tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4535598412173703202024-03-05T23:29:50.679-08:00Johnson's bus stopsThis is our 1970 MCI converted bus, this is our home and what we travel around in. Hope to see you aroundJohnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-72373522450750071202010-03-07T21:07:00.000-08:002010-04-29T20:17:11.730-07:00Busy Time at Desert Hot SpringsWe had planned to leave California when our stay by the end of February. But Barbara's surgeon wanted to see her again in early March. So we scrambled to find a accommodations to stay in the area a little longer. We could stay at TT until the 28th. We arranged to bring the coach back to the place we bought it on the 1st of march as they had agreed to repair the ram for our generator slideout that was leaking hydraulic fluid. We were just going to park on the street or a casino lot but we arranged to pay for an additional night at TT. We made a number of calls and managed to get a week at Desert Pools through RPI.<br /><br />We ended up spending all day at the RV lot getting the Ram repaired. They had to take it out, take it to a hydraulic shop, then pick it up when it was done and re-install it. We were a bit anxious as we had a busy day planned the next day and didn't want to be stuck overnight at the RV dealer's. It worked out that we get into Desert Pools just before dark.<br /><br />The next day was one of our most hectic. Our new coach had a tv satellite dome. When we tried to use it we found that it was a very early model that would require software upgrades and an older style converter box. It would also require a technician to set it up. We called several mobile satellite facilities in the Palm Springs area and were unable to find anyone to do the set up that we wanted. Dennis found a number for the TracVision district manager in Lake Havasu Arizona with the thought that we could go there if needed as we headed east. The manager said that he comes to the parks in the Palm Springs area and could set up an appointment for us. But he warned that he felt that we would not be happy with it as it is outmoded technology, analog rather than digital, and not very reliable. He offered to sell and install a new one for a discount price and we decided to do that. We had scheduled him to do that on tuesday morning at Desert Pools.<br /><br />In the meantime we were contacted by a potential buyer of the bus. He seemed very interested but would not be able to actually buy the bus until he sold the pickup that he had for sale. We were planning to leave the area in a week so we didn't have much time if we were going to make the sale. Dennis said that we would consider taking the truck in trade; our thought was that a late model pickup should be a good trade in for a new car which we were planning to buy. The only time that the potential buyer, Robert, could come was on his day off which was Tuesday. So we were scheduled to meet with him at about the same time as the satellite installer was due. Fortunately there are two of us. Barbara was there to meet with the installer while Dennis met with Robert to look over the vehicles. Robert showed up with four young children. He looked over the bus and Dennis looked over the truck. They tentatively agreed on a deal. Dennis' reservation was that Robert did not have a title, only some paperwork that seemed to indicate that he owned the truck. Dennis said that he would only do the deal if the DMV verified that Robert in fact owned the truck. Robert expected that that would be a frustrating experience, but agreed to it. So we went back to the Monaco until the new dome was installed, then Dennis and Barbara, Robert and his four kids drove over to the Palm Springs DMV. When we arrived the 7 of us got in the line outside the door of the DMV. After we got in the door and got close enough to the clerk, we realized that this line was just one to tell the first clerk the general nature of our visit so that she could assign us to another line. When we got to her she gave us a stack of papers to fill out while we waited and told us that some of our questions (like can they verify for us that Robert indeed owns the truck) could be answered after we go through the next line. So we filled out the papers the best that we could and waited for our number to be called. The kids were getting restless and irritable as they had left home at 7 a.m. and it was now mid afternoon. We finally reached the second clerk, who seem overwhelmed by the transaction involving 2 vehicles, one of which lacked a title and the other was titled and registered in another state. She was irritable and unhappy with our paperwork that was not completely filled out. But she finally processed the transactions. Robert suggested that the registration for the truck could be transferred which would save us some money, so we did that rather than get an out of state permit which we later regretted.<br /><br />We returned to Desert Hot Springs and took possession of our 2005 crew cab F350 pickup truck. And Robert took the bus and left. Dennis called the insurance and was told that since the truck was registered in California it had to have California insurance. We didn't like that as the California insurance was expensive and we could not get a multi-vehicle discount as they wouldn't do that for vehicles registered in different states. When they asked for address we gave our Florida address, they said they can't insure a vehicle without an address in the state it is registered in (even though our California title had our Florida address on it). So we gave the address of the Palm Springs TT and told them that any mail sent there would be returned to them (it doesn't really matter as we do all our business off the internet). At this point we were too tired to be happy about having sold the bus, or sad about it being gone after owning it for 12 years and living in it for 2 1/2.<br /><br />The rest of the week went a bit easier. We had planned to go with Oland and Meralee to see the desert in bloom. We decided to take the new truck to see how it would run for a longer trip, and to give Barbara a chance to drive it as it is a very large pickup and our plan was for her to drive it to Arizona while Dennis towed our Toyota behind the coach. The truck ran well. We went through Anzo-Borrego State Park. We in fact saw the desert color - the color was green. Contrary to the newspaper article that had predicted that this would be an excellent time for a visit to this area we were to early to see the desert in bloom. We drove on up to the mountain town of Julian which is famous for its pies. We stopped at the Julian Pie Company and had a lunch that was pie centered. The pie was every bit as good as we remembered it from a visit several years ago. On the way back we stopped at a couple of casinos and got complimentary player's cards and managed to come out with a few dollars. We also stopped at the Jojoba Hills Escapees Park at Aguanga which is one of the nicest rv parks we have ever seen.<br /><br />During the rest of the week we played pickleball a couple of times (Barbara played for the first time since her surgery), and visited with Brian and Judy who are Thousand Trail pickleball friends who happened to be in the Desert Pools park at the same time. We also got ready to head to Arizona which we had been anticipating for some time, but had had to delay because of Barbara's medical care.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-37103155987263183932010-02-27T21:20:00.001-08:002010-04-27T21:07:27.311-07:00Staying on in Palm SpringsApologies to our readers. If you are still here you are very patient. We have been busy and at times distracted. We will try to catch up with some brief posts to cover each stop since we last blogged. Then maybe we can get back in the habit to keep up.<br /><br />We returned to the Palm Springs TT park for the last time this season. We came in on the 7th with a 3 week reservation but we anticipated that we would leave the area a few days before the 3 weeks was up . But on the 8th Barb had a followup visit with her surgeon and he wanted to see her on March 1st. So we started looking for a place to stay here a little longer. We are now planning to be in the area until the 8th of march. In the meantime we have apparently run into a dead end in selling our bus this year. We advertised briefly and have had a few individuals interested but it does not look like we will see it before we leave. We have arranged to store it and plan to return next winter and advertise more aggressively to make a sale.<br /><br />In the meantime we are having a good time. We went to a play "Menopause the Musical" recently. Even Dennis admitted that it was surprisingly well done and enjoyable. One of us (bet you can't guess which one) even took up the invitation to come up on stage and dance the finale with the cast.<br /><br />Dennis has been continuing to play a lot of pickleball. He and Oland have gone hiking in the desert a couple of times.<br /><br />We've been able to work in a little sightseeing. We took a few hours to drive the Palms to Pines Highway up into the mountains to the south. We didn't get near the snow line but there was a definite climate change as we went from a pleasant sunny day around 70 degrees to perhaps 40 degrees with a vicious wind blowing. It gave us a sense of the winter that we have been missing.<br /><br />Last Thursday we went with Oland and Merilee to visit the Living Desert which is a zoo and botanical gardens in Palm Desert. After several hours there we were tired from the walking and hungry so we adjourned to the Elephant Bar for a great meal.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-81365137824384516092010-02-02T21:14:00.000-08:002010-02-10T03:06:04.994-08:00Who's Fault<img src="file:///C:/Users/Admin/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" />On the 26th we made the big move from Desert Hot Pools to Catalina Spa. The distance is only about a mile. So it is the shortest move that we have ever made. Still it turned out to be surprisingly time consuming. It seemed that we spent about half a day packing and getting ready, going to the new park and getting parked and set up. We often get a head start the day before by packing up and putting things away. And we took it slow as we are still getting familiar with the new coach. We almost forgot to put down our rooftop over the air tv antenna, as we didn't have to do this with the MCI which had an omnidirectional antenna that did not need to be raised and lowered. And Dennis took some time to check the air pressure in all of the tires and put a few pounds of air in several of them. By the time we got set up in the new park it was mid afternoon.<br /><br />When we got to Catalina Spa we were told that that there was an emergency preparedness meeting in the afternoon and that we were welcome to participate. We remembered that they were having something similar to that in December when we were here. What's that about? Well, we were informed that the San Andreas fault runs through the back corner of the park and that this is considered a high risk area for a major earthquake risk area. Well we stayed in the cheap sites in the front of the park, so we are maybe 1/3 mile from the fault. So we guess that we are safe, right?