Chappy Trails

The Pink Store-Palomas, Mexico

2012-01-26T07:22:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Deming, New Mexico, and hurriedly set up. Off we went heading south passed the border check point to Columbus, then past the Poncho Villa State Park and finally arrived. The 34 mile trip seemed to crawl by on a gun-barrel straight road.

It’s only a short block-long walk from the parking lot across the border. There isn’t much in Palomas besides The Pink Store; a couple of dentists and eye glass places, but it is pretty much a quiet little town with a few kids hanging around the border with their hands out asking for money.

We went directly to the restaurant part of the store because it was now 2 p.m. and hunger was setting in. Here are the sights we saw around us as we waited for the food.

Ah, margaritas arrived--yummmmm!!! They make their margaritas from scratch so there is fresh squeezed limes, fine sugar, etc. Then all the food.

We were happy campers!!! The food was great as always - we even had a second margarita. Does it show???

We went to the back of the store and looked through the glassware and immense inventory of pottery, picking out a few things for family and friends.

Jim Mossman tried on a terrific hat - we all thought he should have bought it, but the defining question, where do you store it in an RV?

We left a couple of hours later quickly walking through the U.S. Customs without any waits, and walking to our truck in a parking lot with only a couple of other vehicles. Much different from the border crossing and parking lots at Algodones that can take an hour or more to get through.

We are staying an extra day in Deming so we can wash RVs and trucks, clean the rigs and wash clothes….oh, and of course, go back down to Palomas to have another lunch at The Pink Store!!!!!

Remember, you are loved.

Class of 2007 Reunion and Quartzsite

2012-01-25T07:47:00.001-07:00

Monday we left Quartzsite and headed for Tucson as the first leg of our trip to Texas to be gate guards on an oil/gas field somewhere. Here we get a nice send off by our classmates.

We had lots of fun with our classmates with many opportunities to visit during the day, around campfires and several food gatherings. We went to the Escapees RV Club Happy Hour on last week. They had had 400 club members on Wednesday and on Thursday they had about 300.

Here is Betty Bear (sp?) who is member #42!!!!

Lots of folks attended

We worked last Sunday at the American Land and Leisure booth and then toured the Big Tent for an hour. There were more RV related booths this year than we have in the past. No bead booths or popcorn blouses this year LOL.

We did see a spontaneous flash dance conducted by some ladies who carried their own boom box and performed a very good line dance and then suddenly dispersed.

As we walked around the Big Tent we saw some old friends, Marty and Ed, working the booth for Adventureland. We met them when we worked for amazon.com in Coffeyville, Kansas. It was nice to chat for a little while.

As we left Quartzsite and drove east on I-10 there were some nice photo shots.


	Love the saguaros

We arrived at Snider Hill BLM land in Tucson, which is one of our favorite places to boondock. We spent a month here back in 2008 with the Burbars and Glovers, enjoying an Easter dinner with other campers there. We called our friends Marcie and Jim Cumberland who have been staying in the area and had them come over for a visit (we were not unhooking). The Cumberland’s are also amazon.com alumni from Coffeyville, Kansas. It was so nice to see them again. Love Marcie’s new hairdo and Jim’s “Santa” beard is growing longer.

Once again traveling with Linda and Jim Mossman, we took off Tuesday morning and arrived in Deming, New Mexico around 1 p.m. Tomorrow’s blog will be photos of our trip to Palomas, Mexico, and The Pink Store….that is definitely a blog post all of it’s own!

Remember, you are loved.

Working a Booth at Quartzsite RV Show

2012-01-23T07:31:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, Jim and I work for American Land and Leisure supervising seven national forest campgrounds in southern Colorado in the summer. So when we are in Quartzsite we usually work their booth outside the Big Tent, talking to people about becoming camphosts.

Entrance to the Big Tent which I think is the length of 3 football fields.

This shows the length of the Big Tent

Our booth in the southwest corner

We got a crowd right off the bat.

I’m sorry but I don’t remember the other area manager’s names, but the tall guy is our Vice-President, Steve Werner, and to his right is the Staff Manager, Gary Huntington, and the gent on the extreme right is our Financial Manager, Matt Kemp.

We really enjoyed the five years we’ve worked for American Land and Leisure. They are a good, good company.

Today we are leaving Quartzsite and traveling to the San Antonio area in Texas to hopefully work as gate guards. More on that later.

Remember, you are loved.

Reshowing of Cactus Queen 2008

2012-01-22T18:08:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday was a “free day” at the reunion here in Quartzsite, so some of us got together for dinner at Taco Mio.

Then we came back to the campsite and used Hank Landry’s outside TV to watch the DVD of the 2008 Cactus Queen Contest at the Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande, AZ. We absolutely ROARED with laughter at the antics of the “ladies”.

This is how it looked from the side of Hank’s rig.

I cropped these shots so you can see them close up. Click on any photo to increase the size.

Jim Chapman	Jim Cumberland
Paul Anderson	Howie Glover
Joe Jones	Jay Carter
Finalists, Howie Glover and Sal Tumolo	Queen Sal with his/her Court

Nick Russell, Joe Jones, Paul Anderson, Howie Glover, Jim Cumberland, Jim Chapman, Sal Tumolo, Jay Carter, and Bob Pinner.

We had such a good time viewing this DVD together. Remember, you are loved.

C.A.R.E. Auction

2012-01-22T06:45:00.001-07:00

Escapees RV Club has an adult day care facility in Livingston, Texas for Continuing Assistance for Retire Escapees. Being a non-profit organization many Escapee function incorporate a fundraiser for C.A.R.E. During our Class of 2007 Reunion we had an auction on Friday. We raised $1,600, which isn’t bad for having 20 rigs and 38 people in attendance!

Joe Jones finishing up weaving a chair	Showing it all done
Layout of items	Of course we had wine
Bobbie Tumolo’s photos of Great Tetons	Marcia Jones crochet purses from plastic bags (Purple Store purple bags)
The Pinners donated a “day-of-the-week” clock	HOP jacket & my knitted hat and scarf set

It was very lively betting going on with a couple of husbands and wives betting against each other by mistake, and somebody saying “Jim Tidball bid $10” when he hadn’t even opened his mouth. But it was all for a good cause so there was a lot of laughter floating around.

After the auction we dispersed for half and hour and reassembled for a chili cook-off with corn bread and desserts Jim Chapman used a remaining pork butt and cooked it Cajun style, like it learned at Erath at the Museum Cafe. Oh, my, did it come out good!!!.

Joe blowing a conch shell to start the evening	Jim C’s Cajun pork butt
Line up of chili pots for tasting	Groups of folks eating together

We ended the evening with a fire “spiked” with Flame Rainbow sticks giving it quite an array of different colors. It was a terrific day with wonderful weather, food, fun, laughter and friends. What more could you ask for? Nothing…..

Remember, you are loved.

Memorial Poem

2012-01-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

Several people have contacted me asking for the poem Jim read at the memorial ceremony here at the Class of 2007 Reunion (I already sent copies to Hank, Carolyn, Connie and Fay). So here is the poem for all to read.

To My Dearest Family

Some things I'd like to say
but first of all to let you know
that I arrived okay

I'm writing this from Heaven
where I dwell with God above
where there's no more tears
or sadness there is just eternal love

Please do not be unhappy
just because I'm out of sight
remember that I'm with you
every morning, noon and night

That day I had to leave you
when my life on Earth was through
God picked me up and hugged me
and He said I welcome you

It's good to have you back again
you were missed while you were gone
as for your dearest family
they'll be here later on

I need you here so badly
as part of My big plan
there's so much that we have to do
to help our mortal man

Then God gave me a list of things
He wished for me to do
and foremost on that list of mine
is to watch and care for you

And I will be beside you
every day and week and year
and when you're sad
I'm standing there
to wipe away the tear

And when you lie in bed at night
the days chores put to flight
God and I are closest to you
in the middle of the night

When you think of my life on Earth
and all those loving years
because you're only human
they are bound to bring you tears

But do not be afraid to cry
it does relieve the pain
remember there would be no flowers
unless there was some rain

I wish that I could tell you
of all that God has planned
but if I were to tell you
you wouldn't understand

But one thing is for certain
though my life on Earth is ore
I am closer to you now
than I ever was before

And to my very many friends
trust God knows what is best
I'm still not far away from you
I'm just beyond the crest

There are rocky roads ahead of you
and many hills to climb
but together we can do it
taking one day at a time

It was always my philosophy
and I'd like it for you too
that as you give unto the World
so the World will give to you

If you can help somebody
who is in sorrow or in pain
then you can say to God at night
my day was not in vain

And now I am contented
that my life it was worthwhile
knowing as I passed along the way
I made somebody smile

So if you meet somebody
who is down and feeling low
just lend a hand to pick him up
as on your way you go

When you are walking
down the street
and you've got me on your mind
I'm walking in your footsteps
only half a step behind

And when you feel the gentle breeze
or the wind upon your face
that's me giving you a great big hug
or just a soft embrace

And when it's time for you to go
from that body to be free
remember you're not going
you are coming here to me

And I will always love you
from that land way up above
will be in touch again soon
P.S. God sends His Love

--Author Unknown--

need I say, remember you are loved

Class of 2007 Memorial

2012-01-19T07:18:00.001-07:00

Mike Bubar spent two full days smoking three pork butts…low and slow requiring eight hours a piece. We had three different types of barbecue sauce and lots of sides. What a feast we made out here in the desert.

After shredding the pork it was kept warm in crock pots using two generators-clever

Double line spread

Linda serving out the pork

In the last four years we have lost four of our members. We wanted to acknowledge them during our reunion. Jim and Linda Fleeger put together a simple ceremony of memories. There were two trays of votive candles in sand with a photograph of Keith Curry, Patty Landry, Paul Anderson and Jay Carter. Most of us have seen our classmates several times on the road during the last four years, so it was hard losing them.

Jim did an introduction and then several members of the group stood and talked about memories they had. Jim finished with a moving poem.

We laughed and cried, cherishing those wonderful people we were privileged to know, if only for a little while. We’ll see you down the road.

Remember, you are loved.

Escapees Class of 2007 Fifth Reunion

2012-01-18T10:27:00.001-07:00

We are members of Escapees RV Club and check their discussion forums often. At the end of 2006 we joined and found the “Graduating to Fulltime” section and became acquainted with other folks who were going to be become fulltime RVers in 2007, thus becoming the Class of 2007.

We “talked” with each other through the discussion forum nearly daily and really got to know each other. Then some of us met each other at the Escapade in 2007 in Goshen, IN. But the big meeting was held here in Quartzsite, AZ in January 2008 just before the Big Tent RV Show.

Since then we have seen each other many times on the road from Alabama to Washington state. Jim and I have been so lucky to have many of the group visit us in Colorado while we camphosted there in the summer. Other times we have traveled together for a couple weeks at a time. These meetings are like seeing your family again. There is no explaining why you do what you do, how you “get your mail”, live without full hookups or the other questions we often have to explain. Your classmates know you, they know your story, they accept you.

