WHY DO I LOVE FULL TIME TRAVEL?

Each morning, I wake up before John.  I take the fur kids out for their morning walk and return to our coach for my cuppa tea.

Looking out our front window, I marvel at whatever sight might be there that day and I say to myself, "I absolutely L O V E  this life.

The freedom to see new sights and make new friends is remarkable.  These friends might not be with us for a long time, but we will see them down the road...maybe.  But whatever, they will always be friends.  

Being able to go to bed and have a view of the sky from the bedroom window is magnificent. Bright, brilliant stars and the moon in it's various stages.  Then to awake to either quiet, the sounds of the surf or bird's singing it's greetings to the new day.

Peace, peace.  Wonderful peace.  Sweet peace.  God has blessed us with this time of our life and we are both so thankful.

Where but fulltiming can we  experience geography and history lessons 365 days a year?  

We experience first hand fault lines where earthquakes have occurred and will happen again.  We even experience our first earthquake.     

Wild fires followed by mud and rock slides scour the sides of the mountains. 


In the southwest, rivers carve deep canyons.  





There are mines to explore.  The list goes on and on.  





Two years ago we parked next to a forgotten, sleeping volcano in Amboy, California on Route 66.  It was quite an experience to approach the volcano and walk over the hardened lava with the ripples and ridges showing it's path across the desert floor.  People view the crater and think it is a curious site.  Curious?  I don't think so...It is history.  OUR history.
When will the Amboy volcano awake, rumble and spew its molten ash around? When will Mount St. Helen's, Yosemite awake?



Petroglyphs  are a history lesson in pictures drawn on rocks hundreds of years ago.  But, what story are they telling?  Do we rely on what other's translations?  Do we use our own imagination?  


What would the giant redwoods tell us about the history of their lifetime?  The flat lands of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska?  How about the New England States?  

What about the Gulf States?  What would they tell us?  Would they describe the heartbreak of the thousands of lives extinguished during the Civil War battles?  The lives lost in the hurricanes?  What would these states say?  

The difference in the mountains is striking.  In the east, they are covered with trees, shrubs, etc. 





In the southwest the 
mountains are exposed 
sharing the beauty of the 
formations, fault lines and 
changing colors.  





The sounds of full time travel are amazing.  We hear the rumble of vehicles that share the highways and byways with us.  

The roar of the Pacific as it pounds the shore.  

As the water returns to the ocean.  we hear the tick, tick,tick of the pebbles being rolled over and over back to the ocean.

At the next location, it is quiet...we hear nothing!  Silence...total silence. 

These are only a few of the reasons we enjoy our new life of full time motorhome travel.  You just might want to give it a try if you have not yet had the experience.  

ON THE MOVE

We decided to leave Lake Perris State Recreational Area a day earlier than we estimated.  Visitors were beginning their long weekend early and we could see that it was going to be a noisy day.  

You are right.  We are spoiled.  We love the absence of human voices.  The discussions as to how to erect a huge tent for the first time, with each person having a different solution.  People talking on their cell phones so loudly that they probably didn't need to be heard back home..... since they were yelling into their phones, etc, etc.  

The flies and mosquitoes were already there awaiting their meals arrival in their cars, trucks pulling  RVs and the motorhomes.    How is that for a multi-day banquet?

We moved south on the 215 and looked for a place to park for the night.  And here we are in the palatal estate of the Home Depot!  This is a huge lot and we do not hear one voice, the buzzing of mosquitoes or flies!  We will take the monotonous buzz of traffic any time over the voices of people that we do not know.  

In Jojo's town, is allowable to park a motorhome on the street for three days.  Tomorrow, Friday, we will park in front of her house and will leave Monday morning.  Hopefully, by then, we will have a place to land for the next five weeks.

The hot, hot weather is not "supposed" to hit the area until early July or late June.  June "gloom" is supposed to keep us cooler.  

Jojo's birthday is July 8 and we want to celebrate her birthday with her for the first time in twenty years.  Then, we are heading for cooler weather.

Where?  Not sure.  Our desire is cooler temperatures and no humidity.  Both are essential elements for keeping John healthy.  Any suggestions?  

We must be back in Indiana late October / early November for all of John's appointments with various physicians.  

We also need to schedule a visit to Red Bay, Alabama.  We want Tiffin to make a few repairs on the motorhome including a boo-boo that John got when he had a fight with a large rock.  

Leigh and Bryan from the blog found here always have great meals that Leigh posts in her blog.  I asked her how she manages to have all the ingredients.  She actually plans her menus for a week then makes her shopping list.  A great  big duhhhh here.  

Yesterday, I made a meal plan for the next seven days.  I put all the ingredients on my phone's grocery list and today, we purchased everything I will need for the next week.  We will see how this goes.

What is so neat is that Leigh and Bryan hardly eat the same thing over.  They go from one tasty recipe to another.  John and I think this is a neat idea and are willing to follow their lead.  

If you are looking for some good plant based recipes check out their blog!  The meals are to die for!  

