Monthly Archives: June 2022
Packing Up In Paradise . . .
Since we have to be gone from the condo by 10am tomorrow, everyone started doing some packing today, but of course, interspersed with beach stuff, including feeding the seagulls the last of the bread stuff leftovers.
We had some high winds and rough water this morning, but that didn’t stop the kids from taking advantage of it with their Boogie boards. With the onshore wind, the waves start building further out so they’re bigger when they get closer to shore.
The wind got stronger and stronger as the afternoon went on, pretty much stripping the beach of umbrellas, canopies, and chairs. At least the ones that didn’t already get taken down first.
Jan did get a couple of pelican sightings today, as the rough water brings a lot of fish closer to the surface, just perfect for a pelican snack.
Meals today were pretty much just trying to finish off any leftovers. And between Spaghetti, Lasagna, Queso, Egg and Sausage Casserole, it was all delicious.
Besides generally cleaning up the kitchen, we had to wash and put away all the towels and washcloths we used, so everyone washed their own during the day.
Jan and I are going to try to be on the way by about 9am, with our first tentative stop at the Buc-ee’s up in Robertsdale right off I-10. We tried to stop there last Saturday as we arrived in the area, but the line to get into the place stretched back down the exit feeder and along the shoulder of the Interstate. But we’re hoping that earlier in the morning it won’t be as busy. But we’ll see, I guess.
We all had a great time, and we’re already planning our next get-together, this time down in Texas.
Tomorrow we’ve got a 260 mile trip to Baton Rouge where we’ll spend the night before doing the last 300 miles on Sunday. In addition we’ll finish up our BBQ Trifecta by having supper at the Sonny’s BBQ before checking into our nearby Sleep Inn Hotel.
Sonny’s, along with Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, and Golden Rule BBQ in Birmingham, make up 3 of our 4 favorite BBQ places. The 4th being Famous Dave’s BBQ, but unfortunately I think the nearest one is in Nashville.
Maybe next trip.
From Weed To Bend
June 10, 2011
Cha . . . Cha . . . Cha . . . Changes . . .
Today is our last full day in the Mt. Shasta area. Tomorrow we’ll head about 190 miles north to the Bend / Sunriver Thousand Trails Park about 20 miles south of Bend, OR.
As far as the changes, originally we were going to stay here in Weed for three nights, Bend, OR for seven nights, and then La Pine, OR for seven nights. Then it was Weed for seven nights, Bend for seven nights, and La Pine for three nights.
And now it’s going to be Bend for ten nights, period.
About 1 we headed out on a roundabout trip to the Wal-Mart in Yreka by way of the Mt. Shasta Lavender Farm about 20 miles out in the country.
Sue, a camp host here at the Friendly RV Park told us about the Lavender Festival that starts tomorrow. But since we won’t be here, we decided to detour out that way anyway just to see what we could see.
We turned off the main road,
onto this dirt/rock road, and started a slow three-mile, 600-foot high climb up the side of the hill.
If it hadn’t been for the sign at the road we’d have wondered if we were going the right way. Even the lizard seemed lost.
When we finally got there, we found . . . no lavender. Or, we found lavender plants and a beautiful view, but it was more green in color than lavender.
It looked like this today.
This photo from their website shows how it should have looked. After talking to one of the owners we found out that due to this year’s cold, wet weather, the season is running about a month behind.
This is what blooming lavender looks like.
This is what our lavender looked like.
Bummer!
We didn’t get to see the lavender in bloom, but it was a fun trip with a beautiful view, so it was worth it.
This is a better view of what the farm looks like from the road about 4 miles away.
Leaving the lavender we headed on up to Yreka and the Wal-Mart to pick up our prescriptions and a few other things. Our daughter Brandi called to check in while we were there and it’s always good to talk and get the latest Landon update.
Coming home we saw this Adopt-A-Highway sign listing ‘Just Bill’ as the adopter. Now, is ‘Just Bill’ really his name, or is he just very shy?
By the time we got back to Weed, it was time for dinner so we decided to have one last hurrah at Dos Amigos.
This time I had the Tres Amigos, a combination of Chile Verde, Chile Colorado, and a Chile Relleno. Very good.
Jan once again had what she says is the best Shrimp Enchilada she’s ever had. Just look at the size of those shrimp.
Getting back to the rig after a great meal, I took care of some jobs outside. I put a new charge wire connector on both the rig and the toad because the old ones were getting worn out. Then I tried to do everything I could to prepare for our departure tomorrow.
See you tomorrow in Bend.
And In Bend The Next Year Too.
June 10, 2013
Reddd Robinnn . . .
YUMMM!