So we are now back to Quartzsite to celebrate our Fifth Reunion. We are having so much fun. Since we keep in touch with each other daily through Facebook and the Escapees Discussion Forums, there hasn’t been a lot of “catching up” but more “remember when we…..”

One of those events were when we all went to The Desert Bar, which I wrote about a couple of days ago. Another thing we did back in 2008 was going to Silly Al’s for pizza and karaoke night, with Sal Tumolo singing a sexy “Bad to the Bone”. So, of course, we had to go do that again this time too.

There were 20 of us this time but we couldn’t sit together but were at three separate tables. After the pizza Sal was bought several beers to get him in the mood and he did perform a great version of “Bad to the Bone”.


With Marcia Jones and Jim Tidball	With Marcia

The karaoke wouldn’t start for another hour and a half, so we decided it was cheaper to return to our campsite and have Sal perform it again around the campfire. Joe Jones brought up the song on his smart phone and Sal put the phone to his ear to get the words right.

Getting in the mood	With Trisha Schmidt

So we are walking around Tyson Wells and Rice Ranch checking out the “stuff” before the Big Tent opens.

Bobbie and I had to try out the 2 1/2 scoop ice cream cones…only $3.50

A lot of the folks go to La Mesa RV for their free lunches

Waiting in the long line

Place was busy this day

We have our daily happy hours and nightly campfires. Some of our classmates were unable to attend this reunion, but have asked for lots of photos so they can see everyone attending, so I’m putting in more photos than I normally do.





Chorizo meets D.O.G.

Last night we had a successful and tasty potluck. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera so I didn’t get photos of Linda Fleeger being crowned Queen of Class of 2007 complete with a crown and a plunger…I mean a scepter. She was even given a thrown (a porcelain one) that in preparation, the Burbars have been carrying around in the back of their pickup for a while. I stole this photo from Joe Jones Facebook page

Sorry for the long post, but there was so much to catch up on. I hope you enjoyed it.

Remember, you are loved.

Arizona State Match of SASS

2012-01-17T07:12:00.001-07:00

SASS stands for Single-Action Shooting Society and their meet outside of Yuma opened up a whole new world to me. Sunday we drove back to the Yuma area to see our friends, Jean and John Watson. John was competing in the Arizona State Match of SASS.

There are ten shooters in a posse and they move from one “stage” to another and compete for the fastest time in shooting contests. They men and women use two pistols, a rifle and a shotgun at each stage. Here are some of the stages we saw. Very artistic.

Everyone is dressed in period costumes of the 1800’s. Many of the women sew their own costumes, although there are costume stores around the country and online. It was sooooo much fun looking at all the different costumes. There are cowboys, of course, but also Confederate uniform, trappers, dance hall girl, Indian woman, stage coach driver, lawmen, Mexican bandito, etc.

	“Honey, do these guns make my hips look big?” Who's going to say “yes”?

The guns are moved on creative carts. They carry bottled water, all the ammo, a place to sit down, etc. Some are very fancy. Some even have umbrellas to create shade.

Here is John Watson in all his glory. His moniker is Coach Drifter, the coach referring to his Class A rig.

We worked and carpooled with Jean at amazon last year at Campbellsville, KY. Jean made a wonderful sloppy joe lunch and walked around with us as explaining the whole SASS activities. I really enjoyed watching all the shooting contests and seeing the men and women compete together. I was really into the costumes. I could really get into this type of shooting.

Thank you Jean and John for your hospitality. We look forward to spending more time with you when you arrive in Quartzsite.

Remember, you are loved.

Desert Bar in Parker

2012-01-16T09:47:00.001-07:00

Saturday eight of the Class of 2007 drove up to Parker, AZ to visit The Desert Bar, now being also called The Solar Bar. It’s a unique bar opened only on weekends from noon till 5 p.m. closed June, July and August; everything is run by solar power.

You have to be determined to get to the bar because it is about five miles off the main highway through some pretty rugged and bumpy terrain.

But once you get there here is what you see

There use to be a mine in the area called the Nellie B and this area was frequented by a lot of four-wheelers. The owner bought the land in 1975, opened the first bar in 1983. The existing bar opened in 1988. Even a church was built of steel on the premises, although there aren’t any services held there, many weddings are held in front. It’s not a full church, just a church front

The bar has many unique features like heavy steel bathroom doors --- look at the welded door hinges.

And the bathrooms have an opened area for the sinks, so you wash your hands and look right outside. Look at the fun sinks and faucets. Sorry for the light photos, but the sun was really shining in.

Here is our happy Class of 2007 gang

In front Jim and NanC Tidball, Bobbie and Sal Tumolo and in back Jim and I along with Ron and Linda Fleeger.

When we got back to La Posa South in Quartzsite we had a little football party outside Hank Landry’s rig. Hank serve hot dogs and we all brought snacks, watching the game on his outdoor TV. When it got too cold some of the folks came into our rig to watch the rest of the game….unfortunately the Broncos forgot to come to the game.

It was a full and fun-pack day for the Class of 2007… slept well!!!

Remember, you are loved.

Mead’s Foothills Patio Party

2012-01-14T06:37:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday Sharon and Ron Mead had a patio party at their new property in the Foothills of Yuma. The Meads stay in their “home” bus and use the single-wide that is on the property as they “party house”. They have a corner lot and in this photo you can see their home parked on the back left side, the mobile home and then Frank and Gretchen’s rigs on the right. Ron built out the patio with a semi-circle addition which gave them a great barbecue area.

I’ve never been to the Foothills area where all the RVers stay on property with full hookups, right along with homes on the same property. Quite a nice set up. Rents are about $275-$325 a month and many RVers rent lots for the winter. With a new Fry’s in the neighborhood it is a convenient location.

The new patio was a good excuse to have a Boomer party. The Meads supplied the hot dogs and the rest of us brought the sides. There was a large attendance and we all had so much fun.

After we left (had to pick up our rig from the repair shop, but that’s another story) everyone gathered to take a group photo. I snagged this off of Facebook…thank you Karen Bennett.

Thank you Sharon and Ron Mead….we all had a grand time!!!

Remember, you are loved.

Project Day

2012-01-09T06:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday it was very, very windy out here on Sidewinder Road. It definitely was a “stay inside” kind of day. So I took advantage of this confinement to take on a couple of projects I’ve wanted to do.

First was recovering a small foot stool I bought at a consignment store in Pahrump. Since we moved around the furniture putting the couch along the side wall and the chairs in the back, I find I’m still sitting in front of the TV now on the couch. That’s mostly because the re-done table is there and have a place to put things. Anyway, I need a foot stool to old my computer on my lap more comfortably. The stool I bought had a flowered tapestry fabric on it that didn’t fit our decor, so here’s what we did yesterday.

With that done on went on to sewing up a new valance for the bathroom. What we had was multi-colored flowers on a purple background. Yes, I know, I like purple but this belonged in a grandmother’s house….well, OK, I AM a grandmother, but this didn’t belong in THIS grandmother’s house. So here is what I came up with.

Yup, I used the same fabric that I used on the foot stool. So that what I did on a windy day….what did you do?

Remember, you are loved.

What we’ve been eating lately

2012-01-07T14:06:00.001-07:00

We’ve been cooking a lot at home lately…OK we’ve eaten out for lunches also…but lots of “from scratch” cooking for dinners.

We bought a bone in ham and after the main dinner with the Mossman’s, we had several ham and eggs for breakfast, Jim had a couple ham sandwiches for lunch and then I made a big pot of pinto beans with the ham bone.

Next I made a pot of posole … it came out so good.

I also tested that fish batter I used on the trout the other day on a lunch of eggplant. The batter made the eggplant nice and crispy.

The other day we went into Yuma to do laundry and decided to have lunch at Steiner’s European Deli, which we have seen advertised on local TV.

They had a lot of different brats and hams. Then I spied a childhood favorite of mine---headcheese. My mom use to make headcheese at home using bits and pieces of different meats in clear gelatin. She put it in a loaf pan in the refrigerator and then sliced it about 1/4”-1/2” thick and served it with a touch of apple cider vinegar and a slice of rye bread. I bought a couple of slices of Steiner’s headcheese for old times sake.

That’s what we have been eating lately. What’s your favorite “comfort food”?

Remember, you are loved.

More Repairs

2012-01-06T06:33:00.001-07:00

When we moved out of Mittry back to Sidewinder Road on Wednesday, Jim noticed the fresh water tank was hanging down; we’d lost a support strap!

So today we are taking the rig back over to C.J.’s RV Repair in Yuma to have it fixed.

And we had just filled us up with water and now have to drain it all out and then refill it again after the repairs…..oh, the life of fulltime RVing! It seems it is always something.

Remember, you are loved.

Knitting Projects

2012-01-04T07:23:00.001-07:00

The old knitting needles have been flying lately. I like to read my Kindle during the day, but at night I need to keep my fingers busy so I usually knit while watching TV.

I finished up the scarf set to be auctioned off at our Class of 2007 Fifth Reunion in Quartzsite later this month.

Last week I finished a prayer shawl for my dear friend, Lory, who is battling cancer again. She’s worn out the one I made her for her first bout of breast cancer, so I made her another one and got it mailed off yesterday. The Lion’s Homespun Yarn is very soft and comes in beautiful variegated colors.

I also finally found the right button to finish off the cowl I made to go along with the hat I knitted last year. The cost of a button is outrageous. At Joann’s they wanted from $3.00 to $7.00 for a single two inch button. Finally found a novelty one for $1.75

Yes, I do so love purple and red together.

Remember, you are loved.

New Year’s Day 2012

2012-01-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

We had a very nice potluck here at Mittry Lake. Lots of folks came out from the Foothills to join us, so we had a big group celebrating together.

Jim and I brought fried trout fillets that we had in our freezer since we left Colorado. Jim and I don’t fillet our trout usually because you lose so much meat, but one of our campers filleted a large amount and gave it to us as a “thank you”. There must have been 20 fillets, so we saved them to share at some point. Boomer’s potluck was the right time.

We wanted to batter the fish so I went online and found a really good recipe. At least the folks at the potluck really seemed to enjoy the fish, even those who said they usually didn’t like fish. Some asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Fish or Vegetable Batter

1 c flour
2 T baking powder (yes, that is two tablespoons)
1/4 t salt
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/2 t Old Bay (optional)
1/4 t hot sauce (optional)
Whisk everything together, batter will rise a bit and be thick. Dredge fish or veggies in flour so the batter will adhere better. Dip in batter and fry in oil till golden brown. If the batter gets too thick, just thin out with a little water.

This makes for a very light and crispy coating, nicely encasing the fish which stays moist and flaky. It reminded me of the batter they use on the shrimp in Algodones at the Shrimp Taco stand. I tried it out on my slices of eggplant and it was yummy! Bet it would be good on mushrooms, long slices of carrots, zucchini for sure.

Give the batter a try and let me know how you like it.

Remember, you are loved.

