A SHORT POST FOLLOWS A LONG EMOTIONAL DAY

I am late getting to the computer tonight.  It was a long day & I am very tired.  It was a day of sadness.  A day of many old stories & memories. It was a day of much laughter.  It was a day I will remember.  And it is a post I will put together tomorrow……………………

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  A visiting speaker was impressed by the enthusiasm that our Christian school students showed in their physical education class.  "I exercise, too," he sighed, faintly smiling at our pastor. "Every morning I awaken to the alarm, jump from bed, and run around the block six times."  As our pastor expressed surprise and offered hearty praise, the man continued, "Then I kick the block under the bed and go back to sleep."

A WEE COUNTRY DRIVE, A FEW THOUGHTS ON MY 3 FAVORITE HOBBIES, & WISHING SHERRY & DAVID ALL THE BEST IN THESE TROUBLED TIMES

Two days in a row hanging around the house was enough for Pheebs & I so we had to get ourselves out for a couple hours & blow off a little house dust.  Figured replacing that dust with some good old road dust was just about the right thing to do.  Jeep's rear view mirror thermometer said 56F so it was another drive with the windows down & heater going.  More cloud than sun this morning but intermittent rays of sunshine made for some nice lighting at times.  Seeings how I seem to be taking more & more photos from the driver's seat these days I prefer to travel with the windows down much to the liking of a certain little doggy I know:))

PHEEBS LOVES HEADING OVER TO THE HULLETT MARSH & SHE LIKES LOOKING AT HERSELF IN THE MIRROR TOO:))

Driving along through our rolling countryside this morning I was thinking about how fortunate I am to have the hobbies I do.  I know I complain at times about boredom but that's just a sporadic quirk in my restless personality that occasionally rises to the surface on those sometimes slow blue moody days.  If I didn't have the 3 enjoyable hobbies I do then for sure I would have something to complain about.  I have written about these 3 interconnected hobbies before & how important they are to me in my daily life.

 

A LONE CANADA GOOSE LIFTS OFF FROM A HEAVILY LILY PADDED POND

My favorite pastimes are not just every once & awhile hobbies, they are every day leisure activities that have to do with my love of traveling being the longest passion.  Whether it's driving around the back roads of South-Western Ontario or driving the long scenic distances through Provinces or States it all adds up to a favorite activity for me & I consider it to be one of my longest running sources of adventuress entertainment.  Driving as a rule is not a chore for me, it's simply a pleasant hobby.  But it wasn't the first of my three current enjoyable pastimes. 

ARE YOU GONNA CUT THIS GRASS SOON DAD??

My first hobby began in about Grade 6 when my teacher at the time, a man by the name of John Douglas noticed me scribbling away in my  dog eared & worn brown notebook.  Asking what I was doing I told him I was writing a story & would he like to read it.  He was interested & after that I would occasionally be called upon to read one of my stories in front of the class.  I didn't know it at the time but it was the beginning of an elusive hobby for me.  It vanished for years & re-surfaced for a short while in the late 60's when I would put my thoughts down in the way of poetry.  I still have some of that stuff hanging around but thankfully it's in a plastic bin out in our shed somewhere.  My writing interests lay dormant for the next 35 years only to be rekindled when we bought our very first computer…..with a keyboard.  Having learned how to type in high school everything just began falling in place.  Having had 2 of my very own old typewriters years ago I still just love sitting down at a keyboard.

My third hobby of course is my love of photography.  That took hold in the Fall of 1965 when I bought a 35mm camera (Hanimex) while in Naval boot camp in Nova Scotia.  Other things took precedence over my photography interests a couple years after that, the camera broke & my interest never returned until 1974 when I came into possession of another 35mm camera. (Olympus Trip 35)  I soon acquired a couple Pentax cameras & my photography hobby soon took on a few commercial tones.  However I was never comfortable with that.  Stress!!  Had to deal with people!!  One day I just took all my equipment & shoved it into a closet & that was the end of that!!  Well until the digital age came along about 10 years later that is.  When I saw what could be done with a digital camera & a computer my hobby interests began to stir again.  I cautiously started out with a Hewlett-Packard point & shoot & it wasn't long before I was hooked on photography all over again.  Also wasn’t long before I had my hands on a couple Canon point & shoots plus 3 Nikon DSLR’s.  Yep I was hooked alright and the biggest thing that hooked me was now the ability to edit my own photos using an free & easy to learn Picasa photo editing program.  No more sending colored negatives & slides away for others to screw up.  Now I could screw them up all by my very self.  For the first time ever (with the exception of black & white) the whole photo process was all under my control from start to finish.  And for me that just re-instated my enjoyable photography hobby all over again:)) 