About noon I went outside and finished up the last part of my water works by replacing my Water Inlet Check Valve with one that has an actual working check valve.
About that time the park maintenance guy showed to replace the vacuum breaker on our shore water hose bib.
A couple of days ago it started leaking slightly and has gotten worse every day, so I called them this morning to replace it.
Hopefully, this takes care of all my remaining water-related problems.
Later, a little after 2 pm, Jan and I headed into Bend for some sightseeing and dinner. We wanted to make the drive up to the summit of Pilot Butte, another lava conelike our Lava Butte visit that I reposted a couple of days ago.
At 500 ft, and just about a mile from downtown Bend, it’s the highest point in town. But our drive to the top was not to be.
The road to the top was closed, with no reason given. So we headed a little further down the road to the location of the Pilot Butte Trailhead, the starting point for those who want to make the 1 mile walk to the top.
What we found was Pilot Butte State Park, a very nice park,
But what was unusual is that this State Park has Bob and Sue, the Park Hosts.
Unfortunately, they were ‘Off Duty’, so we weren’t able to find out if they knew why the road was closed. But we ask a couple who were just starting their walk to the top and they had no idea.
So giving up on our drive to the top, we headed over to the Old Mill District to have dinner at Red Robin in a beautiful location right along the Deschutes River.
After really good burgers and fries, we headed over to Fred Meyer for a few groceries, and then a little further down the highway to a produce stand for some of the delicious fresh cherries that are in season here right now. And this was what was parked nearby.
I’m not sure what this guy was trying to accomplish here. And I’m not sure if it’s even drivable or floatable?
Not sure right now what’s on the schedule for tomorrow. Maybe nothing.
Lake Conroe Thousand Trails In Conroe, TX
June 10, 2016
Pump It Up!
After our water outage the other day, I decided it was time to install the new water pump that I ordered from Amazon recently.
After opening up the panel and removing the screws holding the pump to the top of the compartment, I unplugged the connector that I had installed when I last replaced the pump back in 2008.
Then I unscrewed the In and Out connections and pulled the pump out. I immediately noticed that water was leaking out of the back of the pump, which probably has something to do with it dying. Next up was to unscrew and clean out the strainer/filter.
The filter was actually pretty clear, with only a little bit of the carbon granules from the water filter. All in all, pretty good.
I noticed that the directions with this pump say not to use Teflon tape or anything similar on the connections, so I cleaned any residue off the threads.
The instructions also said to use a 15amp inline fuse, but unlike last time they didn’t include a fuse with this one.so I cut the power leads so I could use the old one.
I used wire nuts to connect the leads and then I put a squirt of urethane sealer into each one to seal them off. One thing I noticed is that the entire black mounting base is made from heavy rubber, which should make it a lot quieter.
Then I put the pump back in place, connected the water lines, and plugged the electrical connectors together.
Since the shore water was still turned off, I hit the pump switch and listened to the pump start up and run until the system was pressurized. But I had to listen carefully because as one reader mentioned, this pump is really quiet.
I’ll wait a while before I button things back up to be sure everything is OK.
Since I was in the water bay, I decided to change out the filter in my EVQ canister. After always struggling to get the top off, I came up with a way to get it loose.
I have the wrench to hold the bottom, but it was always hard to hold the top to break it loose.
Then I noticed that the unused prongs on our Blue Ox baseplate was perfect for holding the top while I turned the bottom. Easy Peezy.
And this is what the old filter looks like after 5 months of use. Yuck!
Finishing up with water stuff, I went back up on the rig roof to check out how I’m going to clean my evaporator coil.
As you can see here, anything sprayed on the coil drips off and falls right through the filter and into the bedroom. Not a good thing.
So my idea now is to get a piece of sheet metal big enough to cover the opening. That way I can wash and rinse the coil without any dripping.
After cleaning up, Jan and I drove over to the ‘F’ section to meet up with our friend Randy so he could follow us to the Asian BBQ & Grill for dinner. He had read about how much we liked it and wanted to try it for himself.
We all got the Vermicelli Bowls, Jan’s with Lemon Grass Chicken, and mine and Randy’s with the Grilled Pork and Shrimp.
As always before, it was all delicious, and they have a new customer in Randy.
Not sure yet what’s on tap for tomorrow, so we’ll just have to see.
Leaving Rapid City, SD
June 10, 2017
A Nice, Short, Cool Day . . .
Since we had a short travel day on tap we didn’t get up as early as usual, taking our time, and not leaving until a little after 10.
