When we aren’t traveling, there isn’t a whole lot to say…not that that has ever stopped me from rambling. We had an enjoyable visit with Rich, Eleanor, and Emma last week…went out rock hunting, 4-wheeling, and just general sight-seeing…it’s hard to show off this area in a couple of days…there’s so much to see and absorb. We managed to trail the elusive picas, also known as ‘whistle pigs’…small, high-altitude rodents with big ears and a somewhat nervous disposition. There was an ill-fated attempt to find peacock copper(rainbow-colored iron pyrite), and a successful safari for rhodonite(a pink mineral that is as hard as…well…a rock). We visited the preserved ghost town of Animas Forks, took a bumpy ride(ok, Rich, maybe I DIDN”T see that one bump coming) up to Hurricane Pass overlooking Lake Como, and came back to town. Our visitors fed us at a local restaurant(could be they couldn’t stand the thought of another one of my home-cooked hand-me-downs, but they were too polite to say…). We saw them off in a cold rain, and went back into a suddenly very quiet house…I wanted to hitch up the Tracker to the back of the motorhome and take off to somewhere-anywhere. I settled for another cup of coffee and a couple of chapters in the current paperback next to the wood-burning cookstove.

Other exciting activity has been mowing, bringing in a few loads of firewood, and moving boxes of stuff from here to there…we really know how to have a good time. I moved the moho into the driveway, and heard one of those noises that didn’t belong to the routine of backing into the driveway…you know, the ones that you just know are gonna cost you…seems like the automatic steps retractor switch had a short…steps up-bump-steps down…didn’t scratch the driveway too bad, but it took a full day to pull off the steps, beat them back into alignment with a sledge hammer, and reattach them. Since I had already done this,once before, by removing a tree stump in Arkansas, I was prepared AND knowledgeable…the quote “Experience is the ability to recognize a mistake the second time you make it” comes to mind…or, “Hindsight means you aren’t looking where you’re going…”. The errant switch, by the way, will retract AND lower the steps by simply jiggling it…proving that ‘idiot-proof’ is a misnomer, and I are one…

Can’t wait to see what today brings, so I guess I’ll just go meet it face first…

I’m amazed at how easy it is to get sucked into the requirements of house and home duties…mow the browning grass, water it to make it grow, fertilize it, and then mow it…cleaning and rearranging the dust after being absent for 8+ months, so we can have it sorta clean for our next long absence…trying to remember where things are in an inside world outside our Airstream-I can lose stuff in a 34 1/2 by 7 1/2 foot rolling home, so a house with two sheds and a 45′ semi trailer…?

It has been in the low 30’s/upper 20’s in the mornings…the fire ring has been temporarily traded for the wood-burning cookstove…I’m watching the woodshed supply dwindle, and know that I will soon have to buy my permits and go out to cut wood. For the uninitiated, this involves finding dead trees(preferably still standing), firing up the chainsaw, felling them where they are easiest to cut into appropriate lengths, loading them into the truck, bringing them home to unload them, splitting them into stove-sized pieces, stacking them to let them dry a bit, and then moving them into the woodshed. We need a minimum of three cords of wood, unless we hit the road earlier(hmmmm…). this is the latest I have ever waited to cut wood, except for our first winter here…that winter had me going out in knee to thigh-deep snow every 4-5 days to cut down pathetic-looking dead aspen…the learning curve was pretty sharp, but it apparently is flattening out a bit.

Last year, I went out scouting for trees, found several good prospects, psyched myself up for a day while tuning up the saws, got up early and drove out to play Bunyan-man, and…damn if someone hadn’t beat me to them…don’t get me too wrong, I enjoy going out in the far reaches to cut wood, but the enjoyment fades relative to how far I have to lug the wood to get it to the truck. There is the strong temptation to drive as close to the tree as possible, but I only have to look at the severely dented cabs of fellow woodcutters to realize that gravity doesn’t always behave the way you want it to.

