MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

“Oh there’s no place like home for the Holidays,” is true again this year as we’ve made the trek from our winter home in Desert Hot Springs, CA, to Grass Valley, to celebrate the Christmas holidays with our little hilltop family. We’ll return to the desert by year’s end and we’ll stay there again until the end of April.

We hope you too have a healthy and happy holiday season with lots of friends and family to enjoy.

Before departing the desert for home in April 2009, we negotiated a 5-year lease on an RV site in our favorite resort. The plan was to sell the motorhome and buy a big 5th wheel trailer to leave on the site year-round. Failing that, we would do the same with the motorhome until we could sell it.

To make a long story short, we sold the motorhome quickly after returning home and just as quickly replaced it with a 2006, 36’ Hitchiker Champagne Edition 5th wheel' which fit all of our wants and desires. Considering she had about 18" of counterspace in the motorhome, Judy said, "I've won the lottery", when she saw the kitchen.

We began looking for someone to haul it south as we no longer had our big pickup truck.
Our winter homesite

Kevin’s brother-in-law, Scott Holt, volunteered to tow it to Desert Hot Springs, for us as his truck was already equipped to tow one. In late October, the move took place and we’ve been enjoying our new digs ever since.

Even Mr. Turkey was beautifully done in time for dinner.

We found that Mr. Hitchiker’s furniture not only didn’t suit Ron, but literally crippled him, so none of it is left in the rig. Gone are the uncomfortable swivel recliners and the double recliner sofa. Gone is the mattress on the bed and gone are some of the aches and pains they all caused.

We enjoyed our summer at home and look forward to many more. There’ll be no more summer trips to the Oregon and Washington coast for us, at least not in an RV.

During the weeks that Alex (now almost 8) and Andrew (now 5 and in pre-kindergarten) were in school, Ron enjoyed helping Alex with his homework. Sometimes he even had to call on Judy for assistance and argued with the teachers over some of the work. They both seemed to enjoy doing it together and it was a good thing for both of them.

This year Fire Apparatus Engineer Kevin received a promotion to Fire Captain Kevin, causing many changes for him at work. We’re very proud of his continued achievement in the Fire Service.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Laurie’s employment came to an end in December. Her job search proved fruitless and, being unable to continue to support herself and Granddaughter Danielle, they are moving back to California, and will live in our home—by themselves in the Winter when we’re in the desert, and with us during the spring and summer—until she can find employment and get back firmly on her own two feet. This story is just one of many thousands like it being played out across the country as the horrible recession rolls on. Nobody’s happy with these situations but they are what they are and having our whole clan back atop Possumtrot Hill will, if nothing else, prove interesting.

Finally, our first Pug, 12-year old Rowdy, passed away at the beginning of summer. He was totally deaf and partially blind but in no discomfort. Old age finally caught up with him and he went peacefully in his sleep one night. Though having vowed to not get another dog when the Pugs were gone, we are now living with TAG (Tagalong), another Pug, who turned 7-months old at the beginning of this month. Ron has used the techniques of Cesar Millan, “The Dog Whisperer” who has a weekly show by that name on the National Geographic Channel. If you aren’t a fan of this program please watch it at least once, as this guy Cesar is truly a magician. Anyway, Ron has trained TAG since he was just 3 month old and the results are quite amazing. He comes, sits, shakes hands, fetches, drops and waits at the door for you to go in or out before him—most of the time. More so with Ron than Judy, but that’s another story. So we’ve “Given our hearts to a dog to tear,” again and are putting up with the antics of a very energetic and active puppy. He really enjoys watching the birds feeding at the window.

Life is good. What more can we say, other than to hope the same is true for you and yours.

God bless you and yours in 2010. It should be an interesting year.

Nevada County AirFest 2009

Nevada County Air Fest
7/11/2009

The semi-annual air-show/fly-in/aviation buff gathering took place today; a pleasantly warm beautiful summer day. Strangely, by the end of the afternoon, heavy clouds had moved in and some very lit sprinkles began falling.

During the event a small wildfire broke out south of Grass Valley and the California Department of Forestry Air-Attack Base went into action, dispatching two air-tankers, one air-attack director plane, and a helicopter. While the Air-Attack base is operating on a fire the runway is closed to all other traffic.

Here the CDF Helicopter heads off for the fire.

