My Bride, who also doubles as our on-board computer geek, has been developing a website to post our collection of “Updates” as well as to market her latest get-rich-quick scheme, home-made afghans.  With any luck at all, this is one cottage industry that will quickly burn to the foundation or even better, qualify for a government subsidy.  I figure I am losing about $100 for every sale she makes!!  PLEASE, take your blanket business to Wal-Mart!!  If you would like to check out our site, although it is still in progress, (and promise NOT to buy anything) go to www.gallopinggeezers.com in your web browser.  We aren’t registered at Google yet so you won’t be able to get there through them.  Be safe and enjoy life!  ‘Til next time, Hugs, Chuck and Kalyn

   Welcome To Our World                                                 June 15, 2006

A QUILT show!   I sometimes believe I am being punished for some indiscretion in a former life since I have lived this current incarnation to perfection.   I have to stop asking my bunkie that really stupid question that no husband should ever ask his bride, “What would you like to do today, Dear?”  But wait, I jumped a bit ahead in this narrative and have some filling in to do so those of you living life vicariously through our adventures will not feel as though you have stepped through some “Rocky Horror”-type time warp.  After leaving LA, we spent a few weeks in the San Francisco area visiting with some old friends, kidlets and grandkidlets…not necessarily in that order...

we encountered an accident involving a couple of ATV’s in which one of the riders ended up with a compound fracture of his right arm and was unable to continue the ride in spite of great advice from several people who obviously grew up watching Marcus Welby, Ben Casey and Rambo on TV.   I was volunteered to shepherd one of the ATV’s back to their camp while they sought medical help for the rider...

Welcome to our world!!!  Hatch, Utah, such as it is has now become the center of the known universe for a couple of generationally challenged folks who refuse to grow up.  This is a land of several thousand square miles of some of the best off-highway 4-wheeling trails you will find anywhere.  Here you can find dirt, mud, rocks, creeks and rivers, harrowing uphill ascents and excruciatingly exciting downhill descents, most of which you will traverse at breakneck speeds of 4 or 5 miles per hour while passing through herds of buffalo, elk and deer.  And yet, in this land of unsurpassed natural wonder and the epitome of 4-wheel heaven, where do I find myself...

This is our son, Jeff, and our grandkids, Nick and Bella.  I know that this is not much of a picture but trying to get the 2 little ones to stand or sit still long enough to get an un-blurred photo is nearly impossible.  But, being grandparents, we’ll take whatever we can get.  We departed the Bay Area and nearly spent a night in Death Valley but the 120 degree heat and primitive camping (translation: no electricity = no air conditioning = certain death) prompted a continuation of our trek to Pahrump, Nevada and a few days at our local Elks Lodge…WITH electricity!  Sadly, a lack of eating establishments, save those located in smoke filled casinos, prompted an earlier than desired departure.   We heard that Nevada has a non-smoking ordinance on the ballot, which if passed, will provide at least a few places for people to eat who aren’t fond of looking at their food through a blue cloud.  Since our intended destination was the 4-wheeling territories of southern Utah, we moved on to Las Vegas for a couple of weeks where we made a few repairs and upgrades on our Jeep as well as adding 4 new tires to our motorhome.  We managed to drop $3,000 in Vegas and never saw the inside of a casino.   We did, however, see Hoover Dam...

This is the Visitor Center, which they have carved into the side of a granite mountain.  We could include a picture of the dam here, but Hell, you can see that on any nickel postcard (dime? quarter? Dollar?, we haven’t bought a postcard since we discovered e-mail) and this Visitor Center is prime stuff you won’t see anywhere else!  Once we had all of our mechanical issues resolved we made a speed run from Vegas to Hatch and tomorrow, begin our second week of a 3-day stopover (Moab is our intended destination but it truly is great to have no real place to be and all the time in the world to get there).  During one of our all-day trips to Bryce Canyon National Park...

My bride managed to drive the Jeep back to their camp while hanging out the passenger side window snapping pictures of me on the ATV.  I just don’t know how she manages some of these feats but I believe it has something to do with double-jointed knees and gorilla-like arms.  In the years I have been posting these updates, I have occasionally included a picture of my brother-in-law.  He has now become somewhat of a cult icon with many of you and I am always inundated with requests for more pictures and (YUK!!) even autographs!!  Come on people, GET A LIFE!!!  And so, in acquiescence to those of you who can’t seem to get enough of Jerry Zimmerman...