We met Leigh, Brian and Curtis (Olivia's friend) at Clark Dry Lake in Borrego Springs last March.  Then they found us again we we all camped at Blair Valley.

They are making their way to Washington state where they have land to park their Airstream during the summer months. 

Yesterday was our great-grand Harper's second birthday.  

She has changed a bit from this photo!  

And she is going to be a big sister in January!  

As an answer to our prayers, Kelly of The Bayfield Bunch has a diagnosis and is receiving treatment after a visit to the emergency room.  Read all about it in Al's blog.  

With that good news, I'm outta here!

God's blessing on each of you.  Travel safely...

   

A CHANGE OF SCENERY FOR THREE DAYS

Three weeks ago, we came to visit and to help Jojo with some projects.

A congregation had purchased and was remodeling a church that was one house away from Jojo's.  The elders were gracious and let us park in their lot until the church was ready for Sunday services. 

The Koi pond filtering system retrofit is complete, but we still need to work on the pergola and irrigation system so we intend to find a place to stay until after Jojo's birthday, July 8th.

Today is the day we needed to move.  We have moved to the Lake Parris (Pronounced Paris) State Recreation Area just twenty miles from Jojo's.  This is just a temporary place as it is Forty-five dollars each night for water and electricity.  

In retrospect, we should have been looking for a place to park during the last three weeks since the foreman on the church remodel told us we would be moving.  But, we met the chairman of the board and he said just to stay there as long as Jojo needed us nearby.  

Staying in a parking lot is not the ideal situation.  But for us it was ideal.  We were close to the work that needed to be done, but most important, we were close to a daughter that we had not been able to see on a regular basis for twenty years. 

We did not need to dump until this past Sunday.  That was almost three weeks!  And where did we dump?  Right here at the Lake Perris State Recreation Area.  

We showered at Jojo's.  I took Oliver and Olivia to her fenced back yard so they could run whenever they wanted.  I did laundry at her house rather than using the water on-board.  What a difference all those experiences made.  

This campground is on asphalt.  It is almost like we are back at the church.  But here, we have trees, a lake, and other campers that are off in the distance.  Oh yes....we have flies.  Flies by the hundreds!  The thousands, millions, billions, trillions!  Sounds like our national debt, doesn't it?

Tomorrow, even though for just a short time, I put out our hummingbird feeders and get the seed for the other critters with wings.  

So....what do I think of Lake Perris SRA?  I am so pleased that we will not be here for the Memorial Day weekend.  

The campsites are large enough for a small RV with their tow vehicle parked next to them.  Each site has water and electricity.  The dump station with flies by the gazillions is in a separate location.  It is NOT worth forty five dollars a day.  

The person at registration tried so hard to find a site for our forty foot Tiffin Allegro Bus and our sixteen foot trailer.  

She thought if we parked parallel to the road, all would fit side by side in one campsite.  If it were not for a tree, we would fit.  

We are not willing to either back into or pull into tree branches that would scratch the coach.  Also, we were not willing to pay for two campsites which was the other suggestion. 

My final thoughts about Lake Perris SRA, is just to skip it unless you are shorter than thirty feet, do not mind be lined up as if in a parking lot that is not level.

The scenery is nice, but you can find foothills anyplace.

  

The lake is okay, but it is not next to the campgrounds.

Would I return?  Only if we had to. 

Tomorrow, I plan to get out and take photos, do some hiking and enjoy the quiet.  

What are you planning to do tomorrow?  

Please pray for Al and Kelly of the Bayfield Bunch.  Kelly and Al are both having physical problems that need to be addressed quickly, but are in the quagmire of the Canadian healthcare system.  

For tonight, this is it.  Take care and most of all......

GOD BLESS!

KNITTERS TAKE NOTE! AND KOI POND RETROFIT

Knitters, would you like to win yarn for twenty years? Does $480.00 of free yarn a year sound inviting to you?  The Love of Knitting magazine is having a sweepstakes!  Follow the link here to enter.  

I entered.  As if I need any more fiber.  We have so much fleece to spin into yarn right here in the motorhome and in the basement that I should not have entered.  But who can pass up more, especially free quality yarn?  Not me!  It is already spun!  
The magazine and website are great too.  The website is full of how-to knit information.


And they also have free patterns.  That excites me since I spin my own yarn.  

You know, it is time to start knitting for Christmas.  Find some new and fresh ideas on their website and in their magazine.

The Koi pond filtration retrofit is now finished.  Choosing and laying stone that will surround the pond and walkways is all that is left.    

The completion of the retrofit seemed like it would be straightforward and an easy job.  You know, Murphy always has to stick his fingers in the pot too.  See photo below to see Murphy's finger.

 John's task was to consult and encourage, and at the same time attach the bellows to the skimmer box, cut the liner in order that the water would circulate into the skimmer,  around to the waterfall box into the pond.  

While John worked at the skimmer, Jojo began cementing the tubing from the waterfall filter to the skimmer.  Here you see the last bit of tubing ready to be cut and inserted into the skimmer.

A lemon tree is to the right of the pond with this branch providing shade for the Koi.  