I distinctly remember the first such events more than 20 years ago when it was very small and lightly attended. Private aircraft owners from around Northern California, flew to Grass Valley then for a pancake breakfast and to give the public an opportunity to ogle their planes.

Now, it is quite a large event with public attendance in the low thousands and many airplanes of distinction. This year’s celebration centered around World War II fighters and they were very well represented by the visiting and local aviators. Many spotless restorations that looked far better than they did when new were on hand to see and discuss with their owners. Others were in various stages of restoration but all were flyable.

This T-6 trainer and the other companion were glowing brilliantly in the warm sunshine.

Rides were available, for a fee, in a beautifully restored twin-engine Cessna in Marine livery. It looked

like an “e-ticket” ride as the pilot put the plane through nearly vertical climbs, nearly knife-edge turns, and incredibly low passes down the runway at high speed. It was fun to watch.

Watching the old warbirds caused me to reflect on how noisy a battlefield must have been with guns firing from the air and ground, bombs bursting, and the earsplitting sound of hundreds of these powerful engines screaming through the air. Just 5 or 6 or them created noise so great that conversation on the ground was impossible as they flew over.

This elegantly restored P-51 Mustang was so shiny it was like a mirror. General Chuck Yeager, our famous neighbor, flew just such a plane in Europe and was the first flyer in history to shoot down a jet-powered airplane from Hitler's Luftwaffa.

I met some of the guys in the local Radio Control Model Airplane Club and they invited me to join them on Sunday mornings to learn how to fly my plane. After my first such plane crashed on its maiden flight I’ve been afraid to take its replacement out of the box. They friendly guys assured me they could teach me to fly well enough to be able to enjoy it. I’ll surely take them up on their generous offer.

The RC flyers gave some amazing demonstrations of their hobby including an air race featuring three planes flying faster than 150 actual mph. These model pilots are really highly skilled and it was amazing and exciting to watch.

Since our home lies directly beneath the downwind leg to the airport we continued to enjoy the action from our comfortable deck after returning home.

It was fun to see and hear but also nice when peace returned to Possumtrot Hill.

Our Work is Done

A PLATTER TOO FULL

Prior to leaving Desert Hot Springs this year we made several significant decisions. The first involved leasing an RV space at Desert Pools Resort for the next five years. We had been spending most of every winter there for the past three years and found the area to be very enjoyable and, in addition, we had developed some wonderful friendships with both staff members and members.

Prior to cementing this decision we decided it would be wise to sell our motorhome as our intention was to leave our RV at the resort year-round. The thought of that wonderful diesel engine and all of the other mechanicals just moldering away to no good use seemed wasteful. It seemed more logical to sell it to someone who could continue to enjoy it traveling wherever. We also realized that in this shaky economy that could be difficult to do.

If we could sell the motorhome we would set about shopping for a large 5th wheel trailer to leave on our site. We don't intend to buy a vehicle to tow this rig but, rather, simply use it as our winter home.

The final decision was about repairing the deck on the rear of our Grass Valley home. We had put off making this happen for 5 years or more and we realized that further delay was downright dangerous.

On the very first day of demolition the contractor announced that there was nothing to save in the old structure. Thirty-plus years of hot summers and cold wet winters had taken their toll so, rather than a major repair we were faced with a complete replacement. Jimmy Buffet said it, “Breathe in, Breath out, Move ON. It was a big hit to the check book but there really was absolutely no alternative. With most of the deck removed we had a two-story drop to the ground below. So onward and upward the deck was replaced in about 3 weeks time.

In the meantime we were receiving enquiries about the motorhome based on our advertisements on Craig’s List and RV Trader.com. In the first three weeks we had two couples actually come to Grass Valley to see it. The second immediately fell in love and it was obvious they would buy it if they could figure out the money angle. They said it was a stretch but, it was also just what they wanted.

They returned to see the coach on three occasions, making an offer on their final visit. I had hinted at the price I wanted and they agreed it was fair. Phew, the motorhome was sold.

While overseeing the deck construction and monitoring and responding to the action on our motorhome advertising, I spent uncounted hours scouring the internet for 5th wheel trailers for sale in the western United States. I had several criterion: it had to be big and roomy, well equipped, in excellent condition, and built by a quality builder with a good reputation amongst owners. It also had to be a virtual straight trade for what we were able to get for our motorhome.

