Saturday After Thanksgiving...........

A couple of pics of the sand dunes on our way back to Yuma. We stopped at Krazy Kevens to see if he had any new sweatshirts; but, didn't buy any this trip. The WA folks getting ready to leave and loading up. We got loaded up a little quicker than they did and we left with about two cups of water left in the water tank. Becky drove the Suzuki back and stopped at the barber shop for another haircut while I came on back and set up the M/H. She's going to keep looking until she finds someone who will cut her hair to her liking................will be a while though 'cause there's not much left. Any shorter and we'll both be able to go to Phoenix and pick up some women.

Around midnight the troops made it to Corning and they stopped at the house for a motel stop and headed on to Portland early this morning. At least they got some rest and will be be able to drive over the Siskyous in the daylight. They should be home this afternoon sometime.

I don't think they'll do the "tent scene" again if they come back to Glamis. The Glamis Store, the one who was selling Spam for $6.00, was charging $10.00 for a shower!! I imagine the sand dunes start to get pretty ripe by the end of the long weekend.

Becky is out streetwalking the neighborhood again so I'll drag out some more stuff from the M/H cubby holes and get set up for the rest of the winter. Kinda of a pain in the neck to haul stuff in and out. Believe we might go down to the Mall later to see if there are any bargins left over from Black Friday.

Later, W&B

Cassidy......In Prison..

at Yuma. Still raining when we arrived and we had to dodge puddles; but, think she enjoyed her "stay". The Ocean To Ocean Bridge (behind railroad bridge) is kinda of a historical bridge, when it was built it provided a means of driving from one coast to the other without having to take a ferry for the crossing............some historical signifiance there I guess. The bridge is still in use and is still a one-lane bridge.

Turkey Day........!!

but, no turkey for us today. We brought steaks to the dunes; however, we ate them on Monday. PB&J sounds pretty good for today!

Weather turned crummy yesterday, rain and wind, and we had occasional showers during the day so we piled into John's truck and headed for Yuma. Cassidy had to add another state to her travels and John needed a new air mattress. His started leaking so he was basically sleeping on the lumpy ground. We ended up visiting the Yuma Territorial Prison and I think they all enjoyed that. Becky bought us lunch at Lutes (Where the Elite Meet), did our required shopping and headed back to the sand. Weather had cleared up so Becky stayed at the camp and Doug, Cass, John and I went out into the dunes. We watched the races up Olds Hill for awhile, starting to get dark so John and I made a couple of side trips to pick up two more caches on the way home. Got pictures of Doug and Cass going up Olds Hill, picture of John and I coming back down and a couple of pics of the caches we found. It looks like someone got a truck buried out in the dunes years ago and just left it to the elements. You gotta be careful out there, we even ran into areas that had us wondering if we could get back out. Being a passenger is sure a lot different than driving in the dunes!! Almost had to go back and change my skivvvies after enduring John's driving.

Got COLD last night.......we're still on Arizona time so we got up at 0730, which is 0630 for the other guys. John was up sitting at his little table eating cereal, Doug and Cass still in their tent and we're all nice & warm with the generator and heater going. Surprised the John hasn't come in yet! Sun is out so maybe the rain in gone. Don't know what we'll be doing today.

Will look for some pics of the prison run when we get them developed. Later. W&B

Another Day At Glamis......

Pictures kinda outta order but guess it doesn't make any difference. We all went out to the Boardmanville Trading Post.........everyone (just about, except John) staples a dollar someplace on the premises whenever they visit. Cassiday was ready, she had her dollar all laminated and after searching for awhile she finally decided on a place to put it. Becky put her dollar under the no trespassing sign. The Budweiser truck was there all the time we were..... unloading beer.......the trading post is essentially a water hole in the desert. Wouldn't want to be around there late at night when the crazies hop back into their sand rigs to go home. John found a new friend who left when Johnny wouldn't share his sandwich.



Top pictures of us kicking back yesterday and this morning before we ventured out. The troops went to the sand dunes and Becky and I went caching. We managed to find 4 today that didn't require us to travel too far into the sand. This is the Trading Post earlier in the morning before anyone arrived. Becky and I got there to find the three employees sitting at the bar. The barkeeper is also keep of the cache which we signed and then went on our way. We met the troops back there at lunch time (above pictures).


