INITIATING SOME BLOG CHANGES & LOOKING FOR NEW IDEAS:))

ALL TONIGHT'S PHOTOS ARE MEMORIES FROM OUR 5TH WHEEL DAYS WHEN WE FIRST ARRIVED IN COLUMBUS,NEW MEXICO BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2006 

For the first time this summer I have had to do some watering around the property.  Ferns were beginning to lilt & plants were getting droopy.  Planted two more Virginia Creepers, a climbing Hydrangea & another Trumpet Vine this morning.  I now have to keep my bedroom window closed up tight because I have a fear of those vines creeping in my window some night & carrying me off to far away places.

ROCK HOUND STATE PARK NM...OF COURSE KELLY WANTED TO PUSH THIS ROCK BACK TO THE CAMPSITE , LOAD IT ONTO THE TRUCK & BRING IT HOME WITH US FOR OUR FRONT YARD 

Nice to see JEAN & SKIP pop up on our Blog Roll this morning.  They are taking some time off from house renos & doing a bit of camping not far from home on Vancouver Island.  We met Jean & Skip in Borrego Springs California last winter.  A quiet couple with many of the same interests & thoughts about RVing & life that Kelly & I have.  Nice folks:))

With the words, "I'm a fiber fanatic that has fallen in love with RVing. My love is wet felting. Love to spin" Well, I had to go have myself a look see what a 'spinning, wet felting fiber fanatic was all about.  Or, was that a spinning fanatical fiber who felt wet?  Well anyway, better check her out for yourself at TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A RV LOVIN FIBER ARTIST.

IT'S ALRIGHT MAX, THIS RV LIFESTYLE IS GOING TO GET BETTER SOON....PROMISE.

I did try my luck with the Motor Homes leveling system & that troublesome rear jack again.  Three times I lowered the rear jacks & three times I had to jack the passenger side leveler back into place.  The tension on the two lifting springs seems the same as the jack on the other side.  Lubricating the cylinder hasn't helped.  I think we will just accept the fact it is unusable & work our way around that.  We carry leveling blocks that we can use for the passenger side rear if we have to.  If the coach was newer & we were Full Timers we would replace that leveler completely but at this stage of the game we will just deal with the problem as we go along.

THIS PHOTO IS SELF EXPLANATORY

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my blog lately.  Not only about it's content but it's appearance as well.  You may notice I have already begun to make changes to the site but I also realize I have to make other changes as well to stimulate my writing interest or just pack it all in & get on with other things.  The format has basically remained the same for years now & being a fellow of change I think I am way overdue for something creatively different.  A 'makeover' if you will.  My blog has always revolved around traveling & the RV Lifestyle & that will basically remain unchanged but I'm looking for a new direction.  Something different, something refreshing.  Same old, same old gets tiring & doesn't work for me after awhile & I have been in 'same old' mode for quite awhile now.  I need a challenge, some new ideas & suggestions.     So, I throw it out to my faithful readers or anyone else with an interest.  Any ideas on how I can make my blog not only more interesting for you but for me as well??  And, I cautiously say, constructive criticism is welcome too

THIS WAS OUR SET UP THE FIRST YEAR THE BAYFIELD BUNCH HIT THE ROAD & THOSE ARE THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND SOUTH OF CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO...UNBEKNOWNST TO ME I HAD MADE A VERY SERIOUS 'BEGINNER'S ERROR' HERE THAT IS VISIBLE IN THIS PHOTO, CAN ANYONE SPOT IT.   I DROVE FROM CARLSBAD THROUGH EL PASO TEXAS, DEMMING & COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO, DOUGLAS, TOMBSTONE, PATAGONIA,  NOGALES & FINALLY TUCSON BEFORE AN  ALARMED GARAGE GUY AT BEAUDRY RV QUICKLY POINTED OUT MY MISTAKE.  WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE WE DID NOT SUFFER SOME MAJOR DAMAGE......OR WORSE!!!!

