Location, Bouse, AZ

We did another ATV trip yesterday. It was not nearly as cold when we left around 9:30 AM as it was a week or so ago. This trip was 43 miles total and covered a large area East of Bouse. There are a lot of large Ironwood trees along the washes. Some of the dead ones have fantastic shapes.

The weather has really moderated from a week ago. Today it is sunny, with a light breeze and 74 degrees.

There is a large flock of quail which feed here on the lot. They are so funny to watch as they move at a high rate of speed from one place to another. There are also bunches of house finches which hang around as well as humming birds.

 have been trying to diagnose a problem with my exhaust brake on the truck. I finally located the Computer Brake Controller module under the dash and wiggled a few wires and lo and behold, it now works. I still think I have a problem with one of the T-taps that were installed on the existing Ford wiring harness. The problem is to get it to quit so I can find the problem. It is a slow process.

Back in Bouse, AZ

Location, Bouse, AZ

We are back in Bouse after spending one week at home. Craig’s surgery was a week ago Wednesday. He was without pain as soon as he came out of the operating room. It really has been remarkable to see the difference. He has been in pain so long that normal was hard to remember. He had only a small incision through which they removed a bone spur and relieved the pressure on a nerve. He still has back problems with two vertebrae so will need to be careful.

He wanted us to immediately return here but we stayed for a week, coming back on Tuesday.

The weather has been nice with sunny days with no clouds except for the wind which is cold. We spent all day to day in Blythe, Ca with shopping, lunch at sizzler for Judy’s birthday (Happy birthday again, Judy), groceries, etc. In all about 7 or 8 stops. We ate so much for lunch that dinner tonight was a bowl of popcorn.

We are thinking about a day trip to Wickenburg, AZ this weekend but I need to check to see what is open in the town before we commit. We should be leaving Monday anyway as we don’t want to overstay our welcome.

Craig's surgery.

Location, At Home, CA

We drove back from Bouse, AZ on Monday. It was a 7 hour trip with less than moderate traffic through Los Angeles. Our route was I-10 from Arizona to the I-210 through Pasadena to the I-5 and then Hwy 126 to the coast.

We did have some wind from Blythe to Palm Springs but that is usual for this road. Even with the wind we averaged 20.5 MPG because of the Gear Vendors drive shaft splitter.

The back seat was really loaded as there were reports of rain along the coast so I didn’t put anything in the bed of the truck except the dirty laundry in garbage bags.

Craig had his back surgery this morning. He and Clyda left the house before 6 AM and didn’t return until 3 PM. It was out-patient surgery which went well but he needed to stay for a lengthy antibiotic IV before he could come home. Craig said the pain was gone when he woke up so that is good. He was in a good mood tonight as it is the first time he has been pain free in a long time. He still has back issues which will remain with him for the rest of his life but for now, all is good.

I picked the first asparagus of the season today. There is enough for Clyda and I for dinner.

I wrap the cut ends in paper towel and wet it before putting it in the refrigerator. It keeps for several days by doing this.

Bringing the blog up to date.

Location, Bouse, AZ

A quick synopsis of the last few weeks to bring this blog up to date is in order. After the CES show, Dick and I stayed in Las Vegas until Wednesday the 12th when we traveled to Quartzsite, AZ.

While in Las Vegas we visited the new MGM City Center. Great glass structures, wonderful art work, and lots of glitz. It was a fun 2 days but very cold. The temperature stayed in the 40’s most days. It was too cold at night to travel far for dinner so we mostly ate at local buffets.

At Quartzsite, we parked at our usual spot on Plamosa Road and eventually were surrounded by people we know. Dick and I drove to Phoenix to the Maricopa Steam Railroad layout for a steam train meet. What a great day of riding behind the small steam engines.

We stayed overnight in a motel and then picked Clyda up the next morning when she flew in from home. We drove back to the RV on Plamosa Road.

A few days at all the swap areas in Quartzsite satisfied our shopping urge. Budd and Brenda stopped by for a few days on their way back home from Mesa, AZ so we shopped with them as well. I didn’t find any great bargains this year; in fact I was disappointed in the LED light offerings. Prices seem to have doubled from last year. So, I will do some shopping on-line to see if there are better bargains.

Last Tuesday we moved to the eastern end of Plamosa Road and parked at our friends Jack and Judy’s acre south of Bouse. They have a nice RV spot for guests and we are most appreciative of them letting us use it.

