Made It Through Christmas Season............

eating and geocaching. Saturday Larry called as he wanted to go down on the Bombing Range and pick up a geocache that had been published for a few days. I figured "why not", called up tbly (Theresa) and we all went wandering around the desert Saturday afternoon. Most of the caches Larry and I had already found; but, Becky and Theresa added some more to their numbers. Saturday evening we all headed for "Taco Time"..........at least that's what I call it. It's a little open air Mexican restaurant located a few miles south of Yuma in the middle of lemon and orange tree groves. It comes complete with dogs, cats, chickens, kids and some pretty good Mexican food. I didn't take any pictures so you'll have to check Becky's Blog for that. Robert & Char, plus family and friends with whom we had Christmas dinner with all showed up also. We ate and ate some more then sat around a big bon fire outside the main building. I downed a great big burrito and then ate half of Robert's. Temperature were dropping and my old bones were getting chilled so Becky and I only spent a couple of hours there and I had to leave.

I paid the price for the afternoon walking in the desert with leg cramps when we got home. Kept me awake most of the night and I had to cancel on more geocaching Sunday morning. Bummer, cause Robert and I coerced tbly into springing for breakfast so I missed a freebie breakfast!

Sunday we never left home...........I just sat around and dozed through football most of the day.

Got a doctor appointment this morning..........just touching base with a general practitioner so I'll have a doctor to see when we're in Yuma.

Then............don't know what's happening the rest of the day. Will probably have to go get our casino fix later today. I should stay away for awhile since I've walked away a winner the last 3 or 4 days we went gambling. Later. W&B

Merry Christmas.............Again.............

........Becky and I hung around the homestead this morning and then we went to Robert and Char's for Christmas Dinner with their family and friends. This could be a habit for me (I had Thanksgiving with them when Becky was in Hawaii) and I again filled up on delicious turkey, smushed taters, dressing and tons of gravy!! Lots of other scrumptous goodies; but, I preferred to "main line" the basics.

After eating too much and then letting dinner settle with good conversation we finally waddled out to the car and "B" decided that she wanted to get her gambling fix............seems like she found some money in her pocket that she didn't know was there. Casino was quite crowded and I couldn't play my favorite machines. I finally find one unoccupied, stuck in a twenty and proceeded to lose until I had 35 cents left...........at that point I hit a bonus and then sat and watched while it chaulked up $66 in the credit column. Figured it was time to leave so cashed in and headed for the barn. Oh yeah, I even had a "free" pepsi that didn't cost me twenty bucks.

Gonna sleep in tomorrow and maybe spend my good fortune on breakfast somewhere.

W&B

Christmas Tomorrow....................

and we cancelled our reservations in Laughlin so will hang around here for the Christmas weekend. Invited out for dinner tomorrow and then nothing else planned.

Ongoing story of Rhino............man said he would have the turn signals and stator installed around noon today. We drove down and they were just cleaning it up. Mechanic drove it around the general area of the shop and then discovered some gas coming out of the carb overflow tube. He pulled it apart, cleaned it out and gas stopped flowing. I paid him and headed down the street with Becky following me. Probably made it about 10 blocks and it fell flat on it's face again and I was on a busy street. Good thing Becky was behind me in the Suzy............if not I'd probably been run over by an 18 wheeler. Sputtered back to the M/C shop. Installed a new in-line fuel filter and then we checked the CDI box...........one set of the wiring harness connectors was black and burned. No wonder it wasn't running right! Well, now gotta replace the CDI box and hopefully can replace just the portion of the harness that was burned. They still have the Rhino and will order parts needed............oh yeah, the person who was giving it the test runs (I think it was the shop owner) wasn't using the seat belts so the driver side seat belt had slipped down behind the seat and it had gotten fried by the hot exhaust. He's going to replace the belt. And so it goes.............may get it running someday.

Nothing left to do so we headed to the casino again............I managed to leave with $46.00 of their money so we stopped for Chinese on the way home.

Still COLD at night and not expected to get much higher than 63 or so for the next week. Don't think we can get much further South to search for warmer temperatures.

That's it for now.............wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas". Wayne & Becky

Nasty Weather In Store For Us Snowbirds..............

as the week progresses.............forecast for Wednesday through Friday calls for a high temperature of 59 degrees with lows dropping to 40 and maybe even less!!!!!

Bummer! Doncha just feel sorry for us? Plus the wind is supposed to pick up tomorrow too.

Sort of a nothing day today except a trip to Fry's for some grub and also stopped at Jim and Linda's since the Old Guy just had a BD. Nuvi dinged as we passed one cache that Jim had placed so we grabbed that one for the day. Out to the Texas Roadhouse for BD dinner for Jim and then "B" and I headed for the casino since it was only a couple of miles away and "B" was having withdrawals. She contributed $10.00 and I was about broke when the machine I was playing spit out a "mystery pay out"..........I'm not sure what happened but I suddenly had $86.00 in the credit department. I promptly cashed it in and we left.

On the way home we ran into a bunch of Sheriff cars blocking the main road.........didn't know what was going on until we saw a parade of vehicles coming up the road. They were all lighted up and decorated............we had seen a schedule in the newspaper where the Parade of Lights was being held but didn't pay much attention to it. Now I know what it's all about..........only small vehicles are allowed in the parade such as dune buggies, Rhinos, Polaris Razors, sand rails and a few vintage "hot rods" and some jeeps. Mostly off-road vehicles. There was probably 25 or 30 in the parade and they didn't delay us too long. Reminded me of the annual Christmas Boats that tour the Columbia River near Portland every Christmas.

That was the end of our day and we came on home. Will probably be busy all day tomorrow getting ready for the cold spell and nearly hurricane force winds that are forecast.

Later. W&B

Made It To Sunday............

with temperatures expected to be in the low 70s today............not too bad considering the rest of the country.

Didn't do much yesterday except find a couple of caches and filled our faces with food. Talked to my M/C shop again............I tried to point him toward checking out the charging system and he finally did. The stator has gone belly up and that might be causing my poor running problems. At least I hope so, new stator will be in on Tuesday and he expects to have it ready by then...........I won't hold my breath though.

Looks like today is going to be "do the laundry day" as "B" is getting stuff ready to haul to the car. Guess I really should help; but, I've done the laundry the last few times!! Should be her turn.

Well...........I've decided to help as she also has the vacuum cleaner out too so it looks like domestic day. W

Another Doctor Appointment Today...........

and got a cortisone injection in left knee........so far knee feels pretty good as the Doc also removed a considerable amount of fluid from it. Sure hope it lasts longer than injections in the past.

Drove down to the Mall and kicked a few tires at La Mesa RV show. The guy finally figured out I was just "kicking tires" and not really interested in another M/H. I was just killing time; but, they have some nice used units and later I checked out the prices on NADA guide and they were close to the guide. Believe old Sunova will last a while longer though.

Went to the casino to try and win enough to go back to the RV show..........no such luck although I did hit a penny slot machine for $75.00. That was short lived at Becky hauled me to Sam's Club and I left there nearly broke again. Easy come, easy go as they say.

Stopped by M/C shop AGAIN..............still no turn signals installed and the guy said he ran the Rhino up and down the street, up hills down hills and it never missed a beat. I asked him if he checked out the charging system and he did and found that it wasn't charging the way it should. He was going to work on that problem and test it again. He never called this afternoon so don't know what the status is right now. Guess I'll check on it again tomorrow. He also said he's found Rhinos with a lot of crud in the gas tank...........seems they use silicone and press the upper and lower half together and silicone makes its way to the bottom of the tank and plugs up the pick up tube............let off the gas, crud falls to bottom of the tank and it starts running again until it sucks up more. May have to pull the tank and check that out if fixing charging problems doesn't help. Getting to be a real PIA.

