Our RV Adventures

Not much new at work today. Set up a new Canon laser printer and got it working on the network. It’s a high-speed duplex printer and will be used to print out our catalogs.

Getting home about 4:15 I put together a batch of quickie vegetable soup. I start with chicken broth, spiced (salt, pepper, minced garlic, minced onions, thyme, and oregano plus ground habanero for some heat) to taste. Then I dump in a large package of Birdseye Frozen Mixed Vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Squash, and  Zucchini)

And after about 7 minutes in the microwave it’s all hot and bubbly.

And delicious.

I had a lot of nice comments about my recent wildlife park posts so here’s another one.

Cat Tails and Good Pizza . . .     July 14, 2011

After coffee this morning, I got back to work finishing up my transfer switch bypass. Last night after I got the new receptacles, I made up this harness so I’d be ready to go today.

After going outside and disconnecting shore power just to be safe, all I had to do was connect the splices to the loose ends of the generator output wires and then tape them up. And for once things went smoothly and I was done in about 15 minutes.

Finishing up, Jan and I left about 12:15 to head into Spokane for the rest of the day.

Our first stop was Shakey’s Pizza for their lunch buffet. We really like their food and always stop by when there’s one in the area. The last time we ate at one was in Lancaster, CA last year.

And there’s another reason we really like them. Jan and I went there on our first date in Orlando, FL in July of 1967, about 43 years ago. So a lot of good things come from Shakey’s.

Shakey’s has a great buffet, consisting of pizza, spaghetti, fried chicken, battered, fried potato slices, salad bar, and dessert pizza. Really, really good.

Leaving Shakey’s we drove up the road about 5 miles to the Cat Tails Zoological Park. We had noticed the place when we came through town this past Monday and wanted to check it out.

Turns out that Cat Tails is Big Cat rescue zoo that began in 1991, starting with 4 cats, and has been growing ever since.

fadsfasdf
They have a number of beautiful Royal White Bengal Tigers.

fadsfasdf
They also have number of these signs around. So we have a choice: Run and LOOK like food, or stand still and BE food.

Not much of a choice, if you ask me.

fadsfasdf
This is a mountain lion, a puma, panther, catamount, or a cougar. Take your pick.

fadsfasdf
These are Serval cats. A little bigger than a domestic house cat, they can run 45 mph and jump 12 feet in the air and catch birds in mid-air.

fadsfasdf
I never knew that leopards had green eyes. The info sign says a leopard can jump 20 feet straight up and 35 feet straight out from a sitting position.  WOW!

They have a number of both male and female lions, but I could only get a good photo of this female.

fadsfasdf
They also have two tigers and a lioness that have been raised together since they were cubs, and all three are in the same cage.

fadsfasdf
And of course, a lot of tigers.

fadsfasdf
This is 14 month old Amura, being taken for a walk and moved to a new cage.

fadsfasdf
Still a youngster who likes to play with her ball, she also likes to splash in her pond,

fadsfasdf
and even take a bath.

fadsfasdf
Being raised as a single cub, the zoo decided Amura needs a companion. So they got Sage, 4 month old Great Pyrenees, from the local Humane Society.

fadsfasdf
They were kept together for almost a year until Amura got too big, and the zoo was worried that Amura might not know her own strength.

But they regularly put them together in adjacent cages so they can play. It was easy to see how excited they got when they saw each other.

We really enjoyed Cat Tails and thought it was a great bargain. At only $8.00 it’s much cheaper than some other similar attractions, and we really had a great time.

Well recommended if you’re in the area.

Leaving the zoo we headed into downtown Spokane as Jan wanted to drive through the South Hill District and check out some of the old homes in the area.

After that we headed back north for a for a few stops before heading home. First up was a Bed, Bath & Beyond for Jan to get some soaps.

Next was Lowe’s to take back the wrong receptacles from my switch bypass project, and also buy some heavier cutters since I had trouble cutting the #8 gauge wire.

Then it was back to Wal-Mart for more ‘stuff’. Apparently we left some ‘stuff’ there the other day, so Jan wanted to go back and get it all.

We got back home about 6:30, to find that unlike last night, when we got back to find a note on our RV saying the park water would be off until this morning, but found it was working fine, tonight we got back to find no note, but the water was off anyway.

No problem as we have plenty in our tank.

We’ll leave here tomorrow about 8 am, heading for Columbia Falls, MT and Glacier National Park. It’ll be about 225 miles and since we’ll also lose an hour moving into Mountain Daylight Time, we want to get an early start.

We also want to top off our diesel before we leave Newport, and that also takes a while.

Thought for the Day:

A journey of a thousand miles usually begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

fadsfasdf

Please remember, Our RV Adventures is an Amazon affiliate. When you do your shopping through any of the Amazon links here, including the Search Amazon box in the right sidebar, it won’t cost you any more, but we’ll get a small commission on everything you buy. Just click on the Amazon link, then shop as usual. Thanks.

Plus, many of you are sharing our blog with others using the “Share this:” buttons at the bottom of each blog. Again, Thanks.

Unlike last week’s doctor appointment, today’s lab work appointment wasn’t scheduled until 1pm, so we had a quiet morning, finally leaving the rig around 12:15.

The actual blood draw only took a couple of minutes, but why did they have to do over all the same stuff they just did a little over a week ago. Stuff like blood pressure, pulse rate, weight, temp, etc.,  and then there’s all the medical history that I just gave them last time. Don’t they write this info down.

But by 1:30 we were on our way back over to Webster and the Twin Peaks there to have lunch. Although it’s one of our favorite places, it’s been a while since we’ve been here. In fact the last time we were at a Twin Peaks,  it was the one up in the Woodlands.

One thing about TW is that they regularly change their menu. You won’t get bored, but you will lose some favorites now and then. In our case we lost their Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. But we gained their Green Chile Chicken Soup. Delicious!

Jan had the Greek Salad along with six Spicy Thai Chili wings.

I again when the soup and veggies route, with a bowl of the aforementioned Green Chili Chicken Soup, as well as the Sautéed Broccoli, the Sautéed Green Beans, and the Grilled Asparagus.

All done perfectly, and delicious.

After finishing up we headed up the Interstate a piece to do the Sam’s Club/WalMart thing for prescriptions and groceries. And then it was back to the rig.

Our Dodge Dakota ran perfectly with absolutely no problems. It’s good to have it bad. And being able to borrow our son Chris’ truck for the interim was a big help.

Thanks, Chris.

Thought for the Day: 

I prefer not to think before speaking. I like being just as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth.

ghngh