Interesting stuff

Well, not all that interesting!  Mostly we've been thanking the air conditioner for keeping us cool!  It is either 9 or 10 days in a row of over 110F (43C).  Not all that much fun outside!  There is something in the paper practically every day about some idiot leaving either a kid or a dog in their car while shopping.  Jeez!  And they vote!

I did get up to Amargosa Valley for another deal with the Nevada Test Site's citizen's board.  It is kind of remote up there. 

They are probably the first who would get radioactivity in their groundwater from the tests done back in the day.  The Department of Energy does a lot of testing and there is next to no chance anything will ever leave government owned land.  The test site is nearly surrounded by the Nevada Test and Training Range which is run by the U.S. Air Force.  It gives any groundwater a heck of a long way to travel before it reaches land that is used by the public much less owned by individuals.  Plus the water is moving only about a foot a year!  We were up there to help people understand that there is no real danger.  Happily most folks already are on board and know they won't be turning green anytime soon.

One of the things we have a lot of around here is dirt.  Overnight the wind really picked up and, though you can't really smell it, the air is full of dust.  Here's a photo I took on our walk this morning - that's the sun not the moon!

That was taken about 06:30.  Sunrise was about 05:45 so it's not like the sun was on the horizon.  This time of year we walk as soon as we get up.  Even at that hour the sun feels hot but not today.  Even now at 4 pm I can't see the mountain though it is clearer.  

This week has been 'donation' week.  First we made our monthly trip to the supermarket for food for the VFW Food Bank.  The guy working there says they help feed 35-40 families every week and another 5-7 individuals - and they are only open 4 hours a week!  Two hours on Wednesday and two hours on Friday is all they can do.  In the winter when the snowbirds are down here they have more donations so are open two more hours on Monday.  Today was the day for school supplies.  There are lots of kids whose parents can't afford to buy them all the stuff they need for school.  So our local electricity co-op runs a drive every fall to help.  Every year we ask the volunteers if they are short of something special.  Last year it was backpacks, this year it was antibacterial wipes.  Who knows?  But it gives us a starting point and we can go from there.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to print.  Thanks for stopping by.  Take care.

I'm back!!! And dull!!!!

Ok, it's a Wednesday in the dessert.  110F = 43+C  Brought the garbage pail in and got the paper.  Exciting, huh?

Well, actually the paper did have something kind of cool.  These two kids are trying to make the world a better place!  And, no, they don't require the assistance of the world's largest asshole, Donald Trump.  They are just trying to get some local folks to take the first step to All Lives Matter.  My wife and I are planning to be there.  It took me a long time to find this quote:  "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing."  Thank you, John Stuart Mill. 

Our country, the good old U.S. of A., seems to be under the misaprehension that it is AFU.  Well, no.  Not only no but HELL NO!  Actually this place seems rather like heaven on earth without the assistance of either of the Presidential candidates.  (How the hell did we get in this position?)

Ok, lots of places get things working better.  Health care in many countries is more affordable.  Until recently I would have said race relations were better in Europe than here; now I'm not so sure.  Education is clearly more valued in many countries.  It is a f*cking crime but it's true.  I've actually lived in Florida and Nevada and each has an education system that is pathetic to put it mildly.  Criminal does come to mind!  Then there is the gun issue.  Sorry, I want my guns.  But, clearly we need to do SOMETHING.  Nice, France showed us that guns aren't the be-all and end-all of any problem but in this country they sure as hell are part of it. 

You know, if you want to make a life here, it's not that tough.  My wife, with a high school education, retired as a second level manager in the phone company.  Our kids, both of whom declined college, are each making nice livings in sales, nursing and IT.  Really if you look beyond working at McD's life can be pretty good.  Our favorite Mexican restaurant is run by a family from Durango - as in Mexico.  In the eight years we've been here they have gone from a small place off the highway to a much larger place on the highway (which is obviously a big deal) and another place in a small 'community' that is in a business area.  This is in the middle of another 'Depression' if you listen to the idiots.  All you have to do is try and this country will work really well for you.

I'm off to a meeting of the NSSAB - Nevada Security Site Advisory Board.  All that Area 51 crap is the center of a MUCH larger area where A-bombs were tested back in the day.  It's about 50 miles from the nearest person but people are worried that something is going to be in their water.  The government has this stupid board to help spread the word:  it ain't happening.  But the people who are afraid aren't going to listen so WTF.  Let's just tell them to put their heads under their wings and drop off to sleep.  Grrr!

Gotta go.  Have a good one and thanks for dropping it!

Busy busy - for me anyway!

We are just back from a quick trip up to Washington state.  The occasion was a memorial for my wife's late step-father who passed away last February.  It was his birthday and the family just got together to say a couple things.  It was quite touching at times.  At other times it was kind of painful.  Life goes on I guess.

We flew up on Thursday and came home on Sunday; not exactly a long visit but we had things to do.  We haven't been doing much flying lately and it was a pretty good experience.  We flew Alaska Airways where we've always had pretty good treatment and this was no exception.  The flight attendant managed to drop something out of an overhead onto me so decided she needed to buy me a drink to make up for it.  I've got to figure out how to make that happen more often!  The landing back here in Vegas was the smoothest I've ever felt.  It was so amazing I had to compliment the pilot.  Vegas is surrounded by mountains and often is kind of gusty but this time you literally couldn't tell when you actually touched down.

I did visit the surgeon who did my discectomy on a followup last monday and got official permission to go do things.  Good thing because we were just back from Washington!  Still, it's good to know he thinks I'll live.  Unfortunately I'm still an old crock so all my aches and pains won't be going away.  As they say though at least I'm on the right side of the grass.

We got home and now have a painter in fixing a couple cracks in the ceiling.  One especially is being a bit of a challenge.  The topsoil around here is pretty flimsy stuff so the builder will dig a hole 3 or 4 feet deep and fill it with compacted gravel trying to start the foundation on something stable.  Of course, stuff happens and a few cracks happen.  (There are homes in the valley that were not built on a gravel base and are in the process of collapse.)  Anyway, these cracks were in the living room and my wife wanted them fixed and she was sure she didn't want an amateur job.  From all the work, I'm thinking that was a great idea!  The guy had to take out a section of drywall about 3 inches by 30 inches; replace it and then resurface it.  He says part of the problem is that the builder didn't install the drywall in same direction as the joists.  I never knew it mattered but what do I know.  He is doing lots of fooling around to get it looking good.  My wife and I will get to take care of the ones in the spare bedroom but those are much smaller and won't require the drywall work.

We got home in time to find our cactus in bloom.  Well, one bloom.

You can probably imagine why we have always considered the cactus to be male.

And a very proud boy he is!

So that's most of the news from around here.  Hopefully I'll get back to nothing to say soon.  All this activity is quite tiring.  Thanks for stopping by though.  Have a good one.

