Somewhere on the way back to Missouri from Pennsylvania, DiL wanted to stop and walk and old cemetery. She found several and then picked one. It was good to be out of the rig for awhile and the places always provide some interesting images. I came away with a few.
It was a good stop. Life is good.
I went to my grandson’s wedding in Philadelphia. I had all of my children and some of their spouses with me. It was a good time and I am very grateful.
Daughter suggested we go to a Delaware beach. So, we did.
I came away with a good memory and a few good frames. Life is good.
More than a year ago I was on the road from Springfield, Missouri to York, Pennsylvania to see Daughter and Grandsons. As I recall, it was still winter. So, of course, I ran into a spate of winter weather on the way. I had a reservation at Salt Fork River SP for the night, but the worsening weather and short winter days resulting in my arriving near dark.
It took me a couple of passes through the camping area to find my spot, then a couple of attempts to get the camper backing into my assigned space and set up for the night. I did not unhook and did not deploy the stabilizers because I would be leaving first thing in the morning. The light rocking of the camper when I move about does not bother me anyway.
I got The Girl out for a short time (the snow was heavy enough that she eliminated and then asked to go back inside). That task completed, I quickly deployed the Chameleon MPAS 2.0 for a little radio play (to activate the park) before I called it a night.
I don’t recall the mode of operation for that activation, but I know I was experimenting with FT8 for POTA (Parks on the Air) activations at the time. I do recall making some supper, feeding The Girl (of course), and playing a little radio before crashing for the night.
When I woke the next morning, early, I was treated to some lovely sunshine on the snow. The Girl and I had a short walk, fed, and then we recovered all of the equipment, buttoned up the camper, and we were off on the last leg of our journey to see my family.
I need to make this trip again, soon. Work will keep me busy until the fall. But then, God Willing, I will make the trip east to see my loved ones and friends.
Life is good.
Older Son and DiL had a day off while I was there early this year. We took the day to drive down to Johnsonville, Arkansas (I think) to go to the Duluth Trading Post store and to go the kids’ favorite bookstore there.
On our way to Arkansas, I noticed this state park. I cannot remember the name. It was cold but not frigid. The Girl wanted out. Although there was a leash-law posting, there was nobody around the park. So, we carried a leash, but we let her run off-lead.
I also cannot remember what camera I carried. At first I thought it was the little Contax TVS. But as I write I am not so sure. It might have been the Nikon F2 and now I think it was.
It was cold. The head was closed. But, it was still a good day. And, the capture will do.
Life is good!
I spent most of the week in Northern Nevada near Summit Lake collecting topographic data to refine one of my hydraulic models for my client. Our definition of the small channel was lacking and we had unused budget, so I lobbied for collection of more detailed channel geometry.
And so that is what I did. I had a new helper and she is excellent. She has no surveying experience, but learned to follow my direction rapidly and has a better attitude about field work than most of the technical people I have worked with. She is definitely a keeper!
I left the site later I needed to and hit traffic just west from Lovelock. A semi-truck van caught fire and was burned out on the shoulder of I-80. The trucker had separated the tractor from the van, so there was no apparent damage to the rig. But the van looked a total loss.
Traffic was backed up a mile or so. It was moving, but slowly. This cost me maybe 20 minutes.
The sun was falling behind the mountains and I was very tired after a week of exercise. Also, I had caught enough insects on the windshield that the light was causing difficulty seeing.
I was getting desperate when I hit the Toulon exit. But I seemed to remember a place to dry camp not far north from the Interstate. Driving up Wild Ass Road (yes, that is the name) I leaned out my window to improve my vision. I found a pull-out and then realized I had been there before. My friends sometimes camp there.
I turned the rig to face downhill, parked, and got The Girl out for a respite. She immediately eliminated, which was a good thing (for her).
It took a little longer than usual to deploy my camper. I guess I was pretty tired.
But, with the house setup, I opened a beer and a bag of chips for a snack. I also discovered that the refrigerator had reset itself sometime during the day and everything was warm. So, I did not trust most of my food. It was no matter, I was not particularly hungry. I simply wanted to settle down, decompress a bit, and go to sleep.
