LOOKING BACK ON A SCHOOL BUS STORY:))

MAX, CHECKERS & I WERE BEING WATCHED ON THE TRAIL THIS MORNING

No mobility van drives so it turned out to be a day of home & Motor Home puttering.  Just a lot of small things again.  Packing this here & moving that there.  Dusted off both my cowboy hats this afternoon & put them in the rig.  Can't wear big cowboy hats around these parts or people would point & stare figuring I had escaped from a correctional center or something.  Standard head gear is a baseball hat here in the northern latitudes but down south.......Hi Yo Silver, it's cowboy hats all the way:)))))

TOOK THIS UFO PHOTO AT SUNSET LAST WEEK WEST OF EXETER, ONTARIO.

And here's something I never thought about.

ME & MY DOG had a post Thursday regarding publishing posts, editing, re-editing etc. I sure hope this isn't happening with my posts but maybe it is because I am in the habit of re-publishing my blog if & when I find errors in it. Nobody has ever brought it to my attention yet, but........

SEEN IN GODERICH ONTARIO......SELF EXPLANATORY  (tonight's photos are a mish mosh of pics) 

Now, time for a little backtracking.  I should have explained in Thursday night's blog that the fellow who's air line I stepped on was just fine.  I had picked him up at home & transported him to the hospital for an appointment.  People who have home oxygen are well instructed on the care & use of their equipment so when the oxygen hose was abruptly pulled out the fellow just simply re-inserted it & I helped put the 'over the ears' holding line back on.  He wasn't bothered by it all & I think the only one feeling bad was me for not noticing the long plastic & transparent oxygen hose trailing out from behind the wheelchair.  Good thing it wasn't an IV line eh!!

I THINK THIS FORGOTTEN LITTLE CORVETTE HAS SEEN THE LAST OF IT'S LIFE ON THE ROAD

And to backtrack a little further to my Boondocking post, I was talking about refilling the fresh water tank while out in the desert.  RETIRED ROD suggests....."There are also some 40 or 50 gallon bladders available that you can put in the back of your truck to bring fresh water out to your site.  Some folks will take a RV water pump and rig it up so they can pump the water directly into their rig's tank.  Plug the water pump into the cigarette lighter socket and off load the entire tank!  Most folks go to town at least every other day, so running out of water shouldn't happen!" 

GYPSY was wondering if we needed the generator on while Boondocking to run the A/C & my answer to this is, 'yes.'  In the 4 years we have had the Motor Home we probably wouldn't even have 3 hour's running time on either of our A/C's.  Hot humid days are not a problem in the Southwest during the winter.  Our windows & doors are always open so it's rare for us to use A/C 

ONE OF EXETER'S WHITE SQUIRRELS...(only had my small point & shoot with me)

And a note regarding the AM 740 ZOOMER RADIO   site.  When you open the site just look to the top right for a large round gray button that will say, 'On the Air.'  Click that & you should be able to hear the station.   The Zoomer's club is on the site as well but you do not have to join that to hear Zoomer radio.  I should also mention in regards to my 'photo organization' blog that my main confusion is in trying to organize my photos into my Smug Mug site.  I always categorize my photos by month & year taken.  I don't break them down into categories like flowers, sunsets, family, etc.  All the pics I take in 'September 2010' are in a folder by the same name.  Someone asked about photo storage in web albums & yes, Picasa has their own web albums which I have been using since I started all this.  Just type in Picasa Web Albums to Google & you will find the site.  My Picasa Web Albums are here.....  BAYFIELD BUNCH'S PICASA WEB ALBUMS  I hope that catches me up on some of the questions.  I still have some emails to send regarding others.

AWWWW NUTS, I RAN INTO A SNOW DRIFT WITH THE MOBILITY VAN IN HENSALL ONTARIO THURSDAY!!

SNOW FROM THE REFRIGERATION UNIT IN THE ARENA:))

On my way home from Exeter Thursday I followed along behind a school bus for awhile.  Watching the little kids get off at one stop I was reminded of my school bus driving days & the time a public school principal from the East Wawanosh Public School in Belgrave Ontario had to come out the bus & give me a scolding.  Before I had my own school bus run in this area I would often fill in on routes where other drivers were off on medical leaves, etc.  It was late March 2005 when I took over a bus route from an older lady who finally retired driving the same school bus route since Abe Lincoln was a small boy.  I was told she ran a totally strict bus with absolutely no Tom Foolery or shenanigans going on.  It was a quiet bus & it was a disciplined bus.  The crew was made up of about 30 small children & 5 young teenagers.  By the time I put on my Captain's hat & slid into the driver's seat I had no idea what I was in for.

