New Richmond, Wisconsin. Sadly

 We’ve made it to Stillwater, Minnesota, and then drifted across the border into Wisconsin trying to find a place to park the trailer. The town of New Richmond has a small rv park next to the baseball complex and skate park by the city owned lake that fit our needs perfectly.

There is only one small annoying detail. The park is just yards away from what may be the busiest intersection in the entire state! Owners of pickup trucks in Wisconsin are not allowed to install mufflers on their vehicles, and apparently are required to rev their engines while waiting for the stoplight to change. Must be as a warning to other drivers.

Nevertheless, we are set up with full utility hookups and plenty of lawn for Sasha to play on.

We took a short drive back to Stillwater, and on our return noticed a visitor who had hitched a ride on the driver’s seat of the truck. I had been sitting on this little friend for 30 minutes!

A quick swish got him out onto the grass, where he disappeared. Checking the passenger side, we found out why he needed a quiet place to stay!

We are not in the area for a our normal reason. Donnas brother and sister-in-law have been living in a retirement community for some time. It’s a very nice facility with awesome staff to complement the building and grounds.

Unfortunately, health issues have forced a change in their living arrangements. After 61 years in a relationship and 58 years of marriage, they are now required to live apart. Sister-in-law needs more specialized care now, and Brother cannot join her. He will have an apartment near her and will be able to visit regularly, but her care and her daily activities will be supervised by staff. After years of devoted care, Brother finds himself out of contact with the community and completely out of touch with the world outside the facility.

Donna and I are here to help, support, and calm as much as possible. We have been involved in the actual moving process, but are unable to ease the painful transition. We have decided to stay a bit longer than we originally planned, and will post as appropriate, but this is a somber time for our family and we must do what we can, so our attention is focused elsewhere at the moment.

It’s the end of an era.