FRIENDS SURPRISE US

WE WERE SURPRISED WHEN TODD AND DI FROM PRAIRE DU CHEIN, WI CALLED AND SAID THEY WOULD BE OUT TO LAUGHLIN NEXT WEEK!

THEY GOT A FREE FLIGHT AND ROOM FROM THE RIVERSIDE RESORT AND CASINO, DUBUQUE TO LAUGHLIN.

WHEN TODD STEPPED OFF THE PLANE HE THOUGHT HE WAS STANDING IN THE EXHAUST OF ONE OF THOSE BIG JET ENGINES, BUT NO, IT WAS JUST OUR WEATHER ON THE LOWER DESERT.  HE SPOTTED A BANK THERMOMETER THAT SAID IT WAS 122 DEGREES.

ON SATURDAY NIGHT JUST A HALF AN HOUR BEFORE WE WERE GETTING OFF TO GO MEET TODD AND DI AT THE RIVERSIDE, COLE AND DAWN WALKED UP TO THE CRAPS TABLE.  SURPRISE !!!

WE HAVE NEVER SEEN DAWN AND COLE IN THE SUMMER BEFORE.  THEY ARE A COUPLE FROM BLACKSTONE RV PARK THAT WE WATCH PACKER FOOTBALL WITH WHENEVER WE CAN.

WE TOLD THEM TO MEET US AT THE RIVERSIDE IN AN HOUR AND THE SIX OF US HAD A GOOD OLE WISCONSIN VISIT.

DI, THANKS FOR THE WISCONSIN SWISS CHEESE, AND WE WILL SEE YOU GUYS ON YOUR NEXT VISIT TO LAUGHLIN.

COLE AND DAWN, WE’RE HOUSE SITTING THIS WEEK COME ON OVER FOR A POOL PARTY.

Motorcycle Opener

We recently had our annual motorcycle family opener, an overnight gathering of Rechsteiners and others for biking and fun. This was the group. Neil, Jake and Laurel, Hans and Renee, and Neil's friends, Don and CArol, in the Saab turbo convertible chase car.....

....we ran into this adorable old couple who's hobby it was to drive this Model T Ford from coast to coast each summer..........

....this was last year's trip..........

....for those who might not remember, this is the starter on the Model T.........

......Renee gave it a try, but could not make it pop...........

.....this delighted the little old lady, who giggled as she started it with ease..........

....it was hot, so we take off the helmets. It makes for some interesting "doos"....

....towards the end of the day we get a little blurry. So we start ordering our beer in smaller glasses.

At this point in the fun, we start planning the family snowmobile outing...........

By Uncle Hans

Another Three Year Old

Boy 2007 was a busy year….Rex’s grandson Joey turns 3 today.

Happy Birthday, Joey!!

Century Plant

Recently we had the opportunity to see a century plant.    A century plant is a member of the agave family.  It blooms once in 25 years…so no one seems to know where it got the name “century” plant.  I am also sure that I read somewhere it is also related to the amaryllis and  I can believe it because of the speed the flower stalk grows. 


 

Look at that …..it’s like a plant the size of a large table shooting a spike 25 feet into the air.  And it only  takes 6 to 8 weeks.  It is amazing and to tell the truth, even though we drive past this place everyday that spike was just about this tall when we finally noticed it…hard to believe!  Here’s another shot of it.





Here is a shot of the top of it….





It had a somewhat “Bonsai” look.  Really kind of cool.  In the first picture you can get a good idea of the plant.  Within two days of taking these pictures, they cut down the spike and removed the plant.  The energy it take the plant to create this spike, kills it.  And it looked old and dried up when we took these pictures.


We sure were lucky to be on the scene when this once every 25 years event took place!!  Oatman can be a really amazing place to be……even if it does have a lot of burro shit to watch out for!!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday, Heather!!