I have always had a lot of respect & admiration for people who are able to step up to the plate, say what they think & not worry about the repercussions from expressing their point of view.  Oh, how I wish I had the courage to do that.  I am talking about folks like Debra from FIND AN OUTLET, Mike from MOBILE KODGERS & Nick from BAD NICK.  I have recently added these 3 fellow Bloggers to a separate side bar which in fact is part of the changes I am working on.   These are 3 people I identify with & understand.  I appreciate their no nonsense, down to earth, logical & common sense approach to life.  I believe they see the world as I see it.  A world for what it is & not for what many would have some of us believe it is.   Nick's main blog is THE GYPSY JOURNAL - NICK'S BLOG.   But it is his aka Bad Nick blog concept that really perks my interest.  Many times I have thought of doing this myself & setting up a separate blog where I could truly lay out what I really think!!  But, it's this dam thin skinned personality of mine that holds me back.  I would just have to write it & post it with no feedback.  No feedback at all, good or bad.  I am influenced by feedback so my writing would just have to stand on it's own.  Just write how I feel, post it, let the chickens fly to the moon & move on to my next post.  Will I do this?  Not likely, but it sure has been heavy on my mind for quite awhile now........10-4!!  

AND THIS IS THE GANG I SHARED MY BED WITH EVERY NIGHT.....BUT I LOVED IT & WOULDN'T HAVE HAD IT ANY OTHER WAY...MY BEST PALS OF EVER:)) 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The following conversation is long, practical, makes sense & if you make it to the end I think you will understood the meat of the matter.  The conversation takes place aboard an Alien spaceship & revolves around the decision whether to contact the people of Earth or not.  They have a perfectly logical conversation & arrive at a perfectly logical decision.  Well, in my books anyway.......... 

Imagine if you will ..the leader of the fifth invader force speaking to the commander in chief...

"They're made out of meat."

"Meat?"

"Meat. They're made out of meat."

"Meat?"

"There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."

"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"

"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."

"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."

"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."

"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in the sector and they're made out of meat."

"Maybe they're like the Orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."

"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take too long. Do you have any idea the life span of meat?"

"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the Weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."

"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads like the Weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."

"No brain?"

"Oh, there is a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat!"

"So... what does the thinking?"

"You're not understanding, are you? The brain does the thinking. The meat."

"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"

"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?"

"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."

"Finally, Yes. They are indeed made out meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."

"So what does the meat have in mind?"

"First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the universe, contact other sentients, swap ideas and information. The usual."

"We're supposed to talk to meat?"

"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there? Anyone home?' That sort of thing."

"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?"

"Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."

"I thought you just told me they used radio."

"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even whistle by squirting air through their meat."

"Omigod. Whistling meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"

"Officially or unofficially?"

"Both."

"Officially, we are required to contact, welcome, and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in the quadrant, without prejudice, fear, or favor.

Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."

"I was hoping you would say that."

"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"

"I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say?" `Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?"

"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they only travel through space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."

"So we just pretend there's no one home in the universe."

"That's it."

"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you have probed? You're sure they won't remember?"

"They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."

"A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat's dream."

"And we can mark this sector unoccupied."

"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"

"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in the G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotations ago, wants to be friendly again."

"They always come around."

"And why not? Imagine how unbearable & how unutterably cold the universe would be if we were all alone."

---------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.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.

REINING IN MR. BLABBERFINGERS!!

A RELAXING WARM SUMMER AFTERNOON FOR 2 OF THE BAYFIELD BUMS:))

The goal of tonight's blog is to make it shorter.  Old Mr. Blabberfingers here has been getting very long winded again lately.  I will have to try prioritizing & organizing my thoughts better rather than just dumping a whole head full of jumble into the blog every night.

