FIRST JEEP HILL CLIMB & FIRST DRIVE WITH THE RIG & WRANGLER (Jeep Wrangler that is)

FIRST TEST RUN WITH THE JEEP HOOKED ON TODAY

70F at 8 a.m. at this time of year is rather unusual for our area but it was nice to have the warmer air except of course for the accompanying humidity.  Not as bad as the summer time but still a bit on the energy draining side.

IT'S THE SANDY SHORE THAT MAKES THIS BLUE/GREEN WATER A BROWN COLOR

Spent an hour at Deer Park Lodge this morning doing nasty battle with a couple dozen huge out of control wild grapevine plants that have grown 20 & 30 feet into the air completely covering dozens of cedar trees.  The trees are on a steep slope with a lot of underbrush & needless to say, by the time I got home I was ready for a much needed power nap in my recliner.

   

DEER PARK'S WEBCAM THAT GIVES YOU THIS BEACH VIEW...DPL BEACH CAM (Remember it must be during daylight hours here in southwestern Ontario, Canada)

Deer Park Lodge sits atop a cliff overlooking Lake Huron.  It's probably close to a hundred foot drop to the wide sandy beach below with a fairly steep incline.  Four wheel drive vehicles are able to traverse the slope so I figured it would be good experience for the Jeep & I to take a couple runs up & down the hill & get to know each other better.  All went well as I familiarized myself with things like 4 wheel drive high & 4 wheel drive low.  Managed to figure out my gears & transfer case shiftings alright & the sure footed little Mountain Goat Jeep took me up & down that hill with no problem at all.  At one point I contemplated driving out onto the soft sandy beach but figured I had better not push my luck until I have more experience under my belt & feel comfortable with the Jeep's workings & the Jeep feels more comfortable with the driver's workings:))

 

ALRIGHTY ALREADY, IT'S TIME TO LEARN A LITTLE HILL CLIMBING 101

MADE IT DOWN TO THE BEACH

  

OK, WHATEVER GOES DOWN MUST COME UP

YA, YA, I KNOW IT'S JUST A BABY HILL, BUT WE ALL GOTTA START SOMEWHERE:))   

Ron from FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE phoned about noon saying our Motor Home was done so Kelly & I headed off for Grand Bend to pick it up.  Ron had some good & bad news for us.  New solenoid switch works fine but the rear passenger side leveler will not retract under it's own steam.  We had that same problem 2 years ago when it stuck down at Oliver Lee State Park in Alamogordo New Mexico.  Had to dig a hole under the leveler & use a jack to jack it back up.  Ron recommends we stop at the HWH Hydraulic Leveler Company factory on our way south this year & let them have a look at the problem so that is what we plan to do.  Ron had made phone calls to HWH to troubleshoot the problem & it was determined it should go to the factory. 

I can't begin to say enough about Ron Krauter.  We liked him from the day we met him 4 years ago when we bought the Motor Home.  Ron is one of those guys who goes waaaaaay out of his way in customer satisfaction.  He replaced the leveler solenoid switch, (at cost) changed the oil & filter in the generator & re-installed an electrical plug we had carelessly pulled out.   Those were the original things we needed done to the coach.  But Ron did much more than that because it's just his nature.  He greased our sliding step plus all levelers, power washed the whole coach plus the moldy underside of the TV antennae which I had missed.  He also threw in a couple sliding step mats & armoraled all the tires.  Painted the tailpipes plus the generator tail pipe & gave the generator a cleaning.  Also added a clamp to the generator muffler.  Checked the underside of the coach plus gave us reams of advice on tires, brakes, recalls, etc.  Not to mention all the phone calls he made for us.  And I know I have missed things.  Like I said.....just can't say enough good about this guy.  But, then to top it all off........Ron gave us a 'HUGE' break on the bill.  In this world of rip-offs, over pricing, scams, corruption & greed, what a treat it is to meet a rare individual not only with personality plus but a true sense of fairness, common decency & a guy who treats you like his best friend.  Thanks big guy, very much appreciated by the Bayfield Bunch:))