New Year’s Eve 2011

2012-01-01T11:18:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve celebration yesterday here at Mittry Lake in Yuma!!!

We shared our dinner with The Mossman’s with them and Jim eating steak and baked potato and I had a Morningstar BBQ Riblet and quinoa…I’m trying to start my new year with a more veggie emphasis.

We are joining other Boomers (Escapee RV Club sub-group) here to celebrate together with a “Z Circle”. This sets up four rigs as “hosts” and 24 participants. We were a host rig. With a special formula (LOL) they match up three couples to come and get-to-know-each-other for 45 minutes. Then an air horn sounded and every one moved to different rigs for another 45 minute get together. You had 15 minutes in between to return to your own rig to refresh your drink, etc. Everybody brought an appetizer or dessert to the first rig and left it there so it could be shared with subsequent guests. It worked out fine and we did, indeed, get to know each other better. Plus it was good to have nibbles to eat with the drinking.

Sue and Ken Pace with Gretchen Knapp and me

Darlene and Ben Frint and me

At 11:15 p.m. we all gathered for a bonfire that Ken Pace built. Sue Pace handed out illuminating bracelets and necklaces
so we all walked around glowing…some in more ways than one LOL.

Folks mingled around and enjoyed the mild evening weather…it wasn’t really cold being in the desert.

Linda Fleeger bringing snacks to the bonfire with a glow stick in her mouth	The Frint’s, Linda Mossman and Jan Moore
Carol Miller, Sue Pace	Jim Mossman and Frank Knapp

Linda Mossman and Jan Moore led us all in singing 60’s songs~we all sang with gusto. “Henry the Eighth I am” brought the most laughs

We had the count down and there were kisses and handshakes all around. By 12:15 a.m. we had all sauntered back to our rigs and called it a night.

Jim and I slept in till 6:30 this morning, had a nice breakfast and we are now ready to face the day….maybe I’ll make another pot of coffee first though LOL.

Hope you have a wonderful new year with lots of love to share with someone, dancing in the moonlight and giggle till you pee.

Remember, you are love … by me and all who know you!

Algodones, Mexico

2011-12-31T09:00:00.001-07:00

We took a day to go across the border to shop for glasses for me, at Algodones Optical the closest to the border. Such a deal!!!! They had a buy one get one free special going on. Cost $160 for two pairs of trifocals using the

poly plastic lenses to make my strong prescription lighter weight - one pair clear and one made into sunglasses. They look pretty much like my purple pair in design, but they are metal in a bronze tone. I like having a sunglass pair so I don’t have to use those big “over the glasses” style sunglasses. As we had two hours to kill before the glasses would be ready, we walked around the town.

First we stopped for lunch at the shrimp taco place in the next block on the left. They’ve added fish tacos to the menu so we had one of those too. Jim didn’t like it as well as the shrimp one, but I liked it even better.

Waiting in line. They also have tamales, etc. with Coke in glass bottles made with real cane sugar bottled in Mexico…so good!

Round fryer over large burner underneath. Finished shrimp on top

They we wondered around some.

Vendors line both sides of the sidewalks	Teenager hand weaving a name bracelet-flipping the threads back and forth to create a name.
Bracelets ready for sale	Cigars for sale
Lots of leather purses-most you can get for $10 or less	Bottles of pure vanilla extract 8 oz. for $2 and it’s double strength also ~ I bought several for gifts
Booze sampling stand	Salesman passing out samples-you can get looped just sampling.

Didn’t buy much this trip, but did get myself a purse. I really like the colorful loom woven purses…nice to have something NOT made in China for a change.

Picked up my glasses and was very happy with the fit. Next came getting out through U.S. Customs…ugh…the line was the longest we have ever seen. Had to go down to the second block, but it only took us 40 minutes to get through as they had all four stations opened and running.

Got home in time for happy hour out here in Mittry. Good group of folks.

Remember, you are loved.

Mittry Lake

2011-12-30T11:12:00.001-07:00

We moved over here to Mittry Lake in Yuma last Monday. There are about a dozen Boomers out here to celebrate New Years.

The area is very pretty with a lake on one side and a canal on the other.

Mittry Lake view	Canal with hikers on the ridge
Happy hour gathering	Food and chatting
Ben,Darlene,Laurie,Odel, Jan and Chuck before their hike.	View to the south as the sun rose.

We plan to have a Z-Circle New Year’s Eve~don’t know exactly what it is but will find out tomorrow at 8 p.m. Then we’ll have a bond fire at midnight to toast in the new year. New Years day we’re having a potluck in the afternoon. Jim is going to fry some Colorado trout fillets we have in the freezer.

What are you doing for New Year’s Eve celebration?????

Remember, you are loved.

Stain Glass Window Insert

2011-12-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

We went down to Algodones last week so Linda could get some glasses. The local “shopper” weekly ad sheet had a coupon buy one get one free. So Linda got an eye exam, a pair of trifocals and a pair of prescription sunglasses for $60…yes, for two pairs of glasses with frames and an exam for $60!!!!! That’s why we come to Yuma every couple of years, glasses, dental and great shrimp tacos.

While we were there I also got a really good and cute haircut for $5; it was probably one of the best haircuts I’ve ever had, in fact. All my perm is gone now, but I can wait till April to get another one in Alamosa.

Jim and I have wanted to put a stain-glass insert into our entrance door, but couldn’t find a theme we liked. We’re not into the hummingbird thing or the kokopelli thing. I wanted a mountain scene with a bit of water and maybe a deer to remind us of home in Colorado, but they didn’t have any. But then we found this year they added beveled glass door inserts in some interesting colors, so we bought one in shades of burgundy.

Jim M. taking out screws	Out comes the old glass insert
After scraping off old putting and putting on new, they snipped off the hanging hardware	Jim C. positions new insert and puts in the screws
Here’s the look from inside the rig with the light shining in	This it the look from the outside the rig

I really like the look of the new insert. The vendor started the price at $75 and we got him down to $55 - I think it’s worth it.

Remember, you are loved.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T18:34:00.001-07:00

We woke early and started to make our phone calls to friends and family. Then around noon we joined the Mossman’s as they drove across to El Centro, CA to the Naval Facility.

Along the way west we passed the large Colorado River water supply cross the desert on it’s way to California.

Next we came to the sand dune that get populated with ATVs during the weekends.

We arrived at the Naval Facility in El Centro, with a very pretty grouping of jets at the entrance.

Scott and Diane met us at the gate and as we drove to the RV Park on base, we noticed how deserted the base looked. No cars to be seen, no one outside, just empty streets. Scott said this was a training base and there weren’t any squadrons on base at this time. This is the base that the Blue Angels train at. There are also some Canadian squads that come there to train.

Scott pointed out the RV Parks club house and mentioned they had a nice lemon tree there. Would we like to take some lemons home? You betcha…. They were so huge. Oh, how fragrant these lemons make the house.

We joined Scott and Diane, and Jim and Linda Mossman for dinner at the base’s mess hall. Oh, my, what a spread!!! You walked in and paid your $7 and for that you received prime rib, 8 oz. lobster tail, rice, baked potato, stalks of fresh broccoli, corn on the cob, dishes of large shrimp cocktail,then came a full salad bar including a lot of cut up fresh fruit. Here is a photo of my plate….note the size of that lobster tail!

After you finished dinner and you had room there was a full array of pies and soft serve ice cream. Oh, my goodness we were all stuffed!!!

Next we went to a neighbor of the Howey’s for after dinner drinks….Crown Royale Black Label on the rocks. Perfect ending to a perfect dinner. Take a look at the cute Christmas decorations they had.

Linda was our designated driver and it was about 7 p.m. when we got back to our rigs.

It was a wonderful holiday for us, a bit unusual being on a naval base and eating lobster tail, but every bit as enjoyable as ever. We were with people we loved and who loved us….what more can we asked for???

Remember, you are loved.

Linda Mossman’s Birthday

2011-12-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

Today is Linda’s birthday and as is her tradition, we went out to an early movie and dinner. We saw “Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol”. It was very, very good! Lots of action scenes, of course, and a lot of neat technology stuff too. Very enjoyable. Next we went to dinner at Olive Garden. Oh, wow, did we stuff ourselves.

This morning I took a chance and baked a carrot cake…Linda’s favorite. I’ve never made a cake from scratch before…I’m a box cake mix girl, but I wanted to try. I went online and looked for a recipe for “best carrot cake” and found this recipe. It turned out pretty good.

You can even see the grated carrots in there along with the pecans. Yeh, that’s cream cheese frosting.

This recipe is a keeper and will make another appearance for my Jim’s birthday next year.

Tomorrow we drive to the military base in El Centro and have Christmas dinner with our friends, Scott and Diane Howey, who are staying at the FamCamp. There is prime rib and lobster on the menu…oh, yes I can break tradition and eat lobster for Christmas, you betcha!!!

Jim and I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope you are with someone you love for Christmas.

Remember, you are loved.

Chorizo

2011-12-23T09:46:00.001-07:00

Our dog, Chorizo, wasn't feeling well. Last Saturday night he was listless, wouldn't walk down or up the rig steps, cried out when you went to picked him up. We called the Ironwood Vet Clinic in Yuma on Monday and made an appointment for Tuesday.

Blood tests on Chorizo showed nothing positive for upper respiratory infection and nothing positive for lower GI problems. That’s good. Two x-rays didn't show any herniated disks in his back. But physical exam by the vet pressing down both sides of his spine with his thumbs sure brought out a yelp when he got down to the lower back. It was determined Chorizo has a backache, probably caused by hitting wrong when he jumped down from the bed or chair. Nothing serious, but we have to give him pain pills twice a day for 2 weeks and then return to the vet for blood tests to make sure the meds are not affecting Chorizo's liver/kidneys???

We have to keep him from jumping up or down from chairs and bed and of course we have to carry him up and down the stairs to go outside....like he isn't already spoiled to death! I have to feed him rice and boiled meat to have before his meds if he won't eat his kibble. So that was a $385 trip to town...think we will definitely have to do gate guarding next fall and winter to make up for all the expenses we've had this fall.

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Update-----------Chorizo is doing fine. I cooked up some quinoa and mixed in some ground turkey, which he gobbled down like it was prime rib. He loves the pain pills, as the vet tech said they taste like beef. The first day he slept a lot and gave me “moon” eyes of pity. But come Wednesday even before I gave him his “happy pill”, he jumped down off the recliner and started playing with his ball and even jumped back up on the recliner with it….hummmm…if we had waited a couple of days more would he had recovered all by himself????? Who knows we didn’t want to wait and see….you know how our pets are like children to us.

Chorizo continues to display no ill affects of his backache. He jumps on the recliner and couch and does well walking down and up the RV steps to go outside. He’s eating well and playing with his pink stuffed bone and plastic ball.

We are going to continue with the “happy pills” for this week and then take him off of them and see how he does. If there is no decline in his behavior we’ll just cancel the next vet appointment and call it good.

