‘NO’ WE ARE NOT HEADING HOME YET!!

WE DON’T SEEM TO HAVE AS MANY MOURNING DOVES IN OUR YARD THIS YEAR

Finished Bill Bryson’s book, ‘The Life & Times of the THUNDERBOLT KID’ Monday & I’m coming down the home stretch on my Kindle book, Leaving the Life.  The latter sure has been an emotionally tough read but I am feeling better for what I am learning from this book.

CURVED BILL THRASHERS HAVE THE MOST YELLOWEST EYES >>>

Nowhere in my Monday post did I mention anything about heading home to Bayfield Ontario now or anytime in the immediate future.  I simply expressed some thoughts on things I look forward to when we do get home sometime around the first week of April.  We have spent over 60 years plowing through miserable Canadian winters & are well aware of harsh weather conditions going on there at this time of year, & especially this year.  We check in on Bayfield’s weather often.  Yes I am always antsy about getting on the road going somewhere but returning to Canada before the first of April definitely is never a voluntary decision or destination for us.  We did toss around some travel plans this morning for later next month but nothing definite yet.

FIRST TIME SEEING THIS BIRD IN OUR BACKYARD TODAY & I’M WONDERING IF IT MIGHT BE AN INCA DOVE

GROANER’S CORNER:(( My wife, a registered nurse, once fussed over every pain or mishap that came my way. Recently, however, I got an indication that the honeymoon is over. I was about to fix the attic fan, and as I lifted myself from the ladder into the attic, I scratched my forehead on a crossbeam. Crawling along, I picked up splinters in both hands, and I cut one hand replacing the fan belt. On the way down the ladder, I missed the last two rungs and turned my ankle. When I limped into the kitchen, my wife took one look and said, "Are those your good pants?"

TWICE A YEAR I LOOK FORWARD TO CHANGE

IT WAS A YEAR AGO TUESDAY A HOT AIR BALLOON NEARLY LANDED ON TOP OF JEEPERS NEAR SEDONA AZ…KELLY IS ACTUALLY BEHIND THE JEEP BENDING OUR BIG WHIP AERIAL DOWN

Just gotta love these mid to upper 70’s day time temps & 50’s night time temperatures.  Sunshine every day & the 10 day forecast calls for more of the same.  Spring is well underway here in Arizona:))

A YEAR AGO TODAY IN SEDONA

I’m afraid since returning from our fine boondocking week away my days have been melding into one kind of long sameness of which most of my time has been spent just simply sitting in a chair reading.  Now that’s Okay of course for maybe a few hours here & there but my eyes are worn out, I’ve got sitting callouses you know where & my legs have stiffened up like a couple old rusted door hinges.  My mind has been entertained but not challenged.  Feels like my ambition has been dropped into yesterday’s dumpster like tomorrow’s trash & any creative urges I have felt the past few days only resulted in me trying a dusting of cinnamon on my shredded wheat this morning.  I’m going to have to shake some of this Arizona dust off.  Something tells me I am missing my Bayfield country road Jeep drives with the Pheebs which in turn tells me I am beginning to cast my eyes northward anticipating next months long journey home to the land of Pine trees, large lakes, endless gravel roads, forests & fields of green. There comes a time each Autumn & each Spring when like a migrating bird it is once again time to move on.  I welcome & always impatiently look forward to those changes of routine each & every year…………….

A SEDONA CAMPFIRE

GROANER’S CORNER:(( There's a little fellow named Junior who hangs out at the local grocery store. The manager doesn't know what Junior's problem is, but the boys like to tease him. They say he is two bricks short of a load, or two pickles shy of a barrel.  To prove it, sometimes the boys offer Junior his choice between a nickel and a dime. He always takes the nickel, they say, because it's bigger.  One day after Junior grabbed the nickel, the store manager got him off to one side and said, "Junior, those boys are making fun of you. They think you don't know the dime is worth more than the nickel. Are you grabbing the nickel because it's bigger, or what?"  Junior said, "Well, if I took the dime, they'd quit doing it!"