Came home............stayed home, barbqued rib eye that we got from Sam's..........pretty good hunk of meat.

Made reservations at AVI casino in Laughlin for Dec 23 through Dec 26 so will spend Xmas there again this year. I checked to see if they would comp anything............the guy said I didn't have very many points on my player's card; but, he comped me with the first night's stay..........only $22.00 for the first night; but, what the heck.........I'll take it.

That's about it for today. W&B

Thursday And Spent Most Of The Day..............

at Rheumatologist office. First appointment with him since I got down here, renewed one prescription, got right knee injected (feels real good tonight) and will get the left knee injected tomorrow. Had two MRIs on hands/wrists..........do you suppose he can take the rest of the week off after the bill I chaulked up today? Who knows...........might even be ready to trapse through the desert by the time the weekend rolls around. Lottsa new caches placed today on the bombing range. A friend, Yumanbean, took off into the desert without hubby and scored a whole bunch of First To Finds. Way to go Judy............are you going to share them with Bob??

Yesterday we made a run to San Luis and picked up some caches along the way, made a circle and contributed to the Cocopah casino..........well "B" did, I left $10.00 ahead, stopped at the Marine Base and tried out their new Snack Bar...........cost me more than I won! Got a haircut.......probably the best flat top I've gotten down here after trying 3 different chairs.......the haircut I got in Hawaii wasn't great either. This lady needs a little more training in the way I'd like my haircut; but, she has great potential................and I'm not THAT particular. Overtipped her so she'll remember me.

Nothing going on tomorrow............see Doc at 0930 and then maybe we will stop at the Swap Meet and browse. Drove by the M/C shop today and found out that they haven't done a thing with the Rhino...........the guy said he needed to take it out and run it. I asked if he had installed the turn signals yet...........he stammered and stuttered a bit and had to admit that he hadn't even looked at it yet. I chose this shop because all the reviews on the web gave them 5 *****s for excellence. I asked if I would have it for the weekend (not that I need it) and he assured me that they would work on it this afternoon. Yeah right.............I'll stop again tomorrow if I don't get a phone call by mid afternoon.

That's about it for now...........we're still suffering through a "heat wave"...........shorts and short sleeve weather again................hope it lasts through weekend. Kinda feel sorry for you poor folks in the North Country.............................. W&B

Did A Little Caching Today with Suz and Marion.........

both of whom never realized that I had been told to "shave" until I called that to their attention. Suz, trying to make points, said it makes you look "younger". Yeah, right. Thanks anyway.

We headed for the bombing range to pick up some caches that they and Becky had not found. Some I previously found; but, still managed to find 10 or 11 new ones that were on my to do list. Did a lot more walking than I had anticipated and was glad to just sit in the car and let them find ones I had already found.

We finally finished up when the sun was starting to set so back to our M/H and then to the Texas Roadhouse for a nice dinner. I think Frank and Sue will be heading out in a day or so for parts unknown..........sounds like fun; but, I've got a Dr. appointment on Thursday so hopefully I can get my knees injected and maybe I'll be able to do more walking when they get back to the city.

Nothing "planned" for tomorrow...........maybe they'll have the Rhino's turn signals installed and get the damn thing running right so I can pick it up. Otherwise, I guess we'll just kick back and enjoy the predicted 72 degree weather. We've got a "heat spell" coming up with temps above normal for the next 4 or 5 days.................supposed to be in the low to mid 70s the rest of the week and into the weekend. I hope we'll be able to survive this heat wave. Later. W&B

More Pics Telegraph Hill ...........

These are pictures Larry took during out Telegraph Hill excursion. Quite a windy road up to the top! It even has some "pucker power".

Today I had appointment with VA doc to renew prescriptions, took Rhino to M/C shop to have turn signals installed and it began running rough again on the way to the shop. I told them to "fix it". They still have it..........hope that isn't a bad sign.

Went to a movie this afternoon with Suz and Frank and B and I stopped at Lutes for our first trip of the season. Big old double cheeseburger for $4.99..............not to bad! Tomorrow we're heading down to the Bombing Range for some caching with Sue and Frank. (Stand by for some pictures kids.........Becky will have her camera operating I'm sure.) All for now. W&b

Friday through Sunday............

......we went a cachin, late BD lunch for me at the "Q" casino, more cachin, found Santa, toured Christmas Displays, more cachin.

Friday we made a speed run to the bombing range to look for some new caches, Larry stopped by and away we went. A local cacher has a series of Mr. Peanuts caches and he put one out called Mr. Peanut's Log Cabin. He puts a lot of work into his caches and they are always a pleasure to find. Here Becky and Larry find the Cabin and another cache was titled "Tiger's Hubcap". The cache was attached to a Cadillac hubcap. Poor Tiger, no rest for the weary! We toured a street a couple of blocks away and they have well decorated houses on both sides of the street that tell the Night Before Christmas story. Very well done. Saturday Suzannah and Frank stopped by and took me to a belated birthday lunch at the Q Casino. It was a pretty good trip for me...........besides a free lunch I only lost $2.75 on the slot machines! We stopped and picked up a few caches around Old Town and here we found a cache with a toy snake under a rock...........kinda startling. At the same cache we found Santa so give him our wish list for Christmas...........sure hope he doesn't misplace it.

Sunday we met Larry, JJ and Char for breakfast and a little caching. Looked like a good time to get the Rhino out and JJ brought his new Razor. Damn Rhino was sputtering and popping again when we started out and it finally smoothed out and ran better as the day progressed.

There's an area a few miles North of us called Telegraph Hill.........they have a bunch of radio transmitting gear on top of the hill.........as well as a couple of caches. I think the climb up there is about a 1500 feet rise in elevation...........no way I would even attempt to climb up there........even when the old knees were better. There is a "road" (?) snaking up the side of the mountain with a series of caches on the way. Well, we started finding the caches and made the last find at a large, locked gate in the middle of the road. The gate also had a camera observing the gate..........now I don't know if it was activated or not; but, it looked impressive. Wanted to get to the top; but, no key for the gate. JJ looked the terrain over and announced that he thought we could go up the wash and then back to the road. All I can say is that Polaris is better than a mountain goat in this terrain! Here's a few pics of the Razor in the wash and then climbing back to the road. Becky and I were following JJ and Larry all day long and couldn't keep up with them. I was running 45 mph over "roads" that were probably best suited for about 15 mph and all I could see was the Razor getting smaller and smaller in the distance! The suspension on that sucker is incredible. I think we added another 25 or 26 caches to our list and that finished our Sunday.

Came home, washed the crud off the Rhino and myself and collapsed.

End of day. W&B

I Think It's Friday................

.......we flew into Pheonix shortly before midnight on Wednesday. By the time we found our luggage, waited for a shuttle bus and found the car it was about 0100, Thursday. Thought about finding a motel; but, just said the heck with it and I'd start driving back to Yuma. I dozed on the plane and haven't been going to bed before 0100 (Yuma time) anyway so we made it back to Yuma about 0400. Went to a 24 hour restaurant nearby, had breakfast and headed home.

I thought I had left the propane furnace on when I left and thoughts were confirmed when we opened the motor home..............it was COLD in there. When I left I had forgotten to turn off the propane furnace so had the temp control set to 68 or so. Heater was cycling on and off all the time I was gone..............that is it cycled until the propane ran out. Good thing we got a little electric heater. Turned it on and let it run. Couldn't sleep very well.........time still messed up.

Hooked up my "extend a stay" so looks like we'll be running off that until we move the M/H again. Thursday we hunted down some lunch, made grocery run, stopped at casino so Becky could get her fix (I think she donated) and I won enough to pay for lunch and had a couple of dollars left over. Then we tried to stay awake until about 2200 last night.

