Casa Grande, Arizona: Red Cross & Speed Bleeders

The Red Cross held a blood drive at Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort today. Mary Lynn had never given blood before although she has tried. Once she was sent home for weighing less than 100 pounds and another time she was sent home since she was anemic. Combine those two times with her fear of needles and you have someone in their fifties who has never donated blood.

I have donated blood many times; enough times to have earned a few of the 1 gallon pins the Red Cross gives to frequent donors. And I was never sent home for weighing less than 100 pounds in my life. I was sent home once when I arrived at the blood drive location riding my motorcycle.

Not that the Red Cross discriminates against motorcyclists; in fact some of the technicians have gone out of their way to let me know motorcyclists are some of their best 'customers'. IN any case, they are concerned donating blood will leave you a little light headed and that might effect your sense of balance -- so no donating if your means of transportation that day is a motorcycle.

MLA went first and she did great. When I was donating the technician turns to me and says " OK speed bleeder, you are going to mess up my routine if you keep filling the bag so quickly".

Now , I have to tell you, I have been labeled ' speedy' with regards to a number of topics and quite honestly, no guy wants the moniker of 'speedy' when it comes to bleeding. I mean, in the event of an accident where bleeding is involved, no one wants to be in a hurry.

That said, it was great to donate blood. They say every person who donates saves three lives. I don't know if that's true or not however I do know donating blood is a quick and easy way to help others when they are most needy.

Only one drawback to donating blood here today; I was banned from playing Water Volleyball. No getting the bandage wet was reason number one and no heavy exercise for 12 hours was the other reason.


Oh well, I'll get an hour or so of water volleyball in before going to watch the Super Bowl with friends.

See Ya!

Casa Grande, Arizona: How To Buy & Ride A Bicycle

I mentioned in another blog post that Carol, one of my two good looking sister-in-laws, called Mary Lynn earlier this week. She had read the blog post where I talked about buying MLA a bicycle. In that post I briefly mentioned MLA was struggling with riding a bicycle.

So, Carol called to ask MLA if she was really that bad.

You have to realize that occasionally I may overstate the facts slightly. Not a lot, just a little, just to make a point. That said, I did not overstate MLA's struggles with re-learning to ride a bike after a lapse of 15 years or so.

The truth is, once she is underway she does fine. She zips right along, sailing merrily along the streets of the RV park. In fact, except for starting and stopping, she has this bike riding thing down solid. And how important are starting and stopping anyhow?

For example, the other day we were at one of those 'big box' stores and she wanted to try out a bicycle we were considering for purchase. I had her sit on the bike, gave her a push to get her started and off she goes, looking very good. That is, she looked very good for about 15 feet when suddenly the bike developed a low speed wobble and MLA almost took out about ten feet of products on display. She was perfectly fine and the bike escaped mostly unharmed, mostly.

I told MLA we could buy the bike, just not the one she test drove. Obviously it had a problem, like a nut loose behind the wheel...

OK, so I kid MLA about her bike riding skills. Seriously she does great, er, she does good, er, well she's mostly just a hazard to herself. And any small dogs unable to get out of her way quickly enough...

Tomorrow I'm going in search of those lights made of LEDs that flash really brightly, warning others to stay alert and to stay out of the way.

And maybe a set of training wheels... they don't make automatic braking systems for bikes do they? Oh well, always fun on the road.

See Ya!

Casa Grande, Arizona: Warm & Clean; Slightly Water Logged

Mary Lynn's sister, Carol, called MLA yesterday; they talk often and we always enjoys hearing from her. In fact, we always enjoy hearing from our family and friends. So keep those calls coming; it helps us stay in touch and really makes us feel connected.

In any case, Carol told MLA she was not happy with me. You may remember I wrote, somewhat disparagingly, about the temperature recently only being in the mid-60's here in Arizona. Specifically I wanted to know who turned off the heat.

Well, Carol wanted to let us know that mid-60's sounded pretty darn good when the temperatures in Maryland were in the lower 20's and sometimes even lower.

Now I know Carol said she was calling because the temperatures in Maryland had been so low however I really know she was concerned that MLA, and especially myself, might be suffering from the low (mid-60's) temperatures.

I just want to let Carol, and anyone else who is concerned about our well being, have no fear. Today the temperature was in the the low-70's and it's expected to get slightly warmer over the next few days right through the weekend. Perfect weather for water volleyball...

And Carol, thanks for the concern; your love & concern make me feel warm all over... or is that the warmth from the sun... Oh well, it feels good whatever the cause...

A lot of parks here in the West don't allow you to wash your RV (or any vehicle) while staying in their park. Mostly, I believe, a concern about conserving water. So when I get to a park that allows the washing of RVs, I try to take advantage of that perk.

When we were here in October of last year, I washed the RV. You have to make sure the side you are washing is not in direct sunlight since it dries too quickly. It took me three days to get all the sides completed, working about 4 hours a day to wash the RV. Climbing up and down the ladders with all the washing, drying, and polishing was exhausting however the RV looked great.

So I've wanted to wash the RV since we arrived. Well, the other day I see a young man washing the RV behind me with a power washer mounted on a trailer. Thinking I might be able to rent the power washer, as I've done before, I went over to talk to him. Turns out he and his brother have a business where they wash & wax RVs (and homes) for a living, although with the low prices they charge I'm sure they only able to make a living because of all their hard work and their hustle.

They washed and waxed our RV, our car, and the Harley yesterday; two men working for over three hours. They even washed the roof and the awning.

They hand dried and polished everything with these cloth rags, throwing the rags on the ground when they became too wet to work properly. You should have seen it. The ground around our RV looked like a yard sale hit by a tornado. Rags everywhere. They filled a large basket with all of the cloths when they were finished.

That's a long way of telling you, they did an excellent job. Over three hours on our RV. And we were the third RV they washed and waxed that day. Whew!

Seeing that much manual labor expended for so little money sure made me appreciate how fortunate I have been with my education and the jobs I was able to get in the computer industry.

See Ya!

Casa Grande, AZ: Dances With Wolves It Ain't

Well, I am in for it now. The Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort, where we are staying, has a lot of activities. I mean, there are dozens & dozens of activities going on all the time. If you are bored here it's your own fault.

With all the activities offered here at Palm Creek I thought I was on safe ground. Water volleyball, pickle ball, shuffleboard, photography workshops, a wood shop course where we are making bowls on a lathe, glass workshops, silversmith classes, lapidary classes, all kinds of card games, lawn bowling, bingo, etc. are all offered. Go ahead, I told MLA, just pick out the activities you want to do together and I'll do them with you.

So what does she come up with? Ballroom dancing.

Ballroom dancing -- what was I thinking letting her have her choice of activities for the two of us? What is she thinking? Since when do we need ballroom dancing? And where are we gonna ballroom dance? I mean, we converted the RV's ballroom into bowling lanes and an indoor lap pool. We gotten to this point in life (into our fifties) without having formal ballroom dancing lessons. Why start now?

But it gets better. Then she tells me we will also be learning to square dance at the lessons offered every Wednesday at 1 pm. Why on earth would we attend square dance lessons I asked?So we can attend the square dance offered at Palm Creek twice a month she tells me. I had to ask.

Mostly I want to know how she found out about ballroom dancing and square dancing -- I ripped those pages out of the activity guide right away. Tore the pages up into little pieces and then deposited the scraps in multiple trash cans, thereby making it almost impossible to reconstruct. I took every precaution known to man and still she finds out about these classes.

