Sunset on Hurricane Ridge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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