Life On Our Ark

Lets All Move To The Fun Side Of The Island!!!

2010-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Over all, I am happy enough to invite you over and launch the new site. Remember, I am still fiddling, but I think you are more likely to be able to help me find little tweak points anyway, so without further adieu, at least on this site, I give you my new location:

Please change your bookmarks to

lifeonourark.sicottepress.ca

Bye Bye. See you on the fun side....

Rain Again

2010-03-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

I think that the area has now tripled the usual annual rainfall for the year, and we haven't hit the rainy season (near the end of summer).

Again the roof was drumming out a sleepy rhythm through the night. We had a bit of a lull, and a tiny patch of sun, but now being 2 pm, we are hearing rumbles of thunder.

We again have a huge puddle across the drive path near the red water tower.

This morning I noticed that the waterfall had returned, and again the reservoir by which we are residing has a really intriguing brown on green patterning going on.

I still declare this to be the best worst weather we have yet experienced. It was rather amusing as we did an exploratory drive seeing people out with toques and gloves. Now come on, it's not that bad!!

So we first wanted to see if Skunk Hollow was swimming again, and it was, though not nearly as bad as previously, then we decide that since there was not much else to do, we explored some of the side roads along Senator's Wash Road. We found Coyote Ridge, and a few other mesas and such places, but they were all a bit isolated for our liking.

I am enclosing some shots of both the aftermath of the wet, and some of the explored regions.

The Blogger version of this post has a few less pictures, but please revisit the post once I go live on the new page (really soon, I hope) as it is much easier to include a photo gallery in the new format. (The rain is starting again...)

Anyway, I am working really hard to get the new site ready for launch so bear with my less frequent posts. We are almost there.

But for now,

Adieu

The Start of Something New

2010-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of setting up a new site for Life On Our Ark. It is an exciting step, and it is going to take just a bit longer, but I think any of you that are following will approve of the change.

By switching sites, I am moving into the less confined space of a self-owned site. This will also solve the issues I have been having with linking, photo limits, and layout.

I am just making sure the archives are accurate, and then I will post the relocation site. Hang in there as I focus on getting it right and then come on over to the "fun side of the island" - (Marty from Madagascar).

In the meantime, just for small talk's sake, it is interesting to watch as some of the locals have starting hiking across the mud flats. The water level has been down for about 2 weeks now, and it is not as moist as it was, so you can walk without sinking in. I am looking forward to the water level increasing.

I am rather surprised with all the rain we have had that the farmers feel the need to flood the fields when new crops have been planted. It seems that the fields have new crops in about every month and a half. It is quite a change from the Canadian standard. I think the most I have seen in a season is about 3 crops, and that was in the "lotus land" of Victoria where the season is much longer.

(One day later the lake is finally up to full status again.)

Anyway, I will bid you

Adieu.

Reminded OF Two Oldie Songs :-)

2010-02-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

As I sit here listening to yet another unseasonal weather pattern - stormy, rainy winds with possible thunder and lightening, I am recalling a song I remember on the charts when I was much younger - I don't think I had even found a second digit in my numbering yet.

It was Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains In Southern California" To be more accurate, it came out in 1972, saying something along the lines of "it never rains, but it pours". (It is actually about the struggles of an artist trying to break into fame, but that one line rings as I sit here in Southern California ... serenaded by the melodious sound of wailing wind, and the patter of drops rhythmically striking the rubber roof of our cozy home. )

Which reminds me, I said I would show you my desert lawn. I remind you that the metaphor I gave to describe it was a young teen's beard.

Here is my lawn .....

(No, really, look close, there really is green there) :-)

The second song has found a new meaning that was never intended by the Doobie Brothers - "Black Water". Now, RVers of any persuasion - from weekend journeyer to full timer - can fully appreciate the humouristic feeling this classic song evokes as you stand by the driver side of your chosen mobile domicile, bending with a 3 inch hose and assorted attachments.

While connecting, perhaps to blue boy, perhaps to sewer connections at a full service site, or perhaps the middle ground, a public dump site, you find yourself quietly humming to yourself, or perhaps recalling the poignant lyrics, " Old Black Water, keep on rollin'....."

Like I said, it doesn't seem to be quite what the Doobie Brothers had in mind, but hey, it lightens the effect of the overbearing aroma that accompanies that particular activity.

In the words of the memorable governess/nanny, Mary Poppins, "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down."

And so, having planted two pleasantly hummable tunes in as many heads as I could reach (and perhaps one more childlike, but pleasant one), I bid you

Adieu

The Best of The Worst

2010-02-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

I sit here enjoying more of the best of the worst experiences which we seem to excel at over the last 4 years.

Clarifier: There hasn't yet been a place that we have come to that hasn't had the locals / regular visitors declare that "this is the worst weather we have had in years".

This particular version of worst has had about a week, or two tops of rainy days dispersed between 3 months, the coldest has never hit freezing, and I have never been inclined to wear more that a sweater and a light shell for weatherproofing.

If we are really lucky, the worst will continue in that the temperature won't exceed the high 80s before the end of March. (Much as we aren't fond of the cold, neither are we inclined to the fast approach of extended periods in the triple digits.)

So today's installment of worst weather included a wind storm that was moderate, with clouds. "We should be able to avoid precipitation, however......." , sayeth the weather prognosticator.

.... I took Midnight out for his morning business trip, and thought I had felt a drop. Not likely though, we aren't getting rain. I got the leash off and entered, closed the door, and then heard the torrent break loose. The dry wind predicted made the ground suspiciously wet is an amazingly short period of time.....

I do qualify this inclement arrival with the understanding that although I strongly would recommend a lined jacket once the dryness was being over-ridden, but while tending to canine inclinations, I was quite comfortable in a t-shirt.

Like I say, this is definitely the best worst weather we have yet encountered. Perhaps we shall return next year. - How bad can it get? ( As she quickly dashes around the rig desperately seeking real wood to touch. How much can one person tempt the elements, making a statement like that right out there for the whole world to view in cyberspace???!!!!!?) Never fear, my fate is in greater hands than even nature itself ;-)

So what on earth do you do on a day like that ... Just for something different, we went to town. No, wait a minute, it's just a rerun. I can't wait for the new season of this show to start!!

Nonetheless, progress was made. We got an air filter for the truck, picked up some bolts for various projects, picked up a magnetic CB arial (useful for communication on the ridge. You no longer require a license for them, so it provides longer range than walkie-talkies, and cheaper than cell phone minutes - especially if you are convoying on a cross country journey, but I digress.....), and some groceries.

All things considered, life is pretty good right now. :-)

Adieu

Model Air Show, Yuma Arizona

2010-02-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

We went to see the Yuma Model Air Show today, and really enjoyed it. When we arrived, they were just launching the red jet and it put on quite of show.

The jet uses real jet fuel, and has a real scale size jet engine. It holds enough fuel for 8 minutes of flight time. It is capable of amazing speed, but is legally restricted to a speed of 200 mph. Watching it zoom by was amazing. It also did some maneuvering that clearly defined the caliber of the pilot guiding it.

Then they called the pilots to assemble their planes on the runway so that the crowd could view them up close.

Shortly after that break, they launched This plane:

It is a relatively simple craft, except that its under carriage is rigged for the fellow lying on its wings.

It can hold up to 3 paratroopers, and the fellow who owns the plane has a friend who runs the plane so that once he releases the paratroopers (I believe one at a time) he remotely controls them while the friend continues to fly the plane.

For the run that we viewed, he only set one paratrooper, but earlier, he released 2.

The following shot is of a B 25 bomber. We didn't see it fly, but it was an impressive replication.

The following video clip is of a Yak. The pilot is performing an extremely advanced maneuver called a prop stand.

We quite enjoyed the event. Less formal activities are continuing tomorrow. We however, will be staying up on the ridge. Again the laundry and sewer beckon.

Ah, well tomorrow is another day, so for now,

Adieu

Looking Ahead

2010-02-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

I am not quite sure how we do it, but this week, we managed to have cause for a town trip every day. I do look forward to a day on the ridge..... but that will not be tomorrow....

Tomorrow, we are planning to go to the model air show just outside Yuma, in our direction. It promises to be quite an event, so I do hope we manage to go.

Our temperatures have been quite warm, climbing just across the 80s F, but the weekend is supposed to dip slightly and hold in the mid 70s. - great flying weather :-)

With any luck, we might actually hold ground for a couple days starting Sunday.

Having read up on some of blogs that I follow, I am catching a theme of "snowbirds prepping to return to their roosts."

Then I casually glance down at the calendar in the corner of my desktop, and shutter at the realization that in 6 to 7 weeks, we are starting the journey back. What happened, did I miss something? It has been a really good experience, and the additions to the ensemble to accommodate the more isolated outings has been a definite plus, but I am hopeful that we can return for a bit more exploration next winter as we were unable to this year.

We have to be back to Canada by April 12th, and we will be landing back in Sweetgrass Montana as we have an appointment in Okotoks that will take up 4 out of every 8 days for the following 5 1/2 months.

That should shock the system adequately - by then, Arizona/California should be hitting the mid to high 90s F, and occasionally tag into the 100s. Meanwhile, our arrival should in Alberta should find us shaking of the last few deposits of snow, and hoping that really soon it thaws enough to turn on the water supply.

The upside will be that shore power and individual sewer dump will be back in our world, and eventually the water will catch up when thawing permits, but it should jar the system somewhat, don't you think? :-)

Midnight has put a lot of though into this matter, and decided to get clipped now so that he will be cooler for the up coming warming trend, and yet have enough time to grow out his coat for the chilly return. He has also requested that the Easter Bunny bring him a winter coat. (We didn't tell him, but his wish was granted. It even has a nice collar that can be raised to protect the neck and back of the head while accommodating the leash through a slot - and it has 2 reflector bands, and is wind proof. - not bad for $15) I will get a shot of it later, but for now, use your mind's eye.

As for Glory, she has declared that as long as we ensure to keep the furnaces running at appropriate temperatures, she will allow the relocation of her house. She is only granted a window seat to the outside anyway.

Roads

2010-02-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

A common problem in Canada is weathering of the roads. This is particularly a problem during spring thaw.

The roads and the beds on which they are placed go through a bit of chaos as they freeze, thaw unevenly, freeze again, and slowly reach the status of thawed for the season. In the meantime, large and small vehicles rolling at high speeds over them cause buckling, cracking, and general wear, then moisture seeps into cracks, and deterioration is the result.

One would think, (and I was one of those ones not so long ago) that without the freezing, roads here would fair better, other than occasional flash floods.

Well, the floods are definitely a factor, but I did not realize that another contributor to the lack of longevity to the local roads is heat, not freezing. After all, when the temperature goes up to 120 F and the roads are black, the likelihood of melt and reset becomes much more prevalent.

As for the roads in our immediate vicinity, they have gone through a familiar low budget repair process here. The high (by local standards) rains have caused phenomenal pitting and potholing, and after several weeks of driving over them, we were relieved to come home on filled hollows.

By low budget, I mean this:

A truck full of loose asphalt drives to the scene of repair, then however many crew members are spared for the process start shoveling it into the craters. Then, the more creative crews use their truck tires to pack it down. The less creative folks stamp on it.

If the locals are fortunate enough, the heat and other traffic will solidify the efforts, although I have also seen it have the reverse affect, and within 2 weeks, the gaping crater returns.

I have my fingers crossed.

Anyway, having shared my new found knowledge, I am inclined to call it a full day.

Adieu.

Olympics

2010-02-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

Olympic fever seems to be everywhere, and all the blogs I follow have mentioned them. So here are my few words on them.

Go Canada, Go!! I am told we got our first gold, I watched the silver run for lady's moguls.

I hear the opening ceremonies were awesome, and I also heard of the terrible tragedy during training of the luge. My sincerest condolences to the family, friends, teammates, and the nation.

Overall, I really have never been much for sports though, so I will be delighted to hear the final score, and I hope all goes well for all those people from and going to the Vancouver area to take in the show.

As for me, I am quite pleased with my vantage point. - less traffic and crowding :-)

Hey, I notice today that there is a bit of grass growing around the rig. Who knew we would have a spring lawn??!! (It is merely stubble, but hey, it's green)

Well, it is getting late, so

Adieu

Generators and Trucks

2010-02-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

The temperature is slowly climbing, and we are expecting low 80s this week. It is amazing to see what the east coast, and even Texas is coming up with right now. I think even though our neighbours are saying this is the worst, and rainiest year they have seen in 16 years, I can honestly say this is the best "worst weather" we have experienced yet.

One of the issues we do contend with here is dust and sand. Vacuuming is always on the to do list, even when you just finished.

We are very pleased with the solar panels, but they still are best for day power, and as the days lengthen, it takes us into early evening. Nonetheless, because we are running a thirsty tv and dvd player most nights, we usually run the generator.

The diesel genset was doing an awesome job right up to the point where it quit. It is still under warranty, and the fellow we bought it from will be fixing it for us when we return in the spring to the Calgary/Okotoks area of Alberta, but in the meantime, we had to get a gas genset. It is a nice unit, and much cheaper than what it would have been in Canada.

I'm not sure what is up, but here on the ridge, about 4 fridges and another 4 gens have given their owners grief. Most have gotten past them, but it was a strange thing seeing such a run of misfortune in such a short period of time.

Another matter that we are working on resolving is the lack of comfort with the safety in towing as mentioned in an earlier post.

In the next few days or so we should be closer to the answer. We have decided to look into a short wheel based single axle daycab style semi. Stay tuned.

I have returned to the laundry pile, so I must see how the drying is going.

On that note, I bid you

Adieu

Cool and Sunny - By Arizona Standards

2010-02-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

Another sunny cooler day is upon us and I find myself in the laundry pile again. With the smaller drum, you can't help but cross these fairly frequently.

I was surprised to see that 2 days ago the reservoir was drained down for irrigation. With the impromptu lakes still visible, and the crop fields very clearly mud bound, I would have thought they would have been able to omit the flood the field stage of this round of crops. The water level is restored again though.

The other day (the one which found me cameraless for some reason) we saw a flock of about 15 or so pelicans fly over. It was a really neat sight.

I'm told, however that spring has not truly arrived here until you see the turkey vultures fly over in large flocks. Then the heat will seriously return to the region. I hope the camera is in hand for that one!

As for the unusually high rains, it is starting to have its affect on the flora of the region. It is very subtle right now, but if you look closely (no picture, use your mind's eye) the surrounding hills and roadside plains have just a thin skimming of green. The sproutings are still very small, but it brings promise of a potentially amazing display of desert flowers in the near future. Now that, I want my camera on!!

Anyway, the laundry needs hanging, so I bid you

Adieu

Cool Shot!!

2010-02-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

After I signed off, I decided to try the nearly impossible on a digital "instant" camera - to catch a flash.

It is no where near perfect - the background is doubled, and I don't know if I shook, or the flash altered the silhouette, but the flash is unmistakeable! (Caught just before midnight)

I can't deny, I am really quite impressed :-)

'Nuff said. I will now bid you,

Adieu

Lightening Storm Tonight

2010-02-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

Well, hello. I apologize for my absence the last few days. We have been busy, but rather like a hamster on a wheel rather than actual notable things.

In all, we have gone to town nearly daily, and then when back on the ridge, kind of grabbed quiet time when we could.

The one thing I would like to note is some advice on traveling and exploring. It seems, through our travels that the best way to get prime weather and ideal conditions where you go......

is to stay the heck away from Ken and I. LOL

Having experienced Yuma area's entire annual rainfall in a 2 day period last week, we are now having another full day of light rainfall, intermittently and just now we saw our first (2) flashes of lightening with resounding rumbles of thunder.

I'm not sure if it is an actual record year, but at the very least, it is abnormal. (3rd flash just glinted, and the rumble was a full 5 seconds delayed) This has been the pattern for the last 3 years. No matter where we go, we hear, " We never get weather like this!!" (4th flash, rumble only about 2 seconds off)

Ah, well. We enjoyed today's contributions. It beat the dust down. Interesting to note though, some of the larger flooded low lands still haven't drained since the deluge. (5th flash and rumble 2 seconds off, and a 6th with rumble about the same)

I always like storms at night. They make it cozy. *yawn* (7th flash, distant rumble, and rain tempo on rubber room increasing)

I hear a snuggly blanket, an 8th flash and a 1 second delayed rumble calling me, so I will bid you

Adieu. :-) (9th)

Chores With Company

2010-01-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

We stayed home today and pottered around. Among the things I got done was the perpetual build of laundry. It wasn't bad, but at the same time, a 5 - 8 pound load doesn't go far. (8 pounds because I line dry out here).

So the drying is very effective due to temperatures in the low to mid 70's F with slight breezes.

Taking the laundry down is always a minor by time consuming task that was made much more pleasant today because a companion joined me. We chatted back and forth, and he sat and observed and supervised the folding process.

He got a bit fluffed for a brief spell, but then resumed his advise in a great mood. I think he was one of my more frequent visiting hummingbirds. He landed on a tree about 2 feet away from the laundry umbrella. He fluffed, scratched, chirped, caulked his head, glanced around, took a quick trip to the feeder, and returned to tell me how his meal went. (I know it wasn't a complaint because the feeder was full.) :-)

When I finished, he followed me back for one more quick sip before going off on his own.

It sure made the task much more enjoyable.

Well, the next task has presented itself, and I must prepare the evening meal, so I bid you,

Adieu.

Lessons of a Desert Landscape

2010-01-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a fairly warm day, and we tended some chores, then took some time for a bit of a run on the mopeds.

When stationary, it was very warm, but when moving at a moped clip, you could definitely feel a chilling bite in the air. We puttered up the mesa, then back the other way to Squaw Lake. The sun hit the water with stunning glitter. There was a flock of local ducks swimming on it, and a few palm trees along its shores.

Some of the palms were still short enough to stand right in the frond umbrella, and I noticed for the first time that these trees too, had rather a dangerous side to them. On the length of the branch leading to the leaves was a bilateral ridge of curated "teeth".

