TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A PASSING STORM TURNS OUR SKY ORANGEY YELLOW

I WAS AT THE COMPUTER WHEN I NOTICED THE YELLOW ORANGE COLOR

Although tonight's photos have a yellowish sepia tone look to them, it is the natural color left behind after a storm passed over our area. The sky turned a yellow orange & cast a warm glow over our digs here in Bayfield.

If it hadn't been for the 20 minutes it took me to put a coating of clear coat Varathane on a 16"x 8' oak board this morning my day might have been a total washout!!

We have a large storm front bearing down on us (3:35PM) & I see they issued a Tornado watch for parts of southwestern Ontario. Hope it's not packing hail because I always worry about our solar panels being smashed. Noticed the other day about 80% of the leaves are off the trees alongside the roadside forests & after today's winds & rain I imagine our beautiful Autumn colors will totally disappear from the countryside. We still have a fair bit of foliage left in our front yard because it is protected by large pine trees.
Took some pics today just after the storm passed us by.

We are less than 2 weeks from departing on this year's travels. A lot of folks would be excited at this point but the word excitement just does not carry the same meaning as it did when I was a kid. I think that may have something to do with age. Let's just say I'll be darn glad to be out of here doing & seeing something different for a change & I am mighty darn glad about that!!

This has been a long 7 months since arriving home at the end of March last year. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to have never traveled at all. At least that way I wouldn't have known what I was missing. Some say we Snow Birds have the best of both world's & I do understand that thought & believe it to be true to some extent but of course it all comes down to an individuals personality. I'm guessing most Snow Birds are just content with wherever they are. I suppose if we were able to do some traveling during the summer months I could possible fall under that 'contented' label a little bit too, but we don't, so it makes for a long boring summer if your a born traveler with a sense of adventure. Can you tell I'm having myself a dull & rainy kind of a day again!!

FRONT YARD AROUND THE FROG POND

Not sure which route we will be taking when we leave at the end of next week because of the coach's problematic leveling system. If it was just me I would say the hell with the levelers & make do without the troublesome
things just like we did all last winter without much trouble. Kelly, on the other hand likes to be totally level & stable while parked.

The HWH company that makes the hydraulic leveling system for our rig is located on the other side of Chicago just west of Davenport & it has been suggested we take the rig right there to the factory rather than an HWH repair facility somewhere. At the present we have a two-fold problem with the system. Main one is the passenger side rear leveler which has a habit of not retracting. Not good!! And, the other problem is that I couldn't even get any power to the controls a couple days ago. Checked for loose wires in & around the gas pedal as a commenter suggested but didn't see anything wrong. Checked the fuse in the floor panel & it looked fine so I have no idea why it isn't working.........again!!!!

Oh, & an update to our big storm today.....it never happened!! Aside from
some rain & moderate winds the whole storm somehow missed little Bayfield &
moved right over top of us & continued inland. Our temps reached into the
high 60's today & a big sunny day is forecast for tomorrow:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( How to speak about some women & be politically correct:))

- She is not a 'DUMB BLONDE' - She is a: 'LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.'

- She has not 'BEEN AROUND' - She is a: 'PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION.'

- She does not 'NAG' you - She becomes: 'VERBALLY REPETITIVE.'

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

- He does not have a 'BEER GUT' - He has developed a: 'LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY.'

- He is not a 'BAD DANCER' - He is: ' OVERLY CAUCASIAN.'

- He does not 'GET LOST ALL THE TIME' - He: 'INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS.'

- He is not 'BALDING' - He is in: 'FOLLICLE REGRESSION.'

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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

Monday, October 25, 2010

SUNDAY WAS THE FIRST TIME I MISSED A POST IN A YEAR & A HALF

TWO LONE FISHERMEN ON THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON SUNDAY

I came away with a feeling of disappointment after reading a friend's blog Sunday morning & that kind of set the tone for my day. It would be a full 24 hours before I sat down at the computer again. A work related schmozzle later in the morning didn't help my frame of mind any & I had to finally throw my old sack of bones in the Jeep & take them for a long drive along some quiet country roads. Every once & awhile I just have to get away from things so I generally grab my cameras & some favorite music CD's & away I go for a few hours. It is a good way for me to mull things over in my mind, make some decisions, see some different scenery & just generally get myself back on track with myself. I once again questioned this whole blogging thing & by the time I got home in the late afternoon I just didn't have the mental energy to put a blog together. It was the first day I have missed writing a blog for about a year & a half. I like writing & I like the photography end of things, so with a few necessary changes, a short one day blogging break & a self motivated pep talk I am again back at the keyboard:))

