The Long, Long Trailer

The camping story continues:

When we arrived back at the outfitters, we were so happy to get in the car, and head out to the camp site.  We couldn't wait to get a good night's sleep in the trailer, get dry, get warm, and have a hot cooked meal.  As we started to pull out, the drag was unbelievable, it felt as if we were pulling a load of elephants. We knew the trailer was big, and we were in a muddy field, but this was ridiculous!  All of a sudden, Ray threw the car into park, yelled something, and jumped out.  I looked in the side mirror, and saw a row, about 30 feet long, like a plow had dug a trench.  You could have planted a crop in it! 

 It was the trailer jack!  We had been so excited to get off the river and get to the trailer, that we had not raised the jack up.  It was now bent, and Ray could lift it up only part way!!  The kids were all asking what happened, and I quickly told them to not say a word, when Daddy got back in the car!! 

Ray got in, and stated, "we better not go over any speed bumps the rest of the trip, or the bottom of the jack will hit!!"

So, pulling out, finally, we got out the directions to the camp site.  Being new "trailer" campers, we had googled RV camp sites, instead of State parks.  We were thinking State Parks were more for tent camping, since that is what we had done in the past.

So we pulled into the RV Park about 30 minutes later, only to find that it was, well let's just say, less than beautiful.  The beach that we were supposed to be camping next to, had a large bloated fish, a few pieces of trash, some skeletons, and a "swim at your own risk" sign.  The other camp sites were occupied by people that had obviously been camping there for years, and one lady greeted us by hollering at her kids, who were playing in the mud in front of her rv, "What part of NO don't you understand?!"

We told our kids to divert their eyes, and decided to go ahead and cook our burgers for dinner on our grill, that we were supposed to have at each camp site.  When we inquired at the office, as to where the grill was, she quickly ran into her house, and brought out her's for us to use.  Very nice people, but we were not sure about staying here for three more days.

We decided to go ahead and go to bed, get some rest, then figure it out the next morning.

The next day, we checked our iPhone for State parks. Thank goodness for technology.  There was a State park, not far from where we were, so we decided to go check it out.  It was beautiful, and we found a wonderful place, right on the lake, with lots of green grass for the kids to run and play.  We marked our spot, and headed back over to the RV park to pick up the trailer and move it.  We decided we would dump, (Trailer campers know what I am talking about), since we were all hooked up anyway at our site.  When Ray flipped the switch to dump, it began to overflow out of the ground and ran down the grass into the "Swim at your own Risk" Beach.  No wonder they had the sign up!! GAG!  All I can say is, we were so glad to get out of there.

By the time we reached the State park, it was full, except for the spot we had marked.  As we all piled out of the car, to let the kids check out the beach and the camp site, and to give Ray some quiet as he backed in the trailer, I overheard the neighboring campsite couple talking about what they were about to witness.  The older man next to us said, "Honey, get the chairs, this is going to be a show!! Let's see if this young'en can back this thing in here!"  

No pressure, I told Ray, but the couple next to him had set up with a drink in hand, ready to watch Ray back in the "Long, Long Trailer"!!

I am proud to say, he backed it like a champ, and the old guy even congratulated him on a job well done!! Whew!!

We settled in for a few days of fun and camping.  It was GREAT sleeping in a bed, instead of the ground, and also having a kitchen to cook some of the food for our crew, was also a blessing.  We even had some friends come join us for the last night there.

 

We thought that besides the bent trailer jack, overall, the trip had gone well. A great way to take a big family on an inexpensive trip!!

Sunday morning, we woke early, to head home.  Ray was actually supposed to meet my Dad to go on a fishing trip for a few days.  Ray, being the son-in-law of Mike Janszen, did not want to make him wait, so we packed up in a hurry, trying to get on the road for our 2 1/2 hour drive back to Cleburne.

We thought we had it all packed up, and were ready to go.  Ray had us wait outside the car while he tried to pull out of the skinny camping spot.   Being the new trailer campers that we were, we did not have a "pack-up check list" yet, sooooo, right as he started to pull out, we heard a horrible crunch!! Somehow, we had forgotten to pull out the new blocks, and new jacks we had purchased for the long, long trailer.  Ugh!! ruined!! 

Ok, so, just a few more things that will need repairs after we get home from our inexpensive camping trip in the trailer.

We gathered the crunched items, put them in the car, and headed out, finally.