Placing those parameters into our search significantly limited our choices. Towards the end of the second week of our motorhome advertising a 5th wheel showed up that seemed to meet all of our needs and desires. It was big (36’ long), it was roomy (4 slide out rooms), it was loaded with equipment and features (even a fireplace and automatic patio awning), it appeared to be in beautiful condition, and it was built by one of the foremost builders in the country.

When shopping for a used item you must be ready to strike when you find what you’re looking for or you may end up settling for something less. With that in mind Judy and I drove to see this trailer and it was everything we hoped to find. It was just as advertised. It had showed up in my searches due to a rather large price reduction after being advertised for six months with no action. I believe we were the first to actually go and see it. The owner indicated they were absolutely firm at the new advertised price and I simply told him we didn’t have that much to put into it. After a half-hour conversation with his wife he called back saying, “We don’t want to sell it at that price but we will.”

Judy was understandably concerned that we had not seen any other trailers but agreed there was nothing more that we could want and probably no better value than this trailer. Our bid, after all was below low blue book on the rig. On top of that, she looked at that big roomy kitchen and said, "I've won the lottery." The kitchen area in our motorhome as very small.

It's also amazing that this trailer has more cupboards and cabinets than we could ever fill. Everywhere you look there are places to put stuff. Ten drawers in the bedroom, for example, plus a wardrobe that is 8' wide, a linen cabinet, and a house-size hang up closet in the hall providing a great spot for brooms, vacuums, etc.

We agreed to buy the rig and the deal was done. The owner moved it to the RV park at our County Fairgrounds and we lived in it for a week exercising all of the systems. Everything worked perfectly without a single glitch. We are happy as clams at high tide with our decision.

So, finally, the motorhome is sold, our new deck is finished and is absolutely gorgeous, and we have our new winter home for the desert. “Breath in, Breath out, Move On.” It all happened much faster than we could ever have hoped and life can now return to normal.

We’ll have the trailer moved to the desert in October of this year and, in the meantime, visit it in the storage yard in which it is stored, loading stuff into it that we need down south.

We’ve definitely done our part in stimulating the economy in the past six weeks. We provided employment for four construction workers, we added to the coffers of the State and County through taxes, and gave some significant financial breathing room to another married couple.

At times it seemed like just too much was happening but it all worked out in the end. Additionally, I believe we ended up on the positive end of the whole thing.

Now I think I'll take a little time to just kick back and enjoy the olde hotte tubb.

Geocaching to a FAULT

On a beautiful Spring morning here on the desert, we went Geocaching again into an area in which we had never been before. The 4-wheel drive road took us into and through the infamous San Andreas Fault, north of Palm Springs. The jumbled and tortured landscape resembled that of the San Jacinto Fault, one of the subjects of the blog post that precedes this one.

We searched for 7 caches but found only 4; which merely means we’ve more fun to have when we return for a second look.

It suddenly occurred to me that, given the very recent shaking on the southern end of the San Andreas Fault, beneath the surface of the Salton Sea, might make being in this area a little foolhardy. It was getting quite warm by that point anyhow, so we packed it in and called it a day.

Geocaching continues to be an enjoyable hobby. I may even teach a course next year at one of the parks in which we stay.

Geocaching amongst the Prehistoric Monsters in Borrego Springs, CA.

We’re still enjoying the geocaching hobby in which we use gps coordinates to locate hidden “caches” all over the place. It’s fun, it’s somewhat of a technical challenge, it gets one out of doors, and it takes you to places you might never have visited otherwise. In this photo I’m actually contemplating whether it’s worth the physical pain to walk across that little wash in search of a nearby cache.

Last week, in pursuit of more “treasures” we took a 90 mile (one-way) trip to Borrego Springs, CA, a tiny community located about 30 miles due west of the center of the Salton Sea. Driving to Borrego Springs from the Salton Sea you pass through the San Jacinto earthquake fault. This fault is the most active branch of the infamous San Andreas fault that runs just ½ mile from the RV resort in which we live all winter.

The scene going through the fault is the most amazingly folded and crumpled piece of geography that a have ever seen and to realize that this damage occurred in one primary upheaval is truly frightening. Deep canyons and towering bluffs make it almost a lunar landscape.

Today, people who enjoy off-road vehicles enjoy the many trails that snake in and around these formations in the Anza-Borrego State Off-Road vehicle park and campgrounds.