I have cleaned out the toolshed while Tracy has been working on the house…anyone who comes to visit(take note R,E,&E) will see a real mess…we, on the other hand, see improvement, mostly because we can see things…like the floor, the dining room table surface, all the couch cushions…I sometimes allude to our existence as like living inside a Rubik’s Cube(If it seems like I repeat some stuff, I probably do probably do).

The Albuquerque Balloon Festival is a little more than a month away(we’re gonna go a couple of days early), and then we will return home to start the process of closing down the house for the winter…gonna put stuff away neatly, so we can find it easily when we get back…like, maybe in boxes on the floor, the dining room table, the couch…

Well hooray for us…we left Silverton just after the crack of noonish, yesterday(more like 1:30-ish), and headed out on the shorter route thru Montrose…this allowed us to go over FOUR passes at a climb speed of just under 25 mph, spend 45 minutes at the top of the first at a construction delay, then another 10 minutes delay halfway down the first so Dodge could film a commercial, and then follow under the monsoon till we lost it in Gunnison(it’s ok, tho’, cause we found it again just east of Gunnison)…and then, we started up Monarch Pass. Normally, this is a beautiful drive at 15-20mph, but the rain kinda put a damper on the view(which dropped to about 30 feet a little over a mile from the top when we entered the fog zone. We reached the top, and inched our way into the parking lot…found a relatively level spot on the hump of the Continental Divide, and decided that we would eat supper when I could get my hands off the steering wheel. The fog actually lifted a bit by 7:30, but when I turned on the headlights, it was in-yer-face white, again…nice place to spend the night. Drippy fog, nice warm cabbage/sausage meal, and Gracie-dog wanted to explore everything there was BEFORE pooping…we have decided to keep her, anyway.

Up at 6am, breakfast of instant grits(mistake, if you want to keep an empty BW tank) , and on the road down…10+ miles of first gear-second gear-brake. Surprisingly, we found the rally without having to backtrack(or, shudder, ask directions). We were greeted like the royalty I am, directed to a PAVED sight(obviously SOMEONE knew of my stature), and were able to renew old and establish new friendships…

I suppose I may have lost a few in the process, but being regal has it’s price, and the bribes had already been promised. The afternoon lunch on the riverbank was most enjoyable, but after sitting my ass on a rock for 30 minutes(an ass composed of scar tissue from all the chewing it took when I was…uhm…employed…

uhm…gainfully) it was left feeling like playing hardball with a nylon glove. The obvious remedy was to take a quick tour of town and stop at an antique store. Apparently, several others of the group at the picnic had set on similar rocks, as we saw them at the same antique store.  We kinda had to rush back to the rally for the rodeo events, and while I did not win first in any event(had to show I was not as superior as one of my stature is), I only tied for last in three of the events. I may have kidded about it, but NO, Mr Wagonmaster, I really WASN’T trying to take off your hat with the sewer hose toss(i want your vote, too). GREAT rodeo, GREAT group= GREAT time. I should add, competition was:

propane barrel races riding stick flamingos

roping plastic cowheads mounted on Blueboys

sewer hose tossing

slingshot rock shooting at Fat Tire can pyramids

maybe something else, but I can’t remember.

I was acknowledged as TTRQ(Trailer Trash Rodeo Queen), and I already had the tiara(THANKS, again, mz Bam).

No off-centered rally is without the infamous Happy Hours merging into a gluttony of happier hours treats topped off with potluck proliferation…this day was definitely in the somewhere away(FAR away) focus of midline. The infamous Donnarita machines(yep, two of ‘em) were struggling to keep up with the crowd, and the seemingly endless keg(s) of Fat Tire were drawing the rest of us. After the slide show and some fairly fascinating conversations, I had to retire for the evening(ok, I RETIRED several years ago, but you know what I mean).