SUMMER AT DEER PARK LODGE'S BEACH IS OVER FOR ANOTHER SEASON

First thing I did when I got home with the rig was to hitch up the Jeep.  I had read the Jeep's manual a few days ago on towing procedure's & wrote myself out a checklist.  Having a 4 wheel drive vehicle with transfer case was not something I was familiar with so I had to get everything right including the position of the ignition key for traveling.  The hitch-up went well & all the lights checked out but I did not move the Motor Home with the car on back.  No sireeeee!!  I know myself better than to assume everything was hooked up correctly.  After supper Kelly climbed into the Jeep with instructions to keep hands & feet off everything.  Her job was to just sit there & listen for anything unusual or if the Jeep jerked or lunged she was to hit the horn immediately.  I climbed into the rig, opened my side window, turned on the rear view camera, pulled it into gear & slowly inched the Motor Home forward. 

No panicked horn blowing so I eased it up to 5 MPH & still no horn blowing.  Was it possible I got every thing right?  Nawwwww!!  10 MPH & a corner!!  Around the right hand turn we went & all was still quiet behind the Motor Home.  Stop sign & another right turn put us onto the paved road outside our Park.  20-30-40 MPH & still no horn honking...... or screaming!!  A couple miles from the Park I pulled over & slipped back to the Jeep to see a beaming smiley face sitting prettily behind the steering wheel.  Our test drive was a big success & the Jeep towed like a charm.  Kelly said it was a bit unnerving being that close behind a moving vehicle without jamming on the brakes.  A few minutes later we were back home & I unhitched the Jeep.  Another RV mission successfully checked off our list:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  GAMES FOR WHEN WE ARE OLDER

1. Sag, you're It.
2. Hide and go pee.
3. 20 questions shouted into your good ear.
4. Kick the bucket
5. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over.
6. Musical recliners.
7. Simon says something incoherent.
8. Pin the Toupee on the bald guy.

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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/

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

OUR WALLETS ARE DEFINITELY LIGHTER TODAY:((

IT'S MY STICK...NO, IT'S MY STICK!!!!

Our nasty little cold snap is still with us with temps expected to dip down around freezing tonight again.  Sunlight by day & icicles by night it seems.

STAYING AHEAD OF THE WAVES

Picked up our Santa Fe this morning & our wallets are definitely  lighter by $ 1,547.73.  I've often heard it said years ago that good tires are the cheapest form of insurance you can buy.  Couple that with a few new front end parts & we'll consider that premium... paid in full!!

 

 

 

BALL JOINTS, NEW TIRES, FRONT END ALIGNMENT, ETC$. ETC$. ETC$.

Plugged away at my garden & tool shed clean up again today & now have enough floor space visible for a Saturday night square dance now.  The junk purge continues!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEY MAX, THE STICK IS BEHIND YOU

Our work related 3 hour first aid course Tuesday night centered around CPR training (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).  We were shown how the new people friendly AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR'S  (AED) work & understand they will soon be in most all public places with easy accessibility for anyone to use in case of an emergency.  CPR was also practiced on plastic dummy models & it was all very informative.  Thursday night's class will be fractures, broken bones, splints & slings, etc.  Wished I could have taken my camera there last night & got a shot of fellow driver Bruce trying to get his arms around me for one of them there HEIMLICH MANEUVERS:))

 

 

 

 

 

 

(click to enlarge)

Kelly phoned from Deer Park Lodge this afternoon saying the lake had a really pretty aqua color to it so I loaded up Checkers & Max right away & we went over for some photos & a game of water sticks.  Both dogs love playing in the water but the waves were a little too strong this afternoon so I had to be careful to only toss the sticks a few feet offshore.  Those guys aren't as young & strong as they used to be & they were quick to remind me that I wasn't either as the 3 of us trudged our way back up the long steep hill from the beach.

