A BUSY VEHICLE DAY AT THE BAYFIELD GARAGE

ON THE FOREST TRAIL (NIKON D40 AT 300MM)

Rained steadily through the night and for sure I thought we would not be having the Motor Home undercoated this morning.  Had I bet a hundred dollars on that.......I would have lost.  The rains quit about 6 and by 7 there were some breaks in the cloud cover.  By 8:30 I had both the Jeep and Motor Home at the BAYFIELD GARAGE and the undercoating was a 'GO':))

JUST AS I ARRIVED WITH THE MOTOR HOME THEY WERE TAKING THE JEEP IN FOR SERVICING (CANON SX210IS)

Due to a poor night's sleep I was snoozing in my chair about noon when a phone call from the garage woke Pheebs and I up.  The 40 pound Pheebs had fallen asleep on my lap so I didn't exactly jump out of my chair and grab the phone.  Jeep was done so Kelly came home from work and drove me to the garage. 

  

CAME ACROSS THIS LITTLE FELLOW ON THE FOREST PATH THIS AFTERNOON (NIKON D40-300MM)

Don, the soft spoken and easy going garage owner had taken time out of his busy schedule to undercoat the Jeep himself.  This is a very personalized garage and I couldn't help draw a comparison with an old TV show from the past.  Remember the sitcom 'Cheer's and that great theme song they had.  In there was a line that went, ♫Where everybody knows your name.♫  Unlike a lot of big garages we are fortunate enough here in Bayfield where the staff and owner actually remember your name and who you are when you come in.  Now, how nice is that, to be treated as a person and not a number.  And hey, they even put the gas right in your gas tank for you:)) 

EVEN SOME OF OUR PARK’S BIRDS HAVE THEIR OWN CABLE TV

We have been dealing with the BAYFIELD GARAGE ever since moving to Bayfield late in 2002 and wouldn't think of taking our vehicles anywhere else.  Besides the undercoating and tire rotation we had an oil change which included the windshield washer and power steering fluid topped up/front and rear differentials checked/transfer case oil checked/brakes checked and the front end greased.  Now, can you just see me trying to do any of that stuff at home….no, I didn’t think so.  There is a lot to be said about having a vehicle serviced professionally.

 

Other than taking the Pheebs for a spin around the forest trail this afternoon I spent most of my time in my recliner sleeping again.  This time with a little Motormouse on my lap.  In other words, not what I would call a very productive day. 

Came across a blog today called, AMERICAN TRAVELER.  The line that caught me up right quick was, " We love the RV-lifestyle and are boondockers at heart."  Being fellow boondockers ourselves I knew we already had something in common.  I can also see this fellow has a photographic eye and in the first post I read he talked about a friend down on his luck.  That told me this fellow is a caring and thoughtful person whom I think has a good insight into life.  He has a nice easy flowing writing style as well. 

 

And, speaking of blogs, I like the header photo entitled, Ocean Beach, Oregon on the GYPSY LIFE JOURNAL'S BLOG.

 

CAUGHT MYSELF A VERY ELUSIVE BELTED KINGFISHER TODAY….THIS IS THE BIRD DEPICTED ON THE CANADIAN $5 BILLS  (NIKON D40-300MM)

Bayfield Garage called at 5:17.  Motor Home undercoating was done and the rig was ready to go.  Don had done the Motor Home undercoating as well and it sure looks a whole lot better on the underside of the rig now.  Looks like a new chassis and, same as the Jeep, he did a great job.  Nice to have things done right.  And, once again, so nice to have all these great trustworthy service facilities in and around Bayfield.  I think that is a direct result of the small town factor........♫where everybody knows your name:))♫

THE PHEEBSMOGATOR HEARS A TREED SQUIRREL CHATTERING AT HER

GROANER'S CORNER:(( If you don't have a sense of humour, you probably don't have any sense at all.

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.

