Wandering Willy's Travels

Finalizing Another Winter Trip

2011-03-16T04:20:00.001-07:00

Call me lazy,call me disinterested in blogging.The truth of the matter is a little of both.I’m hot to trot when travelling and seeing new country,that's why the “wandering”in my title,but once I hunker down and spend most of my time in the horizontal position watching the inside of my eyelids……Well that’s a whole new world….So give me some slack please,I’m pushing 75,and its hard to keep any interest up.

Since my last post I’ve travelled back home and gotten one heck of a lot of stuff done.My trip home started on Thursday the 24th of February,leaving the La Paz County park near Parker Arizona,taking the usual I-5 route north,travelling through just about every weather condition that you could imagine,from high winds across the Mojave,torrential downpours in central California,even some snow around Redding California, for starters.This was the time when San Francisco got snow and LA was predicting it.

I did my weather research in advance as always,for going over the hump into Oregon,and my timing was right on as it was a dry day with clear pavement,until the downside into Medford Oregon where the red slushy slop on the highway from the recent snow clearing,changed the color of both truck and trailer.What a mess!….But alas,the upcoming weather will wash it off.

I usually take 4 days from the Desert S.W. to Northern Washington State,then stop for the night just 2 and a half hours from home.Then the next day while rested up,I can deal with the border crossing and the unloading when I get home,plus getting my little Park Model trailer home up and running.

Well this year it started out a little hairy as I was packing up on the final morning,an ice storm hit,then after that stopped I got on the interstate and after about 10 minutes,ran into a raging blizzard that had traffic down to a crawl,and the snow building up on the highway rapidly.Now I’m searching for a place to get off and regroup,(aka Rest Area),but I had just passed one.Carrying on slowly,I noticed a small clear hunk of blue sky to the northwest and said to myself……self….We is gonna get out of this yet,and 10 minutes later I was driving on dry pavement in full sunshine for the rest of the way to the border……Be still my heart!

The border crossing was a pleasant surprise this time and when asked what I had to declare,I was prepared this time,holding up a clip full of receipts with the total listed,which was under my limit by a hundred dollars….He just said welcome back and have a nice day……Be still my heart again.Life is good.

Well, the dry pavement and sun stayed with me until about 10 minutes from home,which is 45 minutes from the border.This part of my little world,even though at the same altitude,sometimes doesn’t get the warm-up after a snow fall.It can be raining 20 miles to the west and still snowing in my area.And this was the case a few days earlier during a snow storm,leaving my little home park with a foot of snow.Thanks to good buddy Ernie who lives nearby,my driveways were both shovelled clear.Be still my heart again.Life is good.

So!….After 2 weeks at home,my income tax is done,house and driveways pressure washed of all the green slop from living under cedar trees ,Doctor appointment set up,….truck fixed……Yes,my baby got her face lift,…….going from this,my Tucson experience.

Back to this.

I must say that the insurance from good old ICBC,Govt.insurance, for those who don't know our socialist system,just like our medical,covered over $5000. worth of repairs and because of my good driving record,will not raise my rate next year.So I was out of pocket for $300. deductible.Yay!…Be still my heart,.. again.

Everything you see in the photo directly above,except fenders and RH side mirror,was replaced,including the skid plate under the motor where the truck came to rest on the tree stump..Thank you Toyota for putting a protective plate there.

I must say that I was pleased with Wally’s Auto Body in Chilliwack BC as they were very thorough.Parts replacement instead of Bondo is sure ok by me.

So,now… starting to have time on my hands,(sometimes not a good thing)and this past week I had to replace my Shaw/Direct Satellite TV “PVR” that has served me well for the past 3+ years,as it decided to crap out when I hooked it back up in the house after using it on the road this winter,….and with total reliability I might add.The hard drive locked up and would not boot up.

I lost many hours of pre-recorded programs though,but because I was also travelling with a new model PVR as a test, and double recorded everything because I didn't trust the new one anyway.Now the new one has saved my bacon by being my only source of all the missed recordings that were on the old PVR.I love having backup.

So the old PVR is on its way back to S/D and replaced with a new model for $99. I now have 2 new model PVR’s,both working like a charm.They are so handy when travelling the winter season as I don't find time to watch anything other than the news and sports live,so all my favourite shows are recorded for when I do have time.Plus skipping through all those commercials is nice.

Now falling into the “more money than brains department,”ever since spending that week this winter with Ivan at Corpus Christi Texas,camping on the beach,I was fascinated with his I-Phone and how many great uses that he put it to when we were travelling around the area.I spent many hours researching I-Phones and I-Pads,but kept coming back to the I-phone because of the portability of having in my POCKET,…a phone..a web surfer/e-mailer…a camera…..a video camera…an I-pod and photo library,and all those eye opening APPS that do so many great things…..Like the “Dishpointer AR Pro”designed for all you people who are wondering if you can see your satellite through the trees when setting up your TV or Internet dish.The camera view on the phone shows exactly where the satellite is……It was my first app purchase and all I can say is WOW!….Next time I enter a tree filled campground,I’ll just pull the phone out of my pocket,turn on the app and hold it up to the southern sky and actually see a red dot in my live camera picture, representing my selected satellite and just walk around until it clears all trees…I do have an align-a-sight,but this is so much better and faster……I do love my toys.

So! After all the research,decided on an unlocked I-phone 4 from Apple (Canada) that allows me to select any carrier and not having to tie into a contract...So I will use a (pay and talk/data) Sim card for Canada and another Sim for in the US or Mexico…I’ve had it for 5 days now and am loving it and all the things it can do,in fact the last 5 photo’s here were taken with it.

And I’m even using a 9 year old pay and talk account that costs $10. a month and has time built up that I’ll probably never use, because it was only used for an emergency travel phone that I kept in the truck.Around here for now I don't need the data part as I’m using my home wifi system to supply the phone.

Rambling time now….As I was passing through the town of Selma California,(The Raison Capital of the world) on the trip home,I stopped for some groceries and came across some really nice locally (made in Selma),raison bread.Its Sun-ripe brand raison bread with a cinnamon swirl,so I picked some up to try, and liked it so much that I was on a steady diet of it until it was all gone a day later….Yes life is good!

Now all you people reading this who are sharp in your observance, will notice some of the label is in French……Voila!……Its sold in Canada too.Much to my delight I found it in both the local Chilliwack BC Safeway and the new Super Wal-Mart…So as I said before,….Life is good,and many loaves now decorate my freezer…Its back up, you know.

And finally for those of you who personally know me and my situation….my first visit to see my wife Marlene in the nursing home after 4 1/2 months, was a bit of a downer as she no longer recognizes me.She had taken another tumble from her wheel chair in January due to a little staff negligence and landed on her already fragile head, and this has caused a further decline in her brain tumor condition.

I was all excited to tell her of my winter adventures,as she would always take it all in,smiling but not responding.So it was disappointing not to get the usual smile that I always got on my return………Just a blank stare…Several more visits since have produced the same disappointing result………So maybe life isn't always so great, as I said before.

Stay tuned for my next wandering adventure.

Old Home Week At La Paz County Park-Parker Arizona

2011-02-18T04:35:00.001-08:00

I was going to title this “All Of My Old Rowdy Friends”but they are Bigger than me so mum’s the word…From left to right,That's Ron my next door neighbour back home and Frank who lives 5 minutes away from us.There is also another couple from home,Bill and Wendy,but they were away on a side trip for a few days as I was setting up this blogs photos.

I had concerns about coming to this park after having a bad experience the only other time that I had come here several years ago, when my travelling companions and I were turned back at the entrance gate by the “Greeting Nazi's”.But that's a whole nuther story.

This time I drove in unchallenged and found my friends from our park back home, and set up across the road from one of them,up on the grassy knoll…And look at all the nice dry camping spots that are empty.That's me in the centre of the 2nd photo.All those others are across the road on the waterfront row.

This park is situated along the Colorado river just a few miles from Parker Arizona.

As the layout map below shows,its quite a large County Park,about 1 mile long and a quarter mile wide.There are no sewer hook-ups,just electric and water.There is a 4 hole dump station plus a couple of blue boy dump stations on each side.You can see the rows of Ramada sites that number about 114, plus unlimited dry camping area’s scattered around the open green spaces seen in this map.Actually I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got to see the inside of this place.

So we will take a little photo tour around.Starting with a sunrise panorama shot of the lagoon area on the far left of the map.

The lagoon area is really nice and has random camping around a fair amount of its edge,if you like parking lot style camping with your own Ramada.

Of course this is a County Park,not just a campground,so when they have an event like a kids fishing derby…… ………..It looks like this…

Ramada row looks congested but not bad when you have a Ramada between each site,like Ron's on the left and Franks on the right…..Oh Oh!…There’s Franks better half Alison, looking for him.He’s in trouble again….

AH! Its a truce moment with the Bickersons.

Back to the tour….They have a nice open walkway behind Ramada row as seen below.

Some of the open dry camping areas of the park.

All photos were taken only on the left half of the map,so you can see just how large the park is.

This will be my last stop before heading for home next week and may be the last blog also for this winter’s trip,only time and conditions will determine that.I hope to be back home in B.C. by the end of the month. So far, weather conditions don't look too great for this 4 and a half day run.

I have a question that's been bothering me for awhile………In all those “Capital One”commercials on TV……How come all the Nordic Vikings all speak with an English accent?………..Love those commercials.

How “Not” To Hook Up To A Trailer.

2011-02-09T03:52:00.001-08:00

Well old Willy wins the Darwin award again.I got away with this simple careless oversight before,but this time it came back to bite me big time.

Monday morning as I was preparing to leave Tucson’s Gilbert Ray campground,I decided not to rush as it was a nice sunny morning and I only had just over a hundred miles to go that day.

As I was backing up to align the hitch/ ball…I use a mirror but the glare was causing me to not see it properly and consequently I bumped against the hitch…..I moved the truck foreword a few inches and jumped out to see where I hit,forgetting that it still was in drive(a cold motor still on high idle)……..As I reached the rear of the truck I noticed it inching forward on its own……As I turned to scramble back to the open drivers door to stop it,I slipped on the loose gravel falling flat on my face……I got up again as it was gaining speed and made another attempt,falling again as the truck went over the embankment across the road…….And this was the result.

As I lay in the road face down watching this dilemma taking place,a crowd of neighbours came racing from all directions to see if I was ok….But alas,all was ok outside of some scratches and reopening of some knee wounds that I acquired when I tripped over the hitch on the first night leaving Texas……Time to hang up the driving boots you say?

As you can see it actually sheared off a sizable Palo Verdi tree and in the first shot note that the branches of this very thorny tree did considerable scratch damage all the way back to the front doors.I had actually removed most branches before taking these photos as the (picture taking) was an afterthought as I was waiting for help to arrive.

It would not move when I tried to drive it back out….Just dug in until I realized that the front suspension was hung up on the broken stump of the tree I just flattened.And it was no small tree.

The park host for our area went and got one of the maintenance men and a chain saw on a long pole,I guess used for trimming trees up high,but perfect for this job as access to the stump was surrounded with cactus….Well,he cut out one section and the truck dropped,jamming again,so he cut another section and this time it freed the front suspension and I was able to 4 wheel it back to the road.My heart sank as I backed into my campsite, the truck steered funny and was making strange noises,but it was the first time I had ever used 4 wheel low and wasn't familiar with the resulting experience.So after going back to 2 wheel it seemed fine.

I did a once around in our camping circle then after thanking everyone for there help,took off to the commercial area just outside the park to a garage where I have had work done before on my Jimmy….They put it on the hoist and inspected the underside……It seems that the annoying heavy duty skid plate that has to be removed every oil change was my saviour this time as it took the brunt and all was well…..The mechanic wouldn't accept any money for his service but he got paid anyway.

Outside of the many scratches and a broken grill trim,I’m amazed at the lack of damage considering how large the tree was.

Id say that is one tough old Texas built Yota.

The remains of the stump centre right and the rest of the tree dragged back for access to extract the truck.

So with wounded pride and truck, I Carefully”hooked up and departed for the 14 day BLM boondocking spot at Why Arizona.

This particular parking spot is an old favourite that I have used before.I was happy to see very few here this year as its normally more busy,although the new sign at the entrance may be a deterrent as it reads that we may encounter smuggling traffic in the area……Hey,that threat has always been here anyway.And this spot is special as its where I posted my very first blog entry two years ago.

Yesterday morning,being a nice warm day I did a little wander around with camera in hand and noticed a few Palo Verdi trees nearby…..I thought the truck looked a little uneasy with its headlight eyeballs shifting around……But for those of you who haven't seen one close up……They are really thorny,so the trucks paint job didn't stand a chance.

At least my visiting friend the Phainopepla likes thorny trees.

And finally a shot of the many dry washes here.Very wooded, making this nice free boondocking spot a great place to just relax and bird watch or drink beer if you prefer

…..Oh! And by the way….The Pima County park officials in Tucson told me I didn't have to pay for the tree damage,so that was a relief.

A Little Tucson Area Tour.

2011-02-07T03:46:00.001-08:00

We have been coming to this area many times over the the past 13 years of snowbird travel,and I cannot even count the amount of times that we have stayed here at Gilbert Ray Campground,which is a Pima County Park.

My site in C section.I seem to keep gravitating to this area of the park lately.

Some scenes across the road and down the road.

This park is very large and well spaced,costing $20. per night with electric and randomly spaced water taps.

And not very far away is the Saguaro National Park,so we share the same beautiful landscape.

Also just down the road is the well known “Old Tucson Studios”where many a movie and TV series was shot over the years,including the 2 John Wayne Rio Bravo movies and such well known TV series as Bonanza, Little House On The Prairie, and High Chaparral.

Its been about 10 years or more since I last had a tour inside and sat in Diamond Lille’s saloon being serenaded by one of the dancing girls,and watching the shootout re-enactments around the town and down on the High Chaparral set.

When I stopped in the parking lot yesterday just to take these pictures,I noticed that they still have the “piped in” movie, western sound, for effect.

And that famous mountain below,with my truck parked in front, has been seen in so many movies and TV as a backdrop……Many is the time you would see Hoss and Little Joe throwing someone out of the saloon with that mountain showing in the background….I guess its the biggest dead giveaway as to where the movie or TV series you are watching has been filmed.Watch for it the next time you see an old western…By the way two of the more resent films done here were The 3 Amigo’s and Tombstone.

Since its Superbowl Sunday,I thought a little morning tour into the city was in order as I needed groceries anyway…I thought I would take the scenic route over Gates Pass…You can see the cut in the hillside where the road goes up and over in the centre right of the picture.

And a view from the top,looking down at Old Tucson Studios with a corner of our campground just to the right of it.

Then a look the other way toward Tucson,down in the notch below.

I spent a bit of time just driving around the downtown area as it was fairly quiet being a Sunday morning.

Then I decided to find where all the shopping was,so headed north on Stone Ave and came to Tucson’s biggest mall,called….wait for it…..Tucson Mall…2 levels and over 200 stores and almost empty because I always pick the wrong time to visit these things.Just a few stores were open being a Sunday morning,maybe I was too early.As I left at 11AM some others were opening but I wanted to get to a Bank and then find me a supermarket.

I carried on out the other side of the mall on Oracle drive into one of the northwestern suburbs called Casas Adobe where I found a small shopping mall with a bank and a Safeway store that would suit my needs being that I’m a Safeway shopper……Well… maybe you guessed it but…….

Yes…This was the spot that caught the worlds attention last January the 8th when an Assassination attempt was made on Congresswomen Gabrielle Gifford,wounding her and killing 6 others including a little girl…..Gabrielle had her kiosk set up right in front of the area where the red car has its tail lights on in the pic above.That’s just to the left of the Safeway entrance….There are no signs of the tragedy in evidence now,just a few signs in the store windows advertising a gathering in a weeks time for a heeling process.

I must say as a Safeway shopper,I was impressed with this store and its staff.Maybe they are still feeling the effects as they had to shut down for a week after the tragedy just to regain any composure.There was a quiet but friendly feeling among the staff members of the store.It seemed that every time I stopped and looked up at the aisle signs searching for an item,a staff member would be right there asking if they could help.

This seems to be a close knit neighbourhood store. All in all I found it to be a strange experience to be here after watching so much footage on TV during my stay in Mission Texas….I found it to be a much smaller shopping area than the TV view gave.

All in all an interesting final day here as I move on further to the west,positioning myself for the final run home in a few weeks…….Goodbye Tucson…I’ll be back.

Well!….That Was A Wild And Wacky Week!

2011-02-05T04:27:00.001-08:00

Nothing like setting out for a 1000 mile trek and facing down one of the biggest storms to come along in awhile…..In all fairness to the citizens of the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada,I didn't have to face down the extremes that they had,but it was bad enough considering I’m down here expecting to be in shorts and flip flops,not my toque and heavy winter jacket.

All was nice last Saturday as I left Ivan to “hold the fort” on the beaches of Padre Island,and set off northward toward San Antonio,bypassing “the city of my Toyota trucks birth”, this time in favour of highway 173 which skirts to the west of the city through the very interesting town of Bandera and the Texas “Hill Country.”

Connecting with Interstate 10 at Kerrville,all very pretty country that I must explore in detail some time.This day was cloudy and warm and getting warmer as I headed north west that day.

My first nights stop was another interesting spot that I didn't have time to explore.It was called the Caverns of Sonora,off the highway about 8 miles in the wooded hills.The small camping area was only $15 a night pull-through’s with electric and water.They were just closing the Visitor center when I arrived so I didn't have a chance to ask about this place that had deer running around everywhere,and the strange rack of birdhouses seen below.Of course its main attraction is the Caverns…Another time.

The next day dawned sunny and mild for this area,which did reach the 60’s as the day went on. Later that morning I crossed the Pecos river,no bigger than a ditch at this point and saw the landscape almost immediately change to the desert south west look.

Stopping at a rest area,I finally got a close up look at one of the many blades being transported for the big wind generators that are cropping up everywhere.

I’m still wondering where they are being manufactured.

The second night saw me at a dusty park in Van Horn Texas.Nuff said…The third morning,a little nippy, around freezing but sunny as I headed for El Paso,arriving in the mid morning.Its a good size city,but smoggy.Probably because of Juarez Mexico next door.The 2 are like one big city, as from a distance you cant see where one ends and the other begins….I guess I better give them some slack,with a total population of over 2 million and a lot of industry,its bound to be smoky and dirty.At the north west end of town I made a Wal-mart stop to stock up,not knowing how long I would be at my next stop which is a little isolated.

From the Wal-mart,it was just a mile more of I-10 and off I went onto highway 9 into New Mexico,following the Mexico/U.S.border on a nice desolate, but great 2 lane highway.The only activity I saw was the Border Patrol.My goal was to visit “Pancho Villa State Park,”a place that I’ve wanted to see for a long time.

I arrived just after lunch and selected a spot in this (1/8th full) park,and within minutes a nice friendly Ranger,who liked to tell “Canadian Jokes”……You know jokes about Canadians.That's different,…..Or is it?..Anyway he warned me to batten down the hatches because a big cold storm is coming…..Here’s one of the nice spacious semi-circle sites with Ramada,water/electric, that they have for $14. a night.

Then there was the next day…. After a night of high winds,blowing snow and the temperature plunging to 0 degrees f. or-17c…This is what we had.

This condition lasted for 2 days with the temperature struggling up to 15 f. during the day,nowhere near a thaw,finally taking its toll on half of my water system,(supposedly good to 0 with my enclosed heated underbelly) the first day and completing the freeze job on the second day.

