Saturday, August 22, 2009
A FEW THOUGHTS ON BLOGGING.....AND SOME OKLAHOMA CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Rick, a fellow RV blogger out on Vancouver Island accidentally deleted 155 treasured photos a few days ago. I think we all have had those heart stopping moments of sheer terror at one time or another but Rick got right on the problem & went chasing after those deleted photos. He hopped on the web & searched out a program for recovering lost files, documents, & photos etc. Wasn't long & he had replaced that terror with joy at getting things back on track again. Hop on over to RICK'S blog & see how he did it because he lays everything out in detail plus he has the website program site he used to recover his lost photos. HAD A NICE RV SITE RIGHT BESIDE EUFAULA LAKE & WE WERE THE ONLY ONE'S IN THE WHOLE PARK:))
While on the topic of blogs I'd like to comment on a few things I've noticed over the past couple of blogging years. It took me awhile to understand what this blogging thing was all about & how it worked. Just couldn't get the concept in my head but finally one day while toiling over the BLOGGER website, a few pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place & I began to put to-gether a blog page. Discovered there were many widgets & gadgets that could be added on the site to jazz it up & really make it sparkle so I quickly added music & a slide show right off the bat & it wasn't long I had a cute little black cat wandering around all over the site as well. Probably had some fireworks & sparklers thrown in for good measure too. Lots of neat-O things to add. Or, so I thought!! Being new to blogging I had overlooked a few things & it took some kindly fellow bloggers to suggest to me some do's & don'ts. All those add-ons take time to load so the more flirting flamingos, pooping pelicans, or bouncing bears you have on your site the harder it is going to be for many people to access it. Many folks out there are still stuck with dial-up connections & if you have a lot of warm fuzzies on your site those people are not going to be able to access your blog. Some bloggers add music to their sites & that really bogs things down for slow connection people. Couple that with a slide show & all the dial-up folks are toast. Music, slide shows, & videos really kill bandwidth for the air card people as well. When we were traveling last winter we switched from a satellite dish connection over to a 5GB Verizon air card so we had to quickly learn how to conserve our precious bandwidth. I upload a lot of photos everyday so we have to be careful not to go over the 5GigaBite limit. Whenever I came across anybody's web or blogger site that had music playing I automatically canceled it right away which was unfortunate because there were some bloggers out there that I never did get to read. And personally, I am very picky about the kind of music I listen to so when I click on a site & have my eardrums shredded by the likes of Whitney Houston, Maria Carey, or Metallica, I don't take too kindly to that. Some bloggers totally load their sites with advertising & you really have to search for the actual blog itself. I don't spend time searching anymore & as soon as I see pop up ads, flashing banners, or big ads for this or that I immediately hit the little red X button & I'm out of there with not much probability of returning. I understand the logic of generating some revenue for the site & see nothing wrong with that if it's done with common sense & good taste. The priority of your site should be the quality of your blog & not the size of your wallet. If I could figure out a sure fire way of adding a little advertising about something I believed in I would consider it, but so far, advertising on blogs just leaves me a little on the cold side!! Noticed yesterday on our Sitemeter stat counter that we have surpassed 50,000 hits on our blogsite. Who would have ever thunk it....eh:)) Our heat wave has blown out of the area & I've already switched from my short sleeve shirt to my long sleeve one. My absolute favorite time of the year is approaching. Won't be long & the big box stores will be replacing all the back to school stuff on the shelves with some Halloween paraphernalia & then it will be right into the full blown retail Christmas Season. And just to get you started on that track I have a few photos I took back in December of 06 in an Oklahoma State Park called EUFAULA formally known as Fountainhead. It was a long day & I had earlier managed to get ourselves lost in the Ozark Mountains over in nearby Arkansas. Had one of my instant brain waves that morning while approaching Joplin Missouri that I would take a short cut down highway 59 thus avoiding having to go through Oklahoma City later. After many twisty up & down curvy roads it was mid afternoon before we finally found our way out of the forest & headed across the State Line into Oklahoma. Kelly located a State Park on the map that looked like it was in the general area of where we were headed so by late afternoon, tired & totally worn out, we pulled into Eufaula State Park.
WE EVEN MANAGED TO SCROUNGE UP A FEW COLORED LIGHTS OURSELVES
As is so often the case at this time of year, we were the only ones there. That is always sooooo great when that happens. Reason being of course is because it's December & really cold out. This day was no exception!! It was immediately apparent that we had stumbled into something special here though because all around a large circular roadway about the size of a football field stood all these frameworks of various Christmas theme decorations. We were told by a fellow out for a walk that at night all these Christmas lights were lit up & people came from far & wide to drive through the park & view the spectacle. So, as soon as it got dark I grabbed my camera & we went out for a quiet winter's night walk in a wonderland of Christmas lights. Didn't have a tri-pod with me so some of the pics are a bit wobbly......................:)) GROANER'S CORNER:(( George Bernard Shaw once said to Winston Churchill:"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend.... if you have one. " Winston Churchill, in response said, "Cannot attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Friday, August 21, 2009
32 MONTHS AGO TO-DAY WE WERE DEEP UNDERGROUND
Figured by now everyone must be getting pretty tired of flowers, birds, & sunroom pictures so decided to reach back in our little bag of travel goodies & come up with something completely different. Enough of green shrubs, colorful birds, & cozy sunroons & lets get ourselves deep down below earth into the darkened caves of the CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK in New Mexico.
THIS PLACE JUST BOGGLES THE MIND
It was December of 2006 when we left our cozy little home in Bayfield Ontario early one morning on ice covered roads & blowing snow. Destination was the American Southwest.....somewhere. Aside from a quick trip to Big Bend National Park in Texas back in 2004 this was our first big adventure. We had a spiffy 2004 GMC Sierra truck pulling a nice 2005 Rockwood 5th wheel & the Bayfield Bunch was ready to rumble. LIGHTS ARE STRATEGICALLY PLACED TO HIGHLIGHT THE COUNTLESS ROCK FORMATIONS
Somewhere between here & there I decided I would like to see Roswell New Mexico because I've always had an interest in that alien stuff. We were making our way west across highway 380 when the weather began to turn sour. We were hearing reports of snow ahead & to the north a bit. Had ourselves a close call on some black ice early one morning so decided we had better get ourselves a little further south. Carlsbad Caverns had always been a place of interest to me so we heaved the nose of the truck over into the southwest wind & set sail for Carlsbad.
PEOPLE ON THE WALKWAY GIVE THE CAVERNS SOME PERSPECTIVE
We made the town of Carlsbad in late afternoon & spent the night at Brantley Lake State Park northwest of there. Cold, cold, cold!! We were up early because we wanted to make the 10 A.M. Cavern tour south of Carlsbad and wouldn't you know it....when we went to retract the slide it wouldn't budge no way no how. Finally had to get out the instruction manual & figure out how to get it in manually. Found the iron slide bar, crawled under the slide, inserted the bar into a whatchyamacallit & cranked the slide in by hand. I was surprised at how easily it went in. With all that done we headed for the Carlsbad Caverns just making it with minutes to spare for the 10 o'clock tour. THESE CEMENT WALKWAYS LINK THE MANY CAVERNOUS ROOMS
Boarded a crowded elevator & descended into what seemed like the bowels of the earth itself. A lot of people on this tour but it was just the way it had to be....darn it!! I know the word 'awesome' is way over used these days & it's a word I stay away from but it's the only word that describes what we saw, walked through, & experienced, over the next 4 or 5 hours. This is truly a great place & a must see for any traveler. I won't try to describe the Caverns in words because I don't have a vocabulary large enough to do that. The photos I took that day don't do it justice either but like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so click on OUR CARLSBAD CAVERNS ALBUM which will take you to our photo album. Try clicking on "Slideshow" when you get there because it will enlarge the photos & make the tour a better experience. First 4 pictures are of us getting ready to leave Brantley Lake & the rest are of the Carlsbad Caverns. We have also been to the Kartchner Caverns in Arizona but we liked Carlsbad better . It's much, much, bigger & after the tour you are allowed to wander the caverns on your own for as long as you want. In Carlsbad one price covers all but at Kartcher you have to pay for each room you go to see. You can take as many photos as you want at Carlsbad but at Kartchner cameras are forbidden:(( Kartchner is a must see as well but if I had to choose just one.... it would be Carlsbad. LONG DESCENT INTO THE BAT CAVE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE THE ELEVATOR DOWN......WE DID BOTH
We walked for miles underground that day & by the time we got our tired legs back to the trailer we decided to stay at a dumpy little RV Park a few miles east of the Caverns at White City which of course is not a city, just a collection of half a dozen small tumble down buildings. At least we were only 1 of 3 rigs in the whole place so that was a nice bonus at the end of a very awesome underground sightseeing day. THIS MIGHT BE A REAL DARN GOOD PLACE JUST TO UP & GET LOST FOREVER!!
It was the following morning when we left there that we stopped at the Apache Canyon Trading Post nearby & I bought my black cowboy hat that I wear while traveling in the southwest...............:)) BE SURE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICS IN OUR PHOTO ALBUM
GROANER'S CORNER:(( I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A COZY LITTLE PLACE TO SPEND A RAINY DAY
Figured it was about time I addressed the Windows problem we've noticed since moving the computer. It has been a visual impairment & is very apparent sitting directly in front of the monitor. I don't know if Bill Gates had this same Windows problem or not but to-day I was able to correct the whole thing in about 40 minutes.........with a ladder & some Windex. And you thought I was talking about Microsoft Windows eh. Nope, I was talking about our dirty sun room windows. Had been a few months since spring cleaning so out came the squeegee, paper towels, ladder, garden hose, & a bottle of Windex. Checkers ended up getting wetter than the windows again because she loves it when Dad & the big garden hose monster get after her. Windows are so squeaky clean now the birds are looking extra, extra, colorful. We are experiencing a big thunder storm at the moment too. TIGER LILY
It was music to my ears to-day when I heard Kelly say, "maybe we shouldn't take the bicycles with us this year." We have strapped, roped, tied, & tarped our 2 bicycles onto the back of the motorhome for the past couple of years hauling them all the way down into the southwest & back. Our total riding time on those bikes in 2 years might have been one hour. The bicycles take a real dirt beating on the back of the rig with road grime, dust, salt infested roads at times, & water, really making a mess out of them. They are nice bikes & it always bothered me to see them aged way beyond their years. I could understand taking them if we were going to a flat road RV Park & sitting in one spot for 6 months but with our boondocking ways there isn't always level enough surfaces to ride them so I'm glad we will be leaving them home this year. Just one less thing to worry about & it should shave off a few pounds for the motorhome carrying weight as well. REFLECTIONS IN THE SUNROOM WINDOW
Some of you may remember a month or so ago when I was trying my hand at designing a Bayfield Bunch business type card in the Windows XP Paint program. (no, we are not in business) Just thought it might be nice to have a simple little card to hand out to folks when we meet them in our travels. Kelly's son has a graphic's business in Cambridge called, FLORENCE SIGNS so we emailed Ben the design I had come up with & he formatted it to fit a standard business card format. He then forwarded it to a printing company called BCT in Waterloo for printing. We received the finished cards a few days ago & were very impressed & totally pleased with how well they came out. Not just your standard cardboard card because these seem to be laminated somehow so won't bend or suffer from dampness or water. Very nice cards. We had to kind of laugh at the quantity of cards we ordered though. Kelly said we'll be long gone off the planet by the time all these cards are ever used up at our rate of meeting people. The whole Bayfield Bunch is going to have to live for another hundred & fifty years if we're going to hand them all out. OUR BAYFIELD BUNCH CARDS
I sometimes go on a bit much about the traveling RV lifestyle but I was reading another RV'ers blog to-day & he has taken the time to research some of the great lifestyle quotes that have stood the test of time & put all this traveling wanderlust into perspective. My feelings exactly!! Be sure to check out Howard's blog at RV-DREAMS JOURNAL. FRONT YARD FROG POND.....THAT GREEN STUFF IS NOT SLIME, IT'S DUCKWEED
Thunder is rolling across the skies at the moment with heavy rains bending low the long lanky branches of our sunburst locust tree outside our sunroom window. Winds are swaying the tall white pines. Relaxing ambient music on the stereo with the overhead fan wafting down a gentle breeze on my keyboard. Max is asleep on the couch in the living room, Cora is hiding from the great thunder monster under the computer table & Checkers is curled up beside my chair waiting out the storm. Many birds outside are flitting through the raindrops from feeder to feeder & Kelly is quietly stretched out in her recliner reading one of her many books. Aw yes, all is well here to-day in the life of The Bayfield Bunch:)) A COZY LITTLE PLACE TO SPEND A RAINY DAY
GROANER'S CORNER:(( This verbal exchange took place between Winston Churchill & Lady Astor many years ago......She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison."He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A DAY OF PUTTERING & SUPPER AT THE DOCKS
To-day was basically a repeat of yesterday in that I spent most of it at home still working on our computer move project. Mainly it was just a matter of getting everything put back to-gether in some reasonable semblance of order. I even turned my bed around to make sure I wouldn't get up on the wrong side of the bed anymore!! Now how's that for consideration:)) Kelly just worked the morning so we spent some time hanging a couple new curtains this afternoon. I usually run out of patience with that sort of thing but I managed to hang in there for the duration. MOUNTING A CURTAIN ROD THIS AFTERNOON
Our neighbor-lady Monica across the road took us out for supper to-night. We don't see Monica a lot because she is quite a traveler herself so she thought it would be nice to get to-gether for a bite. There's a nice place beside the Bayfield Harbor called, The Docks, so that's where we headed. I had heard they put up a good burg & fries so that's what I had & yes, it was very good indeed. Monica hadn't been into downtown Bayfield for awhile so after supper we took a drive around the village. This is truly a beautiful little place & it's no wonder people come from far & wide to visit here. There are no buildings over 2 stories high & those few buildings are on the main street itself. The cozy architecture of all the homes & cottages is well worth the drive here to see. And then there are all the beautiful yachts & sailboats in the harbor. Very creative, very colorful, & very Bayfield. THE DOCKS....FORMALLY KNOWN AS, THE HARBOR LIGHTS
Had some interesting comments on yesterday's blog as Jerry over at OUR LIFE ON WHEELS mentioned about family seldom responding to his blogs at first. We have noticed the very same thing. When I first came across this blogging thing I figured it would be a nice way to keep in touch with friends & family & maybe exercise a little creative writing bug I've always had. I was obviously excited about the idea but unfortunately I mis-judged others enthusiasm. For some silly reason I assumed folks would be interested in our travels but it soon became apparent that was not always the case. I had one good friend tell me outright...."I don't do blogs!!" Oooops, sorry. That one knocked some of the excitement stuffing's out of me for sure!! Other family members are getting up in years & not quite as computer savvy so I sent emails with simple instructions how to put our Bayfield Bunch icon on their desktops. But nope, they just didn't seem interested!! Kelly has a wonderful bunch of kids & I thought for sure they would all be wildly interested in our adventures. Wrong again!! I guess I just have to put myself back in that age group again & ask myself if I would have been interested in where my parents were & what they were up to. Probably not because I was too wrapped up with my own life at the time without caring much about older people!! MONICA & KELLY CHECKING THE MENU.....FORTUNATELY WE GOT HERE BEFORE THE CROWD
Probably 95% of people who follow our blog now are total strangers from far & wide & I'll bet the majority of that 95% are RV people which afterall makes sense. It's basically a travel blog so there is a thread of commonality there. But, I have also noticed something else these past few years. RV folks understand RV folks & home folks alike because RV people were once homebodies themselves. However, it seems many home folks don't understand that wandering nature RV folks have & are puzzled why someone would want to live in box about half the size of a railroad car. As like any groups of a feather, there is an underlying understanding & bonding of people on the road. There is a coming to-gether of thoughts, plans, & ideas. People tend to look out for one another & it's no more evident than right here on the internet. Oh yes, there are personality conflicts & mis-understandings like anywhere else but as a whole RV people seem to care & as a rule are friendlier. One of the main reasons for that could very well be the mobile lifestyle itself. Kelly & I usually don't stay in one spot long enough to get on anyone's nerves & vice versa. There are people out there who don't like dogs so we have a tendency to keep to ourselves. We don't get involved in campground politics or group personality problems. We don't belong to any groups or organizations although we were once Escapee members & might consider joining again at some point. By flying solo it keeps our people stress levels down to a manageable level as well. Yes, there is a definite downside to traveling like we do but that's another blog topic for another day. A VIEW OF BAYFIELD'S HARBOR FROM THE PATIO AT THE DOCKS
Anyway, just a few of my thoughts to-night on why we like the wandering gypsy style RV life while we're on the road. And remember, we are all different folks with different opinions & we all have lots of room for improvment. And besides, you can't catch me long enough to stay mad at me forever anyway:)) COLORFUL BUFFET TABLE
GROANER'S CORNER:(( We are born naked, wet, & hungry.....then things get worse!!
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
THE CABLE GUY DOES IT RIGHT
On the way back from Stratford this afternoon I was reflecting back on my nearly 6 years driving a mobility van & the different places that job has taken me. I am in & out of care facilities, medical clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, dentist & doctor's offices, retirement facilities, optometrists offices, etc. Most of the people I have in the van are elderly & they are always in wheelchairs or scooters. No matter where I have gone I've always been totally impressed with the care these people receive. I hear bits of conversations as I'm walking down halls, I see people being attended to & looked after & I hear the kind words spoken by staff to patients & residents. I know elder abuse goes on but I've never ever seen a hint of it. Just the opposite. I really take my hat off to all the gals working in those facilities because it certainly is not a mentally or physically easy job for them. MY SHUTTER SPEED WAS TOO SLOW FOR THIS FAST MOVING HUMMING BIRD BUT MAYBE NEXT TIME
Years ago when my Dad was dying of cancer I was also extremely impressed with the care & caring he received from the ladies coming to his home. It was the VON (Victoria Order of Nurses) that came & what a bunch of fine dedicated ladies they were. We always hear so much bad stuff all the time in the news & so many media horror stories about health care, elder abuse, neglect, etc that I just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth from the other side for a change......................:)) DOWNIE WOOD PECKER
And a word of welcome to the folks who have recently joined as Bayfield Bunch followers. (43)Nice to have you folks aboard & I hope I'm able to keep things interesting enough to hang on to everyone. I think all bloggers look forward to comments, emails, & followers, to give them inspiration, direction, & purpose. Without all the positive feedback from people I'm sure a lot of blogs just kind of dry up & blow away in the wind. Thanks folks & as long as your still interested.....I'm still interested:))
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Why was 6 afraid of 7? ...................because 789 (seven ate nine)
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Monday, August 17, 2009
SURPRISINGLY, THE COMPUTER MOVE WENT WELL:))
Another sticky day as the humidex climbed once again & turned people like myself into walking buckets of paste. No problem for people with dry skin but for those of us with oily skin, humid days are not a nice thing!! OH OH.....I'M ABOUT TO GET ER STUCK REAL DARN GOOD!!
KELLY'S ON THE PHONE WITH HER MOM & DAD
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
NEARLY 7 YEARS IN ONE SPOT.....IT'S TIME TO MOVE THE COMPUTER
Another very humid day so the AC was kept busy again. We're so glad we decided to put central air in 3 years ago. Never seemed to mind the humidity but these last 3 or 4 years either the humidity is getting worse or we're just not as able to tolerate it anymore. Probably a little bit of both. HUMMINGBIRD FLITTING AMONGST THE FRONT YARD FLOWERS
It was a good morning for a motorcycle run so I headed up into the Goderich area again, picked up a few things at Wally World, cruised around some nice back roads & headed home.
TOOK THE BISBEE KIDS FOR A SPIN ON THE MOTORCYCLE THIS MORNING
Spent the rest of the day inside where it was cool thinking of poor Kelly working over at Deerpark in the heat but at least she got to remain in the office most of the day. THOSE LITTLE HUMMER'S SURE HAVE LONG BEAKS
I've had to take down some of the bird feeders because the Grackles were just plowing all the birdseed out of them onto the ground. I'm kind of thinking there must be a better way of doing things out there so the old wheels are slowly turning in my head working on a plan to build myself some kind of foolproof bird feeding station. I first of all need something with a large flat roof to keep the rain out of the feeders so that's where the thought processes are starting. Building stuff is not my thing but I have been known to surprise myself on occasion. THE POND BOSS
We have had the computer set up in the same room ever since we moved here nearly 7 years ago. It's been on my mind for quite awhile to move it into our sunroom so this afternoon I began that little project. Right now our computer faces a wall in a bedroom with 2 small windows. In the sunroom we will be able to sit at the computer with big windows on 3 sides & a view of our front yard pond & all the birds coming & going to the feeders. I will have to re-route the cable for our internet so will have to pick up a 25' length of cable in the morning. If all goes well I should be able to type to-morrow night's blog & watch the birds at the same time. Should be a nice change from the darker computer room.......& I love change. I'm thinking I may even be able to set up my camera/scope right beside the computer as well. Awwww yes, it's good to have the creative juices bubbling again..............:)) GOT A CORNER CLEARED OUT FOR THE COMPUTER DESK
GROANER'S CORNER:(( The more I learn about terrorism the more I understand the phone company!!
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.