SUNDAY FELT LIKE A 4 BUZZARD DAY

We are into our second day of exceptionally warm weather. Mid 60's yesterday & today coupled with a healthy splash of sunshine this afternoon. In fact it was so nice it actually spurred us on to make a last minute renovation to the rig's interior. Some of you may remember a couple years ago in Quartzsite when we took out all the cheaply made & hugely uncomfortable furniture in our rig. Sold the dinette, tub chair & couch at a business called, The Gambler. A few days later we headed east & purchased all new stuff at the Ikea store in Tempe/Phoenix, AZ. You can see our shopping spree here....IKEA

NEAR THE BENMILLER INN.....BENMILLER, ONTARIO

But, going back to Quartzsite for a minute.....we were looking for a computer desk & Kelly found a used one that had come out of a Tiffin Motor Home at the Le Mesa RV dealer. I think we paid $40 for it. It was made of oak with a marble like top & of course was very heavy. It was a solid good quality desk but it was actually too big for our rig. We liked it anyway & that's what we have been using the past couple years. Last winter we finally accepted the fact it was maybe not the best desk for our particular set-up so this morning, that desk came back out of the Motor Home!!

We had a much smaller el-cheapo wooden student's desk in the carport but when we put it in the rig we realized it was much too high for a laptop computer. Kelly set off for Goderich to see what Zeller's & Wal-Mart had in the way of desks but came back saying all the computer desks were too long for our short space. We have now opted to have handyman Bruce build us a nice shelf type of thing for the laptop & he's going to do that this week-end.

I again recognized our latest blog supporter, cowboy hat & all. That's Froggi Donna from 2 TAKING A FIFTH. I first met Froggi D here on my blog about 3 years ago. I had written a post about a bunch of vehicles I had owned over the years & a comment came in from a 'Froggi' person saying they once had the same type of vehicle as one of the one's I had. Well, with a cute name like that we had to email her back of course. Froggi D was traveling solo in those days & Kelly actually met her in Ajo Arizona one day when the Froggi gal was filling up some propane tanks. Kelly recognized her rig from the pictures on her site. She & Stu were two of the people who came out to our boondocking spot last winter in the Kofa Mountains. I've always had one regret though since that day. We never really did get to know anyone really well that were there & I remember thinking that as I watched Froggi D & Stu pull out on their motorcycles heading back to Yuma. Yes, we had met them alright, but we really didn't get a chance to talk to them much. Maybe next time we can make it 2 on 2 & do that "Howdy Neighbor" thingy all over again, Thanks for your blog support guys:))

PORT ALBERT, ONTARIO.....

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A big earthquake with the strength of 8.1 on the Richter scale hits Mexico. Two million Mexicans have died and over a million are injured. The country is totally ruined and the government doesn't know where to start and is asking for help to rebuild. The rest of the world is in shock.
Canada is sending troops to help the Mexican army control the riots. Saudi Arabia is sending oil. Other Latin American countries are sending supplies. The European community (except France) is sending food and money. The United States, not to be outdone, is sending two million Mexicans to replace all the people lost in the earthquake.
God bless America!!!!

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Friday, October 22, 2010

SCROUNGING FOR PHOTOS IN THE FRONT YARD

STILL A FEW LAWN ORNAMENTS TO PUT AWAY

Our Thursday night snow showers did not materialize but we did get the showers part. Friday has turned out sunny & our front yard is still showing lots of color. Generally, if I am stuck for photos I can just grab a camera & walk outside into our mini jungle here & find something interesting. Tonight's pics are from our front yard today.

SURFACE OF OUR FROG POND IS COVERED WITH DUCKWEED & PINE NEEDLES

I liked Chuck & Rod's common sense approach in the comment section of GYPSY'S Thursday post. They both have a good point & I think they are right in their views about all the new technologies. I hadn't thought of it that way but I can certainly understand companies doing that. It just affirms my own grumblings about 'newer is not always better!!' As I read through other blogs I am seeing what appears to be a consensus of other disgruntled folks as well. Always nice to know I do not stand alone in my opinions:))))))

I noticed Thursday we have a new blog supporter. LUCI & LOREE. I always enjoy reading about the determined courage of folks out there going it alone in the RV world. Welcome aboard Loree & Luci:))

A year ago today we were preparing for our 09 departure to the southwest. I remember hooking up our Santa Fe in a cold rain. By the time we get out of here in another 2 weeks it could be a cold snow!!

