BET YOU NEVER WASHED HALF YOUR CAR THEN DROVE OFF TOTALLY FORGETTING TO WASH THE OTHER HALF!!

WHEAT FIELD ON A SLIGHTLY MISTY MORNING

Well I gotta be losing it alright.  Because of all the crud on the Jeep I decided to wash it first thing this morning despite the sky looking every bit like rain.  I sudsed up & rinsed off the Jeeps front end & passenger side, then promptly forgot to wash the whole driver’s side including the wheels & rear end.  Noticed my absent mindedness about an hour later in Goderich after driving there under cloudy skies, a slight mist, & a fine rain.  So now I might as well wash the whole darn thing all over again.  If I keep this silliness up I’m a gonna have all Libby’s paint washed right off soon enough.

SEEMED LIKE I WAS THE ONLY ONE MOTORING THROUGH THE MORNINGS LITE MIST TODAY

FOGGY MORNING AT THE GODERICH HARBOR GRAIN ELEVATORS

EVEN THE ‘CEDARGLEN’ IS WEARING THE MORNING’S MIST WELL

AND A PEEK THIS MORNING ALL THE WAY THROUGH HER BOW THRUSTER FROM ONE SIDE OF THE SHIP TO THE OTHER

A few things to pick up in Goderich then it was off down to Rotary Cove Beach for a walk in the doggy area.  Not a lot of photographical things in terms of big blue sunny skies, fluffy white clouds, & clear horizons stretching forever this morning.  I was a bit premature in rejoicing about Tuesday night’s clearing skies.  Clouds thickened up & prevailed through the night well into early afternoon today.  A general photo rule of thumb on cloudy days is look for photos on the ground & beneath the horizon line.  If one remembers to do that one will find many great photo opportunities.  Flowers or any already bright colors can really ‘pop’ on overcast days.

CUTE LITTLE THING IN THE WALMART PARKING LOT

 

Took us for a short drive around Goderich then headed ourselves back home.  Goderich is a nice town/city & if Kelly & I had to pick a community to live in at some point we would chose Goderich Ontario.  Everything there we need, no traffic chaos, a unique town core, easy access to the countryside, a fabulous beach, & it even comes complete with it’s own picturesque harbor on Lake Huron.  Large ocean going lake freighters frequent the harbor 3 seasons of the year providing folks with up close encounters of boats & ships many people do not usually see.  Truly a nice place to live & maybe in the Fall I’ll throw together a few photo albums of the town itself…………..:))

 

I’M ACTUALLY KINDA GLAD PHEEBS DOESN’T LIKE THE WATER…KEEPS ME & THE CAR’S INTERIOR CLEANER & DRYER:))

 

I think my last haircut was back last winter sometime.  Kelly really laid a number on me that time & cut my hair pretty short.  Not wanting to undergo the scissors again I’ve just kinda been stuffing my head under my hat every time I go out the door.  In fact that just may have been my last haircut of ever because at the rate I seem to be losing my hair lately I may not have to worry about haircuts of any kind anymore.  There has been some subtle clues as of late.  It seems more & more of my hair is ending up on the shower stall floor as well as in my hair brush.  Once a tough feat to drag a brush through my thick mop my brush fairly sails through it now.  Oh still lots of hair up there of course but it is a bit alarming to not only see but feel the thinning change going on.  Darn this blasted aging thing anyway.  If this keeps up I’m going to end up looking like Mr. McGoo.  Well why not, I already have most of his other characteristics……………..

  

With sunshine pouring through our pine trees & clear skies overhead I think Pheebs & will slip out tonight & see if we can have us a look at planets Venus & Jupiter.  With daylight hours being so long this time of year & my human daylight hours being so short I find it hard for both long & short extremes to meet amicably anymore………………. 

I THINK LITTLE MISS SNOOZY FACE IS READY TO HEAD FOR HOME

GROANER’S CORNER:(( After school one day, a young first-grade boy was sitting at the kitchen table, eating his afternoon snack, when he blurted out, "Mom, the teacher was asking me today if I have any brothers or sisters who will be coming to school."  The boy's mother replied, "That's nice of her to take such an interest, dear. What did she say when you told her you are the only child?"  She just said, "Thank goodness!"

