An Amazing Adventure....

I'm back! It truly was an amazing vacation....or if you know my husband....adventure! It seems no matter where we are or where we go it always turns into some kind of adventure :D Guess that's one of the reasons I Love my Mr. PPRM...life with him is always something!!! Before I begin sharing the details of my get away...I want to assure everyone that Mr. PPRM did come home with both eyes still in tact (I never once felt like scratching them out!!! Whoooohooooo) and...I only whinned once, okay, twice :D More on that later.....

Here it is....my version of our trip to Utah! First, as usual the plan was to leave Hermiston by Noon on Monday....our actual departure time turned into 3:30 :D It always seems one little critter or another needs special attention before we leave..this time it was a yearling heifer with a bad case of pink eye...so, we have to herd the cows from one pasture to another, get her seperated, and after two cans of bee spray, get her into the squeeze chute and Pat works his magic...(which means she got a couple shots and a nice big black eye patch!) Next, Pat had to do a short training at the local farm store, so I finished packing and "pretty-ing up" his truck for our trip...somehow, it just needed some attention inside before I could face the idea of riding in it for hours upon hours :D It even smells good now too!!!Then, finally, we head out....just in time to run into a nice BIG Thunderstorm right outside of Pilot Rock...it's probably oh, only 4:30...and I'm driving...it was coming down so hard I had to pull off the road while our truck was pelleted with mini golf-ball sized hail...I felt like I was inside a popcorn popper :D Praise God the windshield didn't break, and all seemed well...so we took off again, only to encounter pouring, and I mean buckets...of pouring rain. Apparently, Pat had been in need of some new wipers...the one on the driver's side worked great but the passenger one seemed to have come off the track....after 20 minutes Pat could no longer take the screeching sound and had me pull over so he could fix it....a few seconds and he was back in the truck and we headed off again. Somehow, though, the screeching turned into a scraping of metal against glass sound :D I thought, we should just turn the radio up extra loud, but, Mr. PPRM would have none of that...so, I pull off again...it was a beautiful spot high on the mountain surrounded by lush greenery and trees....thankfully,the downpour had turned into a light sprinkle....Pat gets out and starts looking for tools in his toolbox or was that his mighty Leatherman from his belt?!? Mmmm...not sure, since I decided I might as well use this as a restroom break and was searching for a nice hidden spot....and wouldn't you know it, just as I pick the perfect bush, here comes a couple trucks & campers....good thing in the quietness of God's creation, you can hear vehicles coming from miles away....once the coast was clear I decide I'm safe...and then, Pat yells...watch out for snakes, bears, wild animals! Not funny....once I head back down to the truck, I can hear it's not going well with the wiper situation....I climb back in the truck and watch Pat as he is now sitting on the windshield trying to get the wiper blade fixed....after much deliberation, he decides it's totally broke?!?! Mmmmm....you know if you are a "cow" man you always come up with a good solution....this one turned out to be an old piece of towel, zip-tied on to the metal blade holder :D (Sorry I know you were hoping for it to be baling twine...but, the zip-tye is a guaranteed non-removable item!!! I think it's my new favorite tool!!!) So, problem solved...no more scratching and screeching and it worked perfectly throughout the next through rainstorms we hit!!! It was a beautiful drive and the smell of freshly wet earth and pines was amazing! Oh, did I tell you we were taking the long way through Burns so Pat could drop off a meat order....plus, he wanted me to see some of the scenery...funny thing, two of my sweet friends are actually from Burns and I had always wanted to see it....so, this was my chance. (side-note, by the time we finally arrived it was dark...so, once again I don't really know what the town looks like, only the main drag we cruised through!!!) Pat keeps assuring me, I really didn't want to see it in the daylight anyway :D He just loves teasing Karen & Lisa about Burns being a pit. But, hey they do have a McDonald's there :D So, finally, at Midnight (or...1:00 pm Idaho time) we arrive in Caldwell to stay the night. Day 1 was fun....even though there was a storm, Pat had to fix the wipers, and my roadside report included seeing a huge porpepine crossing the road, lots of deer, and of course cows...there was laughter and relaxation peeking in!

