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2014 Journey Bob and Margaret Kellett Another new year begins. We are pleased with how our new home at Rotorua has developed, but as we plan this year's travels and visits to our family, we appreciate the old saying - "The best things in life are not things" Jan 2013 Boyd boys come to stay for ten days. We hope that they enjoyed it as much as we did.
Back to
Mum
Ethan starts High School
The weekend of 29 -31 Mar 2013 saw a reunion in Napier of the members of V3 Company, 4 RAR/NZ [ANZAC] Battalion. It was 45 years since we served together in South Vietnam, and some of us had not seen each other since then. It was really great to see 12 members of my 3 Platoon on parade and still [almost] fighting fit.
On a stormy day in April our dear friends Liz and David bade us farewell at Rotorua Airport as we set off for our 10th summer of journeying through North America. Arriving in Ottawa, the weather there was still cool, with drifts of snow melting into Spring; nevertheless we spent five warm and colourful days with Victoria, Colin and our beautiful grandchildren, plus a happy interlude with Canadian friends Suzanne and Peter.
After servicing and restocking our vehicles it was Hey Ho Silver, and we were bowling south along the great conveyor belt of life in the USA! Driving south to Dallas, Texas, with an overnight stop at Muskogee, Oklahoma, the countryside gradually greened up and Spring felt good in our bones. On entering Texas, everything seemed bigger, bolder and brighter than anywhere else, and the Blue Bonnet Ridge RV Park just outside of Dallas was a nice haven. Our plan was to be amongst the first to walk in the door on opening day (1st May) of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. The exhibits depicting many aspects of George Dubbya's eight years in the White House were truly impressive. Another most enjoyable place was the Dallas
Arboretum, where swathes of spring flowers and fascinating
features soon gave us ideas for the garden at 41 Mokoia
Rd!
Scenes at the Dallas Arboretum
A week later it was westward ho the wagon
towards El Paso. We beavered away in atrocious weather, taking well
over an hour to quit the extensive Dallas-Fort Worth city environs
on Hwy I-20, the route taking us near Granbury where, a few
days later, a mile wide tornado caused mayhem and deaths.
Over-nighting at the Whip-Inn RV Park near Big
Spring, the proprietor informed us of the oil boom
currently being experienced throughout West Texas. This was
borne out as we passed by enormous ranches studded
with myriads of pump jacks, resembling donkeys with their heads
bobbing up and down, extracting oil from the ground. And
at the town of Odessa, we bobbed in to observe their Meteor
Crater and marvelled at the phenomenon that caused the big hole in
the ground about 30,000 years ago.
Following along the Rio Grande, El Paso
soon welcomed us and we had just settled in when an
approaching storm caused Bob to hurriedly stow the Satellite
Dish. All of a sudden a distant whirlygig had gained momentum
and was spinning towards us, fortunately at the last
moment veering off as if thwarted by the solid stone wall
around the perimeter of the RV Park. Turns out we had witnessed
a 'dust devil', which is a strong whirlwind, but not as dangerous as
a tornado. Exciting nevertheless!
Dust Devil at El
Paso
The best end of a rattlesnake
El Paso sits eyeball to eyeball across the Rio
Grande with it's Mexican neighbour, Ciudad Juarez, wherein two
million souls dwell in relative poverty, many of whom desire to
better themselves by crossing the Rio Grande into the USA, legally
or illegally. The Nat'l Border Patrol Museum instructed
one about their role, plus the many hazards facing US
border agents "who work tirelessly to secure and protect the
external boundaries of the US, and have done so since
1904..." Later, on a cactus trail we happened upon
a Diamondback Rattlesnake, which stayed long enough for a photo op
before sliding away.
Border Patrolling the easy
way
Roadside stop in New Mexico From El Paso, heading north on the I-25
to Santa Fe, the Rio Grande was our constant companion. A
remote small town en route, called "Truth or
Consequences" lit up our imagination! Originally it had a
different name, but the citizens liked the popular TV game
show of the 60s so much that they renamed the town after
it.