SOUR MILK & NEW PANTS WITH A HAMMER HOLDER

SIGNS OF AN ARIZONA SPRING ARE IN THE AIR

Noticed this morning when I poured myself a small glass of milk it had an odd taste & knew right away it was beginning to turn sour.  It was the last of 3 small jugs of milk we had bought in Blythe California earlier in the week.   Noticed the expiry date was Feb 10th.  Figured we might as well head ourselves on over to Wickenburg’s Safeway grocery store & pick up a few things.  Besides, I was wanting to have myself a look at some TSC pants.

HEY SUE HERE I AM IN A TSC CHANGE ROOM ABOUT TO TRY ON A PAIR OF CARHARTT DUNGAREES:))

With half a hundred dollars worth of groceries in the back we Jeeped ourselves a short distance from the grocery store over to Wickenburg’s Tractor Supply store whereupon I tried myself on three different sets of pants. Decided in the end on a pair of C.E. Schmidts durable dark tan work pants with a handy right leg pocket for my Canon point & shoot camera.  And ‘NO’ they are not ‘old man’s pants’!!  I even have a loop of material on the left leg where I can hang a hammer in case I have to stop along the way & fix a camera or maybe my wrist watch if it should unexpectantly stop sometime.  Biggest problem I always have buying pants is not waist size but leg length.  My legs have always been way too short for the rest of me & they don’t make leg lengths for short ass characters like myself so I always have to get them hemmed which means on today’s pants with a leg length of 30” I will have to get about 2” chopped off each leg before I can wear em.  Well I could wear them but the legs bunch up like a couple crumpled stove pipes.  Kelly said she’s gonna try sewing up the hems by hand but with heavier canvas like material that may be too tough a job.  I’ll try these Schmidts out & if I like this style of pants I’ll go back to TSC & pick myself up a pair of American made Carhartts.  Wasn’t until we were home I realized C.E. Schmidts are made in Egypt & didn’t have as good reviews as Carhartts.  Carhartts are only about $12 more than Schmidts.  Geeeezzzzzz, I’m getting to be quite the pants expert here all of a sudden.  Oh & here is a bit of TSC trivia for you.  Charles E. Schmidt founded TSC. (Tractor Supply Company)

Paul over at R Sanity RV Adventures has put himself a list together on what he & Marti have learned these past 3 years Fulltiming.  It’s a list all RV’ers can identify with & for new folks just entering the lifestyle it’s a list they had better have a look at:))

WHAT A SNOOZER HEAD

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man came home from the office and found his new bride sobbing convulsively. "I feel terrible," she told him. "I was pressing your suit and I burned a big hole in the seat of your trousers."  "Oh, just forget it," consoled her husband. "Remember that I've got an extra pair of pants for that suit."  "Yes, I know. And it's lucky you have!" said the woman, drying her eyes. "I was able to use a piece from them to patch the hole!"

READING A BOOK NOW ABOUT A COUPLE’S STRUGGLE WITH CANCER

FEMALE GILA WOODPECKER TACKLES AN ORANGE SLICE IN OUR MESQUITE TREE

Even the birds must have known it was Valentines Day.  Both Kelly & I noticed many cheerful bird songs in the air this morning.  And it just seemed to go on all day.  Our Curved Bill Thrashers have the prettiest sound to them. We noticed birds flying & working together with a lot of nest building going on.  A pair of Gila Woodpeckers were busy with a few slices of orange Kelly had put out as well.  It was just a mighty fine Saturday morning all round as I took full advantage of our front porch & spent well over half my day just sitting there reading, watching birds, & nodding off now & again to the sweet sounds of twittering around me.  Especially busy were a clan of little Sparrows busily feathering their nests in our two giant Saguaros out front.  

<<< MALE GILA WOODPECKER TACKLES AN ORANGE PEEL ON A TALL WOODEN POLE

I did finish my book ‘Quiet’ a couple weeks ago.  Well I finished it my way that is.  Again the first part of this book was most interesting to me but once it got into how introverted people cope in big business environments such as Wall Street I lost interest & fast forwarded.  Next the author talked about introverted & extraverted children & how they cope.  Although more interesting than the Wall Street section I again lost interest & finally put the book down & moved on to something else.  Despite not reading this book from cover to cover I did find what I did read very informative & enlightening.  