By the time 2006 rolled around & we embraced the RV lifestyle my 3 yet unrelated hobbies began to circle about each other gathering steam & taking shape.  With the advent of blogging a most enjoyable light bulb went off in my head.  Traveling, writing, & photography.  What a perfect hand in hand combination.   Could I combine my three hobbies together somehow & do something with the end result.  Something useful.  Something helpful.  And could I make it all work.  Maybe so but one thing was clear & extremely important to me.   If I was going to enjoy my 3 favorite pastimes I had to keep them stress free as best I could.  In other words no monetary gains.  Nothing commercial.  Just an enjoyable all round hobby for myself & hopefully others.  Plain & simple. 

Been doing this for the best part of 8 years now so yes I am a very extremely fortunate fellow.  Fortunate to have been able to bring together & combine 3 enjoyments of mine into something that is I hope interesting & entertaining for others.  If one person out there likes a photo I have taken or a paragraph or two I have written, learns something or is able to help someone else because of a link I have posted then yes that makes my day.  Makes it all worthwhile for me.  And I like that…………………….:)       

Having just recently arrived in the beautiful Capitol Reef area of Utah & looking forward to many happy days & weeks exploring the region Sherry & David from IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR DREAMS have suffered a medical set-back.  David's latest tests were not favorable & they have had to cut their travels short & head back to Florida as soon as possible.  Our concerned thoughts as well as those of others out here in Blogland go with them & we wish Sherry & David all the best in their coming days, weeks, & months………………………….

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Learning that several of his employees were tanking up on no-trace vodka martinis during lunch hours, a wise company president issued the following memo:  To All Employees:  If you must drink during lunch, please drink whiskey. It is much better for our customers to know you're drunk than to think you're stupid.

BEEN FLYING AROUND IN MY ‘GOOGLE EARTH’ PLANE AGAIN TO DAY TOUCHING ON SOME OLD MEMORIES

JUST A FEW MEMORABLE FILE PHOTOS TONIGHT….HIKING THROUGH WILLIS SLOT CANYON NEAR CANNONVILLE UTAH 2008 &THAT’S OUR BOY MAX CROSSING THE CREEK AHEAD…HIS FUR BLENDED RIGHT IN WITH THE COLORS ON THE SLOT CANYON WALLS

 

KELLY WATCHES AS OUR LITTLE CORA (MOTORMOUSE) DELICATELY CROSSED THE CREEK…SHE DIDN’T LIKE WATER

 

AND THERE’S OUR BIG GIRL CHECKERS CARRYING A STICK…MAX, CHECKERS, & CORA WERE PART OF THE ORIGINAL FOUR LEGGED BAYFIELD BUNCH

One of the things I have always enjoyed about early Autumn is the turning on of the furnace for the first time filling the house with warming air.  Today was that time.  Had ourselves a rainy, damp & feeling cold day.  Kelly switched the furnace on about 1:30 this afternoon & I just snuggled down into my recliner letting all that great feeling good warm air just envelope me.

CAN YOU SEE THE BIG CAT’S EYE GORILLA HEAD

 

HIKING BACK OUT OF THE CANYON & STOPPING FOR A MUCH NEEDED REST

A little discouraged to see they are already having snow in the Black Hills country of South Dakota.  That is one of the areas we were hoping to see on our travels next month.  All that snow in Calgary is not exactly encouraging either.  Could be the one prediction we heard about winter coming into areas along the Canada/U.S. border areas a month early may very well have some truth to it. 

ATOP GROSVENOR’S ARCH SOUTH OF KODACHROME BASIN STATE PARK UTAH…MY SECOND TIME THERE IN 16 YEARS

  

LUNCH BREAK AT KODACHROME STATE PARK & RUBY’S INN PARKING LOT NEAR BRYCE CANYON

THE ‘KIVA KOFFEE HOUSE’ ON HIGHWAY 12 BETWEEN CANNONVILLE & BOULDER UTAH

We have always noticed how much better we both feel once we get ourselves to the dryer climate of the South-West each winter.  Colder damp days like today really bother the arthritis in my legs so I'm looking forward to getting out of here before the really cold damp stuff begins setting in later next month.  Thanks to the folks for sending in suggestions regarding the Capital Reef area of Utah.

