Halloween Arrives...............

and Larry, Robert, Theresa and I go caching on the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range. Becky "volunteered" to stay home and do the domestic stuff.

It was a nice, sunny, no wind day so we spent about 8 hours finding and placing some geocaches. I think we found about 45 and placed 12. You gotta be pretty nasty to place a cache in the middle of an Ocotillo..........but it looks like JJ did just that. These things are pretty nasty and their thorns will rip you up.

We got home when it was getting close to 1600........tired dirty and hungry. JJ's RZR and my Rhino were our trusty steeds; but, there is no way to avoid the dust that we kick up. We took turns "leading" so all of us were encased in dust/dirt when we got home. We put a little over 90 miles on our trip today. Will probably sleep good tonight!

No trick or treaters for us as this is an area with mostly "Old Folks"...........a besides we didn't turn on the porch light. Well football game is nearly over so will watch the last 12 minutes. Later. W&B

Halloween Fast Approaching................

and I still haven't figured out "what am I gonna be"!!

Maybe I'll just say to hell with Halloween and go to bed early..........same as the last 25 or so Halloweens.

Still trying to get settled in a little bit at a time. I hauled some extra tires for the Rhino, tool boxes, bicycle and a bunch of other stuff since I had much more room on the bigger trailer. Also bought a bunch of cables and locks since we don't have a storage shed. Then we got here and I left everything chained down on the trailer. Last year I just kinda piled it in front of the M/H and we had no problems. Been hearing about copper wire being stolen from vacant lots so I was getting a little concerned about leaving stuff out. So..........been browsing Craig's List and finally found a small enclosed trailer for sale. Guy wanted $750 so we went and looked at it. It's kinda small about 4' x 7' inside; but, it looked like it would hold everything. I made an offer for it and after some brief haggling I bought it for $650. Got it home and all my excess goodies fit in it nicely. Got some friends who live here year around or else have stick houses that they live in while here so maybe I can store the trailer with one of them when it comes time to head back North. Anyway it solves the storage and security problem while we're here. It probably wouldn't be too hard to sell; but, I'd like to keep it around.

Found some 14 inch wheels on Craig's list also with a bolt pattern that will fit the Rhino. He only wants $75 for them so guess I'll go to the tire shop tomorrow and see what I can come up with for on/off road tires that will work better for the Rhino on paved streets. The Rhino gets a little squirrely on pavement at 55+ mph.

Made our rounds to casinos, two of them, so have one more to contribute to and then we can try and stay away from them..........they're not like at home where the casino is only about 10 minutes away.

We need to make a "drug" run to Mexico before those "damn winter visitors" get here so need to do that soon. We got a friend in Corning who gives us money to pick him up some tummy pills for him...........saves him a bundle as we get a year's supply pretty cheaply.

Weather has been really good, usually when we come home after our travels in the afternoon we run the A/C for an hour or so and that takes care of the heat. Actually, Becky thinks we don't need the A/C at all; but, I do.

Both of us had Dr. appointments on Tuesday...........just made contact with the Doc to let him know we're back in case we need him.........and I got my flu shot while there. I still have to see the local Rheumatologist; but, no hurry with that.

Well, tomorrow is Friday so guess we'll see if the clam chower at a Greek restaurant we go to is still good.

Later. W&B

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

The Original Can of Beans was on display, the owner brought it over from Phoenix. You have to be a cacher to have knowledge of the OCB. Becky observing JJ cooking the buffalo burgers, JJ and Char, our hosts/hostess. This was the line waiting to gobble down the buffalo burgers.

the day after JJ's Pot Luck Event. It was well attended and Buffalo Burgers were yummy! Here's a few pictures of the attendees.

This morning I headed to the glass shop to have the window replaced in the Suzuki and they only took about 35 minutes to fix it. My next stop was heading toward down town to see if I could do something about getting internet up to speed. I finally decided to sign up for Beam Speed and after messing with the modem and finally calling the Beam Speed office I got it running. Compared to the Sprint air card we're now living in the fast lane again. Won't be able to get Becky off the computer now. So we're now paying Sprint $60 bucks a month and Beam Speed $50 for the internet.........oh well you can't take it with you.

Still haven't unloaded the trailer or get the patio area set up. I'm going to talk to Jorge tomorrow afternoon and see how much he'll charge me to build a patio area outside the motor home with some 1x1 foot bricks. Property owner has no objections so I'll probably get it done. It will sure make the patio area a lot easier getting around.

Kinda warm this afternoon.........and we're supposed to be in a "cool down" period. Oh well, sure beats rain and cold! Later..........w&b

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

about 1140 this morning. Problems with hooking up to electricity; but, finally got that resolved so have my MTV and a very, very sloooooow internet. Guess it'll have to do for now. We're using Sprint air card and it works fine everywhere..........except YUMA. I called Sprint and they were supposed to have 3G equipment installed and working by now; or, so they said last March. Latest word now is it's supposed to be working by end of year. I won't hold my breath!!