WE STILL HAVE COLOR IN THE FLOWERBEDS

Two of our Snow Birding neighbors left this week for the sunny south with one lady heading to Florida & another couple to southern Georgia. Another couple in the Park will soon leave for Texas. I think we are the only people we know from around here who prefer the scenic wonders of the great American Southwest.

And speaking of the Southwest, it has come to our attention that some folks living near the Dragoon Mountains in Arizona's Sulphur Springs Valley not far from the town of Sunsites are looking for some RV folks to look after 5 dogs on their property. They will be taking a 2 week vacation for the first two weeks of March 2011. We would do this but don't plan on being in the area at that time. Electricity & water provided but no sewer hook-up. Use of the house is offered. If anyone is interested, just send us an email at..... mousebanana@msn.com. We'll get in touch with friends of ours in the area who are friends with the property owners.

MOTORMOUSE STAYS WARM BY THE FIRE THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant, and resumed their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table, and she didn't miss them until they had been driving for about forty minutes.
By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses.
All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy man. He fussed and complained, and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive.
The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up for a single minute.
To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant. As the woman got out of the car, and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, "While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and the credit card too."

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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

Thursday, October 21, 2010

THE WEATHERMAN USED THE NASTY FOUR LETTER 'S' WORD TONIGHT!!!!

RAINDROPS ON AN OVERTURNED 'RED BUD' LEAF

Our local weatherman used a nasty term on his forecast a few minutes ago...."possible 'SNOW' showers overnight.' Not nice!! It was a rainy wet chilling day as Kelly & I headed off to visit my Uncle Harry this morning. He's doing pretty good & we were able to get him up for a short walk with his walker.

ALWAYS NICE WHEN WE CAN GET THE WHOLE GANG OUT IN THE MORNING

I mentioned a few days ago about editing over 700 photos in a 6 hour period while waiting for a brake repair recall on the Motor Home. To some folks that much editing might seem impossible but you have to remember, I take a lot of photos on a regular basis, & that means a lot of photo editing experience.

DABBLES OF COLOR ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

The PICASA PHOTO EDITING PROGRAM makes it an easy & fast way to edit pictures & like anything, if you do something regularly enough you can become very fast & efficient at it. It takes me on average about 30 seconds to have a photo looking the way I want it to look. Sometimes less time & sometimes more depending if I get into Picasa’s new PICNIK program.

Basically, this is what I do with each photo.......First I hit, ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ to see what options that is going to give me. Does it make the picture better or worse, lighter or darker, or does it not change anything? Next is ‘Auto Color’ & I decide if there is an improvement or not. I also do ‘Crop’ & ‘Straighten’ at this stage as well plus ‘Tuning,’ where I decide whether to add contrast or not. Maybe lighten the photo if it needs it. Then, I move on to the next picture, but I am not done with that first pic yet & will come back to it shortly. When I reach the end of a batch of photos I then work in reverse & begin to move back down the line. I click on ‘Effects’ & this is where I decide on adding or changing things like, Saturation, Sharpening, Glow, Graduated Tint or other effects if desired. All these options can compliment & work well with each other. With experience you can learn how to greatly improve your already good photos very quickly. I enjoy the editing process as much as I enjoy taking the pictures themselves.

KELLY SPOTTED THIS OLD DEAD PINE TREE FULL OF TURKEY VULTURES

Browsing through some blogs this morning I see Margie & Bruce’s blog had reached people in the far flung corners of the globe. MargieAnne from NEW ZEALAND DIARIES reflects on the influence Margie’s blog had on her.

An email rolled in this morning from reader Jim A who after reading yesterday's blog about our aging dogs sent in a site regarding easy to use folding ramps for pets to gain easier access into & out of RV's, campers, trucks, etc. The site also has indoor ramps for enabling pets to get up onto the bed or couch as well. PET CLASSICS

GROANER'S CORNER:((

You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You get winded from knocking on the door.
9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.
8. You ask for high fiber candy only.
7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.
6. People say: "Great Boris Karloff Mask,"
And you're not wearing a mask.
5. When the door opens you yell, "Trick or..."
And can't remember the rest

4. By the end of the night,
you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.
2. You're the only Power Ranger in the
neighborhood with a walker.
And the number one reason Seniors should not go Trick Or Treating...
1. You keep having to go home to pee.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

SOMEBODY WROTE...... 'AND THEN IT IS WINTER'

WHITE SANDS, NEW MEXICO....Didn't take any pics today so all of tonight's photos are from our travel files back in October of 08.

