THE BAYFIELD BUNCH MEETS BAYFIELD’S STORMRUNNER AT THE BBC

THIS LITTLE BANTY ROOSTER IS QUITE VOCAL ABOUT HIS PRESENCE

(THURSDAY’S POST)

It was a familiar sound in the air at daybreak this morning.  As long time reader’s know, the Ranch borders on Arizona’s WHITEWATER DRAW which is just a mile down the road.  The air is alive every day with thousands of Sand Hill Cranes flying back and forth between their night time roosting area and their feeding grounds further up the valley.  Great swirling flocks high above the ground at times and other times I have seen them at roof top level right over the Ranch struggling into the heavy gusting westerly winds trying get home for the night.  I have countless Sand Hill Crane photos from the past few years so will try to keep things down to a dull roar this year.

 

EARLY MORNING SAND HILL CRANES HEADING FOR THEIR FEEDING GROUNDS UP THE VALLEY

Received an email late yesterday from some friends of ours from Bayfield.  They were in Benson just north of us.  Harry and Dianne from STORMRUNNER RV SALES AND SERVICE decided to head West this year and take a break from winters in Florida.  Dianne has been reading our blog for about 4 or 5 years now and just wanted to head west and see some of the things I have been blogging about over the years.  They were heading for Tombstone this morning so I suggested they come a little farther and meet us in Bisbee.

  

PHEEBS MEETS THE DONKEYS THIS MORNING FOR THE FIRST TIME

EEEUUUUUU, THOSE GUYS GOT BAD BREATH

As we rolled into one end of the parking lot at the big Lavender Pit mine in Bisbee around 11 a.m. Harry, Dianne, and their dog Sport rolled in from the other end in their truck and truck camper.   They generally travel with one of their large Carriage 5th wheel but decided for there western trip they would do the truck and camper.

SITTING DOWN TO BREAKFAST AT THE BISBEE BREAKFAST CLUB (BBC)

 

BREAKFAST OVER, HARRY HEADS OUT THE DOOR AND DOWN THE STREET OF BISBEE’S OLD LOWELL

Great to see them and it’s the first time we have ever met anyone here in the southwest from back home that we knew.  Chatted us up a storm & then headed the short distance to the BBC.  ‘Bisbee Breakfast Club’.  Harry sure had himself a big mess of biscuits and gravy.  I’m going to have to try that sometime.  Harry insisted on picking up the tab and we thank him for that.

NOW HERE’S A COUPLE NICE DOLLY’S POSING FOR A PICTURE

 

 

AWWWW YES, THE MEMORIES:))

Had us a walk down yesteryear’s Erie Street in Bisbee’s old Lowell district.  This is a really neat old street that time has just forgotten about.  It’s not a restored old street….it’s a real and authentic old street with broken windows, empty store fronts and weeds in the cracks of the sidewalks.  Real dust and dirt in the streets and some old cars and trucks that just kind of hang out there. 

<<< YEP, THEY’RE STILL POSING

At the bottom of Erie Street and across the eastern highway leading into Bisbee lies the SHADY DELL 1950'S TRAILER PARK where old restored travel trailers can be rented for a couple days or a couple weeks.  Instead of staying at a motel you can stay in real 1950’s trailers.

CHECKING OUT THE SHADY DELL’S VINTAGE TRAILER PARK

From there it was back up Erie Street to pick up the vehicles and head on into the main part of Bisbee just west of the big Lavender Pit.  Had ourselves a walk around a few backstreets and downtown Bisbee.   Weather was perfect and the surrounding mountains looked so nice backgrounding the vivid and varied colors of Bisbee’s many artsy buildings dating back into the 1800’s..  Dianne is like me….it is all about the scenery here in the west.

HAD US A WALK-ABOUT ON BISBEE’S BACK STREETS

 

MANY STAIRS TO CLIMB IN BISBEE AS HARRY HEADS UP BREWERY GULCH

We said our good-byes to Dianne, Harry and Sport in front of the Bisbee Coffee Roasters shop.  They were heading back to Benson & then to Tucson for a gun show on Saturday.  We may catch up with them again in Yuma next month.

  

 

BYE GUYS, SEE YA LATER IN YUMA MAYBE…….