THE BIG EEE IS HOME AGAIN BUT GEEEEZZZZ DID TODAY’S RAINS & SLOPPY ROADS EVER MAKE A MESS OF IT………LIBBY TOO:((

MONDAY NIGHTS BAYFIELD HARBOR

It was about the same time we left the house Tuesday morning as it was Monday morning.  And the same destination, GAMMON'S RV SALES & SERVICE east of St. Thomas Ontario.   Although dry when we left it wasn't long & we were making our way through pockets of rain for most of our drive.  Glad to see it was not raining at Gammons RV but todays wet & greasy roads sure made a mockery out of my Jeep clean up Monday.

A VERY UNHAPPY LITTLE FACE IN THE BACK SEAT THIS MORNING

 

PHEEBS TRIES VERY HARD TO RECLAIM HER SPOT IN THE FRONT SEAT BUT TEMPORARILY GIVES UP
Think it probably took us about an hour & three quarters to reach Gammons & as we pulled into the driveway I noticed a white car pull in behind us & park a short distance away.  As I exited the Jeep & began walking across the lot the driver of the white car exited his car & approached me.  I said 'Good Morning' & he responded with 'Hello AL'.  Oh-Oh I thought.  I always think 'Oh-Oh' when a stranger approaches me & calls me by name.  Turns out this fellow's name was John & knew we were coming because he had just read my Monday night post about 20 minutes earlier.  Turns out John is a long time reader of the Bayfield Bunch & lives just a short distance from Gammons.  It was nice talking to John who is an RV'er with a 5th Wheel himself.  A retired truck driver he actually delivers RV’s for people around the area when they need them moved from point A to point B.  Nice meeting you John:))

LONG TIME BLOG READER JOHN & HEY WE EVEN HAVE PHEEBS IN THIS ONE DOING A LITTLE HAPPY DANCE

Kelly talked to AL from Gammons about our refrigerator repair & also mentioned about a problem we have had with our water pump sometimes not working.  Al zeroed in on a loose ground connection on our hard to get at water pump.  He added something to that connection & tightened it up.  Hopefully that is another 'mysterious' rig problem solved.  If we are not careful we will pretty soon have all those little Gremlins kicked right out of the rig.  Front furnace wiring problem fixed in Winkler Manitoba last Fall, inverter problem solved in California this past winter & now a refrigerator as well as a water pump fixed as well.  Fingers crossed that we have some clear sailing for awhile now.  Still no idea about our occasional loss of engine power coming through the mountains on our way home a few months ago though.........................
THIS IS WHAT OUR DRIVE LOOKED LIKE GOING HOME THROUGH LONDON THIS MORNING
Talked to Aunt Jean in Florida a couple nights ago & she has made the move from the place she has lived for 25 years to her newer Condo just a few miles away.  She managed to sell her place already & the closing for that was this morning.  When I phoned her Sunday night she was pretty tired from the move but I also detected some excitement in her voice as well.  We all know the muddleness moving creates & Jean was having quite a time locating things in boxes etc.  Being a well organized person it will probably take her a week or so to feel comfortably in control of her new surroundings but there's no doubt she is just the right person to pull it all together.  When I think of my Aunt Jean I think of ‘stamina’.

  

IN THE SOUTHEAST END OF LONDON PATIENTLY WAITING IN THE RIG FOR MOM TO RETURN WITH SOME YUMMY McDONALD SNACKS

 

We heard rumors of clearing skies for Wednesday so I'm thinking that might mean a possible gravel run for Pheebs & I in the morning with another Jeep clean-up in the afternoon.  And then there's the Motorhome.  What a mess from driving pretty much all the way home today in rain.  Anyone towing a toad knows the mess it can be in after being hauled along rain slicked roads behind a Motorhome.  Mud, pine needles, & gravel tracked around inside as well.  Another big 2 or 3 hour clean-up job there for sure.  Oh well, gotta tell myself the exercise is good for me & it's best having something to do as opposed to having nothing to do.  Am I right or what:))

