WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE COLD OUTSIDE…..IS THE WARM, INSIDE

Had an extra bounce in my step this morning as I bopped around with re-newed interest organizing things for our lift off time.  How great it is to have our travel plans back into high gear again.  Made myself a detachable plywood base for our new tripod which may or may not work well in our travels.  If it doesn't...campfire wood!!  Cold and damp this morning at 35F but no rain.  Put some antifreeze in the rig's sink traps just in case and greased up the toad hitch. 

Began checking weather reports for the 4 Corners area of Colorado but as suspected, the night time temperatures in the area are already well below freezing with numbers in the mid to low 20's on the Fahrenheit scale.  Yes, I know we are metric here in Canada but my old head still thinks in Fahrenheit, inches, feet and miles.  Although day time temps are still acceptable, those below freezing night time temps which I'm sure will continue to dip are worrisome for RV holding tanks and water lines.  Night time temps around Tuba City in Monument Valley are hovering around the freezing mark as are temps in Kayenta, Arizona. 
I will continue to monitor these areas and will make a decision on that before or just after we leave.  I think it is just getting too late now to comfortably enjoy that whole region.   Plan B is to maybe do that area on our return trip in late March or early April.  Definitely want to see Monument Valley and the 4 Corners this trip because at this age and stage of life plus all the other shaky variables these days, one never knows if the opportunities for RV travel will be the same for us next year.  I consider ourselves very fortunate to have traveled these few short years, and seen as many things as we have.

Forgot to mention in Wednesdays post that we had slipped down to see my Uncle Harry in the morning and he seems to be doing better than ever despite some recent medical set backs.  For 95 years old he is holding his own:))

We took our neighbour Ingrid out for supper late this afternoon.  Probably won't see her again until Spring.  Ingrid and husband Gus lived behind us when we first moved here but their unit burned and Gus later died.  Ingrid moved to another unit in the Park and now lives alone with her little dog, Katie.

TOOK ME ABOUT 10 SECONDS TO DECIDE WHAT i WANTED FOR SUPPER BUT IT TOOK THESE TWO LADIES ALMOST A FULL 10 MINUTES OF ‘STUDYING' THE MENU’ BEFORE ARRIVING AT A DECISION ….JUST ANOTHER ONE OF LIFE’S LITTLE MYSTERIES FOR AL.
Our mid Autumn nights are cold and dark now when I walk into our warm and cozy little computer sun room each night around 7.  A cozy warmth fills the the pine walled room as soft ambient music weaves it's relaxing mellow tones in around and through my mind.  Probably one of my favourite times of day as I yet again start another post.  Well over 1,300 now and despite my self doubts many times I keep finding myself drawn back to the keyboard night after night.  I know I get down in the dumps about blogging at times but the bottom line still remains the same for me.  I love writing………… and always have:))
 
CAN YOU SEE A FIRE MONSTER IN THE STOVE………….
GROANER'S CORNER:((  A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That’s not surprising," the elders say. "You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here."

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS (revised)
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

ANOTHER FINE AUTUMN DAY IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO

ALL TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE OF A BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN DAY AROUND OUR HOUSE
We reached 75F today under a warm clear blue Autumn sky.   It just does not get any better than that.  I sit here in our sunroom in late afternoon with a low western sun backlighting a clump of cedar trees and yellowing Tiger's Eye Sumacs.   The ever changing beauty before me is ethereal.
 

 

Kelly busied herself today loading the Motor Home.  I wonder why it is that women seem to have 9 things to load up to a man's one thing.  I saw basket loads of clothing going out there that would make a Thrift store envious.  I've got my blue jeans and 2 shirts I think.  Wonder if I should take some laces for my shoes.

I don't know what it is about wood that I like so much but whenever I see a nice piece of wood I have to drag it home.  No matter that I do not have any carpentry or wood carving skills.  No matter that we don't have a wood burning stove or fireplace and no matter that joining two pieces of wood together by whatever means is not an easy task for me.  I just bring pieces of wood home.  On our morning walk today I spotted a piece of wood in our Park's environmental recycling area.  It was about a foot and half long and maybe 6 inches wide.  Looked like a discarded piece of pressure treated lumber used in making a deck.  Someone had obviously thrown out some scraps.  Scraps to them maybe, but it was a great piece of wood to me.  And in good shape too except for a bit of mud.