Becky got up about 0800 this morning and I slept until almost 0900............guess we're kinda getting our time straightened out.

Had big wind and rain about 5 days ago. Good thing our neighbors pulled in while we were gone as the cover blew off the Rhino and table and chairs outside were blowing away. He ran down the Rhino cover and put it back on and stowed away our table and chairs. Nice to have good neighbors!! Looks like wind and rain over for a while now and it's supposed to start warming up again in a couple of days. Getting cold at night but the days are great..........at least for me. Becky whines every time the temp dips into the 60s...............she spent too much time in shorts and sandals the last month so she's just gotta "man up" and go with the flow.

All for now, a geocaching buddy is stopping by and we're going onto the bombing range.

w&b

Some Christmas Decorations....Downtown Honolulu

Starting to think about getting ready to leave tomorrow........flight leaves about 1500. Was browsing through Becky's pictures so made this collage of Christmas decorations on display downtown. My picture taking was very sparse this trip.

We had dinner with friends at the Outback last night and then back to Tag and Louise's to continue with good conversation.

Never did get out to see the "giant" surf.........mainly because it never appeared. Had some good surf but nothing monsterous. Rain has gone away and the weather turned out to be great for our visit...........although the "locals" seem to think the evenings had gotten chilly I thought it was just right.

Well, think I'll continue to "think" about packing things up. Later.......probably from Yuma. W

December 7................

The troops headed for the Naval Base, Pearl Harbor to take in a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Ceremony this morning. A lot of ceremonies being conducted at various areas............I opted to stay home this morning. Becky will probably return with a zillion pictures so you'll probably have to check her blog to see them.

Supposed to be "Giant" surf on the North Shore today and maybe tomorrow. Been watching them on a web cam; but, doubt if we'll drive out that way. Traffic will be a problem and if the waves get as big as predicted this won't be the area to be in just "hanging out". A surf classic honoring Eddie, someone or other, was supposed to be held this week; however, the surf still isn't high enough. They need a minimum of 40 foot, sustained waves to start the classic. It hasn't reached that point yet. Still have high surf warnings in effect through Wednesday.

Getting close to return to Yuma..........leaving around 1500 on Wednesday and should arrive Phoenix sometime after midnight.

All for now. W&B

Friday And Don't Know What's In Store For Today............

Maybe I'll just sit and watch bananas grow.

Visited the "Babes" of Waikiki Today....................

Louise and Becky thought I should go check out the Babes On The Beach so they drug me down to Waikiki and I was fighting all the way..............oh well, you seen one bikini clad cutie and you've seen them all.

We pulled into the Outrigger valet parking, cut through the hotel and ran into the Barefoot Bar. My eyes were popping out from the babes on the beach and I almost forgot to take any pictures. Fortunately they reminded me why I was here so I snapped a few shots of the beach scenery. Headed across the street to the Market Place, hasseled some little gal who was hustling pearls. You picked out your oyster of choice, she popped it open and you could buy the pearl inside for $14.95! Such a deal. Becky picked out an oyster and it had TWO perfect pearls inside it. I asked for a senior discount and the little old gal hustled us back to another booth to show us what settings we could have our pearls set in. I think one of her offers was to "give" us the pearls if we paid for the $249.00 setting. In the end she ended up offering the pearls to us for $7.95. I pitched her so much crap that I finally gave her $10.00 for the pearls.

Then back to the Barefoot Bar for lunch. I remember the Barefoot Bar from about 1958................it surely has changed since then! Had a decent lunch and then we headed back to Pearl City before the afternoon traffic set in. That was the day's events. Scroll down for the Babes of Waikiki................

Wednesday....................

Didn't do anything today!

First Full Day in Paradise.................

and we set out to grab a few caches at Ewa Beach which is located on what used to be the old Naval Air Station, Barbers Point. I used to play golf there.........now nothing is familar as the station has closed although the Coast Guard still has facilities there.

Here's a little collage of our day at the beach..........no photos of the beach is complete unless you just happen to take pictures of the local populace. Found about 4 caches, a Monk Seal and Becky and Louise found this cement something or other on the beach. Becky is holding Tristan's World, a travel bug I brought from Yuma. Didn't leave it...........so will take it back to Yuma so it can resume its travels. We found 4 caches; but, can only log three of them. I just downloaded coordinates and didn't bother to read the descriptions so the first cache we found was a "big un"; but, couldn't open it because we didn't have the combination to the padlock.

We ended up somewhere in a shopping center and had lunch at Blazing Steaks............you could get a basic steak lunch for $6.00. Not bad and for the price I guess it was pretty good.

No rain today, nice and sunny. We got home about mid afternoon and just stayed here. Don't know what tomorrow will bring. Stay tuned. W&B

Wow A New Month Already.................

been too busy (?) to post on Blog.................you can believe that if you want. Actually been doing a little geocaching with Yuma friends, eating out and trying to get ready to fly to Hawaii. Finally made it to Honolulu yesterday and enjoying the rain in Paradise. Louise and Becky took me down to Zippys so I could get my chili fix so I'm good to just kick back for awhile until my next chili run.

It's been raining off and on for a few days I guess and it's even kinda chilly........that's cold, not the kind of chili where I get my fix........ Looks like it's going to be rain on and off today too; but, what the heck, when you're in Paradise the sun comes popping out whenever you need it.

Need to go out and find at least one geocache to drop off a travel bug. Found one big un that will hold a large travel bug that I brought from Yuma and we might drive over to Barber's Point today to get that taken care of. I got surprised yesterday when I turned GPSr on............no detailed map of Oahu..........my old GPSr had CONUS as well as Hawaii. Guess Garmin is just looking to extract more money from us hapless gps users.

Flight from Phoenix uneventful..............got seated next to a scruffy looking older gal who looked like she could have been a Portland Reed College student in her earlier days (she was wearing blue jeans with her knees showing through, long stringy hair and was wearing granny glasses)............well I guess she wasn't that old. Nice though, she offered me her brunch after she took a look at it.........since I was seated way back in the plane the better brunch choices were taken by the time they arrived where we were seated. They served breakfast burritos which were pretty grim looking and she took a look at her's and offered it to me. I declined.............one gourmet burrito per day was enough for me.

Well, that's about it for the past few days. Sun is popping out from behind the clouds so maybe we'll just dash out between rain storms today. W

We Went A Cachin On Sunday...............

with a group from Yuma...........off we go to an area near Buckeye, AZ. The Sun Valley Parkway has been saturated with caches so we thought we could capture over a hundred.

Met up with JJ, Bronco Busters, tbly, Billybe and Roberta, La84fishn, Third Times Charm and myself. Had breakfast at 0600 in Yuma and headed East. Think we arrived at the first cache somewhere around 0900.

From then on it was climb into the car, drive a short distance, climb out of the car, look for cache, climb back in and etc. etc. I feel like we climbed in and out of that car at least 500 times! Some of the caches were easy.........some were difficult. Pictures are of one cache we spent some time looking for; but, we couldn't leave without a find. Rest of the time we were too busy to think about taking pictures.

We finally finished up about 1430 or so and headed back to Yuma. Our total finds for the day: 115 caches. The best day ever. Of course it always helps when you have 18 eyes looking for them.

I came home, ate supper, logged caches and hit the hay about 2200. Didn't wake up until 0830 this morning.

That was our Sunday..........I'm so far ahead of Becky in finds now that she'll never catch up. She's been silently gloating for the past umpteen months............so now it's my turn for awhile! That'll teach her to go to Hawaii.

