Fall has arrived

If the folks on the tv weather reports know what they are talking about triple digit temperatures (> 37C) are over for this year. We are happy to hear that! Right now it's about 65F (18C); nice for a change. I may even have to wear long pants one of these days.

We were planning on going to the town celebration over the weekend but didn't go in the end; it was just too warm. Instead we went to Home Depot and spent a couple hundred dollars in air conditioned comfort. Mostly it was for a new ceiling fan for the bedroom. Now I have another task; install the thing. It's much larger then the existing fan so we are expecting the air circulation will improve - just in time for the cooler weather.

My pinched nerve is still bothering me even with all the drugs the doc prescribes. I'm looking forward to some physical therapy to try to speed things along. It's got to be better than filling my body with addictive drugs (almost as bad as scotch). Hmmm, if this didn't hurt it could be fun. (Just kidding!)

As you can tell, not much is going on around here. I'm ignoring all the talk about the health plan. The government 'of the people, by the people, for the people' certainly isn't going to listen to anyone who hasn't offered them something in return. Yes, I think the congress is for sale. Is there anyone who thinks differently? Has there ever been a more self-serving organization? Sure, but the days of Kings and Queens and their oligarchy is mostly long gone.

Hopefully I'll be in a better mood next time. Be careful, it's dangerous out there!

CYNIC n. A blackguard whose faulty vision causes him to see things as they are, not as they ought to be. Ambrose Bierce

I've been right here!

Haven't posted, of course, but what else is new. We had friends visiting from last Friday until yesterday. These are really great people and we love them but we are used to being alone; having visitors in your house for five days is disconcerting.

We didn't do much: talking and eating would be the big things. Went into Vegas one day; they did sight-seeing and we visited a doctor that my wife will be seeing for her colonoscopy. Yep, we have to go over the hump for most specialists. But that's ok with us; we like the country ways of our little town.

I went to the doctor myself recently and again today to discuss the results of my tests. Turns out that I am alive; my blood seems to be circulating normally and I should live until I die. Actually, things are pretty good; there isn't anything wrong with me except this pinched nerve in my neck. Drugs will keep me semi-pain free for a while; we are hoping that some physical therapy will complete the trick. Cholesterol is a little high so I'm going to work on that - less red meat, more fiber, all that stuff. The bad news was that I have "extensive" degenerative changes in the bones in my neck apparently caused by osteoarthritis. Nothing life threatening; just something that's tough to repair. Then the doc says "Have you had your prostate exam lately?" - hmmm, next thing I know I'm bent over the table with my pants on the floor. Jeez, I sure wish she hadn't opted for those squared-off fake fingernails! (Actually she was very gentle but, yes, I could feel them!)

In better news: our town is having a big event next weekend. We haven't been here for it before but it sounds like a combination rodeo, county fair and craft show. It should be fun and I hope to have photos. Until then, be careful, it's dangerous out there!

Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others. William Allen White

A Stolen Post! But my rant....

I was over checking out one my favorite Aussies and found his post about Lizzy Miller (http://thecurateafterdark.blogspot.com/2009/09/ba-woman.html). She's a model but not of the stick variety. Glamour apparently ran a small picture of this gal without modifying the photo in any way. This seems to be very unusual for such magazines. It's a shame that our society makes bodily perfection a fetish. Here's another article about her: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1210814/Lizzie-Millers-Glamour-magazine-shoot-How-models-picture-shook-world-flabby-tummy-all.html

I'm sure everyone notices that tv actors are terribly thin. I know the camera is supposed to add 10 pounds; if that is so some of those folks must be afraid of blowing away in the breeze. The magazines show dresses in size zero; what does that mean? That the thing isn't there? And why does every third woman in the western world have to have breast implants? The ones put there by nature are so much nicer. I can see tv stars wanting them and strippers but why does the housewife down the street need them? If it's to make her man happy; I guess he's just a fool and she's a dope for going along with him. There's no way I'm ever going to change this direction the world is taking but it is one of my favorite rants.