<br /><br />This park has the most active pickleball program of any park in the area and now has 6 nice courts, up from the 4 that were here on our last visit. Pickleball and the natural hot water spas and swimming pools are the major attractions here. Barbara is frustrated that she is not able to participate in pickleball or use of pools or spas while she is recovering from her surgery. Dennis has been able to take advantage of both on a regular basis. There is a senior games scheduled in Palm Desert including pickleball events. Dennis decided not to attend as he has been having some residual problems with his back. He has found that he can play regularly as long as limits his play each day to a few games but he felt that this type of tournament might be too much for him for now. But he has enjoyed playing with a number of the players practicing for the tournament.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-61693502605850453382010-01-25T23:10:00.000-08:002010-01-27T20:58:59.241-08:00Recovering at Desert PoolsWe returned to Desert Pools for a 2 week stay on the 12th. Barb had seen the surgeon for her first followup visit the day before. And he said that she was doing well. She asked if she could drive and he said for short distances as long as she wasn't taking pain medications. So we decided that she would drive here from thousand trails rather than hook the car up and take it off. Our first move in the new motorhome went well. We find ourselves taking our time as we are not familiar with how things work. We have various questions that we are getting answers to from other coach owners, manuals, and the internet. Dennis spent a fair amount of time sorting out the tv cabling which is unfortunately undocumented. He got it so that we can use the "cable" connection to bring the signal to our front tv. But we can't use our second reciever in back through that connection as there is only one co-ax cable to come in, so we are running cable to our bedroom though an engine access port at the back of the bedroom. Inelegant but it works. We replaced the old tv in the bedroom with a flat LCD tv we brought from the bus. We spent a couple of days coming up with a way to install the tv in way that would be functional and reasonably attractive. We are satisfied with the result. It is not bad looking if you don't look too close. We will do something similar replacing the old tv in front with our other, larger LCD tv from the bus. But we will probably have it done professionally as this will be easily seen by anyone coming in and probably not the place to be experimenting. The Monaco has a Trac Vision Dome installed. We assumed that this would be a simple matter of hooking it up to our Direct tv receivers, but no such luck. It was not clear how to do it, even after browsing the manual. So we called the company. After going through a rather complicated voice mail system, we got to tech support who when we told him the model, said "Are you sure, thats a very old system." He said that it could be done but would be difficult. We would have to get an old Direct tv receiver that has a "low speed data port" and a software update would have to be done, but he said that it could not be done by our Vista computers. His advice was to find an installer and have them set it up for us. Of course, we tried ourselves. It turned out that we had an adaptor that would connect a usb from one of our computers to the 9 pin connector from the dome. But the computer would not recognize the hardware and we could not find a way to enter the command. So we called a a local installer who said essentially "that thing is an antique, you would be much better off to buy a new one from us." We thanked him and decided to keep using our tripod for tv for now. We have come across the name of another installer who we will contact for a second opinion.<br /><br />At the same time we are trying to sell the MCI bus. It is parked at the consignment lot where we bought our new coach. But we have not signed a contract to sell it. The owner has admitted that he does not know how to price it and he clearly is much less familiar with buses as opposed to manufactured rv's. For now, he lets people look at it asks them to make an offer if they are interested. But it is clear we need to try some other approaches. We have listed it on the internet and had a number of requests for pictures and more information. Unfortunately most of these are in distant parts of the country. So we are listing in the Southern California RV Trader magazine with the hopes that we will get someone local and interested. Oland also took some flyers we made up to Quarzite & made them available to some individuals with interests in buses. So far we have not had what we would consider a serious offer. But we have had some deals proposed, perhaps reflecting the quixotic nature of bus conversion fans. The latest is a trade of the bus for a semi tractor and 53 foot flat bed trailer. This may well be a good deal but it seems like it would create more problems than it would solve.<br /><br />Barb is generally doing well in spite of an allergic reaction to steri-strips. She saw the doctor again and he is happy with her progress. She is generally doing better day by day. She was able to get away from using the pain medications quickly. She finds the decreased activity level difficult to tolerate. She has been going for walks around the park and plays various card games at the activity center.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-28535251823175076892010-01-10T12:36:00.000-08:002010-01-21T13:21:04.537-08:00Rebuilding BarbFor many years Barb has suffered with back pain, shoulder pain and arm pain due to the size of her breasts. For whatever reason she finally decided enough was enough and saw a doctor in Palm Springs and inquired about the possibility of getting this fixed. Dr. Hayduke is a local plastic surgeon. He submitted the pictures and paperwork to our insurance company and after several weeks they approve the procedure.<br /><br /><br />The morning of Jan 7th 2010, Barb, Dennis and Merralee headed to the hospital when Barb underwent a 4 hour surgery. She did well and didn't look non the worse for wear when she came to room she would be in overnight . Julie was also there to greet her. I is wonderful to have such wonderful friends who would spend that much time for me I truly feel blessed. Before heading into the OR, Dr Hayduke came by and told Dennis and Merrilee he need to spend some time marking my body. After he left the room, Dennis and Merrilee both said that he looked like he was 12 years old. When he returned Barb told him this and he said that he was really 13 and that his mom drove him to work. Barb really felt so much better when he said that. lol He is a really good surgeon.<br /><br />Barb has been resting and improving in our new motorhome, her recovery will take about 6 weeks. Dennis has been absolutely wonderful (still not much of a cook) he has been taking care of everything, even the laundry.<br /><br />Thanks to all of you who stopped by at ttn palm springs. Barb is looking forward to seeing all of you really soon.<br /><br />Sorry no pictures yet of the after, and of course all you know the before.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-84754670626971517492010-01-04T21:26:00.000-08:002010-01-20T12:36:32.522-08:00Our New HomeWe got all of the paperwork done and were able to move into our new motorhome on December 30 and 31st. In spite of all of our prep work and we could not complete the process in a day. It was very difficult. Merralee offered to help and we told her that she could probably help best by taking care of Roxie while we moved which she did. That certainly made it easier. But there was a lot to move and a still a lot to throw away. You wouldn't really think that an RV could hold so much as when you try to move it all in a day. But we were taking our time and doing it in an organized fashion. But as the process went on it seemed increasingly disorganized. In any case we had essentially everything moved by late on the morning on the 31st. But we were still putting things away, hopefully where we could find them later. And we were waiting for the dealer to install the a new kitchen faucet that had been promised as part of the deal. Finally, we were ready to go, but the fuel tank was reading low and we thought that we should fill up first. So by the time we drove to a truck stop and put in nearly 90 gallons of diesel fuel, it was after 2 o'clock when we got back to our site at Thousand Trails.<br /><br />To say the least we were exhausted. There were a few little snags in setting up for the first time. No real problem, just things that we were not familiar with. We had a fast food dinner and very little energy. There was a big New Years Eve party that we had planned to attend. But Barbara was ready for bed by 8 o'clock. Dennis walked up to wish a Happy New Year to Oland and Meralee, John and Debbie, and a few others, then returned to the motorhome to have a glass of wine and watch tv until he was too tired to stay up.<br /><br />Here are some pics of the new coach.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaCQl1EagH1jmw5UkMWb1KjLF1m_NiJ7Tg2RI7n_DkcSfx5xHldO2AEimo0ZnCQVJs8anQc1t-VczDn_OXyE4DmABtDaXiYFxrWVfrZD2VsJ6-QsqgMkl-Jv-1uQso2oU8TZkGF3H7yM/s1600-h/DSC_0001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaCQl1EagH1jmw5UkMWb1KjLF1m_NiJ7Tg2RI7n_DkcSfx5xHldO2AEimo0ZnCQVJs8anQc1t-VczDn_OXyE4DmABtDaXiYFxrWVfrZD2VsJ6-QsqgMkl-Jv-1uQso2oU8TZkGF3H7yM/s400/DSC_0001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428919370955462322" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Our new home.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaQkXvYxV8w7v5l23BeOOCdRnR6-oTf361mrltGbIcdlQM0Jcfq5veqelYhTXNGnvFciyq0p9Ss7SQbp3PseqghshBKmY96JLqXKmdZwTG_DEa3GyHAKlUq3CU4zqJOIQIglrxucFURs/s1600-h/DSC_0010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaQkXvYxV8w7v5l23BeOOCdRnR6-oTf361mrltGbIcdlQM0Jcfq5veqelYhTXNGnvFciyq0p9Ss7SQbp3PseqghshBKmY96JLqXKmdZwTG_DEa3GyHAKlUq3CU4zqJOIQIglrxucFURs/s400/DSC_0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428919388493472770" border="0" /></a>This is the entry to our new home. We are both very pleased with the coach.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv981ytqyRO0Me_xWRmA7zXErJ9WAyv6fX6zkb4si1DzP0QRV-fLwngh8Cp8SwBKpy4i8jWn8_26QbbJJkqVbHqpsLrpGo62as6pI-a9dfIGtR1NTH6GHQG80I7QK1R3GwVBYYVaFtWmQ/s1600-h/DSC_0021.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv981ytqyRO0Me_xWRmA7zXErJ9WAyv6fX6zkb4si1DzP0QRV-fLwngh8Cp8SwBKpy4i8jWn8_26QbbJJkqVbHqpsLrpGo62as6pI-a9dfIGtR1NTH6GHQG80I7QK1R3GwVBYYVaFtWmQ/s400/DSC_0021.