Thursday, June 28, 2007

Sight seeing in Bend Oregon

Location, Bend, OR

Our day began with a trip to Fred Meyer for groceries. This is one bigggg store. They have a lot of doors to enter, one for every department I think.

There is a big lava flow south east of Bend called Newberry National Monument. We drove out to see it in late morning. Our “old farts card”, excuse me, Golden Access Card, got us in for free. There are several campgrounds, a very nice waterfall, two resorts, an RV park, and the lava flow. We stopped at the waterfall for a quick view and unfortunately, forgot to take the camera with us so no pictures. Bummer!

The lava flow has a 3/4 mile round trip hike up several flights of metal stairs and through the lava to a very nice overlook. It was overcast which made for nice hiking. This could be a very uncomfortable hike on a hot day. The obsidian is very sharp as one tourist found out after handling a piece of it and receiving a cut finger for his troubles. The flow is estimated to be 1300 years old.

We checked out the RV Park which has about 15 pull through sites for big rigs plus back in sites. They raised the rates this year to $25 plus $2 for taxes. All sites are gravel and have water and electric with a dump station nearby. Across the road is the East Lake Resort which has cabins, a store, small café, and a coffee trailer. Fishing appeared to be good.

We stopped at a fishing access area with picnic tables for a quick lunch.

We decided to drive to Mt Batchelor before returning to camp but took the wrong road and ended up in a housing area called Sunriver. It looked like vacation homes all set in a wooded area with bike paths going everywhere. It reminded us of Hot Springs Village in Arkansas. It had the worst road system I have ever seen. No stop signs but all roundabouts. Confusing is an under statement. We eventually found the “Village Mall” and a way out. By then we decided we had enough for the day so went back to Fred Meyer for fuel. At $2.73 per gallon, it is the cheapest so far on the trip.

I made reservations for Fall City RV Park in Fall City, Washington for Saturday and Sunday night. It being close to the 4th of July weekend and a big camping holiday; it seemed like the best thing to do. Tomorrow we are off to the Columbia River and Peach Beach Campground at Maryhill. I doubt if there will be WI-fi there. It has been great having free and solid Wi-fi here at Scandia in Bend.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Alturas to Bend

Location, Bend, OR

Our night at Sully’s RV Park in Alturas was very nice. It is a small quiet park with friendly owners. We left about 9 AM and headed north again on Hwy 395. The country is mostly ranching with cattle and haying the main sources of income. There is quit a bit of water present on the surface as well as small creeks and several large lakes. The lakes appear to be shallow and a refuge for birds, but not used for recreation. We bought fuel at Lakeview, OR for $3.03 per gallon. Two nice young ladies pumped the fuel and washed the windshield.

North of Lakeview we turned northwest on Hwy 31 which is designated as an Oregon Scenic Byway. This is also a good road but is uneven which caused the rig to rock and roll. I reduced my speed to 45-50 MPH for a more comfortable drive. This was not a problem as there was very little traffic. It helped with fuel mileage also.

We did see 3 antelope in a field and a sand hill crane family with a youngster by its mother’s side.

We joined Hwy 97 north just south of La Pine and continued to Scandia RV Park in Bend. This is a nice park with FREE Wi-fi. Halleluiah!!!! We may stay here for another day or two as this is nice country. Bend has a population of 75,000 and new construction is everywhere.

This afternoon we checked out Tumalo ST PK northwest of town. It is a typical state park with very few sites capable of taking big rigs. They do have some sites with full hookups for $22 per night but all of these are booked. Reservations can be made 9 months ahead of time. The July 4th weekend is already filling parks throughout the state. We need to make some reservation for this weekend I guess.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Alturas California

Location, Alturus, CA

We traveled just over 200 miles today. We were in no hurry, so waited until after the morning rush hour traffic was over to get through Reno. By 11:30 AM we were at the rest stop at Honey Lake.

What modern architecture could this be? A monument to a fallen hero? A new home design? Would you believe a rest stop? For those of you familiar with the California rest stops, the standard Cal Trans buildings leave a lot to wish for. Would you believe this is the new standard for California rest stops? It reminds me of similar designs in Wisconsin. It is spacious, modern, and clean.