Kelly picked up few things at one of her favorite places, the High Desert Market and Café.  We were back at the ranch about half an hour later.  So nice to be back in Bisbee again.  Some people come here, look in a few shops, maybe have a bite to eat and leave again never having the experience that is truly Bisbee.  Some just drive through or past Bisbee but Bisbee is the type of place where you have to get out of your vehicle and get your boots on the ground and start walking.   If you have any kind of creativity about you there’s a real good chance you will appreciate what Bisbee has to offer.  Not a commercial tourist trap, just a simple little town built by a bunch of hard working miners way back in the 1800’s.  The miners are long gone but the little town is still here:))

COULD IT BE DIANE IS CONFRONTING ONE OF BISBEE’S HOMELESS CHARACTERS……NAW, IT’S JUST ME

SAY DI, DID YA HEAR THE ONE ABOUT…….

SHE’S THINKING ABOUT IT

SHE JUST GOT IT….:))

Not being used to taking medications it’s quite a challenge for me to remember to take my 800mg Ibuprofen every 8 hours.  I have been avoiding taking the Oxycondone and am saving those high powered guys in case of an emergency.  I’m afraid this whole medical thing is beginning to turn into a bit of a nightmare for us.

ON A BISBEE WALL

Kelly spent a long time on the phone this morning trying to get me in to a Urologist in Sierra Vista but no go.  Also found out our trip back to Tucson is only the beginning of a 3 step procedure that will take 3 weeks and two additional trips.  We are also aware of the fact our insurance company may very well balk at having the procedure done here in the States.  They have been known to force people to return to Canada for things like this so we have ourselves a bit of a dilemma shaping up.

PEEK-A-BOO BUS AT SHADY DELL

And the size of the Kidney Stone itself is beginning to cause us concern.  Kelly had a long talk with the Urologist’s office in Sierra Vista this afternoon and they said the size of the Kidney Stone is going to create it’s own problems.  Oh dear.  After all these years of being basically Doctor and Hospital free it looks like it just may be time for Al to finally pay the Piper.

CHARLIE THE CAT KEEPS A WARY EYE ON PHEEBS FROM ATOP A PILE OF HAY BALES

Nice being here at the Ranch spending time with Jeanie & Ray before they head out in their Motor Home in a couple days for points west.  A couple of down to earth people like ourselves and we all get along well.  Tomorrow morning we will go through the ranch procedures.  Ray will re-orient me once again on the delicate procedure of milking the chickens.  No horses this year but I will have to share my peanut butter and honey sandwiches with the Donkeys again.  I taught ranch dog Pearce to wait for a smooch before I fed him 3 years ago and he still remembered that as I put a smooch on his little black doggy nose before feeding him this afternoon.  Yes, we always love being here at the Ranch in Arizona’s Cochise County.  And, Pheebs is just having a blast racing around all over the place with no worries to us for her safety.  We are completely fenced in by acres of Coyote proof fencing.  Even little Motor is free to wander and she is having a blast as well. 

PHEEBS AND GLEESON

All 4 dogs get along great and it’s fun to watch Peebs and Gleeson playing together.  A couple years ago we had as many as 6 dogs here some days and I just loved getting out on the grass and playing with the guys.  We had some really great zany times:))

RAY TAKES OUT SOME HAY FOR PONCHO AND SARAH

I will have to pay closer attention to the spacing between my posts paragraphs.  Live Writer and Blogger sometimes have conflicts of interest in how things are done.  I always leave a space between paragraphs when writing the blog but sometimes Blogger does not interpret what Live Writer is doing, or vice versa.

MOTORMOUSE KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON MY SUPER TONIGHT

The Bayfield Bunch welcomes 3 new Blog Followers today.  Not sure if PAGE is WINNIE VIEWS: A GIRL'S GUIDE TO TOWING WITH A TOAD.  I checked PAGE’S profile and saw the above link on it.  HEINZRVJOURNEY is followed by FOXY to round out the 3 new Followers.  Thanks guys, I appreciate your interest.