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428919396211274322" border="0" /></a><br />This is the living area and we were able to seat at least eight people and could also seat more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR65LNss2QTT_tuyk1DXY_qh8EzBDUtCQTFPU5B8AOmaAGOCbYmjrc-KwyCNLAvB5UwVeXCpR55XWKJEX7M0SX_LjP_e85eTFcBznMpecx4cw5fhNfB7aujSMfbPrv86jOgp_1xwQv3gw/s1600-h/DSC_0004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR65LNss2QTT_tuyk1DXY_qh8EzBDUtCQTFPU5B8AOmaAGOCbYmjrc-KwyCNLAvB5UwVeXCpR55XWKJEX7M0SX_LjP_e85eTFcBznMpecx4cw5fhNfB7aujSMfbPrv86jOgp_1xwQv3gw/s400/DSC_0004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428919378181210322" border="0" /></a>This is the dinning and kitchen area, love the counter space and the very large with an icemaker fridge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEI0EaO5OI5fpomIpyIaZMDhF_D5kA4sB3C3a86d800qDtb0YR8iPv6cew5GL-O_iI-Quyj51jzwcTnVcpJDmOv7mxdAST2yu0H2xdM9rKwQcna1JGS2yL1mUL6uEWqh0JBFz517BvQIg/s1600-h/DSC_0008.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEI0EaO5OI5fpomIpyIaZMDhF_D5kA4sB3C3a86d800qDtb0YR8iPv6cew5GL-O_iI-Quyj51jzwcTnVcpJDmOv7mxdAST2yu0H2xdM9rKwQcna1JGS2yL1mUL6uEWqh0JBFz517BvQIg/s400/DSC_0008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428919386001845490" border="0" /></a>This is the bedroom, I really love the quilt that was left for us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHoS5bESOZ3o5UxL8VfAacn-_w-8wXYyv7lb9eu9jRHMaR1TmTa74-RpEsvgry6Rvya8pIjMcGsY3v6YiiFlAcN8vdmxwSJppf2oyLNiSveQ59g5UrbD0R4zm7z1GNPIZWTxAi1PCirw/s1600-h/DSC_0022.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHoS5bESOZ3o5UxL8VfAacn-_w-8wXYyv7lb9eu9jRHMaR1TmTa74-RpEsvgry6Rvya8pIjMcGsY3v6YiiFlAcN8vdmxwSJppf2oyLNiSveQ59g5UrbD0R4zm7z1GNPIZWTxAi1PCirw/s400/DSC_0022.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428923197404634322" border="0" /></a>Guess this is the best space, Dennis has his own location with a pocket table for his computer. It is really nice to have that.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Some have asked why we decided to get a new motorhome. 'We have long argued that our bus was as sturdy a vehicle as you would see in an RV park. It has been a good and reliable vehicle on the road. But we have seeing a lot of newer RV's with the slideouts that make them seem like more liveable space. That was our primary motivation for looking for something newer. And although we have been able to work things out, we have found that it is often difficult to find someone who is willing and knowledgeable to work on an old bus when on the road. That has been a source of concern for Dennis who is not known for mechanical skills. And there are systems and conveniences that are available on newer RVs. While most can be added to a bus conversion, they can be difficult and costly, especially if you hire someone to do it. So we had been thinking for some time in a tentative way about finding another RV. Our first thought was to buy a fifth wheel as that appears to be the way to get the most living space for the least money. And we looked at a few. But we like traveling in a motorhome and the idea of having a large truck for a daily driving vehicle did not appeal to either of us. And the cost of a new or near new fifth wheel and and new or near new truck to tow it was still expensive. So we looked at the idea of what we could get in a motorhome for something in that price range or less. We were convinced that a new motorhome that would meet our critera as fulltimers could not be found in this price range. So we started looking at older motorhomes that were larger, had good reputations and in our view well built. We believe that we bought at a good time as the market has been down for the last couple of years which has made prices of used units more favorable to buyers. We were a bit surprised to find one as quickly as we did that we both wanted as we had somewhat different criteria in mind.<br /><br /><br />By the way, is anyone looking for a deal on a used MCI bus? We still have ours and are putting it on the market.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-47993565805248305222009-12-27T22:41:00.000-08:002010-01-17T19:42:58.093-08:00Palm Springs for the HolidaysWe returned to the Palm Springs Thousand Trails Park on the 20th of December. This is starting to feel like our home base. We may be spending more time here than originally anticipated. We will be here now through the holidays. Our friends Oland and Meralee came in a couple of days later. Their friends John and Debbie who we met at Catalina Spa came in as their guests. The six of enjoyed good times and a lot of good meals over the holidays.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWfDhriYD6FK0d4eJ865xqaWFKmggn4wcHa_cJUJPTpC4GK1hyphenhyphenxtoIGk-rO9-K_2Dq-hbEJMHqblqMKrr0p066rHuqQ-lzgHv3TgwCVOJUeGhMjs25QuWtfRVje8sPavivG-iVHV86KM/s1600-h/DSC_0001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 367px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWfDhriYD6FK0d4eJ865xqaWFKmggn4wcHa_cJUJPTpC4GK1hyphenhyphenxtoIGk-rO9-K_2Dq-hbEJMHqblqMKrr0p066rHuqQ-lzgHv3TgwCVOJUeGhMjs25QuWtfRVje8sPavivG-iVHV86KM/s400/DSC_0001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427496474592651186" border="0" /></a>Dennis had a few head bangers in John and Deb's rig, so Johns gave him some protective head gear.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6F5sncaiKDiBfUCf4uzXOLJttTiocGDvGua9ezjMcFw002JdR11ep8O5aOSOTmiuI-4cS20QDEYjIDfbMb3lksLJcO_8z-LsCx-EnXv4ieobblv67bRWLg4BqzqxTBbi_dkyOlTAH0g/s1600-h/DSC_0007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 322px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6F5sncaiKDiBfUCf4uzXOLJttTiocGDvGua9ezjMcFw002JdR11ep8O5aOSOTmiuI-4cS20QDEYjIDfbMb3lksLJcO_8z-LsCx-EnXv4ieobblv67bRWLg4BqzqxTBbi_dkyOlTAH0g/s400/DSC_0007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427496480028456130" border="0" /></a>This was a very nice Christmas dinner the park here had their dinner about 5 days before the holidays. John and Debbie hosted a breakfast for all of us and it was wonderful.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_vVWn6ssIIbFTGNsW3OW0a5Meyih0PQhusPJoFYBvRH95y5Rzaq6wNLg7P6AfO64_6NIvgag6qYkNf8IcOfWGsVdbyQZ15mOkGcc4udlO4Y_EQ1HXXIQBp_Ed92QExaJxHJtuI66P-cU/s1600-h/SCAN0002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_vVWn6ssIIbFTGNsW3OW0a5Meyih0PQhusPJoFYBvRH95y5Rzaq6wNLg7P6AfO64_6NIvgag6qYkNf8IcOfWGsVdbyQZ15mOkGcc4udlO4Y_EQ1HXXIQBp_Ed92QExaJxHJtuI66P-cU/s400/SCAN0002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427502036849225570" border="0" /></a>This is my very very best present this year, aren't they great.<br /><br />During this period Barbara has finally been completing her physical therapy. She finished therapy first on her foot and needed a few more sessions on her shoulder. The good news is that it all has gone well.<br /><br />The holidays this year are a bit of a hectic time. But not in the usual way. We are buying a new motorhome. And there are a lot of details involved. And the process is complicated by doing things long distance. We are dealing with a bank and credit union in Ohio and vehicle registration in Florida. We have been going through the bus sorting through everything and deciding what we can get rid of and what we need and want to keep. As with any move we are finding things that we had forgotten about.<br /><br />Our new motorhome is a 2000 Monaco Dynasty. Like the MCI bus the Dynasty is nominally 40 feet in length. More technically the Dynasty is about 6 inches longer, 6 inches wider and 6 inches higher than the MCI. It has more interior living space primarily as a result of 2 slideouts. A trade off is that we have less space in the outside storage compartments under the floor.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTOvijZoWNjPmJ2PLl3beWjiecfEuvGj8yA8TheXj1z_xbB3G6quEBYJ6dW_dWCuGmkFSAvUwXVsHUlnIwuyj1cnh2gjXypCA_Vkt3fY8e4u2xoZocvFs_Wc5ANsedHzS4iLA4dQdQ-0/s1600-h/monac9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTOvijZoWNjPmJ2PLl3beWjiecfEuvGj8yA8TheXj1z_xbB3G6quEBYJ6dW_dWCuGmkFSAvUwXVsHUlnIwuyj1cnh2gjXypCA_Vkt3fY8e4u2xoZocvFs_Wc5ANsedHzS4iLA4dQdQ-0/s400/monac9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427502033375384322" border="0" /></a>This photo is absolutely pre boob job. More about the new motorhome later.<br /><br /><br />Our planned moving day is December 30. We will go to the dealer and park the coaches side by side and move everything from the old coach to the new one. If we do not complete the process in one day we can stay the night. We will finish and be in the new coach for the New Year.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-58235540958365810632009-12-16T20:06:00.000-08:002010-01-16T16:08:08.479-08:00Catalina SpaWe drove the short drive to Catalina Spa at Desert Hot Springs on the 7th. We are staying in this membership park through RPI. It is a nice park. It is known for being an active pickleball center with a lot of good players. There are 4 and soon to be 6 pickleball courts that are busy most days. Dennis played in the monthly tournament that features cash prizes and brings in players from other parks in the area. He managed to tie for fourth place but only the first three win the cash prizes. Oh well. <br /><br />There are a lot of activities going on. The park has naturally hot water for the hot tubs and pools that are open 24 hours a day.<br /><br />Best of all some of our friends are here at the same time. Bob and Julie came in the day before we did. Oland and Meralee came in a few days later and our English friends Jim and Jane came in the day after they did. So we have been spending a lot of time reminiscing and getting reacquainted.<br /><br />The day we arrived here was the first rainy day in eight months. The weather is mostly pleasant and warm with cool nights. It is nice to be in the warm sunshine and see the snow on the mountains.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-4600617427731541702009-12-05T21:19:00.000-08:002009-12-25T09:40:23.812-08:00Busy at Palm SpringsWe've been busy here at the Palm Springs reserve and have gotten behind. This is a catchup post.<br /><br />We are now here with three other couples, all of whom we met at the Peace River TT in Florida a couple of years ago. A few days after we got here Bob and Julie came in. Then a couple of days later Marc and Chris came in. Finally, our English friends Jim and Jane came in last Tuesday. We were lucky in this crowded park to be able to find sites so that we are all parked very near to each other. It has been a nice reunion and we have been able to get together several times.<br /><br />Last weekend we went to the Fantasy Springs Casino to see the Cabazon Indian Powwow. It was a grand event with a large group of participants from all over the country. They wore beautiful intricate and colorful costumes. We enjoyed watching the dancing and ceremonies and listening to the drumming.<br /><br />We rode with Bob and Julie to visit the Joshua Tree National Monument which is just north and east of here. We spent several hours driving through the desert and seeing the various and changing scenery of this large park. We came if from the south and were surprised that we did not see any Joshua trees for the first hour or so. It turns out that the Joshua trees grow only in the northern sections which is at higher elevation. When we got to the Joshua trees they were indeed plentiful.