Enough of fawning over a rest stop; we have miles to go yet. The country north of Reno is high desert with little vegetation or trees and few towns. The road is basically good except for the construction areas which extended for 30 miles in one case. In all there were 3 construction areas. None delayed us for long even with a pilot car in two of the areas.

We are stopped for the night at Sully’s RV Park which is small and has mostly permanent residences. There are 5 pull through spaces which are barely long enough for big rigs. We arrived about 2:30 and by 5 PM all spaces were full. This is the only RV Park in the area so get here early in the day.

We walked into town which is close by but with the wind blowing, it blows every day at 2PM, and the temperature in the low 80’s it was not the best choice. However, a soft serve ice cream made it bearable.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Climbing mountains to Carson City

Location, Carson City, NV

I need to add some info for our stay at Mammoth before I continue. The temperature was fantastic at the mid 80’s during the day and high 30’s to low 40’s at night. We did have wind but it really didn’t prevent us from doing anything. It is really a special place in the pine trees of the Eastern Sierra.

A drive north on Hwy 395 today gets us to Carson City, NV, Capitol of the State of Nevada. The drive was uneventful except for the 3 mountain passes you climb. The highest elevation is just over 8,000 ft. We are stopping at Silver City RV Park which is a nice park with Wi-fi (for a fee of $4.99 per day) plus $2.00 for cable TV. The total came as a shock at $41.84 for one night.

The big fire at Lake Tahoe makes the air smoky and with the temperature around 85 degrees, it is uncomfortable.

We drove back south near Gardnerville to the old town of Genoa. Genoa was the first town in Nevada and was established an 1851. There are several old buildings in the downtown area and lots and lots of new large homes nearby. It obviously is a bedroom community for Carson City.

We topped of with fuel at the service station connected to the RV Park at $3.09 per gallon. We actually saw fuel at $2.99 per gallon at Topaz Lake but I really didn’t need fuel at that point.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Location, Mammoth, CA

A lazy day. We had little planned for today. A large skillet breakfast was on the schedule for mid morning along with some “bubbly” to set the mood. Karen left for Reno about 10:30 and the rest of us read, and napped until about 2 PM. We took a short drive to the volcanic glass flow near our camp. This is a truly impressive place with large boulders of obsidian and pumice pushed up from the earth. We collected a few fine examples and then drove to Lee Vining for a last ice cream before we all leave tomorrow to go our separate ways.

After a BBQ’d dinner of chicken and veggie packs we had time to finish the game of Dominos we had started a few days ago.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Rainbow Falls

Location, Mammoth, CA

Today we are going to Devils Post Pile on the shuttle bus. The bus costs $7 per person and leaves from the Mammoth Mountain ski area. It makes the trip to Reds Meadow Pack Station with stops at all camp grounds and lakes as well as Devils Post Pile. This year the busses are the large tour type busses which seem to big to make this trip as the road is very narrow and steep. However, it was a smooth trip with little other traffic.

We disembarked at Devils Post Pile Ranger Station and walked the 0.4 mile to the post pile. After taking pictures, it was decided that the men would hike to the top of the pile while the ladies took their time and eventually walked the 1 mile to the road near Reds Meadow camp ground. As you can imagine, the men arrived at the road and no ladies in site. Were they behind us? Did they take another trail? Where are they? Fortunately, we had mentioned to some other hikers that we were looking for “2 women” and they eventually saw the ladies and Brenda came looking for us. Mixed messages were the problem.

We walked up to the Reds Meadow Resort and had lunch in their café. The hamburgers sure tasted good after the mornings hike. After lunch the men took the 1.5 mile hike down to Rainbow Falls. From the Resort the trail crosses the Pacific Crest Trail. In 1992 a lightning strike started a forest fire which burned most of the area between the Resort and the falls. There are many dead trees but new growth is showing up in small trees and bushes. The scars from the fire will remain for many years.

The trail near the falls has a steep descent to viewing areas which today gave us a very nice rainbow. The rainbow is better in the afternoon because of the sun angle. We looked at the steep set of stairs which leads down to the river below the falls but elected not to take them.