I fed The Girl and she hopped up on the bed and settled right down. I finished my beer and had another while sending text messages to friend and family.
I stepped outside to empty my bladder and noticed the sky. Unsure whether or not my iPhone might capture the scene of the trucks passing below us on I-80 and the evening stars, I made the capture anyway.
I was fairly astounded at the result, above. The Orion Constellation is clearly visible. I will take it.
I slept hard last night and rose when the eastern sky brightened. After a coffee and a short constitutional with The Girl, I recovered the camper and we headed home.
I stopped briefly in Fernley and had breakfast at the Denny’s inside Terrible’s Travel Center. I took The Girl most of my bacon.
We drove out the remaining hour and arrived home late morning. I think we were both glad to be home.
After unloading my few things and getting rid of the trash from the trip. I took her up near Spooner Summit and we had a good hike together.
The remainder of the day was spent recovering. We napped and snuggled. It is good to be home.
I am grateful, very grateful. Life is good.
It is a beautiful morning. Life is good.
Happy New Year 2024! I am here in Ozark, Missouri, visiting some of my kids and recovering from a cold. I took the camper to Camping World for a damage estimate and now will see whether the insurance company will cover some of the repairs or I have to bear the cost. But, it needs to be repaired. So, I wait.
The entry of the New Year was uneventful. With my cold, I went to bed about 2000h, done. My kids also turned in early; both are also sick. No, it was not me… she was sick when I arrived and I started shortly thereafter. No, she did not give it to me because it was too soon. No, it is not COVID. I am pretty confident it was the pre-travel stress, travel, camper-damage stress, and exposure to a lot of people along the way.
I will get better, but I might go see an urgent care clinic to get some antibiotics as I feel a chest cold/bronchitis starting.
For now, I am spending my effort healing and recovering from travel. I need to start some work on a couple of outstanding projects. That will be good as I will generate some billable hours. I had no billing the end of December to close out the year.
Once the dust settles on the camper, I will decide how to go see the last set of my kids as I need to see them on this trip. The question will be whether I am dragging the camper or using hotels for the trip there.
My original intention was to head south from Pennsylvania and work some new parks, see some new places, make some photographs, and work my way home. I need my camper to do that. So, my plans are unset until others finish their work.
In the meantime, I will work, rest, recover, and spend time with Older Son and DiL. Older Son and I drove out the Compton Hills SRA last Saturday and activated the park. Well, I activated the park. It was too cold to sit outdoors so I only put up a low-power station. We sat in the rig and I activated using CW mode (Morse Code).
I made the capture with the Fujifilm X100V on walkies with The Girl on New Years Day. It was my first good capture of the year. Life is still good. I am still grateful.
Today we mark the end of another year. There will be celebrations tonight and probably fireworks. The Girl is not particularly bothered by the fireworks, which is a good thing. So I will not have to be worried about her. When they happen, we will just play around it and she will ignore them.
I am here in Ozark, Missouri with Older Son and DiL. It has been a good visit. He has a couple of days off and will work a short week so we will have a couple more days, and the weekend, to spend together. The weather is cold, but not hard winter (yet). We are able to get The Girl out for walkies and play.
Yesterday we took the cassette from the camper and dumped it. While at Camper World, I asked about a repair for the camper. This is a long story.
The short version is that just west from Albuquerque, NM I blew a trailer tire. It was sudden and unexpected. I had checked them the day before and they were fine. I did not notice anything that morning when I recovered the camper and did my walk-around. One Interstate 40 eastbound, a passing motorist honked just as I noticed the camper was listing to starboard. A glance into the starboard mirrors determined that I had a flat and I watched (as I pulled to the shoulder) the carcass shed from the rim.
This was my first catastrophic tire failure, ever. Fortunately, I brought both a floor jack and a bottle jack along. The floor jack is preferred because it is more stable. But it took a lot of effort to get everything to work.
And then there is the lug wrench. I bought one of those cheap Chinese #$*t cross spinners from Harbor Freight. The sockets are too thick to fit properly into the alloy wheels of the camper. It took a lot of work to get the lugs loose as they were very tight. The jack had to be reset several times and I had to use blocks to get the rim off the ground.
