STEVE & MERYL

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WE'VE BEEN SO LUCKY TO HAVE STEVE AND MERYL AS NEIGHBORS 8 OUT OF THE LAST 9 WINTERS. STEVE'S A LITTLE OLDER THAN I AM AND HAS BEEN A FULLTIME RV'ER A LOT LONGER THAN I HAVE, SPENT SOME TIME IN THE MIDWEST, BUT HAS SPENT A LOT MORE TIME IN THE WEST. I'VE ASKED HIS ADVICE AND OPINION SO MANY TIMES, IT'S ALMOST LIKE LIVING NEXT DOOR TO A PARENT.

LIKE A TEENAGER THAT'S SUPPOSED TO CHECK-IN, WE'RE ALWAYS STOPPING BY HIS FRONT DOOR STEP, TO TELL HIM WE WILL BE GONE FOR THE WEEK-END, OR WE'RE OFF TO WORK FOR THE EVENING.

STEVE'S HOBBIES IN RETIREMENT, ARE HIS CAT AND GOURMET COOKING. WE WERE SO HAPPY FOR THEM BOTH THIS PAST WINTER WHEN THEY GOT A NEW CAT, SCRUFFY, AFTER GOING A WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT A CAT. MARY IS CONSTANTLY RAIDING STEVE'S SPICE CUPBOARD, BORROWING SPICES I CAN'T EVEN SPELL, AND HAVE NEVER HEARD OF, BUT STEVE HAS SOME.

IN THE SUMMERTIME, I'VE OFTEN ASKED MARY WHAT SHE THINKS STEVE WOULD SAY ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, OR THAT SOLUTION? MARY OFTEN WISHES STEVE'S SPICE CUPBOARD WAS NEXT DOOR.

STEVE AND MERYL OWN A CAMPSITE ON THE BORDER, BETWEEN IDAHO AND WASHINGTON STATE, ON THE EDGES OF THE COEUR D'ALENE AREA. IT'S A SAD DAY WHEN WE GO OUR OUR SEPARATE WAYS IN THE SPRING, BUT EVEN SADDER THIS YEAR, AS WE REMAIN BEHIND ON THE LOWER MOHAVE DESERT.

HERE ARE THE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES, TAKEN FROM THE SAME SPOT.

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OF THE 136 CAMPSITES IN THIS RV PARK, THERE ARE ONLY PEOPLE IN 10 -15 OF THE SITES. MAKES FOR A VERY QUITE NEIGHBORHOOD. MANY OF THE RESIDENTS LEAVE THEIR RIGS, OR PARK MODELS HERE YEAR AROUND, USING THEM ONLY IN THE WINTER TO ESCAPE THE NASTY WEATHER AT HOME.

THINGS ARE QUITE AT WORK TOO, AS THE SNOWBIRDS HAVE ALL LEFT FOR COOLER PARTS, AND THE SUMMER CROWD FROM CALIFORNIA AND PHOENIX HAVEN'T ARRIVED YET TO ENJOY THE COLORADO RIVER, LAKE MOHAVE, AND THEIR SUMMER VACATIONS. I'M ONLY WORKING FOUR DAYS THIS WEEK, AND WITHOUT THE NEIGHBORS, AND MARY........

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