So on the 3rd morning with no water(Except a jerry can kept inside) and the furnace never stopping,I decided to make a run for it after going on-line and figuring where the nearest best temps were, within a days drive...And that was Tucson where they forecast a high of 35….I’ll take it I said to myself…..Throwing my frozen satellite dish cables,(all 6 of them) inside to thaw out while having some breakfast.There was no way you could coil them up.

At sun up,(finally at least some sun)I headed out with square wheels thumping along until they warmed up,and the furnace still running in the trailer.(not knowing how much damage my water system has sustained)I didn't want to cause anymore..Was sort of nice and cosy for pee breaks though.

I joined up with I-10 again at Deming New Mexico,30 miles to the north,watching my truck thermometer slowly rising as I headed west.As I neared Tucson dropping down from the generally 4 to 5000ft level of the past few days to a more conservative 2000ft,I gave a big cheer as the temp read-out hit 32 degrees and finally 35 as I reached Gilbert Ray Campground just west of the city.

And within a few hours my water system was unfrozen and thankfully undamaged,so having the enclosed underbelly must have saved it some after all……BUT WAIT!…….I didn't show my little tour of Pancho Villa park before the storm hit……I’ll be brief….I know some of you have been there.

Here’s an explanation.

Now the park itself is part of the old military camp.

And below is a shot of Cootes Hill,a lookout point,then another shot taken from the hill looking down into the park,with Palomas Mexico in the distance.

And another view looking down at the visitor centre/museum with the town of Columbus NM in the background.

Due to the bad weather,I never got over to see the museum plus several other things,but will definitely be back during warmer weather…..It really is a nice, although a little dusty, park..See we even have our own garbage can at each site.

And a nice wall.

A Day of Discovery In Coastal Bend Country

2011-01-31T02:08:00.001-08:00

This past week Ivan and I decided to take a little round trip up island and see what there was to see, with no specific agenda.First,after crossing a small waterway,we found that we were now on Mustang Island headed for the resort town of Port Aransas,an area with several RV parks and one State Park,which we checked out for future reference.Then we took a small ferry ride back to the mainland over to Aransas Pass.

And up through the towns of Rockport/Fulton,(no pic’s) but another pretty resort area, only a little larger,and a spot I would seriously consider for next winters hunker down time.The area has many nice looking RV parks,most with an abundance of shade trees.

Then it was over the causeway and bridge across Capano Bay to Goose Island State Park for another future reference look-see.

A thing of note,due to the local terrain,everywhere you travel in this coastal area,you travel over dozens of bridges and causeways like this,and there just seems to be no end to the spots where you can pull off along the shoreline of the many bays and waterways.Having a boat in this part of the world,I would say is a must.Even many of the newer homes just about everywhere you look have waterways and boat docks at their back door instead of a dusty laneways like most places.

The Goose Island State Park campground was almost full.It has two camping areas,one back in the woods,very private where you cant even see your neighbour,or like the photo above and on the right,out along the beach with a beautiful view.

From there we moved on a little further north to the entrance to the--

Where really you need more time to explore and enjoy what there is to see,but this part of the tour wasn’t really planned….It just happened….Actually my long range plan was to make a special all day trip here,…..So next time…Actually we did cover a lot of ground in the short time we had in the refuge.

The main thing was to see the Whooping Cranes from the viewing stand(pic above) but they were not to be seen this day.Many other varieties were out on the bay but the distance was really disappointing and you really needed a spotting scope.There was a spotting scope but it was surrounded with folks who didn't seem to want to give it up.There were many Rosette Spoonbills,but as my photo shows,full 20X zoom really wasn't enough.Thank goodness we at least had some binoculars.

But we did visit a small lake nearby in the refuge, because Ivan wanted to go “Dancing with the crocks.”We found one over on the other side but he wasn't in a dancing mood.

So it was time to head back,this time through Corpus Christi,McDonalds,and home to the beach.I will again put my little area map up to show the lay of the land that we covered.

I want to finish this post off with some of my wanderings along our beach here,first off showing a beautiful Texas sunrise out of the Gulf of Mexico.

And some of the shorebird scene.The one standing on one leg (left pic) actually, I believe has only one leg, because even though they were all at one time standing on one leg….This one hopped away on one leg when I approached…..The others walked away on two legs. The second photo is of (I believe) a Gull Billed Tern.

There were many of them hanging around with an equally large flock of Royal Terns seen below.

Quite a striking bird,and pardon the pun,but as far as getting up on those old pilings below…………..Wait for it………….

We all want a tern.

So!…..By the time that I post this entry,I will be a long way from the beach,as I said my goodbyes to Ivan and Hailey his guard cat on Saturday morning. My present location as I post this, is already 600 miles away,so I travel in stealth mode to……….?

The “USS LEXINGTON”…The Blue Ghost

2011-01-27T03:13:00.001-08:00

Our tour of this magnificent old aircraft carrier was 6 hours of pure joy for me, since its heyday was in a time period of my younger life.

I’m not going to go into detail of its full history but have provided a link on Wikipedia that I think explains it well for those who are interested.. here

I will concentrate on showing the tour through the eyes of Ivan and myself as we scrambled around her decks and compartments.

It was nice to have an early morning start with no crowds, and as it turned out as the day went on, that crowds were not a factor, making it an enjoyable and relaxing tour.

Early on, we entered the Joe Jessel mega theatre,at the forward end of the hanger deck to watch an I-Max movie called “Fighter Pilot”which being my first I-max movie,had me wide eyed and excited.(I don't get out much)It was all about training exercises in the Nevada desert combining the fighter pilots of many countries,including our own,Canada.This had nothing to do with the Lex,but did set the stage for an interesting day……I must say we were both impressed as we felt like WE were sitting in the cockpit of the F16’s………I even thought that I had pulled a couple of G’s just sitting in my movie seat.

When the movie ended,our next visit was to go up to the flight deck,where they have many different vintage planes on display.

Below is a shot taken inside one of the big gun turrets where Ivan is checking out the situation.Plus a little silly Willy photo op…Hey its my blog….I can do what I want.

Here’s another…..so Nah!..Don't you just love these photo op displays that they put up just waiting for turkeys like me to come along and embarrass myself.

Up to the bridge for a look see,where I sit in the captains chair and Ivan is back behind me steering the ship…..Ivan! Your looking the wrong way…Remember what I said about kids in a candy store?

Now a few views taken down on the hanger deck…A lot bigger than some of the hangers I worked in during my air force days.They had a nice little mess deck cafe at the rear of the hanger deck, so we grabbed some lunch to fortify for the coming afternoon.

Nearby was also a nice souvenir store where I bought my (been-there…done-that).. tee shirt.

All 5 self guided tours started and ended on this hanger deck,so you could choose any tour at any time and go at your own pace and see the exhibits and learn of the ships history,and because it is a former US Navy vessel,the ship does have steep ladders,low overhangs and some hazards to look out for,and BOY! They weren't kidding.

Tour 1 covered the Flight Deck area

Tour 2 covered the Foc’sle….Quarters, exhibits and anchor equipment.

Tour 3 covered the Gallery Deck…Combat information centre,ready rooms,etc.

Tour 4 covered the lower decks,engine room,sick bay,dental clinic,crews galley,mine exhibit and more.

Tour 5 covered the hanger deck.

There was so much to see that after awhile we realized that to do this ships 5 tours properly,you almost need to spend 2 days here…..That is if you like to read and really look at everything they had on display.We even stopped snapping pictures after awhile as it was becoming overwhelming……Below are some random shots that we did take……Captains Cabin.

Control Centre,and Junior Officer Quarters.

This Foc’sle section was also a movie set used in the movie “Pearl Harbor”for a scene taken on a Japanese ship.

We were amazed at the sick bay and dental clinic as to the large size of these areas,and so well equipped,but by this time we stopped taking pictures and just took it all in.There was just too much to absorb…..And thank goodness for all the signs directing you because it is really easy to get lost with all the compartments and passageways…Hell I get lost just coming out of a mall by a different door.

The right hand photo below is a view of a very small portion of the engine room.

Finally a little piece of her history below.

With a little more explanation below.

And there’s the spot up there with the Japanese flag.

So with that I say goodbye old Lex….It was a pleasure and an honour to visit you.

Familiarizing With Our New Area…The Coastal Bend.

2011-01-26T02:28:00.001-08:00

Just to carry on from the last blog post,I wanted to set the stage,(so to speak) for my upcoming blog entries and follow the daily sequence's since arriving in this area.

First off,a map and scene of the general area,and I know that some readers have been in this area,but for those of you who haven't,we are located at the position of the green balloon.

For anyone interested, the live Google map in my sidebar can be used for a more concise look at the area using a satellite view and zoom,but this gives a general overview of the areas that I describe.

So!…Ivan and I are parked somewhere down there on 50 some odd miles of unspoiled beach that have beautiful sunrises coming out of the sea.

Going back to last Sunday which dawned a little cloudy and cool,we decided to take a drive into Corpus Christi and take our first look around.Again like many times before we both agreed just how easy it seems to be,driving around some of these Texas cities with the expressway systems that all seem to be laid out the same,both here and down in the Rio Grand Valley,using one way frontage roads on each side with U turn lanes going under the overpasses.

Corpus Christi seems to us to be a very clean and modern city (pop 277000) with miles and miles of beautiful beachfront and parks, which would make this place a real treasure in the summertime.They say that swimming in these waters is good until late December.If you look at the map you can see the city sits on a large protected bay,protected by Padre Island, and from the city you can hardly even see the island.

Below is some beach area where it meets the shipping area.Both of these photo’s were taken from the aircraft carrier Lexington,one from the fan tail and the other from the flight deck,showing this general area of the city’s north end.

Below is a ship coming out from under the bridge shown above.

And heading out into the bay.Padre Island can barely be seen in the background.

You will note that these photos were taken on two different days when you see both cloudy and clear skies.The reason for this is that yesterday Ivan and I took the tour of the aircraft carrier Lexington and that gave me some more photo opportunities to view the city from a different angle for this blog entry.

So on my next blog entry I will cover a wonderful and exhausting 6 hour, self guided tour of the “LEX”and its colourful history of battle in the south pacific during world war 2….Ivan and I were both like a couple of kids in a candy store with a look of wide eyed amazement as we climbed all over and down through the ship…. Next time.

Padre Island National Seashore…Corpus Christi Texas.

2011-01-23T01:36:00.001-08:00

Yes I did…..Finally……After 60 days in one place,mostly in the horizontal position……Vegging…..I put the rubber to the road……Didn't go that far,just a 3 and a half hour drive to the north and a little to the east,but nevertheless,a movement.

So here I am on the beach at the Padre Island National Seashore on a (free for camping) beach.A $10.00 entry fee,(good for 7 days) gets you into the Park.

And yes,…..I have company……Actually he has company…….Me.

That's fellow blogger Ivan of Road trip 2011.He dropped in on me last week in Mission and we made tentative plans that I could hire him as my “Sacrificial Lamb”whereby he could scout ahead for some nice camping spots on the beach in the Corpus Christi area.

And if anyone can sniff out boondocking places……This guy can……He sent e-mails with pictures of several local areas and I was hooked……rubber spinning on the road.

Actually we missed one member of the group from our “Group Photo” above.And that's Hailey,Ivan's faithful travelling companion.So here goes Hailey,you get your own personal photo.So don't look so dejected.

Here’s a few local scenes of our new digs,starting with our camping spot here in the surprisingly hard packed sand.

Actually when I came off the pavement and onto the beach yesterday,I wasn't so sure I wanted to venture out,but surprisingly even the soft looking stuff was hard packed and easy to drag a trailer over…………So Far

I found out after this bumpy ride that it would have been better to come up the beach below the tide line as its smooth like a highway,although a little corrosive I guess.You can see our nearest neighbour in the blue van….I hate it when I have crowds like this.

Lots of shorebirds.

In fact as we were sitting having a happy hour,I noticed about 10 different varieties of shore bird scampering along the shore line just a few yards away.

And off in the distance in this poor telephoto shot, is an oil rig,one of several in the area here on the gulf of Mexico….Not BP I hope…..Luckily last summers spill didn't come this way.

Note the White Pelican that was captured in the telephoto shot.

So!….We both have agreed that this spot will make a great operations base for exploring the area,as there is lots to see here.I’m looking forward to looking around Corpus Christi,a city of just under 300 thousand peeps.Coming through on the expressway,(Boy! I love these Texas highways)…It does look like a nice city.

And of course all the surrounding area both out here on the island and off,like Port Aransas,Rockport,Fulton and of course the winter home of the Whooping Crane,”Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.”All of these, a nice easy day trip away.Actually here on the Island we are about 30 minutes away from the city,just far enough away to enjoy the night-time sky.

So,I’ve run out of fresh photo’s….I want to spend at least a week in this area and see and tour the “Lexington”(WW 2 Aircraft Carrier),it’s high on my to-do list along with the nature tours of the area.

More on the history and layout of this beautiful island in another blog entry.Did you know its the longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world.

If interested,here is a link to my present location on Google maps. http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=9318

Harlingen. And The Iwo Jima Memorial.

2011-01-14T02:35:00.001-08:00

I have always had an interest in war memorials and battlefields ever since the 4 years that I was stationed in France in the early 60’s during my Air force years.

We lived in a small town called St Mard in southern Belgium while based at 1 Wing (Fighter Squadron), Marville France, a 30 minute drive away,so we actually lived in a hotbed area of WW1 and WW2 history with many battlegrounds still closed off due to the live ammo still buried there.

We used to take weekend drives to the various battle grounds and cemetery's.Bastogne Belgium wasn't very far with its famous “NUTS” museum depicting the Battle of the bulge in WW2 and the American tanks that (at that time) sat at the entrance to the town. And of course the Canadian monuments in Vimy and Ypres.

I managed to dig up a few old photo’s of that visit,with our 2 girls standing in front of the Vimy Ridge monument, back at a time just before we got our Maple Leaf Flag.

The second shot taken inside the Canadian front line trench.These slides were scanned painstakingly one winter recently by daughter Kimmie,the little blond in the photos.

And another shot of the front line with the girls and I standing over at the German front line,which was actually closer than what the photo shows.

So now I’ve set the blog mood for another world war memorial visit, about an hour down the Rio-Grande valley from here.

Harlingen,named after the Dutch city,is a beautiful modern city of just under 60,000 and the Iwo Jima Memorial is situated near the city airport,on the south campus parade deck of the Marine Military Academy….It is by no means small as you can see by my size next to it……Very impressive…….Not me!….It

This full scale statue was the model for the casting of the Marine Corps War Memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia,donated by the creator “Felix De Weldon.”

Buried next to the memorial is Harlon Block,one of the six flag raisers.

The plaque can explain better than me,the story.

Nice detail.

A more distant view through the trees of this beautiful park setting.

It was a beautiful warm day,so after a Burger King stop back in town,I headed south to Brownsville on the border.Drove through the historic,narrow, palm lined downtown streets,unable to stop and take a photo.(Isn't that always my excuse?)

I forgot to bring my maps with me and had a hard time finding the start of the Military Highway that follows the border back to McAllen.My sense of direction finally won out, but I still win the Darwin award because I had my Garmin with me and never even thought to use it.(Insert face slap)

The drive back was more of what I call “Mexico lite”with such a huge Hispanic population here,I saw so many similar business’s and lifestyles that you see on the other side,and of course the ever popular fence along the border. And even a couple of very slow transport trucks holding up a long line of traffic…..And as I finally got to pass them……You guessed it……They were Mexican plated trucks.

And I even had a few jousting matches with a couple of Mexican plated cars over for a visit.Thank goodness my 8 years of extended travel in Mexico prepared me for this day.

This is all true,but I wanted to have a little fun talking about the people and country that I really like,with hopes that soon I can take my 9th extended trip to old Mexico,instead of just looking across….Nuf said.

Now to finish off……..Last time I showed off my (Winter Texan) tee shirt and hat,well I still needed to get something for the truck,so off to the flea market I went.

I had a choice of 2 different decals,one like the RVer from Manitoba has on his car.You can have writing of your choice.

Or the one that I did select, that was a little less noticeable,but can be figured out.

Well all my bragging about our hot weather has come back to bite me as an arctic front has settled in for the past few days, but is expected to moderate in a couple more days…..In fact at present,4AM…It is 3 degrees f. warmer at home.Bummer.

A 46f/8c degree high is unacceptable……..unacceptable……mumble mumble.

This One Is All About The Birds.

2011-01-09T02:52:00.001-08:00

I cant be classed as a true blue birder,but I have had more than a passing interest in birding at a certain low level for many years.I enjoy trying to identify birds by the sounds I hear and I think I have a fairly good recognition ability in that regard.

This past week I finally ventured down the road here 3 miles to one of the World Birding Centre Parks in this area….This one being the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.In fact my daily 7AM jogging sessions take me almost half way there every day.

There are about 86 listed hot spot birding areas here in the lower Rio-Grande Valley,with 10 of them listed as World Birding Centre sites.More than I plan on visiting for awhile anyway.7 more on the Mexican side.

I’m still unable to identify the above…Its the little ones that really give me trouble.

The park sustained quite a bit of flood damage this past summer,so a good portion was still closed off,but its so large that my 3 hours of walking around in the available area, was quite enough.Especially at nearly 80 degrees,although overcast,….Thank goodness.

And of course I have to get my favourite Green Jay in early.I love their beautiful colors of (gold-green-black and blue) especially in flight.And yes I have learned to recognize their sounds and “key in” when one is near.

Another of the Mexico birds is the Great Kiskadee,a noisy bird that I hear every morning over my trailer but they stay high and move too quickly,so catching them near a feeder was my answer for a photo.And even at that they never stayed in one place very long to key in a shot.I remember these guys well last year at Teacapan Mexico.

They place feeding areas and viewing blinds around the park making close-ups a real treat.I had one all to myself.In the open feeding areas its enjoyable just to sit on one of the many benches provided and just wait and watch…….You don't have a very long wait.

These Chachalaca’s,about the size of a small chicken,are everywhere.They are another Mexican bird that you usually hear more than see when in Mexico.They sound like a bunch of crazy turkeys.I used to listen to them every morning at Celestino Sinaloa,but I never got a close up look at them until I came here.

I don't know the variety of that squirrel,but he is huge,twice the size of the red squirrels at home.Half the size of a ground squirrel.

Now,these Robins…I find it hard to distinguish if they are the “Clay-Coloured,”or the “Rufous-Backed” as both are in this area…See how well these in the 2nd and 3rd photo,blend in to the rocks.They are getting water from a spout sticking out.

And to round off we can compare the size of a Chachalaca with the size of a Red Winged Blackbird.And a Tufted Titmouse stayed still long enough for a shot through the opening of one of the viewing blinds.Cute little guys,similar call to the Chickadee.

All in all an enjoyable 3 hours for these tired old legs…..Most of the babble overheard from the birders that day was the sighting lately of a “Black Vented Oriole”which is usually not seen in this area…..Notice of it even made the local newspaper….The talk was that it has been seen in the RV Park across the road each morning….Much hand waving and describing of where and when was going on amongst the birders…….It made me smile….I just cant get that excited.

I did see several Altamira Oriole’s though,but not well enough to get a picture this day.So I’ll show one I took here in the valley last January.

Until next time.