<br /><br />Another event was a visit by Barbara, Julie and Chris to see The Lord of the Dance last Sunday at the McCoulumn Theatre. It was a wonderful exhibition of Celtic Dance. They we impressed with the beauty and precision of the dancers. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed.<br /><br />On Friday we went with Bob and Julie, Chris and Marc, and Jim and Jane to the weekly Street Market in downtown Palm Springs. It was a perfect night and very pleasant to be out with a wide variety of vendors and live musicians. There were booths for massage, tattoos, magic, religion and host of arts and crafts and various foods. We weren't hungry as we had stopped for a very filling meal at a Mexican restaurant on our way. The hardest part was finding places to park. It turned out that we had to park our two vehicles several blocks apart, but we the magic of cell phones it was easy to connect again.<br /><br />Dennis and Barbara went back to the Fantasy Springs Casino last night to see the Willie Nelson concert. Willie is still in good form and does a great show. We were glad that we went.<br /><br />This afternoon the four couples in the Peace River group got together for a good meal and reminiscing about good times. Bob and Julie leave in the morning so this is the last time all of us expect to be together.<br /><br />Through all of this Barbara has been going to physical therapy three times a week for her foot and her shoulder. Dennis has been playing pickleball most days.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-49916299169093794302009-11-21T21:13:00.000-08:002009-12-06T20:07:00.934-08:00Among the PalmsWe've been back at Palm Springs Thousand Trails park for nearly a week now. It is a nice setting with all of the tall Palm trees. And it is getting crowded now. We are here now for a three week stay, then we will be in another park for about 2 weeks then back here for another three weeks.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJHswR6khIDyhFE_H4Cp1RC0kuE-1gU615fuvI_yiDOeSabGsZq3CtDCOMVYXzZi0IJd4IFf9POwkCeNM2nG4UpLNl9Oc3houCl_sT_nRcWv56SeqHbYjXpD515fTipiHKL-OnRTU2xI/s1600-h/102_0226.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJHswR6khIDyhFE_H4Cp1RC0kuE-1gU615fuvI_yiDOeSabGsZq3CtDCOMVYXzZi0IJd4IFf9POwkCeNM2nG4UpLNl9Oc3houCl_sT_nRcWv56SeqHbYjXpD515fTipiHKL-OnRTU2xI/s400/102_0226.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412332257011704994" border="0" /></a><br />Dennis was having a little trouble with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">satellite</span> setup, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">hmmmm</span> wonder why???<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRVWbYgHc5ktBzu0LA-mflCzyWFQPldfI8Gd3QXT7sHz7xbHcy1yW_EZJCC4u-N-8ijbkUi3kMG6OBrMr2vc3KOpKZ5JEOQy20kYr6ijq04iJeJGMWY4oOZbxlhm4hxlIueYN0aiPZRs/s1600-h/102_0111.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRVWbYgHc5ktBzu0LA-mflCzyWFQPldfI8Gd3QXT7sHz7xbHcy1yW_EZJCC4u-N-8ijbkUi3kMG6OBrMr2vc3KOpKZ5JEOQy20kYr6ijq04iJeJGMWY4oOZbxlhm4hxlIueYN0aiPZRs/s400/102_0111.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412339221075412546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This park has way to many palm trees.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9Rjt3PKI9_RdDeMg3ffBU_jPNkZWZ3FhkJynFqARHG2VvV_tp7444HlTp5mKv3VWvjOB8DI3HSzu9bqc-KB-K67EfhNNkzvuo7hKYfzeiq1XuNcKTk8lw7DSTlI8KFMqM9bt0HChgkc/s1600-h/102_0229.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9Rjt3PKI9_RdDeMg3ffBU_jPNkZWZ3FhkJynFqARHG2VvV_tp7444HlTp5mKv3VWvjOB8DI3HSzu9bqc-KB-K67EfhNNkzvuo7hKYfzeiq1XuNcKTk8lw7DSTlI8KFMqM9bt0HChgkc/s400/102_0229.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412332269591468562" border="0" /></a> Trying to get the bus for the holidays.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH1njEIZ7wi7hyphenhyphenQNRJyZJkKDxPnFwnth-r-tmGp_uqO5S0f067XqNODiIsR8lBIGScKo7PDPwmoGGUyDQ8gJDsxXw_cjg5J17QuJPH6BmAYKRy_-JrQyjleaYrGCD9sHJadRdyj4c-sY/s1600-h/102_0222.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH1njEIZ7wi7hyphenhyphenQNRJyZJkKDxPnFwnth-r-tmGp_uqO5S0f067XqNODiIsR8lBIGScKo7PDPwmoGGUyDQ8gJDsxXw_cjg5J17QuJPH6BmAYKRy_-JrQyjleaYrGCD9sHJadRdyj4c-sY/s400/102_0222.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412332249953499538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Barbara is continuing her Physical Therapy for her foot. She saw an orthopedist to examine her shoulder. He extended her therapy for a month. She is now to get P.T. for both her shoulder and her foot.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsx74tFQuvjnvLC3YsvQpJsI_GVbAZl_FAHRrUIdGOl5hA5gra9Iq1As5XOdoct9SLvuXr3MYKDwaqnZY7Rop1HY5_F4YosCJNLvz1jFmcjZsqLh7JIxsTSY7CUPEY-tFoKfeAYsRdp2g/s1600-h/102_0112.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsx74tFQuvjnvLC3YsvQpJsI_GVbAZl_FAHRrUIdGOl5hA5gra9Iq1As5XOdoct9SLvuXr3MYKDwaqnZY7Rop1HY5_F4YosCJNLvz1jFmcjZsqLh7JIxsTSY7CUPEY-tFoKfeAYsRdp2g/s400/102_0112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412339223638950786" border="0" /></a>Oh the pain of it all. Really hate this bike.<br /><br />Dennis has been playing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">pickleball</span> regularly. He is playing on the thousand trails team in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">pickleball</span> league involving several area RV parks. Barbara has been unable to play for a while due to her foot injury. She got some good news yesterday though. She talked with her therapist and he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ok'ed</span> playing cautiously while wearing a special ankle support. So she plans to go out and give it a try.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-23775830770624357922009-11-04T20:41:00.000-08:002009-11-08T13:07:31.228-08:00Desert PoolsWe are now at the Desert Pools Western Horizon Park at Desert Hot Springs. It is only about 20 miles from our last stop. The two parks are quite different. The thousand trails park that we just left is noted for its very tall Palm Trees planted in neat rows throughout the park. They give the place a classy look and even seem to help a bit with the afternoon heat. But they also make the park difficult and risky for parking a large rv. The park that we are in now is much more open and has very large sites and interior roads. The surface is all sand (no grass) and has more of a desert look. There are mountain views and nice views of the sky especially at sunset. It seems hotter we think because of lack of shade and the sandy surface. We are glad that we paid extra for 50 amp power as it allows us to run both air conditioners during the heat of the day. The park is named for the natural hot water pools in the area. The park has 3 hot tubs at different temperatures making is easy to find one to suit us.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBF2PIeoP65ahmXez7zynRpib-xJijAAkPEExrpkRyxPqc5nE1BI_s4hi7vmE34RtRuY02X0gRZJVMfobglH0BKPJvrOcs9Y6kVLtNnWWM7i3TpWvp1MN7OpI62GBC0hcSXW_dFlcq9U/s1600-h/DSC_0014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBF2PIeoP65ahmXez7zynRpib-xJijAAkPEExrpkRyxPqc5nE1BI_s4hi7vmE34RtRuY02X0gRZJVMfobglH0BKPJvrOcs9Y6kVLtNnWWM7i3TpWvp1MN7OpI62GBC0hcSXW_dFlcq9U/s400/DSC_0014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401584995629607906" border="0" /></a>Sunset our first sunset at desert hot pools.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFX2cS9ZEI_BUBbVRF_hJz2hvudK-Hf_zWK4CgOD55SCliqvUqaefqmtqM7L8kyHlWY5Wbo6Y2IIU8uLIxtvOFc2TGVmLXP-wfoFnYPVuRCbOBtKeUvWY6Oz_5ZolCYy-3r66Aic7SK4/s1600-h/DSC_0019.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFX2cS9ZEI_BUBbVRF_hJz2hvudK-Hf_zWK4CgOD55SCliqvUqaefqmtqM7L8kyHlWY5Wbo6Y2IIU8uLIxtvOFc2TGVmLXP-wfoFnYPVuRCbOBtKeUvWY6Oz_5ZolCYy-3r66Aic7SK4/s400/DSC_0019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401585002519046578" border="0" /></a>Another sunset view here at desert hot pools.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnfXRPsLWdzEHZ9b42LR1G90cJ9i2SVILVFIF7OonH-BVPyRMPPYm5B5GYF3DNOFduWUHyFzEJMLHfO9a6fbYPfnugpCC4pBLNcjq3WwqAdwnv09EllhFJSG3CH7e9q7ZYqdWUrLeP5A/s1600-h/DSC_0047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnfXRPsLWdzEHZ9b42LR1G90cJ9i2SVILVFIF7OonH-BVPyRMPPYm5B5GYF3DNOFduWUHyFzEJMLHfO9a6fbYPfnugpCC4pBLNcjq3WwqAdwnv09EllhFJSG3CH7e9q7ZYqdWUrLeP5A/s400/DSC_0047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401585003817925906" border="0" /></a>Roxy watching the sun setting, she seems to be transfixed.<br /><br />Barbara went in for her evaluation for physical therapy and is scheduled to start her treatment tomorrow. She will be going three times a week and if all goes well the treatment will be complete in three weeks.<br /><br />We got a late start for our short trip this morning. Dennis played a few games of pickleball before getting to the business of getting ready and moving this morning. With the short drive we were still here by noon.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-84977791048869071312009-11-01T21:19:00.000-08:002009-11-07T20:15:29.077-08:00Palm SpringsWe are now in Palm Springs. Well, we are at the Palm Springs Thousand Trails Park but it really has a Palm Desert address. We were planning to spend some time in this area starting in the middle of November. When it became clear that we would need to be prepared to stay in one area to get Barbara's problem with her foot taken care of we decided to head this way a couple of weeks early. She was told that she would need 3 weeks of physical therapy and a followup visit.<br /><br />When we were in Hollister Barbara saw a doctor at an urgent care clinic who did an xray then an MRI, then referred her to a orthopedic specialist. The orthopedic doctor told her that it was a ligament tear in her right foot and put her in a heavy boot. He also prescribed the physical therapy which he thought would take care of the problem.<br /><br />Our trip in today was an easy drive of less than 3 hours. We crossed the desert on a crisp sunny morning and came over Cajon summit and down the hill and through San Bernadino in light Sunday traffic. An easy day. We stopped at the Flying J just west of here to fill the tank. But we had a bit of an accident on the first stop. The latch for our refrigerator was not closed. The door came open and we had a lot of spillage. And some broken bowls. What a mess. It took a while to get that all cleaned up.<br /><br />We are only here for 3 days then will move to another park in the area. We already had several reservations in and didn't want to start changing them. We couldn't get a reservation for the 15 day period so we will be here the 3 days and 12 in the other park.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-83835452277581119882009-10-31T21:58:00.000-07:002009-11-06T07:28:12.551-08:00Wending Out Way Down CaliforniaWe are parked at the Arabian RV Oasis in Boron, Ca. in the high desert country west of Bakersfield. This is a Passport America campground where we are staying for the half price rate of $12. We are headed to the Palm Springs area and wanted to get over half way which we did.