Drive 2009 - Part 1

June 7 - July 13: SF to MN | July 14 - July 27: MN to TX | July 28 to August 2: TX to SF

On Monday, June 8, we began Part One of Drive 2009, heading from San Francico CA to St. Paul MN.

• Day One was from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. At 6:18 am we left SF, heading for Winnemucca NV on the first leg of our driving trip through Kansas to Minnesota, with plans of returning via Texas. About noon, Martha's brother Gordon called to say their mother Marian had experienced a "cardiac event" in the early morning. Within an hour, Dianne and I decided to re-route our trip to head straight for Minnesota. We divided the mileage to St. Paul by 3, and selected Salt Lake City UT and North Platte NE as new stop-overs. We called friend Tom in Cedaredge CO, cousin Tom and Carol in Timken KS, and cousin Steve in Tonganoxie KS to say that we would not be able to visit them at this time. In Winnemucca we stopped at the scheduled hotel (slide 52), cancelled our reservation, and made two new reservations. SO - a 7-day drive became a 3-day, 12-hour/day drive. Later in the day Gordon called again to say that their Mom had stabilized (or perhaps it was Martha who called him, from the Bonneville Salt Flats rest stop). In any case, we arrived in SLC tired, but hopeful.
• Day Two, Tuesday June 9, we drove from Salt Lake City UT to North Flat, NE. In Green River CO we stopped at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum (website), where we found material on the Pony Express, and Martha met the maillady as she delivered to the museum shop. At the gas station, Martha lost her NWA credit card, which we discovered a few hours later, in Rawlings WY. A call to US Bank VISA soon remedied the situation, and with a new card issued, we were again on our way. Shortly after 6pm (7pm St. Paul time), family friend Lynette called to say that Marian was in critical condition. She connected Marian and Martha via cell-phone, and Martha was able to tell her mother how much she loved her, and to say good-bye. Gordon's wife Sandi and Marian's husband Phil were with Marian, as well as Sunrise care-giver Mee and friend Lynette, during those final hours. Marian was at peace, and ready to let go. We honor her courage and grace, in death as in life...
• Day Three we drove from North Platte NE to St. Paul MN. In the morning, we stopped in Gothenburg NE at the Pony Express station (website) in Ehmen Park. During the day Martha called and talked with her Dad, and Dan (the Sunrise Care Manager Coordinator), and Gordon and Martha made frequent phone contact to plan funeral arrangements. The process had begun during Martha's visit in May, when the family selected the Roseville Memorial Chapel, the St. Anthony United Church of Christ, and Lakewood Cemetery for Marian and Phil's memorial services. Gordon and Sandi had gone to Lakewood and taken pictures of possible plots, which they shared online with Martha and brother Philip Jr.. A tentative plot was picked, and preparations were sufficiently in place such that Gordon was able to handle the details, with input from and inclusion of Martha. The process felt right, and indeed went smoothly.

Notes by Martha, Editing by Dianne