Our trip this far to geocache was augmented by our wish to see the fabulous statues erected in the area of animals that inhabited this area in prehistoric times. They are life-size and beautifully crafted. The odd elephant-like creatures in the photo above are named Gomphotheriums.

In the case of the bird below, the artist displays the mythical bird known as the “ROC”. The bird was supported by metal poles, that have been removed in this photograph for effect.

The weather this day was wonderful with a temperature around 80 degrees and light winds. It was a wonderful and informative outing in which we located 7 more geocaches.

Snow where it belongs

Following the passage of the weather front that brought three days of welcome rain, the skies cleared allowing us to see how low the snow level was. It’s really neat to see the horizontal line, where the storm transitioned from rain to snow, so vividly revealed. That’s Mt. San Jacinto, the summit of which is just over 10,000’ above sea-level. The snow line is right around 4,000’. That’s the lowest we’ve seen it in the years we’ve spent here. We are told that it was much lower in the storms that happened while we were home for Christmas.

Another cold storm is forecast for this weekend and that will certainly add to the snowpack and might even lower the snow level.

In the brisk wind that followed the storm’s passing the hundreds of wind generators that spill out of the Banning Pass along Interstate 10, to nearly the city limits of Palm Springs were making electricity. Though not pretty, they are interesting to watch as the spin slowly around.

If you look closely just to the left of the light standard in this shot, you’ll see a snazzy private jet flying the last seconds of its approach to Palm Springs International Airport. Maybe it’s the CEO of General Motors coming to town for a couple rounds of golf.

We are still complaining about the much cooler weather though it hasn’t stopped us from enjoying the hot mineral pools every afternoon. Ahhhhh, life is good.

I suppose it’s only human nature to hope that the long episode of marvelous summer-like weather we’ve enjoyed would continue. So far, this winter’s temperatures have averaged well above normal. For example, the average daily hi temperature for Palm Springs at this time of the year is 72 degrees F., and we’ve had day after day at 80 or above.

Well, reality struck last Saturday, as a cold storm (relative to what we had been enjoying) moved into Southern California and brought some rain with it. It didn’t add up to much over the weekend, only .23” of rain but the big change was in the temperatures…much lower temperatures. Today our hi was only in the low 50’s and the storm brought a beautiful rainbow and another .25” of rain with winds up to 50 mph or so. Now I know if your are where the temps have plummeted to zero or below you’re laughing at my complaining about 50 degree days. If, however, you haven’t worn anything other than shorts for 6 weeks, it is COLD.

About ½” of rain is a good start to greening the desert and bringing on the explosion of Spring wildflowers we so enjoy seeing.

A neighbor left for home and forgot their bird feeder in the tree at the front of their place. Judy moved it to our space and we’ve enjoyed watching the yellow finches and other little birds hanging all over it. It’s just a tub of woven material and the birds just stick their beaks into one of the holes in the weave and extract a seed. We have seen as many as 9 birds on it at one time.

A Wonderful Holiday

Here’s a post that does have pictures. It’s the Martin Luther King Holiday and we’ve just been kickin’ back doing not much of anything, here at Catalina Spa and RV resort.



That’s our motorhome at the center of the picture between the trees. Today may be the last of our 80+ degree days and we’ve taken advantage of it.

It was obvious at sunrise this morning that a lot of moisture had penetrated here in the southern desert with a slight haze softening the view of Mt. San Jacinto. Sunrise is one of our favorite times of day as we watch the light paint the side of that magnificent peak. Though cool at sunrise—about 61 degrees—the temperature quickly rose through the 70’s again bringing many of the residents here in the park to the swimming pools. If you look closely at the panorama below of one of the two swimming pools, you can see a water volley ball game in progress.

I don’t care where you are, or what today’s weather brought for you, these photos sure look inviting.

The day came to a resounding end with this magnificent sunset.

Today is a gift, that's why it's called the PRESENT

No pictures this time because we really haven't been anywhere or done anything of interest. That will change soon as we have some small adventures on the schedule. Next week, for example, we'll do a little Geocaching. There are lots of brand new caches in the area that sound like fun.

In the meantime, it's Sunday and football playoffs--Go Cardinals and Steelers--in case you're wondering where my loyalties lie.

We are really growing weary over all of the over-the-top adulation being layered on our new President, Mr. Obama. Have you read any of the polls and heard the expectations of some of the people interviewed. Some of them fully expect the government to pay their mortgage and give them the deed to their home. Holy cats, it seems we've created a monster that cannot but fail in meeting the expectations of the masses.

