bigmountaincreation

Well, Paul and I just had the time of our lives traveling down to get the newest

member of the family...As many of you know, the Stanley Family is going on

an eight week workation this summer...And now we will do it in style...This

magic bus is named Fillmore, and he will be the scene of what is sure to be an

epic adventure this summer...Paul and I journeyed all the way to Carefree, AZ

to pick up Fillmore, only to bring him back within 60 miles of his original home...

Confused yet? Well, its a long story, but basically he was from Whitefish, MT

where Chuck & Andrea were on vacation with Chuck's lifelong buddy...The two men

fell in love with the bus, (or the idea of a roadtrip together??) and one thing led to another

until they( Chuck and Jones) found themselves cruisin the open roads...They got back

to Carefree, where they proceeded to detail the bus and work on some of the finer details...

Thats when fate pulled me into this story...Katie and I were planning for our trip

and decided that the subaru wouldn't be big enough...I started looking at vehicles

when the idea of a camper bus came up...I looked high and low, and must have

called Katie into the room 100 times until I saw Fillmore...The ad read something like

78 Riviera Camper...New engine and transmission...Very Clean...Buddy can't keep van

and I have a garage full of Land Rovers...I called Katie in to see it and she said...That's

it Cody!!!Thats our van...Call him right now, that's it...Everyone knows I always do what

my wife says!>/?,<, so I called and talked to Chuck...He told me about their travels, and about the excitement it brought to two old buddies...Priceless...So that's where Paul and I's journey began...We arranged a price on the van, and I was looking at going to get the bus when I told Katie, I wish I could take Paul with me...She said back, "Well, why don't you? You only live once..." So off we went...ON A GREYHOUND!!! Not that greyhounds aren't the finest mode of transportation on the planet, but 40 hours of interesting places with even more interesting people, can get old...Paul and I did a lot of talking, drawing, reading, singing, and best of all snugglin'...We got to spend 4 hours in Las Vegas which was super cool... We walked down the strip...No not Strippers...The las Vegas Greyhound terminal is full of germs and germ host's(weird people)...Basically my germaphobic wife's worst nightmare... we used lot's of hand sanitizer...We finally made it to Phoenix at 4:45am where chuck was waiting for us...(He is the best used car salesmen I have ever met...) We got to ride back to Chuck's house in a beautiful Land Rover that believe it or not Chuck won for a $25 raffle ticket...We arrived in Carefree just in time to see the town springing to life with it's massive boulders casting beautiful shadows on the scenery...Paul's first question to Andrea was do you think I could find a lizard around here? When we drove up to Chuck and Andreas house i was welcomed by Fillmore, doors open, pop up popped, completely set up for the road trip... Andrea had gone out and outfitted the bus with everything that a father and a son could ever need to have a memorable trip together...She really went out of her way to think of all of the things that make kids lives fun and happy...(it's amazing to feel the love that one can create simply by using their intention to think of others) Needless, to say I was blown away...Here I am sitting in the house of total strangers who felt like long lost friends...I really don't know how I manage to meet such good people...We got to chat, and have a cup of coffee, while Paul snapped off 20 of the 24 pictures of his new camera Andrea got him...We talked about Jones, and how great the bus was for their trip together, and chuck said how glad he was to see the bus going to a family like mine...He had many other people willing to pay the asking price, but he just felt that the bus should go to a good family...This is where I would advise Chuck to go back to used car salesmen school...He and Andrea decided that they wanted to help Katie and I out on our journey, and gave me a check for 1/3 of the asking price of the bus...Now I know my friends have known me to maybe embellish a story or two, but I swear this really happened... Wow...What an amazing day...Paul got to swim in a beautiful pool overlooking the valley below, and I got to make some new friends...We got showered and Chuck and Andrea took us out for breakfast at a cool little joint called Harold's(I'm pretty sure)...We all got stuffed, and went out to say our goodbye's...I felt sad to leave, but so thankful for the encounter... Thanks again Chuck and Andrea...You guys are great...So off we go, in our new 1978 VW Riviera Camper!!! Paul and I were on top of the world, looking at all the nooks and crannies in the bus...I could see the happiness in Paul's face as he gave each passing car the peace sign...We were two wild spirits with no where to go and no where to be...Except Eureka,MT no later than Sunday afternoon...We made it at least 40 miles down the road before I took the wrong highway...Easy fix though, only cost us 35 miles...We hit the Joshua tree scenic byway(very cool) and we got to drive across hoover dam at about 9pm that night... We drove through high winds, blizzard conditions, rush hour traffic, but best of all long stretches of road with the amazing mountain sunsets...We finally, arrived in Eureka at about 4pm on Sunday afternoon...Katie and Benton were outside cleaning the gardens, anxiously awaiting their new bus...They absolutely fell in love with it, and we all loaded up for a little joy ride...We have since got it all back together the way Andrea had left it with us, and have already taken a picnic in it... And the best part is that this is only the beginning... Peace, Codyman

Well the leaves are changing, and the mornings are getting cool...I got all

my wood in for the winter (8 cords) so I guess I'm ready...Paul started soccer

again this year, and he is doing sooooo good...You can really see that he is into the

game this year...Benton is doing great...He misses Paul now the he is back in school,

but I know he loves having his mommy all to himself...I have been remodeling the kitchen

this summer and it turned out really nice...I built all of my cabinets out of reclaimed lumber

and really old tongue and groove paneling...Katie is really glad to have lots of new storage and

counter space...Work has been good...I have been selling everything I can make, and I am

doing lots of tile setting...The house(Lodge and Spa) I am working on is really incredible, and

I am getting a chance to do my best work...We grew a beautiful garden this year, and we are working on canning some of the items...Hunting season starts in 3 weeks, so soon we will

have a freezer full of meat...Hope everyone is doing well and I love you all...