Thanks for all the kind comments and concern shown on my Facebook page when I wrote about Chorizo earlier this week. Chorizo is such a ham and all who meet him fall in love with him…he sure knows how to charm you.

Here’s a photo of Chorizo when he was twelve weeks old back in July 2002.

He was so small when you compare him to Jim’s shoes.

Remember, you are loved.

Last Days at Sidewinder Road

2011-12-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

A month ago we got to Sidewinder Road 10 miles west of Yuma (Winterhaven, California proper). That’s a looong time for us to sit in one place…I usually need to move every two weeks. But with the truck expenses we’ve had the last few months, we needed to “stay put” to stop the outpouring of money. However, a month in one spot is enough already, so we will move into Yuma the day after Christmas and stay at Mittry Lake for 7-10 days. That way we will be with fellow Boomers (sub-group of Escapees RV Club) for New Years and have a change of scenery. We will drive to El Centro and have Christmas with Scott and Diane at the military base where they are staying. There’s a prime rib and lobster dinner being offered at one of the clubs on base.

We’ve enjoyed our time at Sidewinder Road though. It is spacious with the other 8-10 rigs parked around, but with space in between us. Here is our spot with the Mossman’s beside us and Marty behind us. We usually enjoy our daily happy hour in the middle.

We like it out here because of the quiet and the spectacular sunrises.

	Sunrise reflected in Mossman’s window.

But the sunsets….oh, the sunsets are, are, well decide what word you would use for these sights!

Remember, you are loved.

Somerton Tamale Festival

2011-12-18T11:21:00.001-07:00

Back in 2007 this small town south of Yuma started a tamale festival. Currently limited to 40 booths, the vendors are making homemade tamales from family recipes. Each tamale cost $1.50 and are paid for with prepaid tickets. We arrived at starting time at 11 a.m. and surprisingly there wasn’t much of a line for tickets.

There was a whole section of tables set up, with bands playing on two stages in opposite ends of the street.

There were tamales from traditional pork and beef to the more adventuresome of shrimp tamales (Marty’s favorite) and tamales wrapped in banana leaves. Several booths also offered a variety of sweet tamales with pineapple, strawberry, or apple with raisins.

Jim and pork/beef tamale	My favorite corn, cheese and stripe of green chile with two salsas
Beef tamale wrapped in banana leaf..enough said. Thought it gave a bitter taste to the masa.	Combo plates were $6 with two tamales, beans and surprisingly, mac salad.
This booth offered tasty salsas	Fresh churros cart was very popular.

Some of the booths offered combo plates with traditional beans and rice, but most came with beans and macaroni salad. Huh??? Mac salad? It looked like the family’s booths maintained the same booth number as the menus looked well used. I wish they used family or booth names to make it easier to remember which ones you liked.

Got to look up “champurrado” because it was on most of the menus and none of us knew what it was.

It was interesting to see that the young people served the public at the front of the booth, while the mamas and grandmas were in the back steaming up more tamales, so they were real fresh. Every kind and type of pots were used and also many types of heat sources. Other booths had all their tamales already cooked and stored in coolers

We didn’t use all our ten tickets, so we took three tamales home to eat later. Next time we’re here I’ll try the shrimp tamale and the fruit ones. But I’ll definitely look for the booths with the stoves steaming the tamales in the back as they are fresher than the ones in the coolers that have been made ahead of time and frozen.

We left about an hour later and the crowds were getting large and very busy. Navigating down the street with booths on both sides didn’t give you much room to walk around, especially with everyone walking while eating their tamales. Maybe it is time for Somerton to consider making this a two day affair. But we certainly did enjoy the event and will definitely come back.

Remember, you are loved.

Howey’s Visit

2011-12-15T18:08:00.001-07:00

Friends Diane and Scott Howey came from El Centro to visit with us and go to Algodones. We first met the Howey’s at Betty’s RV Park in Louisiana last February, spending a month together. We also visited them at their home in Salt Lake City in September on the first leg of our trip to the Pacific Northwest. Diane is a sweet, easy-going lady who is fun to be around and Scott, well Scott is a hoot and keeps you smiling and laughing all the time!

We met them across the border this afternoon and walk around checking out eye glass prices, looking at stain glass for the front door window of the rig, and of course, sampling tequila at The Purple Store. I found a brandy named St. Remy VSOP from France that was pretty darn good….still not as good as E.J. VSOP Brandy, but for $11 it was pretty close at half the price.

Next we went to Five Guys for a late lunch/early dinner around 2 p.m. and then a trip to Sam’s Club courtesy of the Howey’s. We got home in time to put away our wares and found Marty had left Christmas gifts on our steps. We got salted peanuts from Virginia, luminating bracelets, bag of oranges and garlic stuffed olives (I loooove olives of any kind). It was very thoughtful of him; he is such a dear.

Tomorrow is the Boomers happy hour at Chuck and Jan Moore’s place in the Foothills, followed by a parade to watch. Then Saturday is the Tamale Festival in Somerton that we will all be attending.

Linda Mossman will be having her birthday Christmas Eve and we will be celebrating by going out to Olive Garden for dinner and going to a movie - her traditional birthday celebration.

For Christmas we will drive to El Centro and join The Howey’s for Christmas dinner at the military base there. On the menu is prime rib and lobster tail….oh, yum…looking forward to that.

So what will you be doing for Christmas? Traditional or something different????

Remember, you are loved.

Breakfast and Lory

2011-12-13T09:56:00.001-07:00

Monday morning we awoke to rain spatters on the roof…that’s different to say the least. It stopped early morning. But the rest of the day was overcast and dreary.

After two weeks it was time to go do laundry. So off we went into Yuma. First we stopped at The Mad Chef for breakfast. It had been recommended to The Mossman’s by folks at the rest stop where we get our water. Originally it started as a train car fitted with booths on both sides as the dining area. Popularity required the addition of a building for more seating. They have some inexpensive specials and the food was good…we’ll be back.

Tried out 8th Street Laundromat and liked it. They have a lot of double and triple front loaders that I prefer, so we got that job done in record time. Stopped at Food City across the street for a few groceries.

We then stopped at Joann’s for me to get yarn for a prayer shawl for my BFF, Lory. Her breast cancer has returned and metastasized so she will be going through more chemo. She’s worn out the first shawl I made her from years of off and on chemo therapy…she always wears it during treatment to ward off chills. So a lavender multi-color yarn first, as Lory love pastels and it will bring her comfort and peace at home, and then I’ll knit her a deep purple one to enhance spirituality, balance and energy, which she will need during and after treatments.

As we were returning to the desert it began to rain once again. Just lightly but enough to wet down the grocery bags. After the rain we had a spectacular rainbow, with a high arch. You could see the beginning and the end all at once….I’ve never seen a whole rainbow before….quite the sight.

Remember, you are loved.

Knit Project for C.A.R.E.

2011-12-10T20:53:00.001-07:00

Our Escapee RV Club have “graduating classes”, were you “graduate” from working to fulltime RVing. Jim and I are part of the Class of 2007. We communicated with our other classmates for several months before we hit the road and then met many of them at Quartzsite, Arizona, in January 2008, after we’d been on the road seven months.

Since then we’ve seen many of our classmates as we’ve traveled around the country. Many of them have stopped and stayed with us in our campground in South Fork during the summer or visited us in Alamosa.

Our Class of 2007 is having a reunion in Quartzsite to celebrate our fifth year of being on the road. Part of our week together will be an auction to raise money for C.A.R.E. (Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees). It’s a non-profit organization that provides adult day-care for Escapee members and relies on donations to operate. Escapee members contribute at rallies and most gatherings of members.

So I knitted a hat and scarf set to be auctioned off. Here is what it looks like.

Linda Mossman was nice enough to model the set to get an idea of what it look like on.

I hope the knit set makes some good money for C.A.R.E.

Remember, you are loved.

Green Chili and Tarantulas

2011-12-09T08:38:00.001-07:00

Before we left Colorado we bought a few bags of roasted green chiles and stuck them in the freezer. Yesterday was a windy, “stay inside” kind of day, so I figured it was a good day to make green chili or green chili stew, as some may say. We like burritos, so I also cooked up a batch of pinto beans--homemade is best. Well, folks, if I must say so myself, that was the best green chili I’ve ever made. Looks pretty good, too.

We going to make scrambled eggs smothered in green chili for breakfast, with a side of beans and a tortilla.

Had a little of excitement yesterday when a tarantula was discovered walking across the area. We all got our cameras and took photos. Here is Karen Payne (sp?) guiding the tarantula along, making sure it doesn’t go under her Class A.

We were able to have happy hour outside yesterday---haven’t been able to do that for over a week because of the strong winds, so that was nice.

Mostly Jim and I have been reading….yes, I said Jim and I!!! Jim isn’t much of a reader. The only books I’ve ever seen him read was when I got him interested in Catherine Coulter’s FBI series, and he read all 13 of those books. Being out here in the desert most people have solar and don’t put on their generators until the evening, and we didn’t want to break the tranquility with starting ours up to watch TV. Jim Mossman (a big reader) lent Jim C. some Stuart Woods books and Jim C. has read five of them in the last 10 days!!! Now he is on to Robert Parker who wrote the Jesse Stone stories (we love those Tom Selleck movies).

So now in the mornings we have our coffee and read!!!! Sometimes I put on XM to catch the news, but mostly listen to NPR or soft, mood music. It sure has been nice to have a companion during my reading times.

Remember, you are loved!!!!!!

CJ’s RV Repair

2011-12-06T21:08:00.001-07:00

Last time we dumped and returned to our spot out here in the desert, we rolled out the slides and I found a piece of shredded wood on a paper backing. What the heck??? A look under the slide showed that the bottom of the slide was being eaten up by the center slide roller.

Our friend, Marty, suggested we make an appointment with CJ’s RV Repair. It is an independent repair shop that is recommend by many here in Yuma. So an appointment was made and we packed up early Monday, amidst strong, cold winds, and took the rig to town.

After the owner and a couple of techs inspected the slide and inside beneath the kitchen drawers, a solution was determined. Happily, it wasn’t anything serious. Just the weight of the slide and it being carried mostly by the center roller. They fashioned a metal plate for the roller to move across and we were good to go.

We went ahead back to the desert and set up the rig and then returned to Yuma to do some shopping. But first, lunch was in order. We previously ate at Hometown Buffet and was pretty disappointed. Last week we tried Golden Corral and found it pretty good, but the food is so predictable…I do love their crab salad a lot though. So this week we took the advise of Karen Bennett and went to Eats Chinese Buffet. Oh, my goodness, was it good….very, very good!!! The second best we’ve ever been to (the first is the Chinese Buffet in Brooksville, FL).

At Eats the hot food was hot and the cold food was really cold…which you don’t always find. They also had a separate sushi bar with a sushi chef making the sushi right there. There wasn’t any raw fish sushi though. What they had were imitation crab with avocado and the sticky rice, some with avocado and salmon, etc. Very appetizing and delicious. I’m staying away from meat but I found a lot of choices like shrimp, mussels, steamed salmon and tons of veggies….I was happy. Jim said what he had was very, very good. We’ll definitely be going back.