One thing about the desert flora is that nearly all of it has some means of protection, and Midnight is being forced into an acceptance that a dog's natural instinct to "water the plants" is being denied, least he should spike a region more sensitive than most to the barbs of an unfriendly trunk or branch.

On our way back, I noticed a few trunks of former palm trees, and was fascinated by the cross-section. With most trees one is used to seeing the usual rings of growth, but these trees were different. There was a degree of rings to it, but more noticeable was a much more predominant presence of tubes.

It almost reminded me of a sea anemone. It occurred to me that as water is a scarce commodity to the plants of the area, any tree had best find a way to quickly capitalize on any contributions to its intake. With these tubule structures, the capillary action of the trunk would definitely be put into the express lane. It was quite enlightening.

The discoveries and learnings of the day were marred by one further find by the roadside. Apparently fairly recently a battle was fought and lost by one of the resident burros. All that was left to mark its failure was a hind leg below the knee, with only bone and sinew remaining until just below the lower leg joint where the fur and flesh remained in tact down to the atrophied hoof. I believe it was an adult.

It was a very sad reminder that among the beauty and uniqueness of the area we currently make our home, the life struggles continue for the non-civilized side of existence out here.

To blur the image slightly, the mother and small babe that we saw on the day of the large herd visiting was visible on the nearby peaks near the water tower, going about daily routines and processes in the late afternoon. Life marched on without the fallen member.

As I ponder the day past, I bid you

Adieu.

Editor's note: I have been able to put pictures in again, but now I must go back and be sure that all previous pictures still are linked.

Birds Versus Wasps

2010-01-24T08:21:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather, though cool (mid to high 60's F)is restored to relative norms. The sun is shining, and we actually have a lull in the breezes/winds.

The hummingbirds continue to enjoy the feeder, but are now dealing with intense competition in the form of wasps. They engulf the base of the feeder, and often, the hummers are hesitant to land. I'm sure with their slight size, a sting could likely be fatal.

I have put up a wasp trap, but am still struggling with a means of keeping the wasps off while allowing full access to the birds.

I know that insects breath through pores in their abdomens, (the rear portion of their 3 part bodies)so I tried putting a layer of dish soap on the base of the feeder so that they can't land without clogging their air intake, but once it dries (very quickly here) they are right back at it.

My wasp trap, only having been up 2 days, has nonetheless, trapped at least a couple dozen wasps, though, and yesterday in frustration, I simply attacked them with a fly swatter anytime I saw them landing on the bird feeder.

Apparently, another local bird appreciated my efforts, as at dusk I witnessed a few of them happily grazing on the 20 or 30 odd fatalities at the base of the feeder. I think that they are a Cedar Waxwing. Oh bother. I am finding it very limiting to be out of space for pictures.

Anyway, the day is beginning and I must join it so I bid you,

Adieu.

Aftermath

2010-01-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

Well, the storms seemed to blow itself out around 9:30 last night. We sure were rocking during some of the bigger gusts. As one of the fellows I met at the dumping station this morning put it, "It was raining sideways".

Since I have been 3 days overdue to do laundry, I decided that it would be easier to take it to my parent's place and that way I could make a visit of it, and I wouldn't have to haul away the water afterwards.

We dashed in and started the first load, then "quickly" ran a couple of errands - top up on all 3 fuels (diesel, unleaded (bikes) and propane) then grabbed a bite, and a couple things from Walmart. We got back to the laundry around 2:30 and started the second load.

The second load included our sheets, so I put those in the dryer, but left the other items on the clothesline where they got mostly dry in spite of the spitting rain that attempted to foil their efforts. Tomorrow will be drier, so I should be able to hang and finish the process tomorrow.

All that aside, getting into Yuma revealed the results of the previous day's efforts by the forces of nature. We passed several washouts, and noted that the next section over from us on the Wash, Skunk Hollow, was nearly half drowned, and 3 trailers are stranded, 1 of which was actually about ankle deep at the door.

Fortunately, most of the areas we had to go were affected minimally by the storm, so other than a couple lane dodges, our path was clear.

Another matter that recently crossed our path was one that was bridged in an earlier post. Medical coverage.

As stated in said post, a friend had a fluke accident, and was wise enough to have coverage. She is healing well, and the injury was covered by medical.

However, we now have heard from a friend (our Oliver neighbour last year) who was going to be connecting with us shortly, and spending the duration of the snowbird season with us here at the Wash.

Their plans have substantially changed due to an accident on Sunday. He was out quadding in the dunes and hit a soft spot that caved in on him. He rolled the quad and as it crossed over him, broke his scapula (shoulder blade) and a rib or two. They splurged, and got him x-rayed ($1000 later) and confirmed the breaks and that fortunately, there were no punctures or internal bleeding. The pain is severe though.

They are now bee-lining it back to Abbotsford where his daughter lives. There, they will re-diagnose, and treat - likely with surgery - and start recovery. In the meantime, the bones are attempting to mend themselves, hopefully not poorly. Said bee-line has been delayed by the storms in California, and they can't take the mountain passes. I think they were finally able to make some headway today, but I won't know until they get to Vancouver.

This to me is further confirmation that if you plan to travel internationally, medical coverage should not be neglected or considered optional.

So those are my thoughts today, and I bid you

Adieu.

Storms

2010-01-21T18:34:00.000-08:00

I am curious why for the last 3 years, everywhere we go we are told, "We never get weather like this."

We have a tornado warning, and terrible winds and rain. Before the storm is over, it is predicted that there may be as much as 4 - 5 inches of rain. I know that it doesn't sound like it is that much, especially for coastal areas of Canada, but as the news cast stated, this area's total annual rainfall is usually 4 inches.

Our Senator's Wash region is currently in a lull, the rain and wind has let up, but is waiting to kick up again shortly. I even witnessed a waterfall form on the Southwest ridge of the Mesa over the reservoir.

Another sight which was a bit sad was seeing humming birds looking like drowned rats making a bid for some calories in the wind and rain. Some were blown quite a bit off course. I actually added some sirup for a boost. I checked the label for contents to be sure it was not a chemical nightmare first, but I wanted the sips to have a punch. They have to consume their body weight in a day to keep themselves charged.

Another challenge to the day was that poor Midnight, whom I took out for his morning constitutional, was so bothered by the intensity of the weather, that he wouldn't tend to business. I finally got him to relent at 3:15, after holding since about 9:30 last night!! He is definitely feeling a whole lot better now.

I have taken some pictures of the day, but as blogger has informed me that I have exceeded my picture capacity right now, I will have to consider how to upload them at another time.

It has also been intriguing to watch the colour shifts on the water in the reservoir. The main colours were mud brown and sea green, but the division line was very distinct between the two, and shifted around all day.

The majority of the news coverage tonight was about all the flash flooding, sandbagging efforts, and tornado, lightening and wind warnings. In general, it has been an intense day.

On that note, I bid you

Adieu.

Pie

2010-01-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

Note to self, make sure you have all ingredients and components before you start the process. Failing that you might consider high scale modification. I finally put off procrastinating on outside chores, and got on with my delayed pie brewing.

I confess, I was putting it off on account of I had never done one from scratch before and was dreading the "try not to curdle it" recipes. I braved it today and here is the end result.

Just for the sake of amusement, you can note that I honestly thought I had a pie a plate, I really did. Apparently, I have always used pre-made shells in their own foil plate. I confess to using a pre-made shell for this one too, but it came rolled up, and without pie plate.

The frying pan was a stainless steel, not teflon, so I thought, what the hay. It turned out quite well, too. (... and I will be picking up a couple pie plates the next time I go to town)

Anyway, I will now bid you

Adieu

Editor's Note: I was asked to include a shot of the cut pie, and I took the shot, but apparently, blogger says I have exceeded my picture posting limit.

More Burros

2010-01-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

Today was another putter about town day. We ran into both our neighbours while milling about. You know you are localized to a town when you recognize people while shopping.

We then visited with family in town, and had a nice leisurely afternoon.

When we got home, we brought in the day's purchases, and looked down the ridge to see the biggest herd of burros yet. There were a total of 15 just casually sauntering down the way, including 2 very young ones. One we see often, but the other is new to me, and only about a couple months old.

Isn't he cute, still baby fluffy.

A lot of the burros are relatively gentle, but it is recommended by the park staff that you admire them from a distance. They are still wild animals, even though they are familiar with people. They can kick, bite, and in general go from gentle to wild bronco in a blink.

One should always treat wild and feral animals with due respect. They are always capable of unpredictable behavior. It is a matter of safety.

In other matters, we have been dealing with some setbacks that are worth noting, and are relatively easy to avoid in future.

We have dealt with wind in many places, but here in the desert, it is unique in that the wind is often accompanied by very fine dust. It has succeeded in temporarily stopping our generator and a compressor, and we will be very frequently blowing out our truck's air filter. We will cure the problem with very detailed cleaning of the mechanisms. In the meantime, the advise has been given by my father that any mechanical devices should be draped in plastic when not in use as the dust gets deeply into machines, even when they aren't running. One minute they are working, and the next, stopped dead.

There are other progressions afoot right now, but I will get to those in a future post. In the meantime, I bid you

Adieu.

Wandering Thoughts

2010-01-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

We have had a really good start to January. There have been some cooler days, and some cloudy days, but cool has not been below the mid to low 50's F and the clouds have contributed to some awesome evening views.

We have done a bit of rearranging of the living room as it has always needed a personalization that we didn't feel comfortable taking on yet.

We finally bit the bullet and evicted the couch. It sat in the passenger side slide. It was very uncomfortable because it reclined too much for its low back, and just wasn't working for us.

By removing it, it has allowed us to move the recliners into the alcove of the slide (we are still looking to trade out my swivel rocking recliner for a more space economic non-rocking recliner, but until then we are making due.

The problem with the old recliners (Ken replaced his with one we had in storage) is that although they are comfortable, as mentioned, they swivel, rock and recline. Because of how the rig was designed, every time you want to draw in the slides, both have to be manipulated into the very back section, swung sideways, and butted up to the valance to keep them clear of the two slides. Although they aren't too heavy, if you go to lift them, the rocker prevents easy lift, and in general, bull strength and will finally succeed completing the relocation.

They you reverse the process to set up again. UG!

With the chairs in the couch's alcove, we now have an awesome view out the rear window where we have attached the humming bird feeder. Since the window is privacy glass, they don't see us as easily as they would with normal glass, and this affords us the opportunity for nice pictures, and views. (I even get to see the sassy little blighters sticking their tongues out) :-)

Life is good! Well, for now I bid you,

Adieu

Another Hummingbird

2010-01-05T14:41:00.000-08:00

On a nothing doin' kind of day, this lovely lady showed up to have a bit of lunch. She is much braver than her beautiful ruby throated, emerald backed male counter-part.

Anyway, I must get back to the chores she is distracting me from, so I bid you

Adieu

Sights To Behold

2010-01-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say, but I sure have seen some sights these last few days!!

We have only had the feeder up for 3 days and 1 evening. they started coming from the second evening, and even adjusted to a relocation on day 2. Amazing little wonders, these hummingbirds!

Well, the night is closing in, so I bid you,

Adieu

Lemons

2010-01-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

There are many things that are commonplace for the local people, but a wonder to behold for the transient folk that wander various parts of the world. Yuma and similar areas are no different.

One of the things with which the locals like to impress the visitors are the sizes of some of the local produce that doesn't make it to market by the assorted importing companies. An example of said produce that is easily found here, are the ever so common lemon.

Everyone with even the slightest awareness of said fruit will picture a yellow item with skin similar in texture to an orange, and nearly round, except for the stem and opposite end, which jut out slightly from the otherwise circular fruit. Rather common and unnoteworthy, except in noting that it make a great summer drink, topper to assorted fish, awesome tangy pie, a finger degreaser for such delights as barbecued spare ribs, and perhaps a mild flavour supplement to any plainer drink, leaded, or unleaded.

Therefore, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to the ones that miss the market, but are equally capable of attaining the same culinary and supplementary affect, but with far less quantity, shall we say:

BEHOLD, THE LEMON

(No, really, it is not a squash)

With a bit of processing, I converted a single lemon into nearly 2 cups of pulpy lemon juice. Further, after cutting out the 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick white portion - rind, I think EDITOR'S NOTE: White is the Pith - Thanks Rae :-)

(which resides between the zest and the juice sacks) The pile in cling wrap on the left represents the skin ripe for the zesting.

With the additional process of finely grating the skin, a substantial amount of zest for such creations as lemon meringue pie is attained - the juice is still 2 cups with pulp.

And after a large amount of manual mashing through a strainer, voila. 1-1/2 cups of juice, and about a half cup of zest, all from one lemon.

Now what do you think of your common, store friendly little fruit? If I am really brave, and otherwise unoccupied, I might just brave the creation of said lemon Meringue pie.

If I should dare, I will be sure to share the end result with you, in visage, if not by taste.

But for now, I bid you,

Adieu

Scenery shots

2010-01-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd put a shot or two of some evening shots:

Moon rising on New Year's Eve

Sunset down by Yuma Lakes (These 2 shots)

It was even more beautiful than the shots show.

Happy New Year, and for now I bid you,

Adieu

Earthquake.

2009-12-30T14:35:00.000-08:00

Today, for the first time in quite a while, we actually stayed home. I got some laundry done, Ken was pottering with the model, and the genset.

During the wash cycle, I nearly missed the event, as rigs generally do a really good job at imitating said occurrence, and I am quite accustom to shaking as I potter. However, in hindsight, I think I can recall a particularly noticeable bump, and apparently it registered as 5.9 on the richter scale. Apparently we can expect some aftershocks, but nothing yet.

All things considered, boondocking in a relatively unpopulated area with minimal objects waiting to tumble over is really a good place to weather a quake. You are already dealing with providing your own power, have stocked your water, and have means of dealing with, hmmm, lets just call it the other end of the water supply.

CB radios are all around for alternate communication if cells and land lines are out, and really, I think I am right where I would want to be during a noticeable shake down. - as long as the land directly under myself and my habitation remain relatively secure.

I guess you can chalk that up to another advantage of mobile living. If it really gets bad, just hitch and pull to a better option.

Well, I think that sums up the thought train for the moment, and the sauce for dinner is simmering more enthusiastically that required, so I must move along.

I bid you,

Adieu.

Lighting Solutions For Boondocking

2009-12-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

A while ago, a friend and fellow blog writer mentioned something about puck lights in one of her posts.

I read the article, but as the only pucks I had seen were run by button batteries, and were peal and stick, so once place, unremovable and the battery, once dead was unchangeable, I therefore filed the info as not applicable to my situation. (They were probably a first generation puck)

Furthermore, I had no interest in spending any length of time boondocking, as I find the creature comforts too indispensable.....

So here I sit, boondocking in California, and although the solar has improved things, we still run the genny at night because with the sun setting early (yes, even down here, the sun sets by 5:30 in the deepest part of winter), if you are running a TV and a DVD player, by 8:30, the batteries are at the low end of the 12 reading. We are loathed to sit in the dark, but also hesitant to leave a trail of lights.

And then, like the proverbial light bulb going on overhead with the gleaming of a new idea, I remembered her article. Further, I happened to be wandering in the section of Harbor Freight (AKA men's candy store, Yuma style) and saw these beauties:

At 3 for $14.99 USD, I considered it to be a great deal. The batteries (3 AAA) are easy to load, and with the velcro, easily removed. The LEDs are rated for up to 100,000 hours, but I will soon see how long a battery lasts. They swivel and pivot, so the beam can be directed to a much broader range. They are working wonderfully, and popping up all over the rig now.

Well, chores and blue boys beckon, so I will bid you

Adieu.

Wood You Like To See

2009-12-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, I remembered that I promised to take some better detailed shots of Ken's models. So, first, I give you a series on the continuing processes on the '58 Mack:

Next, a collection of shots on the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang replica:

And finally, the 1910 Buick McLauglin (I'm holding one of the headlights as it needs its securing dowel replaced due to a good bump somewhere along the way):

Okay, I think that covers the close-ups. The Hayes truck is back in Canada, so until our return, what was posted is all I have to offer.

I am very late on supper, so I will bid you,

Adieu.

Sunset on Hurricane Ridge

2009-12-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

Not much to say since the last post. We have to tune the diesel genset as it is due for a change of oil, and we just managed to get it moved by a local fellow with a hi-ab so that the hitch isn't blocking the inner working panel.

The guests at my parents have returned to Ontario, Christmas came and went (dinner at Mom and Dad's was awesome as always)

We did have an awesome sunset that is worth showing. I did another diagonal shot, and did a cropping of sorts, but the keepable part was so large that I opted to just keep it on the diagonal without removing the upper portion.

We have to run to town today, so I will bid you

Adieu

Balloon Suppliment

2009-12-25T12:09:00.001-08:00

Hello again, just a quick note. There was a pro photo fellow along with the ground crew, so if you want to see our trip from the ground view, this is the link to his shots.

(Thanks again to the gal who started me Blog posting, she has taught me how to bypass the malfunctioning Blogger's button for linking)

I have no rights or claim on the photos, but as it is a public page, I am comfortable linking it for you. (ours are just the first 4 pages of the set, and they are in reverse order)

Again, I bid you Season's Greetings and,

Adieu

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

Let's see, we had hoped to see the parade of lights on the night of the balloon ride. We were just a few minutes late on that one.

My parents and their guests came out to see them the second night.... but they just went on the mesa, and skipped the ridge ... so we missed it again.

Neighbours told us that it alternates regions as the Wash is a very big area. Great, so we will catch it on the third night then..... Sand storm prevented them parading on the third night.

They don't run on Christmas Eve because everyone is doing their Christmas things and are too busy then..... Wait a second, I hear a horn blowing. I see lights coming. They came!!!

And so the highly anticipated show did arrive. It was 9 vehicles dressed in their season's best. My camera behaved poorly, but I did get some shots, so at long last, this is what I caught of the parade of lights:

It was very pretty, and much more impressive than the meager photos relay, but it is all I got. I actually choked up a bit as they passed (common practice for an emotionally high strung sole like myself)

Merry Christmas everyone. I bid you

Adieu.

