CLOUDCROFT, PISTACHIOS, & OLD ROCKETS

INTERNATIONAL SPACE HALL OF FAME
Another cool start to the day but that is normal for this part of the country. Thought I would take a chance & head over to the parks shower facility. I think orders from headquarters must have come down the pipe to all State Parks regarding some cost cutting measures. I'm sure they save an extra few dollars by turning the dial down on the water heater for the showers because the water was hardly warm again. I would never have made a good Eskimo!! And for sure whoever designs these showers for parks & campgrounds, has never used one!! For the most part, they are not well thought out at all.

A few more adjustments to our satellite system this morning & Kelly was able to use our Skype phone set- up with the computer to phone HWH, the hydraulic leveler company. We were given the phone number of Recreation USA in Las Cruces who service HWH hydraulic leveler products. A second Skype call to Las Cruces & we had an appointment for Wednesday morning at 9:30 to check the problem leveler. HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHERE WE STEP
Hopped in the car around 10:30 & headed into Alamogordo. Nice sunny morning with temps in the low 60's. We had heard about the nice drive up to a town in the mountains to the east of Alamogordo so off we went. A few grades, a few tight curves & a tunnel led us up 16 miles & 9,000 feet to the small Alpinelike town of Cloudcroft. It was another 15 miles to the solar observatory so we decided not to go that far. I had been up to Kitt Peak in Arizona two winters ago so had seen lots of observatories up there. Back down the winding road to Alamogordo again & headed off to the International Space Hall of Fame, a fairly new complex with a nice display of old rocketry on the grounds. There is an IMAX theater here & a large 4 or 5 story building with more artifacts relating to the White Sands Missile Range. A TUNNEL ON THE WAY BACK FROM CLOUDCROFT
Kelly wanted to check out a Pistachio farm she had noticed a few days before on our way in from Tularosa so we headed off to Eagle ranch where the Pistachios are grown & processed. Nice neat & clean little operation & we bought ourselves a stash of Pistachios. A few more errands, coffee, frozen custard, & we were back out to our RV site at Oliver Lee State Park. This picturesque park is nestled into the Sacramento Mountain Range. Just before getting there we deaked off the road & took a drive around some dusty old laneways & ramshackle tumbledown dwellings in some kind of community cluster. I was able to get a few pics from the car window. Reminded us a lot of Slab City in California. Hard to imagine people living in some of these places......but they do. A NIKE MISSILE USED TO INTERCEPT HIGH FLYING AIRCRAFT (ALAMOGORDO IN THE BACKGROUND)
The doggy gang welcomed us back with lots of barks & wagging tails. Awhile later we heard & felt a detonation of some kind so assumed it had to do with rocket testing. There was also the sound of jet aircraft in the direction of the missile range. Holloman Air Force Base is here & it is the home of the F111 Stealth Bomber. KELLY CHECKS OUT THIS DUSTY LITTLE WESTERN STORE
Kelly lit up a nice campfire & roasted a couple of hot dogs for supper. Pretty sunset over the San Andres mountains & that was about it for another day. Took Max for a short walk under a crystal clear canopy of stars around 7. The wavering multi colored lights of Alamogordo off in the distance, the peeping of frogs in the desert darkness, & the twinkling of diamonds in the black satin sky made for a beautiful night. Now, if we could only get a little heat into this nightly desert air................. THE SAN ANDRES MOUNTAIN RANGE
I will start the next photo album to-day.
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A BUSY PROBLEM SOLVING DAY:((

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23/08 CHECKERS OUT FOR A STROLL NEAR OUR CAMPSITE
Nice to wake up to 54 degree temps instead of the 32 F stuff of the past few mornings. Decided to try setting up our satellite system this morning because that way we could get in touch with the hydraulic leveler company either by email or Skype phone. Had been over eight & a half months since the last time we set up that system so we were pretty rusty in getting things going. Out set up times last year were about 5 to 10 minutes & this morning it took us three quarters of an hour. Two thirds of that time was spent just getting the cobwebs out of our brains but between the two of us we finally managed to get things working & we were back on line. A BUSY DAY FOR GETTING THINGS RE-ORGANIZED, SET UP, & PROBLEMS SOLVED
In the meantine I had devised a plan in my little problem solving head on how to get that rear leveler retracted. So, with hammer, hatchet, & a small flat wrecking bar & crawled under the coach & began digging a hole just behind the grounded leveler. My theory was to dig a hole deep enough to set my scissors jack into, put a block of wood on top, pry up the leveler about half an inch off the ground & then back the motorhome up about 5 inches until the leveler was directly over the jack & piece of wood. Figured I would then jack the leveler back up into it's retracted position. Well, it all sounded good in theory.........................and it worked:)) Why it worked I don't know, but it did work. We will contact the company to-morrow & find out where the nearest HWH facility is & take the motorhome in to have that leveler problem checked out & repaired if necessary.
TOOK ME OVER HALF AN HOUR TO GET THIS LITTLE HOLE DUG
In between getting our satellite system set up & digging my hole under the rig we did manage to stretch ourselves out in our cushy lawn chair recliners & soak up a bunch of New Mexico sunshine on a beautiful 75F day. We are far enough off the beaten path that no human sounds reach us & we just have the twitter & flitter of small birds & coyotes in the distance. Small yellow butterflies dart about amongst the prickly pear cactus & miniature yellow flowers grow in abundance around the campsite. This American southwest is such a beautiful place & despite our little problems from time to time we absolutely love being here. Can't imagine going anywhere else. KELLY MOVES THE MOTORHOME INTO PLACE
We plan to stay here for a few days & take in some of the area attractions. White Sands National Monument, the Space Museum, tour a Pistachio farm, take the scenic drive to Cloudcroft & check out the Solar Sun Observatory, Petrogyphs north of Alamogordo, & anything else we can think of. Maybe we can slip into the missile range itself & play on the rockets:))
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THE DAY STARTED OUT OK, BUT...............

