>>>>>>>>>>>> The Cooke's Retirement Page for 2007 & 2008  <<<<<<<<<<<<

April 9, 2008

Rita retired from the Carson City Sheriffs Office December 31, 2004
Art retired from Honeywell January 31. 2005



• June 2007:  Start Cross Country trip in the Eagle
• Still full timing in our American Eagle Motor Coach
• Departed for Washington on June 3rd
• Spend time with friends in Yakima, WA on June 5th
• Had lunch at Whistlin Jacks Lodge, along the Naches River and Chinook Pass highway.  Tall pines and rock-strewn ridges surround this quaint mountain retreat. The rush of the river creates a wonderful backdrop for weary travelers to gaze upon while stopping to rest, refresh, and recreate.  Originally built in 1931, Whistlin’ Jack Lodge has transcended the decades by offering sincere and efficient service, excellent culinary delights (breakfasts, lunches and dinners) and lodging that is clean, comfortable and cozy.
• Arrive in Colville, WA for the Bradley Cox Memorial Picnic on June 6th
• Spent time in Spokane, WA with friends on June 12th
• Leave for Minneapolis Area on June 13th and visit with friends until June 18th
• Spend time with family and friends in the Chicago Area until June 25th
• Attended the Cubs/White Socks MLB game at U.S. CELLULAR FIELD, the Sox's did not win.
• Had fun at the Magic Waters Waterpark in Rockford, IL.
• The waterpark rides include, The Abyss Afraid of the dark? On this dark tunnel tube ride you'll twist and turn in total darkness until you splash out into the daylight. With two different slides, both 5 stories above the Magic Waters, The Abyss is sure to have you back over and over again.  Splash Blaster hold on to your suits because Splash Blaster is a thrill ride that is going to rock you! You'll board a 2 person raft at ground level, rise a dizzying 80 feet above Magic Waters, enter a dark tunnel, and then plunge 35 feet over the edge.  Body Slides include, The Keelhauler, Sea Serpent and Bonzai are some of the Midwest's best body slides. You'll start 5 stories above Magic Waters into a descent splashing, twisting, and careening at speeds of up to 30 MPH on nothing but a thin layer of H20.
• Arrive in Cleveland before the end of June

• July 2007:
• Spend Time in Northern Ohio
• Attended Indians Game with Connie, Michael and Rita at Jacobs Field.  The Indians lost. Professional baseball in Cleveland is one of the city's oldest traditions, dating back to 1869. There is a passionate connection between the city of Cleveland and the Indians, as they are a study in revival. Both are working, living examples of the power of teamwork, conviction and dedication.  Historians are certain to identify the year 1994 as a significant time in the renaissance of the city of Cleveland. And it is the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, consisting of Jacobs Field, the home of the Indians, and Quicken Loans Arena, the home of the CAVS, that will be remembered as the crowning jewel in the city's ever-changing landscape.

 
• August 2007:
• Spend Time in Northern Ohio

--
 
• Pat, Rita and I went to see the Steamship William G. Mather.  The Steamship William G. Mather was built in 1925 during the golden years of American Lakes steamships by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, MI. As the flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (now Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.), she was state-of-the-art with respect to capacity, power and accommodations, and was noted for her elegant passenger quarters.  The Mather is a straight deck bulk carrier with a 14,000 ton capacity. She is 618 feet long, 62 feet wide and 32 feet (molded depth).  The steamer William G. Mather was named in honor of the then-president of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, William Gwinn Mather. William Mather was the son of Samuel L. Mather, descended from the famous Mathers of New England, and second wife, Elizabeth Lucy Gwinn. William Mather was a leader in the mining and shipping circles for over six decades and was known in Cleveland for his philanthropic work. "Gwinn," his lakefront home in Bratenahl, Ohio, has been preserved as a meeting place for nonprofit groups.

 
• Pat, Rita and I went for a cruise on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River on the Goodtime III.  For courtesy, comfort, and just plain fun, you cannot match the experience of a cruise on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie aboard Cleveland's largest sight-seeing vessel. The Goodtime III is the largest quadruple-deck 1,000 passenger luxury ship on the Great Lakes, which offers plenty of room, and you are not confined to your seats.