While Jan waited off to the side in the truck, I pulled out of the site and then parked for a few minutes. I wanted to walk the site and check the high grass under the rig to see if I had left any tools behind. We rendezvoused at the Mobil station out on the Interstate where I filled up with diesel. Or at least tried to.
Normally I can use each credit card twice at the pump, but this time after the pump stopped at $90 the first time, I slid the card again and was told, “You can not use this card again right now”. Never saw that before.
So I used a second card, and after a second $90 worth, I got the same message a second time. Oh well.
After not quite filling up, we were hitched up and on the road a little before 11am. Right before we pulled out, I started up the generator using my new starter bypass system. And about 30 seconds later we had power and air conditioning. Nice.
Our first stop was at Wall Drugs about 65 miles away, pretty much just for lunch.
When we came through here in 2008 we spent more time roaming around the block-sized place, but not today.
The last time we were here it was October and we were the only RV in the football-field-sized parking lot. Today it was a madhouse, with rigs parked every which direction, blocking each other in.
We left the generator/AC’s running for Karma while we made the block walk to the store. I got in line at the burger window and ordered a Beef Hot Dog and Fries for Jan, and a Buffalo Hot Dog and Fries for me.
After a nice lunch, we made a quick lap around the gift shop before heading back out to the rig. I thought we were blocked in because someone had decided to park their ginormous 5th wheel in the access road on the side of the lot blocking it for everyone. But luckily the rig right in front of us pulled out and we were right after them.
We pulled into the Belvidere KOA about 2:30 and were quickly led to our long pull-thru site, with 50amp Electric/Water. Nice that we didn’t have to unhitch the truck.
Later when I went out to the truck for something and found this guy crawling across our site.
Although this guy is a Western Painted Turtle, he looks a lot like the Red-eared Sliders I use to have. He just doesn’t have the red stripe on the side of his head.
And then there’s this distant ancestor that we saw last week at the Reptile Gardens.
The largest turtle that ever existed, he weighed about 4500 pounds, was 15 feet long and 16.5 feet across the front flippers. Found near Hermosa, SD, he was about 100 years old when he died, and lived at the time of T-Rex, about 65 million years ago.
Tomorrow, we’ve got about 230 miles to North Platte, NE where we’ll stay for a few days taking in all the train stuff that’s there.
And about 5 miles after we leave the park we’ll be back in the Central Time Zone for the first time since March.
Home At Petticoat Junction RV Park in Santa Fe, TX
June 10, 2018
Awesome is awesome . . .
I was outside working on cleaning the rig by about 11:30 this morning, but it took longer than I had figured, due to the fact that it took longer to get all the encrusted oily grime off the rear of the rig than I thought.
But Awesome is awesome for cutting through heavy grease and grime.
So I went from this
to this.
And it’s shiny too. It just took a while.
And by 2:30 I had done the rear and the passenger side of the rig, using Black Magic Wash/Wax. Turned out to look pretty good.
Beyond the nicks and scrapes the big problem with the rig’s 19-year-old paint job is the fact that the Clear Coat finish is slowly peeling off in spots, making the area look like it’s sunburned and peeling. The pressure washer will clean off these spots, but it will continue to peel back from there.
My research says that there is no way to remove the clear coat without removing the paint underneath. And I’m just not sure I want to spend $10,000 to $20,000 on a new paint job for an almost 20-year-old coach. But I’m thinking about it.
But by 2:30 I was pooped. I plan on finishing up with the front and driver’s side tomorrow afternoon after I get home from work. But, as usual, we’ll see how it goes.
After 3 hours out in the hot sun, I decided that I deserved a steak, so about 3pm Jan and I headed up to Webster to eat at Saltgrass Steakhouse. On the way we were debating, Longhorn or Saltgrass? But Saltgrass won out due to their fantastic Wedge Salad.
Really good.
Jan had the New York Strip with Steamed and Grilled Broccoli,
while I got my usual Pat’s Ribeye, also with the Broccoli.
Well worth 3 hours in the hot sun.
We’ve always been impressed by the quality of the steaks we get at Saltgrass, and a couple of years ago we found out why.
We were eating at one of the ClaimJumper’s restaurants out in Las Vegas and I complimented our waiter about how good the steak was, and he told us what the secret was.
ClaimJumper’s is one of the 40+ restaurant chains owned by Tilman Fertitia and Landry’s. Among others are Morton’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, and a couple of other high-end steakhouse chains. But all the Landry’s restaurants get the same quality meat from the same suppliers. It’s apparently cheaper to do it that way rather than have the different restaurants getting different meat from different suppliers.
Make sense, and good eating for us.
Coming home we stopped off at the new Dollar General on FM646 to pick up more Awesome since we were running low.