With each passing day now our temperatures are slowly but steadily dropping as Autumn begins to slide into it’s latter phase. Our night time lows are creeping ever closer to the freezing point. High gusting winds today have been shredding more leaves off the trees but the Autumn countryside is still hanging on & standing pretty in the sunlight.

Kelly spent a lot of time on the phone today taking care of things like travel insurance. My insurance dropped by $400 because I am over the penalty period for having a kidney stone problem 2 years ago. The Insurance Company had to of course financially penalize me like a 2 year old because of a kidney stone!!!! Called Verizon to activate our account for November 6th. Local telephone & cable television companies were called to suspend services for the winter but I’m sure when we get back in the spring everything will be messed up as usual & Kelly will have to spend more time getting everything straightened out again. Coach Net had to be called to renew our road assistance program. What would us guys do without our gals eh. I’m sure glad Kelly does all that stuff because it requires a huge amount of patience. But, on a positive note, Kelly said she noticed that everyone she talked with today sounded like they were from North America & all the people were exceptionally helpful & friendly. Do you suppose those companies are finally seeing the writing on the wall about people having to deal with Eastern foreign countries. I sure hope so & isn't it about time we took back control of everything else over here on this side of the big pond.

OLIVER LEE STATE PARK, ALAMOGORDO NM

I sure hope we can make it down south & back this year again with the whole Bayfield Bunch intact. Max is really beginning to show his age. He’s still able to do our morning walks but his one front leg bothers him more now. His hearing is pretty much gone so we have to keep a close eye on him because he can’t hear us when we call. Checkers has some hip problems & it’s no easy feat for the guys climbing up the steep steps of the Motor Home. Even last year we had to sometimes help them up. The little Motor Mouse is still a ball of energy & shows no apparent signs of aging at all.....just like Kelly. Me, well I’m another whole story but I won’t admit it of course!!

RICK & PAULETTE are off for a few days on a shakedown cruise with their new fifth wheel so you might want to stop by & see how they are doing. Rick can always use a little extra help understanding all that technical stuff you know. And to Anonymous who left a question about the Workhorse brake recall....check my post for Monday Oct. 18th & click the Workhorse Recall link about half way down. It will tell you how to check if you are in that recall.

MAX & THE MOTOR MOUSE (Ok, here real name is Cora)

A few weeks ago I had myself a little bluster about bloggers making up their posts with just sayings & slogans & I’ve felt kinda bad about that one ever since, so for the first time since I started this blog I have something to add here that is much of the same thing I blustered about. It came across my desktop awhile back & in light of our recent saddened week-end I felt it speaks to & for all of us at this age & stage in our lives. I don't know who wrote it, probably just someone like you or I who sat down at their keyboard & typed out their thoughts. Just an ordinary person like the rest of us who do this most every day here in Blog Land. Probably just another family member we haven't met yet.

RELAXING AFTER A HARD DAYS DRIVE.....HASKELL, TEXAS

'AND THEN IT IS WINTER'

You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all... And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams... But, here it is..the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well...seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like... But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting gray...they move slower and I see an older person now. Lots are in better shape than me... but, I see the great change... Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant... but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore...it's mandatory! Cause if I don't do it on my own free will..I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over...its over....

Yes , I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done, things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime....

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember... and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!! Live your life well.....(author unknown)

THE GANG IS SACKED OUT IN LAS CRUCES NEW MEXICO FOR THE NIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:(( One day, shortly after the birth of their new baby, the mother had to go out to do some errands, so the proud father stayed home to watch his wonderful new son.
Soon after the mother left, the baby started to cry. The father did everything he could think of, but the baby just wouldn't stop crying. Finally, the dad got so worried he decided to take the infant to the doctor.
After the doctor listened to all the father had done to get the baby to stop crying, the doctor began to examine the baby's ears, chest and then down to the diaper area. When he opened the diaper, he found was indeed full.
"Here's the problem," the doctor explained. "He just needs to be changed."
The perplexed father remarked, "But the diaper package specifically says it's good for up to 10 pounds!"

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

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