A FEW PHOTO MEMORIES OF JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA

Had a Jeep load of stuff for the Goodwill this morning so loaded up the Motormouse & off we went.  Also had a little photo favor for one of our readers so I was lucky enough to remember that & took care of it on our way to Goderich.  Besides the Goodwill we had some other errands to run.  A few groceries at Food Basics, some Niger birdseed at TSC & a stop at a local garden center to see what they had in the way of Virginia Creepers or Engelmann Ivy.  We have a few bare spots in the jungle out back that need a little thickening.  We cannot even see cars going by on our road out front anymore....perfect:))  Heading south out of Goderich I was able to distract the little Motormouse by telling her, "I tot I ta a Puddy Tat' off to the left side of the road.  While she was looking for that Puddy Tat we stealthily cruised right on by McDonald's Burritoville on the right:))

  
Ooooooohhhh, how I love to hear the rumblings of travel plans.  Tis music to my ears & warms me very heart indeed.  Received an email from Jeannie & Ray at the Ranch in McNeil Arizona this morning wondering if we could do some ranch sitting again this winter.  Darn right we could:))  Nothing firmed up yet but we are aiming at getting the big wheels rolling westward a bit earlier this year.  Hopefully October 15th.  I want to head straight away for the 4 corners area of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico & Arizona.  It will depend on the weather as to how long we stay there & just where we will travel after that but we will likely head south to the Ranch depending on when Jeannie & Ray want to head out for some holidays of their own.  We have to figure out some time frames yet plus length of stay.  We'll maybe get some of that ironed out over the next few weeks or so.   Can't tell you how much I love to see that first glimmer of light on the old travel horizon.  We are now 3 months & counting.  Ya-houie Louie:)) 

   
Here's one for the guys.  John over at RV LIFE ON WHEELS got to  totally smoke up some Mustang tires Friday at the Grand Bend Drag Strip in Grand Bend Ontario.  Had himself 4 runs down the track at over 100mph.  You will be surprised at what was powering that Mustang & how it helped him to blow the doors off a big fancy Camaro on his third run.  Is John a race car driver? Nope, he & Judy are full time RV'ers but he'll tell ya how he got the race opportunity though & if you dig a little deeper into John's blog he might even tell you how he has survived a few plane crashes as well.  Model planes that is:))

    

Sitting here at the computer earlier today I got to looking at the front yard bird station & decided it needed an opening in the back wall.  Without further ado I was out there with my buzzing little skil saw & cut a perfectly straight & crooked rectangle out of the back board.  Groovy:)) I'll maybe include a pic of that tomorrow.

      

Well, it's Saturday night & that makes it my favorite night of the week.  With Saturday mornings being my favorite morning I guess it is safe to say I have a real liking for Saturdays.  What's not to like about some of those great old habits developed back in the days of our early school years.  I still remember that first day of school as my Mother walked me up the long sidewalk to what seemed like an enormously big two story building with lots of windows in it.  I can still hear the school bell to this very day.  And, I can be instantly transported back to those early school days with just the whiff of an eraser.  Remember the smells of those class rooms.  Inkwells in the desks gave off a smell as well as pencils, crayons, paper & glue for crafts.  The school itself had a smell about it because it was old.  Creaky wooden floors & tin ceilings.  The wooden school desks themselves had a smell all their own.  So did some of the kids.  Often there was the smell of stale farts in the air.  Girls didn't wear perfume yet & whoever heard of underarm deodorant in those days.  Some of we poorer kids still used soap that our Mothers & Grandmother's made out of Lye & ashes.

    

I had a teacher by the name of Mr. Douglas in grade 5 who took the time to show me how to use a broom properly when sweeping up the classroom after class.  Without fail I still think of Mr. John Douglas every time I pick up a broom.  And, that's every time!!  I wasn't much of a brainiac when it came to most things like arithmetic & stuff like that but Mr. Douglas always encouraged me to write & draw.  And, I have never forgot that to this very day.  Artsy things were not encouraged in my home so you can imagine my quiet delight when my pencil drawing of a stern looking bedraggled old soldier won first prize at the Tavistock Fall Fair one year.  One year in those oh so early days long, long ago.

OUR BOON DOCKING SPOT ABOUT 5 MILES OUTSIDE OF THE PARK'S WEST GATE...IN BOTTOM LEFT PHOTO THOSE MOUNTAINS ON THE HORIZON ARE IN JOSHUA STATE PARK ITSELF 

Seems I always manage to get myself into a bit of a nostalgic mood most Saturday nights.  Wonder why that is.  There just seems to be something different about a Saturday night.  Anyway, I like that feeling & I like the trips down memory lane my mind is so kind enough to take me on.  Keeps me grounded in who I was:))

 

LOOKING WEST FROM THE PARK...THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT  RUNS THROUGH THE VALLEY BELOW

  

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Do not look at the answers until you are finished....or else!!

A TEST FOR OLD KIDS
01. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, Who was that masked man? Invariably, someone would answer, I don't know, but he left this behind. What did he leave behind?________________.
02. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. .In early 1964, we all watched them on The _______________ Show.
03 ' Get your kicks, __________________.'
04. 'The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to ___________________.'
05. 'In the jungle, the mighty jungle, ________________.'
06. After the Twist, The Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, we 'danced' under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the '_____________.'
07. Nestle's makes the very best . .. . . _______________.'
08. Satchmo was America 's 'Ambassador of Goodwill.' Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was _________________.
09. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking? _______________.
10 . Red Skeleton's hobo character was named __________________ and Red always ended his television show by saying, 'Good Night, and '________________. '
11. Some Americans who protested the Vietnam War did so by burning their______________.
12. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk in the front was called the VW. What other names did it go by? ____________ &_______________.
13. In 1971, singer Don MacLean sang a song about, 'the day the music died.' This was a tribute to ___________________.
14. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it. It was called ___________________.
15. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist. It was called the__ ______________.

ANSWERS :
01.. The Lone Ranger left behind a silver bullet.
02. The Ed Sullivan Show
03.. On Route 66
04... To protect the innocent ..
05. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
06. The limbo
07. Chocolate
08.. Louis Armstrong
09. The Timex watch
10. Freddy, The Freeloader and 'Good Night and God Bless.'
11. Draft cards (Bras were also burned. Not flags, as some have guessed)
12. Beetle or Bug
13. Buddy Holly
14. Sputnik
15. Hoola-hoop