 

Monday night I published my post on the early side so Pheebs & I took ourselves for a ride into Bayfield.  Sun was well on it’s way down but we did manage to snap ourselves a few sunset photos.  I knew the Moon & planet Saturn were going to be very close Monday night so thought I’d like to grab a photo of that as well.  I have a favorite gravel road hill not far away just south of Holmesville so Pheebs & headed out there.  Again it was way too early & the southern sky way to bright so we didn’t stay.  Despite repellent the mosquitoes were eating us alive.  I did get to see the planets Venus & Jupiter close together in the western sky though.  Also got to see a light tawny colored Fox with a very bushy tail on our way home.

Just as I am about to post this tonight our skies are already clearing & we have sun splashes making their way through tall pine trees into our front yard.  Checking the weather it looks like we have a string of sunny days ahead.  Nice:)) 

AND TO THINK OTHER THAN THE TALL PINE TREES THERE WAS NOTHING GROWING HERE WHEN WE MOVED IN NEARLY 13 YEARS AGO

 

And it was 2 years ago today 19 brave Granite Mountain Firefighters lost their young lives in Yarnell Arizona.  Yarnell is less than a 10 minute drive from our house in Congress.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  ‘Thoughts To Ponder About Americans & Of Course We Canadians Too’

We yell for the Government to balance the budget, then take the last dime we have to make the down payment on a car that will take 5 years to pay off.

We demand speed laws that will stop fast driving, then won't buy a car if it can't go over 100 miles an hour.

We know the line-up of every baseball team in the American and National Leagues but mumble through half the words in the "Star Spangled Banner". (or ‘Oh Canada’)

We'll spend half a day looking for vitamin pills to make us live longer, then drive 90 miles an hour on slick pavement to make up for lost time.

We tie up our dog while letting our sixteen year old son run wild.

We whip an enemy in battle, then give them the shirt off our backs.

We will work hard on a farm so we can move into town where we can make more money so we can move back to the farm.

We get upset we're spending over a billion dollars for education, but spend three billion dollars a year for cigarettes.

In the office we talk about baseball, shopping or fishing, but when we are out at the game, the mall or on the lake, we talk about business.

We're supposed to be the most civilized nation on earth, but we still can't deliver payrolls without an armored car.

We have more experts on marriage than any other country in the world and still have more divorces.

We're the country that has more food to eat than any other country in the world and more diets to keep us from eating it.

JUST BEFORE POSTING THIS TONIGHT WE GOT A CALL FROM GAMMONS RV IN ST. THOMAS ONTARIO……….‘A-HAAA’ :))

I knew it was 3 a.m. in the morning because I saw the big red numbers on my digital clock as I bolted out of bed & made for our front door.  Had just been suddenly awakened by an all to familiar clatter on our steel roof.  Rain!!  We have all been awakened by an unsuspecting rain in the middle of the night & immediately panicked when it happens..........did I close the car windows, the outside shed door, did I leave my camera sitting on the deck???  My mind right away went to the driver's window in the Motorhome.  I know I had put it down in the afternoon but did I remember to put it up.  Knowing me as well as I do I knew I it wasn't likely I had remembered to close it.  It was pouring rain like nuts when I stumbled through our front door onto the porch grabbing an old baseball hat along the way.  I was in my jammies as I slogged my way across the already sodden front yard.  My legs are too short for my pyjama bottoms so I was trodding on them all the way to the rig.  Luckily I didn't have to fumble for keys to unlock the door so I sailed right in & up the steps.  Imagine my surprise when I found the window closed.  Now how did that happen.  Surely I wouldn't have remembered to close the window.  Well sometimes I just have to give myself the benefit of the doubt I guess.  Score one for AL. for a change  Now a mad dash through the rain back to the house.  Squish, Squish, Squish, as my soaked pyjama bottoms became one with my thoroughly soaked slippers.  Didn't really realize how wet I actually was until I got inside.  Well no point in going back to bed so I just sloshed my way through the living room to my recliner, poured myself into it, drew a blanket over me, turned on the mind numbing TV, closed my eyes & I was gone in minutes.  Somehow woke up dry about 3 hours later & it was the start, or second start to another Bayfield Bunch day. 