I was scheduled to go to the doctor last Friday but the doctor got sick! Going this morning instead. It's just a pinched nerve but I'm using it as an excuse to meet the doctor. I want a preview of the person who might be giving me a physical. When you are over 50 they start looking at more than your heartbeat. LOL

Have a good day but be careful, it's dangerous out there!

I'm an old crock

Just lately I did something, slept wrong or lifted something, I don't know what it was but it has caused me to be in pain most of the time. It feels like a pinched nerve in my neck and causes pain in my right shoulder and arm. This kind of thing happens and usually goes away but this one has been around for a couple of weeks now so I'm off to see the doctor on Friday. I've never seen this doctor before but my wife has been to see her and the report was favorable so I'm her newest patient.

I'm a crappy patient. I don't like visiting the doctor and don't communicate very well with them. I know it's important to talk to them but I'm seldom ill and just haven't learned the technique. Later in life most of us get to spend more time with our doctors; I'm not looking forward to it!

Today being 09/09/09 has gotten a certain about of play. Las Vegas has always been known for people getting married (or divorced) here. Today the tv had a big piece on people getting married on what they consider an especially lucky day. They even had a couple from Sweden who came to town to get married. They were hoping for the nine o'clock time slot as well! Good luck to them! This being married can be tough even though the marriage I'm in now has been pretty great.

Tomorrow WE are going into Las Vegas. It's always fun to drive over the pass; on this side you go up quite steadily over about twenty miles but on the other you go down a 7% grade and then you are there. It's a good road now; some of the folks who have lived here a while remember when it was all two lane road and quite dangerous when some idiot passed you in a bad spot.

This is one of those miscellaneous trips. We'll be going all over looking for various bits and pieces. One thing that has come to the top of the list is a living room lamp. We are using a $14 special from walmart and it's kind of ugly and my wife is very tired of it. We have friends coming to visit in about a week and she wants a new lamp. Hmmm, I wonder if I could just stay in the truck? LOL Not in a hundred years!

So you see, it's quiet here in the desert. (And hot, still over 100F (38C) most days.) Have a good one and be careful, it's dangerous out there.

Gone but not forgotten

Now Ted Kennedy's autobiography is leaking out. He talks about the Chappaquiddick accident. "Ted Kennedy went to his grave a haunted man for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in the 1969 Chappaquiddick car crash that many believe shattered Kennedy's presidential dreams."

"That night on Chappaquiddick Island ended in a horrible tragedy that haunts me every day of my life," Kennedy wrote in "True Compass," his much anticipated memoir, published by Twelve.

Gee, leaving someone to die may have shattered his dream. Wonder what it did for her dreams?

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/02/2009-09-02_sen_ted_kennedy_wrote_chappaquiddick_haunts_me_every_day_of_my_life_in_true_comp.html#ixzz0QAIPh0Kw"

Even G. W. Bush our late Prez and, in his youth, a well know substance abuser didn't even have something like that to remember. And yet the people of Massachusetts kept returning Mr. Kennedy to office. It sure makes one wonder about our method of selecting our representatives. I don't see how there was simply never a better candidate. But having bags of money and heaven know how many people beholden to him (remember that thing about money?) might have had something to do with it. I will say that I find the thought of him being in the Senate much more comforting than him being President!

Oh, and as a good Catholic, one wonders where Mr. Kennedy thinks he is going to end up. It was always my opinion that Our Lord God had particular feeling about killing other people (You shall not murder.) but he didn't really say anything about leaving someone to die in a car under water so maybe Ted's ok. And did I mention that having someone who just walked away from an accident to let someone die bothers me? Hmmm, maybe I forgot that part. I imagine the priests will be praying for his soul as fervently as they would for a poor man. Yeah, right! Here's a much more literate idea about his situation.