A Day In Mexico

2009-12-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

In honour of visitors from Etobicoke Ontario (To non-Torontonians it would be Toronto) staying with my folks, we went on our first trip to Mexico today.

We started out by meeting the foursome at the new casino just on the California side of the border. If you get a membership (free) you can get deals at the buffet, so breakfast for 2, all you can eat cost $6.95. New members also get a $10 credit for the slots.

Ken and I don't gamble, but the breakfast was worth the membership process. We then parked just north of the border and walked in.

Personally, our goal was threefold. Ken needed glasses, I wanted a replacement window for the rig door, and I was looking for a case to carry business cards in so they don't get tattered. This is the type that holds your cards, not the various cards you collect. (2 out of 3 isn't bad, but this card holder remains elusive.)

So what do you think of Ken's new Armani glasses

We went with a more conservative approach instead :-)

.... So then we wandered around for 2 hours while the glasses were being prepared.

Editor note & Shot: 2 hours later the look was much nicer :-)

And so the wanderings revealed such things as:

You can click some of these and get a better look.

These two sales areas, and many like them are an amazing version of Jeff Foxworthy's, "say it with Krylon". Seriously, these are works of art, but as with most rigs, where on earth would I put them???

The nicknacks of amazingly varied persuasion are everywhere in Los Algodones (which, of course, we expected) I think we circled too many times with varied focuses of the varied party members because the vendors started pointing out which way our other members went. :-)

Amazingly enough, the border was a very short line. Usually, you walk in because the motorized traffic is a really long line. It proved true today too, but sometimes the walking line can be over an hour as well. We were through in less than 5 minutes. SWEET!!

This is the new window in the rig.

And up close through the screen. I really like it.

Well, as the parade of lights is waiting until tomorrow, I know what I will be posting about soon. For now, it has been a really long day so I bid you,

Adieu.

Ken & Donna's Excellent Adventure

2009-12-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

Dec 20, 2009

Well, it has finally happened - the moment we've ... well, that Ken and I were waiting for, anyway.

Today with great anticipation, and supreme weather watching (too much wind, = postponement) - we got to go up in a hot air balloon.

They had 2 choices in timing - 0 dark hundred (6:30 am) or 2:30 pm.

If you chose the morning, you meet at the pilot's house for a quick coffee, orange juice, hot chocolate, or what have you. You then do the waiver signing, and receive a briefing on processes, then load up in his vehicle and drive to the launching site.

For the afternoon outing, which we chose, you do the same thing, but hold the liquids.

On the way he told us a bit about the history of ballooning (I was 3rd row back, so missed a lot of it, but I am sure google could fill in the blank).

We then watched the process of getting the balloon ready to launch. They started by taking the caddies with the balloon and the basket out, and pulled out a huge nylon mat on which they lay the actual balloon. That is to protect it from damage on the ground while it inflates.

The basket's upper rack and burner are set up, the balloon laid out on the mat, and connected to the basket, and then a gas driven fan inflate it with cold air. When it is about half way full - enough to make the mouth wider, a second fan is added to increase the speed of filling.

When it is close to full, the pilot carefully gives a few bursts of the burner to coax the balloon into the air. The ground crew are holding lines that direct its ascent while one line remains anchored to the truck.

When the balloon lifts high enough, the crew guides the basket upright. At this point, all passengers must quickly embark so as to minimize strain on the ground crew who is now struggling to rein in the giant that is grappling to be free.

It was done with great efficiency,.... but one of the inside guidelines was tangled, so we all disembarked, the ballon was let down, and they went inside to correct the tangling.

Take 2, the balloon ride. In this scene, the balloon is inflated by fans,..... I think you recall the drill,....

... and they quickly embarked,.... giant ...., oh, right, here we are! The pilot gave a couple long bursts with the burner, and we alight into the sky.......

Editor's Note: (had it worked, a video would have been here, but instead it is viewable in my album entitled TAKE OFF!!! See link at the bottom of this post) There are a couple vid clips among the slides, so check carefully. Most are around the end, but this one is somewhere in the middle

We were airborne for about 1 - 1/4 hours and saw some awesome sites. We were as high up as 4000 feet, and as low (while not yet ready to officially descend) as about 50 feet or so - just above some house rooftops (under full control at all times).

We landed in a field that was between crops at the time, bounced a couple times, dragged a few feet, then fully landed.

The chaser crew went quickly about their business, the balloon's top centre was released to quickly disperse the contained air, and we held ground in the basket until the balloon was fully deflated.

We then were driven back to the pilot's house, each holding a complementary cold unleaded beverage (with another history of the balloon traditions which we were not to take part in...) and were to have a champaign toast, and wonderful lasagna dinner (or breakfast if you chose the early run) and were given a certificate to commemorate the journey.

(We skipped the dinner because we were rushing back to the ridge for the Christmas parade of lights ..... which we missed ... only to find that there will actually be nightly parades until Christmas eve .... D'oh!!)

Editor's Note: The parade of lights is every other night as the Senator's Wash region is so large that they run the ridges in alternating shifts - much to the chagrin of our guests who came out to see them the following night, but I digress...)

Anyway, here are some shots, and a link to my web album for the rest of the story.

Here is the link to more pictures in my web album.

(I had to study a previous link for an album to guide me in dropping the link into the HTML editor, but hey, I'm learning - since I still haven't gotten feedback on why the button for linking is failing, but I digress...)

Okay, that took for ever to upload the video, and I actually finished the following post so now I will bid you

Adieu

Thoughts on Trucks

2009-12-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

We have been dealing with ongoing issues with hauling our rather large fifth wheel rig. Being a 36 foot rig with 4 slides, and being full-time, and carrying everything that make home what it is, we are a heavy load.

Originally we were towing with a 07 Dodge 4X4 3500 single axle. It was a very strong truck, but not quite up to the task. As a whole it was powerful, and it handled a sudden stop (let's just say, not on a dime) very admirably. (We were still very green and instead of increasing the brake grip on the electronic control for the trailer, we wound up disengaging it altogether, and the brakes were smoking on the truck, but holding. - That was on the Creston-Salmo Summit, and we weren't yet fully loaded, but I digress...)

We then upgraded to an 01 Dodge Duelly 3500 2 wheel drive long box.

Unfortunately, it only came stock with a 235 horsepower engine. We were advised by many people in the RVing community we were with at the time that all we had to do was "chip it" and put a big breather on it.

We also added an engine exhaust break to the exhaust to increase our braking power.

Well, we have discovered that this is not a good plan after all. Let me clarify:

The breather was a good idea. It is like increasing your lung capacity, and as long as you increase the intake in proportion to the output, it can only improve your performance. Also, the engine exhaust brake was a good idea.

However, ours has a vacuum assist mechanism, and it is fickle at best, running only part of the time. It is better to get one with an air compressor so that when the braking is required, it is instantly and unquestionably engaged.

As for the chipping, it sounds like a great way to increase power at a comparably cheaper rate, but after all we have experienced, and having spoken to several people who have done the same, and a couple mechanics who have handled the aftermath of such choices, I would say that it is not the best option.

Here is why. When a truck engine is built, the system is constructed in harmony with all its components. Therefore, if you increase the amount of power (horsepower) that the truck can produce, you have to be very careful not to overtax the rest of the system.

In our case, the new weak link in the chain is no longer the power, but the transmission. It was built to work with 235 horsepower, so is overburdened by being asked to pull at the higher horses (our chip does 20, 60, and 90 extra horses)

This has led to transmission shuttering and the torque converter, although still working, is - shall we say, shortened in its lifespan. We are only going to use it at the 20 horse boost as there is no shut off option.

One mechanic we spoke to went through 4 transmissions because of chipping his truck.

The better option is therefore to get a truck that is truly up to the task at stock level. It is our opinion that for a rig as big and heavy as ours, it should not be hauled by any truck under the 5500 for safety. The trouble is that few dealers of either trucks or trailers will be honest with you, or to be fair, are truly ignorant of the danger. (We were told when we bought the trailer that we should even be fine towing with our 2500!!! - fine for the flatlands of Alberta and the deeper prairie, but tell that to the Rogers Pass, or Kicking Horse Pass!)

We have been told by some people that you just go slow when you climb, and if you have to run traffic lights because you can't stop in time, then go ahead and run the light. That is all well and good, but what if the vehicle in front doesn't choose that option....

I accept that some climbs just mean slow traveling, and comes with being heavy, and if that is what big commercial truck deals with it, there is no matter if we do too. Fair enough, but you really can't argue that if you have to stop now, you should know that within reason, you can. Period.

And so the hunt continues for a truly appropriate tow vehicle.

With these thoughts expressed, I bid you

Adieu.

Slow Day

2009-12-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

Today is overcast, and for a bit, we though we might witness our first flash flooding. However, it let up and went back to cloudy.

The temperature is in the around 61 F or 16 C, so although we aren't in a summery warmth, it is quite acceptable.

Ken is making it a model works day and I am catching up on tagging the photos in my albums and working on some crochet projects.

Both animals have assumed the ball position and are cosy in their places. Everyone in the neighbourhood seem to be doing quiet business. It is nice to have a slow day, as we wound up rushing in for needed items 3 days in a row without having time to linger.

Not much else to add, but I shall fill you in if anything exciting unfolds.

For now I bid you

Adieu

Recovery Process of a Friend

2009-12-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

I stopped in on my friend who injured herself the other day, and she is doing very well. She did have medical, and in honour of that, it seems the doctors took extra precaution on treating her leg, and x-rayed her.

This seems logical, except that they carried the process to the inclusion of her heart and lungs ..... a natural concern when you trip and cut your leg, somehow........

They also did more logical processes like a tetanus shot, cleaning of the wound, and then they did dissolving stitches on the first layer before using 22 staples on the surface. Then they put her in a stovepipe style splint to prevent the knee bending for the next 2 weeks.

She isn't in pain, and amazingly enough, didn't tear the muscles, bled very little, and in general avoided anything resembling complications. - Blessings seem to prevail.

And now, over to the weather department:

We have been nice and sunny for the last few days, but nights are definitely dipping into the cooler temps. Daytime highs still reach high teens to low twenties C. The wind still bites with a familiar winter edge, but in the sheltered areas, it is definitely t-shirt weather.

We have gone to town a couple times this past week, and are hoping to stay put for a bit.

In just over a week, we will be taking in a bit more of an eagle's view of things - stay tuned.

We are just settling in for a quiet evening, so I will bid you

Adieu.

This, That, and Sound Advise

2009-12-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

It has been slow and quite around here, and Ken has been putting in model time, tweaking the blue boy with sturdier wheels and carriage, repairing the speedometer cable on his bike, and finding a bit of Miller time with the neighbours.

I have been puttering too, with laundry, honey runs, and general domestics as well as a bit of crocheting.

We will be going to town tomorrow for supplies, and visiting. We are expecting another storm by the end of the weekend, and then we will likely do a bit of cleaning of the outer rig and truck as they are now bespeckled with the last storm's contribution.

One unfortunate event of today brings a very important angle to traveling outside your native country - Medical insurance.

One of our neighbours, and a new dear friend had a mishap of grave significance today, and it occurred for the most innocuous of tasks.

She and I were chatting in front of her rig when the phone rang inside. She hurried off to answer it and tripped over one of the awning spikes and fell. As she went down, she ripped a gouge in her lower leg that had to be at least a foot to a foot and a half long, and moderately deep. (editor note: The report back says it was only 7")

She of course was rushed to a medical centre, and that was around 2:30 this afternoon. I didn't see them back when I last checked just before dark around 6.

I don't know if they had extended medical, but I am pretty sure they did. If not, it is not going to be a pretty bill.

Please. If you travel, take the precaution to invest in your health. It is penny wise and pound foolish to omit that expense.

I am calling it a day now, so I bid you

Adieu

Glitches In The Blog & Weather

2009-12-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I am experiencing technical difficulties. I am still seeking resolve on the linking feature, but I have also been told that my comments portion may be malfunctioning.

If you are having difficulty, please bear with me, I am posted as looking for answers. Perhaps in the interim, if the comments are failing you, you can try commenting in the guest book. I get notification that messages land in it, and then I go in and they should post within a day.

Meanwhile, back at the Ridge, we experienced our first big gale storm last night. It was accompanied a bit by rain, but primarily the rain from earlier was the main contributor to the lovely speckling of mud over everything including the solar panels.

We have cleaned some of the windows and the solar panels, but aren't going whole hog on the cleaning as we are expecting repeats until around Saturday.

As for the solar, it is working well overall. We are still learning but overall are content.

We had the generator supplement the recharge yesterday as the clouds made the solar nearly useless, and the charge on the batteries was definitely needing topping up.

I am also behind on the honey runs as yesterday was not conducive to outing of any sort, so today is primarily catch up day in a lot of the outer activities.

The expected entertainment for today will likely not occur due to the expected winds of this afternoon.

Anyway, chores beckon, so I bid you

Adieu

Continuation of Ken's 58 Mack

2009-12-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

Ken is taking advantage of the aforementioned space in the kitchen to do some more work on the 58 Mack. I shall include some update shots for those interested in its progress.

(As mentioned in the previous post, I have discovered that you can view the zooming when I download via Picasa. When you see the Blogger icon at the bottom, you can do this.)

The headache rack and cab are reattached, and the hood assembly is back in place as well. Beside the driver door are the seat, and the gear shifts which will eventually be placed back inside.

The undercarriage back together, but still under further construction.

This particular tool has been a treasure. As an added bonus, we have priced it in Canada at around $50, but on Black Friday we got it for $14.99. It is articulating, so it is extremely versitile!!

This belt sander is another gem. It is cheaper made, but it will do as Ken has a better one at home. He is sanding off the pallet look. On the bench beside him is a couple pieces awaiting sanding. The blackening of weathering is being removed to expose the beautiful hardwood below.

Like I say, it is an absolute joy to watch the pallet transform into this beautiful model.

Well, that is about all I have for you for now, so I bid you,

Adieu

The Rain on the Plain

2009-12-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

We are actually having a full fledged rainy day. I have experienced 3 rainy days since being down here in the Yuma area, and two of them amounted to perhaps 20 raindrops in their combined entirety.

Today, however, is taking itself more seriously, and it is actually doing a full out drizzle, and has been for hours. Everyone is cozying down with books, generators, and tvs along with whatever indoor activities they can muster, or making it a go to town day.

I have taken some shots of the wet, as I don't expect to see a whole lot of it in the region.

Tomorrow promises some interesting sights from the side yard as I am told a training exercise will invade our space some time tomorrow. Stay tuned, and hopefully the photo display will entertain you.

For now, here are the wet ridge shots:

I was trying to capture the water on the window, but the reflection is nice, and the dry marks under the rig provides a contrast

You can see the water trail on the water tank, and in the shot of Ken taking a shot, you can see the water on the road

This is just a water accumulation in the chair shot to prove that there was enough to make a puddle.

At this point, it is safe to say that it is not a flash flood level of rain by any stretch.

I have discovered what I believe to be the difference between allowing you to zoom my attachments versus being stuck with what attaches. If I start by clicking on "blog this" in Picasa, it will allow you zoomability, so I will continue my thoughts in that fashion.

So briefly, I bid you,

Adieu

Sight Seeing in Our Backyard

2009-12-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago, Ken and I decided to follow up with a suggestion of a neighbour, and go up to the water tower behind us to see the view.

To gain proper prospective of the outing, I am first putting a picture of the view from the door to the water tower.

As clarification, I mean the white one in the distance, not the red one. I also walked up to the peak beside it on the right and the bump to the left.

We rode the moped as high as we could and walked up the rest of the way.

This shot is from the peak to the right of the tower. The arrow is pointing to the bikes. (Honest) :-)

The red water tower in front of our rig is on the right near where the water is wider.

This shot arrows the rig, and you can still see the bikes just to the right of the date stamp.

The cell did a couple pan shots for me. The overlap point is the high point just right of centre on the upper shot.

For this one the overlap is the extreme left peak point.

This is one of the locals posing with a smile over a very multi-depth shot.

I am standing on the bump to the left of the water tower in the first picture. I love the way I have the burro, the swampy water, hills, the imperial dam, the road to Squaw Lake (which is just off screen to the right) and then several layers of mountains in the background. The more layers of scenery I can include, the happier I am with the shot.

One day I will have to brave the darker lighting and go at sundown as the sunset should be spectacular from there.

One thing I noticed is that the rocks on these mountains are much different than those familiar to me in the northern rockies. These are a much flaker, brittle rock. It is very intriguing to me.

Well, chores are calling me, so I will bid you

Adieu.

Yuma Outdoor Military Museum

2009-12-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

We made a quick run to town on Sunday, then stopped to take in the display of tanks and related vehicles near the Yuma Proving Grounds.

It was a yard filled with multi-generational static displays of military might, and for those who find interest in such creations, it was a sight to see. We wandered around shooting the shooters, and enjoyed the stop.

The linking tool is still malfunctioning. (Hello, Google - are you listening??? Perhaps you will pick up the tab for uploading data instead of linking to a web album... , but I digress....)

... so I am going to just insert some of the highlights.

I took a close up shot of each, and the 4 sides of the info panels. If you would like to see some more of the shots, let me know and I will post them.

For now, Midnight needs to go on a "business trip" so I will bid you

Adieu

Sleepless in Senator's Wash

2009-11-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

I found a lot of non-sleeping time last night, and we had an unusual amount of clouds that kept the night relatively warm, and added a bit of mystery to the starscape.

I glanced out the window by the bed and just had to get up to try to capture the view. It was around 5 am, and I still am dealing with the cybershot 5.0 sony camera, but I figured it was worth a try. In the digital world, if it doesn't work, just delete. What a useful button.

So I took a shot on the normal "let the camera do the thinking" settings and got one shot before the battery died.

I came in and switched the battery, and fiddled with the settings and found a night setting.

So I went out to give it a try. I figured that the shutter would likely be left open longer to accommodate the darkness, so I set the camera on a fence post and took 2 shots.

