SHORT BLOG TONIGHT…..COFFEE TIME:))

Winds, rain and colder weather were the order of the day.  Tis the changing of the Seasons alright.  A lot of pine needles down today.

Took the rig for a short run to check on that problematic ABS light and so far so good because the warning light has gone out and has remained out.  However, I got an amber engine warning light on the Jeep this morning.  ARRRGHHHHH!!

It is a very sad day for  KEVIN AND RUTH who are currently RVing in Mexico.  Their precious dog Whiskey passed away early Friday morning.  The pain of losing a treasured pet is still fresh in our memories and our thoughts and feelings go out to Kevin and Ruth.

The blog is short tonight because I am meeting one of my two best friends late this afternoon for coffee.  When I lived in Stratford years ago Jim and I met for coffee twice a week for years.  Since moving out to the old farm house and then up here to Bayfield our coffee marathons have dwindled to once a year.  We always have a lot to talk about and our coffee sessions go on for hours.  I have blogged about Jim and our coffee blow outs before.  I knew by the time I arrived home tonight I would be too tired to start putting a post together so I am writing this in the afternoon to post before heading out to a nearby Tim Horton’s coffee shop to meet Jim. 

Now, here's the funny part.  Jim actually quit drinking coffee many years ago and I only drink one coffee a day now which happens to be first thing in the morning.   He will end up with an orange juice and I will end up with a decaffe.  And we will make these drinks last for hours.  Not exactly the way we did things years ago but one thing that hasn't changed is the great friendship and the great conversations we always have:))

OUR RAINY EARLY AUTUMN BACK YARD TODAY

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Now, here's an important tip for anyone flying.  If you step onto a plane and recognize a friend of yours named Jack, don't yell out...... Hi Jack!! 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS   http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.

ALTHOUGH WE DON’T CROSS THE MEXICAN BORDER, WE DO SPEND A LOT OF OUR TIME…….REAL DARN CLOSE TO IT

OUR SUMACS ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW THEIR AUTUMN COLORS
Kelly busied herself loading the Motor Home for awhile this morning and I was able to successfully repair a loose step runner.  After that major accomplishment I was flushed with success and briefly entertained the thought of applying for an engineering job at Nasa’s Rocket Science center in Florida.  Thought to myself….Nawwww, I wouldn’t be able to take the humidity down there.
Not a real productive day again but Pheebs and I did make two trips around the forest trail.  Took the rig for a short drive this morning because we are having a problem with the ABS brake warning light.  Brakes are fine but the light persists.  It’s not an uncommon problem for the earlier years with that ABS Anti-Lock Brake System.  I did manage to get the light to go out this morning by backing up and applying the brakes.  May have to take it back to the Bayfield Garage Monday morning.  We’ll see.
WILD GRAPE VINE IN THE PINE TREES
The closest Galaxy to our own in this Universe is now visible in the night sky.  You can find the Andromeda Galaxy high in a dark Eastern Sky at the moment.  It's visible to the naked eye assuming your eyesight is 20/20.  Best seen through a pair of steady binoculars though.  TONIGHT'S SKY gives you an idea where to find the Andromeda Galaxy and it is predicted that our own Galaxy will one day collide and merge with the Andromeda Galaxy.  Hope that doesn't happen before we get on the road next month.  Could cause quite a ker-fuffle in our travel plans.
A commenter wondered if the You Tube video in my Wednesday night blog was part of some blog changes.  My short answer to that is 'no.'  That particular video happened to land on my desktop while I was writing the post and was a spur of the moment decision to throw it in.  Any blog changes or whatever in the future will simply be done quietly without me blabbering about it anymore. 
Our Pine needles have begun to fall and soon the ground will be covered in a carpet of gold.  A slight breeze today lazily brought a few leaves to the ground.   Nice to hear my footsteps shuffling through the leaves along the forest path.  Easier for me to keep tabs on Pheebe too because I could hear her rustling in the leaves off to the side of the trail.