Marty came back from The Slabs today and will be staying around for a while. We kind of do our own thing during the day but get together for happy hour each day, then retreat to our rigs for the evening. It’s really nice because we have our own time, but have company if we want it during the day. We do take road trips together and enjoy each other’s companionship.

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It’s been unusually cold the last few days. Suppose to be in the 70s with lows in the 40s. What we’re getting is highs in mid-60s and lows in low 30s. And the wind, oh my goodness, have we been getting the wind!!! Suppose to be the same till next week. UGH!!!!

Oops, time to get the oatmeal cookies out of the oven. Remember, you are loved.

Slab City

2011-12-04T12:54:00.001-07:00

We’ve heard about Slab City (or The Slabs as some call it) ever since we’ve been fulltiming. It’s a place out in the California desert near the Salton Sea, outside of the town of Niland, where lots of folks go to boondock for free.

Linda Mossman found the history of Slab City online. Slab City “started in 1942 when the Navy acquired 631 acres of desert land east of Niland at the western foot of the Chocolate Mountains for use as the Camp Dunlap Naval Reservation. The Marine Corps used Camp Dunlap as a training center, and some 185,000 troops were field artillery-trained here. When the war ended, training ended. However, the post is said to have been active until 1949, finally being demolished in 1956, with all the buildings being removed and the site abandoned.” There are still the foundations or slabs of the 30 or so buildings that were out there, thus the name The Slabs.

We’ve always wanted to go out there, but never have. Our friend, Marty, stays out at The Slabs a lot and just left us to go over there Wednesday (there’s a tamale festival in Indio this weekend he wanted to attend). With Marty out there to be our tour guide we decided to go out there Friday with The Mossman’s.

The first thing you see when you drive out to The Slabs is Salvation Mountain, as it is called. It was built by Leonard Knight over a period of 20 years as his tribute to God, and he continues to add on to it. He made mud from the available mountain and fashioned his sculpture on the side of the mountain and painted it with over 50,000 gallons of paint….in all sorts of colors. It’s 34 feet tall and some 150 feet wide.

We spent some time investigating Salvation Mountain as there is so much to see. There is a new part on the right hand side that contain little rooms you can walk through, all painted in bright colors

Even cars, trucks even tractors are covered in mud and painted	Close up of painted mud on a vehicle. I think it is beautiful.
Empty paint cans	National Folk Art Site
Inside right side building	Shrine alcove
Linda enjoys the paintings
Look at all this!!!	So artistic
A “room” inside, notice the table and TV on the left and the car door on the right.	Car covered in sayings all created with mud and paint

Afterwards we drove down the road and into Slab City proper. I didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t what I expected. It was very much like Quartzsite with RVs parked here and there.

What I wasn’t expecting was how organized everything really is. The paved roads are almost gone, but the road beds are still there and they form a well defined grid of intersecting roads even with street signs.

Old guard house.	Bulletin board
Road signs directing the way	Street junction
Lines of RVs	No trespassing signs block entrance
Rig on top of a slab. Note the concrete steps	Netting reduces heat
Some are set up to stay	“art cars” pimped up

The Slabs is set up as a little community all it own. There is a clothes exchange--piles of clothes on an empty slab. Also a library area with book exchange.

Here’s a church	Onsite pirate radio station on air 9 to 9
Internet cafe	Oasis nightclub opened on weekends

More about the nightclub-it sits on a large slab, complete with it’s own seating. All gathered from the desert where it was all dumped.

Even has a private, discreet seating area

This whole place reminds be of the old 1950 bohemian days, where anything and everything goes. There are folks with dreadlocks in hippy clothes. Jim saw a woman on the back of a motorcycle completely nude, and yet there is what society would call “normal” folks, too, all living together in harmony, in their own way. Block 17 is where our friend, Tom, usually stays with the LOWs. Marty stays across the street in a different area. There is even an area where Escapees gather together. And there are areas where Marty said he would not walk around at night. You need to be mindful of your surroundings. There are what some would call shacks and yet there are beautiful Class A’s and a lot of fifth-wheels along with tents covered in tarps.

Like Quartzsite, The Slabs is not for everybody. I think you’d either love it or hate it. And like Quartzsite, it is somewhere everyone should experience at least once to make up their own mind. The Mossman’s said they would “pass”, my Jim is undecided, and me….it’s my kind of place! I loved it and really liked the “vibe” of the whole place. I really enjoy the diversity of all the people and all the lifestyles.

I hope you liked the tour. Remember, you are loved.

Thanksgiving 2011-Yuma, Arizona

2011-11-27T17:48:00.001-07:00

It really is remarkable how you can make a full-fledge turkey dinner in an RV using only one tiny 14” wide oven and 36” of counter space (not counting the top of the stove with the top down), but we did it. But all the dining table has to hold all the various serving dishes we will use.

I thought I’d be smart and make up the pumpkin pie filling the night before to save time…wrong! The whole timing thing with the pie will be off using ice cold pie filling, so I had to heat it first…wrong! Then it began to cook and thicken and blopped (is that even a word?) into the pie filling. Now my pie crust is usually wonderfully flaking and tender…wrong! This time, just for kicks, I added 2 tablespoons of butter instead of using lard only (yes, I use lard in my pie crust) thinking it would add a little something (what I don’t know but Martha Stewart does it). That pie crust was like cardboard, like plywood, like, like….well it was uneatable that’s what it was LOL !!! The filling was great though.

Here’s Jim mixing enough dressing for a 25 pound turkey….ah, we have only a 12 pounder, Jim!

Next came time for the turkey to go into the oven…looks huge doesn’t it, but remember our oven is only 15 inches wide!

Go in raw

comes out cooked

There were five of us eating at our round table for dinner (the Mosmans and Marty) and we had it all turkey, stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, perfect gravy, candied yams, Christine’s Modified Green Bean Casserole (with fresh green beans, asparagus, mushrooms, mushroom soup topped with bacon and cheese), and, of course, cranberry sauce and rolls.

The Mossmans also roasted a turkey so they could have leftover white meat for sandwiches. They gave their turkey dark meat to Marty, boy was he happy!

We ate sandwiches that night, the next day for lunch and dinner, plus nibbling during the day…especially Jim with the stuffing! So we have pretty much finished it off. It sure was good, so we may just go ahead and have a rerun for Christmas.
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Friday after Thanksgiving was Jim’s birthday. As one of our friend’s-remarked on facebook “welcome to check-of-the-month club” as he will now get a social security check. Jim is one of those people who doesn’t make a big deal about birthdays…unlike me. So he really didn’t want to do anything special…too windy to barbecue anyway. So we went across the border to Algodones and he had shrimp tacos for his birthday meal! We walked around…same-o same-o. Tried to find a stain glass window for our door, but couldn’t find anything with mountains in it. We did buy a couple of bottles of Presidente Brandy for me though, and since I can’t have but one hard liquor drink a week, those should last me a long time.

We are enjoying our time out here in the desert outside of Yuma - actually in southern California. It has been windy, but the temperature has been in the high 70’s and nights are in the high 50’s….perfect for sleeping with the windows opened.

Remember, you are loved.

Movie-Breaking Dawn Part 1

2011-11-21T11:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to the movies in town. Linda and I went to Breaking Dawn Part 1 and The Two Jims went to see J. Edgar. I was very impressed with the Twilight movie as the special effects of Bella’s “conversion” were very well done. Can’t wait for Part 2 November 16, 2012. The Jims liked J. Edgar as well; thought it was well acted.

After the movies we went to In ‘n Out for late lunch/early dinner at 2:30 p.m. I think I like In ‘n Out even better than Five Guys, although Five Guys fries are hard to beat.

We sat outside till the sun started waning and it started getting cold. I knitted as we watched TV the rest of the evening. I’m knitting a keyhole scarf for Linda to go with the red and purple hat I knitted her last year.

Today we are doing maintenance chores around the rig. Doesn’t matter if you are in a “stick n brick” or an RV, there are always maintenance jobs to be performed and cleaning is cleaning no matter what you live in.

Our buddy, Marty Cassidy, pulled in this morning and will join us for Thanksgiving. We decided to stay out here for the holiday and not join other Boomers at Mittry. I want lots of turkey leftovers and I enjoy my own dressing and gravy. So there will be five of us for dinner out here in the desert.

We will go shopping tomorrow as we’ll only be able to have a 12 pound turkey that will fit in our small oven, and I can only fit that size in our refrigerator. I don’t want to buy it too early and have it hanging around too long. There is a new Fry’s grocery store in Yuma and I excited about checking it out. It is 105,000 square feet, so it’s huge. I want to buy enough groceries for about a month as I sure don’t want to be driving around town or in Walmart with all the holiday shoppers. I bought presents online and that is all done.

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Remember, you are loved…..a lot!!!!!

Yuma, Arizona

2011-11-20T10:24:00.001-07:00

We made it to Yuma about noon and were set up and were enjoying the 76* weather and sunny skies in no time flat!

Mossman’s are straight across from us so our rigs are facing each other with space in the middle for gatherings. We love being close to the railroad tracks and hearing the trains passing. There’s a lot of land around so we don’t feel crowded although there are other rigs in the area.

We are gathering our thoughts about what to have for Thanksgiving dinner. I like my own traditional family foods, so we will be cooking out here, but may go into Mittry to visit our many Boomer friends staying there. Plus we really like leftovers, maybe even better than the proper meal itself. Those turkey sandwiches late at night are mighty good!!!

Remember, you are loved.

Hoover Dam

2011-11-19T08:28:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get the photos of Hoover Dam up before we got to Yuma today, so here we go.

Huge amount of power being generated	These are really large structures
The new bridge over the dam	All of the front of the dam we could see
Beautiful sculpture of a High Scaler	Monument of dedication on the Nevada side
The water side of the dam	O’Callaghan–Tillman Memorial Bridge part of the bypass project-it is huge.
	First water bypass holes
Back side of dame
	Lake Meade

We also stopped in Boulder City which was built in 1931 to house the workers who built the Hoover Dam. One of Linda Mossman’s necklaces lost a stone so we stopped at De Trading Post so it could be sent back to the reservation to be fixed. De Trading Post is housed in one of three original buildings of the town.

Inside is a fascinating collection of American Indian artistry. Linda is very partial to white buffalo turquoise and bought a pair of earrings to add to her collection of three necklaces. It IS beautiful and very rare.

I enjoyed seeing all the American Indian authenticated and certified crafts on display.

Spears of all kinds	Dream catchers-I bought two
Pottery and all decor	Many pretty items
Beautiful American-Indian clothing	Showed a picture of the maker also

We enjoyed our short visit to Las Vegas. Saw Hoover Dam, Linda got her TGI Friday’s Cobb Salad she’s been talking about since Colorado, got the truck fixed and Jim made $100 on the nickel slots. Pretty good day.