Maybe it is patterns I see in the wood grain.  Maybe it's the smoothness or it's very shape itself.  No matter, it was a handsome piece of wood and I lovingly carried it home.  A neighbour brought over a bag of wood scraps left over from a renovation project a few years ago.  She figured the scraps would make for a nice campfire.  She was right of course but oh my, it was a very handsome bag of wood scraps indeed.   The bag is still in my workshop and every once and awhile I open the bag, peer in and think to myself, 'no, those wood scraps are too beautiful to burn.  Just look at those fine wood grains, those shapes, those textures.....Say, anybody need a nice piece of wood………I got lots:))  


Think I will take commenter Ed's suggestion and keep our 'Four Corner's travel plan open.....Ed said, "Don't give up on 4 Corners completely. The weather may not be so bad that you can not see some of the area.  I would have a Plan 'A' that would include 4 Corners and Plan 'B' that did not. Would make my final decision based on the weather after I got on the road and reached the 'Separation Point'."  I think Ed has a good point there.   Sometimes I get a little too darned discouraged for my own good!! 

Had myself a good start to the day but by noon it was like someone had opened a valve and all my energy drained out.  Ended up looking at the backside of my eyelids again for a few hours this afternoon.  Set out to take Pheebs for a spin around the trail but turned back after my legs felt like a couple of lead weights.

Having lost our two beloved Pals, Max and Checkers this past Spring my heart goes out to Grant and Kathy over at BIRDING RVERS.  Their Golden Retriever, 'Raider', suddenly passed away just a few days ago while on his morning walk.  I understand only too well the heavy hearts these folks are feeling right now and also know it is only the passage of time which will ease their grieving hearts.

I never did write a tribute to Max and Checkers and I never did write about their final days simply because I could not bring myself to do that.  The pain of their passing is still heavy in my heart even after these long 6 months.  One day I hope to write about two of the best Pals I ever had.  Just this short simple paragraph brought tears to my eyes again.

Goderich held it's OUT OF THE STORM CONCERT today in the very Square that had been devastated so badly by a recent tornado.  Noticed, The Downchild Blues Band was playing.  Anyone remember their big song years ago,  FLIP FLOP AND FLY ??  Always thought they did a great job with that bouncy tune.

I made a rather disparaging remark about China in last night's post which I edited out this morning.  An Anonymous Commenter rather bluntly pointed out my insensitivity and after going back and re-reading what I had written I had to agree with the commenter.  I hope I am never to proud to admit to my mistakes.  And my apologies to China of course……………


And this correction from KEVIN AND RUTH in regards to my statement in Saturday's post about out of country medical health coverage for Canadians....{Quote}" This is actually a misleading statement, Al. If you are covered under OHIP, and need out of country care, they will reimburse you for emergency medical up to whatever the same procedure would have cost had you had to have it done in Ontario. In Mexico, costs are cheaper than in Canada so we don't require unnecessary medical insurance. In the USA, we would end up being out of pocket for the difference."{Unquote}

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A few thoughts on Autumn.......
-Autumn is a season for big decisions -- like whether or not it's too late to start spring cleaning.
-Autumn -- time to drag out your winter clothes and see what kind of summer fun the moths had.
-This autumn we can look forward to falling leaves and rising gas prices. We'll be raking it up while the oil companies are raking it in.
-The Autumn leaves are a lot like raising kids. First they turn on you, and then they fly away. And next thing you know, you look out the window and they're back!
-I got tired of looking at all those leaves in my yard, so I got up off the couch and went into action……………..I closed the curtains!!
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
 OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL

OH, AND BY THE WAY……IT’S THANKSGIVING WEEKEND HERE IN CANADA:))

GREAT GOLFING WEATHER AT THE MAITLAND VALLEY GOLF COURSE IN GODERICH
Our weather has just been unbelievably nice this week and it is what perfect Autumn daydreams are made of.  The magic is in the air once again and how fortunate for we folks who live in these northern latitudes to experience this beautiful change of Seasons every year.  If I lived in the South I would schedule my vacations for the first weeks of October just to be a part of Autumns majestic days here in the great Province of Ontario.