That's it for now...........I'm still tired. W

Been Doing Some Caching, Some Loafing and..........

generally piddling time away. Larry placed a series of 9 caches in the desert about 2 miles south of us and it turned into a mad rush for that First To Find. You had to visit all the caches to gain information to find the final one. I got there late; but, still managed to get one FTF. I met up with Billybe and group and we pooled our information to search for the final cache. We were missing one number but thought we could still find the cache as others were searching in the area we thought it was hidden. I did find a "cute" tarantula ambling through the desert. First one I have seen down here. In the end, Judy made the final find so we could all sign the log and call it a day.

One of the local cachers we affectionately call the "Queen of Mean" because she comes up with some really difficult to find caches. I came up with the idea of placing a cache as a tribute to the "Queen". Larry did the "artwork" and I finished and placed the cache about 2 1/2 miles from where we park in the Foothills. A lot of other gung ho cachers live in the same area and it's always a race to get there "First". The QofM cache was no exception. I submitted it and about 3 hours later it was published. The race was on.

The cache was published, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. I was the closests and on my way through the desert I had to pull over and let the others pass me and shower me with rocks. Jim and Linda (Linda is the QofM) passed me first, then I was passed by Skibum1 and both cars arrived at the cache at about the same time. It was a race over and through the rocks and the QofM barely nosed out Skibum1 and made the first to find.

Here's pictures of the race and mini event that transpired. Linda, the Queen of Mean is in the center of the collage. Had quite a few comments on how much resemblance there was!! (Now I never said that...........her husband did).......

Larry lives a considerable distance away and was the last one to arrive as the rest of us were leaving the area. He discovered why Linda got there first............he found her broom which she had forgotten and left laying under a tree.

Larry and Audrey picked me up for lunch yesterday and we went to Ligurta for one of the best burgers in the area. Just before we left nine new caches were published. They had been placed on the bombing range. We mulled over going to hunt them but the quest for burgers proved stronger. After lunch Audrey drove herself home and Larry and I took the Suzy to go look for the caches. Sam and Sandy had just completed all the FTFs when we arrived. We shot the breeze briefly and then we figured out it was going to be about a mile and a half to walk to all the caches. Larry and I started off............two cripples in the desert who didn't know any better. By the time we got half way through we had to continue because it was about the same distance back to the car as it would be to complete the string of caches. We finished the string and staggered back to the car and met some other cachers arriving. On the way out we met Third Times the Charm and Andy just getting started. Also we were stopped by a deputy sheriff who was looking for some illegal border crossers............he said if we see anyone........."Don't Stop!" We thanked him and drove on. Looks like it might be time to start "carrying" as illegal activity has been increasing along the border.

So ends the last few days. Today I made a stop at Wally World, Swap Meet, got a haircut, visited the new Marine Corps Exchange which just opened on the base and then I drove out to the "Q" casino to get my $10.00 birthday present. I parlayed their $10.00 to $23.00 and left.

Cooked up a steak for dinner and now settled back to watch the tube. W

Spent BD Caching With Friends..........

after breakfast at the Daybreaker. Good start to the day as JJ sprung for breakfast. After that we went a cachin..........JJ, tbly, La84fishn, micus22 and myself. Here's a few pics of our start.........the little sign that ses "no motor vehicles" should be heeded........the car in the background was buried up to its axle and no one in sight. They probably got stuck last night sometime.

I started out for breakfast in the Rhino and after about 8 blocks it began to fall flat on its face!! Limped back home and took Suzy to breakfast. These are pictures of the first few caches we found. JJ was driving his new Razor and I was more than a bit PO's because the Rhino almost died on me. After we left this area we headed to the bombing range and Larry and I stopped by the M/H while the rest of the crew went in search of some caches we had already found.

When we got back to the M/H I changed the fuel filter and the Rhino came back to life. We switched to the Rhino and headed for the desert. Man, I need a Polaris Razor "S"...........there's was no way I could keep up with JJ.......can't run as fast and the suspension on the Razor smooths everything out. Maybe someone will get me a Razor for Christmas (?).

I don't remember how many caches we found; but, I finally caught up with Becky..........by the time I leave at the end of the month I should be so far ahead of her that she'll NEVER catch up with me!

Turned out to be a nice day, a little chilly when we started with some breeze; but, still a terrific day to be be wandering around the desert.

Later. W

Had A Nice Veteran's Day...............

.......Applebees was handing out "free food" for vets yesterday. Drove by the closests one and the parking lot was full. Drove on by, went to the Paradise Casino to see if they had a give a ways for Vets day.........they had lunch 2 for 1 and gave you a $10.00 match for blackjack. Didn't partake of either one so drove out to the new Q Casino. Showed them my ID card and they put $11 worth of free slot play on my card. Played the eleven bucks and finally cashed in $20.

Stopped by at JJ's office and shot the breeze for a while and then I tried another Applebee that was closer to downtown........took me about 3 minutes to get a seat at the bar, had a sirloin steak lunch with smushed tatos and veggies and a Pepsi. They didn't even charge for the Pepsi. Tipped the bartender with 5 of my 20 winnings.........primarily because she was friendly and firmly developed. Went to the other casino and discovered that they had no freebies for the Vets. Invested my remaining 15 bucks and left with $26.00.

Today I went out and hunted down a few caches...........have to keep my average of one find per day for the winter. I'm OK until sometime in January with my finds. Still working on getting the Rhino licensed for the street. Have to haul it down for inspection tomorrow and with about $155 I should be in business. If I get it licensed we're going caching on Sunday, JJ with his new Razor and me with the Rhino. Should be fun.

CSI on the tube..........gotta go. W

Becky Made It To Hawaii...............

yesterday afternoon, she called about 1500 (AZ time) and then they went eating and shopping for the remainder of the day.

I got back to Yuma about 0930, checked the computer and saw a new cache had been placed about 6 miles away. Out the door I go to find that La84fishn had found it shortly before I arrived. When his Blackberry went off he was only about 1/2 mile from it. After that we both visited some other caches and I finally ended up the day with 6 or 7 finds. That gets me closer to Becky's total..........think I'm about 29 behind her now and her lead will be shortlived as she left her GPS here..........she won't be looking for any in Hawaii.

Tried to stay awake when I got back so I wouldn't mess up my days and nights. Went to dinner with Linda and Jim and we tried to hunt one cache down in the dark with no success. Went to the Two for $13.99 joint so I brought one dinner home with me. Ordered stuff that I could microwave so have a lunch or dinner sitting in the fridge.

Haven't done anything this morning and now it's starting to warm up a bit so I may have to head for the air conditioned spaces at the casino...........haven't been to the new one yet so maybe it's time I made a trip out there.

Later if anything happens. W

Sunday Evening And We're In Phoenix..............

got here about 1300, found motel and checked in. Yesterday Becky finally checked her airline reservation and discovered that her flight was leaving on Nov 9............NOT the 10th as she has been telling me for the past 3 weeks!! I made reservations for the motel for the 10th, called them and they said "no problem". I guess there was no problem as the parking lot only has 4 vehicles in it. Motel is downtown and not far from the airport...........I was kinda worried about what we would find; but, it's OK.........an older motel but it's CLEAN, has a small refrigerator, 70 channels of cable TV, microwave, free wi-fi, iron and board; but, NO coffee maker.........which doesn't bother me a bit. They gave Becky a number to call for a shuttle ride to the Hawaiian Air terminal so I don't have to try and fight my way to Sky Harbor.........something I didn't particularly care to do at rush hour on a Monday morning. The shuttle will pick her up at 0620 and she has to be sitting on the curb waiting for it...............sure hope she makes it OK.

I'll be snoozing and will head back to Yuma when I finally wake up in the morning.

