ARCHIVE MEMORY:: SO WHICH IS THE REAL WORLD

In today's heat & humidity there were only 2 places for me to be.  In the air conditioned house or on my Motorcycle.  I was in & on both enjoying each to the max.

Tom from TOM_KATHY_RETIRED in his latest post has a good example of how one's life can change in an instant & why it is so important to do the things you want & love to do while you still have your health to do so.  Now in my Senior years I am more than ever a supporter of that way of thinking.  I was reminded of this today when on our morning walk I tripped on a fallen pine branch & fell flat on my face.  No injuries except to my pride & small cut on my right arm.  Tom's friend although still alive after a similar fall was not as lucky. 

In a question on my Sunday post Chinle from SPOTTED DOG RANCH asked, " Could you guys move to W. Canada? That would shorten the drive by a bunch. Someplace like the Okanagan or Kelowna or Fernie"? (by the way Chinle’s headed for Alaska today)...........We did give the idea of moving to B.C. our attention about 4 years ago & began checking out on-line Real Estate prices for places around Oliver & Osoyoos.  Distance from Oliver B.C. to Congress Az is 1,391 miles.  Distance from Bayfield Ontario to Congress is 2,206 miles.  B.C.  Oliver is 815 miles closer. We bantered the idea back & forth for quite awhile but in the end we just decided it was too big a leap for us now at this stage.  Another factor that came into play & has become more important is the fact most of Kelly’s family is only a few hours drive away from Bayfield & she can be at her elderly Mother’s house in New York State in a matter of hours if need be.   Different for me because I have no close connections here anymore.

And I just want to clear up a little something about my 'living in the States' paragraph in Sunday's post.  My thoughts about us living in the States if I wasn't Canadian was purely a hypothetical example of how we might do or had done things if we were both Americans.  The key word in my thoughts was 'IF'.  Kelly & I are well aware of the medical coverage differences between our 2 countries.   And to the question asked about why we Canadians are only allowed 182 days in the States by the American Government I give you this link.  182 DAY U.S. TAX LAW   Also, Kelly corrected me this morning on using the word, 'duel citizenship.' in my Sunday post.  That apparently is an old misused term.  Kelly was born in New York State & has a U.S. passport as well as a permanent resident card for Canada.  Yes I could apply for a U.S. green card & we did discuss that years ago.  It’s just not something I’m interested in doing anymore & besides to apply for a green card now costs a thousand dollars.

JB from JOHN & BRENDA'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY had this comment, "You can leave Bayfield and wander west across Canada and use up that extra month, before darting south a couple of days to Congress, once the 182 day clock starts ticking"......Good idea & that is what we were initially planning to do when we first began our plans for returning to the States a couple months ago.  Rising gas prices kind of got in the way of those plans as well as places to boondock across the Western Provinces.  We haven't totally given up that idea yet.  Guess we have a bit more thinking to do on that route.  I lived in Vernon B.C. back in the early seventies & totally loved the province of British Columbia.  I have been hoping one day to return to the Okanagan Valley one last time.  I still remember driving out of Vernon on a very cold & bleak January day back in 1975 thinking to myself, 'I'm coming back here one day'.  That was nearly 40 years ago……………………………  

Archive Memory::  Wrote this back in 2008 & entitled it, ‘So Which Is The Real World’
That question came up when I was having an over the fence back yard chat with my neighbor Bert one day. (Bert has since passed away) In regards to our RV Snow Birding lifestyle Bert said something to the effect, "well, it's nice to get away for awhile but then you have to come back to the real world." That statement stuck with me all summer as I pondered those words. Yes, it's true, right now here at home it is the real world, but I also remember thinking to myself while traveling, this too is the real world. In my last post I referred to our travels as a vacation but I am wrong about referring to it as that. Our travels are a way of life not a vacation.  I see a vacation as a relaxing couple weeks tightly sandwiched between 2 ends of a structured work environment.   No, our travels are much more than a vacation. They are a very real way of life while on the road for 4 or 5 months. The days & events are every bit as real as when we are living in our stick house in Bayfield. In fact, I noticed while traveling that I rarely think of our life in Ontario & when I do, the memory seems so far away.  In fact it seems kind of unreal.   And the same can be said now as I think back to our travels to the South-West each winter.  The long distance & time away does have a tendency to give the place we are away from an unreal feeling as we transition twice a year back & forth from one to the other.  Yes it does seem unreal sometimes……….That other lifestyle. That other reality.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Winter Break was over and the teacher was asking the class about their vacations. She turned to little Johnny and asked what he did over the break.  "We visited my grandmother in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania," he replied.  "That sounds like an excellent vocabulary word," the teacher said. "Can you tell the class how you spell 'Punxsutawney'?"  Little Johnny thought about it and said, "You know, come to think of it, we went to Ohio."