 
• September 2007:
• Spend Time in Northern Ohio
• Other things to do in Cleveland include, visiting USS COD SS-224 World War II Fleet Submarine, the U.S.S. Cod (SS 224), named after the world's most important food fish, is a World War II era GATO class fleet submarine. The 312-ft, (95-m) 1,525-ton submarine began her life on July 21, 1942 when her keel was laid at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Connecticut. Cod was launched on March 21, 1943 under the sponsorship of Mrs. Grace M. Mahoney, wife of a veteran shipyard employee, and was placed in commission on June 21, 1943, under the command of CDR James C. Dempsey, USN. Dempsey had already won fame by sinking the first Japanese destroyer lost in the war while in command of a tiny, World War I-era submarine.


"A Christmas Story House" now restored to its movie splendor, is open year round to the public for tours.  Directly across the street from the house is the official A Christmas Story House Museum, which features original props, costumes and memorabilia from the film, as well as rare behind-the-scenes photos and a gift shop.


 

• Subway tours on the Detroit-Superior Bridge You can enter the self-guided tour from either side of the bridge, but it seemed like most people were coming in from the Superior Viaduct near the Engineer's Office off West 25th Street like we did. The other entrance is above the RTA Waterfront Line stop halfway down the hill from the Warehouse District.  Once you go in, you can walk a little farther under the road to the west and see where there is a subway style entrance that leads up to the old Cleveland Trust building at the corner of Detroit and West 25th. There were also some information tables set up with old photographs of the streetcars and the bridge, and an area with a projection screen and chairs where they were showing a documentary on Cleveland's streetcar lines.  Portions of the streetcar tracks still exist under the bridge and you have to be careful as you walk across the uneven ground toward the actual span of the bridge. There are also a lot of the original subway tiles still lining the walls, which I thought was pretty neat. We also noticed some strange looking calcium or lime deposits coming down from the ceiling like little white stalactites.  When you get out to the actual section of the bridge that goes over the river, the footing changes to see-through metal grates on either side of a plywood path so you can see through the bottom of the bridge all the way down to the water. You can't really get near the outer edges of the bridge except for a couple of lookout points the Engineer's Office has set up with telescopes. You can go off the main path to a reinforced area near the edge and climb up a little step ladder to look through the scope at the buildings near the bridge.
• We had a great visit Cincinnati, Ohio and spent the weekend with the Lee's, Nordlund's, Kavanaugh's and Cornwell's.

 
• October 2007:
• Arrived in Alabama to spend time with family
• A leisurely stroll, or with a ride on the miniature train, the Montgomery Zoo is a sight to see!  Penetrate deep into the jungles of South America. Travel the savannahs of Africa or the hilltops of Asia. Venture the tall grasses of the North American plains. See the Zebras graze on the plains while white tigers roam nearby. Or just visit your Montgomery Zoo and see it all. If you haven't been to the Zoo in a while, you are missing out on a fun packed and educational adventure. Our residents include over 500 animals from five different continents, all housed in natural, barrier free habitats. The Zoo spans over 40 beautifully landscaped acres, offering you a magnificent view of exotic wildlife and endangered species.
• Visited the Alabama National Fair 2007 in Montgomery, AL
• Buena Vista is a beautiful historic plantation home that incorporates European fashions and materials in a Greek Revival adaptation of its original Federal style. Construction is purported to have begun circa 1822, but the house was not completed until the late 1840s. According to Montgomery family history much of the materials for the house were shipped from Birmingham, England. The original chandeliers were brass and unusual in that they burned pure lard as a fuel. The doorknobs and other hardware were of silver.


A typical central hall type, the house has two rooms on each side of both the first two floors. The old structure's third floor is one large room with fanlight windows. Known for many years as Montgomery Place, the house took the name from William Montgomery who, after acquiring it in 1844, completed its construction.  Perhaps Buena Vista's most notable feature is a circular staircase spiraling twenty-four feet to the third floor. The stair has no visible means of support. An expanded design of this style was used when the Capital in Montgomery was built. It is thought by some historians that Daniel Pratt may have had an influence on both.