We loaded up the Pheebs in the RV & headed out by 7:45 this morning.  Under sunny skies we had an uneventful but scenic drive all the way to London.  Cities are cities so we just gritted our teeth, thanked the powers that be we didn't have to live in a city & bulled our way right through London & out the other side.  Another 20 minutes of driving & we were pulling into Gammons RV Sales & Service at the east end of St. Thomas Ontario.

 

On the phone earlier AL from Gammons had asked us to turn the fridge on when leaving Bayfield so we had done that.  Although the fridge sorta worked a bit on the way down it was not as cold as it should have been when we got there.  Preliminary checks were made as the process of elimination procedure was followed.  Everything seemed to be in order.  Al said to leave the rig for a day or two & he would monitor temperatures & see if he could get to the bottom of the on again off again problem.   Unhooked the Jeep & with Pheebs in the back seat we headed back to Bayfield arriving home sometime around 1 p.m. 

AL DIDN’T WASTE ANY TIME CHECKING THINGS OUT

Don't know what's got into me about keeping this Jeep Liberty of ours all shiny & sparkly but no sooner home & I had a bucket of soapy suds & the garden hose out again.  Filled up the vacuum with muffin crumbs & that was about it for the day.  Temperatures turned muggy & I heard my relaxing recliner & cooling fan calling my name. Gotta love those short afternoon Siestas:))

 

Upriverdavid in our Shout Box asked, 'did you ever post how your new TV antenna is working'? I'm assuming URD is inquiring about the magic jack antennae we put on the Big EEE last summer.  Can't remember if I posted about it or not but it's a bit of a tough question to answer because we rarely watch TV when we're on the road & if we do it's generally hard to get any channels anyway because of the remote spots we usually like to boondock in.  Not as easy to pick up multitudes of channels on the west side of the country as it is on the mid to eastern side.  Far more big cities in the east & with no mountain obstacles TV signals travel further unimpeded. 

Had a photo of Kelly's sewing machine cabinet project last week showing the color she had painted the top.  An obvious long time reader noticed the color then remembered back to last winter & the winter before when we were trying to decide what color to paint the white front door in our adobe ranch house in Congress Arizona.  Reader suggested the color used for Kelly’s cabinet top could also be used to paint that white door.  Great idea & that is exactly what we intend to do.  We'll be taking that can of paint with us in the Fall & I intend to paint that door not long after we get there.  Thanks for that suggestion reader:))

Nice to see Lynda & Howard from Stillhowlyntravels had a post up on June 25th.  They had been out of touch for awhile but soon as I saw they were back up & active again I quickly had them back on my blog roll Sunday night.  We met Lynda & Howard this past winter in Borrego Springs.  Truly nice folks:)) 

UPDATE::: Just before posting this tonight AL from GAMMON'S RV SALES & SERVICE called saying he found the reason for our refrigerator problems.  When the previous owner installed the fridge himself a piece of insulation was scrunched back blocking the vent.  The blockage was not visible with a mirror looking up the vent from the bottom but when Al climbed atop the rig & removed the large vent cover & had a look down he saw the problem right away.  The previous owner was an RV Park person so always had the fridge plugged into electric & probably never ever ran it on propane so therefore was unaware of the blocked vent.  Al said as soon as he cleared the insulation blockage the fridge worked perfectly for the rest of the day.  We are a little disappointed with Camping World in that they obviously never removed the roof vent cover & checked the vent for obstructions when they did a ‘refrigerator service’ a few months ago.  It is something they should have checked knowing we were having a problem.  Cost us $65 in Congress for a fellow to tell us he couldn’t find anything wrong with it then another $88 at Camping World to tell us they couldn’t find anything wrong with it either.  For $65+ tax Al from Gammons has not only located the problem but has fixed it as well.  Two thumbs up for Gammons RV Sales & Service in St. Thomas Ontario.  We will roll out in the morning & head ourselves back to Gammons & pick up the rig:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Three elderly gents were talking about what their grandchildren would be saying about them fifty years from now. "I would like my grandchildren to say, 'He was successful in business,'" declared the first man.  "Fifty years from now," said the second, "I want them to say, 'He was a loyal family man.'" Turning to the third gent, he asked, "So what do you want them to say about you in fifty years?"  "Me?" the third one replied. "I want them to say, 'He certainly looks good for his age.'"