In other news, 10 weeks after his death, Michael Jackson is laid to rest. I don't follow these things but I can't help but wonder what took so long. I thought that the autopsy's have been over for time. Was there a disagreement about where to put him? Wouldn't the cemetery accept him? Did they have something against child molesters? Hmmm, curious people don't really give a damn. I'm just glad they are both dead.

Be careful, those two assholes are gone but it's still dangerous out there!

Blog Advertisement

Ok, I'm addicted to reading blogs. I won't bore you with a list of ALL of them but here are my special ones.

I like this woman even though I don't always agree with her. This entry though is special. She's the Lawyer and a mom.

I love reading about Nick and Miss Terry traveling the US. They write and publish a newsletter that I keep thinking I'll order but... you know me, procrastination personified!

One of the most interesting people I've come across is Lee from Australia. Not only is he a smart guy, he comes across the darnedest oddities to share with us all. He recently started a new job so isn't blogging as much as he used to do but it's still a great read.

A long time blogger named Wombat is also on my must read list. He is another Aussie but lives on Florida's West Coast and drives a limo.

I manage our investment portfolio so look at a few sites for advice. The only blog I read consistently is Random Roger out of Arizona. He seems like a pretty smart guy and I like his approach: it starts with spend less than you make and then invest it prudently. It's defining 'prudently' that's the tough part!

I read Charmaine about Middle Aged Dating; it's kind of like a soap opera. Trashy but I can't stop reading! Sorry Charmaine, it's not YOU that are trashy, it's the guys you date.

Lost and Found in India is different. People seem crazy about this woman; I understand about 10% of what she talks about but you can't say it's boring.

Life at Willow Manor is kind of different. She kind of reminds me of my ex-wife; the better parts of my ex! She would have had tea in a specially made cup.

To move on to RV blogs - I keep track of Ron and Terry at HitchItch. They have a fantastic site listing all sorts of RV blogs and reading about their personal travels is fun.

Then there is my buddy Croft. This poor Canadian seems to wish he was born on the other side of the country, i.e. Mexico. Spends as much time the as he can in his Class C being a part-time Mexican. Whatever works for him!.

Then there is Brian the boondocker. He thought he was taking off to be a full timer- boondocker kind of guy and the whole economy kind of fell down around his ears. He's still struggling with it though and I'm thinking he'll be off with Heidi on the back of his bike one of these days.

Hate to admit it but we are getting near the end. Mac and Chris are a couple of crazy people who enjoy traveling this great country and gambling every inch of the way. What the hell, it works for them. And I love reading about their adventures.

Here's a couple who I found because they were back-packing around Europe. Ok, I did it too when I was twenty but... I want to rv around there now. But these folks seemed to have a great time and, like them, we love the history of an area. They seem to have given up their blog since they returned home; too bad, it was a great read.

I love reading the adventures of this young woman who is adventuring around Canada. Sometimes she work-camps (which is working part of your week in exchange for your camping space) and sometimes she is just wandering. It's interesting either way.

There are many, many other blogs I visit occasionally but I'll end this list with an RV campground owner. Kathy has the most amazing adventures. Sometimes she is funny; sometimes it's scary but it always makes me want to come back and visit her again.

Ok - there's my list. There are lots more blogs that I visit but these are the ones who keep me going. Some I comment on; some I don't. That's reading blogs; sometimes there just isn't anything to add.

Hope you are having fun. But be careful, it's dangerous out there!

RANT Alert! Read at your peril.

I'm a quiet kind of guy. I don't talk a lot; most conversations with me are about 20% me and 80% you. Often I have trouble choosing the exact word I want. I was taught not to interrupt others; not many people were taught that or if they were they don't remember the lesson. They also were not taught how to listen; they are thinking about their next speech instead of listening to whoever is speaking.

I don't really care to speak in public though I can and have. Once of my ex-bosses suggested I should become a member of Toastmaster's and I enjoyed that. It was a great experience; you think out what you are going to say and the audience actually listens. One of the things I like about blogging it that it is written. I have the opportunity to say something, something I've thought out, without the interruptions of others. Of course, not many people READ this blog but that's ok. LOL, I'm an acquired taste!