Wide sweeping desert with sudden mountains jutting
into the brilliant blue sky kept us fascinated all the way
to the Santa Fe Skies RV Park, with its painters' sunsets and
bright, starry nights!
The unique 'Santa Fe Style' is illustrated in
coffee table books worldwide. The beautiful town centre and
every house, in fact every structure you can think of, is built
in the flat roofed adobe style and painted to blend in with the
desert in which it basks. Turquoise is the predominant colour
for doorways, window frames and trimmings. There are fine
art galleries galore, and the shops sell all manner of beautiful
turquoise jewellery and artifacts. Santa Fe is the
oldest national capital in North America, originally
established by the Spanish Conquistadors. This was our third
visit, and hopefully not our last.
Distinctive Santa
Fe Architecture
Refilling the propane on a turquoise day!
Whilst hiking in the nearby Bandalier Nat'l Park
where one learns about the ancestral Pueblo people and,
whilst inspecting their ancient cliff dwellings,
we suddenly observed a wild animal sauntering
along. Thinking it was a mountain lion I yelled to Bob to run
back to the safety of the visitor centre, but he noticed its canine
features.... and shot the coyote, with his camera!
Hiking
through Bandolier National Park, New Mexico
Condo living 800 years
ago
Inspecting the penthouse
Just NW of Santa Fe, the high desert town of Los
Alamos is home to the Bradbury Museum where one learns about
the top secret Manhattan Project that was developed during WW2. Here
we saw replicas of Little Boy and Fat Man, the atomic bombs dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending the war with Japan. On
display is the original letter from Albert Einstein who, aware
of the progress German scientists were making in the atomic field,
wrote to President Roosevelt suggesting that the
Allies develop the Atomic Bomb. This massive project started
just two months after the President received that letter.
It was surprising to learn that modern Los
Alamos has expanded substantially, with numerous large
research facilities presently investigating many different aspects
of nuclear physics. It is chilling, but one cannot turn back
the clock!
Replicas
of Fat Man and Little Boy at Los Alamos
Once more 'back in the office', from Santa Fe
we crossed into Arizona (Aridzona!) and motored along
Hwy 160 to Kayenta, near Monument Valley. With
the sun setting on the dramatic red mesas and buttes, we found
no convenient RV parks in town and therefore spent the night
"roughing it smoothly" (as per the badge on our Tiffin Allegro
Bus) on the Burger King truck-stop. Yes, and we had fries with
that!
Next day, pointing towards Kanab in
Utah, we pulled into an overlook on the Kaibab
Plateau, AZ. Whilst making sandwiches and a cuppa some
people knocked on the windshield. Huge surprise, it
was our ex neighbours from The Pines, Richard and Bev who,
driving in their lovely Tiffin Phaeton, aka Matilda, towing
their Jeep, aka Joey, had been heading in the opposite
direction when they saw our Playtime number
plate. Hugs and smiles! The upshot was two companionable
days parked together at Jacob Lake amongst ponderosa pines and wild
deer. This is a big country... but it is a small world!
Lunch stop on the Kaibab
Plateau
Friends drop in unexpectedly!!
From Jacob Lake we drove to North Rim Grand
Canyon where the altitude is 9,000 ft.(like, you're on top of Mt
Ruapehu). Negotiating Bright Angel Point in howling winds was a
tad scary, but oh, the Grand views!
Bev and Margie in Ponderosa
Pines North Rim, Grand
Canyon, don't step back! Fond farewell to the Richard and Bev, their
destination LAX, ours Kanab - from where we visited the
nearby Pipe Spring Nat'l Monument where early Mormons had eked out a
living in this tiny fertile corner of the vast, sweeping plains with
the Vermillion Cliffs in the far distance. The old fort style
dwelling was built to protect themselves from the Paiute Indians,
and I loved the traditional quilts displayed on the beds and
chairs.