See, I know a lot of people participate in square dancing AND that it is a lot of fun (I've been told) AND it's a form of exercise. All that I've heard and I believe it to be true (OK, the fun part is a little suspect but hey).

It's just, when I was growing up I was a bit of a, well, today I would be called a geek or a nerd. Then I was just called odd. In the hip 70's someone like me might even have been told they were 'square'. I actually would have preferred geek/nerd.... Being called a square was awful, one of the worst things you could say about someone. It meant that person was just the opposite of hip and/or cool. Of course, wearing glasses and getting my hair cut regularly put me pretty far down the path of being identified as a square.

So I did anything and everything I could to avoid actually being a square. I couldn't avoid taking computer and engineering classes; that was my major. That being said, there was no quicker path to being labeled not just a 'square' but a 'square for life' than square dancing. I knew it was to be avoided at all costs and for 50 years I have successfully avoided square dancing.

Not to mention square dancing music and all those petticoats scare the daylights out of me.

So, despite a perfect record of avoiding square dancing for over 50 years, I now find myself signed up for and expected to participate in square dancing.

And you know what I'm most afraid of?

I just might like it.... then what will I do?

See Ya!

Casa Grande, Arizona: Who Turned Off The Heat?

This picture is of strawberry plants in Florida. I'll get to that in a minute however it does show we made a good decision coming to Arizona this year instead of going back to Florida.

That said, What happened? The high here in Casa Grande today was only 66 degrees. Only 9 people showed up for the recreational Water Volleyball league. So we pulled the 'out-of-bounds' lines in to ten feet and played 4 on one side and 5 on the other. Most of the regular players, having decided it was too cool to get in the pool, missed out on some very competitive games.



The pool is heated so it pretty comfortable while you are in the pool. Plus there is a lot of 'spy hopping'. Spy hopping is used when you get cold. Simply lower all of your body (except your head) into the heated pool . When the ball comes your way you pop out of the water, make the play and then get low in the pool again.

Only had to use it a couple of time when the wind really picked up. During most of the game it really is comfortable. In fact, the coldest part of the day was walking the 15 feet from the showers to the pool.



So my question is, who turned off the heat? It has been in the high 70's for last couple of weeks. Now it's turned cold. In fact the high for tomorrow will only be 62 degrees. I'm guessing even fewer people will show up at the pool; might be a good time to start playing Pickleball. We'll see.



Not complaining mind you because I know the rest of the country, even Florida, is like a deep freeze. In fact, Florida strawberry growers have been watering their crops at night; this water combined with the cold temperature forms a layer of ice over the plants and fruits, which actually protects the strawberries from the cold temperatures.



Sounds strange, looks even stranger seeing the plants covered in ice however it does work.



In any case, we'll close the windows and turn on the heat tonight and maybe tomorrow night. However if it gets any colder I'll have to start looking at travel into Mexico to find the heat.

See Ya!

Coolidge, Arizona: Hybrid Bicycles -- So Hip, So Cool, So 2009

Mary Lynn and I figured we would buy a couple of bicycles since we will be staying at Palm Creek for two months. It's a big place and bikes are perfect for getting around the park and of course, are great exercise. Buying the bikes sounded simple enough; we thought the tough part would be figuring out a way to carry the bikes while traveling with the RV and toad.


However, we knew if we could not find a 'good solution' for transporting the bikes with the RV we could always just sell the bikes in a couple of months when we leave this park. Translate 'good solution' to "cheap, easy to load on the RV/car, cheap, secure while traveling, & finally, cheap" -- three guesses on whose 401K now looks like a 201K after last year's stock market performance.

The solutions for carrying bicycles while traveling in an RV that is towing a car are:

1. Buy folding bikes that store under RV -- workable but folding bikes are very expensive and a little ungainly to ride. Also you have to avoid the fold button while riding....


2. Bike rack on car hitch - adds at least 2.5 feet to our total length; we are already at 61 feet, so not really an option.


3. Bike rack on the RV's hitch - Our motorcycle already occupies this space so this won't work for us.


4. Hang bikes on the RV ladder - hanger & straps are cheap; not sure if the motorcycle allows enough room. Also, will bikes block tail/turn signals?


5. Bike rack on top of CR-V - not cheap, rack stays on CR-V all the time.

So we figured working out how to take the bikes would be the biggest issue. How did we know selecting a bicycle would be even tougher? When did this all become so complex?

When I was a kid, bike decisions were: a) red or blue b) regular street bike or stingray c) basket/no basket, and did you want the streamers attached to the end of the handlebars. Accessories were limited to baseball cards attached with clothes pins to make really cool clicking noise. The faster you went the better the clicking noise sounded...

Not so today. First you have to decide what type of bike you want. The options are:

1. Cruisers


2. Hybrids


3. Comfort


4. Mountain


5. Street racers

Street racers are what we used to call 10 speeds, which allowed you to choose from 10 different gear ratios to make pedaling easier, especially while going uphill. Notice I said easier, not easy. Riding a bike up a hill is never easy unless you have a motor hidden somewhere on the bike. That's why I ride a Harley; I keep the motor hidden under the gas tank. Hardly anyone notices....

Plus street racers have really low handlebars and those long, narrow seats. I mean, you ride one of those when you are an older guy and not even Viagra is gonna help you... that's if you can ever get a date after women see you in those shorts... I mean, have you ever seen one of those overweight middle aged guys huffing and puffing along wearing riding shorts. Not a pretty sight...

Anyway, today's bicycles have an unbelievable selection of speeds: 3 speeds, 7 speeds, 10 speeds, 12 speeds, 15 speeds, 21 speeds, 27 speeds... I'm sure there are a few more however the ink on my keyboards 's' key is starting to wear off.

First thing we said was eliminate the speed racers; neither MLA or I will be training for the Tour De France. Plus no one wants to see my fat butt in those biking shorts/shirts. So eliminate the street racers.

Then we eliminated the mountain bikes based on where we plan to do most of our riding, which is in RV parks and on bike paths. Well manicured bike paths. Mostly paved bike paths. The biggest gap I'll be jumping is the curb at the local Dairy Queen so I probably don't need a mountain bike with front and rear suspension, disc brakes, who knows how many gears and a shock absorber mounted in the frame.

So we are now down to a:

1. Cruiser Bike -- sounds pretty good; I can just picture riding, scratch that, 'cruising' along the boardwalk at the beach, enjoying the fresh air, the sound of the ocean and all of the beautiful sights found at the beach - Thrashers French Fries, Pizza, Frozen Custard, etc.


2. Comfort Bike -- right away this sounds like a good choice -- comfort -- you can just feel your butt enjoying a big comfortable seat, the handlebars up nice and high so you don't have to lean over which you know always hurts your back. So that's a keeper.


3. Hybrid Bike-- A Hybrid is between a Cruiser & Comfort style of bicycle. I don't know what it is but it just sounds so hip, so 2009. I mean, all the car makers are going with Hybrids. Maybe a Hybrid bicycle has the same 'green, electric motor' hidden somewhere on the bike?

MLA & I couldn't decide without help so we consulted the guidebook which explained the differences between all 5 styles of bikes. Except the book uses that same exact definition for Cruiser, Hybrid, and Comfort. I am dead serious. The same exact explanation is posted on the wall at the store too: bigger seat, high handlebars, wide handlebars, wide tires, etc.