We were still getting off in plenty of time, and still felt pretty good about our trip.  We noticed, though, that the gas was low in the Excursion.  "No problem", Ray said, "once we get off of the park road, there is a station with diesel, only about 15 miles down the road." The car was showing about 50 miles until empty.

The problem was that the park road was very hilly, and we were pulling the long, long trailer.  The Excursion started drinking the diesel like it was in a desert on a hot day.  Jesse and I began watching the ticker count down how many miles till empty.  It was dropping about a mile per every few seconds.  When we finally reached the main road, we stopped and asked a pick-up truck were the closest diesel station was.  The closest was 10 miles, in the wrong direction!! Now remember, we were on a tight schedule, trying to get home for Ray to meet my dad, and the other guys in the family.   

We had no choice.  The counter said 7 miles till empty, we had 10 miles in the wrong direction, or 15 miles in the right direction.  We had to take the shortest route to the station.  

So right we turned, taking our chances with the 10 miles.  We started praying, that the Lord would multiply our gas, and let it not run out, like the widow and the oil and flour. (scripture reference) That counter started flashing, and might as well have been sounding off and alarm, "0 miles till empty!!" The road sign said we still had 5 miles to go.  We were praying....

Ray said, if we ran out, he would hop on one of the bikes and ride to the station, or take the golf cart we had crammed in the back of the toy hauler, either way, plan B was not looking very good.  

Can I just tell you?....it was a miracle... We made it, literally, glided into the station, and on top of that, one that would fit our long, long trailer!!!

We filled up, and were finally, again, on our way.  We called Dad to explain what had happened and that we were going to be late, and Dad was great.  "No problem," he said. Still, Ray didn't want to dilly-dally, so off we sped to Cleburne.

We made pretty good time, in spite of pulling the trailer, and swerving all over the road on the way home, because we were back heavy.  When we finally were at our last turn, into the driveway of our home, Ray, still not wanting to make Dad wait, didn't want to take the time to let Jesse get out and disengage the gate, to swing it open extra wide, he just decided to shoot on through, thinking he could clear it, and in the process, save lots of time.  Well, we all heard a horrible scraping sound.  After a few seconds, Ray hopped out of the car, and went to see what had happened.  The whole side of the trailer, the side with the canopy, had scraped along the limestone rock entry way leading into our driveway.  I told the kids, again, "Don't say a word!!" As Ray got back in the car, he just pulled on through, gritting his teeth, mumbling something!! When we pulled on up to the house, we got out and realized that the canopy was in shreds, all blowing in the wind like flags.   Yikes!! Just a few more repairs to make from this trip.

Ray ran in, threw his stuff together, and hopped in the other car to meet my Dad.

I walked down to get the mail after he left, and noticed that the limestone pillar, that had scrapped the side of the trailer, had a nasty lean to it, and was about to tumble over.  My heart sank, as I knew Ray must have seen it on his way out to meet Dad.  When I got back to the house, I called his cell, wanting to comfort him, and let him know that it was ok, we would get all the things fixed that we broke on this trip, and not to worry about the entrance, we could get that fixed too.  No worries, and that I just loved him, and thanked him for trying to create great memories for our family.  Little did I know, that he had not noticed the pillar, so when I began to try to make him feel better about everything, I actually made him feel worse, by telling him about something else that had been damaged from this camping trip. So much for "inexpensive" family trips.

So, whatever happened to the long, long trailer?  We had all the repairs done, on our entry way, as well as on the trailer, and prayed for a buyer.  While we were up at Kanakuk, the trailer was at the shop getting fixed, and the Lord brought a buyer!! Hallelujah.  No more long, long trailer for us!! 

Thanks for reading this long, long post!!

Happy New Year,

JJ

Camping, Continued.....

Several years later, and 2 more children later, Ray and I began to get the itch to attempt to camp with a family of 7.  Holding out for my desire to camp in a trailer, we started the hunt.  Wanting to use our money wisely, we searched for a used trailer that would sleep 7.  After looking at every lot within a 50 mile radius, we kept coming back to this super long, bumper pull, trailer for sale in the parking lot of a restaurant in Cleburne.  We just couldn't get over the fact that all the other trailers we looked at were so much smaller, for so much more money, so we thought we would get the best deal, more trailer for less.  We eventually called it the "Long, long trailer". (Like the Lucille Ball movie)

Anyway, We were so excited, but when Ray went to pick it up, he called me on the way home, stating that this was a huge mistake.  This thing was so long, and so back heavy (it was a toy hauler), that even behind our heavy duty diesel expedition, it was swaying back and forth, giving Ray motion sickness on the way home!!! 