SATURDAY NOV. 22/08

HEADING WEST FROM TEXAS TO NEW MEXICO

Another cold 32F degree morning with frost on everything, but no wind, so not too bad. Quick doggy walk in the park, packed up the motorhome, dumped the tanks, & we were on the road by 8 o'clock. The land is very flat here just like the Canadian prairies with gently rolling hills and the road from Brownfield to Roswell New Mexico is as straight as an arrow with little traffic. We would drive for miles & miles & never see another vehicle. Grasslands with scrub brush & very few trees. It is the land of the huge Buffalo herds a hundred years ago. A quiet land, a peaceful land.

Saw the dim line of our first mountain through a thick haze along the far horizon. Probably 75 miles away & about an hour later we rolled into Roswell, New Mexico. I knew exactly where Wal-Mart was because we had spent a night in their lot early last March on our way home from the west. When you travel in a solitary mode like we do without a lot of human contact along the way it's always kind of nice walking into the big Wal-Mart stores with all it's hustle & bustle & people skittering around to & fro. Wal-Mart is where we get the majority of our groceries while traveling.
Gassed up at the Wal-Mart gas bar as well & according to Kelly's calculations we have spent about $200 less in our first week of travel than we did last year in our first week of travel. Our grocery expenses are down over last year as well. Average gas prices we encountered have been around $1.89 a gallon. Didn't fill the gas tank because we had some moderate mountains to go over so lighter is better.

The drive from Roswell up into the foothills is a gentle climb & it soon becomes apparent the plains are behind us as we see forests of pine trees beginning to fill the fields & roadside ahead of us. We roll through towns like Picacho & Hondo. Soon we are in Ruidoso, birthplace of Billy The Kid. Mount Sierra Blanca is near here. We reached the summit of Apache Pass & began our gentle descent to the picturesque little town of Tularosa. Another 14 miles south we were at our destination for the day, Alamogordo New Mexico. Another RV couple we had met in Brownfield told us there was free RV camping at the fairgrounds in Alamogordo so that's where we went, pulled in, & quickly pulled right back out again because the whole fairgrounds parking lot had just been coated in small crushed stones & fresh oil. What a mess that would have been!! Well, plan B. Noticed a State Park about 12 miles south of Alamogordo on the highway to El Paso Texas so that's where we headed.

Oliver Lee State Park is a great little place with 48 privately quiet sites about 4 miles east off the highway & snuggled right up against a mountain range. Found a neat-o site with a view of the whole valley floor below & nobody near us. We were on the eastern side of the large valley & the San Andres mountain range was on the far distant horizon to the west. The White Sands Missile range was to our north. Unhooked the car & drove the rig onto the slightly uneven site. Put the right hand levelers down on the passenger side of the coach but it was a little more uneven than I thought so decided to retract the levelers, put some blocks of wood under them & re-level. When I got out to get the blocks I noticed the rear leveler had not retracted & no matter what I did I could not get that leveler to come up. Big problem 10-4!!!! The motorhome was now immovable & I had visions of huge expenses coming up because it looked like were going to need the assistance of tow truck personal with experience in dealing with hydraulic problems. Not a nice way to finish an otherwise real fine day. Nothing we could do about it to-day so now I can now I get to lay awake all night & worry about the problem. RVing......ya just gotta love it!!

OUR RV SITE AT OLIVER LEE STATE PARK NEAR ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO

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Will add new photos to the photo album shortly..........

A DAY OFF FROM TRAVELING

COLEMAN CITY RV PARK IN BROWNFIELD, TEXAS

After checking the weather back home this morning I had better not complain about waking up here in Brownfield, Texas to 32F. Big sunny day going on right now but it's going to stay cold all day around the 40 degree mark. A friend from back home just emailed & said they had more than a foot of snow come down in the last 48 hours with more on the way.

Because we have free high speed internet service, water & electricity we've decided to stay right where are for the day & rest up from our 6 days of traveling. Had a better look around on our morning walk & this is a nice RV spot with a huge park area for walking, flying kites, landing small aircraft, or whatever you like. 12 sites complete with a dump station, cold water showers & a washroom. Will probably head out in the morning for either Tularosa or Alamogordo, New Mexico, with a short stop in Roswell to check for any recent alien encounters. Kelly said she would like to book me aboard a spaceship & send me off to the far side of the Universe for a few days. Wow, I think that would really be Neat-O:)) So thoughtful of her..........

One year ago to-day we were standing on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. If you go to our blog here..... http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2007_11_01_archive.html & scroll just about half way down to November 21 you can read about that, & if you check out our web album at......... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ALBUM17GRANDCANYONNORTHRIM you can have a look at a few photos I took that day.........................................................

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BIG TEXAS WINDS & OLD WESTERN TOWNS

COTTON BALES

Nice Texas sunrise but it didn't last long as high winds brought in a solid cloud cover. We were on the road by 7:30 & it immediately became apparent that the strong cross winds from the north were going to make for an interesting driving day. The weather front also brought in much colder 50 degree temperatures which in turn caused a wind chill factor probably in the mid 40's.. Wednesday we were basking in 80F temps & to-day I was back into my winter clothes. Despite the cold gray morning the drive was nice as we ambled through quaint little towns like Aspermont, Clairemont, Post, & Tahoka. They are old & truly authentic western towns with old buildings, old streets, & old memories. Tumbleweeds blowing across the roadways, old pick-up trucks with even older pick-up truck drivers. Big cowboy hats on real cowboys. The once bustling towns are pages out of history. Signs of hard times are apparent from the time you drive into the town, down the bumpity main street, & out the other end. Empty store windows stair blankly out onto the street & there doesn't appear to be many people around. Just the blowing dust & the tumbleweed. Once cozy & elegant homes now in various stages of disrepair & abandonment. Couldn't help but think of John Steinbeck's book, The Grapes of Wrath. I'm sure many of those people left from these very houses & the only thing remaining of those people & their memories are these old boarded up & tumble down buildings. The old timers are long gone but their houses are still here.