-OUR PICASA WEB ALBUMS

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

‘STORMRUNNER’ CAPS OUR RIG’S BROKEN BATHROOM VENT:))

TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM BAYFIELD’S VERY OWN RV CENTER……STORMRUNNER RV SALES AND SERVICE

I was up on the Motor Home roof Sunday to grease up the TV antennae's mechanical works.  We broke off our antenna wind down handle a couple of years ago trying to wind down a very stiff antennae.  Lesson learned!!  While on the roof I noticed the vent cap for our toilet pipe was missing.  Those plastic caps get very brittle with age and especially sunlight so it's not unusual for them to disintegrate and break away.  Didn't appear any way to attach a new one without drilling holes in the rig's roof and I sure wasn't going to be drilling anything anywhere.  And, especially not in our Motor Home's roof.  This was clearly a job for someone who knew what they were doing.  We are very fortunate here in Bayfield to have an excellent RV dealer, store and repair facility.  They specialize in 5th wheels but all rigs are welcome.

   

We have known Harry and Dianne from STORMRUNNER RV SALES AND SERVICE ever since we first dropped in there one time back around 1999 while looking at some fifth wheels.  And, it was Dianne who surprised us with an email while we were on the road heading for Yuma about 4 years ago one time.  We were surprised because it was the first email we had ever received from anyone in Bayfield.  Dianne has been a blog reader ever since.  Sent Dianne an email about our rig's missing vent cap problem this morning and she emailed back basically saying, 'bring er on down.' 

 

Ten minutes later I was parked at their shop and Harry was up on the roof replacing the vent cap.  Problem solved.  I like when things happen like that.  I had known, but forgotten about our roof needing re-caulking.  Hadn't been done since Ron at FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE did it prior to us buying it.  Harry noticed right away the roof seams were in need of repair and Dianne found some spots on the side also requiring attention.  I made an appointment for a week from Tuesday to get that done.  Like I have said many times before, it's better for me to have that kind of work done by people who know exactly what they are doing rather than me fumbling around on top of a shaky ladder with a messy tube of caulking, some of which might get on the roof in the right place and most of which would probably get on me in the wrong place!!  We have been fortunate to have never had any leaks in the rig and we want to keep it that way.  Thanks Stormrunner guys:))

  

VENT CAP BEFORE AND AFTER   

I think we all remember when Mount St. Helens blew her top years ago and the resulting widespread devastation that caused.  IVAN has been in that area having a look around all these years later and has some great photos of how nature is recovering so much of what she lost that fateful day.

 

KEVIN AND RUTH have finally made it to Mexico.   We would love to travel in Mexico as well but after an unfortunate incident in a Mexican border town a few years ago we just do not have the comfort level anymore.  A lot of RV folks love and travel incident free in Mexico every year and as long as nothing goes wrong I think it is a great country to see.  Both Kelly and I have been to Puerto Vallarta years ago and I was always impressed with the Mexican people I met there and the countryside I saw there.  But to take our RV over the roads I hear about and be subjected to searches and tolls along the way just doesn't work for us.  But, that's just us and the way we are.  Maybe it's just our age and experience that is making us a little more cautious about a few things these days.  Here is the link to our MEXICAN BORDER TOWN INCIDENT.

<<< NO, THOSE WIRES ABOVE THIS 5TH WHEEL DOES NOT MEAN IT’S A TROLLEY

Ok, about that seemingly suspended bird cam in Sunday's post.  Two separate things give the illusion the camera is floating in mid air.  First, here are the settings I used to keep the bird cam in focus but blur the background.  60mm at F5 with a 1/60th shutter speed.  Broken down it just means I kept my subject in focus while purposely blurring the background.  Next, it was into my 'free' Picasa 3.8 photo editing program.  Cropped out the pole it was hanging from and then used my 'Retouch' tool to eliminate the slight wire suspending the bird house cam.  Took maybe 4 or 5 clicks with my retouching tool and maybe 10 seconds to remove the wire.  Just an example of what everybody can do with their easy to use Picasa program if they just take a little time to familiarize themselves with it.  No great magic in the shot, it’s just knowing what your equipment and Picasa editing tools can do for you:))

  

A lot of on and off again rain in the neighbourhood today.  Am hoping it's not raining Tuesday morning because they have to undercoat the Motor Home outside and if it's raining they said, 'no can do' and it will have to be rescheduled.  The Jeep can still be undercoated on the inside hoist though so at least we'll get one vehicle done.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Old people shouldn't eat health foods. They need all the preservatives they can get!!