After we arrived we headed for a casino that's about 17 miles away. Thank goodness for NUVI..........found it with no problems. Smaller casino so it didn't have a restaurant...........just a snack bar; but, I had a half pound burger and Becky had a French Dip tri-tip sandwich. They were both good. I sat and watched football which Becky tried her luck on the slots. When I found her she was grinning like a possum eating crap out of a wirebrush. The first slot she played put her about $90.00 ahead. After that she wandered from slot to slot, I made my contributions and finally found a machine that put me $7.00 ahead...........I quit and Becky did the same. She had money stuffed into all her pockets, socks, money belt and bra...........looked pretty good with a full bra! When we left she counted her money and figured she was $80.00 + ahead. Not a bad way to kill a few hours.

Got a call for an early wake up............Mac Burger is a couple of blocks away so might be able to grab a breakfast sandwich before the shuttle arrives.

That's about it for this weekend.............I'll fly out on the 30th and we both have the same return flight.

W&B

Made It To Friday....................

....no geocaching today (what's with that??); but, did manage to get the laundry done this morning after we had breakfast at Ligurta. Was going to pig out on biscuits and gravy; but, when we got there I decided on their morning special..........walnut pancakes, egg and sausage. Not too bad! As usual, Becky opted to have the most expensive breakfast on the menu........well not really, she had chicken fried steak. All in all it was a pretty good breakfast.

After laundry was done we just hung around the M/H as it had cooled down today and temps will drop a little more through the weekend. I did get the Suzy's oil changed and picked up some insurance for the Rhino. Gonna get Rhino licensed for the street so gotta have insurance. Insurance cost wasn't too bad.......$95.00 for a year. Will get license plates next week.......all I need to do is add a lighted license plate bracket and I should be in good shape. Thought I would have to haul it down to get it inspected and was kinda worried about noise level...........talked to my Yuma friend and he said all I have to do is sign a statement that the Rhino meets all requirements for the street..........don't have to take it down there. Arizona is pretty lenient about these things.

Had a couple of cachers stop by today...........recognized them.........their faces that is; but, naturally couldn't place a name with the faces. As it turns out we met them last year when we were staying at Casa Grande.

Tomorrow breakfast is being hosted by one of the local cachers so we'll go over to their place about 0900 and see how many show up. Should be a nice get together as more winter visitors are showing up.

Becky getting ready to leave on the 10th.........she has to be at the Phoenix airport at 0600 so I just booked a motel room for the 9th. Have no desire in getting up about 0300 to drive to Phoenix.

That's about it for now..........after breakfast have no plans whatsoever for tomorrow.

Later. W&B

What We Been Doin??.......Geocaching Of Course......

These nutso people down here are placing new caches faster then we can find them and it looks like we'll have to get down here earlier or spend the rest of the winter playing catch up. Twelve new caches were published so I contacted La84fishn and away we went to the Bombing Range. Becky and I finally managed to grab a couple that Larry and I placed last March before we left. We need to sign the log when a cache is placed if we're along with the cache owner. Not exactly kosher I don't believe; but, it would save us bone-jarring trips over rocky and rough roads just to sign the log. I believe the bombing range "roads" are getting worse for the wear. We met some cachers we knew at a little series of caches placed by a guy who really puts a lot of work into his caches. Everyone has a neat little hand-crafted container......they are easy to find; but, most of them require a bit of walking over rocks and through washes. Here's a couple of them.........leave a note and another one of his "Peanut" series. He must eat a lot of peanuts as the caches are placed in a Planters Peanut container, with his hand crafted container.

Our first stop of the day was a cache placed in memory of a fellow cacher who passed away in October........"Buddy V", a cacher from Oregon. It was placed by his sister and brother-in-law, Billybe and Berta. We later caught up with them in our quest for new caches. We also ran across Skibum01......a cacher who has the FTF Fever bad. He was out before sun up yesterday and grabbed a numbe of FTFs.........also ones that took him about 25 miles down onto the range. Some new came out last night even further down the range and I'm sure he was up before daylight again hunting them down. He's holding a breakfast get together at his house on Saturday morning. We're going to the breakfast and it's almost guaranteed that someone will place some caches to be published in the middle of breakfast. A couple of Blackberrys and phones will sound the alarm and the race for the FTF will be on. New cache placements will really break up a party FAST!

Don't think we'll be doing much today as my old knees are still trying to recover the from hiking we did yesterday. Even Becky's butt was dragging after we found 20 caches on the range yesterday.........and she "claims" to be quite young you know! We may go out and find Larry's three new caches...........they're only about 5 miles away and his usually don't require rock climbing or long hikes.

Got an appointment with Rheumatologist tomorrow so maybe some knee injections will keep me going for awhile.

Later if anything interesting happens. W&B

Bigger Picture of Big Horn Ram......

See next post........you'll probably be able to see the Ram a little better here than in the following post.

A Little Update For The Weekend..........

Did a little caching the other day and found this cache screwed to a pole......interesting method of attachment....it certainly won't blow away or get covered with sand. When we had breakfast at Ligurta this lil pup was staring at us when we parked. Looks a little bit like a fox.

Sunday I called Jim and Linda to see if they wanted to hunt down some la84fishn caches which neither of us had found yet. They were game to go so we loaded the Suzy and off we went. Found some along the canal and visited one of Larry's fishing holes. A local was fishing and he had some nice bluegill. Becky took a picture of me at the fishing spot where Larry had placed a cache. This little dog is another la84fishn cache that we've seen placed the last 3 or 4 years.

Highlight of the day was spotting a Big Horn Ram a short distance from the main highway. We certainly have never seen any of these critters around here so it was quite the sighting. Becky captured him on film; but, wasn't using her 12x camera, you'll have to double click this image to get a little larger view and you can see the Ram a bit better. He stuck around, looked at us and then ambeled off.

Getting a little warmer today.........supposed to be near 90 the next few days. No A/C on yet...........although I got a floor fan running and it's doing a good job of moving the air around.

We're just kinda sitting around and watching the computer............our reviewer must have been out doing some caching himself because we haven't had a new cache published since Thursday. When they're published there will be a mad dash for the FTF. I know two of them have been placed on the bombing range so I've already called in to report that we were visiting the range today so if they get published at a reasonable hour we'll hop in the car and go. We're only about 1/2 miles from one of the entrances to the range. I also placed a cache at the back of our lot so maybe they'll head for mine and we can get a head start to the range.

More later if anything interesting happens. W&B

Halloween And .......................

NO trick or treaters!!! Ain't no kids around here...........nothing but 65+ residents.

Weather starting to get crummy........up to about 80, or maybe a little more, today. No wind to speak of.

Yesterday some friends stopped by and asked us if we wanted to go to the swap meet.......we had some things to do, visit to Home Depot and Credit Union on the base so couldn't go with them. I checked out some patio stones for the space next to the motorhome......all we have is pea gravel. Twelve by twelve bricks/stones/slabs or whatever you care to call them run about $1.19 each. I'll have to wait until the lot owner arrives about Nov 11 and check with her. We did get a 10x12 foot hunk of outdoor carpet that I just threw over the gravel. It beats the heck out of walking on the gravel; but, patio stones would be better. Since we're going to keep coming back I have no problems putting a few bucks into the place.

After our early morning jaunt onto the bombing range the other day we were at home when I checked the computer..........two new caches on the BR had been published. We mulled over it for a bit and then headed onto the range. Took a wrong fork in the "road"; but, we still managed to capture two more FTFs as the other local caching nuts were chasing some downtown about 14 miles away.

Today we had to visit some Good Wills and Salvations Army shops as Becky is looking for some more reading material. I think she picked up 7 or 8 books so that should keep her busy for a little while. After that we headed out to the Cocopah casino for our first visit this year. I managed to contribute $5.00 to them and Becky left about two and half dollars.

On the way home we took a backroad that comes out a few blocks from our street and there were 5 caches placed alongside the road. We found them so got caught up a bit with our caching. Still many more to go that were placed before we got down here.

