PHOTOS TONIGHT FROM LONE PINE CALIFORNIA & ITCHING TO GET ON THE ROAD & GET ROLLING

TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM OUR MARCH 2011 TRIP TO LONE PINE CALIFORNIA…’SUNRISE’

Well, I’m having quite a time with myself.  Knowing we have a major trip ahead I am itching to get on the road & get rolling.  This sitting around waiting to go somewhere has me about half drove crazy. We both agreed today if we had a larger more spacious rig we might have been on the road already taking a longer leisurely route maybe first to a never before been to place for us Sue from The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales mentioned in her recent post.  The MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE in California lies just North of JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK.  Could have spent some time there before working our way Eastwards over towards & through Arizona’s Monument Valley.  I remember in 2009 when we left Borrego Springs in March we went up through Joshua Tree to LONE PINE CALIFORNIA.  Because I didn’t take any photos today I have included photos from our Lone Pine trip.  What is really holding us back from heading to Bayfield too soon right now is the amount of ice & snow still on the ground.  Neighbor emailed us saying there is still nearly 2’ of hardened snow in our driveway at home.  Certainly do not want to arrive home to those conditions.

 

ALABAMA HILLS BACKGROUNDED BY THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS 

Reading MERIKAY'S post this morning I was reminded of why we return to the South-West every year.  Florida would be much closer for us each winter as would the popular Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  But our hearts are in the South-West.  I have traveled at one point or another through probably two thirds of the States.  I have a tendency to look for & usually always find the scenic beauty in each State I have ever been in.  It was on a trip West through America’s Northern States in 1971 that I first saw mountains & that was it.  When I traveled down through Utah into Arizona as far as the Grand Canyon’s North Rim in May of 1992 & saw the desert lands through Monument Valley my destiny was sealed.  From that point on my soul purpose was to some day if possible return to the great South-West.  Been doing that now since 06 with not a single solitary regret.  I have posted many times in the past why we prefer the Western side of the country as opposed to the Eastern side but I’m not going to get myself into all that again.  Just as the saying goes, ‘Different strokes for different folks’ & leave it at that.

 

Merikay also mentioned she wouldn’t like to live in the desert long term.  Nor would Kelly or I.  We’re fine for the months between late October & early March but to spend hot summers here would not interest us.  Just as much as we do not like cold northern winters we would not like hot desert summers either.   Both those 2 weather elements would trap us inside with furnaces running in winter months & air conditioners going full blast in summer.  Not our idea of a healthy environment.  And boondocking in the heat would be totally out of the question for us as well.  Can’t see sitting around in the hot desert with energy levels sapped by the heat.  Desert walks & hikes would be out as well because of snakes.  We could never relax knowing Pheebs could run into a Rattlesnake at any time.  Even right here on our own property & that is one reason we will be glad to put a few miles between us & Congress shortly.  Not that we don’t love you Congress, it’s just the Rattlesnakes we want to avoid.  And we know they are around us right now………………….

 

Kelly has never seen the Canadian Maritime Provinces or traveled up through Northern Ontario & out across the Canadian Prairies.  She has never seen the mountains of Alberta & British Columbia so those two trips are of definite interest to us at some point.  The Canadian West & American North-West might be an option for us this Fall, we’ll see. 

JUST GOTTA LOVE IT HERE IN THE ALABAMA HILLS

 

A reader sent a link this morning which may be of interest to Canadian Snowbirds again.  U.S. CONGRESS OFFERS LITTLE WARMTH FOR SNOW BIRDS.  RVing would be so much easier for we Canadian RV’ers if there wasn’t that darn border with all those rules & regulations between our two countries. 

 

THIS WAS OUR SWEET GIRL ‘CHECKERS’

A friend of ours in Bayfield also sent us this bit of information regarding Canadian Snow Birds::  On February 4, 2011 the Canadian and U.S. governments issued a declaration known as Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness. The purpose of the program is to enhance security and increase the legitimate traffic of people, goods and services. ------ By June 30, 2014, as part of the Beyond the Border initiative between our two countries, the border program will be expanded to include the sharing of entry and exit information on both Canadian and U.S. citizens. Thus, an entry record into one country can be utilized to establish an exit record from the other. ------ While this expansion will mean travellers will have to be more vigilant in calculating their length of stay in the United States, it will have no impact on the current policies which Canadian citizens are already subject to. To be clear, this exchange of information will in no way change or shift the way in which either country determines your residency. Canadian and U.S. policies related to immigration and taxation remain unchanged. ------ For immigration purposes, eligible Canadian citizens are generally admitted into the United States for a period of "six months less a day" which is calculated within any twelve month period. ------- For the purposes of taxation, generally speaking, if you consistently spend four (4) months or more each year in the United States, you would need to file IRS Form 8840, in order to avoid paying U.S. income tax.

 

First book I have chosen to read on our Kindle is, UFOs:  Generals, Pilots, & Government Officials Go On The Record. (suggested in our Shout Box)  One of the last books I read a few years ago while we were near Elfrida Az was, The Day After Roswell by Col. Philip J. Corso.  With so many schlocky books & hoaky TV programs on UFO’s it is difficult to separate fact from fiction.  Have read & seen many TV shows on the subject but it was Corso’s book a few years ago that logically put a lot of the UFO pieces of the puzzle together for me.  I am a very skeptical person when it comes to a lot of things & that up to a point includes the UFO phenomena.  I have never seen anything I couldn’t explain but my Mother did & when she told me about the large round object that floated silently over our house in Tavistock Ontario one summer night many years ago I believed her & that went a long way towards blunting my UFO skepticism & opening my mind.  Not just that but I have always had some kind of ‘knowing’ feeling inside about life elsewhere in the Universe.  Nothing I can explain.  It’s just a feeling I have & I’m sure many others have it as well.

 

 

As mentioned a few times previously my favorite time of the week is Saturday morning. Has been for as long as I can remember. In 1970 the Sandpipers came out with a song called, Come Saturday Morning & for me it sums up my feelings exactly. The words, "we'll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles" have always stuck with me. The harmonies are soothing. You can listen to it here....SATURDAY MORNING. Two of my other Sandpiper favorites from the 60's are, GUANTANAMERA & Misty Roses. (couldn't find free music for Misty Roses)

THIS WAS OUR NUMBER 1 BOY ‘MAX’

 

Noticed an odd thing has been going on with my Picasa 3.9 photo editing program these fast 3 months or so.  The exposure I set (and save) for some photos is not the same exposure which publishes.  Darker photos such as sunsets, Moon, or night time often come out way lighter than I intended them to be.  Never had this problem until the past few months.  Wonder if anyone else using Picasa has noticed this.

 

AND THIS WAS OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE CORA (MOTORMOUSE)

 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  An elderly couple was attending church services when about halfway through she leans over and says to him, "I just had a silent passing of gas, what do you think I should do?"
He leans over to her and replies, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid..."