Happy 4th USA

Happy Monday to the rest of you.  I've got to admit that I'm grumpy again.  First, and mostly, look at the Presidential race.  Then check out Brexit.  Ok, granted that I'm an old white guy and things have been going pretty well for guys like me HOWEVER things are getting AFU in a hurry and it won't be just for guys like me.  I mean I think there is at least some argument that both of the 'presumptive' candidates for president should be looking at jail time.  And, if things weren't interesting enough, "Great Britain" is flopping around like a harpooned whale trying to turn itself into one of the least important nations in the world rather than the reasonably respected leader it has been for like 300 years.  Frosting on my cake is the news that Texas actually has citizens who would like to secede from the union.  I mean I don't like driving the 900 miles through Texas listening to my wife bitch every inch of the way about how ugly it all is but having to pack my passport would just make it that much more special. 

I mean, WTF!  Bah, humbug.  I need to write about the weather.  It's for my blood pressure.  Really.  Of course, being July in Nevada, it's hot.  We've been over 100F (38C) for like the last three weeks or so.  Happily someone invented air conditioning some time ago and ours works pretty reliably.  Actually just good insulation helps a lot.  Our garage seldom gets over 85F (30C) which isn't that bad.  One good thing is that some car dealer in Vegas donates $100 to charity for every day over 100F so at least someone is gaining.

When we lived in the Netherlands we enjoyed the public service commercials around New Years telling people to be careful with fireworks.  Well, yesterday I saw the US version.  I certainly hope it reaches a kid or two or maybe even an adult!  Some guy who is playing in the NFL (US football) was showing off his right hand.  He's got a stub of a thumb and is missing at least one finger from a fireworks accident.  Do people learn?  Oh shit, they vote too!

We try to walk every morning.  Yesterday morning we were on our usual walk and some guy comes out of his yard apparently doing the same thing.  Only he was wearing a gun on his belt.  Ok, I'm a gun owner.  My wife and I had concealed carry permits for maybe 20 years.  Did we every actually carry a weapon, hell no!  But we liked exercising our right to do so.  But really?  It's like 06:00 and in our 2+ mile walk we seldom see more than one car and maybe two people.  It is neither some dangerous inner city or the wild, wild west.  And this asshole is carrying his gun?  Did I mention I was grumpy?  Granted there are dogs along our route who bark at us but in 8 years I think we've only seen one dog that wasn't fenced in.  We've seen more coyotes.

Anyway, Happy 4th of July USA.  I'm know we'll live through all this crap but I'd really like it to be a good experience rather than that other kind.  Have a good one and thanks for dropping by.

Summer Time!

We've got summer time here in all it's glory; even technically now that the solstice is past.  Our Las Vegas weathercasters are talking between 108F (42C) and 113F (45C) for the next 7 days; tonight they are talking a low of 93F (34C).  This is a bit warm even for here!  Still, this is the time for it.

One of the changes we make based on the season is when we walk.  In the winter, mid-afternoon sounds good but these days, the earlier the better.  This a.m. we were out before sunrise.  Walking is the exercise we are best at for sure.  It's been a staple since we moved here in 2008.  Of course there have been pauses; like after my surgery.  We started walking again about a week after I had my surgery.  Then we were doing the short walk which is about a mile (1.6km).  Now we have worked ourselves up to the 'long walk' which is a bit over 2.25 miles(3.6km).  At first the short walk had me resting for an hour or so but now we are pretty much back to normal.  Also last Friday was three weeks since the surgery and the day my doctor anointed as the day I could start driving again.  Wow, was that a relief!  My wife is actually a very good driver and she enjoys driving but laying back in that passenger seat is pretty unusual for me.  I've been susceptible to motion sickness for as long as I can remember so riding with others is something I really avoid.  Making it to Las Vegas for the followup appointment with my doctor is the farthest I've ridden with anyone else for quite some time.  Back on 2004 my knee went out while we were on a trailer trip to the midwest.  My wife got to drive something like 1,400 miles (2,250km) that time! 

We have noticed that this summer seems to be a year for rabbits.  Believe me when I say I know nothing about rabbit populations but here in the valley the population seems to run in cycles.  This is a lots-o-rabbits year.  I think they come around every three or four years but don't really know.  Year before last we could take our walk and see maybe two rabbits; this year we are seeing twenty or thirty plus a few jack rabbits.  I keep telling myself that it's just the year for them.  Maybe later in the summer we'll start seeing coyotes and then the year-of-the-rabbit will come to a rapid end.  What we haven't seen is quail.  No idea why but I don't believe we've seen one all year.

Anyway, that's a summer morning around here.  The other good news is that we are up for the sunrise on the mountains. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good one!

Orlando North

Warning:  Another grumpy post!  Stop reading if you aren't up for more gloom.

Just another weekend in Chicago.   "A 5-year-old girl was among forty people shot in Chicago over the weekend, seven of which were fatal."  Racist, hate crimes, drivebys - does it matter?  You are still dead.  I've got to agree that AK-47 type weapons don't belong in civilian life but clearly people are more than willing to kill each other.

I hope it doesn't come as a surprise to anyone but people are not always the way we would like them to be.  They get mad, crazy mad, and do things that another day they would never consider.  They get fascinated by ideas or philosophies and bury themselves in twisted thoughts to the point they lose their common humanity.  They are simply careless and do stupid things.  It's all part of being human.  It isn't pretty but we really are closely related to the other members of the animal kingdom.  We put our minds to it and bring animal violence to a whole new level.   

I personally believe that some of the blame needs to go to all the violence we see on television and in movies.  Maybe I'm totally wrong but if you watch a couple hours of tv it's easy to see five or six people be shot.  If they are 'bad guys' they probably don't get up again.  If they are 'good guys' they are walking around with their arm in a sling by the next day aka the end of the show.  What kind of shit is that?  In the army I had careful instruction in using weapons to kill others.  I was lucky and never had to put that knowledge to work but I have it still. 

Of course, if Orlando hadn't enough trouble this week, there is the story of the 2 year old taken by an alligator in front of his parents!  Talk about something that would blow your mind.  I really feel for those people.  How the hell are they supposed to get through something like that?  We lived just outside Orlando for a few years in the 1980's.  There are LOTS of alligators in Florida.  People don't realize it but there is a gator in practically every body of water.  They were in the 'manufactured' lake by the office, in the natural lake in our sub-division, in the ponds by the side of the freeway.  And they get hungry.  Even I can't blame that on television.

Ok, I'm done.  I'll take a cheerful pill and be back to normal soon.  I promise.  In the mean time, thanks for stopping by and try to have a good one!

I'm not even going to try

There just isn't much you can say about the tragic murders in Orlando of all those people.  When someone is that determined nothing much is going to help.  Cops can't be everywhere watching everyone.  Gun control isn't the answer; they'd just create a bomb.  Teaching love, understanding, even the freedom to be different doesn't seem to have much traction either.  The human mind can go such strange places. 

This post is just going to be a ramble.  Just a warning in case you want to bail now!

Out here in the Nevada desert we are enjoying a slight reprieve from the Excessive Heat Warnings.  It's just hot; not 'don't go out unless you must'.  We still have people doing foolish things.  A woman was cited the other day for leaving her young dog in the car.  She left a window open but it was still over 120F (49C) inside - as measured by the Animal Control officer.  So she is shoping at Goodwill when she gets the ticket; I'm thinking she isn't very well off.  And she gets a $650 ticket for abusing her animal.  How do you think that going to work out?  Animal Control is doing their job but $650?