One side-note…as with when I was first awarded the tiara, wearing it in a crowd that doesn’t get fazed by such apparel, I forgot that it was there…until I ventured into WallyMart…the first time was standing in the checkout line at a grocery store in Q-town…the guy in front of me wanted to know what bet I lost that I had had to wear that ‘thing’ for…some things in that other world are just better left without explanation…can’t wait for tomorrow…oops, don’t have to, it’s already here…

m

Gearing up for the jaunt to the RMVAC…got clean underwear and an almost full tank of gas…we plan on leaving tomorrow, and haven’t yet decided on Wolf Creek Pass or Red Mountain/Monarch. With our penchant for accumulating, our house and the MoHo are like living inside a Rubik’s Cube…garage sales don’t seem to affect the quantity, unless we’re going to one rather than having one…we have a 45 foot semi-trailer that offers limited storage, and the adage stating that the one who dies with the most toys wins doesn’t take into account that the one who wins still dies, and has to deal with all those toys before death wins…we  have several collections of a somewhat obsessive nature…most likely you are aware of the recent flamingo focus. We also have way too many tires for the real estate, an impressive aspirin/laxative/medical tin collection, a toy ambulance collection, a matchbook collection, a sign collection, and the usual accumulation of family-related furniture that seems to clog the  floorplan…then there’s all that really neat stuff that requires someone’s oversight lest it go to anonymity in a dumpsite…not a lifestyle conducive to RV living. We only UPS’d 3 boxes home this year.

Woodburning cookstove in the same kitchen as the gas-burner…remember the two barrel chairs I took out of the MoHo…? I finally took them out of the guest bedroom to make room for a few boxes, so the truck I use for hauling trash and wood is temporarily out of use…if anyone wants them, contact me ASAP, as I will surrender them to the dump after the Salida Rally-gotta get some wood cut here pretty soon.

I miss Quartzsite and the simple demands of water, dumping, propane, firewood, and food.

mike

Sunday in Colorado…can’t buy real beer, only 3.2%…no wonder God made churches. The last week(has it really been a week?) has seen more lawnmowing, garden weeding, and realization that there is more stuff to do than there is time or motivation, but I don’t think I’m ready to come out of retirement, yet. We renewed last year’s friendship with Dan & Lindie…they are, once again, camp-hosting at an RV park, here in town(The Peaks). I managed to twist my back out pulling weeds(so embarassing, but don’t underestimate the fight in a dandelion), and then found the Lortabs…WHOOEEEEE!!!pain?…nope…relevant conversation…nope…focus?…maybe later. At my age, they aren’t drugs, they’re medications, but the effect is surprisingly similar…thanks Dan & Lindie for accepting what little mentation I was able to employ. BIG thanks for the use of the hot tub.

Salida is coming up, and the concern about driving the beast over Wolf Creek Pass is, well, looming, but somewhere in the last week, I failed to unpack/repack the unit…now I actually feel like I have a deadline, but  I work better under pressure. Hawaaian shirts, shorts, jeans, sandals, gummy flamingos, tiara…OK, I’m ready…oh, wait, where’s Tracy…?(I’m gonna pay for this one)…Milo, any words of encouragement? My contribution to the chile dump this year may be courtesy of Wolf Brand.

I know, change the subject…that sometimes works…I know…the fridge…many of you have asked about the ongoing saga of the fridge…well, it seems to work better in low humidity, and it definitely works better when the ambient temperature is in the thirties(as it is most nights up here in Silverton)…the acid test will be this year’s Quartzsite venture…we’ve spent about $1300 on it, and  it has been removed 3 times…not especially heavy, just awkward. Another alteration to the unit was the removal of the other barrel chair and the tv stand…the somewhat loose plan(currently) is to put in a computer desk made out of a Singer treadle machine, a bookshelf, a small file cabinet, and two more on-line AGM batteries for the solar set up…we really know how to trim the weight…keep that in mind if you see us in your rear-view mirror.