Becky had to take pictures of the Glamis Duners Country Club..........not much action there. We then drove over to the Gecko Campground, bought a couple of shirts are Krazy Kevens and then found a cache at the Gecko Campground sign. Duners were parked right next to it and we were greeted by some BIG pooches, fortunately they were friendly. Drove on down the road and found indications that Turkey Day was approaching.


At the Trading Post Becky had to have a sweatshirt.......posting some more pics of the dollars stapled here and there. Went back to the Glamis store and looked around...........I say looked, we were not customers. A six pack of soda was $8.35, a can of spam was $6.00 and I think a can of chile was about $3.60 or so. Becky thought I might be able to get a part time job as the wooden indian painted on the wall...........she said that would be better than a wall painting. If we need any spam or chili I may have to ask for a job!

Doug, Becky, Cass and John drove back to the Gecko area later to watch the sand drag races. No room in Rhinos for all of us so I kicked back at the motor home.

Don't know what tomorrow might bring. Wayne

Going Out Into the Dunes ....................

and looking for some caches. Believe I can drive the Suzuki pretty close to some of them so will go for them first and then bum a ride with John for others.

Had someone whining for equal time on photos...............here they are........one year old of course.

W

Monday And We Got To Glamis.............

California........home of the world famous Imperial Sand Dunes..........where off-road crazies migrate to during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Sand dunes are nice, wish I would have brought my Rhino......of course I knew that when I left it in Washington. Doug, Cassidy and John arrived here this morning. They must have driven all night from Portland to get here that early. They are tenting it so Becky and I told them we'd drive up for a few days to join them. They brought two Rhinos with them and have already been out in the dunes. I may drive the Suzuki out there tomorrow and look for some geocaches that aren't planted waaayyyy back in the sand dunes or else ride with John. Cassidy is all wild eyed, the first time she's ever seen this type of desert country.

We got here about 1300 and set up my MTV and Becky's internet so we're pretty much set for the next 4 days. Think we head back to Yuma on Friday; or, about when our water runs out. Tonight we fed the troops some rib eye steaks & baked potatoes. That was their Thanksgiving Day dinner; but, they don't know it yet.

Here's a couple of pictures I took from the door of the M/H. The Thanksgiving crowds haven't arrived yet but imagine they will in the next day or so. There are a bunch of vender tents with people selling the usual junk at outrageous prices. I imagine we'll have to get some sweatshirts with the 2008 logo.

Probably more pictures tomorrow if it doesn't start raining. Hasn't rained here for months and now we have a forecast of 20 - 30% chance of rain. Maybe it'll be enough to settle the dust.

More later. B & W

Friday Was Kind Of.................

Mexico is just a stone's throw across the river.







a slow day. A new cache was placed down by the Colorado River in an area where a lot of illegal activity goes on.......smuggling, illegals crossing the border, etc. Recommended for daytime visits only. Becky had no desire to enter that area so I grabbed La84fishn and we went a hunting. The wide open space is next to a canal and the Border Patrol trucks are constantly dragging the area to cover old footprints. They can then watch the open area to see if any activity has been occuring. Next to the cache site is a historical marker paying tribute to the Morman Battalion that passed through Arizona many years ago. We've found similar markers some 180 or so miles to the east of Yuma. Guess the markers have been placed at various spots along the trail.





This "tunnel" referred to as the "Condo" is only a few feet from the river and apparently is used as a place to hole up after crossing the river.





We didn't spend much time here, the BP truck observed us, waved at us and then they left the area when we did. Nice to know that, in addition to checking for illegal activities, they are also watching over "dummies" like us who venture into area where we probably shouldn't.





Becky and I grabbed one more cache in the afternoon and then took in the latest James Bond movie. Made our weekly stop for a big bowl of clam chowder and then came home.





Doug, Cassidy and John are coming down to the Glamis sand dunes for the Thanksgiving week so we're kinda storing away our stuff and we'll be making the 80 mile or so drive up to the dunes on Monday. We should get there about the same time they do and will hang aroud in the dunes until we run out of water. Bummers.........been checking weather reports and starting on Tuesday there's a 20 per cent chance of rain.........going to 30 per cent on Wed/Thur. It hasn't rained here since we've arrived. Oh well, we should have fun regardless. Shouldn't brought my Rhino down!!!