Same thing applies to the rural countryside. Many old abandoned homesteads with timeworn windmills still creaking in the Texas wind. Rusting farm machinery & remnants of a life few of us younger folks will ever understand. We don't see this sort of thing back home in our pristine & tidy Ontario but it is a part of the old west that has drawn us here for the past 5 years. It is part of our adventure as well as it will someday be a part of our memory.

Stopped in the town of Post at a McDonald's for a coffee & internet update. Checked our emails & I was able to catch the blog up & add a few photos. Thought I had solved the bicycle carrier problem the day before but upon leaving McDonalds we noticed the bikes were at an odd angle again. Off came the bikes, more adjustments, swearing, a few more adjustments, a lot more swearing, re-mounted the bikes, more finagling & more bad words. Finally, enough was enough & off we went. Oh how I miss my big comfy chair & simple home life on days like this. UPDATING THE BLOG THURSDAY MORNING IN POST, TEXAS
We reached the town of Brownfield about 1 o'clock. Kelly had checked our, Free Campground Book Western Edition, & it told us the Coleman County Park at the south end of town had electricity, water, flush toilets, etc. What it didn't tell us was that there is also HIGH SPEED INTERNET HERE:)))) Wow, what a bonus find, & it's all free. The Haskell RV Park was free for one night but this park is free for five nights.
14 RV sites here at Coleman with a big walking area, pool, basketball, & track sports complex. A tad noisy with the highway close by but what the heck......free is free:))

Kelly called her Mom & Dad in Spencerport using our computer & Skype phone network. What a great thing this Skype stuff is. What a great thing this whole technology era is. And to think that when I was a small boy we didn't even have running water in the house. KELLY TALKING TO HER MOM & DAD ON SKYPE
Looks like the weather is going to be cold & windy to-morrow again so we just may hang out here in Brownfield for a day or too. The rush to get to the west is over. Time to relaaaaaaaaaaaaax:)) BEDTIME FOR THE BONZOS
Just added the first photo album for the new trip. Will add a few more photos to this album over the next few days & will then start the next album. Maybe from the White Sands Missile Range near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

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BLOG UPDATES FOR NOV 17, 18, & 19TH

SPENT A NIGHT IN A TRUCK STOP REST AREA
This blog update is coming to you from Post, Texas. We are at a McDonalds & it's Thursday morning 10:25 Texas time on Nov. 20/08 I am going to do the update starting with Nov. 17th to Nov. 19th. When we get our satellite system up & running I will post the week's pictures into the first photo album of the trip.............

MONDAY NOVEMBER 17TH
ONLY IN AMERICA:))
We knew that parking for the night in a rest area's truck stop section was going to be noisy but we were too tired to go any further after the day's fiasco with the bad bump & the State Park campground disappointment. We put the rigs television antennae up & were pleasantly surprised at how many channels we could get & the clarity of those channels. Watched Barack & Michelle Obama interviewed on 60 minutes Sunday night. Didn't put the slides out because of it being a rest area & knowing we would have trucks coming in & parking right beside us on both sides.. We were both asleep before 8:30. Trucks came & went during the night but for the most part we slept fine until one fellow (the truck with the cross in the grill) pulled in right beside us around 3 a.m. & left his engine running. We got up & hit the road about 3:40 a.m. Well, afterall it was a truck stop.

A lot of people don't like driving at night but I have always enjoyed it. Not much traffic & I always like looking at all the neato-o colored dash lights. We saw 3 or 4 dead deer along the road so knew we were in heavily populated deer areas. It's the down side of night driving & we were both glued to the windshield watching for the tell tale sign of deer ahead. We later saw a big Class A motorhome pulled over with a dead deer under it. All & all we saw close to a dozen dead animals alongside the road before sun up.

Crossed the Mississippi river from Illinois into Missouri, hooked up with I-57 & headed in the direction of Memphis, Tennessee. Slipped into a McDonald's for a coffee because we saw a sign saying they had internet. Checked the emails, hastily updated the blog, & we were back on the road again. Just west of Memphis we climbed on Interstate 40 & made the big swing to the west. The sun finally came out after 2 dreary days & lit up the beautiful autumn Arkansas leaves. It looks like the first October week in Ontario here. Two years ago on our way home from Arizona we stumbled across a little used RV park just off the Interstate in Hazen, Arkansas. Called T-Ricks, it's on the south side at the Citgo gas bar. We were tired from being up so early so decided to call it a day around 1 o'clock. Only 2 other rigs here. Electricity, water, sewer hook-ups & cement pads. Not all sites are equal so chose your site carefully. Lots of trees & a nice spot for an overnight stop along the way though. Plenty of room & safe for the dogs to wander & romp. Twenty five dollars a night but we got the site for free. Kelly is such a wheeler dealer. Spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine & 60F temperatures. Cleaned up the rig, made some changes here & there, had hot showers, & just basically relaxed for the remainder of the day. Nice to be off the road & out of the traffic for awhile. No signs of any further damage from the Kinmundy bump on Sunday........yet!!

We were surprised at the clarity & number of TV channels available again by simply putting our antennae up. Something has changed for the best in the past 6 months in regards to all these digital television waves & things. The picture quality is amazing for antennae television. I'm sure our flat screen television with digital tuner has a lot to do with it as well but if we continue to find this kind of reception throughout our travels this winter we may very well consider making some changes to our present television/internet set up.

While sitting here typing this I glanced out the window to my left & noticed two people about 50 feet away. Needless to say, they immediately caught my attention. Whispered to Kelly to grab my camera & got one shot off before they disappeared from view. Very strange & Kelly said............we must be in America:))
(Keep in mind......Kelly is an American)
Kelly later talked to this couple & it turns out they travel full time in their motorhome which is parked a near us. They told Kelly they are homeless, unemployed & not looking. They only travel on Wednesdays & drive no more than a hundred miles at a stretch. They are heading for Florida. While talking to them another old timer pulled in with an old pick-up truck & a big dinosaur of a 5th wheel. Been on the road for the last hundred years I think. Another couple pulled in with a Class A Airstream on their way from Aurora New York to Yuma, California. Said they have been doing this trip for years & always stop at this campground for an overnighter. While Kelly was in the Citgo store earlier there was a disheveled woman walking around in there mumbling something about the shadows in her life. The clerk said she was homeless & living in her car out the back beside the dumpster. We later saw her there pacing back & forth beside her car. When we left early the next morning, the lady & her car were gone. Hopefully, help came for her in the night.