Yesterday we drove from Vegas to Parker, Arizona, staying at the Elks Club. We went in to pay for our site and had a drink. Met the folks at a neighboring table and found the man use to cover the Alamosa area for Farm Bureau Insurance. We continue to be amazed at how many people we have met on the road that knew about our little town of 9,00 in Colorado. These folks had never heard about the Winter Blast in Lake Havasu in February, so we gave them the details on this firework display weekend. We plan on seeing these folks again when we come up here for the Parker 425 desert off-road race in early February.

It is so nice to get back to Mountain Standard Time and the warmer weather of Arizona. Yesterday it was 76* and last night it was 55*. We didn’t even have to put on the heater last night and, in fact, slept with a window open….delightful!

OK, I’m caught up on my blog posts. It’s now 8:18 a.m. and we are leaving here at 9, so I better move my booty and get me and the rig ready to pull out.

Remember, you are loved.

And still more truck problems

2011-11-18T00:01:00.001-07:00

The truck problems continue. Driving from Pahrump to Las Vegas up steep climb of 3,000 feet and down 3,000 feet...we stop at Sam's Town and smell oil burning/rubber smell...Jim goes to the back of the truck and the rear axel is smoking!!! Off we go to the Chevy dealership in Henderson and drop off the truck.

With the Mossman's we travel to see the Hoover Dam museum. We’ve never been there and the Mossman’s have tried to go there but the first time they were turned away because they couldn’t leave their dogs in the truck. This time we couldn’t go to the museum because Jim Mossman had a propane tank on the barbeque grill in the bed of the truck and “they” wouldn’t let us park in the parking garage. We chose not to park up on the hill and walk back over the dam to the museum so we just drove around and saw the dam and lake then came home. It certainly is a very impressive human undertaking.

The dealership calls and it not only is a busted seal on the rear axel we also lost the brake booster (?). But they were able to fix it today and we could get it back at 5 p.m. and $1,000 less is our wallet!!!!!!! When will it stop???????

We went into Sam’s Town and ate an early dinner at TGI Fridays as Linda has been craving their Cobb Salad. I had one also and I must say, it was very, very good. I’d do that again.

Tomorrow we drive to Parker and spend the night, then on to Yuma on Saturday. I’m really looking forward to just sitting out on the desert and not moving for a while. We’ve been on the move pretty often the last two months and I need to nest for a while.

Remember, you are loved.

Pahrump, Nevada

2011-11-15T21:41:00.001-07:00

We arrived at the Pair-a-Dice Co-op SKP Park last Thursday and paid to stay a week. We pulled a long day Thursday and we were sorely tired. So since then we’ve laid low and have done a lot of resting, walking and enjoying the great weather. It’s been in the high 60’s, clear blue skies and very sunny….wonderful.

We haven’t been to this Escapees RV Club co-op park before and we are very favorably impressed. Everything is so neat and clean. Every day we see someone walking around with a bucket and long-armed pinchers picking up any stray items on the roads or common areas. We even saw a lady dutifully picking up pine cones one after another under a pine tree….she was going to be there for a while. They even have a water truck that waters down the roads to keep the dust down. That is a nice touch.

Common area	Sculptured landscaping
Roadway and sheds	Entrance landscape

What we were most impressed with how friendly everybody has been. Neighbors came over and introduced themselves and chatted. Walkers smile and wave as they pass when we are outside. Ladies in the laundromat were friendly and offered much advise on places to eat on what days for the best deal, where the post office was located and a good consignment shop. We chatted about places we’ve been and how long we’ve been on the road. One lady had an Escapee number in the 5,000. On lady went on the road in 1985.

Monday night ten of us went to dinner at Terribles Lakeside for pot roast buffet. It was pretty good. At Terribles Casino you can swipe your casino card daily for added perks. Sunday I got a 2 for 1 New York Strip dinner voucher. Last night Jim got a 2 for 1 hamburger voucher that had to be used within 48 hours. So today we went to Terribles Lakeside and had the hamburger…it was the largest burger I’ve ever seen…a half pounder…and it was the BEST hamburger I’ve ever had…came with nice grill marks, juicy and delicious, and it only cost $5.99 for the both of us! Tomorrow we’ll go to the Terribles in town and have our 2 for 1 steak dinner.

A lot of the folks here say they go out and order one burger, steak or slab of ribs and share the one meal. The steak and ribs cost $9.99. So when you share a meal, you can eat very cheap here. I could see eating out a lot and not cooking. It is cheaper than guying groceries!

Remember, you are loved.

Old Sacramento

2011-11-14T11:48:00.001-07:00

Before we left the Sacramento area on Thursday, November 10th, we wanted to explore Old Sacramento. It was a lot larger area than we thought.

Looking down the main street	Another street front
Candy shop all in barrels-cute!	Cobble streets with wooden sidewalks
View of sidewalks-nice	Cobble street view
Period architecture	Interesting building
Easy walking area	See the skyscraper in the background-neat contrast with the old.

There was suppose to be a Tall Ship on the dock but we didn’t see it. Saw the sign advertising it with an arrow….but ship wasn’t there. We were disappointed!

Old Sacramento was very nice and we enjoyed the architecture. There were a lot of touristy type shops, but they were tasteful and not really trashy.

We drove back to Rancho Cordova Elks Club, hooked-up and took off for Wasco, CA to stay again at an Elks Club. It was a loooong day covering 270 miles, which is a lot for us, but we wanted to minimize our parking fees and wanted to get out of California fast…fuel prices and parking fees are high.

The drive on I-5 south was long and tiring, but we did see some pretty sights.

Field of rose bushes-beautiful colors!

Then we saw a hillside FULL of wind generators. Now we’ve seen these before all over the country, but we’ve never seen so many in one spot. Plus there were different sizes-not all of them were those huge ones we all see around….interesting.

We got to the Elks Club in Wasco about 3 p.m. and waited for them to open at 4. This Elks club was converted from a bowling alley. The actual bowling lane area was made into a large banquet hall that the Elks rent out for wedding receptions, reunions, etc. The bar area is medium size, with the people extremely friendly. We enjoyed our stay there and would return.

Next morning we started out on another long day to the Escapees’ RV Club co-op in Parhrump, Nevada. It was a 317 mile trip, but then we could rest for a week in the warmth and clear skies.

Hope you enjoyed the trip with me. Remember, you are loved!

Sacramento, California

2011-11-12T08:10:00.001-07:00

After we saw the redwoods we decided to make it out of California as soon as we could. The truck problems we have had has dipped deep into the wallet, so we wanted to get out of the $4.39 diesel prices as soon as possible. But we have folks we wanted to visit in the Sacramento area.

We drove from Eureka to Ukiah again staying in an Elks RV park. Uneventful night and we just drove on to Rancho Cordova outside of Sacramento and stayed at the Elks RV park there, arriving on Sunday, November 6th. We hurried and set up so we could go see our friends, Howie and Norah Glover.

(As we arrived at Cal-Expo we saw Laurie Brown and Odel King taking a walk, so we stopped and got a quick hug as we were going to see them the next day. Unfortunately that didn’t work out so I’m glad we were able to at least see them a bit.)

The Glovers also became fulltime RVers in 2007, thus we are classmates of the Escapee RV Club’s Class of 2007 (graduating from working to fulltime RVing). We first met The Glovers in Quartzsite, AZ, in January of 2008, when the class first met each other. This coming January we will all meet again in Quartzsite for our fifth year reunion.

What a great time we had with The Glovers. We talked and talked catching up on our travels and activities. Then we went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory…our first visit. Wow, what a place! The menu was so large…pages upon pages!

Of course we had to a piece of cheesecake for dessert…Norah and I chose the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake. So very rich, all four of us shared it and we each had plenty. Look at that whipped cream piled high…so pretty…nice presentation.

The next day (Monday) we met with Jim’s ex-sister in law, Susie, for lunch and caught up on our lives. Susie travels a lot with her job and often visits our daughters in Santa Fe. We were so happy she was in town so we could visit her here. We lunched at The Sheepherders Bar & Grill in Rancho Cordova and I had the best French Onion Soup I’ve ever had…so yummy. It has been over five years since we’ve seen Susie, so it was so nice to catch up on that side of the family.

Then it happened again…The Mossman's had truck problems…a sensor O ring failed in the valve cover and they lost 10 quarts of oil on the road somewhere as they were driving around. They noticed it leaking after a stop and directly drove to a Ford dealership and they rented a car to return to the Elks Club. So we stayed an extra day for the repairs. Again, everything was covered by their warranty and it even covered part of the cost of the rental.

I postponed our meeting with Laurie and Odel as we thought Linda and Jim needed our moral support talking out their truck problem. It was a “heavy” happy hour. More tomorrow.

Remember, you are loved.

Coos Bay, Oregon to Eureka, California

2011-11-08T11:31:00.001-07:00

After Florence we drove down to Coos Bay, OR (Nov. 3) and stayed at The Mill Casino RV Park. By making an online reservation the night before it only cost us $15. It was a beautiful park all paved and looked over a bay. They even had a dog run that was very nice. We stayed here two nights as we needed to do laundry and a little grocery shopping. I found a small food co-op in North Bend (the next little town south) and bought some spices, incense and tempeh.

We have been using Oregon Coast Mile-by-Mile magazine as our guide for things to do in each coastal town. It has proven to be very helpful and informative. One of ads in the magazine was for $20 free play at Elk Valley Casino in Crescent City, CA. So we stopped there on our way down Hwy 101. We made out pretty good. I walked away with $43 and Jim got $9, so I paid for lunch!

We continued down the road and saw Trees of Mystery coming up so we stopped. This would give Jim a taste of the redwoods which I wanted to see on this trip. Senior prices were $11 for a nine minute trip up and back on their Sky Trail gondola over the tops of the redwoods. We chose to take the shuttle up to the gondola as it was a steep climb and we still had to drive to Eureka. Here are some photos…

Entrance with huge statues.	That’s Jim in the foreground. This gives you an idea of of how big these are.
	The Sky Trail gondola

Tree house look from the top	Interesting facts
Quite a view at the top	See the ocean in background?
Cathedral tree where many weddings are held	Look closely these are trees growing out of a downed redwood tree
Huge redwood tree	This will give you a prospective of how huge it is.

Along the way we saw magnificent redwood trees and short glimpses of the ocean…great contrasts for the eye.

	See the ocean?
The car gives you an idea how large the trees are

This is a tree house-see the door in the bottom?	The house behind shows you how large the tree really is

We did drive through part of the National Redwood Park so Jim did get a good look of the redwoods even though it was just a drive through. I was happy he was able to do this.

We arrived at Eureka, California Elks Club (Nov. 4) for the night. At $15 it was a bargain. Back on the road the next morning and settled in Ukiah, CA Elks Club (Nov. 5). I had to put in this last photo where we stopped for fuel (paid $4.30/gal for diesel). Notice the rusty fuel pump….we have got to wash the rig and get the salt spray off the rig before we start to show rust.

Well, I think that brings us up to date finally. Tomorrow I’ll blog about our visit to the Sacramento, CA area.