After a fast trip back up the trail we met the ladies at the bus stop. A bus soon came and shortly there after, we arrived back at the ski resort parking lot.

We made a quick trip to the grocery store and then back to the camp ground. A friend, Karen L, had called us earlier as she was traveling to Reno and planned to spend the night camped near us. She arrived shortly after we did and we enjoyed catching up on each others lives.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Mono Lake

Location, Mammoth, CA

The weather has been beautiful. We visited the Mono Lake Visitors Center which is a great interpretive center for the Mono Lake area. The ski was blue and the lake took on this deep blue color. The water level in the lake is within 6.5 feet of the mandated level established several years ago. It was a clear day which with little wind so the views across the lake were spectacular.

We found fuel in Lee Vining at $3.29 per gallon. That is much better than the other local stations at $3.55 per gallon.

We travel up Conway Summit to Bridgeport and had a picnic lunch at the city park. After lunch we visited the Bridgeport Museum and Courthouse. Both are well worth the time.

On our way home we stop for a few groceries in Lee Vining and then drove the June Lake loop before returning to the camp ground. The loop has several lakes which cater to fisherman and typical Forest Service camp grounds which only small RV’s and tents fit into.

We finished up the day with dinner, a walk, and a game of Mexican Train.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

On the road!!

Location, Mammoth, CA

I am playing catch-up on the journal as I had no time to update it until now. It is early Wednesday morning in a camp ground near Mammoth, Ca. The temperature this morning was 41 degrees and sunny with hopes of it getting into the 90’s today.

To back up, we left the house around 11 AM on Tuesday after numerous phone calls from friends with good wishes for our trip and calls for our son making Dr’s appointments for the coming weeks. He is doing better this morning as his shoulder feels better. I really think he may have something major wrong with it like a torn rotator cuff, but time will tell.

We made a fast trip as far as Santa Barbara and all traffic came to a stop. It took us an hour to get through town. Cal Trans was trimming flowers or some such in the center divider I guess. We stopped on the Rincon so I could check the trailer lug nuts as I had removed all wheels when I repacked the wheel bearings. Specs call for a recheck every 50 miles for the first 200 miles after removing the wheels. We also ate a quick lunch while stopped.

The trip to Tehachapi was via Hwy 126 from Ventura to I-5 and North over the “Grapevine”. I go this way to avoid the traffic North of Los Angeles. We do contend with truck traffic on the “Grapevine” but there are 4 lanes and that helps. The road bed is in poor shape for the 2 outside lanes but 20 minutes of climbing gets us to Hwy 138, Quail lake road, and easy 2 lane driving east to Hwy 14. From there it is North on Hwy 14 to Mojave where we stop for fuel at the Mobil station on the south end of town. They have a truck island out back and a large lot to turn around in. Diesel was $3.09 per gallon.

From Mohave it is an easy climb west on Hwy 58 to Tehachapi and our friends Budd and Brenda’s home. They have lots of cement to park on and it is easy to just back into there yard. We enjoyed diner and conversation and by 9 PM all were ready for bed. The temperature had been in the high 80’s which is just perfect. It cooled off enough for sleeping.

Wednesday morning we had a quick breakfast and pulled out about 9 AM. The trip north on Hwy 14 is high desert and baron but still quit interesting. The temperatures gradually moved up to about 93 degrees for most of the trip north. We stopped in Bishop, CA for lunch at Schat’s Bakery, Home of the Original Sheepherder Bread. No trip through Bishop is complete without a stop at Schat’s. We all had a “Mule Kick” sandwich which is roast beef with all the fixings and jalapeno peppers on Mule Bread. Very tasty! We picked up a loaf of Sheep Herder bread and some dessert for later also.

The climb out of Bishop to the top of Sherwin grade is slow and tedious. It is about 4000 foot climb to the top at 7000 feet. Once there it is a good fast road to Mammoth. We found a place to camp together and quickly set up and got out the chairs for some relaxing. Dinner was a pasta casserole Clyda had prepared ahead of time with salad and sheep herder bread. Desert was chocolate dipped coconut macaroons with Muscat dessert wine. Yummy!