 

 

 

BIT OF A CLIMB UP FROM THE BEACH

I'm really short for anything to blog about tonight so before I sit here too long & customarily launch into something silly I'll just quietly back myself away from the computer & maybe go watch a little mind numbing night time television........NOT!!!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  When you are young, you want to be the master of your fate and the captain of your soul. When you are older, you will settle for being the master of your weight and the captain of your bowling team.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

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

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT SEEING WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE

DEER PARK'S BEACH PLAYGROUND AWAITS THE SUMMER CHILDREN

Had a question from JERRY about the Fuji Cherry photo in yesterday's blog about how that was done.  Wished I could say it was some great photographic wizardry I performed but it was just basically a straight forward shot.  While at the computer I noticed a thin shaft of sunlight coming through the pine trees falling on a small section of our Fuji Cherry bush about 20 feet away.  Fortunately I had my camera & telescope lens already set up beside me for bird photos in the front yard.  I quickly focused square on the sunlit blossoms, guessed at a shutter speed of & took the photo.  A second later the sun had moved on leaving the bush in shadow.

AT DEER PARK LODGE THIS LITTLE CABIN IS CALLED, 'THE HUTCH.'

The lens is equivalent to a fixed 700mm & I have no control over aperture like a normal lens which means I have no control over 'depth of field' which means I have no control of the 'depth of focus.  Simplified, that means even at the best of times, only a few inches of the subject are ever in focus.  Everything up to a couple inches in front of the subject are out of focus & everything from a few inches to infinity behind the subject are out of focus.  That explains the blossoms behind the subject being out of focus & they are darker because they are not highlighted by sunlight.  The only control I have on this lens is shutter speed & even that is limited.  This is a very difficult & limited lens to use & I would not recommend it over a normal camera lens made specifically for cameras.  Remember, this is a telescope I am using and it is adapted to my Nikon via some adaptor rings & hardware. (binder twine, duct tape, crazy glue, hair clips, & an assortment of bent clothes hangers:))

A LONE CORMORANT SKIMS ACROSS THE WATER

While on the subject of photography I would just like to mention a few thoughts I have about 'seeing with a photographic eye.'  You do not have to have all kinds of expensive equipment to take great photos.  Thanks to the digital age my photography interests returned about 12 years ago.  My 35mm film camera days had ended years before that & my cameras sat unused in a closet.  After we got our first computer in about 1998 I slowly began to gain some interest in something called, digital photography.  Not knowing if this would interest me I bought a cheap little 1 megapixel camera at a store in London.  As soon as I uploaded my first few pictures to the computer screen I was hooked.  My head was awhirl with all kinds of ideas & possibilities.

 
VIEW FROM INSIDE THE HUTCH

I used that simple 1M camera for years before moving up to something better but it was this camera that renewed my interest in photography again.  Of course the resolution quality wasn't there but it opened my eyes once again to the beautiful world around me.  I began to see  things again in a photographic way.  Couldn't change lenses with this camera but I knew about composition.  Couldn't change shutter speeds or apertures, but I knew a bit about lighting.  Couldn't afford a more expensive camera but knew I didn't need one at the time.  It was first things first & the first thing for me was to get my photographic eye back.  The art of seeing!!  All the greatest camera gear in the world is not going to help you if you do not see or not aware of your immediate surroundings.

RICK sometimes jokes about Paulette's uncanny ability to spot Quilt Stores.  It's the same kind of principle as that.  Paulette is consciously or sub consciously on the look out for something she enjoys that is a hobby to her.  Rick doesn't notice the stores because his interests are focused elsewhere.  A Corvette Car Club member will spot all the Corvettes on the highway where I probably would miss them.  RV'ers will notice other RV's where many people wouldn't give them a second look.  It is the same thing in the photographer's world.  I see things that others don't see, simply because they are not attuned to them.  That Fuji Cherry photo is a good example of that. 

ONE OF TWO BADMINTON NETS ON THE BEACH

Ten people standing in our sunroom looking out the window at the front yard probably wouldn't have seen those highlighted sunlit blossoms against the darker background & the only reason I saw that is because of my 'photographer's eye.'  Out of those 10 people looking out the window, one might be bird watcher so it is the bird's at the feeders they will see.  Another person's interests might be aggregates so they are probably looking at the many rocks in the gardens.  Somebody else might be interested in old cars so their attention is triggered by the 56 Ford Crown Victoria going by.  A horticulture person will notice all the shrubs & greenery.  Out of all those things which I am aware of, my attention was grabbed by a ray of sunlight on a cluster of Fuji blossoms.