A LOT OF NEST BUILDING GOING ON TODAY

A month ago I had downloaded about a dozen free books on my kindle so sifted through the list, picked out a couple & began reading.  Neither of these 2 books held my interest for long so moved onto a 3rd one & this book grabbed my attention.  Had no idea what it was about at first but with each page I was drawn further & further in.  It is a true story written by the husband of woman diagnosed with terminal cancer.  It is a story of their daily struggles, their turmoil, their hopes & their many set backs with this insidious illness & disease.  Normally I wouldn’t chose to read a book like this but now that I am nearly half way through I am glad I decided to stick with it.  Cancer is one of those topics all people fear & few talk openly about.  Even the victims sometimes.  This book in it’s own painful yet powerful way reveals those personal difficulties.  I am finding with each page turned I am gaining an understanding & insight into something I like many others have feared, turned away from, & felt uncomfortable talking about.  The book is called, ‘Leaving the Life’ by Patrick McKenna Lynch Smith.  

 

I am also reading a second book & this one is hard covered & the first printed on paper book I have read for many years.  It helps to have the ‘large print’ edition & that is working for me.  Suggested by Kelly’s brother Peter I am well into ‘The Thunderbolt Kid’ which again is a true story of a boy’s growing up years in the 1950’s.  Author Bill Bryson pretty much nails it as I continuously identify with nearly everything he writes about.  Many things from my own childhood in the 50’s I remember & the one’s I don’t are brought back to mind by the author’s own memories.  Great book which will bring many smiles for aging baby boomer minds.

Ever heard of the Kalamazoo Air Zoo?  Well I hadn’t either until I read Jim’s post over at exploRVistas.  I know we have some readers out here with aviation interests & this post just might be of interest to them.  Check out the pink P-40 Warhawk & find out why it was painted pink.

Our intentions were good this morning when we decided last night to just take the bull by the horns this morning, hop in the Jeep, & go around visiting some folks we either haven’t seen yet this year or have maybe only seen once.  As I said, our intentions were good but Kelly got herself busy in the kitchen working on a new cabbage soup recipe & I just kind of lazed out on our front porch reading.  Jeep never moved & we didn’t leave the property.  One of these days we’ll get our act together & get out to say hello to folks………………

WITH LAPTOP OPEN ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER KELLY WORKS AWAY AT A CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE THIS MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Driving through Southern California, I stopped at a roadside stand that sold fruit, vegetables, and crafts.  As I went to pay, I noticed the young woman behind the counter was painting a sign.
"Why the new sign?" I asked.  "My boyfriend didn't approve of the old one," she said.  When I glanced at what hung above the counter, I understood. It declared, "Local Honey, Dates, Nuts."

---

After years of using the same perfumes, I decided to try something different and settled on a light, citrusy fragrance. The next day I was surprised when it was my little boy, not my husband, who first noticed the change. As he put his arms around me, he declared, "Wow, Mom, you smell just like Fruit Loops!"

AN OPISOMETER IN MY POCKET & SOME THOUGHTS ON BLUE JEANS

It has been another rather quiet day here at our house in Congress.  Other than washing the bottom quarter & wheel rims of the Motorhome earlier this morning I haven’t done much.  For a 3rd day in a row I have been tired & just seem to be dozing off whenever I sit down.
 
When was the last time you had an opisometer in your pocket?  Not familiar with an opisometer then try a curvimeter, a meilograph, or map measurer.  Well map measurer perhaps describes it best.  It’s an instrument for measuring the lengths of arbitrary curved lines commonly used to figure out the mileage between 2 points on paper maps.  Instructions inside say….’this instrument is used to measure distances on all types of maps & to give geographical directions.   Well typing this tonight I just happen to have one of them there opisometer Mossmagators in my pocket right now.  So how did I come into possession of this meilograph.  Well Sarge in the never ending process of organizing his garage which by the way is the size of a small to medium house came across it amongst the other 742,389 items he has stashed away in there.  Knowing I like using paper maps for our travels he knew just the guy to give this curvimeter too.  It even has a compass on the other side.  Giving me that opisometer brings Sarge’s inventory down to 742,388 now unless he went to town today in which case his garage inventory may have jumped back up to 742,396:))