There are problems in this country that aren't being addressed and I'm getting tired of it. Here, in no particular order are some of the problems I'd like to see addressed. Let me know if I've missed your favorite; maybe I forgot it or maybe I don't care but if you don't yell, we won't know.

1. Institute term limits for members of Congress. Like 2 terms max.
2. Get rid of the special Congressional retirement program.
3. Pay our members of Congress more; nothing over the top but well. They have a hell of a responsibility and deserve compensation; particularly if they are only going to be there for a short time.
4. Overhaul our legal system removing about 90% of the laws. Right now if you kill a cop, it's one law; if you kill a kid, it's a different law; if you kill a pregnant woman, it's another law. This isn't rocket science; kill someone and you get punished. Judges get paid to differentiate between levels of awfulness.
5. Get rid of the civil crime vs criminal crime. I personally think O. J. Simpson had something to do with his wife's death but at the criminal trial he was found innocent. I think it's a travesty that he was then chased through the civil courts and ordered to pay restitution to anyone. (Glad to see that the jerk managed to find his way into jail anyway!)
6. Stop the automatic granting of citizenship to children who are born here of parents who are not from this country. If you want to move here, fine, do so. But if you are going to be here; be here. Become citizens; pay taxes; learn English; become Americans as so many immigrents have done before you. You, too, will make this a better and stronger country. Don't pretend you are still in your home country; you aren't. If you don't like the rules here, leave.
7. The whole issue of health care is fouled up. I expect it to get worse before it gets better. Small businesses cannot afford to insure their workers; large businesses cannot afford to insure their many retirees; states cannot afford to foot the bill; the federal government cannot at this level of taxation. One problem that no one talks about is that none of us gets out of this thing called life alive. We have created an environment where extreme measures are taken to keep someone alive who is going to die anyway. I have personal experience with a woman who was in extreme pain whose doctor wanted to give her iron injections to keep her alive a while longer. Why!
8. Make most drug use legal. If you are high on something that costs $5 at Walmart you probably won't have to become a criminal to support your habit. Not to mention the fact that the country wouldn't have to support the thousands or even millions of people who are living in jail because of this foolishness. And if someone overdoses, let them die.
9. Change the way lawyers are paid. Make it an hourly wage that's reasonable. And make documents shorter; like a will that's over 5 pages is way too detailed. We have a Trust document that is somewhere around 100 pages and it's not like we are the Rockefeller's! This isn't rocket science either; when I die I would like various things to happen. How tough is that?
10. Executive pay in this country is totally stupid. The asshole at the top basically does nothing special so he/she should get maybe 20 times someone working in the factory/office/field. No more. The closed club of "Board Members" is doing nothing for the ordinary stock holder or the company. Nine out of ten companies could dump their CEO and promote someone from about 5 management layers lower and would do better the next year. Oh, and the head of every company doesn't have to be a CEO - our local electric utility just renamed the General Manager to CEO - what a joke! He's the same dumbass managing the same nitwits but NOW he's a CHIEF EXECUTIVE!

Please note that this post is basically a rant. I'm sorry about the rant. I'm not suggesting many fixes for these problems. I'm just tired of all the politically correct crap that we call 'discussing the problems' in this country that actually ignores the problems.

Have a good day and be careful, it is VERY dangerous out there!

Just another day in ......

Pahrump! Got up and walked early before the sun warmed the world. Showered then went to the casino for breakfast. It's as good as anywhere and is cheaper. Then each of us got our $5 and started playing video poker. It took about 10 minutes for my wife to lose her stake; I still had $2.75 but the deal is that we quit when one has lost (or if one gains!).

Got the title for the truck from Ford Credit the other day. We only took out the loan because they gave us an extra $1000 off; paid them three monthly payments and paid it off. Went up the the DMV and got the lien taken off the title so now it's all ours and we have proof. (Or will when the DMV gets around to sending it to us.) It took at least 45 minutes for those lazy clowns to get to us. They have four people working but only two seem to do anything at the same time. Then there are three others who wander around between the offices but don't actually help people. What a cluster f*&k.