Getting Texas-afied

2011-01-06T04:36:00.001-08:00

Is that a new word?…Well I made it up anyway,and yes I’ve been there,done that, and bought the tee shirt……And hat…And am still here and loving it.

And yes the beard is still history……For now anyway.

I must say the weather has been way more than I expected here in the lower Rio Grande Valley.I’ve been here for over a month and a half vegetating and soaking up the heat and we haven't really had a bad day.The only rain has been overnight sprinkles and that's only been about twice as the drought conditions continue here.

I’ve kept a daily temperature record and most days are in the 80’s with a few lately still touching the low 90’s…..We have had a few times when the daytime temps dipped into the 50’s as the arctic air pushed down from the north,but would modify quickly in a day or two and shoot right back up as the warm air from the Gulf of Mexico took over again……One example,when they were freezing over in Arizona on New Years eve,our stroke of midnight temperature was 70 degrees,dipping to a cool 65 by dawn……..burrrrrr!…….And on a final note its forecast to go to 79 today……..And yes in all fairness,I have seen frost on my windshield 2 mornings since arriving here….But I love rattling the chains of my friends over in not so Arid-Arctic-Zona.

One of the reasons I picked this area this year was for the warm overnight temperatures and I have not been disappointed…….YA! I’m Texafied all right.

My time will be up here in Mission at the AmeriCana on the 22 of this month and the plan is to head over to the Corpus Christi area for a couple of weeks while I wait for the Arizona weather to warm up before heading back that way….. The after Xmas hoard has started to descend in the southland now so I don't know what will be available,but I will wing it.I’ve got new neighbours here for the first time since arriving, as for the first 6 weeks I had no one in the next 4 sites beside me,and now its full.

This past week I had a really nice visit with some blogger friends that I have known for 3 years now and usually see every year.

Al, Suzette and Casey their dog are from Ontario,their blog is on my side bar next to Tioga George.

They spent a week here,so we had several nice visits comparing notes as they are retracing my steps and I theirs over the next few weeks as they head west and me a bit more east and north.

I first met them Christmas day at Celestino Mexico 3 years ago when I was interested in acquiring a satellite internet system.They had the system that includes the Starchoice/Shaw direct TV bird on a wire,and that really caught my interest.The idea of setting up only one dish for both internet and TV really caught my attention.

Al and Suzette were very obliging,even thought I had invaded their space unannounced on Christmas morning,showing me all workings of the system……And I have never looked back,now having the same set up myself and very happy with it.

I finally got off my duff yesterday and went birding down the road at the Bentsen Rio Grande World Birding Centre.My birding friends would be appalled that I could vegetate for 6 weeks only 3 miles down the same quiet road from the park,……..And not visit until now?…….For shame.

I will cover yesterdays visit next time with little talk and more pic’s…..Here’s a couple more taken here in the RV Park.One right out my door.

A female Cardinal and a Golden Fronted Woodpecker….I’m a little disappointed that the wild Parrots have not shown up yet this winter here in the park, as last year there were over 150 of them here at this time…..Oh well, another 2 weeks to go.

Just Checking In… With A Bit Of Rambling.

2010-12-08T03:36:00.001-08:00

Its been two weeks since my last post as I’ve settled into a routine much like when I’m at home.And really that is my comfort zone.As I’ve said all along since starting to blog two years ago,that when I’m travelling and have something to blog about,then I’ll put in an entry.

Now technically you could say that I am travelling….Well sort of, so when I get off my butt here and do something that I might think interesting,then I’ll make an entry.Many bloggers are happy telling of what they do all day including what they had for breakfast,every day…That's really not my style,although I am guilty of just that in the past,and will probably slip up and do it in the future.

My daily routine for the past 2 weeks is just relaxing and catching up with all the DVR recordings from my satellite TV that have been building up over the past 2 months,besides some days have been so hot that sitting inside with the air conditioner on and watching TV has been the norm.

The rest of the time has been spent driving around and getting used to the general area and finding the shopping/service spots that are close and easy to get to,for example the closest Super Wal-Mart is 9 minutes away and the closest H.E.B. Supermarket is 6 minutes,so things are (driving) close.(The H.E.B. has my favourite Mexican fruit yogurt,”Lala” peach with big chunks of fresh peaches.) And in between all of this are many Laundromat choices,big bright and almost empty,in fact the other day I was the last one leaving at 1030am,a far cry from my Yuma experiences where the Laundromats seemed to be a rat race by that hour.(Or do I need to check my armpits?)

And another nice thing is that the park is located on the outskirts of the city,where it is quiet enough that I hear the coyotes and roosters,even heard a donkey bray one morning,made me miss old Mexico.So the point of my rambling is that getting on the 83 Expressway,which is down the road a few blocks,gets me across several of the valleys cities,really fast or just as quickly to local spots.

Last January when I was here for 10 days,the local driving terrified me as I couldn't figure out all the one way frontage roads running beside an elevated expressway,then getting mixed up with the difference between U turn and left turn lanes as they passed under the expressway overpasses.This got me in big trouble back then when I found myself facing down on coming traffic going the wrong way after coming out of a gas station.So this time I was determined to figure it all out…And have… Now I love it.

On the nicer days I get out and do a little birding in our little parks own preserve.Still enjoying the Green Jays and Cardinals.

And even some of the visitors come right into my site beside the trailer,like the Pyrrhuloxia below.

The Northern Mockingbird(on Right) acts like part of a street gang,chasing all the others away,but sure makes up for it with their beautiful singing.It seems every afternoon on nice days,one will be up above my trailer singing away for the longest time.I would like to record it but there’s too much traffic noise here.

Last week I was treated to a 2 day visit from a fellow blogger who is on my side bar under the handle of (Croft’s Mexico).I’ve been following his blog for many years,so when he put a message in my comments section that he wanted to drop in and meet me,as they were passing through,I was thrilled as I had wanted to meet them.

Norma and Croft from Vancouver Island.

They are great people….We couldn't even find anything to argue about and that’s one of my strong points….I love arguing,It seemed that we just agreed on every topic whether it be politics or Mexico travel.We had happy hours and morning coffee visits and I really enjoyed having someone to talk to for a change,since I tend to be a bit of a loner.Even though we do have a park full of friendly people,I do stick to myself,its the old boondocker in me.Having Norma and Croft visit was more like old friend's because after reading his blog over the years,I felt like I knew them well……..Its a blogger thing I guess.

They had a bit of a sugar ant problem for the 2 days that they were here,as did I upon arriving, but after 2 weeks I had all my ants trained to leave me alone and go invade someone else…..That being said,I sent about 50 of them off to visit Norma and Croft and they hitched a ride with them to Brownsville,leaving me less to contend with.Sorry about that Norma.

Here they are heading out for Brownsville.Hope to meet up again soon.

So its back to my usual daily routine of my morning exercise jog/walks and 3 times weekly weight workouts with my fancy Ironmaster (quick change) dumbbells.I love these,so easy to travel with. They are shaped for travel with the square plates.My tail gate makes a good table for setting up.

One last thing I wanted to mention was that I picked this area instead of Arizona because of it’s more tropical,less desert, climate, as its on an east/west line with Miami Florida with much the same climate,in fact just down a few sites from me, I found growing, a fairly healthy looking bunch of banana’s up against the side of a 5th wheel.I’ve never seen them growing this healthy this far north,usually in Mexico you would travel almost to Mazatlan to see them,much further south….Although is it really that much further south,I believe we are also on an east/west line with Los Mochis Mexico.And I’ve never been to Florida,so maybe they grow all over,in that State…….There I go rambling again.

They even call the highway 83 through the valley as the “Texas Tropical Trail”.

I have 2 weather gadgets on my desktop,one for Yuma and one for Mission/McAllen and am able to compare temperatures every morning when I boot up,and so far this area has been much warmer,especially the overnights,some by more than 20 degrees f.(Coastal climate vs.desert.) I guess.

This was one of the reasons for picking this spot along with getting away from trailer rocking desert winds and DUST!……..Just a nice change and a new experience for the old guy.

On a final note I’m not knocking Yuma or Arizona as a whole…I love the place….just wanted to experience something different……And I also love comparative statistics as you have probably guessed by now.

AmeriCana RV Park…My New Home For The Next Month Or So.

2010-11-25T03:39:00.001-08:00

Above are my new digs.All set up and ready to kick back after over 3500 miles of travel covering a 6 week period.

I left Falcon Lake last Monday morning and an hour later arrived here and set up in my pre-selected site in uncomfortable heat.For the past week now the temperature has been hovering at the 90/33c degree mark with night time lows around 75/25c and a humidity of above 80%……..On top of all of this I’ve been suffering with what they call the “Texas Crud”for the past 5 days.Crud is crud whatever you call it and it pains me for I cannot remember the last time I was sick or even had a cold.But they say its hard to avoid as a first timer here.

The moist air just keeps pumping off the Gulf of Mexico a few miles away,and the forecast is for a high around 60/17c by Friday when all the cold air from the north arrives.

When I came down a week earlier to scout the parks,the only choices I had in this park for long term were spots in the back(below) The areas along the fence on the grass were ok,quite large, but not really defined,as were the gravel spots here in the foreground.When I went back to the office to asked,she suggested if I didn't care about traffic noise,there was a large site with a seldom used site next to it if I wanted some privacy, for $399. per month including electricity cost.So I took it,paid my deposit and headed back to Falcon Lake.

Some other views taken along the 4 park roads.There are some park models.

The sites are nicely spaced in this older park,and with plenty of length.Everything from shaded to semi-shaded to open sites in all budget ranges.And for the birder,the huge “World Birding Centre”park is just 5 minutes down this road.In fact they call this park “The Birding Centre RV Resort.”

A small salt water swimming pool and the washroom/mail/laundry room.Behind this shot is the clubhouse.

And in the back corner of this 154 space park,for the birder, is a 2.5 acre wooded bird refuge with bird houses and feeding stations set up at intervals.They have a population of wild parrots that seem to grow every year.

I stopped and sat in one of the chairs for a few minutes and was able to get a poor shot of one of my favourites here…The Green Jay,with its distinctive blue and black head,and golden tail feathers,a delight to watch in flight also.To the right a better shot taken last January when I was here for 10 days.

Unfortunately I mistakenly had my camera set on portrait for all of todays shots,so my scenes are hazy.

Here is another site nearby that is open until mid January that I could have taken.

But I didn't want to give up my orange tree.I hope they are worth it.

So as you can see by the photos that there are many open sites at this time but they are spoken for and this quiet, older park will become a hive of activity very soon.There are many parks here on Benson Palm Drive on the outskirts of Mission Texas,some are luxurious,and some have seen better days and just like Goldilocks and the 3 bears,some are just right.

Now I must go out and do battle with my sugar ants………Hey! It aint perfect but I’m getting to be an old hand at battling ants.About 50 to 75 got into the trailer Tuesday while I was out shopping, but I beat them back and sealed their entry point and am now feeding them the good stuff outside….You know the stuff that locks their jaw….Heh heh!

Oh! And I don't have to go far for a propane refill.Funny thing,all the way down the valley I was searching for a propane refill place and found nothing until I arrived here.

I think I’m going to like being a “Winter Texan”….Its a nice change of scene.Have to see if the wind ever stops blowing though…..Its not as bad as the desert winds…..Yet…And makes the heat bearable.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the American readers.

And again,all bad grammar is intentional.

Enjoying Some Down Time At Falcon State Park.

2010-11-21T04:28:00.001-08:00

The weather’s great and the park is almost empty,and its a weekend…go figure.31 sites and only 6 of us…Cant even see my neighbour….50 amp electric and water…$16.00

After one day over in the horrible full hook-up burr infested area,they made us all move over to the electric and water area,which is were I wanted to be in the first place.Nice paved semi-circles.This is because the construction crew had finished this area and wanted to start on the other.

When I was setting up in this new spot,I was busy brushing a couple of hundred burrs out of the truck and I look over into my site about 30 feet away and low and behold I got to see my first Armadillo.

Unfortunately he didn't want to face me and just ambled off.I yelled at him not to walk away when I’m talking to him…..But he didn't care.I’ve been hoping to see one on my 2 previous visits to Texas and was told that probably the chances were slim, so I consider myself lucky.

As I said before this is a birding paradise with all the thick foliage and lots of water with a 50 mile long and 5 mile wide lake out front.You have quite a nice selection like the Curved Billed Thrasher below.

And the place is crawling with Pyrrhuloxia like this sunrise shot yesterday,along with this second shot of one of a pair of them feeding in the grass a few feet from my trailer yesterday afternoon.I’m wondering if they are eating burrs…..Ouch!

And we cant forget one of the hundreds of Northern Mockingbirds here.They are so territorial,chasing all the others away…..But I could listen to them all day when they get warbling.

On my morning walks I see dozens of small rabbits and many deer like these two yesterday checking me out.

Haven't seen any Javelina’s since the first evening at the other site when a family of 9 came by and did some feeding on my burr infested lawn…..The little ones are cute…I didn't take any pic’s……I’m all Javelina’d out since Fort Davis St.Pk.

And here in the campsite I have a regular buddy who I named Rodger the Road Runner.He sticks around all the time so I guess this is his personal stomping ground.When I’m sitting outside he will walk to within about 5 feet of me.He got some wiener bits last night.

Yesterday when I was doing my breakfast dishes I heard a lot of chatter coming from the bushes outside my door that sounded like chickadees,and when I looked I saw that they were Tufted titmice,which are only in this area and eastward I believe.No chance for a photo this time.Too fast for me.

This lake is a very popular bass fishing lake and yesterday morning by 7 the big parking lot down by the boat launch already had 2 dozen trucks and boat trailers.

Its a huge parking lot so I’d assume it gets very busy.I also noticed that 6 of the truck/trailer combo were from Mexico,so either they don't have any good launching facilities on that side of the dam,or things are just too hot with the cartels roaming around,so they fish this half of the lake.

I also discovered a nice Butterfly garden by the clubhouse here, with some interesting local plant life.

The place was full of butterflies.Mostly Monarch but a few others too.

Some of the plant life that I found interesting was this Mexican Olive,explained below.

And another plant which seems to grow in abundance here in this thorny thicket country, is the….

With a few remaining flowers that look like this…

So!..Today is my last day here….On Thursday last, I drove into Mission about 50 miles down the valley and checked out a few RV parks that I could call home until after the holidays.It was a nice little daytrip with a Burger King stop included.And I took my first choice among my on line researches for a park.I had a choice of about 8 sites in this park that were still available into January and took a site close to the road but BIG with no close neighbours,and my own orange tree….full and ready for picking….And the owner says,enjoy them…They are yours to eat…Until next time.

A little Too Close To The Cartel Action.

2010-11-19T08:41:00.001-08:00

At noon on Wednesday I arrived at Falcon State Park after a nice easy hour and a half drive down from Laredo.Little did I know what was happening a couple of miles away on the Mexican side that afternoon until I read this mornings “Borderland Beat” website.

This is a remote area and I can see the Falcon dam from my window here.

A little more of the story of what has been going on below.

A map of the area….From the top to bottom covers about 15 miles as the crow flies.The green part is the State park I’m in.

Mier is the small city that is almost empty of all its citizens because of the cartel takeover.Most of the people have fled to Miguel Aleman on the border.

The Falcon Dam,near where the closest fighting was, is at the spot where the blue line is coming out of the lake. Of course that blue line is the Rio Grande river which is the US/Mexico boundary.

There is more on the website….Its amazing how bold and dangerous these cartel members are to be now threatening the US authorities.

This is the Dam area as seen from the park.Taken from the picnic area which is under water,due to high levels this summer.

When I arrived Wednesday the elect/water sites were closed off with only the full hook-up area open, due to some road repairs in this almost empty park.

As nice as it might look, its crappy.The hook-ups are poorly positioned and the BURRS! That's the worse I’ve ever encountered,they are everywhere in the grass and every time I entered the trailer,I brought a couple of dozen in with me and Boy! Do they hurt! And to top it off the temperature was 90 degrees inside the trailer and not much cooler outside…………But!…..What a birding paradise….One of the top 3 spots in the whole valley.

There's much more to tell as things are looking up and after 4 days of driving I’ve got the next three days of R and R here in another camping area that's burr less and maybe I’ll get to hear some gunfire from the assault rifles across the way.More next time.

On The Move…..Just An Update.

2010-11-17T02:49:00.001-08:00

After 2 days of quiet,relaxing travel,I’m in the border city of Laredo Texas,at a nice State Park called “Lake Casa Blanca,”and as I write this at almost 3 in the morning,I’m awake because some clown came roaring through here a little while ago and woke me up.

I’m in a nice little semi-circle pull-through down by the lake.

The park is quite large and situated on the bypass ring road around the eastern side of the city,across from the airport,and at 2:30 a.m. a big jet took off breaking the nightly silence, and the sound of sirens seems to be regular through the night.So even as its a country setting,it is close to a city of almost 200 thousand with another city,Nuevo Laredo Mexico,even larger I believe, joining it at the border.

As I entered the city yesterday afternoon,I was amazed by the amount of trucks on the roadways here.I don't think I’ve ever seen such a concentration of big rigs in one area.I figure it is because of the cross border trade here,with so many big factories on the other side in this general area of Mexico.

And all along the highway this day all the way from Del Rio were hundreds of transmitter towers.I counted 6 in my line of sight at one point.Another unexplained thing that I would like to know the answer to.This is flat land…No mountains.Why so many?

As you can see my selection of photos is limited and I do like to record what a camping area looks like at each stop,which in the long term creates a lot of boring photos of my truck and trailer.But this is not the point,they are just fillers.

Going back to Monday morning,I got a 9 a.m. start out of Big Bend one hour behind that big tandem rig I showed in the the last blog entry,but caught up to them after about half an hour,as an accident shut the highway down on a bridge over a dry wash…no pics but a pickup truck somehow jumped up onto the 2 foot high cement wall and wiped out about 50 ft of pipe railing,so there was a long wait until a wrecker came all the way from Marathon about 70 miles to the north…My wait was only about 10 minutes,just about enough time to listen to the life story of the guy in the truck stopped ahead of me,and tell him mine….So much for the early start for my cross the road camping neighbours.

I must say that so far in Texas,I have experienced nice quiet 2 lane roads,(until just before Laredo) its really relaxing to bumble along without traffic chaos.Just set the cruise and enjoy the changing scenery.I remember travelling highway 90 about 10 years ago with the wife,and the memory of a quiet relaxing drive on this highway was etched in the old memory banks.

Around the small burg of Sanderson a couple of hours into the days travel,the mountains disappeared and the flat desert landscape was the norm,doted with shallow canyons.

Below is an example of the many picnic rest stops that dot the highway system here in Texas.This (below) is one of the smaller ones.Just a wide pull off along the highway with one or more table set-ups.

My 1st overnight stop was a familiar one as we had stayed here 10 years ago after coming out of central Mexico….Its called Seminole Canyon State and Historic Park.

And it was a blustery hot afternoon about 80 degrees with a tail wind all day that gave me great mileage.Like many of the parks this time of the year….Nice and quiet,just a few neighbours further down the road.

Pretty thick desert, but all paved and clean.And no flies…..Just wind……The reason for no flies. Ya think?…..No flies or wind here at Laredo I might add.

So I’ve been on the road for just over a month now and covered over 3000 miles,saw many wonderful sights that will forever be etched in my mind,and I wouldn’t have missed this experience for anything…But its time for a slight change of pace,so my next stop will probably be my last State/National Park stop for awhile.