All for now. W&B

All The Way To Thursday..............

I guess we've been busy, too busy to update blog...........well, that could be a big lie too. Or else we've been just too lazy to do anything this week. I did get the oil changed on the Suzuki, we got laundry done and ????

Oh yeah, we were sitting home on Monday night and a new geocache pops up. It was placed by Moose Mob, who is also the Geocaching Reviewer for Arizona. He was in town for a few days working. Monday night he places a cache at his hotel and he and JJ wait to see who shows up. About 10 of us did. Had a nice visit and we called it a day. "B" and I have met Moose Mob on two other occasions, in Bull Head City last year and at the Geo Woodstock Event this year; but, other Yuma people hadn't met him. It's kinda nice to be able to place a face with a name you know over the internet so he was well received by the locals.

Tuesday night JJ put out the word that he would be taking Moose Mob to Lutes Casino, the Place Where The Elite Meet. That happens to be their trademark saying. Again about 10 of us showed up. "B" and I left early Tuesday evening as three of us were going with JJ to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base north of San Diego to pick up about 300 ammo cans. Ammo cans make great containers for hiding geocaches, they're waterproof, animal proof and almost indestructable..........not to mention of a size that's easy to locate.

JJ, Ed, Larry and myself planned on leaving Yuma at 0700 to make the trip. Good Old Moose Mob went back to his hotel room after caching with JJ and published nine new caches sometime after 2200. I know he was kicked back in his room enjoying himself as he knew that some of the Yuma crazies would be heading out to find the caches in the middle of the night. JJ swears he'll "never" go after another one after 2000. Ha, he went out and found three of them. Someone else found three so Wednesday morning the four of us piled into JJ's truck, pulling a 17 foot trailer and had to stop to try and find the 3 unfound caches. We found two of them and Buzzcut made the other FTF. He headed toward San Diego about 0830 instead of 0700.

We cached along the way, arrived in Pendleton after the warehouse man had left for lunch so there we sat until he returned. Got a pallet and a half loaded up and headed back to Yuma, still caching along the way. Found a few and couldn't find others. Stopped at the Golden Acorn Casino for a lobster and steak dinner. Getting late so I dropped a twenty into the slot machine and 5 minutes later cashed in $68.00. That was a good stop as my dinner only cost $20.

Got to Yuma late...........Moose Mob stopped by so JJ gave him a bunch of ammo cans. We left and shortly after we got home Moose Mob published another cache that he had placed about 4 miles from JJ house. The message he left for Yuma was "Bwah hah hah hah hah!" This one JJ passed on, as did we. 0530 to 2230 was long enough a day for me.

Today was a kick back day, went downtown briefly, picked up some goodies at the Commissary and came home. Sitting outside chewing on a burger and a big motor home rolls up and pulls onto the lot. We figured we'd have company. No such luck, they were just staying overnight and then moving to the landlord's other lot tomorrow.

I'm setting up a breakfast for geocachers on Sunday morning so "B" and I will be going back to the restaurant tomorrow morning and giving them expected numbers for breakfast. I think we'll have about 20 people showing up. Could be a monthly event if enough interest is shown. No problem with the women showing up for breakfast.............I don't think any of them cook anymore! The men gotta take them out just so we can survive.

Later. W&B

Woke Up This Morning To...............

find that 14 new caches had been published last night. We were running really late so figured that there were crazies already out after them. Twelve were stashed 16-18 miles away so we decided to get them at a later date. Another one was down by the river where illegals and drugs cross the river so we crossed that one off our list too. Well we had one on our list that was only 3 miles away that we wanted to find so went after that one. Unfortunately, it entailed a climb up the hillside on slippery rocks. I crept up there, found the cache and slid back down the hill while "B" occupied herself by taking pictures.