There was a 'feel good' story on the news a month or so ago where this cop pulls a guy over then notices the guy's kid isn't in a child seat.  Why not?  The guy says he can barely buy food, doesn't have any money left over for a child seat.  The cop could have written him a ticket but instead takes him to Walmart and buys the kid a car seat.  Later he said he couldn't see writing a ticket the guy couldn't afford.  I guess there are people like that in the world as well.

Big plan for today is to take some food stuffs over to the VFW Food Bank.  We try to make it over there every month.  Last month's load was kind of light but we made up for it this time.  We find it difficult buying for a food bank.  Who knows what they need?  We ask but I suppose the needs change daily.  At any rate the answers we get from the folks running it do.  They support some people, both male and female, who are living alone out in the desert; they also support people who have families even extended families.  As a result some of the stuff we buy is single serving, eat from the can.  Some is family size requiring cooking.  What can you do?

Our local Primary Election is tomorrow so my wife and I will be voting.  It really is pretty sad though.  We are both independents, not associated with a political party.  All voters, including us, have two positions to vote for:  a member of the University Board of Regents and a member of the School District Board of Trustees.  Each position has only one person running so, they will both win.  It really motivates a person to go vote!

The Republicans and Democrats have to choose candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives.  In addition, the Republicans have a race for a seat on the County Commission.  Thus, in the fall the ballot will have President, Senator and Representative.  That's it.  No state offices, no local offices at all.  What a farce.  Maybe we are getting the government we deserve. 

So that's all the news that's fit to print today.  Sorry about the random nature of it all.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good one!

Summer's here!

We have had several years in a row where most of the time we stayed under 105F (40+C).  So this year is starting out with a week of mostly over 105F.  Well, besides my neck, this is certainly the reason to stay inside and veg out.  I'd be embaressed to say how much 'crap' tv I've seen in the last two weeks but let's just leave it at 'too much'.  I could read but somehow it makes me fall asleep.  Hmmm, tough life huh.

We had big plans for being out of the area during this time.  My 50th high school reunion was being held back in Iowa at the end of May and we were going to make a big trip of it.  We were going to see friends in Colorado then relatives in Missouri before the reunion.  Then afterwards see friends in Ohio then go up through the Michigan Upper Peninsula.  Finally we were going to sweep down towards the middle of the country and check out the state of Oklahoma; one of the few we haven't visited in our trailer.  The whole trip would have been closer to 6,000 miles than 5,000. (9,600km vs 8,000).  The truck was all tuned up and ready to roll unfortunately, I wasn't.  Well, maybe next year! 

I am sorry to have missed the reunion but I did leave town about as soon as I could after graduating and haven't been back except to visit my parents while they were still alive.  It might have been fun to see how those people I remember as 17 or 18 look now that they are closing in on 70.  I did run across a few of them when we were all in our thirties but that too was quite a while ago.  Guess I'll just have to look at some random group of old folks.  Or maybe I'll just look in the mirror!  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't recognize myself and I can't find a copy of my yearbook photo.  I'll post it if I find it later.  There is a Facebook page that some hardworking person put together.  There are some group photos where I recognize no one.  Maybe missing the fun is something I'll live through.

We do have some thoughts for travel in the fall but we are pretty gun-shy since the summer trip kind of blew up.  If nothing else we'll probably take some short trips over to places in California that are way overdue for a visit:  Napa Valley, Yosemite, San Simeon just to name a few - we have woefully ignored California for way too long.  I should point out that we are wine consumers rather than wine snobs so a visit to Napa wouldn't take more than a couple days!  Driving up Highway 1 is on the list too.  I'm not sure how far we'd go.  We've had a whiff of the redwoods but haven't really spent time there.  We've been on Highway 1 in Oregon as well but that was coming south rather than going north and somehow it feels different.

Well, that's the news from the overheated state of Nevada.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good one!

Life in the bumpy lane

No one expects their time in the world to be entirely smooth and I've just found a bit of a bump:  my incision has what we hope is a slight infection.  We went to the local quack where they demonstrated their unfamiliarity with wound care.  Hmmm, note to self:  if this crap ever happens again go to the hospital ER where they will have some grasp on this kind of thing!  They did give me a prescription for an antibiotic, which seems to be helping.  I also moved up my visit with my surgeon (to later today); we'll see if they can be worse than the locals but I'm hopeful they will do better.  If we are really lucky we might get some idea of what kind of infection this is!

Of course I'm driving my poor wife nuts since 'good patient' isn't really in my DNA.  We vary between me asking for something every 5 minutes and then having to beat her off me to keep her from 'fixing' something.  It's been working for about 35 years but sometimes you wonder how!  I'm sure that when she is ill I do things to drive her crazy as well. 

Speaking of DNA, we did DNA testing on ourselves as a sort of Christmas present that takes 3 months to arrive.  We used 23andMe because it sounded as though you got more information than other services.  I guess you do but lots of the information is in the 'ho hum' category.  I mean they suggest that I am likely to move more during sleep.  Really?  Or I'm likely to have lighter skin and not many freckles.  Bummed is the word.  Here is a quote:  "You have more Neanderthal variants than 85% of 23andMe customers.
However, your Neanderthal ancestry accounts for less than 4% of your overall DNA."   Well, it made my wife laugh but I'm still holding out for some  information of value.  There were reports on rare genetic disorders like Sickle Cell Anemia or Niemann-Pick or Cystic Fibrosis.  I imagine if we were to want children and have concern about some of these diseases the information would be extremely helpful.  For the rest of us, not so much.  Am I glad we did it?  Yes.  I feel that the more information we have about the human race the better we can look towards the future.  But I have to say if money were tight I wouldn't have spent the $400!

My wife is enjoying her new job as driver of the car.  I could do it, of course, but having your neck in a collar does reduce the amount of looking around in traffic a guy can do.  It would be silly to try to drive since it's not necessary.  We are gradually getting used to all the new features.  The car has voice commands for many functions and that leads to interesting and frustrating situations.  For example if you want do get the GPS to take you somewhere there is a very precise order for giving the information and God help you if you give the street name before the number!  Hell, sometimes it takes three times to get to the Navigation panel!

Gotta go get ready for the trip across the 'hump'.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good one.

It's done and I'm thinking I'm glad

My surgery is done that is.  Let me give you all the gruesome details.  We drove into Las Vegas last Thursday and checked into one of the local hotel-casinos - The Palace Station Hotel and Casino - it isn't 4-star but is was $50 a night and only about 10 blocks from the hospital.  It was clean and comfortable and the staff were very nice.  My appointment at the hospital was at 08:00 so we didn't want to be getting stuck in traffic!  We had dinner with our daughter then crashed. 

Next morning we were bright and early at the hospital.  This was Valley Hospital.  I can see why the doctor likes it; it was only about five minutes drive from his office.  It isn't new but is certainly large and seemed to have all the goodies.  So we check in and get all fixed up for the operation.  Don't I look happy?

The surgery I'm waiting for is ACDF:  anterior cervical discecomy and fusion.  It means they go into the throat from the front, push everything out of the way then remove the failing disc replacing it with a special piece of plastic.  Finally they use a plate and screw the plate into the two vertebrae.  A bone graft may be used or not.  In my case the doctor expects the vertebrae fuse without the need for an external bone graft. 

