Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I THINK I COULD EASILY BECOME A SLABBER SOME DAY………

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SLABBERS ENJOYING A FINE MORNING COFFEE

The barking dog at 5 a.m. woke me up just in time to hear the crowing Rooster half an hour later.  I have always found crowing Roosters kind of a nice way to wake up.  Not so much barking dogs.  In fact, I think Slab City has more barking dogs per square inch than anywhere else in the world.  And yes, we do have the proverbial train whistles in the distance here too:))

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OUR RIG WITH JIM & RENE’S 5TH WHEEL IN THE BACKGROUND

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A SLAB CITY RESIDENT HANGS OUT A PAIR OF SOCKS TO DRY 

Slab City is mainly known for it’s cluttering piles of rubbish & junk, but I have to tell you, the area we are in is free of all that.   No white plastic shopping bags caught up in shrubs and trees, no rusting car parts, no tumble down shacks and best of all the ground is not littered with millions of shards of broken glass.  Wished I could say that for other great scenic boon docking spots we have frequented.  But, more about the Slabs later.  And, more in a later blog about cleaning up a campsite where one is staying!!!!

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YES, THERE ARE PEOPLE LIVING IN ALL THESE PLACES

Our morning dawned clear & bright as is usually the case here in the Southwest.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Saw Rene heading out for a walk with their dog Wyatt.DSC_5692

One would wonder how thousands of tiny sea shells would end up here in this very hot scrubby desert region but I suppose this was once an ocean bottom centuries ago.

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We Jeeped ourselves a short distance to Solar Mike’s Sun Works place.  Nothing had changed & things looked the same as when we rolled out of there with our new solar system just over 4 years ago.  Cordial Mike was out right away & suggested we bring the coach over & he would look at things right away.  Bonus.  And, when we got there it didn’t take him long to track down our problem.

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SOLAR MIKE FINISHES A MORNING COFFEE BEFORE SETTING TO WORK

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KELLY & THE MOTORMOUSE KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THINGS

After our first few months on the road years ago we determined very quickly that RV Parks were definitely not in our future.  In order to keep ourselves out of those places we would have to go with solar power.  Kelly spent a lot of time on the Internet back then searching out information on solar installers.  She read a lot of reviews & the one place that kept rising to the top of the heap for reliable & trustworthy solar installations was a fellow in Slab City California.  We had never heard of a Slab City but this Mike guy at Solar Works had a lot of good reviews so  when we finally decided to go solar we headed for California.  We have never regretted that decision and today was a good example of why.

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Would have been easy for some unscrupulous solar installer to pull our rig into the shop & come back half an hour later with, “yep, your batteries are shot and you need 4 new ones.”  Mike checked our batteries & said, batteries are good so that’s not your problem.  All those dollar signs I had seen floating around & about to depart into the great credit card store in the sky suddenly reversed themselves & immediately came home to roost.

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CHECKING THE SOLAR BOOST MONITOR

Nope, it wasn’t the batteries…..it was an inline fuse that has a direct bearing on our solar boost from our two panels on the roof.  The fuse assembly had melted itself preventing any power from our solar panels reaching our batteries.  With the installation of a new heavier duty fuse Mossmagator we were immediately up & running again in Solar Land.  Could easily have been a $700.00+ bill but thanks to Mike’s honesty we got off with a simple $35:))  Yes Toto, there are still some honest & trustworthy people left in the world.  Thanks for again treating us fairly Mike:)) 

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MIKE SHOWS US THE CULPRIT WITH THE MELTED ONE ON LEFT AND THE NEW MAXI FUSE INSTALLED ON THE RIGHT 

Decided we’ll hang around the Slabs for a few days & take in the amazing sights.  Well, amazing enough that tourists come here on the week-ends driving quickly through with their cameras pointed & clicking out the car windows.  If we see any going by we’ll maybe shoot em a moon or two.

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Aside from a few Hello’s, maybe a couple Howdy’s & a nod of the head here & there I really haven’t spoke to anyone living at the Slabs aside from Solar Mike himself.  For a slant on the human side of Slab City I would refer you to a fellow on our sidebar.  The MOBILE KODGERS.  He has written some fine human interest stories about a few of the residents as recently as a week or two ago.  You can pick up one of his stories HERE & work your way back if interested.

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I would say today is the hottest one we have experienced this winter since leaving home back in November.  What a treat it is not to have heaters on all night.  Most of our afternoon was spent in a semi relaxing Zombie like state stretched out in our anti-gravity chairs.  Groovy:))

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Before I forget….Leonard Knight, the creator of Salvation Mountain here at Slab City has not died.  His close friend and caregiver died recently and many confused that fellow with Leonard.  Leonard Knight, the last I heard, is in a nursing home facility.DSC_5695 

A TELEPHOTO VIEW OF SALVATION MOUNTAIN FROM SLAB CITY

Question about how we anchor our satellite dish (when I remember to do it)  We use THE CLAW.  What I like about this device is the fact it is all metal.  No plastic parts!!  Using a simple ratchet strap the tripod can be cinched down snuggly & securely to the ground.

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A VERY HANDSOME LITTLE FELLOW INDEED

We have met some very talented Bloggers in our travels.  Some readers may remember our meeting DEBRA ARGOSY last December while at the Ranch.  Debra is on our sidebar & writes, FIND AN OUTLET.  You will find her well written posts always very thought provoking.  Debra is also a fine & talented painter.  Stop by her Gallery here at……DEBRA'S ARTWORK.