              

THIS WAS MY 'KIDS' SCHOOL BUS  

It was the one & only time in my entire life I had ever interacted with or been responsible for a group of children.  Never happened before & has never happened since.  I was a fish out of water & had no idea what to do except drive the bus & that's what I did for those first few quiet days.  The thought did occur to me that, how is it possible to have so many kids together without any noise.  The first few days I would say 'good morning' to the kids getting on the bus but few of them had much of a response.  I think it was about the third day when a little girl sitting directly behind me finally spoke.  She asked me who I was.  (guess I hadn't told them)  Well, with that simple little question, the ice was broken.  I basically operate with a kid's imagination at the best of times anyway so I answered her with marvelous great story of some kind.  Well, that did it.  There was laughter coming from behind me.  More questions & more zany answers.  Pretty soon the questions were zanier than the answers, the stage was set, & for the next 3 months or so anybody could have heard our bus coming from a country mile away.  It was a bus filled with laughter, kibitzing & kids just being kids.  And there was me, right in the middle of it, the biggest kid of them all.  And then.....the hammer came down:((

DIFFERENT BUS ROUTE BUT YEP, THAT'S ME IN THE SHADOW THERE ALIGHT

I was parked in front of the school one fine spring afternoon waiting for the kids to come piling out & onto the bus.  Checked my passenger mirror & saw the young lady principal coming along the sidewalk.  She swung up into the bus with a friendly "Hello Al."  The next words out of her mouth were, "I've had complaints about what is going on aboard your bus!!" but it was the next thing she said that totally floored me.  She said the complaints were placed by the 5 teen-agers on the bus!!  She explained how those 5 teens had been riding this same bus since the day they started school way back when.  For all those years they were not allowed out of their seats, no loud voices, no acting up & no having the kind of fun kids like to have.  Anybody who has ever watched Southpark & seen the school bus driver, Miss Crabtree, will understand.  Those teens on my bus were totally resentful at what all the kids were getting away with now & having the fun they were never allowed to have.  They were resentful of the noise, the laughter, & the freedom.

 

A FEW VIEWS FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT....is it any wonder we like to go south!!

                        

(click pics to enlarge) 

The principal was very good about it all & just asked me to quiet things down on the bus a bit & get a handle on the circus like atmosphere.  I told her 'no problem' & she headed on back into the school.  The only thing that saved me from her having to come out & talk to me about the rowdy bus problem was the fact it was only a short time until the end of the school year because you know what......right up until the last day of school, anybody could have still heard us coming a good country mile away:)))))))))

BELOW IS SOME OF MY MOTLEY CREW ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (click to enlarge)

                  

THIS IS THE LITTLE GIRL WHO BROKE THE ICE & THAT'S 'NOISY NICK' WHO GAVE ME THE HARDEST TIME OF THE WHOLE BUNCH!!

                                       

Say, have I blogged about the time I got called up on the carpet because of a snowball fight on my school bus.  Or the time police called the bus company about one of there unmarked cars being mooned by teenagers riding in the back of a school bus.  Yep, that was my bus alright & I was in trouble over that one too:((  And have I shown you pics of the time 'Snoopy' rode the school bus:)) 

OH, & ABOUT THAT UFO PHOTO EARLIER....IT WAS JUST A CLOUD ANOMALY:))

GROANER'S CORNER:))  I urgently needed a few days off work, but, I knew the Boss would not allow me to take a leave.  I thought that maybe if I acted 'Crazy' then he would tell me to take a few days off.  So I hung upside-down on the ceiling and made funny noises. My co-worker (who's blonde) asked me what I was doing.  I told her that I was pretending to be a light bulb so that the Boss would think I was 'Crazy' and give me a few days off.  A few minutes later the Boss came into the office and asked, 'What in the name of good GOD are you doing?'  I told him I was a light bulb.  He said, 'You are clearly stressed out.' Go home and recuperate for a couple of days.'  I jumped down and walked out of the office...  When my co-worker (the blonde) followed me, the Boss asked her, '..And where do you think you're going?!'

She said, 'I'm going home, too. I can't work in the dark.