And no mention of anything electric, motor or otherwise, on the Hybrid bike.

In the end, after all our research we bought MLA a cruiser. Why the cruiser you ask? After all the reading and comparing and checking the web, all we could find at several stores was a cruiser style for women. Could have accomplished this much quicker if we had just gone to the store with no reasearch in advance

And we found nothing for me -- at least not in bike style/price range -- cheap. Plenty of bikes for me in the $500-$1000 & up range.

So we bought MLA a cruiser bicycle and added a front basket. Very cute. She vetoed the little ringer bell that attached to the handlebars. That said, I've seen her ride a bike before; we owe it to the other campers, wildlife, small children, etc. to install a bell on her bike -- and maybe some of those flashing lights. Don't say anything to her -- I'll install them when she's not looking.

See Ya!

Casa Grande, Arizona: The Joys of Water Volleyball

Today was my first day back at the pool. And of course I had to play Water Volleyball from 2-4.

Wow! What a great time. What is it about this game that I enjoy so much? Could it be the fact that one team can hit the ball an unlimited # of times as long as the ball goes back over the net to the other side? Could it be that fact that the same person can hit it multiple times without the need to alternate? Could it be that the game is just an excuse to splash and play in the pool, all the while enjoying the warm Arizona sunshine?

I'm not sure however I do really enjoy this game. I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, my arms ache, my legs are a little wobbly, my back is sore, and I got a little too much sun on my face -- God I feel great. Can't wait until tomorrow at 2 pm when I get the chance to do it all over again.

MLA & I went and looked at bicycles this morning -- sure would be nice to have a couple of bikes to get around the campground. Not sure if we can find a way to take them with us so we might buy now and sell them in a couple of months. On the way out we found several trees with lemons and oranges on them. Very cool - of course I had to tell MLA those lemons and oranges belonged to the lot owners, not to anyone just passing by.

And of course, while we were out MLA found the local library AND had me find the women's center , which was hosting a "Bag Sale" for books. They give you a plastic grocery bag and tell you to fill it up. Cost per bag: $3.

MLA put so many books in her bag I thought we would have to put wheels on her bag it was so heavy. I too had a pretty heavy bag; there were just so many great books. I was so embarrassed with how many books MLA put in her bag I gave the ladies an extra $4. Still, we probably picked up 30 books or more for $10. Can't beat that.

Of course the requirement is for MLA & I to read all of these books in the next two months before we leave. It's OK to have them in the RV while we are parked however once I fire up the diesel for us to start travelling again, all these books must go.

Won't be easy given all of the activities here at Palm Creek Resort plus the many parks, trails and historic sites around Casa Grande.

And I may have MLA talked into a three day rafting trip on the Colorado River in late March. No way she'll agree to a 1-3 week rafting trip so this is my next best bet. Rafting through the Grand Canyon however you stay in a Inn each night plus a helicopter ride out of the canyon. And a trip over to the new "Sky Walk" attraction. That's where a glass deck makes a giant loop out over the Grand Canyon, allowing you to look down to the canyon floor over 4000 feet below.

Where else are you going to find a Grand Canyon Rafting trip where you get to spend the night in a soft, warm, and comfortable bed. I'd rather camp under the stars on a sandy beach however MLA has already vetoed that idea.

I'll let you know if I'm successful in getting her to go on this trip.

See Ya!

Casa Grande, Arizona: Water Volleyball, Pickle Ball, Lawn Bowling, & Dry Camping No More

We left Quartzsite this morning. Most of our fellow Tiffin owner' s left today as well; there were only a handful of Tiffin coaches left in our patch of the desert however we passed 1000's of RV'ers who were sticking around for the last few days of the event. I think the RV show ends Sunday however the Antique Car Show starts Monday -- something like that.

And of course, the Gem & Mineral show does not seem to stop at all; it runs concurrently with the RV show & the Antique Car show and any other show Quartzsite decides to host.

All in all, this was definitely an experience I'd recommend to any RV'er; everybody should attend at least once. And many of the people there attend every year. Not sure MLA & I would attend every year however if we are in the area I would definitely visit for a day or two.

I think one reason so many people return year after year is that many group and associations get together in the same spot with many of the same people year after year.

Sometimes the affiliation is the brand of RV, like Tiffin or Bounder, etc. Sometimes the affiliation is by on-line forum, like IRV2 or Happy Trails. Sometimes the affiliation is by interest, such as radio controlled airplanes or shortwave radios, etc.

I'm sure there are many, many more affiliations that I did not see. It was really incredible to see some places with over 40 people sitting around the campfire. One group we saw had people around the campfire at breakfast and dinner. Probably lunch as well however MLA & I were gone during lunchtime.

As I said, it was a lot of fun. That said, MLA & I wanted to hit the road. Our holding tanks were full so it was either move the RV to a campground with hook-ups or deal with emptying the tanks.

We had see (and spent) enough so we hit the road; about 4 hours later we pulled into the Palm Creek RV & Golf Resort in Casa Grande. This is the same place we stayed at in last October for 2 weeks, playing water volleyball and in general having a great time.

So we decided to try this for a month. If we continue to like it and use enough of the facilities to justify the (high) monthly cost we'll extend another month. Otherwise we'll find a place with fewer amenities at a greatly reduced cost.

We are all set up on our new site: levelers down, slides out, water , sewer & electric connected, chairs on the patio, light string around the patio, etc. Feels good.

We had a little rain here this evening which is not a common experience however it did wash the dust away and gave everything a nice fresh glow. Tomorrow, weather permitting I head up to the pool for some water volleyball. Plus I want to get into the Pickle ball league and maybe even the Lawn Bowling league.

I didn't give much thought to Lawn Bowling at first; it didn't seem like it would require a great deal of skill. That was before I found out you play with a lop-sided ball. When you roll the ball it will not go straight, it curves. Something about that has me intrigued to the point where I want a shot at that game. We'll see.

See Ya!

Quartzsite, AZ: Perfect Blue Ox Service & RV Quick Shades

Another beautiful day in the desert. Very peaceful here. MLA and I took it easy this morning -- relaxing, reading and enjoying the great natural beauty of this area.

Despite the many RV's in the Quartzsite area it is still peaceful and serene. I guess we are far enough from the major roads and desert trails to keep any noise and dust to a minimum.

This afternoon, after a 'power nap', MLA and I headed into Quartzsite to pick up the Blue Ox tow bar. I had dropped it off last night to be serviced for a fee of $25. Picked it up today and it appears good as new: new seals, boots, washers, covers for the arms and I think they replaced one of the arms -- the old one had a slight bend in it. Since it had not affected functionality I really had not paid a whole lot of attention to the bent arm.

We also picked up a set of "RV Quick Shades" which are windshield shades that mount from the inside. Gives you the same functionality as outside shades without requiring any holes to be drilled or the use of a ladder to install when you set up camp and when you break down camp. Nope, these install from the inside, so it's nice and easy. Not to mention about half the cost of outside shades.

Windshield shades do two things: 1) stops the intense light and UV rays from entering the coach and 2) blocks the view from the outside into the RV while still allowing a clear view from inside the RV to the outside world. Perfect.

Most importantly we spent this afternoon wandering the exhibits/stores for dozens of Gem & Mineral dealers. The picture above is MLA standing next to several large displays although they have thousands of items available in all price ranges. If I ever build a 'man cave' in the basement and use a Gem and Mineral decorating theme, this is where I'm coming to buy everything. Unless I find a better deal somewhere else in the country. So far, this is the best place to buy.