Well, for being home kinda like a long week, we’ve done more than expected, and had some really pleasant surprises. The roof didn’t leak, the pipes are still holding water, all the vehicles (2000 Silverado 3500 Crew cab, ‘89 Isuzu Trooper, ‘82 Dodge Ram 50, ‘76 Toyota Land Cruiser)( and the Geo and 345) are running…after a fashion…It has been good to re-affirm friendships, made to feel at home, again, and to make new acquaintances…sometimes, this can, apparently, be a harrowing experience…I often (ok, always) assume that other Airstream occupants are as…uhm…stimulated as I am to the AS community…this can cause a bit of discomfort to some…To the European couple driving the AS MoHo I chased down thru and out of Silverton, Colorado…my intentions were, well, well-intended…I have a tendency not to recognize that a graying, thinning, long-haired, Hawaian-shirted, gummy flamingo-bearing(recently blogged as ‘gaunt’) individual can, indeed, cause concern in unsuspecting aluminum-haulers/drivers…Ma’am, I thank you for accepting the flamingos, and I understand why you wouldn’t open the door…Sir, I thank you for stopping the backward roll before it crushed the Geo…please don’t think ALL Americans behave like me…just a few of us…and we’re relatively harmless to all but ourselves.

A really nice surprise was to look up while in the front yard and see a couple of fellow Airstreamers(folks who befriended us at our first real rally-RMVAC Colorado Springs)…Gus and Sidra Spies…they were staying at South Mineral Campground(just a few miles out of town)and we got to visit and see a few high-country 4WD views before they moved on. It was good to have visitors, and pretty special to have folks who had history similar to ours in this part of the country…thanks again for the company and the meal!!! We attended an auction today…Gus ands Sidra didn’t buy anything, and it’s still a debate as to whether or not what I bought was a purchase or just another version of a hole to throw money into…I happen to think that the 5 foot tall troll made of a log, rope fiber, pine cones, large lima beans, squash gourds, plastic marbles, and assorted vegetational unidentifiables is a real score…I could be as wrong as most other folks think I am, but, hey, what do they know about the finer appreciations of high-altitude art…? Well, time to go take my evening medications…the voices seem to be getting louder…

We’ll be headed to Salida in a week or so…may take the slow version of travel…may have to mow, again, before we leave…all these ‘mays’ are intimidating…

Hope this is finding all of you bored folks healthy and happy…let us know.

mike

So, we left OKC the morning after my jug shower(pool was closed), and drove to Amarillo…stopped at the Texas Visitors Center on the east side of town to get our bearings, and the security guard drove up…oops, no Ms Ossifer, we just lookin’…she guided us to a quieter lot for boondocking, told us that security would be all night, so we could drive into town if we wanted, without worrying…!!!…level, quiet, bathrooms with hot water right over there…beat the heck outta $30 for a plug-in…the temp had dropped into the 60’s…good night for a Cracker Barrel meal. Up and on the way to Albuquerque in the not-too-early am…a few stops, a nap, and we got to the Camping World parking lot before dark. Got up the next morning, bought toilet chemicals, a clip-on 12V fan, and drove next door to the Enchanted Trails RV Park(CampClub-1/2 price for 2 days). ABQ is one of our favorite towns…was before last year’s Balloon Festival Rally…now, more so…spent a total of 3 more nights(hot tub every night), shopped the antique/thrift stores, did a couple of big-box, and ate at the Rte 66 Casino buffet(2 fer 9.95)…gave the slots $5 in appreciation…Met a couple from Illinois our last night at the park…’66 Safari in beautiful condition…they let me come in and talk their ears off for quite awhile(while the thunderstorm blew through). Got up this morning around 7:30, best intentions, but didn’t pull out till 10:30…left the toad in the Durango WallyWorld parking lot(we’ll take the truck in tomorrow or the next and tow it in), and got H O M E around 7:30…the grass is kinda brown for being 1 1/2 feet tall in places…some physical shifting of items in the yard indicates a pretty impressive winter…turned on the water, and!!!NO LEAKS or burst pipes!!! Got the propane on, the heaters and stove burning, a pizza cooked, and are remembering what a recliner and comfy couch are like…tomorrow will be soon enough for whatever. Tonight, it’s a bed the size of Texas and temps in the upper 30’s with the bedroom window open and the comforter on top…life is good.