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Our Lamaze class included a tour of the paediatric wing of the hospital. When a new baby was brought into the nursery, all the women tried to guess its weight, but the guy standing next to me was the only male to venture a number.  "Looks like 9 pounds," he offered confidently.  "This must not be your first," I said.  "Oh, yes," he said. "It's my first."  "Then how would you know the weight of a baby?" I asked.  He shrugged. "I'm a fisherman."

I STOOD PENSIVELY LOOKING OUT THE LIVING ROOM WINDOW

Skies were heavily overcast threatening rain but sitting in the house for the third day in a row was definitely not going to work for me.  Can't help it, just gotta get out & go somewhere.  Pheebs & I had to travel further afield this morning to find some rural roads we had never been on before.  Well at least I can't remember being on them before.  That's one of the plus's about aging.  You get to do things & go places you have forgot about.  That somehow seems kinda alright to me.  Expands my new to me world a bit:))

 

MY TIRED LITTLE TRAVELER TODAY

We did get rained on a bit here & there but it was just nice to be outside enjoying the day.  After all it was Sunday & we seem to have gotten ourselves into the habit of road trips on Sunday mornings.  Although our day began under overcast skies we did end it in a burst of brilliant sunshine.

 

It was raining as I stood pensively looking out the living room window at our Motorhome a couple days ago.  There she sat quietly beside our carport patiently waiting for us to fire her up & head her on down the road.  In my mind I know we are now past the halfway point of our long summer at home in Bayfield but it's still another 3 long months before we can once again point our noses in the direction of the great American South-West.  I'm hoping we can get away a bit earlier this year instead of waiting until our usual third week of October.  Of course I hope that every year & somehow it never seems to come about.  I know part of it is the 182 days we are allowed to be in the States.  The earlier we go the earlier we have to be back.  And coming back to Canada any earlier than the first week of April is not an option mainly because of unpredictable weather.  But sometimes I just don't care about that 182 day limit.  I just want to get the big wheels rolling & put a couple thousand miles of scenery behind us.  What a wondrous feeling it is every Fall to shut our house down here in Bayfield & make the mad dash across America's mid-west to the land of mountains, rivers, canyons, endless skies & wide open spaces.  I can already here the Sonoran desert calling.  The tall saguaro & prickly pear cactus await.  So looking forward to touching base with many of our old favorite haunts again this coming winter.  Borrego Springs, Kofa Mountains, Blair Valley & Ghost Mountain.  A return to the Sedona area & of course all our desert Jeeping roads around Congress.  We are hoping to do more traveling this winter now that we have a larger & more comfortable rig to travel & stay in.  Hope to hit new areas where we have never been as well.  A little less time at the house & a little more time traveling & boondocking just like we did in our early RVing years.  We are both aware time is slipping away on us & it's an unknown factor as to how many more years we can spend our winters in the land we both truly love………………….. 

USING A 300mm LENS WHILE DRIVING ON A BUMPY GRAVEL ROAD DOES NOT ALWAYS RESULT IN THE SHARPEST PHOTOS…THESE FOLKS WERE JUST COMING DOWN THEIR DRIVEWAY & I SUSPECT THEY WERE HEADED FOR CHURCH

 

BIG RED BRICK HOUSE IN A CORNFIELD & WHAT I THINK MAY BE A FIELD OF YELLOW CANOLA

 

OOOOOPS
If it was not for me being a Canadian (Kelly has duel citizenship) I'm guessing instead of living somewhere in Canada during the hot humid summer we would have us a place in maybe New Mexico somewhere at a higher cooler elevation.  That's a thought we've carried with us right from the first Winter we traveled to the South-West back in 06/07.    How nice it would be to travel the much shorter distance between a cooler Summer pine forest in New Mexico or Arizona to Winter's warmer desert floor maybe just a day’s drive away.  And how nice would it be not to have to fight all that heavy interstate traffic & congested cities of the East.   Days & days on the road just to reach where it is that we really would prefer to be.  And just think of the gas money saved let alone ware & tear on the Motorhome & us as well.  If I was an American that's just about how we would do it. 

