I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY TECHNICALLY DO BUT I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY MY ROTARY PHONE DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE EITHER:((

WATER IN THE DESERT ABOUT A MILE BEHIND OUR HOUSE
I lost interest in our neighborhood morning walks months ago so have given them up but when Kelly suggested a morning desert walk I was all for that & off we went.  Behind a growing cloud cover old Sol barely cleared Wickenburg’s Mountains before we had the Jeep parked alongside the road & were off through a small gate into the desert near our house.  For me it is far more interesting than walking the same paved neighborhood streets day after day.  I much prefer the quiet gentleness of the desert for walking.
 
AN EARLY MORNING STAND-OFF
 
CAME ACROSS THIS OLD CATTLE PEN

 
OUR GREENING SONORAN DESERT

WICKENBURG’S VULTURE PEAK IN THE BACKGROUND

I have been missing it but just tonight I came across a couple fellas doing a major overhaul on a 27’ 2001 Lazy Daze Class C RV.  Looks like they began back about the beginning of February & are nearly finished.  This will be of particular interest to Lazy Daze owners & any handy do-it-yourselfers out here.  Of course I’m talking about Sharon & Bill’s Lazy Daze rig over at The Odd Essay.  I have gone through Sharon’s posts & picked out the renovation ones & have numbered them from 1 to 5.  Renovation Post 1, Renovation Post 2, Renovation Post 3, Renovation Post 4, Renovation Post 5.  In Post 5 with the repairs 99.9% complete Sharon lays out a detailed list of costs for all the materials used in the renovation.  Oh how nice it must be to be so handy & have the know-how & patience for these kinds of projects.  Good stuff guys.

 
FEMALE CARDINAL PERCHED & DOING A SWAN DIVE TO THE BIRD FEEDER
I remember when Kelly & I first began our RV travels how confusing the technical end of most everything was for us.  Still is:((  We learned how to deal with mechanical things like emptying gray & black tanks, moving slides in & out, hot water heaters, propane operated fridges & stoves, roof vents, filling our water tank, etc. etc. but it was the technical side of things that has always remained confusing to us.  Well to me anyway.  We had one laptop between us & the first season on the road relied on unreliable wifi spots if & when we could find them.  We did have a cell phone but this was back in 06/07 & the whole cell phone thing as I recall was confusing as well.  I have made zero progress since then in understanding cell phone technology.   In our 2nd season out we went with an expensive satellite system for both our TV & Internet but this was again hugely confusing for us as well & was fraught with many frustrating problems with the last one in City Of Rocks State Park in New Mexico when the system just died.   We had had enough & decided right there & then to just leave it dead & abandoned the whole satellite idea in less than a year.  Verizon air cards were becoming very popular so we immediately made the leap to that technology & never looked back.  Since then the techno world has evolved so fast we have been left hopelessly in the dust.  Well I’ve been left in the dust that is.  If it wasn’t for Kelly I’d still be using carrier pigeons.  I guess what I’m getting at is so many things are changing so fast it is hard for many RV’ers to stay current with everything.  However, there is hope.  Thanks to a younger generation of RV folks on the road these days there are people continuously on top of all these mobile technical changes & it is some of these RV’ers who devote a lot of their time & energy into sharing their knowledge & technical expertise with their fellow travelers.  Two of these tech savvy RV’ers are Chris & Cherie from technomadia.  Be sure to check out their RV Mobile Internet Resource Center plus they have just re-freshed their latest 2015 edition of The Mobile Internet Handbook.  We met Chris & Cherie a couple months ago in Borrego Springs California.  Nice folks for sure.  I truly don’t understand what it is they technically do but then again I don’t understand why my favorite rotary phone doesn’t work anymore either……………..

Have had a few inquiries about my Breezer hat & should mention the hat cost $35.  I imagine they can be bought at most State Parks with each State Park having their own logo on the hat band.  Because I bought mine in the Mojave National Preserve that is what it says on the front of the hat.  I imagine places like Joshua Tree would have the same hats for sale.

THE SOLID TOP BLOCKS THE SUN’S RAYS WHILE THE MESH SIDES & BRIM ALLOW AIR FLOW…CORD ON THE BACK OF THE HAT CAN BE USED AS A CHIN STRAP ON WINDY DAYS…I REALLY LIKE THIS HAT, VERY COMFORTABLE, LIGHT, & AIRY

DOES ANYONE NOTICE ANYTHING ODD ABOUT THIS PHOTO??
GROANER’S CORNER:(( It is reported that the following edition of the Book of Genesis was discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me everyday. Now I do not see You anymore. I am lonesome here and it is difficult for me to remember how much You love me."
And God said, "I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of My love for you, so that you will know I love you, even when you cannot see Me.
Regardless of how selfish and childish and unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."
And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, "But Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and all the good names are taken and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."
And God said, "Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of My love for you, his name will be a reflection of My own name, and you will call him DOG."
And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but no one has taught him humility."
And the Lord said, "I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not worthy of adoration."
And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam.
And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility.
And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved.
And Cat did not care one way or the other.