We go back and forth between getting smoke from the fires down by Los Angeles and getting clear air. Mornings are clearer; evenings are smoky. The moon last night was an amazing orange even when it was quite high in the sky. Sure hope the fires are brought under control soon; two firefighters have been killed already.

Gotta go bbq a salmon. It's not like up in the NW because this is an Atlantic salmon probably raised in Chile but it's not all that bad!

Take it easy. It's dangerous out there!

Quiet Day

Having a quiet day in the neighborhood today. The air is filled with smoke from the fires burning down by LA. It's 250 miles away (400 km) but we haven't been able to see the mountains most of the day. Now it's breezy, even windy. When you see the bushes rustling here you know something's up!

Had fun watching Kimi Raikkonen win the 2009 F1 race at Spa. We visited Spa when we lived in the Netherlands. It's an interesting corner of the world. What we loved about Kimi's win is that it was unexpected. Ferrari hasn't been doing all that well this year and we like the unpredictability of F1 racing. What was even more amazing was the 2nd place of team Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella. Force India has usually been in last place but today they were hot.

Walked again this a.m. - a couple of miles but as we discovered when we visited Washington, walking here in the desert doesn't prepare you for hills! Found a neat website yesterday; this guy has visited all the Historical Markers in Nevada. It's quite an accomplishment. He is a photographer whose speciality is Nevada and the Great Basin. Go to the bottom of that page and check out the sign. (That's 240km!) His photography is found on his other page. Nice stuff and a bit different. BTW, we live in southern Nye county.

Take care. It's dangerous out there!

Lest we forget...

Ted Kennedy died last night at 77. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom a couple weeks ago by President Obama. We will be hearing what a wonderful man he was; what a leader; a true hero. Lest we forget, he was also the coward responsible for the death of a young woman, Mary Jo Kopechne back in 1969. To me it's a classic story of a rich, no-longer young asshole (he was married with three kids) who just couldn't believe that something this bad could happen to him. And, in fact, it was pretty well covered up. To the point that Mr. Obama disgraced the Medal of Freedom by giving it to him. Anyone else would have been at least arrested and tried for manslaughter; Kennedy lost his driving privileges for a few months. Of course he did have his chauffeur; the same guy who gave him the keys to the car the night Mary Jo died.

The White House blog says "Sen. Edward Kennedy is one of the longest-serving and greatest Senators of all time. He has worked tirelessly for health care reform over the last five decades." Yeah, sure. That's why our health care system is in such wonderful shape now.

I should be thankful; at least he didn't get to be President!

Take care; it's dangerous out there (unless you are very wealthy).

Gotta post, gotta post, gotta post

Unfortunately I've almost nothing to post about! Life, post trip, has been exceedingly dull; which is what we were looking forward to experiencing.

Not a lot changed during our three weeks away. They are starting work on a lot on our main street (Nevada state highway 160). No signs are posted so no one knows what is planned but it isn't all that large a space. My crystal ball is cloudy so I'm just waiting for the surprise.

We got actual RAIN last week. It was a heavy shower by any standard but only lasted ten or fifteen minutes. The rain showers around here are quite small and so since we don't have a rain gauge I've no idea how much rain we received. The paper didn't say anything about it so I'm guessing that officially, we received no rain in Pahrump.