Remember, you are loved.

Florence-Heceta, Oregon

2011-11-07T08:12:00.001-07:00

October 29th we moved from Coyote-Rock RV Park in Lincoln City to the Elks Club in Florence. I had ordered my meds for delivery at the Elks Club, but my dear old CVS-Caremark Rx company couldn’t add in another mailing address because of their software. It took an extra two days to fix that problem, so we ended up staying four days instead of two. But there is a lot to do in the Florence area so it wasn’t a hardship.

We ventured out to see Cape Heceta lighthouse which is very picturesque.

Even going towards the lighthouse offered many photo ops. There was a steep climb to get to the lighthouse, and with my hips, I decided to stay lower down and let Jim and The Mossman’s go on up.

Parking lot view of the bridge we crossed	Walking up towards the lighthouse.

Bride from further away	Far off view of the lighthouse

Here is one of the photos I took of the lighthouse through the trees from down below that I thought came out well.

Jim took these photos from the lighthouse.

Next, we drove to see the sea lions. We first stopped at the Sea Lions Caves, but they wanted $10 each to go down in an elevator to the caves. Additionally, the attendant said all the sea lions were outside on the rocks sunning themselves. So what would we be paying $10 to see?????? We drove down the road a bit to a turnout in the road, looked over the side and look what we saw…

We spent a fair amount of time just watching the antics of the sea lions hopping into the ocean and jumping out. They sure are loud with all their grunts and cries. The little ones are comical to watch attempting to get onto the rocks.

Next stop, Eureka, California! Remember, you are loved.

Lincoln City-Newport, Oregon

2011-11-03T17:39:00.001-06:00

We left Tillamook and joined Jim and Linda Mossman at Coyote-Rock RV Park in Lincoln City. What a nice RV park! Many of the sites back up to a sweet fishing area used by many boaters. It was a Passport park so we only paid half-$18.

Example of site size	Our site
Pretty bay and park area	Boaters and dock

The two days we spent there were overcast and misty…yes, I know I keep saying that a lot, but it just typical weather around here. We drove to see the Yaquina Lighthouse. There was actually two of them.

This is Yaquina Bay Lighthouse built in 1871 with the light right on top of the light keepers house. Light reach 12 miles into the see as used whale oil.

This is Yaquina Head Lighthouse and built in 1873 used electricity and it’s light was visible 22 miles out to sea.

There are so many breathtaking photo shots as you drive along the coast and here are some of those moments.



Notice the house on the top of the hill?	Called the Devil’s Punchbowl

The next day we drove to Newport

Fun restaurant we considered…didn’t	Many buildings have gorgeous murals on them


Numerous fishing boats	Piles and piles of crab cages

Well that was our two day stay in the area. Hope you enjoyed all the photos. The Oregon coast is so picturesque with so many photo opportunities.

Remember, you are loved.

Good Vegan Lunch

2011-11-01T18:23:00.001-06:00

The other day we had lunch at Rogue Ale Public House in Depoe Bay, Oregon. I have been deviating from my flexitarian diet a lot and want to get back to being more of a vegetarian eater. So I ordered their Black Bean Salad with Quinoa. The Black Bean Salad had corn, red pepper, scallions with cumin and lime juice. It sat on a round molded bed of quinoa covered with slices of avocado. It was sensational!!!

I wanted to duplicate it as an easy “go to” lunch. So here is my version. It isn’t nearly as pretty as the restaurant, but it was every bit as tasty. I’ve had it twice now and it just gets better with age.

Remember, you are loved.

Truck is Fixed!!!!

2011-10-27T08:24:00.001-06:00

Yippeeeeee!!!! Ocean Crest Motors in Warrenton, Oregon, called us about 3:30 yesterday to tell us our truck was fixed. Oh, what a relief. We quickly got ready and were on the road in 10 minutes. It’s only 60 miles north from Tillamook, but it took us a little over 1 1/2 hours to get there because of all the twists and turns in the road. In many areas you have to reduce your speed to 25 MPH to go around the many corners.

We arrived at 5:15, just before they closed. Oh, it was so nice to start up the truck and hear it purrrrr. There wasn’t any nasty smoke puffing out of the tailpipe either Heck, they even washed the truck for us which was very nice of them.

I headed back in the borrowed Mustang and soon it got dark and a bit scary for me. I haven’t driven in the dark for over five years! Then add to that there wasn’t any moon shining and there aren’t any street lights outside of the little towns. So all those winding roads and up and down hills in complete darkness….yes, it was scary! I was so glad for the line on the outside edge of the road to guide me, because oncoming traffic headlights were blinding!!!

Oh, well, I stopped at Fred Meyer’s to fill up the Mustang and got home about 7 p.m. Jim stopped and got us a pizza for dinner, but first thing we did was pour ourselves a drink….it had been a hectic day.

So this morning we will move to Lincoln City and rejoin Jim and Linda Mossman. It’s been two weeks since we’ve been together and we sure miss them a lot. We’ll stay there a couple of days and then move to Florence for a bit. After that it’s see the redwoods and travel to Sacramento to visit friends who are members of our Escapee RV Club family. After that ??????????????

Well, hopefully, that is the end of the truck problems…so far, so good. Thanks to all our friends who have expressed their concern through facebook and emails. It has all been much appreciated.

Remember, you are loved.

Truck Repairs

2011-10-25T10:02:00.001-06:00

Al, the owner of Big Spruce RV Park, lent us his Mustang to take our truck to Warrenton for repairs. Man, after riding in our tall truck, driving the Mustang made me feel like I was dragging my butt on the ground…it was so low to the road.

The folks at Ocean Crest Motors were great and assured us our truck would be repaired by Wednesday afternoon. It sure will be nice to be able to rely on our truck once again. When you own a fifth-wheel, your truck is basically your lifeline - you can’t do anything without it. Our Duramax has been a trouble-free workhorse up to now and we’ve been very happy with it. Hopefully, she will be again come Wednesday.

On the drive back to Tillamook we stopped in Seaside to have breakfast at Pig ‘n Pancake , which was very good. Afterwards we walked around the touristy downtown. Seaside reminded me Myrtle Beach with all the shops of “stuff” aimed at tourists. One place was called Carousel Mall and, yes, there was a working carousel inside with little shops all around it. Sorry for the quality of the photo, but I left my camera in the car, so this was taken with Jim’s phone.

We plan on moving down to Lincoln City on Thursday to join The Mossman’s at Coyote Rock RV Resort. It’s a Passport America park, which means, as members, we stay for half price. The Mossman’s site is right on the waterway and has a beautiful view of all the boats and fishermen. Last Sunday we were taking a drive and ended up driving to Lincoln City (60 miles) just to see The Mossman’s as it had been over 2 weeks since we’d seen them. When we stopped Jim M. was outside and I yelled out the window, “Hay Mister, do you know where I can find a Bloody Mary?” (As you may remember, Jim M. makes me a Bloody Mary every Sunday.) We greeted each other as if it had been months since we’d seen each other instead of only 2 weeks. It will be so nice to be traveling with them once again.

Well, friends and family, that’s about all for today. I’m off to do laundry. I waited till it warmed up because it was 39 degrees this morning. It definitely time to be moving south….and quick!!!

Remember, you are loved.

Late Hours and No Sun in the Pacific Northwest

2011-10-23T08:54:00.001-06:00

As most of you know, Jim and I are morning people. In his “other life”, Jim delivered bread and never broke the habit of getting up early. Even now he gets up between 4 and 6 a.m. I get up about 6 - 7 a.m.

Usually we are in bed about 9-10 p.m. after the evening news. Well, that can’t happen out here in the Pacific Northwest. Heck, prime time TV shows don’t even start till 8 p.m.! So the news doesn’t come on till 11 p.m. So that being the case, does that mean we sleep in? Oh, contra. We still get up at our usual time…we just get less sleep.

I’m also a news junky, as some of you know, which I think is funny because I use to criticize my father for always having a news station on the television. Now I’m just like him. Some people put on music to break the silence - I put on CNN or MSNBC. But even I get news overload when out here the news starts at 4 p.m. and goes on till 7. That leads into the various “entertainment” shows like Inside Edition and ET, before the prime time shows begin. Unfortunately for us, most of our favorite television shows don’t come on till 10 p.m. and by then Jim and I dozing in our chairs in an attempt to stay up.

Besides sleep deprivation we are also “suffering” from SUN deprivation. Now, remember, we lived in Alamosa, Colorado, whose nickname is “the land of the cool sunshine”, with some 350 days of sunshine each year….the “cool” part is because it can get pretty darn cold in the winter, like -30 to -40 degrees. So we were use to lots of sunshine and probably took it for granted, assuming we’d see the sun every day. Not so here. We know here we are less likely to see the sun on any given day. We just weren’t prepared for the affects the lack of sun would have on us. We never realized we needed the sun so much. The lack of the sun definitely makes us feel gloomy and depressed. And it doesn’t help that it mists or rains every day here on the Oregon coast, which keeps us inside a lot.

So Jim and I have decided we are going to quickly see the few additional things we want to see in Oregon and then move on to California and hopefully on to more sunshine and happier moods. The truck goes in tomorrow for new fuel injectors and hopefully ends our problem of not being able to restart the truck after it has been driven for a while. We’ll get the truck back on Tuesday or Wednesday and then we’ll move to Lincoln City and meet up with The Mossman’s and go on from there.

Remember, you are loved.

Erased Chapter 2 Web Page

2011-10-21T18:21:00.001-06:00

I maintain the Escapees RV Club Chapter 2 web page. Earlier this week I was making a change to the web page and when I hit submit my aircard lost connection. So wham … I lost the whole page!!!!! $%#!@* No, I didn’t have any copies saved anywhere …. yes, I know…. dumb.

So this morning I spent five frickin hours redoing it all. The frustrating part was trying to remember what I had on the page and then finding and copy/paste the html for buttons and then making sure they all worked. UGH!!!! Html is not my native language.

But it is all done now, although I don’t like the spacing I “borrowed” from another chapter’s web page. I’ll redo it when I get enough nerve to tackle it again.

Take a look of my “masterpiece” http://www.escapees.com/chapter2/

Remember, you are loved.

Knitted Socks Finished

2011-10-19T16:13:00.001-06:00

I’ve written before about have “second sock syndrome”, where after I finish knitting the first sock I don’t want to do it all over again to knit the second sock…it’s boring. I want to go onto something else.

So when I started knitting this pair of socks in May I used the technique of two socks at a time using two circular needles. I worked on them on and off and finally finished them yesterday.

Now that I have the basics down using this light colored wool yarn, I can now do some more fun designs in bold colors. I like the look of socks with different colors for the toe, body, heel and cuff, so I might try that next. But I found the wool socks on the kitchen tile are pretty slick, so I can’t use them when I’m working in the kitchen.

I made a batch of green chili using roasted Hatch chiles I got in Colorado. Well, it came out waaaaay too hot and after trying all the ways to reduce the heat (added brown sugar, yogurt, even a potato) I finally threw it out. Next time I’ll check how hot the chiles are before adding five of them.