Several of our readers have ordered the SoundBar that we recently installed, and are just as happy with theirs as we are with ours.
So if you’re having problems with the sound levels on your TV, check it out.
Catching Up To The Duggars?
June 10, 2019
They’re All Mine . . .
Before I left for work this morning, I put in a call to Kenny at Snider’s Transmission to find out the best place to take my truck to get the water pump checked out/replaced. He recommended Mike’s Auto Repair right down the road here in Santa Fe, so I checked Google and put in a call. And got no answer.
I’d try again later at work.
At work, I got back on the website problem, and finally started to make some headway. It was up and running, and processing orders, but for some reason, it wasn’t sending out confirmation emails to the customer, and it wasn’t detailing the shipping options correctly.
But I kept at it and finally got it set up and working. So now I started in on prettying the up the site, changing the colors and fonts to match our logo.
I’ve still got a few things to finish up, but I hope I’ll have it back online in the next day or so.
I had called Mike’s Auto Repair several times during the day, still with no luck. Maybe they’re closed on Monday?
So on my way home, I first headed up Hwy 6 to check out Mike’s, and found them open for business.
And after talking to the receptionist, I’m going to bring my truck up there tomorrow, though they may not get to look at it until Wednesday.
Turns out the problem with the phone number is that it’s wrong on Google and they haven’t been able to get it corrected.
They’re only about 3 miles away so hopefully, I’ll be able to get it up there before it overheats, but I’ll carry extra water with me anyway.
This past Friday, when we were out and about, we ended up behind this extended Nissan passenger van.
And looking a little closer, we read what was on the back window.
In case it’s a little fuzzy, it says –
They’re all mine.
I know what causes it.
My hands are full.
I’m glad it’s me and not you, also.
We’re not Catholic (or Mormon).
We are not on welfare.
It’s not a daycare.
We are not done.
And on the other side of the rear doors was this –
Looks like they might be angling for a TV show. But they’ve got a ways to go to catch the Duggar’s
June 10, 2020
YouTubeTV
Last Saturday I signed us up for the two-week trial of YouTube TV, and it didn’t take long to get our recordings set up on the DVR software. Though we can set all this up on the TV, it’s quicker and easier to do it on the computer.
A couple of odd quirks, however. You cannot record just a single episode of a TV show, it will only record every episode. And if you stop recording a series, you lose all the episodes that you’ve recorded so far. Strange, but not hard to work around. Otherwise, as I said before, all recordings are saved for 9 months, and you can record and save an unlimited number of shows.
In the back of my mind, I was wondering what kind of server capacity they must have to record and save all these shows for their 2 million subscribers. But I think I’ve figured it out.
They only record ONE copy of every show on every channel, not 2 million copies. Then your account info just holds pointers and bookmarks linking to each show you’ve set to record and how much you’ve watched of it for the Resume function.
That’s about 1680 hours of video per day, so not that bad.
And we are really enjoying the fact that all the shows are in HD, rather than the SD video we have with DirecTV. Looks like YouTube TV will be our new streaming service.
June 10, 2021
City Museum Of St. Louis . . .
About 9am a whole bunch of us headed over to St. Louis to visit the City Museum of St. Louis. And by ‘whole bunch’, I mean 18 of us in 3 different vehicles. We’d bought our tickets online a month or so ago, since you have to buy them for a certain entrance time, in our case 11am.
The word ‘Museum’ in the name is kind of a misnomer. Rather than a museum in the conventional sense, it’s more of an eclectic collection of random items, ranging from firetrucks, Ferris Wheels, a 24-foot metal praying mantis, two Sabreliner 40 jets, a school bus that hangs over the side of the building, all connected together by caves, tunnels, aerial walkways, giant crawl-through Slinkies, ladders, and pretty much anything you can imagine. And 3 or 4 different slides, including one 10-story one going from the top floor to the basement.
Oh, and a log cabin that belonged to the son of Daniel Boone.
And right in the middle, on the 5th floor, are condos selling for over $600,000.
One of the things you notice immediately when you enter the building, are all the beautiful mosaic floors, all with animal themes.
And they seamlessly ‘flow’ from one room to the next.
In fact, animals are a main feature of the place, from elephants on the roof,
to their distant Mammoth cousins.
That’s about it for today. It’s late and I’m tired, but there’s a lot more, so I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow.
But a final shot of all the kids with us today.
And yes, I did have to swap some heads.
Thought for the Day:
Resistance is futile – especially if less than one ohm.
…..
Very Relaxed . . .
Jan and I headed out on our own this morning, first for lunch at Desoto’s Seafood Kitchen over near the main intersection in Gulf Shores. We’ve been eating here for probably close to 15 years and it’s always delicious!