It worked quite well, but missed the orangey hue. On the other hand, the normal setting shot captured the orangeness, but missed the cloudy detail.

Between the series of shots, I think you can at least get the gist of the beauty I beheld last night.

For now I will bid you,

Adieu

Some Other Models By Ken

2009-11-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

More in the guy zone, Ken thought I should show some of his finished models so that you can have a better idea of his varied works.

I have therefore pulled from the archive of shots, 3 different models that he has made:

Hayes Heavy Duty Logging Truck

1910 Buick McLauglin

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

With this last one, Ken didn't have any plans or schematics to work from, so he still framed the movie, took a couple still pictures from it, and then made the model based on the photographs.

It has a straight 6 engine that pulls out, and has pistons, crank shaft, clutch plates, pressure plates, fly wheel, etc. It also has the dash and gear shift levers, and emergency brake. In general, it is quite detailed.

Anyway, for now, and until a bit of progress is made on the 58 Mack, I will leave this topic as, " To be continued..."

But for now, I bid you

Adieu

To Build a Wooden Truck

2009-11-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

For the guys, as requested by Coal, I bring you a few more shots of Ken's model truck.

However, I must tell you, he has taken it back a few steps as it has been bumped around a bit in our travels over the last year. I thought it might give me a chance to show you the detail of his works.

The left is with the truck upside down, the cab and front axle disassembled. The right is assorted bits including the headache rack, the hood, fenders and such, and of course, tools and sundry for the process.

This shot dominates on the cab. One of the exhaust pipes is just at the base of the vice (and of course, more tools).

Needless to say, the finalizing of the project is a bit of time away. Ken is a details minded fellow. It is a pleasure to watch the transformation!

Well, I think that covers the current progressions, so again I bid you,

Adieu.

Another Before and After Testimonial - The Burnt on Pot

2009-11-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

They're at the post! And they're off!!!

... sorry, I couldn't resist. It seems I have had several small postable thoughts today.

This afternoon, Ken and I entered a joint effort on lunch, then both proceeded to get diverted, and a pot of cream of mushroom soup, in a vengeful effort to repay its abandonment, became somewhat of a volcanic overflowing disaster.

The before shot is actually (as is my normal process) a part way through, "Gee, I should do a before and after shot" consideration. Where you see black, cover the whole bottom, and about a quarter up the sides to complete the full before affect.

(... and the crowd simultaneously declared, "Ewwwwww!!!!!")

But wait!! All is not lost (I know, the before shot rather spoiled the finale, but pretend to be surprised, I would hate to loose an audience on account of a minor error... I digress...)

The Great Power of Creation, being all knowing of the beginning, and the end .... and middle - you know, the part where I am cooking, .... created a powerful cleaning agent just primed for this age of environmental friendliness, and as an extra zing, placed such an agent in ample abundance on this very location!!! (Astounding, isn't it??!!!)

So, do tell, you say. What is this miraculous agent that removes once thick creamy, but now hard charcoalized thick residue from the surface of this tragically abused stainless steel pot????

Would you believe sand?

I took a small handful of sand (unsifted from a few minute pebbles) and water, took a rag and with gentle circular scrubbing for a mere 5 minutes, the resulting clean can only be described as amazing!!

See for yourself...

What can I say, cheap, and efficient!

Well, to avoid repeating the process, I must focus on dinner, so I bid you

Adieu.

Honey Express Bike

2009-11-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have been meaning to go with the proverbial "picture is worth a thousand words" adage, but have continually forgotten about taking a picture until the chore was complete.

And so without further adieu (in other words, before I post anything else) I have finally taken the picture of the fully hitched and ready to run "Honey Express Bike" AKA Winnie the Poo Bear - er. (Sorry, I inherited my humour from my father, I couldn't help myself - I digress...)

Presenting .... Winnie the Poo Bear -er

Okay, we now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

Today the wind is roaring enough to put white caps on the little lake we hold so near and dear. Not a day for the rookie kayaker, to be sure.

I was going to run the washer today, but I wasn't wanting to run the dryer, and quite frankly, I think I would be challenged to get the items washed on the line before they were blown over to Squaw Lake for an extra rinse!! I am therefore postponing that chore for tomorrow.

The fluffies are enjoying the slow and people populated day we are having, so are soaking up the attention contentedly.

In spite of the wind, the solar panels are secure, and amazingly enough, of no concern at this time. We have been assured that they are quite capable of holding their own in winds up to 80 mph. I would be loathed to test the full extent of that, but am nonetheless, comforted by the detail.

Part of today's meandering includes finding homes for the raft of scores we made in our "quick shopping" yesterday. Of particular distraction was an outlet known as Harbor Freight Tools (Dad calls it the candy store) and it unassumingly consumed a good 2 hours of our day. Not bad for a shop whose whole customer friendly floor space could not have occupied more than about 2,000 square feet - quite small compared to the now popular warehouse style shopping centres. We were greatly appreciative of its contribution to our home.

One thing we have been told about and now experienced is that Black Friday, or the Friday following the American Thanksgiving is bargain day. It is also said in the commerce world, that if you have not made it into the proverbial Black in your book keeping world by this date, you can safely say that this year you will not make it out of the red ergo, the title of Black Friday.

One prize was something that I refer to as a babushka toolbox set.

This durable plastic set has 4 toolboxes that nest inside each other when empty, and will greatly aid in organizing Ken's woodworking hobby tools. Not bad for just $24.99. Most of the other treasures would best be placed inside said ensemble.

Well, it is getting hungry out as it is past noon and then some, so I will break for a feed, and bid you

Adieu.

Glory's Training Revisited

2009-11-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post (http://lifeonourark.blogspot.com/2008/12/troubleshooting-weve-encountered.html ) or 2 (http://lifeonourark.blogspot.com/2009/04/wash-and-go.html ),I mentioned the toilet training of Glory. Due to various stressors in her world at the time, we regressed, and went back to the litter box. Life has now resettled, and I decided to reinstate the training.

(For some reason, the hyperlinking button is malfunctioning on blogger, and it inserts the link over the words instead of creating a link on the words so I have bracketed the links instead for this post. To the blogger monitors at Google, I would love a solution in the comments as I don't like the messiness of the method I had to employ, but I digress....)

It has gone well. I gave her 3 days with the litter box on the toilet (with no slip mats to keep it from sliding off and scaring her) and then 2 days of putting a small handful of her flushable pine pellet litter into the upper plateau of the toilet bowl. She willingly accepted peeing thusly, but I was concerned about possible protests on the other deposits, shall we say.

I therefore would close her into the bathroom when I expected she was due for a deposit, and let her out with treats when she accomplished the task.

Yesterday was a town day followed by and evening at my parents, so I had to trust her to conform, unsupervised. She met the challenge and delighted her Mom most acceptably.

I will now continue with the pellets for another week, then slowly remove them from the formula, but I can again happily state that the litterbox is not required in our indoor cat's list of possessions.

I shall have other matters covered in later posts, but I know there was a particular reader that found the topic of interest, and I wanted to give an update for the benefit of those interested in this pursuit. Goodness knows, space is always at a premium in RV living, and any reduction in space users is welcome advice, I find.

Having covered this brief topic, where this post is concerned, I will bid you

Adieu.

Wind and Down Time

2009-11-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

We live on Hurricane Ridge, so naturally it follows that when the wind blows, it takes itself rather seriously. We have had a couple windy days, but the temperature is quite acceptable.

Yesterday was a town trip day, and we got several items we were running low on, or needed for my contribution to the Thanksgiving Potluck. There are actually 2 of these that are going on in this area. One is for Senator's Wash, and it is down at the gravel pit.

However, there seems to be a more local event that is for the Ridgers, and I understand all will be attending, bringing the head count to somewhere between 45 and 50. We have casually met a good portion of our neighbours, and they are all great people.

I have been doing a bit of house pottering, but one of the nice things about this rig, as mentioned in an earlier post (http://lifeonourark.blogspot.com/2009/06/settled-for-week.html ), is that it is big enough that Ken can do some works in the kitchen without creating a bottleneck for movement.

With the wind kicked up as it is right now, the parts would be everywhere were he to try working outside.

As you can see, there is a lot of minute detailing in his works. At some point, he would love to find a market for selling his pieces, but needless to say, these models are a bit more than cut chunks of wood resembling reality. The steering works, there are moving parts, and other than hinges and in this case, part of the steering mechanism, it is all assembled by dowel.

If requested, I will take closer detailed shots of this truck. I marvel at his craftsmanship. (Sorry, I can't help myself - It does impress me so, but I digress...)

I think I have bent your ear, or rather focused your eye long enough, so I will bid you

Adieu

Around the Wash

2009-11-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

I am attaching some shots of the last few days, but unfortunately, although we did go out on the kayaks - no, really - it's true!! - I can't prove it as we opted to omit cameras on the inaugural run due to the need to ensure stability and, shall we say, ensure the safety of the electronics.

The outing was successful, and we went from the launch a bit toward the south end, then back to the launch to adjust the fit, and back out to the north end. We were only out for about an hour, but as we need to work on our comfort settings, and Ken's back was a bit tight that day, we considered it to be enough for a first go round.

Yesterday my Mother and Aunty popped out for a visit, and after lunch, we decided to drive around the lake to see the other side. It was really beautiful on the far side, and we even saw some well chewed down green grass. I suspect the grooming of the greenery was courtesy of the local burros.

The trail was a bit jagged and rough, and a lot of sharp stones, and gravelled in washouts were needed to cross. I would recommend 4 wheel drive, but the car did splendidly in spite of itself.

I suspect the next time we venture to the other side, we will do it by kayak. It was about 4.8 miles from our site to the far side of the wash.

Also, the water was let out for irrigation, and our big island became a peninsula for a couple days. It has now been restored to its full grandness. I think one of our kayak outings we will explore the big island.

Back to Burros, we had our first daytime sighting of them about 4 or 5 days ago, and I did take pictures, but hadn't gotten them downloaded until now, so I am also attaching a short or 2 of them. :-)

The second shot is actually right outside our door - you can see the frame in the lower left.

I think that about covers it for now, and the laundry needs hanging, so I bid you,

Adieu.

Photos of Solar

2009-11-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

(left) 3 130 Watt solar panels - 1 set doubled up and the other as a single (right) solar monitor and remote shut off (the white is just the standard furnace /ac controller that was always there)

(left) 1500 Watt inverter with breaker (just over the orange & black pack) (right) 6 X 6 Volt deep cycle batteries

We are still learning, but doing fairly well. One thing we learned today is that when the washer is running, nothing else can. (we forgot it was on and went to warm some soup. Minorly big oops. We are still in the process of getting the inverter to reset. The genny is now finishing the wash.) We never run the dryer as there is a public umbrella style clothes line, and we don't lack for quick dry au naturalle.

(BTW, the double panel looks smaller than it is because it is at a different angle than the single, but they are all 3 the same size)

I will be doing another post separately as I wanted this one dedicated.

So briefly, I bid you

Adieu

editor note:

The problem was that we blew the 30 amp fuse that protects the 1500 watt inverter. It was a $30 lesson.... Always be aware of what are heavy drawers, and know what items can't be used together.

Because the washer runs for so long and we forget when it is on, Ken and I have decided that the washer will only be run on full shore power, or on the generator.

All is well, so I bid you further

Adieu

Considerations on Solar Cost

2009-11-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the solar issue is causing a bit of interest in the blog readers.

I had a further thought that I wanted to put in out of the comments as not everyone reads comments.

I know some full timers that have use the home improvement grant or tax rebate thing that Canada has to do fix-ups on their rigs. As it is your home, it does apparently qualify. I don't know a lot about the grant or tax rebate or whatever it is, but keep your receipts if you modify a full time home, be it stationary, or mobile.

I am not sure if ours qualifies since it was done down here as I think the program is supposed to stimulate local employment, but decreasing our "carbon footprint" should be worth something, so we will see if it is claimable.

Eventually, I will look into federal programs to see what qualifies. Bug me about it in a month or so if I don't mention it shortly.

Anyway, another beautiful day beckons, so I will bid you

Adieu

Doing the Wash @ The Wash

2009-11-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

We had our first solar based night, and it went well. We were able to watch a movie before the power dropped down to 12.20 on the meter, which is the stop point for evening usage.

Once we turned the tv and dvd player off, it bounced back to 12.25. Ken had the boondocker's soak, sud, rinse and out shower, and when the pump was running it dipped back as low as 12.20. In the morning before the panels were working again, the meter had raised to 12.65 range, and by about 9:30 it was climbing well, and by 10:30 or 11, the light was flashing which means we are on "free time" as the batteries are full.

Because the batteries are new, Doug (the installer) recommended we have a couple gentle use days to establish a good charge base on the batteries. "Make them good and fat" as he put it.

However, I was in need of doing some laundry, and so I ran a load through using the generator as power. There is an umbrella clothes line that one of the neighbours has, and lets others use, so I will hang laundry whenever possible. In a week, I will be content to start laundry once the charge is topped in the morning, and there is enough day to restore any drain before the set of the sun.

The lake is down right now as it is connected to a dam which was released for irrigation. It should be restored in a couple days, but it sure looks like low tide right now. :-)

Once the laundry is out, I will try to coax Ken into a kayak run either today or tomorrow.

So far, so good with the new set up. We are content.

Also, for now, until we master lower usage methods, we appear to have used about 15 gallons of water between showering, dishes, hand washing, and black water output in one day, so it will be a daily chore to do a "honey run" until we fine tune that. On laundry days I will run the grey on its own on a separate trip.

The load is nearly done, so I will bid you

Adieu.

Solar is In !!

2009-11-19T10:46:00.002-08:00

I will write a real post tomorrow, but for now, we are back in place and enjoying that the panels have been installed.

Stay tuned as we rookie our way through this new learn curve.

For now I bid you

Adieu

Solar is In !!

2009-11-19T10:46:00.001-08:00

Defining How We Accommodate Our Boondocking

2009-11-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

By request, I am now posting details about how we are accommodating our boondock season.

As way of clarifying, we are full timers, but that is because we like to move around. That is not to say we are fans of roughing it.

That being said, where we are currently placed, with a bit of extra work, we are able to maintain a predominantly smoother form of roughing it. We are going to be here until early April to save on monthly pad and power costs.

If we leave our system as is, we can do all that needs to be done, but we will use a fair lot of diesel to maintain AC power when needed. To lighten that expense and using what would have been our afore mentioned monthly costs, we are investing in a solar set-up which can be used long term. It can provide a greater amount of flexibility even when back in Canada.

This is how we work the required resources such as water in, sewer out, and power:

Sewer is going to be the biggest challenge, as our blue boy is only 15 gallons. That being said, we wouldn't want to have one much bigger than that because the weight would be challenging to haul. Right now, I tow it behind the moped, using a heavy duty carabiner clip to attach the tow bar to its luggage rack. We have to get pneumatic tires to replace the plastic ones as the current ones can only handle a walking pace and the dump station is about 3 city blocks away.

Water in comes in 2 forms. First, at self serve water dispenser units all over Yuma, you can fill a 5 gallon jug for 50 cents (You have to be careful, as some are $1 so you need to get the right booths) For the holding tank, we have the rare fortune of picking a site that is close enough to a solitary tap that we can string out an extremely long line of hoses and top up every 3-4 days. Our tank holds about 89 gallons.

As for power, we are running 3 12 V batteries, and the 7500 W diesel generator. The generator is efficient on fuel, but it still runs into a lot of diesel over the season. We are therefore using the money we would have used on pad fees and power and some of the fuel budget to set up the rig for solar panels.

With that system, we will be able to keep the batteries, and with the aid of a good inverter (part of the package) provide our own portable AC power. It should be powerful enough to run small scale things in the evening without running the batteries down.

We also have propane which runs the water heater, the fridge and the furnace.

We will do a weekly run to Yuma for fuel and food, but other than that and an occasional outing, we hope to keep within this region for our explorations.

Well, I think that sums up our boondock processes, so I will bid you,

Adieu

More Shots of the Senator's Wash

2009-11-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet day due to the wind, but I decide to learn a bit more about my camera phone.

I am attaching 3 more shots. The panorama shot was a feature of the camera where it has you take a series of 5 shots which it guides when you are aligned for the next shot, then it compiles it into a single shot. It is actually a 180 (half circle) arc. Too cool!!

The shot with the sun beams is using an intellishot feature (or some term like that) that lets the camera think its way through the features and highlights of the shot and bring out its best prospective.

The last shot is just looking from one side of our set up across to the lake and mountains flanking the other side.

Anyway, we are about to settle down for a movie courtesy of the genset, so I will bid you

Adieu

Settling in at the Wash

2009-11-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

We have passed one night in our new site. It is a beautiful location and the quietness was broken during the night by the sounds of braying burros and baying coyotes.

Yesterday around sunset, I went down the road a small step (2 minutes by moped) and shot the phone toward the rig. I engaged the flash as I was shooting right into the sun, and by flashing the camera, you compensate for the flood of light from the sun.

When I downloaded from the camera mini card I discovered that it was an even cooler shot than I thought. If you look closely, you will see the sun to the right, the moon to the left within the sun's aura, and nestled between them is a rectangular lump representing our rig. - I had no idea that the moon was visible at the same time because the sun's brightness engulfed my view with the naked eye. I love photography!!

Around 5 this morning a very strong wind kicked up, but we are really liking it here.

I am going to step out and explore the area, so for now I will bid you,

Adieu

Quick Post on the Way to Senator Wash

2009-11-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

We went, we saw, we liked.

Our month at this location is not up until the 25th, so if we go now and decide it isn't working, there is still time to reconsider. We are chomping at the bit and eager to give it a try.

The $75 fee is actually rather like a parks Canada fee, if you want to do frequent day trips and such. The fee for long term boondocking from Sept 15 to Apr 15 is $180. Still better than monthly pad and power. (You don't have to pay the $75 if you are doing the $180)

Stay tuned...

For now I bid you

Adieu

Senator's Wash, California

2009-11-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

So far this adventure into the states has been an interesting series of events. We have managed to find a few interesting places to go, but I have to say that yesterday was a really wonderful and unexpected day.