Had a question about our personal travel insurance.  Our Canadian Health Insurance does not cover Canadians when traveling out of country so it is necessary for Canadian travelers to purchase additional and extended medical coverage for the length of time we travel.  Due to age and medical problems I would venture to say that it is high insurance costs that eventually end the travels of many aging RV'ers.

OUR NEIGHBOUR’S BUZZARD TREE >>>
Here's something that really bugs me....'Giggle Girls'.  I am in the habit of turning on CNN news for a bit early each morning to see what ongoing messes the world has got itself into overnight.  CNN has decided to go with a couple women anchors for the newscasts and I'm sure they have been infused with the 'Happy Gang' approach to anchoring the morning news.  Nothing personally against the ladies but that giggling, flouncing, and animated over the top laughing banter is annoying.  Yes, I know, just change the channel.  I like a news format, either radio or television, with a single announcer delivering a straight forward, factual and giggleless newscast.  NBC's Brian Williams comes to mind as the right way of doing things.
 
Tonight the Bayfield Bunch welcomes CAROLYN AND GERALD aboard our Blog Followers list. Read your two recent posts folks and am hoping everything turns out well for you. All the best.

We normally receive about two dozen Spam emails a day in our Hotmail account. There was a time when all these Spams were in English. It is now a rarity to see an English speaking spam email come in and I would almost welcome one I could understand. Probably 98% of the Spams are in those oriental characters so am assuming they are all coming from China.
 
Managed to get my travel Mojo working again today as I busied myself cleaning Motor Home windows.  Took a few pics of our caulking and undercoating jobs as well.  And, it is now official….we will not be leaving October 15th for the 4 Corners area of Colorado as previously planned.  Best guess for getting out of here is now sometime late October or early November and we will probably just head straight for southern Arizona and California.  Maybe next year for the Four Corners…………………..

  
WE DEFINITELY NEED OUR VEHICLES UNDERCOATED HERE IN ‘ROAD SALT’ COUNTRY

  
THE CAULKING LOOKS LIKE YUMMY VANILLA ICING
'Never leave home without it'.  I remember that credit card commercial years ago but for me it means something different.  Just as Roman soldiers strapped on their swords in the morning and Cowboys strapped on their guns, I too strap on something each morning, but it isn't a gun or sword.  It's my camera.  One of the main reasons for buying my compact Canon Powershot SX210IS digital camera this past winter was to give me easy access to a camera throughout the day.  It conveniently sits in a small holster type pouch on my belt just about where the Cowboys of yesteryear carried their shooting irons.  Convenient and out of the way.  However, I don't think there was ever a Cowboy out there who strapped on his gun and holster......upside down!!!!
 

Well, I did just that a few days ago and walked around all morning wearing my camera holster upside down with camera inside just waiting to tumble out onto the ground.  Luckily, I am in the habit of zipping up both sides of my belt's camera pouch and that is what saved the camera from a nasty fall.  Another lucky break for AL.   Say, has anyone out there ever put their underwear on backwards:))

DEER PARK LODGE BAYFIELD……………. WHERE KELLY WORKS
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Mike was driving down a lonely country road one cold winter day in Montana when it began to sleet pretty heavily. His windows were getting icy and the wiper blades on his yellow Jeep Wrangler were badly worn and quickly fell apart under the strain.
Unable to drive any further because of the ice building up on his front window he suddenly had a great idea. He stopped and began to overturn large rocks until he located two very lethargic hibernating rattle snakes. He grabbed them up, straightened them out flat and installed them on his blades and they worked just fine.
‘What!!’……. Janna said,  “You've never heard of . . . wind chilled vipers.”
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-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.