Made a speed run to the Marine Corps Base to get our Bombing Range passes, stopped by glass shop and they'll fix my window on Monday for $155.00. Guess that's not too bad, I certainly expected it would cost more than that. Some guy came to see if we wanted M/H washed, I asked him what kinda "deal" I could get, he said he'd wash car for "free", wanted $190.00 for wash and wax, that included waxing roof. Told him to forget it 'cause I had it done for $165 in March. He told me I was a cheap skate and left. Now I'll probably have to keep everything under lock and key.

Going to Bombing Range tomorrow with JJ and Larry..........told Becky she could stay home and "clean up" the joint. Looks like it'll take the rest of the week to get things squared away. I asked the guy who came to get my electricity going if he knew of anyone willing to lay some 1 x 1 blocks to make a patio in front of the M/H. He said he did and I gave him my phone number. Wanted to do this last year but never got around to it. Land lady has no objections so will go for it. Might have to get a shed of sorts also to store my extra stuff. Electrician said there was a lot of vandalism going on around the area. Jobless rate is about 26% according to an article I read so the midnight thieves might be pretty active this year.

All for now..........just wanted to let those interested know that we made it to Yuma. W&B

In Barstow California..........

at the Marine Corps Logistics Base. Arrived here a couple of hours ago for an overnight, then to the West Side of Lake Havasu to visit their casino tomorrow. Finally, arrive "home" in Yuma sometime on Friday.

Guess my last entry was Friday when we were in Vancouver, WA. We left Vancouver on Sunday, arrived Corning and then spent Monday getting M/H and trailer ready to leave again. Left Corning on Tuesday, spent night at Harris Ranch and then arrived Barstow. Weather been great and we just missed the monsoon at Barstow. Lots of standing water alongside the road and "flooded" signs still on the roadway that hadn't been removed yet. Could have used a good downpour to wash off the M/H..........but not to be.

Had a great trip to Washington........except for Saturday night. Got ready to leave on Sunday morning, we were staying at a Best Western Motel, and found the driver's side window had been smashed in the Suzuki. A smash and dash and the thieves took my $99.00 Nuvi GPS off the dash. They'll never make it as thieves............they left two Garmin GPSrs on the console, value about $300 each, left two Canon cameras in the back area, value about $400 each, a peanut butter jar full of quarters under the seat with about $70 in it and miscellaneous items we had purchased in Vancouver. I spent about $100 for goodies at Home Depot and another $75 or so at the Outdoor Wholesale place. The idiots could have really made a nice haul; but, smashed my window and all they took was the Nuvi. Will get window replaced when we get to Yuma.

Drove to Dug's house, cleaned up the broken glass, found a piece of plexi-glass at Lowe's and Dug cut it to fit, taped it up with some super-duper duct tape (at $10 a roll it should be good) and away we went. The duct tape and plexi glass are still holding up quite well..........a little wind noise; but, that doesn't bother me as Becky is following me in the Suzuki while I'm driving the M/H and pulling the trailer.

That about catchs you up on our activities for the last 5 days.

W&B

Birthday Dinners Today................

Doug and Cassidy were supposed to figure out a place for dinner........for the last two days they couldn't agree on anyplace.......so about a hour before dinner they finally agreed on P. J. Changs, a Chinese Restaurant in downtown Portland. Personally, I was ready for a steak; but, not to be. As it turned out the Chinese joint was pretty good and we didn't even have any leftovers to bring home. After that Cassidy needed a cupcake "fix" for dessert so we stopped at a strictly cupcake joint they had found previously. I asked for my senior discount and the cupcake dude said it "was in there" with total bill. I told him his gratuity was in there also as I pocketed my change!

Party day tomorrow and then we head back to Corning early on Sunday morning. Pack up the M/H and leave again for Arizona about Monday or Tuesday...........depends on how long it takes to get the M/H ready to roll.

W&B

In Vancouver, WA for A Few Days...............

......left Corning about 0600 and arrived Vancouver shortly after 1400.........even had a stop at Seven Feathers Casino and I had made enough money to fill the gas tank...........that is until I decided to double my wagers to make a "killing" and ended up losing my twenty bucks! So it goes.

We got to Vancouver early enough to take care of a few chores on our "to do" list and have a few more to do the next couple of days; but, shouldn't have any problem getting stuff done.

Tonight we headed for the bowling alley as Dug's work place was having a bowling night to raise money for charity. They had a pretty good turnout and the company furnished pizza for everyone. We should have snuck in on the "freebies"; but, felt a little guilty so "B" and I grabbed a bite at the snack bar. Bowling alley snack bars are always good for a nasty dose of "grease" so we enjoyed gobbling bowling alley food and watching the "would be" bowlers. Cassidy and Tami were also recuited to bowl and Trace busied himself with the arcade machines.

Long day so we headed for the barn. We're staying at a motel since we left the M/H in Corning and they even have a complimentary breakfast if we get up early enough tomorrow.