If we get to the library today I will post this. The Mammoth library has Wi-Fi and is the easiest place to get to the internet.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Picking fruit

Location, Home in CA

The insurance adjuster called us after looking at the car. He can’t believe how bad the damage is. They have declared it a total loss. It was in really good shape with low miles so the adjusted value is fairly high. However much we get will not cover the cost of a new vehicle of course. We will not begin to look for a replacement until we return from this trip.

Today was taken up with running errands, washing the truck, shopping, and loading clothes in the trailer. We don’t plan to leave until 10 or 11 tomorrow morning.

I have been picking boysenberries every other day. I get about 5 or 6 strawberry baskets each time. After freezing them on trays, they look like ju-ju-bees, I store them in the freezer. We are also starting to get apricots, a few, and Santa Rosa plums. There are not many apricots this year, and the plums are all on one side of the tree. I think the wind we had this spring blew all the blossoms off before the fruit set. With us not being here anyway, it is a moot point. The neighbors will pick what the can.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Getting ready to go

Location, Home in CA

After church this morning we went to breakfast at a small, new (to us) restaurant. It only has a few tables outside in an enclosed patio and a few small tables inside. The food was good and the prices were better.

I have been moving computer files to the portable hard drive I carry with me on trips and to the laptop in preparation for leaving. I think I have moved all the files I may need for the trip.

We have also been putting things into the trailer. One of the major items is a dining room table which is 20 inches wide and 40 inches long when collapsed but opens to a very large table seating about 10 when the 4 leaves are added. The legs are not detachable so that complicates where I can store it until we get to Washington State. I moved our table closer to the couch and laid the new table on its top with all the leaves and pads between the legs. We barely have room to sit at the table but we will get by.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Photos of car

Location, Home in CA

This morning I went to the storage yard where the car was taken. I wanted to remove what property we had in it and also to get some pictures. From the looks of the car it is hard to believe the injuries weren’t major. It is now in the insurance companies hands.


The "jaws of life" were used to cut the door post.

Both C… and B… were released from the hospital yesterday afternoon and this morning both were very sore. It remains to be seen what the long term effects will be from the bumps and bruises if any.

On another note, we have decided to start our trip on Tuesday. Any further information needed by the insurance company, etc, can be done over the phone. We were concerned about C… having a car to drive as he will need some follow up care, but a friend of his has a Nissan Pathfinder that C… can use or buy. We will wait until we return this fall from our trip to look for another small SUV for Clyda.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Traffic accident

Location, Home in CA

Last night around 11 PM we received one of those phone calls no one ever wants to get. Our youngest son C.. and a friend B…were involved in an accident near our home. The friend called us from the emergency room and told Clyda what had happened and that “C.. was in bad shape”. We immediately left for the hospital emergency room expecting the worst. They took us back to where C.. and his friend were and of course we were expecting the worst possible scenario. C.. had blood all over the left side of his head and face from a 2 inch laceration above his left ear which they had stapled but not cleaned up.

Both guys had seatbelt marks across their stomachs and shoulders and various other bruises. C.. has his left arm in a sling from the shoulder harness and B… has a very badly bruised right hip. Both had numerous x-rays and were kept over night. C.. was released this afternoon with a bandage covering his skull. He gave the staff such a fit that I think they were glad to get rid of him. B.. will remain for at least one more day.

C.. was making a left turn on a green arrow driving Clyda’s Chevy Tracker when they were hit by a large pickup which ran the red light. The impact spun the tracker around and shoved it into a car which was turning behind the Tracker. The pickup ended up jumping the curb almost into the local high school parking lot.

We were told the pickup driver was held for a DUI. We have no information about the driver behind the Tracker. So… today was spent talking to the insurance company, the storage lot, etc. We have not seen the tracker but believe it will be totaled as they used the “Jaws of life” to open the driver side door and both airbags deployed.

Both were very lucky…….