I SURE HOPE TO BE GETTING ME SOME GOOD OLD MOUNTAIN AIR SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST ABOUT A MONTH FROM NOW
And a big Bayfield Bunch welcome to Geo for joining us our latest Blog Follower.  Thanks for stopping by Geo and welcome aboard.
A few posts ago I talked about our reluctance to travel in Mexico.  Just as we have decided to avoid any unnecessary problems by doing that I am also aware there are many RV'ers who have the same feeling about the South-western United States border areas near the border itself.  This is the area we frequent quite regularly in our travels and at times we are face to face with the Mexican border itself with only a few feet separating us.  We have spent many months ranch sitting a short 20 miles or so north of the border these past 3 winters and have felt quite comfortable in doing so.  We have taken the time and interest to meet local folks who have been good at orienting us to the do's and don'ts along the way.  There are known problem areas with heavier illegal traffic so we don't go messing around those places, and especially not at night.  Rule of thumb is to use common sense and be aware of your surroundings.  Now, having said that, we did have an uneasy encounter about a year ago just a few days after we arrived in Elfrida, Arizona.

  
THE MEXICAN BORDER JUST WEST OF CORONADO PEAK IN ARIZONA…..WE WERE TEMPORARILY LOST WHILE LOOKING FOR PARKER LAKE…JANUARY 2ND 2011

 
THE MEXICAN BORDER A MILE WEST OF THE TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER RANCH NEAR DOUGLAS ARIZONA…YOU CAN SEE KELLY TRYING TO DO A LITTLE CROSS BORDER SCROUNGING THERE AS SHE REACHES INTO MEXICO UNDER THE FENCE…..MARCH 11TH 2009 
At the eastern most end of Elfrida's Jefferson road there is a nice area at the foot of the Swiss Helm Mountains where we had driven up to a few times before in previous years.  Last year having acquired our Jeep Wrangler we knew we could get in closer to the mountains so off we headed.  It was only a couple miles from where we were staying.  Wasn't long when we ran into a couple of, shall we say.....  SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS!!  Click on ‘Suspicious Characters’ for that brief encounter……….

WE’RE THEY REALLY HUNTERS??  WE’LL NEVER KNOW…….  THE GUY ON THE LEFT DIDN’T SAY MUCH AND JUST STARED AT US AND THE GUY ON THE RIGHT JUST SEEMED WAY TOO FRIENDLY.  WERE WE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS 10 MINUTE ENCOUNTER IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS??  DAMM RIGHT WE WERE!!!!
We have spent a fair bit of time in and around Douglas Arizona and there is a heavy Mexican population there because Douglas is a border town on the American side.  A trip to Walmart is like entering Mexico itself because most of the shoppers and staff are Mexican folks.  We feel just as much at home in Douglas as we feel in any of the cities in our area here in southern Ontario.  And, mentioning cities, I'm sure there are a lot of city areas all over North America that are far more scarier than anything we have come across in our travels through the southernmost parts of New Mexico, Arizona and California.  But, like I said, our travels stop at the border. 

GROANER'S CORNER:((   Back in the 1800s the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products and, since they already made the cases for pocket watches, decided to market compasses for the pioneers traveling west. It turned out that although their watches were of finest quality, their compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression, "He who has a Tates is lost!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

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

TOOK THE FURRY GUYS FOR A SPIN IN THE MOTOR HOME

AUTUMN IS UPON US (NIKON D40)
Loaded up Motor and Pheebs in the Motor Home this morning for it's monthly spin around the long country block.  I always enjoy taking the guys for a ride and Pheebe has totally adapted to it and travels well.  Not quite 42,000 miles on the coach yet and that's not too bad for a 2003.  No idea where we will be a month from now but I sure hope we are still not sitting here at home.  A couple of things have come up that could delay our departure date so we'll just have to wait and see.  If we are delayed too long then we may have to cancel the whole Four Corners part of our trip depending on the weather in the Colorado Rockies.  Theoretically, we are due to leave in 17 days so all's I can do is keep my finger's crossed. 

