Saturday, October 30, 2010

JOURNEYING BETWEEN TWO PLANETS

DSC_0058

TONIGHT'S 5 SCENIC'S ARE FROM OUR NOVEMBER 2008 VISIT TO ARCHES NATIONAL PARK IN UTAH....NEAR MOAB

Can't help but notice how much longer it stays dark in the mornings now as our light of day steadily diminishes.  There is a coldness in the air & I see by next week we have a few days coming up  with night time lows below the freezing mark.  Going to have to crack a little heat on in the RV I guess.  Don't need any froze up water lines etc.  It's just the unavoidable hazards of waiting this long to head south!!  Oh well, at least we're not stuck here having to wait until after that Christmas thing like a lot of other folks.

DSC_9015

THE GUYS ARE WAITING FOR THEIR PRE-BREAKFAST CEREAL SNACKS THIS MORNING

Handyman Bruce showed up this morning to begin building a little computer station for us in the rig.  Sure will be nice to have some extra space now that the big Tiffin desk is out of there.  Hopes to finish up the project Monday.  In the meantime our rig is sure in a big upside down state of affairs inside so we'll have to do some scrambling next week for sure.

DSC_9016    DSC_9020

BRUCE SETS UP HIS TOOLS & LEVELS UP THE FIRST PIECE OF LUMBER

DSC_9022  DSC_9023

WE GATHER OUR HOUSE PLANTS INTO THE SUNROOM FOR THE WINTER

RECOVERABLE PHOTOS 9151MY 'PINK' PERIOD IN THE MID 80'S

Looking for some photos to include in tonight's blog I came across an old picture of myself taken about 1986. (hope I haven't posted this one before)  This was in what I call my 4 year 'pink' era.  The girl I was going with at the time always made me dress up & wear stuff I was never comfortable in.  She had a favorite pink shirt for me so that's why I called it my 'pink' period.  I do not like wearing any kind of jewelry whatsoever so of course she had me walking around with a gold wrist bracelet & neck chain plus a ring.  I was typically a fish out of water for about 4 years.  I much preferred my good old grubby look so needless to say that relationship never did have much of a future.  Notice the pen & notebook in my pocket.  That has been an everyday tradition of mine since 1983 & I still carry a pen & notebook in my shirt pocket to this very day.

DSC_0028

PARK AVENUE

Snow Birding is like living on two different planets.  Our sticks & bricks here in Bayfield is like our own Earth & our travels to the great American Southwest are like long journey in space to our other home on the planet Mars. (the southwest)  The two lifestyles have very little in common aside from the eating & sleeping basics.  When on Mars, I seldom think back to our planet Earth here.  Right from the moment we blast off each fall, our sticks & bricks lifestyle immediately fades into a distant memory mode for me & I rarely think of our Earth home' at all for the next 5 months.

DSC_0044

Doesn't quite work the other way around though.  When we are home here in Bayfield for the summer I think often of our other lifestyle in the Southwest.  From the day we arrive back on Earth I am already counting the days to when we will return to our planet Mars with all it's adventures, vistas, unknowns, new horizons, & physically challenging good days.  Where will we go, what new areas of the planet will we see & explore.  What kinds of new characters will we meet & how many new & adventuress things will we learn.  Will we return to Earth with the crew & ship intact yet again.  All unknown factors & all a part of our other great lifestyle. 

DSC_0091

IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN

The transition between planets is not always easy for Snow Birds like us.  Within minutes of leaving home we begin the transition from our oh so familiar routines & surroundings to our life on the road.  My big comfy recliner, wide screen HD television, & favorite cabled in ambient stereo surround sound music is suddenly gone.  Long hot morning showers, my own big double comfy bed in my very own room, big monitor computer screen in a beautifully scenic sunroom is all left behind in a matter of minutes.  What must we be thinking!!!!  Our other totally different lifestyle, that's what............on our other Planet which sometimes seems so long ago in a Galaxy so far, far, away:))

DSC_0103

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Lynn & Judy (two local blonde gals) were doing some carpenter work on a Habitat for Humanity House.  Lynn was nailing down house siding, would reach into her nail , pouch, pull out a nail & either toss it over her shoulder or nail it in. Judy, figuring this was worth looking into, asked, 'Why are you Throwing those nails away?' Lynn explained, 'When I pull a nail out of my pouch, about half of them have the head on the wrong end & I throw them away.'  Judy got completely upset & yelled,  'You moron! Those nails aren't Defective! They're for the other side of the house!'

----------------------------------------------------------------

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

12 comments:

  1. Loved that groaner! You were a good looking fellow in your "Pink Period"!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You look much more comfortable with yourself now than you did in 1986. Pink would definitely not be your color!

    I haven't yet tried being a snowbird so I'm not sure what it will be like for me. I do know that I don't have a sense of belonging anywhere, except when I'm with family, but that's only a temporary thing. I wonder if I'll ever find my place in the world - probably not in this go-around anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello from Mars! An early welcome to your other planet. :) (not quite so far west, but certainly south!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I guess I'm one of those folks who stay home until after the Christmas holidays before heading south. It's a personal choice though and I certainly don't feel stuck at all.

    Both Paulette and myself enjoy the time with our family and wouldn't really enjoy being away anywhere at that time of year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. great shots from MOAB..we are from Earth..not Mars..too bad for us!!.hang in there, Al..Mars is just around the corner!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your thoughts on the two planets hit home for me, as lately I have been wondering how it would be to return to earth in the form of a house.

    It sometimes sounds interesting, but I cannot quite get a clear focus on it-yet.

    As for winter, we had two nights of below freezing in southern Indiana the last few nights.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ah yes, the disco 80's look...Leisure suits and white shoes...Loved the picture...We have one somewhere of "Dennis Travolta"... Have a safe trip...hope to meet you on the road sometime...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I still can't believe we could talk you guys into wearing that stuff!!! Love the groaner today.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Al, you certainly do look better with your grubby look, and you do it so well! Surprised you lastyed 4 years with your pink lady friend.

    ReplyDelete
  10. HAHAHA!!! I have some photos of my brother with the 80s look - he hates them. He dresses just like you do now.

    As for moving to Utah, this darn place has no reasonable housing, at least not around the resort areas. You would never have got the kind of deal you did in Congress. I bet it's a lot cheaper there to live, too. I myself am considering going somehwere like that.

    Really nice photos of Arches.

    ReplyDelete
  11. PS You looked like quite the handsome man about town, too. :)

    ReplyDelete