THESE BEES DO NOT HAVE FAR TO TRAVEL IN SEARCH OF NECTAR

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Did you know the brains of older people only appear to be less speedy because they have so much information to access, much like a full-up hard drive, scientists believe.  Elderly people have so much information in their brain that it takes longer for them to access it, scientific studies show.  Older people do not decline mentally with age.  It just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more information in their brains, research suggests.  Much like a computer takes longer as the hard drive gets full up, so to do humans take longer to access information.  Researchers say this slowing down is not the same as cognitive decline.  The human brain appears to work slower in old age, said Dr. Michael Ramscar, but only because so much information has been stored over time.  Older people simply know more, so selecting a correct choice from the trove of stored data may take a bit longer.

STILL HANGING ON TO OUR SENSE OF ADVENTURE

EARLY RVING DAYS AT HICKIWAN TRAILS RV PARK NEAR WHY ARIZONA 2008

When our phone rang Thursday morning & call display told us it was Ron from FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE AUTO-MARINE-RV calling we both held our breath hoping it was the call we had been waiting the past 2 two & a half months for.  And it was.  Ron had a seriously interested buyer making an offer on our Winnebago.  With a short consultation we accepted the offer & that immediately eliminated our growing stress levels over the Winnie deal.  A big thanks to Ron down there in Grand Bend for putting in all the time & effort on selling our Class C rig.  And a big thanks for his cheery encouragement along the way:)) 

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES WINNIE:))  KOFA MOUNTAINS ARIZONA - DECEMBER 2013
Now here's a bit of irony.  We bought our Triple E Commander from a soon to be retired Boeing 757 Fed-Ex pilot.  It seems the fellow who bought our Winnie Wagon is himself a retired airline pilot.  When Kelly hung up the phone I said to her, "well that takes care of the Winnebago stress & also the stress we had a week ago in buying the Sunfire & selling the Santa Fe, so what do you think we should take on for our next great dilemma".  Gotta keep that excitement factor going you know.  At this age & stage of life it is more important than ever to have something out there to keep reaching for.....................

BY THE WAY, THAT’S RV SUE & THE CANINE CREW WAY OVER THAR TO THE LEFT
I can tell we are into the Dog Days of Summer.  Defined as, 'dog days - the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11. a period marked by lethargy, inactivity, or indolence'.  Lethargy & inactivity I knew about & understood but had to go to the dictionary for indolence.  Yep, got that one too.  It means a feeling of laziness.  Of course all three are closely connected & also solid ingredients for depression as well & I struggle with that from time to time.  More so these last few years for some reason.

SURE WILL BE GLAD TO GET BACK TO THE SUNRISES & SUNSETS OF OUR BELOVED SOUTH-WEST AGAIN THIS WINTER:))

Randy from THE ROADRUNNER CHRONICLES has the second part of his 2 part post on his thoughts, reflections, & recollections about their past 5 years of fulltiming.  Again, a well written post  that I am sure every RV'er can identify with in one way or another. 

<<< KELLY EXERCISING ON HER SMALL TRAMPOLINE THURSDAY MORNING

Rainy cool cloudy day here in our little section of the world.  I like cool but not so much rainy & cloudy.  I remember someone asking about the Squirrel proof birdfeeder a generous soul had anonymously sent us this past winter while in Arizona.  Fortunately we don't have a pesky Squirrel problem at our digs in Congress but we sure do here in Bayfield.  The birdfeeder lives up to it's reputation as being Squirrel proof alright but it takes the birds a little while after first hanging it up to figure out how to use it.  Kelly noticed Sue from THE MOHO AND OTHER TRAVELING TALES made mention on Facebook of our battles with the Squirrels each summer.  It is the larger black Squirrels we have the problems with most of the time & not the small red Squirrels or Chipmunks.  Wasn’t until I wrapped a metal stovepipe around the post that holds our flat wooden feeder station that the Squirrels could no longer climb the pole & gain access to the birdseed.