INTERNET PHOTO OF AN OPISOMETER >>>
Been on my mind awhile to phase out my blue jeans.  Wore jeans forever right up to the early 80’s when several jobs required me to wear dress pants.  I seldom wore jeans again until the summer of 2000 when I packed in the last of my full time dress pants jobs.  I’ve been in jeans ever since with the exception of having to wear dress pants again for my part time Mobility Van job which ended about 3 years ago.  I’ve been back in blue jeans ever since but like I said, I’m thinking maybe it’s time for of a change again.  Think I’ll take me for a drive over to Wickenburg’s TSC store & see what they’ve got for me.  Always figured a ‘Tractor Supply Company’ is as good a place as any for a feller to buy himself a mighty fine pair of pants.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( When the Jones family moved into their new house, a visiting relative asked five-year-old Sammy how he liked the new place.  "It's terrific," he said.  "I have my own room, Mike has his own room, and Jamie has her own room.  But poor Mom is still stuck with Dad."
---
My husband decided life would be easier if he wired a new light switch in the master bedroom to save us from fumbling in the dark for the lamp. He cut through the drywall and found a stash of bottles and small boxes inside the wall.  "Honey!" he called excitedly. "You've got to come here and see what I found."  I ran in and quickly realized that his next task would be to fix the hole that now led into the back of our medicine cabinet.

AN EARLY MORNING DOG RESCUE FOR US

WE FOUND THIS POOR DOG ENTANGLED IN BRUSH BEHIND OUR BACKYARD FENCE THIS MORNING

It was about 8:30 while out in our front yard by the road watering a few plants that I heard a sound in the air slightly different than our neighborhood’s usual sounds.  Didn’t pay any attention to it until I noticed the sound was repeating itself.  About every 4 seconds I could hear what I thought might be a far distant cow bellowing in the desert.  But there was something slightly different about this sound as I turned to face it’s source which seemed to be somewhere in the direction of our back yard behind the house.  It seemed to be a softer sound & it seemed to be closer.  Out of curiosity I began walking back across our side yard when I thought I saw a movement behind our fence in the underbrush.  The sound I initially heard had stopped.  I right away thought of Javelinas.  Again I could see movement as I slowly approached our fence line but it was a stationary movement & not like a moving Javelina movement.  Stopping by a Mesquite tree I stared intently at the spot where I had seen the movement & there it was again, something moved.  I walked forward figuring if it was a Javelina it would turn & run but whatever this was didn’t do that & I just could not make out clearly what it was I was looking at.  Could see something white & Javelina’s do not have white coloring on them & the thought of a Skunk never crossed my mind.  I walked closer & ‘OMG’ it was a dog lying in the underbrush.

IT APPEARED HE COULDN’T MOVE

Quickly moving closer I right away began talking to it telling it everything was going to be Okay.  I could see it was alive & looking at me but in probable difficulty.  I assumed from it’s quiet nature it was too weak to move & had come as far as our fence line.  Couldn’t go any further & couldn’t turn around.  Looked to be an older dog maybe a Spaniel as it let out a weak growl at my approach.  I quickly turned & slipped into the house to get Kelly & our rescue mission was on.  Pheebe ran up to the fence line & the dog seemed fearful & barked at Pheebs.  I felt it was a good sign that it barked.  We quickly put Pheebs back in the house & Kelly tossed a couple dog treats over the fence for it while grabbed my gloves, a leash, & my big tree pruning clippers & headed out our back gate.  Kelly was not too far behind me with a bowl of water.

The area behind our house right up to the fence is thick with Mesquite trees, brush, dead Prickly Pear cactus & sharp thorny brambles.  I had made a mental note as to where the dog was located in relation to the north corner of our house.   With that reference point I was able to locate the dog through the brush behind him then began cutting a path through all the tangled branches to get to it.  That probably took about 5 minutes & I did notice something curious.   At no time did the dog turn around to look at me as I slowly made my way to it.  I kept talking to the dog but it didn’t seem to hear me.  Finally I had cut my way in close enough to reach the dog but not knowing if it would snap at me I made some movements with my hand where it could see me.  I sensed the dog was not aggressive so was then able to begin petting it.  Kelly reached in the water dish & I set it down beside the dog.  It immediately began to drink & I took that as another good sign.  I carefully slipped a leash around it’s neck (no collar) & it right away sat up on it’s haunches.  Noticed it’s hind legs were shaking but it did manage to unsteadily stand up.  I didn’t see any apparent damage to the dog.  Bent over I managed to slowly begin backing out along the path I had cut in & luckily the Pooch was able to follow me although slowly.  I had a feeling it knew it was being helped.  We were soon clear of the underbrush & I handed the leash to Kelly who slowly walked the weakened dog back around through the gate onto our property.  I had to retrieve my cutters.