Our weather changed sometime in the wee morning hours as a cool front rolled in blowing all the humidity out of town.  How nice to wake up with cooler temps.  Because of that my energy levels were up & I took a notion to clean my room.  Yep, that's right boys, I am one of those lucky fellers who gets to have his very own room.  Just because a guy gets married doesn't mean he has to lose all his neat-o stuff.  And, a boy needs his room.  I used to have model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, football player posters on the walls & just groovy guy's stuff all over the place.  Remember Sam Etcheverry & Normie Kwong?  Yep, those were two of the Football guys I had up on the wall.  And then there was my stack of wrestling cards on my dresser.  Whipper Billy Watson, Gorgeous George, Argentina Rocca & YUKON ERIC who's autograph I actually got at an A&W in Stratford Ontario one time.  But, I'm off the track already............... My room today is still a bit like my boyhood years although the airplanes are gone & the football players have long ago run their final yardages.  In the past 10 years or so they were all replaced with large Astronomy posters of Planets, Galaxies, Star Clusters, & Nebulae.  Had some old Humphrey Bogart movie posters up as well.  I like my room because it's my place, my space.  The clunky old television that once dominated the windshield in the Motor Home now sits ahead of my bed.  I have cable TV, Stereo, DVD, CD & even a dual cassette tape with a Teac equalizer.  Mind you, with the exception of the TV, I haven't used any of that old technology for years, but hey, it's mine & it's in MY room.  How many of you remember the Beach Boy's song, 'In My Room.'  Well, there ya go eh:))

I happen to like trees.  I have always liked trees & it has always been difficult for me to cut one down.  But, orders came down from headquarters a couple days ago saying the two Mulberry trees in our back yard had to come down....or else!!  Mulberry trees have a Raspberry looking purple fruit & at this time of year those little purple Mulberries drop from the trees all over the ground.  They squish & cling to the bottom of shoes & are easily tracked into the house whereupon they stain floors & carpets.  I thought the purple sploosh marks on our living room carpet were looking kinda cool but my opinion was not shared by the Boss, so the trees had to go.  Luckily they are not very big & I was able to use a Swede saw to cut them down instead of my fume belching & maddenly noisy chain saw.  I will go to great lengths to avoid any kind of noise!!!  We have a neighbor who seems to have an excessive obsession with his leaf blower so I go to great lengths to avoid my neighbor!!

  

MULBERRIES, MULBERRIES EVERYWHERE!!!

Now, keeping true to form I will stick to my opening paragraph objective & carefully back myself away from the keyboard.  I did get sidetracked a couple times but was able to get er back on the rails before I blathered myself into the ditch again.  So, I leave all you fine people to get on with reading some other blogs, which I may add are written by some of my very fine Blogger friends out there....Toodles:))

KELLY & CHECKERS AT HICKIWAN TRAILS ARIZONA...FEBRUARY 7TH 8:53 A.M. 2008 

GROANERS CORNER:((  It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame.

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

EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.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.

ATTENTION CENTERS AROUND THE MOTOR HOME THIS MORNING

A MYSTERY PHOTO TONIGHT......COULD THIS BE A MYTHIC BIRD OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY, PERHAPS AN ANCIENT CONDOR TAKING FLIGHT  INTO THE STARRY NIGHT SKY,  A UFO OR PERHAPS THE  FAR OFF ORIGINS OF LIFE IN FAR OFF SPACE TAKEN WITH MY CAMERA TELESCOPE??   PERHAPS IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE.......
Seems I often have to go back & make corrections to the  previous day's post.  Yesterday I posted about a possible problem with a Jeep brake line & all the way through the paragraph I kept referring to the problem as having to do with the gas line.  That was incorrect!!  It was the brake line I was talking about.  I have since made the corrections.  It's a good thing Kelly gets up enough courage to read the blog some mornings!!



We recently picked up a slight stone chip on the upper passenger windshield of the Motor Home.  Figured we had better get that fixed before it cracked further & sent long spidery cracks across the windshield.   The SPEEDY GLASS fellow was able to come right to our place & repair it in about half an hour.  Very interesting to see the whole process & Murray from GODERICH SPEEDY GLASS was happy to explain the various steps as he went along.  Murray has been with the company for over 30 years & certainly knew what he was doing.  Turns out he is also one of those western Cowboy enthusiasts like myself.  I was quick to notice a few western style logos on his van & that tipped me off:))
      
THANKS MURRAY FOR A JOB WELL DONE......IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE:))  (click any photo to enlarge)