WE HAVE LOTS OF INTERESTING LITTLE MUSHROOM GUYS IN OUR FRONT YARD >>> (NIKON D90)
Many RV'ers will be familiar with a predicament the folks over at THE GOODE LIFE drove themselves into.  Whether using a GPS system or not I think a lot of us have found ourselves in similar situations.  But, it just seems to add extra insult to injury when we are led into these road traps by our GPS units.  I have had many heated arguments over directions these past years with our Garmin Gertie!!  Sometimes I am right and sometimes she is right.  Similar to the folks at Goode Life our GPS really messed us up one time in Nogales, Arizona turning us into a very narrow and vehicle infested road which turned out to be an old tumble down trailer Park.  Kelly had to get out and direct me around scattered and seemingly abandoned vehicles parked willy nilly on the street.  Garmin Gertie's fault, not mine.  We were driving a truck and fifth wheel back then.

Another time coming through Dallas Texas I missed an off ramp and got siphoned off the Interstate into an industrial basin.  My fault not hers.  She did rightly get us back on the Interstate again though.  Indianapolis has thrown us a few curves over the years but Garmin Gertie was able to straighten out my dead reckoning each time.  As a rule I find the GPS system works great for navigating through large cities and it is basically the only time we use it.  I still prefer to have a look at a map before heading anywhere new and then go with my sense of direction.  It generally works for us.

<<< WHILE OUT WITH THE GUYS IN THE MOTOR HOME THIS MORNING I COULDN’T SEE BEHIND ME WHERE PHEEBE WAS SO I REACHED MY ARM AROUND WITH MY CAMERA POINTING BACK AND TOOK THIS PHOTO….SHE WAS RIDING ALONG ON MY BED LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW.  MOTOR WAS ON THE PASSENGER SEAT STICKING HER TONGUE OUT AT ME (CANON A730IS)
Not sure if this You Tube will work but if it does I think you Ranch and Farm folks out there might get a kick out of it:))      HERDING

A few minutes ago I had to act fast and save the Pheebs.  Right behind me in the sun room we have an old couch and that is where Pheebe likes to snooze while I’m writing the blog.  I heard some little snorts, a growl and then some whimpering sounds.  I instinctively new she was in big trouble again.  She was……..dreaming.  Not sure if it was a pussy cat chasing her this time or a gang of bunny rabbits had her cornered but whatever it was she sure was having quite a time of it.  Good thing I was close by and was able to rescue her with a big hug, some smooches and a bunch of reassuring soft words.

JUST MOMENTS BEFORE TAKING THIS PHOTO PHEEBE HAD HERSELF IN SOME MIGHTY BIG TROUBLE SOMEWHERE  (CANON SX210IS) >>>
After a long 5 months on the road, JERRY AND SUZY are headed home to Arizona.  Despite full timing for over 7 years this has been the longest they have been away from home since settling down in the SAGUARO CO-OP ESCAPEE PARK in Benson a number of years ago.  Being the Snow Birds we are I can sure identify with that good going home feeling.  Only problem we have is that we stay home waaaaaaaay toooooooo long once we get there:((  I do like the idea of a home base, it's just that I don't like the idea of having to sit at home for half a year at a time.  Not to worry, that's all I'm going to say about that.

Pulled the pump out of our frog pond this morning and disconnected the majority of our yard's night lights.  We put the protective winter housing over the outside A/C unit and I put the bicycles away.  We used to hang the bikes on the back of the Motor Home for the trip south but I'm glad we don't do that anymore.  And, I'm hoping to get a couple more rides in with the Motorcycle before hauling the battery out of it and putting it away shortly for another year.
GROANER'S CORNER:((  Nothing adds excitement to your life like something that is none of your business!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

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

A BUSY VEHICLE DAY AT THE BAYFIELD GARAGE

ON THE FOREST TRAIL (NIKON D40 AT 300MM)

Rained steadily through the night and for sure I thought we would not be having the Motor Home undercoated this morning.  Had I bet a hundred dollars on that.......I would have lost.  The rains quit about 6 and by 7 there were some breaks in the cloud cover.  By 8:30 I had both the Jeep and Motor Home at the BAYFIELD GARAGE and the undercoating was a 'GO':))

JUST AS I ARRIVED WITH THE MOTOR HOME THEY WERE TAKING THE JEEP IN FOR SERVICING (CANON SX210IS)

Due to a poor night's sleep I was snoozing in my chair about noon when a phone call from the garage woke Pheebs and I up.  The 40 pound Pheebs had fallen asleep on my lap so I didn't exactly jump out of my chair and grab the phone.  Jeep was done so Kelly came home from work and drove me to the garage. 