ALTHOUGH STIFF & A BIT WOBBLY SHE/HE SEEMED TO BE OKAY

By the time I got back into our yard Kelly already had a food & water dish out for our rescued dog & it was lapping up water & eating a bit.  It would stop occasionally & slowly walk around on what appeared to be very stiff back legs.  We kept petting it & talking to it as we remarked how fortunate this dog was to be alive especially with all the Coyotes in the neighborhood.  Kelly remembers hearing a dog barking nearby when she went to bed Wednesday night but with all the barking dogs in our neighborhood what’s another barking dog.   We do think it had been there all night.  And then Kelly remembered something else………….

We have a Snow Bird neighbor from Minnesota just across the road & down a bit who Kelly remembers meeting a few times on the road last winter while he was walking his dog in the morning & Kelly remembered the dog he was walking looked very much like the dog we had in our yard right now.   Without further ado Kelly walked over to the neighbors & sure enough it was our neighbors lost dog.  Minutes later the man came bursting into our yard with arms outstretched as he ran towards his missing dog. 

It was a very emotional moment as this man & his beloved dog were reunited & it was truly moving to see how much they had both missed each other.  Our neighbor was just so beside himself with happiness as was his dog Chloe (pronounced KLO-ee) as they continuously embraced each other over & over.  The man fighting back tears of joy & his 16 year old Chloe whimpering & wagging her tail like a little puppy dog.  He said in her recent old age he hadn’t seen her so happy & agile as she was at the moment they were just re-united.  Said he had had her since she was 6 weeks old.  The man’s name was Charlie & he was so happy he gave both Kelly & I both a big hug.  Said he & his wife had gone out to a movie in Wickenburg the night before & did not close their door properly.  Chloe their beloved Springer Spaniel had wandered out & became lost & disoriented.  Charlie said he had been up most of the night fretting & looking for her.  He also told us she was deaf.  That would explain why she never turned to look at me when I was cutting brambles out of the way trying to reach her.  When Kelly hurriedly walked over to Charlie's place this morning he already had a big sign out at the end of his driveway about his lost dog.  Anyway it was a happy ending to what could have been a very sad story & Kelly & I felt very good inside knowing we were in the right place at the right time to help this poor dog.  It was a good thing we came home Monday from our trip.  Had it been a week earlier or had we been a few days or a week later upon returning home Chloe probably would have died right there where we luckily found her this morning………………………

IT WAS A VERY EMOTIONAL MOMENT FOR ALL OF US……………

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A champion jockey is about to enter an important race on a new horse.  The horse's trainer meets him before the race and says, "All you have to remember with this horse is that every time you approach a jump, you have to shout, "ALLLLEEE OOOP!" really loudly in the horse's ear. Providing you do that, you'll be fine".  The jockey thinks the trainer is mad but promises to shout the command. The race begins and they approach the first hurdle. The jockey ignores the trainer's ridiculous advice and the horse crashes straight through the center of the jump. They carry on and approach the second hurdle.  The jockey, somewhat embarrassed, whispers "Aleeee ooop" in the horse's ear. The same thing happens-the horse crashes straight through the center of the jump. At the third hurdle, the jockey thinks, "It's no good, I'll have to do it" and yells, "ALLLEEE OOOP!" really loudly.  Sure enough, the horse sails over the jump with no problems. This continues for the rest of the race, but due to the earlier problems the horse only finishes third. The trainer is fuming and asks the jockey what went wrong.  The jockey replies, "Nothing is wrong with me-it's this bloody horse. What is he -- deaf or something?"  The trainer replies, "Deaf?? DEAF?? He's not deaf - he's BLIND!"

ALMOST ‘TOO POOPED TO POP’ TONIGHT

Didn’t have any photos for tonight’s post so I’ll include some pics from our past week that didn’t make it into my other daily posts.