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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/

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

SCURRYING AROUND LIKE A MOUSE IN A MAZE

SOMEWHERE IN THIS AUTUMN JUNGLE IS OUR HOUSE

Well, it's going to be a short blog so I'll throw in a longer Groaner at the end.  Spent the majority of my day in the mobility van scurrying around like a little mouse in a maze.  My travels took me in & around the town of Exeter Ontario today.  Aside from accidentally stepping on a man's long oxygen hose while wheeling him out of a local hospital & pulling the tube out of his nose, my day went pretty well.  It was late afternoon by the time I got home & I had to turn right around & head for Clinton Ontario to attend the annual driver's meeting for the company I drive for.  It's 9 P.M. now & I have just got home.

 

COULD THIS GRASSY SOUTHERN ONTARIO HILLSIDE BE THE LONG LOST RESTING PLACE OF....NOAH'S ARK??

Only thing I managed to get written today was early this morning & it was about Kelly's Daughter.

ONLY INHABITANTS AT THE BEACH WEDNESDAY WERE THESE CANADA GEESE

Kelly’s youngest daughter Rebecca lives in the tiny country of Andorra & this week she made it onto CNN’s iReport with an article sent in about Andorra.  You can read about Rebecca’s article here at CNN iREPORT Rebecca has spent time in Japan, India, Spain & England and her Andorra articles are here..... BECCAFLO  Kelly also has 2 twin daughters & two Son’s.  I have a Jeep.

GROANER'S CORNER:(  And for anyone who thinks the English language is easy to learn, check this out.......... 

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce .
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row ...
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France .. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

 
PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick' ?
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this ..
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?
We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP ... When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP...
When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so........it is time to shut UP!

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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/

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

A GRAY DAY LEADS ME TO A WALK ON THE BEACH

GRAND BEND MARINA

Morning's graying sky & cooler air whispered an early warning through the pine trees.  Soon the warmer orange & gold early October days will give way to the encroaching stormy & colder Witches of November.  Wind & rain will strip the trees of their leaves leaving them stark & barren.  A gloomy foreboding grayness will settle over the land & the great & heavy white trodden boots of Old Man Winter will soon come marching themselves across the countryside.

The mobility van kept me busy this morning in & around the towns of Exeter & Grand Bend.  Even managed to have myself a short walk on a now deserted teen beach.  The bikinis are all long gone as are the Volleyball players, couples strolling hand & hand along the boardwalk & the kids with their sand shovels & shrieks of beach delight.

Not all the people I transport with the mobility van are elderly folks & it always hits home for me when I'm helping someone my own age or younger.  Whether it be stroke victims, car accident injuries, or those born with physical difficulties, it is always a stark reminder for me how lucky I am to still have all my faculties. (I'm sure some of you would argue with that:)  At any time, that could be me or any one of us, confined to a wheelchair just like the people I transport.  When I drove a mobility school bus years ago & Kelly was the aide on the bus it always made me think about the fairness of life.  One of the small children on our bus was blind, another small boy was twisted & bent so badly he would never be free of his wheelchair.  Others had mental difficulties.  These little people never had a chance right from day one.  It was a bus of broken children.

Tomorrow is another fairly full day on the road & once again I look forward to being out & about.  Maybe, with a bit of luck, I might get put a wee smile on somebody's face:)) 

And just a reminder that photos from all our RV travels plus photos from our summers at home can be found at our Picasa Web Album site which is located here...PICASA WEB ALBUMS.  Bryce, Zion & The Grand Canyon,  City of Rocks State Park NM, Ghost Towns, Canyon Hikes, California Boondocking, Borrego Springs, Quartzsite, etc. etc. etc.  Lots of photos of lots of places travelled.  I also have another photo site at SMUG MUG.  Because of the countless thousands of photos I have it has been extremely difficult for me to get them all organized but every once & awhile I go back to my Smug Mug site & try to render some semblance of order out of everything.  For any RV’ers with a camera just starting the lifestyle whether it be Snow Birding or Fulltiming, I strongly suggest right from the beginning you come up with some sort of organization system for all the photos you are about to gather otherwise you will quickly become overwhelmed.  If you are a daily camera person like me, once you fall behind it is almost impossible to get yourself caught up again.  Had I been set up & organized from day one I would not have the huge photo disorganization that I now have!!  Oh well, it's not like I ever go back & really look at any of the photos anyway.  Guess it's just knowing the pics are there if I ever have a need to reference them. 

AND, JUST TO FINISH THE GRAY DAY OFF WITH A TOUCH OF COLOR......(we live a few hundred yards in from those trees on the left)

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A Special Poem For Older Folks....author unknown. 