While we were gone something happened that is typical of the town; one of the things that endears it to us. Some guy got stopped for speeding and was ticketed for doing 41 mph in a 35 mph zone(72/56kph). He got pissed off and wrote to the paper talking about how he took his niece out to dinner and getting the ticket really spoiled the evening. The next two issues of the paper had letters, long ones, explaining to this guy how he is really an asshole. One letter was from the sheriff pointing out that the deputy actually clocked him at 51 mph(82kph) but knocked it down to 41 so he wouldn't get in so much trouble with his insurance. The others all pointed out that 1)speeding is against the law, 2)he is teaching his niece it's ok to break the law, 3)exceeding the limit is dangerous and several other points I've forgotten. It was really great to see people pointing out to this guy that he was totally in the wrong and ought to go soak his head somewhere. Cool. It's been a long time since I've seen that kind of response; of course it's been a while since I've heard anyone complain about getting a speeding ticket in public! Too bad the deputy didn't get him for DUI (Driving Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol) while he was at it.

Gotta go make some calls. We need a cover for the new trailer and we aren't going to get it if I just sit here! Be careful, it's dangerous out there!

Home at last

Made it home on Thursday afternoon. Backed the trailer into it's spot and parked the truck in the garage. It's good to be home though we did have a great trip.

I've decided to call the latter portion of this trip the Volcano Tour; we visited Mt. St. Helens; Crater Lake and Lava Beds National Monument. It was not without it's drama.

Mt. St. Helens was clouded over so there wasn't much to see. We had a good time checking out the visitor's center and such. Things have sure grown over in the almost 30 years since the eruption.

We visited Crater Lake coming in from the North; the road was on the side of the mountain and there was no guardrail; NOT a fun trip. I can't imagine how that situation has come to be but it's nasty! The lake itself is amazing but there were tons-o-tourists too. Couldn't find a parking space at the main lodge so went to a place on the edge of the park for lunch - $9 hamburgers and $2.50 cokes. We were hungry enough that it sounded ok to us!



We were parked in the Escapee park in Sumerlin, OR and made Crater Lake a day trip. That worked ok but it was quite a long day. The park was nice but we really didn't meet anyone. There were tons of deer around and I got this photo from out the back window of our rig.



Lava Beds NM was kind of an impulse thing. It is northern CA. The local mountain blew up long ago and left lava deposits that are really quite impressive. I didn't get any photos because it just didn't seem to lend itself to photos. They have some lava tubes that you can explore as you might a natural cave. We checked out the one that is lit and left the other to people who like that kind of thing. Neither of us cares for crawling around in the dark!

We were staying at the fairgrounds in Tulelake, CA. It was kind of a weird place with several sites available but no one around except another group campers (3 guys) who had an rv, tents and several bbq's. Have no idea what they were about! The grounds keepers were watering the grass like crazy; the county fair is in early September and I guess they wanted the green grass award. Seemed like a terrible waste to me; at the fair when I was a kid I remember the grass being worn to nothing in about a day.

From Lava Beds we were only two days from home. So we hit the road. Stopped overnight in Fallon, NV; just outside Reno. Another town that is there because of irrigation; add enough water and the desert will bloom. Aside from having FOUR separate people try to pass us when they didn't have enough room, causing us to have to slow violently, driving home was pretty uneventful.

For me it had all the earmarks of a great trip: I was looking forward to it; I am happy to be home; had fun; nothing awful happened. What more can you ask! Next week we'll be conferring with the dealer about the little things we found in the trailer. That should be illuminating. ;)

Take care; it's still dangerous out there!

Internet Free Zone

We've been in an internet free zone for a few days. First in a state park; later at the last relative's house. Now I'm catching up. No photos right now because I'm trying to do laundry and type at the same time. Our trip started out hot but now we are down to normal temps - 70 for a high, say 20C. It's a nice change from the hot; we'll get plenty of that when we get back to Nevada.

Things have good well. The trailer is ok but I have trouble because the turning radius is different from our old truck-trailer setup. Twice I've had to stop half way around a curve and back up a bit to get a better angle at it. I'm probably just being careless. Scraped something once on a turn that went violently up in the middle of the turn. We shouldn't have been on that road actually!

We are headed up to see Mt. St. Helens tomorrow; haven't been since the 80's. Next year is 30 years since the big blow. We were living in Seattle at the time but it didn't really affect us directly. The wind blew all the ash eastward and Seattle was spared any trouble. After St. Helens we are headed for Oregon and Crater Lake.