  

CAME ACROSS THIS LITTLE FELLOW ON THE FOREST PATH THIS AFTERNOON (NIKON D40-300MM)

Don, the soft spoken and easy going garage owner had taken time out of his busy schedule to undercoat the Jeep himself.  This is a very personalized garage and I couldn't help draw a comparison with an old TV show from the past.  Remember the sitcom 'Cheer's and that great theme song they had.  In there was a line that went, ♫Where everybody knows your name.♫  Unlike a lot of big garages we are fortunate enough here in Bayfield where the staff and owner actually remember your name and who you are when you come in.  Now, how nice is that, to be treated as a person and not a number.  And hey, they even put the gas right in your gas tank for you:)) 

EVEN SOME OF OUR PARK’S BIRDS HAVE THEIR OWN CABLE TV

We have been dealing with the BAYFIELD GARAGE ever since moving to Bayfield late in 2002 and wouldn't think of taking our vehicles anywhere else.  Besides the undercoating and tire rotation we had an oil change which included the windshield washer and power steering fluid topped up/front and rear differentials checked/transfer case oil checked/brakes checked and the front end greased.  Now, can you just see me trying to do any of that stuff at home….no, I didn’t think so.  There is a lot to be said about having a vehicle serviced professionally.

 

Other than taking the Pheebs for a spin around the forest trail this afternoon I spent most of my time in my recliner sleeping again.  This time with a little Motormouse on my lap.  In other words, not what I would call a very productive day. 

Came across a blog today called, AMERICAN TRAVELER.  The line that caught me up right quick was, " We love the RV-lifestyle and are boondockers at heart."  Being fellow boondockers ourselves I knew we already had something in common.  I can also see this fellow has a photographic eye and in the first post I read he talked about a friend down on his luck.  That told me this fellow is a caring and thoughtful person whom I think has a good insight into life.  He has a nice easy flowing writing style as well. 

 

And, speaking of blogs, I like the header photo entitled, Ocean Beach, Oregon on the GYPSY LIFE JOURNAL'S BLOG.

 

CAUGHT MYSELF A VERY ELUSIVE BELTED KINGFISHER TODAY….THIS IS THE BIRD DEPICTED ON THE CANADIAN $5 BILLS  (NIKON D40-300MM)

Bayfield Garage called at 5:17.  Motor Home undercoating was done and the rig was ready to go.  Don had done the Motor Home undercoating as well and it sure looks a whole lot better on the underside of the rig now.  Looks like a new chassis and, same as the Jeep, he did a great job.  Nice to have things done right.  And, once again, so nice to have all these great trustworthy service facilities in and around Bayfield.  I think that is a direct result of the small town factor........♫where everybody knows your name:))♫

THE PHEEBSMOGATOR HEARS A TREED SQUIRREL CHATTERING AT HER

GROANER'S CORNER:(( If you don't have a sense of humour, you probably don't have any sense at all.

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

-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

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

-OUR PICASA WEB ALBUMS

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

‘STORMRUNNER’ CAPS OUR RIG’S BROKEN BATHROOM VENT:))

TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM BAYFIELD’S VERY OWN RV CENTER……STORMRUNNER RV SALES AND SERVICE

I was up on the Motor Home roof Sunday to grease up the TV antennae's mechanical works.  We broke off our antenna wind down handle a couple of years ago trying to wind down a very stiff antennae.  Lesson learned!!  While on the roof I noticed the vent cap for our toilet pipe was missing.  Those plastic caps get very brittle with age and especially sunlight so it's not unusual for them to disintegrate and break away.  Didn't appear any way to attach a new one without drilling holes in the rig's roof and I sure wasn't going to be drilling anything anywhere.  And, especially not in our Motor Home's roof.  This was clearly a job for someone who knew what they were doing.  We are very fortunate here in Bayfield to have an excellent RV dealer, store and repair facility.  They specialize in 5th wheels but all rigs are welcome.