SPECIAL POEM FOR OLDER FOLKS
A row of bottles on my shelf
Caused me to analyze myself.
One yellow pill I have to pop
Goes to my heart so it won't stop.�
A little white one that I take
Goes to my hands so they won't shake.
The blue ones that I use a lot
Tell me I'm happy when I'm not.
The purple pill goes to my brain
And tells me that I have no pain.�
The capsules tell me not to wheeze
Or cough or choke or even sneeze..
The red ones, smallest of them all
Go to my blood so I won't fall.
The orange ones, very big and bright
Prevent my leg cramps in the night.�
Such an array of brilliant pills
Helping to cure all kinds of ills.
But what I'd really like to know...........
Is what tells each one where to go!

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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/

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

GOT THE RIGHT DAY:)) BUT GOT THE WRONG TIME:((

The great State of Pennsylvania has Punxsutawney Phil & we have Wiarton Willy right here in Ontario. These guys give us an indication of spring weather every February 2nd, but British Columbia has it's own Autumn Prognosticator. (a forecaster: someone who makes predictions of the future (usually on the basis of special knowledge)  WANDERING WILLY has just come out of hibernation, did not see his shadow, has predicted an early winter & is scurrying about making travel plans to head south.  And, Ivan from ROADTRIP 2010 is already on the move & dropped in a few days ago to help Wandering Willy shake some of that hibernation dust off himself.

Worked this morning but had the afternoon off for a Doctor's appointment.  Well, that was the plan anyway.  I had the right day but I had the wrong time.   I thought it was a 2 o'clock appointment but it was at 10:30 this morning so I totally missed it.  They rebooked me for November 2nd with a stern wrap on the knuckles & a 'be there or be square' warning.

I'm sure we have all asked the question, What’s Cheaper: Living in a House or on the Road?  Check out Rene & Jim's blog at LIVE-WORK-DREAM for an expense analysis.

And, if you haven't heard, RICK & PAULETTE have just bought themselves a spanking brand new 5th wheel.  Check out the details & I think they are hoping to take delivery of it this Thursday.

Excitement is also building right now in Sacramento, California.  GYPSY is well on her way to tracking down a Lance truck camper for her pick-up truck.  Sold her big 5th wheel finally so things are once again on the up & up:))

SAM is scrambling around by himself for a month in Pennsylvania I think, & it looks like the folks at RV LIFE ON WHEELS are hitting the road Thursday for the great American Southwest.  JERRY & SUZY are already there, but then again......they just happen to live there.  But, they are on the move as well with their rig, & just spent a night at RUSTY'S RV RANCH in New Mexico.  They are now probably at an Escapee rally in Columbus NM.  We spent a few days at Rusty's at the beginning of last November.  And let's not forget RETIRED ROD who is now home from the hospital but has already got himself suspended!!  Well, sort of:))

RV travel excitement is building right here at home as well & tonight after supper I almost carried a pair of socks out to the rig....................10-4!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And here are some laws of the natural Universe..........

Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability:
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Bath:
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters:
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are either with someone you don't want to be seen with, or you are looking your worst.

Law of the Result:
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of the Theatre:
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Rugs/Carpets:
The chances of an open-faced jam sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Middle Management:
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

----------------------------------------------------------------

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/

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

ANSWERING SOME BOONDOCKING QUESTIONS

A BEN MILLER INN GUESTHOUSE

Our Autumn colors are peaking now & the forests are ablaze with color as I spent another work day cruising through the  beautiful pastel countryside.  One of the things that make my job pleasant is a radio station out of Toronto called, AM-740.  You can still hear Big Band music on this station (Big Band Sunday Night) & all their music is of a lighter nature & familiar to all us older folks.  A very laid back format with mature announcers.  They also play old radio programs from the bygone era.   If your looking for music from the good old days you can find AM 740 right here on the Internet:)) 

I am going to shift my blog focus away from the blogging world & get it back on track to the RVing world which is why & where I originally started this blog years ago. 

FIERY AUTUMN REFLECTIONS

I have recently received some RVing questions about one of my favorite topics, Boon docking.  First, an explanation of Boondocking & for that I refer you to this short explanation here...WHAT IS BOON DOCKING?? 

JUDY wondered what the above thing was in the reflected water & I must say I don't know. If you enlarge the pictures below & look just above center to the right in the left pic you can see a small object in the water & that is the above flower pot thingy.  I took the reflected pic above from just beside that building on the left at 230mm.  It is about dead center in the pic at right which I took from a bridge.  Yesterday's first pic was taken at 300mm.