A long day for the Bayfield Bunch & we were out like a bunch of light bulbs by 8:30 p.m.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 18TH
TO-DAY WE WERE IN PARIS......TWICE!!!!

A good night's sleep for Al so no excuse for being grouchy to-day. Ya right!!

Fueled up at the Citgo station & we were westbound on I-70 by 6 o'clock. An uneventful morning as we crossed the Texas State line in Texarkana about 10:45. Clear skies, lots of sunshine, & temps somewhere in the high 50's. A nice driving day.

West of Texarkana is the town of New Boston & just beyond there was our turn off for highway 82. Had decided earlier not to try going through Dallas. We've been on the Interstates since Port Huron so figured it was time for a break. Some people on the RV Net Forums had suggested the 82 route north of Dallas so we're giving it a whirl. Coming home last year we came across north of Dallas from Jacksboro through Denton to Greenfield & found that route way to congested & that was not an option. KELLY TOOK THIS PIC OF DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS
Lots of construction going on in the city of Paris, Texas but we were able to thread our way through the traffic cones, around the workers, past the detour signs, & somehow remained in the narrow pot holed construction lanes. Nearly missed a turn at a particularly nasty intersection but we made it through & breathed a big sigh of relief as I watched Paris disappearing in the rear view mirrors. Next big town would be Sherman. Into a bit more construction & a couple sweeping curves to the left. The sun caught my attention when it appeared in my driver's side mirror. Odd, it should be high up on my left side, not in my mirror. More construction & congestion & before I could logically figure out the strange positioning of the sun we nearly missed a turn at a particularly nasty intersection. AWWWWWW NUTS!!!!!! It was the exact same intersection we had just bounced through about 20 minutes before. We had traveled in a complete left hand circle & back into the construction area of Paris. *!!#^>"+! How did this happen!! Watched Paris disappear in my rear view mirrors for the second time. I was beginning to see shades of Bill Murray's movie, Groundhog Day. What if we have entered the Twilight Zone & are doomed to repeat this route around & around forever & ever. We were totally glued to every road sign going by dreading the thought of making the same mistake again. Finally, there it was, a big green sign with the number 82 on it & an arrow pointing to the exit west. How had we missed that before!!!! Had it been any bigger it would have jumped out & slapped us in the face..................
LITTLE CORA'S FAVORITE TRAVELING SPOT
Motored on to the town of Bonham & noticed on the map it had a State Park about 5 miles to the south. Figured we would call it an early day again so headed down to the park. Well, once again, it was not going to be. The park was small with no sites for a pull through set up. Got us on a narrow road with an undo-able hair pin turn to the left so went right round a sign & wooden barrier on the road that said, No Admittance!! A short distance up the road was the park's work yard & luckily it was just big enough for us to make a sweeping tight turn around to the left clearing a wooden building by about a foot. Back on the road, around a wrong way road sign & back out of the park across a narrow bridge alongside the lake. (picture) Beautiful little park with RV sites right on a small lake but no spaces large enough for the Bayfield Bunch. Back to Bonhman & discovered the town actually had a Wal-Mart. I think the day will come in America when there will be no more small towns. Just big behemoth Wal-Mart complexes with little houses scattered around the fringes of the mega parking lots.

Picked up a few groceries after supper & that was it for another day.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19TH

An uneventful night except for the ladies voice booming out over the Wal-Marts parking lot speakers in the middle of the night saying something like......."Attention Wal-Marts shoppers, take advantage of our indoor 2 a.m. special now in the ladies ware department. A free pair of men's socks with the purchase of every fully automatic shotgun!!"

Had forgot to turn on our blue flame heater before going to bed so by 4 a.m. I was up picking the icicles out of my beard. Despite the warming days, most nights still take on shades of the Arctic.
Said our good-byes to the little town of Bonham, Texas & resumed our journey west on highway 82 through Sherman & Gainesville. Good roads all the way with lite to moderate traffic. We will probably use this same route on our return as well. Nice horse farms, little cowboy towns, & just a nice rural feel to the countryside. The Dallas route would be a quicker & shorter but give me the quiet & picturesque countryside anyday.

We were practically airborne again as we came through the little town of Jacksboro. The main intersection had just been paved with a layer of asphalt about 2 or 3 inches high from east to west. Of course we were traveling from north to south. No warning sign about bump ahead as we motored through the interection on a green light & bounded ass over teakettle across the asphalt hump. Bounced out of our seats with all the familiar sounds behind us of bedlam in the cupboards again. I swear the townspeople were lining both sides of the street in the landing zone with score cards as vehicles launched themselves over that intersection. We got an 8 out of 10!!

And a big thanks to neighbor & friend, handyman Bruce from back home who expertly installed our wall mounted television this past summer. It has survived the Jacksboro bounce & thump plus the Kinmundy lateral whiplash wobble. Bravo Bruce, the television is still securely swing mounted to the wall.

Decided to stop at a rest area for a doggy pit stop & a stretch. Did a walk around the rig & noticed the bicycles didn't look right & on further inspection we realized the bicycle carrier had shifted somehow. Probably from the Jacksboro jump about a half hour before. Undid the ropes & took the big green tarp off the bikes. Removed the bicycles & set about repairing the carrier which I was actually able to do using some well placed heavy nail wedges. Good as new. RE-ARRANGING BICYCLES & BIKE CARRIER REPAIRSWHEN I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT BIKE CARRIER PROBLEM, KELLY SUGGESTED I CALL DIAL A PRAYER!!