Day 2

Of course, we are technically working (or at least Pat was :D) So, the wake-up call came at 6:30 a.m. By 7:30, Pat headed out to make a couple sales calls before we left Caldwell....thinking he would only be about a half hour, I rushed to take my shower and be ready to go....then, I waited, & waited, & waited, until almost 11:00~! (Mmmm...I could of used the work-out room if I had known...wait I was on Vacation!!!) So, by 11:30 we were on the road again, after a short tour of Caldwell for my benefit and a quick stop in a "natural meat" shop, and the Dodge place to get a new wiper, we were off. My husband is a great tour guide...and instead of taking the freeway all the way, he toured me through all the little towns along the way...showing me the Snake River at least 20 times :D (I did grow up next to it, so I pretty much knew what it looked like!). This time my roadside spottings included the hugest skunk ever...as roadkill that is! Some beautiful water falls, some amazing homes, and lots & lots of sagebrush brown. It felt like forever by the time we reached Snowville, Utah. By this time it was pushing 4:00 Utah time, and we were suppose to meet Pat's clients for dinner at 6:00??? Good thing the speed limit is 75 in Utah, meaning 85 really :D Pat did all the driving, because we all know I'm a rule follower...and it would of taken us an extra hour to get there....all was great until a little after Ogden...when the four lanes of traffic started....Ohhhhh...I am soooooooooo glad I live in a small town! I, of course, kept praying the whole way for God to keep us safe and the traffic light....Pat's cell phone has navigator on it...so, it put in Provo and it told us the lanes we needed to be in and...get this...any traffic incidents or slow downs that were ahead...technology is wayyyyyy amazing! When we hit Salt Lake and things slow down quite a bit, the phone rings and it's his boss wondering where we are....Pat tells him, and he says "get in the diamond lane, get in the diamond lane", which is Utah's carpool lane....things went a lot faster then...and, we made it to the Ruby River (dinner destination) only 15 minutes late! Is my chauffuer Awesome or what?!?! Dinner was nice...it was a fancy steak house...although we walked into a table of 9 men...and little old me. They were all very nice to me though! After dinner, Pat gave me a quick drive past the Powder River plant & offices...and then, one of his co-workers met us at the motel to pick up the beef they had ordered (YEP! It's true, we take beef with us wherever we go :D) It was nice to see Dan & his wife, we had all met before on the company cruise, and now I had the opportunity to meet their sweet baby boy! A lot can change in a year!!!

Day 3

Pat was up very early to prepare for his presentations....I slept in a little, then, got ready, so I could follow the guys to the plant for the plant tour....well, I thought it was going to be first thing, but I was wrong. So, I too, got to enjoy some of the Powder River U classes...the first part consisted of everyone writing their nickname on a 3x5 card, then guessing who was who?!?! Mmmmm....I was the only girl there except for one Powder River office girl...so, I decided mine would be "Princess"...somehow they guessed me right off....and I got to be a Princess the rest of the week....how great is that to be called Princess all day long :D Perfect!!! Finally, around 11:00 they gave us a tour of the plant...it's pretty interesting to see how squeeze chutes get made and painted, not to mention the panels!!! However, I did have to wear a yellow hard hat and huge goggles, that really didn't compliment my Princess theme :D You know it meant a bad hair day the rest of the day!!! I was going to head back to the motel after the tour for a nice long nap, but, they all begged me to join them for lunch...so, what could I say :D It was fun, a little down time to visit with some of the class attenders...(Which by the way all looked like boys to me...and Pat kept telling me, "They are not boys, Tam..." But, some of them looked right out of high school :D Does that mean I really am getting old???? After lunch, we toured the product lines, then, finally I went back for that nap! Dinner that night was Pizza at the motel, while the guys played Texas' Hold'em...I opted to just watch, because somehow I don't think they like all that girl talking while the playing's going on :D Finally, after an hour an half or so, I went back to the room and watched HGTV...you know this country girl LOVES getting to see that channel...imagine what I could do with my house, if I actually got that channel?!?! Pat came in an hour later with the grand prize...a limited edition Powder River print....how, he won it, I haven't a clue, when I left one of the guys had 6 big coffee cups full of chips and Pat had abuot a half cup??? I was sooooo proud of him!!! Way to go my Man!!!