Most of the day was just hanging out with my parents, which I haven't had a lot of chance to do in the past 3 years, they living between Yuma and their costal BC home, and we being in Alberta most of the time. It was a fantastic and relaxing day.

However, just when most people would be hitting the winding down of their day, my Mom suggested we go look at some of the lakes in the area.

For some reason which utterly escapes me, even though we stopped at the rig to pick up Midnight, I completely forgot to grab a camera (!!???!) .... I know - going to sightsee and not bring a camera, - what was SHE thinking!!! But fear not my disappointed friends all was not lost, I remembered my back up.

We decided while down here to get cell phones that would become our permanent new voice communication units, and the ones we chose were the LG en Touch which just happens to have a 3.2 megapixel camera, and with a bit of accessorizing with a $14 memory card that holds 4 Gs of shots, I was all set to use it as a downloadable alternate source of digital photography. (Although my laptop doesn't, our brother printer has card reading slots , so I use it to transfer the shots to my computer). I digress....

Somewhere past Mittry Lake, I did recall that the phone would also take pictures, so I though, what the heck, better than nothing. So I starting shooting and what a reward!

(Not bad for a cell phone, don't you think??)

Senator's Wash is just across the California border, but only about 20 minutes from Yuma. - About the same distance as Oliver is from Penticton, as last year taught us.

(The other shots from the link are as we are leaving through the Yuma Proving Grounds)

What we really liked, as you can see from the pictures, it is a beautiful area. It has an annual fee of $75, about 4 sani-dump stations, water refill station, bathroom and shower facility, and no traffic noise.

Backing up somewhat, the lake viewing outing was inspired by the knowledge that I still have this insatiable desire to actually sit in our kayaks while placed upon a calm source of water bigger than a bathtub.....

Ken and I are not generally inclined to boondocking long term, but you just can't beat the price or view. Where we are now, it is a really nice area and with friendly neighbours. The rent is inexpensive for the area, but we are RIGHT beside highway 8 and beside E South Frontage Road, and the traffic roar is quite extensive.

We are going to be making a decision about where we will spend the rest of the winter. Where we are now, it is only $260 per month plus power, but as with most places that reads the metres on their own sites and don't charge a power company hook-up fee, the rate is somewhat - shall we say, magnified?? - I believe it is going to be around 15 cents per Kwh.

One thing I have notice which has gone unnoticed by us up until now. When we connected upon our arrival, we used the 50 amp. The metre seemed to be moving rather like a hamster on a wheel. I decided since we were on 30 amp all summer, and the weather is supposed to look a whole lot kinder than last year, I would try switching to the 30 amp hook-up plug. BIG difference. The metre's wheel slowed right down.

So the new lesson is that unless your power is included, if possible, use 30 amp, you will save a lot of money on power bills. I think it might have to do with the converter that is charging the house batteries, because nothing else was different, and the change was instant.

Now, where was I....

Senator's Wash is a dry campground that overlooks a beautiful lake. What can I say, it is tempting. However, we have to consider carefully. Where we are they generally have a 5 month commitment. If we leave, we can't come back this year, and if the boondocking doesn't pan out, the other sites, if there can be vacancy found, will be closer to the $500 range for equal services.

If we do go, some of the savings can be directed toward solar panels that will help to keep the batteries charged, we brought the blue boy and would therefore have reasonable access to the sani-dumps without up-rooting the rig every few days. Drinking water is only 50 cents for 5 gallons at self-serve station around Yuma, and we can haul the rest for the holding tank. It is a bit more work, but what else are we doing besides site seeing? I can use my parents' washer and clothes line for laundry.

What can I say, decisions loom. However, we have to the 26th of the month to decide. Tomorrow we are planning to make a day of Senator's Wash and see if a little digging can reveal to us how to lean on the choice looming.

Stay tuned, but for now I bid you,

Adieu

Picasa - It's working again :-)

2009-11-11T09:10:00.001-08:00

I did a bit of figuring and looking about, I discovered that I was overdue for updating my software for Picasa. Now that I have downloaded and installed the updates, it is functioning very well, and as an added bonus, it went through all my pictures and helped me to tag my people. Too cool!!

For security sake, very few of my people shots are included in this post, but for anyone not using a web album, this is a neat way to organize.

Tags are an organizing tool that lets you use a search rather than manual scan to find a theme in your shots. Folders are a good start, but for example, if I have tagged properly (which is a bit of work at the start when you already have a lot of untagged shots to go through - but worth it) I can do a search for pictures of Aunt Bertha in Calamazoo and it will narrow the shots I need to look at to those only tagged with Aunt Bertha, and with a geotag of Calamazoo.

Anyway, since my up and downloads are now working properly, I am inserting a few shots of what I referred in my last post to pre-desert and one shot of the blimp.

Anyway, we are off to greet the day, so I will update you as I go. For now, I bid you

Adieu

Day trip to Quartzsite

2009-11-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

We decide to go on a day trip yesterday. We went for a change of scenery. We were also hopeful that we would, by chance find our Oliver neighbours in the area as we knew that it was their destination before we lost track of them.

We did also get to see the Yuma Blimp which is used, among other things, for border surveillance. You can actually see it to the north of our park site.

I didn't take any pictures as it was a fairly continuous scene of what I would call pre-desert landscape. (When I picture desert, I picture no foliage, and sand dunes) There was plenty of plant life in the area, of the arid friendly persuasion - cacti, mesquite trees, and scrub brush.

We didn't see our friends motorhome, but we did stop to see some of the stalls and shops in what I would consider to be the tourist district of Quartzsite.

What we did find out is where you can go if you are extremely tight budgeted and want to do snowbirding. You would have to be set up as boondock friendly as there are no hook-ups, but for $40 short term, and $180 for a season, you can land in the middle of nowhere with several thousand of your closest friends. The site just south of Quartzsite on highway 95 on the left side is the only landing area with a dumping station and water refill that is included in the fee. (I think it is the second host station on the left, but it is the one that also has a host station across the highway on the right). It is called La Posa.

The town is appropriately named as it is the region that harvests a wide range of beautiful stones and rocks which when polished radiate a beauty worthy of jewelry.

Unfortunately, I am not much for jewelry, and having very limited space, I would have nowhere to put any treasures.

I am also still experiencing great difficulties with my Picasa web photo program, and am therefore limited in my ability to download and upload. (I am hoping that my archived posts are not experiencing problems because of it.)

Anyway, for now, I am going to head out on another day to see what it holds.

So I will bid you

Adieu.

Update on Genset - by request.

2009-11-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

My post entitled "On The Road" has brought a reminder that I was going to give an update on our new genset, the DP7500RDS.

We have had several opportunities to use it since our purchase of it, not least of which being when Ken's daughter's home town had a blow-up of their college's independent power station (upon whose grid they were attached).

In that situation, we drove the truck over and cranked it over (a simple turn of the inserted key and turn it starts) and then in her case, we simply plugged a regular extension cord in to cool their fridge back down, and restore a bit of order to the more vital low power items in the house.

It ran steadily for 4 - 6 hours, and still only used about 1/2 a tank. (If memory serves me correctly)

I wouldn't call it a whisper noise level, still, for a diesel it is acceptably quiet, being no worse in my estimation than your average gas model.

We have also used it to power the rig on 30 amp service when in Bellevue where our site of choice is without power on site. It was able to run as much as we normally can on 30 amp - microwave can't run with heaters, for example.

The third use we have had for it was to run Ken's welders when working on various projects and repairs. Again it has preformed as hoped and expected.

All with the great fuel economy that you can expect from a diesel, and with the lower maintenance level that is also common with diesel engines.

I would definitely give it a great score and would not reconsider our purchase, in retrospect.

Ken is running it using synthetic oil as he finds it improves performance and increases the fuel economy.

(Coal, I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if I can give other details.)

With that, I bid you,

Adieu

Too Funny.... Vehicular Repair!

2009-10-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't do this often, but there is a website called thereifixedit.com that I check in on. It updates as submissions come in. I giggle at some of the "Red Green Show" wanna be repairer there are out there, but this one positively takes the cake in my books!!

Maybe the mopeds aren't so bad afterall .... LOL

Settled In, In Yuma AZ

2009-10-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

We left Mohave Valley on Monday October 26, and headed south. We were told to take highway 95. For those unfamiliar with the area, the key to deciphering this directive is to understand that there are 2 highway 95s in about a 20 to 40 mile radius.

We assumed, since we were bound for an Arizona destination, that it was logical that they meant the Arizona 95. It is distinctly likely that they indeed meant the I-95 through California. They both run close to their respective borders of each other. On our way to Mohave Valley, we took about a 20 mile stretch of the California side, and found a unique form of highway - 1 lane per direction, in the middle of desert with scrubland type foliage, and they laid the asphalt on whatever ripple the sand had formed at the time of paving. The result was a road that looked like it was designed based on a still photo of the rolling ocean waves on a not so still day.

Based on this knowledge, we assumed that we would be better taking the Arizona 95. To be accurate on the assessment, it was a decent road a bit under maintained in a few places, but overall, not bad. The biggest issue was the city of Lake Havasu. It is a sprawling city for a smaller one, and the traffic lights are, hmmm, shall we say choreographed to display in a lovely array of colours, times such that you weren't bored with a consistent monotone of green.....

Not good when you are towing a 36 foot behemoth and needing to build some speed on the hillier sections.

Also, there was a bridge near Parker Dam that was being resurfaced, reducing the traffic to single alternating flow, with a traffic light determining when it was appropriate to proceed.

It was a lovely drive aside from the traffic lights, and with the damming of the river, there are nice lakes to enjoy.

Nonetheless, I think the return will be via the I-95 in California. We do have a modification to make in our cargo before that time. Unfortunately our new mopeds have encountered significant damage from the trip - especially one that has a "torn to the bone" seat rip, a cracked crank case cover, the speedometer cable ripped off the wheel connection, the foot peg bent significantly, and a bit of superficial denting on the gas tank and such.

Speedometer cable detached from wheel

Bent foot peg Cracked crank case cover

torn seat and bent from its clip

The biggest part of that problem was caused by their location at the extreme rear of the trailer. If you picture a teeter-totter, the most movement in the up down motion is naturally at the ends, so when bouncing down these undulating roads, the motion is magnified by their location at the very end. We are going to devise a more protective mode of carrying them, but now we need to do repairs.

If you are looking at rigs to buy, keep this detail about rear bounce in mind. Some rigs have neat looking configurations with kitchens in the rear, but knowing this bounce factor, be aware it does the same to your cupboards, but I digress...

We are now spending a couple days getting oriented and set up. We are hoping to be better at the tourist thing than we were last year in the Okanagan. The weather shouldn't interfere as much as it did last year, but that being said, having arrived Monday, Tuesday ended with the arrival of a sandstorm. It wasn't blinding, but it was like a moderate fog visability level.

We have had a couple nights dipping to the 40's F, but the coolest day was in the 60's.

I will load a few more pictures as soon as my Picasa starts behaving again. For now, I will bid you,

Adieu

Oatman AZ

2009-10-25T21:04:00.001-07:00

We are moving on down to Yuma tomorrow, but we wanted to take in at least one sight locally before we move on.

We were told about Oatman, just up the far side of the road we were on, which merges with the famous historical highway, Route 66.

So off we went, and it was a really neat town that has obviously switched its focus on being a living ghost town. Apparently, it used to be a gold mining town, and it has a very Barkerville-ish flavour to it. It is basically 2 blocks, flanking Route 66 that have a variety of shops, general stores, restaurants, and the lure to the town, free ranging burros. I'm not sure if they are wild, but they are socialized. We wandered into one nick-nack shop and discovered a 4 month old colt burro grazing at the check-out. He bore a sticker on his forehead warning patrons not to feed him carrots as he is too young to chew them properly, and is at risk of choking on them.

Before we left, there was a shoot-out skit performed by locals, as well as a "hitchin' " of a visitor couple.

It was an interesting place to stop, and with all old towns of this persuasion, there are tons of options for souvenirs, including the sepia toned western shots that are so popular in western atmosphered locals.

(The down and uploading is still slow, hence the link. As an aside, the bird at the start of the album set is a fellow by the name of River the Road Runner, who frequents the park, and is relatively tame, enough to beg for scraps. So as for this RV park, I guess you could say, " A River Runs Through It") If you missed it, it is a play on a movie title.... but I digress...

Anyway, it is getting late, and we are striking out tomorrow, so I will bid you,

Adieu

Sand Storm and Other Details

2009-10-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

I finally have an unlimited use of internet and so have a lot of shots that have really wanted to come your way.

I have missed telling a minor, but rather new to us experience - Just after we left Vegas and were headed south just past the turn off for those no longer welcome on the Hoover Dam.

In the distance, we saw what looked like a dust trail raised by a vehicle speeding down a dirt side road, as you can see...

We approached, and discovered something a bit different than it originally appeared to be ....

That was actually a less obscured part of the dust storm, but it only lasted about 1/2 a mile at most. Canada has two versions that are less ground and more humidity. We call them either Pea Soup Fog or White Out Snow Storms. :-)

As for the rest of the missing links, in my assorted travels, I found by the upload of these two that although free, the connection is also slow.

I have therefore decided to do the picture show by links.

The pictures that would have made this a nice and colourful posting are instead showing here. Please let me know if the links fail.

You will notice that I am taking more pictures on a diagonal framing. I am only using a simple Sony Cybershot 5.0. It is actually rather an amazing camera considering it is the modern day version of the instant cameras that were so popular in the film era. It is slowly failing, mostly in the shutter cover opening, but also a bit in being a still shooter or video shooter when the opposite was requested. Be that as it may, I discovered that if I took the diagonal shot, I could then crop it into awesome panoramic shots which I rather like, I must say. :-) But I digress.....

I got a window seat on the return flight from Victoria. The trip was over a lot of cloudscapes, but some of that in itself was rather picturesque. The seat monitor when on the right channel, displayed periodic GPS mappings of the flights, so I sometimes took a shot of the GPS followed by what was out the window at the time, just for kicks.

I have come to really enjoy the look of the mountains in the Bellevue area, and the last time I was there, they had their first blanket of snow for the season. It added a whole new beauty to the summer's pleasurable scenery.

These are the shots of the trip from Alberta to Arizona. It took 4 days to get here, as mentioned in earlier posts, and we are still looming on relocation to Yuma.

Time will tell what adventures lie ahead. The neat thing about our current location is that for example, today, we were in Arizona, California, Arizona, Nevada, Arizona, back to Nevada, and back into Arizona for purposeful outings, and all before noon, with a 9:30 start. Not many places you can cover so much territory in so little time.

Anyway, with so much travel under our belts in a single day, what can I say? I'm tire!

So my dear friends, I will bid you,

Adieu

Landed For The Month

2009-10-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Some time very soon I shall download my trip shots, sort and share them, but for now, this is what I have for you.

As a brief break down of the journey, this is our summary of motion:

Oct 17, we left Bellevue at 11:30 am, heading for Couttes and on down to Arizona. We stopped at Great Falls, Montana at around 6:30 pm at the Flying J. (We chose Flying Js for all the stops as it feels safer to be surrounded by other RVs and trucking rigs)

Oct 18, we headed out at 9:40. The notable and time consuming stop was in Blackfoot where we picked up a couple cell phones. The plan is much more gentle on the pocketbook than the Canadian plans, and can be used in Canada at no extra cost. However, the stop probably ate up a good 2 hours in commuting time. We finally called it a night around 6:50 at McCammon, Idaho.

Oct 19, we left at around 9:40 again (purely coincidental, as we have decide that we are not going to have an agenda, but go when we are ready, and stop when we are tired. It works for us, but I digress....) and continued on our way. The third night was in St. George, Utah arriving at 6:30.

Oct 20, we started early as there was a refrigeration truck running all night, and we were awake and ready to go by 8:50 am. We hit quite a slew of states that day. We were in Utah, briefly Arizona, Nevada, briefly California, and finally back in Arizona. We are now at Mohave Valley half way between Needles California and Bullhead City Arizona. We arrived around 12:45 yesterday afternoon.

I like the location, but we will move on next month as we are needing to find a location that is supported by Verizon so we can use our tether for internet. When it is in a service area, it is an awesome deal, with 5 G data usage for only $9.99 on top of the usual cell cost. That way, we have the security of our own network instead of wi-fi hot spots.

I will elaborate now on a few highlights.

First, a rhetorical question: Is there any part of the western states that isn't a continuous up hill climb???

From the time we crossed into Montana, we were going almost unnoticeably up hill. However, being the mule pulling the 17,000 pounds of home we live in, we found it quite noticeable. We definitely crossed some very noticeable climbs as well, but truly, they are wonderfully laid out - wide lanes, double highway, gentle curves, and in general not anything like the frightening Kicking Horse Pass and Rogers Pass of the Canadian Rockies.

Ogden Utah. What can I say but wow. To clarify, not Ogden's fault, but our beloved GPS (for those familiar with the occasional misguidings these devices are capable of, you already have a tingling of fear for the nightmare looming, but I digress...) we programmed it to take us to the Truck Stop of Flying J for refueling as we didn't want to deal with Salt Lake City. (More on that later...)

.... and so we faithfully followed the directions and wove our way into downtown Ogden - towing the 36 foot 5th - to what we discovered was the Corporate Headquarters for Flying J. Didn't know it was based there, probably would have found it to be neat trivia info, and for what it was worth, was a really nice building complex.....

However, the weave back out of the hilly, highly intersected, and under extensive road construction, city took us to highway 89 south and finally reconnected us to I15 south - with no following stop for fuel that we were comfortable with until after Salt Lake City. We made it to Springville and refueled, just as the low fuel warning alarm went off.

We are not generally big city friendly, and Calgary Alberta was the largest Ken had conquered, and under heavy guidance from his navigator. We didn't have to turn off, but nonetheless were quite aware of the 6 lanes buzzing around us, and for what extensive distance it covered.

Vegas was another BIG city, and we did have to do some highway changes on it, but all was well, and it actually was less scary than Salt Lake City, believe it or not.