   

We have known Harry and Dianne from STORMRUNNER RV SALES AND SERVICE ever since we first dropped in there one time back around 1999 while looking at some fifth wheels.  And, it was Dianne who surprised us with an email while we were on the road heading for Yuma about 4 years ago one time.  We were surprised because it was the first email we had ever received from anyone in Bayfield.  Dianne has been a blog reader ever since.  Sent Dianne an email about our rig's missing vent cap problem this morning and she emailed back basically saying, 'bring er on down.' 

 

Ten minutes later I was parked at their shop and Harry was up on the roof replacing the vent cap.  Problem solved.  I like when things happen like that.  I had known, but forgotten about our roof needing re-caulking.  Hadn't been done since Ron at FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE did it prior to us buying it.  Harry noticed right away the roof seams were in need of repair and Dianne found some spots on the side also requiring attention.  I made an appointment for a week from Tuesday to get that done.  Like I have said many times before, it's better for me to have that kind of work done by people who know exactly what they are doing rather than me fumbling around on top of a shaky ladder with a messy tube of caulking, some of which might get on the roof in the right place and most of which would probably get on me in the wrong place!!  We have been fortunate to have never had any leaks in the rig and we want to keep it that way.  Thanks Stormrunner guys:))

  

VENT CAP BEFORE AND AFTER   

I think we all remember when Mount St. Helens blew her top years ago and the resulting widespread devastation that caused.  IVAN has been in that area having a look around all these years later and has some great photos of how nature is recovering so much of what she lost that fateful day.

 

KEVIN AND RUTH have finally made it to Mexico.   We would love to travel in Mexico as well but after an unfortunate incident in a Mexican border town a few years ago we just do not have the comfort level anymore.  A lot of RV folks love and travel incident free in Mexico every year and as long as nothing goes wrong I think it is a great country to see.  Both Kelly and I have been to Puerto Vallarta years ago and I was always impressed with the Mexican people I met there and the countryside I saw there.  But to take our RV over the roads I hear about and be subjected to searches and tolls along the way just doesn't work for us.  But, that's just us and the way we are.  Maybe it's just our age and experience that is making us a little more cautious about a few things these days.  Here is the link to our MEXICAN BORDER TOWN INCIDENT.

<<< NO, THOSE WIRES ABOVE THIS 5TH WHEEL DOES NOT MEAN IT’S A TROLLEY

Ok, about that seemingly suspended bird cam in Sunday's post.  Two separate things give the illusion the camera is floating in mid air.  First, here are the settings I used to keep the bird cam in focus but blur the background.  60mm at F5 with a 1/60th shutter speed.  Broken down it just means I kept my subject in focus while purposely blurring the background.  Next, it was into my 'free' Picasa 3.8 photo editing program.  Cropped out the pole it was hanging from and then used my 'Retouch' tool to eliminate the slight wire suspending the bird house cam.  Took maybe 4 or 5 clicks with my retouching tool and maybe 10 seconds to remove the wire.  Just an example of what everybody can do with their easy to use Picasa program if they just take a little time to familiarize themselves with it.  No great magic in the shot, it’s just knowing what your equipment and Picasa editing tools can do for you:))

  

A lot of on and off again rain in the neighbourhood today.  Am hoping it's not raining Tuesday morning because they have to undercoat the Motor Home outside and if it's raining they said, 'no can do' and it will have to be rescheduled.  The Jeep can still be undercoated on the inside hoist though so at least we'll get one vehicle done.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Old people shouldn't eat health foods. They need all the preservatives they can get!!

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

-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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

OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

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