AUNT JEAN DROPS IN FOR A VISIT

NOW, IS THIS ANY WAY TO TREAT A JEEP!!

By the time I had finished washing all the caked on dried mud off the Jeep this morning I knew that we would not be doing that again.  Took me over an hour!!  However, it was good experience for us Friday night as Pete led us along a local bush trail through a number of gully swamping water filled hog wallows.  And, yes we did get temporarily stuck in one of the them.  Pete made it through but we didn't.  He's got bigger tires, a whole lot more experience & his Jeep sits much higher than ours, so there we were, out in the bush stuck in a swamp bog up to our underwear!!!!  Pete started talking about getting a chain to pull us out & I started talking about how I wished I was home, stretched out in my recliner!!  Took me about half a dozen runs at that oozing mess to finally slip, slide & slither our Jeep through the gumbo muck.  I definitely understand the advantages of 4 wheel drive now.....10-4:))

THIS IS PETE'S JEEP.....& HE HASN'T EVEN GOT IT DIRTY YET!!

       

All & all it was good experience though & I have a better understanding into the gear changes, transfer case workings, 4 wheel drive, 2hi-12lo & 46 ahead, & half a dozen wheels going in 14 different directions or something.  As we bumped, banged & jolted along the bush trail I kept asking myself, "what the hell have we got ourselves into!!!!"  Also thought to myself......'nope, we will not be doing this again any time soon.  Jeeping in the southwest is a horse of a different color & I think we'll just gear ourselves for that & stay off the swamper hog bush trails around here......for awhile!!

         

You will notice all the Jeep pictures are blurry.  I never thought to bump up my camera's ISO in the darker forest with the fading light.  And, steering through mud holes with one hand, shifting gears with the other plus trying to swamp a hot coffee down & take pictures all at the same time was just a bit much even for an old multi tasking driver wizard like myself.  I would have got Kelly to take the pics but she was already bouncing around like a ping pong ball.  Yep, we sure got some things to learn & some bugs to iron out alright!!  And tomorrow I will tell you about the trials & tribulations of trying to put the soft top up on the Jeep Friday night..........................  #!!*%>>#+:#%@//

PETE'S SAYING...."HEY, WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YA HAD SO MUCH FUN EH"

Our handy guy Bruce came over to day & started work on the little project for the back of the Jeep while I began a big reorganization of our carport storage space. 

BRUCE MEASURES UP THE 'JEEP PROJECT'

My Aunt Jean visiting from Florida dropped in around 3 this afternoon & we spent a couple hours organizing some bins of stuff belonging to my Uncle Harry.  Kelly was home by 4 & we all went out for supper at 'The Docks.'  Coffee back at home & about 7:30 Jean hit the road for Tavistock where she is staying.  All & all a long kinda day & I am totally pooped, so here's the end of another day's post for........The Bayfield Bunch:))

CHATTING IT UP WITH AUNT JEAN ON THE FRONT PORCH TODAY

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Ever wonder why this country is in soooooo much trouble??  Well, here's why!!!!! The population of this country is 300 million.  160 million are retired.  That leaves 140 million to do the work.  There are 85 million in school. Which leaves 55 million to do the work.  Of this there are 35 million employed by the federal government.  Leaving 20 million to do the work.  2.8 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with killing Osama Bin-Laden which leaves 17.2 million to do the work.  Take from that total the 15.8 million people who work for State and city Governments and that leaves 1.4 million to do the work.  At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals leaving 1,212,000 to do the work. 
Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons. 
That leaves just two people to do the work. 
You and me.  And there you are 
sitting on your butt, at your computer, reading this silly blog again. 
Nice..........Real nice!!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

TODAY WE MET RANDY & PAM WARNER OF THE ROADRUNNER CHRONICLES

RANDY & AL WITH PAM CHECKING A MAP INSIDE THE COACH

The overnight rain & slightly cooler weather front took a big chunk out of the recent oppressive high humidity & our day was slightly less muggy.  Emphasis on 'slightly less muggy.'