Anyway, I am behind on laundry and house cleaning, having not had power or ability to open slides for 4 days, so I will bid you,

Adieu

Making A Break For The Border

2009-10-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Oct 17, 2009

Well, we got a slow start out as we slept poorly until about an hour before dawn. We were up functionally by 10 am, and finished dumping and prep, getting us on the road by 11:30. We stopped briefly in Pincher Creek as we needed some items that aren’t that different in price than what Canada pays, and we wanted to postpone using the US travellers cheques.

We hit Lethbridge by 2pm, and crossed the slow but friendly border at Couttes at 3:12. We stopped briefly at Conrad as the fuel was down to 1/8^th (wind and an nearly steady gentle incline ate fuel rather gluttonishly) and then continued down the I 15 to Great Falls, Montana where we bunked at the Flying J. We arrived around 5:50, but took some time fueling, adding some water to the holding tank, and then waited for a double parked tour bus from Alberta to get out of the RV designated spots. (Small vent of steam, and 20 minutes of running the engine waiting for the eminent departure, but I digress)

The spaces were tights, so we weren’t able to put out the slides, but the price was right. The weather again was beautiful, but as mentioned before, fairly windy.

Tomorrow, we anticipate get as far, perhaps, as Idaho Falls / Blackfoot, but time will tell. It is a bit exciting, and completely into the realm of the unknown.

I must prepare dinner in our scrunched in kitchen, so for now, I will bid you,

Adieu.

Snowed In

2009-10-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

(More catch up...)

October 16, 09

We were snowed in on the 14^th when we planned to leave Three Hills, but our travelling companions were faring now better in Brooks, so we all hunkered down where we were, and struck out the next day for our appointed destinations.

They went to Taber, then continued on to Milk River. We headed for Bellevue for our truck tweaks – new tires and a modification on the engine exhaust break to allow it to function more reliably.

The roads were clear, the weather was grand (at long last) and we made excellent time. We left at 12:30 as we wanted to ensure the roads were heated, and we had a series of good byes to attend. We arrived by 4:30 and dropped off Spirit at the tire shop so they could start on the tires first thing in the morning.

As always we had a great visit with our Bellevue friend, and then settled in for the evening.

We have, however encountered a significant alteration to the travel plans. Our Milk River rendez-vous was squashed by the ailing health of one of their family members. It went from them sitting on the border chomping at the bit to cross, but waiting for us, to them blazing off to Saskatchewan for an undefined duration.

We now have to go it alone, but we are boldly going forward.

In the meantime, the truck should have both alterations completed by the day’s end, and we are also using Smokey to go to Sparwood, BC to renew the bike’s insurance. (They aren’t switched to AB yet, and so need a BC renewal until we can find the location and currency to pay for the out of province inspections required to make them Albertan.

Hopefully, tomorrow we will be able to head East on Highway 3, South on Highway 4, and then head on across to I 15. My Mother has estimated that it might take us 6 days, so we might up the travel length. We are nonetheless, sticking to the day travel plan. We have our full time home with us, so we have no rush to get anywhere. We will take it easy and see where our travels take us.

It is somewhat exciting to take on the unknown. But with that, the errands call so I will bid you,

Adieu.

Flash Back To Oliver

2009-10-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2009

(I've been off line while traveling, and writing offline to keep up . We're back on and catching up)

The adventures of flashbacks are not so worthy of revisiting, but nonetheless, a major portion of today. The primary reminder was that especially in the sub zero climates, one must remember to keep the valves closed on the black/grey. We had diligently been tending the tanks, but the last flush forgot to reseal the valves.

Fortunately, the basement was kept sufficiently warm that no tank was endangered, however, the part of the sewer line that was outside the containment of the rig, and all the cheap blue sewer line was a solid block.

We managed to use a heat gun to free up the connectors, then a parabolic heater to soften the PVC style piping, and finally a couple hours later, we put some RV antifreeze down the black tank, and it finally freed the contents.

Did I mention how eager we are to get down south???

Oh the joys of an early start to winter in Alberta. I was told by many locals that it won’t last, and that nicer weather will return. I am happy for them to be sure, but will still be making a break for the border at next opportunity!!

And now, I bid you,

Adieu.

Brrrr, I hear the South Calling!!

2009-10-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

The temperature around here has been holding around -8 to -12 C which is just depressing for those who don't want to do winters anymore (and truth be told, not too inspiring for those who by choice or necessity are fixed either!!)

In spite of the cold, we did get another round of holding tank water today, have gone through another 30 lbs of propane, and are anticipating at least one more filling of it before we can leave.

We are needing to get the blue truck back from its tweaking, and see if we can get a dealer to take it off our hands, then rush back to get the rig to get the utility trailer landed, and batten down the 5th for a road move to Bellevue again. We plan to leave on Wednesday as we have tires to replace and another tweak for the engine exhaust brake before we depart.

With grace for The Almighty, we are hoping to cross the border on the 16th via the Lethbridge crossing route, and get our buts down to a respectable climate. Internet will be sporadic until we arrive in Mohave Valley, but we will see what the roads and situations bring.

We did get the kayaks on the roof, and removed all that we want to take with us out of the utility trailer and the camper. By the time we finished the tying down process, the wind and chill was stepping it up a notch, and I took a bit to thaw my paws when I got in the 5th.

There are 3 full timers left here, and all are only being held here by unavoidable commitments. We mutually agree that it is high time to hit the road!!

It wouldn't be quite as bad if it weren't for the cut off of the water. That little detail adds a level of discomfort that is high on our list of put to the tail and not look back.

The forecast says that it will warm again by around Thursday, but that date seems to have the Tantalus affect as each day we approach it, it shifts a day out. Originally, yesterday was to be the transition to warmer, but it seems no closer. I remember going through this same postponement when in Oliver last year ...... but I digress

Anyway, the time is drawing closer for the start of the next grand adventure. We shall see how it all unfolds. We are a constant example of how life is what happens while you are busy making plans!!

With that, I will bid you

Adieu.

Back From Victoria

2009-10-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

I returned from Victoria on Oct 6 in preparation for the pending drop in temperature. The town of Three Hills shut the water off in the RV park on Oct 5 because the fellow who does the line clearing was going in for back surgery, so they shut it early.

Because of this, the local hardies filled their fresh water holding tanks, and battened down the hatches.

My flight arrived at just before 4 pm and we headed home. The winds were already kicking up a ruckus, and the temperature dropped.

The next morning we set to getting the kayaks off the camper roof and temporarily set them under the rig. Ken has since put a hole in each of the suction cups of the roof racks. The cups aren't needed for holding, only providing a gentle surface to rest the kayaks on when on the rubber roof. When I took them off to put them on the camper, they pulled the rubber up a bit. Not enough to damage, but enough to tell me that they need an air release.

When the weather breaks (presumably Sunday) we will move them up to the 5th roof. The camper is going to Bellevue for the winter, the utility trailer will go to a local shop where it will be safe, and with any luck, the blue truck will be gone. If that comes to be, I will let you know how and what. Failing that, the blue one will stay with Ken's daughter to ensure that it is run now and then.

By Wednesday we are hoping to head south, then we will get a couple of tweaks done on the white truck, and haul on out of here!!

When we pull out of here, we will be dependent on hotspots until we get to Mojave Valley, so my check ins may not be too regular.

On that note, I will bid you

Adieu.

Mid Point Report

2009-10-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

I have been in Victoria since Wednesday morning. Ken, Midnight and I got up at zero dark hundred hours (4:55 am for more precision minded people). Midnight assumed that we were just on washroom stops and ignored the activity in his sleep space.

He was very shocked (and somewhat blurry eyed) when I called him for fence watering detail, and then immediately headed back to bed like all decent members of the household should do ..... His humans were not being compliant with the code of decency, and started donning outerwear.

He did get in the truck, and promptly curled up and passed out (there is just no understanding the foolish behaviors of these humans!!)

My flight took off on time (8:00 am mountain time) and on target, and by 8:15 (pacific time) I was walking down the arrivals gangplank calling Ken to assure him of my safe arrival. He himself had just walked in the door. His adventure was much greater than mine as the construction crews of the northeastern end of Calgary did their level best to confuse Ken's poor GPS, and he wound up detouring out past Bisiker Ab, on Highway 9. (Fortunately, once there, it was on the route we came in - though it was completely dark at that time).

The next day I attended the funeral of Mom Olson. It was a beautifully done service, and I feel she was well honoured. (Still not grasping that she really is gone. It just doesn't seem real).

It was a quite evening at home with Mom and Aunty. We had to go 2-1/2 hours north on Friday, and I then doubled back with a spare vehicle to allow for Dad and I to commute and get about independently.

On the way back I picked up my boys and we came home to my parents place. We had a game night with my Dad, and then called it a night.

Tomorrow, the boys and I are heading north again to attend my Uncle's informal memorial gathering. Then, we three plus Mom will head back so the boys can get home in time for getting ready for school in the morning.

I am still hoping to go to my old workplace to check in with former coworkers, have a visit with my wonderful friends who picked me up at the airport, go to see Dad Olson and visit with his daughter, my dear friend who shared her parents with me, and see if I can squeeze in any other visits before I fly Wednesday evening.

In the meantime, apparently my poor puppy is moping about forlorn and wondering where Mommy is. He is still eating and drinking and following Daddy about, but he has lost his bounce. We tried putting the cell on speaker to see if he would recognize my voice, but to no avail. He just sits in my chair sadly. Just 4 more days, and Ken is bringing him to the airport when he picks me up.

Nothing reminds you how close you are to people and critters like a time away. Glory too has gone into hiding, only materializing to eat, and drink (and undo same). Ken is keeping busy, but is looking forward to Wednesday too. I am thrilled to see the boys who are doing very well, really happy to see the home turf crew and sundry, am still numb over the missing souls that spawned this trip, but I am also missing my home crew.

The part that I am not missing though is the weather that has descended upon my poor group back in Three Hills. Snow is threatening to fall, and the temperatures are definitely bypassing appropriate autumn norms. This is aggravated by the fact that just before the chill set in, we were "suffering" from unseasonable warms, reaching the high 20's and even 30 C (up to 86 range in F).

With any luck, I will attach a decent round of pleasant Autumn weather to my suitcase and bring it home with me.

We still aren't certain if we are indeed going to Arizona, but are dearly hoping to. If not, Osoyoos or Duncan might find us landing. Time will tell.

Anyway, it is late, so I will bid you,

Adieu

Keeping You Afoot

2009-09-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't much new to add for now, except that we are getting ready to get ready.

Autumn has definitely landed, and the full timers are cleaning, and prepping for their departure, and us with them.

Midnight is recovering well from his dislocated shoulder, Glory continues to do occasional break outs, but reassures us with constant return to home base no matter where it may be. (The last one was in Bellevue, and she wandered into the yard as we were packing as if to say, "I'm back, is it time to go?") We are trying to discourage the outings, but it does comfort us to know that she knows all the home base vehicles and trailers.

I have 2 shifts left at the hotel, and then I have to go to Victoria to attend the funerals of 2 beloved people who died from the same malady, with completely different situations.

I am still pulling my thoughts together about my Uncle. I will tell you about the man he was in a later post. Suffice it to say (for now) that he will be greatly missed and although I didn't see him too much in recent years, I remember his influence and his presence with fondness.

When I return, we will relocate the roving acre to Bellevue area for a short while before we head south.

That sums my spinning thoughts for now, so I bid you,

Adieu

For Facebook Readers of this blog...

2009-09-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

My facebook account has been requesting id confirmation, and it wants me to give my birthdate. I remember only that I didn't give it my real one, so I am hung. I will try to figure it out, but any comments you put on my facebook link to these posts I can't access.

Please come directly to the blog by clicking this link to LIFEONOURARK.BLOGSPOT.COM and leave your comments there. Otherwise, I am without access to your thoughts.

Thanks folks. I now bid you,

Adieu

(Editor note: I finally got in.)

Meandering Thoughts

2009-09-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

There have been a few goings on in my personal world that are definitely high on the sadness scale, and the season has provided its share of downs.

As noted, my Grandmother passed away late this summer, and a dear friend / maternal mentor who was also mentioned as ailing has now departed.

I also have a beloved uncle now counting his days and I am still trying to formulate all my thoughts and memories of him as I prepare to loose his presence too.

On top of that, another person I know is counting days on her father-in law's time here. Fortunately, surgery has slowed the cancer's progress, but not so fortunately, it hasn't completely removed the threat, just postponed the end. It does, however provide the chance to do a not so glorious version of The Bucket List.

I just am amazed how much can land at one time. It seems I will need to go to Victoria when my shifts are finished here in Three Hills, as that is the vicinity where my two beloved people are found. One funeral is tentatively on Oct 2, and if I am really fortunate, I will be able to say good bye to the other. That is what I would like most. I didn't get that opportunity with the others I have lost this year.

Outside of the sorrowful vein my life is currently tracking, things are continuing in a progressive direction. We are finalizing our health insurance, getting the critters' shots up to date, making plans about the vehicles and sundry to store the ones staying behind from the southward journey, ensured all plates, insurances, stickers, and information is up to date and covered for the duration of our time out of country.

We had a really good visit with Ken's father, and friends in the area. We are needing to go to Bellevue again, and look forward to time with our friend there.

When we arrived in Cereal, Midnight - eager to not be left in the truck, leaped out from the seat, and landed hard. Shortly after that I noticed that he wouldn't weight-bear on the right front leg, - not even put the paw down. Then he started panting when the temperature wasn't that hot - a sure sign of shock.

I decided it was best to take him to the vet just for safety sake. They were very accommodating, and I was able to bring him in almost right away.

It took some effort to diagnose his injury as he didn't whine or whimper when they palpated and manipulated the injured limb (The vet said if it was him, he surely would have bitten someone over the forced movement). The vet did detect a bit or inappropriate movement of the humorous at the shoulder, and observed that the right front leg was slightly shorter than the left.

He was given a muscle relaxant, but later upgraded to a mild sedative - not enough to knock him out like for surgery, but enough to really make him groggy and relaxed.

Once that was accomplished they reset the shoulder joint which he has dislocated. They kept him overnight to ensure the the bone stayed in the socket.

Midnight is only mildly limping now but has an oral anti-inflammatory drug to get him over it. He should completely recover.

Now we are noticing that his muzzle is bothering him as he is constantly rubbing on the carpet/lawn, and sometimes licking his lips with a focus that indicates irritation. I took a look at his mouth, and a few of the stitches have not dissolved, one with a particularly bulky knot right where he is licking most.

I carefully clipped the bulk of the knot off to reduce the irritation, but tomorrow while I am sleeping off the night shift, Ken is going to take him back to the Three Hills vet to have them remove any residual stitching that remains.

Glory has spent the last couple weeks trying to explore the great outdoors. She broke away one night when we were taking Midnight for a last constitutional, and spent the whole night outside. (Leaving me inside-out with worry).

She came home feeling like an adventurous wild cat, and proceeded to request for the next 2 nights at 9 pm precisely, that she should not be denied her right to explore. I disagreed, and as I can operate the door and she can't, .... I won.

She did it again about a week later, and this time, actively avoided capture so as to accomplish full night exploration. I think that with a combination of attention when behaving, and squirts with a spray bottle when the door is even remotely a focal point, we are making great progress in curtailing the intent to explore.

The up side is that when she does go for a leave of absence (or should I say she is Away Without Leave), she definitely knows where home is, and is solidly certain that she belongs to it. We will be watching her closely as we change her scenery!!

Anyway, night duties call so I will bid you,

Adieu

Survey Says.....

2009-09-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well, feedback was minimal, but I did work with it, and the surrounding areas and we are going to try Mojave Valley, Moon River RV Resort, and possibly Castle Rock Shores Resort in Parker.

They have reasonable rates, and Moon River is advertising coverage of half your electrical bill.

I still am working on the logistics of medical and vehicular insurance. I was strongly advised to add underinsured to the policy as apparently, in some states, insurance is optional, and being hit by one of those increases the chaos of accidents to nightmarish levels.

We have an excellent place to store the utility trailer, and are still hoping to thin the truck fleet by 1 before departure, but failing that, it will stay with Ken's Three Hills daughter.

Before I go, I promised some shots of Midnight's new found activities :-)

Resting while guarding the treasure Bringing treasure home triumphantly :-)

Modelling my new sweater from Silvia ......... What is she doing in my sweater??!!!

Casual in my condo

The sun is shining and for now, I will bid you

Adieu.

Inquiring minds....

2009-09-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know there are a some followers of this blog, so in a manner of speaking, this is kind of a test probe.

We are now 1/4 through September (how that happened, I am still puzzling over, but I digress....).

I am committed to my job until the end of this month, but we are still pondering the options of where to winter. (I had one vote for Campbell River, but I am thinking a bit south of there. The island isn't totally off the list though)

We are seriously looking at Arizona, but have absolutely no personal experience with the journey or options. I have been looking at Mojave Valley, Parker, Yuma, Salome, and have come up utterly overwhelmed with my inability to truly get down deep into meeting the criteria we are considering of value.

And so I come to you wonderful folks, and am seeking any thoughts you might have to influence or warn, or what have you.

We basically are looking for warm, snowless, friendly, near water, as much included in hook-up as possible (We expect to be paying for power, but would be pleasantly pleased if not). Wi-fi is critical as we currently use a Canada only aircard (It would work in the States, but the roaming charges would be outrageous).

We still would like to launch and become familiar with our kayaks. Walking paths would be nice, and a lap friendly pool would be delightful. We are hoping to have a pad fee in the low to mid $300 monthly range, and we might bring the camper/truck so we can do small scale overnight explorations, so parking for 2 vehicles might be a consideration. (And of course, pet friendly is critical)

We don't want a big city, but something that is big enough for Walmart style shopping within 20 minute drive would be appreciated.

On the other hand, if we stay in Canada, we want Not Oliver(bad memories), reasonably warm, and priced in an affordable range, so not directly in the lower mainland or Victoria area.

So hey, let's have fun with this. What do you suggest??