BRYCE CANYON

  

HIGHWAY 12 SOMEWHERE NEAR BOULDER UTAH

Spent some more time flying around in my Google Earth plane this afternoon.  So nice being able to fly over old familiar places we have been in the South-West as well as places we are headed for.  Spent time touching base with areas around Bryce Canyon, Cannonville, Kodachrome Basin, Grosvenor's Arch, & Escalante.  All places we visited back in November of 08.  That Google Earth is just the best thing & the clarity in most areas is just amazing.  Can zoom right in on old familiar campsites & even see the picnic tables in some cases.  Oh the memories:))    

HOO-DOO’S AT BRYCE CANYON

GROANER'S CORNER:((  'Short History Of Medicine' 
I have a headache...
-2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root.
-1000 A.D. - That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
-1850 A.D. - That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
-1940 A.D. - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 
-1985 A.D. - That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.

MY HEAD MAY BE IN BAYFIELD ONTARIO BUT MY HEART’S IN THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTH-WEST

A bit more puttering about in the rig & some more branches trimmed today.  Don’t think I will ever run out of branches to trim.  Our at times heavy rains began around 2 this afternoon & as I am writing this tonight it is still raining.  We have had us a fair bit of water come down.  All sunny days predicted for next week with temps in the 60’s.  Bonus days:))

In Tuesday's post I copied & pasted an article about the U.S. Government wanting to pass a bill to enable them to charge people for using BLM lands which are now free.  Noticed some folks thought that might be Okay if improvements were made to some BLM lands such as adding water & dump stations.  People didn't seem to mind paying if they had some comforts.  I have some different thoughts on that of course but think I will just keep them under my hat for now.  

However, ED had a comment at the end of my Tuesday post regarding that article.  According to Ed it may not be as bad as it seems.  I'm kinda thinking Ed may be right with his comment saying, "First, I do NOT support the passage of the Bill. It is just another revenue enhancement (tax) because the Federal government is broke and they are going to tax anything and everything they can".  And Ed goes on to say, "Second, Escapees says "...which will allow fees to be collected for most of the "public land" that is controlled by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management". If you read the Bill, it does NOT allow for collection of a fee for MOST of the public land in my opinion. It allows for the collection of fees on SOME of the public lands that have been free. The free disbursed camping (boondocking) sites on BLM land that Al has enjoyed in the past do not appear to me to fall within the scope of the Bill and will remain free - for now. There will come the day when there is NO access to ANY Federal land without paying a fee; as is now collected at National Parks".  Sue from THE MOHO AND OTHER TRAVELING TALES also left a couple of insightful comments worth going back to the post & reading too.  Interesting thoughts from other readers as well. 

Gaelyn over at GEOGYPSY had a question in her latest post which asked, "How Do You Process Photos"?  In my case I use a popular photo editing program that I'm guessing most of my fellow RV Bloggers use.  It's free & it's Google's Picasa.  I have been using this program for years now & was first attracted to it by it's ease of use.  It had a gentle learning curve even I could figure out.  I did briefly try Adobe's Photoshop one time about 5 years ago but couldn't even get to first base in trying to figure it out.  I soon lose interest in things I do not have a lot of patience with.  In choosing a photo editing program one has to decide what it is they wish to do with their photos.  For people hoping to reach a higher level of photography with a possible goal of selling their photos Picasa is probably not going to be their program of choice.  I don't think one would find any professional photographers using Picasa.  Not that it isn't a good program it's just that it does not have the scope & range needed on a professional level.  Picasa is great for folks like myself who have no other interest than to simply post their photos in their blogs.

Chinle over at SPOTTED DOG RANCH has just completed her 6th book in the Bud Shumway Mystery Series & it's called The Ice House Cafe. Print and audio versions will soon be available.  Not sure where Chinle is right now but I’m thinking maybe somewhere in Alaska if she’s still on the road traveling.  Or maybe back to Colorado or Utah by now.  Been trying to leave some comments on your last couple posts Chinle but have not been able to do so.  We hope to be in the Moab area sometime next month just in case you

After publishing Tuesday night's post I climbed aboard our Google Earth plane & flew myself on down to southern Utah.  Figured I'd have me a look around the Capital Reef area.  Noticed Sherry & David from IN THE DIRECTIONS OF OUR DREAMS are in that region right now so we'll be following their travels with a vested interest because it is an area we plan to be sometime in October.  If anyone has been in the Canyonlands, Escalante & Capital Reef or any southern Utah areas we would appreciate your suggestions on what to see & where to boondock.  We have been to Moab, Arches, Bryce & Zion Canyons as well as the Monument Valley area of Arizona.  All thoughts & suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Am particularly wondering if the drive from Fruita Utah to Torrey then down # 12 to Escalante is driveable in a 37’ Motorhome with toad.