Well, I still think one of the funniest sites on the internet is the police blotter from home and I've culled a couple of cuties from a recent edition for your amusement. I wouldn't change them for one entry in the LA's police blotter. Here they are:



Grass Valley Police Department

Thursday A caller from the 300 block of South Auburn Street reported youths on the roof. They were released to their parents.

A woman from the 400 block of Maryland Drive reported her dog was being taken care of by a friend and was missing. The dog was described as a lab-terrier mix named Toby Keith, wearing an army collar with stars.

Friday

A woman from the 800 block of Old Tunnel Road reported hearing someone knocking on her front door and window.2:44 a.m. —

A caller from the 400 block of Pine Street reported a man crawling on his hands and feet near a pontoon boat, possibly looking into vehicles.

Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

Thursday

A caller from Greenhorn Creek reported numerous people shooting in the area. The people were advised not to trespass.

A woman from the 10000 block of School Street reported possible squatters on her neighbor’s property who were very loud at all times of the day.

A woman from the 29000 block of Highway 49 reported drunken people on her property were refusing to leave. She agreed to leave for the night, and the other people would leave in the morning.

Friday

Nevada CityPolice Department

Thursday

A caller from Highway 49 and Uren Street reported a woman “flapping around, trying to fly.” She could not be located.

It's a horrible crime wave at home.

I hope you are all well (we saw our desert doctors last week and nothing bad was found) and happy. Like everyone on the West Coast we've enjoyed a week of absolutely marvelous weather with hi's in the 80's and lows in the 50's. When the sun goes down, though, it gets cool really fast making sitting outside in the evening something for long pants and jackets. It's great, though.

It has been said, “When life deals you a lemon, make lemonade.” It’s been a precept I’ve attempted to follow through all of the many unwelcome health issues with which I have struggled for the past 35 years or so. Sometimes the lemonade was sweet, sometimes a little sour, but looking for the bright side of any adversity has always seemed more rewarding than dwelling on pain, discomfort, or limitation.

Well, another lemon rolled our way yesterday as we were traveling to Carefree, AZ, to visit our friend Sue who, together with her late husband Dave, we first met on our Mexico RV train adventure. About halfway there we stopped to stretch our legs and walk around a bit. I left the motorhome and stood on the curbside in the chilly morning air. Suddenly I noticed a large shiny puddle growing under the diesel engine at the rear of our coach. Smelling a bit of it on my finger confirmed it was diesel fuel and it was leaking quite rapidly. Where we stopped was right in front of a place advertising diesel truck repairs but when we approached the surly mechanic he informed us he would not work on a motorhome under any circumstances. I was finally able to convince him to at least look at the engine from the rear. He too confirmed a fuel leak from somewhere high up on the engine and said he wouldn’t drive the coach anywhere.

Soooo, for the second time since we’ve owned the RV we called our roadside service company and arranged for a tow to a garage in Quartzite, AZ. That was a 27 mile trip back in the direction from which we had just come. The leak was discovered at about 11:00 a.m. but, due to the lengthy delay in getting a big rig flatbed tow truck to us, getting all loaded, and traveling the miles, it was nearly 5 p.m. by the time we were unloaded at the mechanic’s garage.

He came aboard, lifted our bed to get to the engine, and found we had blown a hole in a fuel line leading to one of the fuel injectors. He said a special part would have to be fabricated in Blythe, CA (another 25 miles west), the next day as the fuel line had a special fitting on the end of it.

Today the new line was installed and we were able to get back on the road but, due to another commitment, we had to cancel our Carefree trip altogether. All in all it was a simple minor repair but had a large effect on our plans. We’re both sorry to have not been able to complete that part of our trip and visit with Sue. Unforeseen circumstances have now stopped us from completing that trip twice in the past 5 months.

Now, what was all that stuff about lemonade? Well, during the tow for those 27 miles we were able to achieve an infinite miles per gallon of fuel. Even more meaningful is that had we not stopped to take that break we could have ended up with a serious fire in the engine compartment which, given our being in the middle of nowhere, would probably have resulted in the total destruction of the coach and our Jeep we tow behind us. Given that scenario it could even have been worse ending in injury to us or worse. So once again that angel was sitting on our shoulders taking care of us and serving a big frosty glass of lemonade.

Thank you!