Today I will travel another 75 miles southeast to Falcon Lake State Park,(This is the spot much in the news lately)where a young couple riding sea-do’s were intercepted by Mexican Narcos out on the lake, and the husband is still missing.

If I like this spot I may stay a few days and take a day trip into the Mission/McAllen area and search out a nice park to hunker down in for a month at least.I just wish that I had foreseen this last January when I spent 10 days in a motel there.I could have been checking out some of the area’s 500 RV Parks then. I have a park picked out near a big birding area,but want to check it out personally and if Its not what I want,this will give me a chance to drive around and check out a few others without having to drag the trailer with me.

Last but not least….I wanted to show you my little travelling companion who mysteriously appeared at my door one morning whilst in the Roswell area.

And that's the truth…I opened the door and there he was…….How strange is that?

Some Sunday Morning Ramblings.

2010-11-14T04:50:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning to an e-mail from fellow blogger Les who is in my sidebar under the title of “The journey of a lifetime begins…”where he hints but doesn't come right out with it in his blog,but during his second night stop at a Pemex station in Sinaloa Mexico,parked in the back,(like we all have done many times)he was robbed at gunpoint.I wont go into the details but he posted his story in the Open Roads forum of RV.Net. Mexico and South America. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/24560233.cfm

I guess this can happen anywhere but I truly believe that the rule of law is really breaking down quickly in Mexico judging by the many hours of research that I have done this past summer,which sealed my final decision about not going this year.

It just seems that as the rule of law breaks down,all the nickel and dime crooks are coming out of the woodwork looking for an easy mark.Les is a pretty open minded guy and he sponsors girls in an orphanage in SMA so he goes to visit every year,and its very important to him. judging by his last blog post,he is handling it well.I probably would have high tailed it back to the border with much haste.

On a lighter note,things here at Rio Grande Village campground are turning into a couple of nice days of doing nothing much….I had to put on my Mr. fix-it hat yesterday in a failed attempt to fix my ailing,well used, 2 year old “Buddy Heater.”Its back to using the furnace until I get a new one.Glad this didn't happen when it was really cold at night at those higher altitudes.

My campsite turned into a lakeside property the other day when they irrigated this section of the park.

And did that ever bring the birds around…They were everywhere enjoying the water.The Vermillion Flycatcher seen below has been around since my arrival along with a male red Cardinal that I was unable to get a good photo of.

And I need help to identify these guys below….I’ve searched my 2 bird books and cant pin these guys down.These are small,4”,they hover just above the ground,they cling to trees like a creeper,they have a yellow patch just under the chin and back of tail, then grey stripes down the breast ……Am I missing something simple here?

Stretched out a bit here.Any help would be appreciated from you experts out there.

The other afternoon I was relaxing outside with a brewsky watching a few new arrivals coming in for the night and along comes this monster set-up.

My first thought was…boy! he’s going to have fun trying to park that in here where I barely have room.They stopped and walked around for quite awhile,even surveying across from me……OH NO! No jockeying next to me puleeese!…. Ya,you guessed it,they pulled straight in across from me and actually got everything into the site.

I guess the fun will be when they leave….Although I must realize that this couple probably have been doing this for a long time and know what they are doing….More power to them….I’m impressed………And also what caught my attention was when they opened up the back of the cargo trailer to reveal…….

Yes a car and a boat above.The car came out for there daily tours.

The weather has cooled a bit from 80’s to 70’s and I will spend today watching a couple of Canadian Football league playoff games,then head out Monday morning towards Laredo.Finally one more bird to identify.

GO BC LIONS!

A Couple Of Hike And Sightsee Days.

2010-11-12T04:54:00.001-08:00

I’ll start with another panorama shot taken with 3 separate photo’s.This is looking down toward the Rio Grande river valley in the distance with the mountains of Mexico in the background.A little in the sun with the 3rd shot.

The first full day here I took a morning walk up the trail from the campground to a highpoint.First we must cross a backwater of the river,consisting of several bridges and anchored floats.

Then up the trail where I first encountered evidence of where the Mexican people illegally come across the river and leave their crafts to be sold on the honour system.The $6.00 walking sticks are a bargain,nicely painted,but signs all over the place here tell us that its illegal to make these purchases.

Further up the hill we can now look back at the camping area and river,with a closer look on the right of the backwater and bridge system.All nice wood and aluminum.Recently replacing an old rotting wooden structure.

Now near the top we can look behind to the Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen in the State of Coahuila.

The river is just at the bottom of this first photo and winds around behind the town.The river takes one of its many sharp turns in this shot below.As you can see the Rio Grande at this point isn’t much of a barrier for anyone who wants to cross.There are many places that you could just walk over.

Yesterday I drove out to visit a few other sights,first taking a very narrow dusty road that is so narrow that dually pickups are not allowed.It gave me some anxious moments because of the rock outcroppings on some of the narrow turns put your wheels awfully close to the edge if you don't want a scratched paint job.

Finally after a few minutes, reached the parking lot,then set out for a 10 minute walk along the river to the “Hot Springs”.Not much of a sight to look at.

But oh so warm!….105 degree F.

Again a small display of goodies for sale and I could see the person on the other side watching his crafts.His 2 mules came down for a drink on the other side while I was soaking.Well the 10 minute soak was delightful but on an already hot day,a bit much,so its off to another location way over on the other side of Boquillas.My earlier shots of this town where taken from the hill behind and to the right of the tallest building.

And yes again we have our little display of crafts….This time they were across the river watching,so I called out a greeting in Spanish and they answered back with an reply in perfect English including a sales pitch.I guess I should have known better.

So you see,here’s the sight line.

Their crafts in the foreground and they and their canoe in the background on the Mexican side. Sealed borders?……Say what!…….Of course if they wanted to cross for good,they would have a gruelling 80 miles to get to any civilization,plus passing through the Border Patrol check points.Although the Border Patrol was in the park the other day looking for someone that had been reported by campers,so I guess some are crossing for good.

So goes another day along the river…The weather is so fine that I think I’ll sign up for a few more days here and just kick back…..Everybody has to be someplace…..So I is here……..All bad grammar intentional.

Just Chillin In Texas Big Bend Country

2010-11-11T04:30:00.001-08:00

Below is another panorama shot taken as I left the Fort Davis area Tuesday morning…Truly beautiful sweeping vistas like this all the way down to the Big Bend country.

I’m also kicking myself for not taking the time to unhook during my Fort Davis stop and go and explore this delightful and clean looking town with its refurbished fort,….So all I could do is enjoy the morning drive through,because on travelling day,that's all I concentrate on.

A little while later I stopped in the town of Alpine to gas up, and by the way with all my earlier complaining about paying at the pump problems with my Bank of America card,……Well,I’ve since found that “Fina”stations are great,just insert the card,it reads it and I’m good to go.New Mexico and Texas so far are crawling with Fina stations.

A quick grocery stop at one of the local Thriftway stores in Alpine was next,where I got short-changed a buck and didn't realize her mistake until too late…….I hate when I get careless like that…..Getting out of town was another screw-up as all the streets are one-way and with some road construction and a confused Miss Garmin,I went in circles for awhile,finally driving right past the same Thriftway on the way out of town.

The day got hotter as I headed south toward Big Bend Park.I was finally going to get down to lower altitudes after several weeks.Below is the final drop down just before entering Rio Grande Village.1850 Ft.

Not much here but the store/gas station and two camping areas.I chose the non hook-up 100 site $14. a day campground which was about 1/3 full at best.I had googled and researched this spot beforehand and was pleasantly surprised as I entered and found it to be really much nicer than anticipated.It does have nice washrooms with flush toilets along with water taps scattered along the roadway…Much like our Provincial parks back home….And a dump station.

Its full of big beautiful shade trees,which were welcome because of the mid 80 temps.The trees are full of Monarch Butterflies,probably on there way to their winter home in Mexico.

They seem to love these Mesquite trees….Now I could be wrong as I’m no expert, but they could be the Viceroy (similar) variety that stay around,but getting a close look was difficult as they are skittish when you try to get close.This telephoto shot helped.

Another view of the park.

This is all behind my trailer,a good distance to the next park road over.The sites are well spaced.The river is just a short walk away and I will cover that next time.

Due to the wild animals, they provide these steel boxes in each site for food storage if you are tenting.

So again life is good,the weather perfect,with warm days and mild nights.The bugs are not a bother and for the first time in almost a month on the road………I got my deckchair out of the truck.

Aint life grand?

One final note about some of my posting and e-mail times.My computer is on Pacific time,I’m not…..I’m on Central time…..So I’m not up that early.

Hiking And Dodging Javelinas

2010-11-09T03:42:00.001-08:00

By morning I realized,hey! I like this park…Its not just an overnight stop,so decided to stay another day and hike around.There was plenty of bird activity outside my door first thing so I though that I would have a look see but they seemed to move on before I got out with the camera,just one of my old desert favourites the Cactus Wren going somewhere with nesting material.And this guy below who I couldn't identify..Note white patch on tail…made a peep peep sound,Any help out there?

After breakfast I wandered around with the camera out behind the trailer.I kept hearing a crunching sound,so I followed it to the hillside a few yards away and discovered several Javelinas feeding on prickly pear cactus.I kept my distance because my knowledge of these creatures is limited as to their aggressiveness.

Next I walked over to the quail viewing area to see the Montezuma quail.The park has a feeding station set up but I arrived close to the end of the good viewing times and only saw this ruby throated hummer.Again my identification is untrustworthy but it did flash red under the chin.

Now its time to take a hike up the hill,a steep narrow rocky trail that switch-backed all the way up.Not a good time to be wearing shorts with all the cactus.Below is a view back down into the parks camping area.

Some of the hillside cactus growth.

I finally reached the top and had to celebrate.

Looking across the valley I could see the University of Texas McDonald Observatory on 8378ft. Baldy peak.

And to the left back down in the valley,The Indian Lodge hotel complex.

Time to head back down as it was getting hot and I was crapping out…..glad it was all down hill.On the way back I stopped at the quail viewing area again to see what was there and as I quietly walked up to it,I spooked a couple of javelinas who were feeding in the tall grass.

They started toward me…..Not knowing if they were tame or aggressive,I stood my ground and took these shots.

When the one on the right got within 10 feet of me,I shuffled my feet and he snorted and headed the other way,much to my delight……That was close enough.

There is much to see in this area like the old Fort Davis, where back in 1854 it was built and first manned by the 8th U.S.Infantry who,mounted on mules, first fought the Comanches….So next time I will add it to my bucket list.

Last night my “just before dark, backyard visitors”, were these guys.

Scratching fleas.They look like white tails but seem so light grey in color.There where 4 of them surrounding my trailer.(Jeeze! I sound like Gaby Hayes….Lets us two surround them Roy!) One stopped and licked the fire pit grill for several minutes.

So this morning its down to the town of Alpine Texas where I will gas up and grocery up,then head down into the Big Bend National Park along the Rio Grande.

I hope to find it as quiet as all the other stops so far this trip.I’m sure that after the New year all these places would be much more busy.

I hope in my last post that my negative comments about this place were not taken too seriously, about the layout…..It is really a nice park.

Fort Davis State Park Texas

2010-11-08T04:17:00.001-08:00

Sunday morning,and time to move on after 6 days at Brantley Lakes.No need to rush out as my days journey south is only a 3 hour trip.I did my final morning exercise walk at sunup…Gotta burn the fat.

Being a “turn the clocks back” morning it seemed that I had even more time to take it slow on departure,but in the first hour of travel south into Texas,I didn’t count on there being a time zone change which meant that I had to set them all back to where they were earlier this morning,and suddenly my arrival time was later than I figured.

The drive south into Texas follows the Pecos valley,which really is just flat uninteresting brown grasslands dotted with nodding horses pumping out all that black gold…Texas tea.

I arrived at the small city of Pecos Texas just at noon local time.Just under 10,000 people and nothing stirring downtown….No traffic…no people,just like a dusty ghost town.The only sign of life was at the local Sonic drive-in….I’m not used to seeing this kind of a dead scene in a town this size.The only rational I could come up with was that everyone was at home watching the Dallas Cowboys getting whipped.

Soon to the southwest,out of the flat prairie,loomed a mountain range in the distance,which would be my destination.Crossing under Interstate 20 as I left Pecos and 30 minutes later taking a 5 minute drive west on Interstate 10 at Balmorhea,another sleepy town in the foothills of the mountain range.The drive up into the dry mountains was a welcome change,very similar looking to the mountains in southern Sonora Mexico.

45 minutes later and I think mid afternoon…I’m confused now, I arrived at the entrance to Fort Davis State Park.Unlike the past State Parks,this had a live Ranger person on duty….No more pick your spot…Fill out the envelope…..This time she took my drivers licence and phone number and put it all in the computer……I thought I was crossing the border again.And the fee’s are a little more than New Mexico’s too because they add an entry fee on top of the camping fee,so for what I paid $14. for in NM,I paid $19. here,and if I stay longer you pay the entry fee every day.($4.00) This is an interesting park so since I have no agenda,I might stay a day or two.

The warning on the brochure stated to be aware of Bears,Mountain lions and Javelinas,so I don't know what to expect other than just at dark last night I had 2 Javelina’s at the back of my trailer 30 ft. away playing and rubbing up against each other…..Aint love grand?…By the time I grabbed my camera they had slowly moved off into the tall grass.(for those who don't know,Javelinas are wild pigs and can be dangerous.I once saw a pack of them attack an RVer’s dog right in the RV Park in Sierra Vista Arizona.

The campsites here are nice,some with plenty of shade and others open like I like, although they seem to be backward as the Ramada's are on the wrong side of the driveway.I guess its alright for motorhomes nosed in…Also the water and electric are so far back I hardly had enough cord to reach,even parked as far back as possible.

So there you have it….I’m looking forward today to doing some hiking and possibly seeing the local rare bird…..The Montezuma Quail. The altitude is 5000ft. and the daytime highs in the mid 70’s this week so life is grand.

Doing The Caveman Thing At Carlsbad Caverns.

2010-11-06T04:10:00.001-07:00

Now caves really aren't my thing,although you might say I live in a mobile “MAN CAVE”but that's a whole nuther thing,so on Thursday after seeing my friends off, departing on there trip back towards Arizona,I decided to take a little jaunt some 50 miles to the south to visit the famous “Carlsbad Caverns.” Barb and Jake had given me a briefing on what to expect and what choices I had on how to spend the time there……So plain,simple and easy was my plan.

First off the drive up to the visitor area and the caves from the main highway, is a gentle winding drive up about a thousand feet along a shallow canyon.

Photo above taken from switchback on this section of the road.Then after a few miles I topped out on a high plateau looking back down to the flat plain 1000ft. below.

And a large parking area with an equally large visitor centre.

I decided to do the Big Room self-guided tour,which suited me fine,so after buying my entry ticket,I was given a short briefing and escorted to an elevator.

This elevator ride is an ear popping 75 story, 754ft. drop down into the depths,that takes less than a minute. Then I entered a visitor area with washrooms,souvenir's and food sales.All in a cave like atmosphere.

And get this!…..Dig the spotless washrooms built right into the cave.

So the Big Room self guided tour is one mile all the way around and takes about an hour and a half.There are over 30 miles of passages in the Carlsbad Caverns, but the public can only see a bit of it.

The darkness and dampness took a little getting used to as I found the breathing a little heavy.Here is a map of the Big Room with the lines showing the path all the way around….Its one BIG cavern alright!

The pathway was great but the darkness and my inner ear problem found me staggering a bit and conjuring up Canyon De Shelly, take a tumble thoughts.

Many of these photos taken with the flash make it look brighter than it really was.

You would occasionally meet someone but for the most part you had the feeling of being alone in the darkness,hearing the occasional distant whisper or seeing a camera flash. At one point I saw what looked like a figure sitting quietly in the darkness and as I passed him, spoke, but he didn't answer.Then later I could hear voices coming up behind me and it was him talking to himself and laughing at his own jokes….Sort of a weird hippy type that has probably been smoking good weed for a long time.He moved on ahead of me talking away to himself and laughing.

Later I came across him sitting in the darkness humming like a Buddhist monk….And I thought I was weird.

I got a few drips hitting me on the head but considering the amount of moisture,it wasn’t bad.

Even the Red Rag got the tour with me as it was perfect for the almost constant mid 50’s temperature down there.

The fellow who graciously accepted my request to take a photo of me,had a hard time finding me in the dark as his first try missed me altogether…..No,it wasn't the weird hippy.

So after an hour and a half,I was finally back at the starting point.I bought the Tee Shirt and headed for the elevator.

And speaking of the weird hippy….We had the pleasure of his company on the elevator ride back up.And in less than a minute during the ride,He told us all how he saved several peoples lives in Hawaii and saved others lives in other parts of the world.Had many heart bypasses and back fusions and still went out and saved most of the world……..What a guy!

Then as I was taking a final photo in the parking lot,there he is again,he stops his car and says (take my picture,I’m famous you know),I just laughed and said lying,that I took one of him in the cave…….Then after he drove away I was kicking myself for not obliging him……It would have been a perfect ending for this blog entry, to be able to show him………..Who knows……Maybe he is famous.

My Roswell Incident Part 2

2010-11-04T03:16:00.001-07:00

The museum looks like an old movie theatre….I’ve been waiting a long time to visit Roswell and see what collection of things they had, but was a bit disappointed.Most of it was several walls of old newspaper clippings,recordings of radio news from 1947.Copies of sworn affidavits from eye witnesses who actually saw the UFO and the bodies.The craft was the size of a Volkswagen beetle,and the 3 dead and one survivor were about 4 feet tall and looked like this movie prop that they had on display.There must have been 8 or 10 movies made about this incident over the years.

Actually there was quite a bit of interesting reading.I truly believe that all this did happen because the government cover-up was just too aggressive.If it had been a weather balloon like they tried to say,peoples lives wouldn't have been threatened like they were.All evidence sure disappeared fast.

It is of course a UFO Museum in general,not just the Roswell incident…Actually the crash was about 50 miles north west near the little town of Corona,at the foot of the Cibola National Forest,but everything was brought to Roswell and the Army Air Force Base.

There were many UFO photo’s from all over the world,including a few from Calgary back in 1967,at the same time I was stationed in Moose Jaw Sask.And It was in that time period that I also saw my first UFO sighting.The second one for me was just a few years ago over Lake Okanagan….So you see I’m a believer.

Back to the Museum as I digress again.Below is a diagram of the writing found on an I- beam of the crashed UFO.

And below, what looks like the original Mayan tomb door from Palenque Chiapas Mexico where I visited last January.This with a description of what the carvings mean.Linking to the Chariots of the Gods.

Original piece of metal from the crash site on the right…Alleged.

So after buying the usual Tee-Shirt,(with an alien on it of course…That glows in the dark…..really!) I headed back to camp and a nice quiet Halloween night.With no internet.Too exhausted and stressed out anyway.

Monday morning I packed up to head further south to Brantley Lakes State Park near Carlsbad, where my friends Barb and Jake are parked and saving a spot for me.

I have a nice spot right across the road from them.I had just finished my set up and was having lunch when there was a crashing thump at my front window,I look up to see a road runner peering in at me,I went out and said to him….Whatcha doing up there?…..He just stared at me then jumped over to my satellite dish,so I went to the truck to get the camera and he disappeared…I have noticed a pattern with roadrunners….They usually show up just after arrival to see if you are an easy mark for some food,and if they don't get any,its usually the last time you see them.