I told you we would stay until MLA gets tired of dry camping. Well, turns out we are both ready to head to the Palm Creek RV Park in Casa Grande so we will probably get on the road tomorrow morning. It's time to go and empty the black & gray tanks plus throw away the trash we have accumulated for the last few days. Plus they are calling for a 40% chance of rain tomorrow so it's time to 'hit the road'.

Unless of course we wake up and feel like doing something else. You just never know. Take care.

See Ya!

Quartzsite, Arizona: Electric Carts, Salmon, & Electric Shock Therapy

Ever plan to do something for a long time? You know, an activity where you put some serious time & energy developing and executing a plan to make something happen/go somewhere?

And then have the place be somewhat of a let down? Unable to 'live up' to your expectations?

Well, that's how I feel about Quartzsite. We have been planning to attend an event here for at least two years, and now that we are actually here it is somewhat disappointing. Problem is I can't quite put my finger on what I was expecting. Somehow I expected the event to be bigger, more organized, and less commercial.

As promised, the Quartzsite Happening is huge. Literally miles and miles of stuff for sale. There is a huge 'big top' type tent, with tons of exhibitors displaying their wares inside. Way too crowded in these aisles; so packed you felt like a salmon swimming upstream (or at least what I imagine a salmon swimming upstream might feel like). And everything is for sale, with lots of duplication. I mean, how many people can make a living giving cooking demonstrations in order to sell pots & pans? How many booths of "Sham Wow" or "Sham Wow" clones do you really need? Or t-shirts booths selling 3 t-shirts for $12?

And almost all of the vendors have that same glazed (& dusty) look on their faces. Many will spend at least two weeks and some up to four weeks sitting in their booths day after day, trying to separate RV'ers from their money. Watching this mass of humanity stroll by their booth, many without ever making eye contact with the booth personnel. I'm just glad they don't allow people working here to carry guns or someone would have gone 'postal' by now...

Way too many people. And then, because RV'ers tend to be a little on the older side of life, well, there are a few older people using all kinds of devices to help them get around: canes, walking sticks, hiking poles, however the most prevalent devices are those little electric carts.

You know the ones: small handlebars, quiet electric motors, four small wheels (usually white for some reason) and a big comfortable seat. No little bicycle seats here, no sirree. Big seats. And the most common accessory? A basket or two, some of which are downright massive.

Driven by more women than men, watch out if some free piece of literature or free food sample comes into view of one of these drivers. If you're lucky they'll simply stop in the middle of the aisle, blocking all progress in both directions, asking people to 'hand' them whatever it is that caught their eye.

If you are unlucky, they'll throw that cart into reverse faster than you say "I want two free samples" and run you down. I know some of you think I am exaggerating. Why you would think such thoughts are beyond me, why my middle name is practically 'conservative'. Far be it from me to exaggerate.

In fact, today I saw some lady on one of those carts throw that baby into reverse, gun the motor to back up for something that caught her eye, and in the progress she ran over the women walking behind her. Never so much as an "I'm sorry" or a "Get the heck out of the way". Nope, she practically knocked this lady down, grabbed whatever had caught her eye and then she motored off, in search of the next 'must have' item/freebie.

I'm serious, I steer clear of anyone, male or female, on one of those devices. We can only hope there is someone who loves them and drives them around rather than lets them get behind the wheel of a car/RV.

That said, this show is huge. MLA lasted about half the day; I'm sure she would have lasted longer except we had to park in the next county... MLA was tired before we even arrived at the big tent.

This afternoon I went back up by myself to drop off our Blue-Ox tow bar for a tune-up. Tow bars connect the car to the RV. Blue-Ox makes one of the best in the business however after just less than one year of use, this tow bar has a little too much slack in the pivoting head. For $25 Blue OX will perform a tune-up, packing grease into the needed areas, replace shims, etc that apparently wear out over time. I'll pick it up tomorrow afternoon and hopefully she'll be good for another year and/or 15,000 miles.

As I've already said, it's amazing to see all of these RV's camping out in the desert. There are very few campgrounds with connections; most are sold out to the vendors who are here for most of January. The rest of us camp out in the desert, enjoying just about everything the desert has to offer except the dust kicked up by our fellow travellers. Dust permeates everything. Our red CR-V looks gray; you have to wash the front windshield with the wipers before every trip.

Oh well, we are having a great time. There are about a dozen fellow Tiffin owners here with a few leaving and a few taking their place every day. Right around sunset someone will start a fire in the fire ring and people bring their chairs and drinks over, form a very loose circle and enjoy each other's company. Lots of nice people, many like MLA & I are travelling full-time or close to full time.

As most people have told us you have to experience Quartzsite at least once; just like everyone should experience an electrical shock by sticking your finger or something metal into an electrical socket, at least once...

See Ya!

Quartzsite, Arizona: Hitting The Sauce Again

Well, we arrived in Quartzsite, AZ today as planned, right around 4:15 pm. Perfect timing really as happy hour started at 5 pm.


Perfect, because it gave us just enough time to set-up camp. Everyone attending the happy hour was asked to bring a 'heavy' h'orderves to share. Not sure exactly of what a 'heavy' h'orderves was MLA decided to go with our standard cheese, crackers and sausage. We put plenty of stuff on there to ensure it met the 'heavy' requirement, grabbed our drinks and made the commute about 20 yards away to the Happy Hour circle of Tiffin owners.

Turns out heavy h'orderves is food heavy enough to keep you from having to prepare dinner -- who knew?



In any case there are about 20 Tiffin owners along with some of their SOB friends. SOB's are "Some Other Brand" of RV. Within the Tiffin owners group, all are welcome.



I'll make this short since we are dry camping. I have limited electrical power in the RV because I running off of the batteries unless I run the generator, which I don't want to do at night.


Plus I've been hitting the sauce again -- Dick's Hot Salsa from New Mexico. I've had some of that hot sauce every night for last 4 days; I'm down to less than 1/2 a jar. This stuff is incredible.


Looked for it at the Walmart this afternoon however they do not carry that brand. I grabbed another brand of hot salsa -- and I'll be 'hitting the sauce' later tonight to compare the new hot salsa with Dick's hot salsa.

Tomorrow we go exploring the big RV & Mineral events in Quartzsite.

Hopefully I can get a few pictures tomorrow to show you just how crazy it is here in the desert. RV's camping in the desert for miles around.

See Ya!

Tucson, Arizona: Voyager RV Resort

Tomorrow we leave the Tucson, Arizona area and plan to arrive at Quartzsite, on the Arizona/California border on Tuesday afternoon.

We have enjoyed staying here at the Voyager RV Resort. It's a pretty amazing place with 3 heated pools (one inside), 2 spa's, a fully equipped gym, on site restaurant & bar (that delivers to your RV site if desired), day spa & salon, barber shop, massage spa, woodworking, crafts, pickle ball, tennis, dance lessons, golf, stained glass, fusion glass, silversmiths, lapidary, laundry/dry cleaning, etc.

I'm sure there's more... Lots of activities/events like dances, trips to local casinos and trips into Mexico. They even have a cruise to Alaska leaving in July. All in all, this is very much a fill service, self-contained little community. Only time you need to leave the resort is when you want to go shopping or sight seeing.