The next one was a new one and it had been published more than 12 hours ago so we figured the FTF would be long gone by the time we got there. We found ourselves looking for a "micro" capsule stashed in a bunch of salt cedar trees. Needles are laying all over the ground about 2 feet deep and we're supposed to find this sucker? We looked, and looked some more. I tried to call the owner of the cache and he wasn't answering his phone. We were getting ready to quit when another friend drives up and joins in the hunt. He sets his GPSr in the bough of some branches so it would settle down............I had placed mine in the same place earlier and then moved it. All of our equipment ses the cache is within 2 feet of where we were looking. Yeah, right.........under a bunch of cedar needles!

Another friend shows up and joins in the hunt. We are all about ready to give it up when Becky yells, I got it. Sure enough she had found it. The cache owners had drilled about a 1/2 inch hole in the bough of the branches where we had both laid our GPSrs down and covered it with cedar needles. Apparently we had brushed enough needles away that a piece of the green capsule was exposed and old Eagle Eye spotted it. Becky and La84fishn fought over the log but Becky won and signed the log for our 43rd FTF. We had spent well over an hour there and all of us were glad to get this one off our list. We drove back down the road where Third Times Charm had failed to find one and this time he walked right to it. Unfortunately "JJ" had found it while we were all searching in the cedar needles.

That was enough for us...........we had spent nearly 3 hours capturing three caches so we headed home for the rest of the afternoon. Becky took another hike while I watched the Seahawks get smushed by the Cardinals.

End of day. More later if anything happens. W&B

Saturday And Passed Another Milestone.............

(We ran red lights trying to get to the cache but discovered a
group already there. The little kid got the five bucks. I got
lighter in the wallet as I owed two of the cachers $2.00 each,
I offer a two dollar bill for the FTF on my caches and two were
there who haven't collected yet)



today. Slept in to around 0800 and we were trying to figure out if we wanted to try a new place for breakfast. Phone rings and La84fishn is down the road a couple of miles and needs some help in locating one of my caches. We finally got him straightened out and a little later he stops by. Ms. Bigmouth informs him that today is my birthday............that's like telling the ladies at Bingo to keep a secret!





We head for breakfast to give it a try. The gravy was so-so, not bad but not worth turning cartwheels over either. We'll probably give them another try at some later date and try something else on the menu. After that we headed to the wetlands park to capture a cache that came out the other day. Found it and since we were so close to the casino we drove over there to try our luck. Becky won, I lost and combined we were $4.00 ahead. Started up the street to go to the "other" swap meet and got sidetracked by a craft show at the library. We stopped and Becky found some goodies for Xmas presents and away we go again. The swap meet has been cleaned up since last year..........still some junk but not as much. I bought another fake cactus for Judy since her's is well battered and needs replacement. Headed for home after that.





I was flipping channels for football and Becky decided to take a hike around the block(s). After she left a new cache popped up on the computer. Larry apparently had been spreading the word about my birthday and "JJ" quickly stashed a cache and had it published. He named it Happy Birthday Wayne43. He offered to buy me dinner at the restaurant of my choice if I was the First To Find. Of course it was placed over 12 miles away and quite a few cachers live much closer than we do. I also think he was busy making phone calls to cachers. To help ensure I wouldn't get there first he also offered $5.00 for anyone else being the FTF.





Well, by the time I got ready to go looking, Becky still not back from her hike so I drove around the neighborhood and finally found her. By the time we got to the cache there must have been about a dozen people waiting for us to arrive. Needless to say, we were far from being "first". You can check out the geocache at this link:





http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=65a40189-50c7-477d-ad04-45cea0b8532b





It was a lot of fun and a little six year old kid got the FTF and along with that a $5.00 bill.





Came home and called it a day. Geocaching has certainly helped us meet a lot of new people in our travels.............people who are a little nutso like us! Life is good.





Here's some pics taken at the BD cache. Later W&B

Thursday..........

Wednesday we went to Old Folks Day (kinda in a rut, huh) and I gave them back my "free" 5 dollars and added ten of my own. Fortunately, Becky won more than my losses so we left there in a hurry and spent our monies on groceries. Scouted around for some places to plant a geocache and we placed two of them. They didn't get published until today and there was a mad dash for the FTF. The Good Guys beat JJ to both of them so happiness fills the desert.........at least for tonight. Another cache was placed about a mile from JJ's work and he grabbed that one so he's happy also. Looking for some more to be published tomorrow and the race will be on again. The "Foothills Gang" stands a good chance on finding them first if they are placed on this end of town. There are about 8 of us out here who will go looking as soon as they are published in an effort to beat JJ.