Fortunately, no new ones came out today..........I think the reviewer was out and about for the weekend himself so we may have a load of them tomorrow. I placed one at the end of our lot, Larry placed two on the bombing range and he said he knew of several others that had been placed............but none of them were published today. It'll probably be a busy morning.

Sunday is go to breakfast day; but, we haven't made any plans with anyone.........we'll probably just get up and go somewhere. We haven't been to Ligurta yet...........would be nice to see if they've gotten rid of the flies since our last visit there.

Later. W&B

Guess The Geocaching Season Is Starting..........

as my phone rang about 0500 this morning and the voice at the other end asks if I'm ready to go to the "bombing range". I said OK and about 25 minutes later Larry is pounding on the door. Becky is even up (farming!) so we had to wait for her and away we went toward the range. It's really dark at 0530. Larry, Becky and myself find the first cache, a FTF, and while we're standing there a car goes roaring by and stops down the road. Some more cachers looking for the elusive FTF. We catch up with Larry, Barbara and John, forge an alliance, and we go after the remaining caches as a group. Daylight is starting to appear as we head up the road for the last of six caches that were published last night.

We round a corner, skid to a stop and find a little red vehicle parked in the middle of the road. Off in the distance we see Bob and Judy as they are capturing their second, FTF. The cache is called the "19th hole" and was well done.

We all decide to go to breakfast after the 19th hole...........where do we go, why the golf course, of course. This is where we had our geocachers breakfasts last season and the food is still good...........and reasonable. I took pictures of Judy, Bob, John, Larry then Becky, Larry, Rita and Barbara. Then a self portrait.

After breakfast Larry, Becky and I drive down the road to pick up a couple more new caches. Last one was kinda neat.........it was a skelton hanging in the tree; but, very difficult to see. Becky finally claims success.

We got back to the rig about 0900. We'll probably take a nap this afternoon!

Hope no more caches come out today..........we still have things to do; or, I should say "I" have things to do outside, haul out our tables, bar-b-que, destroy some weeds, etc, etc, etc.......................more later if we can stay awake. W&B

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

and still need to do a lot of stuff to get settled.............too lazy to just "get her done". Lot is still full of tumbling weeds.............tumbling weeds if they are pulled. The ones we cleared out when we arrived all blew away today with the high winds we've had through today. Think the winds will continue tonight and then it's supposed to cool down in the 70s for a few days.

Went to dinner with some friends last night and then Becky and I visited the Paradise Casino to make a little contribution. I paid $10.00 for two Pepsis and Becky left them a few dollars also.

Today we made a speed run to Mexico but didn't hang around too long because of the wind/dust blowing. We did stop and grab one cache that was placed about a half mile away late last night. Too lazy to go for it in the dark last night.............and I still haven't found my flashlight.

Gotta work on my list of To Dos in the next few days. Later. W

Made It To Yuma About.................

1300 this afternoon. Temperature was 90 and it felt like 100 when I was setting up the M/H while Becky was on the computer and harvesting her crops (Farmville)!

Bummer.............can use the air card here; but, it's like using a telephone line. Sprint doesn't have a 3G network in Yuma. The main thing is.........it works. After the sun started dropping I went out and finally got the satellite dish up and running. Still slow in the afternoon and early evening; but, it gets better around 2000 when downloads start showing up in the 600-700 range. Looks like I might be stuck with two systems for awhile.

Going out to breakfast tomorrow with JJ and la84fishn...........got some debts to pay off for two of the caches I had placed before we left in March so this will take care of one of them. After breakfast, JJ will still have a hot dog coming at a later date...........he thinks he should have a steak dinner!

Gotta make a run to the commissary tomorrow and continue getting settled before we start having "fun".

Later. W&B

Made A Trip To Oatman Today........

since we've been wanting to make this little trip for several years. Today, we finally dun it.

Oatman is on the old historic Route 66 and it used to be a thriving community with the gold that was mined in days past. It's now a tourist trap. There were two geocaches in town and another one that we picked up on the road into Oatman.

Right now one of Oatman's claim to fame are the wild burros that come into town and wander up and down main street. We only saw two of them today. There were signs posted around that indicated if a burro had a "carrot sticker" stuck on its forehead then that particular burro wasn't to be fed any carrots. The two burros in town today were apparently mother and offspring. The baby had a sticker stuck on it's forehead. A lady told us that the sticker was there because the younger burro still hadn't developed enough teeth to consume the carrot. If it was fed a carrot it quite possibly would choke and die.

I was tempted to buy a carrot for it; but, I figured animal activists would be all over my "ass"........ so I didn't waste my money buying a carrot. But, can you imagine the photo op of a young burro trashing around main street!!

Didn't spend much time in Oatman so back to the RV park we came. Considering Sea Food Buffet at the casino tonight.

Later. W&B

In Laughlin.............

After leaving Tonopah we headed down the road toward Death Valley. We stopped along the way several times to look for some geocaches. Here's a couple of them and a pic of Becky as we entered Death Valley. We had just left Tonopah where it was C O L D the previous night. Here's the temps when we reached DV. These pictures are in no particular order.

We had to drive down to the lowest point in Death Valley……….an area called Badwater Basin. I can’t remember why the name……….probably from the salt content of the water that has pooled here. Probably the most photographed sign in the Valley is the “Sea Level” sign posted up the cliff just behind Badwater Basin. We nearly had the place to ourselves when a big bus load of tourists drove up and most of them headed out toward the middle of the basin. Becky joined them and then came back after the bus had departed. Look in pictures 6 and 7.……….that’s Becky coming back from her hike. We also found a historical marker placed for the 49ers who entered Death Valley hoping to find a route through the mountains. If you come to Death Valley you’d best have a full tank of gas. I filled up in Beatty, NV for $2.79 a gallon.

That’s about it for our DV excursion. Nest stop Laughlin. Oh by the way, I paid $2.27 for gas in Bullhead City!!

Headed down the road to the Devils’ Golfcourse……another virtual cache. The area is mostly salt that was left after water evaporates after the infrequent rain falls. Even Tiger Woods couldn’t break par on this course!

There’s a museum at Furnace Creek………it was actually “free” to browse around. This old engine was a virtual cache so I dipped a couple of my coins here for the mileage………my Jeepen Jumpers and FisnJack coins. They had a lot of "old stuff" on display in this outdoor museum......Becky was one of them.

Left Tonopah and headed toward Death Valley. I downloaded a few caches along the way so we made a few stops and grabbed a few caches. Found a couple in Goldfield…….this old hotel was a virtual cache that also served as the town high school for some years. It’s now probably beyond restoration although still listed as a historical site. Further down the road we found a Moose Mob cache at the location of this former cat house.

We'll be leaving Laughlin on Saturday morning for our last leg into Yuma. W&B

Tonopah..........About 1600.........

WOW, weather sure can change in a hurry. We've had gusts that made the M/H rock and roll and I was afraid that I'd lose my satellite dish even though the base weighs about 30 pounds! Now it's starting to rain. We'll be OK tomorrow if the wind continues from the North/NorthWest.

Made It To Tonopah...........

about noon today. Got my MTV set up, Becky has her internet working, and I'm leeching a signal from the Ramada Hotel. Whatever works.

Paid for the RV site, got a senior discount, ate lunch, got another senior discount and then the slot machine got all my discounts back plus one-half of my bankroll.

Nice and sun shiny right now and the cashier said they have been having mild nights lately.................although a week or so ago it got down to 19 degrees! Here's hoping for another mild night.

Right now we plan on stopping at Death Valley...........for how long is anyone's guess. I would like to get to Lake Havasu on Saturday and we'd like to spend a couple of days in Laughlin too. That would put us a few days ahead of our original plans so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Later. W&B

Sunday Afternoon................

and we pulled into the Desert Rose RV Park near Fernley, NV. Was going to stop in Reno; but, drove on through. Originally planned to overnight it at the El Dorado or Legacy; but, that would mean leaving the M/H and trailer in an unsecured lot overnight. Think I have everything on the trailer locked down with cables and padlocks; however, no reason to give someone an easy opportunity to lift a few items.