<br /><br />We looked at a couple of options in leaving the San Benito TT park. The obvious and easy one was to head north through Hollister and west on 156 to I-5. This was the way we came in. But we didn't like heading north to go south. So we looked at the alternative of taking highway 25 south to highway 198 west. This would save us over 40 miles and some fuel and time. There is a sign just where we would turn on to highway 25 saying "tractor semis with king pin to rear axle over 30 feet not advised next 50 miles". Well, we are not a semi so the warning does not directly apply, but generally roads that are not good for trucks are not good for large RVs either. But the sign did not even say that semis were forbidden to use the road. We talked with a couple of RVers who had driven the road in RVs notably smaller than ours who just said that it was a winding narrow road with no shoulder and you had to go slow. We've done that before. So we took this more difficult route. It was curvy and slow but little traffic and no real problem. The worst part is that a steep grade of about 5 miles starts on 198 just after the stop sign meaning that we had to go up with no momentum, and did most of the climb between 15 and 25 miles an hour.<br /><br />We had a problem that was unrelated to the route. We have a Brakemaster system that uses the bus air brake system to control the brake pedal on the Camry and stop it proportionally. On our first stop to check things we found that the connecting air hose had come lose where it connects to the car. So we pushed it in and left again. There is a light on the bus dash to indicate when the car brake is applied. We now watched this carefully and after the first stops it did not come on. So when we found a good pullout we checked again. We found that the quick connect was not locking. We sprayed a lot of silicone spray on it and it seemed to loosen a bit but not fully lock. We did the best we could at pushing it on and hoped that it would stay. We were really not too concerned about the towed car braking system not working as we are within the weight capacity of our bus brakes even with the car behind. But a few states require such a system. We don't recall if California is one of them but it would be logical as there are a lot of mountains. And the way our system is set up our car brake lights don't come on unless this system is working. Fortunately, it stayed hooked the rest of the day without further intervention and we hope that it will continue until we get to Palm Springs tomorrow. Then we will look at finding a new connector for the end.<br /><br />Once we hit I-5 we had several options. Our GPS recommended taking I-5 to I-10 in Los Angles. We did not want to take this route. There is a hard climb called the Grapevine on I-5 and we preferred to avoid this especially in the heat of the day as these old buses have a tendency to overheat in such conditions. And we also prefer to avoid going through large and unfamiliar cities with our bus-car combination whenever possible. So we decided to take highway 58 out of Bakersfield. There is a climb through Tehachapi pass which we are pretty sure is easier than the grapevine. And the only other city on the route is San Bernadino which we recall as being relatively easy to travel through.<br /><br />We made it through Bakersfield easily which is notable only because we were there once before and somehow made a wrong turn in heavy traffic causing frustration and delay. We made it up the hill in mid-afternoon. We stopped near the top for a few minutes to let the engine cool. It was easy driving in the high desert.<br /><br />We had originally thought that we might just park for an overnight in a Walmart or rest area. But recalling that it is Halloween we decided that might not be the best plan. We could have gone to the Soledad Canyon TT park which would have been only a few miles from a reasonable route. We spent a couple of weeks there 4 years ago and it is a nice park. But we decided that for one night we would be better to stay somewhere right on the route which would be an easy in and out.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-63877865713369393552009-10-28T21:57:00.000-07:002009-11-05T07:46:00.450-08:00Goat Head ThornsThis is what a goat head thorn looks like.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEm3oDmtoKqCQYINClVL4gl0bQSaGvxRRZaYnvIzVx3ZY0M2k5aT0sLfBaUAtJFO_1Hc5FAII62a1TDgSBZa2twj4p6eQSquX-nkJnMZtUI8zvsuj1gw7iVk2Rxy2cUUBif9tjsN9DqOM/s1600-h/DSC_0009.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEm3oDmtoKqCQYINClVL4gl0bQSaGvxRRZaYnvIzVx3ZY0M2k5aT0sLfBaUAtJFO_1Hc5FAII62a1TDgSBZa2twj4p6eQSquX-nkJnMZtUI8zvsuj1gw7iVk2Rxy2cUUBif9tjsN9DqOM/s400/DSC_0009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400646022952805314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We seem to have been running into these things all fall. They are definitely a nuisance. We have parked several places where they stick to shoes then come inside and come off on the floor to be stepped later with bare feet. Ouch! We have also pulled a number of them out of Roxie's feet. We have heard of them getting into a dog's feet and causing infections and vet bills. They even sell shoes for dogs to protect their feet.<br /><br />They are very hard on bicycle tires. Dennis rides every day, often on places other than improved roads. As a result he has changed a number of tubes. He went into a bike shop in Hollister and bought a couple of heavy duty inner tubes. They also sell tire liners to go between the bottom of the tire and the inner tubes. We talked to someone in the campground who said that duct tape on the inside of the bicycle tire would work the same way (it just makes another layer that a thorn, piece of glass or other sharp object has to penetrate before it punctures the tube). So he tried it. So far, so good.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-59542969677169385622009-10-27T21:20:00.000-07:002009-11-03T20:03:13.748-08:00Big Sur and Highway 1Today we took the car with a plan to visit the Monterrey area and drive down highway 1 along the coast. We drove west to Monterrey and decided to head and down highway 1 to Big Sur then visit Monterrey on the way back. Bob and Julie rode with us. It was an interesting ride down the curvy and hilly coast highway. We've been down this highway before but we wanted to see it again while we are in the area. The coastline is rugged and hilly with great views over the ocean.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZrGSwZmL7s-_dy7s8Jgvlwj2uoguCpoRNqlMIRiNKaP2YggyEEORytK_ma_9aQ2gWTF9ZthKVy28xvs6hpivCcMcG5MO1t4Z26FlT_vigpb2Sfj1-_oyTlZ02Sl0nfNw1q1t5P_C0dE/s1600-h/IMG_0263.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZrGSwZmL7s-_dy7s8Jgvlwj2uoguCpoRNqlMIRiNKaP2YggyEEORytK_ma_9aQ2gWTF9ZthKVy28xvs6hpivCcMcG5MO1t4Z26FlT_vigpb2Sfj1-_oyTlZ02Sl0nfNw1q1t5P_C0dE/s400/IMG_0263.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399582761893142114" border="0" /></a>Just in case you dont know Julie is terrified about heights, so she had to have company for this shot.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-zMLiyS4wp8JsvGWBxWFZiJa3a77x2ZMm0EVQlnRawzI7cJIAZ80iS9IY3ShHELZ-dcExZUyXeyOR3c_q6CWuEzA3aU9-azQBZT8WpB42yOOoHVnOnlu1dJYADvnYpmL0pNY3QuuomQ/s1600-h/IMG_0265.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-zMLiyS4wp8JsvGWBxWFZiJa3a77x2ZMm0EVQlnRawzI7cJIAZ80iS9IY3ShHELZ-dcExZUyXeyOR3c_q6CWuEzA3aU9-azQBZT8WpB42yOOoHVnOnlu1dJYADvnYpmL0pNY3QuuomQ/s400/IMG_0265.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399582765863092114" border="0" /></a>How do you like the new footwear, you really dont want to be kicked with that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqn2uA2GgbQpo-OPG4dvMkD5XjuFc_x7aMUry2-vaZx8TCNTFMYwwrb8Gm6XQThlhR5qsEk3LFoeBcThh0UuU4AN36Lk7WTI7JO5DjqGOU41_mNreY4uhhBGYQj6yirdJUILeKPicb6qw/s1600-h/IMG_0222.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqn2uA2GgbQpo-OPG4dvMkD5XjuFc_x7aMUry2-vaZx8TCNTFMYwwrb8Gm6XQThlhR5qsEk3LFoeBcThh0UuU4AN36Lk7WTI7JO5DjqGOU41_mNreY4uhhBGYQj6yirdJUILeKPicb6qw/s400/IMG_0222.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400089125651662482" border="0" /></a>The views were breath taking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XngvGtleU1e4aazBip2BabIPpHe-sPFoQyL9fzRJNvykTlss97_5GLXqBotlYdosR3QWf0ToIurl5LQS9HMDOT59MuwuaoF7aTCHZ9fomGctecwtRaPu5LlgRFLYLeSmh0nHX4HHiSc/s1600-h/IMG_0200.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XngvGtleU1e4aazBip2BabIPpHe-sPFoQyL9fzRJNvykTlss97_5GLXqBotlYdosR3QWf0ToIurl5LQS9HMDOT59MuwuaoF7aTCHZ9fomGctecwtRaPu5LlgRFLYLeSmh0nHX4HHiSc/s400/IMG_0200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400089136394367618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We saw some fabulous homes with unbelievable views along the way.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLkzkvess82NG7DjkezDhvbwWo2p-2D1lMv8Z1v5uXWW-ZXFSKB2kTwD5N3WeGVB8nHIMeRAC7QbhPmEMY6oMoPBhBxXWybYhcoyRC8Z9mS5rowacyIv2bKfmTFzs6Ks6e7LimNyzS5U/s1600-h/IMG_0213.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLkzkvess82NG7DjkezDhvbwWo2p-2D1lMv8Z1v5uXWW-ZXFSKB2kTwD5N3WeGVB8nHIMeRAC7QbhPmEMY6oMoPBhBxXWybYhcoyRC8Z9mS5rowacyIv2bKfmTFzs6Ks6e7LimNyzS5U/s400/IMG_0213.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400089129838972018" border="0" /></a>my favorite there is house to the right behind the trees, hard to get in the picture, but was wonderful and very very large.<br /><br />We made a couple of stops in the tourist oriented areas of Big Sur. We stopped at the Ripplewood Resort in Big Sur for enjoyable lunch and browsed in some of the other shops and stores without buying anything.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjketmEBgTHfQSGTS2ucBnyUKpDFVXOwxMPZkKPq7P1Kkz4JmtNowai2Nc0n-oyi-TWX6s4JMyLH4z6iRqvhuRCS_ETQ9OfZpA8cbR7MTMJTBbpjYnWqErPckw67apmYNOODUO3VXF6pu4/s1600-h/IMG_0241.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjketmEBgTHfQSGTS2ucBnyUKpDFVXOwxMPZkKPq7P1Kkz4JmtNowai2Nc0n-oyi-TWX6s4JMyLH4z6iRqvhuRCS_ETQ9OfZpA8cbR7MTMJTBbpjYnWqErPckw67apmYNOODUO3VXF6pu4/s400/IMG_0241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399582768055188658" border="0" /></a>this is a very large pumpkin in front of the diner where we had a very good lunch.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5G2RHuz76iJTBn6Zt_OCZOOHkdW-CU46UiBI3Z6a0DWvHjPer-mq1eRmGg999uKpVejqntJTvmrs6m9ZrPEh5f0d6LgpU_HTe4KGK_IxqiHdkbLC49gU-ycQYbF-g8YHN46ZwA5Y1Y8/s1600-h/IMG_0233.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5G2RHuz76iJTBn6Zt_OCZOOHkdW-CU46UiBI3Z6a0DWvHjPer-mq1eRmGg999uKpVejqntJTvmrs6m9ZrPEh5f0d6LgpU_HTe4KGK_IxqiHdkbLC49gU-ycQYbF-g8YHN46ZwA5Y1Y8/s400/IMG_0233.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400089119382328802" border="0" /></a>This sign made Barb want to take up drinking beer, lol<br /><br /><br />We stopped at a number of the scenic pullouts to soak in the views. At one point we saw what we were told was a California Condor floating high above us.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9RdXt16EAiKOApju8NHe-GUfhwr88l-GFZ41W-X4iQgu45rpzHgy626gqQJsaDejumNI9bubAT0wHxAG3b5X3VA5vCzleFwD3oeZBrx6BQ4fNBka9ylnNW15TBmVGQ8cWBlx_JAei-Q/s1600-h/IMG_0273.