Day 4

Another sleeping in, lazy morning for me...then, off to K-Mart to check out the bargains....I managed to find two new shirts and some socks! Then, I headed back to the office where we were suppose to leave to go work cattle. (Crazy, I know, I get to do that whenever I want, and on vacation I choose to do it too???) They were still in a session when I got there, so I used the time wisely to introduce myself to all the office girls and have a nice visit. Next, we all loaded up (ha, ha,...that is for my husbands benefit!) and headed to a beautiful park for a home-cooked dutch oven lunch. The view was absolutely breathtaking...I just LOVE trees & mountains. And, the steak was absolutely the BEST I've ever had (besides my own that is :D) I was so stuffed after lunch I was dreading working the cows...but, luckily we drove to some waterfalls next and anyone who wanted to could hike up to the top....I chose to watch :D "I'm on vacation" you know I would reply to the "Come on Princess"!!! Then, it was time to drive to the cattle working demo...it was a lot of fun. Some of the people in the class had NEVER been around cattle and using a squeeze chute...and I have to say, once again my husband amazed me...He is an awesome, patient, teacher!!! And, he talked each and everyone of them through using the system. And, bless his heart when it was my turn, he called for his co-worker Dan to come work with me. We had to run cattle through two systems...a Manual XL (which we have at our house) and a Value Chute. It really was fun watching everyone...although, it definitely still smelled like working cattle...but, the best part was I didn't have to be at the tail end of the cow this time...I got to be upfront! After all the cow fun, we drove to Sundance...up on a mountain, it's a resort owned by Robert Redford...Nope, I didn't see him! But, it really is a nice, nice place. The company bought everyone drinks and then....they said "we're all going up the mountain on the ski lift"...okay, right about then, I started feeling a little panicky....I'm afraid of heights you know. I kept telling Pat's boss, Lamar, I'll just wait down here while you all ride up there....no go...."I'm afraid of heights", "Me too"..."I can't".....YOU CAN...so after my whining to Lamar and Dan, where do I end up but on the ski lift next to my husband. I LOVE Him..but, he loves teasing me about looking down when we are going up.....We did pull the little bar over us which at least gave me something to put my death grip on :D...and, it was AMAZING!!! Pat was so good about not teasing me....except to tell me to look down at the turkeys...and finally I did.....Air sighting....Turkeys....how cool! Once I started looking around I totally forgot about how high up we were going...and all was good until we stopped....then, they guys said we have to zip line back down....now, I really whinned...Thank goodness they were teasing....as there was NO zip line up there!! The ride down at first seemed overwhelming, but it went so slow it was really relaxing...plus, two of the guys behind us kept trying to pick up every girl that went by. It was a great, great experience I'm glad I took!!!! Then, it was back to the motel, showers and dinner at a Chinese Buffet!!! Another fun-filled day!

Day 5

One last day of sleeping in....then, packing up the truck and meeting Pat at 11:00! All the participants in the Powder River U got a great DVD of pictures of all that had happened during the week, plus, a framed collage of them working the cattle & doing various things, and a Powder River U hat & t-shirt....It almost made me cry...like high schoolers graduating! And, even more...they made one for me too!!! It was a sweet blessing!!!! We left early to drop a guy off at the Salt Lake Airport...to which Pat's cell phone rings, and his boss is wondering if he left his laptop in the office....Thank goodness we were just a blocks away. After dropping Chris off at the airport, we headed to meet the rest of the team at a place called the Skybox in the Gateway Mall...It was the perfect "guy" spot all filled with TVs and sports everywhere...the food was out of this world...and the best part....it was in the middle of a circular, two-story outside mall....and Pat let me shop a bit :D I am soooo spoiled! Then, it was time to head home...and I must say I was a little sad...it was fun seeing what my husband does all day(I so admire him, he truly is great at what he does, has such a talent for explaining things, and is good at teaching others...He is AMAZING!!!And, I am PROUD he is my husband! ) meeting new people, seeing new sights...and relaxing.

It truly was an AMAZING time, and one I will cherish memories of for a long time to come! Thanks for reading all my ramblings....If ever you get a chance, go check out Provo...and it's beauty! Sweet blessings!