Next stop is Bryce Canyon National
Park. We hiked several miles amid the amazing
hoodoos, or sculptured pillars of rock crafted by the Master Artist
of Time. In their myriads, these red stone spires jab at
the azure-blue Utah sky, and one cannot think of enough words
to describe the sheer grandeur!
Hiking
through the awe inspiring Bryce Canyon, Utah
A cool, blustery day today, perfect to be
indoors. Also, a day to watch the current White House scandals
further unfold on TV! There is never a dull moment
here!
Leaving Bryce Canyon at the end of May, our next
stop is Provo, a city situated just south of Salt Lake
City in chocolate box picturesque scenery. It was to this
area that Brigham Young led his fellow Mormons who, being exiled
from Illinois, sought new beginnings far away from their
persecutors. He set up a series of Mormon settlements
along the route to grow crops and supply services for the main
group that would trek over 1,000 miles pulling handcarts
containing their worldly goods.
"This Is The Place Monument" near Salt Lake
City describes the event when Brigham Young and his
scouts come across the saddle in the Wasatch Range, see the
valley stretched out before them like the promised land and,
throwing their hats in the air, shout out "This Is The Place".
However Utah is not yet the place for
buying either lotto or alcohol!
Still in Utah, Bob works out a route that takes us
over the Rockies to Vernal, from where we visit Dinosaur National
Park. Well, what an eye opener for me, the sceptic. We
have a most fascinating time viewing and touching real dinosaur
bones. In this arid area 150 million years ago there was a
river bed, and many dinosaurs evidently got stuck in the mud and
drowned, leaving huge numbers of bones. Over time the riverbed
turned to rock, then seismic activity elevated the old riverbed
to a nearly vertical position. A large structure now
encloses and protects the wall, and one is able to see and
touch the countless fossilised dinosaur bones protruding
from the rock.
Found as a near complete
skeleton
This wasn't Eventually these two happy dinosaurs continue
the journey north into Wyoming, through the gorgeous Flaming
Gorge Nat'l Reserve to the all-seasons tourist resort of
Jackson Hole situated at the foot of The Grand
Teton range. The Tetons were aptly named by early
French trappers who used them as a landmark on their expeditions,
and one can imagine them tittering as they came within sight of
these perfect peaks! We stay a week and cycle many
miles along the excellent cycle paths in this
area.
The Grand Tetons
exposed Wide
open spaces at Jackson Hole Leaving Jackson, the driver steers Playtime
north through wildly scenic mountains, observing bison and
elk roaming in Yellowstone Nat'l Park then out east
to learn about Buffalo Bill Cody. However, arriving at the town
of Cody we find 'no room at the inn', so continue
through the prairie to Greybull, where a warmer reception
awaits us at the Greybull KOA! A large albino bison
inspired the town's name - what a lovely bison he
must have been!
Bob had read about a location near here,
discovered in 1997, where dinosaur footprints are
preserved on the edge of an ancient seashore (the Sundance
Sea). So in the Jeep we bounce along a rough
red dirt road for some miles until we hit the
Dinosaur Track Site (well set up and curated by the Bureau of Land
Management). We are completely alone in the total wop wops and
are soon absorbed in the geological history, surprised at
how well-preserved the footprints are, and learn about the
process by which this phenomenon occured.
This is one of the few sites where one is
permitted to remove certain fossils, so we dig out a small
quantity of 155 million year old oyster shells, nicknamed
"devil's toenails" from a seam in the cliff above the
footprints. The geological history is very
eloquent!
Dinosaur
Tracksite
160 million year old tracks
Spring Muster in Red Gulch,
Wyoming Trail
Boss offers us a job Moving on, we take the scenic route east across
the top of the Bighorn Mountain Range, Bob
patiently negotiating numerous switchbacks and steep roads
through high mountain passes, alpine meadows, totally glorious
scenery, living in the moment, exhilarated! Signs along
the road describe the geological history of the rocks, some of which
are dated as 2.4 billion years old. Finally, we're down the other
side, and by day's end, we've driven across the state
of Wyoming to arrive at Rapid City in the Black Hills of South
Dakota.