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TONIGHT’S SUNSET SEEN THROUGH OUR RIG’S WINDOW >>>

GROANER’S CORNER:((  An actor had been out of work for 15 years because he always forgot his lines. Then one day he got a phone call from a director who wanted him for a big part in a play. All he had to say was “Hark! I hear the cannon roar! After much worry the actor decided to take the role. Opening night arrived, and while he waited in the wings, the actor muttered to himself “Hark! I hear the cannon roar! Hark! I hear the cannon roar! The time for the entrance finally came and as the actor made his appearance, he heard a loud brooooom! He turned around and said, “what the hell was that?” DSC_5717
SUNSET OVER CALIFORNIA’S SANTA ROSA MOUNTAINS AS SEEN FROM THE SLABS

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
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.

stargeezerguy@gmail.com

Monday, January 30, 2012

HI HO HI HO --- IT’S OFF TO SLAB CITY WE GO……

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CALIFORNIA’S IMPERIAL SAND DUNES

Travel days generally see us up on the early side but this morning we just kind of piddled & puddled along on the slow side.  No great distance to drive so no great hurry to be anywhere.  Said our ‘see ya’s to Ivan & Wandering Willy & rolled out about 9:45.  Chances are good our paths may cross again this winter so we’ll see.

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I THINK THESE GUYS ARE LOOKING A LITTLE SAD HERE…..OK, MAYBE NOT SO MUCH……..

Figured we would wait until we reached the RV store located at the west end of Quartzsite before hooking up the Jeep.  Needed gas & new anywhere around Quartzsite would have congested gas islands, and they did.

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HEADING FOR THE Q 

Noticed this year at Quartzsite, LED lights seemed to be the popular thing & a lot of RV folks are switching out their old RV lighting systems for the newer less power gobbling LED’s.  So many different bulbs for so many different fixtures.  Decided to go with just 3 bulbs but figured it best to take the whole Motorhome to the RV store rather than just guessing at what bulbs we need.  Maybe the RV store guy would come out & snap them in place for us.  Afterall, we won’t have Wandering Willy & Ivan around now to show us how to change a light bulb.

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A BIT OF CONSTRUCTION ALONG THE WAY

Crossed the Colorado River on I-10 into California at 10:30 California time.  Quick McD’s stop in Blyth & we were southbound on highway 78 through large fields of green vegetation.  Destination…..Slab City:))

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NICE TO SEE THE GREEN FIELDS OF CALIFORNIA

The road through Glammis & the Imperial Sand Dunes is familiar to us.  We basically always come & go to & from Borrego Springs this way.  Nice roller coaster road with little traffic.  I like that:))  A water & dump stop just south of Calipatria put us in Niland California about 15 minutes later.  A right turn off the main street headed us east out into the desert on a road less desired.  Again, we were in familiar territory because we had been here before.  It’s only a few miles to SLAB CITY and you don’t want to be in a hurry.

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ALL PHOTOS OF THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES TAKEN FROM THE MOTORHOME WHILE DRIVING THROUGH THE DUNES TODAY 

We had our solar system installed by Solar Mike’s SUN WORKS back in December of 07.  If anyone is interested in our time here back then they can look in our archives around Dec. 18th or just type ‘slab city yikes’ into our search bar.

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ROAD TO THE SLABS

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LEONARD KNIGHT’S SALVATION MOUNTAIN AHEAD

Unhooked the Jeep near Solar Mikes & took a cruise around the neighborhood looking for a good boondocking site.  The area we parked last time was empty so we basically parked in the very same spot again.

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YEP, LOOKS LIKE SLAB CITY ALRIGHT

While setting up I thought I heard “hey Al.”  Naw, we’re way out here in Slab City California so who’s gonna know me out here.  Afterall, this is where many of the Nations ‘characters’ come when they want to disappear from society.  Hmmmm, maybe I was home. 

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OUR NEW DIGS & NEIGHBOR’S AT THE SLABS

Thought I heard a second “hey Al” & noticed a girl approaching through the Creosote shrubs.  A familiar looking 5th wheel with a big satellite dish on the roof was behind her.  ‘Aha’….it was fellow Blogger & RV’er, Rene from LIVE-WORK-DREAM.  Now, how’s that for a coincidence. 

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KELLY & RENE

Rene & Jim are the couple who took over looking after the property near Elfrida Arizona we were looking after last winter.  Last time we saw them was at the Lazy W Ranch.  The year before that we saw them in Borrego Springs. 

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NO, NO, DON’T TAKE MY PICTURE >>>

First met Jim & Rene when they stopped at the McNeal Ranch to say hello back on Feb 13/09.  And here we are, parked just a few hundred yards from them again.  Small world eh:))

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Solar Mike is closed Monday’s so we’ll Jeep over & talk to him first thing in the morning.  We don’t figure he’ll be able to check out our system for a few days but no problem, we don’t mind hanging out at the Slabs.  But, a lot of people would………

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I will write more about the Slabs over the next few days as we kind of quietly blend into this, shall we say, mysterious & notorious desert community.  A community……. like no other. 

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MANY STRANGE SIGHTS HERE AT SLABBER CITY

More scammy garbage on Facebook again today.  Why oh why don’t I just eliminate that site from my computer forever!!  If you get something from my Facebook saying, ‘Dad Walks In’ or something like that, do not open it.  More scammy junk!!

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  Ok, how about some corny stuff…..

Q. What did the mayonnaise say when someone opened the refrigerator door.
A. Close the door I am dressing!…
Q. What did the football coach say to the broken vending machine?
A. “Give me my quarterback!”…
Q. What lights up a soccer stadium?

A. A soccer match.…

Q. What did the pony say when it had a sore throat?
A. I apologize, I am a little horse!…

Q: What did the digital clock say to the grandfather clock?
A. Look grandpa, no hands!…
Q: Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?

A. Great food but no atmosphere.…

Q: Why was the little strawberry crying?

A. Because his parents were in a jam.…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
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.

If one's thoughts are positive about the landscape, one's eyes will appreciate what they see......AL.

stargeezerguy@gmail.com