BEGINNING TO MONITOR THE WEATHER BETWEEN US & THE ROCKIES

HULLETT MARSH MONDAY MORNING

With the threat of fog this morning Kelly decided not to stay overnight in Cambridge & made it home Monday night about 8:45. Said everything went well for their Thanksgiving day but she's glad to be home again. And Pheebs & I were happy she was home too:))

 

EARLY MORNING SUNRISE TICKLES THE TREE TOPS IN OUR PARK’S YARD-WASTE RECYCLE AREA

OUR COLORFUL MORNING WALK TODAY
Beginning to check the weather & temperatures across the mid west now to see what we can expect once we leave Saturday. After today it looks like we may not see the Sun again until sometime next week somewhere west of here in the States. We are in for some soggy days starting tonight. And probably cold soggy days at that. Can't complain though, we've had some great Autumn weather this year. Looks like Monday's Jeep drive was the last one this year for Pheebs & I. We sure had us a great time this past 6 months wandering around the countryside. If it hadn't been for those Jeep rides I think we both would have went Bonkers.

 

MANAGED TO GET PART OF THE HOUSE, CARPORT, JEEP, WINNIE, & PHEEBS ALL IN ONE PHOTO
I think we must have made about 43,000 trips between the house & the rig this morning. But it's the kind of trips I enjoy doing because I know we will be rolling soon. Must say I am surprised by the amount of room we have in the back storage area of the Winnie. For some reason I've been thinking we won't have enough room for everything but in fact we are probably going to have room to spare. The big storage area in Winnie sure is more accessible than the bins were on the Class A. I can load everything standing up. With basement bins one is always having to bend way down to access them.  Not traveling with a big dish satellite system anymore is a big freer up of space as well. Decided not to take our Gravity loungers this time either. We will pick up a couple new GL's on the way down or after we get to Congress. I never sit in them here in Bayfield but do use them a lot when we are on the road traveling or in Congress. I take a lot of my Congress bird photos laid back in my comfortable gravity lounger.

WORKING OUT SOME WINNIE LOADING CONFIGURATIONS

 

TRYING OUT SOME DIFFERENT LOADING IDEAS IN THE JEEP AS WELL

I would say we are 95% loaded up now & ready to go. Looks like the weather & temperatures are holding together pretty good so far along the Chicago west route so have a feeling we just may head across the Plains that way. If we foresee or run into grumpy weather we'll just swing south into warmer temps. We just play it by ear day to day.

WHEN OUR JEEP’S BACK SEAT IS REMOVED WE PUT IN THE PLATFORM ON LEFT…BIN COVER AT RIGHT IS ALSO A STURDY TABLE

 

CENTER BIN COVER IN PLACE AT LEFT & JEEP PLATFORM LOADED AT RIGHT

SECOND SMALLER BIN LID IN PLACE

 

EVEN PHEEBS HAS HER OWN DESIGNATED BIN

STILL LOTS OF SPACE IN THIS NARROW BIN NEXT TO THE COACH DOOR…PEANUT BUTTER & HONEY IN THAT PLASTIC BIN:))

We sure are leaving in much better health this year than last year at this time. Kelly was really sick with a bad cold bordering on pneumonia. She was very congested & had to see her Doctor twice just before we left. After completing a back yard landscape project I was in trouble with groin & hip pain. Little did I know at the time that pain would get worse & the hip pain would last right up until July of this past summer. We were quite the pair when we left for Spencerport NY a year ago. I must have caught a bit of what Kelly had because I had one entire day in Spencerport where I never even left the Motorhome. But we persevered & made our way to Arizona anyway despite our pesky medical problems at the time.

 

DO YOU THINK I WILL NEED MY WINTER HAT THIS YEAR……..:))
If in doubt, phone the border.  And that is just what Kelly did this afternoon.  Phoned the border at Port Huron to ask if packaged cooked ham is allowed across.  Yes.  What about rice?  No.  How about eggs?  Yes.  Food regulations seem to be fluid so if in doubt about anything, don’t take it.  You can always stock up across the border easy enough.

PHEEBS FOLLOWS ME EVERYWHERE IN THE MORNING TO SEE IF WE ARE GOING TO GO FOR A RIDE IN THE JEEP

I am a very lucky fellow in that I have my very own room not only here in Bayfield but Congress as well.  And I have my very own bunk space while we are traveling too.  I have all my ‘stuff’ close by.  I’m kinda like a little boy in his tree house with all his neat stuff.  Even got me a ladder to get into my tree house:))

MY LITTLE TREE HOUSE

 

GOT ALL MY NEAT STUFF, CAMERA BAG, TELESCOPE, TRIPOD, BOOM BOX, CLOTHES, & EVEN A SPOT FOR MY COWBOY HAT

Note to the person in our Shout Box inquiring about us possibly renting our Congress house for a couple months. Likely not but if you want to send us an email with some particulars, go ahead. Do we know you? Are you a fellow RV’er, etc. etc.

HULLETT MARSH POND REFLECTION MONDAY
GROANER'S CORNER:((

Many people are unaware how much the ability to spell correctly is overrated.

Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs. cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in wahtoredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

PHEEBS & I HEAD FOR LAKE WAWANOSH WHILE KELLY HEADS FOR THANKSGIVING IN CAMBRIDGE ONTARIO

LAKE WAWANOSH THIS MORNING

I knew when Pheebs & I stumbled across Lake Wawanosh last summer we would be coming back to see the Autumn leaves in October. This morning was that return date. Checked the weather & Monday was looking good with Tuesday looking iffy. Figured we had better make our country run this morning rather than later in the week when things could get busy just days before our departure.  And a late check of the weather tonight shows we have a Colorado low headed our way bringing days of rain beginning Tuesday night.  Looks like Tuesday could be a busy day getting everything we can in the rig.  I have a feeling I could be hitching up the Jeep Friday afternoon in the rain:(( 

 

 
I was curious to see how the renovations at Clinton's Tim Hortons were coming along so little Miss Smarty Pants & I slid around that way & picked us up a coffee & carrot muffin. Important to get my veggies you know. By the looks of the renovations we will not get to see the finished product until we return in April. 

MOST WORK SEEMS TO BE ON THE EXTERIOR SO FAR…THE INSIDE IS STILL GUTTED

Had us another fantabulous Autumn day going on so we just puttered our way along the gravel back roads again soaking up all we could see. Autumn not only looks & feels nice, it smells nice as well. Anyone who has ever walked through a carpet of Autumn leaves in a  hardwood forest will know what I mean. How fortunate we folks are here in the northern latitudes with our seasonal changes. We will be home again just in time to see our Winter give way to the fresh newness of Spring.

JUST PUTT-PUTTING ALONG ENJOYING THE DAY
Our packing this year is much different from last year when we were trying to cram in a lot of stuff to take to our Congress house. Good thing it was last year when we had all the extra space with our Class A at the time. Basically, we will not be taking anything for the house this year & by the time we are ready to head out in a few days we are probably going to have space left over. That's the way it should be. It's easy to fall into the trap of loading stuff one really doesn't need simply because one has the room to carry it. Took us a couple years to catch onto that one.

 

A LONE FISHERMAN CASTS INTO THE CALM WATERS OF LAKE WAWANOSH
It was an email from John over at TRAVELS OF JOHN & BRIDGET...AND FRED that reminded me I hadn't mentioned my LDL Cholesterol number from a blood test last week. My big bad LDL number went from 'unchartable' down to 155. Now, I have also followed the advice of readers & been taking a few extra supplements as well such as, Omega Wild Salmon, COQ-10, & B-12. I have also been loading myself up with barley grass as well.

 

JUST A MIGHTY FINE DAY FOR A COUNTRY DRIVE:))

Turned our outside water off today & drained the hoses. Packed all our outside light timers away & removed the water pump from our frog pond. No frogs to transfer to the bigger pond this year. All lawn ornaments & outside chair cushions are into storage. I always enjoy reversing the above procedure every Spring.

AN ISLAND OF TREES SURROUNDED BY A SEA OF BEANS
Kelly headed off to Cambridge about 12:30. They will be having Thanksgiving dinner today at 5. She will stay at one of her daughter's for the night & will probably be home again Tuesday by noon. She is always so happy to get back to the peace & quiet of our low profile life here in our quiet countryside Pine forest. I well know the feeling:))

 
Today we welcome Susan, Tex, Elsie Mae, Bonnie, Chloe, & Sweet Pea from COASTIECASTAWAYS to our Blog Friends list. New Blogger Susan says they hope to have their Newmar Ventana on the road as soon as Tex retires from the Coast Guard. Thanks for dropping by folks & happy to have you along on our upcoming winter travels.

IN A FEW WEEKS FARMERS WILL BE BUSY HARVESTING CORN

A RELAXING BOVINE DAY BY THE POND

A FARM OF SILOS
Reading Steve's HOUNDS & RVS post from yesterday I was prompted to leave him this comment: "One of the main reasons for us keeping our house in Bayfield is to have a place to come home to in case we have to. Being Canadians, if we ever had any serious medical problems while down south in the winter we want and need a house to come home to. Coming back in the dead of winter to freezing cold temps, ice, & snow & having to stay in a Motel or somebodies driveway is totally not acceptable to us. We know Canadians this has happened to & the misery it caused them & others. It does cost us money to maintain a house but it's the price we are willing to pay for a safe secure harbor in the event of an unexpected storm”.

 

SOME RURAL FOLKS OUT FOR A THANKSGIVING DAY STROLL

And a surprise phone call from Kelly about 7 tonight to say ‘she is on her way home’.  Oh Dear, I wonder what happened to her ‘staying overnight plans’.  I didn’t tell Pheebs Mom was on her way or else the little Rascal Buns would be racing around the house a hundred miles an hour.

Our ‘shrooms’ have already changed shape overnight so will keep an eye on them over the next few days & take some pics of their progress.

 

SUNDAY ON THE LEFT & MONDAY ON THE RIGHT

  

  

  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Prison vs Work

Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this should make things a little bit clearer.
IN PRISON..........you spend the majority of your time in an 10X10 cell.
AT WORK............you spend the majority of your time in an 8X8 cubicle.
IN PRISON.........you get three meals a day.
AT WORK...........you get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it.
IN PRISON..........you get time off for good behavior.
AT WORK............you get more work for good behavior.
IN PRISON..........the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
AT WORK............you must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself.
IN PRISON..........you can watch TV and play games.
AT WORK...........you could get fired for watching TV and playing games.
IN PRISON.........you get your own toilet.
AT WORK..........you have to share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat.
IN PRISON..........they allow your family and friends to visit.
AT WORK............you aren't even supposed to speak to your family.
IN PRISON.........all expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required.
AT WORK............you get to pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.
IN PRISON..........you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out.
AT WORK ...........you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.
IN PRISON .........you must deal with sadistic fellow prisoners.
AT WORK...........they are called co-workers.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.