Awaiting your replies, and at this time bidding you

Adieu

Fun Little Happy Sideline

2009-09-03T23:03:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, I was taking it easy and doing some reading. I am on day 2 of a 4 stretch of night audits (which followed 2 on, 1 off) and day sleeping is never easy - even when everyone including the camp host goes out of their way to accommodate it.

So I was sitting in the living room and glance over as I hear a critter initiated noise.

Up until now, we thought that Midnight was one of those dogs who never learned to play. I had bought him some teddy tug toys and a bag of ping pong ball sized squeaky tennis balls, but never got much attention from him over them.

I figured the noise must have been Glory as she sometimes gets hyper bursts of energy. To my surprise, Midnight had found one of the tennis balls and was knocking it about a bit. He then grabbed it and jumped to the back of the couch, released it, and chased it down before it hit the ground.

So apparently not playing was on account of an uncomfortable mouth. He is nearly healed now, but a bit of the stitches haven't fully dissolved yet, so he is still a bit careful.

It is such a delight to see the amount of enthusiasm he exhibits. He was always a +++ on the greeter scale, but now if it is possible, he is so much happier and energetic. Never under estimate the affect of good oral health on the well being of the whole animal!! :-)

With that and the promise to try to capture the moment on digital imagery, I bid you

Adieu.

Progressions in the Utility Trailer

2009-09-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been a whole lot of goings on lately, but it has been a nice calm stretch. Sometimes, that is as good as an adventure.

Ken has finally put up enough shelving to get the bins off the floor, and he is very pleased to finally have floor space, and the ability to use the tools that line the walls. Up until now, there has been so much clutter in the centre isle that it was impossible to use them, and you couldn't find anything.

As September steps into the limelight, we are still pondering our destination this winter. Due to the sadness and bitter taste left with the departure and means thereof of our former crewpup, Max, Oliver is not on the list of considerations. That and most of our fellow snowbirds of last year are not going, so there is no familiarity of that place.

The part that went unposted due to the hurt it caused was the means of "disposal". We had to leave for Nelson the day after he departed, and so came back a week later to settle the bill. As we live in an RV, we didn't feel we could keep or give due respect to him, so we asked for them to deal with his final placement.

When Ken asked what they did, he was shocked and sickened to hear that they froze him for 3 days to ensure he was gone, then sent him to the landfill site with the regular garbage. Needless to say we can't easily consider returning to a place that has so little respect for a family member! :-(

Sorry for the digression. It still boils the blood a bit, but back on track,....

If we venture across the border, we are considering a number of locations. We have heard good and bad about just about every potential site, and are a bit overwhelmed with all the options.

There have been several suggestions like Yuma, Phoenix, Salome, but the one that is most intriguing right now is Lake Havasue.

On the other hand, if we stay in Canada, the quandary still falls under where is warm enough, but still not as expensive as the lower mainland? Last year, the heating cost was quite high, and that alone might be enough consideration to drive us to the deep south.

There still is time, but it is getting closer all the time to a final decision being required, especially since we need to get the extended health, and bump the insurance to include under insured accident coverage as many states have insurance as optional.

It is often the little incidents that can break the bank when going south. We don't want to be unprepared if we do go.

Anyway, I must get on with the day, so I bid you

Adieu

Impressions on the Carpet

2009-08-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am not a product endorsement page, and I surely don't want to come across as an infomercial, however, I have to say I was so impressed with a cleaning product that I just have to suggest it for anyone dealing with stains.

It started innocently enough, I was making BBQ chicken for dinner, and was opening a new bottle of a pineapple something marinating sauce. It had the plastic shrink wrapped lid cover which I struggled with for a bit and finally conquered. I then went to shake it as one would do for flavour blending. The lid had been twisted loose under the plastic, and 2 rapid shakes had quite the affect!!! As the sauce was a lovely brownish red hue, and the carpet is a lovely beige bur-bur, the result was, hmmm, lets go with noticable, shall we,.....

(I started to clean before I decided that a before / after would be good, but it went from the fridge to the stairs!!)

So I took out the liquid I have been pleased with in the past. It is sold in pet stores and I sometimes see it in places like Canadian Tire. It comes in a white bottle with red letters, and is called Nature's Miracle, from a company Pets 'N People Inc which is a subsidiary of 8 in 1 Pet Products.

(Glory doing her best Vanna White impression)

I soaked down the spill (which wasted no time in absorbing into the carpet fibres) and then I took a rag and with determined hopefulness, started rubbing the spots. It lifted with little effort. I did apply a second round and used a fresh rag, but the results can't be argued, I'd say!

All I can say, is WOW! (BTW, I also splashed a bit of sauce on the shirt, and it worked on it too - a pink cotton t-shirt)

In past, I also used it on a coffee stain on the same carpet. I discovered the stain when I moved Ken's chair, and it was about the size of a cd. I have no idea the vintage, but long enough ago to be long dry. Again, no mark remains.

Anyway, I'm off to fill a day with random activities. If anything notable comes of it, I'll let you know :-)

Until then, I bid you

Adieu

Swalwell, and Sundre

2009-08-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

We had a couple slow days where we just pottered. On Sunday we decided around 3 pm to leave base camp Three Hills, and check out a nearby watering hole for its potential for finally launching the kayaks. (It could happen, I'm still hopeful...)

We headed south on highway 21 and turned west toward Swalwell. It was an interesting small body that was great for the calmness of the water, but we were puzzled as to where one would launch 2 kayaks at 11 feet long each. The entire shore was fairly steep, and mostly surrounded by bullrushes. I actually forgot to get a shot of the whole lake because we were diverted by an awesome site of an owl who was about 2 feet tall who swooped alongside the truck. It landed only a few feet away in a nearby tree.

I did manage to catch him perched, and then on the back swing, got him in the rushes and bushes on the opposite shore. In the following 3 shots, I have highlighted where he is in the shot. He was a beautiful sight.

You might be able to see him better if you click and enlarge the shots. He is in all 3, honest :-) I did enhance him in the pictures, but he is, after all meant for camouflage...

He also led us to meeting a wonderful couple fishing by the water's edge. In all, it was a really nice outting with a surprisingly pleasant encounter with new friends. In the RVing world, the encounters just have that affect on a person. The meetings are random, often short, but leave a wonderful impression on you, and causing you to look forward to the next path crossing with someone never before known, but welcome anytime :-)

Yesterday was more of an arranged crossing. We drove out to Sundre to visit with another couple we met in Oliver. They are hosting the campground in the area for the summer. We had a great visit, learned a few new things about the eternal issue of communications on the move, and then headed home. It is always great to connect with old friends. (If that lead goes anywhere, I will embellish at a later date)

Today is the exciting task of laundry and house work, then prep for 2 night shifts. On that note, I will bid you

Adieu

Critter Update

2009-08-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

FYI, Midnight (AKA: Gums, or Gummy Bear) is adjusting very well to his modified mouth.

His energy level is increased (..a common concern in toy poodles....NOT) in a positive way, and he is even occasionally trying to steal some hard kibble from Glory's dish when eyes are turned.

Glory is now trying to initiate games of tag and such with him, so all in all, I'd say life is establishing normalcy.

Once again, life calls so again,

Adieu

Body Work on Mack

2009-08-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

For those who follow my meandering through this blog, you may recall that earlier this spring I decided to dive in with both feet and do a fiberglass repair on the Ark. At that time I eluded to the dent of Mack being next on the list.

I finally found that rare moment where weather, location, timing, and supplies (not to mention just plain gumption) aligned, and with ring and watch removed this time (forgotten last time, but with a little scrubbing they were back to shiny), and appropriate grubbies donned - I took the plunge and into the bondo I went.

As a backgrounder, on the maiden journey of the Ark - that would be the towing of it from the dealership (not even saved for the first active usage) we cornered too tightly in what looked like an amply large turning space in the driveway. Fortune was with us however, and the rear window (with electric slide and UV tinting just for added cost factor) was spared the agony of partaking in the dent created when 5th wheel met the rear of the truck cab.

We were on the ball enough to clear off the fractured paint bits, sand it down, spray it with primer, and a lovely matching coat of paint for rust protection. We then put further repairs on the "To Do" list somewhere near the bottom.

A recent eye opening commentary from a Dodge representative discussing the eventual lease return brought us to the conclusion that further correction of the matter was due for proper consideration, and it got bumped to the top of the said "To Do" list. (figures of $2800 for the dent alone was enough to take anyone's breath away in a very non-complimentary way - the rest, common scratches in the truck bed topped it to around $4000 in body work that would be expected to be done before we could walk away at the end of the lease term one year from now....!!)

We "misrepresented ourselves" according to said rep because we said the truck was in excellent condition. I noted that we didn't say "new", but that at 56,000 km, highway driven, babied, almost nothing to be seen for interior disfigurement or discolouration, and normal wear on the paint in the box area, everyone we have consulted with concurs. Did I mention it is a 3500 Ram 4X4, so could be assumed to be bought for more than just garage decoration affect??!!! (Apparently you spend this kind of money monthly for a really nice lawn /driveway ornament, but shouldn't really use it according to the expectations of the salesperson??!??) But I digress.....

So on Thursday, I tackled the project. Rather than just jotting words, I photo - documented the process. See what you think.

I still want to take it one step further. Currently, I would call it a good home job. However, unless we can sell it before the lease is up, and pay it out, it won't be good enough for the dealership.

So here is what I did:

First, a shot of the temporary paint on the dent.

The right shot is the prep to protect the surrounding area

On the left, I used a palm sander to remove the majority of the paint & primer.

On the right, I got the deeper pits using a Dremel sanding head ( actually, it was apparently a honer as it was a fine grit conical grinding head.)

On the left, I extended the guarded area and sanded just beyond the dent for blending space. I then vacuumed the residue.

The right is the first layer of Bondo. It needs to be mixed in very small batches as it sets very quickly, and even covering unused mix won't prevent hardening. 5 minutes, and it is set!! I was careful not to overfill the dent in one go. That would make the setting of the layers less even, and create weakness in the repair.

The left side is the second layer of Bondo, and by amazing coincidence, the right is the third (Who could have guessed!!???)

Note, in the first and second layers, I wasn't fussy about smoothness, as long as no air pockets formed. The roughness I used as an enhancer of the link between layers.

The third layer I was more careful about texture, however, as long as it isn't so rough that it tears sandpaper, don't fret it too much.

On the left, I sanded the third layer and determined that there was small pitting in the layer, so I vacuumed the dust from the sanding, and applied a very thin forth layer almost in the fashion of a wood filler as seen on the right.

The forth layer was sanded smooth, and vacuumed.

At this point, I freshened the guarding taping and papering, and expanded its coverage one more time. As I was using spray primer and paint, and there was a slight breeze, I wanted to be sure only targeted areas were painted.

The primer has been applied on the right photo.

These two shots are of the repair alone, and a comparative of the two sides.

Before and After

It isn't the $2800 job that the dealership would like, but it is no longer concave. I will likely tweak it further another day, but if we had an offer on it today, I wouldn't sweat the imperfections.

One important thing to note is that both Bondo and primer are absorbent, so when planning this kind of project, you need good weather, and either a waterproof storage place for the vehicle, or enough time to do it in one swoop.

I see by the clock that it is time to set up breakfast, so I will bid you,

Adieu.

Another Good-Bye

2009-08-15T00:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to honour another wonderful woman in my life who left this world. My Grandmother on my Father's side was the last of my surviving Grandparents, and she made the journey home on the morning of August 11.

She was a woman of great faith, and especially in her later years when mobility was no longer her strength, she would have a hand in all family concerns by praying for all who were troubled, or that she felt needed a little intervention, or just was due for a blessing.

She especially lived for the grandchildren, and had love to give with a balancing dose of patience and wisdom. She reached her 9th decade, and strode a couple years beyond.

I often marvel at the world changes witnessed by the nonagenarians. These are the people who have observed the simpler pace, yet harsher times including the Great Depression, horse and buggy travel, wood stoves, outdoor plumbing, single room school houses, the arrival of radio, tv, cars, planes, rockets, computers, and so many simple to technical transitions that the mind boggles!!

So with love and fond memories, I bless her journey and reunion with her beloved husband, and rejoice in her rejuvenation as promised her by her God.

In reminiscence, I bid you, and her

Adieu

Smokey Back Home

2009-08-13T16:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went back down to Bellevue /Frank to pick up our sickly truck. He is doing well.

The part arrived yesterday and was installed with efficiency and professionalism, and at a very reasonable price.

The fuel pump did indeed need replacing, but more importantly, he discovered why it malfunctioned. He discovered a faulty ground, which means that if he hadn't noticed and corrected the problem, the new one would have gone in no time.

He rode very smoothly and and reliably home over hill and dale. Again and again he proves himself to be a very strong and capable truck!!

On the other side of our world, Midnight is doing well. He still has issues with the threads in his mouth, but is eating well, and seems to be doing very well, being free of the toxins from his rotting teeth.

I must prepare for shift, so I will bid you,

Adieu

The Return Of Midnight

2009-08-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Our little boy went in for his surgery today. His teeth were in hideous shape, and we had to get him in, as well as getting him his shots.

So we got him back, around 4 pm and he was quite doped up, and wimpering quietly. Considering that every tooth left in his head was acquired by a less than tactful tooth fairy, I'd say he did quite well.

By 5:30 he took himself down the stairs for a very urgent Pee-mail message that needed sending. He is now sleeping contentedly in his bed by Ken's side.

Which leads to a very important consideration for pet keepers of all sorts. Flashing back to June 14, we became the proud owners of this beautiful gem of a pooch. He is only 5 years old, but being a toy poodle, special care is needed for him.

Poodles are especially prone to tartar build up, and extra dental attention. That and they need clipping about every 2 months.

When you get animals, it is so very important for their well being to be aware of any issue specific to the breed, and in general to tend to their health matters.

In Midnight's case, the tartar was more than a breath killer, and ugly crusting on his teeth. With that kind of build-up, the bacteria is very toxic - causing the bad breath, but worse, it was actually letting those toxins get into the blood stream. He probably wouldn't have lasted more than a couple years, left as he was.

I know with Max, I was chipping the tartar every 2 months. With Midnight, a couple weeks ago, he was licking at a particularly annoying tartar projection on a front tooth, so as I have chipped it from Max, I took a blunt backed tooth pick to chip it off, and the tooth attached to the tartar popped right out with it. That is how bad they were.

Toy poodles can survive to a ripe old age of even as much as 18 and more, so to be so unwell so young is very sad. The cost of a pet is more than just initial purchase, toys, food and leashes and such. If you can't afford regular health care, it is probably better for all concerned to resist the temptation.

I will be getting the bill tomorrow, but in the meantime, I have a toothless 5 year old who should not have had to go through such trauma so young. He will be able to live a long healthy life gumming his way through a lifetime of meals.

Sorry for the rant, but so many people don't think the process through when staring into the lovable puppy or kitty eyes. Gone are the days when you just let "nature take its course" when pet care is concerned.

Our sleepy boy is doing much better :)

I have one more shift for now, and then we go to get Smokey - hopefully, but that is another story.

Now I bid you

Adieu

The Saga Continues.

2009-08-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to conclude the current vehicular breakdown matter we were dealing with before I post some of the pictures from our alpine meadow adventure.

.... I would like to, however the resolve is still a couple days away. The problem has been diagnosed as the fuel pump. This is a fairly common matter in the 2003 Rams as the fuel pump was put inside the tank, and apparently can cause grief. So it would seem.

So I left the matter in the last post, as having the truck safely towed to Frank, then we were picked up by the friend in whose yard we were planning to park. The continuance is as such:

The shop was closed and so we delivered the key in the morning and they tended to diagnostics right away. They phoned around, and were told that there was one available in Claresholm. They called us to tell us, and to request that if possible, time could be saved if we went to pick it up as delivery was not likely until after the weekend otherwise.

We went to the shop that was holding it for us, then doubled back (in our friend's vehicle of course) to drop the part to the mechanics. To our chagrin, they sent us home with the wrong part. We are having the cost refunded, and they are working out between themselves how to deal with the return. In the meantime, no other was able to be tracked down, and I still had to work Saturday on night audit. We eventually managed to arrange for Ken's Three Hills daughter to come down to pick us up that same night in order to be back in time. - Thanks bunches, gal!! :-)

She arrived and we were able to leave Bellevue around 9 pm Friday night, getting back to Three Hills by 1 am. Ken's daughter had to work the 3 - 11 on Saturday, preceding my 11 - 7 shift. I will now be on for 3 shifts, then on Wednesday afternoon, we should be able to pick up the truck and accessories that we left in Bellevue before returning in time for my 11 - 7 shift on Thursday.

Stuffed somewhere in the middle is Midnight getting a long overdue dental review and treatment as well as what is likely to be his first shots since he left the kennel at which he was bred. The dental procedures alone should improve the air quality in Three Hills by several point levels :-)

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for:

The photographic journey through the silver mining ghost town of Sandon, BC and the alpine meadows of Idaho Peak, BC nearby. (You have been waiting, haven't you??)

Just down stream of Sandon, at the bridge crossing, & remnant buildings up stream

Some of the old trucks and buses at the down stream end of town, & the old powerhouse up stream

More old buildings in town. The right picture is of an occupied building.

The front and back of the main building - the fire hall (front), and city hall (back)

Two more permanent vehicles of the eclectic look of Sandon

And of course, 2 buildings down stream & on the outskirts that makes a mining town qualify as a full fledged mining town: the mining operation (left) and the brothel (right)

A small taste of the twists and winds of Idaho Peak access road. Left shot has the unfortunate SUV with a flat

This one I thought came close to capturing the precariousness of the winding path glorified by the title of road - vehicles pass each other on that!!

Remnant of winter snow in August, & view across the peaks

Progression of the path - now only foot friendly, and still precarious to pass on

On the right, meadows at last!! :-)

My 2 people venturing along the path (left) On the right, a sign which lead me to a thought which one might mistake for an observation of the lack of feces in the vicinity.....