DAY’S END IN THE SULPHUR SPRINGS VALLEY…ARIZONA:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A swimming instructor at a Los Angeles university was quizzing a group of students on Red Cross life saving and water safety techniques.
They answered all of her questions easily until she posed this one: "Which article of clothing would you remove last if you fell from a boat or dock fully clothed?"
Everyone mentioned something different. It was evident that no one knew the correct answer, so the instructor helped out. "The blouse," she said, "because the air gets under the blouse and acts like a buoy!"
The subsequent uproar ended the class.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

AL SPENDS THE NIGHT IN A TUCSON HOSPITAL:((

SOUTHBOUND ON HIGHWAY 80 THROUGH THE SAN PEDRO VALLEY
Tuesday’s all day rain enabled me to finish the blog and post it on the early side yesterday.  Good thing I did because about half an hour later I suddenly felt a worsening pain in my lower left back.  Within minutes I recognized the tell tale signs of an old and very painful enemy.  Kidney Stone!!!!

Anyone ever having a kidney stone will understand the world of pain I am talking about.  Had one back in October of 07.  We were heading for the Southwest at the time when I ended up in a hospital emergency room in Limon, Colorado.

Tuesday nights pain just continued to get worse.  Tried a couple extra strength Tylenol but who was I trying to kid.  Last place I wanted to go was the hospital again but by 10 o’clock I could not stand the pain any longer and through in the  towel.  I knew what this was going to do to our health insurance coverage next year.

Kelly had gone to bed but I had to wake her up.  Threw up in the washroom because of the pain.  Kelly scrambled to get dressed and we were soon in the Jeep with our Garmin looking for a hospital.  At least Kelly got dressed, I didn’t.  I was still in my pajamas.  You will remember my mismatched night attire from a few blogs ago.  A few wrong turns along the way but we finally managed to find THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MEDICAL CENTER.  You may remember this hospital as the one Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was taken to after being shot on January 8th of this year during a meeting with constituents in a Tucson shopping plaza.

I’m not going to go into a long detailed story about what happened next so let’s just give the hospital the benefit of the doubt and say they were very busy I guess.  Despite my obvious writhing in pain I did not receive a saving shot of morphine until nearly two hours after walking through the doors of the Emergency room.  After all, the reams of paperwork are of prime concern, right!!

I was placed on a comfy bed in an isolation room with a pressure/heart/temperature monitoring system on one arm and and an IV drip on the other.  That IV thing was painful going into my arm.  Buckets of blood were drained.  Turns out, despite the pain, I was the lucky one though.  Poor Kelly spent the entire night sitting on a chair near my bed.  I insisted she go back to the rig but she opted to stay.  If you knew of Kelly’s sleep priority you would understand her sacrifice.

The morphine shot only took the edge of the pain and at 3 a.m. they administered something else called, T?????  and that did the trick in bringing the pain factor down to zero.  Also put me into the woozy zone.  I remember seeing Kelly sitting at an odd angle in the straight backed chair with eyes closed trying to find a few scraps of sleep.

Sometime in the predawn hours I was wheeled down a series of hallways finally ending up face to face with a ‘Cat Scan’ machine.  This was a painless procedure that took only a few minutes.  Noticed in that short period of time the Scan operator received 7 cell phone calls.

A Doctor finally came in sometime later apologizing profusely for all the delays that had occurred after we had first entered the hospital.  He also had the results of the Cat Scan.  Not so good:((  I have a large 1.5 centimeter kidney stone that is too large to be pass naturally.  Only 3 ways to get a stone that large out of the human body.  Dynamite, ultra sound waves to smash the stone and…..well, let’s just say the third procedure just kinda makes my eyes water a bit!!

I was going to have to see a Urologist as soon as possible because they are the people who perform those kinds of procedures.  As hard as he tried, the Doctor could not get me an appointment until December 21rst.  Not good but that is the way it is.  I have to be back at the Tucson hospital at 10 a.m. to have this large rock removed one way or the other.  Maybe the dynamite option would be quick and painless. 

HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS DEAD AHEAD
Kelly did manage to slip back to our rig for an hour around 6:30 to let the poor little doggy guys out for a pee.  She returned to the hospital and we waited until after nine to get the final paperwork and prescriptions all worked out.  I am not a pill guy and do not like having to take pills of any kind but it looks like the next 7 days they have me on some pretty powerful pain killing drugs.  Oxycodone 325mg and Ibuprofen 800mg.  It was another 40 minute wait at the hospitals pharmacy to get these prescriptions filled.  And yes, I was aware of the stares I was getting with my mismatched plaid pajama outfit, old green robe, brown hush puppies and beige baseball with Bayfield Bunch Canada written on it.

How nice it was to walk out of that 10 hour hospital ordeal into a bright sunny morning.  The snow on the surrounding mountains looked especially beautiful and picturesque.  Of all large cites in North America I think Tucson is one of my favs.  I drove the mile or so back to the rig making the usual wrong turns of course.  Kelly made those same  wrong turns when driving back earlier in the dark in the morning rush.

EXITING THE TUCSON HOSPITAL THIS MORNING
We weren’t long in getting the rig packed up for travel and by 10:35 we rolled out of the Lazy Days service yard headed for Cochise County and the Ranch.  I just kept marveling at the snow capped mountains and blue skies with big white puffy clouds.  What a great feeling it was knowing we were heading for the land of many memories.

A right turn off I-10 on highway 90 at Benson took us south past the Kartchner Caverns and down the San Pedro Valley.  The landscape took on a warm familiar look as I gazed across the Valley at the Dragoon Mountains to the East.  Straight ahead lay the memorable Huachuca Mountains.  The domed Naco Peak in Mexico loomed high off the desert floor.  To the east of Naco Peak lay the Mule Mountains with their arms lovingly wrapped around their little Alpine jewel, Bisbee.
South of Tombstone we swung east on Davis Road and rolled right on through between the Dragoon and Mule Mountains.  This winding road over hill and dale led us into the Sulphur Springs Valley where the Ranch is located.  How great it was to once again see the heavily snow capped Chiricahua Mountains to the far left and the Swiss Helm Mountains straight ahead.  So many memories and so many memories to come.

Rolled through the gates of the ranch at 12:30 making it in slightly under 2 hours from Tucson.  Jeanie and Ray were working about in the yard and how great to see them again.  Ranch dogs Pearce and Gleeson are fine but have noticeably slowed down from a couple years ago when we were here.  Chickens are all doing great but don’t lay eggs anymore.  Charlie the cat has moved indoors.  And, ranch donkeys Poncho and Sarah are still here but married off their young daughter Nellie to a handsome young donkey fellow up the valley.

IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING SET UP AT THE RANCH
Kelly and Jeanie headed off to Sierra Vista for a little shopping while Ray and I got caught up on 'what’s new'.  So nice to be back at the Ranch again after a couple years.  Last year we were at a different property a few miles away over near Elfrida.  Awwww yes, let those big beautiful sunrises and sunsets begin:))

ON DAVIS ROAD BETWEEN THE MULE AND DRAGOON MOUNTAIN RANGES
GROANER’S CORNER:((  After a long, dry sermon, the minister announced that he wished to meet with the board following the close of the service.
The first man to arrive and greet the minister was a total stranger. "You misunderstood my announcement. This is a meeting of the board members," explained the minister.
"I know," said the man, "but if there is anyone here more bored than I am, then I'd like to meet him..."
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

WE HAVE BEEN DE-THRONED:))

OH OH…..WE WERE BACK IN THE SERVICE BAY AGAIN TODAY

Heard the first pitter patter of rain on the roof at 5 a.m. and shortly thereafter that pitter patter turned into a steady downpour.  Was wishing I had tied the Jeep on the night before. (but, as it turns out….maybe not)  Doing outside stuff in a cold rain ranks very low on my ‘happy things to do’ list!!

We tried very hard to adjust to our new high throne toilet but by this morning we knew it just was not going to work for us.  Come what may, it was decided we had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to get the new ‘tall boy’ exchanged for a normal shorter one before somebody fell off and got hurt.

Kelly felt I had done enough damage with my ‘Seniors Moment caper’ at Camping World Monday morning so locked me in the closet before heading over to negotiate a toilet swap with the fellow behind the counter.  We have found through experience that women generally have a charm (and Kelly is a charmer) when it comes to dealing with male personnel in sticky sales oriented negotiations such as exchanging toilets.  But, before going to Camping World she decided to talk to the Lazy Days folks first.