If there is any one thing I do not like about Motor Homes in general it is the sometimes problematic hydraulic leveling jacks.  We sure have had our fair share of leveling jack problems over the years.  About 6 weeks ago I figured I would fire up the hydraulic jacks to make sure they were working alright.  They weren't, & I wasn't surprised!!   Had the same problems last summer & actually ended up at the HWH Leveler place in Moscow Iowa on our way south.  Aside from replacing a fuse that time they didn't find any problem with the rear passenger side leveler either.  I tried replacing some fuses a month ago but that didn't seem to do anything so I just gave up on the problem.  This morning Kelly remembered the HWH bill from last November so we dug it out & noticed that it was a 15 amp fuse the guy had replaced.  I had replaced a 10 amp fuse a month ago.  So, out to the Motor Home I went with a bit more patience than usual & wedged myself between the driver's seat & the steering wheel where the fuse panel inconveniently lives on the firewall.  Noticed two 15 amp fuses in the hard to get at fuse panel so replaced them both.  Hauled myself up into the driver's seat & started up the Motor Home.  I wasn't too hopeful as I reached down & flipped on the hydraulic switch on a panel beside the seat.  What the heck!!!!!!!  Unbelievably the panel lights lit up which told me there was finally power to the the control box at last.  Will wonders ever cease, will Hippopotamus's fly.  But wait.......this was not the end of the hydraulic lift problem...Nosirreeeee!!

IT WAS THOSE 2 BLUE 15 AMP FUSES I REPLACED


These hydraulic leveler problems first started with our Motor Home in the fall of 2008 while doing an overnighter in Oliver Lee State Park near Alamogordo, New Mexico.  The right passenger side lift would not retract & we could not move.  Luck was with us that time because we were parked on dirt.  I was able to dig a hole behind the lifter, place a scissor jack in the hole & then carefully back the Motor Home up about 3 inches centering the lift over the jack & then jack the lift up into place.  We had that lift looked at a few days later in Los Cruces but they could find nothing wrong with it.  The lift has never been trustworthy ever since.

Decided to try out the system today so lowered all the lifts to the ground & leveled the coach.  Figured if push came to shove I could always use my Oliver Lee method to retract that problem lift in case it didn't come up.  Well, push did come to shove!!!!  Three of the lifts came up with no problem but the problematic one did not.  So, there I was once again under the Motor Home digging a hole in the ground just like at Oliver Lee years ago.  Twenty minutes later I had the lift jacked back up into place.  I have left the scissors jack in the hole & will try the system again tomorrow.  My theory is that the problem lift may just need to be used & loosened up.  We'll see.................
  


Looking ahead to this winter's travels in the Southwest we are hoping to do more traveling than sitting this time.  The past 3 years we have spent a fair bit of time in the Elfrida/McNeil area Ranch sitting & we have enjoyed our time there to the max.  Liked it so much we were very seriously thinking about buying some property there last winter.  But, things didn't work out & time marches on.  Haven't heard back from the Ranch folks yet but if time schedules work out we may spend a month or month & a half this time.  The last 3 years we stayed 2 & 3 months.  Depending on the ranch folks travel plans there may be a chance we won't make it to the Ranch at all this year.  We'll just have to wait & see how Jeannie & Rays travel plans shake out.

RELAXING DAYS & A LITTLE LANDSCAPING AT THE RANCH:)) 

Whether we stay awhile at the Ranch or not I would like to travel a little further afield this year to see new areas of the Southwest.  If Mexico wasn't in the bad state of affairs it is in we would head down there but no chance of that now.  Of course we will probably hit some of our old haunts like Yuma & Borrego Springs because it is always nice to touch base with old memories.  In our travels I have found that the first time visiting an area is generally the best time.  Everything is new & exciting & that to me is what traveling is all about.  For example, we love Borrego Springs California & have been there 5 years in a row.  It is just the greatest little place.  But, I found the last 3 years there were not as exciting as our first two times there.  After visiting the same place year after year everything just gets too predictably boring for me.  Subsequently, our stays in old familiar places are great for maybe a week but then it's same old, same old time again.  Not that these places are not beautiful areas, it's just that my mind constantly craves new challenges, new adventures & new memories. 