Well, we left the really nice, secluded Woolly Hollow State Park in Arkansas on Thursday(10th), and wandered into Van Buren, Ark, that evening…driving pretty slow…stopped at Park Ridge RV…on a river, but limited fishing area from the bank. Met a family from Great Britain who are touring the US for 6 weeks in a rented MH…they have a travelblog under “6000milesin6weeks.blogspot.com”…most enjoyable family, and tolerant of a flamingo-flinging couple on the road…got up this am and after a leisurely cup and a shower in a bathroom that left me feeling cleaner, but not by much, we headed out…stopped at a catfish buffet, a couple of rest areas, and finally landed on the west side of Oklahoma City, at Rockwell RV Park. We stayed here last year for a few days, while we spent a lot of time antiquing and thriftstoring…

You may have noticed that we have been availing ourselves of commercial sites…high heat and humidity are barely sufferable at 50-55mph, but stop and it hits you like…well…high heat and humidity at 0mph…plug in, ac, and wait for the shade to cover you…the dash ac is still heating like a champ. and I haven’t yet put the shower curtain curtain/generator powered roof ac into action, but tomorrow seems like a good time to try it out.

I’ll avail myself of the ‘heated’ pool after this entry(if it’s still open)…if not, the gallon jug of water over the head will suffice…tomorrow…well…we might make it to Amarillo, and we might just sit and swelter…my bet is on the highway breeze, unless the optional ac thing works…

Did I happen to mention that July is a poor time to venture into the Heatland of America…?

mike

As the sun rises(an assumption, since the rain and overcast are damping the view)…we find ourselves still in the wee town of Wooster…it has rained all night, and it continues. The leak in the roof, which is manifested at the tv antenna extender, has produced about a quarter inch in the drip pan so far…a record since it first appeared a couple of years ago(or was first noticed). Wick finished the rebuild on the fridge, and we slid it into its slot yesterday afternoon. He then shut up shop for the weekend, bid me a happy 4th, and I set about hooking up the gas and wires…the wires…wasn’t there a plug-in for this plug?…

yep, but first, ya gotta unhook all that stuff you just hooked up and slide the fridge out a bit so you can reach the wire you so carefully looped around the top so it wouldn’t be in the way…a few more back-into steps along the way, and the fridge is in…the lights that tell me whether or not the gas or electric are working don’t work, but the gas pilot lights with a push of the button, and the electric is drawing 110, so we’re good, right?  The freezer is 6 degrees, and the box is…42…it was 28 in the shop…I know, I saw…so, what’s missing in this equation? Perhaps time and patience are missing factors.

In any event, we wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July, and add a personal GRATEFUL thanks to the US Armed Forces procuring our right to be as we are…fuss about $4/gal, but some folks in this world are paying $10/gal…maybe it is all about oil(I don’t think so), but unless you have an instant solution or can fix it  without  rationing, quitcher whining.  If you grew up ignorant  of the fact that we ARE an oil-based economy, or that the SUV or HYBRID you drive is produced with  a lot of oil-based technology that can not be changed in the conclusive future, then I’m wasting my etherspace. Alternatives are good, but not when they’re printed on placards made from the industry they decry.

Once again, it’s kinda neat to have a box to stand on…feel free to respond with your observations or views…it’s that kind of country.