Tommorow is "clam chowder day" at the Greek Restaurant (I told you we were in a rut). We had a late lunch today at a restaurant that's only been open for three weeks. Some pretty good home cooking..........I had a pulled pork sandwich and Becky had a pulled pork salad. We'll have to go back and try their breakfast..........complete with "sawmill" gravy. I asked the waiter what the hell sawmill gravy was and he said "country sausage gravy". At least I got another place to try.

It's about 2320 right now and people are still out finding and logging my caches. This seems to happen when poor souls like us have no job, no life and nothing to do!

More later if anything ever happens down here. W&B

Tuesday............

and time to get caught up on our domestic chores. Got the laundry done and then spent the rest of the afternoon just kicking back and feeding our faces. Becky put on her hiking shoes and wandered around the neighborhood for nearly two miles today. Temperature about 73 today so I snoozed outside while she hiked. Think Applebees was offering a "free lunch" to veterans; but, didn't even go down for that (mainly because I forgot about it).

Went to Old Folks Day yesterday and found out that they aren't catering to us old folks because of some food/fund drive. Won't start giving us our $10.00 until December 22. Real Bummer! Hope their Monday's go down the tube!

Gotta start placing some geocaches out there this week.........been too busy hunting other ones down to place any. Need to get to the bank and pick up a handful of $2.00 bills........I always leave a $2.00 bill for the FTF. Got the idea from the Retired Professor in California...........he has now placed about 740 caches and always leave a deuce for the FTF. Guy must be really nutso.

Our "cool" spell is going to be over with starting tomorrow, temperature expected to be in the high 70s and then it'll creep back up to the mid 80s for the rest of the week. Gotta admit, the 80s sounds pretty good to me............guess we've gotten acclimated.

Gas prices getting a little lower every other day or so; but, we're still above the national average. Think the lowest price around here is something like $2.43.

That's about it for now. W&B

Oh yeah.......a post script. Reported earlier about trying to get some mapping software to work with my new GPS receiver. Played around with a program for two days and finally got it to work........a minor victory for the "little guy".

Crummy Day Today..............

with wind blowing everything away. Morning started off and we could see the mountain range to the East of us. By the time mid-afternoon rolled around mountains no longer visible and I'm not even sure that visibility was more than a few blocks. We didn't even venture out to see. Too much sandy grit blowing around. At least I had the time to get some geocaches ready to be placed this coming week. Had to stuff them with logs and information sheets but at least they are ready to be placed.

Wind calmed down this evening and forecast for the next few days looking up. Got an email from a friend who went to Flagstaff this weekend...........it was snowing there this afternoon and the forecast called for about 27 degrees tonight. Guess we have quite a change in elevation from Yuma.

Tomorrow Old Folks day again so maybe I'll be able to get my $15.00 back. At least at this casino they give you $10.00 worth of free play..........just enough to sucker you in.

That was our day today. Later. W&B

Saturday Rolled Around And..............

we started out with breakfast at a joint not too far away..........still looking for good country gravy. It wasn't too bad..........won't cross the restaurant off my list just yet. We then headed out for some geocaches as Becky is nearing the 1,500 mark, I think she needed 14 more. Well we didn't find 14........only got 5 so she's still short by 9. The only ones left in the area are either on a mountain top or out in the Buttercup sand dunes. Well, there are some downtown that this old guy puts out..........he makes math puzzles out of them or else you have to search the internet for information to complete them. Not my cup of tea so I just pass on them. He placed one a few days ago that wasn't a puzzle; however, when we went looking for it we find it's going to be in the middle of a thorny tree. I'm not playing that game either so we left.

Went to the Swamp Meet and picked up a few cheap goodies. Most of the booths are starting to open and they're supposed to have a season opener in a week or so. There might be some good deals then............or more of the same junk.