Take care, it's dangerous out there!

The Real Washington State

Here it is:



Fog and trees and water - what's not to like? Today it is a relief because it's been unusually warm. When it's been like this for a month, you yearn for the sun! The woman at the camp office is complaining about the 16 hour days 7 days a week but that only lasts for a couple of months; then they are alone for ten months. That seems to be the way of life; way too much then scarcity.

Gonna move on today away from the Elwha river area. Off to the coast where we hope it will be cool. It has been pretty warm in the inland areas. A few days away from family won't hurt either.

Take it easy, it's dangerous out there.

Still fooling around

Still visiting family in Washington state. Eating and drinking more than enough seems to be our primary recreation. Driving around getting to see the forest takes second place!



Saw this guy while driving along next to the ocean and had to stop take his photo. He was having lunch and I guess we interupted it. Sorry guy! A few seconds later and he took off taking the remainder of his lunch with him.

We've been out of wifi for the past few days and it looks like we will be out again for the next few days. We'll just have to live though it is a great deprivation. Cell phone service isn't too impressive either but then again, the eagle doesn't carry one.

Gotta go do some more sight-seeing and eating. Take care; it's dangerous out there!

Elwha

This is one of the dams on the Elwha River. An agreement has been made to remove it and another dam on the same river. This will allow salmon to migrate up the river as they did in the early 1900's. I'm not sure what I feel about removing the dams. It will be a huge project; supposedly begun in 2008, I've no idea of what work has been done. It's something to learn about while we are here.

The weather is wonderful! High 70's(24C) in the afternoon; mid 50's(13C) at night; and the sun is shining! Our family thing is to be this afternoon. Have to go into town and find a couple of bottles of wine to take but otherwise we've nothing to do. Not a bad situation at all. Hope you are all as lucky.

Take care, it's dangerous out there!

Washington State 1

We made it to Washington. We are outside Port Angeles, WA on the Olympic Peninsula. It's actually a fairly busy place in the summer. The camp grounds are full and every third vehicle you meet on the road is an rv of some sort. Very pretty, of course, to our green tree starved eyes! We lived over near Seattle for 15-20 years so it is pretty familiar. It's nice to have the windows open; at home in Pahrump it is already nearly 90F (32C).

1253 miles door to door (2016km) - probably half on regular roads and half on the Interstate. The Interstate gets you to popular places quickly but, as I've said before, it's pretty dull stuff. Given that the trailer is brand new, it's working out ok. We've found a couple of things to talk to the dealer about but nothing major. Still can't find anything on the first try but.... Hell, I can't do that at home! Old age IS wonderful. And I'm only 60!

Going in to town this a.m. to buy stuff. We haven't been in a store since we left Nevada; didn't even unhook the truck two nights; so we are running low on things. I've been having cheese sandwiches for breakfast for two mornings. Now that's desperation though I do like cheese sandwiches!

The place we are staying is nice; pretty casual but nice. Our space is beautiful to be in but awful to get into. Took us a good 20 minutes of fooling around to get situated so we could open the slide. We still can't open the awning because it would be out in the road. Here are a couple of photos from the window of the rig; mother and child.




Take it easy, it's dangerous out there!

Where am I???

Jeez, I don't know! Well, Mt. Shasta, CA - the city not on top of the mountain. Photo was taken from our campground about five minutes AFTER the optimal time for a mountain sunset. (Bah humbug!) We are on the second day of our trip to the Northwest and still haven't escaped the heat. Tonight, at least, we got to open up the windows by about 20:30. Last night we were in Fernley, NV - a little place outside of Reno - had the a/c on almost all night. Today we got to Northern California and the Interstate highway system. Interstates let you move around rather quickly but they are dull and always the same. Much of our trip so far has been on two lane roads; now we are on divided highway until we get well into Washington.

