Admittedly, the holidays have always been a very happy time of the year for me, but this year is different. Karen and Mike have made it clear that their intention is to move to Connecticut. This leaves me feeling very sad and admittedly lonely, but I understand why they feel they need to make this move. More on that at a later time.
I have had my 2022 Jeep Wrangler 4XE for 17 months now, with 30K miles on it, and I feel like I love it more each day. I wish I could explain it, but even though it has had a recall that I had to take it in for, it is just a blast to drive. It is the fourth Jeep product that I have driven over the years, and it has been just the best. It is the most comfortable Jeep I've ever driven, and I've even owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee at one point in time in my life and I absolutely love the fact that it is a hybrid. I love being able to run errands and not use a drop of gasoline. I also enjoy the fact that it is super quiet. I really have no complaints about the vehicle. Sure, there are things I would change about it if I could like a flat folding back seat so I could camp in the Jeep, or a longer range battery, but we all need to remember, Life isn't perfect and life has it's trade-offs... and the things I love about the Jeep far exceed those couple of things that I wish were different.
As you saw in last months post, I started working on a sign stand, well this month I finished it. You see, years ago when I was married and we were down in the vicinity of the Yosemite Area, we found a wood sign maker who had some really cool looking signs. We asked him if he could make a sign with our motorhome on it and he assured us he could. Well, he told us there was a lot of labor involved which we understood, and so we paid him in advance. We then got the run around about getting the sign from him. We were persistent and even had to make a second trip down to Yosemite to get the sign once it was finished. This was at least 10 years ago. Well, for years it hung on a bear carved out of a tree and I didn't want to tote the bear around after the divorce, so I gave the bear to Carol. I still held on to the sign and needed some way to display it so that it wasn't hanging on the motorhome and banging on the paint job. So, I made a stand to display the sign and also serve as a way to hold up the banner Stand. You see, most RV parks have gravel or asphalt common areas, and it is really hard to drive it into the ground. So, with some scrap plywood and a little stain, I made the stand. I don't know how well it will hold up in the winter or summer weather, but hey, lets see how it does.
I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel about living exclusively at Thousand trails Parks for the foreseeable future, and moving every 3 weeks. For me, the lifestyle works... quite nicely. The best part about the parks is the nature-esqueness of it all. Just about every park in this area is near some body of water and I just love being in the trees and the scenery. Two of my favorite parks is Lake Minden which is between Yuba City and Sacramento, and Ponderosa which is out by Placerville. Both are reasonable distances from my office and I enjoy both locations immensely. Lake Minden as I have mentioned before is a small lake that is about a mile in circumference and is a very enjoyable walk to get exercise first thing in the morning, and late in the afternoon. The sunsets at Lake Minden are always enjoyable and even though I've been coming here for several months, I never get bored with it. :-)
I typically love the holiday season. It gives me a chance to decorate the motorhome, the Jeep, myself, and even Remi when she is willing to oblige. Because we are going into the office two times a week, I wanted to dress up one day for the office when we were scheduled to have a office holiday party. It was nice to get a group photo of everyone in my division and not just my team. This year I changed from wrapping the spare tire in lights to putting a properly sized Wreath for the spare tire on the Jeep and I absolutely love it. I found the wreath at Home Goods for $25.00. They were originally marked $95.00, but marked for clearance because the light set that comes with them don't work.
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This holiday season is filled with lots of mixed emotions. A little over a year ago, Karen and Mike adopted Woody from a horrible situation in Montague California. I was so glad they saved him at the time, but now Karen and Mike are pushing me hard to get him a new home. I came up to Ashland for Christmas and New years and it almost feels like since I'm the Rescue guy in the family, that it is my responsibility to find him a new home. I get that it is hard for them to have to re-home Woody, but I wish they understood just how hard it is. I did a marketing video of Woody for them, and I created fliers, but they didn't really do anything to distribute fliers or anything for him. I felt like they just waited for me to come up to Oregon during the holidays to find Woody a home for them. Karen and Mike have been so good to me over the years, and I am not bitter about needing to find a new home for Woody for them, but I am pretty hurt that they are not taking any initiative about this, but it is what it is I guess. I'm so sorry Woody that you once again have to find a new home. Despite what I must do for Woody, I still managed to put on a happy face for the family and enjoy Christmas dinner with the family.
As part of my trip, I wanted to make time for some of my friends that I have made in Siskiyou county. They were what helped me feel accepted in a very conservative part of the state. Of course, no visit to Siskiyou county would be complete without a visit to Rescue Ranch. I love what Rescue Ranch does and all of the dogs they have saved, but I am saddened by just how many dogs they are having to care for. They are having to care for over 200 dogs between the adoption center and the Sanctuary property. They have pulled a lot of dogs from Siskyou County Animal Control, and one of those dogs was a guy named Romeo. Romeo is a super sweetheart and I hate seeing him still at the ranch after being pulled from the county shelter, but I am very thankful that they did pull him none the less. I've done a marketing video for him, but it hasn't seemed to help this pour guy. I love him so much and wish I could save them all. I worked with Romeo a lot at the county shelter and I think he recognized me. <3 Rescue Ranch really is well recognized for what they do. Some benefactor donated a bunch of kennels to help the dogs that prefer to be outside, warm at night. I am so thankful for all of the support that they get.
I've learned a few things about myself since the divorce and been reminded of a few things as well. I've found that I am able to develop friendships, and I consider myself very lucky to have a couple of the best friends I've ever had in my life in Kat from Siskiyou County and Ally in the Central California area. Both ladies I have done animal rescue with. I've also reminded myself that despite if you have a pig with a golden heart that is well intentioned, even if you put lipstick on that pig, it is still a pig. I've found that it is possible for others to like me and respect me and all that sort of stuff, and love me because they know me, but loving me and being available to be in a relationship with me is a whole other issue. But, that is the extent that I will go into my struggles with my own self-image. All that aside, I consider myself very lucky to have Kat and Ally as two very wonderful close friends. During my visit to Siskiyou county, I was able to get together with Kat and have Remi and I go for a walk with her around Lake Siskiyou. I love this lake, and I always enjoy Kat's company.
Though a lot of people in Siskiyou County would not understand me, I'm thankful that people like Kat do. Aside from my small cadre of friends in Siskiyou County, I love the area for its nature and beauty. I have so many favorite places in Siskiyou County, but Mount Shasta is definitely one of my all-time Favorite places. It really doesn't matter from what local I see Mt. Shasta from, it never ceases to amaze me. Another cool thing about the Weed safety rest area is a monument dedicated to the military, fire and law enforcement personnel who work every day to serve and protect their community. This location has been many years in the making, but it is slowly getting there.
Here is the VLOG for this months journey.... I hope you enjoy it!
Safe travels all...
Eric and Remi.
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