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My wife has not spoken to me in three days. I think it has something to do with what happened on Sunday night when she thought she heard a noise downstairs.  She nudged me and whispered, "Wake up, wake up!"  "What's the matter?" I asked.  "There are burglars in the kitchen. I think they're eating the tuna casserole I made tonight."
"That'll teach them!" I replied.

RAINY SUMMER ONTARIO DAYS HAVE ME LOOKING FORWARD TO SUNNY WINTER ARIZONA DAYS:))

A FEW PHOTOS & A PHOTO ALBUM FROM DOWNTOWN BAYFIELD TONIGHT

Our second day of cloudy skies & rain.  A second day of spending most of our time in the house.  During a rain break I figured I'd vacuum the Jeeps interior but remembering it was Sunday decided to abide by my own 'no noise Sunday' standard.

I LIKED THE NICE BRIGHT COLORS IN THIS SIGN

Knowing we would be pulling out early Monday morning in the Motorhome with Jeep in tow I hooked up Libby Sunday afternoon.  Even while traveling during winter months in the southwest I always prefer to have the Jeep hooked up the night before heading out anywhere in the morning.  Not knowing if we'll have to leave the rig at GAMMONS RV SALES & SERVICE southeast of London Ontario or not we are taking the Jeep in case we do.  We just want to have our rig's refrigerator working properly once & for all & if it takes them a couple days to do that then so be it.  And we are so hoping to get it done under warranty.

A question in my Shout Box asks what kind of a camera I use for my photos.  I have all my camera info in my blog’s right hand column towards the bottom.  For anyone interested just scroll down & look for the title, ‘AL’s Cameras.’
Early long range thoughts on our route to Congress Arizona later this year is that we may just leave home a little later in the Fall & head straightaway to Congress without side tripping through Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado & Utah.  Just some early thoughts & as usual everything is always subject to the whims of change.

A tad early to be thinking of our side trips from Congress this winter but with a gloomy day going on here I was thinking of future sunnier south-western days.  Imagine we will touch base with our favorite spots again like Borrego Springs California & Arizona's Kofa Mountains.  Quartzsite is on the route coming & going from both these areas so I imagine we'll be through there half a dozen times  again as well.  Last year we had thought of taking a couple weeks & sliding back through our early RV traveling years by again visiting favorite places in Arizona like Ajo, Darby Well Road, & Hickiwan Trails in Why Arizona for starters.  Then on through Tucson, Benson, Tombstone , Bisbee, Sierra Vista, & Cochise County.  We didn't end up doing that last winter so maybe this winter.  We'll see.  Wouldn't mind heading back to the Sedona area again too if we could be assured of a good boondocking site.  Ideal spots are scarce over that way & usually occupied by other RV'ers.  Just some fun things to think about on a rainy day:))

<<< MARTEN ARTS GALLERY

We had Jeepers our Jeep Wrangler for nearly 5 years & the unmodified little stock Jeep took us pretty much anywhere we wanted to go.  Key words there are ‘wanted to go.’  There were places we knew we couldn’t go but that was OK with us.  Never had an interest in ‘extreme Jeeping’ anyway & besides we could not afford to damage our only mode of convenient transportation in the west or spend big money on  costly trail related repairs.   But there are folks out there who really enjoy the extreme Jeeping sport & have their Jeeps modified to handle the roughest of terrains.  I do understand the challenges & the excitement though & Moab Utah is as good a place as any to meet those challenges.  We have always seen lot’s of Jeeps anytime we have been in Moab.  Check out Gay & Joe’s latest post at good-times-rollin to see what these folks are doing with their beefed up Jeeps down that way.  And be sure to click on the short video.