Having been to the South-West for the last 8 years in a row it just excites me to no end when I already know the sheer beauty we will see there again this coming winter & especially on our trip down.  So looking forward to seeing things we have never seen before & traveling through areas we have never been before.  Just love Google Earth for checking out roads & terrains.  Flew over Moab Utah & buzzed the RV Park we stayed at back in October of 08. Two ponds at the rear of the campground brought back fond memories of morning walks with Max, Checkers, & our little Cora. (Motormouse)  I will just be soooooo happy to return to the deserts, mountains & forests that have given us sooooooo many wonderful memories over these past years.  My head may be in Bayfield Ontario but my heart yearns for the great American South-West.  Just makes me want to go out & saddle up that Motorhome right now & ride forever………………:))

 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  "Do you sing?" "Of course I do." "What kind of music?" "Aquapella."  "Don't you mean 'a cappella', singing without accompaniment?"  "Nope. I mean 'aquapella,' singing accompanied only by the water coming out of the shower head."

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Before my son could start going on job interviews, he needed to dress the part. That, he decided, required a $500 suit. "What!?" I answered, gagging at the price tag. "I've bought cars for $500!"  "That's why I want the $500 suit," he said. "So I don't have to drive $500 cars."

AND HERE’S A BIT OF DISCONCERTING NEWS FOR BOONDOCKERS REGARDING OUR BELOVED FREE BLM LANDS……….:((

I don't know where my Monday morning energy went but by the time I woke up Tuesday morning it had definitely got up & went without me.  Walked around outside for a bit waiting for an inspiration.  None came.  Temperatures had come up overnight & it was muggy.  Thought of going back to bed but haven't done that since my teen-age years.  No point in starting that up again.  Didn't like doing that then & would dislike doing that even more now so no option there.  Kelly headed off to Goderich for some blood tests so Pheebs & I headed over to Clinton to pick up a coffee & carrot muffin on our way to the HULLETT MARSH.

WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE THESE WETLANDS OF THE HULLETT MARSH SO CLOSE TO US
My mood seemed to match the cloudy overcast skies.  Luckily we had a cooling breeze or I wouldn't even have considered getting out of the Jeep.  Had noticed on the Hullett-Marsh website a few weeks they had opened up a new trail this summer so we stopped to check it out.  Called the 'Orange Trail' it was actually an old trail I remembered from about 25 years ago.  It has been refurbished, the areas trees have grown & I remembered driving a motorcycle in there one summer’s day parking on a high point of ground & just sitting there in the grass for a long time gazing out across the marshlands. 

EASY TO SEE WHY THEY CALL IT THE ORANGE TRAIL:))

Thanks to a thick overnight cloud cover the trails long grass had been sheltered from a soaking wet heavy dew.  I think purple has to be one of my favorite colors because it always takes me back to my early childhood school days.  Walking along this morning surrounded by Purple Asters, Chicory, Canada Thistle & Goldenrod it was the multitude of unseen Crickets that pulled me out of the doldrums.  Blue Jays in the air & a host of busy bees buzzing about in fields of waving Goldenrod lifted my mood putting me back on a sunshine footing.  I like pausing by clumps of Asters & remembering those old school days, those old golden rule days.  I can still remember many of the faces & names of my classmates.  My favorite day was always in June when our teacher would take the whole class on a forest walk near the school.  Those days were my favs…………………….. 

By the time Pheebs & I traveled ourselves back home the morning's cloud cover began breaking up sporadically bathing us in patterns of uplifting sun splashes.  Sunshine is one mighty magic elixir for many of us. 

 

 
And here is something of interest to all RV Boondockers & I must say this is very disconcerting news about our beloved free BLM lands………………

ESCAPEES RV CLUB News Bulletin
by Jim Koca, Advocacy Director

As some Escapees are aware, a bill has been introduced in the United States Congress, HB 5204, entitled The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Modernization Act of 2014, which will allow fees to be collected for most of the "public land" that is controlled by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. If the bill passes, it would allow the Federal Government to charge fees for any activity on land that we presently have access to for free. Fees could include a permit fee, day use fee, or a special use fee. There is the possibility that the bill could be attached to an appropriation bill, which would allow the bill to pass without public comment or debate.
It is time now to get involved and contact your congressman and senators where you have your domicile and let them know that HB 5204 should be defeated. In the past, public lands have been turned over to concessionaires that allowed them to charge fees or to refuse to give discounts for entering the federal lands. This bill may not pass, but don't take a chance and let the other members contact their congressman or senators. It only takes a few minutes to let the representatives that we elected know how we feel.
To find your congressman, you can go to http://www.house.gov, and for senators, you can go to http://www.senate.gov.
If you would like to review the bill yourself:
https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/5204/text

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man walks into a shoe store and tries on a pair of shoes.  "How do they feel?" asks the sales clerk.  "Well ...they feel a bit tight," replies the man.  The assistant promptly bends down and has a look at the shoes and the mans feet. "Try pulling the tongue out," offers the clerk.  Theyth sthill feelth a bith tighth," he replied.