My wife sat with me and we read for a while then  two hours later, just as projected, I get rolled away to the operating theatre.  The next thing I know is I'm waking and my wife and daughter are visiting.  Well, I'm told that is what happened, my memory is pretty foggy. 

This would have been around noon and I wasn't totally around until around 3 or 4 in the afternoon when I started feeling hungry.  (No food since the night before so it's reasonable.)  Around 5 p.m. they brought me food:  chicken parm, pasta and some salad.  I managed about a third of the chicken and pasta.  The salad didn't sound like fun.  I was cutting it into really small bites but it was working.  

Over the night I got to play with the pain medication pump.  You have this button that you press to give you a little jolt of pain medication.  The machine is pre-set to a certain volume of medication and how often you can receive it.  They set it for, say, 10 minutes.  If you press it before 10 minutes has passed the machine ignores your request.  If it's been more than 10, you get your medication and the timer is reset.  They had me set to pretty-often so during the night I did find myself flying once or twice but I don't really care for the feeling so eased off. 

By mid-morning I was ready to be out of the hospital and was asking everyone if I could get out.  In retrospect that was probably a bad idea.  I didn't understand how much better the drugs are in the hospital!  In the end we left about 3 p.m. with a prescription for oxycodon.  It is a good hour and a half over the pass and back home so it was nearing 5 p.m. before we landed and got situated.  I was glad to be home but I was soon to understand that thing about the quality of the drugs!  Mostly I had a sore throat.  It wasn't until Sunday that we figured out that I could be taking another medication with the oxy.  Since then it only hurts to swallow.  Before it was downright painful most of the time.  I do have a fancy neck brace.

The incision isn't particularly large, it really looks like only a couple of inches long.  I guess it was big enough though.  Before the procedure I would have numbness in the fingers of my left hand that would gradually climb up the arm until my whole arm was painful.  That hasn't happened since the procedure.  My very finger tips are kind of tingly but it hasn't gone any farther.  So that's a good step.  Also the pain I've had in my middle back has stopped.  I'm not sure if that has to do with the surgery or if the three days bed rest did it.  Probably the latter.  In the good news column I have lost about 3 lb.  I can't really recommend it as a diet but I'm looking for every possible good thing here!

Gotta go.  I'll update my blog when I find something new to say.  Take care and thanks for stopping by.

YES! MRI

After much fooling around I did finally manage to get my MRI.  (See this Wikipedia article about MRI's if you are uncertain what they are.)  If you haven't had one it's not too strenuous but it isn't that much fun either.  Conventional MRI machines are built in a cylinder form and you are placed on a sort of plank and are slid into the machine.  I had an MRI in a machine like that many years ago and I discovered I'm kind of claustrophobic.  That makes it a very unpleasant experience.  Since then I've required what is called an 'open' MRI.  It's better but not great.  Here's a photo I took of the machine.

You lie down on the surface on the right.  It is raised up and you are slid into the main portion of the machine.  I told my wife it is like you are the meat in a hamburger and the machine is the bun.  So you are in this thing but can see with your peripheral vision and, not a small thing, there is better air flow than in the conventional machines.  Then it starts up making all kinds of bangs and clangs; it is just part of the process.  I was told it would take 19 minutes - I guess so.  I was certainly happy for it to end! 

Then Monday I got to meet with my specialist who told me I have a problem with the C6-C7 vertebrae.  I'm told I have three options:  live with it; get a cortisone shot that relieves the pain for about 6 months or surgery to remove the disk.  Hmmm.  So I'm headed for the operating room one of these days.  It will probably be a while but I'm sure you'll be hearing about it after it happens!

Back at the ranch, the cactus are happy.  We've been getting rain, more than usual, so the desert is perky.  We even had a rainbow - kind of.

Our cactus plants are happy.  These photos were taken a couple days apart.

The cactus flowers will be disappearing soon though.  Our 'spring' is definitely ending with temps expected to be in the high 90's (35C give or take) in the next few days.  Well, that's why we have those expensive air conditioners!  It is also why we don't have trees and lawns.  It's just not the right part of the world for those things.

IKEA is opening a new store in Las Vegas next week.  It is big news for locals, our Fox channel has a reporter out there this morning!  Don't get me wrong, I buy things at IKEA, I enjoy going to IKEA.  In the Netherlands I went there quite often for little things for our home.  I'm sure we'll be visiting the new store before it's a month old.  But putting it on the 'news'?  Really? 

Well, that's the news from this corner of the planet.  Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Financial Advice???

OK, two posts in one day?  Yeah, it's not the Don you know and put up with.  But this really called for a post.  After I posted this morning my wife and I go out to our local Chinese-Thai restaurant for lunch.  It's a nice enough little place so we have lunch and are given fortune cookies at the end of our meal.  My wife read hers out loud then I opened mine.

REALLY?  A way out of a financial mess as if by magic?  And it is the same for us both.  If I believed, I'd be searching high and low to see if we are in a financial mess that I don't know about.  Or maybe it is for our country?  I'd love a way out of THAT mess.  Well, here's hoping.  Take care!

Life is life and sometimes death

I'm not going to turn this into a medical blog but I do want to report on my MRI results.  Well, I would except I don't have any.  Last Tuesday we were zooming over to Vegas and were about 30 miles into the trip when we find a Highway Patrol car parked across the road.  There had been a fatal accident just up the road and the road would be closed for four hours (!) to investigate it.  Well, we were planning on having lunch then going to my appointment so we could still make it by going around to Vegas the 'long way'.  We zoom back to Pahrump and are cruising through town when my phone rings. 

Hooray!  An opportunity for us to try the bluetooth attachment between the phone and the car!  This is new technology to us so it was cool.  Unfortunately it was a young woman from the MRI place telling us that the machine broke down and we would have to reschedule.  Hmmm, well it was a opportune time to call!  So we made an appointment for next Tuesday, the 3rd, then went had lunch and went home. 

Saturday I get another call from the MRI place.  This time the machine needs maintenance so can we move the appointment to Wednesday.  Really?  The thing needs repair one week and maintenance the next?  Well, whatever.  So no MRI results.  I'm a little worried about Wednesday though!

I should mention that we are gradually getting used to the new car and all it's bells and whistles.  You only have to be carrying the key fob and when you touch the door you can either lock or unlock it.  That took me an embarrassing amount of time to learn.  The bluetooth apparently works.  The built in GPS is taking some getting used to but we've had Garmin for probably 10 years so it is a little learning curve.  One thing that I love is the backup camera.  Since I'm having neck problems it is great to just look at that monitor rather than try to turn around.  You need to be careful and not depend upon it totally but it is a real help.  In fact, I've purchased a backup camera for the truck as well.  It's really helpful.  Again you can't just ignore the world but it sure helps out.

I did notice a bumper sticker that I really like.  Amazingly it's not political.  Just real.

I sure wish I knew where they found that thing.  It fits the town so well! 

Gotta go.  We are having visitors this weekend (Number One Son & SO) so the cleaning frenzy is beginning.  Take care & thanks for dropping by.

Back to dull

I promised to get back to more normal stuff but we had one of those special things happen the other day.  This is when the cactus gets buds and sometimes blooms.  I've been watching them and they have just been hanging out.  Then we came home from the store and found FLOWERS!