For tonight’s photo album I’ve decided to pull together a few photos from my collection of pics on Bayfield’s ‘Main Heritage Street.’  Had taken these photos a few weeks ago & featured some of them in previous posts.   One morning I simply walked up one side of the street & down the other side taking photos of the shops, art galleries, hotels, eateries, & stores along the way.  Turns out I came home with 128 photos but not to worry I have only 30 of the 128 in tonight’s album.  More to come later…………………… 

Bayfield's Heritage Main Street -- Part 1 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When you click on the photo album a page of photos will appear.  Click on the top left photo making it larger.  Now you can choose to see the photos in a slide show format by clicking 'Play Slide Show' at the top or view them one at a time by clicking the arrow at the bottom.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A commercial property owner has three shops in a row, all for rent. The first prospective lessee shows up, and says he wants to rent the shop on the left. The owner says, "Fine, what kind of shop do you have?" The guy says, "A men's wear shop." The owner tells him he gets free signage and asks what he wants on the sign. "Men's Wear," says the man. A second guy comes along and wants to rent the right hand shop. When asked he says he wants "Men's Wear" on his sign. The owner tells him that the left hand shop will be the same. "No problem," says the man. Finally a third man comes along to rent the middle shop. The owner is most concerned because this guy also has a men's wear shop. Rather wearily the owner asks him what he wants on his sign. The guy replies: "Entrance."

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Three Stages of Man:

He believes in Santa Claus.

He doesn't believe in Santa Claus.

He is Santa Claus.

BUT IT WON’T BE ME

Light rains began about noon gaining in strength then tapered off by evening.  We were housebound for a big chunk of the day.  DEERPARK LAKEFRONT RESORT had a wedding on the beach slated for this afternoon but we noticed this morning on the Deer Park beach cam wedding people hurriedly setting up chairs on the beach.  it wasn't long after that the bride & groom were there & the wedding under way.  Everybody was off the beach well before noon & the rains never got em.  A decision well made.

Well what to do on a wet Saturday afternoon......a backlog of photos needing to be organized that's what.  Problem nowadays in the digital age there is hardly such a thing as a bad photo anymore compared to the film days years ago.  With the technical quality & advancements of todays cameras & the fact that each camera user now has total control over the finished product with easy to use editing programs we have all become better photographers.  In the old 35mm film days when we received our photos or slides back from a photofinisher we had no recourse but to throw the bad photos into the garbage.  With todays technologies & a little bit of self learning we can take those not so swell shots, drop then into our photo editing programs & turn that previously garbage bound photo into something to be proud of.  It has always been difficult for me to throw something into the garbage when that is not where it belongs.  Someday someone can press a few keys here & there & send my countless thousands of photos & files to the great garbage can in the sky.............but it won't be me:))

Tonight’s photo album is a collection of random photos taken on the eve & the day of Goderich’s air show.  No airplanes, no parachutists, just a few sunsets & candid photos of people enjoying themselves around Goderich’s Rotary Cove beach area.

Candid & random photos of Goderich's Rotary Cove area June 23rd & 24th VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When you click on the photo album a page of photos will appear.  Click on the top left photo making it larger.  Now you can choose to see the photos in a slide show format by clicking 'Play Slide Show' at the top or view them one at a time by clicking the arrow at the bottom.

FORGOT TO ADD THESE 3 PHOTOS TO THE ALBUM…OH HOW I REMEMBER THESE KINDS OF DAYS IN LAKE HURON 60 YEARS AGO

Due to my last few posts being rather on the long side either in words or photos or both I decided to shorten up on tonight’s ramblings.  However it is necessary from time to time to keep my ‘Mr. Blabberfingers’ reputation intact therefore the long posts occasionally.  I thank all my readers for their fortitude & patience……………………:))  Update::: Thanks to Terri in the Shout Box for kindly reminding me I had forgot to include tonight’s Groaner.  A bit on the late side but here it is……..

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GROANER’S CORNER:(( You do know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise WOMEN instead of Three Wise Men, don't you?  They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought disposable diapers as gifts!