PHEEBS & I TOOK THE SUNFIRE OUT FOR A SPIN A FEW NIGHT’S AGO

Sometimes I just seem to get myself into a sad reflective mood & often as not it is an old favorite piece of music that just seems to gently guide me there. It’s not a depression so much as a regression. A momentary return to an earlier time of my life. Memories of times & places, people & events. It’s an emotional sadness when I sometimes look back, sometimes ahead. Even sometimes when I am not looking in either direction I can still feel the sadness. It’s just there. It’s a part of my life that seems to have it's own rhythmic ebb & flow . I occasionally embrace the sad times & let them slow me down, bring my mind into focus & ground me in the subtle realities of life. It sharpens my sensitivity & I need that some days.................................

BAYFIELD’S PIONEER PARK

ARCHIVE MEMORY::  Wrote this paragraph back in October 2008 & it applies just as much today as it did then…………. I have thought about our 'sense of adventure' a lot over the years as we have traveled here & there to various locations in different States. How really fortunate Kelly & I are that we share the same interests & ideas about traveling & the RV lifestyle. We're convinced there must be some wayfaring explorers in both our pasts. Maybe a little gypsy blood & I'm sure I have some cowboy in me from somewhere long ago too. Was always fascinated with old western movies as a kid & always paid particular attention to the majestic scenery in the backgrounds. I think right from the first day Kelly & I met, we recognized those adventurous qualities in each other & from then to now our goals have mainly been the same. To freely travel wherever & whenever we could with no confining time limits.  To wander at our leisure with no hard & fast destination at the end of the day. To wake up in the mornings, step out of our RV & watch the sunrise creep over the mountains casting long saguaro cactus shadows across the desert floor. Listening to the Gila Woodpeckers & Cactus Wrens close by & the distant lonesome howl of Coyotes. No crowding, no human sounds, no pressure & no commitments. Stay for a couple of days, weeks, or a month if we liked. Hike & explore all the areas near by & take short day trips by car to other points of interest in the area. So many mountain trails to walk & so many canyons to venture into. The American Southwest is a fascinating place with all it's history & tales to tell. Beautiful scenery all day, every day.  We don't know how many years we have left to enjoy this Snow Bird way of life we have missed for so many years but while we still have our health & a couple extra dollars in our pocket we fully intend to make the most of it while we can.....................

CLIMBING GHOST MOUNTAIN NEAR JULIAN CALIFORNIA

 

WAITING FOR A SUNSET NEAR DARBY WELL ROAD AJO ARIZONA & TAKING A BREAK IN THE ARCHES NATIONAL PARK NEAR MOAB UTAH

HIKING JUST SOUTH-WEST OF BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Although he was a qualified meteorologist, a local broadcaster ran up a terrible record of forecasting for the TV news program. He became something of a local joke when a newspaper began keeping a record of his predictions and showed that he'd been wrong almost three hundred times in a single year.  That kind of notoriety was enough to get him fired.  He moved to another part of the country and applied for a similar job. One blank on the job application called for the reason for leaving his previous position.  In the blank he wrote quite honestly, "The climate didn't agree with me."

SOLD THE WINNEBAGO

Winnie the Bago was sold today.  Other than that I haven’t been able to scratch myself up enough enthusiasm for a post tonight………………………… 

GROANERS CORNER:(( "What happened to you?" asked the bystander of the man lying on the sidewalk outside of the beauty parlor.  The man shook his head groggily and rubbed his bruised chin. "Well, the last thing I remember was my wife coming out of the beauty salon. I took one look at her and said, 'Well, Honey, ... at least you tried.'"

I DIDN’T LET A LEAKY JEEP TIRE KEEP PHEEBS & I FROM VISITING THE TOMB OF ‘TIGER DUNLOP’ THIS MORNING

A RESTING BENCH ALONG THE MAITLAND TRAIL OVERLOOKS THE DISTANT TOWN OF GODERICH WITH IT’S CHURCH SPIRES ALONG THE HORIZON…HARBOR GRAIN SILOS & LAKE HURON CAN BE SEEN TO THE RIGHT OF CENTER HORIZON, TOWN OF GODERICH TO THE LEFT