Anyway, we have a couple of casinos within a few miles of the park so will give them our business instead of Reno.

We were going to stop at NAS Fallon for a day or so..........since it's only 27 miles down the road we'll drive to Tonopah tomorrow and overnight there instead. Just called the little RV park behind the casino and they no longer take reservations...........stricly first come first served. Bummer. Guess we'll have to leave early and try to reach Tonopah by noon.

Had breakfast in Woodland at our favorite diner with Rhonda and the Twerps this morning and then we pulled up stakes and headed down the road. At least I managed to pig out on biscuits and gravy one last time!!!

Weather nice so far. Highway 80 between Sacramento and Reno really sucks in places. They have been working on it and really improved some areas; but, other stretches are worse than the Alaskan Highway..................well, just about as bad.

Becky finally gave up the air card so I'll post this and give the card back to her. We're on the fringe of a 3G connection so still getting pretty good up and download speeds. That makes "B" happy 'cause she farming like crazy.........will probably have new crops to harvest later this evening. If that doesn't make sense to you (it doesn't make much sense to me) you'll have to check out "Farmville" through the Face Book connection.

All for now...........later from Tonopah. W&B

Friday..........

and we're sitting at the fair grounds RV park in Woodland, CA. Left Corning this morning and will spend most of the weekend visiting kids before we head South on Sunday or Monday. Bryce has a football game tomorrow so will take that in before we leave.

No set schedule on our way South and no reservations made any place.........Becky couldn't believe that!! Probably will stop in Reno, Fallon, Tonopah, Death Valley and Laughlin.................that is if we don't lose our bankroll in Reno.

If the aircard is working we should be posting updates as we continue toward Yuma.

Later. W&B

Monday...........

and we got back to Corning about 1300 today. Stopped at our favorite state park yesterday afternoon since I didn't feel like driving through. If I did we would have been driving at night and I avoid that if possible. Trees are really turning colors; however, they need a couple of more weeks and then they'll be displaying all the fall colors.

Big rain and wind storm starting around midnight tonight and tomorrow is supposed to be 100% chance of rain with gusts in the 50s. Got home just in time. Hope it doesn't last as we still need to pack up the M/H for our annual trek to Arizona. Will be leaving on Friday.

Didn't stop at Seven Feathers Casino on our way back.............Becky said "No". She had been playing solitaire and won too many games so figured her luck was due to change and didn't want to test her theory at the casino.

Of course when we got home we had to visit our own local casino...............I was losing my social security check when the gambling gods decided to grace me with a tiny run of luck and I managed to depart there $3.00 ahead! I think Becky just about broke even.

More later. W&B

Made It To Vancouver............

about 1400 this afternoon. Opted to stop at an Oregon state park last night and good thing we had full hookups as it was C O L D this morning. Ran little electric heater all night long. Drove about 50 miles up the road and had breakfast at Seven Feathers Casino, lost $10.00 and we continued on our way.

Had dinner with the Morris' and then Becky, Tami and the Twerps went to Cassidy's school for some kind of "star gazing". Guess they had telescopes set up and some kind of presentation for the kids and parents. I just looked out the window, saw the stars from the comfort of the M/H so don't figure I missed anything.............well actually I'm missing some new TV programs as our local stations are received from Chico, CA and we're too far north to pick them up. I got the little box to receive local stations from the antenna; but, too lazy to dig it out and hook it up. I'll catch the reruns.

Tomorrow I'll pick up the Rhino and trailer and load everything up. We should be ready to hit the road for Corning sometime on Sunday. Will probably spend the night at the Valley of the Rogue state park again and then have a short drive left on Monday morning.

So far the weather has been treating us kindly.............no rain in sight; however, forecast is changing to rain for Monday. Hopefully we'll be South of it by the time it arrives.

Doug and Cassidy are arguing about where to go for their birthday dinners. Guess we won't know where we'll going until tomorrow sometime.

Ollie, the miniture schnauzer is really growing and not as "cute" as he was when they first got him. Still likes to chew on your fingers though if you're not paying attention.

Well, the star gazers should be getting home shortly so will post this and see if they learned anything. Later. W

Another Tuesday.....Week Since Last Update.............

........haven't been doing too much; but, finally went to Woodland on Friday, Jace had his BD party on Saturday and Saturday morning we drove about 35 miles to Bryce's football game. They ran into a tornado...........think final score was 20 - 0 or something like that. Jace had his "kids" party last week so this Saturday was for the family and few close friends. Had a nice bar-b-que and Jace wanted some oysters so he and his dad grilled them up and served them to the shell fish eaters...............they were scrumptious! Sunday morning at the diner for biscuits and gravy and then B and I headed for Corning around noonish.

Yesterday we just chilled out and enjoyed the cooler weather (at least I did). Today we had the carpets in the house and M/H cleaned and I managed to abuse the oleanders.............chopped them right down to size...................but, they'll be back!

The Fantastic Fan people are great to deal with............they sent me a new motor and fan housing at no charge. Heck the fan has been out of warranty for about 5 years..........nice to find a company every now and then who stand behind their products.

Thursday, we're heading back up to Washington on a speed run to pick up the Rhino. After mulling it over for the last month I finally decided that I wanted to take it to Arizona. Will celebrate a couple of BDs up there and we'll come back on Sunday or Monday to get ready to head for Yuma. Think we'll stop in Woodland for the following weekend and hit Reno, Fallon, Tonopah, Death Valley and Laughlin before arriving in Yuma in time for Halloween.

That's about it for us. Later, probably from Washington. W&B

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

and two weeks to the day when the Crud got a hold of me. I'm actually going to live!! Almost back to my old greasy diet of biscuits and gravy and hamburgers.............however, still going to cool it for a few more days as my tummy is still rumbling on occasion.

I've got a couple more doctor appointments this week and then should be ready to head South. No set schedule or route we're going to take at this time............we were gonna go through Reno, Las Vegas and Laughlin; but, better judgment (if we had any) tells us to avoid these gambling dens. Time will tell.

Thought M/H should be ready to go...............now the Fantastic Fan has given up the ghost! I checked it out today and I guess the electric motor decided it was time to quit. I gotta call the company and see if I can just order the motor from them...............should be cheaper than a new fan.

Gonna be nice and cool this week so looks like a good time to mutilate the oleanders...........cutting them back is an annual chore.

Nothing else going on...........we're probably going to spend the weekend in Woodland and that's about it. W&B

Saturday Afternoon............

and we're considering making a run out to the casino so Becky can get her "fix". Weather cooled down a bit.........if you can call low 90s cool.

Larry and Audrey made it to Corning yesterday afternoon. I was feeling quite a bit better so Larry, B and myself went out to hunt down a few caches before we went to the casino for dinner. Friday was seafood night...........no dungness crab so we skipped that and had dinner in the little bar area. Tried our luck and I escaped with $41.00 of the casino's money. Played until my tummy said it was time to go.

Today has been a "hold down the couch" day again. Was watching football when a couple of cachers showed up to hunt down "Muttley". Watched them for a while and I finally gave them a hint and they made the find. They seemed to enjoy the hunt.

Posting a couple of pics of our caching efforts yesterday. Later. W&B

Barely Alive................

or so it seems. Boy, I've had tummy problems before; but, never quite like this time. Seems like I'm on the way to recovery and then I eat the wrong food and I'm almost back to square one again. Been following a bland diet for the last couple of days and hopefully can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Time will tell.