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Running errands

Location, Home in CA

I ran a few errands this morning. One of the things I needed to do was check all of the flower bed sprinklers. It has been some time since I had looked at them and anyone who has sprinklers knows they need periodic attention. I found several problems and of course, my supply of spare parts was low, hence a trip to the hardware store this morning. All of my lawn and most of my flower beds are on sprinklers with timers. This allows us to be gone for extended periods. Plants may not get the best care but they will survive.

I turned on the refrigerator in the RV this morning. It gets cold really fast so this afternoon I loaded the freezer with food. We take a variety of frozen food with us and usually it is whatever we have on hand. Of course, we plan on stopping at a few Costco’s along the way. I even printed out a list of Costco stores in cities we plan to pass through.

Our travels will be mostly through places we have already been with a few exceptions. I will point those out as we travel. I find it a little more relaxing to start a trip if I am familiar with the route. Once we have a few days on the road and settled in to a routine, then new routes don’t bother me.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Steak for dinner

Location, Home in CA

The sun is shinning but I can hear the foghorns so it must be foggy along the coast. I have never checked to see how close to the beach we actually are but my guess is about a mile as the crow fly’s. We often hear seals when it is quiet at night and we do hear the oil service boats also at night as they make their way up the channel to the oil platforms.

We just had dinner at the local beach restaurant. I had won a gift certificate as a door prize at my company Christmas lunch in December. We decided we should use it before we left. We had a really good meal. Mine was a small sirloin done to perfection while Clyda had salmon.

Starting this weekend, every hotel and restaurant in town will be filled because of graduation at the University. It is a hectic few days as thousands of grads and families come in for the ceremonies. This is a good weekend to leave town.

I picked 7 1/2 boxes of boysenberries today. That may be the biggest picking this season. I will pick twice more before we leave. I rinse and drain the berries and freeze them on cookie sheets then bag them in gallon size freezer bags. Clyda makes cobblers or when we have plenty she makes jam and syrup. Most of this we give away as gifts. Everyone likes something home made.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

BBQ'd turkey

Location, Home in CA

I BBQ’d a small turkey this afternoon. We wanted to use it before we left for the summer. I like to BBQ my turkeys in a Weber kettle using charcoal. I coat the turkey with a mixture of rosemary, oil, and pepper and put a few rosemary sprigs inside the cavity.

I use the indirect method which has the charcoal pushed to each side in the kettle and a foil pan in the middle. A small amount of water in the pan keeps the air moist. Drippings from the turkey into the pan are later strained and make the best tasting gravy. Every half hour I add 5 charcoals to each side by siding the lid sideways just enough to put the briquettes in. I never completely remove the lid as I don’t want the heat to escape. I also add sprigs of rosemary around the turkey at the start. This makes a really moist and flavorful turkey. I cook the turkey about 11-13 minutes per pound.


Here is a plant called a Lions Mane which is a volunteer in my back yard. I have 2 more of these in front of the house intermixed with purple sage. The combination is striking. This plant is over 6 feet tall.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Trip planning

Location, Home in CA

I got a little damp this morning during my walk. It started to drizzle just after I left the house. We have had a lot of overcaste mornings but few of the coastal drizzle starts to the day. I am definitely ready for some warmer weather.

I have been looking at possible camp sites for our trip this summer. I use Microsoft Streets and Trips to plan my route and also find campsite locations. Google Earth gives me a “bird’s” eye view of the camp sites. In some cases it is a fuzzy view if I zoom in to far but it is good enough to see the general detail and location of camp sites.

Streets and Trips provides routes, mileage, driving times and an estimate of fuel usage. I can print copies of maps and routes to use on the road. Generally I only print details of a route if I am unfamiliar with it or it is some complicated route within a city. I do the trip in segments and store those segments for later recall. This has worked well for several years.

I guess the next step would be a GPS. I have thought about it but the displays are generally so small that it is difficult to operate them while driving. I am not a fan of the talking display. I think it is too distracting. I have a friend who uses a fairly large LCD screen mounted where the glove box is on the passenger side to display his route while traveling. This really is superior but does intrude on the passenger space. Again, it is just one more distraction while driving.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Neighborhood BBQ

Location, Home in CA

I didn’t have a chance to update the blog yesterday. We had a neighborhood BBQ in the cul-de-sac late in the afternoon. Fortunately the weather cooperated with sunshine instead of fog. It was a nice gathering with plenty of food and a chance to catch up with local news. Everyone has such hectic lives that we rarely talk to each other.