This is our third visit to Rapid City, a great
place with many interesting attractions, eg: Custer State Park,
Sylvan Lake, Mt Rushmore (with four Presidents faces carved into the
granite), Deadwood City, Black Hills of Dakota, the
Badlands, plus wildlife up close at Bear
Country. South Dakota is exceptionally
green. Think "Little House on The Prairie" and "Dances With
Wolves"!
Checking his lunch
options
The grand bighorn sheep
No
worries!!
Sylvan Lake, South Dakota We are now heading East towards Michigan and are
just about to cross the Mississippi at Davenport (eastern Iowa) when
it is like, WHOA, WHOA. Red Light Alert! We've lost
the air in our brakes! Parked on the side of the busy
Interstate 80, Bob makes a few phones calls and our Good Sam
Emergency Service quickly arranges recovery for us, and we
are towed to a Freightliners repair facility that is
fortunately quite nearby. A new air dryer is required, which has to
come from a warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee, some 1000 km away,
however the part arrives only 14 hours after it is
ordered!! We boondock on their yard overnight (but fortunately
not up on the hoist like certain friends of ours had to once upon a
time!). And next day we're back bowling along the interstate,
thanking our lucky stars that all turned out well.
Then we make a beeline for the adorable town of
Petoskey in north NW Michigan and spend 18 days making new
friends, golf, quilting and riding our bikes around their
"French Riviera"! The Fourth of July parade at
Harbor Springs is an exuberant and
joyful celebration of the signing of their Declaration of
Independence, a significant contrast to the somewhat doleful
event our Waitangi Day has become.
Making Placemats in
Petoskey
Charming town of Charlevoix, MI
Fourth of July at Harbor
Springs
Entente Cordiale in Petoskey And now in Ottawa, "This Is The Place" - with our
loved ones! Anna is away in Europe with her soccer team
(Colin is one of the accompanying Dads). The team has
played in UK and now in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has won five games
straight to reach the quarter finals (which they lost
to USA). Exciting!
Isabel returns from Wilderness Camp on
Saturday. Meanwhile, at home, Victoria, Toby and Georgia
are avidly reading The Hobbit. Also we have great
friends here in Ottawa who add to the mix.
Tor and Colin relax in
Playtime
Lunch at Elgin Street Diner
Georgia
wins the ribbon for soccer
shootout Riley greets
us from Adelaide
Walking in the Gatineau Forest with Suzanne and
Peter
Meeting new friends (deer and ibex) at Parc Omega in
Quebec Two years ago we and the Welburn family enjoyed a
great week at the all-seasons resort of Mont Tremblant in Quebec,
and now we have the opportunity to reprise that time. The Mont
Tremblant Ironman competition will occur whilst we are there, so the
town is packed with competitors preparing for the
event.
Tent's up, so its party
time Off
to the Mont Tremblant Ironman!
Fine Dining!
Evening relaxation in Playtime
Does life get better than
this?
A Canadian rite of passage
In Mont Tremblant National
Park
The Hobbits at Rivendell The week of cycling, walking, canoeing,
zip-lining, and riding the luge quickly passes, but everyone
consoles themselves with the thought that they will be able to enjoy
this same range of activities when, together with the Boyds and the
Turnbulls, the family unites in Rotorua to jointly
celebrate the coming Christmas/New Year.
All too soon it is time to pack up and for us to
head off to Kansas City to put the vehicles into storage and
fly back to NZ.
Driving through Toronto on Hwy
401
Fast lane for Immigration into USA!
We stop en route at Auburn, Indiana, where
the head office of the Auburn Automobile Company is now a museum
displaying a fascinating range of Duesenberg, Cord and Auburn
cars they built here. There are several examples of the
Duesenberg Model J, one of the most famous and expensive classic
cars from that era.
