A Very Nice Birthday!

It's always nice to hear from family and friends on my birthday.  Thank you all for the loving good wishes.  It made my day!

I celebrated with blueberry pancakes for breakfast (cooked by Roger), by not counting calories all day, and splurging on a piece of chocolate cake.  The sun was shining and the wind wasn't blowing!  All of that, a couple of walks with Maggie, and a good haircut made for a great day.  

We did take a tour of North Las Vegas looking for an RV parts place to find a new door handle.  What a depressing area of town.  We found the store but they didn't have the part so we came home and ordered it on line hoping to get it before we leave here.  

Nothing else new to add.  We have no agenda for tomorrow. Who knows what we will end up doing - if anything.  Might just be a good day to sit and read or knit or nap between walks with the Maggs.  

A Pretty Normal Day for Us

We participated in some pretty mind blowing activities today!   Grocery shopping, walking the dog, lunch in the fast food court at the Base Exchange, and sitting in the sun (not necessarily in that order!  

I'm a happy camper!!!

The Dish tech showed up early this morning - after spending 40 minutes going through security - and basically did nothing but make a phone call to tell them to turn our service on for local channels.  He did, however, clue us in as to how to avoid this hassle next time we re-activate after putting the service on hold while we are home.  We felt sorry for the poor guy having wasted so much time, but he was very pleasant  and helpful.  

As for my maroon vest that I was upset about leaving at home - well, it seems I doubled up my many vests on the hangers and it was under another one.  Yay!   And, lo and behold, guess what was in the pocket... yep, my Costco and American Express cards!  Double Yay!!!  All that being upset yesterday for nothing.  We did not, however, find any tubes of toothpaste hiding anywhere. 

Our site is huge with trees on both sides
separating us from our neighbors and with
parking off to the side. 

The Nellis Fam Camp is across from the main part of the base with the hospital on one side and a fuel farm on the other side.  Not a prime location, but once inside the park is it very comfortable.  The Air Force always has nice facilities for the troops and retirees.  Lots of airplane noise during the day but that is what they do here.  (While we were having lunch we saw pilots from Canada and the UK here for training.)  


There is a walking trail behind us and along the fence that you see behind the RV.  The loop around the park is .75 miles with doggie stations and people benches along the way.  It's nothing but gravel, and the only thing to look at is the other RVs, but it provides a nice walk for Maggie.   There is a large dog park for her, as well.   

Several years ago when we stopped here on our way home one of the women staying in the park was building a cactus garden.  It's a bit overgrown right now but is a nice part of the walking trail.  

Woodhenge?  

Tomorrow's excitement will include a haircut!   Roger is making me some blueberry pancakes for breakfast and we bought little baby chocolate cakes for my birthday dinner!  The sun is supposed to shine and the temperatures are supposed to be in the low 60s.  Happy B'day to me - life is good.  

All Set Up for Two Weeks in Sin City!

Well, we are here and glad of it despite the fact that we have freeze warning for tonight!  That doesn't happen often, but figures that it would our first night here!

Last night the wind started howling at gale strength about 8pm and didn't let up.  It was still going strong when we left at 9:30 this morning.  You know how I hate the wind if you paid any attention at all to last winter's blog. Not only did it blow continuously, but it was strong with some pretty powerful gusts.  There was a tree next to the bed slide out.  One of the branches beat against the wall behind our heads ALL night.  That was pretty annoying.

The temperature was as cold as predicted early this morning and with the wind blowing Maggie's ears backward when we went out for her to do her morning business, she even hurried back to the RV.  

After ruminating on it most of the night, Roger figured out what went wrong when he de-winterized and why we still had antifreeze in the hot water tank.  So, first thing this morning, in the cold and wind, he went outside and drained it, fixed the issue and we now have clean water for dishes and showers.  It's a good thing, 'cause we are starting to get a little disreputable.  Thank goodness for paper plates and bottled water!

It was a short drive from Beatty to north Las Vegas where Nellis AFB is.  Nothing to take pictures of for you, I'm afraid, as the drive is about as interesting as watching cabbages grow  Just brown desert with mountain backdrops and the long lonely road in front of the truck.  