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9RdXt16EAiKOApju8NHe-GUfhwr88l-GFZ41W-X4iQgu45rpzHgy626gqQJsaDejumNI9bubAT0wHxAG3b5X3VA5vCzleFwD3oeZBrx6BQ4fNBka9ylnNW15TBmVGQ8cWBlx_JAei-Q/s400/IMG_0273.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399582757362706274" border="0" /></a>Was afraid he was up too high for a good shot, but hot too bad.<br /><br /><br /><br />By the time we got back to Monterrey it was late afternoon and we were tired. So we decided to wait to look around that area another time.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-12192627333148789662009-10-23T19:54:00.000-07:002009-11-02T05:57:15.800-08:00A Time of CelebrationWell another year has gone by. Dennis had a birthday and Barb and Julie seemed to think that it was a reason for celebration. At our age what are we celebrating. Surely not that we are older. More likely that we are still around and able to celebrate.<br /><br />Julie and Bob has us over for a birthday dinner. Julie made her delicious ribs. Barb's primary contribution was one of her carrot cakes that everyone seems to like. She also make some asparagus which is one of Dennis' favorites. In any case it was a great meal and a good time.<br /><br />This is the head of Bob and Julie's household. His name is Odie. He is very active, friendly and loves attention of any kind and any time<br />.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xLG1XIgI5aIWaWUWhP9FfVQQl8Wd6oyEuE3qnaWNSAPcUtkd03XQamhV2j2TR3Z0baOKlP-qdKw5xGckF5wKfdv1eR2ktOcDjqUoz2OJO0ctfNvnRmxri-dRISqYWNNlZdLdPivqdKQ/s1600-h/IMG_0166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xLG1XIgI5aIWaWUWhP9FfVQQl8Wd6oyEuE3qnaWNSAPcUtkd03XQamhV2j2TR3Z0baOKlP-qdKw5xGckF5wKfdv1eR2ktOcDjqUoz2OJO0ctfNvnRmxri-dRISqYWNNlZdLdPivqdKQ/s400/IMG_0166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399503583269111522" border="0" /></a><br />This is the beta dog. His name is Scruffy. He is much more laid back and takes life as it comes. He likes attention but doesn't seek it out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajQx6zk880-lTa5T4xzDhlie3fA87jxWimNVUXDewMxKssy004GnGuJwkPkAJCYvYHR0YI_Sz48Jvw6-y0_sPw6coOcHVCaTD_IjwgYg8ik2NTEPh-cYsojCAM9B99KJ0kRMBrFIphHE/s1600-h/IMG_0164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajQx6zk880-lTa5T4xzDhlie3fA87jxWimNVUXDewMxKssy004GnGuJwkPkAJCYvYHR0YI_Sz48Jvw6-y0_sPw6coOcHVCaTD_IjwgYg8ik2NTEPh-cYsojCAM9B99KJ0kRMBrFIphHE/s400/IMG_0164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399504641513266914" border="0" /></a><br />These are the humans who like to think that they are in charge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_Cytbazb1L5RyVInSdtSJvXex-RsESZJM0IbF-z0mMTs36b0Abx4BGzAnEkhcvZhfC_Ib0itpHkZGbHqiZxd-32AXYqyoNC8SgenOwj9SY3J-o4nUWYWFBnu1PahDuP8H9Ca1-l6wjQ/s1600-h/IMG_0171.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_Cytbazb1L5RyVInSdtSJvXex-RsESZJM0IbF-z0mMTs36b0Abx4BGzAnEkhcvZhfC_Ib0itpHkZGbHqiZxd-32AXYqyoNC8SgenOwj9SY3J-o4nUWYWFBnu1PahDuP8H9Ca1-l6wjQ/s400/IMG_0171.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399503591691506450" border="0" /></a><br />We played some cards -euchre. Bob is a relatively new player, but suddenly becoming quite competitive, at least with our group. We've mostly been playing men against the women, and the men have started winning their share.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-9617833599419419862009-10-22T19:51:00.000-07:002009-10-29T14:43:21.699-07:00Pinnacles National MonumentToday we went with Julie and Bob in their truck and drove south on highway 25 to visit the Pinnacles National Monument which is just a few miles from the San Benito TT park where we are now staying. It was an easy drive on a bright sunny day.<br /><br />Dennis, Bob and Julie went for a hike up to a scenic overlook. Due to the problems with her ankle Barbara was not able to go for the hike. But she sat on a park bench and enjoyed the scenery including watching the woodpeckers in the area. The hike was billed as easy to moderate and was a moderate uphill climb of about an hour. We started hiking at about 2 o'clock which was the heat of the day which made it a bit more tiring that it would have been with more sensible planning.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJUP5SCOWpQh3BRfwRik8L6S2V3jvZM4ke2k9Uec2Xjr3gRWoGg06rvny8CfuT0369qSbUdEil0ciJcrPqimapjgXmsuyK-gKjYFiXYzPsqCXwyrk2rWNqnvo3xKDh84DFxe-bMPzhvSR/s1600-h/DSC_0107.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJUP5SCOWpQh3BRfwRik8L6S2V3jvZM4ke2k9Uec2Xjr3gRWoGg06rvny8CfuT0369qSbUdEil0ciJcrPqimapjgXmsuyK-gKjYFiXYzPsqCXwyrk2rWNqnvo3xKDh84DFxe-bMPzhvSR/s400/DSC_0107.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398134062919881266" border="0" /></a><br />The woodpeckers love the dead trees<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKxILFF0dB6DyUrRIZYrT1cydz6ulmGouugRb6o98DLCVhuHwzzlx01eWO14nGxBk2Lb8-jHn3jvNLUIV-QfwrPyy-GwgnFg9DdWzAF8sqnj4CeHfzJ9LYzTz0Y1ZnGLL-FhsGwJeyErY/s1600-h/DSC_0007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKxILFF0dB6DyUrRIZYrT1cydz6ulmGouugRb6o98DLCVhuHwzzlx01eWO14nGxBk2Lb8-jHn3jvNLUIV-QfwrPyy-GwgnFg9DdWzAF8sqnj4CeHfzJ9LYzTz0Y1ZnGLL-FhsGwJeyErY/s400/DSC_0007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398134052499244770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were able to view the rock formations for which the park is named from a variety of perspectives. There were also interesting views of the canyons and the varied vegetation. We saw the largest pine cones that we have ever seen.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuuyTdAZKLpXr3s2mszl0UB1SPnq646bomTdHmKpBWjzv_U_TRg9IyLnfWXPStbCi3cmtcO8ohGWDwCxhtnufeduPtSjj18OuZx-nCmvDenuZkZ74rOx61oT5WtzwQld0eKAWZ0VRu1CM/s1600-h/DSC_0077.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuuyTdAZKLpXr3s2mszl0UB1SPnq646bomTdHmKpBWjzv_U_TRg9IyLnfWXPStbCi3cmtcO8ohGWDwCxhtnufeduPtSjj18OuZx-nCmvDenuZkZ74rOx61oT5WtzwQld0eKAWZ0VRu1CM/s400/DSC_0077.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398134059791113202" border="0" /></a><br />On the way home a flock of wild turkeys just had to cross the road, too bad we didnt get to do any roadkill, might have been tasty.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7L1khGJDeIos1uUMjFuktPAV7eMTV0vFMQ__PQA7FJb4cA7skLZNTxJwbMRecH1RPa9HrE-Wvkv67ITLLFFvqUOWHvIsCA4AHkS5zF4WOIRj3NnGGGfbsRctN9O0hte0NN6DW31jZ3Qe/s1600-h/DSC_0118.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 356px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7L1khGJDeIos1uUMjFuktPAV7eMTV0vFMQ__PQA7FJb4cA7skLZNTxJwbMRecH1RPa9HrE-Wvkv67ITLLFFvqUOWHvIsCA4AHkS5zF4WOIRj3NnGGGfbsRctN9O0hte0NN6DW31jZ3Qe/s400/DSC_0118.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398134067022593906" border="0" /></a>Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-38185433474102465512009-10-21T17:01:00.000-07:002009-10-27T20:04:57.214-07:00San BenitoWe are currently at the San Benito Thousand Trails Park south of Hollister, California. According to our mapping programs the shortest route was to head west and then south through the east bay area and down through San Jose. But it was only about 15 miles longer for us to head west to I-5 and take a rural route. For us it was an easy choice as we generally prefer to avoid the larger urban areas with the bus if reasonably possible. So we left Isleton on Sunday and drove west on highway 12 a few miles to fill up the bus at the Flying J at Lodi. We then headed down I-5 and turned west and crossed over Pacheco Pass and South through the town of Hollister. It was an easy drive. We are arguably in southern California now. Many maps divide the state into northern and southern pages. When they do this area is near the top of the southern half. And we have been seeing some palm trees with to us is an indicator of a warmer climate. The weather is nice and we are happy.<br /><br />The park itself is several miles off the road just south of the tiny town of Paicines. We stayed here for a couple of days in a rented trailer 7 years ago. We thought then that it was a very nice park and area and we wanted to return. It is a surprising large and remote park. The sites are large and flat with many huge maple and oak trees. The terrain is a hilly semi desert country, with a lot of wildlife. We see a lot of deer in the park. We have seen a small herd of buffalo just outside the park. We have also seen bobcats in the park. There are wild pigs in the park. We have not seen them but there are a lot of holes that they did. The area seems to have some large ranches and is really quite different from the urban stereotypes that most people in other parts of the country bring to mind when they think of California.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObkZ_FbI-ZqGsEVCpH1qwo2htyN_nJKuquXgZNv8tE_l2cgVBTeWFF8oGYnYp-61vYElii15XNC-YQcouM7whJ_tFK5o5E7tetiPt6muUCDQAIYTdeZDI7_l4UcDmWpfYtsdDpd1Ercq2/s1600-h/DSC_0031.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObkZ_FbI-ZqGsEVCpH1qwo2htyN_nJKuquXgZNv8tE_l2cgVBTeWFF8oGYnYp-61vYElii15XNC-YQcouM7whJ_tFK5o5E7tetiPt6muUCDQAIYTdeZDI7_l4UcDmWpfYtsdDpd1Ercq2/s400/DSC_0031.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397479730048081794" border="0" /></a>Just before you enter the campground across the road you will find buffalo, a small herd.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkH2TcLtCvLafMfzT-mgEn7PHII1hTJT96i5Br_Wn3i-2OEA5FVGF9Qtu9PmkCbYOp0UMF3v2s6OH5WK1qNTDXHHtl2dEfd7iPhgS4DvCdmiE5M-d_Qh0uUyoiSjOnmcA56Z_BjJ9CDirZ/s1600-h/1023091230.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkH2TcLtCvLafMfzT-mgEn7PHII1hTJT96i5Br_Wn3i-2OEA5FVGF9Qtu9PmkCbYOp0UMF3v2s6OH5WK1qNTDXHHtl2dEfd7iPhgS4DvCdmiE5M-d_Qh0uUyoiSjOnmcA56Z_BjJ9CDirZ/s400/1023091230.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397479723157232082" border="0" /></a>There also are a couple of bob cats in the park and wild pigs that really dug up our campsite.<br /><br /><br /><br />Barbara is getting medical attention for a problem with her ankle. She fell when we were in British Columbia about 2 months ago and has had recurring problems. She saw a doctor Monday and had an MRI Tuesday. She is waiting now to see an orthopedic doctor. We may need to stay in the area longer to get treatment completed.<br /><br />Bob and Julie came in Tuesday. We have not been traveling together but instead keeping in touch and kind of hopscotching. Three of us played pickleball today while Barb was at the doctor. It would be nice if there were some other players here.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-47119380791678657532009-10-17T21:35:00.001-07:002009-10-23T17:36:12.800-07:00Delta ShoresWe woke up Thursday and found that it was still raining which was a disappointment. We were leaving and had expected that the rain would be over by the time we left. But we had to get ready and start the trip with it still raining. We drove approximately 130 miles to Delta Shores RV Park in Isleton. The traffic was heavy as we continued down highway 101 then headed west on highway 37, a little north of San Francisco bay. The rain stopped and the sky quickly cleared when we were 30 or 40 miles from here and the weather has stayed nice.