Noticed Big EEE had a lot of bug smooshes on it’s front end & windshield so not wanting them baked on by sunlight in coming days I set right to work this morning hosing down & cleaning all that bug meat off.  From there it was inside with paper towels & window cleaner doing interior windows & windshield as well.  While at it I cleaned up our kitchen & bathroom sinks as well plus the dash area, plugged in the vacuum & did the floors.  Kelly was busy cleaning the rig’s fridge after a new small carton of cream had spilled about two thirds of it’s contents all over everything.  Checking the fridge’s temperature this morning we see that it is again working normally so we’re not sure what’s going on there.  Janna did send Mike over around noon to have a look but everything appeared normal & working correctly for the time being. 

 

COULD THIS ODD SHAPED ROCK BE THE PROFILE OF DICK TRACY

A PRECARIOUSLY BALANCED ROCK

<<< PHEEBS & YUMA PLAYING IN THE RIG

Each time heading home from one of our travel adventures & no matter how tired we are we always say we are going to just go in the house, sit down, & relax.  No need to carry everything in from the rig right away.  That unloading can always wait for the next day after we’re all rested up.  Well, that’s what we always say of course but we have never done that not even once.  Soon as the big wheels roll to a stop in front of the house we are out the door & it’s full speed ahead running frantically back & forth between the RV & the house like an old speeded up Charlie Chaplin movie.  For the next hour or two we haul absolutely everything out of that Motorhome we had hauled into it in the first place preparing for our trip.  Throw a load of laundry into that couple hours, get the birdfeeders out, set up the satellite dish, re-park the vehicles, tow bar off the Jeep, etc. etc.  After everything is in the house it is only then I head for my long hot shower followed by a much anticipated ‘ahhhhhhh’ moment as I finally sink into my cushy recliner, push it fully back & think to myself, “that’s it I’m never leaving home again”.  Chances are by the end of the day I’ll have my Benchmark Atlas open again thinking to myself, hmmmm:))

DESERT’S ARE FULL OF GREAT ROCKS TO CLIMB AROUND ON

Another note about the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  There is a good way & not so good way to enter this Refuge.  Of course we went in the not so good way with washboard roads, dusty gravel & half a dozen turns.  That not so good way for RV’s goes in off highway 78 south of Palo Verde at the Oxbow Recreation Center.  Best way into Cibola is a straight paved road right off I-10.  Heading south on 78 from west of Blythe just keep going south on the pavement ahead of you even when 78 turns right.  This straight-thru road will take you right to the Visitor Center which will be on our right side about 23 miles after the turn-off from I-10.  After passing the small community of Cibola the Refuge is about another mile.

DESERT FLOOR RAIL LINE HEADING SOUTH TO KELSO DEPOT

Must say it was nice taking a break from television for a week.  We had taken our satellite dish with us but a broken coaxial cable end put the ky-bosh on any television viewing.  Just as well as it was a welcome change from knowing what was going on in the world for a change. 

One of the most dreaded occurrences for any RV’er is a breakdown on the road whether it be a flat tire or an engine problem etc.  What if it is a solenoid switch for a Pac break system in a vintage Safari diesel Motor Home.  Where & how is an RV’er ever going to locate something like that?  Of all the millions of roads & highways in America what are the odds of breaking down right next to the largest RV salvage yard in the entire United States.  Not only that but what are the chances you have your very own handy mechanically inclined husband on board.  Well despite the vast odds it can happen and did happen……….Broke Down!!!! 

There came a point early this afternoon where I simply ran out of gas.  One minute I was working away cleaning something & the next minute I had to haul myself inside & slump myself into my recliner.  And that is basically where I remained.  Rest of my day was toast & had I not put a sizeable part of this post together this morning I could not have published it tonight.  With a good night’s sleep I’m hoping my batteries will be fully energized once again by morning.  In the meantime I’m just Too Pooped To Pop

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, California, some folks, new to boating, were having problems. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their brand new 22 ft. boat going. It was very sluggish in almost every maneuver, no matter how much power was applied. After about an hour of trying to make it go, they putted to a nearby marina, thinking someone there could tell them what was wrong. A thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine, the out drive went up and down, and the prop was the correct size and pitch. So, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath.  Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer.