I am seriously behind in blogging!

Location, Bouse, AZ


A quick synopsis of the last few weeks is in order. I made it through the last day of CES with no serious consequences and collected a bag full of give-a-ways to boot.

Dick, Jeff, and I stayed until Monday morning and then drove to Plamosa road north of Quartzsite for 10 days of camping in the desert.

My ex-neighbor Budd arrived on Wednesday. Clyda flew into Phoenix on Saturday where I picked her up.

We spent our days walking the aisles of the vender’s stalls looking for the odd and unique item. Not much made it back to the RV however.

Several people had left for home by last Saturday so we packed up and moved over the hill on Plamosa Road to Bouse and parked by our friends Jack and Judy.

It is always nice to stay here. They have water, electricity, and sewer. We also get 2 digital TV channels over the air. Luxury!

We have done one ATV ride. We rode to an area where Jack had seen some petroglyphs recently. There were many in the area but none were exceptional.

Today I dropped my truck off at the Ford dealer in Parker as the turn signals had stopped functioning. I hope they can fix it. Jack and I then drove out Shea Road towards Swansea to try to find a snake shaped Intaglio. We had an aerial picture and GPS coordinates which helped. Of course, the BLM also helped by putting a fence around the area.

An Intaglio is a figure scraped into the ground

The figure is close to 100 feet long but is very hard to photograph as it lies on a grey patch of ground.

 

All of the large rocks have been removed from the area and are scattered nearby as if they had been thrown to clear the playa for the Intaglio.

Limping along at CES.

Location, Las Vegas, NV


Oh boy! Do my feet hurt!

My feet, my hips, my knees, and my legs hurt! I have been walking the exhibit hall floors at The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for the last three days. There is over 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space with over 3100 vendors present. They range from very large companies to Mom and Pop businesses all looking to make an impact on the visiting hoards. And hoards there are. The numbers when finalized should be above 150,000 and at times it is impossible to move down the aisles especially when a major presentation is being made.

The big things at this show? 3D TV’s are everywhere. Some require special glasses while others require none. In 2011, 23 million 3D TV’s were shipped world wide. Only 3.6 million of these in the US. One hundred million will be shipped world wide by 2015.

Audio is back. From large speaker systems to tiny ear buds with high end earphones filling in the middle.

Electric vehicles and all the connected electronics included. It is amazing how many companies supply power connections for electric vehicles.

There must be 100 companies supplying covers for iPhones and iPads. From simple covers to those covered with Bling.

I did find the perfect gift for the Man Cave.

Check out the CD holders on the front, the guitar on the back, and all those special electronic gadgets. Enough to make any Man Cave complete.

One more day of the show tomorrow, if my feet hold out.

Time to hit the road.

Location, at Home, CA

I have been working on all of the chores necessary to get on the road.

Besides getting the truck and trailer ready there is the thousand and one items that need to be considered for an extended trip. I start with an equipment list which details all of the physical things I need to think about. I also have a clothing list and a food list.

Food takes up the most time. Some food I take from home, such as frozen meat. Mostly it has to do with the extras needed to do a particular meal. I break my list down into, what do I buy now, and what will I buy on the road.

I also need to think about what computer things I need on the road. For this trip I will take the Netbook (because it is smaller) and my old laptop as a backup. I have all my important files on a portable drive so that goes. How about all those power cords needed to charge everything? Got those I hope. Books to read? I always have lots of those. Maybe I should consider a Kindle to reduce the weight! Ipod and Satellite radio? The radio is new. Hopefully, it will make those long desert road stretches bearable.

The truck is gassed, the food is bought, and cloths are loaded in the trailer.

Tomorrow I will load the truck and recheck my lists.

I plan to blog while gone but rumors on the internet are saying that phone companies are blocking use of PC to cell connections for internet connections because of excessive overuse. I hope that isn’t the case as we rely on our cell phone connection to the internet while on the road.

Happy New Year to all!

Location, at Home, CA

Today brings the close of another year. Looking back over the year there are several highlights to mention.

The visit this summer of our son Tim and family for two weeks is surely a highlight. We always like having them here.

