Gma & Gpa from Ft. Atkinson

Hi to all using the Verdana font!!

Writing this afternoon from Lillian St. where we are the house guests of Calvin and Capri
until their dad returns Sunday evening from his Parent weekend at Vassar with Domino. Grateful, too, that the laptop found Mark's WIFI service without a hitch!! Nemo may be coming home for a while tomorrow, so we'll be pleased to see him, too.

Readers will quickly realize that everyone has been very busy because Susan wrote the last entry announcing that they had returned saftely from Arvada.

We made the same announcement via
telephone and believe most of the details of our Arvada stop were included in those visits.

Will admit that this entry will have to serve as an 'official' THANK YOU for Michele and David's hospitality. We enjoyed our few hours there and appreciated especially
her delicious taco dish. We remember it from Newcastle, WY days!!!

Had a lot of comments last Sunday at mass from folks expressing belief that we had brought back good weather with us from AZ.
But it has been pretty much down hill since then. We drove to FtA yesterday in rain and the pond as seen looking out Mark's west windows looks like an ocean. Capri and Gma walked down the road this morning to see where the entry road from HY 106 to the park is under water and blocked. They returned to report very chilly, windy conditions.

There was still some ice/show next to the north deck steps and outside the north family room window behind the RV when I was refilling the bird feeders and putting out more suet on Thursday afternoon. Learned that the Good Friday snow was first wet when it fell and when the depth reached about 12", our friend who does the clearing
found the snowblower being clogged quickly, so he had a big hand work job.

Our annual WREA/retired educators con-
vention is being held at the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc the last few days of April and May 1. We'll be attending and commuting, so Gma will not be going every day. She's hoping that the days she will be at home will be good for some outdoor effort in the sunshine.

We're really missing the sunshine after all those clear sky, 80+ days in Tucson. We were away from our RV park for most of the day about 4 days of each week. Many of those were with Ann and Ed,and we alternated driving. We were at Madera Canyon 4 days, two days each at Sierra Vista, Patagonia Lake/Patagonia Nature Conservancy, and Saguaro West NP (just north up the road from our rv Park) and 1 day at Saguaro East NP. One of the last days we drove, with thhe V's, to Buenas
Aires Fish and Wildlife Reserve where we hiked and had a picnic lunch, then drove farther west and south to the Headquarters (very near Sasabe, AZ, a border town west of Nogales)where we enjoyed a great video presentation and some sightings of some shore birds on a small seasonal lake. This last was a first--and we were glad we drove the extra miles. Did spend one hot afternoon at the Desert Museum. Had not returned there since we visited in 1971. Best new exhibit is a humming bird aviary where those guys buzz right by your ears. Located one mom sitting on her tiny best, too. Had hoped to get to a Cactus League baseball game, but could not find one on a day we didn't wish to do other things.

Our quick visit with David and Cooper in Phoeniz was special. David's details on what they were able to experience during their actual visit to the school are most encouraging for Cooper's hopes. Wished we might have shared their hike at Lost Dutchman SP near Apache Junction. That is place we really enjoy, too.

Making preliminary plans to be with Matt and Freya during most of the first week in June when Casey will be doing her "field" work at BLM Fire Prevention locations in Alaska.

Our 4 day drive home was easy. Every day was clear, sunny and with winds which were basically favorable, W, SW and SSW. Saw some snow in Iowa ditches between Waterloo and Dubuque before we stopped for a few minutes to visit with Charleen, Bob, Kathy and Kerry. Some along I-43 between Beloit and home, too. It has been many years since we drove the I-25 segment from Albuquerque to Denver in the daylight and it was wonderful to see the many whitecapped peaks and ranges in the west almost constantly all day. It inspired me to order Willa Cather's "Death Comes for the Archbishop" from the library. I picked it up yesterday before we left and am enjoying the re-reading I began last evening and am continuing today. Some of you have read it, no doubt.

We were both glad to learn that things went well for Freya and Matt while Mom was away. No doubt there was a great reunion!!

Hope that Declan and Kevin are having a worthwhile Ultimate weekend in Atlanta.
Did see that there might be some unsettled weather and really don't remember is those contests are cancelled if the weather is bad.

Our best to all of you for a great spring, a positive finish for the school year, unhurried final planning for your trips, and time for each one to make a blog posting!

Love and prayers, Gma and Gpa