                          

NOTICE THE NARROW DEPTH OF FIELD ON THESE PHOTOS....CHIPMUNKS NOSE IS SLIGHTLY OUT OF FOCUS AS IS HIS HIND QUARTERS BUT HIS FRONT RIGHT SHOULDER IS IN FOCUS.

In the beach sunset photos a lot of people would see the sun & water & take a nice picture of that. (which I did too)  However my eye spotted a lone chair further down the beach & my mind immediately began calculating the position of the descending sun, the water, & the silhouette photo that combination could produce.  That is the result of, 'the photographer's eye.' 

Because I think in the terms of photography, I see in the terms of photography.  Everything out there is a photograph to me.  Shadows, cloud formations, colors, textures, foregrounds, backgrounds, people's faces, animals & birds, etc.  Everything.......  It is the art of seeing & it is the art of wanting to see.  The art of looking & understanding what you are looking at.  The art of seeing the finished photo in your mind before you even take it.

Now, let me back up on this 'art' word I have been using quite a bit.  It's one I hesitate to use but haven't come up with a good substitute for.  The art of seeing with a photographic eye is something that I believe most anyone can develop if they want to, but it takes time. The more you do it the better you are going to become at it.  But, the interest has to be there.

Ok, enough of all that, but first, here's what I suggest you do if you have a beginning interest in photography.  There are many great digital cameras on the market & I would say start out with a simple point & shoot cam.  And no, I do not mean a camera phone!!  I think my first digital cam was under a hundred dollars.  In this computer age we are soooooooo fortunate that we can step out the door, crack off a bunch of pics, step back inside, upload them in the computer, & within a couple minutes we can have our results right in front of us on a screen.  And, no cost:))  No more pricey film, expensive development charges, with days or weeks of waiting for results. Now, how easy is that.  What a great advantage for people with photography interests nowadays compared to years ago.  So, grab your cam, open your eyes & mind to your surroundings, & start clicking away:))  Don't just think about it.....get out there & do it!!  Oh, & a word of caution here.....these are just my opinions & are not coming from a professional photographer.  They are just the thoughts of someone who happens to enjoy the hobby of photography.

Our Woodstock trip this morning to visit my Uncle Harry went well.  We had a meeting scheduled with a lady from Community Care Services for all of us to talk about & go over plans to extend my Uncles care to a long term care facility.  He is at a point now in his 93 years where he will soon be needing the kind of additional attention that his assisted living facility where he is now doesn't provide.  We chose 3 Nursing Home facilities in the Stratford area & Harry signed the papers to get the ball rolling for an opening.  Could be in a couple weeks, could be 6 months, or it could be longer.  There are long waiting lists here in Canada.

  
STAIRS LEADING TO THE BEACH

Last week while Kelly was in Spencerport she was helping her Mother along the same lines with gathering info for her Dad if he should need additional care soon.  Now, here is something that really startled us.  Monthly care in a typical American nursing home facility is between $10,000 & 11,000 dollars a month.  In Canada the price is set by the government & all homes across the country charge the same monthly rate which is slightly in access of $2,100.  Harry is a veteran so that cost will be substantially reduced.  I hope I have those numbers right but I'm sure that is what I was hearing this morning.  Anyway, the meeting went well & Uncle Harry liked the lady that talked to him & explained things to him.  He was very tired & had just about enough time for a little snooze before his lunch time in the cafeteria so Kelly & I headed back to Bayfield.   Deer Park Lodge was waiting & Kelly had to be back to work. 

 
Would you believe upon returning home from Woodstock I fell asleep in my recliner with a two thirds full cup of hot coffee in my hand.  Woke up about an hour & half later & hadn't spilled a drop.  I had been resting the coffee on my lap so had I spilled any I am sure I would have had a rather rude awakening!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The first man, Adam, was relaxing in the Garden of Eden when God said, "Adam, how would you like someone to prepare your meals, clean your house and wash your clothes, someone that loves and adores you and will obey your every wish?" Adam said, "That sounds pretty good, but how much will it cost me?" God replied, "An arm and a leg." Adam thought about it for a little while, then asked, "Well, what can I get for just one rib?"

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.