HEADING HOME!

Family gathering. L to R - Patrick and Julia McCasland (baby Haidyn soon to arrive), Dick and I, my "little" brother, Joel and his son, Cameron. My sister, Kathy and her husband Pat, Chelsey and Matthew (my sister's son and his fiancé).

As you know from the last blog we were visiting my sister in Foresthill, CA. We only planned to stay for eight days. We always say that and then end up staying two weeks. Last year we were there for my niece's (Julia) wedding. The timing was right this year to visit when her baby was due to arrive. Her due date was May 13 and we said we wouldn't leave until the baby was born.

Haidyn Grace arrived on the 22nd so I had a chance to hold my beautiful 

grand niece a couple of times.   

Replacing a pump system at a Sacramento Elementary School.

Our brother-in-law, Pat, owns his own business  Custom Pump & Power. He manufactures large commercial pump systems. He needed a right hand man for several days. Dick was the guy. It worked out well and paid well (it will pay for our gas to get home). They work great together and I'm sure Pat would have kept him working a bit longer but we needed to begin our trip back to Michigan. We want to be home by mid-June. 

Grandpa Pat and Great Uncle Dick stopped after work to hold Haidyn once more.

A fun evening playing Cribbage  R to L: Dick, sister Kathy, brother-in-law Pat and myself.

We're heading for Yellowstone National Park for a few days. Today I happened to see on Facebook that some friends we met in Florida a couple winters ago were traveling the same route as us in Idaho. They from the east and we from the west. I kept checking in on Facebook chat and it was amazing how the timing was perfect that we could meet at the exit they were taking south. We had a nice picnic lunch together.  

Posing for a selfie with Kimberley and Greg! It's a small world.

From Yellowstone we're continuing east to the Winnebago Factory in Forest City, Iowa.  It's nothing serious, just want to replace a few things. Along the way we'll visit several of our favorite places in South Dakota and then from Iowa on to Michigan where we plan to visit Marlene and Dave Ferguson who are hosts at Burt Lake State Park in Indian River. They want Dick to give a campfire talk about his Arizona hike. We'll camp a night or two before heading on to the Ole' E Ranch (Oleo Acres). I'm looking forward to being home for awhile. To all of our family and friends, if you're driving by, you'll know we're home if the lawn is mowed. We would love to see you. 

While in Yellowstone National Park our friend Bob Howell from Bozeman just happened to be in the park doing some night photos. We connected for a great evening visit. Yes, that's a buffalo grazing in the background. Check out his website - amazing work. http://roberthowellphotography.com