I will take some photos tomorrow of our site and the RV park.  We have a huge site with trees between us and our neighbors.  No one behind us or directly in front.  It's a very nice layout here.  We are at the opposite end from the laundry, though.  There's a very  nice dog park available for Maggie and this afternoon she had a great time just running like a mad woman from one end to the next.  She was glad to get out of the RV!  

When we arrive at a site, Roger puts the RV on the pad where we think it will go best, I go inside and use a level to see if we have to put some leveling blocks (aka legos to me) under the tires on one side or another.  Today, I opened the outside door, reached up for the handle on the screen door, pushed it down and it broke off.  Plastic handle - not surprising with all the wear it gets.  The issue, though, was that the door was effectively locked shut and I had no way to get inside.  Roger had to shut off the truck, find a screwdriver (he carries a very large toolbox with us) and he had to take off the casing that the handle mechanism resides in.  At least he didn't have to take off the door like he did when Maggie destroyed the screen last year.   We eventually got the RV leveled and in its spot for the next two weeks.  He's super-glued the handle back together but I have a feeling we will be searching for an RV parts place tomorrow.   That would be after the Dish Network tech shows up.

Last year in Santee we purchased a "Tailgater" satellite dish.  The deal is supposed to be that we can turn it on and off when we want and we can call them to set the locatiaon every place we stop and want it hooked up.   Last  year - not a problem.  Roger would set it up, call the 800 number and give the person on the other end our zip code and we would be all set.  So, you are rightly guessing, it didn't work that way today.  We got a woman on the phone whose kids were screaming in the background, Roger couldn't understand a word she was saying, and it was a struggle to get her to understand what we needed.  I finally got on the phone and we made a little more  progress but she couldn't explain why we needed a technician other than her computer said we did.  She charged the credit card a very strange amount but couldn't tell us why - only that there was no charge for the tech and she couldn't start the service without it.   We waited about an hour and called back and I got someone on the line who told me the strange charge was because we had credit from when we stopped service in May and that the tech needed to do some upgrade thing because we were in Las Vegas.  Easy, peasy.  All I wanted was an explanation.  Geez, is that so hard?

We are starting to find things we meant to bring but left behind.  I think my Costco card and accompanying American Express card are in the jacket pocket that I wore last week when we went. We forgot toothpaste (had to replace that right away), a favorite maroon vest I wear all the time on cool days over long sleeve shirts, and our breakfast cereal.  I also believe I left a tomato sitting in the kitchen window.  (I've already texted Mike and asked him to retrieve that before it becomes a biology experiment!)

So, tomorrow, after the tech is finished, we go get groceries, get a long walk, and stettle in for the next two weeks.  The temperatures are supposed to be in the mid sixities with sunshine.  That's about normal for Sin City and our reason for being here.  

No one was harmed in today's activities!

We finally got on the road today!  No turning back now!   Warmer weather, here we come!

The long, lonesome highway
called US95 south!

We had sunshine, no wind, little traffic, and some awesome clouds today.  Temps were mostly in the 50s as we headed south but when we got to Beatty it was a balmy 63 degrees.  

 

The Eastern Slope of the Sierra Nevada with lenticular clouds.  On the western side of this section of mountains is Yosemite National Park

The wind was apparently blowing way up there in the atmosphere as we saw hundreds of lenticular clouds.  At one point Roger saw one over the Nevada Test Site (and Area 51) that looked appropriately like a flying saucer!  It was on his side so I couldn't get a picture :-(

The warmth didn't last long, though, as we arrived in Beatty at about the time the sun set behind the mountain (shortly after 4pm) and the dark and cold came on fast.  Roger barely got us hooked up to shore power and sewer and leveled and stabilized, and Maggs and I got back from her walk-about, before it was very dark.  (There's no lighting in the RV park.)  We left Sparks at 9am, but when you are driving between 55 and 60 miles per hour, 350 miles is a very, very long time!

As we started out this morning going east along the Truckee River we glimpsed a fisherman standing in a large pool of water fly fishing.  I wouldn't have noticed him but for the sun shining on the wet fishing line.  As the line flicked back and forth when he cast, the sunlight  glistened on the line  and it caught my eye.  