And this time, unusual for us, we started out with a drink. A Relaxer. And boy, did it.
Made with Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Rum, and Pineapple and Cranberry Juice, it was very good.
Jan and I both got the same thing, the Fried Seafood Platter, hers with Fried Green Tomatoes and Sweet Potato Casserole, and mine with Fried Okra and Sweet Potato Casserole.
One thing to note about Desoto’s and other smaller places at Gulf Shores, the locals eat here for lunch. You can tell by the way they’re joking with the waitresses and stopping to talk with people at other tables. So the lunchtime prices are very reasonable.
But come dinnertime the prices make a big jump for the tourists and the locals stay home.
Next up, after our great meal, Jan and I drove up to Foley to check out the large ‘O’ gauge model railroad layout that’s part of the Foley Railroad Museum, right in the center of town.
At 60’ x 20’, it has a quarter-mile of track and over two miles of wiring.
And everything from a circus,
to a drive-in movie, complete with a small monitor for the screen,
And then there’s the Fireworks company building on fire with fire trucks out front.
There are a lot of animated scenes, complete with a nighttime mode.
After spending almost an hour there, we spent some time driving around Foley checking out my old haunts. I went to school here from the 2nd grade to the 8th, so I have a lot of memories.
Getting back down to Gulf Shores, we made a WalMart stop for a few things plus gas before heading back down Fort Morgan Rd, to the condo. We did make a quick detour down to the end of the peninsula where the actual fort is located to look around, but they had already shut down the gate.
However I did get this shot of a stork sitting on top of a chimney there.
Guess he’d just dropped a baby off.
Later after it got dark, I guess the shrimp were running, because we saw several shrimp boats out there trawling.
The fact that the booms are widespread means that the nets are out and they’re catching shrimp.
Tomorrow will be a stay-at-home day for Jan and I, getting some pre-packing down before we leave here early Saturday morning.
Thought for the Day:
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.” – Groucho Marx
June 9, 2009
Road Trip to Daytona Beach…
Today Jan and I took a road trip about 50 miles south to Daytona Beach.
Jan had seen some yard flamingos at a store in Ormand Beach when we came thru there last week in our RV. When you’re 61 feet long it’s hard to find a place to pull over on the spur of the moment, so back we went today.
Here is what Jan bought:
This is actually only a small part of her yard flamingo collection.
I mean, what’s an RV without flamingos in the front yard?
And Jan also has a yard moose collection, believe it or not.
We also wanted to drive around Daytona Beach where we spent time when we first met in Titusville 42 years ago.
After buying 3 more flamingos, we headed down the road to try out a BBQ place we had seen called Daytona Pig Stand.
These people take BBQ seriously. Even their street sign smokes!
And I’m sure you’ve seen those people that compete in the BBQ cookoffs and contests where they have the smoker/grill on a customized trailer that they pull behind their truck.
Well, here is what the Pig Stand people have…
These people are serious!!
After driving the length of A1A on Daytona Beach we headed back north to St. Augustine, stopping off at Walmart for some prescriptions that weren’t ready yesterday, and Tractor Supply Store for a magazine that Jan wanted.
And then after stopping at an auto parts store for more tail light parts, we ended up at Barnes and Noble for books and a Starbucks coffee.
And then back home to the coach.
Weed and Mt. Shasta
June 9, 2011
Fish and Firetrucks . . .
Today was a road trip day so no coffee at home since we were going to eat breakfast again at the Hi-Lo Diner before hitting the road.
This time I tried something different and it was really good. A Pork Carnitas Burrito.
Made with Scrambled Eggs, Shredded Pork, Green Chiles, and Onions inside a burrito, it was very tasty. And the Country Fries and Homemade Salsa just topped it off.
Jan had a Strawberry Waffle with a side of Bacon. Apparently it was so good she didn’t even let me get a picture before she dove in.
After a great meal, we headed out to drive the Old Stage Rd down to the town of Mt. Shasta. Our destination was the Sisson Museum and the adjacent Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery.
The Sisson Museum, named after Mt. Shasta City’s name until 1924, opened in 1983 and gives you a great overview of the Mt. Shasta area.
One thing I found interesting were some of the old photos taken at the top of Mt. Shasta. I wondered about the purpose of this pylon at the summit.
Checking another exhibit gave me the answer. It was a Geodetic Survey marker. Installed on the top of Mt. Shasta in 1875 to aid in drawing survey lines in the newly-opened West.
The highly-polished shape of the ‘conoidal’ cone on top reflected the sunlight in all directions making it a brightly-lit beacon on the mountain top, visible for more than 200 miles away.