After spending all of Wednesday in the house due to rainy weather I was needing to get out, soak up some sunshine, grab myself some fresh air & see myself some scenery other than the television.  Kelly had slipped into Bayfield for Yoga.  Had a prescription to re-new so me & the little Monkey Buns headed ourselves on up to Goderich.  Stopped at a Shell station for gas & noticed the rear passenger side tire on the Jeep was half flat.  Piece of luck I spotted that at all.  Aired up the tire & knew Pheebs & I would not be heading off on one of our longer tours.  Took us for a drive down around the North Harbor stopping to check on the tire.  It was a slow leak so knew we would able to make it home alright.  A big ocean freighter & a lake freighter in the harbor this morning 

ONE OF WAGENBORG'S MANY OCEAN GOING FREIGHTERS LOADING GRAINS IN THE GODERICH HARBOR THIS MORNING

 

LAKE FREIGHTER AT RIGHT TAKING ON A LOAD OF ROCK SALT AT GODERICH’S LARGE SIFTO SALT MINE 
North of Goderich we stopped at a place where I knew we could access the Maitland Trail.  Decided to take a short & scenic walk to an area where the tomb of WILLIAM 'TIGER' DUNLOP & his brother Robert are interred.  Tiger Dunlop was the fellow who founded Goderich back in 1827.  ‘Doctor Dunlop’ also played a part in the war of 1812.  Kelly & I had visited this site one other time many years ago.  Nobody around so Pheebs & I were able to enjoy the peacefulness of the setting where once a large & majestic house belonging to the two Brothers had once stood.  No trace of the house left, only the tomb.

 

 

THE DUNLOP BROTHER’S FINE HOUSE GAIRBRAID ONCE STOOD HERE ON THESE GROUNDS WHERE ONLY THEIR TOMB REMAINS NOW…THIS DUNLOP PROPERTY ONCE CONSISTED OF 845 ACRES

Tire was holding up pretty good so decided to head on home.  Dropped Pheebs off, aired up the tire again & headed for HURON TIRECRAFT in Clinton Ontario.  I was back home less than an hour later.  Turns out the slow leak was caused by a screw nail in the tire & they were able to fix it.

THIS SECTION OF THE MAITLAND TRAIL NEAR TIGER DUNLOP’S TOMB WAS ONCE A RAIL BED FOR HEAVY STEAM ENGINES LADEN WITH ROCK SALT MAKING THEIR WAY INLAND FROM THE GODERICH SALT MINES UNDER LAKE HURON & YEP THAT’S THE PHEEBS WAY UP THERE ON THE TRAIL

HOW’S THIS FOR A NAME AT A SCENIC SPOT ALONG THE MAITLAND TRAIL

THE TRAIL CROSSES THIS OLD RAILWAY BRIDGE OVER THE MAITLAND RIVER…GRAIN SILOS & LAKE HURON IN THE BACKGROUND
I thought Randy over at THE ROADRUNNER CHRONICLES  had a well written post today as he looks back on their 5 year anniversary of full timing.  Although we are not full timers I did understand & agree with what Randy had to say.  This is part 1 of his take & I will be interested in reading his 2nd upcoming take on the lifestyle as well.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Finally, the good-natured boss was compelled to call Smith into his office.  "It has not escaped my attention," he pointed out, "that every time there's a home game at the stadium, you have to take your Aunt to the doctor."  "You know you're right, sir," exclaimed Smith. "I didn't realize it. You don't suppose she's faking, do you?"

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I'm not keen on taking pills, so when my doctor gave me a prescription to lower my blood pressure, I asked him if there were any side effects.  "Yes," he said. "Longevity."

OOOOPS

Not much going on here so I’ll keep it short.  Did myself a little Oooops Tuesday night commenting on Judy's post, TRAVELS WITH EMMA.  Merikay & Craig from MERIKAY'S DREAM had dropped in to see Judy & they all did a tour of where Judy is volunteering for the summer.  I liked the last photo in Judy's post & left a comment saying, 'Like that last photo of the 2 Gals heading on down the road':))  Of course I assumed they were Judy & Merikay.  Well you know what they say about assuming things.  Judy wrote me a note back saying, 'Oops.  That was Merikay and Craig heading down the road'.  :I 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  in the frozen foods department of our local grocery store, I noticed a man shopping with his son. As I walked by, he checked something off his list, and I heard him whisper conspiratorially to the child, "You know, if we really mess this up, we'll never have to do it again."