In the pouring rain Kelly Jeeped the hundred feet or so to the Lazy Days office. Jennifer Sykora, the Service Advisor gal at Lazy Days felt the fellow who sold us the toilet at Camping World should have known enough to ask us if we had a riser in our bathroom.  Or at least come out to the rig to have a look  because he was handling the servicing. 

Jennifer was extremely helpful and instrumental in helping us to resolve what was initially my mistake at Camping World Monday morning.   To Camping World’s credit, they were good about doing the toilet exchange for us at no additional cost.  Took a little time and a mountain of paperwork but it was a win-win situation for everyone involved and I think all parties learned a little something.  For us, it is to leave Al bound and gagged in the closet whenever important decisions have to be made.  One afterthought we had.  Would have been good for the installer guy at Lazy Days to have questioned the high height of this toilet and walked over to the waiting room where we were and double checked our decision.

Kelly was soon back to the Motorhome and we didn’t waste any time packing things up and squared away.  Minutes later we drove around the corner to the Service Check In Bay and a few minutes after that at 9:15 we were in the nice Lazy Days waiting room again with Pheebs wanting to meet everyone and put a big Slurpee on them.  Pets are not allowed in the vehicles during repairs because mechanics have disappeared.

YOU CAN SEE THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE TUCKED IN BESIDE KELLY

 

Our toilet swap was done by 11 and our coach was brought around for us and parked under a large canopy where we wouldn’t get wet.  Jennifer had suggested we would be more than welcome to spend the night right here on the Lazy Days service lot again complete with full hook ups (minus sewage) at no charge.  No point in driving through all this wet weather, she said. 

We have nothing but good to say about our treatment here ever since arriving at the Lazy Days RV Park last Sunday.  All the staff we have come into contact with were very helpful and personable.  And they all loved Motormouse and the Pheebs:))

Camping World stepped up to the plate and did the right thing as well so we leave Tucson Wednesday morning with a good feeling for having been here.  Thanks everybody:))  By the way, cost for the new toilet plus installation was $380 with no extra charge for the swap.

And, I just gotta say how good Motormouse and Pheebs have been with all this disorganized jostling around these past 3 days. They both have just been the greatest little travelers with nary a whimper nor a complaint. Now, if I could just say the same for myself eh:))

So, that brings me up to the present.  We are still in Tucson, still at the Lazy Days service lot and……it is still raining!!!  The heavy cloud cover did lift for a few minutes late this morning to reveal a lot of snow on the mountain tops east of Tucson.

Tomorrow we head for the Ranch near Tombstone Arizona to begin yet another phase in our ever changing RV adventures.

LANDYACHTY joined us today as Blog Follower 390.  We appreciate you dropping by and thanks:))

NOT MUCH TO DO TODAY EXCEPT SNOOZE THE DAY AWAY

Shout out to Phil in Phoenix.  I did upsize the print under the photos and changed the text color so hope that helps.  If not, let me know.

Reading SAM'S post this morning I see where there is some talk about traveling in Mexico.  I left a condensed comment on Sam’s post that went something like this….. As long as every thing is fine and goes off without a hitch, traveling in Mexico would be fine.  We would go down there ourselves. But, just one bump in the night whether a fender bender or whatever and things can go down hill pretty fast.  We had an INCIDENT south of Lukeville Arizona a few years ago that set us back on our heals and made us stop and think about any future travels in Mexico. That incident caused us to think realistically what could have happened that morning.  We have two dogs to consider who could be left sitting alone in our Motorhome somewhere if something became of us or we were detained somewhere for any length of time.  Especially in a different country with a different language.  This kind of thing is not uncommon in Mexico.  Topographically and weather wise I think Mexico is a great place but for us at this age and stage of the game, and the state of affairs in Mexico, we're not as quick to push the envelope that far anymore. If we get into any kind of trouble on this side of the border we feel confidant in receiving trusted help.  We do not have that comfort zone on the other side of the border regardless of where it is. 