Falling into disuse after the surveys were completed, it stood until sometime between August and October 1903, when it was apparently struck by lightning and blown off the mountain top, landing several thousand feet below.
It was not seen again until 1912, and the top was not recovered until 1949, when three men brought it down. It was stored until it was donated to the museum in 1984.
Another thing I found interesting is that on the display telling many of the highlights of the mountain, the number of fatalities is changeable.
Sounds like a good enough reason to just admire the mountain from afar.
This is a 1915 Ford Fire Truck, one of only 6 made, and the only one to survive.
It contained a 20-gallon tank of a water/baking soda solution, so to activate it, a ladle of concentrated sulfuric was dumped into the tank and stirred. When the lid was clamped down it developed as much as 150 psi, spraying the solution on the fire. Of course, the tanks sometimes blew up from too much pressure, so maybe that’s why they only made six.
Leaving the museum, we walked next door to the Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery. Built in 1906, it is the oldest hatchery still operating west of the Mississippi. At first it handled salmon, then salmon and trout. Now it supplies four different species of trout, including Rainbow and Brown Trout.
The first thing you see are the outside growing ponds, fed by the icy cold waters of a nearby creek. Note the netting overhead to keep out hungry hawks.
But everything starts here in the Incubator Building where the spawn are hatched and fed.
There are as many as 20,000 minnows in each of these tanks, and there are several dozen tanks.
When they’re large enough they’re moved outside through a progression of ponds as they grow in size. At this size, as fingerlings, they may be airdropped into rivers and streams.
These look almost ‘eating size’ and will be deposited into rivers from large truck tanks.
We also saw three hawks regularly floating overhead, so that explains the netting.
Leaving the museum and hatchery, we drove back into Mt. Shasta City and got another great view of the mountain.
Getting back on I-5 we headed south about 60 miles to Redding. We wanted to see the area and also stop off at a Tractor Supply Store.
We had also seen signs for the Sundial Bridge near the Turtle Bay Museum, and wanted to check it out also.
It turned out to be a pedestrian/bicycle bridge crossing the Sacramento River that also functions as a giant sundial. Built in 2004 it is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge (you really wanted to know that, didn’t you.) that stands 266 feet high and is 700 feet long.
These photos from the Internet give another view.
The bridge deck is made of structural glass and is illuminated at night for a spectacular effect.
Leaving the bridge we drove around Redding for a while before deciding to have a late lunch at a nearby Marie Callender’s.
On the way, I saw gas for $3.82 so I decided to fill up, as it’s $3.99 back in Weed.
After a good meal, and pie to go, we headed back to the RV, taking in more great views along the way.
This is Mt. Shasta, seen from Redding. According to the map, it’s 58 miles away.
What stuck both Jan and I is how visible Mt. Shasta is from so far away, and yet it was so overcast last Saturday when we drove here in the RV that we never saw the mountain until we were in Weed, and even then it was covered in clouds.
Another shot from about 15 miles away.
Getting back to Weed, we stopped in at the Pilot right next door to the RV park so I could get a cappuccino.
Prescott, AZ
June 9, 2015
Make Up Your Mind . . .
Well, as I figured it will be the first part of next week before the new windshield will be in and they will be ready to install it. But apparently, my finding the windshield part number for them did speed things up.
Of course, they’ve also still got the airbag to install at the same time, as well as a few other small things. Then when everything else is done, we’ll drive over and get the new tires put on.
The tire guy says that he could put them on here, but if I want to get them computer balanced, that has to be done at the shop. Of course, I could have them all put on here, then drive over to the shop and have them all taken back off, balanced, and then put back on. But that would cost $25 per tire for the extra labor. So No to spending an extra $150.
About 2pm, Jan and I headed out to have linner at the In N Out Burger here. Unlike our last In N Out visit in Las Vegas, neither of us added ‘secret menu’ things. The only variation on our Double-Double’s was that Jan got grilled onions on hers, and I added a sliced of raw onion to mine.
In-N-Out is fast becoming one of our favorite burger places. Nothing fancy, just a really good burger.
Then it was right across the parking to a nearby Wal-Mart for a few things. It didn’t take us long to decide that this is now our favorite Wal-Mart here in Prescott. It’s very clean, with wide brightly-lit aisles. Jan said there was even artwork in the ladies’ room, as well as green plants. Very nice store.
On another note, can’t they just make up their minds?
First they tell us that being obese, or ‘extra fluffy’, as Jan calls it, is bad for your heart.
Then a few years later it all changes.