Remember, you are loved.

Truck Problem Solution

2011-10-18T19:06:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Doug and Barb of doughinman.blogspot.com we got a handle on the problem with our 2003 Duramax Chevrolet not starting after the engine is hot. Doug or Barb sent us a hyperlink to the Duramax Forum where our problem was being discussed.

Here is the forum moderator’s response:

“You did not state the engine- but that is a classic problem for a LB7 engine, when the injectors by-pass too much fuel when warm. (8th digit in VIN is a "1") So the engine does not start. Smell the oil in the crankcase-- smells like diesel-? Yep! Drop a little oil on a paper towel, is there a halo around the oil spot-? Yep, injectors!
To verify the problem, you will need to have the system checked.
GM had a special policy where they would replace some injectors for 7 years or 200k miles-- IF they meet a certain condition, as determined by a test done by a tech. Final approval was from GM.
Hope this helps!”

Bless his heart, because that confirmed Jim’s thoughts as to the cause of the problem - the injectors. Our VIN does have a “1” as the 8th digit. Could we possibly get some recourse from GM????? Could we even hope that it could happen? We did take our truck in twice in 2010 because of this problem. Would they honor that for the 2010 deadline?

We drove to Warrenton, OR (by Astoria) on Sunday and checked into Fort Stevens State Park as it was close to Ocean Crest Chevrolet where we had an appointment on Monday.

The long and the short of it is, yes, all eight injectors are bad and have to be replaced. This is usually a $4-5,000 fix. But the service manager, Jeff, knew about the problem with this engine and went to bat for us with GM. The final outcome is that GM will cover a good portion of the expense as warranty work. We had to call the two Chevy dealerships who did work on our truck in 2010 and get copies of those invoices to substantiate our claim that we did try twice to get the problem fixed, but otherwise we don’t have to pay for the whole repair.

Praises…Praises….Praises!!!! Thank you, Jeff!!!

When Jim read the email from the service manager with the good news, he screamed and beat on his chest (guess it’s a man-thing) in celebration.

However, with their workload Jeff can’t complete the work till next Monday, and it will take two days. But the parts have been ordered. So we moved back to Big Spruce RV Park in Netarts, OR, outside of Tillamook where we were before. The state park cost $23/night and here it is $13 with tax as a Passport park, so having to wait a week we might as well save the money.

When I called the manager here at Big Spruce and explained our situation and asked if he had room for us to come back, he not only said yes, come on back, but he offered us the use of his personal car to drive up to Warrenton and bring Jim back on Monday, so didn’t have to move to the state park again. What a guy!!! We have surely been blessed with the wonderful people here.

Our next door neighbor was cooking down blueberries on his barbecue grill to make jam - he brought us a jar to share. Other park residents have recommended mechanics, restaurants, or just been friendly and offered rides. Great people!

So we’ll stay here for a week and maybe an extra day of driving around and trying to restart the truck to make sure everything is working OK. The Mossman’s moved to Lincoln City last Saturday and we’ll join them there or in Newport.

Oh, friends we are so relieved that a solution has been found and we can continue our travels instead of paying full-price for repairs and then making a beeline to the Arizona desert to minimize expenses. We want to thank everyone for your phone calls and emails of concern and encouragement. It means a lot to us. RVers are a wonderful group to be a part of….you are part of our family.

Remember, you are loved.

Cannon Beach, Oregon

2011-10-17T07:16:00.001-06:00

There is a Mo’s Restaurant here and is the first place The Mossman’s ate their clam chowder. So we drove from the Tillamook area to Cannon Beach to enjoy a nice lunch by the beach. The drive up was beautiful and we stopped several times to take pictures.

We stopped at the Myrtle wood Factory Outlet in Garibaldi	Beautiful wood products
Many boats fishing for salmon	Many homes use roofing shingles as siding

We looked for places to see the ocean and were pleased to find several turn-outs where we could stop.

Outside of Mo’s Restaurant there is a beautiful beach that we had to walk on. I think this is the Haystack rock. I went out and dipped my hands in the water so I could say I touched the Pacific Ocean LOL

Then we went into Mo’s for their clam chowder. Linda had the crab cakes and I had a pound of razor clams and bread. Both were very good!

We’ve enjoyed our “playing tourists” time and eating out. Next we have to put the truck in for repairs in Warrenton by Astoria. We moved to Fort Stevens State Park and have a beautiful site. For $23/night for FHU it’s very reasonable as state parks go. I’ll take photos tomorrow and post them.

We have good aircard/internet and cell service, but no place to put up the satellite so we are relegated to four channels on the batwing. But at least we get the major networks.

Remember, you are loved.

Tillamook, Washington

2011-10-15T10:40:00.001-06:00

I’ve looked forward to seeing Tillamook for a long time. I’ve heard many stories from other fulltime RVers about this beautiful area, and was excited to get here. I l-o-v-e Tillamook cheese….especially their extra sharp white cheddar cheese. (Thank you Connie Anderson for introducing me to sharp white cheddar when we took that canoe trip outside of Bushnell, FL. ) I am a big fan of Nick Russell’s Gypsy Journal blog and Laurie Brown’s blog, Semi-True Tales of Our Life on the Road and both wrote about Tillamook when they came through here this summer. It gave us a lot of info on this area.

We are staying at Big Spruce RV Park in Netarts, just outside Tillamook. It’s a Passport America campground, so we are only paying half price, $11 + $2 tax. That’s very good for this area where most campsites cost $23-49 per night. Plus it is convenient to travel to the outlaying areas. The campground isn’t anything special, with only 5-6 sites available as most are permanent residents or highway workers staying here. But the owner and residents are very friendly and accommodating, easily giving recommendations of places to see and eat. Plus they have a strong wifi signal and we have good cell service.

The day after we arrived we took a trip around the Tillamook area visiting the Three Capes Loop, Cape Meares lighthouse and its Octopus Tree. Then, of course, we went to Tillamook Cheese and Blue Heron French Cheese.

It’s been 31 years since I’ve seen the Pacific Ocean - I lived in San Diego for ten years. The Pacific Ocean is so magical to me. I love to watch the crashing waves.

At Cape Mears lighthouse there is also the Octopus Tree.

Quoting from the sign, “The forces that shaped this unique Sitka spruce..have been debated for many years…. The tree measures over 46 feet in circumference and has no central trunk. Instead, limbs extend horizontally from the base as much as 16 feet before turning upwards. It is 105 feet tall and is estimated to be 250-300 years old.”

This photo of Jim and I will give you a prospective of how big the tree is.

We drove to Oceanside for lunch at the recommended Roseanna’s Restaurant. This is a cute little town with houses climbing up the side of the hill - reminds me of Jerome, Arizona, in that manner.

Houses on the hillside	Roseanna’s right on the water-notice the rocks in the background
View from our table	My cioppino with shrimp, clams, halibut and salmon…yummo!

Then we drove into Tillamook proper and visited the two cheese factories.

Both were interesting, but the Blue Heron French Cheese factory was more versatile in it’s products although they are best known for their Brie. Unfortunately, you can only buy it in Tillamook or via mail order. Watching them package up the Tillamook cheese sure provided a glimpse at some very boring jobs. Of course we bought some cheese.

It was a long but very enjoyable day and we got home in time for happy hour. Of, yes, the puppies were sure happy to see us return!

We continue to have problems with our truck, again not starting after being on the road for a long time. We also surmised that it usually happens when we are pulling the RV. We are trying to find someone who knows enough about diesels to be able to fix the problem. We’ve now had the truck into three separate dealerships and no one can identify the problem - nothing shows up on the diagnostics. It will start after the engine cools down, but it’s a nuisance to keep the engine running while fueling or going grocery shopping after a drive around the countryside. So we will move next week back up to Warrenton/Astoria area and stay at the Fort Stevens State Park and get the truck into yet another Chevy dealership. We will make sure they do a thorough check of the fuel injectors as Jim feels they need to be replaced.

So for now, I hope you enjoyed the photos of the area and will check in on me again.

Remember, you are loved.

Yakima Canyon Drive

2011-10-15T08:50:00.001-06:00

During our stay in Yakima the Mossman’s took us on a ride through Yakima Canyon. Oh, what a beautiful drive, views were so diverse.

The beautiful drive culminated in a terrific view of the whole Yakima Valley.

Nice day of sightseeing. Remember, you are loved.

Astoria, Oregon

2011-10-13T08:43:00.001-06:00

While still in Kelso, Washington, we drove down to Astoria, Oregon. This is really a sweet town. With only 10,000 people it is a small town, but very active.

(All these photos are going to be dark as the weather was overcast and misting.)

Our main focus was to go to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. What a wonderful experience! It was very, very well done. We were surprised to see so many full sized boats inside. The explanation of navigating the entrance into the Pacific Ocean from the Columbia River was very interesting.

Then we went to the Astoria Column. Built at 1926 this artwork is 125 feet tall and sits on the Coxcomb Hill, 600 feet above sea level.

Stunning sight.	Jim Mossman taking a photo to give you a idea of the size.
	There are 12 panels depicting the history of the area.

It was a full day. We drove back to Kelso via the Astoria-Megler Bridge. For someone who doesn’t “like” to drive over high bridges, this was a challenge for me….but I made it across without screaming.

On the way we saw a beautiful rainbow and actually “drove” under it…..is that even possible?

Then we were back to the Kelso, WA Elk’s Club RV Park. It was just a parking lot setting, but it was close to the things we wanted to see, so it served its purpose.

So, off we go to Tillamook, Oregon, as we continue our travel down the coast.

Remember, you are loved.

Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier

2011-10-10T08:48:00.001-06:00

Why putting these two together? Well, we went to see Mount St. Helens but didn’t see much because of the cloud cover, so I don’t have any photos to show you. We also went to Mount Rainier and I do have photos of that.

Mount Rainier

The drive from Yakima to Mount Rainier held such diverse landscape from barren looking hills to lush ferns and trees covered in moss.

Then we arrived in Mount Rainier Park

Driving towards the mt	Entrance to the park
Runoff path	Close up of run off path from spring snow melt. Can you imagine it full of raging water?
There she is!	Opposing mt range has it own beauty
Love this shot through the window	Here we are enjoying the view

Mount St. Helens

Our trip from Kelso, WA to Mount St. Helens was different. We drove through clouds and misting rain. The signs of devastation was extraordinary. May 18, 1980 brought a lot of pain.

As we arrived at the Johnston Observatory the most amazing thing happened. As we were going in a friend named Carolyn Wilkerson was going out. What’s the chances? Carolyn is a “classmate” as she and her late husband, Keith, went fulltime RVing in 2007, the same as Jim and I. Carolyn also came up from New Mexico this summer and visited us in South Fork.

The film presentation was every bit as good as everyone us it would be! Unfortunately, at the end of the film and they open the curtains this is all we saw.

Although we didn’t see much of the mountain, it was a great experience and I’m glad we came to see her.

Remember, you are loved.