Being Canadians, I happen to think you American folks have a great country right here with a wealth of things to do and places to see.  If we meet strangers, chances are good they are going to speak a language I can understand.  To me that is an important safety issue.  I don't think it is as much a fear factor about going to Mexico as it is just remaining in an environment we feel comfortable with.  Everyone and every situation is different and it is a personal decision for each person knowing where their comfort level is.  Some may question our boondocking lifestyle and close proximity to the Mexican border but for us we are within our comfort zone here in these parts. 

It’s just too cold to the north and there’s too many darned Allimagators wandering around over there on the south eastern side of the country for my comfort level………..10-4:))

And, just to let you know about the last photo in Monday’s post.  I did take the picture but debated whether to include it in the post.  For the first time since beginning my blog I consulted with my higher authority here about a questionable photo.  She put her stamp of approval on it so it ended up in the blog:)).

We would have been searching a long time late Monday afternoon for Peggy Sue’s restaurant because there isn’t one.  The Camping World employee giving us the referral mixed up Peggy Sue with her cousin Cindy Lou and we drove right by Cindy’s place.  The Triple T truck stop worked out just fine and I am 40 pounds heavier today for it.  At least I won’t blow away in the big southwest winds.

Didn’t realize until today the ‘Holiday Rambler Trip’ Motor Home I had some photos of in Monday’s blog is actually made by Monaco.  And, no pictures of the newest new toilet folks.  I think we’ve all had enough toilet talk to last us for quite awhile, besides it looks the same as the other one did, only 6 feet shorter:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A woman was driving her old car on the highway with her 7 year old son, Little Johnny in the back seat. She tried to keep up with traffic but they were flying by her. After getting caught in a large group of cars speeding down the road, she looked at her speedometer and saw that she was going 15 miles over the speed limit.
Slowing down, she moved over to the side of the road and got out of the way of cars behind her which in turn soon left her far behind. She looked up and saw the flashing lights of a police car.
Pulling over she waited for the officer to come up to her car. As he did he said, "Ma'am do you know why I pulled you over?"
From the back seat, Little Johnny yelled, "I do! Because with that big clunky lemon of yours you couldn't catch the fast cars!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

OH NO, AL MAKES A 'BIG' TOILET DECISION MISTAKE:((

STILL ON LAZY DAYS  PROPERTY……. BUT TONIGHT IT’S FREE:))
Nobody around at 4 a.m. so I walked over to the bathroom in my pajamas this morning.  The lady who registered us was thoughtful enough to put us in a spot close to the nice heated facility after Kelly told her of our toilet dilemma.
 
GLAD WE MISSED THE WILD WEST SHOW AND THEY HAVE A NICE LAUNDRY ROOM HERE
Despite a few helicopters, some traffic noise, a few wailing sirens in the night and the fact we are only a few miles east of the Tucson airport….. I slept OK.  Oh, and the proverbial train whistles of course.   It’s nice that we have a bit of room around us and are not sardined in.  Bonus.  Would you believe some of the RV sites in here have their own hot tubs.  Sure nice to have a big blast of water pressure and we noticed how much brighter our lights were when plugged into electricity.  Careful Al, your starting to get a little too darned comfortable here!!

ALWAYS LOTS OF STAFF IN THESE CARTS TO SHUTTLE PEOPLE AROUND
Camping world is here and they work along with Lazy Days just as they did Beaudry when they were here.  Lazy Days (not Daze) does Camping World’s installations etc.  It was cold and raining as we started out to walk over to Camping World and were lucky enough to get a ride in a covered Gator type cart from a Lazy Days employee.  There must be a million of those carts whizzing around this place ferrying people here and there.

THE WET CAMPING WORLD GUY CHECKS OUT OUR RIG FOR DAMAGE BEFORE IT ENTERS THE SHOP
We wanted to have a look at the toilet models but it wouldn’t have mattered because only one size and model fits our older 2003 coach.  The new Bravura toilet is made by Thetford. We thought maybe something with gold fittings, Italian marble and China Porcelain would be to our liking, but it was not to be.  We did have a choice between white or off white, normal or pedestal size though.  Little did I know that one of those two choices was going to come back to bite us in a few hours.  However,  this new Thetford is a far superior piece of engineering than the old original Thetford toilet was.