We have two plants in our yard - that we put there - weeds aren't counted!  Both cacti have had buds but this one decided to bloom.  You have to keep an eye on it.  Within two days they were dried up.  What you can't see in the photo is a bee that was busy with the flowers.  That bee must have one heck of a sense of smell because there just aren't many places for the little guy to live around here.  I imagine he was even happier to see the flowers than I was.

I had to take this photo of our bird feeder.  It shows most of the birds we get on a regular basis.  Pigeon, dove and finch.  There are a couple varieties of dove and finch but that's it.  Cowbirds come through twice a year and kind of take over the place but they don't live here.  There are black birds but they don't really care about the feeder.  And we have hawks - they like the feeder for the hunting opportunities.  We have seen a burrowing owl on a couple occasions but it's been a couple years since we have seen them.

It's funny but if you would have told me 20 years ago that I'd like watching pigeons I wouldn't have believed it for a minute.  Funny how things work out sometimes.

I get to go into Las Vegas next week for an MRI.  My left arm has been bothering me for about four months.  It seems like it should be a pinched nerve and working through the local doctor-xray-specialist hoops I'll get my neck tested to see if in fact that's the problem.  Of course then we get to decide what to do about it.  We've been making plans for the summer but I'll probably want to put them off if I can get back to feeling good.  Since the first of the year I've gotten a full nights sleep maybe twice.  Sleeping three hours then wandering around for a while then getting three more stinks!  Of course getting up in the middle of the night and wandering around sometimes wakes my wife so her sleep in screwed up as well.  (A motivational factor that every husband will recognize!)  It does make one thankful for some of the wonders of modern medicine. 

Gotta go do something even if it is wrong.  Have a good one and thanks for stopping by.

I'm pretty conservative

Really, I am.  But every now and then something just triggers my 'Oh FuxK NO' button.  Well, first of all this whole disaster of an election season sucks big time - but I digress.  We live out in the back of beyond.  This is Conservative Country and that's fine.  People who live around here have horses and chickens and goats and why not.  It's not the city.  I'm sure most of them have guns not that there is ever gunfire in our neighborhood.  We have guns.  Granted most are ones that I fired when I was a child.  A couple of them are probably older than I am and that's saying something.  But, again I digress. 

The radio 'news' carried a story about how hackers can take over your car.  The reporter is talking excitedly about how the radio is blaring, the wipers going crazy and, worst of all, the brakes being useless.  Well, gee!  What kind of crap is that?  First of all, yes, there are plenty of computer systems in a modern car and yes, where there is a computer there can be a hack.  However, every maker has their own software so a 'universal' hacker would have to have individual hacks for every make.  Perhaps even several for different styles of car.  A Chevy Cruz probably isn't using the same software as a Corvette.  So this 'news' story is just aimed at increasing our paranoia.  Thanks!

We are in our mid sixties so many of our relatives are as old or older.  These older relatives are getting really paranoid.  We have one person who a few years ago took a cruise to Australia and stopped at several south pacific islands.  Now she is getting worried about being out and about in her own neighborhood at night.  Now certainly this could be the sign of some mental illness but they too live in conservative country and they are hearing the same crap on the radio that we are getting.  OMG, we are becoming a nation of idiots!

Of course we have Presidential candidates who are talking about building a fence between the US and Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.  What happened to "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".  (A quote from The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus and installed in the Statue of Liberty.)  Are there Mexican drug dealers who would like to live here?  Well, hell yes.  So let them sell something, arrest them and throw them in jail or ship them back home.  But does that mean we should keep out thousands of hard working normal people?  I certainly don't think so.  One guy I know doesn't like immigrants because they have 'taken over construction jobs'.  Well, that's what is called life.  Read a history book.  The Italian immigrant wasn't exactly loved when they arrived.  The Irish were hated. I imagine every incoming group was vilified.

Paranoia has it's place.  Walking around in bad neighborhoods at night is probably a bad idea.  Flashing a roll of bills in a bar when you are drunk is probably a bad idea.  But it shouldn't drive our society.  It shouldn't drive our Presidential election.  I know 'good news doesn't sell newspapers' but it doesn't follow that we need to make up crap.

Sorry.  I'll get off my soapbox and return to pictures of pigeons in the birdbath next time.  Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Still quiet around here

We are slowly getting back to 'normal'.  We did finally decide we'd seen enough cars and wandered off to buy a new one.  We liked the size of the RAV4; just wanted more power and more bells and whistles.  It's a crowded market place.  We tested at least 10 different vehicles and there are at least that many more that we skipped for one reason or another.  Presenting:  our new wheels!

It is a 2016 Ford Escape.  Somehow we've become a Ford Family!  Who would have though it?  It is almost the exact same size as the RAV4 but has a ton of options that we couldn't afford to get on the RAV back in 2010 when we bought it.  It also has a LOT more horsepower thanks to turbocharging.  We'll see how it works out.  Right now we are having trouble adapting to all the new stuff.  The built-in GPS doesn't work like our Garmin; the audio system is confusing; the a/c is all via the touch screen so that's weird.  That doesn't even talk about the new key fob that unlocks the car when we near it and the 25 different checks it makes to be sure you aren't locking the fob in the car!  Suffice to say, these old dogs are having a little trouble with learning these new tricks!  (That dog reference is not about my wife needless to say!)

Otherwise this is a pretty normal spring.  There is lots of wind and varied weather but gradually we are warming up.  The pigeon population has forgiven our vacation from feeding them and are back.

I haven't counted more than seven in the birdbath at one time but it's a small bath!  They are trying.  The smaller birds are slower to return but they are showing up as well; just no photos yet. 

Pahrump got it's name up in RV blog lights when the Cheap RV Living guy visited us.  He likes the place for many of the reasons my wife and I chose to live here.  It is inexpensive, there is a fairly good infrastructure and you are close to Las Vegas which has whatever else one might require including a world class airport so you can escape all this fun.  He camped on BLM land up on the mountain fan.  There are always people up there; some are even permenent residents.  In his case a complaint was made and the Sheriff came along to enforce the 14 day camping limit on BLM land.  Usually folks around here are pretty live and let live so the Sheriff contacted him but not other folks living farther from the person who made the complaint.  How do I know this?  I've seen their vehicles out there for months!  I take the truck up there from time to time for two reasons.  First I enjoy the solitude of the desert.  It's very soothing.  Secondly, the truck is a 4x4 and there are nice gravel roads up there to exercise that option. 

So you see it's pretty quiet right now.  We are making big plans.  I have my 50th high school reunion this year and we are trying to figure out if we can make it.  The problem is that we keep adding options to the trip so it becomes a major deal.  You know how it goes:  if we are there, how can we not go another couple hundred miles and visit so-and-so.  Then we were hoping to make a trip to Europe in the fall.  We are starting the research but again it's pretty much cast in jello at this point.  (Actually we hoped to make the trip this spring but it just didn't come together.)  Thanks for stopping by.  I'll see if we can't come up with some good photos or something for next time.

Cruising, kind of.....

Since returning from Washington we've been just catching our breath.  Between the 6,000 miles to and from Florida and the 2,500 to and from Washington; we're loving being stationary!