We drag a few BBQ’s out to the street, set up tables, gather chairs, and talk. There is not a lot of organizing except to notify everyone and assign a few dishes to make sure there is a variety. Everyone cooks their own meat and we always have lots of desserts.

The one striking notice is how many children we now have on the street. When we first moved here 40 years ago, every one had young children. They all grew up and left, families moved on, houses sold, and now we have a whole new generation of young families again. It really is nice.

Friday, June 8, 2007

New generators

Location, Home in CA

In the blog dated May 14th I discussed the pros and cons of Honda Generators. A few days later in my blog I wrote about my decision to go with 2 Honda EU2000 generators as my choice. Of course I did nothing about it for some time. There was no urgency to do anything and I think “sleeping on my decision” helps to solidify my thinking. I did finally order the 2 Honda EU2000’s and they arrived by FedEx last night about 8 PM. I opened the boxes this morning but need to get some 10W30 oil before I can fire them up.

I spent part of the day removing things from the trailer that we won’t need this summer and adding things we will need. I also spent a large amount of time planning part of our trip through Canada. I really wish we had more time to spend on parts of the trip but circumstances are such that we need to be in certain places at a certain time. Maybe someday we will get to the point when we can just “mosey” along at our own pace. That isn’t to say that we will be on a tight schedule the whole summer as we do have lazy time built in.

One real concern is the cost of camping. We are very capable of dry camping to cut down the cost but the weather will dictate to a large extent how much of that we can do. If it is very warm, then we need AC which means paying more to camp. Last summer we averaged les than $17 day for camping fees. I suspect it will be higher this year.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Used Books

Location, Home in CA

Today I finally made it in to the used book store near here. They mostly feature paperbacks and the place has books stacked to the ceiling. I took in a small bag of books I had finished for credit and in return I bought a few. I always make sure that I buy more in dollar amount than they give me in credit. My theory is that I want them to stay in business and they can’t do that unless they make money.

I also trade books on-line at www.paperbackswap.com . Initially you must submit 13 books which anyone may order from you and for that you receive 3 credits which you can use to order books. For every book you send out after the initial group, you receive one credit. You can add as many books as you want but only receive credit when you send one. The only cost is the postage when you mail a book. With the new postal rates, it is about $2.13 for media rate. I don’t know of any used book store which sells books for that price.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Maintenance

Location, Home in CA

Anyone reading this blog for some time can probably tell that I do most of my own maintenance on my trailer. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, if I do the work I know it will be done right and I can depend on that. Second, the local dealer here who can work on RV’s has a really bad location which is hard to get a large trailer into. If they are asked to do warranty work, they charge for their time to talk to the warranty people. Their estimate is about ¾ of an hour of their time to settle warranty issues before the work can begin. The warranty company only pays for so much labor time depending on the job. The RV dealer in most cases losses money if he needs to have more time to do the repair. In some instances, a hurried sloppy job is the result. When I am towing a 13,000 lb trailer down the road, I am not comfortable knowing someone may have cut a few repair corners.

Within the last year I have had to rebuild the front jacks, (broken drive gear), replace the refer circuit board, install a radio/cd player, rework all pullout drawer slides, repair a closet shelf, install 2 solar panels, repair a wheel well after a blown tire, plus a few other items. If you are not a handy man or know your way around tools, it can be rather costly to have these repairs done by someone else. Repairing the jacks myself saved several hundred dollars as most shops would have replaced the complete unit instead of reaping them.

If I have the time to think about a repair I can usually find a way to get it done. In the case of a major breakdown on the road I call Good Sam. I have their Emergency Road Service and have used it several times. They are prompt and helpful and well worth the cost. End of commercial.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Packing wheel bearings

Location, Home in CA

I have had a lot of calls for the generator but most people want to know if I am a dealer and do I have the Honda 2000 in stock. A few are interested but they want to low ball the price. Come on folks, it’s a small generator for back up purposes. Do your home work!