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-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

`-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

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

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

A BRAND NEW BIRD CAM FOR AL:))

VIEW FROM ATOP OUR MOTOR HOME THIS MORNING (CANON SX210IS)

It is always a positive and encouraging sign when I see Kelly carrying things out to the Motor Home.   Kind of puts that official, 'yes we're going,’ stamp of approval on the trip.

Short drive in the Jeep this morning and Motorcycle this afternoon.  A fair number of bikes on the road today so I managed to get myself in a half dozen big HOWDY DOODY waves.  Three trips around the forest trail with the Pheebs today too.

Thank you ‘Dakota Blue’ for climbing aboard our Blog Follower’s list.  Hopefully things will get a little more interesting around here when we hit the road in 3 weeks.

<<< NEW BIRD CAM  (NIKON D90)

I was the surprised recipient of a brand new large format Bird Cam this afternoon.  And, it came all the way up from the States.  In fact, it came from Cracker Barrel.  Kelly was working today at DEER PARK LODGE when Ron and Jan Krauter dropped in on their way to Goderich with something for AL.  Ron is the personable fellow who owns FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE where we traded in our truck and fifth wheel for a Motor Home back in the Spring of 07.  Ron knew of my interest in photography and must have seen a couple of my bird photos so when he spied this Bird Cam at a Cracker Barrel awhile back, he picked it up.  A big thanks Ron and yep, I’ll have that Bird Cam in action right quick.  And, for anyone in our area thinking of buying a Motor Home, be sure to give Ron a call.  We’re sure glad we did.  By the way, that Bird Cam is actually a rather cleverly constructed…………….birdhouse

It was the title, '10 Things I Wished I Had Known Before Fulltime RVing' that caught my attention this morning.  I like the RVing lifestyle of  WHEELING IT.  We can sure identify with their way of doing things.  I like the content of their blog and writing style.  Informative and helpful to other RV'ers.  And, they understand and appreciate the peacefulness of nature in their RV travels.

  

COME ON PHEEBS, YOU HAVE TO SHARE THE NEW TOY WITH THE MOTORMOUSE TOO (CANON A720IS)

GROANER’S CORNER:  And did you know that by the time you find greener pastures, you probably won't be able to climb over the fence anyway.

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-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

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

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

HALF WAY THROUGH OUR DOGGY SCHOOL CLASSES

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN AT OR NEAR THE BUTTERFIELD RANCH RESORT IN THE VALLECITO VALLEY EAST OF SAN DIEGO
A pleasant early Autumn morning saw Kelly, the Pheebs and I headed for 'On Golden Paws' about 9:20.   It was Saturday morning and that meant, doggy school:))  We are half way through our dog obedience classes and this morning we decided to change things up a bit.  I am usually on one end of the leash with Pheebe on the other and Kelly observing.  This morning Kelly worked with the Pheebs while I stood back and watched.  We are very fortunate to have such a great instructor.  Kelly Dearlove sure does know her way around dogs.

  
Tonight's photos are a final few from an area southwest of Borrego Springs California that I mentioned a couple blogs ago.  We took a drive part way down the Vallecito Valley 2 years ago and had us a brief look around as a possible area of interest in the future.  The future may soon be upon us.  We traveled as far south as the BUTTERFIELD RV PARK.  Can’t give you a review on this park because we only stopped in for a few minutes but can tell you that it is remote, rustic and has character.  I like that…………………………   

  
FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR SOME TIRED OLD FIRE ENGINES 

Had to trim a bit of our jungle back from one side of the Motor Home this afternoon.  The Sumacs were beginning to encroach into our living room slide space.  We did get a little more organizing done inside the coach and it is hard to believe that we may very well be pulling out of here three weeks from today…………..I’m hoping.

  

 
Three months from tonight will be Christmas Eve.  No idea where we will be except we're hoping it will be somewhere off the beaten path under a quiet canopy of stars.  Sure a welcome change from all those stressful hustle and bustle social functions of years gone by. 
 
BUTTERFIELD RANCH AND RV PARK 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Did you know a wine drinking hangover is the wrath of grapes.
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-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

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

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