Our trip to Glacier National Park in July and August was outstanding. We really enjoyed that trip.

Going up the "Going to The Sun" highway.

Big Horn sheep at Logan Pass, Glacier.

Looking back down "Going to the Sun" highway.

I was looking back at how many days we spent camping during the year. We were in the RV for 176 days which is almost ½ of the year. That is close to our annual average.

I was looking forward to more travel starting Jan 8^th next year but we have cut our trip short. Let’s say that we got a “better offer”.  Our friends Cindy and Gary from the Bay Area asked if we would like to share their Timeshare on Kauai for a week starting the end of February. Of course we said “YES”. Who wouldn’t?

So, we will cut our winter trip short and come home several days before we leave for Hawaii. We will drive to Walnut Creek and fly out of Oakland with Cindy and Gary. I am really looking forward to that.

I will leave home on the 8^th of January for Las Vegas where I and a few friends will once again attend this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). After a week in Las Vegas we will travel to Quartzsite, AZ for a few weeks of all the activities there. Clyda will fly to Phoenix later in January and join me in Quartzsite. We do plan to visit relatives in Casa Grande and then go on to Benson, AZ to use our tickets from last year at Karchner Caverns before the tickets expire. We were unable to use the tickets last year as I ended up in the hospital while in Benson.

Happy New Year to all!

Poinsettias mean Christmas.

Location, at Home, CA

Poinsettias are a sure sign of Christmas. We usually have one or two small plants in the house or at the front door during the holidays. However, this year we have a humongous plant at the front door as well.

It belonged to a neighbor down the street and when she left to visit family out of town over the holidays she asked Clyda to bring it to our house.

It is a welcome sight on the front porch and brings exclamations from most guests who see it.

Still kicking in California.

Location, at Home, CA

Just a short blog to let folks know I am still alive. We babysat for my nieces twins last Monday I got what I think is the flu on Tuesday night. I have been lying around ever since. I’m ok now but have terrible heartburn which even Tums doesn’t appear to help control. I have eaten little since Wednesday so don’t know what the real answer is. I’m sticking to bland foods and yogurt to see if that helps.

I did get the Christmas packages mailed out this week and a few other things done. Mostly I read.

We attended a small gathering of friends this afternoon while Santa came to visit the small children and grandchildren in the group. Later we had pizza and cookies. So far, I’m ok as I didn’t over indulge.

This week I should finish up my shopping and maybe get a few more things done. The list never ends.

Water heater problems.

Location, at Home, CA

 

Last night we saw Mannheim Steamroller in concert at the local Indian Casino. Man, are they good! I bought the tickets as a birthday present for Clyda.

I have had some of their Christmas music for years and it certainly is popular around Christmas. Listening to it on the radio or from a CD has no comparison to being there in person. What a talented group of people.

It has been very cold at night. All the roofs and lawns are covered with frost in the morning. In fact, I don’t start my morning walk until about 7:20 each day. Just hoping for a little sunshine to warm me as I walk.

I have been fighting computer problems which can be really frustrating. My new Canon printer quit after using it 2 times. Something in the power supply must have gone haywire as the power light wouldn’t even come on. I must say that Canon was very helpful both in answering my emails and on the phone. Anyway, a rebuilt printer is on its way to me and should be here on Wednesday.

I still have my old XP unit running or I should say it comes on but is so slow. Also found out that I am missing Internet Explorer from the unit. Can’t get to the internet now. Must find a work around.

Tuesday evening Craig walked into the garage and saw water coming out of the top of the water heater. It was coming from around the vent flue. I do have a drain pan under the unit so all the water was collected there. He turned off the water and gas and disconnected the unit. He has water heater removal down to a fine science now. This unit was less than 3 years old.

Wednesday morning I went to Home Depot early and picked up a new same model unit as a replacement. Made for easy installation. I took the old unit back for a rebate. It hasn’t shown up on my credit card yet, nor has the cost of the new unit.

Here are a few more photos from Napa Valley taken before Thanksgiving.

The pumkin weighs at least 500 pounds.