We felt, we had better make the best of it, so we planned our first big outing.  A canoe/camping trip, not to Cleburne State Park, that would be too simple, but to the Brazos river, flowing out at the base of Possum Kingdom Lake.

This first part of the trip, Ray was so excited about, because it screamed adventure!! I just wanted to scream.  We were going to take our family of 7, ages 38 to 4, on a two day canoe trip, catch our food from the river, and TENT camp on the bank overnight.

Crud!! Tent camping one more time!

Anyway, the trip was supposed to be 20 miles long, but when the canoe outfitter saw our young family, they encouraged is to take out at the 10 mile point.  Thank the Lord they did!! Anyway, we headed out mid morning, with sleeping bags, tent, and some astronaut food, I had purchased, just in case we couldn't catch anything on the river.  Everything was in water tight containers, in case we flipped, Oh please Lord no!! The first day on the river was pretty good, alot of fun, but we caught only one fish.

Thank goodness for astronaut food and that we didn't have to"eat what we caught on the river!!" 

That night, we found a camping spot, on the rocks, on the bank of the river.  We settled in pretty good, but we were all sleeping in a 6 man tent, and there was seven of us, and if you know tents, six man really means only about 3 to 4 comfortably.  Since we had to pack everything in on 2 canoes, Ray would not let us bring pillows.  We had actually had a dry run through in our barn, all laying down in the tent to see if we could fit.  Long story short, we were like pieces in a puzzle, and if one turned, we all had to turn.  For some reason, Ruth was at my feet, and I had to lay on my side and bend my legs up to fit.  We all made it through the night, most of us sleeping ok, but some of us, mainly me, not sleeping much at all.  When we awoke the next day, the wind was picking up, and a storm was coming in.  We had to get on the river and get off before the storm hit, we had about 7 miles left.  I was aching all over, and thought it was from the miserable night of sleep in the tent, but quickly found out, I had fever. Yuck!

The river was flowing so slowly, and the wind was blowing against us, that we were paddling hard, just to flow down river!! If we stopped paddling, the wind would literally blow us back up river, against the current.  No relaxing floating down river, that is for sure. Ray said, I had the look of misery, but I felt that it was a little like labor.  I needed to keep paddling to get my family off the river before the storm hit, I felt horrible, and we had to keep going or else!!

We finally made it, and I can't tell you how thankful we all were to see the pick up point, where we were to meet our ride.

We all piled in the truck of the outfitter, and were so happy to be heading back to the trailer, where we would get dry, warm, and get a good night of rest!! 

How exciting, we had survived the adventure part, and were now heading for the relaxing part, or so I thought!!

Enough for now, I will continue the story on the next post.

God bless, and Happy New Year,

JJ

Camping.

As our family has grown through the years, from 2 to now 7, we have always enjoyed getting away, and enjoying the outdoors.

My parents gave us a tent on our second Christmas together, and since then, we have enjoyed the adventures of camping.  Throughout Medical school and residency, it was a way we could vacation on a very tight budget.

As our family grew, tent camping had it's own difficulties, like the time we camped at Tyler state park, and we were attacked by bees!! All the kids were stung, and there were so many bees that while I would spread mayo on the sandwiches, trying to make lunch, 2 or 3 would land on the mayo and get stuck!! 

Also on that same camping trip, our 3rd child was under a year old, and chose to try and cut some teeth during the night.  Since we were tent camping, as well as all the other people out at Tyler State park, I felt the need to try and keep her quiet.  Needless to say, she finally fell asleep at midnight, only to wake up again at 4 am.  The only place to sit and rock her was in the cinder-block community bathroom, where, for the next 3 hours, I sat on the toilet seat, rocking and singing to her, with spiders and roaches watching me from the spider webs over head, until the sun came up.

It was also on that camping trip that we realized, that camping with 3 small children, in a tent, all under the age of 5, required so much packing and unpacking.

Needless to say, this burned me for awhile, and I stated that the next time I went camping was going to be in a trailer!!

Once we moved to Cleburne, from Shreveport, we were thrilled to find out that there was a Cleburne State Park.  A wonderful place for us to go visit, close to home, yet still be able to camp.