<br /><br />Its was a quick change of terrain as we left the rugged hill country and came across to a flat agricultural plain. The immediate area is at the edge of the Sacramento Valley. Except for a view of some mountains in the distance this area looks a lot like much of the midwest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugR0rA3EntYT1AuAqfYSDnuPCkDmcxVzTu1u_Wvs2FnFiAiyortO4NYGGLsWbI5ERDSSC-QaV9cx8zPCp7t5BSG_kn7E7s51LYDxKFqj49n_zgGNLgpvq7luya6X2wyA-BmXqdGFlEA6L/s1600-h/DSC_0014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugR0rA3EntYT1AuAqfYSDnuPCkDmcxVzTu1u_Wvs2FnFiAiyortO4NYGGLsWbI5ERDSSC-QaV9cx8zPCp7t5BSG_kn7E7s51LYDxKFqj49n_zgGNLgpvq7luya6X2wyA-BmXqdGFlEA6L/s400/DSC_0014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395444936770006722" border="0" /></a>here is a good look at the Levee<br /><br /><br />This is one of two ROD parks in the area. Both parks are along the Mokelumne River. The road in is the levee along the river. When you turn into the park the entrance road quickly decends about 30 feet. On the other side of the road the water level is only a few feet below the road, so it looks like the whole area could be a flood zone with rising water. It is a recreational area with a lot of boating and fishing. Bob and Julie changed their plans and decided to stop in the area. They were not aware that we were here and choose the Lighthouse park which is only about a mile down the road.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQecaYlK90FuBUVOqvwKjbymPDFgGoIAF0sWJk-XyGHmIXP2U2mTXpEk_mDpzi5d6yT2Y34RnCGNzj85-x1zSKgn2o44ijqZ7AMYn8PI8XqvFpv8bRKD7eWoN1ZS0sP-d6uR1xCorqoRZ2/s1600-h/DSC_0028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQecaYlK90FuBUVOqvwKjbymPDFgGoIAF0sWJk-XyGHmIXP2U2mTXpEk_mDpzi5d6yT2Y34RnCGNzj85-x1zSKgn2o44ijqZ7AMYn8PI8XqvFpv8bRKD7eWoN1ZS0sP-d6uR1xCorqoRZ2/s400/DSC_0028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395444942389968834" border="0" /></a>sunrise at Delta Shores<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmdEl6x7XD0ZHxwfESELr4xGboTx56XRbkpL8uR4KnLt0HhsSHtwRlcyheVzGhCzDEKVUMC6XGCOQWp-2TVYKgPC9qNT97rW3JvqsKfS6UNgusSZ3HoL7unNTZAP9Yo9tV_yJ4rafsIOy/s1600-h/DSC_0009.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmdEl6x7XD0ZHxwfESELr4xGboTx56XRbkpL8uR4KnLt0HhsSHtwRlcyheVzGhCzDEKVUMC6XGCOQWp-2TVYKgPC9qNT97rW3JvqsKfS6UNgusSZ3HoL7unNTZAP9Yo9tV_yJ4rafsIOy/s400/DSC_0009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395448757416883730" border="0" /></a>Above is a great view of the dock across from the park for use by the members.<br /><br />We all went out to dinner at Lucy's an Italian Restaurant in Rio Vista tonight. We had a great meal and a good time.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-80422157173260485282009-10-14T20:51:00.000-07:002009-10-22T08:15:14.388-07:00Caught in a DownpourWe are now at the Russian River Thousand Trails Park for 4 days. Bob and Julie left Klamath the day before we did and headed over to Redding to visit some friends. We had decided to continue down highway 101. We drove the approximately 250 miles here on Sunday. It is a bit more than we have been going in a day lately. After about the first third of the drive it was inland from the coast. It is a slow road with a lot of hills and turns, but still faster than much of the drive down the Oregon coast.<br /><br />The visit here has been kind of a bust due to the weather. It has been raining most of the time we have been here as a major front came through. It was not a thunderstorm or even high winds, just relentless rain. It is perhaps ironic that it is in sunny California that we are having the worst weather we have seen this year. That has kept us from doing much sight seeing. This is California wine country. We have driven by a lot of the vineyards. We talked of doing some wine tasting but the weather kept us in. We did go to the Sho Ka Wah Casino for their advertised $4.95 Prime Rib dinner. It turned out to be a very good meal. They also gave us each $10 gambling credits for signing up for their cards. We played the slot machines for a while and we came away with enough to pay for our meal plus about $15. So it was a good night.<br /><br />The park here is wooded, and hilly with some tight turns. The sites are long but often close together. Although these parks are billed as resorts there is no pool or organized activities. The park is probably less than a third full. It appears to be a park used in summer with the river as a major attraction. The staff here is the friendliest that we have run across for a while.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvZ-PTTgA0bKKg8Pp1bzVskkq6Iiernx9sS0m9SwJlpM3jlHb6ASscYUaw7hEKciEHjP0ZiK5ui36SMic4PhfsvF-LY-JtbPZgAzX8pb3m793WdqBBJJXKJyeN2meBgtd1ZXqJnh0dOnq/s1600-h/102_0079.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvZ-PTTgA0bKKg8Pp1bzVskkq6Iiernx9sS0m9SwJlpM3jlHb6ASscYUaw7hEKciEHjP0ZiK5ui36SMic4PhfsvF-LY-JtbPZgAzX8pb3m793WdqBBJJXKJyeN2meBgtd1ZXqJnh0dOnq/s400/102_0079.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395442806527939634" border="0" /></a>Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-43954130329968591672009-10-09T22:17:00.000-07:002009-10-16T20:50:18.283-07:00Visiting with GiantsWe had driven through part of the Redwoods National Park while coming into Klamath but we wanted to see more. So we went with Bob and Julie to spend some time in the park.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqskmxRsJNwAYyZfhdIV3R5v-R6j3USWzqlU93L_BfqFriVj9HOlo2YAZUEiEIZcc-0RLHpeWtUqC6DCmXpH1IhsW-NmuWvrbRC13Hry9tHth0dx2zZYHnNvRVk4lojQ9Dh3J0_MXouWDZ/s1600-h/DSC_0047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqskmxRsJNwAYyZfhdIV3R5v-R6j3USWzqlU93L_BfqFriVj9HOlo2YAZUEiEIZcc-0RLHpeWtUqC6DCmXpH1IhsW-NmuWvrbRC13Hry9tHth0dx2zZYHnNvRVk4lojQ9Dh3J0_MXouWDZ/s400/DSC_0047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392563022315912162" border="0" /></a><br />The trees are certainly impressive. It is amazing that they are as large and old as they are. We didn't see any of the drive through trees, but some were very wide. And tall as well. It is impressive that they are hundreds or in some cases even thousands of years old.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_haP8J_kSthkKtCQVGZeqCBxbB1Il6s_Qh8cUg2oTGsGf2oMDOKEhC2wZ3whV70Gbg63U-FF3OZRXxMr5kn0DT4PrNADfSmOYPlY7fpXAgucQx_ibdO0wem92sjj8I5K0WZBgH0eSU9e/s1600-h/DSC_0032.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_haP8J_kSthkKtCQVGZeqCBxbB1Il6s_Qh8cUg2oTGsGf2oMDOKEhC2wZ3whV70Gbg63U-FF3OZRXxMr5kn0DT4PrNADfSmOYPlY7fpXAgucQx_ibdO0wem92sjj8I5K0WZBgH0eSU9e/s400/DSC_0032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392563011895297634" border="0" /></a><br />Walking through the redwoods we were struck by the quiet stillness of the forest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLryoAIxoNgc0pQuMZcZmLd00E3IPj8NGQTileQgtqhdjlfKC0xtBbd3b66oCuyWxH-OnrwqlmGkIUi-HDI0M3CNv1WRhcLExhULftYy6CMCQKR8KidvpFoj5PGsD6K8D-8GmFJulaSsy/s1600-h/DSC_0006.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 373px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLryoAIxoNgc0pQuMZcZmLd00E3IPj8NGQTileQgtqhdjlfKC0xtBbd3b66oCuyWxH-OnrwqlmGkIUi-HDI0M3CNv1WRhcLExhULftYy6CMCQKR8KidvpFoj5PGsD6K8D-8GmFJulaSsy/s400/DSC_0006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392563004892677282" border="0" /></a>Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-73809168571964278082009-10-08T21:34:00.000-07:002009-10-14T13:49:41.622-07:00Klamath RiverWe drove from Port Orford today to Klamath, California. It was an easy drive. We stopped for fuel before we left Port Orford as we had seen a gas station with a very large lot and easy approach. We didn't really need to fill up yet but we knew that we would be staying on 101 and that easy in fuel spots might be hard to find. We also thought the price would be better in Oregon than California.<br /><br />The drive down the coast highway continued to be very scenic. There were many great views of the ocean and coastline. The Oregon coast from end to end is impressive and more beautiful than any other we have seen. We are also impressed that Oregonians have resisted high rises and commercialization of the coast and kept it so much of it assessable to the public.<br /><br />We have driven into California several times before, but it always seems odd to be stopped at the border for the checks for fruit. It feels like you are entering another country. The inspector was quite friendly and when we informed him that we were carrying bananas and lemons asked to see the lemons. He looked carefully at each of the lemons and ruled that they were fit to enter California.<br /><br />We had reservations and directions to the Klamath River RV Park. Just getting into the park was nerve racking. We saw a sign with an arrow showing almost a U-turn to get in. Uh-Oh. Well, we saw the enterance was wide, but turns of much more than 90 degrees are hard with our bus and car combination and this was more like 140 degrees and down hill with a sharp dropoff on the left hand side of the enterrence road. With our wide turn we were at the left side of the road looking over the steep hill. There were logs as a barrier it looked like we were going to be scraping them, so Barbara got out to watch while Dennis inched the bus forward. It turned out that we cleared the log by several inches but it sure looked close from inside.<br /><br />The park itself has a nice view of the Klamath River. There is a boat dock and it is apparently a good fishing area as several boats were going out. The sites a deep but narrow, open for satelite but with woods around the area. We were a bit put out by the $3 extra fee for electricity added on to the RPI fee that usually covers electricity. It was more irritating when we found that the voltage was prone to dropping under heavy use so it was necessary to manage power use to prevent it from dropping too low.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-379321653173192142009-10-07T21:15:00.000-07:002009-10-10T08:40:29.902-07:00Port Orford, OregonWe left Newport this morning and headed south on the coast highway, highway 101. It was a scenic drive. We are heading to the area of the Redwoods National Park in northern California, but we decided to take 2 days as we expected the road to be quite slow. This section wasn't as bad as we expected and we were in Port Orford by 1 p.m. The highlight of the drive down was when we pulled into a scenic overlook. We were pleasantly surprised to hear and see a large group of Sea Lions below us. It turns out that we were at a point just below the Sea Lion Caves. We got to see the Sea Lions without stopping and paying.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4N4xE-nOw-AKZpCjmUXLHVL0mwdVG8Jo18DWqdPutsshBe23Zh4iPynE6Q0cfGW5n_BaKeka2trmQei3kR3jSgT8sAIPDDgcxR-5dgPIqzvKd9fYVgELp0JFDIm_0_TjEiFO4Ftxzjryo/s1600-h/DSC_0065.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4N4xE-nOw-AKZpCjmUXLHVL0mwdVG8Jo18DWqdPutsshBe23Zh4iPynE6Q0cfGW5n_BaKeka2trmQei3kR3jSgT8sAIPDDgcxR-5dgPIqzvKd9fYVgELp0JFDIm_0_TjEiFO4Ftxzjryo/s400/DSC_0065.