The cottonwoods along the very, very low water of the Truckee were brilliant gold, the sky was blue and it was beautiful!   Along a dirt road following the river there was a small herd of mustangs - a stallion and five mares - just trotting along.   It was quite a positive start to the day. 

Surprisingly enough for the first night in the RV we both fell right to sleep. We were so exhausted from the work yesterday.  Unfortunately, we both woke around 4am and it was a while before we got back to sleep.   Getting used to the bed, the different lights, etc. always makes for a rough first night.  The cold didn't help any, either.  Getting the furnace set to the right temperature and piling on the right amount of covers is always a challenge at first.  

Even Maggie got a bit disoriented last night.  She woke me up once and I coaxed her back to bed and we both went back to sleep.  But then about 4am I kept hearing her license plates (dog tags) on her necklace (collar) rattling when she would shake.  She still had her harness on and that drives her crazy.  She sounded far away so I couldn't figure out what was going on and then I heard her whining.  She rarely whines so I figured she was at the door trying to get outside.  I got up and she wasn't there.  She wasn't in the living room but I could hear her whining. There's just so many places in this little house on wheels for her to be and I found her in the bathroom.  She had pushed her way in (we leave the door slightly ajar for middle of the night trips),  but then she couldn't get out.  She was closed in and didn't like it.  I opened the door and, after I took her harness off, she ran for her bed and buried her head under her covers.  We didn't hear her again until 7am.  We have no idea how long she had been in there, poor thing.  

It's only 150 miles or so into Nellis AFB tomorrow, so we will be in no hurry to get up and get on the road.  The temperature is supposed to dip down into the high 20s in the wee hours of the morning, so we will be staying tucked in the nice warm bed or at least sitting in front of the "fire" (our electric space heater that looks like a fire place) with a hot cup of tea in the morning and let it get warm.  This morning we had low 30s as we were preparing the RV for the road.  It was BRRR!!!  We will wait for it to get a bit warmer tomorrow!!  

Rog managed to escape injury today. He says he feels better but is still fatigued from the last few days. We're both looking forward to two weeks of recuperation in Las Vegas before facing the southern California traffic to get to Santee.  

A close call this afternoon

Every year this packing up and getting the RV ready for our winter season seems to get harder.  Rog thinks we have double our usual stuff this time, but the cupbords and closets and fridge don't seem more stuffed than usual.  Maybe it's because I packed everything in tote bags, grocery bags (paper and plastic), and small boxes so there was an abundance of items to haul out of the house, pack in the car or truck, and then haul into the RV and unpack.  It was easier on our backs, though, instead of trying to haul the storage containers filled with things.  It certainly seemed like a lot more, though!!   We have closed up the house, put the car in the garage on a trickle charger, and waved good bye to the neighborhood.  We are in the RV tonight with the "fireplace" on and almost all of our things put away.  

While unloading from the truck this afternoon, Roger somehow triggered the alarm.  Stupid truck started honking and honking and wouldn't give up.  We tried pushing all the buttons, turning the ignition on and off, locking and unlocking the doors, pusing the panic button and nothing was working. The whole thing had us flailing around trying to stop the noise.  We looked like the Keystone Kops running around trying to make it stop.  As a last resort, Roger decided to open the hood and unplug the fuse to the horn.   He pushed the hood up and climbed up on the bumber to reach into the fuse box.  A gust of wind whipped up and the hood came crashing down on his head.  I was watching, screamed, but couldn't do anything.  We got the hood back up and he was OK - just a small divit on his scalp.  So, he tried again.  Same thing happened, only this time the force of the hood closing on his head caused him to lose his footing on the bumper and he went head over teakettle onto the ground with another divit in his scalp.  In the meantime the truck is still honking at him.   They say the third time is the charm, and this time I held onto the hood while he climbed in.  He found the fuse and just as he was set to unplug it, the honking stopped.  He unplugged it anyway.  No more alarms.  Needless to say he did not check his blood pressure this afternoon!!  The whole episode got me worked up as I kept seeing that hood fall on him and kept thinking what a close call he had.  

We had comfort food for dinner - spaghetti and a salad, and Roger did the clean up as he does most nights so normalcy is returning to our life.  

After a very confusing and discombobulated day for her, Maggie, is currently curled up in her "day" bed on the sofa catching some ZZZs.   