But I got it loose. I retrieved the spare and checked it (again). I had to use a shovel to dig so I could mount the spare. Then I struggled with the lug wrench (again) to get everything tightened up.
This required an hour to get done. I was spent when I finished. I checked the pressure in the tires and then drove to the next exit. I had also discovered that the carcass had ripped the quick disconnect for the exterior grill from the supply hose, so I had turned off the propane (which serves the refrigerator).
I made a few calls looking for a propane repair house. I found one in Albuquerque and headed that way. The tire remained to be dealt with. The clerk at the propane house could not (both physically and by order) get under the camper. So, once again I wriggled under the camper, loosened the hose from the copper supply line, and retrieved it for him.
He went searching for a blind cap while I had the workers refill the propane tank. It took four gallons of fuel. The clerk gave me a fitting that would permit me to turn the propane back on.
I think picked a repair shop from the map and made a phone call. Phil said he was going to run some errands and would come retrieve me.
I waited about 20 minutes and called again. Just as I got off the phone with his office, a big white pickup pulled in and I was greeted by Phil. He led me to their shop and we started looking at the damage.
The wheel tub was gone. One of my spare boots was gone. One of my house shoes was gone. All of the electrics in the starboard side cabinet (where the wheel well was located) were gone or wrapped around the axle behind the brake drum.
In other words, I was F*#$($D. I had no heater, no hot water, and the igniter for the range was out. But, the pump was working so I had water and the range and refrigerator were still working, even if I had to light the range with a match.
Phil and Larry worked very hard to clear the electrics (so I would be safe) and fabricated a temporary wheel tub to keep things dry inside.
That took the remainder of the day and into Thursday morning. I was delayed a day.
But Phil took good care of me. He got me back on the road and I had a workable, if crippled, house. I spent the night in a Hampton Inn and headed out late Thursday morning. We spent the night at the Amarillo, TX KOA (recommended) and proceeded on to Mead, OK on Saturday.
I was able to spend the holiday with Younger Son, DiL, and her family. It was a good visit and well worth the trip.
I spent a couple more days there, got some work done, and then headed for Ozark, MO on Thursday. The goodbyes were hard, as usual. But, God-willing, I will be back for another visit.I got away late, so it was just getting dark when I arrived. We unloaded the few things I needed to sustain us that night, and went inside.
So, here we are in Ozark, MO. I filed an insurance claim and hope that the insurance company will pay for part of the repairs. I was going to do it myself, but in looking at it decided that it might be better to have a technician make the repairs because it looks like diagnosing the electrics might be a challenge and I have plenty of paying work to do.
There is the backstory. The image I captured was of the camper at the JCRE campground. We are safe, warm, and loved here in Ozark, MO. We will celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of another with family.
Life is good. I am grateful.
Here I am in Ozark, Missouri (near Springfield) to spend a little time with Older Son and DiL. The trip from Durant, OK here yesterday was not bad, despite getting a late start. I did run in to some rain along the way, but not heavy rain. The alternate route I chose was a little slower than the fast route. It was a delay of less than a half hour.
I pulled in just after dark. The sun was still reddening the western sky.
What I did notice was that Google Maps insisted on offering me the “faster way” — the way that involved using toll roads. Furthermore, if I did not notice the offer, it would accept it for me.
This default mode of choosing the faster route for me pissed me off. In addition, I am having difficulty adjusting the Google Maps volume on my iPhone. Methinks that Apple does not want me using Google Maps.
In general, the entire Google Maps thing really pissed me off. I do not need nor want my technology making decisions for me. It should be helping me find my way when I choose a path I want to take. Adjusting the announcement volume should be trivial, even if on foreign hardware.
Now I need a cup of coffee. At least I have a nice capture of Sera to look at.
On my way to Sacramento, I stopped in Woodfords, California for lunch. The old Woodfords General Store used to be a bar and grill. Now it is more of a bistro than a bar.
Yes, beer is still available — in a bottle. But the pastrami and Swiss on rye was good and so was the potato salad. Although I no longer drink soft drinks (much), I decided to have a root beer. It was good, too.