Again, Ray talked me into trying to tent camp one more time, since Esther was a few years older, and not teething or nursing anymore.

I gave in, and we packed up for another adventure.  Since all of us had grown a little taller, we had outgrown our four man tent, and felt compelled to borrow Ray's brother's 8 man tent.  A huge, very nice tent, but not rain proof!! No forecast for rain, though.

Ray also thought it would be fun to borrow his Dad's boat, just to add to the fun activities that we were going to enjoy with the family.

We packed all our STUFF up, and headed out. Set up the camp, and really had a good time together until bedtime.  What we didn't realize, was that we had set up this huge tent right next to a ragweed bush, several to be exact, on 3 sides of the tent!!  That night, as we fell into bed, exhausted from all the fun, several of the kids began to cough.  This continued all night, and most of us didn't sleep, and we couldn't figure out where these coughs came from, until the sun came up the next morning, and we saw all the ragweed.

The next night, we had it figured out, a dose of benedryl for all the kids was the trick.  This would keep the allergic reactions down, and hopefully help with the coughs.  All went sound asleep that night, and Ray and I were high-fiving as we drifted off, until.......

The wind started picking up, then a thunder in the distance.  Before we knew it, the rain was coming down in buckets.  Now remember, this was not an adventurer's tent, it was not weather proof.  All of a sudden, one of the kids started screaming, we turned on the flashlight, and the whole roof of the tent was sagging down, with gallons of water pressing hard down on it.  The weight was too much, and it began to pour into the tent, right onto the kids.  No matter where we moved them around in the tent, the water was coming.  

With no signs of stopping, Ray looked at me and said, "you know what we have to do!"  Ray ran and started the car, with the heater on, then we methodically began to move our 3 young children into their car seats, covered them in blankets because they were soaked and freezing, and then for the next hour, Ray and I ran back and forth, through the rain, loading up all our STUFF into the back of the car.  The time was sometime after midnight, but still way before morning.  As we finally got the last item loaded, and got into the car, completely soaked to the bone, but happy to know that home was only a 10 minute drive, and we would be safe and warm in our beds very soon, we remembered...... The boat!! Ray did not feel good about leaving the boat on the beach, unprotected, while we were safe at home in our beds, so we hooked up to the trailer, and I stood at the ramp, in the rain, holding a flashlight to try and guide Ray and the boat onto the trailer.  After a few misses, we got it loaded and were finally on our way.

That was it!! This was the very last tent camping I would do.  It is the trailer for me from that point on... or so I thought.
More to come later, this post is long enough as is.
God bless,
JJ

It begins

Well, after much thought, and procrastination, I am finally doing this.  As I have shared our family stories with others, people have often asked me to write these in a book.  I have considered this, and felt this may be the easiest way to accomplish this goal.  So here goes.  Some will be reflections back over the years of marriage to Ray Ford and raising our five kids together (still in the process), others will be current situations we are in now.  All in all, it should be an interesting ride, at least for me, as I put into writing our crazy life.
I have to begin, by sharing that being married to Ray, feels like going down the highway as fast as I can in an old beat up blue pick up truck.  I am holding on for dear life, knowing that if I let go, it would be worse, but yet hanging on feels soooo out of control, not knowing where we are going, just knowing I have to hang on.
For those of you who don't know Ray, he is a very smart, very active, "big dreams in a small town" kind of man.  As I like to say, he likes to pack 20 lbs. of grain in a 10 lb. sack!! He is go full steam, don't stop, let's see what all we can get done today, kind of guy.
I am a sit by the fire, stay at home, sewing (to me!) is exciting, love to bake, read a book, "let's not go anywhere today" kind of girl.
Thus the problems.  Thus the growth.  Thus the adventure, of us being conformed into the image of Christ, whether we want to or not!!
Little did I know, when we married 17 1/2 years ago, that life would be so full of adventures, heart ache (sometimes), and change, all rolled up into one.  Little did I know that I had so much to work on, character wise. Little did I know, that some of the most frustrating, yet funny things in my life were going to occur because I chose to say "yes" to this man.
He tells me, after some crazy thing has has tried, or signed us up for, that he is just giving me more material to write about someday in my "book."
Well, that is my intro into the blog.
I have to hit the sack, Christmas Eve is tomorrow, much to do to celebrate the birth of Christ.
God bless,

JJ