          

Ok, back to the questions.  Had an email this morning from some folks out in BC asking the following questions..............

We just read your post from yesterday and we were talking with regards to your Boondocking expeditions and the beautiful night sky that you get to enjoy...we have a few questions for you though...we know you have solar panels for your power issues...but our questions are

1. what do you do about internet service?  - For internet service we use a Verizon air card & it has served us very well.  When I'm driving Kelly can be on the internet too.  That's pretty darn nice.  Have been very pleased with the total overall coverage.

2. how long does your fresh water last?  - We take on a full tank of fresh water every time we dump our gray & black water tanks but we also carry half a dozen plastic water jugs that we can fill at any time between bigger fill ups.  We generally only use the rigs big water tank for dishes, washing, showers & the toilet.  We buy bottled water for drinking & coffee because we don't have a water filter system.  I do add a touch of bleach to the big tank's water though to keep it free of bacteria.

3. black water tank?  - On average we get about 2 weeks out of the black water tank before dumping.  I'm sure the newer & more expensive big big rigs can go longer than that because they have much bigger holding tanks than we do.  Our water tank is 6 gallons where bigger rigs are 12 I think.  Our black tank holds 60 gallons where upon the bigger rigs can hold a hundred.  Fresh water tanks are bigger on the newer rigs as well so it all depends on how big your holding tanks are.  For people interested in boon docking I would say the size of the holding tanks is a priority when purchasing a rig.

4. how long can you actually last out there in the wild blue yonder before you have to head into town and dump the tanks and refill the water?  - We could stay out boon docking indefinitely if we didn't have to dump the black water tank every couple of weeks.  Water can always be brought to the rig in jugs & transferred to the big water tank if need be & we have done that on occasion.

5.how many solar panels do you have to run all the equipment?  - We have two 130Watt??panels on the Motor Homes roof.  They can stay flat or be raised from either side to face the sun.  They store the power in 4 batteries.  We have never had a 'running out of power issue.'  If we run into a series of cloudy days we can just charge the batteries by running the generator.  Driving also charges them.  We are in the habit of running our generator for a few minutes each morning when we make coffee.  That's not totally necessary but it keeps the genny active & puts a little charge into the batteries first thing in the morning.  Arizona nights (depending on altitude) can easily drop down to & below the freezing mark at night.  Also, we are not power hogs.  No hair dryers, washers & dryers, dish washers, etc. etc.  After boon docking for a short while you will learn power needs & how to conserve power to suit your needs.  Had our Solar System installed by Solar Mike in Slab City, California 3 years ago & so far have been trouble free.  We highly recommend him.  The cost at that time was somewhere over $3000.00.  A little math will quickly tell you it is a much cheaper way to go in the long run than spending money on high priced RV Park rates every night.

6.medical costs?  - Medical costs are something we are going to have to deal with in the next couple of weeks again.  Last year I think it cost us $1,500.00.  It all depends on one's medical history.  I would say high medical insurance costs are one of the main reason for bringing an end to a lot of people's RVing days.  It cost me a little more last year again because of a kidney stone that landed me in an emergency room for a few hours in Colorado 3 years ago.  My rate should drop back down to around $700.00 this year.  There's no way of getting around medical insurance.  Those companies are in the business of making big profits & have got you coming or going....regardless!!

Another RV question we had regarded the PITA job of having to do laundry.  We don't have on board washers & dryers so it is always a trip into the nearest town for a boring couple of hours at the local Laundromat.  It was suggested we could cut down on that time by drying our clothes on a clothesline back at the rig.  Main problem there is where to string a clothesline.  Very few trees around in the desert & to get two trees the right distance apart for a clothesline is just about impossible.   We have thought of rigging a line from the Motor Home to the Toad but it just ends up not being practical.  The other problem in the Southwest of course is the sudden & unpredictable high winds.  I don't think the people of New Mexico would appreciate my underwear flying through their neighborhoods!!

YOU CAN SEE THAT OBJECT IN THE WATER ABOVE CENTER LEFT (close up's were taken from this point)

I like when folks email in RVing questions.  If they are emailed in I have a better chance of remembering to answer them.  If they come in the comment section I have a tendency to forget.

GROANER'S CORNER:((   California vintners in the Napa Valley area, which primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Grigio wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an antidiuretic.  It is expected to reduce the number of trips older folks will have to make to the bathroom during the night.  The new wine will be marketed as, PINO MORE!!

I heard it through the grapevine:))

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