KELLY TO THE DENTIST, PHEEBS TO THE VET, & AL VARNISHES UP SOME STUFF

GUESSING THESE AS 2 MALE WHITE CROWNED SPARROWS & 1 FEMALE ON OUR BIRD BATH THIS MORNING

Kelly had an 8:45 a.m. appointment in Wickenburg this morning.  No not a normal medical appointment…..a dentist appointment.  Awhile back she had a tooth filling come out so it was time to have that repaired.  It would be the first of 2 trips to Wickenburg for appointments today but the second appointment wasn’t for Kelly or I.

LIFT-OFF FOR THIS RINGNECK DOVE

Slowly emerging from this past week’s docile state I grabbed a couple paint cans & did a little touch up work to a recent paint project in our dining room.  After that out came a can of varnish & I set to work putting a protective coat of varnish on some of Kelly’s rock paintings, our big outdoor hand carved Mexican bird statue, a wooden table top & a semi round rock.  Nice to get interested in a few little work projects again.

  

<<< INCA DOVE IN OUR MESQUITE TREE

For those of you out here who don’t get the RV Lifestyle I suggest you drop in on the folks over at Phannie & Mae & read Mike’s thoughts.  I do well understand & agree with what he is saying & for any retired folks financially comfortable & in good health asking the question, ‘is this all there is’ I would say ‘no it isn’t’.   Take a serious look at the RVing lifestyle, grab yourself an adventure & hang on.  What better way to turn the clock back than to pump some youthful excitement back into those tired aching muscles & get that lethargic blood flowing again.  Take those tired old bones for a walk or drive to your nearest RV dealer, kick some tires & put yourself into the drivers seat of an RV & imagine towering mountains, shimmering lakes, sprawling deserts, waving palm trees, & seashores with never ending coastlines all yours for the seeing.  Just wind yourself up & let yourself go:))

NO I AM NOT TURNING AROUND & YOU CAN’T MAKE ME EITHER!!

Kelly’s dental appointment this morning went well.  No consultation or x-ray stuff resulting in a second appointment & she was able to have the problem tooth repaired on the spot with a new filling.  Kelly was very impressed with the nice personable & honest dentist.  Dr. David C. Uthoff D.M.D Family Dentistry

HOUSE/PURPLE FINCH TAKES OFF FROM THE BIRDFEEDER

Mentioned earlier about 2 trips to Wickenburg today & that second appointment was 4 p.m. for Pheebs.  Weather is warming up & soon we will be into more daytime 80’s & that means hibernating creatures will be emerging from their winter hibernations.  Some of those creatures are Rattlesnakes.  Pheebe had her anti-venom shot a year ago about this time & today’s appointment was a third booster shot to that original shot.  Of course Pheebs was as good as Gold as the Vet checked her over which is part of the appointment.  Although I haven’t seen a live Rattlesnake myself yet Kelly & I did see 2 dead ones 2 years ago in March & Kelly saw a live one last March down at the end of Ghost Town Road but the Vet told us today due to the unusual higher temperatures coming earlier this year a few Rattlers have already been spotted out & about. 

  

OH MOM DO WE REALLY HAVE TO DO THIS TODAY

HEY WHAT’S THIS GUY DOING IN MY EAR!!

Two doors north of the Vet Clinic is a great Burger joint called Screamers.  We were there once a couple years ago so figured rather than Kelly making supper when we got home we’d just pop in for a couple hamburgers.  Burgs were as great as ever.  Enjoyed the drive back to Congress seeing the late afternoon sun shining on the Weaver Mountains.  It is rare for us to be out later in the day so I don’t always get to see latter day light conditions.  Nice……I gotta get out more:))

 

<<< WE SPLIT A SMALL CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKE

I know not everyone is into bird photos but with all the Spring bird activity around the yard this week I have enjoyed hanging out a few times with my feathered friends & grabbing some photos.  It’s mating season & the plumage on the male birds is very colorful.  However I do think Pheebs & I are overdue for a Jeep ride to scout out some new photo opportunities.  I had better pull the lead out & get that organized……………..

MALE CACTUS WREN ABOUT 1 MILLISECOND BEFORE TAKE-OFF

GROANER’S CORNER:(( On a U.S. cruiser, the officer of the deck asked the starboard lookout, "What would you do if a sailor was washed overboard?"  "I'd yell 'Man overboard!" answered the lookout snappily.  "Good," said the officer. "Now what would you do if an officer fell overboard?"  The lookout asked, "Which one, sir?"

---

In my early driving days, I had the bad habit of running out of gas frequently. Once, I was stranded at the mall and called my father for help.  When he arrived, I was under the hood, poking around. "I think there's something preventing the gas from reaching the carburetor," I said.
"Yeah," he shot back. "A twenty-dollar bill."

MY C.E. SCHMIDTS WENT TO NORTH RANCH TODAY & CHATTING WITH A COUPLE FELLOW RV’ERS

<<< GAMBLE’S QUAIL…’DON’T BE SHY NOW’

My C.E. Schmidts are over at North Ranch getting hemmed.  Kelly found a lady there who hems pants for $5.  Said they will be ready for pick-up Friday.  Many years ago my leg length for hemming pants was 28.5”.  According to the latest measurements my already short legs have now shrunk to a length of 27” which just goes to show people do shrink as they age.  Well I seem to be anyway………..