Now its time to call in my markers with Barb and Jake and impose on them for help getting my internet up and running,by borrowing their equipment piece by piece in a trial and error fashion until I find the problem.This is the system I helped them get set up with last year at this time,and it was finally going to benefit me.

Photo from last year in Yuma.

Jake had a nice strong signal and was on line,so since Galaxy kept telling me my signal was too weak,I hooked up my modem to his dish and called Galaxy again…..This time the guy says you cant do that…..What!… BS I cant, its just an antenna…After conferring with his higher ups he must of got the message.But to no avail even with a stronger signal and a cros-pol pass,I still couldn't get on line……..So we tried re-commissioning my regular modem that I’ve been using for the past year and guess what……It did work again…..So I don't know what happened, but for now I don't care as long as I'm back on line……Boy!…..My mailbox was full of e-mails asking what happened?…Are you Ok?.. Sheeesh! I was missed…..Cant let that go to my head.

Just a final thought on this internet thing after sitting and thinking about it.If I hadn't switched modems to see if it would solve the problem originally,it probably would have been solved in the first hour of the 5+ hours spent on the phone,because it looks like that backup modem still has a Hughes lock on it,which is what they do when you cancel a subscription,which I did last year when I switched to the Canadian supplier for Hughes.

The real test will be when I move to my next location and enter the new location co-ordinance into the modem to reconnect.I love this system….I use it when I’m home…Its quick and easy to set up….Normally…..And I can be in the middle of nowhere and still be connected. One thing that puzzles me is that Jakes dish is exactly the same as mine, but he gets a signal strength 15 higher than me and if we trade radio arms,it doesn't change anything,I’m still lower using his transmitter.Its a fibreglass dish and isn't warped…..Anyway,Jake talked to the ranger here and he said that others have had satellite problems at Bottomless Lakes State park…….so something weird is going on…..A Roswell thing I guess.

Yesterday was warm and breezy here at Brantley Lakes State Park,and was my first day in shorts,so I spent it washing the truck and trailer of all the red dust and mud from the Monument Valley.I will stay here another day or so just relaxing or maybe drive over to the Carlsbad Caverns,just a few miles away…I really have no agenda,and as long as the weather stays nice I don't need to go further south or to lower altitudes yet.

Big Bend National Park Texas, is only a days drive away,with 2 more State Parks on the way if I wish to shorten my days travel.My friends here are heading back toward Arizona today,but I will stay the course and still head south east, as I treat every winter travel season like its my last and try and see and experience something new.

My Roswell Incident…5 Days Of Frustration.

2010-11-03T03:48:00.001-07:00

Because my blogs tend to be sort of a continuing self narrating story,I’ll start by going back and picking up where my last blog entry ended.

The drive to Albuquerque on Friday last was just another enjoyable days drive with changing landscapes,from rolling grasslands to pine forests each time I climbed to higher altitudes.Sometimes I thought I was in southern Alberta/Sask.,then other times, the BC interior above Merritt.Then dropping down into Window Rock the capital of the Navajo Nation,then quickly passing into New Mexico and down to Gallop and the Interstate east to Albuquerque.

I earlier did an on-line research using “RV PARK REVIEWS” and found a nice little $18.full hook-up park that's located just before reaching the city,so setting my GPS,this made a perfect overnight spot.It was called High Desert RV.Nothing special but nice people and a clean spot.(no Photo)

The next morning I left around 8:30 AM hoping the morning rush was over in Albuquerque and as I headed down into the city, I found it to be one of the easiest larger cities,to navigate on the Interstate….Wow! I thought,things are going well.A pretty city,with the mountain backdrop,just like Salt Lake City from a distance,a little Bee Gee’s pumping out from the oldies station,life is good.

East of the city got pretty boring with flat grassland and some distant mountains.I crossed the Great Divide at this point and it really was a non event.If it hadn’t been for the sign,I’d never have known.Then at a little place called Clines Corners,I headed south on highway 285 through some of the most desolate country I have ever seen.4 lanes divided and practically no traffic,so that was good but it sure can lull you to sleep.This was the area of the 1947 UFO crash,just west of here.(No I didn't say alleged.)

Then as I approached Roswell it got a little greener and milder.Finally I was into some warm temperatures for the first time in over a week….As I entered Roswell I kept thinking it was sort of like Yuma but a bit smaller.I didn't know whether to go to the State Park or just grab an RV Park.I passed 2 RV parks that didn't look all that great,but decided even if it is the start of a weekend,I’ll try to get into the Bottomless Lakes State Park about 20 minutes east of the city.

Actually I found a nice spot near one of the lakes,and not crowded,not even 1/3 full.$14 with 30 amp electric and water plus a dump station…..And lots of flying insects,mossy's,house flies,and mud daubers.Every time I went inside I’d take a collection in with me,it was hot and sticky with no breeze.

Another view from the hill above.I’m in the middle of the back row.

Like on every stop after setting up the trailer,I set up my satellite dish that gives me my internet and Shaw Direct TV,all in one package,and as usual the TV was there loud and clear but no internet…..I just couldn't get on-line…..Is it the Aliens?….I don't give up easily and fought it and the flies until way after dark before finally giving up in exhaustion.Time to put my little US Cell phone (Tracfone) to work in the morning,to get some help,I had over 126 minutes of paid time to play with.

A wider view,but taken directly into the sun also.

Next morning on the phone to Galaxy Broadband in Toronto….100 minutes used and and still no success.I carry a spare modem,we commissioned it and that didn't solve the problem.They kept telling me that my signal strength was too weak and I told them its the same as it always is.Finally running out of time on the phone we ended it for the day.Now,I needed to get another phone card,so off to the Wal-Mart in Roswell,where to my disappointment, found that the State of New Mexico is going with only one cell carrier and they had fazed out the cards for the Tracfone.Great! Now what?They suggested trying some other places for old stock.By now I was really stressed out in a strange city and the temperature just topped 90 degrees and I hadn’t eaten all day.But alas!To make a long story short,good old “Target” had remaining stock near their cash registers,I almost kissed the girl.2 hour cards,and I get double with my phone,so that should be enough for the next days attempt.

Earlier in the day I had even driven over 100 miles round trip to my Nanaimo friend's campsite to the south near Carlsbad,just to borrow Jake’s radio arm off his dish to try.So you can see it was a long hot day of frustration……I hate it when I leave my comfort zone…..I’m a creature of habit and when that gets altered I don't function too well.Having that internet all the time anywhere is important to me…..I guess I’m spoiled….I did it to myself.

On the phone to Toronto at first light as soon as they opened Sunday morning.This time I got a level 1 tech who talked like a cross between a drill Sargent and a gangster.Well after 2 hours of trying everything including him being on the phone with Hughes and Hughes trying to communicate with my modem to no avail..(This is a modem that Hughes locked on me for 6 weeks when I ended my subscription with them last year,causing me to have to buy another.)And I think its still locked.But try and contact Hughes to find out……Hah! That's a laugh….So its Sunday,mid morning and time to give up because we have just wasted another 2 hours on the phone ……I still need to do things including going to the UFO Museum in Roswell….Found a dingy Laundromat and got that chore done plus I went back to Target and got another card just in case…..On the way I noticed a “Whattaburger” outlet…….mmmmGonna eat today…..I still remember the one in McAllen Texas last January, with the huge burger between 2 pieces of Texas Toast…….But I didn’t see it on the menu here..So I had a regular……Now its off to the UFO Museum.

Part 2 tomorrow.

The Misadventures Of My Canyon Hike.

2010-10-28T02:55:00.001-07:00

Hopefully this map will fit and be readable to those who are interested.You can see the shape of the canyons and the north and south rim drives.Tuesday I covered all the north rim lookouts and showed the photos in the last blog entry.

Todays entry will cover yesterdays misadventure’s in hiking.After another cold night of frost I got a fairly early start about 9am.It was only 37 degrees F as I drove out the south rim drive all the way to the Spider Rock Overlook.

I had the place to myself as the cold wind whipped up from the valley below.But what a view of Spider Rock,a sandstone spire that rises 800ft (240m) from the canyon floor.

I then worked my way back checking out all the other lookouts until I got back to the White House Ruins Overlook where the hiking trail is located.This is the only place that you are allowed onto the canyon floor unescorted.

By now I realized my heavy winter jacket was going to be necessary.So with a sandwich in the pocket,I set out.By this time there were several others prepping to set out also.Below is the view of where I’m going..You can see the slit in the rock just above the trees centre right.The canyon isn’t quite as deep in this area.I think about 700ft.

Well I passed the first sign near the parking lot and followed the rim looking for the second sign at the beginning of the decent….It was here that I was getting too close to the edge with a 700ft drop and moved away from the rim toward a drop down in the rocks that looked like a pathway……carelessly I descended into this 5 ft. drop down and lost my balance,landing heavily on my jaw,wrist and camera,and came up bleeding like a stuck pig from my lower jaw.I used kleenex over the cut until I figured the flow had slowed up a bit,then along came a couple of young native fellows and I asked them to take a look and see how bad it was….They said it just looked like a scrape and wasn’t bad…..I really wanted to do this hike and didn’t want to abort the venture so carried on holding the kleenex to my chin.I guess I was a little in shock and disoriented because I spent the next 30 minutes walking in the wrong direction……After awhile an old toothless native came along and told me that the trail was away back in the other direction…..Sheesh! I’m going to be exhausted before I even start at this rate. Finally I saw people again and they were standing at the second sign just before the decent.And what a decent it was.

The section on the left wasn’t bad but the area in the RH photo was downright scary with a gusting wind and a big drop if you slip…My concern is that I have inner ear damage and stagger at the best of times,in fact I’d never pass a ( heel to toe) test at a “Police Roadblock.”…..Drunk or sober.

Below is a shot looking back up at the area I just descended from.

Finally almost to the canyon floor and with all the huffing and puffing coming down in this high altitude environment…….What's going back up going to be like?

Just this much more descending to do.

Finally the canyon floor and a short walk to the White House Ruins.

When I reached the kiosk area where the Navajo sell their wares,I realized that I had a chin covered with blood…and a nice young Navajo lady named Loraine came to my rescue and supplied me with a band-aid,for which in appreciation gave her $5.00,which made her very happy since she didn't ask for anything.Here is Loraine.

Now on to the ruins a few yards ahead.

I will finish rambling on about the rest of my day with a few more shots of the hiking trail….And by the way the hike back up wasn't all that bad in the huffin and puffin department.

After getting back to the truck,I found that the band-aid wasn't staying on because of the beard and it was still bleeding,so in desperation when I got back to the campground,I made the decision that after almost 13 years, the beard was going to have to come off.

Well I got out the razor (barber type)and did the deed……Gawd! what a sight after all this time….I didn't realize how old and ugly I had become.

That last shot above was one of the scariest areas to stagger along,and a good drop too if you trip…..And here’s something even more scary below.

By the way the camera survived but is scarred up a bit…just like me…I may still need stitches……Would a scar make me any less beautiful…

Well I’m hopefully off today to some warmer environs,so my stop tonight should be in Albuquerque New Mexico,where the weather forecast is sunny and warm for the next few days,then tomorrow on to Roswell for the weekend…..And yes I believe all that alien stuff from back in the 40’s in Roswell and want to see the tourist traps that promote this stuff…..Until next time.

Canyon De Chelly National Monument….Another Pleasant Surprise

2010-10-27T04:54:00.001-07:00

(Pronounced de Shay) And a free campground to boot.

Its free,with water and flush biffies…..And a dump station.

On top of that its in a beautiful cottonwood setting,which is why they probably call it “Cottonwood Campground”……A choice of sunny or shaded sites all on beautiful new blacktop.And only a few people each night…Lots of choices.I think the reason for everything being free is the fact that its a National Monument on Navajo land.

I arrived Monday,just after lunch, as a vicious,cold rain storm was approaching.Clearing in the evening and plunging to an overnight low of 27f (-3c)The whole way from Monument Valley,I was dodging bad storms and watching for tornado’s sneaking up behind me as some pretty mean looking clouds were around.

On that trip I passed through the town of Mexican Hat Utah and saw its namesake on the far hill,Mexican Hat Rock.

Tuesday morning dawned sunny and cold,struggling to reach a high of 54 for the day,but that's ok for driving and sightseeing….I decided to take the north rim highway this day….The visitor centre is closed for renovations,so I had to do a little on-line research… To set the scene,the canyon sort of starts here at the campsite,but is not deep in the local area.The surrounding landscape starts rising immediately going from 5500ft here at the campsite to over 7000ft when you climb up to the back end of the canyon,some 26 miles back.So when you get up there and look over the edge…….Its a looooong way down.

See that little black dot in the field in the lower centre of the picture?

This is it.

You can walk right up to the edge and look straight down a 1000ft and fall that far if you wish.But like the guy I was talking too said……After the first 20 ft.,It doesn't really matter how far down you fall.With my vertigo,I wasn’t too brave…… but It was interesting to look straight down and see ravens flying 500ft below me.

As you can see its a very lush ranching valley that stays that way all year round,even when the snow flies at the top.So they say.

This canyon valley floor has seen continuous habitation for over 2000 years,from mud huts on the valley floor to cave dwelling,and now ranch homes.Below are some shots of Yucca cave and Mummy cave,with the ruins.The Mummy Cave was where they discovered well preserved human remains.

This was an interesting little story if you can read it.

And here’s the spot.That cave in the centre.

For those interested,I found all over this high altitude desert country,that the trees seem so lush and healthy.The pine forests are so green,unlike back home with all the beetle kill.Even here among all this sandstone,that healthy tree’s,mostly Pinion and Juniper,thrive so well.

And for the birders,yes there were many around but they never sit still long enough to get a photo.I saw what looked like a flock of Junco's,but not sure,also a small woodpecker.

Some more ruins at the base of a cliff,with a distant and close-up shot.I sure like my Canon’s 20XZoom.

And of course the almost famous “Red Rag”must be in the picture.

And on the way back to the truck,I stopped to talk to a young Navajo,Richard Charley, selling his wares,and purchased a small painting on a piece of sandstone,that he did.He explained what each symbol meant.They were old Anasazi markings.

For a Navajo souvenir,it was worth 5 bucks.That small woven material behind him was like 45 bucks and only a foot square,so I took the rock.I had to ask him if the woven piece had a made in China sticker on it……I got a bad sense of humour.

So today I will go to the south rim drive and try my hiking expertise and take the self guided trail down to the canyon floor to see the White House Ruins…..And to quote a very funny lady friend who took this hike a week ago……”It was almost an orgasmic experience”……..So we will see.

Monument Valley Tribal Park……All I Can Say Is……..WOW!

2010-10-25T03:38:00.001-07:00

I arrived early Saturday afternoon after a Wal-mart stop in Page and a Burger King break in the Navajo town of Kayenta.By the way it was my first fast food stop of the trip.

The Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park sits partially straddling the Utah/Arizona border up in 4 corners country.The entry fee is 5 bucks,( no pun intended) and the camping area,10 bucks a night is just a big dirt parking lot….But wow! The view while parked here sure makes up for it.

Its also a parking lot for a hiking trail the begins here, and there have been many horseman coming in with their trailers and heading out across the desert like the 7th Cavalry.

I only shared the big parking lot with 4 other campers the first night so it was just like spaced out boondocking.But last night another class-c rental decided to park 25 ft. away…….sheeesh! Again?

I’m so overwhelmed with this area,as an old western movie buff,I’ve been waiting a long time to see this place where John Wayne made so many movies using this as a backdrop.In fact this past summer during the slow TV season,I watched about 4 old movies filmed here and it just wetted my appetite even more to see this part of the country.In fact one of them won a cinematography award for filming in a thunder and lightning storm.They wanted to run for cover while filming,but the director thought it would be a great effect so they kept on filming and it was spectacular.The sad thing is I cant remember which John Wayne movie it was….maybe The Searchers?

On Sunday morning I was up before dawn to get some sunrise shots over the Mittens(the butte’s)

Thank you Picasa for your enhancement abilities on these automatic point and shoot shots.

Later in the morning when it warmed up a bit,I set off with the truck to travel the 17 mile round trip road out into the desert.This is the only one that the Navajo allow you to be on and all I can say is it was the roughest excuse for a road that I’ve ever driven on, with huge imbedded rocks and sand……It sort of reminded me of a road construction detour in Mexico.Most of the driving was at just above walking speed with a few stretches where I got up to 12 miles per hour.I didn't think the truck could twist like that………Just to prove that I’m really here…..And that's not the road I’m talking about.

The 3 Sisters below.

Camel Butte below.

Not sure below.

Earlier I showed sunrise shots…..here’s the sunset shot.

And finally,across the parking lot and up the hill is the Visitor Centre complex with hotel and restaurant/gift shop.And a huge parking lot which most of the time is fairly full…..By the way……Bought the Tee shirt…..You know..binderdonedat…btts.

This is a small taste of the 90 photo’s and and about 15 video’s that I took for a keepsake of this wonderful place.

The weather has been cool and mostly sunny in the 50’s with fairly mild overnights, considering its above 5000ft……But man! Does that old desert wind ever howl at night.

This morning I’m off to Canyon de Shelly about 3 hours away.I’ll still be on the Navajo Nation……..All I can say is that this is one hellava big Rez.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area….Utah/Arizona.

2010-10-23T04:22:00.001-07:00

I don’t know what I’m doing here with this blog entry,but for some reason I inadvertently downloaded the new version of Windows Live Writer and I didn’t really want to be dealing with something new at this time.Anyway I’m here in this picture above, in fact I’m the 3rd rig from the right.

On my morning exercise walk today,I thought wow! This is the place to try a panorama shot.I don’t know why it has this curvy look but that’s the way its going to have to be until I get some time to experiment….Lets try another taken a bit to the right.

HMMM! I cant get as much depth on this one……….Ah heck…..On with the blog. By the way,thanks to Rick for the link.

I know I was told by several in the know that I should have stayed longer at Bryce Canyon,but by the time I got to the favorite hiking trail,the Sunset/Sunrise,a storm was looming and I was pooped…..I have a lot of ground that I want to cover before the weather starts to deep six and it could happen anytime at these altitudes,so I allotted myself only one day for Bryce,and as Arnold says…….I’ll be back! The big number one visit that I’m looking forward to…Is Monument Valley and that’s next.

The trip from Panguitch to Glen Canyon was a half a days drive with a short side trip into Pink Coral Dunes State Park,where I sized it up for a stay but decided that the half full campground wasn’t to my liking and hiking the dunes wasn’t either as I watched people at the entrance of the dunes removing plenty of pink sand from their hiking shoes and socks.

So I carried on through the very pretty and clean looking southwest town of Kanab Utah,to this location.

Here I am at the Glen Canyon National Rec area’s Lone Rock Campground…Its basic boondocking with a price as you have an entry fee of $15. then $10. per night to camp anywhere you want as there are no designated spots.There is water and a dump station and toilets scattered around.The first thing I noticed was that it was warmer as I was now down in the 3700ft range from 6500.Even overnight last night didn’t require any heat for the first time since leaving home.

You have to be careful driving here, as coming in I almost got stuck in some soft sand.Where I’m parked its wet and hard packed including the pound and a half that I track indoors every time I come in…..So its just me and about 15 other units strung along about 2 miles of beach.There’s a small flock of mallard ducks hanging around to visit..Every time I go to the open door,I see them waddling my way looking for handouts.

A few more shots from within the panorama view….See this telephoto shot below,well actually each rig is about 100-200 yards apart,except yesterday afternoon when you see that class C beside me?…….Well they (a young couple that couldn’t keep their hands off each other) decided to park at my doorstep…….A closer look reveals a rental from California…..probably travellers from Europe as I know from experience camping over there……..they love togetherness……….I still remember the days when someone's tent tie downs would cross mine. Anyway I hope they enjoyed my generator first thing this morning ……Hey! I’m getting to like this new format.

I think these hills are the final southern edge of the “Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument”

I must say its all beautiful country…..I saw many scenes that I wanted to photo during Thursdays trip,but there was no place to stop.

By the way this part of the Rec. area, Lone Rock Campground, is not the only camping area,as a more fancy camping location is just over to the right by another access road along with a marina,and of course the big Glen Canyon Dam is just a few miles away also.This is called Wahweap Bay. The Arizona border cuts through the lower half of the bay,just a spitting distance away….I guess I better mention that this is Lake Powell,one of the largest man made lakes in North America,caused by the damming of the Colorado River, with a full pool elevation of 3700ft.It is 186 miles long (299km) has 1960 miles (3161km) of shoreline.The water depth at the dam is 561ft(171m).

Well its getting to be windy and showery as I write this on Fri. afternoon,so probably tomorrow I will head on over to the Navajo Nation for a visit to see the Monument Valley…Cant wait!

I Saw A Lot Of Pink Rocks Yesterday….And Took About 100 Photo’s.

2010-10-21T03:13:00.001-07:00

Lets back up a bit to Tuesday when I left Provo Utah to travel down to Panguitch.It was just a nice easy half days drive.Below is the 7910 ft pass behind me as I climbed over to this valley from Interstate 15. It sure is beautiful country.

Then 20 minutes later down in the valley I arrived at the Paradise RV Park. Far from looking like its namesake,but for $12.50 a night with full hookups and wifi……Who’s complaining. I wouldn’t want to be in here if it was crowded,but like this its great.

Panguitch is just a small service town just down the road a mile.I love the wide un-busy streets,and hey!…My card worked at the gas pumps…..That says it all.

Yesterday morning after waiting for the frost to melt off my windshield,yes we are at 6500 ft..I guess I can’t complain….I set off for my day of touring…As Bryce Canyon National Park is only 21 miles away,that was my choice.And will be my only National Park this trip.

The whole park sits up pretty high, ranging from a low of 6620 ft.(2018 m)…to a high of 9115 ft.(2778 m)…….If you don't believe me.

Anyway, to get there you drive through the Dixie National Forest.

The park entry fee was $25.00 and good for a week.To me it was worth it for a day.I’m not going to bore anyone with a bunch of photo’s as you can go on line and see all you want,so I will just tell my silly little story with a few shots to break up the print monotony.

The advice was to drive the 17 or so miles to the end of the park then on the way back go into each viewing area as they would all be on the right.The first stop was the previous picture with the altitude sign and it was here that I wanted to do a small hike and see one of the bristlecone pine trees.I’ve always wanted to see and touch a bristlecone pine.The hike was one mile return but at this altitude,even on the level,heavy breathing was the norm.

Wonderful pathways for hiking.The temperature at this altitude was in the low 50’s but was warm in the sun.If you leaned over the edge of the cliff,you would pick up a nice cold wind.Not so nice.

Finally the end of the trail,an outcropping looking down about 1000ft,where I got my picture taken.And the bristlecone pine got its picture took too.

No its not dead,….Neither is the clown on the left.The tree is 1600 years old and is still alive…..So is the clown at the left……For now but he’s only half that age….or at least feels like it sometimes.

Some sights.

It was a nice crowd today.People were always happy to take your picture and I did the same for others.I thought for awhile that I was going to learn Chinese,as it was the predominant language,with a few Europeans thrown into the mix. No 2 license plates in the parking lots were the same.

The only horses asses that I witnessed were 2 young German couples being boisterous and making fools of themselves,balancing themselves along the top of the guard rail with the 1000 ft drop.

One thing I found a little disturbing was this young raven who was so tame that it walked right up to me looking for food.

Maybe I'm wrong but I would say that this bird is only a few months old and really doesn’t know how to fend for himself and when the snow starts to fly in a few weeks time,he may not have the sense to do the same thing and end up starving to death.

Just like the animals in the park,they warn us not to feed them as they will not learn to fend for themselves.I’ve seen enough ravens at home and have never seen one this tame.

So with 2 final shots we end our little tour with a stop at the Visitor Center…below, where I can now say….Been There…Done That…..Bought The Tee Shirt…..You see I always do things backward by doing the visitor center last.

One final note,I took several side by side photo’s and hope to try my luck at panorama shots.

Oh! And here’s a little quiz……..What form do you see in this rock?……Do I see butt cheeks? And a pointy bicycle racers hat?….You be the judge.

Idaho To Utah…A Relaxing Drive

2010-10-19T06:16:00.001-07:00

This was taken at the Rest Area/info stop just north of Brigham City Utah.

It was pretty much a relaxing days drive on a quiet interstate and the only photos that I had a chance to take were either at rest stops or out the window while moving.

My first stop after leaving the State park was at Burley Idaho,figuring that I better fuel up again before hitting the desolate stretch where I-84 dips down to the southeast toward Utah.

I quickly found another Sinclair station,and to keep this train of thought going,my Bank of America card worked again at the pump….this time I just inserted the card and the pump just zero’d….No pin..no nothing…..Oh I like this!….Next a quick visit to the Wal-mart down the street for a few groceries…..I like what I see of this town,modern and progressive looking and a joy to drag a trailer around its quiet, wide streets.

A Rest Area just before the Utah border,looking through the spruce tree.This is at an elevation of about 5000ft with a brisk but fairly warm breeze,which was also a nice tail wind for me.The whole area is in a bit of a spruce forest.

Then at about 1pm local time,(I’m staying on pacific for now)I stopped for lunch and a short nap at the Brigham city rest area.We are starting to get closer to the mountains now.

Refreshed after lunch and a nap,it was time to hit the Salt lake City area.

Actually it was very quiet until I passed the downtown area,then all hell broke loose from there south for the next 45 minutes with all the populated suburbs all the way to Provo,where I am now.Construction didn’t make it any easier also.Finally the off ramp and about 2 quiet miles over to Utah Lake and the State park where I found the campground almost deserted.(Just how I like it)and hey! A warm 70 degrees.

When I was setting up I noticed one trailer hubcap missing and figured that I dropped it when I hit some construction coming down the off ramp,so I thought I need some exercise,maybe I’ll walk back and hope to retrieve it,if someone hasn’t run over it………..:(….Dummy!

I didn't think it was that far back when I set out but an hour later I arrived at the off ramp.(This was at a fast walk pace) And to make matters worse,no hubcap……Sheeesh! All this for a $4.00 hubcap.So after another hours walk back to camp I now know what my hiking limits are when I hit the National Parks.

Here’s some scenes taken around the marina here.

The fellow was just taking his boat out of the water as some dark clouds where coming off the mountains.

I wanted to see what my camera would do with this into partial sun,shot across the lake.

So today I have a shorter journey of about 200 miles as I head further south and over the mountains to the town of Panguitch,where I will spend a few days stopped, for a look around Bryce Canyon National Park……As a post script…..That drive through SLC still wasn't as hairy as the Everett/Seattle/Tacoma run………………Good night Mrs.. Calabash.

From The Valley Of The Snake

2010-10-18T04:58:00.001-07:00

After yesterdays leaky toilet troubles,I am finally back on track and overnighted here at 3 Island State Park just outside the small town of Glenns Ferry Idaho……But to go back…

Talk about a fun job………

Yesterday morning I got breakfast and dishes out of the way in case my water system might be down for awhile,then rolled up the sleeves and got to work. Luckily I was able to find the new valve stowed away.I purchased it many years ago in case I ever had failure while in Mexico,where parts like this are non existent.

And it was nice to see a new seal and good instructions in this $19.95 package.I bet it would cost 3 times that now. It took me close to an hour to do a job that next time would take 15 minutes,but I didn't want to screw up…..cuz I’m sorta famous for making dumb mistakes in my haste to get a job done. I still don't know what was wrong but installing the new water valve solved the problem.I saved the old one to inspect later when I have time.

I finally got on the road around 9am,another sunny mild day,first passing through Pendleton Oregon on the Interstate,where I noticed the Large “Keystone RV” factory with a big sign out front…..Hiring line workers…..so there are jobs to be had in this area.

Then southeast through beautiful mountain country with pine forests and rolling grasslands all the way to the Idaho border where I passed the rather large “ORE-IDA” potato processing plant in Ontario Oregon.

Then across the Snake river and into the State of Idaho…….Time to gas up again….Hmmmm will my card work at the pumps this time….I’m batting 0 for 2 so far….I came across a Sinclair station in the middle of nowhere called “STINKEYS”….at first as I approached I wasn't sure if it was even open as it looked like it had seen better days…….But surprise surprise my card worked at the pump….It gave me the option of pay outside or inside which maybe a clue that I have been missing,because it asked for a pin instead of a zip and I was in business………So all I can say is that my visit to Stinky’s came out smelling like a rose:)

After passing through Boise and a time zone change,it was getting into mid afternoon,very short of my intended destination of jackpot Nevada,so having been here at this State Park about 5 years ago, I new it was a nice stop to make….And a little quieter as the noise of trucks all night was getting to me.

This park sits down on a lush bench along the Snake river,a nice contrast to the dry hills surrounding it.And the temperature got close to 70 degrees upon arrival.

It very much reminds me of the Okanagan Provincial park back home,in fact it has much the same foliage for example these olive trees below.

So in a couple of hours I will hit the road and enter some new undiscovered country.I decided to change my route a bit and stay on this Interstate instead of getting off at Twin Falls and heading into Nevada……So I will carry on and weather the storm that many call…….”Driving through Salt Lake City.”…….I’ve heard many complaints on the discussion forums,so I’ll find out for my self……I hope to make Utah Lake State Park in Provo by this afternoon.

My Photo-less First 2 Days On The Road

2010-10-17T06:19:00.001-07:00

Oh what fun trying to get all my ducks in a row as I start another season of snow birding.It seems I get one problem solved and another one crops up….Oh well I’m on schedule anyway.

I left home at 9:45 AM Friday and it took about 45 minutes to reach the border at Sumas Washington.Normally it only takes a few minutes to reach the customs booth,but I forgot that its a payday Friday and the Loonie just reached par the day before,so low and behold a big line up.One hour later after much jockeying and lane change cheating,(by others)I made it.Just a few questions and well rehearsed answers by me (I had lots of time in the line up to think of possible questions)and I was on my way……First stop the Bank of America branch down the street where I hold an account.They advertise how you just deposit open cash,no envelope, in their ATM’s so I thought I would give it a try with my newly purchased US dollars from a week ago.They were all new 100 dollar bills,well the machine took 5 of them but refused to take the last 2,so after several try’s,gave up and went inside,like I should have done in the first place.This sets me up for using my debit card at the gas station pumps…..Ya right!…..2 try's so far and both times the pump required a zip instead of pin #,and yes the 00’s trick hasn’t worked yet.My converted postal code would be 01100 and I have had no luck,so its back to the slurpy line up again…..Sheeesh! Maybe I’ll have better luck today,but I digress.

Next stop Camping World in Burlington where I went crazy like I do every year at this time…..Hey my card worked there :)….A quick sandwich in the parking lot and on my way south to the Tulalip Casino in Marysville,with a short stop at Wal-Mart first for groceries and suds………WOW! I’ve never seen the RV parking area at the casino so full and of course my favorite spot was taken:( but I got a reasonable spot where I could set up my sat. dish.

Once set up,my next task was to get my Tracfone (cell phone) set up as the pay as you go time had lapsed over the summer.(this phone can only be used in the U.S.)..Of course I was decommissioned and had to start the whole process over again with a new phone number.I went on line and went through the process and as I was finishing up,my phone bleeped and a welcome back text came on the screen but no new time or minutes.My on-line account told me I was up and running with lots of time but my phone was reading 0 and wouldn’t work…..Sheeesh!…Again.

Yesterday morning had me in the casino at 6am on a land line to Tracfone and the guy I got sounded like a machine so I’m not so sure how far technology has gone but he answered me when I asked a question…(maybe it was India and he was talking into a translation machine).

I could only understand about half of what he was saying,plus the music playing in the casino was very loud……So 45 minutes later after much clickty clicking at his end with a few apologies for my patience thrown in,I was finally up and running…….I think its less hassle in the long run to keep it active all summer even if i cant use it.

It was daylight by the time I got back to the trailer and found a nice layer of frost on the trucks windshield….I didn’t think it was that cold.An 8am start got me back on I-5 south and through the Seattle suburb of Bellevue and on to I-90 east,all with a new problem to deal with that started that morning.My water fill valve on the toilet leaks on to the floor,which mean turning off the switch every time I use a tap.I thought it was just the water line fitting but its the valve. I think I have a spare valve I bought years ago….I just have to find it.This job pretty well means that I have to remove the toilet from the floor and I’m not prepared to tackle that job at present unless it gets worse.

Saturday was a nice sunny 60 degree day and I’m presently at the Pilot Travel Centre RV park on I-84 near Hermiston/Pendleton Oregon.I usually go 30 minutes further to the Wild Horse Casino but elected to stop here for a change.

I had photos to add but for some strange reason the camera card wont give them to my computer.My other card works so I’ve switched for future photos……Update…Sunday morning as I ready this post to publish………The toilet leak is much worse so I better hold my ground here since I’m all hooked up,until I get this resolved.

It’s Time For Willy To Start Wandering Again.

2010-10-12T03:58:00.001-07:00

In 3 days another snowbird season starts for me.As the fall rains and dreary dark days begin around here….Then the hitch itch starts…So where to go?

No…Not north,but south for another season of setting up my communications network at almost every stop.

Normally it would be good old Mexico,but with the situation at present being a little too un-civil for my liking,I’ve opted to stay in the U.S. this winter.

I spent many hours this summer researching the goings on in Mexico, and for a guy who has never felt uncomfortable travelling the byways of old Mexico, It was an eye opener for me.I kept thinking back to the January trip up to McAllen,driving day and night,sleeping in the truck at the side of the road,especially in that Monterey/Reynosa corridor,where unknown to me at that time,things where really starting to heat up with the Narcos and their killing/hijacking ways.

It was also a very expensive winter with all the mechanical problems on my aging trailer,from my 3 month old awning unfolding and tearing on the highway in Washington State, to needing a new hot water tank by the time I reached Quartzsite Arizona.Then the broken axles at my southernmost point in Mexico,in the middle of nowhere on the gulf of Tehuantepec. I don't think I’ve ever felt so helpless as I did that day. And the topper was when I got home I tallied all the highway toll slips and it totalled the equivalent of one thousand U.S dollars…..Aye Carumba!

It was also a very memorable trip with many good experiences.I saw some fantastic sights and met some wonderful people.

Below is Barb and Sal Contreras,owners of Hacienda Contreras RV Park.Sal was a lifesaver helping me build a lift kit for the new axles.

While at Hacienda Contreras I met authors Mike and Terri Church again after several years,having a nice visit.Also I had some very interesting neighbours who’s company I also enjoyed,Cathy and Rob Gillin from the U.S.

Then there was Michel from Quebec.He and his wife were heading for Central America on an extended trip over the next year.And Franz and Gini originally from Germany,now living on Vancouver Island.Previous to that they lived in China for 10 years,teaching.Gini speaks many languages.

Both couples were my neighbours in Catemaco Veracruz and Palenque Chiapas.Through carelessness,I lost many photos from this time period as there were more interesting people,although my blog archives still have some of them I guess.

Then we cant forget Calvin,a long time resident of the the trailer park in Oaxaca,a Canadian Expat,who saved my bacon with the axle exchange.

Then in the States,and in Mexico,friends Barb and Jake from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, who I hope to be making a connection with in a few weeks….And we cant forget the memorable 2 day visit with The Bayfield Bunch over at Borrego Springs…..Watch out guys,I may pull another sneak attack again this season.

Then on my final day before arriving home,fellow blogger Ivan from Roadtrip2010 made an overnight sneak attack on me at the Tulalup Casino in Marysville Washington,then again another visit this past Saturday afternoon at my home.

Ivan is a National Park Ranger based at Lake Louise and right now he is wrestling with retirement plans and hopes to be on the road south in a couple of weeks.

So with the final shot of Ivan departing down my street…I hope also to reconnect with him this winter.We had a nice 2 hour visit where he also had a chance to watch his beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders go down to defeat in a very entertaining football game….Am I a jinks?Heh heh!:)…..I guess it’s payback time after the Thanksgiving turkey that the B.C. lions delivered yesterday. Talk about trying to lose:(

So my plan is to head out this coming Friday,travelling through Washington/Oregon/southern Idaho,over to Utah, and check out a few of the National Parks before the snow flies.Time is running out already,this being the reason for an earlier than usual departure this year.

Eventually I plan on working my way over to Texas starting with Corpus Christi on the Gulf followed by the Rio Grande Valley.That is if the good people of Texas will allow me to be a “Winter Texan” for a few months. Stay tuned.

Finalizing My Trip…..3 Weeks Late.

2010-08-29T05:00:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago when I published my last post,I stated at the end that I would see you on the other side….Well I finally made it…..The other side of what? I don't know,the mountains I guess.There is a definition for this laps of time…..Its called laziness.

I’m finding it more and more difficult to do this blogging thing but I felt that I should at least finalize the story of my little one month trip and see what creative juices will flow from that,so for those of you that have been following the last 5 posts,you will remember that during my travels I was having a problem with mice in the trailer…….Well I thought I was out of the woods with the problem,(no pun intended) having no more action since leaving Manning Park after the Aug 1st long weekend……but on the evening of my last post,about a week later at Summit Lake,I went out to do something in the big front compartment and there staring me in the face was obviously the other mouse that I didn't get at Manning,I don't know what he’s been eating because he hasn't been getting inside. I set a trap and he licked it clean within half an hour,so I got it refilled again,then set another trap,this time a glue trap on the other side of the compartment,and left it until just before leaving in the morning.

Well the next day I did all my final prepping to leave,then as a last thing checked the traps….Yup! The spring trap was licked clean again…I had it set sooo sensitive that I don't know how he does it…I even wrapped the bait in thread and he got it all just leaving the thread undisturbed………But the glue trap had my little friend staring up at me.Well he had a couple of good last meals at least.I will not go into detail other than to say that I guess there were only 2 of them from the start as no more action has been seen since getting home 3 weeks ago.

So here we are after an hours drive on a sunny Sunday morning,waiting at the Needles/Fauquier free ferry landing on Arrow Lake….And here she comes after a 10 minute wait.

Getting closer.

A quick off load-on load and away we go.(This is a cable driven ferry)

A view looking up the lake toward Nakusp…What a beautiful morning!

It was also a beautiful drive over to Vernon that took a couple of hours,then without stopping carried on over the 97 cut-off to Kamloops,arriving just after noon.When I set my sights for home,the tourism ends and the steady driving begins.

In Kamloops, I searched out the big Home Depot outlet, not too far from the freeway,where I purchased some goodies for future “Mouse Warfare”.I got one that electrocutes them and it has high ratings and a high price,( if you think $30. is high),but I don't care,those little buggers are not going to ruin another holiday if I can help it and I'll be prepared next time. I also got another type of spring trap that makes licking off the bait a much riskier project……..BRING IT ON MOUSKIES!

4 AA batteries and good to kill 50 mice.

On this one they have to reach over that very sensitive food cover to get to that deeee-licious peanut butter……..good luck guys.This is a Wilson Predator-Snap-E.

Anyway back to business---

So off I go up the hill on the Coquihalla highway towards Merritt,making my final nights stop at Lac le Jeune Provincial Park at the top.

This is another old favourite from past years,much more devoid of trees now since the beetle kill,but still a nice spot….And it wasn't crowded.Less than half full.

The next morning was a pleasant 2 and a half hour drive home.I probably wont go out again until its time to head south in November.

One final thing,this post is being done on my new,one week old, Acer 17.3 inch laptop….. Replacing a troublesome 6 year old desk top with only half a gig of ram.Now another learning curve as I enter Windows 7- ville.

Another story for another day.Oh!…And one more thing…..Any suggestions for discouraging my Asian friends from using my comments section.I’m getting tired of porn site links.

Wrapping Up After A Month On The Road…Time To Go Home.

2010-08-08T04:22:00.001-07:00

I want to finish up my tour of this great little resort at the northwest end of Summit lake.I’m spending only 4 days and because I didn’t have a reservation,had to accept 2 locations in the park,2 days in each.Actually this 2nd one is much nicer than yesterdays pic’s of my first one.

This location is right in front of the boat docks and a stones throw from the beach(below).In this first picture below,those trees across that small portion of the lake,is the location of the Provincial park campground.

You know…..The one that’s always full.Also below is a shot of our park taken from the Provincial park boat launch.I’m on the left side in the pic.

I had to wait until way past checkout time Friday morning to get to my new site as the young inconsiderate couple who occupied it, had too many pop’s the night before and slept in.I sat fuming all morning as everyone else was leaving,waiting for these idiots to get a move on.I wasn’t going to get “hairy chested” with them because he was a big guy,but I did put the bug in the managements ear and she went down and herded them a bit…..They were in a nice expensive Class-C Motorhome……A case of more money than brains I guess.

Another thing I noticed about this west Kootenay area is the abundance of Albertans.The old red and white license plates actually outnumber the BC plates everywhere I go.For awhile there I had to check my road map and make sure I hadn't crossed the border into Alberta without realizing it.Here in the campground I would say the flatlanders, they outnumber us side hill gougers by 2 to 1.

I’m not knocking Albertans…I used to be one once…..even married one,heaven forbid…Just having a bit of fun,but it is true about there abundance.

This resort is reasonable priced at $28. for full hookups and $26.for water and electric compared to $21.in the Provincial with nothing.Even the firewood here is free,with lots of it,and a fire pit in each site which can make for a smoky situation with the close proximity. I guess if you are going to compare,the only thing going for the Provincial is the privacy thing.And for me that is of utmost importance.

So after getting set up in my new location,I ventured into Nakusp,a town with some fond memories from past trips to this area.Just a sleepy little tourist town on the shore of the upper Arrow lake.And surprisingly not even one regular fast food restaurant for a town with enough size to support one or two.It sort of takes me back to the 50’s….I like it…There are plenty of interesting little restaurants anyway,along with quite a few tourist curio shops.

Like this one below.

And at the end of the main street you come to a nice park and beach,where I fought my way past all the red and white license plates,and got a parking spot…:))

As you can see in the 3 pic’s above,a vicious thunderstorm is approaching so its time to flee the premises and get back to camp.

I just made it and opened my awning as the deluge started…..Man!I haven't seen thunderstorm rain like that since my days living on the prairies. The reason the top pictures in this blog entry are sort of dark is because I took them during my early morning walk when it was still a misty pre sunrise.

And on a final note with my review of this park,it also has a spotless washroom/shower/laundry building,seen in one of yesterdays shots.

This morning I will be leaving and heading back toward Vernon and home, after a short free ferry ride across Arrow lake….See you on the other side.

MY LOCATION ON GOOGLE MAPS

A correction about the Sonoran desert and Osoyoos from my last post,actually its the northern tip of the Great Basin Desert which connects to the Sonoran desert where some plant and animal life is the same as the higher elevations of the Sonoran in Mexico.Here is an interesting link on Osoyoos.

http://www.osoyoosbc.com/

And also a link on Nakusp.

http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3506

Summit Lake……And Some Lessons Learned.

2010-08-07T05:53:00.001-07:00

Well,a week has gone by and here I am again….But lets go back and catch up….Remember my mouse incident?Well, how many of you were thinking to yourselves when I was thumping my chest in triumph over catching the mouse…..I bet he finds another…..Well you were right because I set the trap anyway and another licked it clean without setting it off….Now panic sets in…I feel I’m no longer in control…..I’m I about to be overwhelmed?..So I set out to fill every hole I could find in that area with whatever I could find,brillo pads,rags,roof sealant,never thought of foil wrap,(thanks Gypsy) this seemed to stop the action until I could get back to civilization and buy the necessary things.But every morning about dawn,I would hear scratching from the wall behind my head as I lay in bed…..Boy! That really got to me….The wall is solid….maybe its coming from outside…3 mornings of this just like clockwork.At least the inside invasion had stopped as no more action at the trap.Finally, getting out of that location and back on the road, solved my problem as everything is now back to normal.

Tuesday morning after the August 1st long weekend,I set out eastward along the Hope-Princeton highway through the haze of forest fire smoke,stopping in Princeton at a feed store for some more traps,just in case, then on to Keremeos where I picked up some steel wool,for proper hole plugging,then a visit to the municipal sani dump and water station on a back street.This is a little known spot as there is little sign of usage every time I stop there.

Carrying on toward Osoyoos in the south Okanagan,the smoke was getting worse,like driving in fog,then as I dropped down into the valley,I picked up the increased heat(90’s) as this is one of Canada’s hotspots with the only true desert in the country, it sits at the very northern tip of the Sonoran desert.Its been awhile since I was last here in mid summer and what a zoo of people.I couldn't find parking at the supermarket as I needed groceries,choosing a construction site nearby.The supermarket was also a zoo,I thought I was in Fry’s in Yuma on a busy day stumbling over people.I got what I wanted and headed out of town and up Anarchist mountain eastward and to cooler temperatures again and a lunch stop in a shaded rest area.

My objective was to get in early at the Provincial Park at Kettle River….not…It was full….was this a sign of things to come? Yes…but I managed to get into a little road side provincial near Greenwood.Actually it was a nice spot along Boundary creek,good enough for overnight anyway.

The next day was more of the same as I carried on eastward….9:30 am at Christina Lake’s Provincial Park …already full……12 noon at Syringa Provincial Park near Castlegar,also full with people camping in the day use area.I suddenly realized hey! This isn’t the shoulder season of June and September……You aint gonna get in to any of these parks this time of year unless you start reserving.NOW COMES A SMALL RANT.

You can blame Moe Sahota,NDP MLA for the Provincial Park reservation system,when he was in govt.he couldn’t get into a Provincial in the Shuswap with his family because it was full, so he introduced legislation for the reservation system….I suppose the idea is ok for some,but too many of the sites are on the reserve list(and all the better sites too)leaving few choices for the first come first serve people,about 25% to 35% of the total sites.

As I travelled north from Castlegar up through the Slocan Valley(beautiful country)and finally getting away from forest fire smoke,I checked out a couple more PP’s and it was more of the same….full…So that brings me to where I am now…..Summit Lake,16km from the town of Nakusp.

This is a private campground on Summit lake,(if you look hard you can see the lake in the background)and its called “Three Islands Resort”a well run,well spaced,very pretty and clean park………..More next time.

Of Mice And Men….And Attack Chipmunks.

2010-08-01T03:57:00.001-07:00

So goes the story of my past two weeks,along with having to put up with a camping neighbor with a yappy Jack Russell,running loose and going after all the passing dogs on leashes,and an owner who usually didn't even bother to get out of her chair to stop it.She would just turn and yell at the dog,so I guess the bad manners are with the owner,not the dog.(probably both.)I had just wished that it would shut up for just a little while.(End rant 1)

Then there are the screaming kids…Yelling and having fun is one thing,but shrieking all the time……What's up with that? Of course I expect this sort of thing when I go to a popular provincial park during the summer holiday season,but after living the snowbird life with all the other old “Blue-Hairs”during the winter season….It is quite a change and takes a bit of getting used to.(end rant 2)…..Although I know of some seniors that fall into the noisy rowdy category too.Some even shriek.

Then there’s the subject of today's title.I don't know why wildlife seem to come after me, example, last winters little episodes with Ants,Africanized bees and a Possum.Thank goodness the Alligator ignored me on South Padre Island Texas last January, but the first day I’m at Monck park two weeks ago, I’m having a few zzzz’s in my recliner and a chipmunk comes flying through the air from behind me and lands on my head…Scared the bejabbers out of me….And I might as well blame the Jack Russell for the mouse problem….he probably chased it into my trailer…….I’m starting my 13th season with this little trailer and this is the first time(that I know of) that I have had a resident mouse.It took me less than two hours from the time I discovered it until its execution…..Without a trap……..More on that later.

The weather for many was perfect during my 9 day stay at Monck PP with one uncomfortable day that had a high of 35c/94f and no wind off the lake,but most were breezy days around 30c,just right,but after steady days of it the heat was starting to get to me along with the others things previously mentioned,so with a long weekend coming up where the decibel level was sure to rise even higher here,I decided to get “Outta Dodge” and head for some higher ground for the long weekend,where I’m sure to find cooler temperatures.That's the nice thing about living in mountain country,so that's what I did.Within two hours driving time I was up another 2000ft in the old standby of EC Manning Provincial Park,arriving at noon this past Thursday,giving me a days leeway to find a good site before the weekend rush hits the place.And it hit with a bang the next day,but I was hunkered down and didn’t care,with perfect weather….The fresh cool breeze was sooo nice.

Now I know I brought the mouse with me from Monck because I remember hearing some rustling sounds on the final night,but just thought it was the lapping of the waves,because it couldn’t be a mouse….I never get those.But on my first day here at the Coldspring Campground, I heard overnight rustlings again and when I opened the cupboard door under the sink to throw something in the garbage at breakfast time,there was my little friends rear end disappearing further into the cupboard.

My first thought was……Geeeeze!…I don't got no mousetrap! (How's that for grammar?)My little brain whirled into action…I have friends coming up from home today,so a quick e-mail to Kathy to pretty please bring a mousetrap with you.30 minutes later a return e.-mail with a big “roger that”……..It sure is nice to have satellite internet in the middle of nowhere with no phone service.

But alas as Yogi Bear always said”Smarter than the average bear”,old Willy was smarter than the average mouse because after breakfast I emptied the garbage container,placed a new plastic bag in,then went outside and sat for awhile….then snuck back in and quickly opened the cupboard door and low and behold there he was,trapped in the bottom of the container looking for food…I quickly picked up the container(a small plastic waste basket) and carried him outside.Now I don't like killing any creatures,even mice but the thought that he may not survive anyway came to light,because if I let him go, he may be a different species being brought from a lower desert to a higher forest.I had to justify my feelings of guilt somehow.

Well Kathy and Ernie showed up with a mousetrap for me anyway and I will soon find out if there are any more.

As you can see I haven’t been too active with my camera as all I have taken is 3 different angles of my latest campsite.Although the other day I took a walk along one of the campsite roads and walked right up to a young buck deer grazing at the side of the road,sporting a new growth of fuzzy antlers.He just stood there and looked at me(without a word of a lie)10 feet away from me…..I gave him a gentle hello in a soft voice and he just looked at me for about 10 seconds then slowly ambled away……That's right,my camera was back at the trailer gathering dust.

So this morning of course was our first cloudy day in 2 weeks and I get the camera out….go figure!…all I could muster up was this guy chowing down.

I had to work this one with Picasa a bit because it was just a silhouette to start with.Some day I’ll take the time to learn how to use a camera beyond point and shoot on auto.

Oh! and last week I finally broke down and bought a new barbeque after over 20 years with the last one.

Just a cheapy,but I love it…On sale at Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire) for 29.95,down from 49.95. Quality Chinese made….:)

And I just love having that nice oven temperature gauge in the lid.

So now I’m dabbling in a few wrapped in foil type recipes.Real fancy stuff, like potatoes smothered in onions with a pork chop thrown in for good measure.A culinary genius I am….:)…Just a simple man with simple needs who writes blogs with Kindergarten pictures and lettering…….:)

I guess I could have entitled this post……”Just a lot about nothing”

MY NEW LOCATION

Willy’s Past week of un-excitement…..Sort of.

2010-07-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

I was going to title it…”Willy got lucky”but I didn’t want to give anybody the wrong idea..More of that later.First off I have changed locations but wanted to go back and show some final shots taken around Tunkwa this past week.It was one of those days that I thought I should get off my aging backside and walk around a bit with my camera since its been considering applying for unemployment benefits,as it sat in the corner staring at me.

A flutterby on a flower for starters….and an example of a nice unoccupied camping area on a lake full of fat rainbow trout on a warm day in July…..Who says all the campgrounds are full in July/August.And at $16.00 a day,with a paved road all the way to the park entrance,leaving about one mile of good gravel.

All of this with a city of about 100,000 just an hour or less away.(Kamloops)It goes to show that with so many nice camping spots in this general area,it really thins out the population of people looking for a nice lakeside spot.

And below the waterfall that drops down about 30 feet into Leighton Lake from Tunkwa Lake,with more camping on the far side of Leighton.This shot taken up on the bluff above Leighton, at Tunkwa lake’s level.

And finally a young family of ducks on the point where I stood back in 1980 when Mount St. Helens blew.I’ll never forget that day and the sound that roared across this highland valley so many miles away.

So!….After a week here at Tunkwa,I decided that a day trip back home was in order so I took off early on Monday morning for the 3 hour drive down to Chilliwack first, where I had a visit with my wife in the nursing home.I don't know how much she gets out of my visits,if anything as she doesn't communicate beyond an occasional yes or no and greets me with a blank stare, as there really isn’t any personality left with her brain damage,although she will laugh if I tell a funny or at least smile.I stopped trying to figure her out years ago when I was still looking after her. After some Chinese lunch at the mall food fair and some grocery shopping,I headed across the river to my home park,45 minutes drive away,where I checked the house,got the mail, did some watering then headed back up the highway to Merritt…..Geeze! gas was cheaper than Chilliwack by one cent.I arrived back in camp at Tunkwa around 5:30PM hot and tired.

Early next morning,yesterday,I packed up and headed out with the trailer in tow,back down to Merritt,leaving behind the sunny, cooler, almost 4000ft level and trading it for the 2000ft,much warmer desert climate of the Nicola Valley.

I headed northeast about 22Km’s(13 miles) to Monck Provincial Park on the shores of Nicola Lake.This is a popular summer park for holidaying families and I figured if I had any chance to get a spot without reservations,that Tues. might be the day,and mid morning the other factor as I noticed several rigs coming out as I approached.I have my favorite spots in this 120 campsite park,but the chances of getting one was slim to none but worth a try.I approached the nice lady at the entrance building with my list of fav’s and low and behold,”I GOT LUCKY”as my 2nd choice had just been vacated.This is very lucky because there are mostly reserve-able sites,and very few first come sites.

So Here I am right on the lakeside.I prefer more open sites for my solar panels and satellite dish,along with a nice breeze off the water.

There is a nice paved road through,so no dust problems as there is a lot of traffic with the campers driving back and forth to the boat launch and beach area all day.

Its nicely spaced(below) as you can see my next door neighbor is a fair distance away.The 2nd shot looking across the lake in the evening with the sun on the far hills.This area is mostly sagebrush and ponderosa pine.The pine beetle kill has been mostly halted at the edge of the park with the addition of traps.Quite a contrast to the hillside above which is mostly made up of dead pine trees.

A little zoom shot across the lake last night,looking at what seems to be a private park at Quilchena,with the greenery of the golf course contrasting with the dry hills.

The old Highway 5 between Merritt and Kamloops runs down that side behind the trees.

So here I am for awhile in a spot that I like and missed last year, and this is my first time blogging from this spot.The days are warm,in the 80’s and the nights are certainly warmer than at Tunkwa’s elevation,and the lake is warm for swimming… and the beer is cold……What else do I need?

MY NEW GOOGLE LOCATION

To Blog Or Not to Blog……That is the Question?

2010-07-15T11:06:00.001-07:00

Its been over 4 months now since my last post and every day since,I have been lurking in Bloggersville,keeping tabs on what my blogging friends are up to,but staying out of sight and off the comments section of those blogs,which really is NOT my thing because commenting every day is harder for me then just doing a blog.I guess I’m selfish,I like receiving them but dislike giving them as its hard for me to come up with something to say without being wishy washy and too condescending.I guess not giving out compliments is one of my failing points….At least that’s what the wife always told me.

This past 4 months has been fairly uneventful with one exception and that being the passing of my 92 year old mother last May.I was her main go to person for all her personal needs for the past 11 years since dad died,and at times it was stressful dealing with some of the service people that she required,and of course, not forgetting the govt. dealings.Coming back from down south every spring meant that there would be a build up of problems waiting for me to have to deal with.I don’t have mail forwarded,so the fun begins on the first day back,like this year when her income tax got screwed up and she was owing the govt. over $2000.And this notice came by mail just after I headed south,so I ended up facing interest charges too.As it turned out after several frustrating days of running around and making umpteen phone calls,got it resolved to her getting money back,which I really knew all along.

As much as I really miss mom,there is some sense of relief that a weight has been lifted from these aging shoulders.Things are a lot simpler for dealing with my wife’s affairs as she sits in another nursing home not far from where my mother was.

There is just my younger sister Ellen and I left now and we had a special day in June when she came over from Vancouver Island and we travelled together up to the Princeton area of B.C. to scatter the ashes of both our mother and father together.I have been holding on to dad’s ashes for the past 11 years just to do this.It was a plan hatched many years ago on one of our camping trips with the folks.We sat around the campfire discussing when this day would come and they wanted to be scattered in an area above the town of Princeton which was their home for many years back in the 50’s.

Ellen and I found it so developed now with private property that we had to go almost to the end of the Copper Mountain rd. to find a seclude spot that was just right and that we agreed would be a spot that they would have liked.So here it is.

We finished up with this little photo-op,hugged each other,then came to mind that famous saying of Humphrey Bogart………..ITS JUST YOU AND ME KID!…….shed a tear and left.

So!…….Back to the header question…..Nothing blog-able has been happening, as I lead a fairly hum drum life most of the time…I don't socialize much,if at all,keeping to my self most of the time.Even when I’m out RVing,I tend to be that way as many of you who met me last winter can attest to.

Just the fact that I did have quite an interesting trip above the Arctic Circle last year at this time,and then my Mexico trip this past winter which was full of adventure and misadventure,this gave me lots of blogging fodder.That trip picked up quite a readership to the blog as I went from ant invasions to killer bee attacks and then getting stranded in the bowls of southern Mexico with 2 broken axles on the trailer.Then all the follow up problems related to that.I couldn’t even dream up that story as fiction,let alone fact.

So what I’m getting to is the fact that I just don’t have enough interesting fodder in my every day life to put out a daily blog,so what I will attempt is a once in awhile entry when something I want to talk about comes to mind.I have a few rants on deck that I will get to in time also.

I guess a good example of what I’m trying to say is the fact that right now I’m travelling with my RV,but because I’m a creature of habit,I usually end up in the same places over and over again and I like to only blog about these once.