The bellows has been installed inside the skimmer.  Next the frame is attached and will conceal the white silicone around the opening.  

Once that is completed the tubing is measured, cut and inserted through the wall of the skimmer and attached to the pump and ultra violet light that filters the algae from the pond.  

Now, for a trial run.  The water is turned on and Olivia goes to check for water coming over the lip of the waterfall skimmer. Once she gives the A-OK, she leaves

and the system is working perfectly.  Jojo did a great job.  We are so proud of this middle child of ours.  One nice thing about having children five years apart is that there is not much of the middle child syndrome.  

The pond is done and is ready for our Mother's Day celebration and Louisiana shrimp boil.  

Cathie's kiddos came and are inspecting Jojo's work.  


All that is left is the landscaping around the Koi pond.  None of the pond liner will be visible once the landscaping is complete.  


Next on Jojo's list is the Pergola.  Work on that will start Saturday.  The temperatures vary from the sixties to triple digits, creating some mighty hot days to work and then some cooler days.  

I have enjoyed your comments that you leave.  Feel free to stop in and say 'hey.'  

God bless and keep you.  

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES

If it is not blowing wind and sand stinging any bare skin in the desert surrounding Borrego Springs, CA, or colder temperatures than normal in Quartzsite, Arizona, it is mountain wild fires that are five to six months early in Southern California.  And we have been there to experience each.  

Yesterday, as we traveled to Upland, California to Mystic Koi and Water Garden with our Nancy Jo (further referred to as Jojo.  She was in need of a few things for the retrofit of the waterfall and skimmer that we brought to her.   The day was like stepping into our past.  John and I owned and operated a like business in Indiana.  She is fortunate to be the recipient of what we had left in our inventory when we retired. What we brought to her saved her about fifteen hundred dollars.  

Saturday, Jojo and John began prep work for the installation of the skimmer/filter. 

Since they are working with an existing pond with Koi, water lilies, etc they had to lift the pond liner and fold it over a board.  In the photo, you see water draining on the ground so that the clay would soften a bit.  More heavy, but at least she could dig.  


Jojo dug through twenty inches of hard-packed California clay.  What a hard job.  

Perseverance and tenacity are the words I used to describe D.D.#2!

This is the daughter that camps with us whenever possible.  She  provides the wheels where the Miata fears to tread.  We all have a ball together.

 This photo shows the view of the pond.  The waterfall on the upper right is going to be icing on the cake.

The box in the lower left of the window is the skimmer that goes into the ground.

Jojo and John checking to see if the skimmer is level.
 Here you see the difference in sizes of the waterfalls.  The new waterfall is going to create great sound and beauty for her koi pond.

All the liner will be covered with flagstone.  We saw some beautiful stone from Utah on our way home from Majestic Koi.

The area behind the pond is where Jojo wants John to help with the design and installation of a pergola.

Then after that, an irrigation system for her garden and trees.   It looks like we will be here for a while.  Just hope it does not get too hot too soon.  Otherwise, we will need to finish the work in the fall when we return from Indianapolis and check-ups at the doctors, visiting with our other two daughters and family.

Jojo refused to let John dig, so he put a new wheel on her wheelbarrow.  

Now to the smoke in our eyes.......and lungs. 

On our way to Mystic Koi and Water Garden, Jojo spotted the first smoke indicating a wildfire up in the mountains.  She was very concerned because it looked to be in the Idlewild  area where she has a cabin.   She rents the cabin the weekends that she and Cathie are not there.  

The summit fire is in Banning and as of this writing is forty percent contained.  It burned 2,956 acres.  The smoke was driven northwest of by the wind.  


Looking southwest, the sky was a beautiful blue.  It looked to be a quiet late afternoon, just prior to sunset.  


Looking northwest, there was a much different picture.  
The setting sun was obscured by smoke from the summit fire.  

The fire department personnel are well trained and must be certified to fight these fires.  

The fires are fought by land and the air.  Bulldozers clear the land of foliage ahead of the fire in hopes of stopping the fire's progress. 

Jojo has asthma and the smoke from the fires has created breathing problems for her.  John is restricted to the motorhome or to wearing a mask if outdoors.  

This morning another fire, the springs fire, was started by a careless smoker who flicked his cigarette butt into the grass.  These fires are making national news.  

The new springs fire is in Ventura County between Santa Barbara and Malabu.  It seemed to start at a strawberry farm and has spread to over eight thousand acres!  

It has created two emergencies: The fire itself and the buildings of the strawberry farm.  The farm buildings are full of fertilizer, pesticides, fuel, irrigation tubing, vehicles and fuel.  All this is sending huge black clouds of polluted air into the atmosphere.  

One item that will interest my RV friends is that many motorhomes, fifth wheels and trailers were in a storage area that was in the path of the springs fire.  All have been destroyed.  I do hope that none of your RVs have been affected.  So sad.  

I wish I had a photo of the last fire of 2013 for my THE END.  I do not.  But I do pray that God will protect the firefighting personnel as they try to stop what one careless person has created with the flick of one cigarette butt.  

If you smoke.....THINK!

God Bless....