Epic Osterhout Visit

Epic!  When daily life is a challenge, travel is a HUGE challenge.  Stephen and I are so grateful that Mom, Dad, and David are brave, strong, and up for the challenge.  Last fall's planned trip to Albuquerque had to be cancelled when David spent over a month in the hospital and rehab hospital recovering from a bad infection.  Since that time, he and his caretakers have faced additional difficulties.  For instance, he can no longer wheel himself around or help much with transfers.  He still has a feeding tube for liquids, medications, and nutrition, but can have some pureed food by mouth.  These and other issues make it a really big deal to pack up and go somewhere, especially when you have to take two planes to get here!  Mom shipped some supplies ahead of time and I ordered an additional transfer board to keep here since theirs wouldn't fit in a suitcase.  Stephen found a company in Abq that rents wheelchair vans and arranged for one to be available.  Mom found a hotel with an accessible suite with two bedrooms and a kitchen.  I brought my blender to the hotel so we could puree food.  A lot of planning and preparation went into this project!  One of David's caretakers, Deedee, even arrived at the house in Schaghticoke at 3:45 AM on the day of departure to help get David ready to go to the airport.

In spite of a last-minute gate change in Atlanta, (down the elevator, on the shuttle, up the elevator -- GATE CHANGE! -- do it all over again!) and a too-small plane seat that David had to be wedged into, everyone arrived safely.  Stephen picked up the van and took the folks to the hotel where I met them after school for a light supper.

The O's were on their own during the day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday while Stephen and I were at work.  We had dinner out Tuesday and Thursday after my lessons at the studio, and they came to our house for dinner on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, they went to the Zoo.

 On Wednesday, they went to Los Cerillos.

And on Thursday, they went to the nature center in the bosque.

Stephen and I both took Friday off so we could take a longer trip.  We drove the high road to Taos, through the lovely little village of Truchas which consists of art galleries, studios, and houses perched on a mountainside.  Taos is a funky, artsy place full of interesting characters.  As we drove into town, on Earth Day, there was a march for peace happening with a drummer leading a dozen or so people up the side of the roadway.
Stephen's first priority was lunch.

It was a beautiful day and we were able to eat in this lovely courtyard.  After lunch we walked around the square and did some shopping.

 

Then we drove out to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and the Earthship Community.

 The plan for the next day was to go out to Sandia Raceway where Stephen would give David a ride around the track in the Camaro.  With the open track time ending at noon, I would take the folks to Old Town on the way back, then we would all meet supper at my house.

Stephen left early with the truck, trailer, and race car and headed out to the track to get ready.  The Camaro had just had an engine rebuild and hadn't yet been test-driven.  I went to the hotel so I could drive the folks out to the track.  We left on time and I commented that we had less than a quarter tank of gas so we would need to stop at the gas station near the track after our racing time but before going to Old Town.  Sandia Raceway is West of the city, so I got on I-40.  When we got out of the construction zone, I was cruising at about 70 mph when we heard a loud bang, the steering wheel pulled to the right, and the warning light for "low tire pressure" came on.  I was right at an exit, so I pulled slowly off the exit and onto a side street which, unfortunately, had no shoulder at all.  So the van was halfway in the road but I didn't dare drive any farther before checking the tire.  Sure enough, the right rear was fully flat.  Had I driven any more I surely would have damaged the wheel.  Dad got the jack and the space saver out of the back of the van and Mom called the 800 number that came with the rental.  By the time Mom got someone on the phone, Dad and I had the van jacked up a little, but there was no ratchet on the jack and the van rides very low even without a flat, so I had to keep taking off the handle, putting in on, turning it half a turn, taking it off, etc.  It would have taken me quite a while to get the van high enough and I was not at all sure we could get the lug nuts off with this wholly inadequate lever -- what were they thinking? -- when a Good Samaritan in a pick-up truck pulled over and changed the tire for us!  While this was happening, we made an appointment to meet someone from the van rental company at Discount Tire at 3PM, giving us time to go to the track first.  But now we were running pretty late, and we had a deadline because open track time ended at noon, remember?  I didn't want to drive very fast on the space saver.  As you can imagine, the van didn't handle all that well.  I got back on I-40 and puttered along in the right hand lane, and I MISSED MY EXIT.  I was flustered!  It was TEN MILES to the next exit, which was the nearest opportunity to turn around.  This is where I remind you that we were almost out of gas.  What to do?  If I stopped for gas, I might not have time to get David to the track for his ride.  But if we ran out of gas, we'd DEFINITELY miss the ride.  I crossed my fingers and went for it -- no stops.  We made it to the track running on fumes, going too fast on a stupid skinny tire.  Whew!

Stephen had recruited some big strong guys to help get David into the race car, and he had arranged to use a friend's car if the Camaro didn't turn out to be race ready.  As it turned out, the Camaro still had an oil leak, which Stephen may or may not have fixed, but he didn't want to get David into the Camaro then possibly have to get him out again and into the Panoz, so they just used the Panoz.  Here they are getting David into the car.

 And here he is, ready to go!

 And there they are, coming down the front stretch at 100+ mph.  It's a road course with 14 turns, and I can tell you from experience that the turns are very tight and Stephen dives in there at what seems like the absolute last second.

We even had time for Dad to go for a ride!

 Watching from the flag stand area.

 Standing around afterward talking about the run.

Before we left the track Stephen checked the space-saver tire, put some air in it, and put enough racing gas in the van to get us to the nearest station.  I still had time to take the family to Old Town for ice cream and shopping before we had to go meet the van rental guy at the tire store.  We had dinner at my house as planned.  What a wild day!

On Sunday, everyone came to church to hear the praise band play.  I was on keyboard this week and we had the full band.  It was fun!  

After lunch at the Greenside Cafe in Cedar Crest, we drove up to Sandia Peak and enjoyed the views.  David wore the hat he bought in Old Town the day before.  It was only 45 degrees at the peak, and quite windy, so we spent some time enjoying the view from inside.

We made plans for getting the family to the airport today and parted ways.  If all goes well with the return travel, it will have been another excellent adventure!