Somewhere along the line my neck and back started giving me trouble.  This crap comes and goes but it's kind of stuck around this time so I've gone to the doctor and had a few x-rays done.  They don't tell me much but I have an appointment with an orthopedic specialist coming up.  Maybe they can offer some good ideas.  I do know I don't want to be in pain forever and I don't want to be taking pain meds forever either.  There's gotta be a better way.

When we got home from Florida we had quite a few weeds in our yard.  During the trip to and from Washington it got kind of out of hand.

Happily we were able to engage a couple of young men to come and remove them.  Believe me, they earned their money pulling those weeds!  The small ones got sprayed.  Good bye weeds.  I'm sure they will return next year.


One of the things I love about living here is that there is such a diverse population.  Here is an RV I found in the Walmart parking lot.  I didn't want to approach too close; some folks really like their privacy.

It was built on a F-350 Ford chassis.  The only part I don't like is the lack of windows.  There wasn't even one.  However, maybe they have a cool sunroof.  The cover on the top would keep some of the sun out but who knows.  The guy sure likes his spare tires!

Gotta go.  I'll see if I can't do more of this updating thing. Ha!  Thanks for stopping by.

A sad trip

While we were on our Florida trip my wife's step-father became ill with pneumonia.  He was a great male roll model for my wife when she was younger.  Shortly after we returned home he was allowed to leave the hospital and return to his own home.  Hospice care was suggested and my wife decided she needed to make one last visit to this fine man.  We chose to drive knowing that there was a good chance we wouldn't be in time.  And we weren't.  He passed away quietly in his home with his wife and children nearby.  It is what he wanted.

So we spent two and a half days driving up to Washington state; three days visiting with family and another two and a half days driving home.  2,489 miles but it was certainly the right thing to have done.  We could have flown, of course, but I think the long miles helped us to deal with the loss.  Sitting on a plane just isn't the same.

RIP, Hank.

Florida is HUGE! Trip report - last.

At least if you are in the south end and want to leave via the western end of the panhandle; it's REALLY a long way!  So anyway we finally decided to leave the country rv park outside Homestead, FL.  We had intended to drive up the east coast enjoying the beaches.  But, you know, it was cold and nasty so we (mostly me) didn't want to waste time on the beaches.  My wife is from California so beach time isn't very important to her.  And cold beach time just didn't do a thing for either of us.  Bottom line, let's get on I-95 and boot-scoot.

So we trucked up to Fort Pierce before we stopped.  Again there was a cafe attached to the park so we ate there rather than cook.  I can't honestly say I remember it but we both lived so I guess it worked!  We had some trouble figuring out our route from here and finally decided to head over to I-75 and move north.  Our next stop was Alacha, FL.  It is a small town just north of Gainesville with not a lot going on however we needed some time to just talk about the remainder of the trip.  For that it was perfect.

We decided to spend some time in New Orleans then basically head for home.  Complicated, huh.  So off we went the next morning crossing Florida ending up in Holt, Fl just northeast of Pensacola.  Holt had a nice little park called River's Edge RV Park.  It is mostly a fishing camp since it IS on the banks of the Yellow River.  And the entire park is sand so I was rather happy we have 4-wheel drive on the truck not that we needed it; it was just reassuring.  The park certainly isn't fancy but the woman running it was pleasant, it was quiet and level.  You can tell, we are tough to keep happy!  So the next morning we were off to New Orleans.

We stopped at a park called Pontchartrain Landing.  It is a combination of rv park and marina; I didn't actually notice the marina because it was across the way.  The park is in kind of an industrial area where at least one of the boatyards looks like it is totally dead.  In fact there seemed to be a couple half-finished 100+  foot yachts in one of the sheds. 

Doesn't that just look like two or three lawsuits just standing there?  The park has a cafe on site that we checked out.  The one employee totally ignored us so after a few minutes we left.  Chatting up your regulars may work some places but not with us.

The one tremendous advantage the park has is that they provide free bus service to the French Quarter.  When we traveled it was into town at 10:00 and back at either 16:00 or 20:00.  Of course you could go in at 15:45 as well if you wished.  We just wanted to spend the day so took the early bus.  It worked out really well!  I never realized that Mardi Gras isn't just a day in New Orleans; it starts in late January and continues until the actual day.  That managed to make the trip very interesting:  i.e. traffic was horrible!  It was SO GREAT not driving down there and not having to find a parking place!  We went down; enjoyed the day and went back to the rig.  Easy for us; horrible for the driver!  We enjoyed the food, the people watching and even did a little shopping.  We just said 'no' to the $11K antique diamond necklace.  The tourist city is lovely; just lovely.

I must admit that I hadn't expected to find people in costumes!  The various groups can't parade much in the French Quarter but they can meet!  The bemused tourists wander between them trying to figure out what's going on.  It's kind of strange.

There was also this balcony - you can enjoy the party from above!  By the hour!

It is also about time for people to start getting drunk.  We were happy to be leaving on the 16:00 bus because already things were getting odd.  And who doesn't love being around a bunch of drunks who are wearing costumes?  Hmmm, I'm thinking that's most of us!  At least those of us over about 25!

We stayed in New Orleans one more night mostly because we needed a break.  I did really exciting stuff like visiting the local Winn Dixie!  LOL  Two thoughts remain with me.  First, it is a very poor city with a lot of people just getting by.  Secondly, while many of the drunks in the Quarter were white, the city seems heavily black.  It's still the South and segregation may be gone but don't bet your last dollar on it.

We left town and drove down towards Homma, LA.  We wanted to check out that area.  We didn't really stop but enjoyed this agricultural area so near New Orleans.  We rejoined I-10 and ended the day at Frog City RV park in Duson, LA.  What can you say about a name like that?  Well, it was a nice enough park so we enjoyed our stay.

Hopped on I-10 again and headed west to Houston, TX then Junction, TX.  We were in travel mode and stopping was ok but we prefered not to unhook the rig!  The park was quiet but the cable tv didn't work even after one of the employees took it apart; the wifi was really slow; the site was level but had a hump in the middle where our tires were.  That left our door about 4 feet off the ground and we only have 2.5 feet of step!  That last one was a doozy!  However, Junction had a lovely bbq place called Lums within walking distance.  I've got to admit, it was excellent food!  They claim to have won many awards and I can see it.  Nice food!  It's a very plain place with gas station attached but the food is there! 

So the plan here was to stop in Van Horn, TX; then Lordsburg, NM, Phoenix, AZ and a final stop in Las Vegas.  Van Horn was kind of cool  - also physically cool.  It was 17F (-8C) in the a.m.  Grrr!

They were proud of the place.  Unfortunately the cable didn't work not did the wifi.  There was a cafe that we skipped in the evening but tried in the morning.  Glad we missed the evening shift!  The cook could only do one ticket at a time so there was a long wait.  The food wasn't quite what we ordered but we didn't have patience to send it back and the server was rude.  Who needs that?  I did like their trash cans!

So the next stop was at the Journey RV Park in Lordsburg, NM.  It is an ex-KOA and you can see why it's an 'ex'.  First there was the neighborhood - not good.  Then there was the small matter of the electricity.  We were given a list of how much power various things draw.  We blew the circuit breaker four times during our stay.  That would be ok if we were using lots of electricity but we hadn't blown a circuit breaker the entire trip.  When it must be the customer's fault - it's not.  I definitely cannot recommend the Journey RV Park in Lordsburg.  Sorry about that!