 

• Sloss Fright Furnace has pulled out all the stops and created a terrifying experience that takes you into the deepest, darkest parts of the furnace. A VORTEX OF SPIRITS is part haunted house, part paranormal encounters, and all together the most frightening 40 minutes of your life.
• Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark began producing iron and did not stop until ninety years later. Over the decades, Sloss Furnaces gave rise to the city of Birmingham and served as a battleground for economic, employment and social reform. Now recognized as a National Historic Landmark, Sloss Furnaces is open to the public as a museum of industry which speaks to the contributions of the working men who labored there. With its massive furnaces, web of pipes, and tall smokestacks, it offers us a glimpse into the great industrial past of the South and our nation.
• Arrived in Yuma for the winter.  We are staying at the Las Quintas Oasis RV Resort again this year.

 
• November 2007:
• We spent Thanksgiving in Reno/Sparks with our kids and grand kids.  We will be returning to Yuma on November 28th.
• February 2008:
• Rita's sister Fran and her husband Joe and Rita's cousin Judi and her husband Joe left the snow and cold weather in Chicago behind and spent a week with us in Yuma.  We had a great time visiting and exploring the many site in southwestern Arizona.
• We went to Betty's Kitchen Interpretive Trail was designated as a National Recreation Trail in September of 1992. This natural surfaced 1/2 mile foot trail threading through the desert riparian environment of the Lower Colorado River offers visitors a unique taste of the area's natural resources and settlement history. It focuses upon mammals, migratory birds, and flora specific to the riverbank environment. The trail overlooks Laguna Dam, the first dam built on the Colorado River. The terrain is relatively flat and vegetation includes native Fremont cottonwood, black willow, arrowweed, screw bean, and honey mesquite. Nonnative vegetation includes salt cedar and athel tamarisk.
--
Judi and Fran                                                                             Art, Fran, Rita, Judi and Joe

• Next we went to the Yuma Proving Ground manages testing in three different environmental extremes; desert (Yuma Test Center), tropic (Tropic Regions Test Center), and cold (Cold Regions Test Center). The largest test center is the Yuma Test Center.  A huge variety of weapon systems and munitions are tested. These include: long range artillery; missile firing aircraft; cargo and personnel parachutes; direct fire weapons; unmanned aerial systems; technologies to defeat roadside bombs; and a great many more.

 

 
 
 
 
 

--
 

• The Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park was next on our list.  A total of 3,069 prisoners, including 29 women, lived within these walls during the prison's thirty-three years of operation. Their crimes ranged from murder to polygamy, with grand larceny being the most common. A majority served only portions of their sentences due to the ease with which paroles and pardons were obtained. One hundred eleven persons died while serving their sentences, most from tuberculosis, which was common throughout the territory. Of the many prisoners who attempted escape, twenty-six were successful, but only two were from within the prison confines. No executions took place at the prison because capital punishment was administered by the county government.

 

 
 






Art, Joe, Rita and Fran
• The MCAS Yuma Airshow is held every year at the Marine Corps Air Station-Yuma, with 9 military performers and 9 civilian performers plus the static ground displays it was quite a show.
----
--
• Last on our list was to explored the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge hat protects wildlife habitat along 30 miles of the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California, including the last unchannelized section before the river enters Mexico. The river and its associated backwater lakes and wetlands are a green oasis, contrasting with the surrounding desert mountains. The Yuma River Tours provided our transportation so we could enjoy the beauty of the Colorado River with bird watching, wildlife, and history - a combination than can not be beat.
----
• March 2008:
• Rita flew to Reno to pick up our Granddaughter Marisa so she could spend a couple weeks with us here in Yuma.  Marisa mastered bike riding thanks to Grandma, attended the Yuma County Fair, went swimming in the pool, had Date Shakes and had a good time in the warm weather.




• April 2008:
Rita, Marisa and I arrived back home in Carson City this month ending our third year on the road.