Today I accomplished the largest project on my to-do list and that was to repack the trailer wheel bearings. Jacking up a 13,000 lb trailer one side at a time and wrestling 16 inch tires is not my idea of fun, to say nothing about the dirty brake dust and wheel bearing grease. Fortunately my No 2 son has some of the special tools which help with the job. My next door neighbor also had some helpful ideas which made it easier.

I did one side before lunch and the second side after. The second side did go much faster. I set all of the lug nuts with a torque wrench to the recommended setting. Now I need to remember to recheck them after 50 miles of driving.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Small jobs

Location, Home in CA

Today I tackled several small jobs from my to-do list. I needed to check the air pressure in the spare tires on my truck and trailer. Both are stored underneath each unit and fortunately are crank down types which makes it easier to handle the weight.

Next, I cleaned the large BBQ we use at home and the small one we travel with. It had been some time since either had been thoroughly cleaned.

A friend had given me his garden shredder and it needed some attention. I pumped up the tires and put gas in the tank. A generous application of ether helped it to start. I ran it for several minutes as I have no idea when it was last used.

I have decided to sell my Honda EU1000 generator so I placed an ad at www.craigslist.com along with a picture. I immediately received a phone call about it but the person hoped I was a dealer and might have a EU2000 for sale. No such luck.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

New homes

Location, Home in CA

A some what lazy Sunday. This afternoon, friends picked us up and we toured some new homes being built about a mile from us as the crow flies. We had heard that touring was by reservation only but recently found out that was not true.

These are really upscale, high dollar homes starting above $2 million each. With amenities I can visualize them going in the neighborhood of $3 Million. They are stunning to say the least. The detail work is of the highest caliber. All featured high end appliances with double ovens, refrigerator and freezer in the kitchen, beautiful tile work, wine coolers, and 3 car garages. Each bedroom had its own bath, no shared baths. All master suites had Jacuzzi tubs and showers with his and hers sinks and walk in closets. It really was a treat to tour these fine homes.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

New solar panel

Location, Home in CA

I started working on the solar panel insulation this morning. Several decisions had to be made concerning placement of the brackets which bolt to the roof. I am trying to maintain a footprint for a larger panel if that ever becomes a possibility, and I want to make sure that the smaller panel will be solidly mounted.

I found that the special wire used to connect to my junction box was too short. Fortunately, I had extra wire from the original Camper World installation. It required splicing the wires but a heavy duty soldering gun borrowed from my neighbor did the trick.

A temporary hookup of wires showed that the 50 watt panel added 2 amps to the charging rate. Total charging rate with both panels with a late afternoon sun angle was 7 amps. With high noon over head sun I should have about a 9 amp charging rate.

Both panels were bolted in place using a self leveling caulk to coat all bolt heads to insure no leaks and we are good to go.

I finished the day by picking 3 baskets of boysenberries. The berries are large but there just aren’t as many as we usually get.

Now for some NBA playoff action. Go Cleveland!

Friday, June 1, 2007

I Madonnari

Location, Home in CA

This morning was an “up and at em” day. I had errands to run at Home Depot for potting soil, the grocery store for seafood, and Big Box for staple items such as paper products. My list was very long as was the bill at checkout. Most of the items will go with us on our trip this summer.

After unloading all of that, I had my neighbor cut two pieces of aluminum angle to use with my solar panel project. I am adding a 50 watt panel to the existing 125 watt panel already installed. That will be tomorrows project.

We were invited by good friends to eat lunch out and to see the I Madonnari chalk paintings at the Mission Santa Barbara. We lunched at Mulligan’s at the Community Golf Course. It was too cold to eat outside as we usually do when we have breakfast there so today we dined in. I had the Chinese Chicken Salad. They have really good food.

After lunch we drove to the Mission and checked out all of the chalk drawings on the blacktop. I Madonnari has been a staple holiday tradition at the Mission for years. The paintings last for months if there is no rain and can be viewed at any time. I am sorry for no photos but I forgot the camera.