So, before I so rudely sidetracked myself, we are still in Wooster…it’s still raining…the fridge is still minimal in the main box…for those close to me(literally), the good news is that Tracy and I went to Wooly Hollow State ark on the 2nd, and scoped it out…nice shaded spots with H2O and Electric, a nice lake, rental boats(canoe, kayak, paddle, motored skiff) for reasonable rates, and…S H O W E R S ! ! !  So, yesterday, after installation activities, I packed my shower bag and headed for the running water. Four days in hot, humid weather makes for…well, you get the picture…hose showers notwithstanding, it was a wonderful experience. What? Well, yes, we do have running water and a functional shower, but the water supply is a hose connection not compatible with conventional hoses, and we hadn’t filled the tank, as this fridge thing was gonna be a relatively quick thing, before we hit the highway…cough, ahem, yes, well…

Wooster had their Fourth’s fireworks display on the 28th of June…live band, friendly crowd, good display…Greenbrier(6 mile east, 2,000+ more population) will have theirs this evening, if the rain will go away…

Seriously, feedback would let me know yer out there, wincing at my diatribes…?

m

We left Jim-n-Jam’s today…made it down the driveway without any damage…gotta confess to a lapse of intelligence(Jim would call it a case of the stupids…and probably did)…I let a 9 y/o drive the GEO(well, I was behind the wheel, and she was steering, at about 3 mph)…she did well, so I let her actually get behind the wheel, and drive the flat part(this is all on PRIVATE driveway)…she wanted to try driving down the hill a ways, and this is where the GEO met the tree…tipped a bit to the left, and I told her to get out, while I backed up…she felt bad, I felt a lot worse…maybe a parking lot without light poles, next time…

We are now at our favorite Walmart in Conway, Arkansas(actually, the only one in town), boondocking and running the generator for the AC…it rained this afternoon, and we witnessed another one of Nature’s wonders that ten years of Colorado had made us forget…parking lots, streets, and other heat-absorbing things STEAM after a shower…needless, the humidity of 250% with the temp of 150 degrees(ok, maybe only 90-92 for both) was a sauna you couldn’t escape quick enough…the soon-to-be-repaired fridge(we hope) made it up to 64, and the icey-pops in the freezer were more like slushy-pops…went out and ate Mexican food for supper…might as well heat up evenly. There is another  phenomenon in southern eateries I have to note: iced tea is offered as sweetened, or regular. Most places with sweetened tea are not shy with the sugar. Better that than Aspartame…I actually saw a store with boxes of 50 packets of Aspartame for sale…scary prospect…Google it and see if you don’t start reading the contents labels…

So, tomorrow is up-n-early to be at the RV place at 8(we delivered the cooling unit to them today), and then the tried and true method of hurry up and wait for someone else to control your schedule(even if you DON’T have one)…Thursday appointments make me edgy, as the weekend looms near. Monday appointments make me edgy, as the weekend toll must be first shaken off, and the grind starts(usually) on Tuesday. Wednesday actually seems to depend on the morning coffee(a grind of a different color…?). So, we are once again at the mercy of people we don’t know(and are not known by)…this has been our year for that kind of situation. I know, I know…would I like a little cheese with that whine?

Sent out(forwarded) a political bash email(I like doing that, because—)—it got a LOT of righteously indignant email response advising me(and others) to “CHECK MY SOURCES”…c’mon folks…it’s a national election process, and candidate-bashing is ‘raison’ enough to forward the best(most outrageous ) ones…don’t take it so seriously…IT”S JUST A GAME!!! Most of my response to such serious-minded, tunnel-visioned intensity is…IT IS JUST A GAME. If your only enjoyment is to trash someone else’s view or fun because it ain’t yours, then I don’t wanna play…but I’ll keep pushin’ yer buttons…yer gonna DIE sooner, worried about stuff too much. Change can be good, but Momma Nature has us all beat, and any thoughts otherwise are arrogance, ignorance, or a Corps of Engineers’ daily bread…

Gee, but I love a soap box(or was that opera…I get ‘em confused…).

mike