We are parked next to a rig just like ours and it looks as though the owners are doing what we are today.  They have Nevada plates and we are guessing they are on their way south soon, too. 

Tomorrow we are up and out of here early as we have a long day on a two lane road.  We will stop in Beatty (the gateway to Death Valley) for the night.  The weather forecast for here (Sparks) for tomorrow night is snow, so it looks as if we are leaving just in time.  

I'm doing this entry on the iPad and can't seem to be able to get the text to wrap the photos.  sorry.  

Only one small hiccup today

I had my last exercise class for the year at the gym this morning.  Won't be back until the first of April.  I will miss all the ladies that attend that class.  We have a great time, lots of laughs, and they are all so very nice.  Amber is an awesome leader and makes the class fun to go to.  I've promised to do the exercises by myself on Tuesday and Thursdays while I'm gone so when I return I will be able to keep up.  I always start out with great intentions.....

After loading the back seat of the truck with mostly stuff Roger needs for getting the RV ready, we went to the storage facility and hooked up the RV  - stopping for Thai food for lunch on the way.  It was a few minutes once we got there before we got the routine down for hooking up but it did come back to us and there were no issues.  

We parked at the Sparks Marina RV park and Roger went to work draining the antifreeze, hooking up the batteries, propane, water, fridge, stove, furnace, etc., while I put some of the linens away that had been washed and folded when we got home in May.  One thing about moving into the RV is that I get to put my organizational skills to use, but it seems I always pack things away the same as the last time.   It's a small space and things only fit a certain way.  We will be living in 342 square feet for the next four months.  

Somehow we managed to get antifreeze into the water heater so Roger had to do some extra work getting that cleaned out and ready to use.  If that is the only problem we have getting ready we are doing super!  

We went back to the house for a second load and brought Maggie back with us to the RV.  She went nuts!  She was so excited she did her crazy running routine from one end of the place to the other with leaps onto the sofa.  She kept at it for about 15 minutes.  She certainly recognized the place and was so happy to be there!  

We did not over do it today as we have all day tomorrow to finish schlepping stuff from the house to the RV.  Roger's sciatica is acting up a bit so we are taking it slow and easy.  I think I like this way of doing things better than the way we have hurried before.  We always tried to cram everything into a few hours and it about killed us.  We will feel better and be in much better moods when we leave.  

Will load the rest tomorrow and spend tomorrow night in the RV.  Kinda looking forward to it.  

Getting Ready to Head South for the Winter

It's that time of year again!  We are getting ready to pack up the 5th Wheel and do our  "snowbird" thing.   This summer has gone by very fast and it seems as if we just got home from the last trip.  

We've had a busy summer mostly working on things around the house, doing some home improvement items and getting the truck ready for this year's adventure.  We both have been busy making Christmas gifts for our family - Roger in his workshop and me in my easy chair!  I've had my last meetings at my two book clubs and tomorrow will be the last day at the exercise class at the gym.  We have visited all the doctors, dentists, etc., for check ups and we are cleared to go.  

Neither of us have been feeling the usual excitement about packing up and going this time.  We think it has to do with the fact that we are still having wonderful weather and it doesn't feel as if we need to.  Then, today, when we took Maggie to the park for her afternoon walk, it was cloudy, cold, and blustery.  We are ready now!  The really cold weather is due to come in on Saturday as we leave, but southern Nevada weather forecasts look good!

We will be taking the RV out of storage tomorrow and putting it in the Sparks Marina RV park so that Friday we can load it with food and clothes and "stuff" that we will need while we are gone.   

Today we spent cleaning the house as we don't like leaving it unless it is in order.  I've been putting off doing it the last week or so as I didn't want to do it twice and it took both of  us all day to do both upstairs and downstairs.  I normally do only one level a day otherwise it's too much like work!  

Roger spent some time cleaning up the truck and making sure my windows were clean so if I have to take pictures through them I will get, hopefully, some good ones that don't show the dirty window!  He likes to keep me happy - yes, a happy wife means a happy life!!!

Maggie is starting to wonder what all the fuss is about and why things are piled up everywhere.  I'm not sure she is ready to get on the road but I've got her drugs handy!

I plan on writing in the journal often and hope you all will check on us when you think of us.