THE 'ELEPHANT'S KNEES' NEAR SPLIT MOUNTAIN CALIFORNIA...THIS AREA IS ABOUT A 2 HOUR DRIVE EAST OF SAN DIEGO


No ideas yet where we will go but I'm sure a plan will begin to formulate soon.  Many times those plans come from the minds of fellow RV Bloggers or RV folks we have met along the way.  I remember a couple years ago having breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club in Bisbee Arizona with LAURIE & ODEL.  They mentioned a place in California they thought we would really like & that is how we ended up in LONE PINE the following year. 
RV friends Bea & Herb talked about Nevada's VALLEY OF FIRE one time when we first met them about 4 years ago in southern Arizona & that was how we ended up there this past March.  It was also Bea & Herb who thought we would really love CANYON DE CHELLY & wouldn't you know it, we ended up there last March as well. (click any of the above links for our blog about these places) 
RV friends Mike & Maureen talked about how much they loved the 4 Corners area when we first met them in CANNONVILLE UTAH back in November of 08.  Guess where we are hoping to be in about three & a half months from now:))  If it wasn't for the blasted megopolation of cities, traffic chaos & people I'm sure we would have made it to the California coast by now too.  Maybe this year if we can find an uncongested secret passage through the morass of humanity & find a quiet little beach front spot on the ocean for a few days.  Can Rhinosauceruses fly!!

SPLIT MOUNTAIN, CALIFORNIA


It wasn't the American Health Program opinion that caught my attention in JANNA'S post this morning, it was the fact of Janna being on the phone speaking to the medical people on Mike's behalf.  Not being a phone person I can so identify with Mike maybe just not wanting to get on the phone.  It is simply having the best person for the task, do the task.  We all have our likes & dislikes & things we prefer to do or avoid.  If one lives or travels alone there is no option, you have to do everything yourself whether you like it or not.  I have experienced that & know it to be a good thing in the long run.  Living alone, a person is always better organized & in touch with everything.  It's just the way it has to be or your life quickly becomes unmanageable.  Living with another person is a whole different ball game.  Ideas, plans, chores & household tasks are generally shared, & for good reason.



Kelly likes to cook & I do not, so that one is a no brainer.  Kelly's not that interested in all the yard work so that is my department & I look after that.  I enjoy driving more than Kelly so I happily take on those responsibilities too whether it is driving the Motor Home or the cars.  I'm not as good at keeping things clean as Kelly is so she handles most of those chores.  Dust could be a foot & half deep on the TV & wouldn't notice it but if a wall picture is slightly askew I will catch that right away.  I am pretty good at sweeping floors & doing dishes though.  We both do our own laundry except when we are on the road & end up heading for a Laundromat together.  Kelly doesn't like the idea of having to dump the Motor Home's tanks so I have always done that.  I don't like talking on a telephone so Kelly handles that department simply because she is far better & more comfortable doing that.  If I am on the telephone talking to somebody about something important chances are good I am going to forget something in the conversation.  Kelly will ask me, "what did so & so say" & as often as not I won't remember.  Same thing if a call comes in to our answering machine & I am standing right there.  I don't pick up the phone because if the person on the other end has any info or whatever, chances are that I may forget to accurately relay that to Kelly.  By letting the answering machine take the call, Kelly is sure to get the intended & word for word message.  It boils down to whichever individual is best suited for whatever task & that is one of the great advantages of having a partner.  Only disadvantage I see with the sharing of tasks is one partner can eventually find themselves out of touch with some the tasks the other partner has taken over.  I look after bill payments like credit cards etc but Kelly looks after the payments regarding our park here so right now I could not accurately tell you what our lease payment is here, how much our last telephone bill was, our cost for electricity last month or when it's time to reactivate our Verizon program for travel again.  If I were living on my own I would know & be on top of all those things!!  And, if I were living on my own I would have to do all the telephone stuff too.  However, sometimes another person can speak far better for us than some of us can speak for ourselves.  It's just the way it is & is one of the advantages of sharing things with a partner!!  Anyway, just a few thoughts on likes, dislikes & some advantages of living alone or with someone.

ON YES, ABOUT THE PHOTO........ IT'S THE CHIP IN OUR MOTOR HOME WINDSHIELD VIEWED FROM INSIDE THE MOTOR HOME., BUT OF COURSE YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT....RIGHT:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  If aliens are smart enough
to travel through space, why do they keep abducting
the dumbest people on earth?

---------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.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