One thing about Tucson, it's is a big city. Not measured in people; measured in square miles within the city limits. We saw one sign saying "Entering Tucson City Limits" followed by another sign saying "Tucson 21 miles". The city line starts 21 miles outside of center city. Not sure how far it goes on the western side of town however this place is big. There may be some other advantages to having such a large amount of land located within the city limits however I'm willing to bet the ultimate driver is tax revenue. Tricky little buggers...

Beautiful place, slightly elevated above the valley floor, which brings a little cooler temperatures to Tucson; especially welcome during the summer months when Phoenix is unbearable. And of course, beautiful Arizona sunsets displayed over great desert views.

I'm still learning my new camera so the pictures are not 100% where I want them however they give you a pretty good idea of the sunsets we have seen almost every night.

Quartzsite is about 3.5 hours away plus whatever time it takes us to do our last 'stockpile' purchase of water, ice, diesel, and propane. We will be boondocking (dry camping or camping without hook-ups) for however long we will be in Quartzsite so you pretty much need to take everything you need for the week with you.

Actually Ive been told you can buy anything and everything, for a price, in Quartzsite. Supposedly it's like one of the world's largest RV shows combined with a huge yard sale.

We'll be there about 5 days or until MLA gets tired of taking 'navy' showers. A 'navy' shower, for those of you not familiar with the term, is where you get in the shower, turn the water on & get wet, turn the water off, lather up, turn the water on & rinse off, turn the water off, towel off. Need to conserve the use of fresh water and conserve space in the gray water tank, which holds all of your 'used' water.

Originally she agreed to 5 days however she's already started back pedaling.

Actually I think she is more worried about me wandering the vendor booths like a kid in the candy shop. I can feel my wallet getting smaller just thinking about all the items that will be available. And that has MLA worried big time. Oh well.

I keep telling her I'm only adding necessary items to the RV for her safety or for her comfort. Originally she bought that however I think she's starting to question whether or not I'm being totally candid. After all, just about anything & everything can fit (or be squeezed) into the safety and/or comfort category.

For instance, the UV lens filter I need for my new camera is defintely a safety item. How so you ask? Well imagine MLA driving the RV down the road when a flash of that brilliant Arizona sunshine reflects off of the 'unprotected by UV filter' camera lens. The intense Arizona sun could easily cause a flash that completely blinds and incapacitates her, while driving the RV (or toad).

She could lose control and destroy our happy traveling home in an instant, all because we did not purchase the appropriate and necessary safety equipment for my camera. Hard to imagine how we have made it thus far without incident -- undoubtedly only my incredible caution and our good luck have kept this big rig between the white lines.

Seriously, I do it all for her.... I just have to keep saying that (without smirking or laughing) for another 5 or so days -- wish me luck. And of course I'll let you know how I improved the RV's safety as we progress.

See Ya!

Tucson, Arizona: People Behaving Badly in the Tombstone Territories

What is it about the area referred to as the Tombstone Territories that brings out the 'bad behavior' in people? Especially in the past but even now, this area has a strange impact on some people's behaviour. Bounded by Tucson on the west and the New Mexico border on the east, all the way south to the border of Mexico, this is a huge area with lots to see and do.

It contains Tombstone of course but also Bisbee, home of the largest silver mine in the state for many years and it contains Fort Huachuca, a large Army Base that has played a special role in defending the surrounding area and the US since the late 1800's.

At first glance this area is a vast desert scrub land. An area easy to simply 'drive through' on your way to some other destination.

With the exception of Tombstone, of course. Who hasn't heard about Tombstone, the Boot Hill Cemetery and the fact that Tombstone was one of the most lawless towns in the country/territory for many years. It was a dangerous place to live, work or visit.

The name Tombstone calls like a beacon for many people, especially when you hear that every day the good people of Tombstone re-enact the gunfights on the same streets and alleys that made Tombstone famous/infamous many years ago. Plus the town of Tombstone is still home to some 65 original buildings from the late 1800's.

In fact, the town of Bisbee, 25 miles south of Tombstone & home of the largest copper mine in Arizona, has well over 100 original buildings including the Copper Queen hotel.

Let me just say this about Tombstone -- it's so commercial it hurts. And it's kind of hokey -- at least for us now. It would have been great when when the kids were younger (back in the days when we actually traveled with our kids). The cowboys, dance halls, stagecoaches and gun fights had the children wide-eyed and captivated their imaginations. We saw lots of children wandering the streets with toy guns and holsters, riding the stagecoach or enjoying the horses ridden by the cowboys.

As I said, for us it was too commercial and a little hokey. We did enjoy the fact that many of the buildings along main street are the original design and have been maintained/rebuilt fairly accurately.

That said, the name Tombstone packs them in everyday.

However if all you did was visit Tombstone you would miss an incredible variety of landscapes and history. As I said, Bisbee has much more to offer if you are a fan of the original architecture. There are more small museums than you could visit in a month of weekends, many of them free or minimal charge.

Not to mention the very scenic roads in the mountains of southern Arizona.

Now most people think the bad behaviour only occurred during the days of the wild, wild west around the turn of the century however that's just not so. The bad behaviour continues today. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed to tell you just who has been exhibiting some of this 'bad behaviour' so identifiable with this part of the country.

Yep, you guessed correctly -- my wife Mary Lynn.

You see, as we travelled the southern deserts parallel to the border of Mexico, a strange and compelling bad behaviour developed within MLA. And it just continues... I've done my best to contain this bad behaviour but the spell cast by the Southwest is just too great...

As we started hitting consistently warm weather, warm at least during the day, the weather routine has been similar every day: Cool at night; usually in the upper 30's and lately in the 40's. Then it slowly warms up until, in the afternoon it's t-shirt weather. And since we have been in Arizona it's been shorts and t-shirt weather. High 70's usually.

Then the sun goes down & it cools off quickly. People who had just a few hours earlier been enjoying the pool in a swimsuit are now walking the streets of the RV park in long pants and a coat or sweater.

Mind you, I'm not complaining that it's warm, not in any way. Especially with the rest of the country experiencing frigid temperatures and winter storms. MLA and I really appreciate the weather and just how lucky we are to be here.

However, MLA's bad behaviour is just getting worse and worse you see, and as I said it's more than a little embarrassing. She has become a, well, the only term I can think of, and I don't think it's even a word, well, she's become a 'gloater'. Every time I turn around she's on the phone 'gloating' about how great the weather is here in Arizona. It started slowly with the warm days in New Mexico and has grown into this embarrassingly bad behaviour.

Every day she succumbs to this urge to behave badly and calls several of her closest friends and family members, just to 'gloat' over how nice it is 'here' (here being a variable based on our travels). And every day I have to tell MLA to get off the phone when I hear her 'gloating' about the warm weather.

Nope, not a pretty sight. My normally mild mannered, sweet, bubbly wife really enjoys 'sharing' the current temperature.

Sure, it starts innocently enough: Your phone rings and you see it's MLA calling and your happy to hear from her. It's been awhile; you have a little time to get caught up so you pick up the phone.

At first it's great to hear her voice and her laugh. However, shortly after asking about each others family and maybe discussing a little 'over the fence' news, it happens. Quickly, almost imperceptibly, the gloves come off and she can't wait any longer. She hits you with a "Oh, I had to change my clothes; it so warm here, I needed to put on shorts and a t-shirt". There, she's said it and now she downright gleeful. Nobody enjoys getting out of the cold weather like MLA.