The epitome of classic car style - the Duesenberg Model J
In 1930 a Model A Ford
sold for $450, a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith cost $4,000, whilst the
Duesenberg Model J cost upwards of $14,750 [approx $450,000 in
todays terms].
Miss
Daisy
First pneumatic tyres The building has been beautifully restored to its
original and stylish Art Deco design, there was also a wide
range of early vehicles from other manufacturers, plus a few later
cars that have attained classic status. A really worthwhile
visit.
Back in the 'furnace' of Kansas City we spend a
week preparing the vehicles for storage and our return to
NZ, with temperatures at 37-39 degrees C the whole time.
Our aircon worked hard. The Zona Rosa Shopping Centre is a
cool place for retail therapy with all the brands including
Coldwater Creek where Margie had some success buying new ankle
length pants.
On 5th September we depart LAX on NZ5, and enjoy
the food, wine and comfort that the airline is renowned for, and are
met by old friends at Auckland Int'l in the early hours of 7th
September. Fly to Rotorua in the little pencil plane, met by
friends who drive us home to Mokoia Road where
the Spring is blooming gorgeous!
Old friends from Australia cruise in to share our
little slice of heaven for a short while.
Springtime at Mokoia
Road
Sharing old memories and new views
Our beautiful granddaughter Kelly is getting
married in Adelaide, so we are off to Australia. On our
arrival [25 Sep 2014] we receive the exciting news of the
birth in Adelaide of our second great grandson, Toby Alan
Evitts to Amy and Joel. Enjoy a week with the Boyds in
Melbourne, and marvel how much the boys have grown, then uplift a
rental car and head off to Adelaide.
The Turnbulls, as always, have everything
well organised, so the upcoming nuptials presents no last minute
panic. Toby is the first centre of attention, then we focus
on Kelly's wedding. She is marrying Bradley, with whom she
has been going steady since they dated for their high school
prom.
Paul shows of their new
warehouse
Lunch with the growing Turnbull Clan
Kelly and Bradley's big day!
Kelly and Bradley's Bridal
Party
Mr and Mrs Prosser - just wed!
We are utterly delighted that Christmas/New
Year 2013/14 sees the Welburn and Boyd families join us at
Mokoia Road, Rotorua. Sadly, an illness of a family member
back in Adelaide precludes the Turnbulls from completing the
picture.
Ethan fits a swing for the
family
Parents enjoy a catch up
Welburns discover the tennis
court ---
then the Lake
Christmas Day 2013
The
kids find Xmas morning so
exciting -------- --
whilst the progenitors
pose
A time for both joy and
reflection Then
a walk through the Redwood Forest
On 27 Dec 2014 Bob's sister, Ellen Rose, plus
daughter Paddy Ann, who is visiting from Dubai, and grandson Josh,
visiting from Sydney, arrive for the day. Like us, all of Ellen
Rose's children and grandchildren live overseas, so today gives
us all a very special and rare opportunity for family
bonding.
An international
gathering The
Welburn contingent [Canada]
The Boyd contingent
[Australia]
The Paku contingent [NZ/Dubai/Aust]
At Mokoia Road we love our home being 'peopled'
with our own great family and the sound of fun and laughter is music
to our ears! Thirteen of us fit in very well. We all
enjoy a number of the many attractions that make
Rotorua the premium tourist destination in NZ.
At the Waimangu Valley Thermal
Area
Evening is time for family games
New Year's Day 1 st Jan 2014
The descendant's of Margie's late father, Ross
Argau Niederer, are scattered far and wide, with nearly
half now residing outside New Zealand. By happy coincidence nearly
all of this extended family, together with their spouses and
children, are in New Zealand for this festive season. We
therefore host a "Cousins Reunion" at Mokoia Road on New
Year's Day, with 56 attending this unique, historic
event. It will be long remembered, and we were especially
delighted when our grandchildren declared it to be the
highlight of their two-week stay with us.
Cousins Reunion, New Year's Day,
2014 Kayak
'Tiggy' about to commence
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