Obesity Now Good For Your Heart
And of course, previously, they told us saturated fats were bad for us. So everyone started using trans fats. Then they decided trans fats were bad, and we started using polyunsaturated fats. And now we’ve circled all the way back around to ‘saturated fats are good for you’.
Who can keep up?
And anyone remember how we ended up with airbags?
First we got seatbelts, but they decided people weren’t using them enough. So in 1974 they put switches in the seatbelts so that your vehicle wouldn’t start if your seatbelt wasn’t fastened. Of course, this resulted in a lot of people sitting on fastened seatbelts, just out of spite.
Finally, after a lot of complaints, the seatbelt switch law was repealed and we were back to the buzzer-light thing. For a while.
Then in 1998, since a lot of people still weren’t using their seatbelts, they started requiring front-seat airbags in all vehicles to replace seatbelts. In fact, some early airbag-equipped vehicles didn’t even have front seatbelts.
But in another one of those OOPS moments, they found that a lot of people were being injured, killed, or even decapitated by the airbags going off in a crash.
I mean, who knew that a small bomb going off in your face might be a problem?
So to save people from the dangerous airbags, they started requiring seatbelts again to protect people from the airbags.
And now 30 million vehicles in the US have been recalled due to defective airbag inflators, the explosive part that inflates the airbag. Apparently sometimes these go off on their own, with or without a crash. And when they do go off, they can send metal shrapnel spraying throughout the passenger compartment,, injuring or killing the occupants.
Don’t you feel safer now?
June 9, 2016
Whew, That Was Close . . .
When I got up about 11 this morning, the park water was off. And of course since the AC leak and microwave problem had jumped to the head of the repair list line, I have not yet installed the new water pump that came in last week.
Luckily we had enough water in a jug to still make coffee this morning. Otherwise things could have gone downhill very quickly. So, up next, the water pump install.
I know most RV’ers have a love-hate relationship with their water hose. I know I do. How can something labeled “Non-Kink”, or “No-Kink” find so many different ways kink, twist, or knot up while it’s just laying on the ground?
And I’m sure, like me, you’ve looked longingly at those expandable Pocket hoses that you can wad up in a ball, and thought, maybe it wouldn’t give me cancer if I drank from one all the time.
Well, someone has finally come up with an RV version. Called the Zero G RV and Marine Hose, it’s available for about $32 for a 25ft length.
About 4pm Jan and I drove down to the Cracker Barrel for dinner. Thursday being Turkey and Dressing Day, it’s Jan’s favorite day to eat there. But after looking over the menu, I was having trouble choosing between two items, both new on the menu – the Strawberry Chicken Spinach Salad and the Beef Campfire Grill. So I got both.
Or rather I got the Campfire Grill and Jan and I split the salad.
The salad was really great, with Strawberries, Blueberries, Spinach, Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Feta Cheese, Pecans, and Red Onions, with a Strawberry Vinaigrette. Probably the best salad of this type we’ve ever had.
With Jan going for her Turkey and Dressing, and us splitting the salad, I got to have the Beef Campfire Grill, with Beef Roast, Carrots, Red Potatoes, Onions, and Corn on the Cob. Kind of like a Louisiana or Low Country Boil, but with beef (or chicken) rather than shrimp or crawfish.
it comes like this,
and opens to this.
Everything was tender and delicious, especially the beef roast, very flavorful and perfectly spiced. Try it.
Landon’s out of school for the summer, all ready to be a 1st Grader this fall. So he gets to spend some time with his father, Lowell, hanging out at the new Starbuck’s near their house.
Looks like his recent treadmill faceplant has healed up.
June 9, 2017
Wrapping Up in Rapid City . . .
Today was a stay-at-home day, so I could finish up with the generator. I needed to finish wiring up the new remote switch and then put all the covers back on.
Then I checked all the rig’s fluids, adding some oil and some coolant. Tomorrow I check the tire pressures, since the last time I checked them in Bend, OR it was in the 40’s.
Since we’re wrapping here, I thought I’d finish up with one of our touristy things that we did last Thursday, the 1st, when we did the Reptile Gardens.
We got there a little before 1pm, just in time to take in the Snake Show, with these Albino Python as an example. Unfortunately due to the glass surrounding the stage I didn’t get many good photos.
Right next door was one of Jan’s favorites, the Prairie Dog Habitat. They also have a prairie dog on sentry duty.
Jan has been known to ignore signs like the one below, but not this time. Too many witnesses.
In addition, there were a lot of babies running around, some even smaller than this one.
This is Derek . . . the guy, not the gator. Derek showed us how to catch and restrain one.
Gators can bite down with over 2,000 psi of force, but the saltwater crocodile can chomp down at over 3,700 psi. Ouch!