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390995906420528962" border="0" /></a><br />We stopped at a Passport America park in Port Orford, Oregon. It is a small park with a handful of sites for overnighters. Most of the park contained aged RVs that appeared to have not been moved for years and probably are lived in full time. Passport America is an organization that provides members sites for half price. This campground was one that appeared to have no one in for full price. Anyone paying twice what we did for an overnight stay would probably be disappointed as everything looked run down and needing attention. We got full hook ups in sites that were just large enough. The cable tv worked well but we could not get a signal on the wifi even when we brought a computer to the office.<br /><br />Port Orford like so much of the Oregon coast is a very scenic area. We went out to see the sunset at Paradise Point north of town. It is a great view, with "shark's tooth" rocks that are reported to be 5 miles out but appear much closer. We also stopped at the beach north of town for another great view. There were a lot of very tame deer in town near the park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PFW_dmf2m_0Num7iJ5d4Vi2v5uMlfxj9yCgcU-TgCcRf772KCHd4-AYB6pSDTQpQ0xuyK1dyoY0XXRMeCZTE74Gvx1ooqckUarB3z7ofurnbg7nkz5iibyGsiouGvi5BtwE4uqbdCNg5/s1600-h/DSC_0105.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PFW_dmf2m_0Num7iJ5d4Vi2v5uMlfxj9yCgcU-TgCcRf772KCHd4-AYB6pSDTQpQ0xuyK1dyoY0XXRMeCZTE74Gvx1ooqckUarB3z7ofurnbg7nkz5iibyGsiouGvi5BtwE4uqbdCNg5/s400/DSC_0105.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390995926076002434" border="0" /></a>What a great sunset, just loved it, but was a little windy.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjk4wG0kqchLmob-BoymZlcL6SO7S9-cLqh9cZOUdXtZk8E2Np-RUB9g93GSdVNE_wI6rhP80O1-lCSNAfZIIaL8McIgKKK97HhgkymtJwmiDM71ufBZCAQFzgg60wfZQbxnwRAdD9ANn/s1600-h/DSC_0097.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjk4wG0kqchLmob-BoymZlcL6SO7S9-cLqh9cZOUdXtZk8E2Np-RUB9g93GSdVNE_wI6rhP80O1-lCSNAfZIIaL8McIgKKK97HhgkymtJwmiDM71ufBZCAQFzgg60wfZQbxnwRAdD9ANn/s400/DSC_0097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390995920142854818" border="0" /></a>Sharktooth rocksJohnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-37912205899305430072009-10-05T20:45:00.000-07:002009-10-06T13:03:16.666-07:00Whaler's RestWe are spending a week at the Whaler's Rest Leisrure Time Park just south of Newport, Oregon. It was an easy drive here from Seaside. Easy but not quick. The drive of approximately 125 miles took around 3 hours down highway 101 which is a slow winding hilly road. It does have a lot of nice views making it worth while. We stopped at a Les Schwab tire dealer on the way to have one of our tires looked at. We had a gash in one of the drive axle tires. It looked like a sharp cut but not very deep. We don't know how it happened but our best guess is that it was a sharp rock in one of the campgrounds. The tire person looked at it and said that it was not quite to the belt so it would not be a problem. The large semi truck size tires that we use have thick side walls so I guess that we were lucky this time.<br /><br />The park we are in is wooded and fairly hilly. With the help of the ranger we were able to find one of the few available sites where we could get satellite reception through the trees. The site is closer to neighbors than we like but it works. The area is scenic. The park is across the highway from the ocean. There is a state park there. It is an easy walk to go over and go to the beach. We can hear the surf easily from our site.<br /><br />So far the weather has been cooperative. The mornings are cool but warm quickly with the sunshine which has so been plentiful. Our friends Bob and Julie came in the day after we did. We have been playing pickleball most mornings. There are several other pickelball players.<br /><br />Barb and Julie tried their luck at crabbing. Turns out they didn't have too much luck but it is about having a good time, isn't it? Ok while Julie and Barb got a good lesson about crabbing on Friday, they went out again on Sat morning with even more dismal luck than on Friday.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2BQZx2ybN8uDULZBrb7JXopFlVJSwqEIPt96jGuSIL3D8yOFC0y0BoNlgmBilTchyphenhyphenUspPvqa4JZ55rEQ8GgCfV4P73PMbSUPYfBoMYjSQcJ2hjQ3HJjaaT8coDgDE3N7HHbdSv9kQDlm/s1600-h/PICT1336.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2BQZx2ybN8uDULZBrb7JXopFlVJSwqEIPt96jGuSIL3D8yOFC0y0BoNlgmBilTchyphenhyphenUspPvqa4JZ55rEQ8GgCfV4P73PMbSUPYfBoMYjSQcJ2hjQ3HJjaaT8coDgDE3N7HHbdSv9kQDlm/s400/PICT1336.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389573015964140066" border="0" /></a><br />Picture of our lesson on how to tell a male from a female, really simple, the male has a long skinny tower and of course the female has a very large round bottom.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y97MhhochvbF9DKYCPnIeHSoJafbeP8KfNDPgoy1SCJgN-r14lbDRKqW-bQEDtjUHUxGeZfYwiXkStgBkXKLy9uL1wn6je-gBEK-Ayz7FGWC9AuR1_gIGGghT4dkp7yhZNHh_NVR5vK7/s1600-h/PICT1339.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Y97MhhochvbF9DKYCPnIeHSoJafbeP8KfNDPgoy1SCJgN-r14lbDRKqW-bQEDtjUHUxGeZfYwiXkStgBkXKLy9uL1wn6je-gBEK-Ayz7FGWC9AuR1_gIGGghT4dkp7yhZNHh_NVR5vK7/s400/PICT1339.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389573023287012258" border="0" /></a>Julie holding the only keeper that was caught by our group of ten, Barb and Julie caught 2 good size female, but just our luck you cannot keep the females.<br /><br /><br />Tuesday morning while Barb was painting the cabinet doors, the couple next door gave her six of the 12 crabs they caught that morning, they even cooked and cleaned them for us. Nothing like great campers. Oh, by the way they have crabbed a lot and they cheated using a boat. Just jealous that we didnt have a boat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bI6iHp1vvZwaL7Nk2oXwFnHm8mTRgjNHmWBcyeKI36R6x46LQSZsakeZyBh_4tPNZry-Ew6pvbvjrKz9V3gF1wrWE5Qos8CKAcopKbgnrpVH7QRTIvUQFRLiI005AYqpB_vtSmbFFn3A/s1600-h/DSC_0028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bI6iHp1vvZwaL7Nk2oXwFnHm8mTRgjNHmWBcyeKI36R6x46LQSZsakeZyBh_4tPNZry-Ew6pvbvjrKz9V3gF1wrWE5Qos8CKAcopKbgnrpVH7QRTIvUQFRLiI005AYqpB_vtSmbFFn3A/s400/DSC_0028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389576574283373442" border="0" /></a><br />wow just look at this, we plan a great dinner.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453559841217370320.post-44976829375222323522009-09-27T21:11:00.000-07:002009-10-06T12:24:28.892-07:00Forts and aTower and FoodWe had a busy day. We played <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pickleball</span> in the morning and went sightseeing in the afternoon. Well, we started the sightseeing trip with a stop at the Goose Hollow Restaurant for a hearty lunch. Dennis and Bob both ordered what was billed as "the best <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Reuben</span> on the planet" and they agreed that it was a very good <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Reuben</span> indeed.<br /><br />We headed on to Lewis and Clark National Park and spent some time going through the museum and replica of Fort <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Clatsop</span>, which was where Lewis and Clark spent their winter on the west coast.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba4AZbA29QFNuyiFgAIq0XdCzFrr5lIADgqfBOg5bckEvgyK1ApDdVPG5DOf2GZMvskGGdRo9sSf0RsklJpsbZMnApBiPBmj8eQ5XigznW0W2hacouNsrzNWx0X4xNVsmj9N74wlS9GF0/s1600-h/DSC_0005.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba4AZbA29QFNuyiFgAIq0XdCzFrr5lIADgqfBOg5bckEvgyK1ApDdVPG5DOf2GZMvskGGdRo9sSf0RsklJpsbZMnApBiPBmj8eQ5XigznW0W2hacouNsrzNWx0X4xNVsmj9N74wlS9GF0/s400/DSC_0005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389568494204122578" border="0" /></a>Lewis and Clark with Seamon<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fpewN3hFhoLPL3SGWKGZwdMXfEgpSG94GvxRWHjmSA3BILgMOc-Ru5OvwxDvoeSrr5YKNpEk2jlEeu6EcQuLRRbyczzvOWCBApnopOD-0V4TelFhRNcBNuXBZBp-XCUDY0nwfJ8VG1xH/s1600-h/DSC_0027.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fpewN3hFhoLPL3SGWKGZwdMXfEgpSG94GvxRWHjmSA3BILgMOc-Ru5OvwxDvoeSrr5YKNpEk2jlEeu6EcQuLRRbyczzvOWCBApnopOD-0V4TelFhRNcBNuXBZBp-XCUDY0nwfJ8VG1xH/s400/DSC_0027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389568501297559954" border="0" /></a>one of the hollowed out boats<br /><br /><br /><br />We then visited the Astoria Tower which is on a hill and provides great views. Actually the view is great from the hill and even better from the tower. It overlooks the city and the mouth of the Columbia and the long bridge between Washington and Oregon as well as the Cascade Mountains. Even on a bit of a hazy day we were able to see Mt. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Rainer</span> and just make out the top of Mt. St. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Helen's</span>.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUO5RVF6FBhJ0eQ1V3smHdZhWqkeKwsDsKLCTL8JfVXlJjoY7YJys6BzZrZv_0Z-JQmGPS6FC4T6_irgUc502LSAMLbsLFEBwdaUE4nL485tv3LewOve9K7sRXLY78DPBWNfIzS9HDaRb/s1600-h/DSC_0040.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUO5RVF6FBhJ0eQ1V3smHdZhWqkeKwsDsKLCTL8JfVXlJjoY7YJys6BzZrZv_0Z-JQmGPS6FC4T6_irgUc502LSAMLbsLFEBwdaUE4nL485tv3LewOve9K7sRXLY78DPBWNfIzS9HDaRb/s400/DSC_0040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389568517568771074" border="0" /></a>This is one georgous tower<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocTkwgk3jH69CKMpNZD7hWUtl3LG0pX42J7qN7_dakTletjGEznZeEURAEhNU6Dkv13i9Vn1TvNGeeAWBZmYbJEafsiLVpamQO_eof0hqNyN-RqREaXKrqCs_fpnYxLnW-Q23t4TLgLis/s1600-h/DSC_0050.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocTkwgk3jH69CKMpNZD7hWUtl3LG0pX42J7qN7_dakTletjGEznZeEURAEhNU6Dkv13i9Vn1TvNGeeAWBZmYbJEafsiLVpamQO_eof0hqNyN-RqREaXKrqCs_fpnYxLnW-Q23t4TLgLis/s400/DSC_0050.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389568505259832050" border="0" /></a>what a view from the top<br /><br /><br />Before leaving Astoria we just had to stop for cones at the great custard ice cream cone stand across from the Columbia Maritime Museum. We each managed to eat one of the delicious filling cones, even after the large lunch we had earlier.<br /><br />Our last stop was at Fort Stevens State Park. We went to the beach and viewed the Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Iredale</span> Shipwreck. The rusty remains are what is left after 103 years.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBzRm5XdUAz4MPc_KwYBvTUv-vmzRsmKnGltp1fQoVk9uGuiKjViQch-OGDuRw0DaEuWc8_ngLWp-CT4H0VfspFlETsgu_Ub77xdFMtDJtdDP-rsHg9u_gIkJoQW_adO4opn9MMxLL8vv/s1600-h/DSC_0097.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 382px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBzRm5XdUAz4MPc_KwYBvTUv-vmzRsmKnGltp1fQoVk9uGuiKjViQch-OGDuRw0DaEuWc8_ngLWp-CT4H0VfspFlETsgu_Ub77xdFMtDJtdDP-rsHg9u_gIkJoQW_adO4opn9MMxLL8vv/s400/DSC_0097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389568524134574050" border="0" /></a>Bob wanted to share this moment one ole wreck with another ole wreck.Johnson's bus stopshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11767844526801452322noreply@blogger.com0