I’m presently at Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park here in B.C. at almost exactly the same time as last year,in the same site and with the same weather.I’ll throw in some pictures,but they will look just like the photo’s from last year if you go back through my archives.So you see what I mean?

This is such a quiet spot,hardly anyone here as most of the sites are empty.

Its mostly a fisherman's spot and I don't know how the fishing is,as I gave that up years ago.I used to fish this spot like crazy about 30 years ago.In fact when Mount St Helens blew,I was standing here fishing when I heard the sonic boom of the eruption all the way up here,which is over 500 miles as the crow fly's.

So there you have it,who knows,maybe today's start will get the juices flowing again.

MY MAP LOCATION.http://www.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=9318

The Last Post……..For Now.

2010-03-06T04:56:00.001-08:00

“My final frontier” day on the road…..Star date 2010…..oops that's Star Trek,even though it might seem that I’m spaced out at times.

Yesterday,after finding that fellow blogger Ivan had sneaked up on me.(sure hope there’s no hit man out looking for me)I seem easy to find.I did all my morning duties in preparation for leaving then gave a rap on Ivan's side wall to wake him and a rap came right back immediately and out he came.

We had a nice first visit for just over an hour,discussing many things in a short time.I must say I was impressed with his I-phone and what it can do.He has ordered a satellite internet system like mine also,so he will be well equipped for “in real time” blogging.

The morning sun was melting the frost off the windshield by 9am,so I headed for the nearby Wal-mart for some final goodies,then on the road for the final 2 hours to home.

The day was warming up nicely as I travelled north.Here is a scene taken in Washington State of the local farmland near Sumas and the mountains of BC in the background…..I can smell home.

A quick stop to gas up in Sumas and feed some money into my Bank of America account for next time, since the rate is good right now…..NOW THE BORDER……Shades of last year swept over me….keep your cool Willy and play nice……A short wait of 5 minutes and I had my spiel down pat.I told the young lady in the booth that I had $1400. to declare, of which just under $1000. was emergency repairs and I would like a concession for that like their website states.

She asked the nature of the emergency,so I told of my Mexico experience.While doing this along comes another agent who overheard me and started asking questions about Mexico.It seems in a few days he is off on a bus tour of Mexico for a month,taking him through many of the areas that I travelled.He was so excited having this conversation,he was almost jumping up and down.I figured…Hey! I going to get out of here no problem…..not…..The young lady handed me that famous little yellow slip of paper and said to go inside…..I though…here we go again,the big search of both vehicles.

But to my surprise the fellow inside just glanced at my receipts asked a couple of questions then said…….Goodbye..I was out the door like Speedy Gonzales and headed for home.

12 noon and I pass through the gates of Tapadera Estates with a big sigh of relief that I got my little trailer back home safe and sound and didn't have to abandon her on the side of a Mexican highway,which was a thought that was very clear for awhile back in January.

All tucked in next to my Park Model home.The afternoon temperature rose to 55 degrees and the sun felt really hot in the back yard as I set up my satellite dish.I see the lawn is due for a first cutting and flowers are up.Everything is several weeks ahead this year,with the bushes leafing out and many blossoms.In fact I didn't really see any big difference in spring growth all the way from California to home.Or temperature either, as yesterday was warmer than 2 days before in Redding California.

So here I am finally sitting in my easy chair,with a cool one.

Looking out at the little trailer I called home for 4 months,(except we mustn't forget the week and a half in the NO TELL-MOTEL) and watching the big screen TV and looking at the pile of mail I have to go through.

So as I said last time,when Wandering Willy isn’t wandering,he’s not blogging,so this will be the last for awhile.

I've picked up a lot of followers this winter and really appreciate the response’s I received from many people.I guess all the grief I ran into from killer bee attacks to axles breaking,did make good blogging fodder,and as reader Charles stated in an E-mail,trying to second guess what I was going to do next to get myself out of the predicaments was entertainment in itself. He even suggested taking up a pool to send me to Newfoundland this summer,just so I could blog about it.He said the advertising dollar would be better spent than using TV adds.

I will continue to follow my fellow bloggers through their travels and add the odd comment.More time to read others for a change as there are some great blogs out there.

You will see my blog popping up on their lists when I start again,so keep a watch and thanks again to all. By the way…I’m really just called Bill….Willy’s just a handle.Only my mother calls me Willy,always has….And my dad always called me Sam………Go figure.

Right Back Where I Started Last Halloween Night.

2010-03-05T04:47:00.001-08:00

Back in my #13 cubby hole at Tulalip Casino in Marysville Washington….See,I take the nice little back-ins and leave the pull-through spots to the others.This is a nice place,parking lot camping but its the right price and convenient.

Its quite a large complex.

The drive up from Oregon was a little better weather wise than the day before. I set out from Pass Creek park at 7:15 with exactly the same temperature as the day before at Rolling Hills California,45 degrees and foggy,finally breaking out into the nice sunlight just before Portland.

And yes dear daughter Kim,taking photo’s out the window at 60 miles per is dumb,just like texting,but that’s why the photo’s are not very good because I don't aim.

Downtown Portland,going over the bridge at 60.

And crossing the Columbia River into Washington State.

A rest area just north of Vancouver Washington.Warming up into the 50’s now.

I must mention again about my little experiment with using my Bank of America debit card for purchasing gas,which was the main reason for getting the account.I touched on this in my blog last fall as I was travelling south…….well,its been a bit of a failure as many of the stations require a zip # rather than the pin # and I’ve tried the zip for the area that the bank card was Issued and I have tried the little trick of adding the appropriate 0’s and 1’s to my own postal code,that others have had success with,and have come up with zilch.

Its surprising that some stations don't require any more than just swiping the card,no pin ..no nothing,others require a pin and that's fine.But when the zip request comes up,nothing works.yesterday in 2 Shell stations,one in each state,I ended up in the slurpy line up to use the card inside,where it does work.Some uniformity would really be nice.I don't have this problem anywhere that I have travelled in Canada,using my debit card.

Coming into Tacoma in the early PM with the “Tacoma Dome roof ahead in the first shot and the downtown in the 2nd.

And now the BIG SMOKE,Seattle and we go right down the gut.With Safeco Field to the left,and the home of the Seahawks to the right.The roof seems to be retracted.

I find this 60 mph run right downtown in the early pm,to be really easy.Everyone is either at work or in the suburbs.

I remember as a kid that little pointy roofed building on the far left was the tallest.I think its the newspaper building.

20 minutes later I was here at the Casino and setting up in the warm 55 degree sunshine,2 1/2 hours from home.

It is now Friday morning,yes 4 a.m and I’ve been working on this blog for the past hour.When I first booted up the laptop this morning,I had an E-mail from a fellow blogger who I’ve never met but have been in E-mail contact with for a couple of months now.His name is Ivan and he lives in Alberta.Here is his blog…http://roadtrip-06.blogspot.com/ ……I knew he was going back down south for another month and was heading this way.He tried to make a connection with me,but I didn't think it was possible because he left Alberta yesterday when I was leaving central Oregon,and I didn’t think he could make it this far in a day pulling a 5th wheel……..Well..I wake up this morning to an E-mail with this picture attached.

Hey Willy,I’m parked beside you.Wake me up in the morning so we can have a coffee and a visit…….Can you believe that………What a guy!

In the comments section Sam and Donna asked about the hits and where I see them coming from.Its just on the “Sitemeter”just sign up for it and there are several selections you can make to see the traffic.

And I see my Chinese friend is back.The first time I thought it was a joke but this time I ran it through the Google translator and there was a message…..cool!……I’m wondering if its my friend Joseph in Burnaby who has the site next to mine at Tapadera,Estates.

Welcome to several new followers this past couple of weeks.I check all your blogs if you have them.There are some real creative people out there in blogosphere.

Pass Creek County Park…Curtin Oregon

2010-03-04T04:50:00.001-08:00

We discovered this soggy little gem of a park last year at this time,so being a creature of habit,I even took the same site since I had plenty of choices.$20. a night with full hookups and all the goose crap you can step in,(It has a small lake) I like it, as its just the right driving distance from Rolling Hills and from Tulalip Casino,Marysville Washington.Its close to I-5,like 150 yards,so its convenient. (Exit 163)if any of you are interested.I find that I arrive at 7 Feathers Casino too early coming north and (7F)is a bit far for one day coming south,so this is just right.Going north it takes me through Portland just after the morning rush and Seattle just before the afternoon rush.

Now back to yesterdays drive…..A bit of a mixed bag as I left Rolling Hills at 7AM along with a few of my trucker friends,and within a few minutes on the road was greeted with my first flashing sign.(I-5 CLOSED 10 MILES NORTH OF REDDING)…(TUNE IN TO AM 1060)Well the radio station didn't say anymore except mention other roads with chain restrictions.

I knew we had heavy rains overnight and figured that snow might be a problem in the higher altitudes but figured it would be melting by late morning as the highs were predicted to be in the 40’s up there.

So I pulled into Redding and gassed up,then searched out a supermarket to buy a few goodies,since I had some time to kill.I found a “Rayle’s” Supermarket and a deep dish apple pie on sale that is to die for.Almost matches the Julian Pie from last year.

When I returned to the trailer,the radio was no longer repeating the same thing about the road,now they where saying that trucks must stop and be checked,so I took off hoping for the best because I don't carry chains.When they want you to chain up the trailer too….That's too much,I’d rather wait things out.Going back 100 miles to highway 20 to the coast,was also a bit much at this point.

All went well as I rolled along with the other traffic over the Lake Shasta bridge,then as we climbed I started watching my “on board temperature read out” start to drop from the 45 at Redding,into the 30’s…Soon we started to pick up snow on the side of the road.

Then we encountered plows clearing the heavy slush.Its good to see they don't fool around on these Interstates,as they have to keep the trucking community on the move.

By the time we reached the turn off to the town of Mount Shasta,and about as high as you go in this area,the temperature had reached 32 and the slush was a little slippery.

Then came the freezing rain, snow fall,and fog.

Time for a break….And a stop at the Weed Rest Area.

I always found in past years in this area,that the southern end of this high country stretch of California,was usually the worst…And again I was right because just a few miles north of the rest area on this high plateau,things improved.

It is at a bit of a lower altitude but seems to be a drier climate.The final climb over the Siskiyou Summit,(4300)was bare and wet,so the only way you can go now is down through the fog and rain to Medford.

Finally another stop,this time for lunch,at the rest area just north of Grants Pass.

Now we have 50 degree temperatures,nice Arbutus trees,and Robins running around in the grass.The next 2 hours were a combination of clouds and showers,then as I approached this park for the night,of course it has to start raining hard,and it seems I now have a front window leak….Oh goodie!

Thanks for all the comments yesterday…Just to reply to a few..Croft,yes we used to visit the Olive Pit quite regularly when we used to stay at the RV Park across the road in Corning.Marlene used to love olives but I’m not a fan.

I keep checking the axle and so far so good.Also watching for any unusual tire wear.

Gypsy..Yes I would like to spend some time in Sacramento,it sounds like an interesting city by your description.I wondered about that Oriental looking building.

Rick…I will put the Buffet into my memory banks for next time.Didn’t get past the convenience store this time,you know,a six pack and an apple turnover….No that wasn’t supper.

Al…..What can I say…..always a clown.

Ivan….I replied to your E-mail.

So one more full days travel and through the heart of 2 large cities.I stopped using the bypasses several years ago as they seem too time consuming. I know many of you take this route every year and know it well…..You know..(Been there…done that….bought the Tee shirt)..but for many who have not,I hope you find my little travel blog interesting.

Rolling Hills Casino…Corning California.

2010-03-03T04:09:00.001-08:00

Well,that’s day 2 under my belt.I always like to get into these places early and pick a corner spot with some shrubbery and no one at least on one side of me.That way no one blocks my satellite dish.

There is an RV Park associated with this Casino,but I,along with several other cheapskates,prefer the big truck parking lanes and the wonderful price…0..:)

As you can see its a pretty big area.The RV park is located behind those trucks in the distance.

The day yesterday was a dreary,cool day starting out with miles and miles of the same kind of farming country scenery like this.

It rained most of the day and sometimes it was heavy,although I did see some bright sunny periods.The temperature hovered in the mid 50’s to low 60’s.

The blossoms and wild flowers were in abundance most of the way.

In fact those wild flowers stretched for miles and miles,mostly orange and yellow in color but a few purples are in the mix.I remember this last year and still wondered what they all were.And no not California Poppies,too small…..I think?

A lunch break in cold Lodi at the Taco Bell,a yearly stop.Running from truck to the Bell in the cold rain made me realize I’m getting back to winter so I better get used to it.The party is over.

Its here in Lodi where I cross over to I-5 for the rest of my northward journey,as highway 12 on the crossover is also the start of an alternate route to the coast just north of Frisco if it is needed due to foul weather in the high country.

Next is one of my favorite towns,only because I grew up through my teen years, listening to radio station KFBK,and knew Sacramento like it was a second home.It was the only station I could get most of the time on my radio, high in the mountain valley in BC, where we lived,so I knew much about the city.I faithfully followed their baseball team,the Solons,and liked listening to the late night call-in music show called,”Stan’s Private Line”…..Oh memories!

These photo’s are for you Gypsy,since I know you are headed here.Too bad it was such a dreary,rainy day.

Some day I’ll get off the freeway and have a better look at this city of over 400,000.I love some of the downtown architecture.Too bad all I could do in the heavy traffic was point the camera and hope for the best.

Some of the more unique buildings escaped this shot….Picked up the raindrops on the windshield though….Had to co-ordinate the shots between swipes of the wipers and watch where I was driving at the same time.Not an easy task, and one day all of this is going to get me into trouble.

Further north and more blossoms.

I arrived at the Casino around 2PM,early enough to select a good spot and set up before the next big downpour arrived.And that I did,but a big one got me later anyway when I wasn’t looking,and it was like someone poured a bucket of water over me in a matter of seconds as I was out filling the generator and had my back to its approach.

Oh well!…This isn’t the desert Dorothy,and it isn't Kansas either.

Today will hopefully take me over the Siskiyou mountains(4000ft)and down into southern Oregon,and with the rain that's pouring down right now at near 4am,I hope that snow in the high country is not in the forecast…..See you down the road…..Or is that up the road?…Oh well,one or the other.

Pixley California….Not Far From Petty Coat Junction.

2010-03-02T04:14:00.001-08:00

Some of you will get the humor in that title….First off I want to say that this is about to be a dual blog where two blogs come together,just like those TV shows where the characters from one show take part in the story line on another show.(This can only be done today or it will be out of sync.)

Please go to this link-- Travels With The Bayfield Bunch …and my days story starts there as I prepare to leave Borrego Springs yesterday morning.Shhhhh! Al doesn't know that he’s helping me with my blog today.If the link for any reason doesn't work,you will find it on my side bar.

So now that you have seen my departure,we will carry on….With an early start I was able to pass through the Palm Springs area fairly early with the 8AM temps reaching a pleasant 70 degrees….All photo’s with windshield bugs included,are free today.

You can see all the windmills at the valley entrance.

Its been a few years since I’ve taken this route as I usually go north through the back roads onto the Mojave Desert,as I dislike all the traffic around San Bernardino.Actually the 215 through the outskirts of San B. has improved since last time and I quickly found myself connecting to I-15 (the LA-to-Vegas highway.) I call it “Going up the hill to Victorville”.You can see the other lanes of traffic coming down,off in the distance

Its quite a climb that goes to 4000ft in a short but smooth run.Then finally we are up onto the Mojave desert.It was nice to see no big temperature change this time and gratefully no wind today as it can get pretty violent at times.The second shot below is looking down toward Kramer Junction where we pick up highway 58 west to Bakersfield.

I noticed that the popular rest area at Boron is still closed after more than a year now.At first I thought they were do renovations but it looks like a budget cut situation.Too bad for travelers because it was a popular short or overnight stop in the past.

The next quick out the window shot is of the Mojave airport with all the passenger aircraft doing some storage duty.You can see more wind generators in the distance as we are getting ready to climb out of the Mojave desert and go through Tehachapi Pass saying goodbye to the desert southwest for another year.

Here is the pass and a final look at the desert.

Now we are in a changing landscape as we approach the town of Tehachapi,and prepare to drop down 4000ft into California’s big central valley at Bakersfield.You start to notice the green hills with the oak and pine trees.

I stopped for a lunch break at the bottom of the hill,and looked back from “whence I’d come.” And this is it,looking back toward Tehachapi,high in those hills.

Early PM and a quick run through “Buck Owensville”better known as Bakersfield and I was on bumpy,sometimes broken up,highway 99 heading north.This is usually where I jog over a few miles to my favorite State park,(Col. Allensworth) but because of budget cuts its only open for vehicles on the weekends,so I must search out an alternative.

About 40 miles north and getting tired,I spotted a sign for the Pixley RV Resort and decided that at 1:30 Pm,I’ve had enough driving for one day and I had reached my necessary distance quota for the day.

I got in before the hoard of northbound snowbirds arrived to surround me.At $25. for full hookups,this will do fine as there will be a couple of free nights coming up at the Casinos before this trip is over…..And hey! The temperature is still in the 70’s.Note blossoms on the trees.

Finally I want to again thank Al and Kelly of “The Bayfield Bunch”for putting up with me for a day and a half.It was an enjoyable visit.Its strange how you can know people that you have never met,just by reading their blog,and I had you guys pegged pretty well except Al you are not that gruff character you like to portray.You are a big old pussycat.And Kelly,I found you even more open and friendly then I expected.It was a pleasure spending time with you guys,thanks again.

Time To Go Home….The Final Run Begins.

2010-02-28T03:52:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning in the Yuma area dawned with clouds and bluster…And I said to myself…self,its time to start heading for home,for I have finally contacted that great disease,called…GOING-HOME-ITIS,when the old mind set finally realizes that the party is over…..If you could call it that.

But I had one other task to perform,and that’s to stop and meet some favorite folks that I have been in contact with for over a year now,but have never met personally.This was my best chance to do this as they were boondocking at Borrego Springs and that's just 20 minutes off my route along the Salton Sea.

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH….See their blog on my side bar,its been there since day one as Al has been a big help this past year helping me,especially through those first few weeks of setting up my own blog.

They knew I was coming but they thought Sunday,and no I didn't attack at dawn like I threatened.I performed a daylight raid at noon,catching them off guard,parking a distance away and wandering close to their rig like I was looking for a place to park close by,knowing that Mr.Crankypants,as he likes to call himself,would not like the intrusion.

As I got closer to their open door there was an explosion of dogs heading my way….The jig was up as Checkers was the first to reach me before Kelly could get out the door.But I met Checkers like a long lost friend and we bonded immediately.Dogs know when people like them.

we spent the next 45 minutes just getting to know each other,then they invited me to park next to them, so I set up across the way by the old radio tower.

Later we stood out talking and watching the storm clouds forming over the mountains behind Borrego Springs,trying to get a few photos of the clouds and sheets of rain glinting in the sun as they cascaded down on the hills.

The weather finally drove us in for the afternoon as the rain finally hit us in a downpour that lasted for a few hours.It was a good excuse to watch the Gold Medal Curling final at the Olympics.

As I write this at 3:30 am….Yes up early as usual….I was looking at the inside of my eyelids by 7 pm so have had my nights sleep.The rain is gone the moon is bright and the darn wind is still rocking the trailer.And its damn cold.

So we get another chance to visit today with a time out for the Gold Medal Hockey Game,then tomorrow,Monday,the final 4 1/2 day push for home.