Things have gone well. A reasonable about of construction delay since this is the time to fix roads but otherwise things are cool. It is fun to be driving through all the trees in Northern CA. The new trailer tows nicely; isn't knocked about by passing trucks but it is susceptible to sidewinds. We can't find anything but that's because we threw things in here where ever it would fit. We'll get organized in another lifetime.

Take it easy; it's dangerous out there!

Where have I been?

Croft asked me where I've been. Well, here kind of. It's been a busy/anxious time. Let me start with last Thursday; that was the day we decided to buy the new trailer and agreed to close the deal on Tuesday.

Friday we made about twenty calls to our brokerage to transfer some money to our bank; get the bank to loan us the rest of the money for the RV; change the insurance and all the rest that goes on with a purchase like this. (It complicated things to borrow but the interest is tax deductible so we went for it.) The bank electronically transferred our down-payment money to the dealer and promised to overnight us a check for the loan amount(wouldn't use electronic transfer for some unknown reason). Of course Pahrump doesn't have overnight service on the weekend so that actually meant Monday afternoon. My wife is the worrier so she was having a fit all weekend; I supplied her with an unusually large quantity of alcohol to calm her.

All the time she was also worrying that the dealer would not accept our old rig in trade. I have no idea how many times I explained that the dealer was making a nice profit on both sides of this transaction and it would be ok. She was still worried when the dealer parked our old rig next to the new one so we could transfer our stuff. I think she was afraid they would let us move all the stuff THEN ask for more money. But no, there was no hitch at all.

The dealer encourages you to stay overnight in their lot just to try everything out so we took advantage of that and stayed Tuesday night. Actually, it was something like 110F (43C) in Vegas so by the time I'd gone back and forth between the two rigs I was pretty much a wreck. RV air conditioner units aren't all that great either so even though ours was running, it was still pretty warm in the rig. We went out looking for something to eat and then came back to the rig and drank two bottles of champagne to celebrate our purchase.

Got up Wednesday a.m. and slowly got ready to go. When we went to attach the trailer to the truck we discovered that the trailer hitch could not be raised high enough to get above the ball on the truck. It took a few more blocks of wood under the hitch to get us attached. Anyway we finally made it home about noon. Backed the new trailer into it's spot and came in to collapse!

This a.m. we hit the DMV to register the rig. It cost more than the truck! Over $300!

Now we are trying to get all our stuff organized so we can leave Monday a.m. for our first trip. As I said, we are headed for Washington state to visit family and see a few sights. Don't know when we'll be back; maybe three or four weeks. It will be nice to get out of the heat for a while. Heard on tv that this is traditionally the warmest week in Las Vegas. Next year I'm thinking we'll have to plan a trip for a little earlier! I don't know what the internet access will be while we are traveling but I'll do the best I can. Take it easy, it's dangerous out there!

A New RV!

Went into Vegas yesterday and decided that we do want one of the rv's we've been circling around. Here's the winner. It's a bit larger than our ideal size and the bedroom doesn't have flow through ventilation BUT in all our search we haven't found anything better. Plus, the price is acceptable so we went for it. My wife is on the phone with the bank arranging for a loan as I type.

It's odd how couples work out their finances. When we first got together we had separate accounts and took some care that if I signed up for the water bill, she would sign up for the newspaper and so on. Then after a few years, everything got merged together and, while we still have separate bank accounts, no one cares who pays for what or where the money comes from. Somewhere in there, I started doing all the bookwork and taking care of our investments. NOW she does all the everyday bills and the Quicken work and all I do is manage our investments. It works for us; might not for anyone else. I imagine everyone's situation is different.

One advantage for us is that we are both conversant with what's going on financially. We are getting to the age where we acknowledge that we might die unexpectedly and in that situation whoever survives needs to be able to manage things. Knowing your finances is critical. It's like being out in a boat; having just one captain is good but having only one person who can operate the boat is just plain dumb.

Take care, it's dangerous out there!

"You can never have a greater or a less dominion that over yourself." L. da Vinci