Our geocaching travels took us right by the Casino...........so we stopped. I was about $15.00 ahead but too dumb to quit. End result.....I left $15 with them. I guess they need it. I read in the paper that they need $25 million to complete their new casino. It's supposed to open about March of next year but things aren't looking too good for that now.

Think we'll sleep in tomorrow unless some more geocaching are published. Later. W&B

Went Geocaching Most Of The Day...............

with Larry (La84fishn) and Wayne (Beagle39z). They showed up at 0800, found the cache located at the end of the RV lot and then we headed for the desert. We had already found some of these caches and needed some more to complete the series so we took two cars and made a day of it. There's a cache by the light pole, Wayne has his hand on it but couldn't see it. Larry touched it a few times too and they expanded their search around the pole. When we finally couldn't stand it any longer we gave them hints and they found the cache behind the little metal strip on the pole. Signed log and we were on our way. Larry passed a milestone today as he went past the 2,000 mark on his finds. Wayne reached that mark before his return to Yuma. Had a hamburger at Ligurta and it was pretty good although the cook would only serve it well done. Health laws I guess; but, we do find some places that will cook them the way you like 'em.

Four new caches came out yesterday while we were gambling at the casino so after we split up Becky and I when off to find them. She found a little green bottle attached to the fence among all the bushes, it was called "GW". I must be going blind or color blind 'cause I couldn't even see it after Becky pointed it out to me. We finally found the 4 new ones and came home.

About 2 hours ago another one was published that is only about 2 1/2 miles from JJ's house.......I've been waiting for him to log it as found; but, he hasn't yet. I'm thinking about looking for it if he, or someone else, doesn't log it. It would be nice if someone grabbed a FTF in his "back yard".

CSI just came on............gonna post this and watch the tube. W&B

Kinda Slow This Week................

although we managed to make it to Old Folks Day on Monday and then took in a movie Monday afternoon. I lost my entire allowance on Monday ($11.00) and Becky managed to win some; but, never told me how much. Tuesday was domestic day so we cleaned up the M/H and washed clothes..........plus I washed the Suzuki and vacuumed it out. Spent two days trying to circumvent the Garmin system to place maps in my GPS receiver. Larry downloaded a bunch of mapping for me and we still couldn't get it to work. I found an online utility to "cheat" the system..............nothing worked. Tonight I ordered another set of mapping software.

Last night we went to the Brown Bagger or is that Brown Burger..........whatever, we were told they had great hamburgers so we stopped to give them a try. Not bad but we'll keep looking. Went to the other casino today for Old Folks day and I managed to walk away with $9.40 of their money. Whooppee! Guess that makes me the loser for this week.

Getting up kinda early tomorrow to go Geocaching with some friends. That'll probably take up most of the day. Nights getting cooler and days in the 70s........not too bad.

Later. W&B

Weekend............

Here's some pics of my Flash Mob Event. The event was scheduled to last 15 minutes. This is a group photo of attendees and another picture of the area 10 minutes later.


More Flash Mob pictures........we used the time to meet fellow cachers, sign the log book, have dinner (left over Halloween candy), take a group photo, hold a drawing for a five coin give away and disperse. Event started at 1600 and was over and people gone by 1615. Most had never attended a Flash Mob Event and I got some more ideas for another one from this learning experience. I think the attendees enjoyed something different. We then proceed down the street to JJ's Welcome Back Event to kick off the Yuma Geocaching winter.




Sunday morning we did some geocaching. We met JJ and Char for breakfast at the little hole in the wall place and I got my biscuit and gravy fix again. I'll include it on my list of places for breakfast. The first cache was stuck into a little bitty hole and we had a problem removing it......my handy dandy Leatherman took care of the problem and then we were off to the same area that scared the little Suzuki the other day. JJ looked at the first hill, steep with loose gravel and wasn't sure he could make it. He did so we followed and I scraped the bottom of the Suzuki numerous times getting back to the caches. JJ had to make the same climb I did the other day and we all stood at the bottom to pick him up if necessary. On down the road, some more rocks and some easy caches mixed in with some nasty ones. The old tractor was interesting, you had to spin the wheels to expose the cache. The last one was found by Becky, it was attached to a broken piece of tile and nearly buried under all the debris.

So ends the day.........gotta go apply some ice to my poor knee. W&B