Teatime with TT and Kelvin

Welcome to Teatime with TT... Tressie Teegarden.  Today my brother, Kelvin, is stopping by to share some of his most special memories...  Won't you grab a cup of tea and join us?  Kelvin is the first-born grandchild, and only grandson, to Tressie & Forrest Teegarden...

Side Note::  Kelvin is a lot like Forrest.  He doesn't like to write much and getting short and direct answers to questions is the response when asked a question.  He shared his favorite memories with me and I am expanding on the them since I was with him in all of these.

My favorite memories of Grandma are the few trips we made to Nogales in the summers we went to stay for a while...

It was always an interesting day when we went to Nogales and getting through customs.  Once, I think (if my memory serves me correctly), we were on the wrong road or highway after passing through the check point.  We were headed south, but not on the road to Nogales... once realized, we got turned around quickly.  I'm not sure what they thought was going to happen... were the Border Patrol going to chase us down and arrest us?  LOL!  I have no idea... I was just a kid and was ready to get out of the car after an hour or so in the car.  

The street markets were fun to visit and filled with so many brightly colored trinkets and do-dads.  From what I recall, we always got to pick out some small souvenir... and you could easily talk the seller down in price. 

The camping trip up to Yellowstone and around in 1976...

What a trip!  I shared some details of our "extreme weather" trip in a Father's Day story in 2017.

The high temperatures and desert like terrain in Arches National Park (the hike that we failed to take water with us, and we came upon a hiker going back down the trail with an aluminum water container with ice jiggling it) 

The "follow the leader" moments in our trucks/campers in Salt Lake City because we got lost (Grandpa and Grandma made U-turns, and we were right behind them, lol!)

The very wet and soggy stops in Idaho (and the excitement of Grandpa when the toilets at the campground were once again flushing [the campground was on a septic system and the ground was saturated], lol!  It's the little things in life!) 

And getting snowed in while camping in Yellowstone (and the breakfast prepared on the tailgate of a parking lot, and the enticing smells of bacon and eggs that all the others in the lot wanted as well) {{I think they felt as we did in Arches and the guy with the water}} 

This photo was taken in 1978

And from another story I wrote in 2018 about the trip... We were visiting YS in the first full week that the entire park and all campgrounds were open... and we had tent campers across the road from us.  

Space in both campers were tight so my brother and I would split up and take turns sleeping on the floor of Grandma & Grandpa's camper.  My brother was a rough sleeper... he would toss and turn and jostle the truck around.  The campers were not equipped to prepare meals inside... they were basically for sleeping only.

It had been raining and the rain eventually turned to snow.  In order to prepare dinner out of the rain/snow, the trucks were backed up tailgate to tailgate with a tarp draped over the opening to protect the camp stove and food from getting completely soggy.  After dinner was eaten and cleaned up the camp stove was tucked away in the cubby space on the side of the camper...  

Since it was raining and we couldn't enjoy a campfire we all retired for the night.  I was with Grandma & Grandpa... I recall waking up (I have no idea of the time) with some jostling of the truck and then Grandpa shining a flashlight across the road.  The campers across the road had sought shelter and protection in their car and had started their VW Bug (a very distinctive sound).  

There was a bear in the campground!  Not just in the campground, but ON our tailgate reaching in the cubby space to pull out the camp stove... and then it was trying to get the food in a cooler that the campers across the way had left out.

I don't know how long the excitement carried on because this little girl was tuckered out and fell back to sleep...  In the morning, when we all emerged from our campers, my Mom & Dad had not a clue about what took place.  They thought it was just my brother tossing and turning again!  And they thought that the neighbors across the way were cold so they started their car to run the heater.

Oh, my!  The memories...

A few of the times we went down for the summer it was a BIG deal to photograph the night blooming cactus...

I'm not sure why it was such a big deal, but it was!  

And of course, the BIG move back to Colorado.

Grandpa had passed away in November 2002.  Grandma returned to Colorado with Mom and Dad in early December.  She lived with them until the house in Tucson was sold and a house was purchased in Trinidad, CO for her to live in.  

Immediately after Christmas we left for Tucson to pack the house.  We packed for days!  And had secured the largest U-haul truck.  As we loaded box after box of painted and unpainted china, antique dishes and furniture we had reached the 3/4 full point when the guys looked at the springs of the truck and realized that it was over-loaded.  

We had to unload boxes and furniture and head to the truck rental place to get a second, smaller truck so that we could redistribute the weight.  

It was quite the sight... Two moving trucks, one towing Grandma's car, and two other cars caravanning our way across the country.  And the wind was ferocious! But... we made it... it was simply slow and steady.

Grandma & Grandpa lived in the same house in Tucson for 40+ years and packing was a HUGE task.  Dave and I have lived here in Trinidad for 27 years... and packing up and making a move seems daunting to us (not that we are planning to move any time soon).

What is the longest time that you have lived in one place?

Leave a comment... I always enjoy visits with you!

Keep Piecing!

Melva

P.S. - Go get your Bachelor Block pattern at Payhip and then be sure you come back to link up your finished blocks for a chance to win a 1-ounce selection of tea from Corner Stone Tea Company!  I encourage you to check out her tea selection and use ICECREAM in the promotion box to get a 15% discount for all teas through April 27th.  

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