RANDY & KELLY DART ACROSS THE BUSY HIGHWAY

Message on Facebook this morning from Randy Warner from, THE ROADRUNNER CHRONICLES  saying they would be rolling through Bayfield on their journey north somewhere around noon.  We had been in touch a couple weeks ago so we knew they would be heading into our neighborhood.  Only place we could think of with a parking lot big enough for a large motorhome with a car on back was a place called the 'Docks' just off highway 21.  Randy phoned when they got to Grand Bend so we knew they would be in Bayfield in about 25 minutes.  Kelly & I drove over to the Docks & found the parking lot full of cars.  The Docks is a restaurant & it was lunch hour!!  We saw Randy & Pam come over the bridge & one look told him he was not going to get into that parking lot.  Randy threw a blinker on & pulled over to the side of the road.  It was a Friday & the highway was busy but he jumped out & came across the road to where Kelly & I were.  A quick handshake & the 3 of us hustled back across the highway to the safety of their Allegro Bus Motor Home.

PAM & KELLY IN THE ROADRUNNER

Met Pam inside & we all had ourselves a quick RV chin wag for about 20 minutes.  Covered a few of the normal bases such as computers, routers, phones, routes & destinations, etc.  We knew Randy & Pam had a ways to go yet today so didn't want to hold them up alongside the road.   Slipped outside for some more pics, handshakes & goodbyes.  Kelly & I were no sooner back across the increasingly busy highway & Randy had the  Allegro Bus wheels rolling.  Grabbed a few last pics as he hit the big diesel air horn & they were northbound & gone.  Been following Randy's blog for about a year now so it was nice to finally meet the person behind the keyboard.  Nice fellow.

RANDY EXPLAINING HIS ROUTER SETUP

Later in the day Kelly tracked down an unsuspecting Jeep owner.  She had noticed a jeep wrangler parked at the Tucker Communications Office in Bayfield different times during working hours & because of the problems I'm having trying to figure out the hard & soft top dilemma she went in & asked the guy if he could come over after work & help her poor mechanically challenged & totally frustrated husband to get the hard top off the Jeep & the soft top on.  And that's how we met Peter today.

KELLY TAKES ANOTHER DEER PARK LODGE RESERVATION

OK, fast forward................Now, it's nearly 9 p.m. & we just got home from a mud, water, mosquito & branches in your face kind of jeep foray through a heavily wooded forest near by & I will save  our last '3 hour Jeep lesson for tomorrow's blog.  Am just needing a little R&R at the moment.  And, another coffee...... two thirds of my 7 o'clock coffee got jolted right out of it's holder & dumped into the Jeeps transfer case & I later found my top denture on the passenger side running board:))  We went a muddin!! 

PETER SHOWS US HOW TO PUT THE SOFT TOP ON........'OHHHHHHH', WE HAVE SO MUCH TO LEARN:((

AND PETE LEADS THE WAY THROUGH AN APPLE ORCHARD TO THE FOREST BEYOND

 

'OH OH'....... THIS COULD GET SERIOUS!!

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Here are 5 good tips for our fine hard working women folk......

1. It is important that a man helps you around the house and has a job.
2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.
3. It is important to find a man you can count on! And doesn't lie to you.
4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

STILL ENOUGH HAIR LEFT TO CUT AT AGE 94

STAYING COOL IN THE HEAT

Although we knew it was outside waiting for us, the humidity once again ambushed us as soon as we set foot outside the door this morning.  Kelly went into work for a few hours & I, like a big softy, stayed in where it was cool.