She's an equal opportunity 'gloater' too; she will gloat about the weather with anyone at anytime. This has been especially painful for our youngest daughter who hates cold weather with a passion. Repeatedly I have to beg MLA to stop gloating. Sure, call friends and family as much as you want, but no gloating. No one will want to take her calls.

Her gloating, while painful to watch, would not bother me so except, sometimes she gets tricky and calls people on my phone. Soon people will not want to answer when they see my phone # pop up on the caller ID.

What's that, how is the weather here in Southern Arizona? Marginally acceptable, barely worth mentioning. I'm not gonna say the exact temperature however you can check the weather channel or possibly catch the info during the weather portion of the news. Just don't get mad at me and refuse my calls -- I'm not gloating at all, no sirree, not me.

Until next time -- See Ya!

Tucson, Arizona: One Year Later: 200+ Blog Entries & 6000+ Visitors

We started our RV adventure and the blog one year ago (First Blog entry was January 21, 2008). During the past year we have posted 200+ blog entries -- each one a hand crafted, meticulously researched piece of non-biased journalism -- NOT.

Actually they are the random scribblings (OK, typing) of a disorganized mind. A mind no longer constrained by the logic, pressures, stress, and travel schedule required while working as a VP for a Fortune 15 company. Nope, in retirement you are free to let your mind wander -- just as we let our bodies wander with our RV travels.

So the blog entries run the gamut from travel planning to living with your spouse in a very small space to observations on some of our fellow travelers - some funny, some not, but ALL true (OK, how about 'mostly' true? No - how about 'usually' true? No - how about 'an occasional grain of truth sprinkled into the mix' -- that's my final offer).

The blog has been a great way for family and friends to keep up with our travels without swamping thier e-mail with unsolicited updates on our progress. Our own personalized game of "Where's Waldo" except "Where's Dale-o" or "Where's Mary Lynn-o" or "Where's Mom & Dad-o" just didn't have the same ring, so we named our blog "Dale & Mary Lynn's Travels".

Incredibly creative and original, don't you think? There are some great RV & Travel Blog names out there, but this isn't one of them. To quote Joe Friday from Dragnet fame: "The facts, mam, just the facts". If quoting Joe Friday doesn't date me I don't know what will.

Another milestone: In the last year 6000+ visitors or, to be more correct, 6000+ visits have been made to our blog. Since some friends and family follow along on a regular basis it's hard to say how many unique visitors have stopped by.

Doesn't matter. Truth is, it has been a lot of fun to capture our travels, both in words and pictures. The pictures especially have captured the essence of the places we have visited. Good thing too, because my words have often been far too ineffective in describing the majesty, beauty, and greatness of this vast country.

And the people. We have met an incredible variety of people in our travels, each one with their own story - a mix of accomplishments and longings and recommendations on where we should go next, even if they personally have not been there.

So far we have only visited 21 states in the RV. Even in these states we have seen only a small portion of what each state has to offer. Typically we are in a state only a few weeks - not nearly enough time to fully investigate the richness and variety all states have to offer. Time and time again we have been pleasantly surprised by our exploration of every state. There may be some states without a lot to offer however we have not found one yet.

And during the past year we have been 'on the road' for 10 of the 12 months. Wow.

In those 10 months on the road our trusty Tiffin Allegro Bay RV has taken us to those 21 states without fail and now has 15,000 miles on the odometer.. I know we'll slow down at some point however right now we are having a blast.

To catch you up on our current travels we arrived in Tucson, Arizona this afternoon deciding to investigate another RV Park where we might possibly spend February and March. Next week we will go to Quartzsite, without a doubt the largest gathering of RV's and their occupants in North America.

After staying at Quartzsite for a few days we will stay in the Phoenix/Casa Grande/Tucson area for ~2 months. Then its over to San Diego, where we'll begin our adventure up the Pacific coast of California, Oregon, and Washington State.

Tentatively we are planning to spend June - August in Alaska.

Anyhow, thanks for following along, thanks for all of your comments/feedback/suggestions, and most of all, thank you for being the special people who love and support us.

As always, See Ya!

Las Cruces, New Mexico: An Unstoppable Force Meets An Immovable Obejct

There's an old, supposedly unanswerable question that college students are tortured with, something along the lines of "what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?". Generations of potential physicists, philosophers, scientists, architects, engineers, etc. have pondered this question to no end while in college.

Not me mind you. The only thing I pondered in college was which party I was going to attend that night and was there any chance I would be going to said party with a companion of the female persuasion. And if I did go without a date, which happened on occasion (OK, almost always), was there a snowball's chance I would meet a young lady who would be willing to be seen with me in public. Or at least willing to sneak out back for a little smooch. With those two options you can see why I had problems getting a date...

All this thinking about my social life, or lack thereof, left me precious little time to ponder the "Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object" question. Actually, my thinking about women while I attended college left me little time to do homework or to think about any other subject. After all, you have to set your priorities and stick to them...

Well, for those of you who are for some reason perplexed by the "Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object" question and are still searching for the answer, just give me a call. I now know the answer: Stuff breaks. Into lots of pieces and it isn't pretty.

Allow me to elaborate.

When you are RV'ing & arrive at the location where you intend to camp, one of the things you need to do is put the RV's slide(s) out. We have four slides in our RV and each is controlled by it's own switch that brings the slide in or out. Push the button and the slide moves.

Pretty easy, except, you have to make sure there is nothing in the way of the slide, either inside or outside of the RV. The slide motors are very strong because they are moving hundreds of pounds of weight. If there is a tree or post outside you have to make sure the slide will not hit said tree or post when the slide is 'run out'.

For the inside, each slide has it's own requirements to ensure the slide operates without damaging anything else. For the driver's side slide you need to ensure the driver's seat is all the way forward. Easy to say and simple to do except, since we do this so frequently it's easy to simply push the button without checking everything carefully.

Running the slide into something clearly happens frequently to RV owners because there are warning signs all over the RV, the slides, and in all of the manuals. PLUS the dealer's personnel who do the initial training also stress this 'check clearances before pushing button' rule.

Well, as you have probably guessed by now, we had an incident the another night when setting up camp. Mary Lynn ran both front slides out at the same time. You can't watch both slides at once and well, that's when the unstoppable object (the slide) met the immovable object (the driver's seat). When the trim around the slide hit the driver's seat, the trim stopped; the slide did not.

I heard the noise from outside the coach and came running in to find the trim in many more pieces than when it had started the day. The look on MLA's face was one of shock and she was on the verge of tears over some 'stupid' piece of wood (well technically, it was now several pieces of 'stupid' wood).

Some of you would say this was clearly MLA's 'fault' since she was operating the buttons inside the coach and I was outside the RV. If that's what you thought then chances are you are an incredibly naive unmarried male, or if married, you are still incredibly naive & your chances for hitting your 25th wedding anniversary seem limited.

MLA quickly pointed out two things: 1) she was amazed this had not happened sooner since we do this so frequently and it is so easy to have happen and 2) she forgave me.

"Forgives me for what?" you might ask. Well, as the last driver of the day, clearly it was 'my fault' the driver's seat was moved all the way back and partially reclined, right in the way of the slide.
Don't worry about the logic here; it varies from situation to situation. The important parts are: 1) it's already done/broken 2) doesn't matter who broke it 3) it still needs to be repaired, probably by yours truly.