Leave here on Sunday, head for Corning and then we should be on the road for our annual trek to Arizona next week.

W&B

It's Really Tuff To Be OLD................

as our tired old bodies told us this morning! Yesterday both B and I went on a "clean up" spree..........we just had the carpet and furniture cleaned on Thursday so Becky went nutso on squaring out all the corners. I couldn't stand to watch her cleaning things up so I went outside to hide. While there I decided it was time to clean out the gutters before the rains arrived. Good idea; but, I should have found some high school kid to do it for me! For longer than I care to think about it was up the ladder, clean out a few feet of the gutter, then down the ladder, move the ladder, then back up the ladder, etc. etc. It took quite a while. I was hesitant to climb on the roof and clean the gutters.........thinking that if I sat down up there I probably would have problems getting back up again. Anyway the knee held up with my up and down trips; but, boy was I ever SORE this morning. Becky was the same way from scrubbing the floor on hands and knees. Then I pruned up the tree limbs overhanging the patio and cleaned them up. Started to weed eat around the fence; but, gave up on that.

Only bright spot of the day was our afternoon run to the casino........I invested $20 and cashed in a slip for $242.40. That almost made me even from the last week or so!

Now time to get M/H ready for a little speed run up North. Shouldn't take much though and we'll be ready to hit the road for a week or so. Then back home and load up for our annual run for warmer weather in the South.

That's it for now. There's a geocaching event in Redding on Sunday to celebrate 10-10-10 and we might drive up for that; but, not sure if we'll go at this time.

More later. W&B

Been A Bit Busy..........

the last few days. Check Becky's Blog...............we got back from Woodland on Sunday and later in the afternoon Becky's sister and hubby arrived from Medford where they had been visiting Scott's sister. Well, we headed for the casino (where else) where Sue and Scott treated to a fantastic dinner at the casino steak house. We hadn't eaten there for a loooong time so it was a great treat. A bit of gambling and we all headed for the barn. It was a long day.

Monday Rhonda took the day off from work so drove up to spend the day with Mama and Auntie. I had a Doctor appointment in Chico so they spent the day browsing the Corning area. We had Mexican food at Montes that evening after Rhonda headed back South.

Early on Tuesday Scott and Sue decided to hit the road so they left without breakfast heading back to Branson, Mo. We were up so B and I had a buffet breakfast at the casino.

Later Tuesday our friends from Yuma stopped by for an overnight at the casino rv park. Phyliss and Wayne sprang for our dinner..........at the buffet of course. Haven't checked the scales; but, I've probably put on a few pounds the last few days. Phyliss had her right knee replaced up in the Seattle area about 3 weeks after I had mine done so we compared notes over dinner. Poor lady hurt her right ankle a few days ago so she was having some difficulty getting around. Bummer.........just when your knee is coming along great you hurt your ankle!! She's tuff though so I'm sure she'll be back to climbing the rocks and mountains when we get back to Yuma in November.

Today is nice and cool so been doing a few things to get M/H ready for a speed run to Washington before we head South. Even mowed the "weeds" today.

Tomorrow we have someone coming to clean the carpet and furniture so will be around all day tomorrow. Weekend is open; but, don't know what we'll be doing................nothing probably.

That's it for us. W&B

Sitting At The Fairgrounds in Woodland..............

and will head up the road to Corning tomorrow sometime..........probably after biscuits and gravy at Don's Diner. No company for tomorrow as Steve, Rhonda and Bryce will be heading for somewhere again for Bryce's baseball game. It a fur piece and they'll have to leave about 0700..........that's too early for us. Jace will be spending the day with friends so it looks me and Grandma will eat before we leave.

Got here Friday afternoon, get set up and Rhonda picked up Becky and they went home to get things ready for the family birthday party for Jace. I showed up around 1800 and the rest of the group started arriving shortly thereafter. Had a feast of bar b que chicken and fixins and pie and ice cream instead of a cake. There must have been around 25 or more for the party. Becky took pictures so check her blog for pics of the festivities.

Today Grandma and Jace spent the day doing whatever they wanted to do. They had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack in Sacramento, visited mall and I'm not sure what else they did. They finally picked me up at the M/H about 1500 and Jace was too pooped to pop. Ran a couple of errands and then to Steve and Rhonda for ribeye dinner!!!

I spent the afternoon watching football until the #@$&ing dome started acting up and I lost my tv reception. Took a while to get it going and then I was only able to pick up one satellite. Bummer! At least I still carry my portable dish so it looks like I'll have to go back to using that if the dome keeps acting up. Too difficult to find someone who works on the dome and I finally found a guy in Portland who got me running in June. It's nice when it works properly.

Should get home around noonish tomorrow and then Becky's sister and hubby should be arriving from Medford. They have been in Medford visiting Scott's brother.

After that our geocaching buds from Yuma will be passing through on Tuesday. It'll give us excuses to pig out at the buffet and then to try and "break the bank". Fat Chance.

All for now. W&B