Last year on our way home we stopped in the little town of Haskell, Texas where they have a free one night stop RV park courtesy of the town. Electricity, water, & sewage. Replenished our fresh water tank, dumped the holding tanks & got ourselves re-organized. Hooked up to shore water so hot showers coming up. This is actually a nice little RV park with about 25 sites. A restored 1883 house sits in a park like setting right beside the RV park & across the road is a pond & a nice large treed city park. Uptown is about a 4 block walk.
Did I mention the great weather yet. Sunny to-day with temps in the low 80's. And we also knew we were in the west again when the big Texas winds welcomed us with gusting head winds just west of Throckmorton. Looked up the library in Haskell with hopes of updating the blog there because most libraries have wireless. But, not this one. Wireless, what's that?? The library had their own bank of in-house computers so we were at least able to check & send a few quick emails. Hoping to stop in Brownfield Thursday morning at an internet savvy McDonalds we had used on our way home last spring.....Well, here's hoping:)) RELAXING IN HASKELL, TEXAS

THE 1883 RESTORED HOUSE BESIDE THE RV PARK IN HASKELL

ON THE ROAD AGAIN:))

SATURDAY NOV. 15/08

LOADING UP THE BAYFIELD BUNCH

It's been a long day coming so we were up before the chickens & on the road by 7:15. Pouring rain so we had 12 little paws & 4 big human feet hauling mud into the motorhome right off the bat. Rained all the way to the border at Port Huron & as expected......they put us through the meat grinder again when we got there. Flagged us for an agriculture check & told to pull into a designated area. The guy who came up to my window was cranky, miserable & rude just like the weather. Exit the motorhome, leave the dogs inside, proceed to the building & get in line with about 25 other frustrated people. Not good!! The border officers were brusk with people, firing questions at them & not the least bit personable at all. Finally it was our turn at the counter but fortunately we didn't get the grilling some of the other people were undergoing. Our guy didn't seem too bad in comparison. After a thorough passport check Kelly had to wait inside while I went back to the motorhome with the officer. He stood well back as I put the leashes on the dogs & got them outside whereupon they immediately tangled me in a hopeless jumble of cords. Did I mention the pouring rain, high winds, & cold temperatures. A totally miserable day!! While I wrestled the guys over to a sheltered spot the border officer entered the coach & spent the next 20 minutes in there doing whatever border officers do. By the time he was finished, the 3 doggy guys & myself were totally wet, cold, & frozen. Very traumatizing for the dogs because they didn't know what was going on. Checkers actually slipped out of her collar & started heading for home before I was able to call her back. Finally loaded the gang back in the coach & trudged through the rotten weather to the building for more questions. Finally, our passports were handed back & we were free to go. Total time wasted.....over 1 hour. Couldn't help but notice while I was standing outside earlier that every RV coming across the border was allowed right through. We were the only ones nailed for an agriculture check again. That makes 3 times in a row now!!!!!!!!!!!

The rains continued all the way to the Indiana State line & I figure we have driven through more rain in the past 6 hours than we did for our whole trip last year. Those new expensive windshield wipers of ours were on overtime & worked perfectly. And well they should!! A RAINY PIT STOP SOMEWHERE IN MICHIGAN
By 2 o'clock we were totally road wrecked & decided to pack the day in early. Noticed a sign for Pokagon State Park just after we crossed the State line into Indiana on I-69. Nice park & reminiscent of the Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend back home. Found a pull through site, leveled the coach, & called it a day. The doggy gang was glad to get outside & tear up the near empty campground. Took us awhile to get our RV heads on & begin the frustrating process of re-learning our mobile lifestyle once again. Patience Al, patience!!!!!!!

SUNDAY NOV. 16
Up at 3:30 & made the cold walk in the wet snow/rain to the shower building about a hundred yards away. Building was heated but cold. Shower was luke warm. I'm used to boiling myself like a lobster every morning so a luke warm shower in a cold shower building did not make for a happy camper. Back to the warmth of the motorhome & awaited the eventual awakenings of the rest of the troop. What a bunch of snoozy heards!!

It was snowing lightly as we pulled out of Pokagon State Park at 7:15 heading south for Indianapolis on I-69. Would have liked to have gone through Indianapollis earlier in the morning but it was mid morning by the time we reached the outskirts. Signs warned of heavy construction on the westerly route around the city so we ended up joining I-70 & rocketed right through the center of town. Turned out OK because we got to see all the downtown skyscrapers & stuff. Thanks to our GPS system (Garmin Gertie) we kind of breezed right through town despite Gertie telling me to, "button it up big mouth I'm doing the navigating!! If you travel & don't have a GPS....GET ONE!!

The next 5 hours were uneventful until we decided to look for a State Park & exited highway 57 south of Effingham, Illinois at a little town called Kilmundy. We snaked through the town until we came to a set of railroad tracks. Too late I noticed the rails were angled across the road presenting a huge angled bump. Because of that angle it set up a severe rocking from side to side motion in the motorhome. Despite braking hard & stopping right on the tracks, it was too late as I heard the crashing & breaking of glass in the coach behind me. Cupboard doors flew open as dishes, cans, food, & just about anything else that wasn't nailed down became airborne. The coached rocked violently from side to side about 6 times before I got it eased off the other side of the tracks.

We were so upset we didn't even stop or look back to survey the damage. Kept on going down a rough narrow road for about 5 miles until we reached the Steven Forbes State Park. We were sooooooo upset with everything. And then the park turned out to be a big bust as well. Rickety old wooden bridge to cross & then we couldn't find a pull through spot plus it was the first day of a deer cull in the park & there were pick up trucks & guns all over the place. Found a quiet area to finally pull over & at least shut things down, have a coffee, & survey the damage. Broken mirror frame & a glass measuring cup that was smashed to bits with glass all over the place. Stuff all over the floors, dogs upside down & us with rattled brains. Took awhile to clean things up. Looked around the outside of the coach for any damage but didn't see anything except for one of the bicycles being slightly shifted on the carrier. I haven't opened any of the bins yet. With all the deer hunters around we decided to get out of there before we ended up with bullet holes in the coach as well.

