaving NM, wish they could get some of it down there! Hank is doing fine also. He just hangs out and is always ready for something to do! We are glad to hear that everyone is doing ok out there and really enjoy reading the blog. We love and miss all of you. Brenda

The difference one day can make.....

when you are at 8500 feet. Oh, springtime in the Rockies! Gotta go dig the fireplace out. Buuurrrrrrr.............. Dave just said "Get a picture of me shoveling snow!"
Yuck..........

News From California

Clay and Sharon found their camera, removed it from the box (it's 5 years old :)  ) and taken some pictures.  According to Clay these pictures are of:  "Tecopa Calif AKA Death Valley.  China Ranch Date Farm, neat place!"   

Great pictures Clay/Sharon.  Keep up the good work.