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Another guy walks into a shoe store and asks for a pair of shoes, size 8.  The obviously well trained salesman says, "But sir, you take an 11 or eleven-and-a-half."  "Just bring me a size eight!" the man replies.  The sales guy brings them and the man stuffs his feet into them and stands up in obvious pain. He turns to the salesman and says, "I've lost my house because of foreclosure, I live with my mother-in-law, my daughter ran off with my best friend, and my business has filed Chapter 7. The only pleasure I have left in life is to come home at night and take my shoes off."

HAD THE RIG OUT FOR A SPIN, PUT THE TOW BAR ON THE JEEP & I GOT A MEDICAL ‘GREEN LIGHT’ TODAY

Yes it felt a little chilly this morning at 45F but that's Okay I'm comfortable wearing my long sleeve flannel shirts again.  They make me feel warm & fuzzy all over.  Now we don't want it too much chillier than that or I'll be getting myself into a frigid dither.
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Figured while I had some extra energy going this morning I had better follow through with it.  Pheebs & I loaded up a big pile of pine needles & hauled them off to our Park's recycle area.  Kelly drove a neighbor to Goderich while I stored some things in our carport.  Fired up the Big EEE & took it for a spin around a couple big country blocks.  Pheebs held down the Navigator's seat.  The rig ran like a finely tuned sewing machine.  Fired up the Genny upon our return & it to ran just fine as well.  Took Pheebs platform bed out of the Jeep & put the rear seat back in to take South with us.  A bit early but I put the tow bar on the Jeep anyway.  Had a beautiful sunny cool weather morning going on so figured I'd better take advantage of that to get some of these things done now.  Don’t like doing anything outside in cold rainy weather.   Slipped into Bayfield & filled up a gas can & grabbed a roasted chicken Sub at Subway for Pheebs & I.  Topped up the motorcycle's gas tank & put it into storage for the winter.  That was after I used the leaf blower to blow out the carport.  Leaves have a habit of blowing in there.  I put a walloping total of 274 miles on the bike this summer. Year before it was 350 miles.  Yep I’m quite a hard core hard riding biker guy I are.  Maybe I should be thinking of a Scooter with training wheels for next summer.  Jeep needed more muffin bits vacuumed out of it so did that as well.  All & all a productive morning & I like when that happens………………..:))

Perhaps I should have chosen my words better & made myself a tad clearer when I said in Sunday's post,   "If there is any hint of nasty weather along our proposed route through North-Western Ontario, southern Manitoba & Saskatchewan as well as the northern States of the Dakotas & Montana we will switch our route back to Sarnia/Port Huron through Chicago & out onto the Plains from there."  What I meant & should have said was 'if there is any hint of ICE & SNOW!!  Rain doesn't count as nasty weather for me.  Kelly had read a prediction for an early winter calling for snow & below freezing temperatures in the northern latitudes.  Saw in tonight's news Calgary has already had snow.  Ice & snow is a no-no for us.  I spent well over 40 years driving on icy roads in snow storms of all kinds & I don't plan on voluntarily subjecting our Motorhome or us to any of that kind of nonsense anymore.  And yes ED depending on weather you might be about half right in your comment predicting a speedy trip south for the Bayfield Bunch.  If so we will not be going through Indianapolis.  We will take the Chicago route.
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Had myself an appointment with my Nurse Practitioner at Goderich's Maitland Medical Center at 3.  All systems are go & I'm greenlighted for another winter's travel adventure.  She had all the info from recent blood tests etc & it seems I'm in better shape than I thought I was so guess I’d better button up on my darn complainin some…………………

I LOVES YA DAD…I LOVES YOU TOO PHEEBS:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A tourist parked his car in downtown Washington, D.C. He said to a man standing near the curb, "Listen, I'm going to be only a couple of minutes. Would you watch my car while I run into this store?"  "What?" the man huffed. "Do you realize that I am a member of the United States Congress?" "Well no," the tourist said, "I didn't realize that. But it's all right. I'll trust you anyway."