If you still think it's important about who's fault it is I say to you, my unmarried and/or inexperienced friend, if you want to have harmony and peace (not to mention any chance of warming your tootsies on your mate), learn to repeat the following: "No worries mate, sorry about that and I'll fix it as soon as I buy the parts". No need to mention all the cool tools you'll 'need' to buy -- in situations like these, no questions will be asked, trust me.

There, that wasn't so hard was it? And I guarantee your tootsies will be warm...

In any case, today was a day of chores: shopping for supplies (& tools), maintenance for the RV, cleaning, getting ready for our departure tomorrow, and converting several small pieces of wood into one larger piece of wood. All in all, a pretty relaxing day.

I hate to leave New Mexico as it is very special here. In Las Cruces, as in much of New Mexico, the days are sunny and warm, the nights are clear and cold. I spoke with one local who told me they have sun 350 out of 365 day per year. And, she told me, they are working on the other 15 days.

The quality of the sun here in New Mexico is special as well. Artists flock to this area to take advantage of the light, which is incredibly strong, resulting in more vibrant colors. Throw in the cultural connection with the Native Americans and their art, the relatively inexpensive, wide open spaces, and a touch of real cowboys/cowgirls and you have one beautiful destination. Lots to see and do; I know we'll be back (when it's warmer) to do more exploring.

See Ya!

Las Cruces, New Mexico: Old Mesilla Plaza

Today Mary Lynn and I explored Las Cruces. Well to be more accurate we explored a portion of Las Cruces, specifically we spent time exploring the Old Mesilla Plaza section of town, which dates to the 1800's.

The Plaza is the center of the old village and there are numerous shops and restaurants all around the central square and the surrounding streets. Of course, MLA had to explore all of the shops. The colors of the goods for sale are spectacular and the selection of books at the books store concentrated on two of our favorite topics: local characters/outlaws and adventure travel.
I didn't have any problem leaving the shops without making a purchase however the books store was an incredible challenge. So many books crying out to me: Read Me! Read Me! Read Me!

I think one day, when I'm too old to drive the RV, I'm going to open a small bookstore. There I'' sit by the small fireplace and read. No matter that the book store will be located in a warm climate. Nope, I'll still have a fireplace, comfortable chairs, lots of natural lighting, and enough help to make sure I can perform the incredibly important job of pre-reading the books.

We had lunch at Josefina's Old Gate Cafe, where the food was delicious and reasonably priced; two of my favorite attributes when discussing food. We then explored the local church which was built around 1900. Absolutely beautiful.

On the way out MLA twisted my arm to look into one more shop. It was here that my resolve weakened for a minute. This shop, Solamente de Mesilla, specializes in items from Southern New Mexico. The pottery wasn't my weakness not the other crafts and gifts. Nope, it was the salsa.
I probably could have made it out of the store without making a purchase however the store owner's do not fight fair. They had ~20 different bottles of salsa organized at a 'tasting bar'. Wow - not fair at all.

In any case I bought a jar of Dick's Cafe Hot Salsa - a recent award winner that is spicy and hot! I love it. MLA won't even touch the jar as she's not much for really spicy food/salsa however I really love it Here's the web site http://www.solamentedemesilla.com/ ; not everything in the store is on the web site however some of their salsas and hot sauces are available.

This evening we relaxed back at the RV. All in all a terrific and very relaxing day in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

See Ya!

Las Cruces, New Mexico: Texas in The Rear View Mirror - Finally

Well, 880 miles ago, on Monday, we entered Texas headed West. Today we left Texas and entered New Mexico. Wow- 880 miles to cross the state of Texas, all on Interstate 10. They even have a special term for the endless drive: I-10-itis.

In the past we've stayed at some RV campgrounds that are near the Interstate, meaning you will hear some traffic noise. And we've stayed at RV campgrounds that are located near railroad tracks, meaning you'll hear the trains as they pass in the night.

Well here in Texas, at least along I-10 they specialize in RV Parks that let you hear these sounds in stereo.

Well, there is a railroad that parallels I-10 most of the way across the state or so it seems. Campground owners want to be able to advertise that it is easy to get off the Interstate and easy to get back on the Interstate, so they tend to buy property right on the frontage road.

So you end up with a double whammy -- truck noise from the Interstate on one side and train noise on the other side.

Just to make things interesting, the campground we stayed at two nights ago is located between the railroad and the Interstate PLUS it is located beside a road that crosses the track. That means every train is required to blow it's whistle starting about 2 miles away and then to stay on the horn until the engine is through the intersection. The campground in Columbus had a train at the top of every hour and and a couple of time on the half hour.

In the morning I was able to see the tracks about 500 yards away. Pretty easy to see except when I was yawning....

After the second night of Interstate and train noise, Mary Lynn and I started to find RV Campgrounds just by using the following rule: If you are at an off ramp for the Interstate and you can clearly see the train tracks within half a mile of the Interstate, you'll find an RV Park. Try it the next time you're travelling I-10 in Texas -- it works!

Oh well, sleep is greatly over rated when driving great distances.

Which brings me to another point. Somehow I had forgotten we are retired and are not due anywhere. We have no schedule, no appointments. So why was I hurrying to cross the great state of Texas? Other than to get a good night's sleep, I'm not sure.

Maybe it was the thought that the RV event in Quartzsite starts on Saturday. So what, it goes for almost two weeks so there is plenty of time to get there. And if we miss it, no big deal. We'll do it another time.

Maybe it was that fact that we needed to travel 880 mile on I-10 to get across Texas. And oh, by the way, the speed limit is 80 mph for cars and 70 mph for trucks. Somehow I felt compelled to see the miles melt away. It was almost like being back at work where everything was a race to get done quickly. At work if you did it in 5 hours the last time you need to get it done in 4 hours this time. Yeesh - how did I let myself fall into that trap again.

I mean, in the work world, that's just a reality of life. However, in retirement, there is no such need to bust your hump every day. Glad I finally remembered that. All on my own. Except for a little coaching from MLA. OK, a lot of coaching from MLA. OK, there was no coaching -- she told me straight out I was pushing too hard to get across the state. And she was right.

So today we took it nice and easy. I stayed in the slow lane at a constant 65 mph. We stopped at all of the scenic overlooks and hiked to the top of the hills.

And tomorrow we are going to see what Las Cruces has to offer. We'll spend all of tomorrow just exploring and relaxing. Now that's living! Maybe we'll get back on the road to Quartzsite on Friday.

Then again, maybe not. See Ya!

Fort Stockton, Texas: Wide Open Spaces & Roadrunners

Today MLA & I left Columbus, Texas and after driving a distance of ~425 miles we decided to stop in Fort Stockton, Texas. Fort Stockton is pretty much in the middle of West Texas and it's another 250 miles before we reach El Paso, Texas. We also thought this would be a good jumping off point to head north to Carlsbad Caverns.

A good friend, John G., suggested we take a slight detour to Carlsbad Caverns, which is just a few hours North. MLA & I were pretty excited about seeing Carlsbad Caverns since we have heard Carlsbad Caverns are the best caverns in the country, and John confirmed that fact.

MLA's enthusiasm disappeared once we checked out the weather forecast. Looks like we'll have to hit the caverns when it's a little warmer as the forecast for the Guadalupe Mountains is cold and colder. Wouldn't matter in the caverns underground where the temperature is a constant mid-50's however I don't want the RV's pipes to freeze. Or MLA's for that matter....

Guess what happened today?