It's been HOT this week so I've been just veging on the couch with the A/C going............at least there's one advantage to this............I've been staying off my feet so the old knees are feeling much better.

Managed to make it to the casino a few times in the passing days and my "Red Brothers" haven't been too kind to me until today. I managed to recover my loses of the previous trips so didn't spend too much time there today...........got my money back and then got out of Dodge. Becky even left today with a few extra bucks in her jeans.

Tomorrow Larry and Audrey should get here in the afternoon on their way to Yuma so we'll probably have dinner with them. Don't know about any caching..........it depends on the amount of time they want to spend here.............and of course the weather.

Just letting people know we're still alive..............maybe not completely well yet; but, at least making some progress.

Later. W&B

Finally Reached End Of The Week...............

and at least I'm feeling about 50% today. Tummy still growling and making other funny noises; but, at least I see some improvement. May take another day or so of bland foods to get my tummy settled down. We were going to the twerps football game tomorrow; but, Becky may have to make the run by herself.

Shop finally called so I made a speed run to Chico to pick up the M/H. Much quieter without exhaust leaks! That's about all the energy I had for today so guess it's back to veging on the couch again and hope that tomorrow is a better day.

Should be doing fine when you get here Larry. W&B

Wednesday...........

and I'm trying to recover from the "crud" which got a hold on me Monday evening; but, getting better today. Seems like the crud hits me about every 12 to 14 months.............no explanation, can't trace it to anything I eat and usually takes about 3 days to get about half way normal again. Last time I got it was about 1 year ago, 28 September to be exact. (???)

Got a call from the shop and hopefully M/H will be ready to pick up tomorrow. Exhaust manifold gasket on driver's side leaking so I just told them to replace both sides. Hopefully, no more problems for another 5 years.

Should be able to make it to the twerp's football game on Saturday if stomach problems don't flare up again. That's about it for us, think I'm just gonna vegitate on the couch for the rest of the day.

Later. W

Didn't Make It To Woodland............

today for the Twerp's football game......and they won! Homegame next weekend so we'll do our best to get to that one. Haven't been doing much since the old temps climbed a bit; but, cooled down for this weekend. Next week should be OK with highs in low 90s.............I used to think that 90 was HOT...........not anymore as it's actually tolerable since we froze our butts off at Dillon Beach.

Been looking for someone to fix exhaust leak in M/H, took it in to a local shop yesterday; but, it wouldn't fit into his shop.........too tall. I found another guy in Chico and he said "no problem" so we'll take it over there Monday morning and drop it off. It needs new exhaust gaskets and some of the joints are leaking. Hope this is all we gotta do before we head South.

Been giving the casino some more business and I've actually been staying ahead of them this last week. Maybe I'm wising up by stopping when I'm a few dollars ahead instead of getting greedy. Cashed in $105 yesterday and $63 today. We went to the Flying J to try out their breakfast buffet and then scooted out to the casino. The Flying J serves some decent food at a good price so it may become our alternate restaurant for a quick meal.

I think we're in for the evening unless casino starting calling my name. Later. W&B

Been Trying to Get Caught Up...........

with stuff around here since we got back from Dillon Beach. Been a spendy month since we got back from WA.............house A/C needed to be replaced, shower was leaking, water softener had to be replaced, water pump leaking in M/H, door latch on M/H keeps locking us out and gotta get exhaust leak fixed on M/H. One item at a time and maybe we can be ready to get outta here in October.

Weather has been nice the last few days, temps in upper 80s; but, triple digits supposed to return for the weekend. Bummer.........guess we'll be going back to Woodland for Bryce's football game on Saturday..........probably just for one day unless I get the M/H ready to roll before then.

Been keeping my red brothers happy with casino runs..........actually I've been holding my own since we got back to town. They got to my goody locker today...........I was ahead then then got greedy. So it goes.

Just an update to let everyone know that not much in happening in Corntown. Later. W&B

More Saturday Pics at Dillon Beach.........

After breakfast the troops headed for the big sand dunes to go boogie boarding down them. They conned Old Granny to go with them so away they went. You can barely see the sand dune they were heading for in the first picture. Old Granny made it and took these pictures of the kids going up and down the hill. Rhonda made it out there too and then she hiked back to get Becky's walking stick............it was either that or send for a rescue helicopter to get her back.

More pics of the twerps going up and down the side of the sand dune.

They all made it back from the sand dunes and the next adventure was going down to the ocean to look for some crabs. They looked, looked and looked some more and did come up with some itty bitty crabs.

Rhonda was playing in the water with the rest of the kids.........she damn near took a header in the drink; but, rear ballast was enough to keep her balanced. Looks like Jace and Bryce found "something".

Looks like it's about time for Rhonda and Becky to start their spaghetti feed for the troops. Hope they brought enough fixins (?).

Pics From Friday and Saturday...............

Friday everyone started arriving....naturally the boys started a football game in the sand and prepations for dinner got underway.

Twice baked potatoes and grilled chicken were on the menu...........better grilled chicken then KFC!!

Rhonda was showing off her two-way radio...........I figured it had to be the radio she was exposing since there wasn't much of anything else.

Bob was a grillin chicken while kibtzers looked on. A campfire was soon underway.........it was welcome as the wind had picked up and it started getting COLD after the sun went down.

I think Brad, Steve and Bob spotted a "nude sunbather" on an adjacent dune..........at least that's what I figured since they spent a lot of time up there with a spotting scope.

The girls challenged the boys to a football game and promptly beat their butts!

It was getting cold for me and "CJ" so we both found sanctuary in Steve and Rhonda's trailer.

Saturday morning a breakfast was being held to "Save Dillon Beach" and Becky and I went down to give it a try. For $5.00 we had pancakes, eggs, sausage, orange juice and coffee. It was OK; but, they had no means to keep the food warm. Oh well, we didn't have to prepare anything.

I stood in the middle of the campsite and took pictures from the inside of our circle............here's what we looked like.

Becky hiked out to the sand dunes with the kids.........they were using boogie boards to slide down the hill. She just got back and looks worn to a frazzle! No matter how old you get............you can still learn new lessons. She probably won't be making that hike again...........I would estimate it be about a mile and a half for the round trip.........and walking in the sand!!

Will post this and probably have more pictures later.

Friday........More People Showing Up Today...............

This is what we looked like this morning.....since then another trailer and motorhome have arrived. I guess one more 37' M/H has yet to arrive. Wonder where he'll park??? When we got back from our travels a bunch of "squatters" moved in with their tents, right behind me, even though the area was roped off. I lit off the big generator that's pointed right at them; but, it doesn't seem to phase them. We went up the hill at Dillon Beach and Becky was able to use her cell phone.........no more withdrawals. We've been on top of the hill several times and each time we see deer in people's yards.

We headed for Bodega Bay and did some caching on the way. A cache was hidden under this little shop's porch........the name of the cache had something to do with "Gabby" and we found out the pooch was Gabby. Nice friendly mutt. Outside of Bodega (not to be confused with Bodega Bay) the Nuvi went beep.........so I cut a uie in the highway and we went back to find a bit of history and the cache at this old school house.

Stopped for some clam chowder at Bodega Bay and then went looking for some more caches. Found one near this old hulk of a boat and drove down the road for another. I found the cache..........Becky was taking pictures. Last picture was taken after she yelled and stepped into a big pile of doggie do............fresh doggie do. That ended our caching for the day and she just bagged up her shoe in a Walmart bag and we headed for home. Took her about 15 minutes to get her shoe cleaned up. That "fresh" doggie do is good stuff!

Got back, met some of our fellow campers and now we're waiting for dinner to be ready. I don't know what's on the menu; but, the clam chowder is wearing off so I'm looking for some food in the near future.

More later.............hope we don't freeze our butts off...........it got C O L D last night. W&B