I have managed to get in two ATV trips this week which was great. Both were long trips to areas I had not been to before.

We were supposed to travel to Benson, AZ for a week with 4 other couples but our son Craig is having back surgery next week and we feel we need to go home to take care of him. We will leave the trailer here. Our hope is that we can come back in two weeks and continue with part of our originally planned trip. At the least, I will come back to get the trailer if there is a problem.

We have had glorious weather with temperatures in the 70’s most days.

There are no pictures included with this blog because of slow uploads.

Four days of CES.

Location, Las Vegas

Today was the last day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here in Las Vegas. After the first two days I wasn’t sure that I could survive the last two. Walking the floor with that Exhibit Hall Shuffle is hard on the hips and the feet. Frequent rest stops during the day and a couple of Aleve at the end of the day helped.

This is a huge show with 2400 vendors and about 140,00 or more attendee’s of which 30,000 are from overseas. If there was a theme this year it was Connectivity. Ways to connect all of our favorite phones, ipods, cars, and TV’s were demonstrated. Tablet computers, 3D-TV’s, smart appliances, medical services, senior services, and even electric/hybrid cars were demonstrated.

Several very large booths dominated some of the halls. Companies like LG Electronics, NBC-Universal, Verizon, Motorola, Microsoft, and Intel to name a few. NBC-Universal broadcast live shows for MSNBC, Bravo, and Oxygen.

I talked to an NBC intern who wanted me to do Karaoke for Oxygen. I declined. I assured him he didn’t want to hear me sing.

Hardball with Chris Matthews broadcast live from the NBC-Universal booth at the show.

If last years color was red. This year it was orange. Orange cars, orange badge hangers, orange bags, and even orange boots on some of the girls in one booth. There were orange display racks, orange packaging, orange counter tops, and orange give away’s. What’s with the color orange?

Just what every trunk needs. A TV and enough speaker power to raise the back wheels off the ground.

How about an amplifier to drive all those speakers. About 10,000 watts I would guess. It is 3 feet long so where do you store it?

How about a speaker that requires an engine hoist to lift it.

This is for you Jack. Think you can fit this setup on your 4-wheeler?

How about dressing up your mule with enough lights and spakers to scare every deer for miles around.

Not just one TV but three.

It was a great show with lots of miles walked.

Ready to hit the road.

Location, Home, CA

Just a short post before I hit the road tomorrow for Las Vegas, NV with an overnight stop at Boron, CA. Staying in Boron may be a bad choice as the temperature will be around 20 degrees with snow. I need to look at the Cal-Trans website tomorrow morning to see if the Grapevine (I-5) is open or still closed to high profile vehicles.

We had more rain overnight so now have had a total of 15.7 inches since December 17th. That is above our usual total for the year which is about 14 inches.

I have the RV all loaded but still need to load the bed of the truck in the morning. I plan to leave by 10 AM.

I downloaded the necessary software to the NetBook so I can use my Droid phone to access the internet. I will use it in a pinch if no WiFi is available. I can get emails and do searches now with the Droid but it is so much easier using the NetBook to do real emails.

A very nice Christmas Day.

Location, Home, CA

Christmas day started slow as we opened gifts from friends and neighbors here at the house. After a quick breakfast, I loaded the car with presents and food and about 10:30 AM we headed south for niece Chelsea and husband Steve’s house. Traffic was light so we made good time. We put all the gifts under the tree and waited until Steve and Chelsea came back from visiting the twins in the hospital.

A quick brunch and the gift opening began. It takes us hours as we do one at a time taking turns so everyone sees what has been opened. With a wedding in September and twins born in December, it was truly a photo Christmas.

Later, we had a ham dinner which was a community project. Clyda did the scalloped potatoes, Linda brought the Honey Baked ham and Steve made Brussels sprouts and a green bean casserole. Steve also made Pumpkin Elizabeth for dessert.

It had started to rain before dinner so we were in no real hurry to leave. About 8 PM we did leave as the rain had let up some. It did rain all of the way home but turned to sprinkles the closer we got.

It was a great day with family and I can only imagine what Christmas next year with the twins will be like. They should be walking by then as they will be 1 year old.

I checked my rain gauge this morning and we had another 1.2 inches yesterday for a total of 13.3 inches in just over a week. That’s about what we get in a normal year.