In contrast, lions and tigers top out at about 1,000 psi, while you can tear into a steak with 100 to 200 psi.
But as strong as they are biting down, the muscles that open their jaws are pretty weak. In fact, almost anyone, even a child, can hold their mouths shut.
One thing kind of funny was that as Derek was doing this, all the other 20 odd gators and crocs came out and were lined up along the bank, just watching.
Next up was the Bird Show.
Then it was into the dome to check out all the snakes, bugs, and critters, including Jan’s favorite Tarantulas.
Some of them are actually kind of pretty.
This one will fling its stinging hairs at you.
Waxy Monkey Frogs
A Gold Poison Frog, supposedly the most poisonous of the bunch. Even the natives are very careful with it.
The Blue Poison Frog.
This is a Chameleon. Note the pattern on his side. He’s recreated the green leaves, the black background, and even the vertical branches. Amazing.
An Iguana
Here’s Jan with a slightly larger one when we were in Puerto Vallarta in 1997.
A Desert Horned Viper
And one from my neck of the woods, a Copperhead.
The Fierce Snake, or Inland Taipan, is reputed to be the most poisonous snake in the world, although I’ve seen other snakes listed that way.
The Fierce Snake
The centerpiece of the entire place is the dome, with birds, insects and other animals roaming free, and populated with many exotic plants and flowers.
We both really enjoyed Reptile Gardens, one of our favorite places here. A Must See if you’re in the area.
Tomorrow morning we’ll head out about 10am, with our first stop the Mobil station right by our I-90 entrance to get diesel. At $2.43 a gallon it’s the cheapest place around, especially compared to the Pilot a few miles down the road where it’s $2.85. So that would be a $42 difference on 100 gallons. Yikes!
Our first real stop will be Wall Drugs about 65 miles along I-90E where we’ll have lunch before going another 60 miles, stopping at the Belvidere KOA for the night.
A nice short day.
June 9, 2018
And Of Course, For the First Time in a Month …
It rained.
I tried. I really did. Right after I finished my coffee I headed outside to get started, only to be greeted by the loud rumble of thunder, a gray solid overcast sky, and heavy rain drops.
Where did that come from?
We haven’t had any rain in over a month, at least that’s what my La Crosse Weather Station says. And none was scheduled for today. So why rain on my parade?
One thing I did do was to top off our fresh water tank for our upcoming jaunt. We were below 1/4 tank, and we don’t expect to need it, but it’s best to be prepared.
Since I decided to put off the power washing until this afternoon, weather permitting, we headed out up to Webster about 1pm. Our first stop was for breakfast, again. Like I said, it’s our favorite meal.
But this time it was to another local favorite Breakfast/Bunch/Lunch place of ours, The Egg and I. We’ve been eating here for years, even before we started RV’ing in 2008 and it’s always been great.
Ironically, one of our favorite things there is not just the food, but their Hazelnut Coffee. Don’t know what brand it is, or where they get it, but it’s literally the best tasting coffee we’ve ever had. Much better than any of the Hazelnut coffees we buy at the store. And we’ve tried a lot of different brands.
As far as breakfast itself, Jan had an Omelet with Mushrooms, Onions, and Avocado with Fruit and an English Muffin.
I stuck with my usual Two Eggs Over Easy, with very crispy Bacon, Fruit, and an English Muffin.
A great breakfast. Just wish it was a little closer.
Then it was a quick stop by my clients to see if my Wyze Pan Cam had come in as promised.
Well, it may have been promised but it was not kept. It seems like every time a package doesn’t show up on time, it’s in the hands of the Post Office. In this case, according to the tracking, UPS delivered it to the Houston PO on Wednesday. And there’s been no change in the tracking info since then. It’s just sitting around out there somewhere.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, my rear end.
Our last stop was at the El Dorado WalMart to pick up Jan’s prescription that we dropped off a couple of days ago, and once again GoodRx saved us a bunch of money.
I’ve mentioned this app before, but if you don’t use it, get it. The first thing is that it shows you the cheapest places for any drug in your area. Pretty useful by itself. But it gets better.
In many cases GoodRx also gives you additional discounts, either by a coupon you print out and give to your pharmacy or just a code number that you show to the clerk when you check.
In today’s case, the initial cost for Jan’s prescription was $41.58, but after I showed them the GoodRx code on my phone, it dropped to $21.20, almost a 50% discount. Nice!
Tomorrow it’s once more unto the breach, and another try at washing the rig. But we’ll see.
Thought for the Day:
“Marriage lets you annoy that one special person for the rest of your life.”
…..