So we hit the road for Phoenix.  It was exciting driving through Phoenix in rush hour but we managed to find the Sunflower RV Resort in Surprise, AZ.  Sunflower is another park intended for long term visitors.  It had over 1,000 spaces!  We parked in one of their very-temporary spaces.  They have about 500 rules; I'd love to never be anywhere like that again.  But, it was on the north side of town so we got out of there easily in the morning. 

It was another long day but we ended up back at the Las Vegas RV Resort again.  Just like last time you get a nice level secure space in Sin City.  It is near Sam's Town so well off the strip but nice spaces and inexpensive. 

The park only allows certain vendors into the park but one is Red Rock RV Cleaners; we asked them to wash the rig.  They charge $2 a foot so it's not too expensive.  Doing the roof is $20 more.  They do a nice job and I'd recommend them.  The next day we managed the 60 miles back home.  And darned glad to see it!  Travel is great but so is home.

Have a good one!  There will be more news before long.  Take care.

Florida trip part 2

So I left off last time in Livingston, TX.  Driving across central Texas on these state and federal highways (as distinct from the Interstate) was really a lot of fun.  Traffic was not heavy and you get to go through towns along the way.  Also you get to see the farms and ranches which I, as an old country boy, enjoy.  One thing I notice especially in Texas is that most ranches will have an elaborate gate where one leaves the road and enters the property.  It doesn't matter if the house is 100 feet off the road or half a mile, there is a big gate usually with a bar over the top with the name of the property.  Funny, I don't notice it in any other state but Texas.

The other thing we really noticed was the number of goats!  I imagine everyone has this vision of Texas as being filled with cattle.  Well, not the part between Austin and the Louisanna border.  That's goat country!  But all good things come to an end, even the almost 900 miles (1,400 km) across Texas and we finally made it to Louisanna.  We wanted to spend a little more time in Louisanna this trip but were planning on doing it on the way home so while Eastbound we just kept 'the pedal to the metal'.  A contributing factor was that the weather was just crappy:  rainy and chilly.  We stopped for the night in Breaux Bridge, LA at the Cajun Palms RV park; with something over 300 sites.  The sites and interior roads are all concrete; they have swimming pools and all that jazz.  They also have a semi-captive restaurant next door - Crawfish Town USA.  We ate there and my wife had to try the childs portion of crawfish - a mere 2 pounds!  (Yeah, almost a kilo.)  She thought they were ok but a lot of work for little meat and she definitely was not up for sucking out the head as our server suggested.

The next day we managed to make it part of the way across Alabama.  It was a pretty quiet park and I don't even remember the name!  Then it was off to Florida.  We decided to drop down to highway 98 along the Gulf Coast so drove through Panama City and along the coast to Carrabelle, Fl where we stopped for the night.  Our park was across the road from the gulf but the weather was still not cooperating.  We went into town for dinner at a place recommended by the camp manager:  The Fisherman's Wife.  Well, that was a disaster.  They served my wife peel-and-eat shrimp that were just nasty.  Then the owner came around to tell us the shrimp were 'moulting' and that's the way they are.  Ha!  They were either overcooked; over frozen or something but they were lousy.  They did finally find some shrimp that were breaded - they were twice the size of the peel-and-eat and actually good.  Still, bad seafood in Florida?  Nah.

Who would want to stroll that beach?  Not me!  So we hit the road again.  We stopped for lunch in Perry, FL at a place called Goodman's BBQ.  The parking lot was full and we had to park the rv in a dirt field next door but the food was excellent!  We switched to US 19 and headed south in Perry.  It is not very heavily traveled because it roughly parallels I-75 however we did find two state patrol officers checking for speeders!  We never speed because I'd just feel too foolish getting pulled over towing this huge trailer but I'm sure those guys were out there for a reason.

We pulled in to our relative's house about 16:00 and spent the next few days visiting them and many of the local restaurants!  We also got to visit the Homosassa Wildlife State Park.  That was fun!    The place started as a commercial park and they had all kinds of animals.  Then it was taken over by the state and turned into a native Florida park where all the plants and animals had to be native to the state.  Well, for some reason they couldn't get rid of their hippo, Lucifer.  So the state legislature made him an honorary resident!

He's a big guy!  They also have gators, snakes, a Florida panther, black bears and LOTS of birds.

It was a good time as always but we had places to go!  We used to live in Palm Harbor, Fl which is a suburb in the Tampa-St. Pete area so that was our next stop.  We managed to hook up with the folks who were our next door neighbors and had a great evening with them.  But South Florida was still calling!

We made it to the Outdoor Resorts campground on Chokoloskee Island in the Everglades.  It is a condo park where the sites are owned by individuals and their rigs just sit there.  It was a nice enough place but the manager was far from friendly and the actual park was pretty tight for travelers.  There were many turns that were too tight for even moderate sized rigs.  For $80 a night it was not great but at least they had wifi!

This is what I would call the western side of the glades but the park service calls it the Gulf Coast.  And we had a great time checking out the park.  One of the things you can do is take a tour through some of the Ten Thousand Islands area.  We enjoyed our tour even though the dolphins were pretty shy.

There were plenty of birds around including this flock that just couldn't be close enough to the rest of the guys!

Honestly we really enjoyed just being out on the boat.  It's a rare treat for us desert dwellers.  We wore our jackets though! Florida maybe but a long way from being warm!  It was about now that we started seeing about visiting the Keys.  We were soon disabused of any idea of visiting Key West or anywhere near it!  RV parks were all full so our visions of Key West and the Dry Tortugas went away.  Instead we headed for other side of the Everglades.  We found a spot outside Homestead, Fl and headed for it.  On the way we thought we might check out Shark Valley, Miami entrance to the park.  Well, for starters it's nowhere near Miami!  Secondly it is TINY!  They have a very small parking area as well and when it gets crowded they have a plan:  you can't go into the parking area until someone else comes out!  Well, shit!  Now we are in the line of cars towing a 30+ foot trailer. No way can we turn around; we just had to wait until enough people came out then drive through the lot and get on our way.  They did have maybe two spots for RVs but that was it.  Not the way we wanted to spend our time!

So it was off to the country park.  This place is in the middle of an agricultural area west of Miami; tons of gardens, nurseries, etc.  It made for a long drive to anywhere but it was nice and quiet!  In fact we ended up spending four nights.  The eastern entrance to the Everglades park was pretty quiet but it was rainy the first time we went so that was pretty disappointing.  The second time it was nice, still wearing jackets, and we got to do a couple hikes.  Here we found a trail built up over the swamp.  Again there were tons of birds including this guy who liked to walk across the plants; he barely got his feet wet!

We also got to see this guy.

That was taken from about 6 feet away (2 M) and behind a fence.  There were some folks over to my left trying to get a nice toothy portrait of him.  What were they thinking?  He may have been in a national park but no one told him about not being a wild animal!  It is a wonder that there aren't more tourists attacked. 

Another day we decided to drive down into the Keys and just have lunch somewhere.  Traffic was pretty heavy and we started thinking we were lucky not to have gotten a space down there.  We went as far as Islamorada and found a place for lunch around Mile Marker 85.  Still a long way from Key West and MM 0!  The restaurant was called "Yahoo's" and we ate outside on the deck.  Yes, we had to wear our coats but at least we got a nice view!  Really though, wearing your coat in the Florida Keys.  There is just something so very wrong about that.