HOUSE FINCH…JUST COLOR ME RED MISTER >>>

While at North Ranch Kelly drove around to their beautiful Cactus Garden area where they generally have young potted cactus plants for sale at very reasonable prices.  Minutes after she & Pheebs pulled into our driveway I was out with my shovel planting a new Parry's Agave as well as a second Easter Cactus.

 

NICE TO SEE SOME OF OUR DAMAGED CACTUS FROM TWO YEARS AGO MAKING A COMEBACK 

 

THE PARRYS AGAVE I PLANTED TODAY

 

THIS SMALL EASTER CACTUS WILL GROW TALL & STRONG WITH THE PRETTIEST OF FLOWERS BUT IT’S LIKELY WE WILL NEVER SEE THEM AS THEY BLOOM AFTER WE LEAVE FOR HOME…JUST AS WE’LL NEVER SEE OUR 3 SAGUAROS BLOOM EITHER

 

LAST YEARS ALOE VERA’S I PLANTED ARE BLOOMING THOUGH

TDHOMESTEAD DO YOU RECOGNIZE THAT HALF DOME ROCK ON THE LEFT:))

Fellow RV’ers Glenda & Jeff dropped in a few days ago on their way to a boondocking site at the end of Ghost Town Road.  Early this afternoon we took a drive down to see them.  They had stopped into our place a couple years ago.  Pheebs got to see their dog Keira again.  They travel all over the States full time in their Casita trailer towed by a Toyota pick-up truck.   They had just been to a Casita rally in the Dome Rock area over in Quartzsite a few weeks back.  Always nice to have a catch-up chat:))

JEFF & GLENDA

 

JEFF & KEIRA

 

AND BY GOLLY I SEE I’M WEARING MY NEW ‘BREEZER’ HAT TODAY:))

 

My favorite station on our Sirius Satellite Radio is ‘Chill’ on channel 053 but as is the problem with most any type of station listened to repetition after awhile can be a problem.  Realized awhile back 053 had a habit of repeating too many of their ambient tunes lately so needing a break I switched over to 40’s on 4.  Big Band era on channel 04.  Occurred to me this morning while listening to Nat King Cole’s ‘Route 66’ that we have been in, around, or through all the cities mentioned in that song with the exception of San Bernardino & Los Angeles both in California.  And no it is not likely we will be going to either of those cities just to complete that list.  We have also driven on a few sections of Route 66 here & there & I remember a stretch near Joplin Missouri where the old historic highway was not in good shape at all.

AND A BUD ON OUR SMALL FRONT YARD CHRISTMAS CACTUS

Karen & Steve are still making their way westward & are currently camped out at Cabello State Park in New Mexico.  A good opportunity to make some minor repairs & do a little maintenance on their older Safari Motorhome.  For all you do-it-yourselfer diesel & handyman guys there are always things to learn here if you follow Steve around for any length of time.  Again Karen has some useful tips & you can see how Steve upgraded their rigs dim & aging headlights.  Some people have dust under their beds but Karen & Steve have a diesel engine under theirs & you can see Steve hanging out, or should that be ‘hanging in’ the engine compartment.  On The Road Motorhome Maintenance

<<< BUNNIES ARE SAFE FROM COYOTES ON OUR FENCED IN PROPERTY BUT I JUST WISHED THEY WOULD STOP EATING OUR CACTUS PLANTS

Finished my Kindle book ‘Leaving this Life’ today & I would certainly recommend this book to anyone dealing with a spouses or friends terminal illness.  It’s a bare bones raw & sincerely honest account by author Patrick McKenna Lynch Smith dealing with his wife’s long losing battle with terminal cancer.  The book does not end with her death but goes beyond to his own struggling difficulties trying to cope with her loss for nearly 2 years after.  I think many if not all people in similar circumstances could readily identify with this man’s very emotional roller-coaster journey through the process of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, & acceptance.  And the sadness…………

JUST NICE TO SEE SOME THINGS BEGINNING TO BLOOM

On a lighter note I have just started another one of Bill Bryson’s books entitled A Short History of Almost Everything & I have his latest book One Summer: America, 1927 warming up in the bullpen just in case I find the science of ‘A Short History Of Everything’ a bit too heavy for me.  With anything I read just throw in half a dozen big words & I’m soon frantically treading water!!

<<< CACTUS WREN

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A young man was applying for a job in a big company.  "I'm sorry," said the personnel manager, "but the firm is overstaffed; we have more employees now than we really need."  "That's all right," replied the young man, undiscouraged, "the little bit of work I do won't be noticed anyway."

---

Although I was only a few pounds overweight, my wife was harping on me to diet. One evening we took a brisk walk downtown, and I surprised her by jumping over a parking meter, leapfrog style.  Pleased with myself, I said, "How many fat men do you know who can do that?"
"Just one," she retorted.