CAMPING WORLD……TALKING TOILETS
Camping World said they could do the job right away so we raced back in the rain aboard another Lazy Days Gator and quickly packed up the rig and had it back to Camping World in about half an hour.  From there began the loooooong wait. 
  
THE BEGINNING OF OUR WAIT
It was a cold gloomy day as we sat in the rig in the parking lot outside one of the Lazy Day’s many bays.  There is a nice waiting room but we didn’t want to sit in there with the doggy guys for hours.  Dogs can’t be in the coach while repairs are under way.  We plunked around on our computers from about 10:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. when a mechanic guy came out into the parking lot to take the rig inside.   Did I mention about the cold and rain!!

STILL WAITING…..
They have a nice comfy and spacious waiting lounge here complete with free coffee, cookies and a big wide HD widescreen TV.  We were allowed to take the doggy guys in and less than an hour later our coach rolled up to the door all done.

YEP, STILL WAITING……zzzzzzzzz
We didn’t have to drive too far for the night.  We knew with this rain that any boondocking sites or even the Ranch was going to be very muddy.  Kelly asked inside if we could stay the night in Lazy Days service yard and they said, sure.  So, that’s where we are tonight, about an eighth of a mile from where we were last night.  The difference?  Sunday night – $41.00 and Monday night…..free!!

ALL DONE AND IN OUR NEW SPOT FOR THE NIGHT
No, we are not in the market for another Motor Home but the 2012 Holiday Rambler Trip sure caught our eye.  We both liked the look of it, especially the more aerodynamically designed front end with a swept back look.  Floor plan suited us and we both liked the exterior colors.  Anyway, we are very fortunate to have the rig we do so that’s enough of that drooling stuff for us guys…...10-4!!

 
 
So, now to check the new toilet.  Some toilets are ‘high profile’ making them easier for older folks to use so I thought that was a very good idea for the future and ordered that.  But, I failed to take into account new toilets are bigger overall than older ones.  I mean, they just are bigger!!  When I opened the bathroom door I was taken aback and thought, “holy crapster, a space ship has landed in our bathroom.  Under normal conditions we would have been alright but here’s where I made my mistake when I ordered the toilet.    I forgot our original toilet was already sitting on a 7” pedestal.
Yep, we got ourselves a real high potter now at a total sitting height of 2 feet tall.  Our feet don’t even touch the floor!!  But, all is not lost…..we do have a small portable step ladder and we do have two of us here in case one tumbles off and injures themselves in the long fall to the bathroom floor.  Hey, I bet we got the highest throne in the Kingdom now.  Enough!!  It’s no laughing matter because there is nothing we can do about it now except try to adjust to our newest set of circumstances.  Let me see, maybe stilts……….
 
GEEEEEZZZZ, TALK ABOUT AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!!
One of the Lazy Days staff said there was a great eating place nearby called Peggy Sue’s and gave us direction.  Off we went in the Jeep looking for Peggy Sue’s.  Never found Peggy Sue’s but saw Cindy Lou’s and finally ended up at the Triple T Truck Stop east of I-10.  Despite me being overweight I am not a big eater at all and never go back for seconds of anything.  But, boy oh boy did I ever hurt myself at the Triple T.  Biggest open face roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy I ever had and believe me, I had to really open my face to get that all down too.  Extremely rare for us to ever buy desert so I won’t even tell you about the deep dish apple pie with a mountain of ice cream on top of it.  Nope, not gonna tell you about that one at all.

GEEEEZZZZZ, CAN’T BELIEVE I ATE THIS WHOLE THING
RV SUE posted a blog update about her last few days of trials and errors regarding her first boondocking venture in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.
KENTSTER is our latest Blog Follower and it looks like this fellow may have some model train interests. Welcome aboard, or should I say, “all aboard”:))

SAY, DID I MENTION WE WENT TO THE DOG PARK THIS MORNING….
GROANER’S CORNER:(( A married couple was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. At the party everybody wanted to know how they managed to stay married so long in this day and age.
The husband responded "When we were first married we came to an agreement. I would make all the major decisions and my wife would make all the minor decisions. And in 60 years of marriage we have never needed to make a major decision."
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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 https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.