MLA, my normally reliable and faithful co-pilot, the person I depend on to keep me in the know, the person who is never at a loss for words, the person who takes great delight in directing my activities, who never misses an opportunity to speak her mind, well, guess what she did? Or more correctly, what she didn't do.

At a rest stop somewhere in the hill country of Texas I jumped out of the RV to stretch my legs and do my usual walk-around to ensure everything is OK with the RV & Toad. At the last second I grabbed my camera just to shoot a few pictures. Not that this rest stop had much in the way of scenic beauty but what the heck, I can usually find something interesting to photograph.

So what happened, er, didn't happen? After my walk-around I stood next to the RV taking a few photo's and then hopped into the RV. As I am putting the RV into gear, my delightful wife says "What kind of bird was that?" to which I replied "What bird?".

Turns out there was a Roadrunner about 5 feet behind me and MLA just assumed I was taking pictures of the bird, the bird on the ground, behind me. She thought I was taking it's picture. I pointed out I had my camera pointed up at the horizon and in the opposite direction. No matter, MLA insists the missed photo was my fault. She says she would have told me but was sure I had seen the bird....

Look at the picture above and imagine, if you will, the highly elusive Roadruner, standing just 5 feet behind me... It's just not the same, is it?

I then proceeded to hop out and see if I could catch up to the Roadrunner however they have incredible speed. In fact, they are so fast they are the only animal (that I know of) that feeds on rattlesnakes. They pick them up by the tail and snap the snake like a whip, repeatedly striking the snake's head against the ground until the rattlesnake 'rattles no more'. Soooo, little wonder I was unable to catch up to the Roadrunner.

MLA thought the whole thing was hilarious, especially since I had a zoom lens that could see into the next county and I didn't get a picture of this large bird standing next to me. I however, fail to see the humor -- well, OK, maybe I see a little humor. I informed MLA this was a serious breach of her co-pilot responsibilities -- not that she'll lose any sleep over it...

Tomorrow we head off again on I-10 West.... Only 264 more miles to go before we are out of Texas. Yee Haw!

See Ya!

Columbus, Texas: Howdy Pardner!

As usual, entering Texas is like entering another country. Everything is done on a bigger, grander scale than anywhere else in the country, at least what I've seen so far.

We left Fairleigh Riverside State Park in Covington, Louisiana this morning and drove west across the bottom of Louisiana, using I-10. I have to take a moment to say I-10 around Baton Rouge was some of the worst road we have traveled. MLA keeps saying wait until we get to Alaska.

Truth is 1) I can't wait and 2) Alaska has a very good excuse, namely permafrost and vast distances that need to be built and maintained. Baton Rouge, Mississippi has no such excuse.

In any case, we traveled about 150 miles through Louisiana and 200 miles in Texas. As soon as you enter Texas there is a sign telling you the Visitor Center is in one mile at exit 880. If you know how the Interstate numbering system works you know that the road you are on goes for another 880 miles. In this case, I-10 continues through Houston, San Antonio, and ends soon after going through El Paso. Wow; 880 miles on the same highway just to cross the state of Texas.

We hit Houston at 4 pm just as rush hour was getting into full swing. Fortunately we didn't have any real delays however that is one spread out city. In a previous life I had to spend a lot of time in Houston and it's not one of my favorite places. I like the people (and the BBQ) however the rest of the city you can have. Several of us jokingly referred to Houston as the swamp. I used to think the humidity in DC was bad; mere child's play compared to Houston's humidity during the summer month.

If you want to have fun, get a Texan talking about how everything is bigger in Texas -- their stories are a stitch. If you really want to have fun, then tell the Texan you are from Alaska and you appreciate how close everything is to each other in a small state like Texas. Oh yeah, make sure you are several feet away when you make this comment.

We stopped for the night about 130 miles east of San Antonio. We are not doing much sight seeing on this leg as MLA is anxious to get to Quartzsite. The Gem & Mineral show is going on now and the RV show starts Saturday. MLA wants to see some of the Gem show so I'd like to arrive on Thursday. Gotta keep Momma happy!

The weather has been pleasant during the day and cool at night. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get a picture a Texas longhorn steer. The horns are an amazing sight (as long as viewed from a distance or behind a fence).

See Ya!

New Orleans, Louisiana: WW II D-Day Museum, Cafe Du Monde, Higgins Boats, & Tacky Ornaments

Mary Lynn and I spent the day in New Orleans with MLA's sister Debbie and Debbie's husband Richard.
Richard and I headed off to the WW II D-Day Museum while the ladies went to see what shopping treasures might be found in the French Quarter.
It was the perfect solution really, to a problem that didn't exist but would have developed. Neither MLA or Debbie are really into the D-Day Museum, with it's numerous interviews and lots of displays, mainly composed of photo's and lots of written material.

Neither Richard and I are really into shopping, especially in the many small, crowded shops that populate New Orleans' French Quarter.

We agreed to meet late in the afternoon at Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans original French Coffee stand that is world famous for it's delicious french pastry, beignets and, of course, it's coffee.

The WW II D-Day Museum is truly amazing. Richard and I spent many hours exploring the exhibits, which start with the tensions and turmoil of the 1930's through the war years and finally detail the events of the war from D-Day to it's conclusion in Europe.

A special focus of the D-Day Museum is on the Higgins Boat Company, which manufactured the landing invasion craft that made D-Day possible. And of course, the Higgins Boat Company was based in New Orleans.

They turned out thousands of landing craft, support ships, and PT boats. These well built boats made extensive use of plywood in the construction, which made the boats light, fast, and because they were less expensive to build, plentiful.

Later we found an additional wing for the D-Day events in the Pacific. Actually, with the many island invasions that characterized the Pacific WW II campaigns, the exhibits covered about a dozen D-Days, one for each island invasion as Allied forces worked their way towards an invasion of Japan. Finally it concluded with the events around the dropping of the nuclear bombs that ended the war, making the much feared invasion of Japan unnecessary.

Meanwhile the ladies were exploring the French Quarter and, so I'm told, had a great time shopping and admiring a wide variety of items for sale, including art exhibits.

MLA was particularly excited about her purchase of a Christmas Ornament.

You see, every year at the Abbott Family Christmas get together, my family holds a "Tacky Ornament Exchange". Young and old search throughout the year to locate and purchase the tackiest Christmas ornament. We only have two rules: 1) No shopping at the Dollar Store 2) Only one entry per person.

It's a lot of fun. Just when you think nothing could be tackier than the last ornament opened for all to see, an even tackier piece of hanging artwork is brought out to see the light of day (rather the light of Christmas bulbs).

Try it; you will not believe how tacky some of the items being sold as Christmas ornaments.

Mind you, just be careful not to disclose the true reason for purchasing the ornament. Some shop keepers and/or artists get downright offended if they find out your entering their 'baby' to win the 'Tackiest Ornament" prize.

After a great day in New Orleans we went back to Debbie and Richards for a late meal, spend some time playing Wii and other games with their grandson Chance, and then finally saying good-bye.

Tomorrow MLA & I start our trip west towards Arizona. According to Google maps we have about 24 hours of driving ahead of us, mostly following I-10 across Texas, the small southern tip of New Mexico and then across Arizona to Quartszite. Right now I'm thinking we'll stop in San Antonio and El Paso however we may not linger and explore unless the temperatures warm up. The forecast is for chilly weather across that part of the US, albeit much warmer than the northern sections of the US.

See Ya!