Trying to capture the true angular nature of the alpine meadows

More views and again trying to capture the sheerness of the slopes.

Close up shots of some of the flora, and on the left, I was pleased to find a miniscule example of the fauna (other than the ravenous mosquitoes!!) (I except that bugs probably don't truly qualify as fauna, but other than Midnight and a ground squirrel which I failed to capture, real furries were absent)

More flowers. I think the left is an indian paintbrush, but my wild flower knowledge is rather pathetic at best. As for the right, the best we could come up with was "Cousin It"

One more sample of flowers, and a shot of the earlier post's mentioned "throne with a view"

Believe it or not the miniscule bump on the highest point of the picture is actually a look-out point. It is actually a fairly big structure, but due to vertigo, we opted to not quite go that far. You will note that the path just prior to the final ascent is rather a razor's edge along the top.

This is the rest area I mentioned. The right shot is simply demonstrating the depth of snow still left on the ground

My camera wasn't fully awake, apparently, but in the center of the shot the brownish band is actually Sandon. We had already come halfway back down by this point.

New Denver, the Dome Quixote establishment I mentioned

Ah, now we are back on solid and level ground. My break is over, and I must bid you,

Adieu

Outtings and Misadventures

2009-08-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a Snicket kind of trip, but what an adventure! We took Smokey with the camper, bikes, kayaks, cat, and dog, (and for the record, we had the kitchen sink... )

I got off shift Sunday morning and loaded up the camper fridge, tied down the kayaks and rear tie-downs of the camper, and put the critters in their appropriate travel locations.

We headed out around 10:30 in the morning, and got to the Strathmore Husky fuel stop when Smokey just stalled as we were turning off the highway.

With a little coaxing, he turned over, and we got to the fuel pump. We only needed half a tank, so it wasn’t that we ran out. It took a little longer than usual to turn it over after refueling, but then we never had a further “fuss”.

We determined that when we got home we would give him a tune-up and replace the fuel filter and such things, but let it go until then.

We arrived in Bellevue and had a nice evening with our friend, and set out in the mid morning bound for Nelson. It was an uneventful trip, and we arrived around 3:30 BC time – just in time to miss Ken’s daughter who was working 3 – 11 that evening. Before we set up, we swung by her work to have a quick visit.

Set up was fairly easy, and we plugged in a movie and waited for her return. When she got home we had a quick chat ... which ended around 3 or so....

We got up around nine and did a bit of run about, but again, she was working until 11. This time, we only sat up until about 1:30 chatting.

The Third day, we originally planned to launch the kayaks for the first time. ....

The weather didn’t co-operate with the plan, so instead of heading for the relative equivalent of sea level (okay, lake level) we instead targeted the heavens and drove quite a way to the ghost town of Sandon north of New Denver.

We expected to see more of a Barkerville type location, but it actually only had about 5 standing buildings, but it was still quite interesting. For some reason, someone imported several 1954 Vancouver city trolley buses which completely contrast with the silver mine ghost town theme....(??)

We then headed up a logging road because Ken’s daughter was told that at the summit of Idaho Peak, the alpine meadows were amazing. They didn’t mention that any mountain goats in the area generally wear climbing harnesses for safety....

We twisted and wound up the logging road that had occasional spaces that fit about a car and a half in width comfortably which were forced to take 2 passing vehicles coming and going. We often landed on a very soft shoulder while the oncoming vehicle hugged the mountain. The road signs marked the km count down. It was a good idea because with the slow crawling, it was difficult to believe that it really was only 1 km since the last sign, and the base sign said it was an 11 km climb.

Around the 7 or 8 km marking point, there was a leveling off where a picnic table was set up right next to the last of the snow in that pocket. At its deepest point, it was about knee deep. Beside that ran a small creek. Apparently, the mosquitoes have first dibs on lunch at the table site.

We passed an abandoned vehicle that was wearing its limping spare in the rear, and was jacked up in the front waiting the owner’s return to replace the other tire. That was a good 9 km up the climb. I would sure hate to do the tire change on that one, but one small blessing is that it was on the inboard side, and not the extreme down sloped passenger side, but I digress.....

So one more switch back and we climbed the last stretch to the summit where you actually could land about 5 – 6 vehicles comfortably.

The first thing we saw to the left along a short path was a single seat outhouse. I thought, “How quaint, a throne with a view.”

To the right was a path leading to what we presumed to be a ranger type lookout tower.

The slopes down from the parking lot were breath taking, if not somewhat dizzying for those slightly prone to acrophobia leanings.

We hiked our way along the path and discovered that for the sake of continuity, the walking path was wide enough for 1 and a half people to comfortably travel. We passed 2 people coming our way, returning to the parking lot, and courteously smeared ourselves to the mountain side so as to permit their passing.

The meadows over head, and heading down the slope below us were breath taking with a wide assortment of flora including some wild strawberry vines. (As the snow had only recently left the area, they weren’t yet in bloom.

We hit a point were the slope went down on either side of us, and again one’s breath was taken away. I wish I had a telephoto lens to capture the magnificence of walking on the proverbial knife’s edge some 6000 feet up. I felt like we had just driven up Mount Everest, then continued a bit further by foot.

On our way home we stopped in New Denver to observe a really novel motel set up that was a bunch of domed structures. The whit that established it called it Dome Quixote.

Today we left, and headed back to Bellevue.

All went well until we got to Fernie. Smokey started being a bit unresponsive to the accelerator, but I pushed on. We just barely made it as far as Sparwood where the engine stalled and with armstrong steering, we pulled into the tourist booth near the “Worlds Largest Truck” display.
We had to move the bike rack to the rear, but as only one bike would fit due to the camper’s overhang, we actually put one of them into the “living room” of the camper and strapped the other to the rear on the relocated rack.

CAA came to the rescue, we made it the last 35ish kms to Frank where we delivered the truck to a mechanic my friend recommended. She came for our overnight gear and the critters, but we decided that we would rather take the bikes as we weren’t comfortable leaving them at the shop.
Tomorrow we hope to be fully repaired. It is definitely something to do with the fuel delivery system as it just isn’t getting the juice when plenty is available to be had.

More to follow, but in the meantime, I need to be back in Three Hills for a night shift on Saturday. (No pressure, no worries.....) Really, it will be fine......

It is late and we must get to the shop tomorrow by 8 am. I will post pictures of the alpine meadow and such tomorrow, but for now I bid you,

Adieu.

Heading Out Again

2009-08-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

I work the night audit tonight, then when I get off shift, we will be heading south to Bellevue en route to Nelson.

We are going to spend a couple days, and will be taking the cottage instead of the big rig as it will be easier to park at Ken's daughter's home.

The kayaks and bikes are coming with us, so you never know, it could happen.....

We have had fairly high temperatures here, but apparently, the more temperate region of the lower mainland are beating us by a good 4 - 6 degrees. To my knowledge, the lower mainland generally considers 30 and up to be heat wave temps, so 36 is nearly unheard of. At least that range is not unfamiliar around here.

It has been very relieving though, that the evenings do dip to acceptable cooling temps, so one can get some sleep.

Anyway, I am ready to scare up some supper. I'm not sure how the air card's signal will be while we are away as the cells generally drop signal there. We shall see.

But for now, I bid you

Adieu.

Contracting As A Sideline

2009-07-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today, due to a referral from family, Ken and I spent the day on a farm making ramps to enter a barn, and a slightly raised tack / feed room. It was industrious work, and we getting better all the time at working as a team.

The outcome was quite acceptable and it gave the pocket a little better lining. :-)

Upon arriving home, I took Midnight for a quick stroll, and provided him the opportunity to check his P-mail, and as I was returning him into the cool of the 5th wheel, our neighbour across the "street" asked if I knew much about spreadsheets, preferably Excel.

I told him I had a bit of experience, and asked what he was attempting to do. Working with the theory that, "A picture is worth a thousand words", I went to take a look at the problem, tweaked and fiddled a bit, and now have a client for document formatting.

I am very pleased with the blessings of this day, Ken re-established his semi-retired hire-ability, and I have dipped into a pool in which I too enjoy working. It is actually a direction I would enjoy expanding, but until word gets around, being mobile makes it a bit challenging to establish a clientele for our available skills. Nonetheless, between Ken and I, there is a broad scope of possibilities we could be hired to do.

With any luck, today is just a mark of things to come......

So with satisfaction and contentment, I bid you

Adieu

Casual Day

2009-07-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

We finished moving the bike rack to Smokey's nose just before noon, and the temperature hit the mid 80's.

We headed to the shade after that, and just had a quite afternoon visiting our neighbours and having a fun social afternoon.

I was going to bake bread, but opted out due to the heat. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow.

I am hoping that next week we can find a lake that Ken's daughter says is nearby and finally get the boats wet!!

Other than that, what can I say, all's well :-)

So I will pick a shady spot to chill with an iced tea and bid you,

Adieu

Modifying The Roving Acre Assembly Order

2009-07-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, musical chairs continues. We are now putting the utility trailer, camper ensemble, and bikes on Smokey again.

He is very capable of pulling the load, and we will hopefully get a lease transfer for Mack some time before the year is up on his lease. If not, he goes back to the dealer anyway, so he might just as well not have the gear on now.

I have to help get the bike rack on Smokey's nose now, so I bid you,

Adieu

Settling Inn

2009-07-19T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the untrained solo flight at the B shift (3 - 11) went well, and I am really getting the hang of my more predominant shift, the dreaded "graveyard" or Night Audit.

The duties fit me to a T, but I have never preferred the late hours. I am doing well with it though, as I am only picking up a couple shifts a week. It should at least be enough to cover pad fees, anyway.

We seem to be riding another random thought train, so bear with it. That's what comes from writing at 6 am, I suppose.. but I digress....

We continue to try to thin out the truck stock, and have had a nibble each on Mack, and Smokey, but they both backed away just when our hopes were lifting. (Both are good trucks, but 2 people really don't need 3 vehicles to drive, after all....) Mack would be a lease transfer, and Smokey would be an outright sale. I am actually favouring Mack's departure because even though I really like him, he brings a continual monthly hit that would not be missed. Now that Spirit is running well, he is redundant.

Some time in the near future, we hope to do a day trip to Sundre to visit another set of friends. I am still hoping that next year I can find a job as a camp host, but for now this is working out alright.

On the home front, Midnight is fully settled in and blended into the family, and Glory is getting a bit bolder about coming down the steps to see what the world holds. It is comforting though, to see that if anything spooks her, she immediately bolts for the stairs and door.

Anyway, my break is over, so I will bid you

Adieu

Friends Revisited

2009-07-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I got off shift at 7am on Sunday morning and when I got in the door, decided that I just had to grab a quick nap before I could wrap my brain around hitch drills. Ken was not eager to get up yet anyway, so at 9:30 we got up and got started.

We got in to Bellevue around 4:30 and were immediately greeted by our dear former neighbours. It very quickly felt like we had never parted. If I were to caravan with anyone, they would be the ones!!

We arrived just as the roads were drying from what was apparently a significant dump of rain.

The next day, I came out and immediately invited my old walking buddy out for a stroll. It was sunny, but darker clouds hovered over Turtle Mountain. Since that is where the weather comes from, we figured we should go now or forget it.

And off we went, heading directly to my Bellevue girlfriend's house, and just as I guessed, the two got on like old friends.

Thunder, lightening and rain interrupted our sit on her patio, so we went in. We took a quick drive into Blairemore to let her sister's dogs in. They are well sheltered in their pens, but one doesn't think much of these types of storms.

We were then dropped off at the RV site, and my local friend headed off to appointments. Ken and I then returned to Frank and Blairemore to return bottles to the depot, and pick up some grocery and sundry before heading back. Since I needed to get milk, I also picked up a rotisserie chicken and some potato salad, and since the rain started to really take itself seriously, we called a matinee day. We made popcorn, cranked over the generator, and settled in for 3 movies, and had a wonderful dinner with dear friends.

Today we took a quick jog in to Pincher Creek to drop off some things to the storage locker, and grabbed a couple others. The weather held off until after we got back and unloaded. Then it decided to soak us down again.

Tomorrow we get haircuts, then head back in the late morning so I can be back to Three Hills in time to get ready for Thursday's 3 - 11 shift at the hotel. I would definitely say that in spite of the weather, it has been an awesome trip.

Now again, I bid you

Adieu

On The Job

2009-07-10T16:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I have completed 2 shifts under supervision, and the next one tonight is in theory, a solo, although I believe Ken's daughter will swing by to check on the night audit portion. (Thanks, gal!!)

It seems I am catching on well, so I am content. The night shift responsibilities are among my favourite processes, as is felt by many night auditors, but I am never fond of the time. However, as it is only 2 nights per week and one afternoon preceding it, I don't foresee any matters of burnout.

Sunday we head back to Bellevue to connect with our former Oliver neighbours. It will be great to see them again.

And so I head off to gather some food stuffs for one of my sporadic meals that comes from night shifting. I now bid you

Adieu.

Back In Three Hills

2009-07-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

We headed back today around 1 to ensure due hugs and byes were issued.

We stopped in Hanna for a bite, then boogied on down Highway 9. Just before we hit the big ditch which highway 9 travellers will be familiar (coolies for prairie folk) the heavy dark clouds started dumping their contents in Costco bulk volumes. A mark of heavy rain and wind is when you are going down an 8% grade hill, and you are watching the water on the road stream up hill.

That and high wipers not accomplishing an effective sweep of the windscreen, you just know that the attempts to end the drought are at least sincere on this day.

(And so the tangent is found.....)

I have actually been told by a lifer from the Palliser Triangle (during the thirties it was the drought triangle) that it is actually drier than it was in the thirties, but the improved farming practices have improved the moisture retention.

Apparently, according to his father, back then, the area still got heavy snowfalls, so that even on a low rain spring and summer, there was the melt that provided moisture. For years now, there is nearly no snow to supplement the lack of rain.

So for now, let it pour!!

Well, I start my training shift in an hour and a half. Wish me luck as I bid you

Adieu.

The Roving Acre Going in Circles

2009-07-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Let's do a quick recount:

We wintered in Oliver - 7 months - left May 18
Leaving Oliver, 2 days in Revelstoke (18 & 19), 1 in the Kananaskis (20)
Heading to Ken's father's place, 5 day stop in Three Hills visiting family (21 - 25)
Landed in Cereal for undetermined duration (26 - 30)
Prairie Bible College power plant explodes, early departure for Three Hills to bring genset to family (June 1)
Dash down to Bellevue originally to head to Nelson to borrow second genset from other daughter, but power crisis averted by connecting to main grid. Instead, to Bellevue to pick up Smokey and Camper to reunite components of Roving Acres (June 2 & 3)
Back to Three Hills for visit and regroup. (4-21)
Down to Bellevue for promised visit with local friend as all previous visits were Bed, breakfast, and Business. Time to actually say hello and sit down. ( 22- 29)
Back to Three Hills (30 - July 4)
Back to Cereal to see Ken's Dad (5 - 7)

Tomorrow we will return to Three Hills, which is now establishing itself as our summer home. We return so early because I have been offered a part time position at a local hotel to do night audits, and occasional afternoon shifts. That should satisfy our need for minor supplementing of income, and still provide the opportunity to explore on my off shifts. (Thanks to my unnamed champion of my employment search)

(oh, and BTW, July 12 - 15 Back to Bellevue to connect with the Oliver neighbours for a bit of a camp-out)

I don't know why, but for some reason, it seems we just keep going around in circles...... but I digress...

Still on the "to do" list:

Check in to Sundry to catch up with friends from Oliver (different ones than earlier mentioned)
Find some lake where we can wet the bottoms of the kayaks
Day trip to Banff
Check out Lake Louise
Explore unnamed mountains and streams

Ah, well another day, another post.

It is late, and I must prep for shifting to a different sleep cycle so I bid you

Adieu

Red Deer Revisited

2009-07-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

For those following our adventures, we recently fixed up our fairly newly purchased 2001 Dodge Ram Diesel Duelly.

Apparently, for some reason that eludes us, the previous owners had lowered the suspension, and as the alteration didn't show up in the Carfax report, I assume that it was done either at home or by a backyard mechanic. The end result was that the tires' turning radius was decreased, and the the only "give" in the suspension was from the rubber between the metal parts.

And so we had the suspension restored to normal, and then we took the truck to a shop in the North end of Red Deer to install new shocks, and do an alignment. It took longer than usual, but afterall, we had a great visit with our former Oliver neighbours, so no big deal, right?......

Not quite. We left for for Bellevue, a 4 hour (plus lunch stop) trip, tripped around for 11 days, and returned back to Three Hills. All the while, Ken was noting a strange crunching or banging type feel/sound when turning the wheels in slow speed turns. Because of this, the same day we arrived back in Three Hills, he took it back to the wonderful fellows in Trochu for their opinion on the cause.

They joined Ken for a test drive, then checked and found that the bolts that were supposed to secure the idler arm were left dangerously loose. It could have caused us to crash, and when pulling the 36' fifth wheel, the results could have been fatal to more that just us!!

He tightened the loose bolts and immediately called the Red Deer shop, informed them of their grievous error, and demanded that they take the truck back in and redo the alignment properly.

Once we had the job completed, he wanted us to return to the Trochu shop and he would confirm the work was done properly. We showed him the alignment read-out, and then he rechecked the bolts. He was still able to torque the most awkwardly located bolt a quarter turn. Nonetheless, we are completely assured that the job is now done safely, and there was no bill for the redo.

It is frightening to know how the Red Deer shop could neglect such a serious matter. Especially since alignments shouldn't take more than an hour, and they took over 3 hours. One would think a reasonable mechanic would wonder why it wasn't working after the first hour and a quarter, and recheck the earlier job, but I digress....

Even then, they still didn't get it just right, and they noted that to us back when the job was first done. They said they suspected something about the tires.

So we are now driving safely, and breathing better for it. We are holding ground until either Sunday or Monday. Then we will be taking just the cottage ensemble (Mack, camper, bikes, kayaks, and utility trailer) back to Cereal to visit family for a few days.

So that brings us up to date, and I bid you

Adieu