Gotta keep trying to get that boat fix! 

I'm thinking this has gone on long enough.  This is as far south as we got so next time we'll be on the way home with a few stops along the way.

Yet another absence....

At least this time I've got half an excuse!  We've been traveling!  We took off on December 30 and spent the next six weeks on the road.  It was quite a road trip from here to the Florida Keys and back.  I'll spend a few posts covering some of the high points.  One of the LOW points, almost everywhere, was the promise of wifi and the failure to deliver.  There were a few rv parks where they delivered but the vast majority were just confused.  At one park that actually had working wifi we checked in and got the password 'SunnyFla1' - it didn't work.  So I went back to the office.  No, the lady was certain that was the password.  In fact they had it written on a bulletin board.  She took me to see it.  Sure enough 'sunnyflorida1' - hmmm.  I know the office staff may not be required to be computer literate but that's just incompetence.

Anyway, as I said we left on December 30 and headed to Congress, AZ and the Escapee park there North Ranch.  The park is nice enough but the primary reason for stopping here is to get the rig weighed.  RV'ers are always supposed to be careful about being under the design weight for their rig; I don't think many actually check.  Certainly we've been doing this for years without getting weighed.  Weighing is done (in our case) by doing the truck alone then the truck hitched to the trailer.  We were happy to find that we are actually under our design limits.  Both our vehicles and our tires are under their limits. 

Our next stop was Benson, AZ and the Butterfield RV Resort.  The extra added attraction of this particular park is that they have a small observatory on site and every night (weather permitting) a volunteer opens up the roof and shows people the stars through their 16 inch telescope.  We really enjoyed the show (about 2 hours of taking turns looking at the stars) but it was COLD!  I know it was January 1st but, it was cold for southern Arizona.  Of course you can't heat the building because it would foul up the air around the telescope. 

We did get to see snow in the mountains but the weather was rather dull and windy.  Wind in the face, of course, helping our fuel usage go the wrong way!

Every time we cross I-10 we are amazed by Texas Canyon, AZ.  There has to be a story about how this area got named Texas Canyon but I sure don't know it! 

The boulders just suddenly appear on both sides of the road and then they are gone in just a few miles.  It's hardly what one might call a canyon either but there it is.  It's cool.

We wandered East on I-10 until getting off and heading in the direction of Fredricksburg, TX.  Our plan was to visit Austin, TX for the first time.  We discovered that Austin has some of the worst traffic in the known universe!  We chose this RV park because it advertised itself as being the closest to downtown.  Well, traffic was so bad it was just a joke.  The reason for stopping in Austin was two-fold:  to see a little of the city and to visit the LBJ Presidential Library.  The city is young and vibrant.  It has a very nice 'feel'.  We got to visit the Texas state capital building; very interesting.  The building was full of tours but you could walk around on your own which is what we did.  You can see the houses of the state legislature; everywhere there are star images just like the star on the state flag.  There was, however, a metal detector to go through and an officer armed with an assault rifle just to keep you honest. 

Then we went to the Library on the UT grounds.  Wow!  It is a huge four story building; very grand.  The general public is allowed on two of the floors.  You learn about LBJ as a young politician and get a good overview of his years as President.  It brought back quite a view memories of the Vietnam conflict but also reviewed the tremendous amount of legislation that was passed that is very influential even today.

We found a state road out of town that worked really well.  Next we wanted to stop at the G.H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, TX.    It was really much different; less grand to start with.  You learn about Mr. Bush's early years including being a Navy pilot in WWII even though he was only 19!  Then they bring in the entire Bush family including rooms devoted to his wife, Barbara.  Interesting. 

Got back on the road and spent the night at another Escapee's park.  This was in Livingston, TX and is the home base for the organization.  It's not a particularly good park for visitors because it is full of homes and permenent residents.  Still, it's a good organization.  This was the first night, but not the last(!), that we needed to unhook the water for the night because of freezing weather.  NOT what we were expecting in the South. 

That's enough drivel for today.  I'll be back again in a day or two to inflict more pain.  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Holidays!

I wrote this just before Christmas but things have been happening (more about that later).  I still wanted to share with you why I celebrate this time of year.  I hope your Christmas was great and that 2016 brings you wonderful things.

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Sometimes I'm all in favor of political correctness and sometimes it just seems like a pain in the ass.  I mean I entitle this missive 'Happy Holidays' on the off chance that someone reading this celebrates something else.  From Wikipedia: "By the late 20th century, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah and the African American cultural holiday of Kwanzaa began to be considered in the U.S. as being part of the "holiday season"  Well, my wife and I are agnostic so we don't really give a damn what you call it.  But we do celebrate it.  Gotta ask yourself why.  (BTW, this time of year Wikipedia is asking for donations.  If you can afford it for heaven's sake give them some money.  There isn't a better source of information anywhere on the web so cough up!  We do every year because we sure use the site and I personally admire the people who put it together.)

The reason we celebrate is only marginally complex.  It starts, of course, with our parents.  Both sets of our parents considered themselves to be Christian though none of them attended church regularly.  So we started off with some parts of a Christian upbringing.  Then we started thinking for ourselves and kind of got over it.  (Our favorite, if rude, comment came from some movie or tv show refering to one's belief in God as having an "imaginary friend".  Sorry but I had to say it!)

So now we are in our mid-60's; haven't had any religious feelings in probably 50 years and yet we have our Christmas tree in the living room.  What's with that?  I wish people "Merry Christmas" all over town.  Huh?  Am I just full of crap?  I would argue not - but who wants to say they are full of it?

First of all, I don't believe in all the religious stuff but one of the most important founding principles of this country is freedom of religion.  That's one of the reasons I'm so proud of being a vet, I support your right to practice whatever religion you like even though I don't agree.  And if you wish me "Merry Christmas" all I do when I respond in kind is to basically say "I hope you have things to celebrate in this holiday season".  It's verbal shorthand.  Well, who doesn't like a party?

Now our tree.  Now our tree has become the story of our family.  The tree itself is a 4 foot (bit over a meter for your world dwellers) guy that we bought our first Christmas in the Netherlands.  So, just looking at it reminds us of one of the great experiences of our lifes.  So then we dress it up.  The lights do absolutely nothing for us except make it prettier.  The pointed ornement on top is simple and not religious.  (It also reminds us of the time many years ago when my brother-in-law made a star out of aluminum foil for our tree but that's another story.)

The ornements are the point for us.  We have all kinds of things hanging on that tree; our tree of life.  There are things the kids made when they were kids; not 40 somethings!  There are things my wife's mother gave us.  There are swarovski crystal things we bought back when they made different things every year.  (Last time I looked they were just hanging a '2015' sign on their annual star these days.  Needless to say we stopped buying them!)  There are little straw things we bought in the Netherlands.  Every item has it's story.  It's the story of our lives; our family; our love.  Isn't that the whole point of the holiday season?  So call me a fool but don't touch my Christmas tree!

Happy Holidays, folks.  And Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa and whatever greetings of the season that you may prefer.  Thanks for stopping by.