Headed south west to a town called called Salem, picked up a few things at a Wal-Mart & climbed back on highway 57 south again. Minutes later the CB radio crackled with truckers talking about an accident in the southbound lanes ahead of us so we pulled into a rest area & waited about 40 minutes for things to get cleared up. Drove another 40 miles & pulled into another rest area for the night. We had started the day in the dark & ended it in the dark. We are nestled in with a bunch of noisy diesel belching 18 wheel trucks but we're so tired we're going to try & get some sleep here before heading for the Memphis area early in the morning. What a day, what a day!!

Monday morning Nov. 17...This update is coming to you from a McDonald's alongside I-55 in a town called Portage. It's 7:50 Ontario time.......

AWWWWW NUTS I'M ALREADY MISSIN MY STUFF:((

We haven't even left yet & here I am already missing my big cushy recliner chair, 42" flat screen TV with big stereo mega bass sound, our toasty warm computer room with more stereo sound & a whole host of other nice things that make life way too comfortable & spoil us totally. But here's what I'm going to miss most.....those long hot showers every morning with that unlimited supply of water in a nice spacious shower/tub configuration. RV folks will understand what I'm talking about here. Water is always a limited & top priority item for anyone traveling & if your accustomed to boondocking it becomes a real challenge to conserve & wisely use every last drop of water. Showers are limited & they have to be quick. Showers in most RV's are small, so if you can imagine having a shower in your clothes closet, that will give you some idea. It can be quite a performance!! We have a total 1,122 sq. ft. of living space in our house but when we move to the motorhome that drops to 264 sq. ft. Ouch!! I won't get into all the things we won't miss!!

Here's an observation I've made over the past few RVing years about transitioning from the house to the motorhome. A dramatic change takes place in mere seconds when one drops into the driver's seat, turns the ignition, & pulls that gear shift lever down into into drive. It's like two different worlds suddenly changing places in an instant & all those cushy home perks are soon left behind.

Our house world immediately begins to slip into memory & with each passing mile that lifestyle drifts ever farther away. It is a huge sense of relief to finally be underway. No more waiting & worrying. No more packing & running around taking care of last minute details. No more lists to be checked & no more schedules to be attended to. No second thoughts or doubts. Time to replace that over all apprehension & let in a big smack of excitement. Time to switch into RV travel mode. Traffic to deal with, weather to watch, destinations to consider, motorhome systems to monitor, dogs to keep an eye on for pit stops, & Cracker Barrels to watch for:)) I'm on a diet so I'll just have to sit & watch Kelly stuff herself:(( Setting out in an RV is almost like putting to sea in a small boat. For certain there will be clear & sunny sailing days ahead, but you know the rough stormy seas are awaiting as well & you can't seem to have one without appreciating the other.

Aw yes, like Willy Nelson sings, "On the Road Again:))" And just in case your wondering........."YES, I AM FINALLY A HAPPY CAMPER:))))))))))))))))))"

Don't know when I will post the next blog because it may be a few days before we stop along enough to find a Wifi site to check for & send some emails. But, as soon as I can, I will be back banging on the keyboard...............................:)) Photos.....Now, if I can just remember how to tie the car on the back of the motorhome again before we leave.....Hmmmmmmm:((
Rain, rain, go away will ya!!!!!!!!!!!
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

LOOKING BACK TO BRYCE CANYON, UTAH

By the looks of the approaching weather fronts we are going to get out of here just in the nick of time. Colder temps, rain & snow heading into our area starting Sunday. A year ago to-day on November 13th we were at Bryce Canyon, Utah. Click on our photo album for that day & take a walk with us on one of the many beautiful trails. This place is a true fairyland of natural wonderment. When you open the photo album, try clicking on "Slideshow." A control menu should pop up at the bottom if you want to adjust the slide timing. Move your mouse pointer around down there if it doesn't. Yes, I know I've included waaaaaaay to many photos here, but.............the beauty is overpowering:)) Click on the link below.........
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ALBUM10ABEAUTIFULDAYINBRYCECANYON

A BIG THANKS TO OUR BLOG FOLLOWERS BEFORE WE LEAVE

Well, we are down to our final few days before heading southwest. Looks like we are going to have a full house traveling along with us this winter according to the Sitemeter & Feedjit stats on the website. Our Sitemeter tells us that up till to-day we've had 15,921 hits on our site since Sept of 07 but Sitemeter doesn't log every visit for some unknown reason. Our Feedjit site is more accurate but doesn't give us a final total each day like Sitemeter. However, from watching the live feeds coming in I would estimate we've probably had in access of 40,000 people click on our website this past year. Without these kinds of meters on a blog site the blogger has no way of knowing if anyone out there is even looking at the site, so after awhile it would be easy to just become discouraged & just drop the whole idea. When I look at the numbers each day it always gives me a good feeling knowing people are out there.

Just want to say thanks to the folks in places like Fulton NY, Mountain View California, Imperial Missouri, Walnut Creek California, Brandon Manitoba, Ottawa Ontario, & Kitchener Ontario, to just mention a very few, who have been faithfully following our blog for this past year to see what the Bayfield Bunch is up to. Don't know who most of you folks are but many thanks for giving me the inspiration to get out there with my camera & snap a few pictures again. I had totally lost all interest in photography from 1993 up until a few years ago. I'm happy people are enjoying the photos & the albums.

And thanks to the blog readers who have given me a reason to sit down with the computer most days, put my thinking cap on, & try to come up with something sort of interesting for people to read. And thanks to the fellow down there in New Mexico somewhere for emailing me a few days ago & suggesting I break the blog down into shorter paragraphs to make it more readable. Thanks my friend, every little bit helps.