TOOK THESE PICS ON OUR WAY TO VISIT MY UNCLE THIS AFTERNOON

Sold our mini-van today.  When we bought the Jeep a week ago I immediately contacted our friend & neighbor Bruce who lives here in the park.  I knew his small standard shift pick up truck was not in the best of shape & I also knew Bruce's lower back problems were not getting any better.  He spent too many years flying in Canadian helicopters off Canada's east coast in a search & rescue capacity.  It took a toll on Bruce's back.  Our mini-van is automatic so there is no having to push on a clutch all the time.  That is definitely not good for an injured back!!  Comfortable seats & power this & that make it a back friendly vehicle to drive.  Ran the idea by Bruce a week ago, & today he dropped by to say we had a deal.  Bruce is also a handyman so the van is perfect for his tools & projects.  He has done some excellent renovations in our RV & looks after our place in the winter.  Having Bruce own the van kind of keeps it in the family so to speak & he said we can have visitation rights.  Always makes me happy when a well intentioned plan comes together in a good way:))

OUR MINI-VAN IS SOLD

Kelly & I slipped down to the Ritz Villa in Mitchell today to visit my Uncle Harry.  My Aunt Jean from Florida was there & we were able to make further arrangements regarding Harry's ongoing care.  He has pretty well lost all mobility in his legs now but we were able to get him up & sitting in his walker while Kelly cut his hair.  It is always so sad to see loved ones deteriorate in their Senior years.

STILL ENOUGH HAIR TO CUT AT AGE 94

We left the nursing home in a thundering rain storm but soon drove out of it & were disappointed to see it had not rained at all back home.  Computer weather shows a good healthy dose of water headed our way tonight though.

RAINING HARD WHEN WE LEFT THE NURSING HOME

Some of you folks may remember a few weeks ago when Kelly & I encountered an injured Great Horned Owl on the trail.  Despite our efforts & the efforts of others the little fellow didn't survive.  A few days later, Gypsy from ON THE ROAD AGAIN sent us the following email which she had just found in her email account...............

'Wisdom of the Owl'
Owls are the holders of wisdom, capable of seeing the unseen. With keen eyesight they glance into the soul and are totems of truth.  For as long as humankind has recognized animals as teachers, wise men and women have recognized traits worthy of respect in both wild and domestic creatures. The cultural and spiritual significance of certain animals transcends geographical boundaries, unifying disparate peoples. Not so the majestic and mysterious owl, which has over many millennia served as the focal point of numerous contradictory beliefs. Though owls have been regarded with awe and fascination, they have also inadvertently served as agents of fear. Since owls are nocturnal, human-owl encounters tended to occur at night and likely when the bird was swooping silently down to earth to grapple with prey. Yet even as some shied away from the owl, calling it an agent of darkness, others recognized the depths of awareness in beautiful owl’s eyes.

In the classical Greek tradition, an owl could often be found perched on the shoulder of Athena, goddess of wisdom, while owls could ward off bad luck in Roman lore. It is in Native American mythos, however, that the owl attains its own unique identity. Owls are patient messengers, bringers of information and the holders of wisdom, and they are capable of seeing the unseen. With their keen eyesight, they can glance into the soul to discern meaning and motive, and they are totems of truth. Unlike our distant forebears, we may never encounter an owl in the wild, but we can nonetheless internalize the wisdom of the owl by attuning ourselves to its most venerable qualities. Fully integrating the medicine of the owl into spiritual existence is a matter of considering how we might open ourselves more fully to the wisdom that can be found in the larger universe.

Should you find your efforts blocked as you commune with the owl, remember that it was not always revered as an icon of wisdom. This denizen of the nighttime has overcome many prejudices in its long association with humankind. To reveal those hidden elements of the self that impact your life for better or for worse, you must often make your way through the darkest parts of your soul as if you yourself are the nocturnal hunter. There is indeed darkness both inside the self and outside the self, but like the owl you can transcend it by drawing nourishment from the insights you receive when you penetrate it.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I think health nuts are going to feel awfully stupid someday, lying in hospitals, dying of nothing.  And, in keeping with that theme, did you know good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. (I don't write these things folks, I just pass them along)

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.