An easy way to follow our blog or anyone else's blog, or for that matter, any website is to simply put an icon on your desktop. To do that, just open up any website in your browser & look up to the top left of the page & find the word, File. Click that & a menu drops out. Scroll down to the word Send. Another menu with 3 options pops out the side. If you want to send that website's address to anyone, just click on, Link by Email & it will automatically format an email for you to send. If you want to put an icon on the desktop for that website just click on, Shortcut to Desktop. In our case the icon will probably appear as an orange square with a white capital letter B in the center. Now, anytime you want to go to that website just click on that icon & it takes you directly to the site. No more rummaging around looking for the website address:))

I hope to do one or two more posts before we leave this coming Saturday.

To-day's photos are on the beach at Deerpark Lodge along the sullen & sandy shores of Lake Huron about a half mile north of Bayfield Ontario, Canada. Taken Nov. 9th.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

MORNING WALKS AND TRAVEL TALKS

I've noticed over the years that we sometimes have our best little talks while taking relaxing morning walks. Our serene pine forest trail lends itself to quiet conversations as we hike along with our 3 dogs most every day around 7 or 8 in the a.m. Sometimes it's a 3 dog day & sometimes it's only a 1 one dog day depending on who feels like walking that particular morning. The furry guys are getting a little older & some mornings they just aren't up to walking. Three dog days are best though and it's nice to have the whole gang to-gether. As departure time approaches, our thoughts are more on our upcoming travels these mornings. Have we forgotten to pack something, how far do you think we should drive the first day, will we be stopped at the border for an agriculture check again, should we consider just going to Texas because it would be cheaper, can we really afford to be going this year, should we try & make it to California again, will the tires on the motorhome be ok for one more year, where will we be & what will we be doing a year from now, we lost "how much" on the stock markets yesterday again, do we have enough blankets for the cold desert nights, is Checkers aging hip going to be a problem for getting in & out of the motorhome, is our satellite-internet-TV system going to work once we get down there, because of the poor economy will this be our last winter of traveling south, are we really enjoying our morning walk if we're worrying about all this stuff?? Hmmmmmm!!
Different walks have different squawks. Years ago when I belonged to the Stratford Field Naturalist Club the group walks were very informative. Each person brought along they're own expertise in various fields of interests & hobbies. The bird watchers pointed out & identified the many birds along the way. Other folks drew attention to the abundant wild plants & flowers alongside the trail while others were astute at tree or animal identification. Always an exchange of information & points of interest. I also belonged to the Avon Trail Hiking Club for awhile where the focus was on exercise, wellness, & speed. We would traverse the trails in single file, moving swiftly, keeping the conversations low, & not stopping to look at too much. When I was with the Stratford Camera Club we focused our attentive walks on things like composition, color, shadows & lighting. The eye became trained to look photographically at our surroundings. Conversations revolved around shutter speeds, f-stops, camera brands & lenses. Every outing was an adventure in seeing. All these clubs taught me things that I still remember & use to-day. Many walks & talks with people years ago. Many things learned & many things applied.
And so it is now with our morning walks & travel talks...........................:))
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

THE PERILS OF PINE SAP!!

Weather has been unbelievably nice these past few days so figured it was a good time to work on getting the pine sap off the motorhome roof. It's one of the few disadvantages of living in a pine forest. Pine pollen in June, pine sap all summer long & pine needles in the fall. Pine sap is by far the worst. Our motorhome sits beneath pine trees & up till now there has been no way of getting away from the sap, but that will be remedied shortly after we leave for the south this year when the local tree cutter stops by!! In the meantime we've had enough sap drippings on top of the motorhome to start our own Pine-Sol factory. There are products on the market for dealing with this miserable stuff but I noticed that if you work on the sap in cooler temperatures it comes off much easier. Fortunately the roof of our rig is not a paint finish like a car so using a putty scraper on the rubber roof in cool temps basically lifts about 90% of the sap off on the first light scrape. Even so, you still end up with pine sap stuck to your shoes, your pants, your hands, or any other part of you that comes in contact with the icky sticky stuff. Just over a week before departure so we've been scurrying around like little pack rats loading the rig with last minute things for 5 months on the road. With each year the packing smarts get a little better but I'm sure we've probably already got some stuff on board we'll never use. Just seems to be the norm.Nasty weather coming in for the week-end so that will just heighten my impatience for getting this show on the road!!!!
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

THUNDER IN THE NOVEMBER SKY

Rained all night bringing in warmer temps & a light fog this morning. Thunder rolled in over the lake around 5 a.m. & stayed long enough to scare Checkers & the little Motormouse so no morning walk for those two critters. But Max was raring to go so off we went. Managed to take a few photos between raindrops while heading around the pond near our house. It's deer hunting season here so the sporadic gun shots out in the forest scared the guys as well. Good thing for the deer there is no snow on the ground making it much harder for the hunter's to track them. I would bring all the deer home & hide them under my bed if I could. Received a few comments on my blog earlier about not being the brightest crayon in the box & that got me thinking of another dumb thing I did two winters ago down in Arizona. Worst part about this dumb thing was that I did it twice within a couple days. We were at the Hickiwan Trails RV Park near Why in the southwest part of Arizona. This is the blog I posted on January 8th, 2007. We had a truck & fifth wheel at the time............................. JANUARY 8TH, 2007 HICKIWAN TRAILS RV PARK, WHY, AZ.
Boy oh boy oh boy, did I ever do something dumb yesterday. I had been re-organizing my wallet in the afternoon & had laid it on a table outside. Max bumped the table & my wallet fell off into the dog's water dish. No problem as I quickly lifted it out, but then I made the first part of a big mistake. Laid the contents of my wallet on the tonneau cover of the pick-up truck to dry. All my credit cards, driver's license, CAA card, etc. The tonneau cover is black & felt warm from the sun so figured everything would dry quick. Well, you probably know what's coming, Yep, a couple of hours later just after supper I decided to head down the road to update the website so out I went, jumped in the truck, & took off out of the park & down the highway. When I reached the wi-fi site at Coyote Howls I stopped, got out of the truck, walked around to the passenger side to move the computer, glanced at the back of the truck & "OH OH!!" I remembered my wallet & cards and..........they were all gone. Raced back to the trailer, rushed in & told Kelly what had happened. I knew the only hope I had of ever finding anything lying on the ground was to get an expert ground scanning person involved & with Kelly's recent rock hounding interest I knew she was the right person for the job. She quickly headed out the driveway to the highway in full scan mode. I took the truck & started driving the highway shoulder & immediately found my Scotia debit card lying in the middle of the road. Continued up the road aways & turned around. By the time I got back to the area where I found the debit card I saw Kelly busily scooping things off the highway & alongside the road. Oblivious to traffic, she was on the job!! By the time I got the truck stopped she had already retrieved my wallet which had been lying open upside down in the westbound lane. She had also found what was left of my driver's license. It was the only thing damaged. In my panic to find things, I later realized I had driven over my own stuff 3 times!! I found one more card on the southbound shoulder & that completed everything. We were only moments away from complete nightfall but the eagle eyed rock hound had saved the day once again. Nothing missing from inside the wallet either. Both American & Canadian money were intact. It sure would have put an unfavorable dent in our vacation plans if all had been lost. Now, you would think that a normal person under these circumstances would have learned their lesson. Key word there was "normal." Well, would you believe a couple of days later I practically did the same thing all over again. I was cleaning the truck cab & found my black cowboy hat getting in the way so reached up, took it off & tossed it around the corner onto the tonneau cover of the truck. For me, as soon as something is out of sight it's ancient history. Finished the cleaning & came inside the trailer & started working on the blog. Kelly said, "I'm going in to Ajo to get some groceries so won't be long." "Ok," I said & off she went. About 10 minutes later I decided to head back outside. Now, where the heck is my hat!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!!!!!
My most favorite hat of all time was gone & I instantly realized the huge mistake I had made. Raced across the parking lot, out the driveway & onto the highway desperately looking for some tell tale sign of my hat on the road or in the ditch. Walked about a quarter mile up the road & back down the other side again but no hat. I was just about jumping out of my skin because of the anger & frustration with myself. How could I have made the same mistake twice in a row. Over the next hour or so I beat myself up pretty bad as I sat dejectedly in the trailer mourning the loss of my favorite hat. I was convinced it was gone forever & probably perched on top of somebody else's head by now.

I heard the truck pull in beside the trailer but I didn't even feel like going outside to help bring the groceries in. I was in a total funk. The screen door opened, I heard the rustle of plastic grocery bags & Kelly stepped through the door..............and there it was, my black cowboy hat perched atop her head. Yaaaaaaaaay Kelly:))))) Almost enough to make a grown man cry I'd say. She said she hadn't noticed the hat when she left but after she had pulled out onto the highway she glanced in the rear view mirror & saw my had dancing across the tonneau cover about to take flight into Arizona's wild blue yonder. She slowed the truck down & the hat aborted it's take off roll. Pulling off to the side of the road, Kelly retrieved the hat & proceeded on her way. She had once again saved the day:)) As for me, well the only thing I was able to save, was the memory of an old saying........... "sometimes we get too soon old & too late smart:(("

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

ONE YEAR AGO TO-DAY ON NOV. 2nd, 2007

I'm a little short on blogging ideas at the moment but here's where we were & what was happening to us one year ago to-day on Nov. 2, 2007.

FRIDAY NOV. 2/07....LIMON, COLORADO
It was about 3 a.m. Friday morning when the first stirrings of pain in my lower abdomen woke me. It radiated from my lower back around my right side to the front. I had a similar pain a few days back but it wasn't as bad as this & only lasted about an hour & it was gone so figured it was something I ate & would go away shortly, but, it didn't go away. It got worse!! About 8 a.m. the pain was too much to take anymore so Kelly got on the computer & looked up the nearest hospital. Fortunately there was one nearby in the little town of Hugo about 15 miles southwest of Limon. I was able to un-hook the car, (did I mention the high winds & totally freezing temperatures) climbed inside, & Kelly drove me quickly to the hospital. The pain by now was extreme & I figured it was my appendix for sure....it wasn't. Also thought more about food poisoning....but nope, it wasn't that either. My Dad died of a large abdominal cancerous tumor in his late 60's so I had that on my mind as well as we rolled up to the emergency room. I was quite a looking sight as I hobbled, doubled over, into the emergency entrance. Hair all over the place, old clothes, jacket hanging over my shoulders & looking like I had just crawled out of a dumpster. I was well aware of how gruesome I looked so the first words out of my mouth to the attendant was, "no, I'm not a drunk & I am not on drugs!!" They had me on the table right away. No forms to fill out, no silly questions & no delays. What a relief it was when they put the IV in (ouch!!) & got some morphine started. Wasn't long & the pain was gone & I floated off briefly to some nice green valley far away. A complete blood work-up later showed elevated white blood cell counts. Blood in the urine as well. The Doctor (nice fellow) was stumped though at the total absence of pain all of a sudden even after the morphine wore off. The only thing they could figure was that I had a kidney stone & it had passed at the hospital. I sure hope so because I wouldn't want to have to go through that pain again. The Doctor prescribed some meds & we headed back to the motorhome around noon. The rest of the day I spent resting. We'll see how things are in the morning & then make a decision whether to head off for Denver & the Rocky mountains or wait for a bit. (we headed west first thing next morning & I've been fine ever since)

Too complicate all this, I had discovered Thursday afternoon that I had a tick imbedded in my left leg behind my knee. Figure I picked it up back in Benton Harbor, Michigan a few days before. Leg had been really sore in that area for a couple of days & Thursday while rubbing the back of my leg I felt something & we spotted the tick. He was alive because I saw his legs wiggling. He had his jaws into me pretty good because I had to really pull hard to detach him. Grabbed my camera & took a picture of the tick & also the wound it left just in case someone out there runs across the same thing sometime. Doctor said to keep an eye on the bite & watch for symptoms of Lime disease...... Geeezzzz, it's been quite a trip so far!! (UPDATE....It's a year later now & the last Lyme disease test I had done a couple of months ago showed everything still clear) Remember, the above blog was a year ago in 2007.